WO2002095535A2

WO2002095535A2 - Electronic incentive and promotion management system and method with secure redemption models for brick-and-mortar redemption of on-line coupons

Info

Publication number: WO2002095535A2
Application number: PCT/US2002/016013
Authority: WO
Inventors: Tuvia Fish; Moshe Fish
Original assignee: Coovi, Inc.
Priority date: 2001-05-22
Filing date: 2002-05-22
Publication date: 2002-11-28
Also published as: WO2002095535A3; AU2002305653A1

Abstract

The disclosed system and method for electronic incentive and promotion management uses clippable incentive items in both online (101) and offline environments. The clippable incentive items (110) can be collected by consumer (109) s (109) and electronically saved. This ability to clip incentives works to separate the promotion/advertisement/incentive from the medium in which it is transferred to consumer (109) s (109) , thus allowing consumer (109) s (109) to obtain the benefit of the promotion through whichever mechanisms are most convenient. Once a consumer (109) has saved a clippable item to his account, he can then at a later time redeem it (if it is a coupon-type item), visit any e-commerce web sites associated with the clipped item, print the clipped item and bring it to a brick and mortar store (108), send the clipped item to another consumer (109) , or trade, autoswap or sell the clipped item to another consumer (109) . Additionally, the online (101) environment also provides real time advertising campaign data and management features as disclosed to provide unique benefits to advertisers. In preferred embodiments, the invention allows secure redemption of clipped items in brick-and-mortar store locations (108).

Description

Electronic Incentive and Promotion Management System and

Method with Secure Redemption Models for Brick -and-Mortar

Redemption of On-line Coupons

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to an electronic incentive and promotion management system and method. More particularly, the present invention relates to such systems and methods that enhance the value of on -line and traditional media advertising to both consumers and advertisers by providing increased consumer incentives to explore, store, and redeem traditional incentives, coupons, advertisements, and promotions, and electronic incentives, coupons, advertisements and other promotions.

Background of the Invention

On-line or electronic commerce ("e -commerce") , the practice of conducting commerce over an electronic computer network such as the Internet, is claiming a progressively larger share of consumer purchases . As consumers become more computer savvy, whenever they seek to purchase particular goods or services, they often first visit a merchant's site on the Internet, i.e., a web site, and view the goods or description of services offered for sale. As public trust in basic on-line security protocols grows, the percentage of such visits to web sites that end with or lead to an on -line purchase of the goods or services grows .

With the growth of e -commerce has come the growth of advertising programs for e -commerce sites (alone or in conjunction with traditional "brick and mortar" stores) . Advertising for e-commerce sites have used traditional media, like television, radio and print media ads, and also have spawned new advertising media utilizing the Internet (and mobile Internet) such as mass email distributions, web page banner advertising on merchant sites (such as Amazon.com) and on major Internet portals (such as Yahoo!), and mobile Internet locality-based promotions.

Each current advertising medium, as currently utilized alone or in combination, provides inadequat e advertisement performance due to limitations inherent to the medium. In the case of traditional television advertisements, the exposure to potential consumers is fairly large) but this exposure lasts only for a short period of time. Most problematic is that the exposure to television advertisements typically occurs at a time when the consumer is least ready to purchase (i.e., at home watching TV) . Thus, even if the consumer is enticed to purchase the product or service or shop at the store or web site advertised, he or she must still remember to follow up on the offer at a later, more convenient time on his or her own. Further, traditional television advertisements do not provide advertisers with a means for establishing a continuing relationship with consumers.

Traditional print advertisements, promotions and enticements, including traditional newspaper ads, coupons and the like, allow consumers to clip and save interesting offers or promotions to serve as a reminder. While these clippable consumer enticements are successful as marketing promotions for brick and mortar merchants, traditional coupons and advertisements currently are not directly transferable to the Internet. Thus, paper advertisements or promotions for use on the Internet are often lost or forgotten. In such cases, a benefit is obtained by neither the consumer nor the merchant. Furthermore, print advertisements that are not clippable, such as on billboards, are less successful in both e-commerce and traditional commerce because they, much like television advertisements, are not often seen by consumers when they are ready to make purchases .

Although Internet banner-type advertising is a popular means for disseminating information to consumers about merchant's products and services, current banner techniques have proven to be somewhat expensive relative to the fact that they are ineffective in actually producing Internet site visitors . Web surfing consumers generally find known banner advertisements distracting or disruptive and are thu s not motivated to view them. Further, web surfing consumers do not like to follow up on banner advertisements (by clicking on them) because this action typically redirects the consumer's web browser to a completely new web site (this redirection to the advertising merchant's web site being referred to as "click-through") , thus interrupting the Internet task in which the consumer was involved. Many consumers completely ignore banner advertisements, never "clicking" on them at all when visiting, for example, a portal site. Thus, even when banner advertisements include promotional offers that are otherwise relatively attractive to consumers, web surfers still follow up on them infrequently.

With respect to Interactive TV (usually supported by digital satellite and digital cable providers) , merchants and advertisers have considered the use of similar interactive banner-type ads for display on the television screen that would allow consumers to follow up (by immediately connecting to an online e-commerce or information site in a manner similar to clic -through Internet banners) on interesting advertisements, promotions or offers. This type of interactive television advertisements has been unsuccessful, however, because they create a diversion from regular programming as well as from upcoming advertisers. Merchants and advertisers have also failed to find a manner that will gain mass public acceptance in which to utilize the mobile Internet (the integration of Internet access into mobile communication devices, such as mobile phones) for advertisements and other consumer promotions. Systems have been developed that send consumers mobile Internet messages and offers based upon consumer's physical location (based upon the location of the phone) relative to the location of a store that would redeem the promotion. These systems do not work well because a consumer can become so inundated with unwanted ads that he becomes disenfranchised with the mobile Internet and therefore either turns off his phone or even cancels his service completely.

As part of their advertising and marketing programs, on-line merchants are engaged in continual efforts to give customers and potential customers incentives to both visit and browse their on-line e-commerce sites and to purchase their products and services. Various consumer incentive programs have existed, including cash or percentage discounts, price cuts, cash or other currency -based giveaways, redeemable coupons, free merchandise or services, points -based programs such as frequent flyer programs, and sweepstakes, to name a few. Such known incentive programs have suffered, however, from various disadvantages for consumers, merchants and the entities who redeem incentives. First, purely paper -based coupons, stamps, or certificates are cumbersome to accumulate and use in an electronic environment such as the Internet, and they can be easily misplaced. Further, consumer and redeemer handling of such incentives during purchasing transactions, including the need for manual recording into customer accounts, has been inconvenient and can slow sales transactions .

