Method and system for conducting an on-line survey
First Claim
1. A method for conducting an on-line survey in association with presentation of an on-line advertisement by a browser client, the method comprising:
- receiving, by a user computer hosting the browser client, a web page configured to display an on-line advertisement;
issuing, by the user computer in association with processing the received web page, a request to an ad server, for a block of data comprising computer-readable instructions for presenting the on-line advertisement via the browser client;
sending, by the ad server in response to the issued request from the user computer, the block of data including computer-readable instructions for presenting the on-line advertisement and the block of data further including additional computer-readable instructions that facilitate decision-making steps for determining whether to present an on-line survey solicitation via the browser client, wherein acceptance of the on-line survey solicitation by the user results in presentation of an on-line survey via the browser client;
accessing, on the user computer, a timestamp value indicative of a period of time that has passed since the on-line survey solicitation was previously presented by the browser client; and
executing the additional computer-readable instructions if the timestamp value indicates passage of a period of time satisfying a prescribed wait period between consecutive presentations of the on-line survey solicitation by the browser client on the user computer,wherein the decision-making steps comprise generating a random number on the user computer; and
wherein the method further comprises applying a frequency parameter value to the random number to determine whether to present a survey invitation on the user computer,wherein the frequency parameter value is specified by a survey logic server,wherein the executing step comprises providing the random number to the survey logic server,wherein the survey logic server performs the applying step, andwherein the random number is appended to a URL used by a browser on the user computer to contact the survey logic server.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system for conducting an on-line survey involves communicating with a computer over a computer network and obtaining such information as whether a solicitation for the survey has previously been displayed on the computer, how long ago it was displayed, and whether a user at the computer ever attempted to take the survey. Based on this information, a decision is made as to whether to transmit a solicitation for the survey to the computer. The invention helps ensure that users are not subjected to the annoyance of repeatedly and frequently being asked to take a particular on-line survey.
27 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A method for conducting an on-line survey in association with presentation of an on-line advertisement by a browser client, the method comprising:
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receiving, by a user computer hosting the browser client, a web page configured to display an on-line advertisement; issuing, by the user computer in association with processing the received web page, a request to an ad server, for a block of data comprising computer-readable instructions for presenting the on-line advertisement via the browser client; sending, by the ad server in response to the issued request from the user computer, the block of data including computer-readable instructions for presenting the on-line advertisement and the block of data further including additional computer-readable instructions that facilitate decision-making steps for determining whether to present an on-line survey solicitation via the browser client, wherein acceptance of the on-line survey solicitation by the user results in presentation of an on-line survey via the browser client; accessing, on the user computer, a timestamp value indicative of a period of time that has passed since the on-line survey solicitation was previously presented by the browser client; and executing the additional computer-readable instructions if the timestamp value indicates passage of a period of time satisfying a prescribed wait period between consecutive presentations of the on-line survey solicitation by the browser client on the user computer, wherein the decision-making steps comprise generating a random number on the user computer; and
wherein the method further comprises applying a frequency parameter value to the random number to determine whether to present a survey invitation on the user computer,wherein the frequency parameter value is specified by a survey logic server, wherein the executing step comprises providing the random number to the survey logic server, wherein the survey logic server performs the applying step, and wherein the random number is appended to a URL used by a browser on the user computer to contact the survey logic server. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for conducting an on-line survey in association with presentation of an on-line advertisement by a browser client, the method comprising:
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receiving, by a user computer hosting the browser client, a web page configured to display an on-line advertisement; issuing, by the user computer in association with processing the received web page, a request to an ad server, for a block of data comprising computer-readable instructions for presenting the on-line advertisement via the browser client; sending, by the ad server in response to the issued request from the user computer, the block of data including computer-readable instructions for presenting the on-line advertisement and the block of data further including additional computer-readable instructions that facilitate decision-making steps for determining whether to present an on-line survey solicitation via the browser client, wherein acceptance of the on-line survey solicitation by the user results in presentation of an on-line survey via the browser client; accessing, on the user computer, a timestamp value indicative of a period of time that has passed since the on-line survey solicitation was previously presented by the browser client; and executing the additional computer-readable instructions if the timestamp value indicates passage of a period of time satisfying a prescribed wait period between consecutive presentations of the on-line survey solicitation by the browser client on the user computer; wherein the executing the additional computer-readable instructions facilitates performing the steps of; referencing a frequency parameter that influences the frequency of presenting the on-line survey solicitations; and determining whether or not to present the on-line survey solicitation via the browser client based, in part, on the frequency parameter; wherein the on-line survey solicitation is presented as part of a campaign, wherein the frequency parameter has a value that is at least partially a function of an amount of time remaining in the campaign, the method further comprising calculating the value of the frequency parameter according to an algorithm that incorporates the amount of time remaining in the campaign.
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11. A method for conducting an on-line survey in association with presentation of an on-line advertisement by a browser client, the method comprising:
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receiving, by a user computer hosting the browser client, a web page configured to display an on-line advertisement; issuing, by the user computer in association with processing the received web page, a request to an ad server, for a block of data comprising computer-readable instructions for presenting the on-line advertisement via the browser client; sending, by the ad server in response to the issued request from the user computer, the block of data including computer-readable instructions for presenting the on-line advertisement and the block of data further including additional computer-readable instructions that facilitate decision-making steps for determining whether to present an on-line survey solicitation via the browser client, wherein acceptance of the on-line survey solicitation by the user results in presentation of an on-line survey via the browser client; accessing, on the user computer, a timestamp value indicative of a period of time that has passed since the on-line survey solicitation was previously presented by the browser client; and executing the additional computer-readable instructions if the timestamp value indicates passage of a period of time satisfying a prescribed wait period between consecutive presentations of the on-line survey solicitation by the browser client on the user computer; wherein the executing the additional computer-readable instructions facilitates performing the steps of; referencing a frequency parameter that influences the frequency of presenting the on-line survey solicitations; and determining whether or not to present the on-line survey solicitation via the browser client based, in part, on the frequency parameter; wherein the on-line survey solicitation is presented as part of a campaign, wherein the frequency parameter has a value that is at least partially a function of an amount of time remaining in the campaign, the method further comprising determining the value of the frequency parameter by referencing a look-up table that correlates a plurality of possible times remaining in the campaign with corresponding possible frequency values.
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12. A system for conducting an on-line survey, the system comprising:
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a client computer for interacting with a user; a web server in communication with the client computer; an advertisement server; a survey logic server in communication with the client computer; and computer-readable instructions for; requesting a web page to be sent from the web server to the client computer, the web page including a reference to an on-line advertisement to be presented on the client computer; requesting, by the client computer the on-line advertisement from the advertisement server for presentation on the client computer; and sending an on-fine survey solicitation associated with the on-line advertisement from the survey logic server to the client computer based at least in part on a stored timestamp value on the client computer indicative of a period of time that has passed since a previous presentation of the on-line survey solicitation on the client computer, wherein acceptance of the on-line survey solicitation by the user results in presentation of an on-line survey on the client computer, wherein the sending step comprises invoking a routine at the survey logic server that compares a random number to a set of values based on a frequency parameter to determine whether to send the on-line survey solicitation to the client computer, and wherein the on-line survey solicitation is presented as part of a campaign, and wherein a value of the frequency parameter is at least partially a function of elapsed time in the campaign. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification