Data communications network and method for filtering events offered by service providers

Abstract

The present invention relates to a computer implemented data communications network, system and method for filtering events such as live events, etc, offered by service providers in a manner that avoids or at least reduces receipt of irrelevant event promotional material by individuals in an online environment. The steps include receiving details regarding particular event service providers and / or categories of event promotions of interest to a user, and details regarding criteria for filtering event information. The steps further include receiving incoming event promotion information from service providers and storing same such that the event promotion information is filtered and / or arranged according to the user's preferred criteria. In this way, users are enabled to utilise their device to review the stored information pertaining to event promotions offered by service providers according to said criteria.

Description

DATA COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK AND METHOD FOR FILTERING EVENTS OFFERED BY SERVICE PROVIDERSFIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to a computer implemented data communications network, system and method for filtering promotional offers regarding events (eg. live events) offered by on-line service providers in a manner that avoids or at least reduces receipt of irrelevant event promotional material by potentially interested individuals in an online environment.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The internet has transformed the way individuals are exposed to, and provided with, event-related promotional information. Before the emergence of the internet, individuals received such information typically in the form of paper leaflets delivered to their home postal boxes, bill-board advertising, paper catalogue advertising, and / or television and radio advertising. Although such promotional offerings inevitably included at least some services of little or no interest to consumers, since the volume of material was typically much less as compared with the volume of material received in an online environment, individuals remained able to manage such information with respect to sorting through the information and discarding and / or ignoring any event promotions of little or no interest.

[0003] Presently, the majority of event promotions offered by service providers such as theatres, bars, nightclubs, restaurants, cafes, etc, occurs in online environments. A user’s personal details including their personal email address, personal mobile phone number, and / or social media accounts such as Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, are usually captured by such service providers and / or third party data collection agents, typically as a result of users subscribing to a website, conducting a search for topics of interest, responding to an online promotion or effecting purchases, either at a physical outlet or online. Once service providers and / or third party data collection agents have obtained such personal user contact details, they have the means to transmit event promotions to such users.

[0004] As a result, users are generally inundated with a large amount of email correspondence, text messages by short message service (SMS) and material in their social media accounts, relating to event promotional offers. The inability of users to control the information they receive results in users either ignoring a large amount of event information received in their email and social media accounts and telephone messages, or failing to recognise promotional offers of particular interest received within a large amount of information. Service providers hosting such events are also affected by this problem since they experience reduced take up (engagement) from consumers as a result of consumers being inundated with a large number of largely irrelevant event promotions which results in the service providers’ promotional material being missed or disregarded by consumers who would otherwise potentially have an interest in attending event(s) hosted by the service providers.

[0005] The abovementioned problems are often exacerbated as a result of the time nature of such event offerings. When a particular event is approaching and there are remaining tickets to sell in respect of the event, there is often limited time remaining for event service providers to attract interest and sell their remaining tickets through traditional channels such as via text message, social media, and email.

[0006] In one example, a restaurant owner may employ staff to work on a particular night expecting the restaurant to be patronized to full capacity, but due to unforeseen circumstances, it may be realised closer to the event date that full capacity is unlikely to be achieved and the restaurant may lose money if available tables are not booked. In this example, it would be beneficial for the restaurant owner to be able to direct an event promotion, such as a “free entree” on the particular night, to a target audience likely to accept the offer with confidence that the offer will be received and viewed by the target audience. It can therefore be important in the final minutes, hours, days and / or weeks leading up to an event for offers relevant to the event, including last minute promotional offers, to reach their target audience and thereby maximise sales for event service providers.

[0007] The present invention seeks to mitigate the problems discussed herein, or at least seeks to provide an alternative technical solution to the problem described above in relation to existing online retail platforms, systems and methods.

[0008] The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgement or any suggestion, that the prior art forms part of the common general knowledge.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] In one aspect, the present invention provides a data communications network including connected data communications devices and a method of operating same for generating a store of filtered promotions regarding events offered by service providers, the method including, establishing, by one or more processors, individual accounts for one or more users seeking to establish a filtered promotions store regarding event promotions offered by one or more service providers, receiving, by one or more processors, details from a user of the one or more users regarding particular event service providers and / or categories of event promotions of interest, receiving, by one or more processors, details from the user regarding criteria for filtering event information from service providers that is received and stored, the criteria including any one or more of the geo-location of the event, event type, category, event price, or event date, receiving, by one or more processors, incoming event promotion information from one or more service providers and storing same in association with the user’s account, the stored event promotion information filtered and / or arranged according to the criteria previously established by the user, and enabling, by one or more processors, access to a data communications device of the user to the filtered promotions store including information filtered and / or arranged according to the criteria previously established by the user such that the user is enabled to utilise their data communications device to review the stored information pertaining to event promotions offered by service providers according to said criteria.

[0010] In an embodiment, the criteria for filtering event information from event service providers additionally includes one or more of event ticket availability, details regarding public and / or private transport facilities to and from the event, or details regarding publicly accessible amenities at the event including one or more of toilets, medical care and evacuation points. One or more artificial intelligence techniques may be utilised to provide additional filtering criteria that is automatically applied to provide a more targeted subset of event promotions for inclusion in the store of filtered promotions for each of the one or more individual accounts.

[0011] In an embodiment, the method further includes establishing, by one or more processors, individual accounts for each event service provider, receiving, by one or more processors, details relating to one or more events proposed to be hosted by each of theone or more event service providers including a venue and a commencement time and date for the event, and prompting, by one or more processors, each event service provider to generate or select a promotion relating to the one or more events, wherein the promotion is included rather than filtered out of event promotion information provided to users when the users’ criteria for filtering event information substantially matches, according to a similarity threshold, the details relating to the one or more events submitted by the service provider.

