Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a method and system for displaying advertisements, and more particularly to a method and system for displaying advertisements whereby following the display of an advertisement to a user a voucher or coupon is given to the user to be redeemed at the premises of the advertiser whose advertisement the user has viewed. The invention also relates to a card having advertising and a series of scratch pads, and in particular relates to an information-bearing card having advertising and scratch pads underneath which advertises offers, discounts or prizes to card owners.

Background to the Invention

Present systems for displaying advertisements are generally information services that display what products are on offer by a particular trader to the general public. Visual advertisements, such as disclosed on television, signage boards or media outlets can be either animated or fixed. Beyond presenting information, these advertisements do not offer any particular incentive for a potential customer to go to the premises of the trader that advertises a particular product, other than the price of a particular product or service when compared to competitors of the trader. As a sub-system of general advertising systems, a kiosk which is essentially a computer processor having a graphical user interface, displays information about a general locality, such as in a city centre providing information to the users of things to do and see in that general location. Thus it is simply a static information service provider and generally does not allow a hard copy print of such information about the location that the user is in. Advertisements may be displayed on these kiosks but as with the current advertising systems such kiosks provide no real incentive to entice a potential customer into the premises of a trader advertising on the kiosk system.

Furthermore, some existing brochures and tickets that advertise products or services have scratch panels that offer prizes. However this is all that the brochures or tickets offer, a prize which is redeemable by showing or sending the ticket to the outlet at which it was sold with the user receiving, typically, a monetary prize from the outlet.

The present invention seeks to overcome one or more of the above-mentioned disadvantages by providing a system and method for displaying advertisements whereby an incentive is provided to viewers of advertisements of traders to attract such

potential customers into the premises of the traders advertising their products on the system. None of the above-mentioned systems offer an incentive for potential customers to actually visit the premises of the trader advertising a particular product and therefore entice the potential customers with other goods or services offered by that trader.

Summary of the Invention

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided an advertisement display system comprising: electronic storage means for storing a plurality of advertisements of traders; electronic display means for displaying one or more of the advertisements; means for providing redeemable means after one of the advertisements selected by a user has been displayed to the user; wherein the redeemable means is redeemable by the user from the trader whose advertisement has been selected and displayed to the user.

A printer means may provide the redeemable means. The redeemable means may be a voucher or a ticket displaying a ticket number. The user may be entered into a draw to win a prize by providing the ticket number. In order to confirm if the user has won a prize, the ticket number is entered at either a kiosk displaying any one of the advertisements, on-line at a website of an administrator or by sending an SMS with the ticket number.

The system may include the kiosk having the electronic storage means and electronic display means. The kiosk may include the printer means. The display means may display a multi-level menu of categories of advertisements, accessed by the user through a touch-screen interface. Thus the user need only touch an icon representing a category of advertisements that the user wishes to see.

The system may further comprise a card reader means for reading a member card of the user, the member card providing the opportunity for the user to win a prize. The member card has stored therein a membership number representing the user. In order to obtain a member card the user completes an application form provided by an administrator of the system. The user provides personal information to complete the form, which is then sent to the administrator. Thus, in order to enter competitions for a chance to win a prize, the user with the member card has their card read by the card reader. The member number is then stored in the system and placed in a pool of

member numbers from which a determination is made as to which member user wins a competition. Alternatively, the user may have their member card read by the card reader in order to check if they have won a prize in a competition.

Each advertisement of a trader may be submitted for display to the administrator using an electronic template. The trader may scan their advertisement into the template, the advertisement being either in video format, Macromedia Flash form, or one or more fixed images. Other information to be supplied in the template by the trader can include a preferred advertisement category, an image to be printed on the voucher, types of prizes the trader will offer, business contact details, locations of kiosks or displays where the trader wishes their advertisement to be displayed.

The electronic storage means may be located at a server connected to the display means and printer means through a communications network, such as the internet. The display means and printer means may be part of a computer processing station, which may be a kiosk or a stand-alone PC. Advertisements may be stored in the storage means at the server and accessed by users through a public website. The server may host an administration website to enable traders to have control over their advertisements. To access the administration website, the trader uses a login and password so as to make amendments to or view one or more of their advertisements.

The template may be made available on either the public website or administration website such that it is downloadable by the trader to a computer processing station they are using to access the website.

A user having a member number can, as an alternative to using a kiosk, access the public website and input their member number to a web page of the website to check if the user has won a prize, or to be placed in a pool of other member numbers from which a random member number is selected to win a prize.

Each advertiser/trader participating in the system may have an electronic card reader for reading member cards to verify prize winners and to record vouchers that have been redeemed.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a method of displaying advertisements comprising the following steps: electronically storing a plurality of advertisements of traders; electronically displaying one or more of the stored advertisements; making available to a user a redeemable means after an advertisement selected by a user has been displayed to the user;

wherein the redeemable means is redeemable by the user from the trader whose advertisement has been selected by the user and displayed to the user.

According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided computer program means for controlling a processing means to execute a procedure to: electronically store a plurality of advertisements of traders; electronically display one or more of the stored advertisements selected by a user; provide a redeemable means after an advertisement selected by the user has been displayed to the user; wherein the redeemable means is redeemable by the user from the trader whose advertisement has been selected by the user and displayed to the user.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention there is provided an information-bearing card having displayed thereon one or more advertisements and at least one scratch pad, whereupon the or each pad being scratched reveals a discount or offer on products or services of a trader to be redeemed by the card owner at a premises of the trader.

