Method and apparatus for generating an electronic communication

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11308511-B2
Application number	US-201916507148-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 10, 2019
Priority date	Jun 28, 2013
Publication date	Apr 19, 2022
Grant date	Apr 19, 2022

Abstract

A method, apparatus, and computer program product are disclosed to improve generation of electronic communications. The method may provide a plurality of content slots each configured to receive content, the content comprising at least one of promotion content or non-promotion content. The method may also include maintaining a database comprising a plurality of promotion content generators and non-promotion content generators, and determining, using a processor, one of the plurality of promotion content generators or non-promotion content generators for respectively supplying corresponding promotion content or non-promotion content to each of the plurality of content slots. The determining the one of the plurality of promotion content generators or non-promotion content generators may include determining selection parameters, and scoring the plurality of promotion content generators and non-promotion content generators based at least in part on the selection parameters.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method comprising: receiving a request to provide, via a network, an electronic communication, the electronic communication comprising a plurality of content slots, wherein each content slot of the plurality of content slots is defined as a particular region of the electronic communication, interaction with which triggering a specific computer operation; based on a particular medium of the electronic communication, selecting an electronic communication template, the electronic communication template comprising slot definition data identifying a physical location, type, and size of each of a plurality of available content slots to be populated with content, wherein each of the plurality of available content slots is configured to receive and display at least a portion of content received from a content generator; maintaining a database comprising a plurality of content generators, each of the plurality of content generators comprising respective, independently executing, content selection logic and assignment preference logic, wherein each of the plurality of content generators is configured to target generated content of the electronic communication to a particular user or group of users, to promote a particular promotion, set of promotions, or type of promotion; determining, using a processor and before creation or selection of content, in real-time, on a slot-by-slot basis, a particular content generator or the plurality of content generators for respectively supplying corresponding content for a particular content slot of the plurality of available content slots of the electronic communication, wherein non-promotion content selected by a non-promotion content generator is determined by examining which information is present for a particular consumer indicated by the selection parameters, determining which consumer information is missing, determining which missing information, if possessed, would most improve future electronic communications targeted to the consumer particular, and generating the non-promotion content to request the missing information with the highest expected value;
receiving, subsequent to the determination of the particular content generator of the plurality of content generators, from the particular content generator of the plurality of content generators, content selected by the particular content generator, wherein reception is in parallel to reception of other content from at least one other content generator, and wherein the content selected is based at least in part on the content selection logic of the particular content generator; and generating the electronic communication, the electronic communication displaying the content selected by the particular content generator.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining the particular content generator for supplying content to the particular content slot comprises: receiving one or more selection parameters, each of the one or more selection parameters associated with at least a first type or a second type; determining a presence of the first type of selection parameter and an absence of the second type of selection parameter; and scoring each particular content generator of the plurality of content generators for each particular content slot of the plurality of content slots based at least in part on the presence of the first type of selection parameter and the absence of the second type of selection parameter and a value associated with the first type of selection parameter, wherein a score for each of the plurality of content generators is based on the respective assignment preference logic for that content generator.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the scoring the plurality of content generators comprises receiving bids from the content generators.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the particular content slot is configured to display a representative image, selection of which causes the specific computer operation of displaying additional information related to the content associated with the particular content slot.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the particular content slot is configured to display a receive input, interaction with of which comprises providing information, reception of the input causes the specific computer operation of storing the information as a value to an associated parameter of user information.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of content generators comprises promotion content generators and non-promotion content generators.

7. An apparatus comprising at least one processor and a memory, the memory comprising instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to configure the apparatus to: receiving a request to provide, via a network, an electronic communication, the electronic communication comprising a plurality of content slots, wherein each content slot of the plurality of content slots is defined as a particular region of the electronic communication, interaction with which triggering a specific computer operation; based on a particular medium of the electronic communication, select an electronic communication template, the electronic communication template comprising slot definition data identifying a physical location, type, and size of each of a plurality of available content slots to be populated with content, wherein each of the plurality of available content slots is configured to receive and display at least a portion of content received from a content generator; maintain a database comprising a plurality of content generators, each of the plurality of content generators comprising respective, independently executing, content selection logic and assignment preference logic, wherein each of the plurality of content generators configured to target generated content of the electronic communication to a particular user or group of users, to promote a particular promotion, set of promotions, or type of promotion; determine, using a processor and before creation or selection of content, in real-time, on a slot-by-slot basis, a particular content generator of the plurality of content generators for respectively supplying corresponding content for a particular content slot of the plurality of available content slots of the electronic communication, wherein non-promotion content selected by a non-promotion content generator is determined by examining which information is present for a particular consumer indicated by the selection parameters, determining which consumer information is missing, determining which missing information, if possessed, would most improve future electronic communications targeted to the consumer particular, and generating the non-promotion content to request the missing information with the highest expected value;
receive, subsequent to the determination of the particular content generator of the plurality of content generators, from the particular content generator of the plurality of content generators, content selected by the particular content generator of the plurality of content generators, wherein reception is in parallel to reception of other content from at least one other content generator, and wherein the content selected based at least in part on the content selection logic of the particular content generator; and generate the electronic communication, the electronic communication displaying the content selected by the particular content generator.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to configure the apparatus to determine the particular content generator for supplying content to the particular content slot comprise instructions that, when ex

Assignees

• Groupon Inc

Inventors

• Ayars Jeff
• Gilfanov Ruslan
• Holden Jeff
• Nickels John M
• Prokopowicz Pete
• Roarty Dan
• Thacker David

Classifications

• G06Q30/0275

  Auctions · CPC title

• G06Q30/0257

  User requested · CPC title

• G06Q30/0254

  based on statistics · CPC title

• G06Q30/0242

  Determining effectiveness of advertisements · CPC title

• G06Q30/0211 Primary

  Determining the effectiveness of discounts or incentives · CPC title