[0012] In an embodiment, selecting or generating an event promotion for the event(s) includes one or more of, automatically establishing, by one or more processors, an event promotion according to the details relating to each event proposed to be hosted by the event service provider, including the venue and the commencement time and date for the event, receiving, by one or more processors, a service provider selection of an event promotion from a plurality of available event promotions presented to the service provider for selection, or receiving, by one or more processors, an event promotion created by the service provider.

[0013] In an embodiment, automatically establishing an event promotion according to the details relating to each event proposed to be hosted by the event service provider is facilitated by the use of one or more artificial intelligence techniques such that the automatically established event promotion takes into account one or more promotion objectives of the service provider.

[0014] In an embodiment, the one or more artificial intelligence techniques also take into account historical data including, but not limited to, cancellation and rescheduling data in respect of previous events, previous searches conducted by users, previous user reviews, and data obtained from real-time monitoring of live promotional campaigns.

[0015] In an embodiment, the method further includes, scanning, by one or more processors, a previous browsing history of the user to identify service providers and / or event categories of interest according to the user’s prior searching, posting and / or purchasing history, and associating details relating to the identified service provider(s) and / or event category(ies) of interest with the user account.

[0016] In an embodiment, the method further includes, providing the user, by one or more processors, a search facility for the purpose of conducting searches regardingstored event information, wherein upon accessing the search facility the user is prompted to conduct a keyword search of the stored event information.

[0017] In an embodiment, the method further includes, providing, by one or more processors, a range of filtering criteria for selection by the user during use of the search facility such that the filtering criteria are applied to search results, the filtering criteria including any one or more of the criteria the user is prompted to select for filtering event information, the filtering criteria including one or more of an exact match, a similar match, event date, event type, category, event price, event geo-location, event ticket availability, details regarding public and / or private transport facilities to and from the event, or details regarding publicly accessible amenities at the event including one or more of toilets, medical care and evacuation points.

[0018] In an embodiment, subsequent to a search conducted in respect of a particular event service provider and / or event category of interest, the method further includes, providing, by one or more processors, information regarding all available promotions occurring at the same or a similar time as the particular promotion(s) returned in search results and within a predetermined geographical vicinity thereof.

[0019] In an embodiment, the method further includes, providing the user, by one or more processors, with an alert and / or notification when new details are received regarding an event service provider and / or event according to an event category of interest.

[0020] In an embodiment, when an alert and / or notification is received with new details regarding an event service provider and / or event according to an event category of interest, the method further includes attaching, by one or more processors, images and / or video content as part of the alert and / or notification, the images and / or video content relating to any promotion offered by the particular service provider.

[0021] In an embodiment, the method further includes providing the user, by one or more processors, with a calendar facility enabling the user to register promotions of interest in the calendar to remind the user regarding commencement of the event promotion.

[0022] In an embodiment, the method further includes providing, by one or more processors, a secure payment facility enabling the user to conduct secure financialtransactions via the payment facility including to initiate payment to a service provider upon acceptance of an event promotion.

[0023] In a further aspect, the present invention provides a computer-implemented system for generating a store of filtered promotions regarding events offered by service providers, the system including, one or more processors operable to, establish individual accounts for one or more users seeking to establish a filtered promotions store regarding event promotions offered by one or more service providers, receive details from the user of the one or more users regarding particular event service providers and / or categories of event promotions of interest, receive details from the user regarding criteria for filtering event information from service providers that is received and stored, the criteria including any one or more of the geo-location of the event, event type or category, event price, or event date, receive incoming event promotion information from the one or more service providers and storing same in association with the user’s account, the stored event promotion information filtered and / or arranged according to the criteria previously established by the user, and enable access to a data communications device of the user to the filtered promotions store including information filtered and / or arranged according to the criteria previously established by the user such that the user is enabled to utilise their data communications device to review the stored information pertaining to event promotions offered by service providers according to said criteria.

[0024] In a still further aspect, the present invention provides a non-transitory computer- readable medium including computer instruction code that, when executed on a computer, causes one or more processors of the computer to perform the steps of, establishing individual accounts for one or more users seeking to establish a filtered promotions store regarding event promotions offered by one or more service providers, receiving details from a user of the one or more users regarding particular event service providers and / or categories of event promotions of interest, receiving details from the user regarding criteria for filtering event information from service providers that is received and stored, the criteria including any one or more of geo-location of the event, event type or category, event price, or event date, receiving incoming event promotion information from the one or more service providers and storing same in association with the user’s account, the stored event promotion information filtered and / or arranged according to the criteria previously established by the user, and enabling access to a data communications deviceof the user to the filtered promotions store including information filtered and / or arranged according to the criteria previously established by the user such that the user is enabled to utilize their data communications device to review the stored information pertaining to event promotions offered by service providers according to said criteria.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Embodiments of the invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying Figures in which:

[0026] Figure 1 provides an overview of a data communications network according to an embodiment of the present invention showing, in particular, the interaction of various network components;

[0027] Figure 2 illustrates a diagram associated with an exemplary server component of the network illustrated in Figure 1 ;

[0028] Figure 3 illustrates an exemplary flow diagram of a process that enables users to download and install a software application, and subsequently access, or register to use, the software application for interaction with the network illustrated in Figure 1 , including to upload details regarding particular event service providers and / or categories of event promotions of interest to the user, and criteria for filtering received information;

[0029] Figure 4 illustrates an exemplary flow diagram of a process that enables service providers promoting events to upload information relating to their offerings, and the subsequent generation of a filtered promotions store for display to the user to enable the user to review information filtered and / or arranged according to criteria previously established by the user;

[0030] Figure 5 illustrates an exemplary flow diagram of a process that enables searching to be undertaken by users, and notifications to be issued to users based upon new details being received regarding event promotions from particular service providers or where the new promotion belongs to a particular category of interest to the user; and

[0031] Figure 6 illustrates an example promotion interface including images and / or video content relating to the particular event promotion, an example library I calendar interface, and an example service provider interface.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT(S) OF THE INVENTION

[0032] For simplicity and illustrative purposes, the present disclosure is described by referring to embodiment(s) thereof. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a better understanding of the present disclosure. It will be readily apparent, however, that the current disclosure may be practiced without limitation to various specific details. In other instances, some features have not been described in detail to avoid obscuring the present disclosure.

