WO2001052138A1 - Electronic mail system generating advertisement and lottery and advertising method using the same - Google Patents

Electronic mail system generating advertisement and lottery and advertising method using the same Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2001052138A1
WO2001052138A1 PCT/KR2001/000045 KR0100045W WO0152138A1 WO 2001052138 A1 WO2001052138 A1 WO 2001052138A1 KR 0100045 W KR0100045 W KR 0100045W WO 0152138 A1 WO0152138 A1 WO 0152138A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
mail
user
information
lottery
reward
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/KR2001/000045
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Young-Ho Kwon
Original Assignee
L.T. Information System Co., Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by L.T. Information System Co., Ltd filed Critical L.T. Information System Co., Ltd
Priority to AU2001227138A priority Critical patent/AU2001227138A1/en
Publication of WO2001052138A1 publication Critical patent/WO2001052138A1/en

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Classifications

    • G06Q50/60—
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q30/00—Commerce
    • G06Q30/02—Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q10/00—Administration; Management
    • G06Q10/10—Office automation; Time management
    • G06Q10/107—Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q30/00—Commerce
    • G06Q30/02—Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
    • G06Q30/0207—Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a system for issuing an electronic mail (hereinafter referred to as "e- mail") including an advertisement and a lottery
  • advertising-lottery (hereinafter referred to as "advertisement-lottery” or “ad-lottery” by combination) , and an advertising method using the same, and more particularly, to a system for issuing an ad-lottery e-mail, and an advertising method using the same, in which an advertisement and a lottery are provided to a user by attachment to the e-mail informing him/her compensation for recognition of the advertisement, thereby enhancing an advertising effect.
  • An electronic mail is generally comprised of a message to be sent by a user possessing an e-mail address to another user having a different e-mail address over the network.
  • the e-mail has been used for exchanging person-to-person correspondences.
  • the e-mail has greatly changed and developed in view of function and concept. Recently, it has been in the highlight of users as a means for communication, for example, a marketing solution between a company and a company or a company and a personal consumer, etc.
  • an e-mail including a message written simply in text was able to be electronically sent.
  • the message in the form of multi-media such as image, sound, moving pictures, etc. can be transmitted by means of the e-mail, with an aid of Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension (MIME) .
  • MIME Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension
  • Japanese Patent First Publication No. 10-320314 laid open on December 4, 1998 titled "Electronic mail advertisement inserting device and recording medium recorded with a program for executing electronic mail advertisement inserting processing” discloses a device for automatically inserting an advertisement into an electronic mail when a user transmits or receives the e- mail.
  • the device comprises an ad storage part for storing advertisements therein, an ad selection part for selecting an advertisement to be inserted into an e-mail from the ad storage part, and a determiner part for determining whether to insert the selected ad into the e-mail.
  • the disclosed invention is aimed at solving the discomfort caused by insertion of all the ads into each of the e- mails by the sender himself/herself .
  • an addressee uses a server for issuing an advertisement e-mail, providing a function of rejecting the receipt of an e-mail sent from a specified address, he/she is able to reject the advertisement e-mail from being received if he or she does not want to read or see it.
  • an object of the present invention is to provide a system for issuing an ad-lottery e-mail and an advertising method using the same, maximizing an advertising effect.
  • an advertising method using an electronic mail comprising the steps of registering information about a user in access through a network; transmitting to the user an ad-lottery electronic mail containing at least one ad information and predetermined reward information; receiving from the user an acknowledgement information about whether the user has recognized the ad; and awarding to the user a reward predetermined for the reward information based on the acknowledgement information.
  • the step of transmitting the ad-lottery e-mail comprises transmitting the ad-lottery e-mail to the user selected among the registered users, who meets the predetermined conditions.
  • the ad-lottery e-mail includes the ad information and a masking for interrupting at least one portion of the ad information, which can be removed by the user, and the acknowledgement information is generated when the masking is removed by the user.
  • the ad-lottery e-mail includes a plurality of ad fields displaying the ad information, of which at least one ad field has a different ad information from the others, and the acknowledgement information is generated when the user selects the ad field having the different ad information.
  • the ad-lottery e-mail includes a reference ad of puzzle type having the ad sectioned into a plurality of cells and a puzzle ad arranged differently from the reference ad, which can be arranged in order by the user, and the acknowledgement information is generated when the puzzle ad is arranged by the user so as to be identical to the reference ad.
  • the ad-lottery e-mail includes at least one of quiz, game and questionnaire, all of which include contents pertaining to the ad, and the acknowledgement information is generated when the user correctly answers the quiz, acquires the predetermined score over or participates in answering the questionnaire.
  • this and other objects of the present invention may also be accomplished by the provision of ad-lottery e-mail issuing system having a server connected to a network and a plurality of user computers, wherein the server comprises a user database storing information about registered users therein; an ad database storing at least one ad information therein; a reward database storing predetermined reward information therein; and a controller controlling the ad-lottery e-mail including the ad information selected from the ad database and the reward information extracted from the reward database to be transmitted to the user and the reward according to the reward information to be awarded to the user if the acknowledgement information is received, wherein the user computer sends the acknowledgement message to the controller.
  • the server further includes a user selection part selecting from the user database a user meeting predetermined conditions; an ad selection part selecting from the ad database an advertisement meeting the user's conditions; a reward selection part selecting the reward information from the reward database; a mail writer and processor part writing an ad-lottery e-mail including the selected ad information and the reward information; and a mail sender and receiver part sending the ad-lottery e-mail to the selected user and receiving the acknowledgement information from the user's selection.
  • a user selection part selecting from the user database a user meeting predetermined conditions
  • an ad selection part selecting from the ad database an advertisement meeting the user's conditions
  • a reward selection part selecting the reward information from the reward database
  • a mail writer and processor part writing an ad-lottery e-mail including the selected ad information and the reward information
  • a mail sender and receiver part sending the ad-lottery e-mail to the selected user and receiving the acknowledgement information from the user's selection
  • the mail writer and processor part writes an ad- lottery e-mail including a masking for interrupting the advertisement or at least a portion of the ad information, the masking being removable by the user, and the acknowledgement information is generated when the user removes the masking.
