(12) INTERNATIONAL APPLICATION PUBLISHED UNDER THE PATENT COOPERATION TREATY (PCT)
`
`(19) World Intellectual Property Organization
`International Bureau
`
`I IIIII IIIIIIII II IIIIII IIIII IIII I II Ill lllll lllll lllll lllll llll 1111111111111111111
`
`(43) International Publication Date
`15 February 2001 (15.02.2001)
`
`PCT
`
`(IO) International Publication Number
`WO 01/11507 Al
`
`(51) International Patent Classification 7:
`17/60, H04Q 7/20, H04M 11/00
`
`G06F 17 /40,
`
`(21) International Application Number:
`
`PCT/US00/19569
`
`(22) International Filing Date: 11 August 2000 (11.08.2000)
`
`(81) Designated States (national): AE, AG, AL, AM, AT, AU,
`AZ, BA, BB, BG, BR, BY, CA, CH, CN, CR, CU, CZ, DE,
`DK, DM, DZ, EE, ES, Fl, GB, GD, GE, GH, GM, HR, HU,
`ID, IL, IN, IS, JP, KE, KG, KP, KR, KZ, LC, LK, LR, LS,
`LT, LU, LV, MA, MD, MG, MK, MN, MW, MX, MZ, NO,
`NZ, PL, PT, RO, RU, SD, SE, SG, SI, SK, SL, TJ, TM, TR,
`TI, TZ, UA, UG, UZ, VN, YU, ZA, ZW.
`
`(25) Filing Language:
`
`(26) Publication Language:
`
`English
`
`English
`
`(30) Priority Data:
`09/371,901
`
`11 August 1999 (11.08.1999) US
`
`(71) Applicant: 13 MOBILE, INC. [US/US]; Katzman, Alan,
`3rd floor, 181 Harbor Drive, Stamford, CT 06902 (US).
`
`(72) Inventors: UNNOLD, Robert, M.; 52 Lanark Road,
`Stamford, CT 06902 (US). KLEIN, Jeffrey, N.; 416 Twin
`Creek Drive, Hurst, TX 76053 (US). FORBES, Michael,
`S.; 231 Hoyt Street, Darien, CT 06820 (US).
`
`(74) Agents: HOEL, John, E. et al.; Morgan & Finnegan,
`L.L.P., 345 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10154-0053 (US).
`
`(84) Designated States (regional): ARIPO patent (GH, GM,
`KE, LS, MW, MZ, SD, SL, SZ, TZ, UG, ZW), Eurasian
`patent (AM, AZ, BY, KG, KZ, MD, RU, TJ, TM), European
`patent (AT, BE, CH, CY, DE, DK, ES, Fl, FR, GB, GR, IE,
`IT, LU, MC, NL, PT, SE), OAPI patent (BF, BJ, CF, CG,
`CI, CM, GA, GN, GW, ML, MR, NE, SN, TD, TG).
`
`Published:
`With international search report.
`
`For two-letter codes and other abbreviations, refer to the "Guid(cid:173)
`ance N ates on Codes and Abbreviations" appearing at the begin(cid:173)
`ning of each regular issue of the PCT Gazette.
`
`(54) Title: A METHOD TO PROVIDE ADVERTISING MESSAGES TO WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS DEVICES
`
`(57) Abstract: A system and method are dis(cid:173)
`closed to automatically provide Advertising
`Messages (116, 118, 120) to wireless com(cid:173)
`munications devices (WCD). Each Advertis(cid:173)
`ing Message is attached to a Personal Infor(cid:173)
`mation Services message ( 109) which is of in(cid:173)
`terest to a user. The composite Tagged Mes(cid:173)
`sage ( 123) is customized to fit within the mes(cid:173)
`sage capacity of the user's wireless communi(cid:173)
`cations device. A user profile database (100)
`includes user records for each user, including
`the identity of Personal Information Services
`of interest to that user, the message capacity
`of the user's WCD (102, 104, 106), the demo(cid:173)
`graphic characteristics, geographic location,
`and buying habits, of the user, and other in(cid:173)
`formation. An Advertising Message database
`(114) includes advertiser records for each ad(cid:173)
`vertiser. Each advertiser record includes the
`advertiser's rules for selecting a user to whom
`
`RF
`SIGNALS 129
`
`-3:7
`
`150
`D
`D
`D
`'YANKS 2. METS 1
`
`FIZZO
`
`WCD
`NE1WORK
`
`WCD
`WITH
`LARGE
`MESSAGE
`CAPACITY
`
`140
`D
`
`~129
`D
`D
`'YANKS2
`METS 1
`TOP 5TH'
`'DRINK F!ZZO
`AT1HE GAME'
`
`TOP 5TH" et DRINK
`---
`= an Advertising Message is to be sent. The rules in the Advertising Message database include the identity of one or more Personal
`
`iiiiiiiiiiiiii -
`
`iiiiiiiiiiiiii
`
`iiiiiiiiiiiiii
`
`iiiiiiiiiiiiii
`
`iiiiiiiiiiiiii -iiiiiiiiiiiiii
`iiiiiiiiiiiiii -iiiiiiiiiiiiii
`
`!!!!!!!!
