WO2001031490A2

WO2001031490A2 - System and method for providing a preview marketing network

Info

Publication number: WO2001031490A2
Application number: PCT/US2000/029812
Authority: WO
Inventors: Bill Gross; Rand Bleimeister; Hamilton Altstatt
Original assignee: Firstlook.Com
Priority date: 1999-10-27
Filing date: 2000-10-26
Publication date: 2001-05-03
Also published as: AU1244301A; WO2001031490A3

Abstract

A system and method for providing a preview marketing network that brings advertisers and consumers together. Advertisers submit interactive product or service previews to the network, which can be launched by the consumers having access to the network. Additionally, advertisers are prompted to submit bids to the network for each preview that they submit, the bid representing the amount they will pay to the network each time the preview is launched by one of the consumers. The previews are then presented to the consumers in a list based on the bids submitted to the network with the product or service preview with the highest bid appearing at the top of the list and the remaining previews in descending bid amount order.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING A PREVIEW MARKETING

NETWORK

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to marketing networks and more particularly to an improved system and method for providing a preview marketing network.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Advertisers and consumers have similar, but distinct, needs when it comes to new products and services: advertisers are continually searching for new, efficient and cost-effective ways to present and preview new products and services to a targeted audience of consumers; consumers are continually searching for new and easy-to-use ways to discover and preview new products and services. Traditionally, different industries have relied on a variety of different methods and mechanisms for previewing new products and services. For example, in the music industry, artists and labels have long relied on radio as the primary medium for previewing new music. More recently, with the advent and proliferation of compact disks (CDs), retailers have provided consumers with listening stations in their stores where they can preview different songs from a variety of different artists by listening to the CDs through headphones or otherwise in a designated section of a store. Even more recently, with the advent and proliferation of the Internet and the World Wide Web, artists (e.g., davidbowie.com), labels (e.g., arista.com), retailers (e.g., wherehousemusic.com) and combinations thereof (e.g., MP3.com) have found new ways to preview music, such as providing streaming audio or MP3 downloads via the Web.

As illustrated by these and other developments in the music industry, the advent and proliferation of the Internet has caused it to develop into an attractive new medium for advertisers of products and services to reach consumers. The Internet is a global medium, enabling millions of people worldwide to share information, communicate and conduct business electronically. The availability of powerful new tools that facilitate the development and distribution of content has led to a tremendous growth of new information, products, and services offered via the Internet and a similar increase in the number of consumers using the Internet. This growth has also led to the development of new business models on the Internet. An exemplary new business model of this type is GoTo. corn's pay-for-placement search engine. Consumers conduct searches using the GoTo.com search service. Advertisers bid in an ongoing auction for priority placement in the search results, with the highest bidder's site appearing first in the results. Each advertiser pays GoTo.com the amount of its bid whenever a consumer selects an advertiser's listing in the search results.

Properly leveraged and enhanced, the GoTo.com pay-for-placement model could provide a foundation through which various inherent limitations of the traditional methods and systems for previewing products and services could be addressed. As a result, a need exists for an improved system and method for previewing products and services that builds upon and extends the foundation provided by Goto.com's pay-for-placement model to provide a comprehensive online network of destinations for previewing and purchasing new products and services.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention, therefore, provides an improved system and method for providing a preview marketing network. The preview marketing network provides a unique solution that simultaneously addresses the needs of both consumers and advertisers by providing a comprehensive, online network of destinations for previewing new products and services. The comprehensive, online network of destinations for previewing new products and services provided by the preview marketing network is facilitated by the interactive nature and multimedia capabilities of the Internet (or other similar interactive network), which provides a level of interactivity, targetability and measurability not generally available through any other media. The preview marketing network is particularly well-suited for dynamic industries where new products and services are being regularly and continuously introduced into the market.

More specifically, the preview marketing network provides consumers with the most efficient way to discover, preview and purchase new products and services by providing a comprehensive, online network of destinations. Each time a consumer clicks on or launches a preview, a pop-up window or interactive preview appears providing the consumer with information about the product or service being previewed, related products or services, related online destinations that the consumer might want to visit, and/or various options for purchasing the products and services being previewed. Through this process, the preview marketing network generates awareness for, and allows trials of, new products and services in a manner that help drive the eventual purchase of those products or services through the network. Additionally, by taking advantage of the unique linking characteristics of the World Wide Web, the preview marketing network can create, through the preview itself or through the pop-up window, a network of links, pointers or references to other relevant material or sites that will further enhance the previewing process and experience. This previewing process can occur not only through a main Web site or homepage of the network, but also through the creation of an extended affiliate network that allows products or services in the network to be previewed. One of the unique features of the preview marketing network is its pay- per-preview model. Through its pay-per-preview model, the preview marketing network provides a competitive marketplace where advertisers must decide how much they are willing to pay in order to get previews of their products and services in front of consumers. The order in which previews appear in the preview marketing network is initially determined through an ongoing, competitive bid process whereby each advertiser's bid represents the amount it will pay to the network each time a consumer clicks on and launches the preview. The advertiser with the highest bid is listed first in the network, with the remaining advertisers appearing in descending bid amount order. Additionally, consumers are also provided with the ability to provide real-time feedback to advertisers on the products or services being previewed, feedback which can affect the overall placement of the product or service on the charts of the preview marketing network.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be appreciated as the same become better understood by reference to the following Detailed Description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the preview marketing network according to the present invention;

