The present disclosure relates to services offered promotionally, and more particularly, to offering shoe shine services as a promotional incentive in support of advertising.
Advertising venues are heavily saturated with advertising content, and are so numerous and ubiquitous as to be frequently ignored by potential customers of goods and services. There exists a need for new and enticing advertising venues.
The disclosed concepts address the above stated situation by providing an advertising apparatus providing a useful and desirable service as an enticement to view advertising content. Namely, an automatic shoe shining machine may be combined with a viewing screen to combine providing a shoe shining service with advertising content displayed on the viewing screen.
The service may be provided for free. To assure that potential customers actually view the advertising content, the advertising apparatus may require interactive inputs by the potential customer enjoying the shoe shine service. For example, questions may be displayed on the viewing screen, with the potential customer entering manual inputs to answer the questions. It may be inferred from the answers that the potential customer is actually viewing advertising content.
It is an object to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof by apparatus for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable, and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
These and other objects will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.
Various objects, features, and attendant advantages of the disclosed concepts will become more fully appreciated as the same becomes better understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and wherein:
Referring first to
Unless otherwise indicated, the terms “first”, “second”, etc., are used herein merely as labels, and are not intended to impose ordinal, positional, or hierarchical requirements on the times to which these terms refer. Moreover, reference to, e.g., a “second” item does not either require or preclude the existence of, e.g., a “first” or lower-numbered item, and/or, e.g., a “third” or higher-numbered item.
Automatic shoe shining apparatus comprises a communications system including a display screen 114, and optionally, a speaker 116 and a microphone 118, and communications support circuitry 120. It will be understood that although not shown in full detail, communications support circuitry 120 will include all necessary conductors, connections, and other components for operability of the communications system as described herein.
Automatic shoe shining apparatus 102 may include a first sensor 122 operable to sense insertion into first receptacle 104 of the shoe of a person using apparatus 100. Automatic shoe shining apparatus 102 may include a second sensor 124 operable to sense insertion into second receptacle 106 of the shoe of the person using apparatus 100. First and second sensors 122, 124 are in communication with a microprocessor 126 controlling apparatus 100. Microprocessor 126 and other control and power components may be housed within automatic shoe shining apparatus 102, or alternatively, may be remote therefrom.
Sensing of insertion of a shoe into first receptacle 104 may initiate operation of system 100. Alternatively, a value receptor 128, which may be for example a coin receiver and processor, a receiver and processor of paper currency, or a credit or debit card reader, may initiate operation of system 100.
Automatic shoe shining apparatus 102 may include, for example, elements of a 3D Polisher Media Station, a product of Medskland Company Limited, 25/1, Musi Djalilya Street, Novosibirsk, Russian Federation.
A method of advertising, according to at least one aspect of the disclosure, and utilizing system 100, may include making available to members of the public (not shown) an automatic shoe shining apparatus 102; providing advertising content discernible to a member of the public at automatic shoe shining apparatus 102; and providing an automatic shoe shining service to the member of the public responsive to an interactive input to the automatic shoe shining apparatus 102, where the interactive input is indicative of the member of the public paying attention to the advertising content.
Advertising will be considered discernible when displayed on display screen 114, or alternatively or in addition to visual display on display screen 114, when audibly issuing from speaker 116. Interactive inputs include physical inputs to display screen 114, which may be a touchscreen, operation of a mouse (not shown), keypad (not shown) or a keyboard (not shown), where the keypad or keyboard are optionally made part of system 110, or spoken responses received by microphone 118. Of course, other known interface devices (none shown) may be substituted for or used in addition to the specific examples of input and output devices listed herein. An output device will be understood to encompass display screen 114, speaker 116, and any other device which issues discernible advertising, prompts, and instructions. An input device will be understood to encompass display screen 114 (if a touchscreen), microphone 118, the mouse, the keypad, the keyboard, or other user interface device adapted to receive signals by manipulation by the user.
In the method of advertising, the user interface may be a text based interface, such as the keypad or the keyboard. Alternatively, the user interface may comprise a graphic user interface displayed on display screen 114.
