Patent Application
20110029438
The present invention relates generally to media devices such as mobile communication devices, set top boxes and the like. In particular, the present invention pertains to the delivery of retail-channel-specific content to such devices.
Retailers are often interested in ways of maintaining access to their customers after purchases have been made, in order to send out promotional materials (e.g., regarding upcoming sales). Current methods include specifically asking for a customer's email address or contact information during the acquisition phase of the product. This is cumbersome and is only marginally effective. Thus, it is desirable to find new and innovative ways for a retailer to reach out to its existing customer base in order to advise of promotions and thereby increase the likelihood of future sales.
It is recognized that certain retail channels offer telecommunications services, allowing consumers to acquire media devices from stores and websites. These media devices are then activated on a service provider network. If the service provider knows through which retail channel a particular media device was acquired, information specific to that retail channel can be sent to the consumer even after the consumer is no longer in the vicinity (physical or electronic) of the retail outlet from which the device was acquired. A retail channel desirous of obtaining access to this valuable post-acquisition resource available through a given service provider may provide monetary compensation or offer preferential treatment (e.g., preferred shelf space) to that service provider.
Therefore, according to a first broad aspect, the present invention seeks to provide a system comprising: a memory; at least one network entity operatively coupled to the memory and configured for: receiving an identifier of a media device; receiving an identity of a retail channel used to acquire the media device; storing in the memory an association between the identity of the retail channel and the identifier of the media device; and causing content specific to the retail channel to be transmitted to the media device over a communications network in response to determining a presence of the media device on the communications network.
According to a second broad aspect, the present invention seeks to provide a method for execution by at least one network entity, comprising: receiving an identifier of a media device; receiving an identity of a retail channel used to acquire the media device; storing in the memory an association between the identity of the retail channel and the identifier of the media device; and causing content specific to the retail channel to be transmitted to the media device over a communications network in response to determining a presence of the media device on the communications network.
According to a third broad aspect, the present invention seeks to provide a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed by at least one computing device, cause the at least one computing device to: be attentive to receipt of an identifier of a media device; be attentive to receipt of an identity of a retail channel used to acquire the media device; responsive to receipt of the identifier of the media device and the identity of the retail channel, store in the memory an association between the identity of the retail channel and the identifier of the media device; response to determining a presence of the media device on a communications network, cause content specific to the retail channel to be transmitted to the media device over the communications network.
According to a fourth broad aspect, the present invention seeks to provide a system comprising: a memory; a network entity operatively coupled to the memory and configured for: receiving an identifier of a media device; accessing the memory based on the identifier in order to retrieve content specific to a retail channel used to acquire the media device; and releasing the content specific to the retail channel towards the media device.
According to a fifth broad aspect, the present invention seeks to provide a method comprising: receiving an identifier of a media device; accessing a memory based on the identifier in order to retrieve content specific to a retail channel used to acquire the media device; and releasing the content specific to the retail channel towards the media device.
According to a sixth broad aspect, the present invention seeks to provide a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed by at least one computing device, cause the at least one computing device to: be attentive to receipt of an identifier of a media device; responsive to receipt of the identifier of the media device, access a memory based on the identifier in order to retrieve content specific to a retail channel used to acquire the media device; and release the content specific to the retail channel towards the media device.
According to a seventh broad aspect, the present invention seeks to provide a media device, comprising: a network communication interface; a user interface; and a processing entity. The processing entity is configured for: identifying the media device to an external entity via the network communication interface; receiving retail-channel-specific content over the network communication interface; and conveying the retail-channel-specific content via the user interface through a retail-channel-specific application installed on the media device.
According to an eighth broad aspect, the present invention seeks to provide a method carried out by a media device acquired via a retail channel, comprising: establishing a presence on a communications network; receiving content specific to the retail channel over the communications network; and conveying the content specific to the retail channel to a user of the media device through a retail-channel-specific application specific to the retail channel and installed on the media device.
According to a ninth broad aspect, the present invention seeks to provide a process executed by a retail channel that offers for acquisition first media devices activatable by a particular service provider and second media devices activatable by at least one other service provider, the process comprising: making an offer to the particular service provider, the offer comprising a commitment to preferentially display to prospective consumers the first media devices over the second media devices; and receiving, in exchange for acceptance of said offer by the particular service provider, a commitment by the particular service provider to send content specific to the retail channel to the first media devices after acquisition thereof.
