Abstract:
In one aspect, the present invention provides a computerized system and method for placing ads that is, among other things, less paper-intensive and less error prone than conventional advertising systems and methods.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to the field of advertising, and, more specifically, provides systems and methods for managing advertisements (e.g., display ads, classified ads, and other advertisements). 
         [0003]    2. Discussion of the Background 
         [0004]    Placing an ad in a publication (e.g., a newspaper or other publication) is a paper-intensive process. A study in Sweden has shown that there can be as many as 16 transmissions of paper in connection with a single ad. Because the process is so paper-intensive it is also error prone; a single ad may have to be re-typed or re-formatted several times before it appears in a hard copy or online newspaper. Other disadvantages exist. 
         [0005]    What is desired, therefore, are advertising systems and methods that overcome these and other disadvantages associated with the advertising process. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    The present invention provides such desired systems and methods. In one aspect, the present invention provides a computerized system and method for placing ads that is, among other things, less paper-intensive and less error prone than conventional advertising systems and methods. 
         [0007]    One embodiment of the invention provides an article of manufacture comprising a computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions for enabling an advertising advisor to create an advertisement. In one embodiment, the computer-executable instructions include: instructions for receiving a list of customer records that are associated with a single telephone number; instructions for displaying the list of customer records; instructions for enabling the advertising advisor to select a customer record from the list; instructions for displaying a graphical user interface comprising a window comprising a work area, said work area comprising: (1) customer information fields for displaying information from the selected customer record and for enabling the advertising advisor to edit at least some of the displayed information; (2) a word processor for enabling the advisor to input the text of an advertisement and to format the inputted text, and (3) a selectable control element; instruction for storing the text of the advertisement and corresponding formatting information; and instructions for adding the advertisement to a copy-passing list in response to the advisor selecting the control element. 
         [0008]    The above and other embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]    The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form part of the specification, illustrate various embodiments of the present invention. In the drawings, like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements. Additionally, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the drawing in which the reference number first appears. 
           [0010]      FIG. 1  is a high-level, functional, block diagram of one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  shows a process, according to one embodiment, that illustrates the basic flow of events that occur when a transient caller submits an ad. 
           [0012]      FIGS. 3-13  illustrate various user interfaces according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0013]    As used herein, the words “a” and “an” mean “one or more.” 
         [0014]    In one aspect, the present invention provides a computerized advertising system  100  (see  FIG. 1 ). System  100  includes an ad-portal system  102 , which enables users (such as user  101  or “advisor”  101 ) to enter ads electronically into ad-portal system  102  using a communication device (e.g., desktop computer, laptop computer, hand-held consumer electronic device, or other devices capable of transmitting and receiving data over a network) (“client”). For example, advisor  101  can use a conventional computer  112  to transmit to ad-portal  102 , via a network  110 , information concerning an ad that an advertiser would like to place in a publication, such as a traditional newspaper or on-line publication. 
         [0015]    Ad-portal system  102  includes one or more computers and back-end software  181 , which is stored on a computer readable medium and which may execute on one or more of the one or more computers. The back-end software processes requests and information received from client  112 . Additionally, client  112  may have a computer readable medium for storing front-end software  182  and may execute the front-end software, which, when executed, enables advisor  101  to communicate with the back-end software and displays to the user information (e.g., information received from the back-end software). Other features and functionality of software  181  and  182  will be apparent from the description below. 
         [0016]    Network  110  can be a public network (such as the Internet or public switched telephone network or other public network), a private network, a virtual private network, or any combination of these. Preferably, client  112  and ad-portal system  102  include software that enable them to communicate with each other using a standard protocol, such as, for example, the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) or other protocol. 
         [0017]    In one embodiment of system  100  there are two types of advertisers: (1) contract advertisers and (2) non-contract advertisers (a.k.a., transient users). A contract user is a user that has entered into an advertising contact with a publishing company affiliated or associated with system  100 , whereas a transient user may have no previous relationship with the publishing company. 
         [0018]      FIG. 2  is a flow chart illustrating a process  200 , according to one embodiment, that occurs when a transient advertiser places an advertisement. 
         [0019]    Process  200  may begin in step  202 , where advisor  101  executes the front-end software using device  112 , for example.  FIG. 3  is a screen shot of an example user interface  300  proved by the front end-software. As shown in  FIG. 3 , interface  300  may be a single main window  301  that enables advisor  101  to input data (e.g., customer information, advertising copy, etc.) and perform various advertising related functions. 
         [0020]    In step  204 , advisor  101  receives a telephone call from the advertiser. In step  206 , the telephone number from which the advertiser is calling is determined and that number is used to retrieve, from a database (e.g., customer database  191 ), customer records associated with the determined telephone number. For example, the back-end software may access the database and retrieve the records based on the determined telephone number. 
         [0021]    In step  208 , the front-end software displays at least a portion of the retrieved customer records (e.g., name and address) in a display window  302 . In step  210 , advisor  101  asks the caller for his/her name and address so that advisor  101  can determine whether a customer record exists for the caller. If a customer record does not exist for the caller, the process may proceed to step  212 , otherwise it may proceed to step  214 . 
