WO2006127193A2

WO2006127193A2 - Entertainment, advertisement, and commerce systems and methods

Info

Publication number: WO2006127193A2
Application number: PCT/US2006/015358
Authority: WO
Inventors: Vidar Vignisson
Original assignee: Msnap, Inc.
Priority date: 2005-04-22
Filing date: 2006-04-24
Publication date: 2006-11-30
Also published as: WO2006127193A3

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention relate to systems and methods involving: receiving a message from a phone; determining a geographic region associated with the phone at the time the message was sent; identifying a playlist associated with the geographic region and information relating to the message; and presenting the playlist to the phone.

Description

ENTERTAINMENT, ADVERTISEMENT, AND COMMERCE SYSTEMS AND METHODS

REFERENCES

[0001] This application claims priority to the following provisional patent applications, each of which is incoiporated by reference herein in its entirety: U.S. Provisional App. No. 60/673,929, filed on April 22, 2005, and U.S. Provisional App. No. 60/675,736, filed on April 28, 2005.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Purchasing music through the internet has become commonplace. It remains difficult to select the types of music one wants to download and it would be useful to irnnroΛTP t]^yp _ςewtion and purchasing systems used for the downloading of music to a variety of devices.

SUMMARY

[0003] Embodiments of the present invention relate to identifying and/or paying for content, such as media comprising audio, video, images, movies, songs, albums, play lists and so forth. Embodiments of the present invention relate to charging a third party, such as an advertiser, a fee for certain services. Embodiments include systems and methods for purchasing songs that are currently playing, have been recently played, are currently being advertised, or have been recently advertised. The methods and systems may involve exposing a user to a rendering of content, such as and without limitation broadcasting and/or transmitting a musical piece or an advertisement; receiving a message from a portable electronic facility at a central facility; and transmitting from the central facility an indication of, at least, a recent rendering of content and a current rendering of content to the portable electronic facility. The methods and systems may further comprise paying for at least one song .associated with the indication.

[0004] In embodiments, the portable electronic facility may be a cell phone, PDA, audio player, MP3 player or other content rendering and/or content purchasing facility. In embodiments, a user may be listening to the music at a public performance. In embodiments, a user may be listening to the music as it is delivered in the form streaming content. In embodiments, a user may be listening to the music through a radio station. [0005] Systems and methods for providing commercial transactions involving a consumer with a portable electronic facility are disclosed. In embodiments, a consumer may be exposed to a rendering of content. The content may be available to the consumer as electronic information and for a fee, such as for rent or for sale. Alternatively, the content may be available for free to the consumer and the third party may be charged a fee for services associated with the content and the consumer. In embodiments, the rendering of content and may contain a destination address such as a phone number and a code that is associated with the content that is being advertised. The code may be a unique code, such as a content identification code or a station identification code. In embodiments, a central facility may interface with a content presentment facility, such as a radio or television station or a public performance to determine which content is current!., b

has recemJ) been presented, or at any time has, been presented. In embodiments, the name of content, such as a song or movie name, may serve as the unique code. In embodiments, the consumer may know, a priori, the destination address. The central facility, which may comprise an order processing facility, may receive an incoming message at the destination address. A consumer using a portable electronic facility, such as a cell phone, may transmit this message. The message may comprise the code and may be associated with a source address, such as a phone number, that is associated with the portable electronic facility. The source address may also be associated with an account. This account may allow the central facility to appropriately bill the consumer for a service. The billing of the consumer may comprise using Premium SMS messaging, charging a credit card, conducting a withdrawal from a financial account, or affecting the transfer of funds from a financial account. The service may be the provision of electronic information for the consumer in response to the message received from the consumer. In embodiments, the information may be delivered directly to the portable electronic facility or another portable electronic facility; a reference to this information, such as a URL that resolves to the information, may be delivered directly to the portable electronic facility or another portable electronic facility; an e-mail message containing the information may be sent to an e-mail address, which may or may not be associated with the user of the portable electronic facility; an e-mail message containing a reference to the information may be sent to an e-mail address, which may or may not be associated with the user of the portable electronic facility; a physical embodiment, such as a CD or DVD, containing the information may be ordered from a third-party; a physical medium, such as a CD or DVD, containing the information may be sent to an physical mailing address; a text message containing a reference to the information may be transmitted to the portable electronic facility or another portable electronic facility. In other embodiments, a central information facility may be instructed to add the information to an account, which may or may not be associated with the portable electronic facility. In still other embodiments, the provision of electronic information may comprise providing the consumer with a list of electronic information from which the consumer may choose the electronic information that the consumer desires to be provisioned. In yet still other embodiments, the transmission of codes to the portable electronic facility or the receipt of a requ^; _.'..:_i IIL, puiLible eleclroii-u ϊ&cύ^' i_* y'ffidy cause the third party to be charged a fee.

[0006] In embodiments, a user may be listening to, or may have listened to, an advertisement and the user may want to hear related information (e.g. information that is currently being transmitted, information that previously transmitted, a URL, song information, sale information, or other related information). The user may then connect with a system according to the principles of the present invention through SMS messaging, email, text messaging, instant messaging or other methods to gain access to the related information.

[0007] In embodiments, a user may want to gain information relating to an advertisement the user was exposed to (e.g. listened to or saw). The method may involve listening to an advertisement; transmitting request information through a portable electronic facility to identify the desire to gain information relating advertisements; transmitting identification information through the portable electronic facility to identify a source of the advertisement; and receiving information relating to the advertisement.

[0008] In embodiments, the present invention may encompass systems and methods of generating revenue from premium messaging; advertising; subscriptions; and so forth. Messaging campaigns, including sweepstakes and coupons, are provided. Messaging campaigns are enabled by keyword matching, including methods and systems for location determination, session-based matching, and error correction. Information and commercial services are provided, wherein these services relate to a song, talk, a vote, a quiz, a club, content (such as weather, news, and traffic content), a charitable donation, general information, an advertisement, a message, an advertiser, an advertiser capability, a radio station, a dependency, a campaign, an alias, an e-mail message or address, a default script, a feed processor, a consumer, a consumer action, an automobile-oriented script, a pre-qualification, a trade-in value, a schedule for a test drive, a request for more information, a location, a restaurant-oriented script, a coupon, a sweepstake, an e-mail menu, an insurance-oriented script, a phone quote, an e-mail request, an education- oriented script, a call-back, a tuition quote, a catalog sent via e-mail, financial aid, a catalog sent via postal mail, a night-club-oriented script, a happy hour special, a VIP club, a report, and so forth. The present invention may include an advertiser Web site, whicii ,__'_*.., a, home page, a icspuase page, a campaign page, media, a radio station, a reports page, and a "my account" page, and so forth. The present invention may include a radio station Web site, which may encompass a home page, a responses page, a campaigns page, media, advertiser information, a reports page, a "my account" page, a play list page, an ad list page, and so forth.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] The invention and the following detailed description of certain embodiments thereof may be understood by reference to the following figures:

[0010] Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a process related to the present invention.

[0011] Fig. 2 is a diagram showing a rendering of content. [0012] Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention. [0013] Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing a general method of the present invention. [0014] Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an incoming message. [0015] Fig. 6 is a diagram showing a use of an account. [0016] Fig. 7 is a diagram showing alternative methods of delivering electronic information. [0017] Fig. 8 is a diagram showing yet another method of delivering electronic information. [0018] Fig. 9 is a diagram showing a method of providing a consumer with a choice of electronic information.

[0019] Fig. 10 depicts the steps in a method of requesting information according to the present invention.

[0020] Fig. 11 depicts an administrative user interface.

[0021] Fig. 12 is a diagram showing an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention for purchasing a song.

[0022] Fig. 13 is a diagram showing an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention for providing a text messaging inbox.

[0023] Fig. 14 depicts an administrative user interface.

[0024] Fig. 15 is a diagram of a voting system.

[IuL 7_J !'•_<». ιθ depicts on adminuifati/e user interface.

[0026] Fig. 17 is a diagram of a quiz system.

[0027] Fig. 18 depicts an administrative user interface.

[0028] Fig. 19 is a diagram of a text messaging club system.

[0029] Fig. 20 depicts an administrative user interface.

[0030] Fig. 21 is a diagram of a content-based club system.

[0031] Fig. 22 is a diagram of an advertising system.

[0032] Fig. 23 depicts an administrative user interface.

[0033] Fig. 24 is a diagram of an interaction script in association with an advertising campaign.

[0034] Fig. 25 depicts a Web page of a Web site.

[0035] Fig. 26 depicts a Web page of a Web site.

[0036] Fig. 27 is a diagram of a system for charitable donations.

[0037] Fig. 28 is a logical flow diagram of a process for processing a message.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] An aspect of the present invention relates to purchasing media through the use of a mobile communication facility (e.g. mobile phone, PDA, cell phone, audio player, music player, MP3 player, movie player, video player). Another aspect of the present invention relates to charging a third party, such as an advertiser or retailer, a fee in response to certain events.

[0039] In embodiments, a consumer may engage in commercial transactions involving a mobile electronic facility. In embodiments, the consumer is exposed to renderings of content. The content may be made available, for free or for a fee, to the consumer in the form of electronic information. The consumer may use a portable electronic facility, such as a cell phone, to pay the fee and thereby initiate a process comprising the delivery of the electronic information. In embodiments, the consumer uses SMS messaging to locate and/or purchase songs, such as songs currently or recently aired on AM radio, FM radio, satellite radio, or streaming audio. Third parties, such as advertiser, artists, and retailers may participate in the fee payment system, either sharing in ic

ul sales by others. In embodiments, a user may hear an advertisement on the radio, television or other media device and elect to gain more information or repeat information through SMS messaging or the like.

[0040] In embodiments, a consumer may be listening to a radio station or music at a, live concert (e.g. where the consumer is in the audience, or where the consumer is listening to the concert on-line, or through the radio, or where the consumer is watching the concert remotely) and hear a song the consumer wants to purchase. The consumer may then send a request message (e.g. SMS message) indicating the desire to purchase a song that is currently playing or has recently been played. The request message may direct the consumer's communications to a purchasing system. In embodiments, the consumer may then sends a radio identification message (e.g. SMS message) including the call letters, frequency or other identification to identify the radio station playing the song or that recently played the song. For example, the consumer may type in WZLX, 100.7, indicate a URL of a streaming media site, or XMlOO to indicate a satellite transmission, or provide other identification to locate the source of the media the consumer is looking for. Once the system has received the identification message, a message may be communicated back to the consumer indicating the current song that is playing along with a list of recently played songs (e.g. the last three songs played, the songs played in that day, the top 10 most requested songs). The consumer may then select a song from the list to purchase the song and the song may be downloaded directly to the device, to another device, to a web-accessible site for subsequent download, or the purchased media may be sent through the form of a CD, DVD, memory, or other facilities.

[0041] While many of the embodiments described herein refer to the purchase of songs, the present invention relates to the purchase of many forms of media including audio, video, images, movies, songs, albums, play lists and other forms of media.