Figs. 2A-2F are exemplary screen shots of various categories, and their respective charts, in a presently preferred embodiment of the preview marketing network of Fig. 1 that is dedicated to the music industry; Figs. 3A-3D are exemplary pop-up windows that appear when consumers click on one of the tracks in the charts illustrated in Figs. 2A-2F;

Fig. 4 is an exemplary screen shot of a member registration form for the preview marketing network of Fig. 1;

Figs. 5A-5B are exemplary screen shots of an online, automated process for advertisers to submit bids and customize the content of their popup windows in the preview marketing network of Fig. 1 ; and

Figs. 6A-6B are exemplary real-time tracking reports accessible by advertisers in the preview marketing network of Fig. 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to Fig. 1 , a presently preferred embodiment of the preview marketing network 10 is illustrated. The preview marketing network is designed to addresses the varied needs of two distinct constituencies, advertisers 12 and consumers 14. On the one hand, advertisers are continuously searching for new, efficient and cost-effective ways to present new products and services to a targeted audience of consumers. Typically, this involves creating an environment or vehicle for generating awareness of new products and services, and allowing trials of those new products and services, all with the eventual goal of facilitating the purchase of those new products and services. On the other hand, consumers are continuously searching for new and easy-to-use ways to discover and preview new products and services. The preview marketing network provides a unique solution that simultaneously addresses these and other needs of consumers and advertisers by providing a comprehensive, online destination for previewing new products and services. The comprehensive, online destination for previewing new products and services provided by the preview marketing network is facilitated by the interactive nature and multimedia capabilities of the Internet (or other similar interactive networks), which provides a level of interactivity, targetability and measurability not generally available through any other media. The preview marketing network is particularly well-suited for dynamic industries that are constantly changing, with new products and services being regularly and continuously introduced into the market, because it allows advertisers to generate awareness surrounding the release of new products and services, as well as facilitate trials or previews of those new products and services, in an online, interactive environment. By utilizing the interactive nature and multimedia capabilities of the Internet or other similar interactive network to effectively and efficiently render these preview experiences, the preview marketing network will help drive the eventual purchase of those new products and services. Exemplary industries particularly well suited for the preview marketing network according to the present invention are the music, movie, video, video game, book (print or audio), magazine, television, television or Internet/Web broadcasting, fashion, and publishing (book, magazine) industries. However, those skilled in the art will realize that the preview marketing network disclosed herein can alternatively, or additionally, be focused on other business -to-consumer markets, as well as various business-to-business markets.

For example, a presently preferred embodiment of the preview marketing network is focused on the music industry - providing a comprehensive online destination where consumers can quickly discover and sample the best new music, and where artists, record labels and retailers can efficiently and cost-effectively present new music to a targeted audience of consumers. Although the preview marketing network will be described and illustrated herein primarily in connection with the embodiment focused on the music industry, those skilled in the art should realize that the network is similarly suitable for previewing any other similar types of products and services.

The preview marketing network provides consumers with several features not generally available through conventional marketing methods and systems. More specifically, the preview marketing network provides consumers with the most efficient way to discover, preview and purchase new products and services by providing a comprehensive, online destination. For example, if consumers are interested in previewing new music, they can access the preview marketing network and preview - on demand - a plurality of new, different tracks in various music genres in the same time that it would take them to listen to a single song - which may or may not be new - on the radio. In fact, some of the products of services previewed through the network will be done so before they are generally available anywhere else, because the preview marketing network can provide advertisers with detailed real-time reports on whether consumers like the product or service, which consumers like the product or service, why consumers like the product or service, etc. This information can be used by advertisers in deciding whether, when, where, and how to make the product or service generally available. Additionally, previewing the products or services through the network before they are generally available will help build new audiences for those products and services and drive the purchase of those products and services, both online and offline. Each time a consumer clicks on or launches a preview, a pop-up window or interactive preview appears providing the consumer with additional information about the product or service being previewed, related products or services, related online destinations that the consumer might want to visit, and/or various online options for purchasing the products and services being previewed.

Through its pay-per-preview system, the preview marketing network provides a competitive marketplace where advertisers must decide how much they are willing to pay in order to get previews of their products and services in front of consumers. The order in which previews appear in the preview marketing network is initially determined through a competitive bid process whereby each advertiser's bid represents the amount it will pay to the network each time a consumer launches the preview. The advertiser with the highest bid is listed first in the network, with the remaining advertisers appearing in descending bid amount order. By requiring advertisers to make conscious decisions about how much to bid for consumer attention, the overall consumer experience will be enhanced because the marketplace will determine the rankings and relevance of those bids. At the same time, the preview marketing network can provide full disclosure of the pay-per-preview system to not only consumers but other advertisers, with bid amounts visible to anyone. Consumers are also provided with the ability to provide real-time feedback to advertisers on the products or services being previewed, feedback which can instantly affect the overall placement of the product or service on the charts of the preview marketing network. Advertisers are also provided with several unique features that allow them to control their advertising cost and control their advertising message in ways that are not generally available through conventional marketing methods and systems. For example, advertisers are provided the opportunity to put their products and services in front of a targeted audience of active consumers who have made an affirmative decision to use the network - the consumers have affirmatively chosen to access the network, affirmatively chosen to access a particular product or service category, and affirmatively chosen to access a particular product or service preview. The preview marketing network also provides advertisers with control over the pop-up window or interactive preview that appears when the consumers preview the advertiser's products or services. Through this window, advertisers can provide information on the product or service being previewed, promote related products or services, drive traffic to the Web sites of their choice, and facilitate the purchase of the products or service being previewed. In a presently preferred embodiment, the preview marketing network drives and facilitates consumer purchases of the products and services previewed through the on-line retail solution of the advertiser's choice. Additionally, through its pay-per-preview system, the preview marketing network provides advertisers a cost-efficient, per-preview method for advertisers to get their new products and services previewed by an active, targeted audience of interested consumers. Since advertisers only pay when their preview is clicked on by a consumer, and they set the price per click, there are no risks or surprises associated with customer acquisition costs. In other words, the preview marketing network allows advertisers to control the customer acquisition cost for the products and services they preview through the network, and only pay that cost when a consumer actually clicks on or launches the preview. Finally, the preview marketing network provides advertisers with unparalleled tracking, reporting and access to real-time feedback from consumers. Advertisers can access online reports detailing the performance of their previews, and can manage their network accounts online.

