Abstract: A system and machine-implemented method for providing a user participating in an online shopping environment with a negotiated price for an item, the method comprising receiving a request to negotiate a price of an item being posted to an online shopping environment and offered at a first price, identify purchase context information corresponding to the item in response to receiving the request, wherein the purchase context information include information regarding the item and information regarding the online shopping environment, determining a negotiated price for the online item based on the purchase context information and providing the negotiated price for display to one or more users.

Abstract: Techniques for replacing an advertisement in a webpage from a website with another advertisement are disclosed. A response including the webpage is intercepted in a network device deployed in an in-line fashion, preferably at a data traffic point along a network. When it is determined that the webpage includes an advertisement that is replaceable, a preferable advertisement more correlated to the interests of a user is embedded in data packets to replace those for the original advertisement. Subsequently, the preferable advertisement is served when the webpage is displayed.

Abstract: A product discount system, apparatus, and method are herein disclosed. A discount server may receive one or more product discounts from a use. A wireless device may retrieve product identification information from a product and generate a discount request message that is transmitted to a discount server. The discount server may identify potential discounts associated with the product identification information and transmit product availability data to the wireless device. The wireless device may notify a user of available product discounts based on the product availability data. Once notified, the user may proceed by redeeming one or more of the available product discounts.

Abstract: In some embodiments, the present invention is directed to database driven computer systems providing real-time updatable graphical user interfaces to track real-time value of airings, including: a specifically programmed server; a database accessible by the server, where the server includes a plurality of modules configured to perform: electronically and periodically obtaining media data, web tracking transaction data, call center transaction data, and fulfillment transaction data; associating, in real time, media data records of airings of creatives to fulfillment transaction records by matching records among database tables having media data, web tracking transaction data, call center transaction data, and fulfillment transaction data; continuously calculating, in real-time, a current value of a particular airing of a particular creative; and displaying a graphical user interface, including real-time updated look-up items, outputting one or more real-time report based at least on the continuously calculatin

Abstract: The present invention relates to systems and methods for optimizing and managing advertising campaigns. The method of the present invention comprises storing one or more advertisement data structures associated with an ad group data structure in the ad group data structure. One or more ad group data structures associated with a campaign data structure are stored in an ad campaign data structure. Additionally, one or more ad campaign data structures associated with an advertised property are stored in an account data structure.

Abstract: A method and article for increasing the opening/reading rate of mail and thus adding value to advertising by mail. A coupon value is embedded within a machine readable code of an information based indicia used as postage evidence on each piece of a mailing. The amount of the coupon and type of coupon can be determined by the customer creating the mailing. The information based indicia is digitally signed prior to printing, allowing a redeeming vendor to verify the authenticity of a coupon, preventing fraud and changing of data within the information based indicia. In addition, the customer originating the mailing may obtain marketing information such as mailing date, type of products purchased, after the coupon is redeemed.

Abstract: A system and method for selecting and customizing advertisements to be provided to a user includes monitoring user interactions within a virtual gaming environment and indirectly determining user characteristics based on the monitored user interactions. A user profile is generated from the user characteristics. An advertisement is selected and customized for the user based on the user profile. The advertisement is provided for display to the user in the virtual gaming environment.

Abstract: Use action in the form of movement of a tracking device on a webpage, represented by cursor gestures on the webpage, is used to detect it a user intends to leave the webpage. Upon detection of an intent to leave the webpage, an advertisement may be displayed to a use. The advertisement may be targeted to the user and/or based on the content the user was viewing on the webpage.

Abstract: In an embodiment, a method comprises receiving an indication that a user selected social network data that is displayed, on a client device, concurrently with offer data that indicates a coupon offer; wherein prior to receiving the indication, the user of the client device is incapable of accessing the coupon offer; in response to receiving the indication that the user selected the social network data, allowing the user to access the coupon offer, and causing a message to be sent to each user of a plurality of users that are identified, in a social network, as connected to the user, wherein the message includes data about the coupon offer or a coupon provider that initiated the coupon offer; wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.

Abstract: This specification describes methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer-readable storage device, for determining expansion rates for events related to expandable content items.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method of detecting fraudulent clicks in an online environment to reduce fraudulent paid clicks for online advertisers. The method includes server side and client side code which combined enables a click verification web site to identify valid and invalid clicks and in real-time prevents advertisers from getting billed for fraudulent activity.

Abstract: An authentication device and a mobile device work together for redeeming an electronic promotion code at a point of sale. Upon receipt of an electronic promotion code, the authentication device encrypts the electronic promotion code and transmits the encrypted promotion code to the mobile device. In response, the mobile device decrypts the encrypted promotion code and determines whether the decrypted promotion code satisfies one or more predefined conditions. If so, the mobile device displays a message, indicating a successful redemption of the promotion code at the point of sale. In some implementations, the message includes a confirmation code, which is provided to the authentication device for generating a transaction log record. In some implementations, the mobile device also generates a separate transaction log record for the promotion code and transmits the transaction log record to a remote server for further processing.