[0042] In embodiments, the system receiving a message from the consumer may determine which song is currently playing in one of the following ways: it will interfaces with radio station play list planning software to determine which song is currently playing; it will provide an interface to consumers, where they can enter the name of the currently playing song; or it will interface with other software used by Concert artists to plαi- tu. .. _t'lij' .is...*. " ^{■ ■ •} ""-

[0043] In embodiments of the present invention, a text messaging solution is provided to a media company. The solution may correspond with an SMS short code. Various features association with the short code may, additionally, be provided.

[0044] Referring to Fig. 1, a consumer 102 may be presented with a rendering of content 100. The content may be aural content, visual content, audiovisual content, a song, an album, a movie, a music video, a commercial, a printed advertisement, an Internet advertisement, a play list, and so forth. In response to the rendering of content, the consumer 102 may interact with a portable electronic facility 104, such as a cell phone. The purpose of the interaction may be to affect the purchase of, rent of, lease of, or subscription to the content 100, which may be delivered to the consumer 102.

[0045] Referring now to Fig. 2, in some embodiments, the rendering of content 100 may comprise a destination address 200 and a code 202. The destination address 200 may be without limitation a phone number, an SMS short code, or an IP address. The code 202 may be associated with the content and may uniquely identify the content. In this case, the code may be without limitation the name of a song or the name of a movie. Alternatively, the code 202 may be a station identification code. In other embodiments, the rendering of content 100 may comprise only the code 202, and the code 202 itself may in some cases be implied, such as by the lyrics of a song. In these cases, the consumer 102 may either know a priori or be able to deduce the destination address 200 and/or the code 202.

[0046] Referring now to Fig. 3, in some embodiments and especially in embodiments where the code 202 is a station identification code, a content presentment facility 300 may transmit a rendering of content 100 (depicted as a curved arrow) to the consumer 102. The content presentment facility 300 may be without limitation a radio facility, television facility, a public performance facility, or a software application such as and without limitation an MPEG-4 audio decoder (for example, Apple iTunes) or a streaming audio server (for example, ShoutCast). A central facility 302 may be in communication with the content presentment facility 300 and may as a part of the communication receive an indication of the content rendered and transmitted to the

r 'Ur, io ..ontent presently being rendered, content recently rendered, or content having at any time been rendered. In alternate embodiments, the central facility 302 may receive the indication from the consumer 102: the code 202 may further comprise this indication and/or the consumer 102 may be presented with an interface in which he can enter the indication. In still other alternate embodiments, central facility 302 may be in communication with the software application and may receive the indication from the software application via this communication.

[0047] Referring now to Fig. 4, an incoming message 400 may be received by the central facility 302, which may be an order processing facility and which may be located at the destination address 200. The incoming message 400 may be transmitted by a portable electronic facility 104 under a direction of a consumer 102 who may be desirous of purchasing, renting, leasing, subscribing, or otherwise acquiring through a financial transaction the content. The portable electronic facility 104 may reside at or be associated with a source address 402, such as and without limitation a phone number, an SMS short code, or an IP address. The central facility 302 may reside at or be association with the destination address 200, such as and without limitation a phone number, an SMS short code, or an IP address. The consumer 102 may be desirous in part or in whole due to the rendering of content 100. The direction of the consumer 102 may comprise a consumer interaction with the portable electronic facility 104. This interaction, depicted as an arrow from the consumer 102 to the portable electronic facility 104, may comprise the consumer 102 specifying a destination address 200 and a code 202. The destination address 200 and code 202 may be associated with the rendering of content 100 and/or may be known a priori to the consumer 102.

[0048] Referring now to Fig. 5, the incoming message 400 may comprise the code 202 and the source address 402. The source address may be associated with an account 500, which may be associated with the consumer 102. The source address may alternatively or additionally be associated with the portable electronic facility 104. The incoming message 400 may be associated with an account 500. This account may be associated with a business entity such as an advertiser that may pay for a service of the central facility 302 that encompasses the creation, transmission, and/or receipt of the incoming message 400.

[i JC j iho cci'iαάi iuuiiiy'302 may-provide a service. The service may be provided on behalf of a party 502, such as a business entity that wishes to interact with and/or provide information to a consumer 102. The party 502 may be an advertiser, a media company, a non-profit organization, a governmental organization, a for-profit organization, an individual, a partnership, or any other company, organization, or entity. Services provided by the central facility 302, including those described herein and those that will be appreciated from this disclosure, may be associated with a method of generating revenue.

[0050] In embodiments, the services may relate to a premium message, an advertisement, a subscription, and so forth. In the service described hereinafter as "mlnfo," the preferred method of generating revenue may encompass a subscription. In all other services described hereinafter, the preferred method of generating revenue may be determined by the party 502. This determination may be made or specified during the configuration of the service by or on behalf of the party 502.

[0051] One method of generating revenue may involve a premium message. A text messaging campaign, which may be a service of the central facility 302, may be associated with a standard per-message rate or with a premium per-message rate. The central facility 302 may be configured by the party 502, which desires to provide the service to the consumer 102. From one perspective, the central facility 302 may provide the service to the consumer 102 on behalf of the party 502. Generally perhaps not universally, services of this type are described herein in as encompassing the transmission, reception, and/or creation of incoming messages by the central facility 302. From another perspective, the central facility 302 may provide a service to the party 502 on behalf of an operator of the central facility 302. Generally but perhaps not universally, services of this type are described herein as relating to an administrative Web page, an administrative Web site, or some other administrative facility. It will be appreciated that the operator of the central facility may itself be a party 502. From any perspective, the central facility may, on behalf of a party 502, provide a service to a party 502 or consumer 102.

[0052] Generally, an account 500 may comprise any kind of financial account. In particular, the financial account may, without limitation, encompass one or more of the fHiow'r"-

a bank account, a line of credit, an account receivable, an account payable, a cash account, an accrual account, and so forth. The ability of the party 502 to affect the financial account of another party may be governed by a business or contractual agreement between the two parties. For example and without limitation, one party that, is associated with the central facility 302 may ask a second party that is associated with the portable electronic facility 104 if it is okay to charge one dollar for the service of providing the incoming message. If the second party agrees, then one dollar may be deducted from an account 500 associated with the second party and deposited into an account 500 associated with the first party, wherein this deduction and deposit may be synchronized with the provision of the incoming message 400 by the central facility 302. Many other such examples are described herein, are described in the documents referenced herein, and will be appreciated from the present disclosure. All such examples are instances of the present invention and are within the scope of the present invention.

[0053] Referring now to Fig. 6, the account 500 may enable the central facility 302 to conduct one or more financial transactions without limitation selected from the group of: the periodic, aperiodic, or onetime transfer of funds from a financial account 600; the periodic, aperiodic, or onetime withdrawal of funds from a financial account 602; the periodic, aperiodic, or onetime charging of a credit card 604; and a periodic, aperiodic, or onetime charge generated via Premium SMS 608. [0054] Services provided by the central facility 302, including those described herein and those that will be appreciated from this disclosure, may be associated with a method of generating revenue. In embodiments, the services may relate to a premium message, an advertisement, a subscription, and so forth. In the service described hereinafter as "mlnfo," the preferred method of generating revenue may encompass a subscription. In all other services described hereinafter, the preferred method of generating revenue may be determined by the party 502 for whom the central facility 302 is providing the service. This determination may be made or specified during the configuration of the service.

[0055] One method of generating revenue may involve a premium message. A text messaging campaign, which may be a service of the central facility 302, may be u..ov>cau.u.ά _'.viui α siaπuαid yu-iuLhad&S ϊai'i or with a premium per-message rate. When configuring the service, the party 502 may be presented with a list of options associated with the standard and premium rates. If the party 502 elects a premium rate, then the consumer 102 may be charged a fee for messages 400 associated with the campaign. The party 502 may set this fee. However, if the party 502 elects a standard rate, then the campaign may be associated with an advertisement that may generate revenue in lieu of a fee charged to the consumer 102.

[0056] A party 502 has the ability to directly sell advertising within the message 400 that is generated in association with its campaign. Alternatively or additionally, the party 502 may auction off advertising space within the message 400. If the party 502 directly sells advertising within the message 400, then the party 502 may pay a fixed fee or a cut of the advertising sales to the operator of the central facility 302. If, however, the party 502 does not directly sell advertising within the message 400, then the operator of the central facility 302 may, on behalf of the party 502, manage and/or conduct the auctioning of advertising space within the message 400. This auctioning may occur via a Web site, such as and without limitation a self-service Web site, which may be run by the operator of the central facility 302, may be associated with or provided by the central facility 302, or may be under the control of a third-party that may or may not be associated with the central facility 302 or its operator. [0057] An advertiser, which may be a party 502, may have the ability to access the self-service Web site. There, the advertiser, may bid on the advertising space within a message 400 that may be associated with a particular campaign. In the preferred embodiment, the party 502 selling advertising within the message 400 may also be able to sell other advertising inventory, such as and without limitation on-air time, in conjunction or association with the message 400 and/or the advertising therein. The sale of this other advertising inventory may or may not be directed by, associated with, or under the control of the central facility 302.

[0058] The advertiser may be provided with the ability to reserve a regional or national keyword, via the self-service Web interface. To reserve the keyword, the advertiser may pay a fee that reserves the keyword for a period of time. Once registered,

I ' j c i

t i 1 . 1 '. hi fcH,'ti.e ways of registering, buying, and selling keyword may be analogous to the ways of doing the same with Internet domain names.

[0059] Referring now to Fig. 7, the content that is delivered to the consumer 102 may be embodied as electronic information 700, such as and without limitation an audio file (for example, an MPEG-4 audio file) or a audiovisual file (for example, a QuickTime movie file). The content may also or alternatively be embodied as a reference 702 to the electronic information 700 such as a URL. According to the present invention, the electronic information 700 and/or the reference 702 to the electronic information 700 may be delivered electronically via SMS, e-mail, the Web, and so forth; or via a physical medium such as a CD or DVD delivered to a physical address. When delivered electronically, the information 700 and/or reference 702 may be delivered directly to the portable electronic facility 104. The electronic information 700 may comprise binary data that is delivered to the consumer 102.

[0060] One service provided by the central facility 302 may encompass a campaign. When a party 502 configures a campaign, a number of possible text-message interactions with the consumer 102 may be defined. These interactions may include some or all of the details of the messages 400 that the consumer may experience, receive, or transmit over the course of the campaign.

[0061] A campaign may utilize an SMS short code, which may be associated with a keyword that distinguishes the campaign from another campaign that may also utilize the SMS short code. The campaign may have a start and end time, which may define the duration of the campaign, the duration of a particular interaction between the central facility 302 and the consumer 102, or any other duration associated with the campaign. The campaign may comprise an aspect that varies depending upon, for example and without limitation, the type of campaign that the party 502 intents to utilize and/or an option selected by the party 502. The campaign may include a message that is automatically sent to the consumer 102 in response to an action. This message 400 may be defined by default and may be encompassed by an interaction of the campaign.