         [0022]    In step  212 , advisor  101  activates the “new customer” control element  371  in window  302  and then creates a customer record for the caller (although control element  371  is shown as being a button, other control elements, such as menu options, may be used). For example, advisor  101  ask the caller for customer information (e.g., name, phone, mailing address, billing address, etc.) and inputs the information into a database update form (not shown). After step  212 , process may proceed to step  216 . 
         [0023]    In step  214 , advisor  101  selects from the list of customer records displayed in window  302  the caller&#39;s customer record and then activates the “ok” button in window  302 . After activating the “ok” button the caller&#39;s customer information is displayed in various customer information fields  448  (see  FIG. 4 ). 
         [0024]    In step  216 , advisor  101  asks the caller for information about the type of advertisement (e.g., help wanted, for sale, etc.) that the caller would like to place. After receiving this information, advisor  101  may select the desired advertising type from pull down menu  311 . If there are multiple region editions into which the ad may be placed, advisor  101  may ask the caller to identify the desired region edition and then select the desired region edition from pull down menu  312 . 
         [0025]    In step  218 , advisor  101  ask the caller for the text of the ad and types the text of the ad into word processor  314 , which, in the embodiment shown, is a “what you see is what you get” (WYSIWYG) word processor that is included within main window  301 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , word processor  314  enables advisor  101  to add a border to the text of the ad (see button  411 ), to add shading to the ad (see button  412 ), and to add a graphic (e.g., a logo) to the ad (see button  413 ). 
         [0026]    In step  220 , advisor  101  asks the caller to indicate the day(s) on which he/she would like the ad to run. After receiving this information from the caller, advisor  101  may input the dates to the front-end software by selecting the dates from calendar  420  (see  FIG. 4 ) which is displayed when advisor  101  actives the calendar icon  320 . 
         [0027]    Depending on the type of ad, the front-end software may display a form  501  (see  FIG. 5 ) that enables advisor  101  to input information about the ad being placed. That is, some types of ads have data fields with which they are associated. For instance, if the ad is a “help wanted” ad, then form  501  may include data fields related to the advertised job (e.g., job title, salary range, location of job, desired experience level, etc.). After advisor  101  enters the appropriate information into the fields of the form, advisor  101  may activate “next” button  502 , which, in one embodiment, causes the front-end software to send the inputted information to the back-end software so that the back-end software can put the information in a database (e.g., database  192 ) and associate the information with the advertisement, the text and formatting of which may also be stored in the dataabse. This feature makes it easier for a person looking for a job to find the help wanted ads that advertise the types of jobs for which the person is looking. 
         [0028]    In step  222 , after advisor  101  has created the ad using word processor  314 , advisor  101  would provide pricing information to the caller. To facilitate advisor  101  in determining the price information, interface  300  includes a “pricing matrix” tab  601  (see  FIG. 6 ). When advisor  101  select the pricing matrix tab  601 , the front-end software displays pricing information (e.g., in the example shown, the pricing information is displayed in a portion of main window  301 ). As illustrated in  FIG. 6 , the pricing information may include a list of up-sells (e.g., different packages that the advertiser may purchase). 
         [0029]    After the pricing information is given to the caller, the caller may be asked to confirm that he/she wants to proceed with placing the ad (step  224 ). If the caller does not wish to proceed or is unsure, advisor  101  may save the ad by activating the “save ad” button  604  (step  226 ). In one embodiment, activating save ad button  604  causes the ad information (e.g., the text of the ad and other ad information) to be saved in the ad database  192  and associated with caller information (e.g., the caller&#39;s name and/or telephone number) so that if the caller calls back at a later time, the ad information can be retrieved easily from database  192  using information about the caller. 
         [0030]    If the caller wishes to proceed with placement of the ad, then advisor  101  may activate the “submit ad” button  606  (step  228 ). In one embodiment, activating submit ad button  606  causes the ad information to be saved in database  192  and associated with caller information and causes the ad to be placed in a copy-passing queue. The copy-passing queue is a list of ads that must be reviewed by an editor before the ad can be published. 
         [0031]    In step  228 , front-end software may display a pop-up window  702  (see  FIG. 7 ) that enables advisor  101  to configure system  100  to send to the caller&#39;s e-mail address and/or fax number a tear-sheet and/or a receipt. The tear-sheet is an image of the ad as it will appear when published. For example, if the ad is a classified ad that will run in a newspaper, the tear-sheet may be an image of the page of the newspaper in which the ad appears. 
         [0032]    In step  230 , a copy-passing editor will review the ad submitted by advisor  101 . To do this, the editor may use the front-end software. Referring back to  FIG. 1 , interface  300  includes a “copy-passing” button  330 . In response to the editor activating copy-passing button  330 , the front-end software may display a list of ads  802  that are in the copy-passing queue (see  FIG. 8 ). For example, front-end software may send a request to the back-end software to retrieve the queue so that front-end software can display it. To review an ad in the copy-passing queue, the editor can select the ad from list  802  and then activate “select” button  804 . In one embodiment, selecting button  804  causes the front-end software to display the ad and a set of buttons that enable the editor to release, hold or return the ad.  FIG. 9  illustrates this feature. As shown in  FIG. 9 , the front-end software displays the selected ad in the word processor  314  and provides a release button  901 , a hold button  902  and a return button  903 . 
