System, Methods, And Apparatus For Interactive Advertising

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system and methodology for searching and presenting merchant and advertised information to a user over a wide area network such as the Internet. The system and method actively links manufacturer and merchant information within a search query so as to enable a user to conduct more efficient searching when seeking products or services in a proximity or geographical area. This Abstract is provided for the sole purpose of complying with the Abstract requirement rules that allow a reader to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the disclosure contained herein. This Abstract is submitted with the explicit understanding that it will not be used to interpret or to limit the scope or the meaning of the claims.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments of the present invention taught herein are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a typical search and results display in accordance with the prior art;

FIG. 2 is a typical display showing an input window, results window and activity display in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 3 is a typical display showing initial search results and linked brand information in the activity window in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a typical display showing search results and linked brand product line information in the activity window in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a typical display showing search results and linked brand product information in the activity window in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a typical display showing search results, linked brand product information and a link to determine merchant stock in the activity window in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a typical display showing search results showing merchants having stock in the results window and corresponding linked brand product information in the activity window in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a typical display showing search results showing merchants having stock in the results window and corresponding linked brand product information and pricing information in the activity window in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9 is a typical display showing specific merchant information in the results window and a map to the merchant in the activity window in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 10A, 10B and 10C are flowcharts showing a method of the invention in accordance with one embodiment; and,

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing the interaction between an Instant messaging session, a browser session, a processing module, one or more advertiser databases and a user in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

It will be recognized that some or all of the Figures are schematic representations for purposes of illustration and do not necessarily depict the actual relative sizes or locations of the elements shown. The Figures are provided for the purpose of illustrating one or more embodiments of the invention with the explicit understanding that they will not be used to limit the scope or the meaning of the claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following paragraphs, the present invention will be described in detail by way of example with reference to the attached drawings. While this invention is capable of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail specific embodiments, with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an example of the principles of the invention and not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiments shown and described. That is, throughout this description, the embodiments and examples shown should be considered as exemplars, rather than as limitations on the present invention. Descriptions of well known components, methods and/or processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the invention. As used herein, the “present invention” refers to any one of the embodiments of the invention described herein, and any equivalents. Furthermore, reference to various feature(s) of the “present invention” throughout this document does not mean that all claimed embodiments or methods must include the referenced feature(s).

As shown in FIG. 1 and in accordance with the prior art, a search and display system on a computer screen 8 is shown as known within “instant messaging” sessions on the Internet. The typical display of the prior art includes an input window (IW) 10 and a results window (RW) 12 allowing a user, when conducting a search, to enter search data in the input window 10 wherein the results of the search are displayed in the results window 12. Results displayed in the results window are referred to herein as type 1 results.

As shown in FIGS. 2-10A/B/C, in accordance with the invention, a further activity window (AW) 14 is included for displaying associated advertiser information relevant to the search results displayed in the results window 12. The information displayed within the RW may be text, graphics, sound, and/or video and may include company logos, trademarks, maps and other promotional information and is generally referred to herein as type 2 results. As described herein, the RW allows a user to interact with the RW wherein the results of the user's interaction with the RW will cause the type 1 results displayed in the RW to be updated. Similarly, a user's interaction with the RW will cause the type 2 results displayed in the AW to be updated.

In one embodiment, the invention provides an interactive advertising system comprising: a processing module for operative interaction with a instant messaging protocol and an Internet browser protocol, the processing module enabling a user to selectively interact with each protocol during an instant messaging session wherein the instant messaging session allows a user to query and obtain product information based on proximity to the user and the query thereby creates and manages a corresponding Internet browser session displaying any one of or a combination of brand, product line, and product information relevant to the query. The processor module may further enable a user's interaction with the Internet browser session to update the instant messaging session. Further, as is known in the art, this browser session may include a session on a Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) browser on a hand-held electronic device such as a cell phone or PDA.

One feature of various embodiments is that they provide a method that configures a computing device to receive an input from a user requesting information about a product or service within a proximity or geographical area. In this embodiment the computing device is configured to provide an output in the form of a list of one or more merchants that provide the product or service within the proximity. The computing device then provides a second output that comprises one or more brand names under which the product or service is available within that proximity. In this embodiment these outputs are simultaneously displayed to the user on an instant messenger interface. Alternatively, this functionality may be displayed on two or more areas drawn on a web browser interface.