[0062] In embodiments, the campaign may be of a particular type, wherein the type may be selected from the following group: mlnfo, mSong, mRoad, mVote, mGive, mClub, and mTalk. The campaign type mlnfo may be associated with information about uuiΛuw-., ΛiWii __> iuuoicti i on a business. The campaign type mSong may be associated with music information and fulfillment. The campaign type mRoad may be associated with traffic alerts. The campaign type mVote may be associated with votes and quizzes. The campaign type mGive may be associated with charitable contributions. The campaign type mClub may be associated with communities or groups, which may receive periodic content. The campaign type mTalk may be associated with a direct connection, such as and without limitation via a simplex, half-duplex, or duplex communication, to a disc jockey, talk show host, or other on-air personality or talent. Many other campaign types will be described or appreciated and all such types may be applications of the present invention that are within the scope of the present disclosure and, thus, are subjects of the present invention.

[0063] In embodiments, the campaign may function as a sweepstake and may have an associated coupon. By functioning as a sweepstake, the campaign may enable the party 502 to select one or more winners, at any point, from a plurality of consumers 102 that have interacted with the campaign. To function as a sweepstake, the campaign may need to have a coupon added to it by the party 502.

[0064] The coupon may be a message 400, which may or may not have one or more of the properties described in this paragraph. The coupon may have a fixed identification, which is a text string that represents the coupon. The coupon may have a random identification component, which may precede or be preceded by a fixed text string. The random identification component may be randomly generated for each coupon that is created or transmitted by the central facility 302. The coupon may have a sequential identification component, which may precede or be preceded by a fixed text string. The sequential identification component may be a number drawn from a sequence. The party 502 may specify the starting number of the sequence. A sequential identification component may be drawn from the sequence for each coupon that is created or transmitted by the central facility 302. Each identification component, whether random or sequential, may be unique with respect to the other such components of a campaign. The fixed text string may be a keyword.

[0065] The coupon may be delivered to a consumer 102 as text that is encoded in the code 202 of a message 400 or as a bar code that is encoded in the code 202 of an U..U jiiiαL__ iuc. -.tt.e -i . _'ά. hi ,,,κer case, the code 202 may encompass binary data that may be interpreted as binary or textual data, as appropriate.

[0066] A campaign may be identified by a keyword. A number of keyword namespaces may be defined. One such namespace may be associated with an SMS short code, which may encompass the destination address 200. When a message 400 from or associated with a consumer is received at the central facility 302, the facility 302 may examine the message to see if a short code is associated with the message. If so, then a namespace associated with the short code may be consulted in a process of identifying a campaign with which the consumer 102 is interacting. A namespace may also be associated with a geographic region, which may correspond to a community, a town, a city, a state, a region of a nation, a nation, or any other geographical division or subdivision. In embodiments, a keyword may be national or regional. A national keyword may be exclusive to the campaign with which it is associated. A regional keyword may be used in multiple campaigns so long as the campaigns do not have overlapping regions. A geographic region may be defined in terms of an area code, an area prefix, a zip code, or some such.

[0067] When a consumer 102 or a portable electronic facility 104 associated with the consumer 102 transmits a message 400, that message 400 may contain a keyword and may be addressed to a destination address 200. If the keyword is within the namespace of the destination address 200, the central facility 302 may determine whether the keyword is a national keyword or a regional keyword. If the keyword is a national keyword, then the consumer 102 is attempting to interact with a campaign. In response to this, a message 400 associated with that campaign is generated and/or transmitted by the central facility 302 to the consumer 102. If the keyword is within the namespace of a single region or within multiple regions but only for the same campaign, then a message 400 associated with that campaign is generated and/or transmitted by the central facility 302 to the consumer 102. If the keyword is within the namespace of multiple regions and multiple campaigns, then the central facility 302 may determine the location of the portable electronic facility 104, such as and without limitation by checking the source address 402 of the message 400 the message 400 from the consumer 102 or portable electronic facility 104. In one example, this may involve checking an originating phone iiuiuboi, ci ήx,y vvuiu, and ci sol ϋf possible regions. Numerous other examples of determining the location of a portable electronic facility 104 are provided in or will be appreciated from the detailed description of a process for this purpose that is described hereinafter with reference to Fig. 28. Once the region is determined, the campaign associated with the keyword and region is known. The central facility 102 then generates or transmits a message 400 to the consumer 102, wherein the message is associated with the campaign. If the keyword does not match any known keywords, then the central facility 302 may attempt to perform error correction to determine which campaign the user is trying to interact with.

[0068]

[0069] Referring to Fig. 28, a logical process 2800 for determining the region associated with a message 400 is shown. This region may be associated with a consumer 102 and/or portable electronic facility 104 that is associated with the creation and/or transmission of the message 400. The region may be selected from a group of candidate regions, which are generated on the basis of the regions associated with a regional keyword in the message 400. When the location of the consumer 102 (that is, the region associated with incoming message 440 from the consumer 102) needs to be determined, the central facility 302 may examine the following information to determine the location. First, the central facility 302 may consider the consumer's 102 past interactions with campaigns. If the consumer 102 has interacted with campaigns in the past and they belong to a candidate region then that region may be selected as the region associated with the message 400. If profile data associated with the consumer 102 has been collected by or submitted to the central facility 302, then this data can be checked against the candidate regions. For example, the profile data may include an address and/or zip code associated with the consumer 102. If this address and/or zip code are within a candidate region, then that region may be selected as the region associated with the message 400. In another step of the process for determining the region, the originating phone number or source address 402 of the incoming message 400 may be checked against area codes or area prefixes that may be associated with the candidate regions. If the originating phone number or source address 402 matches those of a candidate region, then that region may be selected as the region associated with the message 400. In other step of the process, louauuiniuυinxdiiυϊi m<xy oc-piυVideα by a carrier or text message aggregator, either υi which may provide the transmission of the incoming message 400 from the portable electronic facility 104 to the central facility 302. This location information may be associated with a candidate region and, if it is, that region is selected as being associated with the message 400. In another step of the process, recent activity and activity trends within or associated with a campaign are considered. These activities or trends may be associated with the keyword and a region. For example and without limitation, a large number of users may have responded with the keyword of a campaign in one candidate region, while few if any have responded with the keyword in the other candidate regions in another region. In this case, the one candidate region may be selected as being associated with the message 400. In another step of the process, information associated with a play list may be received from a party 502, such as and without limitation a radio station. This information may be associated with a song play list, bumpers, advertisements, promotional spots, and the like. The information may be associated with an aspect of a campaign that has been recently aired by the party 502. If this campaign is associated with the keyword of the message 400; and if this campaign recently has been run only in one region; and if this keyword is not associated with any campaign that recently has been run in any other region; then this one region may be selected as being associated with the message 400. Finally, if the previous steps in the process have failed to select a region, then the central facility 302 may transmit a request to the consumer 102, wherein the request is directed at producing a response from the consumer 102 that will allow the central facility 302 to determine the region associated with the consumer's original message 400.

[0070] A service or campaign provided by the central facility 302 may involve an interaction sequence that may encompass a number of messages 400. In embodiments, each message 400 in the sequence that is received by the central facility 302 may be treated as if it were an independent message, which is to say that the central facility 302 may perform a process of matching the keyword and/or region of each and every message 400 to the campaign. Also in embodiments, the central facility 302 may provide a method of associating the messages 400 with a session, wherein the session is associated with a campaign and/or a region of a campaign. In this case, a session may start when a message rcχ\iπ^r;:,^y.r -> ', yvujid ^;>i r.eccj.yed f'"0^?n a consumer 102. Each subsequent message from the consumer 102 may be treated as if it were preceded by the keyword (and, when appropriate, the region) of the message that initiated the session. This may continue until the session is terminated. The session may terminate when a successful response to a query has been delivered, when a period of time has elapsed, or when such an occurrence has been indicated by any other heuristic, algorithm, or technique for determining when a session has terminated.

[0071] When a message 400 received at the central facility 302 does not contain a keyword, the facility 302 may attempt to find and correct an error in the message 400 so as to reveal a keyword. The process of revealing the keyword may encompass substring matching that is intended to catch errors where a space is missing between a keyword and other content in a message. Substring matching may additionally or alternatively catch errors where a special character or unexpected delimiter is use, such as and without limitation a hyphen following a keyword. The process of revealing the keyword may encompass a misspelling correction that is intended to determine whether the consumer 102 has misspelled a keyword, perhaps by transposing letters or dropping or adding a letter with the keyword. The process of revealing the keyword may encompass an order correction that is intended to find a keyword at a place other than then beginning of a message. If the process of revealing the keyword succeeds, keyword matching and the use of the keyword may be performed as described hereinabove. However, if the process fails, then the central facility 302 may request additional information from the user to identify the appropriate campaign. In making this request, the central facility 302 may provide context to the consumer 102, which may include information relating to campaigns that are running on stations or other media outlets with which the consumer 102 has previously interacted.

[0072] Referring again to Fig. 6, the one or more financial transactions may have the effect of billing the consumer for a service, where the service may be the provision of electronic information 700 for the consumer 102 in response to the incoming message 400 received by the central facility 302 from the portable electronic facility 104. The billing may be a periodic, aperiodic, or onetime billing.

[0073] Referring now to Fig. 8, a central information facility 802, such as the /vppio x iu uiitϋ Dorvci opfcicΛϊd £>> Apple Computer, Inc., which may be the central ficiikj. 302; may be associated with the central facility 302; and/or may be operatively coupled to the central facility 302, may receive an instruction 800 to add electronic information 700 to the account 500. This instruction 800 may be transmitted from the central facility 302 during the course of a transaction associated with the consumer 102 and in response to the incoming message 400. In accordance with the instruction 800, the central information facility 802 may add the electronic information 700 to the account 500, making the electronic information 700 available to the consumer 102 via the account 500. The consumer 102 may be billed according to the invention as described in the discussion of Fig. 6.

[0074] Referring now to Fig. 9, in some embodiments it may not be clear from the incoming message 400 in which electronic information 700 the consumer 102 is interested. In this case a list 900 comprising a plurality of names or references to electronic information 700 is provided to the consumer 102. The consumer 102 may utilize the portable electronic facility 104 to choose a particular item of electronic information 700 from the list 900. A choice 902 may be received and/or processed by the central facility 302, resulting in the consumer 102 paying for the electronic information 700 and receiving the information 700 or a reference 702 to the information in accordance with the present invention as described above. Alternatively, as described below, the third party and not the consumer 102 may pay. [0075] In embodiments, the consumer 102 may receive a message that offers him content associated with the electronic information 700 for which the consumer 102 paid. For example, content may without limitation be associated other content based upon artist and/or genre.

[0076] In embodiments, a Web site may be provided in conjunction with mSong that may provide the ability to set a preference for purchase. In alternate embodiments, the preference may be set via SMS messaging.