The card may be foldable preferably to a size similar to that of a credit card for easy storage in a wallet. The at least one scratch pad is preferably a series of scratch pads arranged in a grid. When scratched, each pad may reveal identical discount or offers from the same trader which entitles the card owner to a prize or additional bonus of a particular value.

The card may have a code associated with each scratch pad, which identifies a trader giving an offer or discount, the offer or discount itself, and a contact number of the trader. The card owner may enter the code into a mobile telephone or other telecommunications device and register their contact information for storage in a database. The database may be linked to a server connected to a communications network, for recording the contact details. The owner is then in a draw for a chance to win a prize, such as a holiday. When the prize is drawn whereby an entry is randomly selected, the winning owner will be contacted on their telecommunications device. Preferably the communications are performed using SMS messaging. Thus an owner, on scratching at least one pad on the card, may dial an SMS number and leave their details together with the code revealed under the opaque panel to enter a draw. An agent, on receiving the owner's entry, may transmit a reply SMS message confirming

receipt of their entry and may supply further advertising information, including further information on the trader associated with the code underneath the scratch pad.

Brief Description of the Drawings Preferred embodiments of the invention will hereinafter be described, by way of example only, with reference to the drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an advertisement display system in the form of a kiosk;

Figure 2 is a block diagram of an advertisement display system having kiosks arranged in different geographical locations linked to a central server by the internet;

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of various menu levels under a number of advertisement categories;

Figure 4 is a screen image of a template for completion by an advertiser or trader in order to submit an advertisement to be used in the system; Figure 5 is a screen image showing various icons representing different advertisement categories or further information categories that a user can select;

Figure 6 is a screen image that traders participating in the advertisement display system are presented with in order to review or make changes to their advertisement.

Figure 7 is a schematic view of information printed on a voucher; Figure 8 shows a series of advertisements printed on the reverse side of the voucher of Figure 7;

Figure 9 is an alternative diagram of the reverse side of the voucher of Figure 7 showing locations of many participating vendors at which a user can gain further information and/or obtain a voucher; Figure 10 is a view of one side of an information-bearing card showing advertising information;

Figure 11 is a view of a reverse side of the card of Figure 1 including at least one scratch panel; and

Figure 12 shows an example of a telecommunications network used to enable card owners to register their details for a prize draw.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments

Shown in Figure 1 is a system 1 that is used to display advertisements to a user. The system 1 is in the form of a kiosk 2 having a printer 4, a card reader 6 and an

electronic display 8. The system 1 also includes an electronic processing means and an electronic storage means not shown. The kiosk 2 is designed to be installed in public areas, such as a building, along a street, in front of offices or shops or even in a shopping centre. The kiosk 2 displays advertisements which attracts users or potential customers to view the advertisements in such public areas. Traders supply the advertisements, preferably in digital form either as an animated content, such as a digital video or flash, or alternatively, the traders supply a fixed image or a series of fixed images. The electronic display 8 generally has a touch type screen whereby a user simply has to place their fingers over an image/button in order to progress down a menu of different categories provided by the system. It is to be noted that there may be a separate display for displaying advertisements and screen for user input when accessing a menu or information provided by the system. Once a user has selected an advertisement to view, the advertisement is displayed, either on the same screen or a separate display, and at the end of the display of the advertisement a redeemable means, in the form of a voucher or coupon 9, is automatically printed by the kiosk 2 via printer 4. The user may then use this voucher or coupon at the premises of the trader whose advertisement the user has just viewed. The voucher or coupon may represent a discount or special offer, such as a product, which can be redeemed at the trader's premises. Thus traders or advertisers will then be able to assess the effectiveness of the advertising using the kiosk in a particular location from the number of vouchers that are brought into their store. As the users collect their discount, special offer or product at the particular store, they may be encouraged to stay in the store and purchase other stock, to the advantage of the trader.

In an alternative arrangement, rather than using a kiosk 2, a website may be accessed by the user that displays the advertisements in a similar fashion to that just described. Thus in order to have the advertisement displayed, the user clicks on the associated icon and then is directed to click on another icon in order to have the voucher or coupon printed to be redeemed at the trader's premises, the trader being the owner of the advertisement just viewed by the user. Rather than the user, using their own computer to access the website, they can use any one of the kiosks 2 which are internet enabled so that the advertisements can be accessed via the website. Alternatively if a trader who has an advertisement displayed by the system wishes to make amendments or changes to the advertisement they can access the website via a kiosk 2 in order to make those changes.

Shown in Figure 2 is a telecommunications system 7 that uses a communications network such as the internet 10 and has various kiosks 2 which may be in different locations or even different states or countries. Each of the kiosks 2 have their own separate printers 4 and are connected via the internet 10 to a server 12 which is used by the owner or administrator of the system. Located at the server 12 will be the kiosk website comprising a public website 14 and an administration website 13 together with a technical back end 15 which processes prize draws and performs background tasks.

