Description
MOBILE ADVERTISEMENT SERVICE SYSTEM AND
METHOD
Technical Field
[1] The present invention relates to a mobile advertisement service system and method, and more particularly to a B2B2C (Business-to-Business-to-Consumer) business model for allowing a mobile comrmnication carrier to provide an enterprise with a channel and tool capable of advertising the enterprise's brand and product to enterprise customers through mobile comrmnication terminals. Background Art
[2] The current business environment is such that competition for existence between enterprises is fierce due to the abruptly varying market conditions. According to the abruptly varying market and technical conditions, each enterprise must actively conduct advertising and marketing in a creative commercial manner appropriate for characteristics of their product and business technology so that the efficiency of in¬ teraction between the enterprise and customers, and the enterprise's profit can be increased.
[3] In particular, past business based on a biz domain name was focused on voice- related services and portal-related services based on a B2C (Business-to-Consumer) business model and solution business for improving work efficiency and productivity of an enterprise based on a B2B (Business-to-Business) business model. However, present business needs to be extended to network/platform services in a B2B2C (Business-to-Business-to-Consumer) market with the expansion of a marketing concept.
[4] As enterprise advertising methods, the existing B2C business model targeted to customers and the existing B2B business model targeted to enterprises need to be expanded to a B2B2C business model as a new type of business model.
[5] The related prior art is disclosed in an application entitled's "Advertisement SMS
System and Method" assigned Korean Patent Application No. 10-2003-0027497.
[6] In Korean Patent Application No. 10-2003-0027497, the related prior art has a merit in that an advertiser's advertisement is combined with an SMS (Short Messaging Service) and thus an advertisement SMS can be provided. In this case, an origination terminal combines the advertisement with an SMS message created thereby before sending the SMS message, and transmits a result of the combination to a destination terminal through a mobile communication network, according to the conventional enterprise advertising method. Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem
[7] However, a need exists for a new advertising method serving as a general ad¬ vertising method capable of maximizing the effect of advertisement of an enterprise by combining various forms for satisfying customer demand.
[8] It is a first object of the present invention to provide a method for creating an SMS/
MMS (Short Messaging Service/Multimedia Messaging Service) message through a run VM (Virtual Machine) client for use in a mobile advertisement service on a customer's terminal.
[9] It is a second object of the present invention to provide a mobile advertisement service system that can efficiently implement and manage a mobile advertisement service.
[10] It is a third object of the present invention to provide a B2B2C
(Business-to-Business-to-Consumer) business model for allowing a mobile com¬ munication carrier to provide an enterprise with a channel and tool capable of ad¬ vertising an enterprise's brand and product to enterprise customers through a mobile comminication network. Technical Solution
[11] In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, the above and other objects can be accomplished by the provision of a mobile advertisement service system for use in electronic commerce between a customer, an enterprise, and a mobile com¬ munication carrier, comprising:
[12] an origination terminal of the customer for downloading a VM (Virtual Machine) client application, running the VM client application to create a message, and transmitting the created message to a destination terminal;
[13] an MAS (Messaging Advertisement Server) administrator terminal for providing a tool for creating enterprise information and advertisement copy to be inserted into the created message;
[14] an SMS/MMS (Short Messaging Service/Multimedia Messaging Service) server for recognizing and classifying an identity number associated with the enterprise in¬ formation and the advertisement copy and transmitting the enterprise information and the advertisement copy along with the message of the origination terminal; and [15] an MAS interworking with the SMS/MMS server for inserting the enterprise in¬ formation and the advertisement copy into the message to be transmitted to the destination terminal. Advantageous Effects
[16] In accordance with the present invention, customers can use a messaging service such as SMS/MMS (Short Messaging Service/Multimedia Messaging Service) at a reduced fee in compensation for advertisement reception, and an enterprise can use a mobile advertisement channel capable of providing an advertisement to the enterprise's customers in compensation for the enterprise's payment of the service fee charged to the customers. Brief Description of the Drawings
[17] FlG. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a mobile advertisement service in accordance with the present invention;
[18] FlG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a system for the mobile advertisement service shown in FlG. 1 ;
[19] FlG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method for creating a message through a run VM
(Virtual Machine) client for use in the mobile advertisement service in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
[20] FlG. 4 shows screens implemented for the mobile advertisement service in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention; and
[21] FIGS. 5 to 7 show examples implemented by the mobile advertisement service system in accordance with the present invention. Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention
[22] Now, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the annexed drawings.
[23] FlG. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a mobile advertisement service in accordance with the present invention; and FlG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a system for the mobile advertisement service shown in FlG. 1.
