SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING A CALL CENTER FOR RESPONSE TO ADVERTISEMENTS OVER A MEDIUM

• US 20070274484A1
• Filed: 05/04/2006
• Published: 11/29/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/04/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Teleads LLC
• Original Assignee: Teleads LLC
• Inventors: Frank, Ervin, Pippenger, Clayton
• Granted Patent: US 7,536,171 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/114.130
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/16 according to connection obtained
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0192 Sponsored, subsidised calls via advertising, e.g. calling cards with ads or connecting to special ads, free calling time by purchasing goods
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/2006 Fixed telephone network, e.g. POTS, ISDN
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/7806 Time based

Abstract

A system for directing call from a user to a desired advertiser based upon a code in an advertisement. The system receives a call from a user. The user then inputs a code or password from the advertisement. The call is then forwarded to a desired advertiser based upon the input code. The advertiser is then billed for the call based on the type of call forwarded to the advertiser.

Claims

1. A method for receiving a call from a user and transferring said call to a desired advertiser comprising:

receiving said call from said user;

receiving a code for said desired advertiser from said user;

determining a telephone number for said desired advertiser from said code; and

transferring said call to said telephone number.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining whether said telephone number is a toll free number; and

billing said desired advertiser a first rate responsive to a determination that said telephone number is a toll free number.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

flashing said call to said toll free number.

4. The method of claim 3 further comprising:

terminating a connection of said call to a call center.

5. The method of claim 2 wherein said billing of said desired advertiser comprises:

determining a length of connection of said call to said call center; and

billing said client a specified rate multiplied by said length of connection of said call to said call center.

6. The method of claim 2 wherein said billing of said desired advertiser comprises:

billing said desired advertiser a flat fee for said call.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining whether said telephone number is for a toll call; and

forwarding said call to said desired advertiser.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising:

billing said desired advertiser a toll call rate for said call.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein said step of billing comprises:

determining a time of a connection of said call from said user; and

determining a time for a connection of a call to said desired advertiser for forwarding said call.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein said step of billing further comprises:

billing said desired advertiser a first rate multiplied by said time of connection for said call from user and a second rate multiplied by said time of said call to said desired advertiser.

11. The method of claim 8 wherein said toll call rate is a flat fee.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein said flat fee is determined by the cost of using two lines in a call center for an average call length.

13. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

timing a length of a connection of said call.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein said step of timing said length of said connection comprises:

recording a start time of said connection responsive to receiving said call; and

recording an end time responsive to said call being disconnected.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein said step of timing said length of said connection comprises:

starting a timer responsive to receiving said call; and

stopping a timer responsive to ending said call.

16. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

collecting demographic information of said user making said call.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein said collecting said demographic information comprising:

receiving a DID for a calling telephone responsive to receiving said call;

storing a call record with said DID;

receiving a telephone number of said calling telephone number from said DID; and

retrieving demographic information from a database from said telephone number.

18. The method of claim 16 further comprising:

transmitting said demographic information to said desired advertiser.

19. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining a time of day said call is received;

comparing said time of day to a specified time; and

transferring said call to a message system responsive to said time of day being past said specified time.

20. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining that said desired advertiser cannot be determined from said code received;

transferring said call to an operator responsive to a determination that said desired advertiser cannot be determined; and

wherein said operator interacts with said user and transfers said call to said desired advertiser.

21. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

placing said received call in a hold state while connecting said call to said desired advertiser.

22. The method of claim 21 further comprising:

transmitting advertisements over said call responsive to said call being in a hold state.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein said advertisements transmitted are determined by said code provided by said users.

24. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining an area code of the caller responsive to determining said desired advertiser;

determining whether said desire advertiser accepts call from said area code; and

connecting said call responsive to a determination that said advertiser accepts calls from said area code.

25. The method of claim 24 further comprising:

transmitting a message to said call that said call was not accepted by said desired advertiser;

ending said call; and

billing said desired advertiser responsive to ending said call.

74. The product of claim 1 wherein said instructions further comprise:

instructions for directing said processing unit to;

determine an area code of the caller responsive to determining said desired advertiser,

determine whether said desired advertiser accepts call from said area code, and

connect said call responsive to a determination that said advertiser accepts calls from said area code.