Certain consumer incentive programs have attempted to integrate electronic or on-line incentive systems with familiar paper-based features, such as by providing printed coupons or certificates which have been chosen by a consumer on-line. These programs may ease a storage problem by only printing coupons as desired, but do not address the above - discussed problems with paper -based incentives for the merchant or redemption authority. In addition, such dispenser-generated incentives may not award the desired incentive unless a consumer specifically seeks out the incentive, thereby making it inefficient for a consumer to accumulate desired incentives and hampering overall access to incentives .

Other, known on-line advertising and consumer incentive programs attempt to attract the attention of Internet users by offering cash or currency -based incentives when consumers pay attention to merchant messages. These programs typically utilize banner-type campaigns on the Internet whereby small amounts of cash or cash substitutes are offered to registered users for clicking on a participating banner. This action then causes a merchant's desired message about a product or service to be displayed to the user. These programs have various drawbacks, including their inability to motivate consumers with small amounts of currency, and the general distaste among consumers for click -through type banner advertisements .

Additionally, there exist on-line incentive programs that are based on the awarding of points which can be accumulated and redeemed for such items as gift certificates, long distance phone services and frequent flyer mileage. These programs typically require consumers to first visi t (or be contacted by and then visit) the incentive program site in order to receive any points. Once at the program site, the points are awarded when a consumer clicks on a banner ad displayed on the program site. That click then transfers the consumer to the topic site mentioned in the banner. Often in such programs, however, there is no incentive for the consumer to purchase goods or services once the consumer has arrived at the merchant's web site. Thus, these programs are largely ineffective.

In the electronic advertising industry, advertising networks and advertising campaign management firms have recently begun to offer services in the planning and execution of on-line advertising programs. Such companies are essentially "middlemen" between ad agencies and merchants that plan, coordinate and manage Internet advertising campaigns or otherwise provide advertising exposure to networks of content - specific sites. These companies thus offer a service similar to that provided by major Internet portals; they deliver ads to consumers based not only on demographics and purchasing behavior, but also based on consumers' seeking sites to visit or consumers' entry onto related sites.

A useful feature particular to web page banner advertisements is that web serving software allows for the simple tracking and recording of Internet traffic. Thus, online merchants and banner advertisers as well as major portals have recognized the benefit of recording e -buyer purchasing patterns and preferences in order to more effectively communicate with customers and target receptive buyers with working advertisements. Conversely, traditional paper based advertisement and incentive programs typically fail to provide valuable demographic information about consumers or only gather demographic information at the time of redemption by manual recording .

Further limitations of current on-line advertising and incentive programs arise from the fact that such programs typically focus on the Internet user as the primary customer. Available programs in effect thus create incentive -based portals, using incentives or rewards to attract consumers to their incentive site and then driving those consumers to merchant sites. Such programs typically make no attempt to work with Internet advertising firms or existing Internet portals to actually enhance the value of the various advertising mediums. As a result, there has developed a need in the industry for an effective cross media consumer incentive and advertising system that provides improved information gathering and tracking.

What is needed, therefore, is an advertisement enhancement and incentive system where incentives are electronically stored, managed and redeemed without the shortcomings and disadvantages of existing programs. Although the foregoing disclosures present a variety of approaches for providing improved advertisements, promotions; and other incentives to consumers in various media, they do not provide a suitable system or method that utilizes a cross media solution that is suitable in both e-commerce and traditional commerce .

Thus , there remains a need in the art for an improved system and method for electronic coupon and promotion management that overcomes the above -described and other disadvantages inherent in the prior art . Summary of the Invention

Accordingly, the present invention is an improvement over the prior art systems and methods for cross media advertising and consumer incentives delivery, electronic management and redemption. The present invention lets consumers electronically save, or "clip" consumer promotions, advertisements and incentives from various advertising media without disrupting their ongoing activities, and then review, manage and/or redeem the clipped material or related content at their leisure. This ability to clip incentives works to separate the promotion/advertisement/incentive from the medium in which it is transferred to consumers, thus allowing consumers to obtain the benefit of the promotion through whichever mechanisms are most convenient. As herein described, the present invention provides a system and method for electronically managing electronic coupons, promotions and other consumer incentives across traditional and electronic media in a manner that makes advertisements more effective.

In light of the above -described and other disadvantages inherent in the prior art, it is an object of the present invention to provide a system and method for web surfing consumers to save banner -type web site advertisements, incentives and promotions of interest for viewing at a later time whereby such banner ads are less disturbing to web surfing consumers . Further, it is an object of the present invention to provide a system and method for use by Internet merchants that create incentives for Internet users to visit those merchants' Web sites and/or to purchase product or services from those merchants .

Additionally, it is an object of the present invention to provide an alternative to consumers having to chose between investigating a coupon, promotion or other incentive offered by a web page banner advertisement and the task that consumer was performing by permitting the consumer to electronically store the incentive in a personalized computer network account for review, management and redempt ion at a later time.

Similarly, it is an object of the present invention to permit consumers to easily save, manage, and then redeem accumulated coupons, promotions and other incentives acquired from a variety of media and using a variety of technological means in an on-line system of a computer network in a instinctive manner reminiscent to the handling of paper coupons.

Additionally, it is an object of the present invention to provide a cross media commerce system and method that enables consumers to store advertisements, promotions and other enticement information on an electronic network from whichever medium the consumers encounter them, and enables consumers to review and/or use this information whenever and however they want .

Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a system and method that generates valuable consumer demographic data for merchants or advertisers in an improved manner than what is currently done with web site banner adver isements and with traditional advertising media.

Concurrently, it is an object of the present invention to provide a system and method that allows advertisers to obtain detailed reports regarding consumer incentives, promotions or advertisements campaigns wherein the reports can be automatically directed to analyze relevant data according to various variables, including medium, redemption rate, and type of promotion.

Finally, it is an object of the present invention to provide a system and method for consumer incentive management that establishes a commercial hub for promoting cross media pollination between traditional and electronic commerce and advertising.

Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description that follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the embodiments particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings .

The above identified and other objects are achieved by the system and method for providing a cross media solution that is suitable in both e-commerce and traditional commerce according to the present invention. The invention's method and system provide a mechanism whereby advertisers can provide increased incentives to consumers to explore, store, and redeem traditional coupons, and electronic incentives, coupons and other promotions while also allowing advertisers to monitor and manage incentive campaigns in real time.

