Abstract:
An improved method of marketing is disclosed in which in which a particular marketing website logo is displayed during a television commercial, following which consumers who viewed the commercial can log onto the marketing website and participate in an interactive online contest which will increase awareness of the advertised product or service and thereby reinforce the offline television advertising seen by the consumers. The marketing website offers incentives to consumers who view television commercials and in response log onto the site, so that when consumers view a television commercial which displays the marketing website logo, they will immediately associate the logo with the marketing website and with the opportunity to either obtain something desirable or, more particularly, the opportunity to win a substantial prize at no cost to them. Thus, there exists an incentive which many consumers will find highly desirable, making them highly motivated to move to the second phase of the commercial, which thus extends far beyond the brief seconds of the actual television commercial in further increasing advertised product awareness and reinforcing the television commercial itself.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to the field of marketing, and more particularly to an improved method of marketing in which a particular marketing website logo is displayed during a television commercial and consumers who viewed the commercial can log onto the marketing website and participate in an interactive online contest which will increase awareness of the advertised product or service and thereby reinforce the offline television advertising seen by the consumers. 
     Historically, television advertising has been one of the more effective methods of reaching consumers on a large scale. However, several advances in technology have adversely affected the impact of television advertising and its ability to reach consumers. From the outset of television, viewers of commercial television have been exposed to television commercials which aired at intervals during each television program. Initially, the only way that consumers would not see the commercials airing during the programs they were watching was if they left the room during the commercials. Even then, they could often at least hear the commercials, even if they were not viewing them, unless they used the “mute” button on the television&#39;s remote control. 
     The first challenge to the conventional use of advertising in television came with cable, in which large numbers of viewers began to pay for a service which had previously been free. The initial fear of advertisers was twofold: first that commercial-free cable programming would detract from advertising-supported television&#39;s viewership, and second that the bulk of cable would prove to be commercial free. Neither of these fears proved to be significantly detrimental to advertising-supported television, since most cable channels use commercials, and since television viewership has steadily increased, actually bringing more viewers to advertising-supported television programming. 
     With the advent of the videotape recorder in the late 1970&#39;s, a portion of consumers began to tape television shows rather than watching them at the time they aired. Using the videotape recorder&#39;s remote control, they were able to “zap” commercials by moving through them at high speed, thereby for the first time preventing the commercials from being viewed as they were intended to be. Some videotape recorders even included a “commercial skip” feature which, when a button on the videotape recorder&#39;s remote control used to select the feature was pressed, would jump ahead by a fixed amount of time (such as 30 seconds) on the videotape. However, most consumers have used videotape recorders primarily to time-shift, recording television shows when they would have been otherwise unable to view them. 
     More recently, a new technology has begun to emerge that presents a substantially greater threat to the viability of television advertising. The technology of hard disk drive-based digital video recorders, which allows viewers to “pause” live television also allows the consumers to skip completely through the commercials (in 30 second increments) so long as the viewer is not watching live. Thus, by beginning to watch television shows shortly after they have begun rather than when they are airing live, consumers can completely skip the television commercials. The widespread adoption of this technology potentially represents a disaster for television advertisers, and could threaten the viability of network television since it would make commercial time substantially less valuable, thereby potentially undermining the subsidization of network broadcasting by advertisers. 
     Another recent technological development has been the widespread availability of the Internet. Opportunities for advertising on the Internet have not been lost on corporations and marketers, with advertising taking two fundamentally different approaches on the Internet. The first and better known approach is the information approach, where companies have websites which provide information about themselves and their products. The drawback in this approach is, of course, that viewers must first log onto their websites and request information about their products. 
     The second approach is the use of embedded advertising, in the form of advertising banners, advertising pop-ups (windows with advertising content which open automatically from the main window), and targeted e-mail (also referred to as “spam”). The use of pop-ups and spam generally annoys most Internet users, and they are inclined to delete the windows or spam immediately. Software has increasingly focussed on preventing pop-ups and on automatically filtering out spam. Accordingly, it will be readily appreciated that the Internet to date has proven to be a difficult field in which to run an effective marketing program. 
     At the present time, there have not been significant linkages between television advertising and Internet-based advertising. For the most part, they have been viewed as being alternate channels through which to reach viewers, rather than in any way providing a synergistic result by having their uses combined into a carefully thought out marketing program. Television advertising has for the most part continued on its path without significant change, other than occasionally including advertisers&#39; Internet website addresses in the closing portion of their television commercials. The Internet has, for the most part, been a disappointment for advertisers, and at the present time is generally regarded as being inferior to television advertising both in terms of total audience response measurement and in terms of total advertising dollars earned. 
     It is accordingly the primary objective of the present invention that it combine television advertising with advertising use of the Internet in order to create an offline to online marketing program which achieves synergistic advantages over the use of separate television and Internet advertising campaigns. It is a related objective of the offline to online marketing program of the present invention that it augment the performance level of television advertising only and that it produce a verifiable increase in consumer awareness of the products or services advertised on television. It is another related objective of the offline to online marketing program of the present invention that it provide consumers with an incentive which will function to make them become more aware of the television commercials and which will also cause them to log on to the marketing program website, thereby presenting the opportunity to target them with further marketing information. 