The system offers incentives to the public to become activated members by offering draws for more valuable prizes over and above the vouchers. An activated member must have a member card, such as a smart card or magnetic stripe card, which stores the member number representing the member and identifies the member to the systems 1 or 7. The cards can be provided at kiosk locations or mailed to the user after the user completes an application form. In order to apply, each user will need to specify personal and contact details to the system, which may include a mobile telephone number that can be linked to the member number. After swiping the card in a card reader for the first time, a new member will need to confirm their contact and personal details. The system administrator assigns and mails out cards to new members by using the administration website 13. Each card contains a member number both internally stored, either in the magnetic strip or in the smart card memory and is printed also on the surface of the card. The card can be swiped through the kiosk through the card reader 6 in order to identify the member when entering competitions or checking to see if that member has won any prizes, to be mentioned hereinafter.

The member information is stored securely at the server 12 or a database 16 linked to the server 12. No information identifying the user, apart from the member number, is stored on the card. If the card happens to be lost by a member, that member can complete a Replace Lost Card form to have a new card issued. The form will contain fields for the personal and contact details of the member to fill in. Based on the information provided in the Replace Lost Card Form, the system administrator is able to look up an existing member account, assign the new card number to the member account and then reissue a new card.

Another application of the invention is where an advertisement is displayed to a member on public transport, such as a train, tram or in a taxi. The advertisement may display an SMS number to contact where a member wishes to have access to a printed

version of the advertisement and therefore redeem any offer or be in a competition draw for a prize. When the member calls the SMS number, the server 12 will recognize the mobile phone number of the member which is linked to the member number. The voucher that is associated with the advertisement is stored at the server 12 for a predetermined period of time, for example two days, and the member accesses the voucher by entering on a PC their member number and password. They can then print the voucher. A taxi may have a kiosk 2 installed therein for any member of the public to view advertisements and print out a voucher to be redeemed at a store of the trader whose advertisement has been shown to the public. With reference to Figure 3 there is shown a block diagram of the display of advertisements arranged into categories 20 and subcategories 22. A further subcategory for location 24 may be displayed either above the subcategory 22 or below the subcategory 22 depending on how the user wishes to search for a particular advertisement. For example in the wine and dine category the user may wish to search for restaurants in a particular location in which case they would click on or select restaurants and then select the location subcategory which would identify all types of restaurants in that location. The user may then select Italian restaurants in that particular location and then click on each of the advertisements for each of the Italian restaurants in subcategory 26. Various categories that can be displayed on the system may be arranged at a top level menu for wine and dine, tourist attractions, accommodation, entertainment, all shown in Figure 3. Other top level menu categories include travel (sub-categories land/air/sea), tours (sub-categories adventure/coach/cruises/shopping), hire (sub-categories car/boat/ski), goods (sub- categories groceries/clothing/cosmetics/medical/souvenirs/shopping centres/duty free shops) and services (sub-categories medical/dental/beauty salons). These are all but examples and many more categories may be used. Each of the categories underneath the top level categories 20 may include the different types of, for example restaurants, accommodation, or activities to do as shown in Figure 3. When a viewer selects a category, the screen 8 changes to show either all of the categories immediately under the parent category, if there are any, or shows the images of the advertisements in that category. If a category contains only one advertisement then the category image will be replaced by the advertisement image when the category image has been displayed. A category may have either categories or advertisements immediately underneath it but not both. Once the advertisement image is pressed or touched by the user then the

advertisement starts its display on the screen either as a fixed series of images or a video sequence. Any of the buttons available for selection by the user in a category, sub-category, location column or advertisement column can depict an image or icon relating to the particular subject. For example button Al in sub-category 26 may depict an image or icon of an Italian restaurant.

In order for a trader to submit an advertisement to the system, the trader scans the advertisement onto a template 30 as shown in Figure 4, together with any other relevant information. In order to access the template 30 the advertiser or trader accesses the public website 14 of the system 7 located at server 12. Links are provided on the website 14 for the trader to download a template 30. An area 31 in the template 30 will be made available to scan a series of images into the template 30 or alternatively scan a video sequence. Generally the length of the advertisements is around fifteen seconds but can be shorter or longer if necessary. There are three main elements to the advertisement to be submitted being the advertisement itself in an animated form, the advertisement category image choice for kiosk viewing and the voucher image for printing. The advertisement consists of an animated file in either video or Macromedia Flash. The advertisement category image for kiosk viewing is displayed in the respective category on screen 8 and the image will be one of up to nine images on the screen arrayed in a grid pattern as shown in Figure 5. Additional buttons may be selected for registering a user's details, replacing a lost card, updating a member or user's details, determining how to obtain a card, finding out if a user or member has won a prize, a quick search facility, a standard search facility and returning to the main menu.

