CZ375399A3 - Telephone communication method comprising transmission of advertising information - Google Patents

Abstract

It causes the area of telecommunication systems to call between two participants is charged to the third party. First the subscriber (1) selects the subscriber number preferably the default that leads to the third party, and then selects the subscriber number leading to the other party (2). At the call established between the first second party (1,2) is advertising. In the context of the advertising message first or second party (1,2) asked if he wishes to follow up Further contact with the advertiser

Description

A method of telephone communication comprising the transmission of advertising messages

Technical field

The present invention relates to a method in the field of telecommunications systems with interconnection of a call between two subscribers, wherein the call is charged to the first subscriber, while advertisements are transmitted during the call.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Swedish Patent Nos. 9403793-4 and 9700334-7 disclose a method for diverting and billing a telephone call where the first party's telephone is connected to the second party's telephone via a standard telephone network. The standard telephone network can be either a fixed line or a mobile phone network.

According to these patent specifications, the telephone connection is set up such that the first subscriber dials a subscriber number, for example, a prefix followed by the subscriber number leading to the third subscriber and then dials the subscriber number leading to the second subscriber. This procedure establishes a connection between the first and second subscriber, wherein the call between said first and second subscriber is charged to the third subscriber.

The dialing code or the corresponding code leads the telephone network to connect the call over the telephone network to the third party computer station connected to the network. The preselection also results in the computer station diverting the call to the second subscriber via said computer station, thereby connecting the first subscriber to the second subscriber. According to the above patent specifications, this leads the computer station to transmit φ Β Β

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For example, a hamburger restaurant network or a gas station network may transmit advertisements for sales offers or ongoing special events during a phone call.

The computer station selects the advertising message from the database in the specified order and inserts the message into an ongoing telephone call. Because the database contains information regarding the telephone numbers of the first and second subscribers, the computer station may select advertising messages that are local to the regions or circuits in which the two subscribers are located. The subscribers may also be categorized in another database, or even in the same database, where the profile of each calling subscriber who subscribes to a third subscriber is stored, as described in Swedish Patent No. 9700096-2. The computer layout may also be adapted to select and transmit advertisements that correspond to the respective profiles of the subscribers concerned.

In this case, the first participant is not charged for a call with the second participant, provided that a business or organization can promote its activities to both the first and second participant.

It is an object of the present invention to allow an advertiser to intensify the promotion of advertisements to those subscribers who are likely to be interested in the goods or services to which the advertisements relate.

This object is achieved by the present invention.

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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention relates to a method of telecommunications with interconnection of a call between two subscribers, the call being charged to a third subscriber, wherein the first subscriber telephone is connected to the second subscriber telephone via a standard telephone network, such that the first subscriber dials the subscriber number and then dials the subscriber number leading to the second subscriber to connect the call to a computer station connected to the telephone network that redirects the call to the second subscriber, thereby connecting the first subscriber to said second subscriber , where the call between the first and second subscriber is charged to the third subscriber, and when the call between the first and second subscriber is transmitted, ads belonging to a business wishing to promote their services or products and The invention is characterized in that the first or second subscriber in connection with the advertising message is sent at least one question as to whether the subscriber concerned is interested in making further contact with the advertiser, the computer station registering all codes and the like that a subscriber can enter in response to such a query, and wherein the computer station records at least a portion of the telephone number or other information identifying the subscriber concerned, at least when it registers a code indicating that further contact is desired.

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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described in more detail, in part with reference to an exemplary embodiment thereof, and in part with reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein this figure 1 is a block diagram showing an arrangement of an apparatus for carrying out the present method.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Figure 1 shows an arrangement of the invention for diverting and billing a telephone call, wherein the telephone of the first subscriber 11 is connected to the telephone of the second subscriber 2 by means of a standard telephone network, generally designated 3.

The arrangement comprises a third subscriber who owns a computer station 6 connected to the telephone network 3. The computer station 6 is adapted to intercept the dialing code dialed by the first customer followed by a subscriber number that leads to the third subscriber. The third party may have a PBX 5 to which the computer station 4 is connected. The telephone exchange 5 may be programmed to connect an incoming call to the computer station in response to receiving a prefix.

Upon receiving the prefix, the computer station 4 forwards the call via the telephone network to a subscriber number that has been dialed by the first subscriber after the aforementioned subscriber number and leads to the second subscriber, thereby connecting the first subscriber to said second subscriber.

The telephone network is also adapted to charge a telephone call between the first and second subscribers to the account of the third subscriber upon receiving said prefix. In this respect, the third party may be charged all or part of the cost of the call and the remainder may be charged • · 9 ··· · ♦ ·

- 5 99 9 vola · · «·· ·· caller. Ideally, the prefix for billing purposes is captured in the telephone exchange at the telephone station 6 belonging to the telephone network.

During a call, advertisements are transmitted simultaneously to the first and second subscribers at different time intervals.

In this regard, the computer station 4 is connected to a database 7 containing advertising material.

Database 1 or some other database contains a number of advertising messages in the form of recordings on storage media. These advertising messages are ideally categorized in the appropriate order. For example, promotional messages can be categorized by age, gender, income, and residential quarters of the publishers concerned.

According to the invention, at least one query is sent to the first and second subscribers in connection with the advertising message as to whether the subscriber is interested in further contact with the advertiser, i.e. with the company whose products or services are being promoted. When the subscriber or subscribers enter a code or a similar response to the query, the computer station 6 registers the code. The computer station shall record at least a telephone number or other information identifying the subscriber concerned, at least if it registers a code indicating that further contact is desirable.