[24] Referring to a B2B2C (Business-to-Business-to-Consumer) business model shown in FlG. 1, a B2C (Business-to-Consumer) side comprises user terminals 100 including an origination terminal for creating a message through a VM (Virtual Machine) and a destination terminal for receiving advertisement copy and the message.
[25] A B2B (Business-to-Business) side comprises an enterprise equipped with an MAS
(Messaging Advertisement Server) administrator terminal 200 for creating the ad- vertisement copy and managing customer information; and a mobile comrmnication carrier equipped with an MAS 400 interworking with an SMS/MMS (Short Messaging Service/Multimedia Messaging Service) server 300 for inserting the advertisement copy into the message and managing the VM.
[26] Now, a process of the mobile advertisement service configured as shown in FlG. 1 will be roughly described.
[27] First, the origination terminal of a customer downloads a VM client from the MAS
400 (Step 1). In this state, the origination terminal creates an SMS or MMS message through a run VM client (Step 2).
[28] Subsequently, the message created by the origination terminal is transmitted to the
MAS administrator terminal 200 (Step 3). The MAS administrator terminal 200 inserts enterprise information and advertisement copy created using an MAS tool into the message of the origination terminal (Step 4).
[29] Subsequently, the message into which the enterprise information and advertisement copy have been inserted is transmitted to a destination terminal (Step 5). The destination terminal receives the origination terminal's message into which the enterprise information and advertisement copy have been inserted (Step 6).
[30] Operation of the components provided in the mobile advertisement service system in accordance with the present invention will be described with reference to FlG. 2.
[31] The user terminals 100 can include a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) as an origination/destination mobile comrmnication terminal based on synchronous cdma- 2000 or asynchronous W-CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access). In particular, the user terminal 100 downloads and runs the VM client application from the MAS 400 to transmit the message through the SMS/MMS server 300. The user terminal 100 can replace a destination phone number with an enterprise number to transmit the message. Furthermore, the user terminal 100 provides basic information associated with an enterprise and a product, etc.
[32] In accordance with the present invention, a message transmission service can be used at no fee or a reduced fee as the enterprise information and advertisement copy are inserted into the message created by the origination terminal serving as the user terminal 100.
[33] The MAS administrator terminal 200 provides a tool for creating the advertisement information and copy to be inserted into the message and a tool for analyzing/ processing statistical information received from the MAS 400, and provides an interface between the MAS administrator terminal and the system. [34] That is, the MAS achinistrator terminal 200 includes an MAS interworking unit
210 for interworking with the MAS 400; a legacy system interworking unit 220 for in¬ terworking with a legacy system; a tool 230 for creating the advertisement information and copy to be inserted into the message; a tool 240 for analyzing/processing statistical information received from the MAS 400; and an administrator terminal/system interface 250 serving as an interface between the MAS administrator terminal and the system.
[35] The SMS/MMS server 300 interworking with the MAS 400 recognizes and classifies the enterprise number and shares the classified enterprise number with the MAS 400.
[36] That is, the SMS/MMS server 300 includes an MAS recognition unit 310 for recognizing and classifying the enterprise number; and an MAS interworking unit 320 for interworking with the MAS 400 to share the classified enterprise number with the MAS 400.
[37] The MAS 400 coupled to a mobile comminication network interworks with the
VM and a home page, shares a processed message with the SMS/MMS server 300, and carries out a replacement function between an original destination number and an enterprise number within the transmitted message. Moreover, the MAS 400 manages profile information such as customer information, the number of service uses, etc., manages a client application and a rule associated with a client-application use time and/or the number of client-application uses, and manages the advertisement in¬ formation/copy created by the MAS achinistrator terminal 200.
[38] That is, the MAS 400 includes a WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) in¬ terworking unit 410 coupled to the mobile comminication network for interworking with the VM client and a home page; an SMS/MMS interworking unit 420 for in¬ terworking with the SMS/MMS server 300 to share a message processed by the MAS achinistrator terminal 200 with the SMS/MMS server 300; an MAS achinistrator terminal interworking unit 470 coupled to the MAS achinistrator terminal 200 for transferring various types of information; and a message replacement unit 430 for carrying out a replacement function between the original destination number and the enterprise number within the message transmitted from the origination terminal.
[39] In this case, the message replacement unit 430 interworks with a customer profile management unit 440 for managing the profile information such as the customer in¬ formation, the number of service uses, etc.; a VM client rule management unit 450 for managing the VM client application and a rule associated with a client-application use time and/or the number of client-application uses; and an advertisement information/ copy management unit 460 for managing the advertisement information/copy created by the MAS administrator terminal 200. The management units respectively perform management enterprise by enterprise.