Abstract: The disclosure includes a system and method for identifying advertising content and providing a user of a mobile device with a channel related to the advertising content. A recognition application receives advertising content comprising a series of frames, identifies images corresponding to the frames within the advertising content, identifies a first set of feature points from a first image of the advertising content, determines whether the first set of feature points matches a second set of feature points stored in a database, and in response to determining that the first set of feature points fails to match the second set of feature points, identifies the first image as being unique, indexes the first image and the first set of feature points and associates the first image with a channel.

Abstract: An example method includes receiving packets associated with network traffic and identifying location information associated with an end user related to the network traffic. The method also includes extracting keywords from the network traffic, the keywords and the location information are used as a basis for rendering an advertisement on digital signage that is physically proximate to a current location of the end user. In other embodiments, the network traffic can be matched against access control lists, which are configured with Internet protocol (IP) addresses relating to search engines. Additionally, the network traffic can be classified based on fields in the packets, wherein the fields include a source Internet protocol (IP) address, a destination IP address, and a transmission control protocol (TCP) port. In more particular embodiments, the network traffic is hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) requests originating from a handheld device operated by the end user.

Abstract: Systems and methods for automatically generating targeting information for presentation of an offer in accordance with embodiments of the invention are disclosed. One embodiment includes indexing member profiles within one or more social networks for affinity to keywords using a targeting system that retrieves data concerning member profiles and activities from servers within an online social network, identifying member profiles that have affinity for at least one offer keyword using the targeting system and the index, identifying additional keywords for which the identified member profiles have affinity using the targeting system and the index, determining a set of keywords that target a desired audience based upon the identified additional keywords using the targeting server, and targeting presentation of advertisements for the specific offer to members of an online social network using the online social network and the targeting keywords determined by the targeting server.

Abstract: A coupon service application operated on multiple platforms, including mobile devices, PC/Internet and display screens on home appliances. The application maintains a home inventory defining the consumable products within a user's home and a shopping list defining the consumable products the user wishes to purchase, and compares the home inventory and shopping list against a database of available coupons. Users can share and save coupons, use coupons for online purchases, check their home inventory while away from home, monitor the price of certain products and compare the price against an average price and track historical savings. The application maintains a recipe bank, suggests recipes based on the home inventory, and enables users to select recipes, adding ingredients therefrom to the shopping list, all while identifying coupons for items on the shopping list and the home inventory. Users can input a budget, and tracks spending against the budget.

Abstract: A system and method for effectively performing an information distribution procedure includes user devices that perform registration procedures for receiving distribution services from a distribution system. The user devices are also used to generate user metadata regarding respective device users of the user devices. A plurality of workstations are associated in the distribution system with respective advertisers. The workstations analyze the user metadata to produce corresponding bid metadata. A bid server then evaluates the bid metadata to determine one or more winning workstations from among the original workstations. The one or more winning workstations automatically transmit their advertising information to appropriate ones of the user devices. Relevant advertising information is therefore specifically targeted toward individual device users by analyzing the user metadata.

Abstract: The present invention is a system, data access management utility and a method of generating links between local merchants and community programs, whereby the merchant may provide incentives to customers in relation to community programs. The present invention may track community programs, as well as both online and offline customer transactions between participants that make use of the incentive. The present invention may include as participants, customers, merchants, community organizations, intermediaries, and other groups or individuals. Participants may have participant identifiers, which may be linked to a payment source. Data may be collected about all participants, either expressly, or from offline or online transactions between participants utilizing a participant identifier, and said data may be stored in a data storage area. All data in the data storage area may be utilized by logic tool, which may provide information, such as details of consumer behavior and analytic reporting.

Abstract: A social network server computer forms a social network including a primary member linked to a plurality of secondary members, each of whom provides a member profile. A network profile is generated based on an analysis of the member profiles. A social network server computer then determines a relative value of the social network with respect to a merchant by analyzing the associated network profile, and offers a merchant incentive to the primary member of the network as a function of the determined relative value. In a second embodiment, a merchant computer associated with a merchant determines a relative value of the social network with respect to a merchant by analyzing the network profile, and offers a merchant incentive to the primary member of the network as a function of the determined relative value. The merchant incentives may be also offered to the secondary members of the associated social network.

Abstract: The present invention is a system, data access management utility and a method of generating links between local merchants and a marketing system. The present invention may be operable to register members, merchants, community programs, intermediaries and other entities with the marketing system. Embodiments of the present invention may be operable to quickly and efficiently register multiple members and/or multiple merchant store types virtually simultaneously to the marketing system. An automated registration and/or boarding process may be operated by the present invention to undertake such registration and/or boarding of members, merchants, community programs, intermediaries and other entities with the marketing system, including automated boarding of merchants.