     It is a further objective of the offline to online marketing program of the present invention that it act to build both a lasting memory of television advertising and a relationship between consumers and advertisers which are substantially greater than those which presently exist. It is yet another objective of the offline to online marketing program of the present invention that it provide a source of marketing demographics which, rather than being collected in arduous processes which involve projections and estimates, are provided by the consumers themselves, and thus are necessarily both complete and accurate. It is still another objective of the offline to online marketing program of the present invention that it require little change to be made in offline television ads in order to produce the synergistic and advantageous results mentioned above. 
     The offline to online marketing program of the present invention must also produce results which are achievable over an extended period of time with a variety of different advertised products and services, with the offline to online marketing program requiring few or no enhancements to be made to it for use with the various different products and services which are marketed. In order to enhance the market appeal of the offline to online marketing program of the present invention, it should also be economical both to implement and to operate to thereby afford it the broadest possible market. Finally, it is also an objective that all of the aforesaid advantages and objectives of the offline to online marketing program of the present invention be achieved without incurring any substantial relative disadvantage. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The disadvantages and limitations of the background art discussed above are overcome by the present invention. With this invention, an improved method of marketing which has two fundamental steps is utilized. In the first step, a distinctive logo identifying a particular marketing website is displayed during a television commercial. In the second step, consumers who viewed the commercial can log onto the marketing website and participate in an interactive online game or contest which will function to increase their awareness of the advertised product or service and thereby reinforce the offline television advertising seen by them. 
     The first step is the more simple in that in the preferred embodiment the only change which is made to existing television commercials is the addition of the distinctive logo identifying the marketing website of the offline to online marketing program of the present invention. In the preferred embodiment, the address of the marketing website is contained in a stylized logo which has a distinctive appearance which will soon become well-recognized by consumers viewing television commercials. The marketing website logo may be displayed in a corner of the television screen during the entire commercial. In this way, the marketing website logo will indicate to consumers viewing the television commercials that by logging on to the marketing website identified by the marketing website logo, they can obtain additional information about the advertised product or service which is the subject of the commercial. 
     The second step utilized by the offline to online marketing program of the present invention involves the marketing website identified by the marketing website logo. However, the fact that there is a marketing website which is identified by the marketing website logo displayed during a television commercial is only a small part of the innovative nature of the marketing website. The more significant characteristic of the marketing website is that it offers incentives to consumers who view television commercials and in response log onto the site, and this characteristic is where the offline to online marketing program of the present invention radically departs from past marketing efforts to combine television and the Internet. 
     The key to attracting consumers who view television commercials to the marketing website is to offer an incentive to them so that when they view a television commercial which displays the marketing website logo, they will immediately associate the logo with the marketing website and with the opportunity to either obtain something desirable or, more particularly, the opportunity to win a substantial prize at no cost to them. Thus, by logging on to the marketing website, they will afford themselves the opportunity to become a winner. It will thus be appreciated that in this concept there exists an incentive which many consumers will find highly desirable, making them highly motivated to move to the second phase of the commercial, which extends far beyond the brief seconds of their viewing of the actual television commercial. 
     It will also be appreciated that is it desirable to be able to offer this feature to a plurality of suppliers of products and services rather than limit it to a single product or service. Accordingly, the marketing website has to provide a way for consumers who view television commercials to find their way to each particular television advertiser&#39;s area. Accordingly, the marketing website provides a series of screens which will quickly guide a consumer to the screen associated with the particular television commercial which has brought the consumer to the marketing website. 
     In the preferred embodiment, this is accomplished by first providing the consumer with a choice of television networks on which he or she may have seen the particular television commercial. Each television network which is presenting television commercials which are associated with the marketing website logo is listed on a particular screen, and the consumer is instructed to select the particular network on which the particular television commercial aired. The consumer selects the television network upon which the particular television commercial aired by placing the mouse cursor on the button identifying that television network, and clicking the button of the mouse. 
     This causes the marketing website to provide a screen which lists the television shows on the selected television network during which television commercials which are associated with the marketing website logo aired. The consumer selects the correct television show by placing the mouse cursor on the button identifying that television network upon which the particular television commercial aired, and again clicking the button of the mouse. 
     This causes the marketing website to provide a screen which lists the television commercials associated with the marketing website logo which aired during the selected television show. The prize which is being offered in the game or contest associated with each of the depicted television commercials is also described in this screen. (For example, a car may be the prize in the game or contest associated with a television commercial the subject of which is that car.) The consumer selects the desired television commercial by placing the mouse cursor on the button identifying the particular television commercial, and once again clicking the button of the mouse. 
     In the preferred embodiment, this brings up a login/registration screen in which the consumer is asked to log in if he or she has previously registered with the marketing website, or, alternately, to register with the marketing website. The registration process requires the consumer to provide information which may include the consumer&#39;s name, address, e-mail address, and various demographic information which as age, sex, salary bracket, etc. This may be easily accomplished using drop-down menus allowing the consumer to easily select the correct category. This step may also be used to exclude minors who are legally prohibited from competing in the contest. 