The voucher image for printing will need to be at a resolution suitable for the printing. Thus in Figure 4 there is provided an image area 31 for the advertiser or trader to scan the video or the image to. If there are a number of fixed images then the program supplied through this template may prompt the trader or advertiser to forward' the next image until all of the images have been scanned ready for submission to the administration website 13. Other details on the template 30 that the trader needs to supply include the business name or company name at Box 32, the address at Box 34, the contact details in Box 36, the locations of kiosks at which the trader wishes the advertisement to be displayed in Box 38. Furthermore in Box 40 the choices in which category, sub-category and final category (e.g. fishing trip) the advertisement is to be displayed under is inserted. This assists a consumer to select one button to find the

business they are interested in by using a quick search method. In Box 42 the advertiser prize is nominated, that is, the monetary amount whether it is $5, $10 or $20 is inserted together with any item or service give-away (e.g. a bottle of wine), hi box 43, the trader may enter the preferred times and frequency of display of their advertisement(s). In Box 44 the image to be displayed on the voucher is scanned in or nominated. Once all of the details have been filled in or scanned then the trader clicks Box 46 which submits the template to the administration website 13 for further processing. The server 12 files the Final Category selected by the trader in alphabetical order in a directory 72 and provides a code for the category. Following approval of the submitted template 30, the advertisement may then be downloaded or otherwise stored at the nominated locations.

A trader may choose what size advertisement is to be displayed. A full size advertisement of 100mm by 150mm may be selected in which case the video or fixed advertisement, when selected by a user, will relate solely to that trader. A give-away or offer will be displayed at the top-left hand corner of the voucher subsequently printed, as in box 62 of Figure 7. A cheaper option for the trader would be to share the voucher space and advertisement with one to five other businesses/traders. Typical size combinations of fixed adverts that vary in price and displayed on the printed voucher are 100mm by 75mm, 100mm by 100mm, 100mm by 30mm, 100mm by 37.5mm or 100mm by 50mm. Each of these five size combinations are restricted in the sense that only the printed information or offers can be changed at any time for free. As a sharing arrangement, any video advertisement shown to the user is shared among the businesses and any request to change the video advertisement may attract a fee. With the 100mm by 150mm size, the trader can change the video advertisement, printed information or offer at any time without charge. Other sized advertisements may be used.

Up to five advertisements could be on one track, where one CD-ROM hard drive/drive can store tracks, for example up to 150. Each advertisement has its own category and number, for example 10 is a fishing trip, 14 a river cruise, 24 is hot-air ballooning, 26 is skydiving and 33 is ski hire. The track number may for example be 19. If number 10 is selected, the track 19 plays and all five businesses are printed on the voucher. If number 24 is selected, track 19 plays and all five businesses are printed on the voucher.

A consumer searching for goods and services can either perform a normal search or a quick search. In a normal search the user clicks on the search button shown in Figure 5 and selects a category, sub-category or a final category and the advertisement is played. In a quick search, the user selects the quick search button in Figure 5 and, using the directory 72 and a displayed keypad, enters the category code in column 71 of the advertisement they want to see. It is then played.

Commercial product organisations can make advertisements and have them stored at server 12, in return for purchasing one or more tracks. Retailers or traders may, on entering a password, access these stored advertisements to have them placed in their own advertisements for a price decided by the trader. Such a price may be a special offer which has a time limit. Thus the trader has the choice to charge or advertise a different product on a regular basis at a special discount rate. Alternatively, the trader can make an advertisement on a product of another organisation, with the product owner's consent. Real-time information can then be made available to each product owner on how many products are sold, as each sale will be recorded through the member number or code.

The administration website 13 allows for remote control over the operation of the system in real time. The website 13 is a secure website requiring a login and password for access, by both the administrator and a trader that has an advertisement or is a member of the system. Thus if traders wish to make amendments to an advertisement or change their settings, they will log in to the administration website 13 where a screen in shown in Figure 6. They will provide a login, such as a business name, at Box 50 with a password at Box 52 and will be able to change any of the details shown in the boxes at 54. These include business name, address, contact details, locations, categories, prizes, times of advertising, voucher image or change the advertisement. Furthermore, they can add, remove, edit printed information, activate/deactivate stations by location, e.g. state, or by station number. Thus each of the traders will be able to control the details of their advertisements including the submission of ait work, the choice of location, the choice of categories in which their advertisement will be displayed at each location, change the location, and the type of advertiser prize they will offer. Any changes made by the trader must first be approved by the administrator, apart from the type of advertiser prize offered, before the changes go live. Each of the traders will be able to view simple reports about the viewers of

their advertisements and they will be able to see who are the competition winners, the competition will be described hereinafter.

The system administrator is able to use their login and password to have overall control of the system. The system administrator is able to add, edit or delete advertisers, advertisements, locations, categories, member application forms, replace lost card forms, proof/update advertisement changes and examine any reports.

Each station or kiosk where a trader's advertisement is stored may have links to a number, for example up to five, of surrounding postcodes. Thus, when a trader applies to have an advertisement at a certain kiosk, they enter up to five postcodes. A user, having a member number, may enter a postcode together with the member number via the internet, to find out about traders having premises or offering services at that postcode. Thus all businesses having nominated the postcode that the user enters using the internet, will be displayed to the user.

When a postcode is selected, icons showing the type of business located in that area may be displayed, for example a shoe store. If, for some reason, the shoe store business is no longer located in that postcode, then it is de-activated by the server 12.

