JP2010530698A - Method and system for processing telephone calls with targeted advertisements - Google Patents

Abstract

  A method of handling a telephone call between a VoIP service provider subscriber and a called party. The service provider collects subscriber's personal profile data, classifies it according to preset criteria, and stores it in a database. A portion of the classified data is then shared with one or more commercial entities. As soon as a call is made by the subscriber, the service provider identifies one or more commercial entities that best match the subscriber's preferences and sends information to the subscriber. The subscriber can agree to receive advertising material from any one or more of the one or more commercial entities through various media in a later step in anticipation of the bonus.

Description

  The present invention relates generally to telephony, and more particularly to incorporating commercial advertising into telephony.

  Putting advertisements in the telecommunication dead interval is gaining popularity. The dead interval is the time that elapses after dialing until the called party picks up the phone; while receiving a “busy” signal; the call is made via a service provider (Jajah®, etc.) When done, means waiting for the operator to complete the connection; or while in the “pending” state (see, eg, WO 2006/082580).

  World Wide Web (www) based telephony providers can offset some of the costs by partnering with advertisers / sponsors, resulting in low-cost and sometimes free communication services to users can do. Advertisers and sponsors are interested in sending targeted advertisements using various media made available by telephony service providers, such as web-based voice ads, media such as email and text messages. This is because these media viewers can be specifically aimed.

  Advertisers and sponsors have also been introduced by bidding on advertising time or spot on any media channel.

  The above situation is largely true for World Wide Web (www) based (VoIP) service telephony providers, where communication services are offered at low rates and sometimes free of charge, while costs (+ profits) are from sponsors If you are out and connect to a VoIP telephony service provider or log in to your account using a portable media device, an advertisement will be displayed on the subscriber's screen.

  From the sponsor's point of view, the main concern is to aim the advertising as much as possible to the potentially interested members of the public who are always exposed to it. Thus, competition between commercial sponsors is more effective in terms of effectiveness (actual purchasers of advertising investment) than in the overall amount of advertising. Therefore, if you are targeting a group of people selected from the masses, rather than “blindly” advertising, you ’ll need ad units (TV time, number and frequency of Internet banners, newspaper space, advertising area). Sponsors are willing to pay more for billboards, popular places, etc.).

  On the other hand, it is well known that the masses of Internet users are becoming jealous of advertisements flooding the screen everywhere they go surfing the Internet and are even hostile. If advertisements appear when connecting to a VoIP telephony service provider, they will respond in the same way, even if they are customized for a personal profile.

  The present invention is intended to improve the deficiencies of known targeted commercial advertising techniques.

  Accordingly, a general object of the present invention is to provide a marketplace service between a telecommunications service provider and a plurality of commercial entities.

  A further object of the present invention is to apply the marketplace service to VoIP telephony service providers.

  Yet another object of the present invention is to tailor advertisements to a more receptive group of potential customers.

  Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a low-cost telephony service through a partnership between a service provider and one or more sponsors.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a method for processing a telephone call with a targeted commercial advertisement between a subscriber of a VoIP service provider and a called party, comprising:
The service provider collects subscriber personal profile data in bulk;
Classifying the data according to preset criteria and storing it in a database;
As soon as a portion of the classified data is shared with one or more commercial entities and a call is made by a subscriber, the one or more commercial entities that best match the subscriber's criteria are identified and the subscription Sending information to people,
Allowing a subscriber to select whether or not to agree to receive advertising material from any one or more of the one or more commercial entities.

  These and further features of the present invention will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings and in light of the following description of some preferred embodiments for purposes of illustration only.

4 is a flowchart of call processing according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 1 illustrates a system for performing the method of the present invention according to one modified embodiment.

  Taking Jajah® as an example, client profile information can be collected at various times, such as during registration procedures, payment procedures, or when a client submits personal preferences. Profiles include personal details such as phone numbers, addresses, email and website addresses, credit card information, personal preferences, hobbies, etc., which are used by the company for future communication and accounting purposes. Stored in the database.

  A client who wants to make a call first enters the Jajah® site (stage I in the flowchart of FIG. 1) and either logs into his account or is automatically identified by the system.

  Jajah® identifies a client by email address and / or password, launches a personal page on the computer screen, and allows the called party's telephone number to be entered.

  In accordance with the present invention, this page further includes information on stage II, i.e. a description of the three selectable usage routes.

  Jajah® already knows some of the client's preferences, so using the scheme outlined in this document, there are various contracts for advertising exposure with Jajah®. You may be able to pre-select one or more sponsor companies that are likely to meet any of these preferences from among your favorite sponsors.

  Suppose a client chooses to receive advertisements. Since we already know that the client is a fan of jazz music, Jajah presents one or more advertisers or sponsors for jazz or music, preferably in the same area as the client's home or work. It can be expected that the client will select this particular sponsor (Stage III Company A) with a high probability.

