System and method for advertising on a network

• US 7,756,962 B2
• Filed: 12/27/2006
• Issued: 07/13/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Savvy Dog Systems, LLC
• Original Assignee: Visioneering Holdings, Inc.
• Inventors: Kitchen, James A
• Primary Examiner(s): Flynn; Nathan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Siddiqi; Mohammad A
• Application Number:
  US11/616,363
• Publication Number:
  US 20070150573A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,294 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203.206, 709/229, 709/223, 709/203, 705 1- 15, 705/14, 379/93.24
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0207 Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0208 Trade or exchange of goods or services in exchange for incentives or rewards
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0211 Determining the effectiveness of discounts or incentives
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0226 Incentive systems for frequent usage, e.g. frequent flyer miles programs or point systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0227 Frequent usage incentive value reconciliation between diverse systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0233 Method of redeeming a frequent usage reward
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0235 constrained by time limit or expiration date
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0236 Incentive or reward received by requiring registration or ID from user
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0239 Online discounts or incentives
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0271 Personalized advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0272 Period of advertisement exposure
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0273 Determination of fees for advertising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0276 Advertisement creation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement

Abstract

A system for advertising to an end user in a computer network is provided. The system includes a server configured to transmit instructions to a client application to display an advertisement and a call-to-action for a reward in proximity to each other. The system is further configured to receive a response to the call-to-action for a reward from the user, and to transmit instructions to the client application to display an indication of a reward. A reward log database is provided in communication with the server. The reward log database is configured for logging the response to the call-to-action for a reward from the user. Methods for advertising and conveying a message, and a client application program product are also provided.

Claims

1. A system for advertising to an end user in a computer network, the system comprising:

at least one server;

configured to transmit instructions to a client application to display;

during a first period, an advertisement and a call-to-action for a reward;

during a second period, an indication of a reward;

during a third period, an indication of a missed reward based on at least one user failure to respond to the call-to-action for a reward;

wherein said first period, said second period and said third period are displayed in proximity to each other and in the same main application display and wherein said first period, said second period and said third period follow each other substantially consecutively and in a repeating fashion determined by a frequency plan implemented by at least one of the client application and the at least one server, and wherein the server is configured to receive a response to the call-to-action for a reward from the user; and

wherein the at least one server is configured to transmit instructions to the client application to display an indication of a missed reward based on at least one user failure to respond to the call-to-action for a reward; and

a reward log database in communication with the at least one server, the reward log database configured for logging the response to the call-to-action for a reward from the user;

an advertising server configured to generate the advertisement;

a reward system server configured to generate the call-to-action for a reward;

a web server configured to receive the advertisement from the advertising server, and to receive the call-to-action for a reward from the reward system server.

2. The system for advertising according to claim 1, wherein the at least one server comprises:

a web server which is configured to transmit instructions to the client application to receive the advertisement from an advertising server, receive the call-to-action for a reward from a reward system server.

3. The system for advertising according to claim 1, further comprising a user profile database in communication with the at least one server, the user profile database configured for storing user information, and the at least one server is configured to associate the user information with the user.

4. A method for advertising comprising:

providing at least one server;

transmitting instructions to display from the at least one server to a client application of the user;

during a first period, an advertisement and a call-to-action for a reward;

displaying the call-to-action for a reward with the user interface in proximity to the display area of the advertisement;

during a second period, an indication of a reward;

during a third period, an indication of a missed reward based on at least one user failure to respond to the call-to-action for a reward;

wherein said advertisement, said call-to-action, said indication of a reward and said indication of a missed reward are displayed with the user interface in the same display area, and wherein said first period, said second period and said third period follow each other substantially consecutively and in a repeating fashion determined by a frequency plan implemented by at least one of the client application and the at least one server, and wherein the server is configured to receive a response to the call-to-action for a reward from the user;

receiving with the at least one server from the user a response to the call-to-action for a reward; and

transmitting from the at least one server an indication of a reward to the user.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

providing a user profile database in communication with the at least one server;

receiving user information of a user with the at least one server;

querying the user information against the user profile database; and

assigning the user with a unique user-identifier, and transmitting with the at least one server the user-identifier to the user.

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

implementing a frequency plan employing at least one of randomness and pseudo-randomness for timing the display of at least one of the advertisement and the call-to-action for a reward.

7. A method of conveying a message in a window within a main application to an end user in computer network, the method comprising;

displaying at least one message in a window of an application interface;

displaying a call-to-action for a reward in said window of said application interface, in proximity to a display area of the at least one message, alternately displaying the at least one message and the call-to-action for a reward in the presentation vehicle;

receiving from a user a response to the call-to-action for a reward;

displaying an indication of a reward;

displaying the indication of a reward in said window of said application interface, as an indication of a missed reward in response to a user'"'"'s failure to respond to the call-to-action for a reward;

displaying each of the plurality of messages for a first predetermined period of time in the window; and

displaying the call-to-action for a reward in the window in proximity to the at least one message for a second predetermined period of time;

wherein at least one of the first and second predetermined periods of time are variable and determined on the basis of at least one of randomness and pseudo-randomness and first and second predetermined period of time are alternately displayed.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

displaying a plurality of call-to-actions for a reward;

logging a plurality of failures of a user to respond to the plurality of call-to-actions for a reward; and

displaying the indication of a reward as an indication of a missed reward in response to the plurality of failures to respond to the plurality of call-to-actions for a reward.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

displaying a plurality of call-to-actions for a reward;

logging at least one response to the plurality of call-to-actions for a reward; and

displaying the indication of a reward as an indication of an earned reward in response to the at least one user response to the plurality of call-to-actions for a reward.

10. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

providing a presentation vehicle comprising a window;

displaying the at least one message in the window; and

displaying the call-to-action for a reward in the window at least one of adjacent to and overlapped with the message.

11. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

providing a presentation vehicle comprising a first window and a second window;

displaying the at least one message in the first window; and

displaying the call-to-action for a reward in the second window adjacent to the first window.

12. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

providing a presentation vehicle comprising a window; and

alternately displaying the at least one message and the call-to-action for a reward in the window, wherein the message and the call-to-action for a reward are positioned substantially in the same location in the window at substantially different times.

13. A client application program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising instructions, the instructions being operable to enable a client computer to perform a procedure comprising:

identifying a user;

receiving an advertisement from at least one server during a first period;

displaying the advertisement in window of a presentation vehicle;

receiving a call-to-action for a reward from the at least one server during a second period;

displaying the call-to-action for a reward in the window of the presentation vehicle in proximity to the advertisement;

transmitting to the at least one server a user response to the call-to-action for a reward;

receiving an indication of a reward from the at least one server;

displaying the indication of a reward in the window of the presentation vehicle;

receiving an indication of at least one missed reward during a third period, in response to at least one failure of the user to respond to the call-to-action for a reward; and

displaying an indication of the at least one missed reward in response to the user'"'"'s at least one failure to respond to the call-to-action for a reward;

wherein said first period, said second period and said third period are displayed in proximity to each other and in the same main application display and wherein said first period, said second period and said third period follow each other substantially consecutively and in a repeating fashion determined by a frequency plan implemented by at least one of the client application and the at least one server, and wherein the server is configured to receive a response to the call-to-action for a reward from the user; and

wherein the at least one server is configured to transmit instructions to the client application to display an indication of a missed reward based on at least one user failure to respond to the call-to-action for a reward.

14. The client application program product of claim 13, wherein the instructions of the non-transitory computer readable storage medium are operable to enable a client computer to perform the procedure further comprising:

requesting the advertisement from the at least one server; and

requesting the call-to-action for a reward from the at least one server.