Location-based advertising message serving for mobile communication devices
Embodiments of a location sharing network manager process are described. The process is executed on a server computer coupled to a plurality of location aware mobile communication devices over a wireless network. The process determines the geographic location of a mobile communication device operated by a user within an area, displays a map representation of the area around the mobile communication device on a graphical user interface of the mobile communication device, and superimposes on the map the respective locations of one or more of the mobile communication devices. An advertising platform manager provides tools for an advertiser to create and transmit relevant ad messages to a user based on specific location, time, and profile data of the user. The ad messages can be provided in the form of a text advertising message, coupon and/or graphic element.
1. A location-aware mobile communication device system comprising:
a location determination component determining the relative locations of a plurality of mobile devices within a defined area;
a map display component displaying a scalable map on each mobile device of the plurality of mobile devices;
an advertising component displaying an advertising message delivered from an ad server, the advertising message including content relevant to a characteristic of a user or activity performed by the user and is in the form of a text advertising message, coupon and/or graphic element that is superimposed over a map representation of the area around the mobile communication device displayed on a graphical user interface of the mobile communication device of the user, displayed in an interstitial display page of the graphical user interface or displayed as a text-based message, and wherein the ad message is transmitted in response to a location of the user.
2. The system of claim 1 wherein the advertising message comprises a redeemable coupon displayed as a text message on the mobile device.
3. The system of claim 2 wherein the coupon is displayed in response to a search performed by the user.
4. The system of claim 2 wherein the coupon is displayed when the mobile device is within a defined distance of a location associated with the advertiser.
5. The system of claim 2 wherein the coupon is displayed only during a defined time period.
6. The system of claim 1 wherein the location of the registered user is updated on the scalable map by updated location information determined by a global positioning system component.
7. The system of claim 1 wherein the location determination component includes a location determining module selected from the group consisting of user input, global positioning system technology, WiFi positioning technology, Bluetooth technology, Radio Frequency signal technology, and Cellular identification technology.
8. A method comprising:
providing, by a server, an advertising campaign including a plurality of advertising messages for transmitting to users of mobile devices at different times and locations;
receiving, by the server, the geographic location of a mobile communication device operated by a user within an area; and
transmitting to the mobile communication device for display, at least one of the plurality of advertising messages, wherein the advertising message includes content relevant to a characteristic of the user or activity performed by the user and is in the form of a graphic element that is superimposed over a map representation of the area around the mobile communication device, a text advertising message, and/or coupon displayed (a) on a graphical user interface of the mobile communication device of the user, (b) in an interstitial display page of the graphical user interface or (c) as a text-based message, and wherein the ad message is transmitted in response to a location of the user.
9. The method of claim 8 wherein the ad message is displayed in an interstitial display page of the graphical user interface.
10. The method of claim 8 wherein the advertising message comprises a branded icon corresponding to a location of a business associated with the advertiser.
11. The method of claim 8 further comprising displaying, by the server, the effectiveness of each advertising campaign based on one or more performance measurements.
12. The method of claim 8 wherein the advertising message comprises a redeemable coupon displayed as a text message on the mobile device.
13. The method of claim 12 wherein the coupon is displayed in response to a search performed by the user.
14. The method of claim 12 wherein the coupon is displayed when the mobile device is within a defined distance of a location associated with the advertiser.
15. The method of claim 12 wherein the coupon is displayed only during a defined time period.
16. The method of claim 8 wherein the location of the registered user is determined by a global positioning system component.
17. The method of claim 8 wherein the geographical location is determined by a location determining module selected from the group consisting of user input. global positioning system technology, WiFi positioning technology, Bluetooth technology, Radio Frequency signal technology, and Cellular identification technology.
18. A method comprising:
In a processing system;
determining the relative locations of a mobile device within a defined area;
displaying an advertising message delivered from an ad server on the mobile device, the advertising message including content relevant to a characteristic of a user of the mobile device or activity performed by the user and is in the form of a graphic element that is superimposed over a map representation of the area around the mobile communication device, a text advertising message, and/or coupon displayed (a) on a graphical user interface of the mobile communication device of the user, (b) in an interstitial display page of the graphical user interface or (c) as a text-based message, and wherein the ad message is transmitted in response to a location of the user.