  The company A, that is, the sponsor / advertiser thus selected, then follows up by means such as sending an e-mail, a pamphlet, a newsletter, a coupon, etc. to the client.

  In this way, company A targets people who are interested in their products or services for advertising (stage IV). Such clients are more likely to be more receptive to Company A's advertising than members of the general public.

  Depending on the selection of the client, the client's account is provided with a free call for a certain period (for example, 10 minutes) that is valid only for a certain period (for example, one week) or a predetermined amount.

  As an option, according to a further improvement of the present invention, during this “credit period”, company A bears the client's call charge each time the client connects to Jajah® (via the Internet or designated software). (Stage VII). This allows the client to respond more positively to advertisements received from this particular company.

  The notification to the client may be in the form of a message displayed on a personal web page of Jajah (registered trademark) or a voice announcement in the case of a direct call.

  This further aspect of the invention contributes to the trust of both Jajah® and Company A.

  As already mentioned, the client is not obligated to participate in this sponsorship program (see the first choice of stage II), and there are no restrictions on participation. The client may ignore further communications and materials from the company that paid for the call.

  FIG. 2 relates to another aspect of the present invention.

  The telephony service provider has information that is very valuable to the advertiser in its own database, so that information can be used in a more profitable way. The provider can present further options to the subscriber in the framework of stage (II) of FIG. In other words, the option that subscribers have a direct relationship with one or more companies that suit their preferences, rather than staying in a passive state of waiting for an approach from a company that will be announced later, as in the previous example. It is.

  This essentially creates a “client-sponsored interactive marketplace” where sponsors “present” products, clients (subscribers) view and select them, all of which are done in real time. become.

  In addition, if there are multiple companies interested in a particular caller's personal profile, the service provider can negotiate “sell” the data to the bidder with the highest price. Thus, a new “marketplace” is created between the service provider and multiple products / service providers.

  Of course, the chosen company will be the sponsor of the subscriber, and the subscriber will receive the above benefits (stage (II) option (1) or (2)) is given.

  To practice the above method, the provider creates a database by categorizing potential sponsors by target category, for example, men over the age of 40, living in Southern California, and carpentry as a hobby.

  At various stages during or during login to Jajah®, the subscriber is presented with one or more most suitable sponsors. The client selects one company from sponsors presented by Jajah (registered trademark). After doing so, the client is given several minutes of free talk time or some amount of money to the Jajah account by taking necessary actions such as filling out a registration form or printing a coupon.

  When making a call, the subscriber is asked if the sponsor wants to pay for the call or a normal payer-paid call.

  If the subscriber chooses toll-call, the process of establishing a connection proceeds normally.

  If the subscriber chooses to pay for the (and future) call, credit in either of the above forms (amount or free call time) according to stage II option (1) or (2) Is provided. This process applies whether or not previous credits remain in the subscriber's account.

  A knowledgeable reader will appreciate that this “marketplace” mode of operation may be offered in combination with the above options, or may be offered alone, according to the telecommunication service provider's judgment and its technical capabilities. It will be easy to understand.

  Those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains will readily recognize that many variations, applications, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as described above.

Claims (8)

A method of processing a telephone call with a targeted commercial advertisement between a subscriber of a VoIP service provider and a called party, comprising:
a. The service provider collects subscriber personal profile data in bulk;
b. Classifying the data according to preset criteria and storing it in a database;
c. Sharing a portion of the classified data with one or more commercial entities;
d. Identifying the one or more commercial entities that best match the subscriber's criteria upon receipt of a call by the subscriber, and sending information to the subscriber;
e. Allowing a subscriber to select whether to agree to receive advertising material from any one or more of the one or more commercial entities.   The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of granting a subscriber a bonus as a reward for the consent.   The method of claim 2, further comprising introducing the subscriber to the business entity.   4. The method of claim 3, further comprising the step of notifying that the bonus has been granted / provided by the one entity when the subscriber places one or more calls.   The method of claim 4, wherein the bonus is in the form of a call that is free for a period of time.   The method of claim 4, wherein the bonus is in the form of depositing into the service provider's subscriber account.   4. The method of claim 3, further comprising the step of directly contacting the one entity and the subscriber. A system for processing a telephone call with a targeted commercial advertisement between a subscriber of a VoIP service provider and a called party, comprising:
a. Means for the service provider to collect subscriber personal profile data;
b. Means for classifying the data according to preset criteria and storing them in a database;
c. A means of sharing a portion of the classified data with one or more commercial entities;
d. Means for identifying the one or more commercial entities that best match the subscriber's criteria as soon as a call is made, and for sending information to the subscriber;
e. Means for allowing a subscriber to select whether to agree to receive advertising material from any one or more of the one or more commercial entities.

Images