75. The product of claim 74 wherein said instructions further comprise:

instructions for directing said processing unit to;

transmit a message to said call that said call was not accepted by said desired advertiser,

end said call, and

bill said desired advertiser responsive to ending said call.

26. An apparatus for receiving a call from a user and transferring said call to a desired advertiser comprising:

means for receiving said call from said user;

means for receiving a code for said desired advertiser from said user;

means for determining a telephone number for said desired advertiser from said code; and

means for transferring said call to said telephone number.

27. The apparatus of claim 26 further comprising:

means for determining whether said telephone number is a toll free number; and

means for billing said desired advertiser a first rate responsive to a determination that said telephone number is a toll free number.

28. The apparatus of claim 27 further comprising:

means for flashing said call to said toll free number.

29. The apparatus of claim 28 further comprising:

means for terminating a connection of said call to a call center.

30. The apparatus of claim 27 wherein said means for billing of said desired advertiser comprises:

means for determining a length of connection of said call; and

means for billing said client a specified rate multiplied by said length of connection of said call to said call center.

31. The apparatus of claim 27 wherein said means for billing of said desired advertiser comprises:

means for billing said desired advertiser a flat fee for said call.

32. The apparatus of claim 31 further comprising:

means for determining whether said telephone number is for a toll call; and

means for forwarding said call to said desired advertiser.

33. The apparatus of claim 32 further comprising:

means for billing said desired advertiser a toll call rate for said call.

34. The apparatus of claim 33 wherein said means for billing comprises:

means for determining a time of a connection of said call from said user; and

means for determining a time for a connection of a call to said desired advertiser for forwarding said call.

35. The apparatus of claim 34 wherein said means for billing further comprises:

means for billing said desired advertiser a first rate multiplied by said time of connection for said call from user and a second rate multiplied by said time of said call to said desired advertiser.

36. The apparatus of claim 34 wherein said toll call rate is a flat fee.

37. The apparatus of claim 36 wherein said flat fee is determined by the cost of using two lines in a call center for an average call length.

38. The apparatus of claim 28 further comprising:

means for timing a length of a connection of said call.

39. The apparatus of claim 36 wherein said means for timing said length of said connection comprises:

means for recording a start time of said connection responsive to receiving said call; and

means for recording an end time responsive to said call being disconnected.

40. The apparatus of claim 36 wherein said means for timing said length of said connection comprises:

means for starting a timer responsive to receiving said call; and

means for stopping a timer responsive to ending said call.

41. The apparatus of claim 32 further comprising:

means for collecting demographic information of said user making said call.

42. The apparatus of claim 41 wherein said means for collecting said demographic information comprises:

means for receiving a DID for a calling telephone responsive to receiving said call;

means for storing a call record with said DID;

means for receiving a telephone number of said calling telephone number from said DID; and

means for retrieving demographic information from a database from said telephone number.

43. The apparatus of claim 41 further comprising:

means for transmitting said demographic information to said desired advertiser.

44. The apparatus of claim 40 further comprising:

means for determining a time of day said call is received;

means for comparing said time of day to a specified time; and

means for transferring said call to a message system responsive to said time of day being past said specified time.

45. The apparatus of claim 28 further comprising:

means for determining that said desired advertiser cannot be determined from said code received;

means for transferring said call to an operator responsive to a determination that said desired advertiser cannot be determined; and

wherein said operator interacts with said user and transfers said call to said desired advertiser.

46. The apparatus of claim 45 further comprising:

means for placing said received call in a hold state while connecting said call to said desired advertiser.

47. The apparatus of claim 46 further comprising:

means for transmitting advertisements over said call responsive to said call being in a hold state.

48. The apparatus of claim 45 wherein said advertisements transmitted are determined by said code provided by said users.

49. The apparatus of claim 26 further comprising:

means for determining an area code of the caller responsive to determining said desired advertiser;

means for determining whether said desire advertiser accepts call from said area code; and

means for connecting said call responsive to a determination that said advertiser accepts calls from said area code.

