WO2015026405A1

WO2015026405A1 - Method for advertising through modification of text messages

Info

Publication number: WO2015026405A1
Application number: PCT/US2014/035328
Authority: WO
Inventors: Lee Ivey BRANDON
Original assignee: Strategic Mobile, Llc
Priority date: 2013-08-23
Filing date: 2014-04-24
Publication date: 2015-02-26

Abstract

Methods for modification of text messages to provide advertising to the recipients of those messages. In certain embodiments, upon entry of a text message by a mobile device user, an advertisement will be selected and appended to the text message before it is sent to the recipient. This may be accomplished in a variety of ways, including through installation of a software application or as part of the device's operating system.

Description

METHOD FOR ADVERTISING THROUGH

MODIFICATION OF TEXT MESSAGES

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001 ] The invention relates to systems and methods for delivering advertising through the use of mobile communication devices. The invention further relates to systems and methods for providing credit to mobile communication device users, such as mobile phone and tablet users, for permitting the appending of advertisements to communications with others.

BACKGROUND

[0002] In the past two decades, mobile communication devices have gone from being considered luxury items to a near necessity for everyday life. The term "mobile communication devices" refers to small, handheld computing devices, often having a display screen with touch input, voice input, and/or a small keyboard. For purposes of this disclosure, reference will be made primarily to mobile phones but is not intended to exclude other types of mobile communication devices.

[0003] According to recent statistics from CTIA-The Wireless Association and the Pew

Research Center, there are now more than 320 million mobile phones in use in the United States, and more than 90 percent of adults own a mobile phone. More than half of these mobile phones are smartphones. The term "smartphone" refers to a mobile phone with advanced computing capability and connectivity. In 2012, 2.27 trillion text messages were sent, and 1 .1 trillion MB of data was used by owners of mobile communication devices. Approximately 67% of users check their phone for messages, alerts, or calls even when they don't notice their phone ringing or vibrating, and approximately 29% describe their mobile phones as something they can't imagine living without. [0004] Unfortunately for users, the bills for using these phones continue to rise along with people's reliance on use. According to a J.D. Power and Associates report in 2012, U.S.

families spent an average of $139 each month, up from $127, each month in 2009. While this would be considered burdensome for many in any economy, it is particularly burdensome in a struggling economy, especially for those at the lower end of the earning scale.

[0005] In light of this financial burden felt by many for a service that is practically required in everyday life, in accordance with one aspect of this invention, there exists an opportunity for people to offset their mobile device service bills while providing a new mechanism for advertisers to reach consumers.

[0006] Traditional standards and implementations of mobile-to-mobile text messaging do not provide for appending advertising content to a text message. Traditional implementations offer only traditional experiences to users.

[0007] There have been attempts to overcome the shortcomings of the traditional

implementation described above. For example, for a time, a software application was available that was designed to allow users the option of selecting an advertisement to send along with text messages in exchange for an entry into a sweepstakes. The application failed to streamline and automate the process of appending advertisements to text messages and further failed to sufficiently incentivize the use of the application.

[0008] The present invention overcomes both the shortcomings of the traditional

implementation described above and the limitations of the previously attempted software application. SUMMARY

[0009] In accordance with the invention, there is provided a different user experience and the opportunity for mobile phone users to reduce their service bills. Techniques for modification of communications during mobile device exchanges are needed and provided herein.

[0010] There are disclosed herein methods for the modification of text messages to provide advertising to the recipients of those messages. In certain embodiments, upon entry of a text message by a mobile device user, an advertisement will be selected and appended to the text message before it is sent to the recipient. The user will receive some form of credit for providing the opportunity to share the advertisements.

[001 1 ] As used herein, the term "text message" is used to refer to electronic messages sent from one mobile device to one or more other mobile devices. "Text message" refers to both SMS and MMS messaging and includes image, video, and sound content as well as text content.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Having briefly described the invention, the same will become better understood from the following description, made with reference to the appended drawing, wherein:

[0013] Fig. 1 shows a user's smartphone receiving advertisements from an advertising server hosted by a service provider.