     Following this step, the initial game or contest screen will be displayed. In the preferred embodiment, in this screen the consumer is presented with the option to participate in up to two additional games or contests which are sponsored by the suppliers of goods or services which are related to the product or service which was advertised in the particular television commercial. This has the effect of presenting advertising information on products or services which are in a category in which the consumer has already demonstrated an interest by participating in the game or contest relating to the particular product or service. 
     Following the consumer either electing or declining to participate in one or two additional contests or games, the process moves to the game or contest relating to the product or service which was the subject of the television commercial. While it will be appreciated that the game or contest could take many different formats, the goal of the game or contest is to reinforce the message of the television commercial—namely, that the product or service being advertised is desirable and its purchase would be gratifying to the consumer. Thus, by using a “message memory” format of game or contest in which the consumer is rewarded for paying close attention to the television commercial, the consumer&#39;s viewing habits can actually be modified to cause the consumer to pay closer attention to television commercials in which the marketing website logo appears. 
     By way of example, the form of the game or contest may be an interactive game in which the consumer re-experiences the advertised product or service through his or her participation. The consumer may be challenged to recreate a streaming media scene from the television commercial within a certain time frame and, if successful, then be entered into a drawing to win the product, another award, or a monetary prize. Another example would require a consumer to answer questions about the product or service which was the subject of the television commercial. It will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that many other formats could be used with equal success at reinforcing the advertising message. 
     In addition to reinforcing the advertising message, another benefit derived from the offline to online marketing program of the present invention is the generation of marketing information. Since the basic demographics of consumers accessing the marketing website are provided by the consumers themselves, it will be apparent that the offline to online marketing program represents an invaluable marketing resource for generating information relating to the product or service, the television commercial, or other facets of the marketing program. 
     Following completion of the primary game or contest, the consumer will then play the games or contests for the related products or services, if selected. They may proceed in much the same way as described above. Alternately for either the primary or secondary games or contests, the consumer may actually win online, with the prize either being mailed directly to the consumer, or a coupon for a free product or service being displayed on the screen for the consumer to print. 
     Even if the prize which the consumer was playing for is not won, the consumer may still be rewarded with a discount coupon for the advertised product or service or, more likely, for a smaller product or service. Such coupons can be displayed on the screen for the consumer to print. 
     Additional follow up may be provided in the form of later contacts with the consumer, most likely by conventional e-mail, but alternately by telephone call, pager alert, wireless e-mail, or by providing a toll-free telephone number for the consumer to call to see if he or she has won a contest in which he or she was entered by virtue of his or her participation in the game or contest. The last of these alternatives may be referred to as a “telephone e-mail” system, in which consumers can enter his or her ID and password on the telephone to check to see whether he or she has won, with a brief message further reinforcing the advertising for the product or service advertised in the television commercial being presented in the process. In addition, it will be appreciated that the entire offline to online marketing program of the present invention operates in a closed loop reinforcement fashion in that it will encourage consumers to pay closer attention to television commercials which include the marketing website logo therein. 
     It may therefore be seen that the present invention teaches a combination of television advertising with advertising use of the Internet in order to create an offline to online marketing program which achieves synergistic advantages over the use of separate television and Internet advertising campaigns. The offline to online marketing program of the present invention augments the performance level of television advertising only, and produces a verifiable increase in consumer awareness of the products or services advertised on television. It provides consumers with an incentive which will function to make them become more aware of the television commercials and which will also cause them to log on to the marketing program website, thereby presenting the opportunity to target them with further marketing information. 
     The offline to online marketing program of the present invention acts to build both a lasting memory of television advertising and a relationship between consumers and advertisers which is substantially greater than that which presently exists. It provides a source of marketing demographics which demographics, rather than being collected in arduous processes which involve projections and estimates, are provided by the consumers themselves, and thus are necessarily both complete and accurate. The offline to online marketing program of the present invention requires little change to be made in offline television ads in order to produce the synergistic and advantageous results mentioned above. 
