Blue Calypso, Inc. v. Groupon, Inc.
Filing
1
COMPLAINT against Groupon, Inc. ( Filing fee $ 350 receipt number 0540-3705325.), filed by Blue Calypso, Inc.. (Attachments: # 1 Civil Cover Sheet, # 2 Exhibit A - U.S. Patent No. 7,664,516, # 3 Exhibit B - U.S. Patent No. 8,155,679, # 4 Exhibit C - screen shot, # 5 D - screen shot)(Hill, Jack) (Entered: 07/31/2012)
EXHIBIT B
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US008155679B2
United States Patent
(10)
Levi et al.
(12)
(45)
(54)
SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PEER-TO PEER
ADVERTISING BETWEEN MOBILE
COMMUNICATION DEVICES
(75)
Inventors: Andrew E. Levi, Plano, TX (US);
Bradley W. Bauer, Richardson, TX
(US)
(73)
Assignee: Blue Calypso, LLC, Carrollton, TX
(US)
( *)
Notice:
Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
patent is extended or adjusted under 35
U.S.c. 154(b) by 366 days.
7,664,516 B2 * 212010 Levi et al. ..................... 455/466
200110047294 Al
1112001 Rothschild
200210071076 Al
6/2002 Webb
200210077988 Al * 6/2002 Sasaki et al. .................... 705/59
7/2002 Kitaura
200210091569 Al
200210094868 Al
7/2002 Tuck et al.
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1212002 Yuasa
2003/0144035 Al
7/2003 Weinblatt
2003/0177347 Al
912003 Schneier
(Continued)
FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
JP
Filed:
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Nov. 18, 2009
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OTHER PUBLICATIONS
(Continued)
Prior Publication Data
US 201110119131 Al
May 19, 2011
Int. Cl.
H04W 4/00
(2009.01)
U.S. Cl. .................. 455/466; 455/414.1; 455/432.1;
725/42; 705114.4; 705114.46
Field of Classification Search ............... 455/414.1,
455/466,432.1; 705114,14.4-14.46,14.72;
725/34,42
See application file for complete search history.
References Cited
(56)
U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
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Appl. No.: 12/592,019
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(Continued)
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
(21)
Patent No.:
US 8,155,679 B2
Date of Patent:
*Apr. 10,2012
Bl * 1112001 Eldering .................... 705/14.66
B2
212007 Flaherty
3/2007 Wang et aI.
B2
B2
7/2007 Paul
6/2008 Vesikivi et al.
B2
1012009 Bosarge et al.
B2
Primary Examiner - Nick Corsaro
Assistant Examiner - Quan Hua
(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm - Schultz & Associates, P.c.
(57)
ABSTRACT
Disclosed are a method and system for peer-to-peer advertising between mobile communication devices. A subsidy program is set up based on a profile of an advertiser having at
least one advertising media. A qualified subscriber is identified for the advertiser based on a profile of a subscriber. One
or more advertisers and subsidy programs for the qualified
subscriber is selected. In addition, when a communication
transmission is received from a source communication
device, at least one advertising media is associated with the
communication transmission and the communication transmission is transmitted from a source communication device
to a destination communication device.
27 Claims, 9 Drawing Sheets
US 8,155,679 B2
Page 2
u.s. PATENT DOCUMENTS
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Al
Al
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Al
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1212003
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912004
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* cited by examiner
u.s. Patent
Apr. 10,2012
US 8,155,679 B2
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u.s. Patent
Apr. 10,2012
20
ADVERTISERS CONNECT TO
INTERMEDIARY'S WEBSITE
22
ADVERTISERS COMPLETE
ADVERTISER PROFILE
24
ADVERTISERS SETUP
SUBSCRIBER PROFILE
26
ADVERTISERS SETUP A
SUBSIDY PROGRAM
US 8,155,679 B2
Sheet 2 of9
28
30
32
ADVERTISERS UPLOAD
ADVERTISEMENTS
INTERMEDIARY CONFIRMS
SUBSIDY PROGRAM SETUP AND
UPLOADED ADVERTISEMENTS
CSTART)
~
SUBSCRIBER INITIATES
COMMUNICATION
67
~
P2P AGENT COLLECTS HISTORICAL
../ 68
DATA OF SUCCESS/FAILURE
OF AD IMPRESSION
~
ADVERTISERS ACTIVATE ADS
P2P AGENT PERIODICALLY
TRANSMITS HISTORICAL
DATA TO INTERMEDIARY
FIG. 2
P2P AGENT VALIDATES AND
UPDATES AD IF NECESSARY
../ 70
~
72
~
INTERMEDIARY WEBSITE
PROCESSES HISTORICAL DATA AND
COMPARES AGAINST PROGRAMS
i'- 74
~
INTERMEDIARY NOTIFIES
SUBSCRIBERS POSSIBLE CHANGE
AND TO UPDATE PROFILE
i'- 76
~
INTERMEDIARY GENERATES
REPORTS FOR REVIEW VIA
SUBSCRIBER'S WEBSITE
~
(
END
)
FIG. 5
i'-- 78
.
u.s. Patent
Apr. 10,2012
US 8,155,679 B2
Sheet 3 of9
34
SUBSCRIBER CONNECTS TO
INTERMEDIARY WEBSITE
36
SUBSCRIBER SETS UP
SUBSCRIBER PROFILE
38
INTERMEDIARY ANALYZES
PROFILE DATA AND IDENTIFIES
QUALIFIED ADVERTISERS
42
NO
44
INTERMEDIARY PRESENTS
ADVERTISERS AND
PROGRAMS TO SUBSCRIBER
46
NOTIFY SUBSCRIBER/
REDIRECT TO OTHER
SUBSIDY PROGRAM
SUBSCRIBER/INTERMEDIARY
SELECTS ADVERTISERS/
PROGRAMS FOR ENDORSEMENT
49
48
DOWNLOAD INTERMEDIARY'S
P2P AGENT AND ADS
50
P2P AGENT ACTIVATES FOR USE
FIG. 3
u.s. Patent
Apr. 10,2012
US 8,155,679 B2
Sheet 4 of9
( START
J
SUBSCRIBER INITIATES
COMMUNICATION
TRANSMISSION
V 52
~
P2P AGENT INSERTS ADS
IN FRONT OF/FOLLOWING
TRANSMISSION
V 54
~
P2P AGENT SENDS
COMMUNICATION
TRANSMISSION TO DESTINATION
V 58
r------------ ---------
62/
DESTINATION
COMMUNICATION DEVICE
IGNORES TRANSMISSION,
STORES FOR LATER RETRIEVAL
I
L __________ _
DISPLAY/PLAY/CONFIRM
AD IN DESTINATION
COMMUNICATION DEVICE
r"- 64
RECIPIENT CLICK ON
AD TO LINK TO
ADVERTISER'S WEBSITE
....
