SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING TARGETED CONTENT TO A USER BASED ON USER CHARACTERISTICS

• US 20120131136A1
• Filed: 06/22/2011
• Published: 05/24/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/23/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: KELLEY, MARK, CALIGURI, STEVEN JOHN, GALLOUZI, SOUHEIL
• Granted Patent: US 8,965,871 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/53 using third party service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/18 Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals

Abstract

A system and method for providing a personalized advertisement for a good or service for display to a user is described. The system includes a communications device operated by the user; a virtual person database comprising information about the user; and a search engine useful for finding advertisements of interest to the user and generating personalized advertisements for display on the communications device.

Claims

1. A targeting system for adapting a device to a user, comprising:

at least one communications device in communication with at least one network;

a virtual database accessible to at least one of said

at least one communications device over the at least one

network, wherein said virtual database comprises;

at least one actual user characteristic accepted over the at least one network; and

a heuristic modeler that generates at least one heuristic user characteristic in accordance with the at least one actual user characteristic; and

a searcher that provides content to said at least one of said at least one communications device over the at least one network, in accordance with said virtual database.

2. The targeting system of claim 1, wherein the at least one network comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of an internet, an intranet, a direct dial-in network, and a wireless network.

3. The targeting system of claim 1, wherein at least one of said at least one communications device comprises a wireless communications device.

4. The targeting system of claim 3, wherein said wireless communication device comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of a cellular telephone, a programmable digital assistant, a short range wireless device, a laptop having a modem, and a web-enabled wireless device.

5. The targeting system of claim 1, wherein at least one of said at least one communications device comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of a computer and a television.

6. The targeting system of claim 1, further comprising at least one monitor, wherein said at least one monitor monitors at least one of said at least one communications device, wherein said monitor is communicatively connected to said virtual database, and wherein at least one actual user characteristic is varied in accordance with at least one output of said at least one monitor.

7. The targeting system of claim 6, wherein said at least one monitor comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of a time monitor and a location monitor.

8. The targeting system of claim 6, wherein said monitor provides at least one actual characteristic comprising at least one selected from the group consisting of time of activity information, and position of activity information, current time information, current position information, and behavioral pattern information.

9. The targeting system of claim 6, wherein at least two of the at least one actual user characteristic are batched prior to acceptance over the at least one network by said virtual database.

10. The targeting system of claim 6, wherein said at least one monitor records at least one selected from the group consisting of activity on a television, on a telephone monitor, on the at least one network, and on a purchasing point.

11. The targeting system of claim 6, wherein said at least one monitor comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of a database, at least one storage memory, and at least one batching memory.

12. The targeting system of claim 1, wherein the at least one actual user characteristic is accepted from the user.

13. The targeting system of claim 12, comprising at least two of the at least one actual user characteristic, wherein the at least two actual user characteristics comprise at least one user profile accepted from the user over the at least one network by said virtual database.

14. The targeting system of claim 12, further comprising an access restrictor that restricts access to the at least one user profile.

15. The targeting system of claim 1, wherein said virtual database is two-way accessible to said at least one of said at least one communications device over the at least one network.

16. The targeting system of claim 1, wherein said virtual database comprises at least one memory, at least one processor, at least one database, and at least one comparator.

17. The targeting system of claim 1, wherein said virtual database comprises a real-time cache, and wherein at least one of the at least one actual user characteristic is real-time cached in the real-time cache.

18. The targeting system of claim 1, wherein said virtual database comprises at least one inquiry generator, wherein at least one of the at least one actual user characteristic is generated responsively to a response by the user to an inquiry from the at least one inquiry generator.

19. The targeting system of claim 18, wherein the response is permanently stored within said virtual database.

20. The targeting system of claim 18, wherein the response is temporarily stored to form, in conjunction with the at least one heuristic user characteristic, an overall model of the user within said virtual database.

21-105. -105. (canceled)