     The offline to online marketing program of the present invention produces results which are achievable over an extended period of time with a variety of different advertised products and services, with the offline to online marketing program requiring few or no enhancements to be made to it for use with the various different products and services which are marketed. The offline to online marketing program of the present invention is also economical both to implement and to operate to enhance its market appeal and to thereby afford it the broadest possible market. Finally, all of the aforesaid advantages and objectives of the offline to online marketing program of the present invention are achieved without incurring any substantial relative disadvantage. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       These and other advantages of the present invention are best understood with reference to the drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic flow diagram which shows the process whereby television advertisers presently are able to utilize the Internet to supplement their television advertising; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic flow diagram which shows the basic system used by the offline to online marketing program of the present invention, which uses an online marketing website to increase awareness and reinforce the offline television advertising; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic flow diagram showing the basic methodology utilized by the system of the offline to online marketing program illustrated in  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a paper bill or, alternatively, an online bill which may be delivered to a consumer and which contains a marketing website logo including the web address for the online marketing website illustrated in  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 5  is the first half of a flow diagram illustrating the process used by the offline to online marketing program of the present invention; 
         FIG. 6  is the second half of the flow diagram illustrated in  FIG. 5 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a screenshot showing a promotional screen seen for a brief time by a consumer logging on to the online marketing website of the present invention; 
         FIG. 8  is a screenshot showing a network selection screen seen by a consumer logging on to the online marketing website of the present invention after the promotional screen illustrated in  FIG. 7  disappears, the network selection screen showing television networks on which commercials using the offline to online marketing program were aired; 
         FIG. 9  is a screenshot showing the network selection screen illustrated in  FIG. 8 , with the cursor located on a particular network logo to show television shows on that network on which commercials using the offline to online marketing program were aired; 
         FIG. 10  is a screenshot showing a television show selection screen which has been selected from the screenshot illustrated in  FIG. 9 , and in which the consumer can select the television show on which a particular commercial using the offline to online marketing program was viewed; 
         FIG. 11  is a screenshot showing a commercial selection screen depicting commercials using the offline to online marketing program which were screened during the television show selected from the screenshot illustrated in  FIG. 10 , from which the consumer can select a particular commercial; 
         FIG. 12  is a screenshot showing a registration/login screen in which the consumer is asked to log in if he or she has previously registered or, alternatively, to register; 
         FIG. 13  is a screenshot of a registration screen in which a consumer who has not previously registered is prompted to provide registration information; 
         FIG. 14  is a screenshot of the beginning of a game in which the consumer will play for a prize from the manufacturer of the product in the selected commercial, showing the option to play up to two additional games following the main game for prizes which are related to the prize of the main game; 
         FIG. 15  is a screenshot shown at the end of the main game informing the consumer of his or her score, enabling updates to be e-mailed, and allowing the consumer to play the other games selected; and 
         FIG. 16  is a screenshot shown at the end of a game which provides a coupon which may be printed and used by the consumer. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Prior to beginning a discussion of the operation of the offline to online marketing program of the present invention, it is useful to briefly discuss the way that television advertisers presently attempt to combine television marketing and Internet marketing. Referring then to  FIG. 1 , the processes presently relied upon by advertisers to attempt to utilize both television advertising and the Internet is shown. An advertiser  30  has a message  32  relating to a product or service which is placed into a television commercial  34 . The television commercial  34  is broadcast, and contains therein the address of an advertiser website  36  which is maintained by the advertiser  30 . 
     Unfortunately, it has been the case that the placement of the address of the advertiser website  36  in the television commercial  34  has been substantially less than highly effective. Thus, since the placement of the address of the advertiser website  36  in the television commercial  34  has not been effective, the line from the television commercial  34  to the advertiser website  36  is shown as a dotted line. Most consumers logging on to the advertiser website  36  either go there because they are frequent users of the Internet (and not due to having seen the website address on the television commercial  34 ), or they arrive there from conventional Internet referral sources such as from a web banner  38  for which the advertiser  30  pays (by clicking on a link contained in the web banner  38 ), from a major portal  40  in which the advertiser  30  advertises (by clicking on a link contained in the major portal  40 ), or from another type of traffic generator  42  for which the advertiser  30  pays. 
     The preferred embodiment of the offline to online marketing program of the present invention solves the problem represented by the inadequate link between the television commercial  34  and the advertiser website  36 . Referring to  FIG. 2 , the four players in the marketing program of the present invention are shown. The first, of course, is a television advertiser  44 , which has a product or service which it wishes to advertise. The second player, as is conventional, is a television broadcaster  46 , which will broadcast a television commercial supplied by the television advertiser  44 . 
     The third player, also as is conventional, is a television audience  48 , which will, of course, view the television commercial. The novel addition to these three players is a fourth player, which is a third party marketing website provider  50 . The interaction between these parties is schematically diagrammed in  FIG. 2  as follows: 1. the television advertiser  44  provides a television commercial for broadcast to the television broadcaster  46 ; 2. the television commercial is broadcast by the television broadcaster  46  and includes the marketing website logo of the third party marketing website provider  50 ; 3. the television commercial with the marketing logo is received by the television audience  48 ; 4. the television audience  48 , recognizing the marketing website logo, log on to the marketing website of the third party marketing website provider  50 ; and 5. the result of the television audience  48  participating in the marketing website is their increased product awareness of the product or service of the television advertiser  44 . 
     Referring next to  FIG. 3 , this flow is shown in a different manner, with the process rather than the participants being emphasized. An advertiser  52  has an advertising message  54  which it desires to communicate to consumers via a television commercial. A television commercial  56  which includes a marketing website logo prominently displayed therein and which contains the message  54  is created. It is noteworthy that the marketing website logo-containing television commercial  56  need not be any different from a conventional television commercial, other than in the fact that it includes the marketing website logo of a third party marketing website  58  prominently displayed therein. 
