Abstract:
The present disclosure relates generally to a method of interacting with customers in customized ways, such as by targeting them with relevant advertisements on media, such as OOH media.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 13/956,209, filed on Jul. 31, 2013, which claims the benefit of provisional application No. 61/677,520, and both of these applications are herein incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present disclosure relates generally to a method of interacting with customers in customized ways, such as by targeting them with relevant advertisements on media, such as OOH media. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Out-of-Home Media (OOHM) is commonly used to deliver marketing messages in advertisements to consumers driving or walking passed digital signage as well as individuals present in a particular area for an extended period, a captive audience. 
         [0004]    Currently, the content of these advertisements is directed towards any passer-by in anticipation that at least some will notice the advertisement and have a need for the product/service being marketed. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    A method to advertise statistically relevant products and services to a targeted consumer is disclosed herein. The method involves identifying a consumer&#39;s interests based on browsing and retail history via a Smartphone based application. Pre-loaded advertisements stored within the OOHM processors will be queued based on the consumer&#39;s profile. Marketing entities will have the ability to determine interests that will queue marketing images and videos directed to the consumer whose interest align with the product or service being advertised. The number of targeted consumers that were geographically able to see a marketing entity&#39;s advertisements will be recorded and tracked for billing purposes. This method further involves offering market analytics and research to subscribing marketing entities. 
         [0006]    In one general aspect, the invention features a digital advertising method that includes creating a reference number which denotes a web user&#39;s habits based on historical data assessed on a user&#39;s properly equipped smart phone. The method also includes transmitting the reference number by a computer peripheral device or a mobile communication device. The reference number is received in order to select relevant advertisements to display on digital out-of-home media when the user is in a viewing area of the digital out-of-home media, based on the characteristics of the reference number. 
         [0007]    In preferred embodiments, the method can further comprise continuously refreshing and refining the reference number based on information received about the web user&#39;s continuously changing history of web activity. The method can further comprise deleting all history of previous reference numbers. The method can further comprises means to resolve any conflicts based on a plurality of characters within the reference number queuing different advertisements on a single digital out-of-home medium, by accounting for importance of the individual characters within the reference number. The method can further comprise means to resolve any conflicts based on a plurality of characters within the reference number queuing different advertisements on a single digital out-of-home medium, and according priority to advertisers based upon payment for featured presentation. The method can further comprise recording and storing data on the digital out-of-home media regarding which advertisements were displayed and which reference number qualities prompted the advertisement to be displayed. The step of transmitting can operate wirelessly. The step of transmitting can operate using a near-field communication protocol. The step of transmitting can operate through WiFi. The step of transmitting can operate through Bluetooth. The step of transmitting can operate through a computer network. The reference number can be made up of characters in a predetermined order which reflect the web-browsing of the user. The step of receiving the reference number can be performed in order to select relevant advertisements to display on Taxi TV. The step of receiving the reference number can be performed in order to select relevant advertisements to display on Gas StationTV. The step of receiving the reference number can be performed in order to select relevant advertisements to display on billboards. The step of receiving the reference number can be performed in order to select relevant advertisements to display on digital signage. The step of creating a reference number can be based on both online browsing and retail purchasing habits. 
         [0008]    In another general aspect, the invention features a digital advertising system that includes at least one processor and at least one storage device including instructions that are configured to run on the processor(s), comprising a preference management module operative to create a reference number which denotes a web user&#39;s online habits based on historical browsing data, a transmission interface responsive to the preference management module and operative to transmit the reference number, a reception interface responsive to the transmission interface to receive the reference number, and an ad selection module responsive to the reception interface and being operative to select out-of-home advertisements based on a received reference number when a user associated with the reference number is in a viewing area of the out-of-home advertisements. 
         [0009]    In a further general aspect, the invention features a digital method of interacting with a user that includes asynchronously accessing stored network access history, creating a reference number which denotes a user&#39;s network access habits based on the asynchronously accessed stored network access history, accessing the reference number, and initiating an interaction with the user that is customized based on the accessed reference number. 
         [0010]    In preferred embodiments, the steps of asynchronously accessing, creating, accessing, can be performed by an application on a smart phone, with the step of asynchronously accessing stored network access history accessing a stored mobile browser web history. The step of initiating an interaction can initiate an interaction for all users of the application. The step of initiating an interaction can initiate an out-of-band interaction. The step of initiating an interaction can initiate an interaction for a single user. The step of initiating an interaction can initiate an interaction for a group of users. The method can further include a step of encrypting the reference number. The step of initiating an interaction can initiate an interaction with OOHM. The method can further include tracking changes in the reference number. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         [0011]    Features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent by reference to the following detailed description and drawings. It is to be understood that the system can work with other components that are not identical but can be substituted for a similar purpose to the component pictured and that method is disclosed herein as well. For the sake of brevity, components with previously described functions mayor may not be described in connection with other drawings in which they appear. 