To achieve these and other objects, the disclosed systems for incentive and promotion management according to the present invention include an incentive management network ("IMN") having an electronically accessible storage media system, a server system, and software run by the server system. The software running on the IMN is adapted to manage incentive accounts that each correpond to a particular consumer who is a member of the IMN. The IMN allows each member consumer to save, or "clip," consumer promotions and incentives electronically from various advertising media without disrupting their ongoing activities, and then review, manage and redeem the clipped material at their leisure. Preferably, each member consumer account allows the consumers to save clippable consumer incentive items, such as print advertisements and coupons, and electronic advertisements, coupons, promotions, game pieces and other items into their account to review, manage and/or redeem at a later time. In preferred embodiments, each user can give away, sell and trade any clipped incentive items in their accounts as one would be able to do with paper coupons and promotional items. Additionally, with respect to e-commerce based incentive items, such as a percentage discount coupon for an e-merchant web site, member consumers can redeem the incentive with the e -merchant from their account on the IMN.

In other preferred embodiments of the present invention, the IMN software allows the swapping of clipped incentive items amongst member consumers in a stock exchange - like environment. In such embodiments, using their account profiles, member consumers are able identify desired items that they wish to obtain by trading away previously clipped items that are now unwanted and offered for trade. The IMN software allows the member consumers to use optional weightings on more valued clipped items to ensure fair swaps are generated, and the software performs queries on each member consumer's desired and offered clipped items and automatically makes swaps to satisfy as many member consumers as possible. Additionally, the IMN server software accepts queries from advertising administrators requesting electronic access to data representing the extent to which a particular incentive campaign has been successful with the member consumers . This data is at least in part automatically generated by the activities of member consumers with respect to the incentive items that they clip, save, manage and redeem.

Further, in preferred emobiments, the central network is electronically acessible by the member consumers and advertising administrators, such as via the Internet, to facilitate updating of and access to the incentive campaign results data and the accounts of each member consumer.

The systems and methods according to the present invention will be discussed in more detail below with respect to the drawings and description of several embodiments of the present invention. It should be understood that the forthcoming description is merely illustrative and is by no means limiting to the invention as claimed.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram depicting the incentive management network and its interaction with member consumers, member advertisers and merchants according to embodiments of the present invention. Figure 2 is a flow diagram depicting how a clippable electronic incentive item is saved to a member consumer's account on the inventive management network according to embodiments of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a flow diagram depicting how an electronic incentive item is redeemed over the Internet according to embodiments of the present invention.

Figure 4a is a depiction of a sample web page having a banner advertisement offering a clippable incentive item according to preferred embodiments of the present invention, figure 4b is a depiction of a sample verification window launching on top of the sample web page of figure 4a according to preferred embodiments of the present invention, and figure 4c is a close up view of the verification window depicted in figure 4b.

Figure 5 is a depiction of a sample web page where member consumers can manage clipped incentive items according to preferred embodiments of the present invention.

Detailed Description of the Invention

The methods and systems according to the present invention will now be disclosed with reference to the figures. The specific embodiments hereafter disclosed are examples intended to merely demonstrate the operation of the present invention and not to limit the scope of the invention in any way. Those skilled in the art will recognize that changes can be made to the embodiments herein disclosed while still staying within the scope of the present invention.

Unlike current online coupons, clippable incentive items according to the present invention function in both the online and offline environments like traditional print coupons operate in traditional brick and mortar transactions. Once a consumer member has saved a clippable item to his account, he can then at a later time redeem it (if it is a coupon -type item), visit any e-commerce web sites associated with the clipped item, print the clipped item and bring it to a brick and mortar store for redemption, send the clipped item to another member, or trade, autoswap or sell the clipped item to another member. Because each consumer member's account is online, it is able to provide many valuable benefits beyond merely storing and organizing clipped items. For example, alerts can be sent via email to a consumer member when a particular clipped coupon or other promotion is about to expire. Further, consumer members can access e-commerce or information sites related to the clipped items and electronically redeem clipped promotions or coupons. Additionally, background information on the clipped item can be provided for consumer member to read at his leisure.

Referring to figure 1, there is a schematic diagram depicting the interaction of consumers, advertisers and merchants with a cross media system for incentive and promotion management according to the present invention. An incentive management network (IMN") 101, including a storage media system 103 and a server system 102, operates incentive management software 104 that manages member consumer accounts, advertiser accounts and facilitates the saving, management and redemption of clippable incentive items as described in detail below. The software running on the IMN is adapted to manage incentive accounts that each correpond to a particular consumer who is a member of the IMN. The IMN allows each member consumer to save, or "clip, " consumer promotions and incentives electronically from various advertising media (both interactive/electronic and traditional media) without disrupting their ongoing activities, and then review, manage and redeem the clipped material at their leisure.

As shown in the figure, the server system 102 can comprise one or more server machines 102a and support electronics as are commonly used in the industry to provide remote networking and/or web -serving platforms. For example, suitable arrangements include any number of commercially available server machines, such as a SunServer, Compaq Proliant, or Dell Dimension, running a viable operating system, such as UNIX, Linux, or Windows NT.

The storage media system 103 utilized in embodiments of the present invention are electronically connected to the server system 102, such as by a local area network ("LAN") . Preferably, the storage media system 103 contains one or more databases 103a designed to hold member consumer account information, clippable incentive item data, and advertiser incentive campaign information. Each database 103a in the storage media system 104 may store its data in any man er known in the art, such as directly on a server hard drive, or remotely on external storage media including tape drives, CD - RWs and writable optical disks, and remote hard drives. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the databases 103a include at least a member consumer account database and an advertiser database.

In this preferred embodiment of the storage media system 103, the member consumer database would contain administrative information specific to the account of each member consumer on the IMN. Such information could include information relating to the identity of the consumer, his or her email and regular addresses, login names and passwords for obtaining access to each account, and the identity and status of the clipped incentive items stored in each account (described in more detail below) .

The advertiser database in this preferred embodiment of the invention contains information relating to member advertisers and the clippable incentive campaigns that they have arranged with or through the IMN. This information may include, for example, an indication of the amount of incentive items that have actually been clipped and/or redeemed by member consumers, an indication of the amount of clipped but unredeemed incentive items for a particular campaign, information detailing the advertising media and manners from which member consumers have clipped each item in a given campaign, files describing the clippable items (e.g., in the form of incentive item description codes, redemption codes, text, graphics, etc.), and administrative passwords and login names for gaining access to the IMN by a member advertiser's administrator.