According to one embodiment, such a code is a combination of buttons on a subscriber's telephone keypad. For example, a subscriber can press one on the keypad if the answer to the question is "yes" and a second if the answer is "no".

According to another method, the code is a voice message entered by the subscriber, i.e. a so-called voice response. For example, a participant answers "yes" or "no" to a given question. In this case, it is

- 6 · ······· · The computer station is programmed to analyze the voice message and convert it to a digitized signal.

Thus, since the ads are inserted into a two-party conversation, the advertiser may ask the subscribers concerned whether they wish to make further contact with the advertiser, for example by contacting the subscriber by phone or sending information to the subscriber.

For example, if the advertiser is a travel agent offering cheap Mediterranean tours, the actual ad may end with the following message: "If you wish to receive our catalog, press 1 on the phone keypad. If you wish to be contacted by phone, press the two on the phone keypad. "

Of course, advertising messages sent to both conversing participants can be different. In addition, advertising messages may be adapted for the subscriber concerned as described in Swedish Patent Specification No. 9700096-2, wherein the computer station is connected to a database containing information about individual subscribers.

After recording the code and telephone number of the subscriber concerned, the computer station will notify at least the telephone number to the advertiser. He can do this by sending phone numbers over the phone network that have expressed an interest in making further contact with the advertiser.

However, a computer station may also send other information in addition to a telephone number. If the database contains subscriber information, this information can be sent to the advertiser. If the computer station database contains information about the addresses of individual subscribers, the computer station may instead create a list of names and addresses and send it to the advertiser.

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- další The above-mentioned additional contact with the advertiser may consist, for example, in the fact that the advertiser sends advertising materials to the publisher concerned, or, for example, in a personal visit by a representative of the advertiser. This would be possible, for example, in the case of insurance companies' advertising of types of insurance.

There may also be cases where the subscriber concerned wishes to be contacted by telephone. In this case, the advertiser has the option to call the subscriber based on information from the computer station about those subscribers who wish to contact by telephone.

According to one preferred embodiment, if the subscriber wishes to make a telephone contact, it is also possible for the computer station to establish the subscriber's call with the advertiser after the ongoing call.

It is clear from the above that the present invention achieves the object of the invention.

The above prefix may be a third party subscriber number or some other number or code including an asterisk or a cross. Both the subscriber number and the prefix can be numeric, alphanumeric or contain only letters.

It is therefore to be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and that modifications are possible within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (5)

PATENT CLAIMS A telecommunications method with interconnecting a call between two subscribers, the call being charged to a third subscriber, wherein the first subscriber telephone is connected to the second subscriber telephone via a standard telephone network, such that the first subscriber dials a subscriber number preferably provided with a prefix said third subscriber and then dialing the subscriber number leading to the second subscriber, thereby connecting the call to a computer station (4) connected to a telephone network that redirects the call to said second subscriber in the telephone network, thereby connecting said first subscriber to said second subscriber , wherein the call between the first and second subscriber is charged to the third subscriber, and in the call between the first and second subscriber, an advertisement is transmitted where the advertiser is a business that wishes to promote its products or services, the first and second subscribers in connection with the advertisement are asked whether the subscriber wishes to make further contact with the advertiser, the subscriber in question can answer such a question by entering a code and the like which is registered by the computer station and the computer station records at least a telephone number the Subscriber, or other information identifying the Subscriber, at least if they register a code indicating that the Subscriber wishes to make further contact with the advertiser. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that after registering said code and telephone number of the subscriber concerned, the computer station (4) sends at least a telephone number to the advertiser. Φ 9 9 t »« 999 9 9 · 9 999 9 »9 * 9 9999 Method according to any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that said code is a code selected on the keypad of the subscriber's telephone. Method according to any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the code is a response given by the subscriber, i.e. a so-called voice response. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that if said code indicates that the subscriber in question wishes to telephone contact with the advertiser, the computer station establishes a subscriber's call with the advertiser after the ongoing call. • 4 4 4 4 44 4 44 43 4 • 4 «4 · 4 44 444 4 4 4 43 4 4 4 4 43 AMENDED SHEET MODIFIED PATENTOVÉ Claims A telecommunications method with interconnecting a call between two parties, the call being charged to a third party, wherein the first party's phone is connected to the other party's phone via a standard telephone network, such that the first party dials a subscriber number with a prefix said third subscriber and then dialing the subscriber number leading to the second subscriber, thereby connecting in the telephone network the call to a computer station (4) connected to the telephone network which forwards the call to said second subscriber, thereby connecting said first subscriber to said second subscriber a subscriber, the call between the first and second subscriber being charged to the third subscriber, and the call between the first and second subscriber transmits advertising where the advertiser is a business that wishes to promote its products or services, e asks the first and second subscriber in connection with the advertising message whether the subscriber in question wishes to make further contact with the advertiser, and if the subscriber responds to such a question by entering a code and the like, the computer station registers the code and the computer station records at least the subscriber's telephone number or other information identifying the subscriber, at least when it registers a code indicating that the subscriber wishes to make further contact with the advertiser, and the computer station sends the telephone number or other identifying subscriber information to the advertiser wishes to make further contact with him. · T t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t t AMENDED SHEET Method according to claim 1, characterized in that after registering said code and telephone number of the subscriber concerned, the computer station (4) sends at least a telephone number to the advertiser. Method according to any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that said code is a code selected on the keypad of the subscriber's telephone. Method according to any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the code is a response given by the subscriber, i.e. a so-called voice response. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that if said code indicates that the subscriber in question wishes to telephone contact with the advertiser, the computer station establishes a subscriber's call with the advertiser after the ongoing call.