(19) United States
`(12) Patent Application Publication (10) Pub. No.: US 2002/0102993 A1
`Hendrey et al.
`(43) Pub. Date:
`Aug. 1, 2002
`
`US 2002O102993A1
`
`(54) METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ANALYZING
`ADVERTISEMENTS DELIVERED TO A
`MOBILE UNIT
`(76) Inventors: Geoffrey R. Hendrey, San Francisco,
`CA (US); Hirohisa A. Tanaka, Menlo
`Park, CA (US); Philip Koopman JR.,
`Pittsburgh, PA (US)
`Correspondence Address:
`Dov Rosenfeld
`Suite 2
`5507 College Avenue
`Oakland, CA 94618 (US)
`Appl. No.:
`09/898,496
`
`(21)
`(22)
`
`(60)
`
`Publication Classification
`
`(51) Int. Cl. ................................................... H04Q 7/20
`(52) U.S. Cl. ......................... 455/456; 455/457; 455/466;
`455/414; 455/566
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`Accurate location information about a mobile telecommu
`nication transceiver is used to generate advertising content
`responsive to a user approaching the location of a business.
`This advertising content is tailored to the user's preferences
`and the particular busineSS involved. Once the advertising
`content is delivered, the position of the user is monitored to
`track the effectiveness of the advertisement. If the user
`enters the business Store and/or makes a purchase, the
`advertisement is logged as having been Successful. If the
`user does not enter the Store within a predetermined period
`of time or moves away from the Store, the advertisement is
`considered to have been ineffective.
`
`Filed:
`
`Jul. 5, 2001
`Related U.S. Application Data
`Provisional application No. 60/223,614, filed on Aug.
`7, 2000.
`
`
`
`110
`
`Telecommunication
`System
`Infrastructure
`
`
`
`120
`
`
`
`107
`
`109
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Processor
`
`112
`
`Prospect
`Tracking
`Manager
`
`Location
`sensitive
`advertising
`Content
`generator
`
`Location
`Tracking
`Subsystem
`
`
`
`Advertising
`Effectiveness
`Database
`
`131
`
`105
`
`130
`
`Page 1 of 10
`
`SAMSUNG EX-1206
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Aug. 1, 2002 Sheet 1 of 2
`
`US 2002/0102993 A1
`
`110
`
`TeleCommunication
`System
`Infrastructure
`
`
`
`120
`
`
`
`107
`
`109
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Processor
`
`112
`
`Prospect
`Tracking
`Manager
`
`Location
`sensitive
`Location
`advertising
`Tracking
`Content
`generator | Subsystem
`
`Advertising
`Effectiveness
`Database
`
`
`
`105
`
`130
`
`Page 2 of 10
`
`

`

`Patent Application Publication
`
`Aug. 1, 2002 Sheet 2 of 2
`
`US 2002/0102993 A1
`
`
`
`PROSPECTIVE
`CUSTOMER
`IDENTIFIED
`
`201
`
`FIG. 2
`
`TRANSMIT ADVERTISING
`MESSAGE PROSPECT
`CONSIDERED ACTIVE
`
`202
`
`
`
`
`
`WHILE
`CUSTOMER
`STILL AN
`ACTIVE
`PROSPECT
`
`PROSPECT
`INACTIVE
`
`203
`PROSPECT ACTIVE
`
`HAS 204
`PROSPECT
`ENTERED
`STORE?
`
`YES
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`205
`
`LOG
`SUCCESSFUL
`ADVERTISEMENT 1
`PROSPECT
`NACTIVE
`
`YES
`
`207
`
`PROSPECT
`SNACTIVE
`
`NO
`
`
`
`206
`
`HAS
`PROSPECT
`MOVED TOO FAR
`AWAY?
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`HAS
`TOO MUCH TIME
`ELAPSED?
`
`210
`
`
`
`NO
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`ADVERTISEMENT
`TRACKING
`COMPLETED
`
`O
`
`209
`
`TERATE UNTIL
`PROSPECTS
`NACTIVE
`
`Page 3 of 10
`
`

`

`US 2002/0102993 A1
`
`Aug. 1, 2002
`
`METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ANALYZING
`ADVERTISEMENTS DELIVERED TO A MOBILE
`UNIT
`0001. This application claims priority to provisional U.S.