[0033] An embodiment of the present invention relates to a computer-implemented data communications network and system, and a method for generating an online store (170) of filtered event promotions (65) offered by service providers (60) promoting the event(s). In particular, the network, system and method provide a platform that hosts a computerexecutable software application (40), wherein the application (40) is accessible by a plurality of users (30) seeking to view event promotions offered by service providers (60) such that only relevant information of interest is received and displayed in the store (170), as described in greater detail below. In particular, the network and system of one embodiment described herein utilises a data communications device in the form of a central server (20) in communication with data communication user devices (50) associated with each user (30).

[0034] The central server (20) maintains one or more processors and / or databases for performing functions, including establishing an individual account for one or more users (30) seeking to access a filtered event promotions store (170) regarding event promotions (65) offered by service providers (60), receiving details from a user (30) regarding particular service providers (60) of interest and / or categories of event promotions (65) of interest, and receiving details from the user (30) regarding criteria for filtering such event information as it is received and stored, the criteria including one or more of geo-location details regarding the event, the category of the event, the price of the event, or the date of the event. The central server (20) also receives incoming event information relating to promotions (65) from one or more event service providers (60) and is configured to store same in association with the user’s account such that the stored event promotional information is filtered and / or arranged according to the criteria previously established by the user (30).

[0035] In this way, the user (30) may utilize their device (50) to access the information filtered and / or arranged according to the user’s pre-defined criteria such that the user (30) may review the stored information pertaining to event promotions (65) offered by service providers (60) according to their preferred criteria. Accordingly, a curated feed of information is established in relation to promotions in respect of events offered by service providers (60), and the feed provides users (30) with a means by which to access the information such that the user (30) controls the filtering and / or arranging of information, wherein the event information of greatest interest is not readily missed or overlooked in a deluge of event information provided by service providers (60). The problem regarding users (30) being inundated with a large amount of promotional correspondence relating to events and associated promotional offers, and the inability to control the particular information they receive, is therefore addressed. Accordingly, there is a reduced prospect of users (30) either ignoring or failing to recognise promotional offers relating to events of interest that may otherwise be embedded within large amounts of information.

[0036] Collating event information from service providers (60) who publish information regarding event promotions such that the user (30) may establish criteria that curates the information individually received in association with the user’s account on the platform addresses or at least significantly ameliorates the problem described herein. Therefore, upon accessing their account, users (30) are provided with curated event-related information (170) thereby increasing prospects that the most relevant event promotions are readily apparent and accessible for review. The skilled addressee will also appreciate that service providers (60) promoting such event(s) will benefit from users (30) being more readily able to access event information of interest since this will increase the prospects of additional tickets to event(s) being purchased.

[0037] Figure 1 is divided into Segments which are further detailed in subsequent Figures 2 to 6. In particular, Segment 200 of Figure 1 shows the server component (20) with which the software application (40) operating on data communication devices (50) of users (30) are configured to communicate. It will be apparent to the person skilled in the relevant field of technology that the software application (40) may be a mobile application or a web-based application and, similarly, the data communication devices (50) utilised by users (30) may be portable devices such as mobile (cell) phones, tablets or laptops,or alternatively, fixed location computer devices such as workstations or personal computers. The server component (20) is additionally detailed in Figure 2.

[0038] The skilled person will appreciate that the steps described herein may be executed by the devices (50), wherein such operations are facilitated by the software application (40) operating on each device. According to another implementation of the present invention, the server (20) is programmed and configured to provide all the functions described herein where they cannot be provided locally on the user devices (50), or where it may be impractical or commercially or technically infeasible to operate such a configuration. In other words, the steps described herein as performed by the device (50), or components of the device (50) described as implementing the invention, may be associated with hardware located externally of the device (50), such as the remote central server (20) (ie. in a distributed architecture). Different arrangements are possible in this regard, and alternate variations that do not depart from the scope of the present invention will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant field of technology.

[0039] Segment 300 of Figure 1 shows a user (30) downloading and installing the application (40) and subsequently accessing the application (40) to establish an account and user profile, as further detailed in Figure 3. Segment 400 of Figure 1 illustrates how event information may be received from one or more service providers (60) and, together with the information uploaded by users (30), enable the generation of a filtered event promotions store (170), as further detailed in Figure 4. Segment 500 of Figure 1 illustrates additional functionality of the software application (40) including a search and notifications interface (190), which is further detailed in Figure 5. Finally, Segment 600 of Figure 1 also illustrates additional functionality of the software application (40) including an event promotion viewing interface (210) including provision for image / video uploads, an image / video library viewing and calendar management interface (210), and a service provider interface (230), as further detailed in Figure 6.

[0040] As mentioned above, Figure 2 depicts Segment 200 of Figure 1 in greater detail and, in particular, Figure 2 shows the server component (20) which includes infrastructure upon which the platform of the present invention operates. The infrastructure may be local or cloud-based.