`
`t"--
`
`NEWS SOURCE 90,
`'YANKS 2, METS l, TOP OF STH"
`
`USER DATBASE 1 DD
`OF USERS WANTING
`BASEBALL SCORES
`
`'YANKS2
`WCD
`NUMBER METS l
`'130' TOP 5TH'
`
`SMALL AD MESSAGE 116,
`"DRINK FIZZO"
`
`WCD NUMBERS OF
`USERS WITH
`MEDUlM CAPACITY WCD
`~
`
`"YANKS2
`WCD
`NUMBER METS l
`'150" TOP 5TH'
`
`t
`200
`
`WCD NUMBERS OF
`USERS WITH
`LARGE CAPACITY WCD
`1.22
`
`130
`D
`
`->"129
`D D
`WCDWITH
`"YANKS2
`SMALL MESSAGE CAPACITY
`METS 1
`TOP 5TH"
`~
`'DRINK FIZZO'
`
`~ Information Services that the advertiser uses to select users to contact. The rules in the Advertising Message database (114) also
`~ include the demographic characteristics, geographic location, buying habits, and/or other selection criteria of the class of users that
`S to the User and the informational content of the Personal Information Services message (109). This enables the advertiser to flexibly
`.._ the advertiser wants to contact. Advertising Messages (116, 118, 120) are selected based upon the personal characteristics attributed
`0 also includes Advertising Messages for one or more of the advertiser's products or services to be advertised. For each such product
`> or service, several Advertising Messages (116, 118, 120) are included in the record, one for each of the several sizes of message
`
`change the criteria for selecting users based on many factors. Each advertiser record in the Advertising Message database (114)
`
`;;, capacity possible for a user's WCD.
`
`
`
`
`Twitter Exhibit 1005
`Twitter, Inc. v. BlackBerry Ltd.
`Page 00000
`
`

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`WO 01/11507
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`PCT /US00/19569
`
`A Method To Provide Advertising Messages
`To Wireless Communications Devices
`
`5 Field of the Invention
`
`The invention disclosed broadly relates to telecommunications and advertising, as
`
`in the combination of a content or a personal message with an advertisement for delivery
`
`to a wireless communications device.
`
`10
`
`Background Of The Invention
`
`The following definitions of terms used herein will be helpful to the reader in
`
`understanding the background of the invention and the invention itself:
`
`15
`
`•
`
`"ADMATTs" - is an acronym for Advanced Data Mining Advertising Tag
`
`and Transaction system, which is the name of the invention disclosed herein.
`
`•
`
`"WCD" - is an acronym for Wireless Communications Device, which refers to
`
`wireless mobile phones, alphanumeric pagers, personal digital assistants, and
`
`other digital wireless devices.
`
`20
`
`•
`
`"Personalized Information Services" - refers to a service that delivers
`
`information or content to an individual based on that individual's preset
`
`requirements or on-demand requests. This includes, for example, the final
`
`score of a favorite baseball team's game, a stock price at noon each business
`
`day, an email from the boss, a calendar appointment, etc.
`
`25
`
`•
`
`"Advertising Message" - refers to a message that contains an advertisement
`
`and/or control commands for how an advertisement is to be displayed or
`
`handled by the WCD.
`
`•
`
`"Tagged Message" - refers to a composite Tagged Message which includes
`
`both a Personalized Information Service message and an Advertising Message.