These and other aspects and features of the present invention will now become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon review of the following description of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
In the accompanying drawings:
It is to be expressly understood that the description and drawings are only for the purpose of illustration of certain embodiments of the invention and are an aid for understanding. They are not intended to be a definition of the limits of the invention.
Reference is made to
The retail outlet 112 includes a communications facility (such as a computer equipped with a modem or with high-speed Internet access and a browser) for communicating over a network 124, which can include the Internet for example. In non-limiting embodiments, the retail outlet 112 may be a single store or it may be one of several (possibly hundreds or thousands) under the banner of a particular retail channel. A retail channel can be a corporate entity (e.g., Best Buy, Future Shop, Sears, Bell World, etc.) that is expected to purvey media devices such as the media device 110, and which may include the corporate entity associated with the service provider or a third party corporate entity. The particular retail channel used in the illustrated embodiment is associated with a head office 130 where decisions are made regarding, among other things, management of content to be delivered to media devices acquired from associated retail outlets such as the retail outlet 112. The head office 130 includes a communications facility (such as a computer equipped with a modem or with high-speed Internet access and a browser) for communicating over a network, which has been shown as the network 124 but in reality could be a different network than the one to which the retail outlet 112 is connected. In another alternative, a private network may interconnect the head office 130 and its associated retail outlets (including the retail outlet 112), with any external communication over the network 124 being channeled through the head office 130 or a designated one of its associated retail outlets.
In the specific non-limiting embodiment where the media device 110 is a mobile communication device (such as a telephone, a personal digital assistant such as Blackberry™, a laptop, etc.), one reason for acquiring the media device 110 could be to use it within a mobile network 114. Accordingly, the media device 110 comprises a network communication interface for communicating over the mobile network 114, a user interface (e.g., a display, one or more keys/buttons, a microphone, a loudspeaker, a thumb roller, etc.) and a processing entity (possibly including one or more processors) operatively coupled to the network communication interface and the user interface.
The mobile network 114 is operated by a service provider 116 that implements an interconnection of base stations and switching centers to allow the media device 110 to establish telephone calls with other media devices in the mobile network 114. The service provider 116 also implements one or more gateways 117 that connect the mobile network 114 to other mobile and non-mobile networks 119, thus allowing the media device 110 to send and receive text messages, carry out data transfers and establish other types of media links with entities in such other networks.
The base stations, switching centers and gateways 117 monitor the behavior and statistics of individual media links (origin, destination, duration, number of bytes transferred, etc.) and report this information to a billing engine 115.
The service provider 116 also implements a customer portal 118, which is a network entity configured to interact with the processing entity of the media device 110 during critical periods such as activation, troubleshooting or resetting. More specifically, an umbilical data connection 150 is maintained between the media device 110 and the customer portal 118 to allow control over operation of the media device 110. A protocol can be used to communicate over the umbilical data connection. In order to execute its functions properly, the customer portal 118 may occasionally need to read the contents of a shared database 120 and a content management database 128, as described in greater detail herein below.
In addition, the service provider 116 implements various other network entities that can be useful within the context of certain non-limiting embodiments of the present invention. These include an activation server 122, which is reachable over the network 124 and thus is reachable by the retail outlet 112. For example, depending on the implementation, the activation server 122 can be reachable from the retail outlet 112 at a specific phone number (dialed directly by a dialup modem at the retail outlet 112), or it can be reachable at a service-provider-specific URL, such as www.service-provider.com/activation-server (entered into a web browser at the retail outlet 112). When the media device 110 has been acquired from the retail outlet 112, the activation server 122 is contacted to inform the service provider 116 of this acquisition and of the likelihood that the media device 110 will soon require use of the mobile network 114. The activation server 122 may occasionally need to write to the aforementioned shared database 120, whose contents are, as mentioned above, occasionally read by the customer portal 118.
Another entity implemented by the service provider 116 is a content management server 126. The content management server 126 is configured to receive decisions about content customization for one or more retail channels. Accordingly, in the case of the particular retail channel under consideration here, the content management server 126 is connected to the network 124, to which is also connected the head office 130 for the particular retail channel. The content management server 126 includes or has access to the aforementioned content management database 128, which stores various information that may be of potential use in certain non-limiting embodiments of the present invention. Since this information is controlled by the head office 130, the information stored in the content management database 128 may include information specific to the particular retail channel, which is to be delivered to media devices that have been acquired from its associated retail outlets, such as the media device 110 acquired from the retail outlet 112. The content management server 126 may thus occasionally need to write to the content management database 128, whose contents are, as mentioned above, occasionally read by the customer portal 118.