[0014] Fig. 2 shows a user's smartphone sending a text message. [0015] Fig. 3 shows a text message and an appended advertisement being sent from a user's smartphone to a recipient's smartphone.

[0016] Fig. 4 is a flow chart representing an embodiment of the invention in which a user of the system sends a text message to which an advertisement is appended.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] The following description of various embodiments is made with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0018] Mobile device users find their service bills to be burdensome and expensive.

Accordingly, these users may be interested in options for offsetting their service bills by allowing advertisers to implement systems and methods for reaching the users' contacts as described further herein.

[0019] A user of the method and system of the invention must first elect to participate in an advertisement program. The user of the system must have a mobile device and may be an individual, a group of people, or a business. Various embodiments of advertising programs are described herein.

[0020] In the event that a user elects to participate in an inventive text message advertising system, the user will establish an account designating the user as a participant. The term "account" as used herein refers to a collection of data associated with a particular user; the account may be a mobile device contact number, a service provider account number, a user profile, or any number of like options. This participation may be accomplished in a variety of manners. For example, the user may elect to purchase a mobile device that has the account embedded in the device's operating system or may install a software update with the account embedded or allowing the embedding of an account. The term "operating system" as used herein refers to the software or collection of software, including application software, that supports the mobile device' basic computing functions, such as managing hardware resources by scheduling tasks, executing applications, and controlling peripherals. In the alternative, the user may elect to participate by creating an account through a software application installed on the mobile device.

[0021 ] In embodiments employing a software application or embedding, the system will at least require use of internal storage space on the mobile device to store the software programming and may also use storage space for the advertisements. The system may utilize both the device's main memory as well as its cache memory. In some embodiments, an advertising server may automatically connect to the mobile device to download new advertisements and delete outdated advertisements on a periodic, streaming, or manual basis. In other

embodiments, the application may communicate with a service provider advertising server that will select an advertisement to be appended to the user's text message. The system will also require that the mobile device contain the typical components necessary to operate, such as a power supply, a display, and an input mechanism for inputting data, instructions, and the like, and the components necessary to communicate with a service provider, such as a processor capable of receiving and transmitting data and executing instructions,

[0022] In certain embodiments, the user may receive credit for participation when first establishing his account, such as by receiving a discounted service plan from a mobile network carrier. When the user creates or updates his service plan with the carrier, the user may select a discounted service plan that incorporates an agreement to allow recipients of the user's text messages to be provided with advertisements in exchange for the discounted plan. In other embodiments, the user may establish a relationship with a service provider, which may be a mobile network carrier or an application service provider, receive credits, such as cash, points to be redeemed for prizes, hotel points, airline miles, discounts for goods, discounts for services, or charitable donations, as the user participates in the system. The order in which the credit is received and the type of credit received by the user is not critical to the implementation of the inventive advertising system.

[0023] The account may have various options for controlling the content, frequency, or other aspects of the text advertisements that will be played for his text message recipients. For example, the account may configure the system to provide the ability to block certain phone numbers from receiving such advertising, the option to prevent recipients from receiving such advertising more than once during a certain period of time, the ability to limit the advertising to exclude certain types of advertisements or even specific advertisements, the option to share the advertisements with the user as well as the recipient, or other control measures.

[0024] The user account may also allow for advertisers to target or block a particular user based on certain demographics. For example, a user who is a 15 year old female would not be an ideal target for disseminating advertisements regarding Las Vegas vacation or retirement planning. Similarly, a 60 year old male would not be an ideal target to disseminate

advertisements regarding feminine hygiene products or the latest hip hop album. Accordingly, in some embodiments, user accounts will collect personal information regarding the user, such as age, gender, location, or personal interests.