[0041] The central server (20) may operate one or more computer processors and maintain one or more databases to enable the following functionality and / or storage:• User account register (100) storing user details such as name, age, address, location (70), contact details, identifiers such as driver’s license or passport details, and any additional data which may be relevant for the purpose of identifying each user (30). Register (100) may also store data relating to service providers (60) who register their details for the purpose of uploading information relating to their events and promotions (65) relating thereto;• Data structure (105) which links user accounts to received information including information relating to service providers (60) and / or categories of event promotions of interest to each user (30), criteria for filtering information received and stored, and any other received information that may be relevant with respect to each user (30) and / or service provider (60) including received videos, images, etc. It will be appreciated that the data structure (105) identifies the relationship between particular user accounts stored in the user account register (100) and the received information such that the received information is stored in a manner that enables the subsequent location and retrieval of such information to be achieved more efficiently, wherein such retrieval may occur (and is often required) substantially in real-time;• Data processing functionality (1 10) for processing user input commands and data received to generate relevant outputs for display. For example, data processing functionality (110) may be responsible for filtering and / or arranging incoming information from event service providers (60) using the data structure (105) according to criteria established by users (30). The data processing functionality (1 10) also generates additional interfaces and associated prompts, as required and described herein, based upon processing of user interactions with the application (40);• Search functionality (1 15) enabling searching regarding stored information, including in relation to event promotions (eg. based upon keywords entered by users (30));• Alert / notification functionality (120) enabling alerts and / or notifications to be generated (eg. notifications regarding the receipt of new details regarding a serviceprovider (60) and / or event category of interest including the attachment of any images and / or video content relating to the event promotion(s) (65) offered by the particular service provider (60));• Live calendar functionality (125) enabling users (30) to register interest in event promotions (65) or categories thereof and thereby be reminded when promotions (65) become available; and• Payment functionality (130) for managing financial transactions within the software application (40) including enabling users (30) to purchase and thereby secure available promotions (eg. purchasing tickets to events).

[0042] Figure 2 also depicts server (20) configured to enable communication (140) with the user devices (50) and, in particular, the software applications (40) operating on each device (50). Such communications may occur via the internet or similar network.

[0043] Figure 3 depicts Segment 300 of Figure 1 in greater detail and, in particular, the steps associated with a user (30) installing the application (40) which may be achieved by downloading the application (40) from an application store. Each user (30) may create an account using the application (40) and the account information may be stored in the user account register (100). As described above, the account register (100) may capture information sufficient to enable each user (30) to be correctly identified.

[0044] The process of downloading the application (40) is indicated by arrow (150), and interface (160) is also shown which allows each user (30) to install the application (40) in order to access the functionality thereof, including creation and maintenance of a user profile. In other words, once the application (40) has been accessed by a user (30), the user (30) may be presented with an interface, identical or similar to interface (160), to allow the user (30) to create their profile and be afforded the ability to edit profile details and upload particular information. Once sufficient information is provided by the user (30) and is verified, the user (30) will be successfully registered such that the user (30) becomes a registered user who may then utilise the functionality of the application (40), which may be in accordance with a subscription level of the user (30).

[0045] The information that may be requested of a user (30) at the time of registering includes information relating to particular event service providers (60) and / or categories of event promotions (65) of interest to the user (30), as well as any criteria for filteringand / or arranging information received and stored including information from service providers (60) relating to their event promotions (65). For example, the criteria may be based upon one or more of the user’s geo-location (70), event category, event price, or event date. Such information is subsequently stored and associated with the user’s account through the use of data structure (105) such that the information is filtered and / or arranged according to the filtering criteria established by the user (30).

[0046] Figure 4 shows Segment 400 of Figure 1 in greater detail and, in particular, various service providers (60) from whom information has been received in relation to their event-related services as well as any associated promotions (65). Such details are also stored and associated with the user’s account such that the combination of received and stored information is filtered and / or arranged according to the filtering criteria established by the user (30). This enables the user (30) to review information received and arranged according to their predefined criteria such that the user (30) may review the stored information pertaining to event promotions (65) offered by service providers (60) according to such criteria, as shown by way of example in the filtered event promotions store interface (170).

[0047] The filtering of event promotions for display in the event promotions store interface (170) may also be assisted with the use of one or more artificial intelligence techniques. For example, in addition to taking into account the user-specified filtering criteria, additional filtering criteria may automatically be applied in some circumstances to provide a more targeted subset of event promotions to the user (30). Such additional filtering may occur as a result of user responses to additional queries automatically generated by the platform and presented to the user (30) (eg. when the user-specified filtering criteria gives rise to too many results or results that the user (30) does not consider to be relevant). In one example, a user (30) seeking to book a birthday event on a particular day and time. However, due to the volume of results, the platform may utilize Al techniques to automatically generate queries such as “do you need catering services” to further refine the event promotions that are presented to the user (30).

[0048] As well as providing a curated list of event promotion results in interface (170), the user (30) may access one or more further interfaces that enable additional details to be viewed, including an interactive map interface (180) that displays the physical location (75) of each event promotion (65) which has been shortlisted as a result of application ofthe user’s filtering criteria. The map (180) may also indicate the user’s geo-location (70) so that the user (30) may identify and appreciate the distance of each different event promotion from their current or registered address (70).

[0049] There may be one or more additional means by which the search results presented in interfaces (170) and (180) may be filtered. For example, a previous browsing history of the user (30) may be scanned to identify event service providers (60) and / or event categories of interest according to the user’s prior searching and / or purchasing history, such that details regarding the event service providers (60) and / or event categories of interest are saved in the user’s profile and may subsequently be utilised to further filter the results presented to the user (30).

[0050] Additional filtering criteria that may be applied to search results (automatically based upon user preferences, or manually by the user (30)) include one or more of an exact match, similar match, dates of event promotions, type of event promotions, event price, event geo-location, event ticket availability, details regarding public and / or private transport facilities, and details regarding publicly accessible amenities such as toilets, medical care and evacuation points.

[0051] Figure 5 shows Segment 500 of Figure 1 in greater detail and, in particular, a search and notifications interface (190). As shown in interface (190), the user (30) may be provided with a search facility which enables the user (30) to enter search queries (80) regarding stored event information. For example, the user (30) may enter keywords (such as “theatre”, “restaurants”, “dance” and “clubs”) and search the stored event information according to the entered keyword(s). The searches may also be directed by particular filtering criteria (ie. all results within a particular category of event promotion such as current active promotions, all promotions between two specified dates, promotions near a specified location, etc).