Another feature of various embodiments, is that user interaction is with an instant messenger and displays are done within an instant messaging protocol. In some of these embodiments, the instant messenger is a software module embedded into a web browser. In other embodiments, the instant messenger is a program with an interface distinct of a web browser.

The functionality of the system is described by a representative search example which is illustrated in FIGS. 10A-10C.

A user wishing to purchase a television accesses the system and enters a search input in the form of query criteria (Box 100) into input window 10 (illustrated in previous Figures). The query criteria (for example, find “television”) are processed by a search engine 102 accessing a database 104 interacting with both merchant and advertiser records. The search engine 102 returns and displays (Box 106) a) proximity based search results for display in the results window 12 and b) advertiser information for display in the activity window 14.

As shown in FIG. 3, the proximity based search results may list, for example, 6 stores selling televisions. The activity window, based on the search criteria and search engine algorithm, displays various advertised brands of products that are relevant. The relative size and prominence of various brand names that may be displayed in the AW 14 will generally be determined on the basis of paid advertising, wherein size and position within the AW 14 can be bought based on various criteria. In addition, other information or pathways may be available by displaying brand product categories. In our television example, such brand product categories may be categories such as “LCD”, “Plasma”, “Projection” or “Accessories”.

At decision point 108 (FIG. 10A), a user may then select (click) a particular Brand shown in the AW 14. If, for example, Brand 1 is selected, the RW 12 (Box 112) is updated by process 110 to list those merchants selling Brand 1 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 10A.

At decision point 114 (FIG. 10B), by selecting Brand 1, additional levels of brand product lines, brand products and brand specifications and/or information may also be followed by process 116 as shown in FIGS. 4, 5, 6 and 10B.

In FIG. 4, Brand 1 was selected, resulting in the RW 12 being updated to show three stores carrying Brand 1. In FIG. 5, Brand Product Line 2 was selected, resulting in the RW 12 being updated to show 2 stores carrying Brand Product Line 2. In FIG. 6, Brand Product 3 from Brand Product Line 2 was selected, resulting in the RW 12 being updated to show the same two stores carrying Brand Product 3. The drill down loop (Boxes 120,120a, 120b) further allows a user to navigate to a specific Brand Product.

When a specific Brand Product is displayed (Box 120), the user may select to display stock and price information with respect to that Product. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the user, having identified that two stores carry the desired product has the option of determining if the product is in stock in those stores. Those stores having stock are displayed in the RW 12 (Box 124) as shown in FIGS. 7 and 10B as determined by process 122.

The user may then choose to obtain pricing information (Box 126) on the product selected from the merchants indicated as having stock as shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 10B at process 128. Pricing Information is displayed (Box 130) for merchants indicated as having stock. The user may then select a particular merchant (Box 132) to enter a process to obtain more detailed information about a merchant (Box 134) which then displays merchant address/contact information in the RW and map information in the AW (Box 136). In some embodiments the system is additionally configured to allow a user to purchase a desired product through the interface.

Alternatively, at Box 120, the user may select pricing information on a product through process 138 which displays merchant prices (Box 140) for the selected product. Following this path, a user may decide (Box 142) to determine if a merchant has the selected product in stock by process 122. Thereafter, a user may progress to displaying detailed merchant information as described above.

In various embodiments, the system is deployed as a combined instant messaging and browser session wherein the results window and input window are enabled using an instant messaging protocol and the activity window is enabled using an internet browser protocol enabling the user to interact with both protocols on one screen.

More specifically, a user 50 in initiating a search, as described above and shown in FIG. 11, will initially interact with the instant messaging protocol 52 to access a “bot” identity (for example, imlocal@msn.com (an “MSN” contact identity)) through the instant messaging protocol. The bot identity is a software or processor module having algorithms for directing a user's interaction with the instant messaging protocol to an intended or directed result. In Internet programming Bots are well known in the art and the specific programming details are omitted here for convenience. For example, a user in establishing a “conversation” with the bot may be directed to a result as shown in the following representative conversation after the user has contacted the bot:

Bot: Welcome! What are you looking for today?

