Individualized marketing to improve capacity utilization

• US 7,917,387 B2
• Filed: 03/23/2005
• Issued: 03/29/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/07/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kayak Software Corporation (Booking Holdings, Inc., fka Priceline Group Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Kayak Software Corporation (Booking Holdings, Inc., fka Priceline Group Inc.)
• Inventors: Giza, Jim, Hafner, Daniel S., Patterson, Andrew, Spurr, Charles L., English, Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): Weiss; John G
• Assistant Examiner(s): HAMILTON, MATTHEW L
• Application Number:
  US11/087,469
• Publication Number:
  US 20060155598A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,197 Days
• Field of Search: 705/14, 705/26, 705/14.24
• US Class Current: 705/14.24
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0223 based on inventory
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0244 Optimization
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0251 Targeted advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0275 Auctions

Abstract

Suppliers of goods and/or services subject to shifts in capacity utilization design and implement marketing campaigns around utilization forecasts, targeting marketing expenditures on periods of excess capacity rather than periods without excess capacity, and in some embodiments also to alter variables such as pricing, consumer targeting, or even the intensity of the campaign itself on a dynamic basis in response to changing market conditions.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method of executing a marketing campaign in connection with a computer network site facilitating interactive searches for items characterized by fixed capacity and deferred consumption, by means of which a site visitor submits a search request relating to consumption of the items and thereby obtains search results concerning availability of the items, the method comprising:

receiving, by a computer system, from each of a plurality of suppliers of the items, a marketing campaign comprising at least one promotion for one or more of the supplier'"'"'s items, and execution criteria for executing the marketing campaign;

storing, by the computer system, in a database marketing campaigns received from the plurality of suppliers of the items;

receiving, by the computer system, a search request from a visitor to the computer network site for an item to be consumed in future by the visitor;

searching, by the computer system, suppliers of items to be consumed in the future to obtain search results identifying items matching the visitor'"'"'s search request;

searching, by the computer system, the database for at least one marketing campaign having execution criteria matching the visitor'"'"'s search request;

selecting, by the computer system, at least one promotion of at least one marketing campaign having execution criteria matching the visitor'"'"'s search request; and

transmitting, by the computer system, the search results and the selected at least one promotion to a device for presentation via the computer network site.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one marketing campaign is selected from a plurality of marketing campaigns whose execution criteria matches the visitor'"'"'s search request, based at least in part on a combination of a click-through bid and a past click-through rate associated with the at least one marketing campaign.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the execution criteria specify parameters corresponding to forecast data received from a forecast server.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the execution criteria of a stored marketing campaign is dynamically modified based on forecast data received from a forecast server, the forecast data computed by the forecast server based on the future availability of one or more items provided by a supplier related to the marketing campaign.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the execution criteria identifies individual visitors to whom the marketing campaign is intended.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the execution criteria specify behavior or consumption patterns of site visitors.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising billing a supplier associated with the at least one promotion a placement fee.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising billing a supplier associated with the at least one promotion a click-through fee responsive to the visitor selecting the at least one promotion.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the click-through fee changes according to predetermined criteria specified by the supplier.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising billing a supplier associated with the at least one promotion a fee responsive to the visitor purchasing the at least one promotion.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one marketing campaign is selected from a plurality of marketing campaigns whose execution criteria matches the visitor'"'"'s search request, based at least in part on a bid associated with the at least one marketing campaign.

23. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to receiving a marketing campaign from a supplier, calculating performance estimates for the marketing campaign;

transmitting to the supplier the performance estimates; and

receiving from the supplier at least one edit to the marketing campaign.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the performance estimates include an estimated average rank for the marketing campaign among other marketing campaigns stored in the database.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the performance estimates include an estimated search volume.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein the performance estimates include an estimated number of monthly clicks.

32. The method of claim 4, wherein the forecast data is received from the forecast server in response to a change in the availability of one of the supplier'"'"'s items.