     The broadcast of the marketing website logo-containing television commercial  56  is of course seen by television viewing consumers, who associate the presence of the marketing website logo with the fact that they will have the opportunity to play a game or win a prize in a contest. This association will be made after a period of initial use in which the third party marketing website provider  50  ( FIG. 2 ) will advertise the meaning of the marketing website logo. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the marketing arts that the exact type of incentive to cause consumers to log on to the third party marketing website  58  may be any of a wide variety of different incentives; the important thing is the recognition by the offline to online marketing program of the present invention that an incentive of some kind will bring extraordinary success to the wedding of television marketing and Internet marketing, yielding a synergistic result far greater than the sum of the parts. 
     Thus, when consumers log on to the third party marketing website  58 , they will be presented with an incentive such as a game or contest, which will provide message reinforcement  60  of the message of the advertiser  52 . In an embellishment, the consumers may be provided with a direct link to an advertiser website  62  where the advertiser  52  may provide additional information about the product or service which is the subject of the message  54 . 
     There may optionally be a variety of other tie-ins (other than television commercials) which will act to direct consumers to the third party marketing website  58 . For example, in  FIG. 4 , a billing statement  64  of a supplier of a product or service includes in two places a marketing website logo  66 . The use of the marketing website logo  66  on the billing statement  64  will also act to induce consumers to log on to the third party marketing website  58  ( FIG. 3 ). Other uses of the marketing website logo  66  will be readily evident, as for example in print advertisements, telephone advertisements, on billboards, etc. 
       FIGS. 5 and 6  illustrate process flow diagrams showing at a high level the operation of the offline to online marketing program of the present invention. Referring first to  FIG. 5 , the first half of this process is illustrated, beginning with a process initiation step  68 . From the process initiation step  68 , the process moves to a viewing network television broadcast step  70 , in which consumers view a chosen television program. Moving next to an enhanced commercial broadcast step  72 , on the particular television program on that particular network, a television commercial which contains the marketing website logo airs. 
     In the next step, a commercial viewing step  74 , consumers see the particular commercial which contains the marketing website logo. In the following step in the process, an Internet capability determination step  76 , the outcome depends on whether or not a consumer who viewed the particular commercial which contains the marketing website logo is capable of using the Internet. If the consumer is not capable of using the Internet, the process terminates (at least for that particular consumer) in a process termination step  78 . If, on the other hand, the consumer is capable of using the Internet, the process moves instead to a marketing website log in determination step  80 . 
     In the marketing website log in determination step  80 , a determination is made as to whether the consumer responds to the marketing website logo viewed in the television commercial by logging in to the third party marketing website. If the consumer does not respond by logging on to the third party marketing website, the process terminates (again, at least for that particular consumer) in the process termination step  78 . If, on the other hand, the consumer does respond to the marketing website logo viewed in the television commercial by logging in to the third party marketing website, the process instead moves to a consumer log on step  82  which shows the consumer logging on to the third party marketing website. 
     From the consumer log on step  82 , the process next moves to a display marketing website home page logo step  84  in which the marketing website logo  66  is displayed. Referring to  FIG. 7  in addition to  FIG. 5 , a screenshot of this step as provided by the third party marketing website  58  is shown. Note that below the marketing website logo  66 , a slogan  86  of the third party marketing website  58  is displayed. The screenshot shown in  FIG. 7  will be displayed for a brief period, typically for between three and ten seconds. From the display marketing website home page logo step  84 , the process next moves to a display participating network logos step  88 . 
     In the display participating network logos step  88 , logos for each of the television networks which are airing television commercials containing the marketing website logo are displayed. Referring now to  FIG. 8  in addition to  FIG. 5 , a screenshot of this step as provided by the third party marketing website is shown. It may be seen that there are six network logos  90 ,  92 ,  94 ,  96 ,  98 , and  100  shown in  FIG. 8  on this screenshot. Each of the six network logos  92 ,  94 ,  96 ,  98 , and  100  may be used to select the television network on which the consumer saw the particular television commercial which prompted the consumer to log on to the third party marketing website  58 . 
     Note with reference to the optional aspect of the present invention discussed in conjunction with  FIG. 4 , a biller logo  102  is also illustrated in  FIG. 8 , which may be used to indicate that it is a paper communication bearing the marketing website logo  66  which originated with the biller who sent the consumer the particular bill which prompted the consumer to log on to the third party marketing website  58 . It will thus be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the use of the marketing website logo  66  on placements other than in television commercials may also be used to direct consumers to log on to the third party marketing website  58 . Although additional logos are not shown in  FIG. 8 , as many additional logos may be used as are necessary either for additional television networks in the case of television commercials or for additional non-television network commercial-originated suppliers of goods and services. 
     From the display participating network logos step  88 , the process shown in  FIG. 5  next moves to a select television network logo prompt  104  in which the third party marketing website  58  prompts the consumer to select one of the six network logos  90 ,  92 ,  94 ,  96 ,  98 , and  100 , as illustrated by the instruction  106  on the screenshot of  FIG. 8 . This is accomplished by the consumer first placing the mouse cursor  108  of his or her mouse on one of six network logos  90 ,  92 ,  94 ,  96 ,  98 , and  100 , as shown in  FIG. 9 . Upon placement of the mouse cursor  108  on the first network logo  90 , a zooming window  110  which lists the television programs which had television commercials which included the marketing website logo therein, all of which shows appeared on the television network which is associated with the first network logo  90 . 