`application Ser. No. 60/223,614, filed Aug. 7, 2000, incor
`porated herein by reference.
`
`FIELD OF THE INVENTION
`0002 The present invention relates to mobile telecom
`munications Systems in general, and more particularly to
`systems that have the ability to deliver advertisements to
`mobile units and determine a geographically precise location
`of mobile units in the mobile telecommunications System.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`0003 Mobile telecommunication units (MUs) such as
`cell phones and other related devices have become a per
`vasive part of our culture. Historically, MUs have typically
`been treated as a movable version of a Standard telephone.
`In particular, a main objective of current Systems has been
`to hide the fact that the user of the MU is in fact mobile by
`providing a Standard telephone number for reaching the MU
`regardless of location. Thus, MUS are typically used in a
`manner So as to conceal the location of the mobile user to
`make it appear to the outside world that the unit is a
`traditional stationary unit (SU). Similarly, when telecom
`munication System users (users) place phone calls using
`MUs, they dial traditional telephone numbers as if they were
`in their home location, making call placement appear to
`users of MUS as if they were in their home cities, regardless
`of their actual location.
`0004. The approximate location of an MU is always
`known to the telecommunication infrastructure in the form
`of which cell base station the MU is communicating with
`(e.g., as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,061,561). A prime moti
`Vation for being able to access Such information is to
`determine the location of MU users who place calls to
`Emergency-911 call centers or are otherwise in distreSS. In
`order to improve the effectiveness of Emergency-911 ser
`vices in particular, more accurate position information is
`being made available via the telecommunication infrastruc
`ture. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,067,045 teaches the use
`of combining Global Positioning System (GPS) information
`with a telecommunication infrastructure to accurately deter
`mine the position of an MU, whereas U.S. Pat. No. 6,055,
`434 teaches the use of low powered beacons Scattered
`throughout MU usage areas. But, regardless of the technol
`ogy used, the end result is that telecommunication Systems
`are rapidly being provided with an ability to accurately
`determine the geographic location of an individual MU. The
`advent of precise location information for MUs has made
`possible new Services dependent on a known location of a
`MU.
`0005 For instance, presently no one provides a service of
`Sending advertising messages or coupons to mobile units
`based on the MU's location and further analyzing the
`effectiveness of the sent advertisement. While this has
`previously been done with respect to traditional telemarket
`ing calls to a Stationary telephone, Such as in a perSon's
`home, it has previously been impossible to do with respect
`to MUs. In traditional telemarketing, effectiveness is deter
`mined by whether a customer places an order during the
`
`course of the traditional telephone call. However, most
`mobile users prefer not to receive voice telemarketing calls
`on their mobile telephones, as this consumes the user's
`allotted minutes, may cost the user money in usage fees, and
`in general interrupts the user in whatever he or she is doing.
`Thus, Voice telemarketing calls are typically not placed to
`numbers known to belong to mobile telephones. AS Such, the
`Same model of determining effectiveness cannot be used for
`non-voice messages Sent to mobile devices.
`0006 Thus, a method and system of analyzing an adver
`tisement delivered to a wireless device to determine whether
`the advertisement produced an intended result (e.g., the
`mobile user actually patronized the Store to which the
`advertisement related) is needed.
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`0007. In a first aspect of the invention there is a method
`for analyzing an advertisement received by a mobile com
`munications device, comprising the Steps of automatically
`monitoring the device's geographic location Subsequent to
`receiving advertising data, and writing Success information
`to a database when, within a predetermined amount of time,
`the mobile device enters a geographic location correspond
`ing to a business with which the advertising data is associ
`ated.
`0008. In other aspects the invention is embodied in one
`ore more data processing devices and as computer readable
`instructions Stored on a computer readable medium.
`0009. In some embodiments of the invention, locational
`data is provided via global positioning System.
`0010. In some embodiments, the geographic location
`asSociated with the busineSS is a Store.
`0011. In some embodiments, the advertisement is con
`sidered to have failed when the mobile unit does not enter
`the geographic location within the predetermined amount of
`time.