  • the mail writer and processor part writes an ad- lottery e-mail including a reference ad in the form of puzzle, having the ad information sectioned into a plurality of cells, and a puzzle ad arranged differently from the reference ad, being arranged in order by the user, and the acknowledgement information is generated when the puzzle ad is identically arranged to the reference ad.
  • the mail writer and processor part writes an ad- lottery e-mail having a plurality of ad fields, of which at least one ad field displays a different ad from the others, and the acknowledgement information is generated when the user selects the different ad.
  • the mail writer and processor part writes an ad- lottery e-mail including at least one of quiz, game or questionnaire, and the acknowledgement information is generated when the user correctly answers the quiz, acquires the predetermined scores over, or participates in the questionnaire.
  • Fig. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing a system for issuing an advertisement-lottery e-mail according to the present invention
  • Fig. 2a through 2d are block diagrams, each of which schematically shows an advertisement-lottery e-mail issued by a server for issuing the ad-lottery e-mail of Fig. 1;
  • Fig. 3 is a flow chart showing a delivery process of the ad-lottery e-mail according to the system for issuing the ad-lottery e-mail of Fig. 1.
  • FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing a system for issuing an advertisement-lottery e-mail according to the present invention.
  • a system for issuing an advertisement-lottery electronic mail is comprised of a server 1 for writing an e-mail including an ad-lottery, and a user computer 4 accessed to a network so as to receive the e-mail issued by the server 1.
  • a personal computer (PC) , a personal digital assistant (PDA), a cellular phone, etc. can be used as communication means as long as they are able to access an external network.
  • a user will be referred to as "an addressee” because the user refers to an addressee who receives the ad-lottery e-mail, and "user database” as “addressee database.”
  • the server 1 is comprised of a data storage part 2 for storing a variety of data therein, and an e-mail issuing part 10 for issuing an ad-lottery e-mail, using the data stored in the data storage part 2.
  • the data storage part 2 includes an addressee database 3 storing therein information about a user registered with the server 1 through a predetermined process for registration, an advertisement database 5 storing therein information about at least one advertisement, and a reward database 7 storing therein information about reward to be given to an addressee whose lottery is drawn as having a winning number when recognizing the advertisement.
  • the e-mail issuing part 10 includes an addressee selection part 13 for selecting an addressee meeting predetermined requirements, from the addressee database 3, an advertisement selection part 15 for selecting an advertisement from the advertisement database 5, a reward selection part 17 for selecting a reward item to be awarded for recognizing the ad from the reward database 7, a mail writer and processor part 11 for writing an ad- lottery e-mail including an advertisement selected depending upon a predetermined type of ad and the reward item therefor, and adaptively processing any necessary information after receiving an acknowledgement message acknowledging that the addressee has recognized the advertisement when he/she received the e-mail, a mail sender and receiver part 19 for sending the written ad- lottery e-mail to a selected addressee computer 4 and receiving an acknowledgement message from the addressee computer 4, a drawing result storage part 9 for storing therein a drawing result with respect to the addressee of the ad-lottery e-mail, along with information about the addressee of the ad-lottery e-
  • the addressee database 3 stores therein information about an addressee entered when he/she accesses the server 1 through the network and gains a membership through a predetermined process for registration.
  • the addressee information may generally include personal information about an e-mail address, age, occupation, family, birthday, hobby, place of residence, educational background, postal address, bank account number, etc.
  • the postal address and bank account number are required for providing the addressee with a predetermined reward, that is, delivering a prize to the addressee or remit a reward to the addressee's bank account when the addressee recognizes the advertisement.
  • the addressee information asked for registration as a member may be changed according to a request from an advertiser who wishes to issue an advertisement to the addressee.
  • the advertisement database 5 stores therein information about at least one advertisement supplied from the advertiser.
  • the advertisement may be produced in still pictures or moving pictures, or otherwise simply in text. Sound can be inserted into the advertisement whether it is made in still or moving pictures, or in text.
  • the reward database 7 stores therein reward items to be offered to the addressee, depending upon his/her recognition of the advertisement.
  • Kind and amount of the reward items are categorized according to the advertisement or the advertiser, and are then stored in the reward database 7.
  • the reward items stored in the reward database 7 may include gift certificate, prize, cyber money, cash, etc. Besides, any things, if they can be awarded, can be included as the reward items .
  • the addressee selection part 13 selects an addressee from the addressee database 3 according to predetermined requirements set up at the advertiser's request. For example, if an advertiser is a sports drink maker, he/she wants an advertisement to be targeted for the youth of teens to twenties or athletes who are expected to be major consumers of sports drinks. Accordingly, the advertiser may set those addressees to be in the ages of teens to twenties or to have occupations or hobbies in the area of sports. The addressee selection part 13 selects the addressees meeting such requirements from the addressee database 3, and extracts the addressees' e-mail addresses. The ad selection part 15 selects an advertisement to be supplied to the addressee.
  • the ad selection part 15 and the addressee selection part 13 are operated in cooperation with each other when the ad is selected and the addressee is selected.
  • an advertisement has been selected in advance by the ad selection part 15
  • an addressee is selected according to the request from an advertiser for an advertisement selected by the addressee selection part 13.
  • an advertisement appropriate for the addressee information is selected from the ad selection part 15.
  • the reward selection part 17 extracts a reward item to be supplied by the advertiser for the ad selected by the ad selection part 15, among the reward items stored in the reward database 7.
  • the drawing result storage part 9 stores therein a lottery number of each ad-lottery e-mail, an e-mail address of the addressee receiving the ad-lottery e-mail, a reward item corresponding thereto and a drawing result.
  • the drawing result storage part 9 stores an e-mail address of the addressee drawn to win among addressees having recognized the advertisement and the relevant reward item.
  • the mail writer and processor part 11 writes an ad- lottery e-mail enclosing an advertisement selected from the ad selection part 15 and a reward item selected from the reward selection part 17.
  • Each ad-lottery e-mail includes its proper lottery number.
  • the mail writer and processor part 11 selects an addressee at random among the addressees selected by the addressee selection part 13 and enters an e-mail address of the addressee into each ad- lottery e-mail.
  • the mail writer and processor part 11 attaches an acknowledgement message to the ad-lottery e- mail.
  • the acknowledgement message is returned to the server 1 when the addressee recognizes the advertisement.
  • the acknowledgement message may be in any form of mail or message, etc.