           [0012]      FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram depicting the method in which the invention will categorize websites in order to construct the Continuously Refining Online Genotype (CROG) necessary for the function of the invention. 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram depicting the method for advertising to a targeted buyer. 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram depicting a system for advertising to a targeted buyer. 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  is a block diagram depicting a system for interacting with a customer in a customized manner. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0016]    Examples of the method disclosed herein may be used to direct relevant OOHM (such as digital signage or gas station television) advertisements to targeted consumers that are geographically located in an area physically able to view the advertisement at the time of display, known as the advertisement&#39;s viewing area. In contrast to current OOHM advertising in which a single marketing message is displayed to all consumers who pass through the medium&#39;s viewing area, this advertising scheme will improve the efficiency of OOHM by displaying advertisements to consumers statistically shown to consider the product or service being marketed as relevant thus making the consumer a targeted buyer. This will be accomplished when the digital OOHM displays marketing images and videos in real time that are relevant to one or several consumers in the medium&#39;s viewing area. 
         [0017]      FIG. 1-3 , described in detail below, depict a system designed to advertise to targeted buyers as defined by a marketing entity. In addition to a pre-existing carrier communication system (including but not limited one or more cell towers, one or more base stations and/or mobile switching centers, and one or more service providers), the system generally includes two key components: a cellular telephone (which could also be represented by a plurality of cellular telephones) with appropriate hardware and software to calculate and broadcast a Continuously Refining Online Genotype (CROG), and a digital OOH medium with appropriate hardware and software to receive a CROG from nearby cellular telephones (ping) and receive, store and queue marketing material based on received CROG input. It is to be understood, however, that additional components and/or systems not shown here could be employed in the method disclosed herein. 
         [0018]    When a cellular telephone is properly equipped the user&#39;s web browsing and retail data will be collected and analyzed via an algorithm designed to develop the user&#39;s CROG, defined as a weighted identification number which constantly refreshes/refines and identifies an individual consumer based on his or her consumer and web-browsing habits. Each CROG is made up of characters in a predetermined order which reflect the web-browsing and purchasing habits of the user. An example of storing consumer data is as follows: 
         [0019]    Position Description 
         [0020]    1 Delineates Male (1) or Female (2) 
         [0021]    2 2-digit age approximation of user 
         [0022]    3 2-digit index code of most frequented website 
         [0023]    4 1-digit relative value (0-9) of previous character associated with duration of current rank 
         [0024]    5 2-digit index code of most frequented e-commerce site 
         [0025]    6 1-digit relative value (0-9) of previous character associated with duration of current rank 
         [0026]    7 2-digit index code of most commonly purchased product/service 
         [0027]    8 1-digit relative value (0-9) of previous character associated with duration of current rank 
         [0028]    9 2-digit index code of 2nd most frequented website 
         [0029]    10 1-digit relative value (0-9) of previous character associated with duration of current rank 
         [0030]    11 2-digit index code of 2nd most frequented e-commerce site 
         [0031]    12 1-digit relative value (0-9) of previous character associated with duration of current rank 
         [0032]    13 2-digit index code of 2nd most commonly purchased product/service 
         [0033]    14 1-digit relative value (0-9) of previous character associated with duration of current rank 
         [0034]    Should a lack of historical data exist, the CROG algorithm can ‘zero-out’ certain characters which are ignored by the OOHM in calculating relevant advertisements to display. It is understood that the system can operate without this function and that method is disclosed herein as well. It also is to be understood that other methods of storing consumer data as an identification number or any other type of suitable coding could be utilized, not limited to including different criteria and/or altered positions and are disclosed herein. 