[40] FlG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method for creating a message through a run VM client for use in the mobile advertisement service in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and FlG. 4 shows screens implemented for the mobile ad¬ vertisement service in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention.
[41] In accordance with a technical feature of the present invention, when an origination terminal of a customer first runs a downloaded VM client to use the mobile ad¬ vertisement service, creates a desired message and transmits the created message, the SMS/MMS server 300 transmits a received SMS/MMS message to the MAS 400, inserts advertisement copy into the SMS/MMS message, and transmits, to a customer of an original destination terminal, the SMS/MMS message into which the ad¬ vertisement copy has been inserted.
[42] In more detail, the origination terminal runs the VM client downloaded from the
MAS 400 to use the mobile advertisement service as shown in FlG. 4(a) (Sl 10). At this point, an initial screen is provided on the origination terminal as shown in FlG. 4(b) (S 120).
[43] In a state in which the initial screen (displaying enterprise information such as
Enterprise/Product Introduction, Contact Information, Home Page Connection, and SMS/MMS Message Creation Tool) of the origination terminal has been provided, an SMS/MMS message creation tool is selected (S 130). At this point, a message input window is provided on the origination terminal as shown in FIG. 4(c) (S 140).
[44] Subsequently, a message to be sent to the destination terminal is created through the message input window provided by the selected message creation tool, and the created message is transmitted as shown in FIG. 4(d). That is, the message to be sent is created in a text editor of the VM, such that the created message is transmitted to the SMS/ MMS server 300 (S 150).
[45] At this point, a destination terminal number is replaced with an enterprise number, and a changed message is transmitted to the SMS/MMS server 300. When the message is transmitted, destination number information of a destination number field is shifted to an end of a message field, a preset special number indicative of the enterprise is inputted into the destination number field, and the changed message is transmitted (S 160). [46] Subsequently, after the destination number of the changed message is replaced with an original destination number by the MAS administrator terminal 200, the previously created advertisement message is inserted and a result of the insertion is transmitted to the SMS/MMS server 300.
[47] That is, a routing operation is carried out according to a routing table in which the enterprise's special number has been registered (S 170). The destination terminal number within the message field is shifted to the destination number field, the previously created advertisement message is inserted into an empty space, and a result of the insertion is transmitted (S 180).
[48] When the SMS/MMS server 300 transmits the message of the origination terminal and the inserted advertisement message of the enterprise to the original destination terminal, the destination terminal receives the transmitted message including advertise copy such as an enterprise name or product information as shown in FlG. 4(e) (S 190).
[49] The mobile advertisement service system and method based on the B2B2C business model in accordance with the present invention have been described above. Now, these will be additionally described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7.
[50] The customer moves to an enterprise site through a callback URL (Uniform
Resource Locator) of a transmitted SMS message based on membership information within the enterprise or URL information provided by the enterprise's agency or another promotion method, and can download the VM for service use after service subscription through agreement creation and personal information input (refer to FlG. 5).
[51] Moreover, when the customer runs the downloaded VM to use the service and creates and transmits a desired message as shown in FlG. 4, the SMS/MMS server 300 transmits a received SMS/MMS message to the MAS 400. Advertisement copy is added to the message and is transmitted to the customer of the original destination terminal (refer to FlG. 6).
[52] Thus, the mobile cαrαmnication carrier provides the enterprise with a mobile ad¬ vertisement solution (MAS), SMS/MMS, etc. The enterprise pays a fee to use the solution and messaging to the mobile comrmnication carrier. The enterprise can conduct mobile advertisement by inserting advertisement information/copy into a message in compensation for providing the customer with a messaging service at no fee or a reduced fee (refer to FlG. 7). Industrial Applicability
[53] In accordance with a mobile advertisement service system and method of the present invention, customers can use a messaging service such as SMS/MMS (Short Messaging Service/Multimedia Messaging Service) at no fee or a reduced fee in com¬ pensation for advertisement reception and an enterprise can use a mobile ad¬ vertisement channel capable of providing an advertisement to the enterprise's customers in compensation for the enterprise's payment of the service fee charged to the customers, such that the effect of a mobile advertisement for improving awareness of a product/enterprise can be maximized.
[54] In accordance with the present invention, the mobile advertisement service system and method can obtain additional effects of push mobile marketing based on personal information and an agreement and statistical information acquisition.