Method and system for automated targeted polling via an e-commerce promotions platform

1. A method comprising:

in a computer system configured to manage a promotional activity on an e-commerce platform that communicatively couples to a respective communication device of each of a plurality of users,

configuring, via a creation user interface, one or more graphical user interfaces for generating questions, wherein the creation user interface is configured to set for the questions, via one or more graphical elements, two or more of the following: a poll class, a poll category identification, a poll status, a question type, and a question format;

causing, via a selection of one or more graphical elements of a graphical user interface, the graphical user interface to filter promotional activities;

identifying one or more available promotional activities that are suitable for polling;

selecting a promotional activity from the identified one or more available promotion activities;

providing a first set of questions;

receiving information representative of a consumer demographic and information identifying a second set of questions;

receiving a request to participate in a promotional activity, supported by the computer system, via a communication device of a first consumer of the plurality of consumers;

in response to receiving the request to participate, selecting one or more particular questions from the second set of questions, wherein the selection of the one or more particular questions is performed according to personal information of the first consumer;

forming a third set of questions from the first set of questions and the one or more particular questions, wherein the third set of questions includes the one or more particular questions;

presenting the questions of the third set of questions to the first consumer via the communication device of the first consumer;

collecting, via the communication device of the first consumer, any responses of the first consumer to the questions of the third set of questions; and

delivering responses of the first consumer to the one or more particular questions.

2. The method according to claim 1 , comprising determining whether the first consumer can participate in the promotion activity based on a consumer response of the first consumer to the third set of questions.

3. The method according to claim 1 , comprising identifying, from contests, sweepstakes, instant wins, and giveaways supported by the e-commerce platform, one or more of the contests, the sweepstakes, the instant wins, and the giveaways that are suitable for polling based on input from the poll sponsor.

4. The method according to claim 1 , comprising:

storing the personal information of the first consumer as part of a loyalty program of the sponsor of the promotional activity; and

selecting the one or more particular questions from the second set of questions based on the stored personal information of the loyalty program.

5. The method according to claim 1 , comprising:

accessing the personal information of the first consumer in response to the request to participate in the promotional activity; and

selecting the one or more particular questions from the second set of questions based on the accessed personal information.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the questions of the first set of questions are provided by the operator of the computer system.

7. The method according to claim 1 , comprising:

receiving one or more characteristics common to a group of consumers; and

determining whether the first consumer can participate in the promotional activity based on the one or more characteristics.

8. The method according to claim 1 , comprising:

receiving one or more characteristics common to a group of consumers;

identifying a particular promotion activity targeted to the group of consumers having the common characteristics; and

determining whether the first consumer can participate in the promotional activity based on the one or more characteristics.

9. The method according to claim 1 , comprising:

managing a flow and an order of operations to be performed by multiple departments of an entity corresponding to the selected promotional activity based on the information, wherein each department is not involved in the selected promotional activity until one or more prerequisites of respective department are met.

10. The method according to claim 1 , comprising:

managing a flow and an order of operations to be performed by one or both of a marketing department and an analytics department of an entity corresponding to the selected promotional activity; and

not involving one or both of the marketing department and the analytics department in the selected promotional activity until one or more prerequisites of the marketing department and the analytics department are met.

11. A system comprising:

one or more processors that, during operation, manage a promotional activity on an e-commerce platform, wherein the e-commerce platform is operable to communicate with a respective communication device of each of a plurality of users, wherein the one or more processors are operable to:

configuring, via a creation user interface, one or more graphical user interfaces for generating questions, wherein the creation user interface is configured to set for the questions, via one or more graphical elements, two or more of the following: a poll class, a poll category identification, a poll status, a question type, and a question format;

cause, via a selection of one or more graphical elements of a graphical user interface, the graphical user interface to filter promotional activities;

identify one or more available promotional activities that are suitable for polling;

select a promotional activity from the identified one or more available promotion activities;

provide a first set of questions;

receive information representative of a consumer demographic and information identifying a second set of questions;

receive a request to participate in a promotional activity via a communication device of a first consumer of the plurality of consumers;

in response to receiving the request to participate, select one or more particular questions from the second set of questions, wherein the selection of the one or more particular questions is performed according to personal information of the first consumer;

form a third set of questions from the first set of questions and the one or more particular questions, wherein the third set of questions includes the one or more particular questions;

present the questions of the third set of questions to the first consumer via the communication device of the first consumer;

collect, via the communication device of the first consumer, any responses of the first consumer to the questions of the third set of questions; and

deliver responses of the first consumer to the one or more particular questions.

12. The system according to claim 11 , wherein the one or more processors are operable to determine whether the first consumer can participate in the promotion activity based on a consumer response of the first consumer to the third set of questions.

13. The system according to claim 11 , wherein the one or more processors are operable to identify, from contests, sweepstakes, instant wins, and giveaways supported by the e-commerce platform, one or more of the contests, the sweepstakes, the instant wins, and the giveaways that are suitable for polling.

14. The system according to claim 11 , wherein the one or more processors are operable to:

store the personal information of the first consumer as part of a loyalty program of the sponsor of the promotional activity; and

select the one or more particular questions from the second set of questions based on the stored personal information of the loyalty program.

15. The system according to claim 11 , wherein the one or more processors are operable to:

access the personal information of the first consumer in response to the request to participate in the promotional activity; and

select the one or more particular questions from the second set of questions based on the accessed personal information.

16. The system according to claim 11 , wherein the questions of the first set of questions are provided via the e-commerce platform.

17. The system according to claim 11 , wherein the one or more processors are operable to:

receive one or more characteristics common to a group of consumers; and

determine whether the first consumer can participate in the promotional activity based on the one or more characteristics received from the poll sponsor.

18. The system according to claim 11 , wherein the one or more processors are operable to:

receive, from the poll sponsor, characteristics common to a group of consumers;

identify a particular promotion activity targeted to the group of consumers having the common characteristics; and

determine whether the first consumer can participate in the promotional activity based on the one or more characteristics received from the poll sponsor.

19. The system according to claim 11 , wherein the one or more processors are operable to manage a flow and an order of operations to be performed by one or both of a marketing department and an analytics department of an entity corresponding to the selected promotional activity.