Retail-channel-specific content customization carried out by the various components in the environment of
Device Activation
The service provider 116 controls access to the mobile network 114 by restricting access to those media devices that are registered to “subscribers” of the service provider 116. Thus, in order to gain access to the mobile network 114, the media device 110 has to be recognized by the service provider 116 as having been legitimately registered to a subscriber. To establish a relationship between the media device 110 and a given “subscriber” (which can simply be viewed as account information traceable to an entity responsible for payment), an identity of the media device 110 and the account information is relayed to the service provider 116. This occurs during the device activation phase, now described with reference to
Specifically, at step 202 of
The activation server 122 thus obtains the device identifier 350 (which uniquely identifies the media device 110) and the associated account information 348 (which identifies the entity responsible for payment of invoices related to services incurred by the media device 110). The account information 348 is stored in association with the device identifier 350 (e.g., by the billing engine 115) so that the service provider 116 can monitor account activities and collect payment when required.
In addition to receiving the activation message 352, the activation server 122 learns an identity of the retail channel with which the retail outlet 112 is associated, herein referred to as the “particular retail channel”. The particular retail channel can be represented by a retail channel identifier 354. The retail channel identifier 354 may be a name or a standardized code used to refer to the particular retail channel. Thus, it is expected that the meaning of the retail channel identifier 354 will be known to the retail outlet 122, to the head office 130 and to the activation server 122.
In one embodiment, the retail channel identifier 354 can be explicitly included in the activation message 352 sent to the activation server 122. Alternatively, the activation server 122 can learn of a source address (e.g., an IP address) from which the activation message 352 originated, and can then query another network server or database (not shown) to obtain the retail channel identifier 354 associated with the source address.
At step 206, the activation server 122 causes the device identifier 350 and the retail channel identifier 354 to be stored in the shared database 120. It should thus be understood that after having executed step 204 in the context of activating multiple media devices, the shared database 120 will end up storing a number of device identifiers along with their associated retail channel identifiers, as illustrated in the following non-limiting example:
At step 208, the activation server 122 may send an alert 356 to the customer portal 118. The alert 356 can include the device identifier 350. The alert 356 serves to indicate to the customer portal 118 that the media device 110 (which is uniquely identified by the device identifier 350) is expected to soon require services in the mobile network 114.
Content Management
During the content management phase, the head office 130 manages retail-channel-specific content to be delivered to media devices acquired through the particular retail channel, such as the media device 110 in this particular example. Accordingly, with reference to
In various non-limiting embodiments, the retail-channel-specific content may comprise one or more of a textual message, a URL, a bitmap, a still image, an audio segment and a video segment, to name a few non-limiting possibilities. In a specific non-limiting example, the retail-channel-specific content may be promotional in nature. The content management server 126 can provide various editing and formatting tools to allow the authorized representative to manage the retail-channel-specific content.
At step 304, the retail-channel-specific content is stored in the content management database 128 in association with an identifier of the particular retail channel, in this case the retail channel identifier 354, which is known to the head office 130. It should thus be understood that where different head offices manage the content for respective retail channels, the content management database 128 will end up storing a plurality of retail channel identifiers along with associated retail-channel-specific content, as illustrated in the following non-limiting example:
Content Delivery
The retail-channel-specific content for the particular retail channel can be delivered to the media device 110 in a variety of ways, several of which will now be described. To begin with, it is assumed that the media device 110 is turned on after having been acquired and is eventually located by the mobile network 114, and its presence is signaled to the customer portal 118. In order to deliver the appropriate retail-channel-specific content to the media device 110, the customer portal 118 needs to first determine which retail channel was used to acquire the media device 110. Receipt of the alert 356 (described earlier in connection with step 208) may additionally prepare the customer portal 118 for this task.
