Targeted Content Delivery for Energy-Dispensing Terminal Displays

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Solution Overview

Problem

Convenience stores face challenges in effectively marketing higher-margin in-store products to customers who interact briefly with single-product terminals due to technical limitations such as limited storage and processor capacity, separation from centralized systems, and varying configurations, leading to inefficient advertising and reduced profitability.

Innovation Solution

A centralized content management system that filters and delivers targeted digital content to product terminals based on user and store data, allowing for real-time ad selection and display timing, ensuring relevance and effectiveness.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If a pull approach is used where terminal displays request content, then terminals can operate independently with limited storage and processor capacity, but the content provider cannot control the flow of content and must wait for terminal requests which may only occur daily

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveterminal independenceVSAvoidcontent delivery delay

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by having the content provider push content updates to terminals in advance before the terminals would otherwise request content. This allows the content provider to control when content is delivered and displayed, eliminating the delay inherent in the pull approach while still allowing terminals to operate with limited local storage capacity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system introduces a content management server as an intermediary between the content provider and terminal displays. This intermediary coordinates content delivery by receiving content from providers and pushing it to appropriate terminals based on targeting criteria, thereby controlling content flow timing and ensuring timely delivery without requiring terminals to have full control or large storage capacity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Device complexity

If digital content is displayed at single-product terminals with limited storage and processor capacity, then terminals can maintain simple configurations, but the system cannot effectively target and deliver relevant advertising content to specific customers

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveterminal configurationVSAvoidtargeting precision

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The content management server acts as an intermediary that performs the complex targeting and content selection functions centrally, allowing individual terminals to remain simple with limited storage and processor capacity. The server matches customer data with content criteria and pushes appropriate content to terminals, thereby achieving precise targeting without requiring complex terminal configurations.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system segments the functionality between centralized content management (handling complex targeting, filtering, and selection) and distributed terminal displays (handling simple content playback). This segmentation allows terminals to remain simple while the overall system achieves sophisticated targeting capabilities through the centralized management layer.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

3Loss of time

If content providers push digital content to terminals, then real-time ad selection and display timing can be achieved, but terminals require more sophisticated content management capabilities

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontent delivery speedVSAvoidcontent management capability

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of timeVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The content management server serves as an intermediary that absorbs the complexity of content management, filtering, and targeting logic. This allows the system to achieve real-time content delivery and precise display timing control without requiring individual terminals to have sophisticated content management capabilities, as the server handles these functions centrally before pushing content to terminals.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentUS20250342504A1System and method for targeting digital content at product terminals using reference data

Publication Date: 2025.11.06 SHEP DIGITAL SOLUTIONS

AI summary

Embodiments described herein provide a system, method, and non-transitory computer-readable medium of outputting digital content. In one embodiment, a terminal receives a playlist of digital content to be output at a display at an energy-dispensing station. The playlist of digital content includes items of digital content. The terminal receives data associated with the plurality of items of digital content and identifying one or more items of digital content from the items of digital content in the playlist of digital content based on data associated with the items of digital content. The terminal removes unidentified items of digital content from the plurality of items of digital content in the playlist of digital content. The terminal causes output of the playlist of digital content including the one or more items of digital content at the display at the energy-dispensing station.