Since standard SQL databases are not directly accessible via the Internet 100, a variety of HTML front - ending tools, such as ASP scripts, javascripts, VBScripts, or CGI scripts, are preferably incorporated within the serving software 104 running on the server machines 102a. Accordingly, these front -ending tools operate as extensions to the server software 104, allowing administrators to request displays of the training and certification results data from remote computers using web browser applications connected to the incentive management network 101 over the Internet 100. In such preferred embodiments, the server software 104 and its HTML front-ending tools communicate with an appropriate database 103a in the database system 103 via SQL or other suitable data access languages to obtain the latest data whenever requested by an advertising administrator 107, member consumer 109, electronic redemption site 106, or retail store 108 or dates the data is necessary.

Clippable incentive items according to the present invention include traditional coupons and electronic coupons for redemption at e-commerce 106 and brick and mortar retail stores 108. Such coupons can be of any known type including those that offer a set percentage or set monetary discount on the purchase of a particular product or service, or a set discount on any purchase from a given vendor, manufacture r or merchant. Similarly, coupons as used herein also include combinable vouchers that can be collected by consumers to accumulate a monetary reduction in the price of a product or service wherein the more vouchers that a consumer has collected, the less the product or service will cost. In this manner, certain products or services can be eventually purchased for free by redeeming a sufficient amount of vouchers .

With respect to electronic coupons obtained from a web site 105 with a clippable banner advertisement on the Internet, the particular value of the promotion can be kept a secret from the member consumer until the consumer visits the vendor or merchant's e-commerce site (similar in manner to traditional mystery scratch -off coupons) or reviews the item in his account. In this manner, the consumer clips and saves the item to his account without knowing the particular value of the coupon. Then, from his account on the IMN, the consumer can visit the web site associated with the clipped item to discover what the discount is (and optionally redeem the discount) .

Furthermore, clippable incentive items can include collectible promotional items. These promotional items can be any item which the advertiser is willing to give the consumer for free, such as game pieces, image files (e.g., of a favorite TV character), audio files (e.g., such as the part of a song or an interview) , video files and any other collectible item that may be distributed and/or used on the Internet. For example, a musical band can release a series of five audio files that, when all are collected and combined on a given member consumer's account, add up to a special version of a particular song. Similarly, these collectibles can be in the form of Internet based trading cards of children's favorite cartoon characters. Additionally, this concept of collectible promotional items can be combined with coupons or vouchers such that the items cannot be redeemed for the appropriate discount until a complete set of the collectible items have been saved to a given member consumer ' s account .

Additionally, clippable incentive items can include game pieces that will serve as credits for playing online games at particular sites on the Internet. Consumers can accumulate these game pieces by surfing the web, clipping from interactive TV advertisements or any of the other mechanisms described herein, and store these in their account on the IMN for later redemption.

Online games as herein described generally are made up of game pieces which are dist ributed via the various media (billboards, Internet, print, interactive TV, etc.) supported by the present invention. The consumer collects the various pieces and clips them to his account where they will be automatically associated with other pieces from the same online game. The entity promoting the online game (i.e., a member advertiser) sets rules regarding the play of the game, such as, for example, whether multiple identical game pieces can be collected, how frequently the game pieces can be collected, and whether game pieces game be traded, sold or given away. Once the member consumer has successfully collected all game pieces, he can redeem the game for an incentive (such as a prize offered by a particular merchant) . One skilled in the art will readily recognize that the above game is only one example of a suitable game and that many different variations of games can be based upon the concept of collecting game pieces.

Each clippable incentive item is assigned a digital ID that serves as a description code for identifying the appropriate advertiser information for that incentive item in the advertiser database. This information includes the identity and location of advertiser and/or related redemption merchant, the expiration date of the item (if any) , an indicator of the type of item (coupon, voucher, collectible promotion, etc.), a description of the item, how to redeem the item (if applicable) , and any rules associated with the item (whether it can or cannot be sold, copied, traded, etc.) . Depending upon the desire of the advertiser, this incentive item description code can be unique for each coupon (such as for collectible promotion items) or unique only among items within that series (e.g., each 20% off coupon for the same web merchant has the same code) .

Referring again to figure 1, the IMN is electronically connected via a distributed network, such as the Internet 100, to member consumers 109, member advertisers 107, brick and mortar retail stores 108, web sites 106 that will electronically redeem clipped incentive items, and web sites 105 which contain clippable electronic banner advertisements according to the present invention. ' Due to this configuration, a member consumer can clip incentive items from a variety of advertising media and save those items on their account on the IMN 101 for later management and redemption.

As shown in figure 1, member consumers 109 can use a variety of mechanisms to clip and collect incentive items for storage on their IMN 101 account. One mechanism comprises the member consumer 109 using a personal computer 109a to visit various web sites accessible via the Internet 100. Whenever the web surfing member consumer encounters a clippable incentive banner of interest on a web site 105, he simply clicks on the incentive banner to have the associated incentive item clipped and sent over the Internet 100 to the IMN 101 for storage in his account. This whole process occurs without the consumer's web browser being redirected to a different site such that he can continue with what he was doing prior to noticing the clippable item. A more detailed description of the process whereby an incentive item can be clipped from a clippable web site banner is described in detail below with respect to figure 2.

Similarly, a member consumer can clip incentive items from interactive television banner advertisements. As with clippable web site banner advertisements according to the present invention, whenever the consumer sees a banner advertisement on his television 109c that describes a clippable incentive item of interest, he simply selects it using his interactive TV remote control. Unlike with prior art banner advertisements, however, this action does not redirect the consumer to further content from that particular advertiser (and thus away from programming) , but rather clips the incentive item and sends it to the IMN 101. A benefit of the IMN 101 is that it allows member consumers to identify clippable incentive items according to the present invention in more traditional advertising media, such as print, radio, and non -interactive television. With a print, TV or radio advertisement, the member advertisers can include an appropriate inventive item description code that could be recognized and saved (such as by writing down, cutting out of the newspaper, etc.) by member consumers. The next time the member consumer accesses his account on the IMN 101, he can simply enter the incentive item code and thus save the item to his account such that it can be managed and redeemed electronically just like items obtained from the Internet and Interactive TV.

For example, a consumer could see a promotional billboard (containing an incentive item description code) that offers reduced airline fares to a place the consumer wishes to visit. If the consumer is a member of the IMN and has a mobile Internet device 109b, such as a web -enabled cellular phone, he could log into his IMN account and enter the code. The incentive item is thereby immediately clipped and saved to his account. Due to the use of incentive item codes, advertisers 107 can use traditional promotional media, such as print coupons 110, that allow consumers not only to redeem those print coupons in the traditional manner (i.e., cutting out the original print coupon 110 and carrying it to a retail store) , but also allows member consumers to enter the incentive item code into their account on the IMN 101 and thus be able to manage and redeem the item online as hereinafter described exactly as if it were originally obtained from an electronic medium.