[0077] In embodiments, a plurality of SMS message short codes may be used. For example and without limitation, a short code may be provided for purchasing a single item of electronic information 700 and a different short code may be provided for purchasing an album comprising the electronic information 700. iGu /Oj ^" Viii dt,jμ£ci Oi the pi csent invention relates to receiving advertisement information. In embodiments, a user may hear an advertisement (e.g. through a radio station, streaming content source, television station, satellite media provider) and the user may be interested in the content provided in the advertisement. The user may then wish to obtain more information or hear the advertisement or portions of the advertisement again. The user may then use his portable communication facility (e.g. portable phone, PDA) to send a short message to an information facility to gain more or repeat information about the advertisement. For example, the user may send a five digit SMS code to connect with an advertisement information facility. Then, the user may send an advertisement identifier (e.g. the call letters of the station the user is listening to) to obtain information about advertisements recently or currently playing. The user may then be presented with information relating to advertisements recently played or currently playing on that station for the user to interact with. The user may select one or more of the advertisements, or advertisement representations, to learn more or gain repeat information. For example, the user may select the advertisement and the advertisement may be replayed for the user on the user's cell phone. In embodiments, the user may be presented with information through a URL or other link to gain information and or content may be downloaded to the device for access.

[0079] Referring now to Fig. 10, the content presentment facility 300 may transmit a rendering of content, which in this case may preferably be an advertisement, to the consumer 102. Then, the portable electronic facility 104 may receive an input from the consumer 102. This input may be associated with the rendering of content and may comprise a request for data pertaining to the rendering of content. Subsequently, the central facility 302 may receive a message from the portable electronic facility 104. This message may be associated with the input, may comprise an encoding of the request for data, and/or may be associated with the rendering of content. Furthermore, the message may contain sufficient information to identify the content presentment facility 300, which originally provided the rendering of content to the consumer 102. The sufficient information may comprise a station name, a public performance name, an e-mail address, and/or a mailing address.

[0080] Still referring to Fig. 10, the central facility 302 may transmit codes to the jΛyfutbio uLc/αojύλ- ύ-Jiiiij 104. "i hese codes may be associated with the message received by the central facility 302 and may comprise the data that was requested, a single choice, or a list of single choices. The codes 202 may comprise an advertisement. In one embodiment, the codes 202 may represent an SMS message wherein the first 120 characters of the message may be not reserved for an advertisement and the remaining 40 characters may not be reserved for an advertisement. The choice may comprise a link to the data, an e-mail containing the link to the data, or a text message containing the link to the data. In alternate embodiments, the data may be embodied on a physical medium (such as and without limitation a CD, DVD, or printed page), which may be mailed by the central facility 302 to a physical mailing address instead of being transmitted to the portable electronic facility 104. Regardless, the link to the data may without limitation be a Web link such as a URL, a telephone number, an e-mail address, a SMS destination number, and so forth.

[0081] Continuing to refer to Fig. 10, in embodiments where the codes comprise at least one choice, the portable electronic facility 104 may transmit a rendering of the codes to the consumer 102, such as and without limitation by displaying a visual rendition of the codes on a screen or by playing an audible rendition of the codes through a speaker. The portable electronic facility 104 may then receive a second input from the consumer 102. The second input may be associated with the rendering of the codes and may be a selection of the single choice or one of the choices in the list of single choices. In any case, the choice may comprise the selection of a response facility 1000 to which a request for response may be sent, wherein the response may comprise the data that was requested (such as and without limitation a digital file, a Web page, an order form, a survey, shopping cart, a brochure, a sales presentation, a donation form, a registration form, and so forth). In some embodiments, the response facility 1000 may be the central facility 302.

[0082] The third party may be charged a fee associated with a step selected from the group of: the step of transmitting the request for response, the step of receiving the request for response, the step of transmitting the data that was requested, and the step of receiving the data that was requested.

[0083] In embodiments, offers may be transmitted to the consumer 102. These ϋiiUb iiiuy ot ouciuieα υiii.y ditei the consumer 102 has paid for electronic informuuuii υ. initiated a request for response. The offers may comprise an offer to purchase items associated with either the electronic information or the request for response, such as and without limitation music by artists that influenced the artist who created the content embodied by the electronic information; music by artists who are similar or in the same genre as the artist who created the content embodied by the electronic information; and so forth.

[0084] In embodiments, a Web site or SMS messaging service may be provided that is associated with the central facility 302 and that provides the ability to set a preference for the delivery of information, such as a preference indicating the particular form that the single choice or list of single choices should take.

[0085] In embodiments, the central facility 302 may be run in conjunction with a promotion or special offers, where a promotional code or other relevant information is sent to the consumer 102 to help him participate in the promotion or special offer.

[0086] Referring again to Fig. 4, an application of the present invention relates to a radio station. In particular, a listener of the radio station may be desirous of learning more about a song or purchasing a song, wherein the song is being played on the radio station or has recently been played on the radio station. The user, who may be the consumer 102, may send a text message, which may be the incoming message 400, to the central facility 302, which may be associated with the radio station. The code 202 of this message 400 may contain an indication of the radio station to which the user is listening. The central facility 302 may, in response to the message 440 from the user, transmit a message 400 back to the consumer 102. The code 202 of this message may contain a list of the most recently played songs on the radio station. Perhaps based upon some or all of this code 202, the portable electronic facility 104 may present options to the consumer 102. These options may, without limitation, include one or more of the following options: an option to purchase any or all of the songs in the list; an option to purchase a ring tone of any or all of the songs in the list; the option to learn more about any or all of the songs in the list, either via the portable electronic facility 104 (which may, without limitation, encompass a phone) or via some other computing facility that is capable of receiving and rendering the incoming message 400 for the consumer 102 (such as and without limiMion an e-mail client); an option to search for other songs; an option to access podcasts from the radio station; an option to listen to streaming audio from the radio station; and so forth.

[0087] Referring to Fig. 11, an administrative user interface 1100 provides a view of information that is received by the central facility 312. The central facility 312 may be associated with a monitor, terminal, or other graphical display 1102 that displays the user interface 1100. In the preferred embodiment, this graphical display 1102 is operatively coupled to a client computer 1104 that encompasses a Web browser or other client application that receives information, which is associated with the user interface 1100, from the central facility 312. The client computer 1104, perhaps under the control of the client application, renders the user interface 1100. The information that is received by the central facility 312 may encompass song information 1110 contained in a radio station play list 1112. This information may relate to songs that have been, are being, or are soon to be played on a radio station 1114.

[00881 When the central facility 302 receives an incoming message 400, that code 202 of the message 400 may contain an identification of a radio station. The central facility 302 may process this identification to determine which radio station the consumer 102 was listening to at the time he transmitted the incoming message 400. Based upon this determination, the central facility 302 may provide particular information to the consumer 102 (such as via an incoming message 400 transmitted by the central facility 302).

[0089]

[0090] When the central facility receives the play list 1112 from the radio station 1114, a keyword may be associated with the play list 1112. Thenceforth, the consumer 102 may be able to send a message 400 to the central facility 302 that contains this keyword. The central facility 302 can provide information relating to the songs 1110 on the basis of this keyword, since it identifies the play list 1112 from which song information 1110 should be drawn.

[0091] The radio station 1114 (or, an owner, operator, or authorized delegate thereof) may be able to configure other features of the central facility 302. These features may bo dbSDUitUGU with

that the central facility 302 provides to the COLIMVACI AIL. on behalf of the radio station 1114. This configuration may be conducted via a configuration user interface that is provided by the client computer 1104 in much the same way that the client computer 1104 provides the administrative user interface 1110.

[0092] Referring to Fig. 12, one feature of the central facility 302 may relate to purchasing a song. The central facility 302 may integrate or be associated with a music content provider 1202. The proλάder 1202 may have, provide, or be associated with a catalog 1204 of songs 1208, ring tones 1210, or true tones 1212. The central facility 302 may match a song or artist name that is received in the play list 1112 to the songs 1208. When a request for the play list 1112 is receive from the consumer 102, the central facility 302 may respond with a message 400 that contains sufficient information for the consumer 102 to select the song 1208 in which he is interested. The selection may be enabled by a WAP link that is presented to the consumer 102 by the portable electronic facility 104. Having selected the song 1208, the consumer 102 may indicate his interest in purchasing the song 1208, a ring tone 1210 associated with the song, or a true tone 1212 associated with the song. This interest may be embodied as a message 400 such as a text message that is transmitted from the portable electronic facility 104 to the central facility 302. The song 1208, ring tone 1210, or true tone 1212 may be delivered directly to the portable electronic facility 104 as a binary download. [0093] In embodiments, the code 202 of the message 400 may include an e-mail address of the consumer 102 and/or an indication that the consumer 102 would like to receive the song 1208 via e-mail. In this case, the central facility 302 may send the consumer 102 an e-mail message, which may be the message 400, containing an option to purchase the song 1208 from the central facility 302, the music content provider 1202, an another facility that is associated with the central facility 302. This option may be embodied as a URL, JavaScript code, a request to transmit an e-mail to a destination, and so forth. The music content may, without limitation, be Apple iTunes. The e-mail message or any other message 400 that is transmitted by the central facility 302 may include information that describes or is associated with a user interface. This information may be rendered by the portable electronic facility 104 for the consumer 102. This user uileriaec eiidUυ \iic consumer 102 learn more about an artist, an artist associated with iLυ artist, a song 1208, a ring tone 1210, a true tone 1212.

[0094]

[0095] Referring to Fig. 13, one feature of the central facility 302 may relate to providing a text messaging inbox for an individual consumer 102 or a group of consumers 102. A message 400 from a portable electronic facility 104 may be include a destination address 200 and a code 202. Without limitation, the address 200 may be a short code and the code 202 may comprise a text message 1302. The text message 1302 may be routed to an inbox 1304 that is associated with a keyword 1308, wherein the code 202 may additionally comprise the keyword 1308. The text message 1302 may be forwarded to an e-mail account 1310.

[0096] The feature presently being described may allow a consumer 102 to transmit a text message to an on-air personality. The central facility 302 may send the consumer 102 an automatic message 400 that has been configured by on-air talent. The on-air talent may subsequently respond to an individual message 400 from the consumer 102, wherein the individual message 400 may comprise a response from the consumer 102 to the on-air talent.

[0097] Referring to Fig. 14, an administrative user interface 1 100 may be for configuring the automatic message 400 described hereinabove with reference to Fig. 13. [0098] Referring to Fig. 15, one feature of the central facility 302 may relate to providing a voting system 1500 wherein votes 1502 are submitted as messages 400, such as and without limitation text messages. While votes are being cast and/or after all votes have been cast, the central facility 302 may provide a tally of the votes. The tally 1504 may be embodied in a message 400. The votes 1502 and the tally 1504 may be associated with a particular ballot, poll, or vote campaign. It should be appreciated that, while a plurality of consumers 102 may submit votes 1502 as messages 400 that are text messages, embodiments of the messages 400 are in no way limited to text messages. The tally 1504 may be presented to the consumer 102 via a user interface, which may be rendered by the portable electronic facility 104, a client computer 1104, and so forth. In embodiments, the tally 1504 may be presented on a graphical display 1102.

