Patent ID: 7933388

Claim:
A method for operating a directory assistance process adapted to provide a targeted message to incoming callers totally or substantially free of one or more 411-type directory assistance calling charges, the method comprising: receiving a phone call from an incoming caller, the call being provided through at least a telecommunication network; receiving a voice based request for information associated with directory assistance from the incoming caller through at least the telecommunication network; determining phone number information in response to the request through one or more first databases, the phone number information being associated with the information associated with directory assistance; identifying a phone number associated with the incoming caller using a caller identification process; querying at least one of the one or more databases to ascertain a match between the phone number associated with the incoming caller from the caller identification process and at least one of a plurality of identifiers in the at least one database, the at least one of the plurality of identifiers being related to at least one associated message; determining at least one message among a plurality of messages, having a determined value, associated with the at least one of the plurality of identifiers based upon at least the phone number identified using the caller identification process, wherein said determined value is selected in part based on an expected value calculation, the expected value calculation being an expected value to be received by said system by playing said selected message among said one or more messages; transmitting the determined message from the at least one database to the incoming caller through at least the telecommunication network; and transmitting the phone number information to the incoming caller through at least the telecommunication network while the incoming call is totally or substantially free from one or more 411-type directory assistance charges, the one or more directory assistance charges being offset at least in part by the determined value of the at least one message.