Abstract:
Exemplary embodiments of the invention include the use of a guaranteed cognitive awareness coupled with an individualized sequential advertising campaign directed at a specific user. A user may be offered services such as: telecommunication services, video services, radio or other audio services (traditional radio or satellite radio services), television services (traditional cable or satellite television services), software services, electronic book services, etc. In return for the use of such services free of charge, the services may be periodically interrupted and a commercial message may be conveyed to the user. The commercial message may prompt the user to input a specific value, selection, or keystroke, or may require a response through voice input or selection with a device. Should the user provide the response, the provision of services may continue. Moreover, the commercial messages provided to the user may presented as an individual sequential advertising campaign.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/239,589, filed Sep. 3, 2009, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
         [0002]    The present application is related to U.S. Pat. No. 7,440,563 entitled “Telecommunication and Advertising Business Model and Method of Utilizing the Same,” and filed on Mar. 2, 2007, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    The present invention is generally directed to business models that permit users to receive various services in return for receiving commercial messages. Specifically, the commercial messages received by a user may require a certain level of cognitive awareness, and also may be individualized and sequential, thereby providing a more directed and applicable commercial message. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    Various services are provided to users free of charge in exchange for the user being exposed to advertisements. The business model of GOOGLE™ is one of the most successful examples. GOOGLE™ provides search services while advertisements related to user-provided search terms are displayed in addition to the user&#39;s search results. 
         [0005]    Similarly, HULU™ provides video services to users free of charge. Prior to, and during the course of a video presentation, HULU™ interrupts the video and displays an advertisement or commercial message to the user. 
         [0006]    However, neither GOOGLE™ nor HULU™, nor any other prior art system of which the applicant is aware, requires a user to maintain a certain quantum of cognitive awareness regarding the commercial message. U.S. Pat. No. 7,440,563, owned by Sumo Technologies, LLC—the owner of this instant application, discloses some embodiments of such commercial messaging, termed “guaranteed cognitive awareness.” 
         [0007]    The use of guaranteed cognitive awareness programs in commercial messaging provides assurances to advertisers that their commercial message is actually understood by users, rather than ignored. However, the guaranteed cognitive awareness program described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,440,563 fails to provide a platform of learning about specific consumers and providing an individualized advertising campaign targeted at such specific consumer. 
         [0008]    Accordingly, it is desirable to utilize a guaranteed cognitive awareness program to implement a sequential, individualized advertising or marketing campaign, wherein advertisements either build on one another, or where demographic data is received from the user in response to the guaranteed cognitive awareness questions and such data is utilized to tailor a specific advertising campaign at a specific user. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    Aspects of the invention include the use of a guaranteed cognitive awareness coupled with an individualized sequential advertising campaign directed at a specific user. In other words, in accordance with some embodiments of the invention, a user may be offered services such as, but not limited to: telecommunication services, video services, radio or other audio services (traditional radio or satellite radio services), television services (traditional cable or satellite television services), software services, electronic book services, etc. In return for the use of such services free of charge, the services may be periodically interrupted and a commercial message may be conveyed to the user. The commercial message may prompt the user to input a specific value, selection, or keystroke, or may require a response through voice input or selection with a device (e.g., a mouse, pointer, remote, etc.). Should the user provide the response, the provision of services may continue. Moreover, the commercial messages provided to the user may presented as an individual sequential advertising campaign. 
         [0010]    It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only, and are not restrictive of the invention as claimed. The accompanying drawings constitute a part of the specification, illustrate certain embodiments of the invention and, together with the detailed description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]    In order to assist in the understanding of the invention, reference will now be made to the appended drawings, in which like reference characters refer to like elements. The drawings are exemplary only, and should not be construed as limiting the invention. 
           [0012]      FIG. 1  illustrates a general method of providing services to a user in return for the user being presented with commercial messages, in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention. 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  illustrates a general method of guaranteed cognitive awareness, in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention. 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  illustrates an exemplary method of an individual sequential advertising campaign, in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention. 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  illustrates an exemplary system in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0016]      FIG. 1  depicts a general method  10  of providing services to a user in return for the user being presented with commercial messages in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention. At step  110 , a user requests a service, which, as noted above may be any type of service. At step  120 , the user is presented with a commercial message, which may include a guaranteed cognitive awareness element. At step  130 , the service is provided for a period of time, such as time=T x . After T x , and at step  140 , it is determined if the service is complete. If the service is not complete, the user is presented with another commercial message at step  120 . If the service is complete, the service is terminated at step  150 . 
         [0017]      FIG. 2  depicts a generalized method  20  of guaranteed cognitive awareness, in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention. With reference to  FIG. 1 , the method depicted in  FIG. 2  may be present in step  120 . 
