Monitoring and reporting usage of non-hypertext markup language e-mail campaigns

• US 7,797,389 B2
• Filed: 03/18/2008
• Issued: 09/14/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/04/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Cama, Karl
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung; Zarni
• Application Number:
  US12/050,345
• Publication Number:
  US 20080168148A1
• Time in Patent Office: 910 Days
• Field of Search: 709206-207, 709/250
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]

Abstract

A method, apparatus, and computer usable program code for tracking and reporting e-mail campaigns. An instruction set is placed in a tagged e-mail to form a modified e-mail, wherein the data type of the instruction set is set to hypertext markup language. The modified e-mail is sent to a distribution list, wherein the instruction set is executed when the modified e-mail is opened. The instruction set captures and records attributes about a reader of the modified e-mail, requests a web page at a website, passes information about the e-mail and the reader, causes a local server to request the website image from an original version of the website located on an original server in response to the non existence of the web page, causes the original server to capture relevant information about the e-mail and the reader as tracking information, and transmits the captured tracking information to a collection device.

Claims

1. A data processing system for using an anti-caching graphics interchange format process for tracking and reporting non-hypertext markup language e-mail campaigns, the data processing system comprising:

a bus,

a storage device connected to the bus, wherein the storage device contains computer usable code;

a communications unit connected to the bus; and

a processing unit connected to the bus, wherein the processing unit executes the computer usable code to

place an instruction set in a non-hypertext markup language e-mail to form a modified e-mail, wherein a data type of a field for the instruction set is set to hypertext markup language, and send the modified e-mail to a server for a distribution list, wherein the instruction set is executed when the modified e-mail is opened, wherein the instruction set executes computer usable code to capture and record attributes about a reader of the modified e-mail, requesting a web page at a website, pass information about the e-mail and the reader, cause a local server to request the website from an original version of the website located on an original server in response to a non-existence of the web page, cause the original server to capture relevant information about the e-mail and the reader as tracking information, and transmit the captured tracking information to a collection device.

2. The data processing system of claim 1, wherein the processing unit further executes the computer usable code to execute the instruction set in the modified e-mail in response to a selection of an object within the modified e-mail to send information to the collection device about the modified e-mail and the object.

3. The data processing system of claim 2, wherein information about the modified e-mail comprises at least one of a date the object was selected and a time the object was selected.

4. The data processing system of claim 1, wherein the processing unit further executes the computer usable code to execute the instruction set in the modified e-mail when an attachment associated with the modified e-mail is opened, wherein the instruction set sends information to the collection device about the modified e-mail and the attachment.

5. The data processing system of claim 4, wherein information about the modified e-mail comprises at least one of a date the attachment was opened and a time the attachment was opened.

6. The data processing system of claim 1, wherein information about the modified e-mail comprises at least one of a date the modified e-mail was opened, a time the modified e-mail was opened, a date the modified e-mail was pre-viewed, a time the modified e-mail was pre-viewed, a subject of the modified e-mail, a name of an associated campaign, a user name, a browser type, an e-mail client type, a level of the e-mail client, whether a reader used a replica mailbox database, whether the reader used a master mailbox database, an internet sub-domain, and a transmission control protocol over internet protocol address.

7. The data processing system of claim 1, wherein the instruction set comprises at least one of hypertext markup language and extensible markup language.

8. The data processing system of claim 1, wherein the processing unit further executes the computer usable code to execute the instruction set in the modified e-mail when the modified e-mail is pre-viewed, wherein the instruction set sends information to the collection device about the modified e-mail.

9. A computer program product stored on a computer-readable medium for using an anti-caching graphics interchange format process for tracking and reporting non-hypertext markup language e-mail campaigns, the computer program product comprising:

computer usable program code configured to place an instruction set in a non-hypertext markup language e-mail to form a modified e-mail, wherein a data type of a field for the instruction set is set to hypertext markup language; and

computer usable program code configured to send the modified e-mail to a server for a distribution list, wherein the instruction set is executed when the modified e-mail is opened, wherein the instruction set executes computer usable program code configured to capture and record attributes about a reader of the modified e-mail, computer usable program code configured to request a web page at a website, computer usable program code configured to pass information about the e-mail and the reader, computer usable program code configured to cause a local server to request the website from an original version of the website located on an original server in response to a non-existence of the web page, computer usable program code configured to cause the original server to capture relevant information about the e-mail and the reader as tracking information, and computer usable program code configured to transmit the captured tracking information to a collection device.

10. The computer program product of claim 9, further comprising computer usable program code configured to execute the instruction set in the modified e-mail in response to the selection of an object within the modified e-mail to send information to the collection device about the modified e-mail and the object.

11. The computer program product of claim 9, further comprising computer usable program code configured to execute the instruction set in the modified e-mail when an attachment associated with the modified e-mail is opened, wherein the instruction set sends information to a collection device about the modified e-mail and the attachment.

12. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein information about the modified e-mail comprises at least one of a date the modified e-mail was opened, a time the modified e-mail was opened, a date the modified e-mail was pre-viewed, a time the modified e-mail was pre-viewed, a subject of the modified e-mail, a name of an associated campaign, a user name, a browser type, an e-mail client type, a level of the e-mail client, whether a reader used a replica mailbox database, whether the reader used a master mailbox database, an internet sub-domain, and a transmission control protocol over internet protocol address.