The preview marketing network will be described in more detail from the perspective of the consumers and the advertisers in the network.

Consumers

Referring now to Figs. 2A-2E, a presently preferred embodiment of the preview marketing network is illustrated from a consumer's perspective. The embodiment of the preview marketing network illustrated in Figs. 2A-2E is focused on the music industry and provides consumers a comprehensive online destination where they can quickly discover and sample the best new music. Fig. 2A (and Fig. 2F) is an exemplary homepage 20 that a consumer will encounter when first accessing the network. In a presently preferred embodiment, consumers access the preview marketing network through a Internet ready computer, however, those skilled in the art should realize that the consumers may alternatively, or additionally, use a network appliance or any other viable interface to access the preview marketing network.

The preview marketing network organizes the music in the network in a plurality of different music genre charts or lists 22. The music is preferably in the form of tracks 24, which are songs or pieces of music that are listed on the charts in the network. Each track 24 is associated with one or more music genres or categories, such as pop, hip-hop, alternative, hard rock, dance, r & b, country, jazz, latin, and classical. In a presently preferred embodiment, the homepage of the preview marketing network, which is not genre specific, is considered a unique category, and therefore has its own chart or list 22 of tracks 24.

Each music genre or category has its own chart or list of tracks. For example, the homepage chart is illustrated in Fig. 2A. By clicking on one of the category buttons 26, the consumer can access and have the network display the chart or list of tracks from one of the other music genres or categories. For example, in Fig. 2B, the consumer has selected and clicked on the hip-hop category button 30 which causes the network to access and display the hip-hop chart 28. In a presently preferred embodiment, the default order in which the tracks appear in the charts is determined by the amount that advertisers have bid 32 for each track in the pay-per-preview system. The track with the highest advertiser bid is ranked at the top of the chart, with the remaining tracks appearing in descending order based on their respective advertiser bids, as will be described in more detail below. Alternatively, consumers who have elected to become members of the preview marketing network are provided with the opportunity to rate and/or otherwise provide feedback on each track. In a presently preferred embodiment, members can rate each track on a scale of one to five. This enables consumers to provide real-time feedback directly to advertisers through the network. Additionally, consumers have the option of re-sorting the charts by consumer ratings 34 (or any other relevant criteria for sorting and viewing the previews, identified either by the preview marketing network or the consumers in the network), so that the tracks with the highest cumulative consumer ratings appear at the top of the chart or list. Figures 2C and 2D illustrate exemplary homepage 35 and latin charts 37, respectively, that have been re-sorted, in response to a consumer request, by consumer ratings so that the track with the highest cumulative consumer rating (rather than the track with the highest advertiser bid) is ranked at the top of the charts with the remaining tracks appearing in descending order based on their respective cumulative consumer ratings. In a presently preferred embodiment, the chart for each category is displayed in increments of forty tracks or previews, and a button(s) is preferably provided at the bottom of each chart to advance forward or backwards through the chart. Those skilled in the art, however, should realize that other similar formats may alternatively, or additionally, be utilized for the charts by the network. Referring again to Fig. 2A, each track on the chart or list has an artist 36, a song 38 title and a headline 40 that allows for a line of descriptive copy about the artist or song associated with the track. Additionally, in a presently preferred embodiment, the amount that the advertiser has bid 32 on a pay- per-preview basis for priority placement on the chart also appears directly on the chart (e.g. Advertiser Cost $0.50). By providing full disclosure of every bid made by every advertiser in the pay-per-preview system, consumers and advertisers alike are better informed, and have an objective measure of how each advertiser values consumer attention for the tracks listed in the chart. Each track also has a visual indicator of the cumulative consumer rating 34 associated with that track, based on the feedback provided by members of the network.

