Providing effective advertising via synchronized telephone and data streams
View Patent ↗Information, such as advertising, is presented to VoIP users via a combination of telephone and data streams during session initiation via an IP phone or a personal computer. A proxy server that receives the call request coordinates with a media server to transmit targeted advertising to the caller during the post dial delay interval. After the advertisement concludes, the call continues normally.
1. A method for targeted advertising, comprising:
providing a first party with access to a packet telephony service;
receiving a request from the first party to establish a telephonic connection with a second party over a packet network using said packet telephony service;
in response to said request, transmitting over said packet network to the first party an audio notification provided by a third party, the audio notification being targeted according to a profile of the first party;
causing a message that is linked to the audio notification to be displayed on a display screen used by the first party while the audio notification is played to the first party; and
completing said telephonic connection upon completion of playing the audio notification.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the steps of:
providing the third party with information that can be used to identify the first party; and
receiving from the third party the audio notification that is to be transmitted to the first party.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the audio notification is targeted according to a profile maintained by the third party.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the audio notification is targeted according to a profile maintained by the packet telephony service.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of completing the telephonic connection is not performed until after the entire audio notification has been transmitted to the first party.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the message comprises a coupon that can be used by the first party.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the audio notification comprises multimedia data that is transmitted to a computer of the first party.
8. A method of synchronized communications, comprising:
receiving a request from a first party at a packet telephony server via a packet-switched communications network, the request indicating that the first party wishes to establish a telephonic connection with a second party;
instructing a content provider to transmit an audio notification and a message that is linked to the audio notification to the first party via the network, the audio notification configured to be played to the first party while the message is displayed on a display screen used by the first party; and
completing said telephonic connection upon completion of playing the audio notification.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the instructing step comprises providing information to the content provider that can be used to identify the first party.
10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the step of completing the telephonic connection is not performed until after the content provider has finished transmitting an audio notification to the first party.
11. The method of claim 8 , wherein the step of completing the telephonic connection is performed after a predetermined time period has expired after the instructing step is performed, or after the content provider has finished transmitting an audio notification to the first party, whichever occurs first.
12. The method of claim 8 , wherein the instructing step comprises instructing a content provider to transmit multimedia data to a computer of the first party, the multimedia data including an audio notification.
13. The method of claim 8 , wherein the instructing step comprises instructing a content provider to transmit both an audio notification to an audio device of the first party and text or graphics to a display screen of the first party.
14. The method of claim 8 , wherein the instructing step comprises instructing a content provider to transmit multimedia data to a computer of the first party.
15. The method of claim 8 , wherein the instructing step comprises instructing a content provider to transmit an audio notification to a telephony device of the first party and a text or graphics based coupon to a display screen of the first party.
16. The method of claim 8 , further comprising obtaining information about the first party, wherein the instructing step comprises instructing the content provider to transmit an audio notification to the first party that is based on the obtained information about the first party.
17. A method for targeted advertising, comprising:
providing a first party with access to a packet telephony service;
receiving a request from the first party to establish a telephonic connection with a second party over a packet network using said packet telephony service;
in response to said request, transmitting over said packet network to the first party an audio notification provided by a third party, the audio notification being targeted according to a profile of the first party; and
completing said telephonic connection after the entire audio notification has been played to the first party.