`
`30
`
`•
`
`"User" - is a person who uses a WCD.
`
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`Advertising Messages which are selectively matched with Personalized
`
`Information Services and delivered as Tagged Messages to a User's WCD, will become a
`
`powerful and effective way to reach the User with relevant advertisements, one that has
`
`not existed prior to the ADMATTs invention.
`
`5
`
`The inclusion of advertising content with wireless information is a new departure
`
`in delivering the advertiser's message to the public, one that is significantly different from
`
`that provided by preexisting print media and electronic media. In the future, the extent of
`
`advertising delivered by advertisers through this new wireless medium will grow
`
`10
`
`exponentially with the rapid market penetration of WCDs. The wireless medium is
`
`unique among electronic media in that it combines the mobility of radio with the potential
`
`to deliver individually targeted Advertising Messages, as in direct mail or the Internet. In
`
`addition, the wireless medium provides interactivity through an instant means of User
`
`requests and responses. Advertisers will be attracted to the wireless medium for its
`
`15
`
`unique ability to deliver active, personalized content to targeted individuals, independent
`
`of their location. An active, not passive, method of content delivery means that messages
`
`will be read and will more likely be committed to the User's long term memory. While the
`
`message size available for WCDs (and the networks they utilize) is limited when
`
`compared to other media, advertisers will be able to purchase wireless advertisements in
`
`20
`
`creative, highly effective ways, enabling compelling advertising to be created. Once
`
`advertisers understand the new wireless medium, they will develop new techniques,
`
`response mechanisms and demands for wireless advertising, leading to a dynamic growth
`
`of wireless advertising and its capabilities.
`
`25
`
`Most Users will accept Advertising Messages with their Personalized Information
`
`Services, especially in exchange for subsidized Personalized Information Services.
`
`Advertisers and agencies will approach wireless from a "new medium" rather than as a
`
`"traditional medium", and they will develop new, creative approaches suited to wireless
`
`delivery which will compete for funds in the advertiser's budget that might otherwise be
`
`30
`
`allocated to the Internet. Wireless advertising will serve equally well for brand/awareness
`
`advertising and direct marketing. It will build customer relationships, provide customer
`
`2
`
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`services, generate electronic sales, efficiently deliver marketing messages to appropriate
`
`prospects, and deliver mass customization and interactive/direct marketing. Wireless
`
`advertising will perform effectively on its own, or as part of an integrated campaign to
`
`reach consumers across multiple media ( e.g., using WCDs to direct targeted Users to
`
`5
`
`Internet sites or television programming). Wireless advertising will not be traffic-driven,
`
`as is Internet advertising. Instead, its reach will be based on the known number of Users
`
`receiving these Personalized Information services and the associated Advertising
`
`Messages.
`
`10
`
`Delivery technology will improve with time, perhaps driven by the advertising
`
`demands. Future WCD capabilities could include bitmap images, animations, and greater
`
`character lengths, as WCDs become available with increased message storage and display
`
`capacities.
`
`15
`
`There are several problems that need to be solved in this area. One problem is
`
`how to automatically provide Advertising Messages to WCDs having diverse message
`
`capacities. For example, some WCDs can receive 240 character messages, while other
`
`WCDs are only capable of receiving 100 characters. This problem would be compounded
`
`if the advertiser were to attempt to combine the Advertising Message with Personal
`
`20
`
`Information Services messages having diverse character lengths. Another problem is
`
`how to automatically provide meaningful Advertising Messages to a User's WCD, which
`
`are effective for the advertiser and of interest to the User. For example, an advertiser
`
`who wants to promote a new line of ski boots has a preference for selecting Users who are
`
`interested in skiing. In another example, an advertiser who wants to promote a soft drink
`
`25
`
`prefers to deliver an advertisement when the temperature outside is hot.
`
`Summary of the Invention
`
`These and other problems are solved by the ADMATTs invention disclosed
`
`30
`
`herein. The ADMATTs invention receives Personal Information Service messages, either
`
`on a prearranged schedule or when specified events occur. Users can either subscribe to
`
`3
`
`Page 00003
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`Personal Information Services or they may have the benefit of receiving certain Personal
`
`Information Services for free.