I"- 66
---------1
( END )
FIG. 4
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SUBSCRIBER REPRESENTATIVE
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: 600
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SUBSCRIBER
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SUBSCRIBER
SPECIFIC
DATA
REQUEST FOR
ENDORSEMENT
AND SUBSIDY
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SUBSCRIBER
SPECIFIC
DATA
REQUEST FOR
ENDORSEMENT
AND SUBSIDY
SUBSCRIBER
SPECIFIC
DATA
616
608
626
628
L ______________________________________________________
INTERMEDIARY
SET OF ENDORSEMENT
COMPANIES
INTERMEDIARY'S SERVER
SET OF ENDORSEMENT
COMPANIES'SERVERS
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REQUEST FOR
ENDORSEMENT
AND SUBSIDY
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SET OF ENDORSEMENT
AND SUBSIDY
OPPORTUNITIES
ENDORSEMENT SUBSIDY ~
OPPORTUNITIES
645
II SETDEMOGRAPHICAUDIENCE ~ 646
OF DESIRED
DATA
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SET OF DESIRED AUDIENCE ~
DEMOGRAPHIC DATA
668
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Apr. 10,2012
600
US 8,155,679 B2
Sheet 6 of9
660
640
REQUEST FOR
ENDORSEMENT (RFE)
PROVIDE AUDIENCE
DATA
700
701
710
APPROVAL RFE
SUBSIDY PLANS
COORDINATES WITH
SOURCE DEVICE
COMPANY REGARDING
SUBSIDY PLAN
714
718
EXAMINE
ENDORSEMENT
AND SUBSIDY
OPPORTUNITIES
720
SENDS SOFTWARE
AND ENDORSEMENT
TO SOURCE DEVICE
724
IMPLEMENTS
PLAN
o
FIG. 7a
u.s. Patent
Apr. 10,2012
760
US 8,155,679 B2
Sheet 7 of9
o
P2PINSERTS
ENDORSEMENT AND LINK
IN COMMUNICATION
792
600
790
SUBSCRIBER
INITIATES
COMMUNICATION
794
SEND ENDORSEMENT TAG
AND LINK ALONG WITH
COMMUNICATION
797
796
DESTINATION
DEVICE ACCEPTS
COMMUNICATION AND
ENDORSEMENT
SOURCE
DEVICE RECORDS
HISTORY DATA
798
DESTINATION DEVICE SENDS
NOTICE OF RECEIPT OF
COMMUNICATION
o
FIG.7b
729
REQUEST ADDITIONAL
ANALYSIS AND
INFORMATION
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PAYMENT TO
INTERMEDIARY
FIG. 7c
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Apr. 10,2012
Sheet 9 of9
US 8,155,679 B2
660
640
MONITOR
-CREDIT
-USAGE
-RESPONSES
-PHONE ACTIVATION
-PLAN TERM
-PLAN CHANGES
800
US 8,155,679 B2
1
2
SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PEER-TO PEER
ADVERTISING BETWEEN MOBILE
COMMUNICATION DEVICES
FIG. 7c describes the payment of the subsidy to the subscriber.
FIG. 8 describes interactions between the subscriber, intermediary and advertiser nodes during the subscriber de-enrollment process.
FIG. 9 describes the creation of a unique identifier for each
endorsement sent by the subscriber to a contact.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED
APPLICATIONS
This application claims priority from U.S. Patent Application 2007/0016921 filed on Dec. 23, 2005 and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/639,267 filed Dec. 27,
2004, and entitled "A Method and System for Peer-to-Peer
Advertising Between Mobile Devices."
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
As peer-to-peer and mobile technologies evolve into
highly sophisticated two-way communication systems
including mobile phones, instant messaging devices, and personal digital assistants (PDA), the adoption and usage of such
technologies continue to increase at a rapid rate. Advertisers
are highly motivated to identify new methods of creating
brand awareness to users. One of these methods is known as
advertising impressions. Leveraging mobile technologies as
described above, advertising impressions provide brand and
product awareness by directly displaying company advertisements, offering sale promotions, or facilitating the sale of
products directly to users' devices.
In addition to advertisers, users may utilize these technologies to select specific advertisers who may reach them. For
example, technologies like personal digital video recorders
allow users to skip undesirable advertisements. In addition,
technologies, such as a subscription of satellite radio, allow
users to listen to music without the disruption of commercials.
With the declining ability to offer advertisements through
traditional broadcast advertising medium, such as public
radio and television, a need exists for a method that offers
more frequent and effective direct advertising to peer-to-peer
users.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Aspects of the present disclosure are best understood from
the following detailed description when read with the accompanying figures. It is emphasized that, in accordance with the
standard practice in the industry, various features are not
drawn to scale. In fact, the dimensions of the various features
may be arbitrarily increased or reduced for clarity of discussIon.
FIG. 1 is a diagram of exemplary components for providing
advertising between peer-to-peer communication devices.
FIG. 2 a flowchart of an embodiment of an advertiser setup
process.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a subscriber
setup process.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a communication
process.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a subscription
maintenance process.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing communication between the
subscriber, intermediary, and the endorsement companies.
FIG. 7a describes the interactions between the subscriber,
intermediary and advertiser nodes during the enrollment process.
FIG. 7b describes a communication and the recording of
historical data.
45
50
55
60
65
It is to be understood that the following disclosure provides
many different embodiments, or examples, for implementing
different features of the disclosure. Specific examples of
components and arrangements are described below to simplify the present disclosure. These are, of course, merely
examples and are not intended to be limiting. In addition, the
present disclosure may repeat reference numerals and/or letters in the various examples. This repetition is for the purpose
of simplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationship between the various embodiments and/or configurations discussed.
Aspects of the present disclosure provide effective transmissions of advertisements preceding and following transmissions of peer-to-peer communications, which occur
directly between peer-to-peer communication devices.
Examples of peer-to-peer communication devices include
cellular phones, personal digital assistants (PDA), personal
computers, instant messaging devices, and audio devices.