     The next step in the process shown in  FIG. 5  is a television network selection step  112 . This step is performed by the consumer clicking the mouse button with the mouse cursor  108  on the desired network logos  90 ,  92 ,  94 ,  96 ,  98 , or  100 , and causes the process to move to a display television show logos step  114  in which logos for each of the television shown on the selected television network which is airing television commercials containing the marketing website logo are displayed. Referring now to  FIG. 10  in addition to  FIG. 5 , a screenshot of this step as provided by the third party marketing website  58  is shown. 
     In addition to showing the first network logo  90 , the name  116  of that network is also displayed. It may be seen that there are eleven television show logos  118 ,  120 ,  122 ,  124 ,  126   128 ,  130 ,  132 ,  134 ,  138 , and  138  shown in  FIG. 9  on this screenshot. In addition, a movie button  140  and a specials button  142  are also shown in the screenshot. Each of the eleven television show logos  118 ,  120 ,  122 ,  124 ,  126   128 ,  130 ,  132 ,  134 ,  138 , and  138  may be used to select the television show on which the consumer saw the particular television commercial which prompted the consumer to log on to the third party marketing website  58 . The selection of the movie button  140  will bring up a list of recent movies on the selected television network which aired television commercials containing the marketing website logo. Similarly, the selection of the specials button  142  will bring up a list of recent specials on the selected television network which aired television commercials containing the marketing website logo. 
     From the display television show logos step  114 , the process shown in  FIG. 5  next moves to a select television show logo prompt  144  in which the third party marketing website  58  prompts the consumer to select one of the eleven television show logos  118 ,  120 ,  122 ,  124 ,  126   128 ,  130 ,  132 ,  134 ,  138 , and  138  (or the movie button  140  or the specials button  142 ), as illustrated by the instruction  146  on the screenshot of  FIG. 10 . This is accomplished by the consumer first placing the mouse cursor (not shown in  FIG. 10 ) of his or her mouse on one of the eleven television show logos  118 ,  120 ,  122 ,  124 ,  126   128 ,  130 ,  132 ,  134 ,  138 , and  138  (or the movie button  140  or the specials button  142 ). 
     The next step in the process shown in  FIG. 5  is a television show selection step  148 . This step is performed by the consumer clicking the mouse button with the mouse cursor  108  on the desired television show logo  118 ,  120 ,  122 ,  124 ,  126   128 ,  130 ,  132 ,  134 ,  138 , or  138  (or the movie button  140  or the specials button  142 ), and causes the process to move to a display enhanced commercials step  150  in which all of the television commercials which aired during the selected television show and also included the marketing website logo are displayed. Referring next to  FIG. 11  in addition to  FIG. 5 , a screenshot of this step as provided by the third party marketing website  58  is shown. 
     In addition to showing the first network logo  90  and the network name  116 , the name  152  of the selected television show is also displayed. It may be seen that there are six buttons shown in  FIG. 11  on this screenshot. Each of the six television commercial buttons  154 ,  156 ,  158 ,  160 ,  162 , and  164  may be used to select the particular television commercial which prompted the consumer to log on to the third party marketing website  58 . The television commercial buttons  154 ,  156 ,  158 ,  160 ,  162 , and  164  may include information such as the name of the company which manufactures or sells the product or service being advertised, the model name or number of a product or service being advertised, information about the prize being awarded in the game or contest, etc. 
     From the display enhanced commercials step  150 , the process shown in  FIG. 5  next moves to a select commercial prompt  166  in which the third party marketing website  58  prompts the consumer to select one of the six television commercial buttons  154 ,  156 ,  158 ,  160 ,  162 , and  164 , as illustrated by the instruction  168  on the screenshot of  FIG. 11 . This is accomplished by the consumer first placing the mouse cursor (not shown in  FIG. 11 ) of his or her mouse on one of the six television commercial buttons  154 ,  156 ,  158 ,  160 ,  162 , and  164 . 
     The next step in the process shown in  FIG. 5  is a commercial selection step  170 . This step is performed by the consumer clicking the mouse button with the mouse cursor  108  on the desired television commercial button  154 ,  156 ,  158 ,  160 ,  162 , or  164 , and causes the process to move to a display questionnaire step  172  in which a drop-down questionnaire is displayed to the consumer. This questionnaire is not displayed in the screenshots. In a respond to questionnaire prompt  174 , the consumer is prompted to choose responses from drop-down lists to a plurality of questions. 
     The questions are typically based on demographics, and will typically include questions on consumer gender, age, relationship status, residential occupancy type and zip, household income and size, and television viewing or radio listening habits. The next step in the process is a response selection step  176  in which the consumer answers the questions. Following this step, the process moves to a display logon/registration step  178 . Is should be noted that while the offline to online marketing program of the present invention performs the aforementioned questionnaire steps at this point in the process, they could be moved to another point in the process, or even deleted entirely (but at the loss of significant demographic information). 