50. The apparatus of claim 49 further comprising:

means for transmitting a message to said call that said call was not accepted by said desired advertiser;

means for ending said call; and

means for billing said desired advertiser responsive to ending said call.

51. A product for receiving a call from a user and transferring said call to a desired advertiser comprising:

instructions for directing a processing unit to;

receive said call from said user,

receive a code for said desired advertiser from said user,

determine a telephone number for said desired advertiser from said code, and

transfer said call to said telephone number; and

a media readable by said processing unit that stores said instructions.

52. The product of claim 51 wherein said instructions further comprise:

instructions for directing said processing unit to;

determine whether said telephone number is a toll free number, and

bill said desired advertiser a first rate responsive to a determination that said telephone number is a toll free number.

53. The product of claim 52 wherein said instructions further comprise:

instructions for directing said processing unit to flash said call to said toll free number.

54. The product of claim 53 further comprise:

instructions for directing said processing unit to terminate a connection of said call to a call center.

55. The product of claim 52 wherein said instructions for billing of said desired advertiser comprise:

instructions for directing said processing unit to;

determine a length of connection of said call to said call center, and

bill said client a specified rate multiplied by said length of connection of said call to said call center.

56. The product of claim 52 wherein said instructions to bill of said desired advertiser comprises:

instructions for directing said processing unit to bill said desired advertiser a flat fee for said call.

57. The product of claim 56 wherein said instructions further comprise:

instructions for directing said processing unit to;

determine whether said telephone number is for a toll call, and

forward said call to said desired advertiser.

58. The product of claim 57 wherein said instructions further comprise:

instructions for directing said processing unit to bill said desired advertiser a toll call rate for said call.

59. The product of claim 58 wherein said instructions to bill comprise:

instructions for directing said processing unit to;

determine a time of a connection of said call from said user, and

determine a time for a connection of a call to said desired advertiser for forwarding said call.

60. The product of claim 59 wherein said instructions to bill further comprise:

instructions for directing said processing unit to;

bill said desired advertiser a first rate multiplied by said time of connection for said call from user and a second rate multiplied by said time of said call to said desired advertiser.

61. The product of claim 58 wherein said toll call rate is a flat fee.

62. The product of claim 61 wherein said flat fee is determined by the cost of using two lines in a call center for an average call length.

63. The product of claim 51 wherein said instruction further comprise:

instructions for directing said processing unit to time a length of a connection of said call.

64. The product of claim 63 wherein said instructions for timing said length of said connection comprise:

instructions for directing said processing unit to;

record a start time of said connection responsive to receiving said call, and

record an end time responsive to said call being disconnected.

65. The product of claim 62 wherein said instructions for timing said length of said connection comprises:

instructions for directing said processing unit to;

start a timer responsive to receiving said call, and

stop a timer responsive to ending said call.

66. The product of claim 51 further comprising:

instructions for directing said processing unit to;

collect demographic information of said user making said call.

67. The product of claim 66 wherein said instructions for collecting said demographic information comprise:

instructions for directing said processing unit to;

receive a DID for a calling telephone responsive to receiving said call,

store a call record with said DID,

receive a telephone number of said calling telephone number from said DID; and

retrieve demographic information from a database from said telephone number.

68. The product of claim 66 wherein said instructions further comprising:

instructions for directing said processing unit to transmit said demographic information to said desired advertiser.

69. The method of claim 51 further comprising:

instructions for directing said processing unit to;

determine a time of day said call is received,

compare said time of day to a specified time, and

transfer said call to a message system responsive to said time of day being past said specified time.

70. The product of claim 51 further comprising:

instructions for directing said processing unit to;

determine that said desired advertiser cannot be determined from said code received, and

transfer said call to an operator responsive to a determination that said desired advertiser cannot be determined; and

wherein said operator interacts with said user and transfers said call to said desired advertiser.

71. The product of claim 51 further comprising:

placing said received call in a hold state while connecting said call to said desired advertiser.

72. The product of claim 71 wherein said instructions further comprise:

transmitting advertisements over said call responsive to said call being in a hold state.

73. The product of claim 72 wherein said advertisements transmitted are determined by said code provided by said users.