PROVIDING ADVERTISING CONTENT TO AT LEAST ONE COMMUNICATING TERMINAL

• US 20080162731A1
• Filed: 12/29/2006
• Published: 07/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: RPX Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Esser, Alex, Kauppinen, Risto A.
• Granted Patent: US 10,664,850 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/250
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

An apparatus for providing advertising content to terminals communicating over a communications network is provided. The apparatus includes a processing element that communicates with network elements residing on the network or other networks to receive information regarding the terminals and their users. At least one of the terminals may be a mobile terminal. The processing element communicates an instruction to an advertising platform based on this information, and the advertising platform in turn selects and transmits advertising content to the respective terminals according to the instruction. Such content may include text messages, voice messages, picture messages, video clips, and more. In some cases, the processing element may determine a common characteristic of two or more terminals and their users based on the information received, and advertising content based on that common characteristic may be sent to the terminals. A method, system, and computer program product are also provided.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising a processing element configured to:

receive information associated with a plurality of terminals communicating over a communications network, at least one of the terminals comprising a mobile terminal; and

communicate an instruction at least partially based on the information associated with the plurality of terminals to an advertising platform, wherein the instruction directs the selection and transmission of advertising content by the advertising platform to at least one of the terminals.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the processing element is configured to receive information associated with at least two terminals communicating with each other, to determine a common characteristic of a user associated with each respective terminal at least partially based on the information received, and to include the common characteristic in the instruction communicated to the advertising platform.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the processing element is configured to communicate with a database configured to store a plurality of profiles and wherein the processor is configured to receive at least some of the information from the database at least partially based on at least one of the profiles.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the processing element is configured to communicate with at least one external source connected to the communications network selected from the group consisting of an Application Server, an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem, a Multimedia Messaging Service Center, a Short Messaging Service Center, a Mobile Switching Center, and an Intelligent Network Server.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the processing element is configured to receive the information based at least partially on the content of a communication transmitted by at least one of the terminals.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the processing element is configured to receive the information and to communicate the corresponding instruction to the advertising platform in real time.

7. A method comprising:

receiving information associated with a plurality of terminals communicating over a communications network, at least one of the terminals comprising a mobile terminal;

determining an instruction at least partially based on the information associated with the plurality of terminals that directs the selection and transmission of advertising content by an advertising platform to at least one of the terminals; and

providing the instruction to the advertising platform.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein determining the instruction comprises comparing the information associated with at least two terminals communicating with each other and determining a common characteristic of a user associated with each respective terminal.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein receiving information comprises receiving at least some of the information from a database that stores profile information.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the profile information comprises identifying information selected from the group consisting of a name, address, age, occupation, and ethnic background of a user.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein the profile information comprises information regarding interests selected from the group consisting of a hobby, sport, political affiliation, musical preference, literary preference, and religious preference of a user.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein the profile information comprises personal information selected from the group consisting of a familial status, contact name, contact phone number, and contact relationship.

13. The method of claim 7 wherein receiving information comprises receiving at least some of the information from at least one external source connected to the communications network selected from the group consisting of an Application Server, an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem, a Multimedia Messaging Service Center, a Short Messaging Service Center, a Mobile Switching Center, and an Intelligent Network Server.

14. The method of claim 7 wherein receiving information comprises receiving information based at least partially on the content of a communication transmitted by at least one of the terminals.

15. The method of claim 7 wherein providing the instruction to an advertising platform comprises communicating the instruction to the advertising platform in real time.

16. A computer program product comprising at least one computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code portions stored therein, the computer-readable program code portions comprising:

a first executable portion for receiving information associated with a plurality of terminals communicating over a communications network, at least one of the terminals comprising a mobile terminal;

a second executable portion for determining an instruction at least partially based on the information associated with the plurality of terminals that directs the selection and transmission of advertising content by an advertising platform to at least one of the terminals; and

a third executable portion for providing the instruction to the advertising platform.

17. A computer program product according to claim 16, wherein said second executable portion is further configured for comparing the information associated with at least two terminals communicating with each other and determining a common characteristic of a user associated with each respective terminal.

18. A computer program product according to claim 16, wherein said first executable portion is further configured for receiving at least some of the information from a database that stores profile information.

19. A computer program product according to claim 16, wherein said first executable portion is further configured for receiving at least some of the information from at least one external source connected to the communications network selected from the group consisting of an Application Server, an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem, a Multimedia Messaging Service Center, a Short Messaging Service Center, a Mobile Switching Center, and an Intelligent Network Server.

20. A computer program product according to claim 16, wherein said first executable portion is further configured for receiving at least some of the information based at least partially on the content of a communication transmitted by at least one of the terminals.

21. A computer program product according to claim 16, wherein said third executable portion is further configured for communicating the instruction to the advertising platform in real time.

22. An apparatus comprising:

a means for receiving information associated with a plurality of terminals communicating over a communications network, at least one of the terminals comprising a mobile terminal;

a means for determining an instruction at least partially based on the information associated with the plurality of terminals that directs the selection and transmission of advertising content by an advertising platform to at least one of the terminals; and

a means for providing the instruction to the advertising platform.

23. A system comprising:

a server configured to receive information associated with a plurality of terminals communicating over a communications network, at least one of the terminals comprising a mobile terminal; and

an advertising platform configured to receive an instruction from the server and to transmit advertising content to at least one of the terminals;

wherein the server provides the instruction based on the information associated with the plurality of terminals, and the advertising platform transmits the advertising content to each respective terminal based on the instruction including, at least partially, the information received.

24. The system of claim 23 wherein the server is configured to receive information associated with at least two terminals communicating with each other, to determine a common characteristic of a user associated with each respective terminal at least partially based on the information received, and to include the common characteristic in the instruction communicated to the advertising platform.

25. The system of claim 23 further comprising a database configured to store a plurality of profiles, wherein the server is configured to communicate with the database and to receive at least some of the information from the database based on at least one of the profiles.

26. The system of claim 23 further comprising an external source in communication with the server selected from the group consisting of an Application Server, an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem, a Multimedia Messaging Service Center, a Short Messaging Service Center, a Mobile Switching Center, and an Intelligent Network Server, wherein the server is configured to receive at least some information from at least one of the external sources with which the server communicated.

27. The system of claim 23 wherein the server is configured to receive the information based at least partially on the content of a communication transmitted by at least one of the terminals.

28. The system of claim 23 wherein the advertising platform is configured to transmit the advertising content to at least one of the terminals such that the advertising content is provided to a user of the respective terminal during a communication of the respective terminal.

29. The system of claim 23 wherein the advertising platform is configured to transmit the advertising content to at least one of the terminals such that the advertising content is provided to a user of the respective terminal after a communication of the respective terminal.

30. The system of claim 29 wherein the advertising platform is configured to transmit the advertising content to the respective terminal such that the advertising content is provided to the user of the respective terminal upon a subsequent interaction of the user with the terminal.