When a consumer selects or clicks on the speaker icon 42 next to one of the tracks in the chart, the track will automatically begin playing. In a presently preferred embodiment, the preview marketing network uses streaming media technology, such as RealPlayer G2, to stream the tracks to consumers, although other similar methods for transmitting audio, video and data may alternatively be utilized by the network. At the same time that the track automatically begins playing, when a consumer selects or clicks on the speaker icon next to the track in the chart, a pop-up or daughter window 44 will be launched and appear to the consumer. The pop-up window 44 is an interactive advertisement for the track, artist or advertiser, and has relevant links and information about the track, artist, record label and/or retailer. Referring now to Figs. 3A-3B, various exemplary embodiments of the pop-up window are illustrated. The pop-up windows 44 and 44' generally list the artist, song and CD title 46, as well as include an album review or information about the artist 48. The window also includes a section 50 for CD cover art or other graphics associated with the artist, song, CD or advertiser. The window could also include streaming video, such as a section or more of a music video for the song. Another feature of the pop-up window is that it provides a section for advertisers to list related tracks 52, and for those tracks that are already part of the preview marketing network, provide consumers with a "listen" button 54 that will allow consumers to listen to the related tracks by simply selecting or clicking on the button. Advertisers can use the pop-up window to provide other information to consumers, such as direct links 56 to artist, label, advertiser or other Web sites, upcoming concert and ticket information, etc. Those skilled in the art should realize that the embodiments of the pop-up window illustrated in Figs. 3A-3B are simply exemplary embodiments, and advertisers may customize the pop-up windows as they see fit to provide consumers with relevant and interesting information about the track, artist or CD.

The pop-up window also includes a direct link to the advertiser's preferred retail solution through a purchase or Buyit button 58, or through any other link to a relevant online destination. In a presently preferred embodiment, the preview marketing system is not a retailer, so it allows advertisers to direct consumers to the retail solution of their choice. For example, the purchase button can be branded and customized as desired by the advertiser to provide a link to any retailer (online or offline) that the advertiser chooses. Additionally, the purchase button 58 can be customized to allow any action that the advertiser desires, such as allowing the consumer to purchase (in hard or electronic form) and/or download the track in MP3 or similar format from an online or offline retailer, allowing a consumer to purchase (in hard or electronic form) and/or download the entire CD or album from an online or offline retailer, providing the consumer with a discount coupon (in hard or electronic form) for the track, CD or album, or providing the consumer with additional information about the track, artist, label or advertiser. Those skilled in the art should realize that although the preview marketing network is presently not a retailer, the network can alternatively be a retailer that is available in addition to, or instead of, any of the third party retailer solutions described above. Another feature of the preview marketing network that is facilitated through the pop-up window is real-time consumer feedback. In a presently preferred embodiment, consumers who elect to become members of the network can rate or provide various other forms of feedback on the tracks that they listen to through the network. In order to rate the tracks, however, consumers must first register as a member of the network. The homepage, Fig. 2A, of the preview marketing network includes a member login section 60. Consumers who elect to become members of the preview marketing network are requested to provide demographic information about themselves when they register. This demographic information can be used by the network to provide detailed reports to advertisers on the performance of their tracks. Referring now to Fig. 4, in a presently preferred embodiment, consumers are prompted, through a member registration form 62, to provide their zipcode, e-mail address, gender and age, as well as a unique identification (ID) and password that will be used by the network to identify them. Once a consumer has registered with the network, he can either be prompted to enter his unique ID and password each time he accesses the network, or alternatively, the network can store a cookie or similar file on the consumer's computer or network appliance so that the network is able to automatically identify each consumer when they return to the network. For example, in the embodiment of the homepage illustrated in Fig. 2E, the preview marketing network automatically recognizes the member when he logs into the network and provides a welcome message 64 to the member. In a presently preferred embodiment, information and data that the preview marketing network collects about its members is used solely for the purpose of tracking the trends and preferences of the consumers in the network.

Those consumers who have registered as members of the preview marketing network will have the ability to rate the tracks they are listening to through the pop-up window. In a presently preferred embodiment, members can rate the tracks on a scale of one to five by simply rolling their mouse over the desired rating 66 and clicking on that rating. Consumers are preferably allowed to rate a track only once, and when they listen to the same track a second time, their previous rating will be indicated in the pop-up window. As noted above, the preview marketing network aggregates all of the member ratings for each track, provides a visual indication 34 of the cumulative rating for each track in the charts, and allows consumers to re-sort charts based on those cumulative rankings.

An alternate embodiment of the pop-up window that could be utilized in the preview marketing network is illustrated in Figs. 3C-3D. The pop-up windows 44" and 44'" illustrated in Figs. 3C-3D include many of the main features of the pop-up windows 44 and 44' illustrated in Figs. 3A-3B, such as artist, song and CD information 46, links to related tracks 52 and sites 56, and a rating system 66 for consumers. However, instead of providing a direct link to the advertiser's preferred retail solution through a purchase or Buyit button 59, the pop-up windows 44" and 44'" include a view-through window 59', through which the Web site or other online destination of the advertiser's preferred online retail solution is automatically displayed directly within the pop-up window. For example, in Fig. 3C, instead of providing a direct link to the section of wherehousemusic.com where a consumer could purchase the Tori Amos track or CD being previewed through the network, the pop-up window 44" includes a view-through window 59' through which that section of wherehousemusic.com is automatically displayed when a consumer launches the preview. This brings the advertiser closer to the consumer when he is previewing the new product or service, and therefore, more likely to capitalize on an impulse purchase by the consumer since he can purchase the product or service directly through the pop-up window itself, instead of having to go to a separate online destination to complete the transaction. Fig. 3D provides another similar example of the view-through window 59', where the section of amazon.com where a consumer could purchase the MethodMan/Redman track or CD being previewed through the network automatically appears in the view-through window when the preview is launched by the consumer. Those skilled in the art should realize that advertisers may alternatively, or additionally, elect to modify the layout, configuration, or information contained within the pop-up window in other ways than those specifically described herein to maximize the likelihood of completing the eventual purchase of the products and services being previewed through the network.