[0052] The use of one or more artificial intelligence techniques may improve the results of search queries entered by users (30), including for example Al techniques that combine sentiment analysis, query refinement and linguistic parsing to dynamically understand and respond to user queries. Such assistance may include, but is not limited to, processing natural language queries to retrieve relevant venues, generating context-aware response and recommendations, and enhancing booking efficiency through conversational interaction.

[0053] Where a user selects a particular event promotion (65), or has entered a search query (80) to further filter promotion store results, additional information may be presented to the user (30) in the form of other available event promotions occurring at the same time or which may be categorised as similar to the particular event promotion returned in the results. The extent to which additional related event promotions are presented to the user (30) may be controlled by the user (30) in their user preferences.

[0054] As a result of maintaining a database of event promotional information in this manner, additional benefits may arise. For example, the database may also be interrogated in circumstances where a user (30) is searching for a particular service provider, event, event type of category, venue, etc. As described below, users (30) may utilize a search facility. In circumstances where a user searches for a venue for a wedding at short notice and is unable to locate one due to all venues being fully booked, the platform may use predictive analytics to evaluate availability in substantially real-time across multiple venues (based on the event promotions on file) and suggest alternative event promotions, dates and / or venues with increased availability based on the user’s preferences.

[0055] The interface (190) is also configured to provide users (30) with notifications and / or alerts, including for example a notification when the platform receives new details regarding a service provider (60) and / or category of event promotions of interest. Additional examples of alerts and notifications that may be sent to users (30) include where another registered user seeks to initiate a chat with the user (30), where a user (30) is reminded regarding a pending search query (80) which has not been actioned for a predetermined period of time, where a user (30) has event ticket items left in their shopping cart, etc.

[0056] Figure 6 depicts Segment 600 of Figure 1 in greater detail and, in particular, an interface (210) representing an example of an interface presented to the user (30) according to the user (30) selecting a particular event promotion (65) that was displayed in interface (170). In the example shown, the promotion (65) relates to a live music event at a bar. In this regard, the notification may include images and / or video content (attachedby the particular service provider (60)), wherein the images and / or video content relate to the event promotion (65) offered by the particular service provider (60). The video shown in interface (210) is a livestream of an interior of the bar, and in this regard, in one example, the promotion (65) may relate to a discounted entry fee or discounted drinks available at the bar. The skilled addressee will appreciate that by showing a live stream of the inside of the bar, along with the particular promotion (65), users (30) are provided with greater insight in relation to the promotion (65) and the ability to make a more informed decision regarding whether or not to accept the promotion (65) (eg. purchase tickets to the event).

[0057] Figure 6 shows an additional interface (220) which enables users (30) to access a library of images and / or videos associated with active promotions (65), as well as a live calendar (90) which enables users (30) to register promotions of interest in the calendar to remind the user (30) when the promotions (65) become available. Also shown in Figure 6 is an example service provider interface (230). Event service providers (60) such as venue owners and managers may establish individual user accounts with the software application (40) and upload information relating to one or more events or event promotions they are proposing to host, including at least a venue and a commencement time and date for the event or promotion. There are a number of ways in which the establishment of an event promotion may occur such that the promotion will be included in (rather than filtered out of) event promotion information provided to users (30) when the users’ criteria for filtering event information substantially matches, according to a similarity threshold, the details relating to the one or more events submitted by the service provider (60).

[0058] According to one implementation, the platform may automatically establish an event promotion on behalf of the service provider (60) according to the details relating to each event proposed to be hosted by the event service provider, and other user preferences. For example, if the venue is a particular type or category (eg. a bar / restaurant), and the goal of the service provider (60) is to ensure maximum capacity, then a promotion likely to attract a larger audience may automatically be selected such as “discounted cocktails” during relevant hours. If the preference of the bar / restaurant owner is to ensure reasonable capacity but target a different customer base, then an alternative promotion may automatically be selected such as “free entree for the first 20guests”. In this regard, the service provider (60) may be prompted to enter additional details including their promotion objectives.

[0059] An example of a promotional objective of a service providers (60) is to attract more bookings at a particular venue during weekdays, which may not be occurring due to low visibility and competition for larger venues. The platform may utilize predictive analytics to identify underutilized time slots and cross-reference them with user searches (eg. user searches for budget-friendly or nearby venues) and suggest targeted promotions for the underutilized time slots that the service provider (60) may use. This results in increased bookings during off-peak hours improving the venue’s overall utilization rate.

[0060] The automatic generation of event promotions on behalf of service providers (60) may take into account a number of additional historical factors to improve the reference of event promotion suggestions they receive, including but not limited to, cancellation and rescheduling data in respect of previous events, previous searches conducted by users (30), previous user reviews, and data obtained from real-time monitoring of live promotional campaigns. The platform may learn from any relevant historical data to improve event promotion suggestions including predicting high demand periods, and assist venue owners and managers with planning promotions, adjusting pricing, etc. In this way, recommendations may also be provided to service providers (60) substantially in real-time including to adjust existing promotions based on the latest historical data which has been processed.

[0061] In an alternative implementation, rather than automatically selecting a promotion on behalf of the service provider, the service provider (60) may be provided with a listing of suggested promotions for selection. In a further embodiment, the service provider (60) may create their own event promotion and enter details relating to same.

[0062] The interface (230) also enables service providers (60) to create promotional interfaces including the ability to add images and / or video content (85), in addition to monitoring the success or otherwise of their particular promotions (65). In this regard, the service provider interface (230) may be useful to service providers (60) since it allows service providers (60) to prepare for events including, for example, to purchase stock (95) according to the level of interest in their event, as ascertained from the softwareapplication (40). This may be particularly useful for service providers (60) with respect to operating a viable event and business, ensuring excess stock is not purchased and potentially wasted, and further enables the service provider (60) to hire the most appropriate number of staff to accommodate the predicted interest in their event(s).

