Targeted online marketing

• US 20040044565A1
• Filed: 08/28/2002
• Published: 03/04/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 08/28/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Nanavati, Amit Anil, Srivastava, Biplav, Kumar, Manoj, Modani, Natwar, Mittal, Parul A.
• Granted Patent: US 7,617,122 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0239 Online discounts or incentives
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0254 based on statistics
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0255 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0259 based on store location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0263 based upon Internet or website rating
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0271 Personalized advertisement

Abstract

Selecting one or more marketing messages for optimal display at marketing locations in a marketing environment is performed on the basis of information relating to a user to whom the messages are to be displayed, the marketing messages, and the marketing locations. Dynamic selection and display of marketing messages in this manner can be advantageously performed for online environments for which relevant information is readily accessed and used as a basis for selection and display of marketing messages.

Claims

1. A method of displaying at least one selected marketing message at least one marketing location in a marketing environment, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a marketing environment having a set of at least one marketing location in said marketing environment;

providing a set of at least one marketing message, in which at least one member of said set can be selectively displayed at at least one of said marketing locations in said marketing environment;

determining information relating to at least one user that is to view said at least one marketing message at said at least one marketing location in the marketing environment;

determining information relating to at least one of;

(i) said at least one marketing message of said set of marketing messages; and

(ii) said at least one marketing location of said set of marketing locations; and

selecting at least one marketing message from said set of marketing messages for display at at least one marketing location selected from said set of marketing locations, to said at least one user;

wherein said at least one selected marketing message and said at least one selected marketing location are selected on the basis of said information determined in relation to said at least one user, and said information determined in relation to said at least one marketing message and said at least one marketing location.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the step of:

displaying said at least one selected marketing message at said at least one selected marketing location.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

determining at least one probability value for displaying said at least one selected marketing message at said at least one selected marketing location; and

randomly displaying said at least one selected marketing message at said at least one selected marketing location on the basis of said determined probability values.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein one said selected marketing message and one said selected marketing location is selected.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a set of said selected marketing messages, and one said selected marketing location is selected.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein one said selected marketing message and a set of said selected marketing locations is selected.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a set of said selected marketing messages and a set of said selected marketing locations is selected.

8. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein members of said respective sets of said selected marketing messages and said selected marketing locations are independent of each other.

9. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the step of:

recording a profile of said at least one selected marketing message that has been displayed, on said at least one marketing location, to said at least one user.

10. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein said recorded profile further comprises:

said at least one user'"'"'s response to said displayed marketing message(s).

11. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein said at least one user'"'"'s response comprises click-stream data.

12. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein said at least one selected marketing message and said at least one selected marketing location are also selected on the basis of said recorded profile of said at least one selected marketing message that has been displayed to said at least one user.

13. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the step of:

defining a merchant gain associated with any combination of said at least one marketing message, said at least one user and said at least one marketing location;

wherein said merchant gain is a function of at least one of the following;

said at least one user, said at least one marketing message and said at least one marketing location.

14. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein said at least one selected marketing message and said at least one selected marketing location are selected with reference to said defined merchant gain.

15. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein said at least one selected marketing message and said at least one selected marketing location are selected with reference to combinations of said at least one user, said at least one marketing message and said at least one marketing location that have approximately optimal values for said defined merchant gain.

16. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein said defined merchant gain is defined as the multiplicative product of:

(i) a probability that said at least one user responds to said at least one marketing message, and (ii) a profit metric representative of a benefit arising from said at least one users'"'"' response.

17. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one marketing message is in the form of one of the following:

advertisement, discount coupon, cross-sell recommendation, up-sell recommendation.

18. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the step of:

selecting a subset of said marketing locations in respect of which said step of selecting marketing messages for said subset of marketing location is performed.

19. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said information upon which said selected marketing messages and said selected marketing locations are determined further relates to a user'"'"'s probabilistic traversal of said marketing locations.

20. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the set of marketing locations are ranked.

21. The method as claimed in claim 20, wherein said ranking is based on at least one of the following criteria:

user'"'"'s previous transactions, user'"'"'s previous navigation of marketing locations, collaborative filtering of previous visits to marketing locations and response to marketing messages at respective marketing locations.

22. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a subset of said marketing locations are preselected to display a particular type of marketing message.

23. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said selection of said marketing locations and said marketing messages is respectively performed from different sets of marketing locations and marketing messages for individual users.

24. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said selection of said marketing locations and marketing messages is performed only for a subset of users.

25. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a marketing location can be included or removed from said set of marketing locations to adjust said selection of said marketing locations and marketing messages.

26. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the step of:

using default values for said determined information relating to any at least one of said at least one user, said at least one marketing message and said at least one marketing location.

27. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one selected marketing message and at least one selected location is selected on the further basis of information relating to merchant objectives.

28. The method as claimed in claim 27, further comprising the step of:

determining a weighted summation of a plurality of selections made on said further basis.

29. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the marketing environment is an online environment.

30. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the marketing environment is the World Wide Web.

31. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one marketing message of said set of marketing messages are each in the form of banner advertisements.

32. A computer system for displaying at least one selected marketing message at at least one marketing location in a marketing environment, the system comprising:

means for providing a marketing environment having a set of at least one marketing location in said marketing environment;

means for providing a set of at least one marketing message, in which at least one member of said set can be selectively displayed at at least one of said marketing locations in said marketing environment;

means for determining information relating to at least one user that is to view said at least one marketing message at said at least one marketing location in the marketing environment;

means for determining information relating to at least one of;

(i) said at least one marketing message of said set of marketing messages; and

(ii) said at least one marketing location of said set of marketing locations; and

means for selecting at least one marketing message from said set of marketing messages for display at at least one marketing location selected from said set of marketing locations, to said at least one user;

wherein said at least one selected marketing message and said at least one selected marketing location are selected on the basis of said information determined in relation to said at least one user, and said information determined in relation to said at least one marketing message and said at least one marketing location.

33. Computer software, recorded on a medium and capable of execution by a computer system able to interpret the computer software, for displaying at least one selected marketing message at at least one marketing locations in a marketing environment, the computer software comprising:

code means for providing a marketing environment having a set of at least one marketing location in said marketing environment;

code means for providing a set of at least one marketing message, in which at least one member of said set can be selectively displayed at at least one of said marketing locations in said marketing environment;

code means for determining information relating to at least one user that is to view said at least one marketing message at said at least one marketing location in the marketing environment;

code means for determining information relating to at least one of;

(i) said at least one marketing message of said set of marketing messages; and

(ii) said at least one marketing location of said set of marketing locations; and

code means for selecting at least one marketing message from said set of marketing messages for display at at least one marketing location selected from said set of marketing locations, to said at least one user;

wherein said at least one selected marketing message and said at least one selected marketing location are selected on the basis of said information determined in relation to said at least one user, and said information determined in relation to said at least one marketing message and said at least one marketing location.