There are a number of additional features that the preview marketing network can include to improve the overall consumer experience on the network by allowing consumers to customize their network experience based on their individual tastes and preferences. For example, the network can provide members with the ability to personalize their experience on the network by selecting or identifying the various product or service categories that are of most interest to them individually. In other words, in the embodiment of the preview marketing network dedicated to the music industry, a consumer could select which music categories fit his personal tastes and preferences, rather than having the network provide the same categories to all consumers. Similarly, the preview marketing network could use the information it collects or gathers about its consumers to further personalize their experiences on the network. For example, if a consumer using an embodiment of the preview marketing network dedicated to the video game industry expresses or exhibits an interest in action/adventure games, the preview marketing network could use this information to provide the same consumer with relevant information about action/adventure movies or videos that are being previewed in other sections of the network. The preview marketing network could also use the information it collects or gathers about its consumers as a whole, as well as each consumer individually, to recommend new products or services (or categories of products or services) that are being previewed through the network.

The preview marketing network could also provide consumers with the ability to request an e-mail or instant message notification as new music that fits their tastes if posted on the site. The network can additionally provide message boards and/or chat rooms for consumers and artists to communicate with one another. Additionally, the network can provide consumers with the ability to create their own shopping list or shopping cart with tracks, CDs or other products and services which fit their tastes and preferences. Each consumer can store his shopping list in the network in order to return to it later or possibly allow others to access it, or alternatively have the shopping list e- mailed or otherwise sent to others upon their request. Moreover, the network can create an affinity program to facilitate title specific promotions by advertisers, as well as more general promotions for the network as a whole. In one embodiment of the affinity programs, consumers would be provided network points based on their interaction and activity through the network, which could be redeemed for various products and services previewed by the network. Those skilled in the art should realize that a variety of other similar features can alternatively, or additionally, be added to the network to further improve the consumer experience.

Advertisers

Advertisers in the preview marketing network are provided with a number of unique features, including instant access to a targeted, highly interested audience of consumers; the option to bid on a per preview basis for preferred positioning in the charts of the network, which allows them to control their advertising expenses; immediate demographic reports of which consumers are previewing their music; the ability to add and remove tracks in real-time; complete control of text, graphics and links that consumers see when they preview their material, which can be used as an interactive preview for the artist, advertiser or retailer; the ability to drive consumer purchases through the retail solution of their choice; and comprehensive account management online. In the presently preferred embodiment of the preview marketing network for music, advertisers include artists, record labels, and retailers. One of the unique advantages of the preview marketing network is that anyone and everyone can be an advertiser in the network. Through its pay- per-preview system, the preview marketing network provides advertisers with an effective, affordable service to quickly and easily get their material in front of a targeted audience of active consumers. By allowing advertisers to bid in an open marketplace for the placement of their music in the charts of the network, the preview marketing network is just as accessible to independent artists starting out on their own as it is to high profile bands that are already part of a major record label with a marketing budget to match. The low cost of the preview marketing network's pay-per-preview advertising model enables unsigned artists and independent artists the ability to secure preferred positioning alongside acts from major labels on each track list. For example, a band or record label could reach 20,000 active music consumers for $1000 (at $0.05/click). No other network provides advertisers with a marketing vehicle that guarantees such an audience of targeted music consumers.

Advertisers who want to access the highly targeted audience of consumers in the preview marketing network must first provide the network with their material that is to be previewed so that it can be entered into the database or library of the network. The material can be submitted to the network by advertisers either in digital form over the Internet, or forwarded to the network in disk, CD or DVD form. In a presently preferred embodiment, advertisers can submit tracks for entry into the network database directly through the homepage of the network. Advertisers can either send the network their tracks and associated text, graphics and/or video over the Internet, or they can send the network a disk, CD or DVD on which their tracks and associated text, graphics and/or video is stored and request that the network handle the necessary production. Additionally advertisers can request that members who meet a specific profile review an e-mail or instant message notification of new listings.

Once the tracks have been approved and processed by the network for inclusion in its database, the advertisers are able to post the tracks in real- time to the genre categories of their choice so that the consumers in the network can preview their music. Each track or preview can be listed in more than one category, if desired, although the network may require the advertiser to enter a separate bid for each category. In a presently preferred embodiment, although the preview marketing network includes a pay-per- preview system, bidding is optional and there is no minimum bid required by advertisers. Advertisers who elect not to place bids for their tracks in the network will simply be assigned a bid amount of $0.00. However, as previously noted, the default rankings on the charts of the preview marketing network are determined by advertiser bids through the pay-per-preview system - the higher the bid, the higher the track will appear in the chart. The advertiser with the highest bid is listed first in the chart, with the remaining advertisers appearing in descending bid amount order. As a result, there is a strong incentive for advertisers to place bids through the network.

Advertisers place bids on specific tracks on a per-preview basis (i.e. they only pay the network the amount they bid when a consumer actually launches their preview). For example, an advertiser bidding $0.01 is charged $1.00 for every one hundred (100) times its preview is launched by a consumers through the network. The entire process for advertisers submitting bids to the preview marketing network can be automated online, so that advertisers can place and revise bids quickly and easily in real-time. Alternatively, the process could take place offline, depending on the particular needs of each advertiser. An exemplary system for submitting bids is the system currently used by GoTo.com. Moreover, advertisers are provided with complete control over their advertising expenditures through the network by a series of bid expiration settings. For example, as illustrated in Fig. 5A, advertisers can specify that the bid they have placed for a certain track should expire when their account balance with the preview marketing network drops below a certain amount 70, on a certain date 72, or after a certain number of hits by consumers 74. Those skilled in the art should realize, however, that other systems or methods could alternatively or additionally be utilized by the preview marketing network for submitting bids.