[0063] The platform may also provide a secure payment facility such that the user (30) may secure an available promotion (65) where payment is required through use of the particular payment facility (eg. to purchase tickets to the event). Such facilities may be provided in any one of the previously described interfaces, including for example, interface (220) which is generated based upon the user (30) selecting a particular event promotion. For example, the event promotion (65) relating to a discounted door entry price may only be available if a purchase of a ticket is made via the software application (40), so interface (220) may present the user with a payment options facility within the same interface, including the availability of various different means of payment (eg. credit card, PayPal, etc).

[0064] Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the present invention provides a platform that benefits not only users seeking to locate event promotion information, but to service providers hosting such events who are seeking to target particular customers with their promotions, and who are seeking to maximise the attendance (eg. tickets sold) particularly in circumstances where the time nature of the event offering is critical. In this regard, such service providers (60) may post event promotions (65) with only a short time remaining prior to an event commencement time and date with confidence that their target audience will receive and view the event promotion (65). This is particularly useful for service providers such as restaurant and cafe owners, live music venue managers, and other entertainment service providers who are often under time pressure to maximise attendance and ticket sales. It is also useful for consumers who may be interested in locating tickets to events under promotional conditions.

[0065] The methods and systems described herein may be deployed in part or in whole through a machine that executes computer software, program codes, and / or instructions on a processor. The processor may be part of a server, cloud server, client, network infrastructure, mobile computing platform, stationary computing platform, or other computing platform. A processor may be any kind of computational or processing device capable of executing program instructions, codes, binary instructions and the like. Theprocessor may be or include a signal processor, digital processor, embedded processor, microprocessor or any variant such as a co-processor (math co-processor, graphic coprocessor, communication co-processor and the like) and the like that may directly or indirectly facilitate execution of program code or program instructions stored thereon. In addition, the processor may enable execution of multiple programs, threads, and codes. The threads may be executed simultaneously to enhance the performance of the processor and to facilitate simultaneous operations of the application. By way of implementation, methods, program codes, program instructions and the like described herein may be implemented in one or more threads. The thread may spawn other threads that may have assigned priorities associated with them; the processor may execute these threads based on priority or any other order based on instructions provided in the program code. The processor may include memory that stores methods, codes, instructions and programs as described herein and elsewhere. The processor may access a storage medium through an interface that may store methods, codes, and instructions as described herein and elsewhere. The storage medium associated with the processor for storing methods, programs, codes, program instructions or other type of instructions capable of being executed by the computing or processing device may include but may not be limited to one or more of a CD-ROM, DVD, memory, hard disk, flash drive, RAM, ROM, cache and the like.

[0066] A processor may include one or more cores that may enhance speed and performance of a multiprocessor. In some embodiments, the process may be a dual core processor, quad core processors, other chip-level multiprocessor and the like that combine two or more independent cores (called a die).

[0067] The methods and systems described herein may be deployed in part or in whole through a machine that executes computer software on a server, cloud server, client, firewall, gateway, hub, router, or other such computer and / or networking hardware. The software program may be associated with a server that may include a file server, print server, domain server, internet server, intranet server and other variants such as secondary server, host server, distributed server and the like. The server may include one or more of memories, processors, computer readable media, storage media, ports (physical and virtual), communication devices, and interfaces capable of accessing other servers, clients, machines, and devices through a wired or a wireless medium, and thelike. The methods, programs or codes as described herein and elsewhere may be executed by the server. In addition, other devices required for execution of methods as described in this application may be considered as a part of the infrastructure associated with the server.

[0068] The server may provide an interface to other devices including, without limitation, clients, other servers, printers, database servers, print servers, file servers, communication servers, distributed servers and the like. Additionally, this coupling and / or connection may facilitate remote execution of programs across the network. The networking of some or all of these devices may facilitate parallel processing of a program or method at one or more locations without deviating from the scope of the disclosure. In addition, any of the devices attached to the server through an interface may include at least one storage medium capable of storing methods, programs, code and / or instructions. A central repository may provide program instructions to be executed on different devices. In this implementation, the remote repository may act as a storage medium for program code, instructions, and programs.

[0069] The software program may be associated with a client that may include a file client, print client, domain client, internet client, intranet client and other variants such as secondary client, host client, distributed client and the like. The client may include one or more of memories, processors, computer readable media, storage media, ports (physical and virtual), communication devices, and interfaces capable of accessing other clients, servers, machines, and devices through a wired or a wireless medium, and the like. The methods, programs or codes as described herein and elsewhere may be executed by the client. In addition, other devices required for execution of methods as described in this application may be considered as a part of the infrastructure associated with the client.

[0070] The client may provide an interface to other devices including, without limitation, servers, other clients, printers, database servers, print servers, file servers, communication servers, distributed servers and the like. Additionally, this coupling and / or connection may facilitate remote execution of programs across the network. The networking of some or all of these devices may facilitate parallel processing of a program or method at one or more locations without deviating from the scope of the disclosure. In addition, any of the devices attached to the client through an interface may include at least one storage medium capable of storing methods, programs, applications, codeand / or instructions. A central repository may provide program instructions to be executed on different devices. In this implementation, the remote repository may act as a storage medium for program code, instructions, and programs.

[0071] The methods and systems described herein may be deployed in part or in whole through network infrastructures. The network infrastructure may include elements such as computing devices, servers, routers, hubs, firewalls, clients, personal computers, communication devices, routing devices and other active and passive devices, modules and / or components as known in the art. The computing and / or non-computing device(s) associated with the network infrastructure may include, apart from other components, a storage medium such as flash memory, buffer, stack, RAM, ROM and the like. The processes, methods, program codes, instructions described herein and elsewhere may be executed by one or more of the network infrastructural elements.