(0099j

lυ Fig. 16, an administrative user interface 1100 may be ϊυ; configuring a ballot, poll, or vote campaign, all of which are described hereinabove with reference to Fig. 15.

[00100] Referring to Fig. 17, one feature of the central facility 302 may relate to providing a quiz system 1700. This system 1700 may enable a consumer 102 to configure a quiz 1702. The quiz 1702 may be provided by the central facility 302 via a sequence of messages 400. The quiz may consist of one or more queries 1704, each of which may be associated with a set of choices 1708. One of the choices in each set may be designated as a correct answer. The central facility 302 may provide one or more queries and their associated sets of choices, in the form of a message 400, to a portable electronic facility 104, which may render the queries and sets of choices for the consumer 102. Via the portable electronic facility 104, the consumer may select one or more of the choices from each of the set. The portable electronic facility 104 may, in turn, transmit a message 400 that contains the selection. This message 400 may be received by the central facility 302, which may conduct a test that determines whether the selection is the correct answer. The central facility 302 may then transmit a message 302 to the portable electronic facility 104. This message may contain the result of the test, which may be rendered for the consumer 102 by the portable electronic facility 102. Generally, this message may vary depending upon the result of the test. [00101] Referring to Fig. 18, an administrative user interface 1100 may be for configuring a quiz, which is described hereinabove with reference to Fig. 17.

[00102] Referring to Fig. 19, one feature of the central facility 302 may relate to a text messaging club system 1900. A text messaging club 1902 may encompass a plurality of consumers 102, referred to herein as members of the club. The central facility 302 may allow and/or enable a member to send a message 400 to the other members, perhaps but not necessarily based on a targeting criterion. The targeting criterion may be associated with demography, geography, or some other information that has been gathered from or associated with the members. A criterion 1904 may be associated with each of the consumers 102. A criterion 1904 may be associated with or contained in the message 400. The central facility 302 may maintain a database containing associations of cυnsαinus. 102 Io cήiam 1904.

[00103] A consumer 102 may configure, create, join, or leave the club 1902. To join the club 1902, the consumer 102 may transmit a message 400 containing a keyword 1308 that is associated with the club 1902. The message 400 may be received by the central facility 302, which may maintain and/or store a representation of the club 1902 in the database 1908. To leave the club 1902, the consumer 102 may transmit a message 400 containing the keyword 1308 and the word "STOP."

[00104J A partner, party 502, affiliate, or other entity that is associated with the central facility 302 may add or remove a consumer 102 from the club 1902. This adding and removing maybe conducted via a Web-based, club interface 1910 that is provided by the central facility 302. This interface 1910 may be integrated with a Web site 1912. A consumer may add or remove himself from the club 1902 via this interface 1910 of the Web site 1912. In embodiments, the Web site may be provided by the partner, party 502, affiliate, or other entity that is associated with the central facility 302.

[00105] Referring to Fig. 20, an administrative user interface 1100 may be for configuring a text messaging club 1902.

[00106] Referring to Fig. 21, one feature of the central facility 302 may relate to a content-based club system 2100. The central facility 302 may be associated with a source of information 2102. This source 2102 may, without limitation, provide information related to news, weather, traffic, stocks quotes, sports scores, and so forth. A partner. party 5U2, affiliate or other entity that is associated with the central facility 302 may configure a content-based club 2104, which may allow a plurality of consumer 102 to get information from the sources 2102 that is relevant to the consumer 102. Relevance to the consumer 102 may be determined by comparing a criterion 1904 that is associated with the consumer 102 with a criterion 1904 that is associated with the information 2108. The source 2102 may provide information for free or for a fee. The source 2102 may comprise an RSS feed. In embodiments the source 2102 may be associated with a partnership of content providers. The criterion 1904 that is associated with the information 2108 may be contained in or implied by the information 2108.

[00107] Generally, the central facility 302 may, more or less continuously; sporadically; or periodically, receive the information 2108 from the source 2102. As the infcvrmtf on ° 108 i*¹ received by the central facility 302 or at some time thereafter, the. central facility 302 may compare the criterion 1904 of the information 2108 with the criteria 1904 of the consumers in the club 2104. If the criterion 1904 of the information 2108 matches the criterion 1904 of the consumer 102, then the central facility may transmit the information 2108 to the consumer 102. This transmission may involve the central facility transmitting a message 400 that includes the information 2108 in its code 202. This message 400 may be received by a portable electronic facility 104 that is associated with the consumer 102.

[00108] In one embodiment, the club 2104 may relate to weather and the information 2108 may be associated with weather. The criterion 1904 may relate to the zip code or city of the consumer 102. The criterion 1904 may also relate to a meteorological condition or a threshold defined in terms of such a condition, such as a minimum or maximum temperature, UV index, humidity, precipitation, wind speed, and so forth. Matching the criterion 1904 may involve checking to see if a meteorological condition that is indicated by the information 2108 overshoots or undershoots a threshold that is specified in the criterion 1904 that is associated with a consumer 102.

[00109]

[00110] In one embodiment, the club 2104 may relate to news and the information 2108 may be associated with news. The criterion 1904 may encompass a search phrase. The message 400 and/or information 2108 may include a hyperlink to a news story. The consumer 102 may additionally or alternatively register a request with the central facility 302, wherein the request may specify that the consumer 102 is to receive periodic headlines for a given category or news, such as and without limitation NFL in sports.

[00111] In one embodiment, the club 2104 may relate to a traffic alert. The consumer 102 may provide a driving route to the central facility 302. This route may, without limitation, be the consumer's 102 daily commute. The information 2108 may relate to traffic. Without limitation, this information 2108 may be provided by Clear Channel Traffic. The central facility 302 may conduct a test that determines whether there exists a traffic problem in the vicinity of the route. If the result of this test is affirmative, then a message 400 may be communicated to the consumer 102. It will be appreciated that the consumer 102 may enter a plurality of routes and that the route the is subject to tiic tt;_>ι may be chosen based upon a position report, a time of day, an instruction from the consumer 102, or any other indication of which route the consumer 102 is currently traveling.

[00112] Referring now to Fig. 27, in a system for charitable donations 2700, the central facility 302 may enable a charitable donation. A party 502, which may be a nonprofit organization, may configure the central facility 302. Configuring the central facility 302 may include providing a thank you response, which may be included in a message 400. This message 400 may be transmitted to a consumer 102 after he has made a donation to the party 502. The consumer 102 may transmit a message 400 to the central facility 302, wherein the message may include an indication of the party 502 and the amount that the consumer 102 wishes to donate to the party 500. The donation may be deducted from an account 500 associated with the consumer 102, added to a phone bill associated with the consumer 102, and/or deposited into an account 500 associated with the party 502.

[00113] Referring now to Fig. 22, numerous applications of the present invention relate to an advertising system 2200. This system 2200 may enable a consumer 102 to send a message 400, via a portable electronic facility 104, to a central facility 302 at a destination address 200. In the preferred embodiment, the destination address 200 is a short code. The message 400 may contain a request for more information. In the preferred embodiment, the message 400 contains sufficient information to identify an advertiser 2202.

[00114] Without limitation: The portable electronic facility 104 may have SMS text message capabilities; a radio station 1114 (or other party 502) may have advertising space; an owner of multiple radio stations 1114 or parties 502 may have independent operations; an advertiser 2202 may be associated with the central facility 302; and an employee, administrator, or operator may be associated with the central facility 302.

[00115] In the preferred embodiment, the consumer 102 may be expected to send messages 400 to a well-known destination address 102 (which may, without limitation, be a short code). The message may be provided by the consumer 102 in the following formats: mlnfo; mlnfo <station-id>; or mlnfo <advertiser-id>.

[001i4ij Vvhύi the message 400 contains mlnfo <advertiser-id>, ihe ceiuiai laci.it;> 302 may look up a match to the <advertiser-id>, which may be an alphanumeric sequence or any other textual or symbolic sequence. The central facility 302 may provide a response to message 400 that is associated with the advertiser 2202 that is identified by the <advertiser-id>.

[00117] An advertiser 2202 may advertise with a radio station 1114, a billboard, a music festival, a venue, a television station, or another advertising medium that does not have a direct mechanism for measuring the success of the advertising. The central facility 302 may remedy this, by providing a direct feedback channel from the consumer 102 to the advertiser 2202. This feedback channel may comprise the messages 400 communicated between the consumer and the central facility 302. This channel may provide the advertiser 2202 with qualified leads and may provide the consumer 102 with information relating to the advertiser 2202.

[00118] The central facility may provide a Web site 2210 for the advertiser 2202. At this Web site 2210, the advertiser 2202 may manage their leads (which may be consumers 102) and examine the success of its advertising campaigns 2208. The Web site 2210 may provide an online reporting function for these purposes. The Web site 2210 may be branded by the radio station 1114 or party 502 that sells advertising space 2204.

[00119] Without limitation, the system 2200 may provide to the advertiser 2202 one or more of the following. The system 2200 may assist or enable the advertiser 2202 in managing the advertising campaign 2208. The system 2200 may organize or enable the organization of submitted media 2212 into a campaign 2208, such as to create a campaign 2208. The system 2200 may request or enable the request for approval from the radio station 1114 to execute the campaign 2208. Prior to any media being used in association with a radio-directed campaign 2208, the radio station 1114 may be required to approve the campaign 2208. The advertising campaign may be associated with a plurality of radio stations 1144 and/or parties 502. The system 2200 may schedule or enable the scheduling of a campaign 2208. The system 2200 may delete or enable the deletion of a campaign 2208. The system 2200 may assist or enable the advertiser 2202 in managing media 2212 associated with a campaign, including, without limitation, submitting media 2212; supporting HTML for e-mail message, wherein graphics that are i'-.ktv. -] >^■;. -ii .\\< I-- ;! .-M] may be fetched from a server associated with the advertiser TO? and/or may be uploaded to the central facility 302; text for SMS message responses; text for SMS menus; text for various conditions associated with issuing a request for additional data; text for SMS opt-in requests; text that goes with coupons; prioritization of messaging with a consumer 102; organizing the priority of media 2212 and what information is desired from a consumer 102; deleting media 2212; modifying media 2212; and so forth. The system 2220 may provide a report 2214 to the advertiser 2202 via the Web site 2210. The report 214 may, without limitation, show traffic by campaign 2208; traffic by radio station 1114; inquiry and lead generation; detailed information on new consumers 102 who would like to be contact by the advertiser 2202; and so forth. Traffic may be related to or a measure of the quantity and/or quality of messages 400 received from a plurality of consumers 102 in relation to an advertising campaign 2208. The system 2200 may provide a way of managing responses (which may be embodied as messages 400 from the consumer 102 the to central facility 302) to a campaign 2208, such as and without limitation providing information associated the consumers 102 who provided the responses; providing information associated with the time at which a response message 400 was sent and what response, if any, occurred; providing an indication that a consumer 102 has opted out of being contacted; and so forth. The system 220 may provide a way of managing an account 500, wherein the account 500 may be associated with the advertiser 2202, which may provide an e-mail address to which an e- mail notification is transmitted when a new lead is received and/or a consumer 102 needs to be contacted.