     Referring now to  FIG. 12  in addition to  FIG. 5 , a screenshot displayed at the outset of the display logon/registration step  178  as provided by the third party marketing website  58  is shown. The process next moves from the display logon/registration step  178  of  FIG. 5  to a logon/registration prompt  180  shown in  FIG. 6  in which the consumer is prompted to log on to the third party marketing website  58  if he or she has previously registered, or, in the alternative, to register. The process next moves to a logon/registration step  182  in which the consumer either logs on or registers. 
     This process may be discussed in some detail in conjunction with  FIG. 12 . Since some computer browsers have a feature which will automatically remember both user names and passwords, there is an automatic sign on button  184  upon which the mouse cursor may be placed and the button of the mouse clicked. Other computer browsers only recall the user name, and in this event the consumer will have to enter his or her ID number in an ID number entry box  186 . There is also a forgotten ID button  188  upon which the mouse cursor may be placed and the button of the mouse clicked to have the consumer&#39;s password e-mailed to him or her. 
     In any event, if the consumer is registered with the third party marketing website  58 , he or she signs in, completing the logon/registration step  182  (shown in  FIG. 6 ). If, on the other hand, the consumer is not registered with the third party marketing website  58 , there is a new user button  190  on which the mouse cursor may be placed and the button of the mouse clicked to begin the registration process, which is shown in  FIG. 13 . The registration process is well known, and requires the consumer to enter his or her name, address, and e-mail address as a minimum. Additional information may also optionally be required, particularly demographic information if the process of steps  172 ,  174 , and  176  (all shown in  FIG. 5 ) were not required. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 14  in addition to  FIG. 6 , the process moves to a begin game display step  192  in which the screenshot shown in  FIG. 14  is displayed. It may be seen that an advertiser logo  194  is shown on the right half of the screen. This advertiser logo  194  corresponds with the game selected in the commercial selection step  170  ( FIG. 5 ) by the consumer in selecting the first television commercial button  154  ( FIG. 11 ). 
     In the next step in the process of the preferred embodiment, an additional game display step  196 , the consumer is shown a plurality of other games which may be selected for play after the primary game is player. It may be seen that there are three additional game buttons  198 ,  200 , and  202  shown in  FIG. 14  on the screenshot. All three of the products or services associated with the three additional game buttons  198 ,  200 , and  202  are associated in a particular way with the product or service which is associated with the advertiser logo  194 . In the example shown in  FIG. 14 , the product associated with the advertiser logo  194  is an automobile, and the products associated with the additional game buttons  198 ,  200 , and  202  are tires, gasoline, and automobile care products, respectively. 
     From the additional game display step  196 , the process shown in  FIG. 6  next moves to a select additional games prompt  204  in which the third party marketing website  58  prompts the consumer to select one of the three additional game buttons  198 ,  200 , and  202 , as illustrated by the instruction  206  on the screenshot of  FIG. 14 . This is accomplished by the consumer first placing the mouse cursor (not shown in  FIG. 14 ) of his or her mouse on one of the three additional game buttons  198 ,  200 , and  202 . The next step in the process shown in  FIG. 6  is an additional game selection step  208 . This step is performed by as the consumer clicking the mouse button on the desired additional game button  198 ,  200 , or  202 , and causes the process to move to a begin display of memory game step  210 . Note that the consumer could be allowed to select more than one additional game, such as, for example, two additional games, if so desired. 
     Due to the wide variety of games or contests which could be played, no particular single game or contest is illustrated herein. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the marketing arts that games which tend to reinforce the advertising message are preferred, such as those which will cause consumers to pay more attention to the television commercials displaying the marketing website logo. In the process illustrated in  FIG. 6 , the next step is a play game prompt  212  in which the consumer is prompted as needed to play the game. 
     The consumer then plays the primary game, as indicated by a game played step  214 . Following the game played step  214 , an optional bonus opportunity may be provided to the consumer. In a bonus display step  216 , the consumer is provided with an indication that he or she will be able to earn a bonus, and with detail on what needs to be done in order to earn that bonus. Typically, the bonus opportunity is presented on related products, either from the supplier of the goods or service which is the subject of the primary game, or from the supplier of goods or services which are from a related field. 
     In a bonus opportunity prompt  218 , the consumer is prompted to respond to the bonus opportunity, and in a bonus response step  220 , the consumer so responds. At this point, the primary game ends, and the results are displayed in a display primary game results step  222 . Referring now to  FIG. 15 , a screenshot of such a display is illustrated, with the results being shown as results display  224 . It may be seen that the results may include information as to whether the consumer won the prize being played for or not. Alternately, based on the results, the consumer can be entered into a drawing for the prize, or for an alternate prize. The latter approach provides an ideal opportunity for an additional contact with the consumer at a later time. 
