Method of compensating for enhancing emails with targeted ads

• US 8,346,608 B2
• Filed: 03/13/2008
• Issued: 01/01/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/05/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tamiras Per Pte Ltd LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Consallus Group LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Bosarge, Jason, Little, Roger
• Primary Examiner(s): Alvarez, Raquel
• Application Number:
  US12/047,942
• Publication Number:
  US 20080215692A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,755 Days
• Field of Search: 705/14.73, 705/14.4, 705/14.49
• US Class Current: 705/14.73
• 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. A method comprising:

accessing one or more electronic transmissions transmitted from a client computing device or ready for transmission from the client computing device;

for respective electronic transmissions of the one or more electronic transmissions;

scanning content of the respective electronic transmission to identify one or more keywords included in an advertising data structure;

selecting one or more advertisements for insertion into the respective electronic transmission based on relationships stored in the advertising data structure, wherein the stored relationships indicate associations between the identified one or more keywords in the respective electronic transmission and the selected one or more advertisements;

inserting the selected one or more advertisements into the respective electronic transmission, wherein inserting the selected one or more advertisements comprises changing at least one display characteristic of one or more words already included in a message body or subject line of the respective electronic transmission; and

initiating transmission of the respective electronic transmission to one or more intended recipients.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

determining compensation to be provided to a user of the client computing device for allowing the one or more electronic transmissions to have respective selected one or more advertisements inserted, wherein the determined compensation is based on a bid system and varies depending on hierarchy rankings of the selected one or more advertisements inserted in the respective electronic transmission.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

determining an overall meaning of the respective electronic transmission in an anonymous non-identifying manner without retaining contents of the respective electronic transmission.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the respective electronic transmission includes one or more of an e-mail, a Short Messaging Service message, or an instant message.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

arranging display of the selected one or more advertisements according to respective bids associated with the selected one or more advertisements.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

parsing the respective electronic transmission into component parts of subject and body to determine overall message meaning and content; and

modifying content of the respective electronic transmission directly or indirectly with third-party content.

7. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

providing financial compensation to the one or more intended recipients of the respective electronic transmission.

8. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein a user of the client computing device and the one or more intended recipients receive portions of a bid amount for the selected one or more advertisements.

9. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the selected one or more advertisements are associated with respective competitive bids that are ranked based on various combinations of number of keywords found in the respective electronic transmission, how often the identified one or more keywords are found in the respective electronic transmission, and where in the respective electronic transmission the identified one or more keywords are found.

10. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the one or more words of the respective electronic transmission are modified into a hyperlink or URL of an advertiser who submitted the one or more advertisements with a highest advertising bid.

11. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein personal content of the respective electronic transmission is contextually enhanced.

12. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the one or more intended recipients of the respective electronic transmission are rewarded with real-time payment in response to a respective of the one or more intended recipients clicking on one or more of the selected one or more advertisements.

13. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

analyzing context of the one or more electronic transmissions over time for keyword content analysis to create a personal preference profile database.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein said changing at least one display characteristic comprises one or more of changing a text color of the one or more words or underlining the one or more words.

15. A tangible computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions configured for execution by a computing system having one or more hardware processors in order to perform operations comprising:

accessing one or more electronic transmissions transmitted from a client computing device or ready for transmission from the client computing device;

for respective electronic transmissions of the one or more electronic transmissions;

scanning content of the respective electronic transmission to identify one or more keywords included in an advertising data structure;

selecting one or more advertisements for insertion into the respective electronic transmission based on relationships stored in the advertising data structure, wherein the stored relationships indicate associations between the identified one or more keywords in the respective electronic transmission and the one or more advertisements;

inserting the selected one or more advertisements into the respective electronic transmission, wherein inserting the selected one or more advertisements comprises changing at least one display characteristic of one or more words already included in a message body or subject line of the respective electronic transmission; and

initiating transmission of the respective electronic transmission to one or more intended recipients.

16. The tangible computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein said changing at least one display characteristic comprises one or more of changing a text color of the one or more words or underlining the one or more words.

17. A computing system comprising:

one or more hardware processors configured to execute instructions;

a tangible computer readable medium having modules including instructions stored thereon, wherein the tangible computer readable medium is configured for access by the one or more hardware processors to execute the modules, the modules including at least;

a first module configured to access one or more electronic transmissions transmitted from a client computing device or ready for transmission from the client computing device;

a second module configured to, for respective electronic transmissions of the one or more electronic transmissions;

scan content of the respective electronic transmission to identify one or more keywords included in an advertising data structure;

select one or more advertisements for insertion into the respective electronic transmission based on relationships stored in the advertising data structure, wherein the stored relationships indicate associations between the identified one or more keywords in the respective electronic transmission and the one or more advertisements;

insert the selected one or more advertisements into the respective electronic transmission, wherein inserting the selected one or more advertisements comprises changing at least one display characteristic of one or more words already included in a message body or subject line of the respective electronic transmission; and

initiate transmission of the respective electronic transmission to one or more intended recipients.

18. The computing system of claim 17, wherein said changing at least one display characteristic comprises one or more of changing a text color of the one or more words or underlining the one or more words.