33. The method of claim 4, wherein the forecast data is received periodically from the forecast server.

11. A system for executing a marketing campaign in connection with a computer network site facilitating interactive searches for items characterized by fixed capacity and deferred consumption, by means of which a site visitor submits a search request relating to consumption of the items and thereby obtains search results concerning availability of the items, the system comprising:

a database configured to;

store entries characterizing marketing campaigns each comprising at least one promotion for one or more of the items and execution criteria for executing the marketing campaign, and relating each marketing campaign to a supplier of the items; and

a computer comprising at least one processor and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having executable computer program instructions, the computer configured to;

receive a search request from a visitor to the computer network site for an item to be consumed in future by the visitor;

search suppliers of items to be consumed in the future to obtain search results identifying items matching the visitor'"'"'s search request;

search the database for at least one marketing campaign having execution criteria matching the visitor'"'"'s search request;

select at least one promotion of at least one marketing campaign having execution criteria matching the visitor'"'"'s search request; and

transmitting the search results and the selected at least one promotion to a device for presentation via the computer network site.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the computer is further configured to select the at least one marketing campaign from a plurality of marketing campaigns whose execution criteria matches the visitor'"'"'s search request, based at least in part on a combination of a click-through bid and a past click-through rate associated with the at least one marketing campaign.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the execution criteria specify parameters corresponding to forecast data received for a forecast server.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the execution criteria of a marketing campaign is dynamically modified based on forecast data received from a forecast server, the forecast data computed by the forecast server based on the future availability of one or more items provided by a supplier related to the marketing campaign.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the execution criteria identifies individual visitors to whom the marketing campaign is intended.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the execution criteria specify behavior or consumption patterns of site visitors.

17. The system of claim 11, wherein the computer is further configured to bill a supplier associated with the at least one promotion a placement fee.

18. The system of claim 11, wherein the computer is further configured to bill a supplier associated with the at least one promotion, a click-through fee responsive to the visitor selecting the at least one promotion.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the click-through fee changes according to predetermined criteria specified by the supplier.

20. The system of claim 11, wherein the computer is further configured to bill a supplier associated with the at least one promotion a fee responsive to the visitor purchasing the at least one promotion.

27. The system of claim 11, wherein the computer is configured to select the at least one marketing campaign from a plurality of marketing campaigns whose execution criteria matches the visitor'"'"'s search request, based at least in part on a bid associated with the at least one marketing campaign.

28. The system of claim 11, wherein the computer is further configured to:

calculate performance estimates for a marketing campaign, responsive to receiving the marketing campaign from a supplier;

transmit to the supplier the performance estimates; and

receive from the supplier at least one edit to the supplier'"'"'s marketing campaign.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein the performance estimates include an estimated average rank for the marketing campaign among other marketing campaigns stored in the database.

30. The system of claim 28, wherein the performance estimates include an estimated search volume.

31. The system of claim 28, wherein the performance estimates include an estimated number of monthly clicks.

34. The system of claim 14, wherein the forecast data is received from the forecast server in response to a change in the availability of one of the supplier'"'"'s items.

35. The system of claim 14, wherein the forecast data is received periodically from the forecast server.

21. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising executable instructions for executing a marketing campaign in connection with a computer network site facilitating interactive searches for items characterized by fixed capacity and deferred consumption, by means of which a site visitor submits a search request concerning availability of the items, the medium comprising instructions that when executed by a processor are configured to:

receive from each of a plurality of suppliers of the items, a marketing campaign comprising at least one promotion for one or more of the supplier'"'"'s items, and execution criteria for executing the marketing campaign;

store in a database marketing campaigns received from the plurality of suppliers of the items;

receive a search request from a visitor to the computer network site for an item to be consumed in future by the visitor;

search suppliers of items to be consumed in the future to obtain search results identifying items matching the visitor'"'"'s search request;

search the database for at least one marketing campaign having execution criteria matching the visitor'"'"'s search request;

select at least one promotion of at least one marketing campaign having execution criteria matching the visitor'"'"'s search request; and

transmit the search results and the selected at least one promotion to a device for presentation via the computer network site.