     In an updated scores/alternate games display  226 , the consumer is provided with the option of receiving updates on the primary game and with the opportunity to begin play on the alternate game(s) selected. In the next step in the process, an update request prompt  228 , the consumer is provided with the opportunity to receive updates on the progress of the primary game. As seen in  FIG. 15 , this can be accomplished with an e-mail notification button  230 , which, when selected by the consumer, will result in the consumer being provided with updates by e-mail. Alternately, these updates could also be provided by voice e-mail, telephone call, pager alert, wireless e-mail, or by providing a toll-free telephone number for the consumer to call to see if they have won, or by other notifications which will be apparent to those skilled in the art. In the next step in the process, the consumer responds in an update opportunity response step  232 . 
     Referring again to  FIG. 15 , the additional games which may be played are represented by three additional game buttons  234 ,  236 , and  238 . It may be seen that the third additional game button  238  is grayed out rather than being displayed distinctly as are the first and second additional game buttons  234  and  236 . This is because the first and second additional game buttons  234  and  236  are the two additional games which were selected, while the third additional game button  238  was not selected. The consumer can play the first additional game by selecting the first additional game button  234 , and the second additional game (if a second additional game was selected) by selecting the second additional game button  236 . 
     Following the additional games being played, the process shown in  FIG. 6  will move to an coupon display  240 . This step, which is shown as a screenshot in  FIG. 16 , involves giving the consumer the results of the last additional game, which are shown as an additional game results display  242 . In the preferred embodiment of the offline to online marketing program of the present invention, the consumer may be provided with a coupon, either for a free product or service, or for a discount on a product or service. Thus, there is a coupon presentation details display  244  displayed on the screen as seen in  FIG. 16 . By printing the screen in a screen print step  246 , a coupon  248  appearing on the screenshot illustrated in  FIG. 16  will be printed for use by the consumer. The process of  FIG. 6  thus ends in an end step  250 , completing the description of the preferred embodiment of the offline to online marketing program of the present invention. 
     In an optional additional step in the process, the consumer may be provided final results of the contest or a drawing in which the consumer has been entered based on the results of the primary game. As mentioned previously, such a notification can be provided by e-mail, voice e-mail, telephone call, pager alert, wireless e-mail, or by providing a toll-free telephone number for the consumer to call for the final results, or by other notifications which will be apparent to those skilled in the art. 
     As an alternate embodiment, the offline to online marketing program of the present invention could also be implemented in a system which offers hyperlinking from a button or icon contained in a conventional television broadcast to a related web site on a real-time basis without requiring a URL or Web address to be typed. The hardware for such a system may use equipment such as that offered by WorldGate Communications, Inc., and may utilize the Microsoft&#39;s TV Platform software. The WorldGate technology is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,961,603, to Kunkel et al., and in U.S. Pat. No. 6,049,539, to Lee et al., both of which are assigned to WorldGate. U.S. Pat. No. 5,961,603 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,049,539 are each incorporated herein by reference. 
     In this system, rather than having a separate television and computer, a set-top box is used to connect a television both to a source of television programming and to the Internet. In this alternate embodiment of the offline to online marketing program of the present invention, a commercial will appear with the marketing website logo displayed therein. By selecting a button on the remote control for the set-top box, the user&#39;s television will move from the commercial to the third party marketing website. 
     The operation of the third party marketing website will be as described above, only using the set-top box remote control to navigate. Following the navigation of the third party marketing website, the user will be returned to the television channel which displayed the commercial. Since such systems can also time-shift programming to freeze or delay viewing, the programming can resume from the exact spot where the user initially pushed the remote control button to move to the third party marketing website. 
     It may therefore be appreciated from the above detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention that it teaches a combination of television advertising with advertising use of the Internet in order to create an offline to online marketing program which achieves synergistic advantages over the use of separate television and Internet advertising campaigns. The offline to online marketing program of the present invention augments the performance level of television advertising only, and produces a verifiable increase in consumer awareness of the products or services advertised on television. It provides consumers with an incentive which will function to make them become more aware of the television commercials and which will also cause them to log on to the marketing program website, thereby presenting the opportunity to target them with further marketing information. 
     The offline to online marketing program of the present invention acts to build both a lasting memory of television advertising and a relationship between consumers and advertisers which is substantially greater than that which presently exists. It provides a source of marketing demographics which demographics, rather than being collected in arduous processes which involve projections and estimates, are provided by the consumers themselves, and thus are necessarily both complete and accurate. The offline to online marketing program of the present invention requires little change to be made in offline television ads in order to produce the synergistic and advantageous results mentioned above. 
     The offline to online marketing program of the present invention produces results which are achievable over an extended period of time with a variety of different advertised products and services, with the offline to online marketing program requiring few or no enhancements to be made to it for use with the various different products and services which are marketed. The offline to online marketing program of the present invention is also economical both to implement and to operate to enhance its market appeal and to thereby afford it the broadest possible market. Finally, all of the aforesaid advantages and objectives of the offline to online marketing program of the present invention are achieved without incurring any substantial relative disadvantage. 
     Although an exemplary embodiment of the offline to online marketing program of the present invention has been shown and described with reference to particular embodiments and applications thereof, it will be apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art that a number of changes, modifications, or alterations to the invention as described herein may be made, none of which depart from the spirit or scope of the present invention. All such changes, modifications, and alterations should therefore be seen as being within the scope of the present invention.