Traditional Internet banner advertisements easily can be enabled to offer clippable incentive items according to the present invention by using web authoring techniques that will be apparent to one skilled in the art. Thus, the action of user clicking on a clippable banner on a web page would cause the launching of a verification window and without redirecting the main browser window from the page the member consumer was viewing, thus allowing him to continue his web browsing undisturbed. The verification window serves to inform the member consumer that the item has been clipped and will be stored in his account on the IMN. Typically, unless there is action to the contrary by the member consumer, the verification window will close automatically after a short preset time. (Of course, a consumer member can manually close a verification window.)

Referring to figure 2, the flow diagram depicts how a clippable electronic incentive item is saved from a clippable Internet web banner to a member consumer's account on the IMN according to preferred embodiments of the present invention. One of ordinary skill in the art could envision many alternative ways to enable the capturing of incentive items from banner-type advertisements. Whenever a web surfing member consumer encounters a clippable web banner (an exemplary clippable web banner 401 on web page 400 is shown in figure 4a) offering an incentive item that is of interest, he simply clicks on the banner 200 as he would with a traditional web banner advertisement. Instead of his web browser being automatically redirected to the advertiser's site, however, the web browser is caused check whether a digital certificate or cookie has been stored on the hard drive of the member consumer's computer 201. This cookie potentially indicates that the web browsing consumer is a member of the IMN. If there is such a cookie, a verification window (element 402 shown in figures 4b and 4c) is launched. This verification window preferably describes the incentive item that will be clipped and the name of the consumer member identified by the cookie (and thus upon which IMN account the clipped item will be stored) . Additionally, this verification window also preferably allows the web surfing consumer to enter input to initiate various types of actions including going to his account on the IMN (action not shown) , going directly to the site of the advertising merchant (action not shown) , or establishing himself as a different member consumer than identified by the cookie. In such preferred embodiments, the verification window waits for a predetermined time, such as several seconds, to see if an input action (such as selecting the option to login as a different member consumer) is performed 203 by the web browsing consumer. If no action is performed before this time expires, an instruction is sent to the IMN to store the appropriate clipped incentive item 211 on the account of the member consumer identified by the browser cookie, and the verification window is closed 212. In this manner, a web browsing member consumer can save incentive items of interest for later review without having to interrupt what they were doing on the Internet .

In the event that at step 201 an input action by the web surfing consumer (indicating that he is not the member consumer identified in the verification window) is detected, the verification window process splits into one of two paths at 204 depending upon whether the web surfing consumer had indicated that he is not a member of the IMN, or that he is a different member than indicated by the browser cookie. If the web surfing consumer has identified himself as a different member than indicated by the cookie, a IMN login form is launched 207 within the verification window. The web surfing consumer is then asked to enter his IMN login and password such that the clipped incentive item can be saved to the appropriate account on the IMN. If the web surfing consumer enters a correct login and password pair, then the cookie file on the hard drive is updated to reflect the appropriate member consumer 209, the incentive item is clipped and stored in the correct member user's account 211 and the verification window is closed 212. From this point forward, therefore, future clicks upon clippable banner advertisements (this iterative process indicated by the dashed line connecting steps 212 and 200) would be automatically saved to the appropriate member consumer's account without the need for entering a login and password.

If at step 204 it is determined that the web surfing consumer has identified himself as not being a member of the IMN and wanting to become a member, a registration form is launched 205 in the verification window. Additionally, in preferred embodiments, if a web browsing consumer at step 208 has not entered an appropriate login and password pair, that consumer can be redirected to the registration form at step 209. This registration form allows non -members to enter necessary personal information and create a login and p assword to become a member of the IMN, and preferably to perform administrative functions such as, for example, requesting help regarding forgotten passwords (this feature being useful in the case of existing users being routed from the login form due to an invalid login at step 208) . If the web surfing consumer has successfully completed the registration form and become a member of the IMN, a cookie is saved to his hard drive 209 (identifying the new member consumer for future web browsing) , the clippable incentive item associated with the banner advertisement is saved to his new account 211 on the IMN, and the verification window is closed 212. In the event that the web surfing consumer does not complete the registration form successfully, his main browser window is redirected 210 to the advertising merchant's web site.

Returning to step 201, in cases wherein there is no cookie on the hard drive to identify the web browsing consumer as potentially being a member of the IMN, a pop up window is launched 213 giving the web surfer the opportunity to either chose to login as an IMN member or to sign up and become a member. Optionally, this pop up window could be designed such that if it is manually closed by the web surfer without completing the login form or registration form that the browser is automatically redirected to the advertising merchant's web site. Depending upon the choice made, either the registration form is launched 205 in the pop up window or the login form is launched 207 and the process pro ceeds substantially as described above.

While figure 2 depicts the process whereby clippable incentive items are clipped from Internet banner advertisements, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that the above -described mechanism can be easily adapted to operation with current interactive television systems. Each interactive television set -top box could be associated by the IMN with the account of a given member consumer. In this manner, as incentive items associated with interactive TV banner advertisements are clipped by the member consumer using his remote control, the relevant information is automatically entered into the appropriate account.

In such embodiments of the invention utilizing interactive TV as an advertising medium, set-top reception boxes could locally store clipped incentive item data locally in memory, such as a smart card, and then transmit the information later to the IMN (such as in bulk) . Optionally, incentive items stored locally can be reviewed by the member consumer before the items are stored on the IMN (such as during a future commercial break) .

Once member consumers have saved clippable items to their accounts, they can view profiles of their accounts by accessing the IMN, preferably over the Internet u sing a standard web browser application. Once logged into their password protected accounts, each consumer member is able to view and manage all clipped incentive items in his account. Figure 5 depicts a sample web page 500 where member consumers can manage clipped incentive items according to preferred embodiments of the present invention.

As shown in figure 5, a web page profile view according to this preferred embodiment allows the member consumer to have his incentive items sorted, either automatically or manually, into several "folders." In the example provided, these folders can be being accessible through the "tabs" located along the top of the screen (named "Coupons," "Game Pieces," "Freebies," etc.) Along the left side of the profile view is a listing that details how many clipped incentive items are present in each folder.