Advertisers are also provided with the ability to customize the content that will appear in the pop-up window. As previously noted, advertisers are given complete control over the pop-up window by the preview marketing network. In a presently preferred embodiment, the preview marketing network provides advertisers with a plurality of different templates or tool sets for customizing the content in the pop-up window. While these templates provide the advertiser with a great deal of flexibility in customizing their message, advertisers may alternatively elect to use their own unique templates or tool sets. For example, in Fig. 5A, advertisers are prompted to specify the album review 76 and album headline 78 for the track on which they are bidding. Additionally, advertisers are prompted to specify the frame title 80, background color 84, and text color 86 for the pop-up window, as well as select the frame background 84 from a plurality of different options. Advertisers are also prompted, as illustrated in Fig. 5B, to select the various row images or video for the section of the pop-up window that supports graphics, either by selecting from a plurality of different options 88 or by providing the images or video themselves 90.

As previously noted, the preview marketing network provides advertisers with the ability to specify their preferred retail solution, either through a customizable purchase button 59 or view-through window 59'. For example, in Fig. 5B, the advertiser is prompted to specify the destination for the purchase or Buyit button 92, as well as the graphics 94 for that button. The advertiser is also provided with the opportunity to customize various other buttons or links 96 in the pop-up window, which can be designed to provide consumers with direct access to other related or associated Web sites either inside or outside the preview network. The advertiser can also select or specify related tracks or material 98 in the preview marketing network, links to which will appear in the pop-up window. Those skilled in the art should realize that the above description of the features and capabilities of the popup window are merely illustrative, and the preview marketing network may alternatively, or additionally, provide advertisers with other similar features or capabilities through the pop-up window or any other appropriate preview marketing vehicle. Once all of the appropriate information has been provided by the advertiser to the preview marketing network, that information is submitted to the network. The advertiser is also provided with the option to add money to their network account 100, change their bid 102, display and/or update the expiration settings for their bid 104, or request that their bid expire immediately 106. Since all of the advertiser bids appear directly on the charts in the preview marketing network, advertisers can continuously review the placement of their tracks or material in the charts and make adjustments to their bids, if necessary, to improve their placement in the charts.

Another unique feature of the preview marketing network is the real- time, online access to detailed tracking reports it provides to advertisers. A variety of different reports are available to advertisers with real-time data sorted by previews, consumers, date, ratings, or any other available data. In a presently preferred embodiment, advertisers may post new tracks and material to the preview marketing network before they are generally available anywhere else, because the preview marketing network can provide advertisers with detailed real-time reports on whether consumers like the tracks or material, which consumers like the tracks or material, and why consumers liked the tracks or material, all of which can influence when, where and how the tracks or material will be made generally available. Similarly, the preview marketing network can also provide advertisers with these non-real time reports, for example, summary reports that are provided to the advertisers on a weekly basis.

Referring now to Fig. 6A, an exemplary tracking report 110 for a track in the preview marketing network is illustrated. The report includes a section 112 that provides the advertiser with general information about the number of consumers and active consumers in the preview marketing network. Additionally, the report includes a section on the current status 114 of the track, listing the various genres or categories in which it has been listed 116, its rank in each category 118, the advertiser bid for the track in each category 120, the total amount committed by the advertiser for each category 122, and the amount remaining 124, based on the advertiser bid and the number of previews already launched by consumers, for each category. The report also provides a listing of the top bid 126 and track 128 for each category, so that the advertiser's bid can be properly put into context. The report also includes a detailed demographic breakdown of the members that have launched the preview, along with how they have rated the track or material. For example, in the section of the tracking report illustrated in Fig. 6A, the report breaks down the members by gender 130, age range 132, and zip-code 134, and provides the advertisers with a summary of the total number of previews launched by members of each demographic group 136, the various ratings provided by members of each demographic group 138, and the cumulative average rating 140 provided by members of each demographic group. The detailed demographic breakdown provided to advertisers through this report can be helpful in better understanding consumer's interests and preferences. For example, the data provided by the tracking report illustrated in Fig. 6A indicates that track was not as popular or well received by consumers in the 10 and below age range or the 36 and above age range, while it was generally very well received by consumers between 11-24. A more general tracking report generated by the preview marketing network is illustrated in Fig. 6B. The report provides a summary of the recent performance of all of the tracks or previews 142 in the network, preferably ranked on the basis of the number of times each track or preview has been launched (track hits) 144. Also included in the report is the consumer ratings for each track or preview 146, both from an overall perspective and during the most recent period. Additionally, the report provides information on the advertiser bids for each track, including the identity of the advertiser 148, the categories in which the track has been listed 150, the bid for each category 152, the number of times the track or preview has been launched for each category 154, and the total revenue generated by the preview marketing network 156. Those skilled in the art should realize that other types of information or data can be collected (both actively and passively) by the network, and provided to advertisers through various other reports. Preferably, advertisers are provided with the ability to manage their entire account interactively within the preview marketing network. For example, advertisers can access the network to check real-time balances, add or move funds between different bidding accounts, and receive detailed transaction reports. Funds can be added to their account via credit card, check or through a customer service representative, and all transactions take place through a secure server. In order to prevent fraud or illegitimate charges to the advertisers in the network, appropriate mechanisms are preferably provided within the network to prevent iterative click-throughs on a track from a single consumer or intelligent agents. While various embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it would be apparent to those skilled in the art that many modifications are possible without departing from the inventive concept disclosed herein. For example, although the preview marketing network has been primary described and illustrated in connection with its applicability to the music industry, those skilled in the art should realize that it is equally applicable to various other industries. Take, for example, the video game or computer game industry. Instead of providing previews of various tracks, advertisers can alternatively, or additionally, provide previews of various video or computer games through the network. The previews of the video or computer games can either be essentially trailers of those games which consumers can passively watch through the network, or modified versions of the games that actually allow consumers to interact with or play the game previews through the network. Despite this change - or other similar changes - in media, the preview marketing network can still facilitate the same interaction between advertisers and consumers through its pay-per-preview system and other features. Another exemplary market is the movie industry - instead of providing previews of various tracks or computer games, advertisers can alternatively, or additionally, provide previews or trailers of various movies through the network. The same could be true for other industries where the products or services can be previewed or portrayed through audio signals, video signals, three-dimensional visualization or other rendering of data signals or sources (or some combination thereof). Examples of such industries today include various industries where the products or services are already based on audio, video or data signals, or some combination thereof - such as the video, CD, and DVD industries -, as well as other industries - such as the publishing (book and magazine) and fashion industries -, where new products and services are continually coming into the market and advertisers can create interactive previews of these products and services to provide to consumers over the network. This is especially true for industries where advertisers are already spending a significant amount of money in connection with the advertising of their products or services through a variety of different media, such as the automotive industry. The preview marketing network could also be utilized to preview various live events, such as concerts or live theater. Additionally, although the preview marketing network has been primary described and illustrated in connection with consumers accessing a main Web site or homepage of the network, those skilled in the art should realize that one of the advantage of Web is that it allows the creation of an extended affiliate network which allows products or services in the network to be previewed at various locations on the Web. The creation of an affiliate network where content and information from the preview marketing network could be accessed directly from other sites would greatly enhance the value of the network - not only by extending its effective reach and enhancing its ability to attract new consumers, but also being able to do so in a more targeted manner through its affiliates. For example, through an affiliate relationship created between the preview marketing network and other music-related sites on the Web, music fans that visit those affiliate sites could access the content, information and product or service previews in the network that are focused on their music interests.