  • the acknowledgement message is sufficient as long as it can notify the lottery number of the ad- lottery e-mail and the e-mail address of the addressee.
  • the mail writer and processor part 11 compares the information included in the acknowledgement message with the contents stored in the drawing result storage part 9 to confirm whether the addressee who returns the acknowledgement message won the prize.
  • the mail writer and processor part 11 analyzes the addressees who have returned the acknowledgement messages and the analysis result is used for personal marketing thereof.
  • the mail sender and receiver part 19 sends the written ad-lottery e-mail to the addressees which have been selected beforehand through the network and receives the acknowledgement message returned when the addressees recognize the advertisement.
  • the network typically stands for Internet, but may include any communication networks such as a local area network (LAN) , a wide area network (WAN) , a public switched telephone network (PSTN) , a public switched digital network (PSDN), a cable TV network, a wireless communication network, etc. as long as they are available for communication.
  • an application program allowing the addressee to acknowledge an ad-lottery e-mail from the server 1 and a viewer program allowing the addressee to recognize the advertisement.
  • an operator of the server 1 transmits a viewer program by attaching it to the ad-lottery e-mail so that the addressee can open the e-mail to read out, or otherwise the operator attaches to the e-mail a domain of the website which provides a viewer program by hyperlink so that the addressee clicks the hyperlink to directly download the viewer program.
  • the ad-lottery e-mail issued by the server 1 is, as illustrated in Fig.
  • the header 23 includes a variety of fields for entering information about addressee, sender, subject, lottery number, reward item and lottery type, etc. and the body has an advertisement field 21 in which an ad is displayed.
  • the sender is identified as an advertiser or an operator of the server 1 for issuing an ad-lottery, and the subject field is written to advise the addressee that he/she will be rewarded for recognizing the ad.
  • the lottery type field identifies whether the ad-lottery is a general lottery or an instant lottery. Depending upon whether the drawing result can be confirmed promptly, the lotteries are classified into a general lottery and an instant lottery.
  • ad- lotteries can singularly or in plural be displayed in a various manner according to ad display forms .
  • the drawing result is displayed if an addressee recognizes the ad.
  • the lottery date will be advised therein along with information as to whether the drawing result will be notified .
  • Reward items to be given to the addressee and the payment method of reward items are listed in the reward item field when his/her lottery is drawn.
  • a certificate of gift is given as a reward item
  • the gift certificate is available for printout so as to be readily used in a commercial manner, or otherwise, it can be delivered to the addressee via mail.
  • an article is given as a reward item, it is directly delivered to the addressee; and for this purpose, a process of confirming his/her address is performed.
  • cyber money or cash is given as a reward item, it is transferred to his/her cyber account or actual bank account and deposited therein, and then the deposit is reported to the addressee.
  • cyber money In the case of cyber money, if the deposited cyber money exceeds a predetermined amount of money, it can be exchanged with cash or a certificate of gift at the addressee' s choice, or otherwise, it can be used in a web site available for electronic commerce, which is in connection with the server 1.
  • FIG. 2(a) illustrates a scratch type advertisement in the ad field 21.
  • the ad field 21 of the ad-lottery e- mail 20 is also provided with a masking through which the addressee can have an option to interrupt the advertisement. With this masking, the ad is not shown in the course of transmitting the ad-lottery e-mail. When the addressee drags a mouse, the masking is eliminated and the advertisement is revealed.
  • an acknowledgement message attached to the ad-lottery e-mail is transmitted to the server having issued the ad-lottery.
  • the controller 12 provides the addressee computer 4 with information applicable for a type of the lottery.
  • the controller 12 compares the lottery number of the ad-lottery e-mail stored in the drawing result storage part 9 and the lottery number included in the acknowledgement message to identify the drawing result, and transmits an e-mail notifying the winning to the addressee computer 4. Then, a window indicating the winning is prompted in the addressee computer 4.
  • the controller 12 provides a guide window indicating the drawing date and notification of the result when the addressee's lottery is won.
  • the win window and the guide window are attached to the ad- lottery e-mail 20 to be sent to the addressee computer 4 together. If the acknowledgement message is returned from the addressee computer 4, the controller 12 provides only the contents in the win window and the guide window to the addressee computer 4.
  • Fig. 2(b) illustrates an ad-lottery e-mail 30 providing a puzzle type advertisement.
  • the ad-lottery e- mail 30 is provided with a pair of ad fields 31, each of which is sectioned into a variety of cells.
  • the one of the ad fields 31 is a reference ad 32 to which a user refers, and the other is a puzzle ad 33 in which the reference ad 32 is disarranged.
  • the user rearranges the puzzle ad 33 to make it identical to the reference ad 32 in arrangement, referring to the reference ad 32. If the rearrangement of the puzzle ad 33 is successfully completed, an acknowledgement message is automatically forwarded to the server 1 of issuing the ad-lottery. Then, a win window or a guide window is prompted to the addressee computer 4 according to the lottery type as described above.
  • Fig. 2(c) shows an ad-lottery e-mail 40 providing a picture puzzle type advertisement in which wrong pictures are found out.
  • the ad-lottery e-mail 40 is provided with a plurality of ad fields 41.
  • One of the ads displayed in each ad field includes a different portion from the other ads.
  • the three ads of the illustrated ads show "LT Information” but the one shows "LD Information.” If an addressee chooses "D" in the ad field 41 showing "LD Information, " an acknowledgement message is automatically transmitted to the server 1 having issued the ad-lottery. Then, a win window or a guide window is prompted to the addressee computer 4 according to the lottery type as described above.
  • a compensation may be given to the addressee according to the identity of the ads.
  • the identity of the ads may be determined when the ads displayed in each of the ad fields 41 include the same pictures, the advertisers thereof are of the same, or the targets of the ads are of the same.
  • Fig. 2(d) illustrates an ad-lottery e-mail 50 providing a questionnaire type advertisement.
  • the ad field 51 displays a questionnaire having a plurality of questions in connection with an advertisement, instead of displaying the ad.
  • the controller 12 provides the addressee with the reward as stored in the reward item field or with the reward after drawing among the addressees .
  • the advertisements are formed in text.
  • the advertisements may be formed in moving pictures or still pictures.