As mentioned previously when an advertisement has been viewed by a user, a voucher is automatically printed by the printer 4 to be redeemed by the user at the premises or website of the trader whose advertisement was just viewed. The vouchers consist of three elements being the voucher image as supplied by the advertiser and scanned into Box 44, the competition details and the list of all participating advertisers. The competition details include information about the advertiser, member and global competitions. AU vouchers are printed on A4 pages and are redeemable by simply presenting it to the trader from which the voucher came. Advertising traders are able to obtain simple reports about the viewers of their advertisements in each location where the advertisement is displayed. The reports include breakdowns of how many viewers per day across various time periods, such as weeks, months have seen the advertisements. This information along with the ability to update their advertisements and the specified competition details is available to all traders through the administration website 13.

Shown in Figure 7 is an example of a voucher/advertisement or voucher that has been provided on A4 paper. On one side 60 of the paper there is shown an advertisement offering a prize or redeemable item in box 62 to be provided by the advertiser whose advertisement was selected. A voucher/ticket number is shown at 73,

below the ticket number is a statement to the user or voucher owner that they are in a draw for a prize, a holiday in this case. In order to determine whether a particular voucher holder has won this prize or additional prizes, the holder can enter their ticket number at a kiosk or station 2 or on-line at the public website 14 via a graphical user interface. After a comparison is made between the entered ticket number and a pre- allocated number stored either at the kiosk or at server 12 (or database 16), a message may be displayed on the screen or web page stating that the major prize, or any additional prize has been won under that ticket number. Alternatively, an SMS number given in box 62 may be dialled by the user, who then enters the ticket/voucher number. An SMS reply will be sent to the user who has won the prize, after a comparison is made between the entered ticket number and a pre-allocated number stored at server 134. To redeem the prize, the voucher showing the number must be presented to the trader or agent offering the prize. The pre-allocated number or numbers are chosen at random by the trader or agent before any voucher is printed so that a user may know immediately if they have won a prize. Thus for example, for trader A, they may decide to pick 25 random numbers out of the first 200 printed vouchers with ticket numbers that win prizes.

When collecting or redeeming the prize after an SMS query, so that a prize is not claimed more than once a particular process is undertaken. The person with the winning ticket number must present the original voucher with the printed ticket number and the winning reply message on their mobile telephone to the trader offering the prize. The trader then asks the winner to SMS or call the mobile telephone of the trader. The telephone of the trader records the mobile number of the winner and sends this to server 134 which stores the winning ticket number and mobile phone number of the winner, due to initial enquiry by SMS by the winner. The mobile phone number of the winner is compared by server 134 to the winning mobile phone number. If there is a match then the server transmits the winning mobile phone number and winning ticket number to the trader's mobile phone. This process can only occur once and confirms that the person holding the voucher and mobile phone is in fact the true identity of the winner who made the initial enquiry.

In order to save costs, the advertiser/trader may join or form a group of traders/advertisers who wish to share an advertisement, be it in video or fixed format, and thereby share the costs. Hence in each of boxes 64, 66, 68 and 70 there is shown a fixed image and information about a respective trader, that would have made up some

component of the video or fixed image advertisement previously seen by the user. In these boxes an offer/discount may be advertised which is redeemed by the voucher owner previously described. Originally the company providing the redeemable item in box 62 would have been selected by the user to see their advertisement, and within the advertisement each of the businesses whose products are shown in boxes 64 to 70 would also be shown.

Also shown on one side of the voucher in Figure 7 is a directory 72 comprising a column 71 of codes representing each participating business in the vicinity of the kiosk or station 2,the type of business in column 75 and the business details in column 77.

In Figure 7 there is further disclosed a unique barcode 79 printed on each ticket/voucher, the barcode being associated only with the trader offering the redeemable item or prize identified on the ticket. The barcode may be scanned at the trader's premises by the ticket or voucher owner to determine if the owner has won an additional prize. Specifically a locked box, safe, treasure chest or similar item containing the prize is located in the trader's premises and connected to a barcode scanner. The scanner is pre-programmed with a specific barcode number, which when scanned and identified by the scanner, unlocks the locked box (or similar item) for the owner to take. To enable a quick search and code entry to be performed by the user, a directory

72 is provided. Once a user has decided to view a particular product or business listing all she/he has to do is enter the category code, for example AXTW or AXJD in column 71, in a box provided on-screen at the kiosk or at the website. Alternatively, the code can be sent by entering an SMS number provided using a telecommunications device, such as a mobile phone, to server 134 when making an enquiry about a particular business, for example ticket prices. Stored at server 134 are various advertising messages about the selected business or offer which is returned to the user making the enquiry by return SMS. In this manner a business can be given more exposure by such enquiries. Alternatively, the user can telephone the trader directly using the telephone number provided in column 77, A box 74 is also provided detailing the latest events in the location of the kiosk from which the voucher was printed.

Each ticket/voucher number 73 is matched to each code provided in column 71. With reference to ticket number 1 50 001 and business code AXME, representing "BearBrass Pty Ltd", the "1" and "A" identify the particular kiosk 2 at which the

advertisement is displayed, "ME" and "50" identify BearBrass as the fiftieth business registered with the system. The number "001" represents ticket number one out of however many tickets is issued by the trader BearBrass. Between the number "50" and number "001" there may be inserted another number identifying the year in which the ticket was issued, for example "5" representing the year 2005.

