System and method for correlating collected observation campaign data with sales data

Abstract

Systems, apparatuses, processes, methods and operations for implementing and managing a data collection for data regarding the observation of product or service related information. In some embodiments, the invention is directed to systems, apparatuses, processes, methods, and operations for enabling an observation campaign to be evaluated, and if desired, modified, based on sales or other data obtained from a merchant or place of business. In some embodiments, a communication or instruction may be generated and provided to a user/observer participant in an observation campaign requesting that they alter some aspect of the setting or environment in which a product is being sold or offered for sale. In some embodiments, such a communication may be provided to a proprietor of a sales location or to a campaign coordinator so that they are aware of a problem with the way a product or service is being marketed or displayed and can take remedial actions if desired.

That which is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer-based method, comprising:
 establishing an observation campaign for the collection of real-world data regarding a product or service;   identifying one or more users for participation in the observation campaign;   obtaining sales data related to the product or service;   correlating the sales data with collected real-world data; and   modifying an aspect of the observation campaign based on the correlation.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein establishing the observation campaign includes specifying one or more parameters of the campaign. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein modifying an aspect of the observation campaign based on the correlation further includes modifying one or more parameters of the campaign. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein identifying one or more users for participation in the observation campaign further comprises:
 sending an electronic communication corresponding to an opportunity to observe real-world data to a set of users, the electronic communication sent to one or more remote computing devices associated with each user and sent from a data observation computing platform; and   receiving a response to the electronic communication from one or more of the users to which the communication was sent.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the collected real-world includes one or more of
 an image of a product being displayed at a specific location;   an image of an area around a product being displayed at a specific location; or   a user's comments or observations regarding a product being displayed at a specific location.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein correlating the sales data with collected real-world data further comprises determining a relationship between sales of the product or service and one or more of the time period before, during, or after the collection of the real-world data. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the modified aspect is one or more of:
 a total number of observations desired;   a type of data being collected;   a placement of the product;   a placement of collateral information regarding the product or service; or   a price of the product or service.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising making a list of available observation campaign opportunities available to one or more prospective users or observers on a webpage. 
     
     
         9 . A computing system, comprising:
 a user-based mobile computing device configured to execute an observation application to coordinate observing and collecting of real-world data;   an observation server computer configured to push a notification that includes one or more opportunities for observations of real-world data to the user-based mobile computing device and configured to receive real-world data observed and collected by the user-based mobile computing device;   a computer-based method executing on the observation server computer to process the real-world data observed and collected by the user-based mobile computing device, the processing of the real-world data including
 accessing sales related data for a product or service for which the real-world data is being collected; 
 correlating the accessed sales related data with the received real-world data; and 
 based on the correlation or correlations, modifying an aspect of the observation campaign; and 
   a computing device communicatively coupled to the observation server computer and configured to generate and control a campaign of opportunities pushed by the observation server computer.   
     
     
         10 . The computing system of  claim 9 , wherein the real-world data includes one or more of
 an image of a product being displayed at a specific location;   an image of an area around a product being displayed at a specific location; or   a user's comments or observations regarding a product being displayed at a specific location.   
     
     
         11 . The computing system of  claim 9 , wherein the observation server computer further comprises a module configured to determine if the received data from the user-based mobile computing device fulfills one or more criteria for data collection. 
     
     
         12 . The computing system of  claim 9 , wherein the user-based mobile computing device comprises one of the group comprised of: a mobile phone, a smart phone, a laptop computer, and handheld computer, a wearable computing device, and an augmented reality device. 
     
     
         13 . The computing system of  claim 9 , wherein modifying an aspect of the observation campaign based on the correlation further includes modifying one or more parameters of the campaign. 
     
     
         14 . The computing system of  claim 9 , wherein correlating the sales data with collected real-world data further comprises determining a relationship between sales of the product or service and one or more of the time period before, during, or after the collection of the real-world data. 
     
     
         15 . The computing system of  claim 9 , wherein the modified aspect of the observation campaign is one or more of:
 a total number of observations desired;   a type of data being collected;   a placement of the product;   a placement of collateral information regarding the product or service; or   a price of the product or service.   
     
     
         16 . A cloud-based multi-user observation computing system, comprising:
 a plurality of user-based mobile computing devices each executing an observation application configured to communicate with a server computer hosting observation opportunities;   a cloud-based observation platform that includes the server computer for hosting the observation opportunities, the observation platform configured to communicate one or more opportunities to one or more user-based mobile computing devices and configured to receive real-world data collected by one or more of the one or more user-based mobile computing devices;   a computer-based method executing on the observation platform to process the real-world data observed and collected by the one or more user-based mobile computing devices, the processing of the real-world data including
 accessing sales related data for a product or service for which the real-world data is being collected; 
 correlating the accessed sales related data with the received real-world data; and 
 based on the correlation or correlations, modifying an aspect of an observation campaign; and 
   a plurality of computing devices communicatively coupled to the observation platform and configured to generate and alter opportunities as part of one or more observation campaigns, each observation campaign having configurable parameters configurable by at least one of the computing devices.   
     
     
         17 . The computing system of  claim 16 , further comprising a retail-location or point of sale location based computer communicatively coupled to the observation platform and configured to receive one or more communications about the real-world data collected. 
     
     
         18 . The computing system of  claim 16 , wherein each of the plurality of computing devices is configured to generate campaigns of opportunities that include one or more of the parameters from the group comprised of: financial compensation for data collection, non-financial compensation from data collection, time limit for data collection, variable compensation for collected data based on time, variable compensation for collected data based on user reputation, variable compensation for collected data based on geographic location, and data limit for collected data. 
     
     
         19 . The computing system of  claim 16 , wherein the modified aspect of the observation campaign is one or more of:
 a total number of observations desired;   a type of data being collected;   a placement of the product;   a placement of collateral information regarding the product or service; or   a price of the product or service.   
     
     
         20 . The computing system of  claim 16 , wherein correlating the sales data with collected real-world data further comprises determining a relationship between sales of the product or service and one or more of the time period before, during, or after the collection of the real-world data.