  • the ad may include a quiz or a game. If the addressee solves the quiz or wins the game, a reward may be provided to him/her.
  • the quiz and the game included in the ad may contain the contents pertaining to the ad.
  • the addressee selection part 13 selects addressees meeting the conditions requested by an advertiser from the addressee database 3 and extracts the name list of the addressees and the e-mail addresses thereof (S10) .
  • the ad selection part 15 selects an ad meeting the conditions of the selected addressees from the ad database 5 (S20) .
  • the ad may first be selected from the ad database 5 and may then select addressees appropriate for the ad from the addressee database 3. If the ad is selected, the reward selection part 17 extracts a reward item to be supplied from the advertiser from the reward database 7 (S30) .
  • the mail writer and processor part 11 If the addressee, the ad and the reward item are selected, the mail writer and processor part 11 writes an ad-lottery e-mail including an ad and a reward item therefor, and transmits it to the mail sender and receiver part 19 (S40) .
  • the mail sender and receiver part 19 transmits the written ad-lottery e-mail to the selected addressees through the network (S50) .
  • the ad-lottery e-mail transmitted to the addressee is stored in a predetermined mail-receiving box through an application program installed in the addressee computer.
  • the mail-receiving box provided by the application program generally includes a list indicating the subjects of the ad-lottery e-mails and the senders' names.
  • the addressee selects an ad-lottery e-mail received and stored in the mail-receiving box to open it. Then, the e-mail is prompted in the addressee computer 4 as shown in Figs. 2(a) through 2(d).
  • an ad-lottery e-mail 20 in an instant lottery type including an advertisement and a reward item therefor, is transmitted to an addressee, he/she removes the masking for mail interruption by means of a mouse, etc.
  • an acknowledgement message is dispatched to the server 1 having issued the ad-lottery.
  • the controller 12 transmits the winning lottery and the drawing according to the lottery type to the addressee computer 4 so as to allow a win window or a guide window to be prompted.
  • an acknowledgement message is transmitted to the server 11 if the addressee succeeds in arranging the puzzle ad 33 in place by moving each cell to be identically displaced to the reference ad 32.
  • an acknowledgement message is sent to the server 1 if the addressee selects an ad having a different portion from the other ads in the ad field 41.
  • an acknowledgement message is forwarded to the server 1 if the addressee answers all the questions therein and clicks a button 53 for participation.
  • an acknowledgement message is received by the server 1 (S60 & S70) .
  • the controller 12 compares the number of the instant lottery stored in the drawing result storage part 9 with the number of the lottery returned from the addressee to ascertain whether he/she wins, and then the drawing result is sent to the addressee computer 4. A win window displaying the drawing result is prompted in the addressee computer 4.
  • the controller 12 stores in the drawing result storage part 9 the e-mail address of the addressee returning the acknowledgement message and the reward item, and at the same time transmits preliminary information on the drawing date and a notification of the drawing result to the addressee computer 4.
  • a guide window is prompted in the addressee computer 4 and the controller 12 draws the general lottery whose acknowledgement message is returned on the predetermined date and notifies the addressee of the drawing result via mail or text message. If the addressee wins, the controller 12 performs the reward for the addressee according to the reward item stored in the drawing result storage part 9 (S80) .
  • the mail writer and processor part 11 analyzes the mails whose acknowledgements are received to understand which addressees have recognized the advertisements. The analysis result is used for marketing.
  • the ad-lottery e-mail issuing system is capable of selecting an addressee satisfying predetermined conditions among the addressees previously registered, selects an advertisement appropriate for the selected addressees and transmits to the addressee the ad-lottery e-mail attaching the selected advertisement. Only when a lottery type ad is provided and the addressee recognizes the ad, the drawing is performed and the won addressee is provided with the reward item. Since the ad and the reward item are provided to an addressee meeting predetermined conditions of the advertisement, target marketing is available. In addition, the addressees are analyzed for correct marketing based on the acknowledgement messages returned, thereby enhancing the marketing effect.

Abstract

Disclosed is an advertising method using an electronic mail, comprising the steps of registering information about a user in access through a network; transmitting to the user an ad-lottery electronic mail containing at least one ad information and predetermined reward information; receiving from the user an acknowledgement information about whether the user has recognized the ad; and awarding to the user a reward predetermined for the reward information based on the acknowledgement information. With this configuration, since an advertisement-lottery is sent in the form of e-mail to an addressee who is highly liable to be invited by the ad, the advertising effect can be maximized.

Description

ELECTRONIC MAIL SYSTEM GENERATING ADVERTISEMENT AND LOTTERY AND ADVERTISING METHOD USING THE SAME
Technical Field
The present invention relates to a system for issuing an electronic mail (hereinafter referred to as "e- mail") including an advertisement and a lottery
(hereinafter referred to as "advertisement-lottery" or "ad-lottery" by combination) , and an advertising method using the same, and more particularly, to a system for issuing an ad-lottery e-mail, and an advertising method using the same, in which an advertisement and a lottery are provided to a user by attachment to the e-mail informing him/her compensation for recognition of the advertisement, thereby enhancing an advertising effect.
Background Art
An electronic mail is generally comprised of a message to be sent by a user possessing an e-mail address to another user having a different e-mail address over the network. For the first time, the e-mail has been used for exchanging person-to-person correspondences. However, the e-mail has greatly changed and developed in view of function and concept. Recently, it has been in the highlight of users as a means for communication, for example, a marketing solution between a company and a company or a company and a personal consumer, etc. In the past, an e-mail including a message written simply in text was able to be electronically sent. Currently, the message in the form of multi-media such as image, sound, moving pictures, etc. can be transmitted by means of the e-mail, with an aid of Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension (MIME) .
Japanese Patent First Publication No. 10-320314 laid open on December 4, 1998 titled "Electronic mail advertisement inserting device and recording medium recorded with a program for executing electronic mail advertisement inserting processing" discloses a device for automatically inserting an advertisement into an electronic mail when a user transmits or receives the e- mail. The device comprises an ad storage part for storing advertisements therein, an ad selection part for selecting an advertisement to be inserted into an e-mail from the ad storage part, and a determiner part for determining whether to insert the selected ad into the e-mail. The disclosed invention is aimed at solving the discomfort caused by insertion of all the ads into each of the e- mails by the sender himself/herself . However, repeated receipt of e-mails enclosing simply an advertisement as disclosed in the cited reference would lower an addressee' s interests in viewing or reading the e-mails, and the addressee would less frequently respond to or attend the e-mails as time passes by. Consequently, the e-mail including an advertisement but receiving no attendance from the addressee is of no avail in view of advertisement.