FIG. 1 is a diagram of exemplary components for providing
direct advertising between peer-to-peer communication
devices. A communication source, such as subscriber 1, subscribes to a communication subsidy program 13 of an intermediary 9. In an illustrative embodiment, the communication
subsidy program 13 of the intermediary 9 is funded in whole
or in part by advertisers 10. Alternatively, the communication
subsidy program 13 of the intermediary 9 may be funded by
an independent entity, an Internet service provider, or a telecommunications service provider. The intermediary communication subsidy program 13 may be developed using an
object-oriented progranJilling language, such as Java™ or
C++, C#, or other programming languages.
When a communication transmission (a cellular phone
call, a video conferencing session, an instant message, text
message (SMS, MMS or other), a personal computer communication, or a voice communication) is initiated by the
subscriber 1 to a communication destination 8, an advertisement preceding and/or following the communication is transmitted to a destination communications device 7 used by
communication destination 8. The subscriber 1 may utilize a
source communication device 2, such as a cellular phone, a
personal computer, a personal digital assistant, or an instant
messaging device, to initiate the communication. Source
communication device 2 may be coupled to a network 6 and
may communicate with destination communication device 7
via the network 6 using a communications protocol.
Examples of network 6 may be the Internet, a private network,
a cellular phone network, or other service provider networks.
Examples of the communication protocol include Transmission Control ProtocollInternet Protocol (TCP/IP), Global
System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Code Division
Multiple Access (CDMA), and Wireless Application Protocol
(WAP).
Operating systems running on communication devices 2
and 7 coordinate and provide control of various components.
Each operating system may be a commercially available
operating system such as Microsoft® Windows® Mobile
(Microsoft and Windows are trademarks of Microsoft Corpo-
US 8,155,679 B2
3
4
ration, Redmond, Wash.). An object-oriented software system, such as the Java™ software system may run in conjunction with the operating system and provide calls to the
operating system from Java™ programs or applications
executing on communication devices 2 and 7. (Java is a product available from Sun Microsystems, Inc, of Santa Clara,
Calif.) It is understood that the present disclosure may be used
with other operating systems and applications written using
other programming languages.
When the communication transmission is received by destination communication device 7, the advertisement may be
displayed, played, or confirmed. The source of the advertisement may be announced to the recipient as being endorsed by
the advertisers 10, an independent entity, an Internet service
provider, a telecommunication service provider, or other
types of communication providers. It is understood that FIG.
1 is intended as an example, and not as an architectural
limitation for different embodiments of the present disclosure.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an embodiment of an advertiser
setup process. Advertisers 10 may create and manage its own
advertisement subsidy program or choose to participate in an
intermediary's separately managed communication subsidy
program 13. In the event of the advertisers choosing an intermediary's communication subsidy program 13, advertisers
10 are required to complete a setup process, receive approval
of their profile by the intermediary from a technical and
procedural context, and upload their desired ads to be used in
the intermediary's communication subsidy program 13
before advertisements may be offered.
In step 20, advertisers 10 connect to or browse the intermediary's website 11. The intermediary's website 11 may
reside in a server 12 managed by the intermediary 9. In step
22, advertisers 10 complete an advertiser profile on the intermediary's website 11 identifying the advertisers' criteria. In
step 24, advertisers 10 setup a subscriber profile on the intermediary's website 11 identifYing necessary demographic criteria of a desirable subscriber 1.
In step 26, advertisers 10 set up a subsidy program. The
subsidy program 13 enables advertisers 10 to select or
endorse desirable subscribers in order to subsidize the communication fees, offer its own product discounts or other
company's product discounts, generate and accumulate
"rewards points" for the subscribers, and mitigate or defer
other expenses of the subscriber 1. The advertisers 10 may
provide other types of subsidies or incentives to the subscribers 1 without departing the spirit and scope of the present
disclosure. The selection of subscribers may be based on a
matching of the subscribers' criteria against the advertisers'
criteria.
In addition, the subsidy program 13 enables advertisers 10
to identify what level of discounts, credits, points, or offerings
the subscriber 1 receives as a subsidy in accordance with
certain performance criteria. An example of performance criteria includes the number of communication transmissions
the subscriber had made and the length of the transmissions.
Furthermore, the identification process may be accomplished
through a bidding process, an automated auction, or may be
standardized based upon other categorical groupings. An
example of the bidding process includes a number of advertisers bidding for a group of premium subscribers, who communicate with other subscribers most frequently. An example
of categorical groupings includes allowing the subscriber to
be endorsed by a different advertiser for each communication
event based on a target subsidy or a target destination.
In step 28, advertisers 10 upload their advertisements,
which may be in a form of text, audio, video, static graphic, or
other advertising media, to the intermediary's website 11 to
be later associated with one or more subscriber's communications. Advertisers 10 also have the ability to identify when
and how to apply each advertisement media type based upon
a set of rules or logic defined by either the advertisers 10
themselves or the intermediary 9.
In step 30, the intermediary 9 confirms with advertisers 10
that the subsidy advertisements are ready for use and that the
subsidy program setup is complete. Advertisers 10 may then
elect, through a secure login process, to endorse themselves in
order to test their advertisements and adjust the advertisements as necessary. Otherwise, in step 32, advertisers 10 may
activate one or more advertisements for selection by the subscriber 1. Thus, the process is complete.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a subscriber
setup process. To become a subscriber of the intermediary's
communication subsidy program 13, in step 34, a source
communication device 2 owner or subscriber 1 must first
connect to the intermediary website 11. In step 36, the subscriber 1 set up a subscriber profile and qualifies for the
subsidy program.
Alternatively, the subscriber 1 may be automatically
enrolled in the subsidy program 13 as a result of a relationship
with a service provider, such as a cell phone company contract, an existing service provided by an Internet service provider or by other communication service providers, or
endorsers such as a product retailer who distributes branded
communications devices that are limited to endorsing only
their brand through approved subscribers. The subscriber
profile includes information regarding the subscriber 1, for
example, a name, an address, a device type, a serial number of
the device, a phone number of the device, an IP Address of the
device, basic demographic information of the subscriber 1,
and a carrier calling program. Other characteristics of the
service provider's program, such as available minutes and the
subscriber's usage history may also be collected.
Once the subscriber's profile is set up, in step 38, the
intermediary 9 analyzes the profile data and identifies advertisers 10 whose criteria for subsidy match the subscriber's
criteria. For example, advertiser A offers static graphic media
and video media and advertiser B offers only audio media.