On the reverse side of the voucher, a number of locations at which a user can use their member card is shown in Figures 8 and 9. In Figure 8 four locations are shown in respective boxes. Boxes 76 and 78 relate to observation towers whilst boxes 80 and 82 depict chemists. Each advertise a web address and an area code which can be entered at the advertised website to gain further information about the towers or chemists. As more locations are made available, the information space on the A4 sheet reduces, as shown in Figure 9. Consumers can search locations in a number of countries, in column 90, identified by an area code, shown in column 92. All they need to do is logon to the identified website and enter the area code. An advertisement will then play advertising the location and an advertisement or voucher will print out for the user.

Up to three competitions may be on offer, being the advertiser prize, the member prize and the global prize. All competitions are open only to those users who have applied and received a member card and therefore constitute an active member of the system, that is people who have a membership card. The advertiser prize competition runs for seven days and is drawn between one and four times per week for every business. The total prize giveaway value for each advertiser for the competition is $20. The business may offer the competition in one of the following ways by providing four lots of $5 prizes, two lots of $10 prizes or one $20 prize each week. Thus the trader chooses which type of prize is to be offered and this would have already been included in the template at Box 42 in Figure 4. All $20 prizes on offer for each trader is supplied by the system owner or administrator. If the prize is to be drawn more than once, as in the case of the $5 or $10 prizes, one prize will be drawn per day on consecutive days immediately following the end of the competition period of seven days.

Each participating trader is allocated a day of the week as the day on which the advertiser competition starts for that particular advertiser. The system will choose the day of the week randomly for each trader so that the advertiser competitions will be evenly distributed throughout the days of the week. The winners have seven days in

which to claim their prize. Unclaimed prizes are not offered again since the competition is run every week. They instead, go into the global competition where a winner is drawn once every four weeks. Each user having an entry must have swiped their member card or entered their member number to print an advertisement in order to go into the global competition.

With regard to the second type of competition, the member competition, this is run once every week and offers a prize of $25. The prize is awarded to one and only one of the members who has swiped their card during the previous week either at an advertising trader or on one of the kiosks 2, or alternatively by entering the member number on the public website 14. The competition always starts on a particular day of the week, such as Monday, and competition entries are accepted until the following corresponding day in the next week. The winner is chosen by the system on that particular day from all entries made during the previous week. The winner has one week in which to claim their prize. Any unclaimed prizes jackpot to the global competition.

The global competition is run once every four weeks as a jackpot of all the member competition prizes that remain unclaimed during the previous four weeks. All members who entered a member competition in the previous four weeks automatically go into the draw for the global competition. The winner has a four week period in which to claim their prize. Unclaimed global competition prizes are added to the total for the global competition prize. In this manner the global competition prize keeps on jackpotting.

In order to claim a prize a member checks whether they have won a prize either through a kiosk, by swiping their card on the kiosk 2, or through the public website by entering their member number or entering their voucher number, printed on the A4 advertisement voucher. The member is asked to confirm their contact details and the system records the prize as claimed. The prizes will be sent to the winner via mail by the system administrator. Hand held terminals 5, shown in Figure 2, connected to the internet 10 are issued to all advertisers participating in the system for use in their premises. The handheld terminal 5 will then allow the advertiser to record vouchers that have been redeemed by scanning a bar code on the voucher or entering the voucher number printed on the voucher. The advertiser is also able to verify winning prize entries using the hand held terminal by entering the voucher number, swiping the member card or entering the member card number. The terminal is able to connect to

the server 12 through the internet 10 to store and retrieve information from the server 12. The system will be a multilingual system.

All prizes that are sent to the winners are done so by mail by the system administrator. The administration website 13 will contain a prize winners section which lists all members who have claimed prizes but not received them. The system administrator will on a regular basis go through the prize winners section and mark off each winner as they send the prize.

As mentioned previously each of the kiosks 2 is internet enabled and contains a touch sensitive screen, an A4 page printer 4 and a smart card reader/writer 6. Alternatively the cards can be in the form of a magnetic stripe card. Each of the kiosks will require permanent and uninterrupted internet connectivity in order to operate. The public website 14 contains full functionality of the kiosk 2 with changes that allow for the different medium. For example all forms will be a single page and instead of swiping a card the viewer may type in their member number in order to view an advertisement or to check whether they have won a prize or not.

Each kiosk or station 2 issues its own voucher numbers on the vouchers printed by that station. Each kiosk 2 may draw one CD or voucher winner daily and the winning numbers are sent to other kiosks/stations. Each kiosk uploads voucher numbers to the server 12 weekly. The server 12 arranges to draw one winner weekly for the advertiser competition and downloads the winner voucher number to all stations/kiosks, and draws one winner weekly for the member competition and downloads the winner voucher number to each station.

The system may be available in multiple locations geographically. It will be designed to cater for this by having in the categories, advertisers and some elements of the graphics being able to be customised for each particular location. An advertiser will be supplied with a login and password for the administration website 13 for each location they wish to advertise at. This means that they will have the ability to control all aspects of their advertisement and prizes for each location. Some kiosk graphics, for example the background image and menu graphics, may be customised to a particular location.