         [0018]    With renewed reference to  FIG. 2 , a user is played a commercial message or advertisement at step  210 . At step  220 , the user is requested to provide an input, thereby acknowledging reception and some level of understanding of the commercial message. At step  230 , the response is received from the user. If a response is not received, the service may be terminated at step  260 . If a response is received, it is determined if the response matches the expected or requested input at step  240 . If the response does not match the expected or requested input, the service is terminated at step  260 . If the response does match the expected or requested input, the service is continued at step  250 . Note that  FIG. 2  is exemplary only, and variations may occur without deviating from the invention. For example, the initial commercial message played to the user at step  210  may be omitted. Similarly, the user may receive multiple chances to provide a matching expected or requested input. 
         [0019]    In order to provide a more targeted—and user relevant—commercial message, data may be obtained about the user. This data may be obtained from external sources, or may be obtained from various requests for a specific user input. For example, data may be obtained about the user&#39;s geographic area. This information may be determined from a user&#39;s telephone number (if the services provided are telecommunication services), ISP address (if the services provided involve, or are provided over, the internet), or account information (if the services provided involve a particular location, such as home digital or cable television). This information may be used to contour the specific individualized advertisement campaign that the user is exposed to. 
         [0020]    The provision of services may also be part of a subscription business model, in which upon joining a user may be required to supply certain demographic data. Alternatively, or in combination with the above-discussed approaches, user data may be obtained through various requests for a specific user input. For example, service may be interrupted and a user may receive a commercial message advising “Press 7 if you own a home; Press 4 if you rent.” Upon pressing 7 information will be stored identifying the specific user as a home owner. Similarly, upon pressing 4 information will be stored identifying the specific user a renter. 
         [0021]    This information may be used in a manner depicted in  FIG. 3 , which illustrates a method of an individual sequential advertising campaign in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention. At step  310 , a user may contact a service, in order to obtain the service free of charge. The service may be any type of service, examples of which are discussed above. At step  320 , the service provider may determine the general location of the user, via methods such as automatic number identification (ANI) or ISP determination. Upon determining the geographic area of the user, the library of applicable commercial messages or advertisements is adjusted accordingly. For example, if a user&#39;s location is determined to be in the north east, advertisements for south western companies may be excluded. 
         [0022]    The provision of services may be periodically interrupted in order to provide the user with commercial messages. The commercial messages may include a guaranteed cognitive awareness component. These aspects are discussed in greater detail above, with reference to  FIGS. 1 and 2 .  FIG. 3  illustrates the flow of commercial and advertising messages during the provision of services. With continued reference to  FIG. 3 , at step  330  a general commercial message may be played to a user, such as an insurance company (“InsureCo”) general message 1. Moreover, during the message the guaranteed cognitive awareness element may be utilized to illicit additional information from the user. For example, the user may be asked, at step  330  “Do you currently use InsureCo insurance? If so, press 3; if not, press 9.” If the user is already a InsureCo customer, the user may be presented with a different commercial advertisement at step  335 . Alternatively, the user may be presented with a different sequence of advertisements directed at expanding coverage of existing InsureCo customers. If the user does not use InsureCo, the process may continue to step  340 . 
         [0023]    At step  340 , a InsureCo Insurance general message 2 may be played. This message may build on the message played at step  330 , such as continuing a specific theme of InsureCo. During or following the message, the user may be presented with the guaranteed cognitive awareness element of “If you own your home, press 2; If you rent your home, press 5”. 
         [0024]    The next commercial message will then be again contoured to the user&#39;s specifics. If the user owns their home (and correctly presses 2), the next commercial message, played at step  341  may be an advertisement advising the user of InsureCo&#39;s homeowner&#39;s insurance. If the user rents their home (and correctly presses 5), the next commercial message, played at step  342  may advise the user of InsureCo&#39;s renter&#39;s insurance. Each message played at step  341  or  342  may include a guaranteed cognitive awareness element, for example asking a user if he or she owns a motorcycle. If, a user identified as a homeowner in step  340  answers that he or she owns a motorcycle, the next sequential advertisement may advise the user at step  343  of package deals combining homeowner insurance with motorcycle insurance. Similarly, if the user is identified as a renter that owns a motorcycle, the next sequential advertisement may advise the user at step  346  of package deals combining renter&#39;s insurance with motorcycle insurance. 
         [0025]    If the user is identified as a homeowner but does not own a motorcycle, the user may be presented with a second InsureCo homeowner&#39;s insurance message at step  344 . Similarly, if the user is identified as a renter but does not own a motorcycle, the user may be presented with a second InsureCo renter&#39;s insurance message at step  345 . During commercial messages presented at steps  343 ,  344 ,  345 , or  346 , a guaranteed cognitive awareness element may be included querying the user if they have teen drivers in the family. If so, the user&#39;s may be presented with current InsureCo deals on teen drivers at steps  347 ,  349 , or  351 . If the user does not have any teen driver&#39;s in the family, the user may be presented with InsureCo Insurance general message 3, for example, continuing a particular theme, at steps  348  or  350 . 