[00120] The media 2212 may comprise a data file; a Photoshop file; a Flash file; a Shockwave file; an image file; a gif; a jpg; a png; a bmp; and so forth.

[00121] In one example involving the advertising system 2200, a consumer 102 texts "BMW" (that is, transmits a message 400 comprising a text message, such as an SMS message, wherein the text message is "BMW") to the central facility 302. The central facility 302 texts "text yes to minfo to have a representative contact you, text your e-mail address to get further info" in response to the consumer's 102 text. In response to • this, the consumer texts "yes" to the central facility 302. In response to this, the central facility 302 texts "a representative will contact you shortly. Text your e-mail address to receive dudiuυiiui inio via e-mail." The central facility 302 also sends an c-niuii Io ail <~~ mail address associated with the advertiser 2202, which may notify the advertiser 2202 that the consumer 102 is interested in being contacted. The consumer may then text "martin@msnapinc.com" to the central facility 302. The central facility 302 may respond with an e-mail sent to that e-mail address, wherein the email may contain additional information about "BMW."

[00122] The system 2200 may provide to a radio station 1114 every feature, capability, service, and advantage described hereinabove with reference to an advertiser 2202. Additionally or alternatively, the system 2200 may enable, assist, or allow the radio station 1114 to approve or disapprove a campaign 2208. The radio station 1114 may examine information associated with multiple advertisers 2202, while an advertiser 2202 may examine information associated with multiple radio stations 1114. The radio station may examine the information via a Web site 2218 for the radio station 1114, which may be provided by the central facility 302. An advertiser 2202 primarily may be interested in leads and inquiries and a cost associated with generating those leads and inquiries. A radio station 1114, on the other hand, primarily may be interested in the amount of revenue that the system 2220 is generating for the station 1114 and how that revenue can be increased.

[00123] Perhaps in recognition of the radio station's 1114 primary interest, a home page that is presented at the Web site 2218 for the radio station 1114 may focus on revenue past, present, projected, and possible. Information associated with revenue that may be presented by the home page includes, without limitation, revenue per campaign; revenue by show; revenue by time of day; revenue by advertiser 2202; and so forth. Revenue by advertiser 2202 may differ because one advertiser 2202 may be using different media 2212 with a different campaign 2208 as compared with another advertiser 2202.

[00124] In order for the central facility 302 to support a given radio station 1114, the radio station 1114 may need to provide the central facility 302 with timely access to advertising information associated with the radio station play list 1112. This information may indicate which advertisement from which campaign 2208 has been played and when it was played. The central facility 302 may process this advertising information to determine which advertiser 2202 is advertising on the radio station 11 14, The radio station 1114 may be associated with an area code, which may be used in conjunction with the advertising information to determine which creative should be sent to a consumer 102 who may have transmitted a message 400 that is associated with the advertiser 2202. The creative may be media 2212, as described hereinafter with reference to Fig. 22.

[00125] Referring now to Fig. 23, an administrative user interface 1110 for creating a campaign may be presented to a user (such as and without limitation an advertiser 2202, a radio station 1114, a party 502, or an owner, operator, affiliate, or delegate thereof) by the central facility 302 in response to the user's selecting a "create campaign" button that may appear in the Web site 2210 or 2218. If the "add aliases" button 2302 is selected, the user may be presented with an option to add up to three or more additional keywords 1308 for the campaign 2208. These additional keywords 1308 may encompass misspellings of the keyword 1308. A number of tabs 2304 may be presented in the interface 1110. These tabs may allow the user to select a script that may determine which promotion type is present.

[00126] Generally when defining a keyword 1308, a user may select or specify up to three or more alternate spellings, any and all of which may comprise an alias. An item (such as and without limitation a textual string within a message 400) that matches an alias may be considered to match the keyword 1308. If the keyword 1308 is associated with a campaign 2208, then the item may be considered to be associated with or directed at the campaign 2208.

[00127] Referring again to Fig. 22, the user may additionally or alternatively comprise the consumer 102, If an e-mail address is required from the user, the central facility 302 may first determine whether it already has an e-mail address that is associated with the user's mobile number, which may be associated with the portable electronic facility 104 that is associated with the user. If such an e-mail address exists, the central facility 302 may send an e-mail message 400 to this address, wherein the message asks the user whether to use this e-mail address or to use a new e-mail address that the user may provide.

[00128] A default script may be provided in association with each and every advuiLoi. _-ώό~, iudio station 1114, and party 502. The central faciiύ/ 302 may ieλ.cϊ ,c u near real-time representation of the play list 1112 from the radio station 1114. When the central facility receives the play list 1112, it may try to determine whether an advertiser 2202 that is associated with an entry in the play list 1112 is already known to the central facility 302. If not, the advertiser 2202 may be added to a database of advertisers 2202 that may be maintained by the central facility 302. Additionally, an e-mail message, which contains a notification that the advertiser 2202 has been added to the database 2220, may be transmitted to a list of e-mail address, each of which may be associated with a user. The users who receive this e-mail may have the ability to map to new advertiser 2202 to an existing advertiser 2202. Alternatively, the users may edit campaign 2208 information for the new advertiser 2202. This information may, without limitation, include addresses for up to 5 or more stores (with one of the stores perhaps being designated as the "main address" or "primary store"); a phone number for each store; a Web address; a sales contact at a radio station 1114 for the advertiser 2202; advertiser 2202 contact information (such as e-mail address, phone number, mailing address, and so forth); a keyword 1308, which may be reserved for the advertiser 2202; and so forth.

[00129] If a consumer 102 requests information about an advertiser 2202 that is in the database 2220, but for which there is no information or no updated information, a default response message 400 may be transmitted to the consumer 102. This message may read, "Welcome to <advertiser name>. Reply with your e-mail address to sign up for special offers." However, if the database 2220 does contain information or updated information about the advertiser 2202, then a response message 400 message may be transmitted to the consumer 102, wherein the response message 400 contains one or more of the following items: a Web address; one or more addresses and/or phone numbers that are associated with as many stores as possible (within a size constraint of the message 400, such as a limit on the number of characters that may appear in the message 400); an offer to sign up for a special offer by providing an e-mail address; an option to leam more information; and so forth.

[00130] A default script may be associated with one or more of the following types of scripts: location; special offer; leam more; and so forth.

[00131] If a consumer 102 requests information about a radio station 1114, such as by

-station> to the central facility 302, then the central iauilii;- l<ύl iuά.y respond with a message 400 that contains a list of most recent advertisers 2202 associated with that station 1114. This message 400 may include as many advertisers 2202 that can fit into the message 400 (which, in embodiments, may be limited in length to 160 characters). This message 400 may also include an option to request more information. If the consumer 102 requests more information, he may receive a message 400 containing a list of most recent advertisers 2202 that were not included in the first list. The consumer 102 may also request more information in response this message 400. The process may continue any number of times, which each successive message 400 containing the most recent advertisers 2202 that were not included in the preceding lists. If a consumer 102 selects an advertiser from a list, then the central facility 302 may return, to the consumer 102 and in message 400, a main address, phone number, and Web address associated with the advertiser 2202. The message 400 may also contain an option to get more locations, to sign up for a special offer, to learn more, and so forth. In some cases, the message 400 will be divided into multiple messages 400. If the consumer 102 selects the more locations option, he may receive a message 400 containing as many additional locations as possible. If the consumer 102 select special offer option, he may receive a message 400 indicating that the consumer 102 will receive a special offer when it is available. Alternatively, a special offer message 400 may be specified, in which case the consumer 102 may receive this message in response to his selection of a special offer. If the consumer 102 selects learn more option, the central facility 302 may transmit a message 400 containing a request that the consumer 102 transmit his e-mail address to the central facility 302. In response to receiving this e-mail address, the central facility 302 may transmit a thank-you message 40 to the consumer 102 and may transmit an e- mail message 400 to the address, wherein the e-mail message contains a link to the advertiser's 2202 Web address.

[00132] Referring to Fig. 24, an interaction script 2402 relating to automobiles may be associated with an advertising campaign 2208. This interaction script 2402 may include messages and options associated with one or more of the following topics: pre- qualification; trade-in value; scheduling a test drive; learning more; more dealership locations; and so forth. If the consumer 102 selects the pre-qualification option, the

_l«2 may reply with a message 400 requesting that iu~ con.su UK •^• VfJ provide information such as and without limitation his social security number, his e-mail address, permission to call back, and so forth. The central facility 302 may allow an advertiser 2202 to enter a response message 400 for any and all of the options. If a consumer's 102 response is not understood, the central facility 302 may generate and transmit an error message 400 to the user, in an attempt to elicit a valid response. The advertiser 2202 may have the ability to response to each valid response with a text message 400, wherein this ability may be provided by the central facility 302.

[00133] An e-mail address may be stored in a profile or account 500 that is associated with a consumer 102. Some information, such as a social security number, may be stored for a limited amount of time, such as up to three days or more, after which that information is deleted.

[00134] A pre-quality promotion may allow an advertiser 2202 to select whether it would like, from a consumer 102, a social security number, an e-mail address, and/or permission to call back. This promotion may also enable the advertiser 2202 to enter a confirmation message 400, which may be provided to the consumer 102 from time to time.

[00135] If the consumer 102 selects the trade-in value option, the central facility 302 may request, from the consumer 102 and via a message 400, some or all of the following information: make; model; year; condition; and so forth. The advertiser 2202 may be able to enter a response message 400 to be transmitted to the consumer 102 after the consumer provides this information. The central facility 302 may store the message 400 from the consumer, but may not process the message 400 beyond that. The central facility 302, perhaps via the Web site 2210, may allow the advertiser 2202 to respond, with a message 400, to each valid response received from the consumer 102. Through the Web site 2210, the advertiser 2202 may also select the information that the central facility 302 may request.

[00136] If the consumer 102 selects the test drive option, the central facility 302 may transmit a confirmation message 400, which may be provided by the advertiser 2202 to the consumer 102. This message 400 may be pre-filled with text that indicates to the consumer 102 that he will receive a call to schedule a test drive. The central facility, ptmdjμb \u iiiv \Veb site 2210, may enable the advertiser 2202 to enter the υυiiiimiuLυπ ^• message 400.

