Promotion List Management System for Diverse Campaign Attributes

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Solution Overview

Problem

Managing promotions across various industries, such as financial services and retail, is challenging due to the diverse types of promotions and attributes involved, requiring efficient tools for assignment, tracking, and analysis.

Innovation Solution

A computer-implemented method and apparatus for producing a promotion list, which includes assigning and storing promotion instances, querying for matching attributes, sorting, filtering, and applying security policies, allowing for dynamic and searchable promotion management.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of information

If promotions are logged and tracked for future analysis across various industries, then the ability to perform promotion analysis is improved, but the complexity of managing diverse promotion types and attributes increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepromotion analysis capabilityVSAvoidpromotion management complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments promotion management by creating separate promotion lists that can be independently managed, queried, and analyzed. Each promotion list contains specific promotion instances with their attributes, allowing the system to handle diverse promotion types through modular organization rather than monolithic management

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent implements a universal promotion list structure that can accommodate multiple promotion types across different industries (financial services, travel, retail) through standardized attributes. The system provides multi-functional capabilities including assignment, tracking, querying, and analysis within a single framework

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Adaptability or versatility

If marketers produce and assign a large variety of promotions to contacts, then the versatility of marketing campaigns is improved, but the difficulty of tracking and managing promotions increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemarketing campaign versatilityVSAvoidpromotion tracking ease

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces promotion lists as intermediary structures between promotions and contacts. These lists serve as mediators that organize promotion instances and their assignments, making it easier to track and manage diverse promotions without directly handling the complexity of individual promotion-contact mappings

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates reusable promotion list templates that can be copied and applied across multiple campaigns. This allows marketers to replicate successful promotion configurations without manually recreating them, reducing the operational burden of managing versatile campaigns

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

3Ease of operation

If promotion instances are stored in an electronic medium with searchable and browsable views, then the ease of accessing promotion information is improved, but the storage requirements and system complexity increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepromotion information accessibilityVSAvoidsystem storage complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces physical or manual promotion management systems with an electronic storage and retrieval system. Promotions are stored in an electronic medium with implemented search and browse capabilities, substituting mechanical filing and manual retrieval with digital indexing and query-based access

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Data Source

PatentUS8315904B2Organization for promotion management

Publication Date: 2012.11.20 INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINE CORPORATION

AI summary

A computer implemented method for producing a promotion list for a promotion management campaign is described. The method includes assigning one or more promotion instances to the promotions list, and storing the promotion list in an electronic medium.