The main part of the member's profile view lists the clipped incentive items stored in the folder in question (in this case, clipped coupons in the "Coupons" folder) that belong to that member. As shown in the figure, in preferred embodiments each coupon listing is provided with a symbol identifying the sponsoring advertiser or merchant, a hyperlink to a web site for the advertiser, a short description of the coupon promotion, an indication of how the coupon was obtained

(e.g., clipped from Internet, Interactive TV, or a print advertisement, or obtained in a trade/gift/purchase from another member, etc.), an expiration date, and any actions

(such as redemption) that are associated with the incentive item. Using this profile view, a member consumer can select a particular incentive item and then redeem it (described in detail below) , visit any e -commerce web sites associated with the clipped item, print the clipped item and bring it to a brick and mortar store, give, trade, or sell the clipped item to another member, designate the item for automatic swapping for more desired incentive items, or delete the incentive item if no longer wanted.

As will be readily appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, various web authoring features can be utilized to improve the ease of use and feel of the above described profile view. For example, new clippable incentive items (added since the member's last login into the IMN) could optionally be shown highlighted in a different color for ease in distinguishing them. Additionally, a search feature could help a member quickly locate a particular clipped coupon or game piece .

Further, a member consumer may access their account and view their profiles through a variety of means outside of traditional Internet web browser connectivity. For example, condensed profile views can be made available over the mobile Internet. Similarly, the IMN could be linked to an interactive TV broadcaster to allow a TV-adapted view of the member consumer's account profile through their home television screen. In this manner, the member consumer could be transferred to an interactive TV shopping channel, along with relevant incentive item information, to redeem a particular clipped offer.

Additionally, because each consumer member's account is online, it is able to provide many valuable benefits beyond merely storing and organizing clipped items. Once a consumer member has saved a clippable item to his account, for example, alerts can be sent via email to a consumer member when a particular clipped coupon or other promotion is about to expire. Further, consumer members can access e-commerce or information sites related to the clipped items and electronically redeem clipped promotions or coupons. Additionally, background information on the clipped item can be provided for consumer member to read at his leisure.

In preferred embodiments of the present invention, each user can give away, sell and trade any c lipped incentive items in their accounts as one would be able to do with paper coupons and promotional items in real life. In this manner, the advertising is allowed to reach as many interested consumers as possible.

With respect to trading of incentive items, this can be performed in a traditional bargain/barter model whereby two or more member consumers first negotiate the terms of an acceptable trade (such as over email or "live" in a provided chat room) and then designate each incentive item as being "put in escrow" for a trade with the other member. Once each item is put in_. escrow, the trade is immediately concluded automatically by the IMN software and each item will now appear in the other member consumer's account profile.

With respect to the sale of incentive items, unwanted incentive items can be sold using the same bargain/barter model as described above for trading (two members discussing terms and then closing the deal in escrow) , or using an auction model. In the auction model, users would list any unwanted incentive items as being up for auction, and then accept bids (in terms of money other incentive items, or both) from any member for a certain amount of time.

In preferred embodiments of the present invention, the IMN software allows the automatic swapping of clipped incentive items amongst member consumers in a stock exchange - like environment. In such embodiments, member consumers are able identify desired items that they wish to obtain and previously clipped items that are now unwanted and offered for trade. The IMN software allows the member consumers, using their account profiles, to use available preset weightings on more valued clipped items to ensure fair swaps are generated, and the software performs queries on each member consumer's desired and offered clipped items and automatically makes swaps to satisfy as many member consumers as possible. Additionally, with respect to e-commerce based incentive items, such as a percentage discount coupon for an e-merchant web site, member consumers can redeem the incentive with the e-merchant from their account on the IMN. A preferred electronic redemption process is depicted by figure 3. A member consumer begins the electronic redemption process by first logging into his account on the IMN 301. He then reviews his clipped incentive items 302 as described above to find the desired electronically redeemable incentive item, such as an electronic coupon for 40% off a single purchase item at a particular merchant web site. After the appropriate incentive item has been found, he selects to electronically redeem the incentive 303, such as by clicking on a button or hyperlink in the item record with his profile. At this point, his browser is automatically redirected 305 to the web site associated in the advertiser database with the selected .incentive item. Preferably, not only is the member consumer's web browser automatically redirected to the appropriate redemption site, but also to a particular web page especially designed for use by members of the IMN.

In addition to redirecting the web browser to the redemption site, the IMN sends the incentive description code for the incentive item in question to the remdemption site. Thus, once the member consumer "arrives" at the redemption site, the site automatically recognizes him and the fact that he qualifies for incentive (e.g., 40% off a purchase) associated with the clipped incentive item, and the act of completing a transaction at the redemption site (such as making a purchase with the 40% off coupon) is made much easier.

Once the member consumer has completed the incentive redemption transaction 306, such as by entering billing and shipping information for an online purchase, the advertiser's/merchant's redemption site sends a receipt code back to the IMN 307 that informs the IMN that the consumer has redeemed the incentive. The IMN then uses this receipt code to update the member consumer's account 308 such as by deleting the incentive item from the account if it can be only redeemed once, or by updating redemtption records available to the member consumer that itemizes the money saved, real life items obtained, or incentive items otherwise redeemed using the IMN.

Additionally, the receipt code subsequently is used to update advertiser campaign data 309 stored in the advertiser database. This data, generated automatically by a member consumer redeeming a particular incentive item or clipping an incentive item, is made accesible to administrators of each member advertiser (preferably over t he Internet via a standard web borwser) , and helps the member advertisers track the results of particular advertising campaigns in essentially real time.

One skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the above-described electronic redemption process of figure 3 can be adapted to use with printed coupons at traditional brick and mortar retail stores. Instead of selecting to electronically redeem an incentive at step 303, the member consumer can elect to use his local printer (element 109d in figure 1) to make a printed coupon (11, figure 1) and redeem that printed coupon in the traditional manner at a retail store (108, figure 1) . This printed coupon can optionally be equipped with generic or unique barcodes related to the incentive description code or complying with UPC or other known standards. The retail store could then electronically send a receipt code to the IMN in order to update the member consumer's account and the advertiser's campaign data accordingly.

Additionally, a member consumer having access to a mobile Internet device, such as a web -enabled mobile phone (element 109b in figure 1) , can set preferences in his account profile on the IMN such that a reminder is sent to his mobile Internet device whenever he is near a brick and mortar store that would redeem a particular clipped incentive item. The retail store could then accept an incentive description code from the consumer member or the consumer member's mobile Internet device to complete a transaction and redeem the incentive electronically similar to the manner described above .

