Patent Filed for Identifying and Tracking Grouped Content in Email Campaigns

Strategic Insights -

A patent filed on June 2, 2008, has been published online, detailing an invention by Karl Cama, a resident of Roanoke, TX, for identifying and tracking grouped content in email campaigns. The patent, assigned to International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), addresses a significant challenge in email marketing, particularly in the context of Lotus Notes-based emails. The invention provides a method, apparatus, and computer program code for tracking the usage of email campaigns, enabling email authors to measure readership and response rates.

Key Takeaways:

  • The patent addresses the problem of tracking and reporting on Lotus Notes-based email campaigns, which lack a convenient mechanism for accessing hotspots and hyperlinks.
  • The invention includes a method for placing an instruction set in an email to form a modified email, containing grouped content with multiple levels that can be expanded to present additional content.
  • The modified email is sent to a distribution list, where the instruction set is used to track information about the grouped content.
  • The patent provides a solution to the technical problem of accessing hotspots and hyperlinks in Lotus Notes-based email, ensuring security and transparency while tagging objects that can generate hotspots and hyperlinks.
  • The technique of embedding an instruction set in an email is a key innovation in the patent, enabling the tracking and reporting of email campaign usage.
  • The invention has significant implications for email marketing, enabling email authors to measure response rates and track readership for any email campaign.

Statistics:

  • Over 93% of U.S.-based Internet users prefer e-mail as the communication medium of choice.
  • E-mail is fast, inexpensive, and reliable for reaching large masses, making it a preferred vehicle for marketing campaigns.
  • E-mail campaigns cover the full range from product and service announcements to business partnerships and beyond.
  • The absence of a convenient mechanism or API to direct access hotspots and hyperlinks in Lotus Notes-based email poses a technical problem.
  • The patent's solution addresses issues of security and transparency while enabling the tagging of all objects that can generate hotspots and hyperlinks.

Sources:

  • U.S. Patent Number 9177263, filed June 2, 2008, and published online on November 3, 2015, by Karl Cama, Identifying and Tracking Grouped Content in E-Mail Campaigns, http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=9177263.PN.&OS=PN/9177263RS=PN/9177263
  • International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), http://www.ibm.com
  • Lotus Notes, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_Notes