         [0035]    During off-peak hours, properly equipped digitally addressable OOHM will receive marketing material (images/GIFs and/or videos herein referred to as ads) from service center servers via a carrier communication network which are then stored in the OOHM internal storage unit. Each ad will have a predetermined targeted buyer based on CROG characteristics which the marketing entity requests to be set as a trigger for the ad. It is understood that the marketing entity could request the provider of the method disclosed in this patent to determine the triggers for a particular ad. Once all material is stored, a receiving and processing device within the OOHM, a hub, will begin receiving local CROG. Periodically, such as, for example, every 30 seconds, a consumer&#39;s device will emit its CROG via a short-range communication protocol. When an OOHM Hub receives this ‘ping’, it can be assumed that the bearer of the CROG is in the viewing area. With this information, the OOHM Hub can determine which ad to queue and display. It is understood that the system could also function in a manner in which the OOHM initiates contact with the cellular phone by requesting local CROG, intermittently or continuously. In an example, the ping device could request local CROG periodically, such as, for example, every ten milliseconds. It is understood that the request could also be initiated by motion sensor and/or other devices to alert OOHM of possible targeted buyers in the viewing area. In the same manner that the cellular telephone awaits the push of information (such as an incoming call or text message) it will also receive a ping requesting its user&#39;s CROG. Once a ping is received, it can be assumed that the bearer of this device is in the OOHM&#39;s viewing area and the device will broadcast its CROG fulfilling the OOHM&#39;s request. This method is disclosed herein. 
         [0036]    For media viewable by multiple consumers, a Most Effective Advertisement (MEA) will be displayed which is calculated to be relevant to the largest number of consumers present. 
         [0037]    If a conflict exists between two or more ads from a single consumer, meaning that a single CROG queues two or more ads based on different characters within, precedence will be given to higher (closer to the beginning) character positions. Further, advertising entities can request that particular ads be named featured advertisements thus giving them priority should a character in the CROG queue the ad regardless of its position. 
         [0038]    If a conflict exists between two or more ads from multiple consumers, meaning that multiple CROG in a viewing area queue different ads, the digital OOHM&#39;s processor unit will establish a crowd genotype. Taking into account multiple CROG characters in numerous positions, the processor will calculate the MEA; the ad that would be considered as relevant to the most CROG in the viewing area. It is understood that the system can operate without resolving conflicts from single or multiple CROG and this is included in the disclosure. 
         [0039]    Each time an ad is displayed, the digital OOHM&#39;s internal storage unit will record the number of relevant reference numbers that were in the viewing area during the time the advertisement was displayed. 
         [0040]    The software application included in the present invention is responsible for refreshing a consumer&#39;s CID by taking into account the consumer&#39;s web browsing habits. The following technical specification walks through the cycle that occurs when a consumer visits a new website. 
         [0041]    Indexing Websites 
         [0042]    As depicted in  FIG. 1 , the application will send a query to a proprietarily operated server, sending a URL and receiving back some encoding of the website. This can be done via queries to a relational database system (or other database system) such as mySQL. The database will be structured as what those familiar with the art call a “dictionary” meaning a set of key-value pairs. In this case, the key would be the request (the URL), and the value would be the response (the encoding). In its crudest form, the encoding of the URL could be an integer, with each website mapped to a unique integer representing a specific website category, for example, e-commerce websites. However, other encodings could be used, such as a form of byte-wise nested categorization, in which each byte of the response refers to a subcategory of the previous byte. It is to be understood that other encodings could be used to categorize or associate a website to an index and those methods are included herein. 
         [0043]    While the request from the consumer only needs a website&#39;s encoding, every website must be categorized at a central server. When a website that has not been indexed is encountered, a request is sent to our server to visit and categorize the website. It is to be understood that this could be accomplished either by manual human entry or by automated webpage crawling, in which a piece of software would determine the best category for a site to be in depending on its content. 
         [0044]    Refreshing GROG 
         [0045]    Once the server has responded with the appropriate encoding of the visited website, there is no further need for the consumer&#39;s device to communicate with the proprietary servers directly. While the server computes the appropriate response in the previous step (Indexing Websites), it will temporarily recognize where the request originated in order to provide a response. After a response is sent, however, this information is lost. No record is stored of the URLs and/or the device IP addresses which speaks to the concern for anonymity and privacy. 
         [0046]    The application on the phone is able to update the CROG on its own, without the need for further input from the server. The encoding of the website is inserted into the CROG, as is the level of visitation. The level of visitation is computed relative to other levels of visitation already existing in the CROG is based on how many times the website was accessed and how recently it was accessed. The phone-based application will utilize an algorithm that takes the old CROG, with the encodings of websites and levels of visitation, and computes new levels of visitation for all websites (including the newly visited websites which required server indexing) based on how many times a website was accessed and how recently it was accessed. As a CROG refreshes, websites that have been visited with less frequency can have their absolute level of visitation diminished before computing a relative level with the notion that staler data is not as useful. 