If an addressee uses a server for issuing an advertisement e-mail, providing a function of rejecting the receipt of an e-mail sent from a specified address, he/she is able to reject the advertisement e-mail from being received if he or she does not want to read or see it.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a system for issuing an ad-lottery e-mail and an advertising method using the same, maximizing an advertising effect.
This and other objects of the present invention may be accomplished by the provision of an advertising method using an electronic mail, comprising the steps of registering information about a user in access through a network; transmitting to the user an ad-lottery electronic mail containing at least one ad information and predetermined reward information; receiving from the user an acknowledgement information about whether the user has recognized the ad; and awarding to the user a reward predetermined for the reward information based on the acknowledgement information.
Preferably, the step of transmitting the ad-lottery e-mail comprises transmitting the ad-lottery e-mail to the user selected among the registered users, who meets the predetermined conditions.
The ad-lottery e-mail includes the ad information and a masking for interrupting at least one portion of the ad information, which can be removed by the user, and the acknowledgement information is generated when the masking is removed by the user.
The ad-lottery e-mail includes a plurality of ad fields displaying the ad information, of which at least one ad field has a different ad information from the others, and the acknowledgement information is generated when the user selects the ad field having the different ad information.
The ad-lottery e-mail includes a reference ad of puzzle type having the ad sectioned into a plurality of cells and a puzzle ad arranged differently from the reference ad, which can be arranged in order by the user, and the acknowledgement information is generated when the puzzle ad is arranged by the user so as to be identical to the reference ad.
The ad-lottery e-mail includes at least one of quiz, game and questionnaire, all of which include contents pertaining to the ad, and the acknowledgement information is generated when the user correctly answers the quiz, acquires the predetermined score over or participates in answering the questionnaire.
According to another aspect of the present invention, this and other objects of the present invention may also be accomplished by the provision of ad-lottery e-mail issuing system having a server connected to a network and a plurality of user computers, wherein the server comprises a user database storing information about registered users therein; an ad database storing at least one ad information therein; a reward database storing predetermined reward information therein; and a controller controlling the ad-lottery e-mail including the ad information selected from the ad database and the reward information extracted from the reward database to be transmitted to the user and the reward according to the reward information to be awarded to the user if the acknowledgement information is received, wherein the user computer sends the acknowledgement message to the controller.
Preferably, the server further includes a user selection part selecting from the user database a user meeting predetermined conditions; an ad selection part selecting from the ad database an advertisement meeting the user's conditions; a reward selection part selecting the reward information from the reward database; a mail writer and processor part writing an ad-lottery e-mail including the selected ad information and the reward information; and a mail sender and receiver part sending the ad-lottery e-mail to the selected user and receiving the acknowledgement information from the user's selection. The mail writer and processor part writes an ad- lottery e-mail including a masking for interrupting the advertisement or at least a portion of the ad information, the masking being removable by the user, and the acknowledgement information is generated when the user removes the masking.
The mail writer and processor part writes an ad- lottery e-mail including a reference ad in the form of puzzle, having the ad information sectioned into a plurality of cells, and a puzzle ad arranged differently from the reference ad, being arranged in order by the user, and the acknowledgement information is generated when the puzzle ad is identically arranged to the reference ad.
The mail writer and processor part writes an ad- lottery e-mail having a plurality of ad fields, of which at least one ad field displays a different ad from the others, and the acknowledgement information is generated when the user selects the different ad.
The mail writer and processor part writes an ad- lottery e-mail including at least one of quiz, game or questionnaire, and the acknowledgement information is generated when the user correctly answers the quiz, acquires the predetermined scores over, or participates in the questionnaire.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
The present invention will be better understood and its various objects and advantages will be more fully appreciated from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing a system for issuing an advertisement-lottery e-mail according to the present invention;
Fig. 2a through 2d are block diagrams, each of which schematically shows an advertisement-lottery e-mail issued by a server for issuing the ad-lottery e-mail of Fig. 1; and
Fig. 3 is a flow chart showing a delivery process of the ad-lottery e-mail according to the system for issuing the ad-lottery e-mail of Fig. 1.
MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing a system for issuing an advertisement-lottery e-mail according to the present invention.
A system for issuing an advertisement-lottery electronic mail according to the present invention is comprised of a server 1 for writing an e-mail including an ad-lottery, and a user computer 4 accessed to a network so as to receive the e-mail issued by the server 1.
A personal computer (PC) , a personal digital assistant (PDA), a cellular phone, etc. can be used as communication means as long as they are able to access an external network. Hereinafter, a user will be referred to as "an addressee" because the user refers to an addressee who receives the ad-lottery e-mail, and "user database" as "addressee database." The server 1 is comprised of a data storage part 2 for storing a variety of data therein, and an e-mail issuing part 10 for issuing an ad-lottery e-mail, using the data stored in the data storage part 2. The data storage part 2 includes an addressee database 3 storing therein information about a user registered with the server 1 through a predetermined process for registration, an advertisement database 5 storing therein information about at least one advertisement, and a reward database 7 storing therein information about reward to be given to an addressee whose lottery is drawn as having a winning number when recognizing the advertisement.