`
`The ADMATTs invention is a method, system, method of doing business, and a
`
`5
`
`computer readable article of manufacture to automatically combine Personal Information
`
`Service messages with Advertising Messages to create composite Tagged Messages. The
`
`invention applies customized rules defined by the advertiser to select an appropriate
`
`Advertising Message based upon the personal characteristics attributed to the User and
`
`the informational content of the Personal Information Services message. The invention
`
`IO
`
`selectively matches each Advertising Message with each Personalized Information
`
`Service message, which are combined and delivered as a composite Tagged Message over
`
`the wireless medium to the User's WCD. The invention considers the number of
`
`characters in a Personal Information Services message when selecting an Advertising
`
`Message to combine with it. The invention also considers the message capacity of the
`
`15 User's WCD when selecting an Advertising Message to combine with a given sized
`
`Personal Information Service message, so that the composite Tagged Message is not
`
`larger than can be received by the WCD.
`
`The ADMATTs invention employs a User profile database containing User
`
`20
`
`records which identify which Personal Information Services each User is to receive. When
`
`a particular Personal Information Service message is ready to be distributed, either by
`
`schedule or by the occurrence of an event, the User profile database is searched for those
`
`Users eligible to receive the Personal Information Service message. Each User record
`
`also contains the personal characteristics of the User which may be important to
`
`25
`
`advertisers in classifying the User as a suitable recipient of an Advertising Message. One
`
`of the characteristics contained in each User record is the message capacity of the User's
`
`WCD. The User record may include pointers to other records or databases containing
`
`personal characteristics of the User.
`
`30
`
`The ADMATTs invention maintains an advertising message database containing
`
`Advertiser records for each advertiser. Each advertiser record includes a set of
`
`4
`
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`customized rules specified by the advertiser. The advertiser rules identify the types of
`
`Personal Information Service messages with which the advertiser wants to associate an
`
`Advertising Message. The advertiser rules also identify the personal characteristics of
`
`those Users whom the advertiser wishes to receive an Advertising Message. Each
`
`5
`
`advertiser record includes a set of Advertising Messages of diverse sizes. The advertiser
`
`record may include pointers to other records or databases containing sets of Advertising
`
`Messages.
`
`The size of the Personal Information Service messages received by the ADMATTs
`
`10
`
`invention varies. One example sequence of Personal Information Services messages is the
`
`title and first sentence extracted from a sequence of sports stories taken off a national
`
`sports news wire service. A User can subscribe to messages from the sports news wire
`
`about all reported sports or about specific sports or teams. A Personal Information
`
`Service message formatter can be used to limit the maximum size of Personal Information
`
`15
`
`Service messages to be processed by the ADMATTs invention ..
`
`For a particular Personal Information Service message to be distributed, User
`
`records are selected in a first round sort, that specify those Users eligible to receive the
`
`particular Personal Information Service message. Then advertiser records are selected
`
`20
`
`having rules that identify the particular Personal Information Service type. Then for each
`
`selected advertiser record, User records from the first round sort are selected in a second
`
`round sort for those specifying personal characteristics that match the customized rules
`
`specified by the advertiser which identify the personal characteristics of those Users
`
`whom the advertiser wishes to reach. Then, Advertising Message selection rules are
`
`25
`
`applied to the information content of the Personal Information Services message. The
`
`Advertising Message selection rules, if satisfied, specify a set of Advertising Messages.
`
`Then each User having a User record selected from the second round sort is designated to
`
`receive an Advertising Message from the set. The selection of which Advertising Message
`
`to send from the set depends upon the number of characters in the Personal Information
`
`30
`
`Services message and upon the message capacity of the User's WCD which is specified in
`
`the User's record. An Advertising Message is selected which, when combined with the
`
`5
`
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`particular Personal Information Service message, forms a composite Tagged Message
`
`that is not larger than the message capacity of the User's WCD. The Tagged Message is
`
`then combined with necessary control information and transmitted over the wireless
`
`medium to the User's WCD.
`
`5
`
`The step of applying an advertiser's selection rules to the information content of
`
`the Personal Information Services message is carried out as follows. A preference rule
`
`specified by the advertiser is applied which includes a trigger condition set to fire when a
`
`specified value of a specified event type is reported in a Personal Information Services
`Io message. Then the occurrence of a description of the specified event type is detected in a
`received Personal Information Services message. The description of the specified event
`
`type is then compared the with the specified value of the specified event type in the rule.