`0012. In some embodiments, the advertisement is con
`sidered to have failed when the mobile unit moves to a
`distance from the geographic location greater than a prede
`termined distance.
`0013 In some embodiments, purchase information is
`written to the database when a user associated with the
`mobile device makes a purchase at the Store.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`0014) A more complete understanding of the present
`invention and the advantages thereof may be acquired by
`referring to the following description in consideration of the
`accompanying drawings, in which like reference numbers
`indicate like features and wherein:
`0015 FIG. 1 illustrates a telecommunication system
`adapted for use with an embodiment of the invention; and
`0016 FIG. 2 illustrates a flow chart for sending an
`advertisement and tracking its effectiveness.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
`INVENTION
`0017 Monitoring advertising effectiveness (i.e. whether
`the advertisement produced an intended result) is crucial to
`
`Page 4 of 10
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`

`

`US 2002/0102993 A1
`
`Aug. 1, 2002
`
`determining which advertising techniques work well, and it
`may also be used to arrange Structured payment of adver
`tising fees. Aspects of the invention described herein exploit
`location information to track the effectiveness of an adver
`tising event by monitoring whether a user of a mobile device
`alters his or her behavior in response to receiving the
`advertisement on a mobile device. For example, if a Store
`advertises a Sale using a message Sent to a wireleSS device,
`the advertisement may be considered effective if the user
`Visits the Store and/or makes a purchase at the Store within
`a reasonable time interval after receiving the advertisement.
`On the other hand, an advertisement would be considered
`ineffective in a particular case if the user fails to modify his
`or her behavior, Such as for example failing to visit a Store
`that advertised a Sale event to the user through his or her
`mobile communications device.
`0.018. The following definitions apply in describing the
`invention herein:
`0019 (Stationary Unit): a non-mobile telecommu
`nication transmitter, transceiver, or receiver capable
`of Supporting a connection. Typically connected to
`the telecommunication infrastructure using wire or
`fiber links. This includes, but is not limited to, a
`traditional "land-line' telephone, or a computer
`adapted with a hardwired connection Such as a DSL
`connection, a cable-modem connections, or other
`non-wireleSS modem or network connection.
`0020 MU (Mobile Unit): a mobile telecommunica
`tion transmitter, transceiver, or receiver capable of
`Supporting a connection. Typically connected to the
`telecommunication infrastructure using wireleSS
`linkS. Examples include cellphones, pagers, wireleSS
`web browsers, personal digital assistants, and laptop/
`handheld/wearable computers.
`0021 TU (Telecommunication Unit): a telecommu
`nication transmitter, transceiver, or receiver that is
`either a MU or a SU.
`0022 CONNECTION: a data transfer path among a
`plurality of TUS. In the preferred embodiment this
`data transfer path can be used for Voice, data, or any
`other purpose known in the art. In general it is a
`continuous, “circuit Switched” connection or emula
`tion thereof, but in the preferred embodiments it is
`better viewed as a one-time data transfer connection
`for Sending advertising messages. A Special case of
`a connection particularly relevant to advertising is
`the transmission of a SMS (Short Message Service)
`text message using current technology, Such as GSM.
`0023 CALL: any instantiation of a CONNECTION
`to a TU.
`0024 CALLER: the TU that requests creation of a
`connection.
`0025 CALLEE: a TU that is added to a connection
`responsive to a caller having initiated creation of that
`connection.
`0026 USER: a generic term for caller, callee, or TU
`whether or not it is involved in a connection. ATU
`is associated with a person (hence the term "user'),
`but might well be an automated System connected to
`the telecommunication infrastructure in the case of a
`
`System generating advertising content. The word
`“user' is therefore an anthropomorphization to Sim
`plify descriptions, and does not restrict applicability
`to only human users.
`0027 BUSINESS: a generic term for any entity that
`Seeks to use advertising to influence user behavior,
`be it a non-profit organization, a Store Selling goods,
`a Service provider, or a government institution. Simi
`larly, a STORE is a generic term for the physical
`place-of-business, regardless of actual purpose.