         [0047]    Showing Ads 
         [0048]    With the up-to-date CROG now implanted on the consumer&#39;s device, content must now be delivered to the consumer via OOHM. Periodically, such as, for example, every 30 seconds the consumer&#39;s device will emit its CROG via a short-range communication protocol, such as, for example, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or Near Field Communication (NFC). Power to the device&#39;s Bluetooth and or Wi-Fi need only be turned on for a brief amount of time, as the data being sent is relatively compact. Thus, this process is not costly to the device&#39;s resources. Placed in various locations are hubs connected to digital OOHM that are capable of receiving these particular wireless signals. As depicted in  FIG. 2 , after collecting one or multiple CROG, the hubs then build a queue of advertisements to display on the OOHM. The queue is constructed by choosing an appropriate advertisement not only by matching website indices to ads, but also accounting for the importance of an ad. The importance of an ad is calculated by taking into account a) the number of people to which the ad is relevant and b) the individual importance of this ad to each person, which amounts to specifying an objective function to which the CROG of the consumers in the hub&#39;s immediate vicinity are inputs, and maximizing this objective function. A crude example of this would be a sum of the relative levels of visitation over all websites to which each ad pertains, aggregated over all the consumers. Thus, the hub is able to find which ads would not only be relevant to the most number of people, but also how relevant they are to the demographic. 
         [0049]    From these values, all the ads the hub is able to show can be indexed by the ad&#39;s “score” according to the previously mentioned objective function. The ads are then placed into a simple priority queue, essentially a list that has been sorted by the ads&#39; score (higher score corresponds to higher priority in the list). The hub then begins showing these ads in order, removing them from the list as they are shown, and periodically refreshing its priority queue. It is to be understood that implementing different behaviors once the priority queue is in place, such as displaying a certain ad for a longer amount of time if it is more important than other ads in the queue, is disclosed herein. 
         [0050]    Referring to  FIG. 4 , the reference number (e.g., CROG) can be extracted from an access history of a network access device, such as the browser history of a web browser. Although this access can be performed as the user accesses different sites, it is also beneficial to access the history asynchronously, such as when another application is run. The history can also be accessed upon initialization of an application or at another time to allow the user to provide a workable reference number for the system almost immediately. The reference number can then be used to access OOHM or for other purposes. For example, it can be used to communicate with other types of devices such as set-top boxes, it can be used for other types of advertising such as web or mobile advertising, it can be used to improve performance of an application for targeted types of users, it can be used to customize out-of-band interactions with a user, such as mailings, or it can be used to understand a company&#39;s interactions with its customer base as a whole. 
         [0051]    In one example, a mobile application can be provided on a smart phone for the purpose of providing services and interaction with the customer, such as retail, telecommunications, insurance, and/or banking services. Upon installation, the application can prompt the user for access to his or her mobile browser history. When the user accepts, the company can tailor its communications to the user and other interactions with the user based on his or her reference number. The reference number can then be stored on the smart phone and updated periodically, upon opening the application, or at another suitable interval. Storing the reference number independently of the browser history will allow it to survive events such as expiration or intentional or unintentional deletion of information in the history. It may also allow it to be used by different applications. The system can track the evolution of the reference number over time, as well, and this evolution can be used to understand changes in customers and/or changes in the reference number can be correlated with external events or conditions or metadata such as geographical location at the time of triggering an OOHM ad. 
         [0052]    It should be noted that communication of the reference number to OOHM platforms and delivery of advertising content can also take place via a network such as the internet instead of via wireless communication. Communications at all levels can be encrypted, and the reference number can be stored in an encrypted format requiring application providers to have access to encryption keys to access it. 
         [0053]    The system described above has been implemented in connection with special-purpose software programs running on general-purpose computer platforms, but it could also be implemented in whole or in part using special-purpose hardware. And while the system can be broken into the series of modules and steps shown for illustration purposes, one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that it is also possible to combine them and/or split them differently to achieve a different breakdown, and that the functions of such modules and steps can be arbitrarily distributed and intermingled within different entities, such as routines, files, and/or machines. Moreover, different providers can develop and operate different parts of the system. 
         [0054]    The present invention has now been described in connection with a number of specific embodiments thereof. However, numerous modifications which are contemplated as falling within the scope of the present invention should now be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, it is intended that the scope of the present invention be limited only by the scope of the claims appended hereto. In addition, the order of presentation of the claims should not be construed to limit the scope of any particular term in the claims.