Active marketing based on client computer configurations

• US 6,230,199 B1
• Filed: 10/29/1999
• Issued: 05/08/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: McAfee, LLC
• Original Assignee: MC.Afee.Com, Inc. (McAfee, LLC)
• Inventors: Katchapalayam, Babu, Balasubramaniam, Chandrasekar, Lingarkar, Ravi, Revashetti, Siddaraya B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Coulter, Kenneth R.
• Application Number:
  US09/430,263
• Time in Patent Office: 557 Days
• Field of Search: 709/224, 705/14, 705/28
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0248 Avoiding fraud
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99955 Archiving or backup

Abstract

A system and method for actively marketing products and services to a user of a client computer such as over a network are disclosed. A product information database comprising product summary files that facilitate determination of presence or absence of products associated with the client computer, a marketing rule knowledge base comprising opportunity rule files governing marketing opportunities, and an opportunity detection object for determination of marketing opportunities are utilized to determine active marketing opportunities and may be downloaded to the client computer from a service provider computer system. The opportunity detection object may comprise a scan engine, an opportunity analysis engine, and a presentation engine which collectively determine and present marketing information to the client computer user. The scan engine compares the client computer against the product information database to determine the configurations of the client computer and to generate a client computer inventory database. The opportunity analysis engine analyzes the client computer inventory database against the marketing rule knowledge base and generates a list of marketing opportunities for the client computer. The presentation engine analyzes the list of marketing opportunities and provides marketing and/or other information regarding marketed products to the user.

Claims

1. A system for marketing to a user of a client computer, comprising:

a scanning engine adapted to utilize a product information database to detect products associated with the client computer and adapted to generate a client computer inventory from said detected products;

an opportunity analysis engine adapted to identify marketing opportunities to the user by comparing the client computer inventory to a marketing rule knowledge base; and

a presentation engine adapted to present identified marketing opportunities on the client computer upon detection of at least one marketing opportunity, wherein;

said marketing rule knowledge base includes a first marketing rule file having a marketing opportunity and at least one opportunity key for specifying a condition of a corresponding product in the client computer inventory for said marketing opportunity, said marketing rule file includes at least one opportunity key having a value selected from absent, optional, and value of a measurable characteristic of the corresponding product.

2. The system for marketing to a user of a client computer according to claim 1, further comprising means for communication with the client computer via a network.

3. A computer product for marketing to a user of a client computer, comprising:

computer code that detects products associated with the client computer utilizing a product information database;

computer code that generates a client computer inventory from said detected products;

computer code that detects marketing opportunities to the user by comparing the client computer inventory to a marketing rule knowledge base;

computer code that, upon detection of at least one marketing opportunity, presents the at least one marketing opportunity to the user of the client computer, wherein said marketing rule knowledge base includes a first marketing rule file having a marketing opportunity and at least one opportunity key for specifying a condition of a corresponding product in the client computer inventory for said marketing opportunity, said marketing rule file includes at least one opportunity key having a value selected from absent, optional, and value of a measurable characteristic of the corresponding product; and

a computer readable medium that stores said computer codes.

4. A method for marketing to a user of a client computer, comprising:

detecting products associated with the client computer according to a scanning engine utilizing a product information database;

generating a client computer inventory from products associated with the client computer as determined by the scanning engine;

detecting marketing opportunities to the user according to an opportunity analysis engine by comparing the client computer inventory to a marketing rule knowledge base; and

upon detection of at least one marketing opportunity, presenting the at least one marketing opportunity to the user of the client computer according to a presentation engine,

wherein said marketing rule knowledge base includes a first marketing rule file having a marketing opportunity and an opportunity key for specifying a condition of a corresponding product in the client computer inventory for said marketing opportunity, said first marketing rule file includes at least one opportunity key having a value selected from absent, optional, and value of a measurable characteristic of the corresponding product.