`0028 ADVERTISEMENT: any connection created
`for the purpose or intent of informing, influencing, or
`otherwise conveying information to a user, when the
`purpose of creating the connection furthers the inter
`ests of a business. The busineSS benefiting from a
`particular advertisement is said to be sponsoring that
`advertisement, regardless of the actual financial
`arrangement used to pay for the advertisement.
`0029 PROSPECT: a user associated with a MU that
`has been identified to receive or has recently
`received an advertisement.
`0030) Referring to FIG. 1, a business, exemplified by
`store 100, sends advertising content to a mobile telecom
`munication unit (MU) 110 responsive to the location of MU
`110. The organization of the system in FIG. 1 is as follows.
`Advertising tracking System (“tracking System') 105 com
`prises a computer with a processor 107 and memory 109.
`Memory 109 may be a volatile memory, non-volatile
`memory, or a combination of the two, and may be used to
`Store a prospect tracking manager 130. The prospect track
`ing manager 130 is responsible for providing the function
`ality of the invention using various Subsystems, and for
`directing the flow of the logic illustrated by the flowchart in
`FIG. 2. Advertisement tracking system 105 may comprise a
`Single Server computer, or be distributed over multiple
`Servers, based on the size, distribution, and location of the
`mobile telecommunication System being Served.
`0031 Advertising tracking system 105 further comprises
`a location tracking Subsystem 132. Tracking Subsystem 132
`uses location information provided by telecommunication
`System 120 to monitor the geographic location of a plurality
`of MUs 110 served by the telecommunication system 120.
`The locations may then be compared to a database of
`predetermined locations as beneficial to the operation of
`generation Subsystem 131. For example, tracking Subsystem
`132 notifies tracking manager 130 when a user is near a
`particular business that desires to advertise for customers,
`and may also notify tracking manager 130 when a user has
`entered a particular business's Store location.
`0032) Advertising tracking system 105 further comprises
`a location-Sensitive advertising generation Subsystem 131
`that is capable of generating relevant advertising content
`given the location of a user and the business(es) relevant to
`that location. For example, if a particular user is close to a
`Store having a Sale that includes goods typically purchased
`by that user, generation Subsystem 131 may create an
`advertisement Stating that a particular Set of goods relevant
`to the user is on Sale at the relevant nearby Store. The
`determination of when to Send advertisements may be based
`on a profile associated with each user. The profile may
`Specify the user's interests, types of advertisements he or she
`
`Page 5 of 10
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`

`

`US 2002/0102993 A1
`
`Aug. 1, 2002
`
`desires to receive, times of day that the user does/does not
`want to receive advertisements, and like information. The
`distance within which a MU must be with respect to a store
`before an advertisement is fired to the MU may be any
`predetermined distance, for example fifty meters, and may
`vary by MU, by store, or the like.
`0.033
`Advertisements may be sent regarding comple
`mentary businesses. For example, if a user has exited a
`movie theater, generation Subsystem 131 may generate an
`advertisement relevant to a proximately located coffee shop
`or other entertainment venue nearby to the movie theater.
`0034 Advertisements may also be sent for competing
`businesses. For example, generation Subsystem 131 may,
`upon detecting entry of a user to a particular busineSS
`location, generate an advertisement for goods or Services at
`lower prices at Some other competing business.
`0.035
`Advertising tracking system 105 further optionally
`comprises an advertising effectiveness database 133. This
`database at a minimum records instances in which the
`sending of advertising content to a particular MU 110 was
`Subsequently followed by a visit of the user of MU 110 to the
`store 100 of the business being advertised. Optionally, the
`database may also record instances when the user makes a
`purchase from the advertised store 100 or whether goods
`purchased by the user in the Store relate to the goods referred
`to in the advertisement. Other data that may also be recorded
`in database 133 includes the time elapsed between the
`advertisement and the visit/purchase, and the distance
`between MU 110 and store 100 at the time of the advertise
`ment for use in later advertising effectiveness analysis. It is
`also possible that the database records when the MU’s
`directional movement changes favorably toward a store 100
`after receiving an advertisement for that Store and/or busi
`CSS.