Based on the media type offered, the intermediary 9 qualifies
those subscribers whose communication devices have the
capability to accept static graphics, video, and/or audio. The
intermediary 9 may also require the subscriber 1 to qualify for
subsidy over a trial period of time in order to quantifY and
qualifY the calling habits of subscriber 1. For example, the
intermediary 9 may examine the usage history of subscribers
and qualify only those subscribers who are communicating
with others most frequently.
In step 40, a determination is then made by the intermediary 9 as to whether the subscriber qualifies for an advertiser's
program. In step 42, if the subscriber 1 does not qualifY, the
subscriber 1 is notified that the subsidy setup process may not
continue, and the process terminates. Alternatively, the subscriber 1 may be redirected to another subsidy program or
given information on how to qualifY in the future.
In step 44, if the subscriber 1 qualifies, the intermediary 9
presents all acceptable advertisers 10 and subsidy programs
available, including the criteria for continued subsidy and
levels of subsidy, to the subscriber 1. In step 46, the subscriber
1 or the intermediary 9 may select one or more advertisers 10
and/or subsidy programs containing multiple advertisers or
advertisements for endorsement. The subsidy program 13
may include other random or targeted advertisement that the
subscriber fails to select.
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
US 8,155,679 B2
5
6
In step 47, a determination is made by the intennediary 9 as
to whether the subscriber 1 has the capability to accept the
advertisements for endorsement. In step 49, if the subscriber
has the capability to accept the advertisements, the advertisements are downloaded to the subscriber 1. In step 48, if the
subscriber 1 does not have the capability to accept the advertisements, an intermediary's endorsement manger software
14 is downloaded to the subscriber's source communication
device 2 followed by the advertiser's ads. The endorsement
manager software 14 manages advertisements, formats communication transmissions with the advertisements, and
records advertising impression history of the advertisement
transmissions periodically. In step 50, once the endorsement
manger software 14 and advertiser's advertisements are
downloaded, the endorsement manger software 14 communicates securely with the intermediary's host system and activates itself for use.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a communication
process. The communication process begins, in step 52, when
a communication transmission is initiated by a subscriber 1. A
communication transmission may include a cellular phone
call, an instant message, a page, or a video conferencing
session, and may be initiated using any source communication device 2. In step 54, the endorsement manger software 14
formats the transmission by inserting the appropriate advertiser's advertisement preceding and/or following the transmission. During the communication session, the endorsement manager software 14 records the impression status
based on whether the advertisement was displayed, played, or
confinned on the destination communication device 7.
In step 58, once the transmission is formatted, the endorsement manager software 14 sends the communication transmission to the communication destination 8. In step 64, when
the communication transmission reaches the destination
communication device 7, the advertisement is displayed,
played, or confinned in the destination communication
device 7. In step 66, at the end of the communication session,
the recipient may click on the advertisement to link, via the
Internet, to the advertiser's or another designated website for
additional information or further action. The link may direct
the recipient to other offers, such as coupons, special offers
that are unique to subscriber, or other related parties of the
service. In addition to directing the recipient to other offers,
advertisers 10 may transmit their own messages to the recipient any time during or after the communication process.
Optionally, in step 60, when the communication transmission is initially received by the destination communication
device 7, a detennination is made by a recipient of the destination communication device 7 as to whether to accept or
deny the transmission. In step 62, if a transmission is denied,
the transmission is selectively ignored, and is stored in a voice
mail or similar system for later retrieval. In step 64, if the
transmission is accepted or is retrieved from voice mail or
other storage system, the advertisement is displayed, played,
or confinned in the destination communication device 7. The
advertisement may be played, displayed or confirmed followed by, at the same time, or throughout the communication
session. In step 66, at the end of the communication session,
the recipient may click on the advertisement to link, via the
Internet, to the advertiser's or another designated website for
additional information. The process then tenninates.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a subscription
maintenance process. Subscription maintenance includes
collecting regular advertising impression data from the
endorsement management software of the subscribers, periodic processing of the impression data against subsidy plans
to facilitate distribution of subsidy amounts, changes to the
subscriber's profiles, or program eligibility.
The process begins, in step 67, when a communication
transmission is initiated by the subscriber 1. In step 68, the
endorsement manager software 14 collects historical data
from the subscriber, including successes and failures of
advertising impression events. Examples of advertising
impression events include the number of advertising impressions, the number of advertising media types that have
reached and been accepted by the destination communication, the number of advertising impressions for a certain
party, and the like. In step 70, the endorsement manager
software 14 transmits this historical data to the intermediary's
data warehouse for further processing. In step 72, the
endorsement manager software automatically validates and
updates current versions of advertiser's advertisements, and
the endorsement manager software 14 updates itself, if necessary. The intermediary 9 may also periodically update the
advertisements as the endorsement manager software 14 is
busy communicating with the intennediary's data warehouse
to "check in".
In step 74, upon receipt of the historical data, the intennediary website 11 processes the received historical data and
compares the data against the subsidy programs for which
they have qualified in step 40 in order to generate the subsidy
amount for distribution. The subsidy amount may be in a fonn
of discounts or other incentives. In step 76, if the intermediary
9 detects that the subsidy amount of a program is likely to
change, the intermediary 9 sends a message to the subscriber
1 informing the subscriber 1 of a possible change or a need to
update the subscriber profile. In step 78, the intermediary 9
generates reports to advertisers, service providers, and subscribers for review via the intermediary's website 11. Based
on these reports, advertisers and subscribers may readjust
their profile.
The system and method described above enables advertisers 10 to reach targeted audiences via mobile communications devices. The recipient of a communication transmission
accepts the communication session initiated by a source communication device 2, because the session is identified as being
initiated by a trusted or known entity. Upon acceptance, the
advertising media is played or displayed to the recipient. The
subscribers are given incentives to participate in this program,
such as subsidies to their communication fees and/or other
compelling incentives.
Other scenarios include communication sessions in which
the subscriber 1 is a recipient of the communication session
initiated by a non-subscriber. In this case, the endorsement
manager software 14 in the destination communication
device 7 may insert the advertising media into the communication session prior to enabling the communication between
the subscriber 1 and the non-subscriber. The advertising
media is played or displayed to the subscriber 1, who is
credited to receive incentives based on this communication
sessIOn.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing communication between the
subscriber, intermediary, and the endorsement companies
(advertisers). The set of subscribers 600, 610 and 620 possess
source devices 602, 612 and 622. Subscribers 600, 610 and
620 communicate in a similar mauner and will be described
using subscriber 600 as an example.