Since all clippable incentive items according to the present invention are associated in the user advertiser database with specific advertising or promotional campaigns via their incentive description codes, the IMN uses a web based advertiser interface to turn each clippable incentive item into a dynamic marketing tool. The advertiser interface allows each member advertiser to query and access data relating to the performance of a particular incentive campaign (such as how many clippable incentive items were viewed, how many were clipped, how many were redeemed, etc.) and track and report this performance using statistical analyses and charts. Further, these track and reporting features can be focused by a member advertiser such that only data relating to a specific advertising media, campaign, demographic of consumer, etc., is considered during the tracking and reporting processes. Using these tracking and reporting features, member advertisers can adjust the incentives offered by their clippable incentive items in real time to pique consumer awareness and drive economic responses even after the incentive campaign has been underway for some time.

For example, a particular member advertiser reviews the data for a particular incentive campaign that involved a clippable coupon redeemable for $100 off a Las Vegas hotel stay purchase if purchased online and finds that a large portion of people have clipped the coupons and have visited the redemption site but have not redeemed the coupon (i.e., made a reservation) . This data may be interpreted by the administrator of the member advertiser as an indication that many consumers are interested in staying in Las Vegas at a discount, but that the discount maybe wasn' t high enough to induce purchases, or that the time period should be extended. In real time, the advertiser could extend the expiration date (in the advertiser database) of the coupon in the hope that airline fares would decrease and thus the number of vi sitors to Las Vegas would rise. This action would cause all displays of the clipped coupon in each member consumer profile to show and use the new expiration data as well as update each electronic clippable banner advertisement carrying the coupon. In this manner, campaigns using clippable incentive items according to the present invention can respond to market factors in real time without ignoring customers who have already "clipped" the coupon. Optionally, an email message announcing the extension of the offer could be sent to each member consumer having the incentive item saved in their account to help push the campaign change .

Alternative embodiments of the present invention further include a secure redemption model for the redemption of coupons or incentives stored online in a user portfolio. A first such secure redemption model first includes t he member advertiser, such as a manufacturer or retailer, who intends to distribute a coupon according to the present invention, initially provides to the IMN (or alternatively to any associated media company/portal or the like that has subscribers and utilizes IMN infrastructure technology as herein described) secured credit for the estimated value of the discount for the amount of coupons that are projected to be redeemed for its coupon campaign. Alternatively, of course, this could comprise an actual advance payment of the estimated value.

Once the member advertiser has set up a particular inventive/coupon campaign and has secured/made advance payment, the campaign begins and member users can collect and then redeem an on-line coupon that he has stored in his online portfolio in the IMN by printing it from his portfolio. In secured redemption models according to the present invention, once a coupon is printed from a member user portfolio, the IMN deletes it from that portfolio. The coupon is printed with the UPC code and a unique identifier ("Unique ID") for that member user on the coupon. For example, this unique ID can comprise an extended code which h as a unique 8 digit ID for that coupon series/ last 4 digits of users credit card and name appearing on the credit card/ etc. The IMN registers that the specific user has printed the coupon with that Unique ID and registers an unauthorized credit to his name for the amount of the discount .

The member user takes the printed coupon to the store, gives the store the coupon and purchases the product to which the coupon relates. At this time, the member user pays the store the full price for the product without receiving from the store any discount (i.e., the value of the coupon is not redeemed at the store ' s cash register) . Nothing more is required of the store but to take the coupon and pass it on to a coupon clearing house or the IMN.

Although the member user will not receive the discount at the point of purchase as a consumer would with traditional coupons (i.e., no "instant gratification"), the member user can optionally receive a message upon printing the coupon (even before redeeming at the store) that a credit of X cents has been recorded for him which he will receive in cash or in kind at a later time (such as the end of the month as described below) following his purchase of the product and redemption of the coupon. This notice optionally can also b e printed on the coupon itself so as to ensure that the member user is aware that he must pay the full price of the product in the store and that a credit has been recorded for him in his IMN portfolio in the amount of the discount. The store then sends the printed coupon to a clearing house which takes all the coupons received and records a list of all the Unique ID numbers on the received coupons . This Unique ID list for the coupon series is sent to IMN (alternatively, of course, the store could send the coupons directly back to IMN for processing of the list) . IMN then compares the Unique ID numbers in the list of redeemed coupons with IMN' s list of redeemed ID' s for the coupon series (i.e. with IMN's list of users that are registered at IMN as having printed the coupon from their portfolios and against whom an unauthorized credit has been recorded) . For each redeemed Unique ID on IMN' s list that matches a Unique ID on the list received from the clearing house/store, IMN authorizes the credit recorded for that user in his portfolio with respect to the discount on the relevant coupon. (The user only receives one credit (i.e. discount) per coupon printed from his portfolio (i.e. per Unique ID recorded at IMN) , regardless of the number of coupons he provi des the store (thus even if the coupon is printed, photocopied or copied in any other manner and IMN receives from the clearing house a list containing the coupon' s Unique ID more than one time (or receives directly back more than one copy of the coupon) , that user will still only receive one credit per Unique ID (i.e. per coupon he collected and printed from his portfolio) . In such embodiments of the secure redemption model, member user preferably should be educated to an awareness that he can only receive one discount per coupon in the portfolio, even if the consumer photocopies or prints it multiple times and uses more than one copy in the store. As such, in preferred embodiments, when the member user prints the coupon there can be a message box displayed that explains this issue and he will have to click a button at end of the message to continue to print. This information can also be printed on the coupon itself in the terms of use. Of course, in embodiments of the invention, the advertiser, distributor, manufacturer and/or retailer initiating the incentive campaign can allow more than one discount per coupon as this is a decision that is made when defining the incentive campaign with the IMN. In such cases, the IMN will set the parameters per each Unique ID as to how many discounts will be accepted per Unique ID (and credits authorized) based upon the campaign registered by the incentive campaign initiator. The message referred to above in this paragraph will of course vary in accordance with each campaign's parameters.

The IMN then passes on to the media company/portal or the like (e.g. any company with subscribers) who is utilizing the IMN infrastructure technology the record of authorized credits for discounts redeemed. That company with subscribers then credits the member users ' credit cards with the amount of the discount. Alternatively, of course, the IMN could do this itself, but would first need to request credit card information from the user to keep on file. Crediting of a user's 'credit card can be done at set intervals on larger amounts, such as monthly. For a media company/portal or the like these amounts can be deducted off monthly subscription fees as a member benefit for shopping with discounts via their service and thus in this manner also encourage use of their shopping services. This credit, of course, can optionally also tie up to other benefits being provided by the IMN, media company/portal, or incentive campaign initiator by allowing the member user to choose to take the redemption amount due in the form of other benefits instead of cash, such as other coupons, frequent flyer miles or any other points or benefit available to subscribers.