The e-mail issuing part 10 includes an addressee selection part 13 for selecting an addressee meeting predetermined requirements, from the addressee database 3, an advertisement selection part 15 for selecting an advertisement from the advertisement database 5, a reward selection part 17 for selecting a reward item to be awarded for recognizing the ad from the reward database 7, a mail writer and processor part 11 for writing an ad- lottery e-mail including an advertisement selected depending upon a predetermined type of ad and the reward item therefor, and adaptively processing any necessary information after receiving an acknowledgement message acknowledging that the addressee has recognized the advertisement when he/she received the e-mail, a mail sender and receiver part 19 for sending the written ad- lottery e-mail to a selected addressee computer 4 and receiving an acknowledgement message from the addressee computer 4, a drawing result storage part 9 for storing therein a drawing result with respect to the addressee of the ad-lottery e-mail, along with information about the addressee of the ad-lottery e-mail written by the mail writer and processor part 11 and a reward information thereof, and a controller part 12 for controlling operations of the selection parts 13, 15 and 17, the mail writer and processor part 11, the mail sender and receiver part 19 and the drawing result storage part 9. The addressee database 3 stores therein information about an addressee entered when he/she accesses the server 1 through the network and gains a membership through a predetermined process for registration. The addressee information may generally include personal information about an e-mail address, age, occupation, family, birthday, hobby, place of residence, educational background, postal address, bank account number, etc. The postal address and bank account number are required for providing the addressee with a predetermined reward, that is, delivering a prize to the addressee or remit a reward to the addressee's bank account when the addressee recognizes the advertisement. The addressee information asked for registration as a member may be changed according to a request from an advertiser who wishes to issue an advertisement to the addressee.
The advertisement database 5 stores therein information about at least one advertisement supplied from the advertiser. The advertisement may be produced in still pictures or moving pictures, or otherwise simply in text. Sound can be inserted into the advertisement whether it is made in still or moving pictures, or in text.
The reward database 7 stores therein reward items to be offered to the addressee, depending upon his/her recognition of the advertisement. Kind and amount of the reward items are categorized according to the advertisement or the advertiser, and are then stored in the reward database 7. To specify, the reward items stored in the reward database 7 may include gift certificate, prize, cyber money, cash, etc. Besides, any things, if they can be awarded, can be included as the reward items .
The addressee selection part 13 selects an addressee from the addressee database 3 according to predetermined requirements set up at the advertiser's request. For example, if an advertiser is a sports drink maker, he/she wants an advertisement to be targeted for the youth of teens to twenties or athletes who are expected to be major consumers of sports drinks. Accordingly, the advertiser may set those addressees to be in the ages of teens to twenties or to have occupations or hobbies in the area of sports. The addressee selection part 13 selects the addressees meeting such requirements from the addressee database 3, and extracts the addressees' e-mail addresses. The ad selection part 15 selects an advertisement to be supplied to the addressee. In fact, the ad selection part 15 and the addressee selection part 13 are operated in cooperation with each other when the ad is selected and the addressee is selected. In a word, where an advertisement has been selected in advance by the ad selection part 15, an addressee is selected according to the request from an advertiser for an advertisement selected by the addressee selection part 13. Where the addressee has been selected in advance, an advertisement appropriate for the addressee information is selected from the ad selection part 15.
The reward selection part 17 extracts a reward item to be supplied by the advertiser for the ad selected by the ad selection part 15, among the reward items stored in the reward database 7. The drawing result storage part 9 stores therein a lottery number of each ad-lottery e-mail, an e-mail address of the addressee receiving the ad-lottery e-mail, a reward item corresponding thereto and a drawing result. The drawing result storage part 9 stores an e-mail address of the addressee drawn to win among addressees having recognized the advertisement and the relevant reward item. The mail writer and processor part 11 writes an ad- lottery e-mail enclosing an advertisement selected from the ad selection part 15 and a reward item selected from the reward selection part 17. Each ad-lottery e-mail includes its proper lottery number. The mail writer and processor part 11 selects an addressee at random among the addressees selected by the addressee selection part 13 and enters an e-mail address of the addressee into each ad- lottery e-mail. The mail writer and processor part 11 attaches an acknowledgement message to the ad-lottery e- mail. The acknowledgement message is returned to the server 1 when the addressee recognizes the advertisement. The acknowledgement message may be in any form of mail or message, etc. The acknowledgement message is sufficient as long as it can notify the lottery number of the ad- lottery e-mail and the e-mail address of the addressee. If the acknowledgement message is returned, the mail writer and processor part 11 compares the information included in the acknowledgement message with the contents stored in the drawing result storage part 9 to confirm whether the addressee who returns the acknowledgement message won the prize. The mail writer and processor part 11 analyzes the addressees who have returned the acknowledgement messages and the analysis result is used for personal marketing thereof.
The mail sender and receiver part 19 sends the written ad-lottery e-mail to the addressees which have been selected beforehand through the network and receives the acknowledgement message returned when the addressees recognize the advertisement. The network typically stands for Internet, but may include any communication networks such as a local area network (LAN) , a wide area network (WAN) , a public switched telephone network (PSTN) , a public switched digital network (PSDN), a cable TV network, a wireless communication network, etc. as long as they are available for communication.
To an addressee computer 4 are installed an application program allowing the addressee to acknowledge an ad-lottery e-mail from the server 1 and a viewer program allowing the addressee to recognize the advertisement. Where the ad is provided in a new form of file, an operator of the server 1 transmits a viewer program by attaching it to the ad-lottery e-mail so that the addressee can open the e-mail to read out, or otherwise the operator attaches to the e-mail a domain of the website which provides a viewer program by hyperlink so that the addressee clicks the hyperlink to directly download the viewer program. The ad-lottery e-mail issued by the server 1 is, as illustrated in Fig. 2a, comprised of a header 23 and a body. The header 23 includes a variety of fields for entering information about addressee, sender, subject, lottery number, reward item and lottery type, etc. and the body has an advertisement field 21 in which an ad is displayed. The sender is identified as an advertiser or an operator of the server 1 for issuing an ad-lottery, and the subject field is written to advise the addressee that he/she will be rewarded for recognizing the ad. The lottery type field identifies whether the ad-lottery is a general lottery or an instant lottery. Depending upon whether the drawing result can be confirmed promptly, the lotteries are classified into a general lottery and an instant lottery. In the advertisement field 21 ad- lotteries can singularly or in plural be displayed in a various manner according to ad display forms . In the case of instant lotteries, the drawing result is displayed if an addressee recognizes the ad. In the case of general lotteries, the lottery date will be advised therein along with information as to whether the drawing result will be notified .
Reward items to be given to the addressee and the payment method of reward items are listed in the reward item field when his/her lottery is drawn. Where a certificate of gift is given as a reward item, the gift certificate is available for printout so as to be readily used in a commercial manner, or otherwise, it can be delivered to the addressee via mail. Where an article is given as a reward item, it is directly delivered to the addressee; and for this purpose, a process of confirming his/her address is performed. Where cyber money or cash is given as a reward item, it is transferred to his/her cyber account or actual bank account and deposited therein, and then the deposit is reported to the addressee. In the case of cyber money, if the deposited cyber money exceeds a predetermined amount of money, it can be exchanged with cash or a certificate of gift at the addressee' s choice, or otherwise, it can be used in a web site available for electronic commerce, which is in connection with the server 1.