Subscriber 600 creates application 604. Application 604
consists of a request for endorsement and subsidy 608, as well
as subscriber specific data 606. Subscriber specific data 606 is
demographic data that relates to the subscriber's education,
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employment, purchasing habits, interests, hobbies, affiliations or other data used to determine a target market for a
product.
An endorsement company selected by the subscriber may
provide an endorsement or endorsement tag (i.e. "advertiser
recommends subscriber"). Alternatively, the subscriber may
offer to endorse the company (i.e. "subscriber recommends
advertiser"). The endorsement may include an embedded
company logo, color or link to an advertisement of a particular product. The product or advertisement that the link points
to is controlled by the advertiser and may be redirected by the
intermediary. In the preferred embodiment, the intermediary
serves as the hosting site for product or advertising data. In
other embodiments, the intermediary and the hosting site may
be located at different machines.
Subscriber 600 communicates with intermediary 640
through source device 602, network 650 and the intermediary's server 642. Subscriber 600 communicates with any of
the set of endorsement companies 660 through source device
602, network 650 and set of endorsement companies' servers
662.
Intermediary 640 communicates with network 650 through
intermediary's server 642. Additionally, list of endorsement
companies 644, set of subscriber applications 647 and software application for subscriber's devices 648 reside on intermediary's server 642.
List of endorsement companies 644 includes endorsement
and subsidy opportunities 645 corresponding to specific
endorsement companies. The list of endorsement companies
645 includes the nature of a company's products and an
estimate of the amount of subsidy that may be provided or the
cost to the subscriber for the company's endorsement.
Endorsement and subsidy opportunities 645 include a set of
desired demographic data 646. Desired demographics 646
relate to a target market that a company is trying to reach with
its ad campaign and products.
Set of subscriber applications 647 are applications 604,
614, 624 that have been submitted to the intermediary via
network 650 or otherwise entered into the intermediary's
server 642.
Endorsement manager software 648 is downloaded to
source device 602, 612, 622 via network 650. As described
earlier, endorsement manager software 648 allows subscribers 600, 610, 612 to accept and pass endorsements and advertisements.
Set of endorsement companies 660 communicates with
network 650 through set of endorsement companies' servers
662. Set of endorsement companies' servers 662 contains set
of advertisements 664. Set of endorsement and subsidy
opportunities 666 are related to individual advertisements
from the set of advertisements 664. The endorsement and
subsidy opportunities 666 contain a set of desired audience
demographic data 668 which relate to a target market selected
by a company.
FIG. 7a describes the bi-directional endorsement process
between the subscriber and the advertiser via the intermediary during the enrollment process. Subscriber 600, intermediary 640 and set of endorsement companies (advertisers)
660 represent "nodes" or "tiers" in a computer network. Each
node or tier may represent a communication device and the
appropriate computer server and computer network connections to allow communication and passing data between subscriber 600, intermediary 640 and company 660. The nodes
may also represent groups of machines in a network confirmati on. The nodes do not reflect (nor require) a specific
carrier or service provider for the source device.
At step 700, subscriber 600 contacts intermediary 640
through network 650 using source devices 602 and makes a
subscription request including a request for endorsement. At
this step, subscriber 600 selects one or more potential endorsers from list of endorsement companies 644. Subscriber 600
submits application 604, including the selected endorsement
companies and subscriber demographic data, to intermediary
640. At step 701, an advertiser contacts intermediary 640.
Advertiser 660 submits one or more sets of desired demographic criteria to intermediary 640.
At step 702, intermediary 640 correlates the subscriber
data with the set of demographic data criteria of the advertiser.
A correlation value is assigned by intermediary 640.
In the preferred embodiment, the correlation value is calculated as a match value or weighted percentage between the
demographic criteria 646 and the subscriber demographic
data.
Other correlation routines can be used to provide additiona metrics to the subscriber and the advertiser related to
the "match" of the subscriber demographic data with the
advertiser criteria. For example, a multipoint questionnaire is
provided to the subscriber including various categories during the subscription process. Questions include multiple
choice questions. Answers to the multiple choice questions
and each of the categories are assigned a weight. The combined weight is provided to the advertiser and to the subscriber as a correlation value.
In another embodiment, credit reports of the subscriber
from third parties may be implemented to calculate a correlation value. Additionally, financial information related to the
subscriber, such as credit history or financial status may be
evaluated to arrive at a correlation value. At step 706, potential subscribers who score lower than the required correlation
value are recommended for rejection.
Alternatively at step 702, advertiser 660 receives a set of
subscriber data from intermediary 640. Advertiser 660 then
correlates subscriber specific data 606 with desired audience
demographic data 668 to derive a correlation value.
At step 704, a list of potential subscribers that meet a
desired correlation value or that offer a sufficient payment by
the subscriber for endorsement are forwarded to the appropriate advertiser 660.
Intermediary 640 notifies subscriber 600 of a rejection at
step 707. Ifthe subscriber is rejected, the rejection is recorded
by the intermediary and the process stops.
At step 708, the advertiser decides whether to endorse a
particular subscriber, based on the results of the correlation.
The advertiser calculates the amount to subsidize or charge
the subscriber for the endorsement. For example, subscriber
600 that achieves a high correlation value may receive a larger
subsidy than the subscriber who achieves a low correlation
value.
Provisions can be provided to allow the subscriber to purchase an endorsement from the advertiser. For example, a
sliding scale may be applied to calculate a price for the subscriber to pay based on a correlation value. A floor function
can also be applied below which no endorsement will be
provided by the advertiser of the subscriber.
If a sufficient correlation value is achieved or the subscriber
purchases an endorsement, the subscriber is deemed a "qualified" subscriber. At step 710, the advertiser notifies intermediary 640 of the endorsement and subsidy opportunities for
which the subscriber has been qualified. Intermediary 640
then notifies subscriber 600, at step 712.
At step 714, subscriber 600 must examine the endorsement
and subsidy opportunities. At step 716, subscriber 600
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chooses at least one plan and advertiser for endorsement and
notifies intennediary 640. At this point, bi-lateral endorsement is complete.