`
`If the comparing step is satisfied, then the rule's trigger condition is fired. The rule
`
`specifies a set of advertising messages to be selected when the trigger condition is fired.
`
`15
`
`Typically, these Advertising Messages have substantially the same theme that the
`
`advertiser wishes to convey, but they are of diverse sizes. Then a particular one of the
`
`Advertising Messages in the set is chosen, which when combined with the Personal
`
`Information Services message, forms a Tagged Message that is not larger than the User's
`
`WCD.
`
`20
`
`The selection of which Advertising Message to send depends upon the
`
`informational content in the Personal Information Services message. For example, a soft
`
`drink company wishes to advertise their product(s) to Users when the weather is very hot.
`
`A User's preference for a Personal Information Service includes receiving a midday
`
`25 weather forecast each day. It is noon, and the User is about to be sent a midday weather
`
`forecast based on a predetermined schedule for delivery of such information as a
`
`Personalized Information Service. The current weather forecast includes information that
`
`the high temperature will be 92 degrees. The Personal Information Service message is:
`
`"Central City forecast this afternoon is for temperatures to reach a high of 92 degrees." In
`
`30
`
`accordance with the ADMATTs invention, the system uses a set of preference rules
`
`specified by the advertiser. The rules include a trigger set to fire when the current weather
`
`6
`
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`forecast reports a high temperature over 90 degrees. When the rule's trigger fires, this
`
`Personal Information Service message is matched with a selected set of Advertising
`
`Messages of diverse lengths. The selection of which Advertising Message to send
`
`depends upon the number of characters in the Personal Information Services message and
`
`5
`
`upon the message capacity of the User's WCD. The resulting selected Advertising
`
`Message is: "Have an ice cold Fizzo soda." The resulting composite Tagged Message is:
`"Central City forecast this afternoon is for temperatures to reach a high of 92 degrees. *
`Have an ice cold Fizzo soda."
`
`10
`
`The User profile database includes a record for each individual User. Each User
`
`record includes information characterizing the User. The information includes
`
`demographic data such as geographic location, sex, age range, and income range. The
`
`information also includes the identify of Personal Information Services such as a daily
`
`weather forecast for Central City, a daily Aries horoscope, etc. In addition, the
`
`15
`
`information includes the message capacity of the User's WCD. The Advertising Message
`
`database includes a record for each advertiser. Each advertiser record includes the
`
`Advertising Message and the advertiser's rules concerning how each advertisement is to
`
`be used. The rules include the description of desired Personal Information Service
`
`message types and the content of each Advertising Message. The rules in the Advertising
`
`20 Message database also include the demographic characteristics, geographic location,
`
`buying habits, and/or other selection criteria for those Users whom the advertiser wishes
`
`to contact. The invention enables the advertiser to flexibly change the criteria for
`
`selecting Users based on a variety of factors.
`
`25
`
`Each advertiser record in the Advertising Message database also includes
`
`Advertising Messages for one or more of the advertiser's products or services to be
`
`advertised. For each such product or service, several Advertising Messages can be
`
`included in the record, one for each of the several sizes of message capacity possible for a
`
`WCD.
`
`30
`
`7
`
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`The size of the Personal Information Service message is subtracted from the size
`
`of the message capacity of the WCD to obtain the maximum size of the Advertising
`
`Message that can be sent. The chosen Advertising Message is then attached to the
`
`Personal Information Service message to form a Tagged Message whose size is not
`
`5
`
`greater than the message capacity of the WCD. The Tagged Message is then output by the
`
`ADMATTs invention for delivery to the WCD.
`
`If more than one Advertising Message is eligible to be sent to a particular User,
`
`several options are used to choose which Advertising Message is sent. One option is to
`
`10
`
`assign a relative priority value to each Advertising Message in an advertiser record.
`
`Another option is to keep a track of the frequency that this particular Advertising Message
`
`has been sent to this particular User, by means ofrecording that frequency in a field in the
`
`User's record. Still a third option is to comply with strategic contractual requirements or
`
`urgent tactical requests of the advertiser to favor one Advertising Message over another.