[00137] If the consumer 102 selects the learn more option, the central facility 302 may transmit a response message 400 that requests the consumer's 102 e-mail address. To this address, the central facility 302 may transmit an e-mail response. The advertiser 2202, perhaps via the Web site 2210, may have the ability to enter a text response that is sent along with the e-mail response. The e-mail response may comprise creative content such as media 2212 that has been defined for the campaign 2208.

[00138] If the consumer selects the more locations option, the central facility 302 may transmit a response message 400 that includes additional locations in the same manner as described hereinabove with reference to the default script.

[00139] An interaction script 2402 relating to a restaurant may be associated with an advertising campaign 2208. The consumer 102 may transmit a message 400 for selecting an advertiser 2202 that is employing the restaurant script 2402. In one example, this message 400 may include the text "minfo Subway" or "minfo Subway <zip-code>". In this example, the advertiser 2202 may be Subway, a chain of sandwich shops in the United States.

[00140] If a zip code is included in the message 400, the central facility 302 send, in a message 400 and to the consumer 102, an address of two or more of the nearest establishments that are associated with the advertiser 2202. The number of establishments that are transmitted in the message 400 may be limited a maximum message size, which in embodiments may be 160 characters.

[00141] The advertiser 2202, via the Web site 2210, may define any and all of the following options to be sent to the consumer 102: coupons; sweepstake; e-mail menu; more locations; and so forth. If the consumer 102 selects the coupons option, the central facility 302 may operate as described hereinabove with reference to coupons (which may be described hereinabove with reference to Fig. 7). If the consumer 102 selects the sweepstake option, the central facility 302 may transmit, to the consumer 102, a confirmation message 302, which may be defined by the advertiser 2202. If the advertiser 2202 has not defined this message 302, it may default to including the following text: "Thank you for participating. You are entered in out sweepstake." The central facility ⁿ^ ^< - , • <e the advertiser 2202 to send the confirmation κv^< ,^■[.» ^> in? TK c: ι'>- ti facility 302 may provide a feature that draws a winner from all of the consumers 102 who have entered a sweepstake. If the consumer 102 selects the e-mail menu option, the central facility 302 may request an e-mail address from the consumer 102, if an e-mail address is not already associated with the consumer 102. An e-mail message 400 may be sent to the e-mail address. This message 400 may contain a menu or link, such as a URL, that provides a way for the consumer 102 to access the advertiser's 2202 menu. A confirmation 400, which may be crafted or provided by the advertiser 2202, may be sent to the e-mail address. If the consumer selects the more locations option, the central facility 302 may transmit messages 400, receive messages 400, and generally behave as described hereinabove with reference to the default script.

[00142] An interaction script 2402 relating to insurance may be associated with an advertising campaign 2208. A consumer 102 may transmit a message 400 to the central facility 302 that results in the selection of an advertiser 2202 that may be employing the insurance interaction script 2402. The advertiser 2202, perhaps via the Web site 2210, provide a confirmation message 400, which may be transmitted to the consumer 102 in response to his message 400. The confirmation message 400 may, without limitation, contain an address, phone number, or Web address. Perhaps depending upon a preference that may be expressed by the advertiser 2202 via the Web site 2210, the consumer 102 may be presented with one or more options selected from the following list of options: driver's license number for a phone quote; e-mail address to get a quote via e-mail; coupon; and so forth. If the consumer 102 selects the phone quote option, the central facility 302 may request, via a message 400, the consumer's 102 driver's license number. This number may persist in the central facility 302 for a limited amount of time, after which the central facility 302 may discard it. If the consumer 102 selects the e-mail option, the consumer 102 may receive a custom e-mail message 400, which may be provided by the advertiser 2202 and transmitted by the central facility 302 to the consumer 102. If the consumer 102 selects the coupon option, the central facility 302 may transmit and receive messages 400, and generally behave as described above with reference to coupons.

[00143] An interaction script 2402 relating to education may be associated with an advui'Ciώωg, _^mpaign 2208. The consumer 102 may transmit a lut-oiαgo _'i-ul» ιυ iLc cential facility 302, which may result in the selection of an advertiser 2202 that may be employing the education interaction script 2402. The advertiser 2202, perhaps via the Web site 2210, may provide a confirmation message 400 and a request for information. These may be transmitted by the central facility 302 to the consumer 102 in response to his message 400. The confirmation message 400 may, without limitation, contain an address, a phone number, a Web address, and so forth. The advertiser 2202, perhaps via the Web site 2210, may be enable one or more options for the consumer 102 that are selected from the following list of options: call me back; tuition quote; e-mail me a catalog; financial aid information; mail me a catalog; and so forth. These options may be presented in a message 400 to the consumer 102 from the central facility 302. If the user selects the call me back option, the central facility 302 may interact with the consumer 102 via messages 400 to gather contact information for the consumer 102. This information may be provided to the advertiser 2202, such as and without limitation via an e-mail message and/or the Web site 2210. If the user selects the tuition quote option, the central facility 302 may interact with the consumer 102 via messages 400 to gather sufficient information for providing the consumer 102 with a tuition quote. This information may be provided to the advertiser 2202, such as and without limitation via an e-mail message and/or the Web site 2210. A tuition quote may be automatically delivered to the consumer 102 from the central facility 302 via a message 400. If the consumer selects the e-mail me a catalog option, the central facility 302 may transmit a message 400 to the consumer 102 that requests the consumer's 102 e-mail address, In any case, a catalog, which may be provided by the advertiser 2202 via the Web site 2210, may automatically be transmitted to the consumer 102 via an e-mail message 400 addressed to the consumer's 102 e-mail address. If the user selects the financial aid option, the central facility 302 may transmit a confirmation message 400 back to the user 102. The central facility 302 may preserve all messages 400 from the consumer that relate to this option. These messages 400 may be transmitted to the advertiser 2202, such as and without limitation via an e-mail message 400 or the Web site 2210. The advertiser 2202 may communicate with the consumer 102 about financial aid through the central facility 302. If the user selects the mail me a catalog option, the central facility 302 may request, via a ¹TUv/, the consumer's 102 name and mailing address, U^" iiud uixbaiiau- -α iϋ am already known to the central facility 302. However, if this information is already known to the central facility 302, the central facility 302 may transmit a message 400 to the consumer 102 to confirm that the name and mailing address are correct. When received, the name and mailing address may be stored by the central facility 302. The advertiser 2202 may mail a catalog to the mailing address, perhaps in response to an e-mail message 400 or other signal, which may be transmitted by the central facility 302 to the advertiser 2202, perhaps in response to a message from the consumer 102.

[00144] An interaction script 2402 relating to a night club may be associated with an advertising campaign 2208. A consumer 102 may transmit a message to the central facility 302 that results in the selection of an advertiser 2202 may be employing the night-club interaction script 2402. The advertiser 2202 may provide a confiπnation message 400 via the Web site 2210. This message 400 may contain an address, a phone number, and a Web address. This message 400 may be transmitted to the consumer 102, in response to his message 400, by the central facility 302. The advertiser 2202, perhaps via the Web site 2210, may be enable one or more options for the consumer 102 that are selected from the following list of options: happy hour specials; join a VIP club; sweepstakes; and so forth. If the user selects the happy hour specials option, the consumer 102 may receive a response message 400 from the central facility 302, wherein this message contains happy hours specials. The advertiser 2202 may provide the happy hour specials to the central facility 302 via a Web site 2210. If the consumer selects the join VIP club option, the consumer 102 may receive a response message 400 from the central facility 302, wherein this message contains a confirmation that he has joined the club. Depending upon a preference of the advertiser 2202, the consumer 102 may also receive an offer to receive e-mail notifications, instead of or in addition to text messages. The consumer 102 may respond to this offer by text messaging his e-mail address or a confirmation of his e-mail address, in the case that the central facility 302 already has his e-mail address. Via the Web site 2210, the advertiser 2202 may enter a welcome message 400; a goodbye message 400; and a name, all of which may be associated with a night club of the advertiser 2202. These messages 400 and the name may be provided to the consumer 102 by the central facility 302 at an appropriate time. A consumer 102 that eiυUa tuj'Oin the night club may be added to a text messaging club 1902 oaso_'.iaj^'-.ά with the night club. The consumer 102 may be able to exit the text messaging club 1902 by transmitting a message 400 containing "<advertiser> stop" to the central facility 302. If the consumer 102 selects the sweepstake option, the central facility 302 may transmit a confirmation message 400 to the consumer 102, wherein the message 400 indicates that the consumer 102 has been added to a sweepstake.

[00145] Generally, the Web site for the advertiser 2210 may report a count of messages 400; a count of consumers 102; and a count of inquiries, all of which may be associated with an advertiser 2202, an advertising campaign 2208, and so forth. An inquiry may be described hereinabove and/or may be defined as the complete message interaction that a consumer 102 engages in, by initiating an "mlnfo <advertiser>" message or by selecting an advertiser from "mlnfo <station>."

[00146] Referring to Fig. 25, the Web site for advertisers 2210 may consist of one or more sections selected from the following list of sections: home, responses, campaigns, reports, my account; and so forth. The sections may be embodied as one or more Web pages, each of which may contain a navigation bar 2514 to the sections. The Web page that is displayed in this figure is the home page, which may contain the some or all of the content in the following list of content: a pie chart 2518 displaying the number of leads and number of inquiries by campaign 2208 as a percentage of all leads and inquiries, over a period of time such as a day; a traffic chart 2520 displaying the number of messages receive in five minute intervals from the beginning of a time period such as the current day; a list 2522 of the number of impressions for currently active campaigns; a list 2524 of the 20 most recent responses, with the ability to get more responses; and so forth. Clicking on the pie chart 2518 may cause the Web site 2210 to present a reporting page, where more detailed information associated with leads may be obtained. The traffic chart 2520 may contain markers showing when the various campaigns ran on radio stations 1114. Clicking on the chart 2520 may send the user to a reporting page with more detailed traffic information.

[00147] The response section 2504 may be associated with a Web page for providing the management of responses (such as messages 400) received from consumers 102. This Web page may include providing access to the profile or account 500 of each -wuii-. LUi^-. 102 and any other information that is available uad -u^cuked vvitk '.d«-ir consumer 102. An advertiser 2202 may have access to a phone number for a consumer 102, but only if the consumer 102 has opted in to be contacted by phone. An advertiser 2202 may not have access to an e-mail address of the consumer 102, unless the consumer 102 has opted in for further e-mails from the advertiser 2202. The consumer 102 may opt in or out of any aspect, feature, or service of the central facility 302 via a message 400, which may encompass an SMS text message, an e-mail message, and so forth.

' [00148] The Web page for providing the management of response may resent a list or responses from consumers 102. The response may be sorted or filtered by one or more of the following attributes: campaign, time, e-mail address, phone number, radio station, and so forth. The account 500 or profile information of a consumer 102 may include one or more elements of the following list: information the consumer 102 has opted in for; information regarding which campaigns 2208 the consumer 102 has responded to and when they responded; information regarding where these campaigns 2208 were running with the consumer 102 responded to them; and so forth. The Web page may provide the ability to mark a consumer 102 as having opted out of being contacted by the advertiser 2202.