At step 718, intennediary 640 interrogates source device
602 regarding its ability to perfonn the requirements of the
endorsement plan. For example, source device 602 may not
be capable of sending an endorsement with an embedded link
or may not be capable of handling large graphics files.
At step 720, depending on device capabilities, intennediary 640 sends the compressed endorsement manager software
and the endorsement selected by subscriber 600 to source
device 602 held by subscriber 600. In the preferred embodiment, the endorsement manager is software that manages the
endorsement and history related to the endorsement. The
endorsement manager software is sent, along with a set of
links to various advertisements, endorsement tags and graphics files. The endorsement manager software is then decompressed and installed on the source device.
At step 722, the advertiser is notified of endorsement and
subsidy opportunities selected by subscriber 600. The
selected opportunities are implemented by the advertiser in
step 724.
The bi-directional selection process allows the subscriber
to select endorsers that appeal to him. The advertiser then
determines if the subscriber is qualified based on a correlation
between the subscriber's demographics and those desired by
the advertiser. The subscriber's contacts presumably share
some, ifnot all, of the subscriber's demographics and interests. Therefore, the contacts provide a select market and value
to the advertiser, while requiring only a single demographic
comparison. This allows an advertiser to focus its endorsements on favorable target markets without having to qualify
each possible customer or examine demographics of a large
number of potentially bad prospects.
FIG. 7b describes a communication and the recording of
historical data. Subscriber 600 initiates a communication
with contact 760 in step 790. At steps 792 and 794, the
endorsement manager software inserts and sends an endorsement and embedded link in the communication. The destination device accepts the communication and embedded link
and sends a response to the source device in steps 796 and
798. The source device records the historical data in step 797.
FIG. 7c describes the data flow required for subsidy collection. At step 750, the intennediary receives history data
from the subscriber 600 reflecting a communication with
contact 760, such as a phone can where an imbedded link has
been sent in an endorsement message. At step 762, contact
760 follows the link embedded in the endorsement to the
advertisement data hosted by intennediary 640. Intermediary
640 monitors historical data including the number of endorsements sent by subscriber 600 and the number of recipients
contacted by subscriber 600 that use the embedded link to
view the advertisement from the set of advertisements 664.
Individual contacts are identified by a unique identifier
embedded in each endorsement sent by subscriber 600 to
contact 760. At step 766, the unique identifier is decoded by
the intermediary site 640, allowing identification of the contact 760 responding to the endorsement. At step 751, the
intermediary calculates the subsidy and analyzes the subscriber history data and contact interaction history.
The endorsement and the embedded link may be altered in
response to various stimuli. For example, a random function
may be provided in the software to change the endorsement
and/or embedded link resulting in random changes. In
another example, the endorsement and/or embedded link may
be changed to reflect a different product of the company at
different times of day. Additionally, when the embedded link
is activated additional information may be sent from the destination device, such that the geographical location of the
destination device is known. Intermediary site 640 may redirect the embedded link to a new advertisement based on
geographical, time, data or previous responses by the destination device. Intermediary site 640 detennines the geographical location of the device by detennining which cellular tower is carrying the response from the destination device
or by infonnation supplied by the destination device, such as
GPS coordinates. The endorsement and embedded link can
also be configured to respond to specialized applications or
"apps" resident on the source device to reflect changing conditions dictated by the app. For example, an application
maybe capable of reflecting ringtone changes and/or music
preference changes. In these applications listening habits and
cell phone configurations for various lighting displays can
supply infonnation to trigger predetennined variations in the
endorsement or embedded link.
For example, if the embedded link were to a national restaurant chain, intennediary site 640 may redirect it to an
advertisement for the nearest restaurant. Intennediary site
640 may contain the hours of operation of the restaurants and
direct the link to an advertisement for the nearest open restaurant. If no restaurants are open within a predetermined
range, intermediary site 640 may select an alternative advertisement. Intennediary site 640 may also store data regarding
previous interaction from the destination device and redirect
the link accordingly. For example, a savings offer may be
limited to one per device, such that intennediary site 640
redirects the destination device to a different link if an offer
has been previously accepted. Alternately, a source device
may receive additional benefits, such as coupons, for frequently following the link embedded within an endorsement.
Referring briefly to FIG. 9, in an alternate embodiment,
historical data regarding interaction of contact 760 with the
embedded link may be stored on the source device as previously described. Alternatively, the endorsement sent to the
contact from the source device contains a hash of three separate codes. Endorsement code 900 identifies the endorsement
sent to the contact. Source code 910 identifies the source
device that sent the endorsement. Contact code 920 identifies
the contact that received the message. The endorsement manager software residing on the source device creates a unique
identifier 930 for each endorsement sent and includes the
unique identifier 930 in the link embedded in the endorsement. The unique identifier 930 is created by combining
several separate codes together in anyone of many encryption
routines (known in the art as "hashing") to form a code that is
unique for each endorsement sent by a subscriber. Source
code 910 and contact code 920 may be created based on
device serial number, phone number or other numbers unique
to the device. Other codes, including the date code 922 and
geographic location 924 of the source device may be combined as well to create unique identifier 930. Endorsement
code 900 is included in the endorsement when it is downloaded by the subscriber.
In other embodiments, the identity of the contacts, the
duration of the message and communication, the scheduling
of advertisements to view and the length of time that the
contacts browser is focused on the advertisement are
recorded. Additional information collected can include links
navigated to, before and after, viewing the advertisement can
be recorded. In certain cases, identification of contacts recognized by the recipient can be logged. Purchase and payment infonnation may be collected. Identification of music
files, licenses and picture files may be collected. Call log
information may be collected. Data reflecting prior approval
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as a qualified subscriber, and use of the system by the recipient may also be collected. Data reflecting network information such as packet count and packet size may be collected.
Data reflecting location information via a GPS transponder
may be collected. The analysis may include grouping data
with other similar data from other subscribers to develop
buying trends, demographic profiles and purchase information. Analysis of customer location and dwell times at various
websites and "brick and mortar" stores may be analyzed. A
fee may be calculated and assessed by the intermediary at step
751.
Continuing with FIG. 7c, at step 726, a report, showing the
analysis and subsidy due, is sent to the advertiser by intermediary 640. At step 728, the advertiser may verify the calculations of the intermediary submitted in the report or modify the
subsidy recommended. At step 729, advertiser 660 may
request additional information and analysis from the intermediary. In-tum, the intermediary supplies additional reports via
step 726. At step 730, the calculated subsidy is implemented.