Display screen 114 may comprise a touch responsive surface, wherein the interaction requires the member of the public to touch display screen 114 to conduct the novel method of advertising.
The method of advertising may further comprise providing speaker 116 connected to automatic shoe shining apparatus 102 and microphone 118 connected to automatic shoe shining apparatus 102, wherein the communications system may issue audible prompts and may respond to audible interactive inputs.
In the method of advertising, making available to members of the public the automatic shoe shining apparatus 102 may comprise providing an automatic shoe shining apparatus 102 including dispenser 108 of the shoe shine substance and application apparatus (represented as rotary brush 110), wherein the application apparatus spreads and buffs the shoe shine substance.
In the method of advertising, providing the communications system may further comprise providing display screen 114 capable of displaying imagery to a person utilizing automatic shoe shining apparatus 102, and displaying advertising content on display screen 114.
The method of advertising may further comprise providing a communications system which provides the advertising content discernible to the member of the public, wherein the communications system transmits the interactive inputs by the member of the public to control the automatic shoe shining apparatus 102. The communications system will be understood to encompass input and output features, such as display screen 114, speaker 116, and microphone 118, as well as unillustrated alternatives to display screen 114, speaker 116, and microphone 118, such as for example the keypad, the keyboard, and the mouse, circuitry 112 and 120, and microprocessor 126.
In an important feature of the method of advertising, operation of automatic shoe shining apparatus is dependent upon interactive inputs by the user to assure that advertising content is actually being observed and received by the user of system 100. Turning now to
System 100 may pose more than one query or other action to effect the interactive input by the user. As shown in
In summary, the method of advertising may further comprise issuing at least one visual prompt on display screen 114; providing a user interface associated with display screen 114 enabling interaction between automatic shoe shining apparatus 102 and the member of the public poised to receive the automatic shoe shining service; and enabling fulfillment of the automatic shoe shining service responsive to interaction by the member of the public with the user interface. As stated before, the interface may be display screen 114 itself, or alternatively, microphone 118, the keyboard, the keypad, the mouse, or still another interface device.
System 100 may have a communications facility 134, for example, wireless connection to the internet, or to telephone services. As suggested in
In a further optional feature, the method of advertising may comprise offering the member of the public a discount responsive to the interaction by the member of the public. When the member of the public accepts an offer for a discount, the method may further comprises delivering a virtual coupon to the member of the public. Delivering the virtual coupon to the member of the public may comprise downloading the virtual coupon to a mobile communications device (e.g., a smailphone, not shown) operated by the member of the public.
The discount may take forms other than the virtual coupon without generating either a real or virtual discount. For example, delivering the virtual coupon to the member of the public may comprise downloading an authorization for a discount to a provider of goods and/or services selected by the member of the public.
The method of advertising may utilize other ways to ultimately provide a free service such as the shoe shining service. The method of advertising may further comprise establishing an initial fee to use automatic shoe shining apparatus 102; and refunding at least a portion of the initial fee to the member of the public responsive to the interactive input by the member of the public. Refunding at least a portion of the initial fee may further comprise refunding a first portion of the initial fee to the member of the public responsive to a first interactive input by the member of the public; and refunding at least a second portion of the initial fee to the member of the public responsive respectively to at least a subsequent interactive input by the member of the public. The entire initial fee may be refunded in steps, so that the service ultimately becomes free. Where more than one step of refunding is practiced, or even where there is no initial fee, providing the automatic shoe shining service to a member of the public responsive to the interactive input to automatic shoe shining apparatus 102 may further comprise providing plural prompts (e.g., as illustrated in
In this application, characteristics are recited with the understanding that prevailing conditions are those of ordinary use of the described subject matter. Therefore, although characteristics could change given circumstances other than the ordinary intended usage of the novel apparatus or method, such changes are to be ignored.
While the disclosed concepts have been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred implementation, it is to be understood that the disclosed concepts are not to be limited to the disclosed arrangements, but are intended to cover various arrangements which are included within the spirit and scope of the broadest possible interpretation of the appended claims so as to encompass all modifications and equivalent arrangements which are possible.