`0036) Also shown in FIG. 1 are a wireless telecommu
`nication link 111 connecting MU 110 to the telecommuni
`cation infrastructure 120. Additionally, telecommunication
`links 112 connect advertising tracking system 105 to infra
`structure 120, and optionally connect store 100 to infrastruc
`ture 120.
`0037 FIG. 2 illustrates the operation of one embodiment
`of the invention. Operation starts with the identification of a
`prospective customer in Step 201. This identification would
`be responsive to the location of the prospect (preferably the
`Situation in which a prospect is within a predetermined
`radius of a predetermined point Such as the front door of a
`Store), optionally filtered by customer profile information.
`Advertisements may also be filtered by profile information
`asSociated with the Sponsoring busineSS. In particular, time
`of day is preferably used as a filtering factor to avoid Sending
`an advertisement for a business that is currently closed, and
`to avoid Sending an advertisement to a MU at a time when
`the user has requested not to receive advertisements.
`0.038. Once a prospect has been identified, Step 202 uses
`location-Sensitive advertising content generation Subsystem
`131 to create a tailored advertising message responsive to
`the prospect's location, and Send it via telecommunication
`infrastructure 120 to the prospect's MU 110. At this point the
`prospect is considered “active' in that the advertisement has
`been delivered and that the prospect can respond to that
`advertisement.
`
`0039 While a prospect is considered active, Step 203
`continually monitors the location of the prospect in a loop
`comprising Steps 204 through 209. Step 204 checks whether
`a prospect has entered store 100 relevant to the advertising
`content sent by Step 202. The specific mechanisms used to
`perform this check are discussed below.
`0040. If a prospect has in fact entered the store relevant
`to the advertising content sent in Step 202, the advertisement
`is considered a Success and logged in Step 205. The logging
`may include writing information pertaining to the Successful
`advertisement, Such as the time the advertisement was
`delivered, the time the user entered the Store, and any other
`information associated with the Successful advertising event.
`The logging may also include purchase information, Such as
`the item purchased at the Store, the time of purchase, and the
`like. Concurrent with this logging, the prospect Status is
`changed to be considered inactive. In one embodiment the
`well-known concept of hysteresis in either time or location
`would be used to prevent the generation of another adver
`tising message to a customer who has just responded to an
`advertisement and has not yet left the area used to trigger
`advertising.
`0041) If the prospect has not entered the store, Steps 206
`and 208 continue to monitor the prospect's location to
`determine whether the prospect is likely to respond to the
`advertisement. Step 206 determines if a prospect has moved
`So far from the desired store location (preferably exceeding
`a predetermined threshold distance greater than the distance
`used to generate the advertisement) that the advertisement is
`considered to have failed. Step 208 determines whether too
`much time has elapsed from the generation of the advertis
`ing content in Step 202. As an example, Someone working in
`the Same building as a Store might be considered inactive
`after spending more than thirty minutes within the same
`building as the Store but not within the Store on the assump
`tion that the worker has bypassed the Store to go to his/her
`office or another nearby store. The amount of time may be
`any predetermined amount of time, and may vary by pros
`pect or by Store.
`0042. If either Step 206 or Step 208 determine that the
`prospect is unlikely to respond to the advertising content
`sent, Step 207 is executed to mark the prospect inactive. This
`may optionally include writing failure information to the
`database, Such as recording the time the advertisement was
`Sent, incrementing a failure counter, or the like.
`0043 Step 209 terminates the loop of Step 203, and
`continues iteration while the prospect is considered active,
`continuing to Step 210 when the prospect is inactive either
`due to having responded to the advertisement or being
`considered no longer a prospect based on distance increases
`or lengthy time delayS.
`0044) In one embodiment of the invention a direct posi
`tion measurement is used to determine when a prospect
`enters a sponsoring business Store. This is preferably imple
`mented with a highly accurate mobile telecommunication
`location technology. How Such position information is pro
`vided is beyond the scope of this invention, but such
`technologies include, for example, GPS technology without
`selective availability restrictions, differential GPS technol
`ogy or other approaches becoming known in the art. It is
`only important that the positioning technology be accurate
`enough to establish that a prospect Visits a sponsoring
`
`Page 6 of 10
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`

`US 2002/0102993 A1
`
`Aug. 1, 2002
`
`business with an acceptably low false alarm rate-perfect
`positioning information is not required. Physical Store char
`acteristics Such as large parking lots that provide Separation
`between Stores may be used reduce the needed accuracy for
`position information while holding false alarms to a low
`level.
