Method and process for enabling advertising via landmark based directions

• US 7,689,355 B2
• Filed: 05/04/2006
• Issued: 03/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/04/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Polozoff, Alexandre, Grigsby, Travis M., Bhogal, Kulvir S., Abernethy, Michael N. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): TRan; Khoi H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): MANCHO, RONNIE M
• Application Number:
  US11/417,963
• Publication Number:
  US 20070260393A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,426 Days
• Field of Search: 701/207, 701/208, 701/213, 705/27, 705/14, 705/10, 715/757, 715/716, 340/990, 340/995
• US Class Current: 701/213
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3644 Landmark guidance, e.g. using POIs or conspicuous other objects
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3679 Retrieval, searching and output of POI information, e.g. hotels, restaurants, shops, filling stations, parking facilities G01C21/3611 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3697 Output of additional, non-guidance related information, e.g. low fuel level G01C21/3679 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

A method, system, and computer program product that enables a direction service to automatically inform the requester or user of the directions of advertisement associated with the various businesses and/or landmarks situated on a directional map generated by the service. The service provider of the navigational service enhances the directional offerings to include advertisements associated with specific businesses and/or points of interest within the service'"'"'s mapping database. When a generated route/direction includes landmarks (e.g., one or more of the businesses or other point of interest), which have an associated advertisement, the service displays (or outputs via audible or other means) the advertisement to the user, along with the directions. In this way the user is provided an output that includes the directions, landmarks (businesses and/or points of interest) along the routes, as well as an output of the specific advertisement associated with each of these landmarks.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a request for a navigation route to a destination;

generating in response to the request, the navigational route to the destination including at least one point of interest;

when an input is received for assistance in finding the destination from a location within the navigational route;

determining a point of interest proximate to the location;

prompting the user to acknowledge whether the point of interest is observed;

when the user acknowledges observation of the point of interest, prompting the user to knowledge a next point of interest along the navigational route, whereby the user may be directed from one point of interest along the route to the next point of interest until the user arrives at the destination;

wherein said input is a voice request and said response is a voice response, and the method comprises receiving the voice requests as an input and generating the voice response as an output;

when the user does not acknowledge observation of the point of interest;

refining the points of interest to be more specific;

re-prompting the user to acknowledge observation of the refined, more specific point of interest; and

providing further refinements to the more specific point of interest until the user acknowledges observation of at least one of the characteristics within the refined, more specific point of interest;

associating an advertisement with the point of interest;

enabling user access to the advertisement, wherein said enabling user access further comprises;

outputting a full content of the advertisement when the user access is initiated;

linking the advertisement to the specific point of interest; and

informing the user of the location of the point of interest within the navigational route;

tracking each user access to the advertisement associated with the point of interest; and

maintaining a database with information from the tracking, wherein said information may be utilize for later billing the owner of the point of interest based on a level of access to the advertisement.