`
`15
`
`If more than one advertiser is eligible to advertise to a particular User, several
`
`options are used to choose which Advertising Message is sent. One option is to assign a
`
`relative priority value to each advertiser which can be based on information in each
`
`advertiser record, such as contractual requirements, most favored status based on volume
`
`20
`
`of business, or other factors which can be recorded in the advertiser record. The
`
`frequency that this particular advertiser's products have been advertised to this particular
`
`User can also be a factor, this frequency being recorded in a field in the User's record. In
`
`the final analysis if all conditions are substantially equal, the invention provides for
`
`random assignment of those Advertising Messages that qualify for a particular User.
`
`25
`
`Another example of a Personal Information Services message is an email or a
`
`notice of a previously scheduled calendar appointment. If the information type is "email"
`
`or if the information type is "calendar", then the User is identified as the addressee of the
`
`email or the notice of the calendar appointment. Then the User's record is accessed and
`
`30
`
`the data in the User record is passed to the Advertising Message database, as described
`
`above. The User can provide an email sender filter that passes only those emails having
`
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`senders who have sending addresses previously specified by the User, such as the User's
`
`boss or spouse. The body of the email message or the notice of a calendar appointment is
`
`the Personal Information Services message.
`
`5
`
`The resulting invention enables Advertising Messages to be automatically
`
`provided to WCDs having diverse message capacities in a meaningful manner.
`
`Description of the Figures
`
`10
`
`Figure 1 shows a simplified functional block diagram of the ADMATTs invention
`
`which automatically provides advertising messages to WCDs having diverse message
`
`capacities. The example shown is for Users wanting baseball scores.
`
`Figure 2 shows a more detailed functional block diagram of the ADMATTs
`
`15
`
`invention of Figure 1, illustrating the User profile database and the advertising message
`
`database which includes the advertiser's rules for selecting a User to whom an
`
`Advertising Message is to be sent.
`
`Figure 3 shows a functional block diagram of an alternate embodiment of the
`
`20 ADMATTs invention shown in Figure 1, wherein the user profile database includes
`
`information on the size of the message capacity of the user's WCD. The example shown
`
`is for users wanting baseball scores.
`
`Figure 4 shows a functional block diagram of the preferred embodiment of the
`
`25 ADMATTs invention, wherein the user profile database includes the identity of the
`
`Personal Information Services of interest to the user and the ad message database includes
`
`information on the identity of Personalized Information Services in the advertiser's rules
`
`for selecting a user to whom an advertising message is to be sent. The example shown is
`
`for plural news sources and for users wanting diverse types of information.
`
`30
`
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`Figure 5 shows a flow diagram of the sequence of operational steps in the
`
`preferred embodiment of the ADMATTs invention of Figure 4, to provide advertising
`
`messages to WCDs having diverse message capacities.
`
`5
`
`Figure 6 is a functional block diagram of an example data processor programmed
`
`to carry out methods of the ADMATTs invention.
`
`Figure 7 shows a flow diagram 700 of the sequence of operational steps in another
`
`embodiment of the ADMATTs invention of Figure 4, to provide many options to the
`
`1 O
`
`advertiser for making tagging decisions in selecting Advertising Messages.
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`Figures 8A and 8B show how two different sized Personal Information Services
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`messages are matched with two different sized Advertising Messages to form
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`substantially the same sized Tagged Messages for a 240-character WCD.
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`Figures 8C and 8D show how the two Personal Information Services messages of
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`Figures 8A and 8B, respectively, are matched with two different sized Advertising
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`Messages to form Tagged Messages for a 200-character WCD, that are smaller than the
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`Tagged Messages for the 240-character WCD of Figures 8A and 8B.
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`Discussion of the Pref erred Embodiment
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`The ADMATTs invention is a system and method to provide Advertising
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`Messages to WCDs in a meaningful manner. The principle of the ADMATTs invention
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`is to attach Advertising Messages or "tags" to the Personal Information Service messages
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`that meet the advertiser's requirements. The Tagged Message is the combination of the
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`Personal Information Service message and the Advertising Message. The Tagged
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`Message is delivered via a wireless communications device network. The Personal
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`Information Service message is delivered to individual users based on personalized
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`information services profiles that the user has created which characterize their personal
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`interests and needs. The Advertising Message content is profiled to deliver the right
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`message to the right consumer in the right environment. In this discussion the word "tag"
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`when used as a noun, means an Advertising Message and the word "tag" when used as a
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`verb means the act of joining an Advertising Message to a Personal Information Service
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`message, forming a composite Tagged Message.