`
`0045. With reference to FIG. 1, in an embodiment where
`the MU’s location is determined by an independent loca
`tional technology Such as GPS, link 112 between store 100
`and telecommunication System infrastructure 120 might not
`be used, because the location of MU 110 is determined using
`technology independent of the Store. However, link 112 may
`be used to report whether the prospect purchased the adver
`tised goods, or any other goods, from the store 100.
`0046) Another embodiment uses indirect measurement
`techniques to determine whether the user of MU 110 has
`responded to advertising content. In many current Systems
`location information is accurate enough to determine proX
`imity to a store location, but not accurate enough to deter
`mine if a customer enters an urban Store or Shopping mall
`Store as opposed to simply walking by it (Stand-alone
`Suburban Stores with large parking lots do not present this
`problem because pedestrians typically do not walk in the
`vicinity of Stores other than ones they are specifically
`Visiting). Thus, indirect measures must be used to infer that
`the advertising was effective. Different approaches have
`different degrees of effectiveness, but should be preferably
`combined whenever possible for maximum advantage. The
`embodiment may use any combination of the following
`techniques:
`0047 A first technique is to monitor the general location
`of MU 110 over a period of time to see if traveling of the
`prospect ceased in the general vicinity of store 100 even if
`insufficient positioning accuracy is available to determine
`whether the prospect visited the Store or merely stopped
`nearby it. This provides Suggestive evidence that the adver
`tisement caused the user of MU 110 to stop and shop at store
`100 even if no purchase is recorded or there is insufficient
`information to tie a purchase to the user of MU 110.
`Preferably, such cessation of motion is screened for false
`alarms if the area in which Such cessation took place was
`historically common, for example indicating the location of
`the user's work or home location.
`0.048. A second technique is to monitor the travel direc
`tion of MU 110 to see if it reacts to the advertisement. For
`Situations in which user intent is being inferred from move
`ment data, the accuracy of the locating technology need only
`be good enough to determine movement trends. For
`example, if an advertisement is triggered when a prospect is
`within a predetermined radius of the business, such as 500
`meters, the locating technology need only be accurate
`enough to determine a positive reaction from a prospect if it
`can tell that the prospect has moved toward the Sponsoring
`business Store, for example entering within a 100 meter
`radius of the Store using a locating technology with 100
`meter accuracy even if the store is much smaller than 100
`meters in size. To refine this Scenario further, cessation of
`movement could be detected within Such a minimum radius
`for a duration of time consistent with either making the
`desired transaction or investigating the advertised product.
`Such a duration of time could be, for example, the time it
`
`would take for the prospect to park a car, walk to the Store,
`and find the merchandise, and could be customized for each
`business.
`0049. A third technique is to monitor the store's financial
`System (upon agreement with the business) for purchase
`information, and correlate the identity of a purchaser via
`credit card, affinity membership card, Verbally requested
`phone number, etc., to ownership of MU 110 to infer that a
`purchaser received an advertisement associated with the
`purchase that was made. This could include Simply the fact
`that a purchase was made, but preferably also includes
`whether the purchased goods correspond to the Scope of the
`advertisement.
`0050. A fourth technique is to offer a specific discount via
`the advertising content generated in Step 202, and record the
`fact that the particular discount offered was used in a Sale at
`store 100. Preferably each discount advertised has a unique
`Serial number to tie it unambiguously to a particular adver
`tisement. Alternately, the discount may require the purchaser
`to provide the phone number of MU 110 to receive the
`discount, creating a direct tie to the MU and any Sent
`advertisements.
`0051. It should be recognized that any one of the above
`techniques is Sufficient to provide acceptable results.
