Method and apparatus for adding advertising tag lines to electronic messages

• US 7,599,852 B2
• Filed: 09/04/2002
• Issued: 10/06/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/05/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tamiras Per Pte Ltd LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Sponster LLC
• Inventors: Bosarge, Jason, Little, Roger
• Primary Examiner(s): Boveja, Namrata
• Application Number:
  US10/234,564
• Publication Number:
  US 20030191689A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,589 Days
• Field of Search: 705/14, 707/10
• US Class Current: 705/14.49
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0235 constrained by time limit or expiration date
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0251 Targeted advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0254 based on statistics
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0255 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0256 User search
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0271 Personalized advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0273 Determination of fees for advertising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0275 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement

Abstract

A computer method and device for intercepting contracting client'"'"'s sent electronic messages, scanning the message body content for key words, sending the key words to a remote central computer server which analyses the key words and enhances the message by attaching a relevant, contextual advertising tag line or image/banner/words/HTML/Flash, etc to the electronic message, and transmitting the enhanced message to a receiver.

Claims

1. In a computing system having access to a third party content database and including a server system configured to receive and analyze electronic communications and route the electronic communications to recipient addresses, a method for enhancing electronic communications with contextually relevant third party content, comprising:

the server system identifying a list of keywords determined to be relevant to third party content stored in the third party content database;

the server system receiving electronic communications from a plurality of different senders, at least some of which electronic communications specify different recipient addresses and contain message bodies that differ from those of other electronic communications received by the server system;

the server system analyzing each of the electronic communications and determining, for each of the electronic communications, whether they contain words that match and/or contextually relate to any keywords determined to be relevant to third party content;

upon analyzing electronic communications containing differing message bodies and finding words that match and/or contextually relate to different keywords, the server system identifying, for each of the electronic communications, contextually relevant third party content stored in the third party content database that differs based on the different message bodies contained in the electronic communications;

the server system routing the electronic communications and any contextually relevant third party content to the specified recipient addresses so as to be displayed together when the electronic communications are later accessed by recipients,

the third party content routed by the server system to some recipients differing from third party content routed to other recipients based on differences in the messages bodies contained in respective electronic communications; and

the server system determining which one advertiser of a plurality of advertisers has paid the most for advertising and changing at least one word in the message body authored by a sender into a hyperlink which corresponds to a keyword selected by the one advertiser that is determined to have paid the most for advertising.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the electronic communications comprise one or more of e-mail, Short Messaging Service messaging, or instant messaging.

3. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the senders are unaware a process of matching at least one of the keywords selected by the third party content provider to one or more words in the electronic communication is performed.

4. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein each electronic communication includes, in addition to the message body, a subject portion, the server system analyzing every word of text in the message body and subject portion and comparing it against key word and key phrase data from a third party content provider database.

5. A method as recited in claim 1, the method further comprising adding to the electronic communications at least one enhancement that is contextually unrelated to the message bodies contained in the electronic communications.

6. A method as recited in claim 1, upon analyzing an electronic communication and determining that the electronic communication does not contain any words that match and/or contextually relate to any keywords determined to be relevant to third party content, the server system routing other content with the electronic communication to one or more specified recipient addresses.

7. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the server system identifies the contextually relevant third party content stored in the third party content database independently of stored data relating to general interests of the sender.

8. In a computing system having access to an advertisement database and including a server system configured to receive and analyze e-mail communications and route the e-mail communications to recipient addresses, a method for enhancing e-mail communications with contextually relevant advertisements, comprising:

the server system identifying a list of keywords determined to be relevant to advertising content of advertisers stored in the advertisement database;

the server system determining which of the advertisers has paid more money and creating an advertisement hierarchy;

the server system receiving e-mail communications from a plurality of different senders, at least some of which e-mail communications specify different recipient addresses and contain subject lines and/or message bodies that differ from those of other e-mail communications received by the server system;