[0072] The methods, program codes, and instructions described herein and elsewhere may be implemented in different devices which may operate in wired or wireless networks. Examples of wireless networks include 4th Generation (4G) networks (e.g., Long-Term Evolution (LTE)) or 5th Generation (5G) networks, as well as non-cellular networks such as Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs). However, the principles described therein may equally apply to other types of networks.

[0073] The operations, methods, programs codes, and instructions described herein and elsewhere may be implemented on or through mobile devices. The mobile devices may include navigation devices, cell phones, mobile phones, mobile personal digital assistants, laptops, palmtops, netbooks, pagers, electronic books readers, music players and the like. These devices may include, apart from other components, a storage medium such as a flash memory, buffer, RAM, ROM and one or more computing devices. The computing devices associated with mobile devices may be enabled to execute program codes, methods, and instructions stored thereon. Alternatively, the mobile devices may be configured to execute instructions in collaboration with other devices. The mobile devices may communicate with base stations interfaced with servers and configured to execute program codes. The mobile devices may communicate on a peer-to-peer network, mesh network, or other communications network. The program code may be stored on the storage medium associated with the server and executed by a computing device embedded within the server. The base station may include a computing deviceand a storage medium. The storage device may store program codes and instructions executed by the computing devices associated with the base station.

[0074] The computer software, program codes, and / or instructions may be stored and / or accessed on machine readable media that may include: computer components, devices, and recording media that retain digital data used for computing for some interval of time; semiconductor storage known as random access memory (RAM); mass storage typically for more permanent storage, such as optical discs, forms of magnetic storage like hard disks, tapes, drums, cards and other types; processor registers, cache memory, volatile memory, non-volatile memory; optical storage such as CD, DVD; removable media such as flash memory (e.g., USB sticks or keys), floppy disks, magnetic tape, paper tape, punch cards, standalone RAM disks, Zip drives, removable mass storage, off-line, and the like; other computer memory such as dynamic memory, static memory, read / write storage, mutable storage, read only, random access, sequential access, location addressable, file addressable, content addressable, network attached storage, storage area network, bar codes, magnetic ink, and the like.

[0075] The methods and systems described herein may transform physical and / or or intangible items from one state to another. The methods and systems described herein may also transform data representing physical and / or intangible items from one state to another, such as from usage data to a normalized usage dataset.

[0076] The elements described and depicted herein, including in flow charts and block diagrams throughout the figures, imply logical boundaries between the elements. However, according to software or hardware engineering practices, the depicted elements and the functions thereof may be implemented on machines through computer executable media having a processor capable of executing program instructions stored thereon as a monolithic software structure, as standalone software modules, or as modules that employ external routines, code, services, and so forth, or any combination of these, and all such implementations may be within the scope of the present disclosure. Examples of such machines may include, but may not be limited to, personal digital assistants, laptops, personal computers, mobile phones, other handheld computing devices, medical equipment, wired or wireless communication devices, transducers, chips, calculators, satellites, tablet PCs, electronic books, gadgets, electronic devices, devices having artificial intelligence, computing devices, networking equipment, servers,routers and the like. Furthermore, the elements depicted in the flow chart and block diagrams or any other logical component may be implemented on a machine capable of executing program instructions. Thus, while the foregoing drawings and descriptions set forth functional aspects of the disclosed systems, no particular arrangement of software for implementing these functional aspects should be inferred from these descriptions unless explicitly stated or otherwise clear from the context. Similarly, it will be appreciated that the various steps identified and described above may be varied, and that the order of steps may be adapted to particular applications of the techniques disclosed herein. All such variations and modifications are intended to fall within the scope of this disclosure. As such, the depiction and / or description of an order for various steps should not be understood to require a particular order of execution for those steps, unless required by a particular application, or explicitly stated or otherwise clear from the context.

[0077] The methods and / or processes described above, and steps thereof, may be realized in hardware, software or any combination of hardware and software suitable for a particular application. The hardware may include a general-purpose computer and / or dedicated computing device or specific computing device or particular aspect or component of a specific computing device. The processes may be realized in one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, embedded microcontrollers, programmable digital signal processors or other programmable devices, along with internal and / or external memory. The processes may also, or instead, be embodied in an application specific integrated circuit, a programmable gate array, programmable array logic, or any other device or combination of devices that may be configured to process electronic signals. It will further be appreciated that one or more of the processes may be realized as a computer executable code capable of being executed on a machine-readable medium.

[0078] The computer executable code may be created using a structured programming language such as C, an object oriented programming language such as C++, or any other high-level or low-level programming language (including assembly languages, hardware description languages, and database programming languages and technologies) that may be stored, compiled or interpreted to run on one of the above devices, as well as heterogeneous combinations of processors, processor architectures, or combinations of different hardware and software, or any other machine capable of executing program instructions.

[0079] It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the relevant field of technology that numerous variations and / or modifications may be made to the invention as detailed in the embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as broadly described. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all aspects as illustrative and not restrictive.

[0080] Throughout this specification and claims which follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the word “comprise”, and variations such as “comprises” and “comprising”, will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated feature or step, or group of features or steps, but not the exclusion of any other feature or step or group of features or steps.

Claims

The claims defining the invention are as follows:

1. A data communications network including connected data communications devices and a method of operating same for generating a store of filtered promotions regarding events offered by service providers, the method including: establishing, by one or more processors, individual accounts for one or more users seeking to establish a filtered promotions store regarding event promotions offered by one or more service providers; receiving, by one or more processors, details from a user of the one or more users regarding particular event service providers and / or categories of event promotions of interest; receiving, by one or more processors, details from the user regarding criteria for filtering event information from service providers that is received and stored, the criteria including any one or more of the geo-location of the event, event type, category, event price, or event date; receiving, by one or more processors, incoming event promotion information from one or more service providers and storing same in association with the user’s account, the stored event promotion information filtered and / or arranged according to the criteria previously established by the user; and enabling, by one or more processors, access to a data communications device of the user to the filtered promotions store including information filtered and / or arranged according to the criteria previously established by the user such that the user is enabled to utilise their data communications device to review the stored information pertaining to event promotions offered by service providers according to said criteria.