As mentioned previously a separate web hosting facility set up through server 12 that includes the kiosk website which consists of the public website 14, the administration website 13 and a technical back end portion 15. The back end runs prize draws and performs other background tasks. A separate web hosting facility can be

implemented in other continents, for example in Europe which will allow a more responsive and positive user kiosk experience.

If no activity is detected on the kiosk 2 for a set period of time, such as five minutes, the kiosk 2 will automatically reset or revert back to the first page being the top level category view.

The member number can be printed on the member smart card and when used in conjunction with the personal identification, this allows an advertiser to verify the winner of a prize.

With regard to the member competition, an alternative is to offer a prize to members that have swiped their cards at a particular kiosk 2. A global competition can then be run for all unclaimed prizes at a number of different kiosks, for example up to twenty or thirty such stations. A cash prize can then be offered as part of the global competition.

Alternatively for a user or customer that patronises a business for some time, they can go into another draw. For example when a consumer upgrades their spending in the premises of a particular trader, say between $5 and $20, they may be put into a draw to win for example a holiday. When they spend for example $21 to $40 they may be put in the draw to win another prize or a more expensive holiday package. If the customer spends over $40 then they may receive a holiday package for a longer period of time in a more remote or popular destination.

The use of a member card gives a business particular information, compiled in a business report. Such information includes the age, gender and location of the user. Such information is used for the drawing of prizes but is not passed onto any other business. Moreover, further information that is provided by a user swiping a card is the time of day that they used the card, the area in which it was swiped, and the intended purpose of swiping the card, for example checking to see whether they had won a prize or viewing an advertisement.

Each of the kiosks 2, or alternatively the server 12 stores the advertisements on a digital storage medium such as a CD-ROM or DVD. On a CD-ROM, 150 tracks are available at each kiosk for storing visual advertisements and printed advertisements. Each purchaser of a track has a choice of five postcodes to enter. Thus when each customer or potential customer swipes their card at a kiosk it can display all the businesses nominated under a particular postcode. Each advertisement has its own number which is tied in with the member card number. Thus if a prize has been won

by identifying the card number the kiosk is able to inform the customer that they have won the prize and for example may have a certain limited period of time in which to collect the prize.

As mentioned previously all templates submitted by advertisers are vetted by the system administrator to perhaps make improvements to the presentation of the advertisement and also to make sure that there are no inappropriate words or pictures used. Training sessions can be provided by the system administrator to potential advertisers and may provide each one of those potential advertisers with a disc to show how to use the template and submit an advertisement to be shown by the system. Another aspect of the invention is for small inventors to be able to display their products within a big national retail chain organisation or a large department store. For example, the small inventor will give free vouchers to customers within the store of the retail chain organization and display their products on the shelves. Those customers without a gift voucher will be able to see the stock and purchase it at the particular store. The retail chain owner derives a benefit by having different products on their shelves which can attract potential customers and the inventor derives the money spent on his or her products by the potential customer. This is given back to the inventor by the retail chain owner. This can also apply in large shopping centres.

Other prize offers that are applicable is where a customer patronises a particular store a number of times in a row. For example a patron may visit the store four times in a row in which case a prize is awarded and can automatically be stored on a smart card for use in that store. Therefore the member can spend that money within the store.

In order to participate, advertisers can sign up for a year for a fixed payment of, for example, $8,000. This fee includes the $20 free vouchers supplied by the system administrator each week.

Within the kiosk 2 there is a processor and memory and a data storage area. Stored in the memory is one or more 'computer programs that instruct the processor to undertake various tasks. Stored in the data storage area are the various advertisements that are able to be displayed to a user. The computer program instructs the processor to undertake any one or more of the various tasks previously described such as retrieving a selected advertisement from memory to be displayed on the display 8. The processor also interfaces to the card reader 6 to retrieve any information from the card which is subsequently stored in the data storage area for later retrieval. The processor, under the control of the computer program, sends commands to the printer to automatically print

out an A4 hard copy of an advertisement that has just been viewed. While the advertisement is being viewed the processor arranges to have the voucher image and the other details such as the participating advertisers to be printed on the A4 sheet of paper. Where the internet 10 is used for communication between the server 12 and any one of the kiosks 2 or alternatively a personal computer 17, a computer program is also stored at the server in memory for directing the server to undertake any one or more of the various tasks previously described such as downloading a template on request from a potential advertiser, accepting a completed template and storing it in memory, and allowing an administrator or advertiser to make amendments to any one or more of the advertisements.

With reference to Figure 10 there is shown a further embodiment of the invention. The Figure shows one side of an information bearing card 100 which is foldable along edges 112, 114 and 116 forming four panels 111, 113, 115 and 117. More panels can be formed as needed. Disclosed on this side of the card 100 is advertising information on panels 111, 113 and 115, the advertisements relating to businesses in a particular location. On panel 117 there is disclosed instructions about a series of scratch panels or pads on the reverse side on panel 117, to be hereinafter described. The reverse side of the information bearing card 100 is shown in Figure 11.