[00149] The campaigns section 2508 may be associated with a Web page for providing the management of campaigns 2208 and media 2212. This may include handling a campaign 2208 approval process. A user (as defined hereinabove or as appreciated) may have the ability to create a campaign 22U8 and add media ∑iYl to the campaign 2208, as well as review the configuration of a current or previous campaign 2208 and associated media 2212. The Web page may provide an indication of whether a campaign 2208 has been approved by a radio station 1114. The Web page may allow the user to review which radio stations 1114 have approved or rejected, or have yet to approve or reject, the campaign 2208. Configuring the campaign 2208 may consist of scheduling when a campaign 2208 will run; associating media 2212 with the campaign 2208; and/or request approval from any and all radio stations 1114 that may be associated with the campaign 2208. Configuration the campaign 2208 may additionally or alternatively involve assigning a price to various messages 400 that may be associated with the campaign 2208. fOOt 50] A Web page may allow a user may add or remove media 2212 from -> campaign 2208 and view the media 2212. The media 2212 may encompass one or more of the following types of media: SMS response; SMS menu; SMS e-mail opt in request; SMS phone call opt in request; HTML e-mail, which may contain images and/or code; SMS pay list response; SMS ad list response; and so forth. The Web page allow a user to view a list of radio stations 1114, the campaigns 2508 associated with the radio stations 1114, and whether or not those campaigns 2508 have been approved.

[00151] The reports section 2510 may be associated with a Web page for providing information on any and all of the campaigns 2208 that are currently running, have run, or will run. This Web page may present campaign results in one or more of the following ways: the pie chart 2518; the traffic chart 2520; the list of impressions 2522; a list of responses associated with the campaign 2208, wherein the list may be 2524; and so forth.

[00152] A Web page may allow a user to filter campaign data that is being present in reports. This filtering may be according to one or more of the following criteria: campaign; date; time of day; area code of responses; campaign response rate; media response rate; and so forth.

[00153] The account section 2512 may be associated with a Web page for providing basic account management functionality, which as and without limitation changing passwords; checking or changing status information associated with an account 500; and so forth. This Web page may provide information regarding which radio station 1114 has a pending approval for a campaign 2208.

[00154] Referring to Fig. 26, the Web site for radio stations 2218 may contain one or more sections selected from the following list of sections: home 2602, mlnfo 2604, responses 2508, campaigns 2610, ad list 2612, mSong 2614, play list 2618, reports 2620, and my account 2622. Each of the sections may be associated with one or more Web page, which may contain a navigation part 2624 for providing access to any and all of the sections.

[00155] The home section 2602 may be associated with a Web page for providing the any and all of the following content: a pie chart displaying the percentage of revenue generated by all current campaigns 2208; a traffic chart display the number messages <.c Li /cu in five minute intervals from the beginning of a period ui^" urue Ϊ,UUI as U.-- current day; a bar charge showing the sales volume for the 10 highest selling songs for a time period such as the current day; a list of the number of impressions for currently active campaigns and the revenue generate by those campaigns; a list of campaigns that are awaiting approval from a radio station 1114; a list of the twenty most recent mlnfo responses (or messages 400), with the ability to get more responses; and so forth.

[00156] The responses section 2608 may be associated with a Web page for providing the management of responses received from consumers 102. This may include providing access to the profile or account 500 of the consumers 102 and any other information associated with the consumers 102. The Web page may present a list of responses from consumers 102. The responses may be sorted and filtered according to one or more of the following factors: campaign, time, e-mail address, phone number, advertiser, and so forth. The information associated with the consumers 102 may, without limitation, include any and all of the following information: information the consumers 102 have opted in for; information regarding which campaigns 2208 the consumers 102 have responded to and when they responded to those campaigns 2208; information regarding where those campaigns 2208 were running when the consumers 102 responded to them; and so forth. The page may provide the ability to mark a consumer 102 has having opted out of being contacted by an advertiser 2202. [00157] The campaigns section 2602 may be associated with a Web page for enabling the management of a campaign 2208 and associated media 2212. This may include handling a campaign 2208 approval process. The Web page may provide a user of the Web page with the ability to create a campaign 2208; add media 2212 to the campaign 2208; review the configuration of a campaign 2208 past, present, or future; and so forth. The Web page may provide an indication of whether a campaign has been approved by the radio station 1114 or not. The Web page may provide the user with the ability to review an approved, rejected, or pending-approval campaign 2208. The configuration of the campaign 2208 may include a schedule of when the campaign 2208 will run; an association between media 2212 and a campaign 2208; and a request for approval from any and all radio stations 1114 associated with the campaign 2208. The Lonilgur'ation may also include setting the prices of various messages 4ϋu associated -Λ ith the campaign 2208. The price may be associated with one or more of the following aspects of a campaign 2208, any and all of which may be present in a given embodiment of the present invention: e-mail; SMS; response; e-mail coupon; mobile coupon; phone lead; and so forth. The Web page may provide a user interface for approving or rejecting a campaign 2208. A user of the Web page may, via the Web page, add or remove media 2212 from a campaign 2208 as well as view the media 2212 that is associated with a campaign 2028.

[00158] The media 2212 associated with a campaign may consist of any and all of the following elements: SMS response, SMS menu, SMS e-mail opt in request, SMS phone call opt in request, HTML e-mail images and code, SMS play list response, SMS ad list response, and so forth.

[00159] The advertiser list section 2612 may be associated with a Web page for providing a view of a list of advertisers 2202 and a list of campaigns 2208 that are active or pending approval.

[00160) The reports section 2620 may be associated with a Web page for providing information relating to all campaigns 2208 that are either running or have completed. This Web page may present campaign results in one or more of the following ways: a pie chart displaying the percentage of revenue generated by the top 10 advertisers; a traffic chart displaying the number of messages 400 receive, in five minute intervals, for the duration of a campaign 2208; a list of the number of impressions and revenue for a campaign 2208; a list of response from a campaign 2208. The traffic charge may contain markers showing when the campaign 2208 ran on a radio station. Clicking on the chart may result in the presentation of a Web page that reports more detailed traffic information. The Web page may or may not present the campaign results, traffic information, or campaign data in a report according to one or more of the following criteria: campaign; date; time of day; area code of responses; campaign response rate; media response rate; revenue; and so forth.

[00161] The "My Account" section 2622 may be associated with a Web page for providing basic account management functionality. Without limitation, this functionality may encompass changing a password or status information associated with an account 500. This Web page may display an area code that is served by a radio ^ct?>tio" V ) i the station identifier of that station 1114, and so forth.

[00162] The play list section 2618 may be associated with a Web page for displaying a play list 1112 of a radio station 1114.

[00163] The ad list section 2612 may be associated with a Web page for displaying a list of advertisements received from a radio station 1114.

[00164] AU of the elements of the present invention may be depicted throughout the figures with respect to logical boundaries between the elements. According to software or hardware engineering practices, the modules that are depicted may in fact be implemented as individual modules. However, the modules may also be implemented in a more monolithic fashion, with logical boundaries not so clearly defined in the source code, object code, hardware logic, or hardware modules that implement the modules. All such implementations are within the scope of the present invention.

[00165] It will be appreciated that the various steps identified and described above may be varied, and that the order of steps may be changed to suit particular applications of the techniques disclosed herein. All such variations and modifications are intended to fall within the scope of this disclosure. As such, the depiction and/or description of an order for various steps should not be understood to require a particular order of execution for those steps, unless required by a particular application, or explicitly stated or otherwise clear from the context. [00166] It will be appreciated that the above processes, and steps thereof, may be realized in hardware, software, or any combination of these suitable for a particular application. The hardware may include a general purpose computer and/or dedicated computing device. The processes may be realized in one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, embedded microcontrollers, programmable digital signal processors or other programmable device, along with internal and/or external memory. The processes may also, or instead, be embodied in an application specific integrated circuit, a programmable gate array, programmable array logic, or any other device that may be configured to process electronic signals. It will further be appreciated that the process may be realized as computer executable code created using a structured programming language such as C, an object oriented programming language such as C++, or any other aiglv level or low- level programming language (including aj-sembly languages, liεiJ varc description languages, and database programming languages and technologies) that may be stored, compiled or interpreted to run on one of the above devices, as well as heterogeneous combinations of processors, processor architectures, or combinations of different hardware and software. At the same time, processing may be distributed across a camera system and/or a computer in a number of ways, or all of the functionality may be integrated into a dedicated, standalone image capture device or other hardware. All such permutations and combinations are intended to fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

[00167] It will also be appreciated that means for performing the steps associated with the processes described above may include any of the hardware and/or software described above. In another aspect, each process, including individual process steps described above and combinations thereof, may be embodied in computer executable code that, when executing on one or more computing devices, performs the steps thereof.

[00168] While the invention has been disclosed in connection with certain preferred embodiments, other embodiments will be recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art, and all such variations, modifications, and substitutions are intended to fall within the scope of this disclosure. Thus, the invention is to be understood in the broadest sense allowable by law.

Claims

CLAIMSWe claim:

1. A method comprising: receiving a response from a mobile communication facility; associating the response with a geographical region of origin; identifying a plurality of requests associated with the geographical region of origin; associating the response with one of the plurality of requests to form a responsive information; and

;'(ι transmitting the responsive information to the mobile communication facility.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the response is a message.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the message is a text message.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the message is an SMS message.

5. The method according to claim 2, wherein the message is an e-mail message.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the response contains a keyword.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the step of associating the response with one of the plurality of requests involves processing a keyword.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein processing a keyword involves correcting an error.

9. The method according to claim 6, wherein the keyword is associated with a request.

10. The method according to claim 6, wherein the keyword is associated with an advertiser.

11. The method according to claim 6, wherein the keyword is associated with a broadcaster of a request.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the broadcaster is a radio station.

IJ. The method according to claim 11, wherein the broadcaster i-» a television .-itanou

14. The method according to claim 11, wherein the broadcaster is an Internet site.

15. The method according to claim 1 , wherein associating the response with the geographical region involves processing historical information.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the historical information relates to a prior response.

17. The method according to claim 1 , wherein associating the response with the geographical region involves processing a short code that is associated with the response.

18. The method according to claim 1, wherein associating the response with the geographical region involves processing a telephone number that is associated with the response.

19. The method according to claim 1, wherein associating the response with the geographical region involves processing an area code that is associated with the response.

20. The method according to claim 1, wherein associating the response with the geographical region involves processing GPS data that is associated with the response.

21. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of requests is an advertisement.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein the advertisement is a broadcast advertisement.

23. The method according to claim 21 , wherein the advertisement is radio broadcast advertisement.

24. A method comprising: receiving a message from a phone; determining a geographic region associated with the phone at the time the message was sent; identifying a playlist associated with the geographic region and information relating to the message; and presenting the playlist to the phone.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein purchasable content is presented in association with the playlist.