Media marketing system and method

Abstract

A system and process is provided for distributing branding and content messages to wireless mobile devices such as mobile handsets. The system has a mobile media portal process that enables a content owner and one or more sponsors to cooperate in negotiating, planning, and executing a branding or content campaign. For a campaign, a set of consumers has indicated a desire to receive particular content information on their mobile handset, and may have used a web interface or their phone to provide demographic information and content choices. A media center interface, either automatically or under human control, associates a particular marketing message from a sponsor with the content information, and distributes the marketing message and information to the user's handset. Since the marketing message has been selected and adapted to the demographics and preferences of the user, it is likely that the user will positively respond to receiving the marketing message.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer-implemented method for generating a marketing campaign for distribution on a transmission system connecting a plurality of mobile devices, the method comprising:
 storing an electronic media kit in a storage, the electronic media kit being provided by a content provider via the transmission system and comprising information about content being offered by the content provider and content provider rules for the content, the content provider rules defining a preferred target audience for the content;   storing an electronic product kit in the storage, the electronic product kit being provided by a sponsor via the transmission system and comprising information about a product and a brand associated with the sponsor and sponsor rules for the product and the brand;   comparing, by a mobile media portal implemented by a computer connected with the storage, the content provider rules of the electronic media kit with the sponsor rules of the electronic product kit to determine a match between one or more of the content provider rules with one or more of the sponsor rules;   generating, by the mobile media portal, the marketing campaign, the marketing campaign comprising at least some of the information about the product and the brand associated with the sponsor and at least some of the content provided by the content provider, the at least some of the content being selected for the marketing campaign according to the match between one or more of the content provider rules with one or more of the sponsor rules; and   providing, via the mobile media portal, access to the marketing campaign to the content provider and to the sponsor, the marketing campaign defining a target audience for the marketing campaign based on the preferred target audience of the content provider rules; and   providing, via the mobile media portal, an input for receiving an agreement by the content provider or the sponsor for distribution of a marketing message to a plurality of mobile devices connected with the transmission system, the marketing message comprising the at least some of the information about the product and the brand associated with the sponsor and the at least some of the content provided by the content provider according to the marketing campaign.   
     
     
         2 . The computer-implemented method in accordance with  claim 1 , further comprising gathering, by the mobile media portal, consumer data of each of a plurality of consumers from a consumer interface on a mobile device associated with each of the plurality of consumers. 
     
     
         3 . The computer-implemented method in accordance with  claim 2 , wherein the consumer interface is provided by an application executed on the mobile device. 
     
     
         4 . The computer-implemented method in accordance with  claim 2 , wherein the consumer data comprises mobile device identification information. 
     
     
         5 . The computer-implemented method in accordance with  claim 4 , wherein the consumer data further comprises at least one of demographic data, mobile device capability information, geographic location of the mobile device, and preferences for the consumer. 
     
     
         6 . The computer-implemented method in accordance with  claim 5 , further comprising formatting, by the mobile media portal, the marketing message for transmission to the plurality of mobile devices based on the mobile device capability information. 
     
     
         7 . The computer-implemented method in accordance with  claim 6 , further comprising transmitting, by the mobile media portal over a mobile network that enables the transmission system, the marketing message to the plurality of mobile devices. 
     
     
         8 . The computer-implemented method in accordance with  claim 7 , wherein the transmitting is based on the mobile device identification information gathered by the mobile media portal. 
     
     
         9 . A computer-implemented method for generating a marketing campaign for distribution on a transmission system connecting a plurality of mobile devices, the method comprising:
 comparing, by a mobile media portal implemented by a computer, content provider rules of an electronic media kit with sponsor rules of an electronic product kit, the content provider rules and sponsor rules being stored in a storage, the electronic media kit further comprising information about content provided by a content provider, the electronic product kit further comprising information about a product and a brand associated with a sponsor, the comparing to determine a match between the content provider rules with the sponsor rules;   generating, by the mobile media portal, the marketing campaign for the product based on the match, the marketing campaign comprising the information about the product and the brand and at least some of the content provided by the content provider, the marketing campaign further defining a target audience based at least in part on the content provider rules; and   generating, by the mobile media portal, a marketing message for a plurality of mobile devices connected with the transmission system and being associated with the target audience, the marketing message comprising the at least some of the content associated with the marketing campaign.   
     
     
         10 . The computer-implemented method in accordance with  claim 8 , further comprising gathering, by the mobile media portal, consumer data of each of a plurality of consumers from a consumer interface on a mobile device associated with each of the plurality of consumers. 
     
     
         11 . The computer-implemented method in accordance with  claim 10 , wherein the consumer interface is provided by an application executed on the mobile device. 
     
     
         12 . The computer-implemented method in accordance with  claim 10 , wherein the consumer data comprises mobile device identification information. 
     
     
         13 . The computer-implemented method in accordance with  claim 12 , wherein the consumer data further comprises at least one of demographic data, mobile device capability information, geographic location of the mobile device, and preferences for the consumer. 
     
     
         14 . The computer-implemented method in accordance with  claim 13 , further comprising formatting, by the mobile media portal, the marketing message for transmission to the plurality of mobile devices based on the mobile device capability information. 
     
     
         15 . The computer-implemented method in accordance with  claim 14 , further comprising transmitting, by the mobile media portal over a mobile network that enables the transmission system, the marketing message to the plurality of mobile devices. 
     
     
         16 . The computer-implemented method in accordance with  claim 15 , wherein the transmitting is based on the mobile device identification information gathered by the mobile media portal. 
     
     
         17 . A media distribution system comprising:
 a mobile media portal system comprising a computer executing a mobile media portal application, the mobile media portal application being configured to gather consumer data of a plurality of consumers from a consumer interface or from one or more third-party applications on a mobile device associated with each of the plurality of consumers, the consumer data comprising mobile device identification information and at least one of demographic data, mobile device capability information, geographic location of the mobile device, and preferences for the consumer;   a storage associated with the computer, the storage storing an electronic media kit provided by a content provider, the electronic media kit comprising information about content being offered by the content provider and content provider rules for the content, the content provider rules defining an audience for the content, the storage further storing an electronic product kit provided by a sponsor, the electronic product kit comprising information about a product being offered by the sponsor and sponsor rules for the product, the product kit defining an audience for the product;   a mutual selection process executed by the computer, the mutual selection process generating a marketing message based at least in part on one or more matches between the content provider rules, the sponsor rules, and the consumer data, the marketing message comprising the information about the product and at least some of the content provided by the content provider; and   a transmission system in communication with the mobile media portal, the transmission system comprising one or more mobile message routing services for transmitting the marketing message to a mobile device of each consumer of a target audience of consumers.   
     
     
         18 . The media distribution system in accordance with  claim 17 , wherein the transmission system formats the marketing message according to the mobile device capability information for the mobile device. 
     
     
         19 . The media distribution system in accordance with  claim 17 , wherein transmission system is configured to transmit the marketing message based on the mobile device identification information gathered by the mobile media portal. 
     
     
         20 . The media distribution system in accordance with  claim 17 , wherein the mobile media portal is configured to format the marketing message based on the mobile device capability information.