METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TESTING IN-PRODUCT MARKETING CONTENT

1 . A computer implemented method comprising:

defining a plurality of populations for a user base of a software application using a plurality of population identifiers, wherein a population identifier of the plurality of population identifiers is generated by the software application and identifies a population of the plurality of populations;

associating at least one in-product message with each defined population in the plurality of populations; and

supplying the in-product messages to the software application having a population identifier within a range of population identifiers that define the population.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving analytics regarding interactions of the end-users with the supplied in-product messages.

3 . The method of claim 2 , further comprising:

redefining the plurality of populations; and

associating a plurality of edited in-product messages with each redefined population.

4 . The method of claim 2 , wherein receiving the analytics comprises receiving at least a population identifier and an in-product message identifier.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the user base is based at least on a locale, an operating system, the software application, and a version of the software application.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the defined population is divided into at least one test population and a general population, wherein the at least one test population represents a predefined percentage of a defined population.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein each in-product message comprises control information, wherein the control information comprises at least message content, a display location, and the population identifier.

8 . The method of claim 6 , wherein a test population is further divided into a plurality of segments, each segment defined by a segment identifier, wherein the software application generates the segment identifier randomly.

9 . A computer implemented method comprising:

generating, by a software application, a population identifier related to the software application;

receiving a plurality of in-product messages, wherein the in-product messages are defined to be displayed inside of the software application having a defined population comprising the population identifier;

filtering the plurality of in-product messages based on the population identifier being within a test population within the defined population; and

displaying the filtered in-product messages inside of the software application based on the population identifier being within the test population.

10 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

collecting analytics data regarding an end-user's interaction with the in-product messages; and

sending the analytics data to a server for analysis.

11 . The method of claim 9 , wherein each in-product message is defined to be displayed only to end-users of the software application having a population identifier within the test population.

12 . The method of claim 9 , wherein each in-product message of the plurality of in-product messages comprises control information, wherein control information comprises at least message content, a display location, and a range of population identifiers.

13 . The method of claim 9 , wherein a test population is further divided into a plurality of segments, each segment defined by a segment identifier, wherein the software application generates the segment identifier randomly.

14 . The method of claim 9 , wherein displaying comprises displaying an in-product message based on the control information.

15 . An apparatus for testing in-product marketing content comprising:

a computer having one or more processors and further comprising:

an in-product message client for receiving a plurality of in-product messages, wherein the in-product messages are defined to be displayed inside of a software application; generating a population identifier related to the software application; determine a population based on the population identifier, filtering the plurality of in-product messages based on the determined population; and displaying the filtered in-product messages inside of the software application.

16 . The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the in-product message client further collects analytics data regarding a end-user's interaction with the in-product messages, and sends the analytics data to a server for analysis.

17 . The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the in-product client:

downloads a plurality of IPM messages;

determines a population based on the population identifier and a segment identifier generated by the software application, wherein the population is defined as a range of population identifiers and a range of segment identifiers;

filters the IPM messages based on the determined population;

stores the filtered IPM messages; and

displays the IPM messages according to control information.

18 . The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein each in-product message is defined to be displayed only to end-users of the software application having a population identifier within one of the plurality of defined populations.

19 . The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein each in-product message of the plurality of in-product messages comprises control information, and wherein the control information comprises at least message content, a display location, and the population identifier.

20 . The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein displaying comprises displaying an in-product message based on the control information.