2. A data communications network according to claim 1 , wherein the criteria for filtering event information from retailers additionally includes one or more of event ticket availability, details regarding public and / or private transport facilities to and from the event, or details regarding publicly accessible amenities at the event including one or more of toilets, medical care and evacuation points.

3. A data communications network according to either claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the method further includes using one or more artificial intelligence techniques toprovide additional filtering criteria that is automatically applied to provide a more targeted subset of event promotions for inclusion in the store of filtered promotions.

4. A data communications network according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the method further includes: establishing, by one or more processors, an individual account for each event service provider; receiving, by one or more processors, details relating to one or more events proposed to be hosted by each of the one or more event service providers including a venue and a commencement time and date for the event; and prompting, by one or more processors, each event service provider to generate or select a promotion relating to the one or more events, wherein the promotion is included rather than filtered out of event promotion information provided to users when the users’ criteria for filtering event information substantially matches, according to a similarity threshold, the details relating to the one or more events submitted by the service provider.

5. A data communications network according to claim 4, wherein selecting or generating an event promotion for the event(s) includes one or more of: automatically establishing, by one or more processors, an event promotion according to the details relating to each event proposed to be hosted by the event service provider, including the venue and the commencement time and date for the event; receiving, by one or more processors, a service provider selection of an event promotion from a plurality of available event promotions presented to the service provider for selection; or receiving, by one or more processors, an event promotion created by the service provider.

6. A data communications network according to claim 5, wherein automatically establishing an event promotion according to the details relating to each event proposed to be hosted by the event service provider is facilitated by the use of one or moreartificial intelligence techniques such that automatically established event promotions take into account one or more promotion objectives of the service provider.

7. A data communications network according to claim 6, wherein the one or more artificial intelligence techniques also take into account historical data including but not limited to cancellation and rescheduling data in respect of previous events, previous searches conducted by users, previous user reviews, and data obtained from real-time monitoring of live promotional campaigns.

8. A data communications network according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the method further includes: scanning, by one or more processors, a previous browsing history of the user to identify service providers and / or event categories of interest according to the user’s prior searching and / or purchasing history, and associating details relating to the identified service provider(s) and / or event category(ies) of interest with the user account.

9. A data communications network according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the method further includes: providing the user, by one or more processors, the user with a search facility for the purpose of conducting searches regarding stored event information, wherein upon accessing the search facility the user is prompted to conduct a keyword search of the stored event information.

10. A data communications network according to claim 9, wherein the method further includes: providing, by one or more processors, a range of filtering criteria for application by the user during use of the search facility such that the filtering criteria are applicable to search results, the filtering criteria including any one or more of the criteria that the user is prompted to select for filtering event information, the filtering criteria including one or more of an exact match, a similar match, event date, event type or category, event price, event geo-location, event ticket availability, details regarding public and / or private transport facilities to and from the event, or details regarding publicly accessible amenities at the event including one or more of toilets, medical care and evacuation points.1 1. A data communications network according to either claim 9 or claim 10, wherein subsequent to a search conducted in respect of a particular event service provider and / or event category of interest, the method further includes: providing, by one or more processors, information regarding all available promotions occurring at the same or a similar time as the particular promotion(s) returned in search results and within a predetermined geographical vicinity thereof.

12. A data communications network according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the method further includes: providing, by one or more processors, the user with an alert and / or notification when new details are received regarding an event service provider and / or event according to an event category of interest.

13. A data communications network according to claim 12, wherein when an alert and / or notification is received with new details regarding an event service provider and / or event according to an event category of interest, the method further includes: attaching, by one or more processors, images and / or video content as part of the alert and / or notification, the images and / or video content relating to any promotion offered by the particular service provider.

14. A data communications network according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the method further includes: providing, by one or more processors, the user with a calendar facility that enables the user to register promotions of interest in the calendar to remind the user regarding commencement of the event promotion.

15. A data communications network according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the method further includes: providing, by one or more processors, a secure payment facility that enables the user to conduct secure financial transactions via the payment facility including to initiate payment to a service provider upon acceptance of an event promotion.

16. A computer-implemented system for generating a store of filtered promotions regarding events offered by service providers, the system including: one or more processors operable to: establish individual accounts for one or more users seeking to establish a filtered promotions store regarding event promotions offered by one or more service providers; receive details from the user of the one or more users regarding particular event service providers and / or categories of event promotions of interest; receive details from the user regarding criteria for filtering event information from service providers that is received and stored, the criteria including any one or more of the geo-location of the event, event type, category, event price, or event date; receive incoming event promotion information from the one or more service providers and storing same in association with the user’s account, the stored event promotion information filtered and / or arranged according to the criteria previously established by the user; and enable access to a data communications device of the user to the filtered promotions store including information filtered and / or arranged according to the criteria previously established by the user such that the user is enabled to utilise their data communications device to review the stored information pertaining to event promotions offered by service providers according to said criteria.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable medium including computer instruction code that, when executed on a computer, causes one or more processors of the computer to perform the steps of: establishing individual accounts for one or more users seeking to establish a filtered promotions store regarding event promotions offered by one or more service providers; receiving details from a user of the one or more users regarding particular event service providers and / or categories of event promotions of interest; receiving details from the user regarding criteria for filtering event information from service providers that is received and stored, the criteria including any one or more of geo-location of the event, event type, category, event price, or event date; receiving incoming event promotion information from the one or more service providers and storing same in association with the user’s account, the stored eventpromotion information filtered and / or arranged according to the criteria previously established by the user; and enabling access to a data communications device of the user to the filtered promotions store including information filtered and / or arranged according to the criteria previously established by the user such that the user is enabled to utilize their data communications device to review the stored information pertaining to event promotions offered by service providers according to said criteria.

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