5. The method for marketing to the user of the client computer according to claim 4, further comprising downloading at least one of the product information database, the marketing rule knowledge base, the scanning engine, the opportunity analysis engine, and the presentation engine to the client computer over a network from a service provider computer.

6. The method for marketing to the user of the client computer according to claim 5, wherein said downloading is initiated at the client computer.

7. The method for marketing to the user of the client computer according to claim 5, further comprising connecting the client computer to the service provider computer via the network.

8. The method for marketing to the user of the client computer according to claim 4, further comprising downloading an updated version of at least one of the product information database, the marketing rule knowledge base, the scanning engine, the opportunity analysis engine, and the presentation engine to the client computer over a network from a service provider computer, wherein said updated version is utilized in at least one corresponding one of said determining, generating, detecting, and presenting.

9. The method for marketing to the user of the client computer according to claim 4, further comprising compiling a user profile based upon information provided by the user.

10. The method for marketing to the user of the client computer according to claim 9, wherein said detecting marketing opportunities to the user according to the opportunity analysis engine further includes comparing the user profile to the marketing rule knowledge base.

11. The method for marketing to the user of the client computer according to claim 9, further comprising providing a plurality of predefined user profile options for selection by the user, said plurality of predefined user profile options selected from the group consisting of a bargain hunter user profile, a business user profile, a professional user profile, a home user profile, a game player user profile, a road warrior user profile.

12. The method for marketing to the user of the client computer according to claim 4, wherein said marketing rule knowledge base further comprises additional marketing rule files, each additional marketing rule file comprising a marketing opportunity and at least one opportunity key corresponding to a product in the client computer inventory and having a value selected from the group consisting of absent, required, optional, and value of a measurable characteristic of the corresponding product in the client computer inventory.

13. The method for marketing to the user of the client computer according to claim 4, further comprising compiling at least one of the product information database and marketing rule knowledge base.

14. The method for marketing to the user of the client computer according to claim 4, wherein said detecting products associated with the client computer includes scanning the client computer and comparing results of said scanning against the product information database according to the scanning engine, wherein said scanning the client computer includes scanning for at least one of software files, operating system, hardware peripherals, and hardware components including CPU, hard disk drive, and memory.

15. The method for marketing to the user of the client computer according to claim 4, wherein said product information database includes at least one product summary file, each product summary file including a detection command and a product signature comprising a value for indicating association of the product with the client computer.

16. The method for marketing to the user of the client computer according to claim 15, wherein said detecting products associated with the client computer includes, for each product summary file in said product information database, executing the detection command to detect presence of product signature on the client computer, and, upon detection of the product signature on the client computer, writing a product record of the detected product associated with the client computer to said client computer inventory.

17. The method for marketing to the user of the client computer according to claim 16, wherein each product record comprises at least one of an existing product identification, an existing product category, and an existing product property of the detected product associated with the client computer.

18. The method for marketing to the user of the client computer according to claim 15, wherein said product summary file is selected from the group consisting of a software product summary file and a hardware product summary file.

19. The method for marketing to the user of the client computer according to claim 15, wherein said product signature of the product summary file is selected from the group consisting of an executable-type product signature, a registry-type product signature, an initialization-type product signature, a driver-type product signature, and a command-type product signature.

20. The method for marketing to the user of the client computer according to claim 4, wherein said presenting the marketing opportunity to the user of the client computer according to the presentation engine upon detection of at least one of a service commerce marketing opportunity, a product commerce marketing opportunity, a service advertisement marketing opportunity, and a product advertisement marketing opportunity.

21. The method for marketing to the user of the client computer according to claim 4, wherein said presenting the marketing opportunity to the user of the client computer according to the presentation engine upon detection of at least one marketing opportunity includes presenting at least one commerce marketing opportunity, said at least one commerce marketing opportunity is associated with at least one product in said client computer inventory.

22. The method for marketing to the user of the client computer according to claim 21, wherein said presenting the commerce marketing opportunity includes presenting at least one of a product name, a product category, and a product description of said at least one product in said client computer inventory.