Patent ID: 6937996

Claim:
A method of selecting and purchasing media advertising in a user/server environment accessed through a Web site using a media buying process, comprising the steps of: an advertiser accessing a server system through a Web site and providing information relating to buying criteria and customer data through a Web page form in order to select and purchase media advertising; the server system receiving the information, processing the information to select at least one media outlet from a plurality of available media outlets thereby causing said media buying process to have a reduced duration, and creating at least one media advertising rate request directed to the at least one media outlet; transmitting the at least one rate request to at least one media outlet for processing; the at least one media outlet processing the rate request and transmitting the processed rate request back to the server system; the server system manipulating the processed rate request to create a media advertising schedule wherein the schedule is presented in a simplified format by applying a rating system to the schedule and creating numerical ratings and efficiency categories for the schedule; transmitting the media advertising schedule to the advertiser; the advertiser receiving the schedule, making a media advertising purchase decision and transmitting the purchase decision to the server system; and the server system transmitting the media advertising purchase decision to the at least one media outlet for reserving the purchased advertising.