the server system analyzing the subject lines and/or message bodies of the e-mail communications and determining whether they contain words that match and/or contextually relate to any keywords determined to be relevant to advertising content;

upon analyzing subject lines and/or message bodies of the e-mail communications and finding words that match and/or contextually relate to different keywords, the server system identifying, based on the advertisement hierarchy, contextually relevant advertising content from the advertisement database that differs as between different e-mail communications based on differences in respective subject lines and/or message bodies contained in the e-mail communications; and

the server system routing the e-mail communications and any contextually relevant advertising content to the specified recipient addresses so as to be displayed together when the e-mail communications are later accessed by recipients,

the advertising content routed by the server system to some recipients differing from advertising content routed to other recipients based on differences in the subject lines and/or message bodies of respective e-mail communications,

wherein routing the e-mail communications and any contextually relevant advertising content comprises the server system changing initially un-enhanced text in the message body of an e-mail communication into a hyperlink that points to a website associated with the contextually relevant advertising content.

9. A method as recited in claim 8, wherein the server system changing the initially un-enhanced text in the message body into a hyperlink is based on the advertisement hierarchy.

10. A method as recited in claim 8, wherein the server system routes each e-mail communication and any contextually relevant advertising content so that a plurality of tag lines are displayed outside the subject line and message body of the electronic communication when later accessed by a recipient.

11. A method as recited in claim 10, wherein the plurality of tag lines are displayed in an order determined by the advertisement hierarchy.

12. In a computing system having access to a third party content database and including a server system configured to receive and analyze electronic communications and route the electronic communications to recipient addresses, a method for enhancing electronic communications with contextually relevant third party content, comprising:

the server system identifying a list of keywords determined to be relevant to third party content stored in the third party content database;

the server system receiving electronic communications from one or more senders that are addressed to one or more recipient addresses, each electronic communication including text that is initially un-enhanced when received by the server system;

the server system analyzing each electronic communication and determining whether it contains one or more words that match and/or contextually relate to any keywords determined to be relevant to third party content;

upon analyzing an electronic communication and finding one or words that match and/or contextually relate to any keywords determined to be relevant to third party content, the server system identifying initially un-enhanced text in the electronic communication to be changed into a hyperlink that points to a website associated with the third party content;

Supplemental Amendment “

K”

dated May 26, 2009 the server system contextually enhancing the electronic communication by changing the identified text in the electronic communication into a hyperlink that points to a website associated with the third party content; and

the server system routing the electronic communication to one or more recipient addresses.

13. A method as recited in claim 12, wherein, as a result of changing the initially un-enhanced text into the hyperlink, a recipient of the electronic communication can access contextually relevant third party content without moving a cursor outside a message body of the electronic communication.

14. A method implemented by a computing system comprising:

identifying by the computing system a first keyword that is contextually related to a first advertisement;

identifying by the computing system a second keyword that is different than the first keyword and that is contextually related to a second advertisement that is different than the first advertisement;

receiving by the computing system a specific email that is sent from a specific sender and that is addressed to a specific recipient;

the computing system performing a keyword search on the specific email for both of the first keyword and the second keyword;

the computing system identifying both of the first keyword and the second keyword within the specific email; and

the computing system, upon identifying both of the first keyword and the second keyword within the specific email, causing both of the first advertisement and the second advertisement to be simultaneously displayed with the specific email.

15. A method as recited in claim 14, wherein causing both of the first advertisement and the second advertisement to be simultaneously displayed with the specific email includes causing both of the first advertisement and the second advertisement to be simultaneously displayed with both of the first keyword and the second keyword.

16. A method as recited in claim 14, wherein causing both of the first advertisement and the second advertisement to be simultaneously displayed with the specific email includes modifying the specific email by appending the specific email with both of the first advertisement and the second advertisement.

17. The method recited in claim 14, wherein the method is performed by the computing system independently of stored data relating to general interests of the sender.