Referring therefore to
At step 408, the customer portal 118 accesses the content management database 128 based on the retail channel identifier 354. Recalling that the content management database 128 stores retail-channel-specific content in association with various retail channel identifiers, it should be apparent that by providing the retail channel identifier 354 to the content management database 128, the customer portal 118 will retrieve, at step 410, the retail-channel-specific content for the particular retail channel, herein simply denoted as “content” 470. To be clear, therefore, the content 470 refers to the retail-channel-specific content for the particular retail channel. It is recalled that the content 470 may comprise one or more of a textual message, a URL, a bitmap, a still image, an audio segment and a video segment, to name a few non-limiting possibilities and may, but need not, be promotional in nature.
The content 470 is now delivered to the media device 110 at step 412. Delivery of the content 470 to the media device 110 can take place with the assistance of a retail-channel-specific application residing on the media device 110, such as a block of code that can be executed either with or without requiring compilation, an example of the latter being a “widget”. The retail-channel-specific application is used to process the content 470 sent to the media device 110. In a first scenario, the retail-channel-specific application can be generic across multiple retail channels and in a second scenario, the retail-channel-specific application can be customized for the particular retail channel.
Consider now the first scenario, wherein the retail-channel-specific application used to convey the content 470 to the user is generic. With reference to
With reference to
Consider now the second scenario, wherein the retail-channel-specific application used to convey the content 470 to the user is customized for the particular retail channel. This scenario includes at least the following two possibilities.
A first possibility is for different retail-channel-specific applications to be customized for different retail channels and pre-installed on the media device 110 by the service provider 116 in anticipation that one of these retail channels might be the one used to acquire the media device 110. All that is then needed is for the appropriate retail-channel-specific application to be activated by the service provider 116 when the media device 110 accesses the mobile network 114. To this end, before delivering the content 470 to the media device 110, the customer portal 118 activates the appropriate retail-channel-specific application. With reference to
The media device 110 recognizes the identifier 474 and activates the appropriate retail-channel-specific application. The activated retail-channel-specific application can be represented by an icon 610 on the screen 520 of the media device 110.
Following this, and with reference to
In a variant, to enhance user convenience, the customer portal 118 may inform the retail-channel-specific application (and thereby the user) whenever there an update has occurred to the retail-channel-specific content. This may be achieved by way of a message that is translated by the retail-channel-specific application into a visual or audio cue (such as a star next to the icon 610) in order to alert the user that new or updated retail-channel-specific content is available. When the retail-channel-specific application is invoked, the media device 110 issues the aforementioned request 620 and receives, in return, the new or updated retail-channel-specific content for conveyance to the user.
As an alternative to pre-installation, a second possibility is for the retail-channel-specific application to be installed by the service provider 116 when the media device 110 accesses the mobile network 114 (e.g., when it first accesses the mobile network 114). This possibility is now discussed with reference to
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the above embodiments may be economically beneficial to a retail channel. Consider for example that the retail channel might sell (or lease, etc.) media devices activatable by a range of service providers, including first media devices activatable by a first service provider and second media devices activatable by one or more second service providers. The retail channel can make an offer to a the first service provider, such offer including a commitment to preferentially display to prospective consumers the first media devices over the second media devices. Without limitation, preferential display can mean physical (shelf space) and/or virtual (screen space). In exchange for acceptance of this offer by the first service provider, the retail channel can demand that the first service provider commit to sending to the first media devices (after their acquisition from the retail channel) content that is specific to the retail channel. This therefore allows the retail channel to retain access to its customers in a post-acquisition scenario.
Those skilled in the art should appreciate that although the above description has focused on the case where the media device 110 has the functionality of a mobile communication device, the present invention is also applicable to other types of media devices, in particular digital radio units, continuously or intermittently Internet-enabled MP3 players (e.g., iPod™) digital media reading platforms (e.g., Kindle™), and television set top boxes (STBs). In the case where the media device 110 is a television STB, and with reference to
Those skilled in the art should also appreciate that the retail-channel-specific content may be further customized on the basis of a geographic region or other parameter associated with the media device 110 (or 110A or 710). Thus, a given retail channel may render available different content for different geographic regions. As a result, the retail channel identifiers stored in the content management database 128 (or 728) can have regional variations in their associated content, as illustrated in the following non-limiting example:
In this alternative, the geographic region in which the media device 110 (or 110A or 710) is located can be learned by the customer portal 118 (or 718) at around the same time as the device identifier 350 is received, either based on a registered address for the subscriber (which can be obtained by consulting the billing engine 115 or a billing engine 715, in the case of
Those skilled in the art should also appreciate that the retail-channel-specific content stored in the content management database 128 (or 728) may be further customized on the basis of a geographic sub-region associated with the particular retail outlet from which the media device 110 (or 110A or 710) was acquired. For example, the geographic sub-region in which the retail outlet 112 is located can be learned by activation server 122 during the device activation phase. In one embodiment, the geographic sub-region can be explicitly included in the activation message 352 sent to the activation server 122. Alternatively, the activation server 122 can learn of a source address (e.g., an IP address) from which the activation message 352 originated, and can then query another network server or database (not shown) to obtain the geographic region of the retail outlet.