User: Televisions

Bot: Where are you?

User: Calgary.

Bot: What is your postal code?

User: xyz

Bot: Here is a list of stores that sell televisions close to you. The screen on the right allows you to obtain information about different brands, different product lines and products. Select any brand for more information.

User: (Selects Brand X from Activity Window)

Bot: These are the stores that sell Brand X. You can obtain product line, product information, product pricing and availability from the screen on the right.

User: (Drills down to Product X by browser interaction within Activity Window and Results Window is con-currently updated based on the user interaction)

Bot: Would you like to obtain pricing information for this product from the listed stores?

User: Yes.

Bot: The prices of Product X at these stores is shown. Would you like to determine which stores have Product X in stock?

User: Yes.

Bot: The availability of Product X at these stores is shown. If you would you like directions to any one of these stores, click on the store.

The preceding “conversation” is representative of a basic interaction between the user, an instant messaging protocol and a browser protocol. It is understood that variations in the bot programming may be implemented to enable a variety of functional interactions between the user and the system of the invention that will lead to a multitude of results depending on a user's input.

During the conversation, the bot will continually interact with the browser to update the browser based on input received from the user's interaction with the instant messaging session. In addition, the bot will update the instant messaging side based on input received from the browser based on the user's interaction with the browser protocol.

In a further embodiment, the relative ranking of an advertiser as displayed at Box 112 may be determined by a bidding process in which the advertiser has the opportunity to improve the ranking of their brand, products or services through an offer to pay a higher fee relative to a competitor's brand, products or services. Such bidding may be conducted by an open or closed auction controlled and managed by the processing module 54. Alternatively, fixed fee amounts may be utilized to ensure prominence in association with specific keywords or keyword combinations.

The database 104 may be operatively linked to the vendors and manufacturer's web databases, thereby allowing a vendor to continually update stock and price information and a manufacturer to continually update their advertising information. The data links that are established to be able to do this may be through either RSS or XML feeds or other feeds that enable tightly coupled systems to talk to one another. In alternate embodiments vendor updates may be entered into database 104 via batch updates.

It is understood that the preceding description is representative of one general methodology of linking merchant and manufacturer information and that the actual displays and programming may be varied as would be understood by those skilled in the art. Moreover, the functionality described herein can be applied to almost all products and services that are commonly advertised using the Internet.

Thus, it is seen that a system, method and apparatus for interactive advertisement are provided. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention can be practiced by other than the above-described embodiments, which are presented in this description for purposes of illustration and not of limitation. The specification and drawings are not intended to limit the exclusionary scope of this patent document. It is noted that various equivalents for the particular embodiments discussed in this description may practice the invention as well. That is, while the present invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications, permutations and variations will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in light of the foregoing description. Accordingly, it is intended that the present invention embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations as fall within the scope of the appended claims. The fact that a product, process or method exhibits differences from one or more of the above-described exemplary embodiments does not mean that the product or process is outside the scope (literal scope and/or other legally-recognized scope) of the following claims.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method, comprising: configuring a computing device to receive a user input from a user requesting information about a product or service within a proximity;providing a first output comprising a list of one or more merchants providing the product or service within the proximity; andproviding a second output comprising one or more brand names under which the product or service is available within the proximity;where the first and second outputs are simultaneously displayed to the user on an instant messaging interface.

2. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the instant messaging interface is an interface embedded within a web browser.

3. The computer implemented method of claim 1, where the user can interact with either the first output or the second output and in response to the user interaction both the first output and the second output are updated.

4. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: providing an instant messaging session, where: the user input comprises one or more instant messages;the first output comprises an instant message provided in response to the user input within the instant messaging session; andproviding a browser window displayed simultaneously with the instant messaging session, where the second output is included in the browser window.

5. The computer implemented method of claim 4, further comprising: providing an Internet bot, where the Internet bot is configured to interact with the user to elicit the user input.

6. The computer implemented method of claim 5, wherein the Internet bot comprises a control on the instant messenger interface.

7. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: formulating a search query based on the user input;searching at least one database using the search query, the database comprising information about the product or service comprising merchants providing the product or service; andgenerating the first output and the second output based on the database search.

8. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the configuration further comprises a configuration to: receive a second user input interacting with either the first output or the second output; andupdate the first output and the second output based on the second user input.

9. The computer implemented method of claim 8, wherein: the second user input comprises a selection of a brand name included in the second output;updating the first output comprises updating the list to include one or more merchants in the proximity providing to product or service under the selected brand name; andupdating the second output comprises providing additional information about the product or service available under the selected brand name.

10. The computer implemented method of claim 9, wherein updating the second output to provide additional information about the product or service available under the selected brand name comprises providing a means for the user to request a list of one or more merchants in the proximity with the product or service available under the selected brand name in stock.

11. The computer implemented method of claim 8, wherein: the second user input comprises a selection of a merchant included in the first output; andupdating the first output comprises providing additional information about the selected merchant; andupdating the second output comprises providing a graphical display of a location of the merchant within the proximity.

12. A system for providing a search for a product or service within a geographical proximity comprising: an instant messenger user interface configured to: receive a user input requesting information about a product or service within a proximity;provide a first output comprising a list of one or more merchants providing the product or service within the proximity; andprovide a second output comprising one or more brand names under which the product or service is available within the proximity;where the first and second outputs are simultaneously displayed to a user;a search engine configured to: formulate a search query based at least in part on the received user input;search a database using the search query;generate the first output and the second output based on the database search; andthe database comprising: information about a plurality of merchants, comprising one or more geographic locations associated with each merchant; andinformation about a plurality of brand names associated with a plurality of products and services.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the instant messaging interface is an interface embedded within a web browser.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the user interface is further configured to: provide an instant messaging session, where the user input comprises an instant message and the first output comprises an instant message within the instant messaging session; andprovide a browser window comprising the second output.

15. The system of claim 12, further comprising: an Internet bot, wherein the Internet bot communicates with the user in the instant messaging session and provides information to the search engine.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the Internet bot comprises a control on the instant messenger interface.

17. The system of claim 12, where: the user interface is further configured to: receive a second user input interacting with either the first output or the second output; andprovide an updated first output and an updated second output;the search engine is further configured to: formulate a second search query based on the second user input;search the database using the second search query;generate the updated first output and the updated second output based on the database search.

18. A computer implemented method comprising: providing an instant messaging session with an instant messaging interface;providing an Internet bot configured to interact with a user of the instant messaging session;configuring a computing device to receive a user input comprising an instant message directed to the Internet bot within the instant messaging session, where the user input includes a request for information about a product or a service within a proximity;providing a first output formulated as an instant message from the Internet bot directed to the user, where the first output includes a list of one or more merchants providing the product or service within the proximity; andproviding a second output comprising one or more brand names under which the product or service is available within the proximity;where the first and second outputs are simultaneously displayed to the user.

19. The computer implemented method of claim 18, wherein the instant messaging interface is an interface embedded within a web browser.

20. The computer implemented method of claim 18, wherein the Internet bot comprises a control on the instant messenger interface.

21. The computer implemented method of claim 18, where the user can interact with either the first output or the second output and in response to the user interaction both the first output and the second output are updated.

22. The computer implemented method of claim 18, wherein the configuration further comprises a configuration to: receive a second user input interacting with either the first output or the second output; andprovide an updated first output and an updated second output based on the second user input.

23. The computer implemented method of claim 22, wherein: the second user input comprises a selection of a brand name included in the second output;the updated first output comprises a list of one or more merchants in the proximity providing the selected brand name; andthe updated second output comprises additional information about the product or service available under the selected brand name.

24. The computer implemented method of claim 23, wherein: the updated second output includes a prompt for the user to request a list of one or more merchants in the geographical area having the product or service available under the selected brand name in stock.

25. The computer implemented method of claim 18, wherein: the second user input comprises a selection of a merchant included in the first output;the updated first output comprises additional information about the selected merchant; andthe updated second output comprises a graphical display of a location of the merchant within the proximity.