A variety of embodiments displaying advertisements in the ad field of the ad-lottery e-mail will be described in more detail with reference to Figs. 2(a) through 2(d). Fig. 2(a) illustrates a scratch type advertisement in the ad field 21. The ad field 21 of the ad-lottery e- mail 20 is also provided with a masking through which the addressee can have an option to interrupt the advertisement. With this masking, the ad is not shown in the course of transmitting the ad-lottery e-mail. When the addressee drags a mouse, the masking is eliminated and the advertisement is revealed. After the advertisement is completely exposed, an acknowledgement message attached to the ad-lottery e-mail is transmitted to the server having issued the ad-lottery. After then, the controller 12 provides the addressee computer 4 with information applicable for a type of the lottery. In the case of instant lottery, the controller 12 compares the lottery number of the ad-lottery e-mail stored in the drawing result storage part 9 and the lottery number included in the acknowledgement message to identify the drawing result, and transmits an e-mail notifying the winning to the addressee computer 4. Then, a window indicating the winning is prompted in the addressee computer 4. In the case of general lottery, the controller 12 provides a guide window indicating the drawing date and notification of the result when the addressee's lottery is won. The win window and the guide window are attached to the ad- lottery e-mail 20 to be sent to the addressee computer 4 together. If the acknowledgement message is returned from the addressee computer 4, the controller 12 provides only the contents in the win window and the guide window to the addressee computer 4.
Fig. 2(b) illustrates an ad-lottery e-mail 30 providing a puzzle type advertisement. The ad-lottery e- mail 30 is provided with a pair of ad fields 31, each of which is sectioned into a variety of cells. The one of the ad fields 31 is a reference ad 32 to which a user refers, and the other is a puzzle ad 33 in which the reference ad 32 is disarranged. The user rearranges the puzzle ad 33 to make it identical to the reference ad 32 in arrangement, referring to the reference ad 32. If the rearrangement of the puzzle ad 33 is successfully completed, an acknowledgement message is automatically forwarded to the server 1 of issuing the ad-lottery. Then, a win window or a guide window is prompted to the addressee computer 4 according to the lottery type as described above.
Fig. 2(c) shows an ad-lottery e-mail 40 providing a picture puzzle type advertisement in which wrong pictures are found out. The ad-lottery e-mail 40 is provided with a plurality of ad fields 41. One of the ads displayed in each ad field includes a different portion from the other ads. For example, the three ads of the illustrated ads show "LT Information" but the one shows "LD Information." If an addressee chooses "D" in the ad field 41 showing "LD Information, " an acknowledgement message is automatically transmitted to the server 1 having issued the ad-lottery. Then, a win window or a guide window is prompted to the addressee computer 4 according to the lottery type as described above.
Where a plurality of ad fields 41 are formed as illustrated in Fig. 2(c), a compensation may be given to the addressee according to the identity of the ads. The identity of the ads may be determined when the ads displayed in each of the ad fields 41 include the same pictures, the advertisers thereof are of the same, or the targets of the ads are of the same.
Fig. 2(d) illustrates an ad-lottery e-mail 50 providing a questionnaire type advertisement. As illustrated, the ad field 51 displays a questionnaire having a plurality of questions in connection with an advertisement, instead of displaying the ad. When the addressee chooses answers appropriate for the questions and clicks a button 53 for participation, the answers by the addressee are returned to the server 1, along with an acknowledgement message, informing that the addressee has participated in the questionnaire. Where the addressee has answered all the questions, the controller 12 provides the addressee with the reward as stored in the reward item field or with the reward after drawing among the addressees .
It has been described with reference to Figs. 2(a) to 2(d) that the advertisements are formed in text. However, the advertisements may be formed in moving pictures or still pictures.
In addition, the ad may include a quiz or a game. If the addressee solves the quiz or wins the game, a reward may be provided to him/her. Preferably, the quiz and the game included in the ad may contain the contents pertaining to the ad.
A process of transmitting the ad-lottery e-mail with one of the above-described configurations will be described with reference to Fig. 3.
The addressee selection part 13 selects addressees meeting the conditions requested by an advertiser from the addressee database 3 and extracts the name list of the addressees and the e-mail addresses thereof (S10) . The ad selection part 15 selects an ad meeting the conditions of the selected addressees from the ad database 5 (S20) . The ad may first be selected from the ad database 5 and may then select addressees appropriate for the ad from the addressee database 3. If the ad is selected, the reward selection part 17 extracts a reward item to be supplied from the advertiser from the reward database 7 (S30) . If the addressee, the ad and the reward item are selected, the mail writer and processor part 11 writes an ad-lottery e-mail including an ad and a reward item therefor, and transmits it to the mail sender and receiver part 19 (S40) . The mail sender and receiver part 19 transmits the written ad-lottery e-mail to the selected addressees through the network (S50) .
The ad-lottery e-mail transmitted to the addressee is stored in a predetermined mail-receiving box through an application program installed in the addressee computer. The mail-receiving box provided by the application program generally includes a list indicating the subjects of the ad-lottery e-mails and the senders' names.
The addressee selects an ad-lottery e-mail received and stored in the mail-receiving box to open it. Then, the e-mail is prompted in the addressee computer 4 as shown in Figs. 2(a) through 2(d).
As shown in Fig. 2(a), if an ad-lottery e-mail 20 in an instant lottery type, including an advertisement and a reward item therefor, is transmitted to an addressee, he/she removes the masking for mail interruption by means of a mouse, etc. When the advertisement veiled with the interruption masking is completely revealed, an acknowledgement message is dispatched to the server 1 having issued the ad-lottery. The controller 12 transmits the winning lottery and the drawing according to the lottery type to the addressee computer 4 so as to allow a win window or a guide window to be prompted.
As shown in Fig. 2(b), where an ad-lottery e-mail 30 attaching a puzzle type ad is transmitted to the addressee, an acknowledgement message is transmitted to the server 11 if the addressee succeeds in arranging the puzzle ad 33 in place by moving each cell to be identically displaced to the reference ad 32.