Thereafter, the activation server 122 causes the device identifier 350 and the retail channel identifier 354 and the geographic sub-region to be stored in the shared database 120.
Then, when the device identifier 350 is received from the media device 110 (or 110A or 710), the customer portal 118 accesses the shared database 120 based on the device identifier 350 in order to retrieve, at step 406, the retail channel identifier 354 and the geographic sub-region, which is then used to access the appropriate managed content from the content management database 128 (or 728).
Those skilled in the art should also appreciate that another example of a parameter associated with the media device 110 (or 110A or 710) for purposes of customization can include a device “type”. A device type can refer to one or more particular specification(s) or feature(s) that allow a set of otherwise unrelated media devices to be organized into subsets that share a certain specification or feature set. For example, media devices could be classified according to their make (e.g., BlackBerry, Siemens, Echostar, etc.), model (e.g., 8310, 320Q, etc.), operating system family (e.g., Windows, Symbian, etc.) and software version/revision (e.g., 1.0, 2.0, 2.1, etc.), among other possibilities. Thus, a given retail channel may render available different content for different device types. As a result, the retail channel identifiers stored in the content management database 128 can have device-type-driven variations in their associated content, as illustrated in the following non-limiting example:
In this alternative, the device type associated with the media device 110 (or 110A or 710) can be assessed by the customer portal 118 at around same time as the device identifier 350 is received. For example, the device type may be implicit in the device identifier 350. Once the retail channel identifier 354 is obtained from the shared database 120 (or 720), it is provided along with the device type to the content management database 128 (or 728), from which the appropriate retail-channel-specific content is retrieved.
Those skilled in the art should also appreciate that the various entities denoted by reference numerals 115 (715), 118 (718), 122 (722) and 126 (726) have been illustrated as separate components merely for convenience and ease of understanding. It will be understood that any two or more of these entities can be combined into a single physical components, and/or any individual one of these entities can be distributed over a greater number of physical components, as dictated by operational considerations.
Those skilled in the art should also appreciate that the retail outlet 112 (or 712) may in fact be co-located with the head office 130. Alternatively, the retail outlet 112 (or 712) may be a web server accessible over the Internet and from which individual consumers can order media devices such as the media device 110 (or 110A or 710). In such a case, the media device 110 (or 110A or 710) may be shipped from a warehouse upon command based on an order placed with the web server, while the web server activates individual media devices by communicating with the activation server 122.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that in some embodiments, the network entities 118, 122, 126 (as well as 718, 722 and 726) may be implemented using one or more computing apparatuses that have access to a code memory (not shown) which stores computer-readable program code (instructions) for operation of the one or more computing apparatuses. The computer-readable program code could be stored on a medium which is fixed, tangible and readable directly by the one or more computing apparatuses, (e.g., removable diskette, CD-ROM, ROM, fixed disk, USB drive), or the computer-readable program code could be stored remotely but transmittable to the one or more computing apparatuses via a modem or other interface device (e.g., a communications adapter) connected to a network (including, without limitation, the Internet) over a transmission medium, which may be either a non-wireless medium (e.g., optical or analog communications lines) or a wireless medium (e.g., microwave, infrared or other transmission schemes) or a combination thereof. In other embodiments, the network entities 118, 122, 126 (as well as 718, 722 and 726) may be implemented using pre-programmed hardware or firmware elements (e.g., application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), electrically erasable programmable read-only memories (EEPROMs), flash memory, etc.), or other related components.
Also, it should be appreciated that the databases 120, 128 (as well as 720, 728) could be distributed among any number of physical components deemed necessary or desirable to achieve operational specifications.
While specific embodiments of the present invention have been described and illustrated, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2,674,405 | Jul 2009 | CA | national |
