Targeted advertising in a telephone dialing system

• US 6,856,673 B1
• Filed: 03/13/2002
• Issued: 02/15/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Blewett, Charles Douglas, Henderson, Donnie, Millen, David, Banks, Diane
• Primary Examiner(s): TRAN, QUOC DUC
• Application Number:
  US10/096,918
• Time in Patent Office: 1,070 Days
• Field of Search: 379/32.01, 379/67.1, 379/70, 379/88.17, 379/114.13, 379/114.12, 379/114.18, 379/133, 379/134, 379/136, 379/201.01, 379/219, 379/221.01
• US Class Current: 379/114.13
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/00 Arrangements for metering, time-control or time indication ; Metering, charging or billing arrangements for voice wireline or wireless communications, e.g. VoIP
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/43 Billing software details
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8044 Least cost routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8083 involving reduced rates or discounts, e.g. time-of-day reductions or volume discounts
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0168 On line or real-time flexible customization or negotiation according to wishes of subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0184 involving reduced rates or discounts, e.g. time-of-day reductions, volume discounts, cell discounts, group billing, frequent calling destination(s) or user history list
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/42 Least cost routing, i.e. provision for selecting the lowest cost tariff
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/745 Least cost routing, e.g. Automatic or manual, call by call or by preselection
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42068 where the identifier is used to access a profile
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4878 Advertisement messages

Abstract

A system and method for providing targeted advertising to telephone callers in mid-dial. The invention monitors the dialing activities of a caller. When a caller enters a partial desired telephone number, an embodiment of the present invention receives the partial number and determines whether an advertisement should be presented to the caller. If all of the appropriate conditions are met, a selected advertisement is transmitted to the caller'"'"'s telephony device and the caller is given the opportunity to respond to the advertisement before the dialing operation completes.

Claims

1. A telephony targeted advertising system, comprising:

a call monitoring device having an advertising module and an input for receiving a dialing operation from a telephony device, the dialing operation including a dialed telephone number;

an advertising profile database coupled to the advertising module; and

a caller profile database coupled to the advertising module;

the call monitoring device operable to monitor the received dialing operation and to determine whether an alternative telephone network is available to complete a call to the dialed telephone number at a discount, the advertising module to select an advertisement based on whether a discounted alternative network is available, the advertisement offering connection via the discounted alternative network and being interactive to permit a caller to accept the offer, and the call monitoring device to deliver the selected advertisement to the telephony device while the dialing operation is in progress.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the advertisement module selects an advertisement based on a caller profile and an advertising profile.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the call monitoring device receives an acceptance of the delivered advertisement from the telephony device, and causes the call to be connected over the alternative network.

4. A method of providing targeted telephony advertising in mid-dial, comprising:

receiving a partial sequence of digits of a dialed telephone number from a telephony device;

based on the partial sequence, determining whether an alternative telephone network is available to complete a call to the dialed telephone number at a discount;

selecting an advertisement based on the partial sequence; and

delivering the selected advertisement to the telephony device, the advertisement including an offer to complete the call over the alternative telephone network and further including an interactive caller input for accenting the offer; and

if the caller accepts the offer, completing the call over the alternative telephone network.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the selecting is further based on a caller profile and an advertising profile.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the caller profile is stored in a caller profile database and the advertising profile is stored in an advertising profile database.

7. A method of providing targeted advertising, comprising:

monitoring a dialing operation of a telephony device, the dialing operation including a dialed telephone number;

selecting an advertisement based on a determination that an alternative telephone network is available to complete a call to the dialed telephone number at a discount;

delivering the advertisement to the telephony device while the dialing operation is in progress;

the advertisement including an offer to complete the call over the alternative telephone network and further including an interactive caller input for accepting the offer; and

if the caller accepts the offer, completing the call over the alternative telephone network.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the selecting is further based on a caller profile and an advertising profile.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the caller profile is stored in a caller profile database.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the advertising profile is stored in an advertising profile database.