         [0033]    If the editor finds no problems with the ad, the editor may select release button  901  (step  232 ), which, in one embodiment, causes the ad to be removed from the copy-passing queue and released for publication. However, if the editor finds problems with the ad, the editor may return the ad to advisor  101  by activating return button  903  (step  234 ). 
         [0034]    The front-end software enables advisor  101  to view the list of ads that have been returned. For example, in the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 , window  301  includes a “returned ads” button  331 . In one embodiment, in response to advisor  101  activating button  331 , the front-end software will display a list of ads  1002  (see  FIG. 10 ) that have been returned to the advisor by the copy-passing editor. If advisor  101  wants to see the ads that have been returned to another advisor, advisor  101  can select the other advisor from pull-down menu  1004  and the activate the “execute search” button  1006 . If advisor  101  wants to view and edit one of the returned ads, then advisor  101  can select the ad and then activate “load ad” button  1008 , which may cause the front-end software to display window  301  with the text of the ad being loaded into word processor  314 . 
         [0035]    Referring back to  FIG. 3 , in the embodiment shown main window  301  includes a vertical button panel  350  and a work area  352 . As illustrated in the other figures, work area  322  changes depending on which button is currently active. For example,  FIG. 1  shows the work area  352 , according to one embodiment, after the user activates home button  329 ,  FIG. 10  shows the work area  352 , according to one embodiment, after the user activates returned ads button  331 , and  FIG. 8  shows the work area  352 , according to one embodiment, after the user activates copy passing button  330 . 
         [0036]    Referring now to  FIG. 11 ,  FIG. 11  shows the work area  352 , according to one embodiment, after the user activates unfinished ads button  332 . As shown in  FIG. 11 , work area  352  displays a list of unfinished ads  1102 . Unfinished ads are those ads that the advisor has previously saved using button  604 . Advisor  101  can resume work on an unfinished ad simply by selecting the ad from list  1102  and then activating the “complete” button  1104 . In one embodiment, this causes work area  352  to return to its home state (see  FIG. 4 , for example) with the text of the selected ad loaded into word processor  314  and the other ad information loaded into the customer information fields  448 . Advisor  101  may also delete an unfinished ad simply by selecting the ad from list  1102  and then activating the “delete” button  1106 . 
         [0037]    Referring now to  FIG. 12 ,  FIG. 12  shows work area  352 , according to one embodiment, after the user activates the “advanced search” button  334 . As shown in  FIG. 12 , work area  352  includes a search form  1201  and a results window  1202 . As illustrated, search form  1201  may include various fill-in fields that enable the advisor to construct a query (i.e., specify search criteria). That is, the advisory uses form  1201  to specify the ads that the advisor is searching for. 
         [0038]    As illustrated, an advisor can search for ads based on, at the least, one or more of the following: the phone number of the customer who placed the ad, the status of the ad, the ad number, the ad class, ad run dates, and the advisor who inputted the ad into the system. After the advisor specifies the search criteria using form  1201 , the advisor may activate the “execute search” button  1210 . In response to activation of button  1210 , in some embodiments, the front-end software communicates the search criteria to the back-end software, which then uses the criteria to retrieve ad records from database  192  and to return the retrieved information to the front-end software, which may display at least some of the returned information in results window  1202 . 
         [0039]    As further illustrated in  FIG. 12 , an advisor can perform a number of operations on an ad that is displayed in results window  1202 . For example, the advisor may (1) re-run a previously published ad by selecting the “pick-up ad” button  1221 , (2) revise the ad by selecting the “revise ad” button  1222 , (3) cancel the ad by selecting the “cancel ad” button  1223 , or (4) view the ad by selecting the “view ad” button  1224 . In some embodiments, after an advisor selects an ad from results window  1202  and activates pick-up ad button  1221 , the advisor is prompted to specify the run dates for the ad. After the advisor specifies the run dates, the ad is automatically published on those dates. 
         [0040]    Referring now to  FIG. 13  shows work area  352 , according to one embodiment, after the user activates the “alerts” button  334 . As shown in  FIG. 13 , work area  352  includes an alert creation form  1301  and an alert list window  1302 . As illustrated, alert creation form  1301  may include various fill-in fields that enable the advisor to crate an alert. 
         [0041]    As illustrated in  FIG. 13 , in one embodiment, an advisor creates an alert by entering the text for the alert into input field  1321 , selecting the recipients for the alert using pull-down menu  1322 , specifying the time to display the alert using input fields  1323 , and selecting the days to display the alert using input fields  1324 . On the specified day and time, the system will display the alert to the selected recipients of the alert. In this way, a user of the system can send timed messages to one or more people. 
         [0042]    While various embodiments/variations of the present invention have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments. 
         [0043]    Additionally, while the processes described above and illustrated in the drawings are shown as a sequence of steps, this was done solely for the sake of illustration. Accordingly, it is contemplated that some steps may be added, some steps may be omitted, and the order of the steps may be re-arranged.