         [0026]    The process depicted in  FIG. 3  is exemplary only, and it is quickly evident the widespread uses this process may have. Information can gradually be accumulated about a specific user, either during a single provision of services—or, in the case of a subscription service—throughout multiple provisions of services. 
         [0027]    For example, in order to obtain services free of charge a user may be required to subscribe to the service. An initial enrollment may be required that may provide the service provider with information such as geographic location, age, sex, family size, etc. For subscribers, the combination of guaranteed cognitive awareness elements and individualized sequential advertising campaigns provides advertisers with a captive audience at whom particularly relevant and applicable advertisements may be directed. The significant value in having such a captive audience, as well as being able to provide relevant directed advertisements, thereby funds the provision of free or reduced rate services to the users. 
         [0028]    A library of potential advertisements may be maintained by the service provider, and upon receiving additional information about a specific user, the relevant library may be gradually reduced and honed in on the specific user. This aspect may be useful when signing up advertisers. Advertisers may only pay a specified amount based upon the frequency their advertisement is played. Smaller, or niche advertisers may be more interested in signing up for such services, knowing that their niche product will be advertised to their niche market only, and the advertiser will not be paying for superfluous marketing. For example, an advertisement for an automotive restorative product may only be played to the ideal demographic of males, aged 16-35, who own a car that is more than 5 years old, who generally perform standard maintenance and repairs on their vehicles themselves. 
         [0029]      FIGS. 4A-4B  illustrate exemplary systems in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.  FIG. 4A  depicts an overall system  40 A, comprising a user  410 , a service provider  420 , a processor  430 , and an advertisement library database  440 . In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 4A , the processor  430  draws advertisements from the advertisement library database  440  and provides such advertisements to the service provider  420 , which in turn provides the advertisements to the user  410 . In this exemplary embodiment, the service provider interacts with the user  410  in order to interrupt service to convey the advertisements, as well as receive the user&#39;s  410  responses to the guaranteed cognitive awareness queries and pass such responses on to the processor  430 . The processor  430  compares the response received from the user  410  with set criteria to determine if the user  410  has adequately or properly responded to the guaranteed cognitive awareness query. 
         [0030]      FIG. 4B  illustrates another exemplary system in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.  FIG. 4B  depicts an overall system  40 B, which, as in  4 A, comprises a user  410 , a service provider  420 , a processor  430 , and an advertisement library database  440 . The processor  430  in turn comprises a guaranteed cognitive awareness determination module  431 , an advertisement presentment module  432 , a service provider communication module  433 , and a module to determine applicable advertisements  434 . 
         [0031]    With continued reference to  FIG. 4B , in use the module to determine applicable advertisements  434  determines a first set of applicable advertisements and conveys one or more of these advertisements to the advertisement presentment module  432 . At this point, the service provider communication module  433  may communicate with the service provider  420  so that service is temporarily interrupted, and the advertisement presentment module  432  provides the one or more advertisements to the user  410 . The one or more advertisements may include a guaranteed cognitive awareness query or element, and the user  410  may respond to such query to the guaranteed cognitive awareness determination module  431 . The guaranteed cognitive awareness module  431  may determine if the user  410  provided an appropriate or proper response. If the user  410  provided an appropriate or proper response, the guaranteed cognitive awareness determination module  431  may inform the service provider communication module  433  that service may be continued, and such message may be conveyed to service provider  420 . Moreover, the guaranteed cognitive awareness determination module  431  may pass the specific response to the module to determine applicable advertisements  434  which, based upon the specific response to the guaranteed cognitive awareness element or query, may reduce the number of applicable advertisements to a subset. This cycle then repeats itself, with the user  410  being presented with an advertisement from the advertisement presentment module  432  drawn from the new subset of applicable advertisements from the module to determine applicable advertisements  434 . 
         [0032]    While the above disclosure has discussed conducting a dynamic individual sequential advertising campaign during the provision of services, such a sequential campaign may be provided with regard to products, as well. For example, it is contemplated that a user may listen to a series of sequential advertisements, and following completion of a series the user may be entitled to a free, or reduced-price, product. Another example may be an audio or computing device. A user may receive an mp3 player for a reduced fee, but during use the mp3 player may present the user with an individual sequential advertising campaign. Similarly, a user may receive a free or reduced-price computer, and the operation of the computer may be periodically interrupted (or the computer may not fully start-up) and may present the user with an individual sequential advertising campaign. In other words, while the systems and methods above are discussed with regard to services, it is contemplated that these systems and methods are equally applicable to products. 
         [0033]    It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the method, manufacture, configuration, and/or use of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. For example, the input of users may be received via key-stroke, pointer selection, voice-input, manual selection, or any other type of indication. It is likewise to be understood that the systems and methods of the invention may applied to multiple commercial advertisements. For example, in the example discussed with reference to  FIG. 3  above, if a user is identified as a motorcycle owner an advertisement may provided that is not part of the InsureCo sequence, but rather an advertisement from Harley Davidson or some other related advertiser.