As shown in Fig. 2(c), where an ad-lottery e-mail 40 attaching a picture puzzle type ad is transmitted to the addressee, an acknowledgement message is sent to the server 1 if the addressee selects an ad having a different portion from the other ads in the ad field 41.
As shown in Fig. 2(d), where an ad-lottery e-mail 50 attaching a questionnaire type ad is sent to the addressee, an acknowledgement message is forwarded to the server 1 if the addressee answers all the questions therein and clicks a button 53 for participation.
As described above, if the addressee recognizes an advertisement attached to an .e-mail, an acknowledgement message is received by the server 1 (S60 & S70) . In the case of instant lottery, the controller 12 compares the number of the instant lottery stored in the drawing result storage part 9 with the number of the lottery returned from the addressee to ascertain whether he/she wins, and then the drawing result is sent to the addressee computer 4. A win window displaying the drawing result is prompted in the addressee computer 4. In the case of general lottery, the controller 12 stores in the drawing result storage part 9 the e-mail address of the addressee returning the acknowledgement message and the reward item, and at the same time transmits preliminary information on the drawing date and a notification of the drawing result to the addressee computer 4. Subsequently, a guide window is prompted in the addressee computer 4 and the controller 12 draws the general lottery whose acknowledgement message is returned on the predetermined date and notifies the addressee of the drawing result via mail or text message. If the addressee wins, the controller 12 performs the reward for the addressee according to the reward item stored in the drawing result storage part 9 (S80) .
The mail writer and processor part 11 analyzes the mails whose acknowledgements are received to understand which addressees have recognized the advertisements. The analysis result is used for marketing.
The ad-lottery e-mail issuing system according to the present invention is capable of selecting an addressee satisfying predetermined conditions among the addressees previously registered, selects an advertisement appropriate for the selected addressees and transmits to the addressee the ad-lottery e-mail attaching the selected advertisement. Only when a lottery type ad is provided and the addressee recognizes the ad, the drawing is performed and the won addressee is provided with the reward item. Since the ad and the reward item are provided to an addressee meeting predetermined conditions of the advertisement, target marketing is available. In addition, the addressees are analyzed for correct marketing based on the acknowledgement messages returned, thereby enhancing the marketing effect.
Since the ad is sent in a various manner such as instant lotteries, puzzle or picture puzzle lotteries, etc, and at the same time rewards are given when the addressees recognize the advertisements, this induces the addressees' interests, to thereby maximize the advertising effect.
As described above, according to the present invention, since an advertisement is sent to an addressee who is highly liable to be invited by the ad, the advertising effect can be maximized. Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.

Claims

1. An advertising method using an electronic mail, comprising the steps of: registering information about a user in access through a network; transmitting to the user an ad-lottery electronic mail containing at least one ad information and predetermined reward information; receiving from the user an acknowledgement information about whether the user has recognized the ad; and awarding to the user a reward predetermined for the reward information based on the acknowledgement information.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of transmitting the ad-lottery e-mail comprises transmitting the ad-lottery e-mail to the user selected among the registered users, who meets the predetermined conditions.
3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the ad- lottery e-mail includes the ad information and a masking for interrupting at least one portion of the ad information, which can be removed by the user, and the acknowledgement information is generated when the masking is removed by the user.
4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the ad- lottery e-mail includes a plurality of ad fields displaying the ad information, of which at least one ad field has a different ad information from the others, and the acknowledgement information is generated when the user selects the ad field having the different ad information.
5. The method according to claim 2, wherein the ad- lottery e-mail includes a reference ad of puzzle type having the ad sectioned into a plurality of cells and a puzzle ad arranged differently from the reference ad, which can be arranged in order by the user, and the acknowledgement information is generated when the puzzle ad is arranged by the user to be identical to the reference ad.
6. The method according to claim 2, wherein the ad- lottery e-mail includes at least one of quiz, game and questionnaire, all of which include contents pertaining to the ad, and the acknowledgement information is generated when the user correctly answers the quiz, acquires the predetermined score over or participates in answering the questionnaire .
7. A ad-lottery e-mail issuing system having a server connected to a network and a plurality of user computers, wherein the server comprises: a user database for storing information about registered users therein; an ad database for storing at least one ad information therein; a reward database for storing predetermined reward information therein; and a controller for controlling the ad-lottery e-mail including the ad information selected from the ad database and the reward information extracted from the reward database to be transmitted to the user and the reward according to the reward information to be awarded to the user if an acknowledgement information is received, wherein the user computer sends the acknowledgement information to the controller.
8. The system according to claim 7, wherein the server further includes: a user selection part for selecting from the user database a user meeting predetermined conditions; an ad selection part for selecting from the ad database an advertisement meeting the user's conditions; a reward selection part for selecting the reward information from the reward database; a mail writer and processor part for writing an ad- lottery e-mail including the selected ad information and the reward information; and a mail sender and receiver part for sending the ad- lottery e-mail to the selected user and receiving the acknowledgement information from the user's selection.
9. The system according to claim 8, wherein the mail writer and processor part writes an ad-lottery e-mail including a masking for interrupting the advertisement or at least a portion of the ad information, the masking being removable by the user, and the acknowledgement information is generated when the user removes the masking.
10. The system according to claim 8, wherein the mail writer and processor part writes an ad-lottery e-mail including a reference ad in the form of puzzle, having the ad information sectioned into a plurality of cells and a puzzle ad arranged differently from the reference ad, being arranged in order by the user, and the acknowledgement information is generated when the puzzle ad is identically arranged to the reference ad.
11. The system according to claim 8, wherein the mail writer and processor part writes an ad-lottery e-mail having a plurality of ad fields, of which at least one ad field displays a different ad from the others, and the acknowledgement information is generated when the user selects the different ad.
12. The system according to claim 8, wherein the mail writer and processor part writes an ad-lottery e-mail including at least one of quiz, game or questionnaire, and the acknowledgement information is generated when the user correctly ans.wers the quiz, acquires the predetermined scores over, or participates in the questionnaire.
PCT/KR2001/000045 2000-01-12 2001-01-12 Electronic mail system generating advertisement and lottery and advertising method using the same WO2001052138A1 (en)

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