The reverse sides of panels 111, 113 and 115 disclose either advertising information, a list of upcoming events in the vicinity where the card 10 was acquired by the card owner or telephone numbers of emergency facilities or services, for example public transport. There is also shown a grid 118 comprising a number of scratch pads or panels 120. The grid 118 is located on the reverse side of panel 117. The scratch pads 120 comprise opaque material and information (within the dotted lines) covered by the opaque material. The opaque material is removed for clarity and description. Each scratch pad 120 discloses information about a particular business, preferably a business located at or within the vicinity of where the card 100 was initially acquired by the card owner. The information disclosed in each pad 120 provides either a discount or an offer to the owner of the card 100. Thus some of the offers disclosed in the scratch pads 120 include a discount, such as 10% or 15%, off any item purchased in the premises of that specific trader or free offers such as for food or accommodation. Trader details such as address and telephone number of each business is printed on

each of the pads 120. To redeem the offer or discount, the scratched card is simply taken to and shown at the respective business premises of the trader.

Also revealed on each scratch pad 120 is a code 121, associated with the respective offer or discount provided by the business. A "match and win" pad 123, when scratched reveals a monetary value to be redeemed in products or services at a trader's business.

The panel 117 of Figure 10 discloses information on how an owner of the card 100 can win an amount of money to contribute to a product or service of a trader or be entered in a draw to win a prize, such as a holiday. To win the monetary amount, the owner must match any two identical offers/discounts on grid 118 from the same trader. When this has occurred the card owner is entitled to receive the monetary value revealed by scratch pad 123 but only as a contribution towards the payment of a product or service of the trader associated with the identically matched offers or discounts in grid 118. The amount won may not be redeemed as cash. Alternative prizes may be given for a match of any number of identical offers.

In order to be entered in a draw to win a prize, such as a holiday of their choice taken from their nation of citizenship, the card owner enters on a communications device, for example a mobile phone, a destination number, such as the SMS number provided, being 0427 465 166, their name and any one of the "matched" codes 121 provided on any of the "matched" scratch pads 120. Alternatively any of the codes on the grid may be sent via SMS to be entered into the draw. The entry is already valid, as the only way to obtain one of the codes pertaining to a particular business under the scratch pads 120 is by the owner actually scratching a respective pad. The card owner may enter as many times as desired with a different code 121 on the card 100. The SMS is sent using the communications network of Figure 12 whereby the card owner uses their communications device, such as a mobile phone 130, and after entering the SMS number and the respective code and their name transmits these over telecommunications network 132. This information is then stored at either a processing device or a server 134 (or database 137 linked to server 134) belonging to an agent conducting the draw of prizes. Once the entry is transmitted the agent may respond in a return message to the device 130, such a message confirming receipt of their entry and details as to when the draw will be made. Other messages may be attached, such as advertising material, directly associated with the code that the user had used to enter the draw taken from one of the scratch pads. By sending SMS messages it allows

telecommunication operators to charge for each SMS message anywhere around the world where mobile phones are readily used. It makes it easier to trace overseas phone calls so that any messages or prizes can be linked back to the phone number of the card owner. Thus the winner of the prize, randomly selected from the entries received, is notified by return SMS or voice message on their mobile phone. The card 100 which has the codes 121 used to enter the draw must be retained by the owner in order to claim the prize.

With reference to embodiment described in relation to Figures 1 to 9, an SMS number may be disclosed on the voucher discussed hereinbefore for use with a code (in contrast to using the ticket number), printed on the voucher and associated with a trader's business. To enter a draw for a prize, the user or owner of the voucher simply dials the SMS number and enters the code, together with a contact name on their mobile communications device. Alternatively, the code and SMS number may be advertised in a newspaper, for example, for use by those users who have a valid voucher.

Also disclosed in relation to the embodiment of Figures 1 to 9 is a member card of a user which is accessed by the user to provide the opportunity to win a prize and also to check whether they are entered in any prize draws. The card can be read by any suitable card reader means such as 136 in Figure 12 which is attached to a processing means 138 in the form of a PC. Thus where a member, having a member card also has purchased an information bearing card 100 and entered a draw, using the SMS number and code on the card 100, may readily check whether they are entered for a draw (at a later date) by having their member card read on any card reading device 136. Additionally the agent managing the prize draw can contact such members through their membership details. Thus the agent may use the phone number provided by the member to send an SMS message for perhaps when they have won a prize that has resulted from using the card 100.

Other features of the system include that where a winner has resulted from a code associated with a particular business, that business may be entitled to additional benefits, such as obtaining free promotion for a limited period of time, for example, one month.

Another feature of the codes disclosed on each of the pads 120 is that they can be any one of an alphanumeric, numeric or alphabetical combination, but most preferably they are alphabetical for entering on a telecommunications device 130.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or modifications may be made to the invention as shown in the specific embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as broadly described. Such variations may include the scratch pads 120 extending along a portion of the card 100 in a particular area of the card 100. A trader may purchase, for a period of time, a section of the foldable card 100 to advertise their goods and/or services.

In another embodiment, a trader or business may order a certain number of cards 100, say 120,000, on which to have advertising space, at a fee for a period of time. In return they may be offered any number of free scratch pads 120 for the business or another business to use. The first-mentioned business may in turn offer to the second business a fraction of the original card order number, say 1,0,000 of the 120,000, on which the second business can use one or more scratch pads 120 on each of the 10,000 cards. Then the second business provides the first business a number of their products as give-away stock in the stores of the first business. In this manner, the first business can attract customers of the second business to the stores of the first business. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.