[0025] In its simplest form, the method for advertising through text messaging is as shown in Figs. 1 -4. First, as is shown in step 105 of Fig. 4 and as described in more detail above, a user must elect to participate in the advertising program. As shown in Fig. 1 , a service provider advertising server 102 sends data to an advertising application 205 on the user's smartphone 200. The service provider advertising server 102 may be affiliated with a mobile network carrier, an application service provider, or other type of service provider. The data sent by the service provider advertising server 102 may include advertisements and instructions for sending, saving, and deleting such advertisements, or the advertising application 205 may communicate through operation of the smartphone 200 with the advertising server 102 to access

advertisements. Next, as is shown in step 1 10 of Fig. 4 and pictorially in Fig. 2, a user enrolled in the program inputs a message 210 into his smartphone 200 and presses the send button 220. Through its programming, a conventional data processing system within the smartphone 200, which has been programmed in a manner readily apparent to those of ordinary skill, selects an advertisement 230 and appends the advertisement 230 to the message 210 as shown in steps 120, 130 of Fig. 4 and pictorially in Fig. 3. The advertisement 230 may be textual as shown in Fig. 3 or may instead consist of or also include other components, such as images, videos, or other digital content. As noted above, the smartphone 200 includes a data processing system, which may be programmed to select the messages to be sent in a manner well known to those of ordinary skill. Optionally, the user's account may be credited through use of this data processing system for sending the advertisement 230. The message 210 and advertisement 230 are then transmitted through the service provider network 100 to the recipient's phone 300 as shown pictorially in Fig. 3 and in step 140 in Fig. 4. In certain embodiments (not described in detail), the smartphone 200 may also share the advertisement 230 with the user as well as the recipient.

[0026] The inventive method of modifying text messages to incorporate text advertisements may be accomplished through various means. In certain embodiments, such as is reflected in Fig. 1 , a user may install a software application to complete the tasks of modifying a text message and crediting the user's account for doing so. In other embodiments, these tasks may be completed by the mobile device's operating system, such as through the settings on a user's device.

[0027] The present invention has been described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations of a method according to embodiments of the invention. It is understood that each step of the flowchart illustrations, and combinations of steps in the flowchart illustrations, can be

implemented by programming instructions within a data processing system. These instructions may be provided to a processor of a mobile device, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the mobile device, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart block or blocks.

[0028] These instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory, for example in a mobile device, that can direct the mobile device to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instructions which implement the function/act specified in the flowchart block or blocks.

[0029] The programming instructions may also be loaded onto a mobile device to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the mobile device to produce a computer- implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart block or blocks.

[0030] Accordingly, the present invention may be embodied in hardware and/or in software (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.).

[0031 ] For the purposes of this application, a memory may include any medium capable of storing instructions adapted to be executed by a processor in a mobile device or on a system communicating with the mobile device. Some examples of such media include, but are not limited to, floppy disks, CDROM, magnetic tape, hard drives, and any other device that can store digital information. In one embodiment, the instructions are stored on the medium in a compressed and/or encrypted format. As used herein, the phrase "adapted to be executed by a processor" is meant to encompass instructions stored in a compressed and/or encrypted format, as well as instructions that have to be compiled or installed by an installer before being executed by the processor.

[0032] The foregoing details are exemplary only. Other modifications that might be

contemplated by those of skill in the art are within the scope of this invention, and are not limited by the examples illustrated herein. In addition, it is noted that an Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to allow the reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, it can be seen that various features are grouped together in various embodiments for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require more features than are expressly recited in each claim.

Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separately claimed subject matter.

Claims

1 . A method in a mobile device for appending an advertisement to a text message sent through a mobile device operating system, the method comprising:

a. identifying, by a mobile device operating system, a user account associated with a user;

b. selecting, by a processing unit communicatively coupled to the mobile device

operating system, an advertisement from a plurality of advertisements stored in the mobile device;

c. modifying, by a processing unit communicatively coupled to the mobile device

operating system, an outgoing text message sent by the mobile device such that the advertisement is sent along with the text message to a server for transmission to a recipient; and

d. providing a credit to the user account .