This may be a payment to a subscriber 600, or transmission of
a bill owed by subscriber 600 for use of the endorsement to the
subscriber. Of course, other means of implementing a subsidy, such as electronic funds transfer or generation of prepaid
credit cards or vouchers may also be employed. Payment to
the intermediary is made by the advertiser at step 731.
Referring again to FIG. 7a, in an alternate embodiment,
subscriber 600 includes a first minimum amount he is willing
to accept for the endorsement of a particular advertiser in with
the request for endorsement at step 700. A second (larger)
minimum amount is relayed to the company at step 704. If the
company agrees to the second minimum amount in step 710,
subscriber 600 is immediately enrolled in the selected
endorsement and subsidy opportunities 645. This embodiment bypasses steps 712 and 716. The minimum first amount
subscriber 600 is willing to accept is (typically) not provided
to the advertiser by intermediary 640. The difference between
the first minimum amount and the second minimum amount
is retained by intermediary 640 as payment for its services.
Returning to FIG. 6, in an additional alternative embodiment, a subscriber representative 630 may assume a proxy
arrangement for subscribers 600, 610 and 620. In a proxy
arrangement subscriber representative 630 acts on behalf of a
group of subscribers that share similar demographic features.
A proxy arrangement can be organized to reduce the cost of
using the system by individual subscribers by pooling and
offering endorsements through all the subscribers source
devices 602, 612, 622 that are included in the proxy. In this
instance, an endorsement may be changed to also include an
endorsement by the subscriber representative.
In another embodiment, an advertiser offers additional
subsidies or bids against another advertiser for preferred
treatment. This preferred treatment includes more frequent
insertion of one advertiser's endorsements over any others,
particular days or time of day for endorsements, particular
geographic locations, and endorsements sent to particular
contacts of the subscriber. For example, an advertiser may
endorse subscribers who are fans of a particular sport immediately before, during or after a particular game. Also, an
advertiser may endorse a subscriber who calls a contact that
has responded to a message in the past. A contact who has
responded in the past may be identified by a phone number, an
IP address or similar information that is transferred when the
contact responds to the endorsement.
FIG. 8 describes the de-enrollment process. At step 800,
intermediary 640 monitors various aspects of subscriber 600
and source device 602. Among other things, intermediary 640
may monitor credit history, source device usage, device acti-
vation, responses from contacts and expiration of or changes
to the current endorsement plan. At step 802, intermediary
640 warns subscriber 600 of a status change that could result
in a change to the endorsement plan. Subscriber 600 responds
to the warning at step 804. At step 806, the intermediary
notifies advertiser 660 that subscriber 600 may no longer
qualifY for the current endorsement plan.
At step 808, advertiser 660 determines if subscriber 600 is
still a qualified subscriber. Alternatively, advertiser 660 may
decide to allow subscriber 600 time to cure any deficiencies in
qualified subscriber status while allowing subscriber 600 to
remain on the endorsement plan.
At step 810, advertiser 660 sends a deactivation notice to
intermediary 640. At step 812, intermediary 640 then deactivates subscriber 600 and removes source device 602 from the
endorsement plan.
An embodiment of the present disclosure can take the form
of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software
embodiment, or an embodiment containing both hardware
and software elements. For example, one of the previously
described embodiments may be implemented in software,
which includes but is not limited to firmware, resident software, microcode, etc. In addition, various steps of the above
processes may be performed in another order, split into additional steps, or combined into a single step. Steps may also be
removed and or added to any of the above processes.
Furthermore, the present disclosure can take the form of a
computer program product accessible from a tangible computer-usable or computer-readable medium providing program code for use by or in connection with a computer or any
instruction execution system. For the purposes of this
description, a tangible computer-usable or computer-readable medium can be any apparatus that can contain, store,
communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by
or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The medium can be an electronic, magnetic,
optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system
(or apparatus or device), or a propagation medium. Examples
of a computer-readable medium include a semiconductor or
solid state memory, magnetic tape, a removable computer
diskette, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only
memory (ROM), a rigid magnetic disk and an optical disk.
Current examples of optical disks include compact disk-read
only memory (CD-ROM), compact disk-read/write (CD-RI
W) and digital video disc (DVD).
Although embodiments of the present disclosure have been
described in detail, those skilled in the art should understand
that they may make various changes, substitutions and alterations herein without departing from the spirit and scope of
the present disclosure. Accordingly, all such changes, substitutions and alterations are intended to be included within the
scope of the present disclosure as defined in the following
claims. In the claims, means-plus-function clauses are
intended to cover the structures described herein as performing the recited function and not only structural equivalents,
but also equivalent structures.
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The invention claimed is:
1. In a system comprising a network, a source communication device, a destination communication device and an
intermediary connected to the network, said intermediary
comprising a server adapted to execute a method for providing advertising content from at least one advertiser of a group
of advertisers to a recipient associated with the destination
communication device and for subsidizing a qualified subscriber associated with the source communication device
comprising:
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obtaining a first profile from the at least one advertiser in
the group of advertisers including a set of demographic
requirements related to at least one advertiser of a group
of advertisers and storing the first profile by the intermediary;
obtaining a second profile from the source communication
device including a set of demographic data related to a
subscriber and storing the second profile by the intermediary;
deriving a match condition between the first profile and the
second profile;
determining if the subscriber is a qualified subscriber based
on the match condition;
conditioning a set of subsidy programs based on the match
condition;
communicating a subsidy program of the set of subsidy
programs to the qualified subscriber;
receiving one or more selections of the at least one advertiser of the group of advertisers and of the chosen subsidy program from the set of subsidy programs;
providing an endorsement tag related to the at least one
advertiser of the group of advertisers and linked with the
advertising content;
transmitting to the qualified subscriber information for
creating a content communication that can be sent from
the qualified subscriber to the recipient, the content communication including the endorsement tag;
subsidizing the qualified subscriber according to the chosen subsidy program;
receiving a signal through execution of the endorsement
tag to transmit the advertising content; and,
transmitting the advertising content to the recipient.