Claims

CLAIMS What is Claimed is:

1. A method for previewing products or services through an interactive network, the method comprising: providing advertisers and consumers with access to the network; allowing the advertisers to submit product or service previews to the network, wherein the product or service previews can be launched by the consumers who access the network; storing the product or service previews submitted to the network; allowing, for each product or service preview submitted to the network, one of the advertisers to submit a bid to the network, the bid representing the amount the advertiser will pay each time one of the consumers launches the product or service preview; and presenting consumers with a list of the product or service previews stored in the network, wherein the product or service previews appear in the list in descending order of the bids submitted to the network.

2. The method according to Claim 1 further comprising the step of: rearranging the order in which the product or service previews appear in the list based on a criteria specified by the consumers.

3. The method according to Claim 1 further comprising the steps of: allowing the consumers to submit a rating for each of the product or service previews stored in the network; and rearranging the order in which the product or service previews appear in the list based on the ratings submitted by the consumers.

4. The method according to Claim 3 further comprising the steps of: collecting demographic data about the consumers that are provided access to the network; and tracking the demographic data of each consumer who launches a product or service preview stored in the network.

5. The method according to Claim 4 further comprising the step of: providing advertisers with access to reports based on the demographic data of each consumer who launches a product or service preview stored in the network.

6. The method according to Claim 1 further comprising the step of launching an interactive window each time one of the consumers launches one of the product or service previews stored in the network.

7. The method according to Claim 6 further comprising the step of allowing the advertisers to provide content that will appear in the interactive window for the product or service previews submitted to the network.

8. The method according to Claim 7 further comprises the steps of: allowing each of the advertisers to identify related information for each product or service preview submitted to the network, displaying, for each product or service preview, a link to the related information.

9. The method according to claim 8 wherein the step of allowing each of the advertisers to identify related information comprises allowing each of the advertisers to identify at least one related product or service preview stored in the network for each product or service preview submitted to the network, and wherein the step of displaying a link to the related information comprises displaying, for each product or service preview, a list of the at least one related product or service preview stored in the network.

10. The method according to claim 8 wherein the step of allowing each of the advertisers to identify related information comprises allowing each of the advertisers to identify at least one purchase option for each product or service preview submitted to the network, and wherein the step of displaying a link to the related information comprises displaying, for each product or service preview, the at least one purchase option.

1 1. The method according to Claim 1 further comprising the step of allowing the consumers to see the bids submitted to the network for each product or service preview stored in the network.

12. The method according to Claim 1 further comprising the steps of: allowing advertisers to create accounts within the network; and charging an advertiser's account each time one of its product or service previews is launched by one of the consumers in the network.

13. The method according to Claim 12 further comprising the step of allowing the advertisers to limit the bids submitted to the network.

14. The method according to Claim 13 wherein the step of allowing the advertisers to limit the bids comprises allowing the advertisers to specify a maximum to be charged by the network.

15. The method according to Claim 13 wherein the step of allowing the advertisers to limit the bids comprises allowing the advertisers to specify a date on which to remove the preview from the network.