2. The method of claim 1 , in which the user account comprises an instruction for at least one of preventing the advertisement from being provided to the recipient, limiting the frequency with which the advertisement will be provided to the recipient, and limiting the plurality of advertisements to a subset thereof.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising displaying the advertisement to the user on the user's mobile device.

4. The method of claim 1 , in which the credit comprises at least one of cash, prize points, airline miles, hotel points, discount for goods, discount for services, and charitable donations.

5. The method of claim 1 , in which the credit is provided to the user before the

advertisement is sent to the recipient.

6. The method of claim 1 , in which the credit is provided to the user after the advertisement is sent to the recipient.

7. A method in a mobile device for appending an advertisement to a text message through a software application, the method comprising:

a. identifying, by a software application, a user account associated with a user;

b. selecting, by a processing unit communicatively coupled to the software application, an advertisement from a plurality of advertisements;

c. modifying, by a processing unit communicatively coupled to the software application, an outgoing text message sent using a mobile device such that the advertisement is sent along with the text message to a server for transmission to a recipient; and d. providing a credit to the user account.

8. The method of claim 7, in which the user account comprises an instruction for at least one of preventing the advertisement from being provided to the recipient, limiting the frequency with which the advertisement will be provided to the recipient, and limiting the plurality of advertisements to a subset thereof.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising displaying the advertisement to the user on the user's mobile device.

10. The method of claim 7, in which the credit comprises at least one of cash, prize points, airline miles, hotel points, discounts for goods, discounts for services, and charitable donations.

1 1 . The method of claim 7, in which the credit is provided to the user before the

advertisement is sent to the recipient.

12. The method of claim 7, in which the credit is provided to the user after the advertisement is sent to the recipient.

13. A computerized system for appending an advertisement to a text message, comprising:

a. a database, processor, memory, instructions, a port for receiving input and

transmitting output, and an input/output module; and

b. said system further programmed to implement a computer implemented method for appending an advertisement to a text message, comprising:

i. identifying a user account associated with a user;

ii. selecting an advertisement from a plurality of advertisements;

iii. modifying an outgoing text message sent using the mobile device such that the advertisement is sent along with the text message to a server for transmission to a recipient; and

iv. providing a credit to the user account one of before or after providing the advertisement.

14. The computerized system of claim 13, in which the user account comprises an instruction for at least one of preventing the advertisement from being provided to the recipient, limiting the frequency with which the advertisement will be provided to the recipient, and limiting the plurality of advertisements to a subset thereof.

15. The computerized system of claim 13, in which the method for appending an

advertisement to a text message further comprises displaying the advertisement to the user on the user's mobile device.

16. The computerized system of claim 13, in which the credit comprises at least one of cash, prize points, airline miles, hotel points, discounts for goods, discounts for services, and charitable donations.

17. A computer implemented method for providing discounted services to a mobile device user in exchange for appending an advertisement to a text message, comprising:

a. a database, processor, memory, instructions, a port for receiving input and

transmitting output, and an input/output module; and

i. enrolling, through use of a data processing system, the mobile device user in a discounted service plan by establishing an account for the mobile device user reflecting agreement to allow appending an advertisement to a text message sent by the mobile device;

ii. selecting an advertisement from a plurality of advertisements; and iii. modifying an outgoing text message sent using the mobile device such that the advertisement is sent along with the text message to a server for transmission to a recipient.

18. The computer implemented method of claim 17, in which the account further comprises an instruction for at least one of preventing the advertisement from being provided to the recipient, limiting the frequency with which the advertisement will be provided to the recipient, and limiting the plurality of advertisements to a subset thereof.

19. The computer implemented method of claim 17, in which the computer implemented method for appending an advertisement to a text message further comprises displaying the advertisement to the user on the user's mobile device.