2. The method of claim 1, comprising the further step of
receiving the advertising content from the at least one advertiser.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of transmitting
to the qualified subscriber information for creating a content
communication includes the further step of facilitating a
choice of the content communication from one of the group of
a text media type, an audio media type, a video media type,
and a graphic media type.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of obtaining the
second profile is carried out through an intermediary website
hosted by the intermediary.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein a set of advertising
criteria is specified in the first profile and a set of subscriber
criteria is specified in the second profile; wherein the step of
determining comprises the further steps of:
comparing the advertiser criteria to the subscriber criteria;
determining if a match exists between the advertising criteria and the subscriber criteria;
if the match exists, then notifYing the subscriber and the at
least one advertiser of the match.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of transmitting
to the qualified subscriber information for creating a content
communication includes the further step of:
linking the endorsement tag with the advertising content
for transmission contemporaneously with the content
communication.
7. A method for providing access to an advertisement from
an advertiser to a source communication device possessed by
a subscriber and distributing the access to the advertisement
from the source communication device to a destination communication device possessed by a recipient, wherein the destination communication device is compatible with the source
communication device, and the recipient having a relation-
ship to the subscriber, the method being executed by a processor, and comprising the steps of:
comparing a desired demographic profile to a subscriber
demographic profile to derive a match;
establishing a bi-lateral endorsement between the subscriber and the advertiser;
providing a subsidy program to the subscriber based on the
match;
sending a token related to the advertisement to an endorsement manager activated on the source communication
device;
sending, to the source communication device, information
that can be used to initiate a communication session
between the source communication device and the destination communication device and to transmit a message, including the token, from the source communication device to the destination communication device
contemporaneously with the communication session;
and
recognizing a subsidy, according to the subsidy program,
for the subscriber after a termination of the communication session.
S. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of sending
information further comprises transmitting the token from the
source communication device to the destination communication device using the endorsement manager.
9. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of comparing
the desired demographic profile further comprises the step of
obtaining the desired demographic profile according to a set
of advertiser criteria.
10. The method of claim 7, wherein the step ofrecognizing
a subsidy further comprises the step of relating the subsidy to
a number of messages sent by the subscriber.
11. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of providing a
subsidy program further comprises the step of relating the
subsidy to one of the group of a product discount, a reward,
and a mitigation of expenses.
12. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of recognizing
a subsidy includes the further step of basing the subsidy on an
acknowledgment by the destination communication device of
the receipt of the token.
13. The method of claim 7, wherein the step ofrecognizing
a subsidy includes the further steps of:
determining a first subsidy value related to transmitting the
message; and,
determining a second subsidy value related to the recipient
interacting with the token.
14. The method of claim 13 including the further steps of:
measuring a frequency of communication between the
source communication device and the destination communication device;
measuring a frequency of interaction by the recipient; and,
the step of recognizing further comprises the step of basing
the subsidy program on the frequency of communication
and the frequency of interaction.
15. The method of claim 7, further comprising the steps of:
transmitting the endorsement manager to the source communication device;
facilitating installation of the endorsement manager for use
in the source communication device; and
storing the token in a memory residing in the source communication device.
16. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of sending, to
the source communication device, information that can be
used to initiate a communication session includes the additional steps of:
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transmitting the message from the source communication
device to the destination communication device using
the endorsement manager; and
recording a set of infonnation related to an interaction with
the token by the recipient at the destination communication device.
17. The method of claim 7, further comprising the steps of:
detennining if the recipient accepts the communication
session;
displaying the token if the recipient accepts the communication session;
redirecting the recipient to a website displaying the advertisement upon an interaction with the token by the recipient; and
storing a set of data, related to the interaction with the
token, in a memory residing on the source communication device.
18. The method of claim 7, further comprising the steps of:
storing a first set of historical data, related to an interaction
with the token by the recipient, in a memory residing on
the source communication device;
periodically transmitting the first set of historical data to
the processor;
updating the advertisement; and
calculating the subsidy based on the interaction with the
token.
19. The method of claim 18, further comprising the steps
of:
storing a second set of historical data, related to transmitting the message, in a memory residing on the source
communication device;
storing a third set of historical data, related to a viewing of
the advertisement by the recipient in the memory residing at the processor;
periodically transmitting the second set of historical data
from the source communication device to the processor;
and,
comparing the first set of historical data, the second set of
historical data, and the third set of historical data against
the subsidy program to detennine the subsidy.
20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:
generating a report, to the subscriber and the advertiser,
related to the first set of historical data, the second set of
historical data and the third set of historical data for
review via an intermediary website.
21. The method of claim 7 where the step of sending
information includes the additional steps of:
using a text message as the message;
storing a set of subscriber transmission data on the source
communication device; and
storing a set of recipient interaction data on the source
communication device.
22. The method of claim 21 where the step of using a text
message includes the additional step of sending an advertising link in the text message.
23. A system for a set of advertisers to provide a set of
advertising media from a first communication device to a
second communication device, associated with a recipient,
connected in a communication session, the system providing
a subsidy to a qualified subscriber associated with the first
communication device, the system comprising:
an intennediary, supporting a set of subsidy programs, an
analysis application, and a website, resident on a computer server;
at least one subsidy program, of the set of subsidy programs, being associated with at least one advertiser of
the set of advertisers;
the intennediary having a processor configured to perfonn
the following steps:
determine a set of demographic qualifications from the
at least one advertiser of the set of advertisers and
store the set of demographic qualifications;
communicate a set of advertiser profiles related to the set
of advertisers to a potential subscriber via the first
communication device,
receive a subscriber profile from the potential subscriber
and store the subscriber profile;
compare the subscriber profile to the set of demographic
qualifications to detennine a qualified subscriber;
determine a bi-Iateral endorsement of the qualified subscriber and the at least one advertiser; and,
transmit the set of advertising media to the first communication device;
provide an endorsement manager, to the first communication device, the endorsement manager programmed
to:
transmit at least one advertising media, of the set of
advertising media, to the second communication
device;
transmit a first set of data related to the advertising
media to the analysis application; and
the intennediary having a processor configured to execute
the analysis application, and perform the following
steps:
conduct an evaluation of the first set of data;
determine an amount of the subsidy according to the
evaluation; and
relate the subsidy to the qualified subscriber.
24. The system of claim 23 wherein the processor, when
executing the analysis application, further perfonns the following steps:
select a subset of advertisers from the set of advertisers and
at least one subsidy program of the set of subsidy programs; and,
download the identity of the each advertiser of the subset of
advertisers and the at least one subsidy program to the
first communication device.
25. The system of claim 24 wherein the processor, when
executing the analysis application, further updates the set of
advertising media resident on the source device.
26. The system of claim 25 where the at least one advertising media of the set of advertising media is a text message.
27. The system of claim 26 where the text message includes
an active link.
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