16. The method according to Claim 13 wherein the step of allowing the advertisers to limit the bids comprises allowing the advertisers to specify a maximum number of times the preview can be launched by consumers through the network.

17. The method according to Claim 1 further comprising the steps of: providing a plurality of categories within the network; assigning each of the product or service previews stored in the network to at least one of the plurality of categories; and providing consumers with the ability to display a list of product or service previews for each of the plurality of categories.

18. The method according to Claim 1 wherein the interactive network comprises an online network, and wherein the providing step comprises providing advertisers and consumers with access to the online network through a network appliance or other interface.

19. The method according to Claim 18 wherein the online network comprises a communication or media network, and wherein the providing step further comprises providing advertisers and consumers with access to the communication or media network through a computer.

20. The method according to Claim 1 wherein the step of allowing the advertisers to submit product or service previews to the network comprises allowing the advertisers to submit product or service previews to the network for products or services from the music industry.

21. The method according to Claim 1 wherein the step of allowing the advertisers to submit product or service previews to the network comprises allowing the advertisers to submit product or service previews to the network for products or services from the movie industry.

22. The method according to Claim 1 wherein the step of allowing the advertisers to submit product or service previews to the network comprises allowing the advertisers to submit product or service previews to the network for products or services from the video game industry.

23. The method according to Claim 1 wherein the step of allowing the advertisers to submit product or service previews to the network comprises allowing the advertisers to submit product or service previews to the network for products or services from the video industry.

24. The method according to Claim 1 wherein the step of allowing the advertisers to submit product or service previews to the network comprises allowing the advertisers to submit product or service previews to the network for products or services from the publishing industry.

25. The method according to Claim 1 wherein the step of allowing the advertisers to submit product or service previews to the network comprises allowing the advertisers to submit product or service previews to the network for products or services from the fashion industry.

26. The method according to Claim 1 wherein the step of allowing the advertisers to submit product or service previews to the network comprises allowing the advertisers to submit product or service previews to the network for products or services from the broadcasting industry.

27. An method for previewing tracks of music through an interactive network, the method comprising: providing advertisers and consumers with access to the network; allowing the advertisers to submit tracks to the network, wherein the tracks can be listened to by the consumers who access the network; storing the tracks submitted to the network; allowing, for each track submitted to the network, one of the advertisers to submit a bid to the network, the bid representing the amount the advertiser will pay each time one of the consumers listens to the track; and presenting consumers with a list of the tracks stored in the network, wherein the tracks appear in the list in descending order of the bids submitted to the network.

28. The method according to Claim 27 further comprising the steps of: allowing the consumers to provide a rating for each of the tracks stored in the network; and rearranging the order in which the tracks appear in the list based on the ratings provided by the consumers.

29. The method according to Claim 28 further comprising the steps of: collecting demographic data about the consumers that are provided access to the network; and tracking the demographic data of each consumer who listens to a track stored in the network.

30. The method according to Claim 29 further comprising the step of: providing advertisers with access to reports based on the demographic data of each consumer who listens to a track stored in the network.

31. The method according to Claim 27 further comprising the step of launching an interactive window each time one of the consumers listens to one of the tracks stored in the network.

32. The method according to Claim 31 further comprising the step of allowing the advertisers to provide content that will appear in the interactive window for the tracks submitted to the network.

33. The method according to Claim 32 further comprises the steps of: allowing each advertisers to identify at least one related track stored in the network for track submitted to the network, displaying, for each track stored in the network, a list of the at least one related track stored in the network.

34. The method according to Claim 27 further comprising the step of allowing the consumers to see the bids submitted to the network for each track stored in the network.

35. The method according to Claim 27 further comprising the steps of: allowing advertisers to create accounts within the network; and charging an advertiser's account each time one of its tracks is listened to by one of the consumers in the network.

36. The method according to Claim 35 further comprising the step of allowing the advertisers to adjust the bids submitted to the network by specifying a limitation selected from the group comprising: a maximum amount to be charged by the network, a date on which to remove the track from the network, or a maximum number of times the track can be listened to by consumers through the network.

37. The method according to Claim 27 further comprising the steps of: providing a plurality of categories within the network; assigning each of the tracks stored in the network to at least one of the plurality of categories; and providing consumers with the ability to display a list of tracks for each of the plurality of categories.

38. An interactive marketing network for previewing products or services, the network comprising: a plurality of advertisers with the ability to access the network; a plurality of consumers with the ability to access the network; a plurality of product or service previews submitted to the network by the plurality of advertisers, wherein each of the plurality of product or service previews can be launched by the plurality of consumers with the ability to access the network; and a bidding system accessible by the plurality of advertisers, wherein one of the plurality of advertisers submits a bid through the bidding system to the network for each of the plurality of product or service previews, the bid representing the amount the one of the plurality of advertisers will pay each time one of the plurality of consumers launches the product or service preview, and a display system accessible by the plurality of consumers, wherein the display system presents the plurality of consumers with a list of the product or service previews, wherein the product or service previews appear in the list in descending order of the bids submitted to the network.

39. The network according to Claim 38 further comprising: a consumer rating system, wherein the consumer rating system allows consumers to submit a rating for each of the product or service previews, and wherein the display system is capable of presenting the plurality of consumers with a list of the product or service previews, wherein the product or service previews appear in the list in descending order of the consumer ratings submitted to the network.

40. The network according to Claim 38 wherein the display system comprises a network appliance or other interface.

41. The network according to Claim 40 wherein the network appliance comprises a computer.