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`5
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`Figure 1 shows a functional block diagram of a simplified embodiment of the
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`system and method to automatically provide Advertising Messages to WCDs having
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`diverse message capacities, in accordance with the ADMATTs invention. The example
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`shown is for users wanting baseball scores. The embodiment in Figure 1 is simplified to
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`illustrate the principle of the ADMATTs invention. A user database 100 receives as an
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`input event information from a news source 90, such as the AP Sports Wire, "YANKS 2,
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`METS 1, TOP OF 5rn". This is a Personal Information Service message. The user
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`database 100 stores the identity of users of the news source 90 who want to receive
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`baseball scores such as this, as Personal Information Service message 109. The
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`15 Advertising Message database 114 stores Advertising Messages 116, 118, and 120 which
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`the advertisers hope will be of interest to baseball fans. The principle of the ADMATTs
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`invention is to use a programmed data processor associated with the databases to attach an
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`Advertising Message 116, 118, or 120 to the Personal Information Services message 109.
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`The composite Tagged Message 123 is the combination of the Advertising Message 116,
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`for example, and the Personal Information Services message 109. The composite Tagged
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`Message 123 is assembled with the WCD number "130" for the user and is delivered via a
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`WCD network 128 using radio frequency (RF) signals 129 to the user's WCD 130, for
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`example.
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`In the simplified embodiment of Figure 1, user database 100 includes user records
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`for each user. Each user record includes the message capacity of the user's WCD.
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`Segment 102 of the user database 100 stores user records with the user's WCD number
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`130, for example, and an indication that the user has a small capacity WCD. Segment 104
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`of the user database 100 stores user records with the user's WCD number 140, for
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`example, and an indication that the user has a medium capacity WCD. Segment 106 of the
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`user database 100 stores user records with the user's WCD number 150, for example, and
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`an indication that the user has a large capacity WCD. When a stream of event information
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`is received from news source 90, it is processed by the programmed data processor
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`associated with the user database. The user database is automatically searched for those
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`users who have an interest in baseball scores from news source 90. The data in the user
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`record of each matched user is then passed to the Advertising Message database.
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`5
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`Segment 102 of the user database 100 outputs to Advertising Message database 114 the
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`user's WCD number 130 and an indication that the user has a small capacity WCD.
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`Segment 104 of the user database 100 outputs to Advertising Message database 114 the
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`user's WCD number 140 and an indication that the user has a medium capacity WCD.
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`Segment 106 of the user database 100 outputs to Advertising Message database 114 the
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`IO
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`user's WCD number 150 and an indication that the user has a large capacity WCD. The
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`WCD numbers are generally referred to by the collective reference numeral 200.
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`In the simplified embodiment of Figure 1, the Advertising Message database 114
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`includes advertiser records 116, 118, and 120 for each advertiser, such as the Fizzo
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`Beverage Company. Each advertiser record in the Advertising Message database 114
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`includes Advertising Messages for one or more of the advertiser's products or services to
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`be advertised. For each such product or service, several Advertising Messages are
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`included in the record, one for each of the several sizes of message capacity possible for a
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`user's WCD. The Fizzo Company's advertiser record includes small Advertising
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`20 Message 116 "DRINK FIZZO", for those user alphanumeric WCDs 130 that have a small
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`message capacity. The Fizzo Company's advertiser record includes medium Advertising
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`Message 118 "DRINK FIZZO AT THE GAME", for those user alphanumeric WCDs 140
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`that have a medium message capacity. The Fizzo Company's advertiser record includes
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`large Advertising Message 120 "DRINK FIZZO" and a graphic logo, for those user
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`25 WCDs 150 that have a large message capacity. The Advertising Message database 114 is
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`automatically searched for those advertisers who have designated in their advertiser
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`record as a criterion for selection, the particular information news source 90 for baseball
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`scores. For each selected advertiser record, size of the Personal Information Services
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`message content from the particular information news source 90 is subtracted from the
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`size of the message capacity of the user's WCD to obtain the maximum size of the
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`Advertising Message that can be sent. The chosen Adve