`0052 A possible variant of the above embodiments is to
`infer the effectiveness of advertisements by analyzing the
`movement patterns of a customer after an advertisement is
`received. For example, if a customer changes direction
`toward a busineSS being advertised within a few minutes
`after an advertisement is received, then it can be inferred that
`the advertisement has been effective even if precise infor
`mation is for Some reason not available as to whether the
`customer actually enters the destination Store.
`0053 Another variant of the embodiments discussed
`above is a System that creates and sends advertising content,
`but does not track the effectiveness of advertising (i.e.,
`incorporates the elements of FIG. 1 except for effectiveness
`database 133, and has an operation corresponding only to
`steps 201, 202, and 210 in FIG. 2).
`0054) A different variant of both the embodiments dis
`cussed above is a System which does not create nor Send
`advertising content, but only tracks the effectiveness of
`advertising after it has been sent (i.e., incorporates the
`elements of FIG. 1 except for location-sensitive advertising
`content generation Subsystem 131, and has an operation
`according to FIG. 2 in which step 202 is omitted and
`identification of a prospect is made by being informed by
`Some other System that advertising content has already been
`delivered).
`0055 Among the benefits of this invention is the flexible
`ability to select one or more callees in a population of MU
`users based on location information, and generate advertise
`ments responsive to location and other filtering factors. This
`provides advertising content for proximate businesses or
`businesses otherwise related to a Specific location that is
`delivered just when the user of the MU is most likely to
`respond to the advertisement.
`0056. Another benefit of the invention is tracking the
`effectiveness of advertisements. In a basic Scheme, this
`effectiveness tracking can be used to test the effectiveness of
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`advertising approaches, and may also be used in an effec
`tiveness-based advertising rate arrangement. Additionally
`effectiveness may be used to adapt the behavior of genera
`tion Subsystem 131 to generate only advertisements to which
`the user of each particular MU 110 is historically prone to
`respond.
`0057 The notion of an advertisement in this invention is
`intended not only to encompass traditional advertisements,
`but also any and all techniques for displaying information on
`a MU to the benefit of a group, organization, business, or
`individual. A specific form of advertisement relevant to
`World-Wide Web access via an MU is known as a referral,
`in which advertising within the content of one web page
`consists of a link to Some other web page. Effectiveness of
`Such referrals is traditionally measured via click-thru mea
`Surements in which the advertisement is considered Success
`ful if the user activates the referral link to visit the adver
`tiser's own web page. A significant benefit of this invention
`is that measurement of advertisement effectiveness (and
`compensation for carrying advertising content) can addition
`ally be linked to whether the user actually visits the physical
`Site of the busineSS advertised. This is advantageous com
`pared to traditional click-thru measurements in that it mea
`Sures the true effect of the advertisement rather than whether
`the clicked advertisement page was viewed. Additionally,
`this approach is invulnerable to click-thru problems. Such as
`misrepresentation of click-thru links to artificially drive up
`advertising revenue when in fact the prospects doing the
`click-thru are not bona fide prospects but rather victims of
`misrepresentation of the link being clicked. Of course, the
`fact that the link is presented responsive to location is an
`advantage shared among all applications of this invention.
`0.058 Notions of distance in this invention are intended to
`encompass not only literal distance measures, but addition
`ally any and all measures conducive to identifying whether
`a particular user is close enough to a predetermined location
`to be likely to respond to an advertisement. For example,
`distance might be expected travel time via foot or vehicle
`from current location to a Store. Distance might also be the
`distance between the user and a predetermined point that is
`not exactly the Store. For example, a purveyor of clothing
`might wish to advertise the availability of dry clothes to
`Visitors of a waterfall So that they can purchase towels and
`fresh clothing changes, in which case distance would be
`measured to the exit of the waterfall rather than the store
`itself. Alternately, a Store Selling picture postcards and other
`memorabilia may desire to advertise that fact to prospects
`when they reach the exit or Shopping area of a tourist
`attraction.
`0059. The term “connection” bears specific discussion.
`Although the notion of a connection obviously encompasses
`traditional voice phone calls, it furthermore encompasses
`any and all modalities of data transfer between TUs. This
`includes, for example, Voice phone calls, Video phone calls,
`digital camera picture transfers, general multimedia data
`transfers, television feeds,