The media company/portal or the like (e.g. any company with subscribers) or IMN itself, t en delivers an invoice for the amount of redeemed coupons plus any charges for the service (if any) to the coupon distributor who provided the coupon (e.g. manufacturer/retailer) or to their bank at whom credit is secured and receives payment direct (Of course, this can also be done before crediting users' credit cards) . All amounts invoiced are backed up by IMN's record of redeemed coupons as matched by the list of Unique ID's received from the clearing house and/or copies of the redeemed coupons returned by the store.

As will be readily appreciated by one skilled in the art, utilization of the above described secure redemption model for coupons means that if a member user, Mr. Y, prints the coupon and then gives the coupon to someone else, Mr. Y will still receive the credit. In other words, for a member user to obtain a^' discount he must have printed the coupon from his own IMN portfolio. Thus, if a member user wants to give the coupon to someone else, he will need to swap it with them or gift it to them within the IMN system as described above. Thus, the party receiving the coupon will need to be member users (in which case they will need to join and open a portfolio to receive and use the coupon if they aren't a member user already) . This further st rengthens the member benefit aspect, i.e. that only a member of the media company/portal or the like (e.g. any company with subscribers) utilizing the IMN infrastructure technology can use the coupons according to the present invention. Thus, consumers are further encouraged to become subscribers .

A second such secure redemption model employed in alternative embodiments of the present invention is similar to the above-described first secure redemption model, but additionally includes printing unique ident ifiers on a coupon when it is printed from an IMN portfolio. For example, upon requesting the printing of a coupon in his portfolio, the member user is required to type a personal identifier such as the last 4 digits of his credit card number and the name appearing on his credit card (and his IMN username) which are all printed on the coupon. Alternatively, the printed coupon can contain a watermark (a picture/logo or any image in a color tone that is unable to be photocopied) .

Thus, upon presentation of the coupon at the register, the store scans the UPC code and checks the name and numbers appearing on the coupon against the shoppers actual credit card number and name appearing on his card. In this manner, the store can ensure that the coupon belongs t o that user and that the user never copied it and sent it to friends . This is also a deterrent to the user to copy the coupon and use it a multitude of times since it is uniquely identified to him and upon review of coupons (having the Unique ID's) returned to the IMN any misuse can be directly traced to the particular member user since the IMN knows how many actual coupons that member user had in his portfolio. By checking the watermark, the store can also ensure that the coupon is an original printed coupon from a portfolio and not a photocopy.

Various modifications of the embodiments herein disclosed will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art after reading the above. Any and all such modifications are intended to be covered by the application as claimed.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic on-line network for the saving, managing, and redeeming of clippable incentive items by consumers, comprising.- an electronic computer network adapted to receive and store indicia of said consumer incentive items for a plurality of member consumers, said computer network comprising an incentive issuer database and a member consumer database, and said computer network comprising a processor connected to said databases and wherein said processor is operative to control the storage, management and redemption of incentive items by said member consumers over said electronic computer network, and wherein said processor is operative to compile statistics relating to the storage, management, and redemption of said incentive items.

2. The network of claim 1, wherein said electronic computer network is accessible by said member consumers via the Internet .

3. The network of claim 1, wherein said incentive issuer database contains information on a plurality of incentive issuers selected from the group consisting of advertisers, merchants, and advertising management firms.

4. The network of claim 1, wherein said member consumer database contains member information pertaining to an account for each member user, said member information including identification data and incentive item indicia data, said incentive item indicia data describing incentive items saved to each of said member users' accounts.

5. The network of claim 1, wherein said incentive issuer database contains information associating incentives with said clippable incentive items, and statistics information detailing the storage, management, and redemption habits of said member consumers with respect to said incentive items .

6. The network of claim 1, wherein said incentive issuer database contains information detailing the identity of a plurality of incentive issuers that are members of said electronic on-line system, and said incentive issuer database further containing information pertaining to incentive campaigns associated with said incentive items.

7. The network of claim 1, wherein said management of said incentive items by said member consumers over said electronic computer network includes tasks selected from the group consisting of reviewing said incentive items, trading said incentive items to another user, designating one or more of said incentive items for automatic swapping with other member consumers, selling said incentive items, and setting reminders relevant to the expiration of said incentive items.

8. The network of claim 1, wherein said incentive items are selected from the group consisting of coupons, vouchers, game pieces, and collectible promotional items.

9. The network of claim 1, wherein said processor is operative to control the redemption of incentive items by said member consumers according to a secure redemption model whereby a printed coupon can be produced at the request of a member consumer, said printed coupon having a unique identifier associated therewith, and wherein sa id computer network stores said unique identifier in said databases to track and authorize redemption of said printed coupon.

10. The network of claim 9, wherein said member consumer database contains member information pertaining to an account for each member user and wherein an electronically redeemable credit is assigned to a requesting member user's account when a printed coupon is redeemed appropriately.

11. The network of claim 9, wherein said unique identified is printed on said printed coupon.

12. A clippable incentive item adapted to stored and managed on an electronic computer network by member consumers of said network, said clippable incentive item comprising: an incentive item description code, said description code being associated with terms of a consumer incentive offered to member consumers having said incentive item, said terms being electronically stored on said electronic computer network wherein said clippable incentive item can be stored on said electronic computer network irrespec tive of the media by which said member consumers obtain said clippable incentive item.

13. The clippable incentive item according to claim 12, wherein said terms described an incentive type selected from the group consisting of a coupon, a voucher, a game piece, and a collectible promotional item.

14. The clippable incentive item according to claim 12, wherein said incentive item description code can be transferred to an advertising party in order to redeem said incentive item.

15. The clippable incentive item according to claim 12, wherein said electronic computer network allows said member consumers to perform management actions with respect to said clippable incentive item, said management actions being of an action type selected from the group consist! ng of reviewing said incentive item, trading said incentive item to another user, designating said incentive item for automatic swapping with other member consumers, selling said incentive item, and setting reminders relevant to an expiration date of said incentive item.

16. The clippable incentive item according to claim 12, wherein said media is selected from the group consisting of print, television, interactive television, radio, electronic mailing and Internet banner advertising.

17. The clippable incentive item according to claim 12, wherein said incentive item is adapted to be redeemed by said member consumers according to a secure redemption model provided by said electronic computer network whereby a printed coupon can be produced at the request of a member consumer, said printed coupon having a unique identifier associated therewith, and wherein said electronic computer network stores said unique identifier to track and authorize redemption of said printed coupon.

18. The network of claim 17, wherein said electronic computer network retains information pertaining to an account for each member user and wherein an electronically redeemable credit is assigned to a requesting member user's account when a printed coupon is redeemed appropriately.

19. The network of claim 17, wherein said unique identified is printed on said printed coupon.