US Patent:
20120209714, Aug 16, 2012
Inventors:
Christopher Dacoglu Douglas - Seattle WA, US
Maxwell M. Steckler - Sammamish WA, US
Robert Edward Dominy - Danville CA, US
Assignee:
THE COBALT GROUP, INC. - Seattle WA
International Classification:
G06Q 30/00
Abstract:
An advertising provider may be obligated to ensure that its advertising directs users to the correct business entity (e.g., dealer or franchise). The advertising provider may maintain a datastructure comprising a plurality of “areas of responsibility” (AOR), each of which may be assigned to a respective dealer. When generating advertising content to be provided to a user, the advertising provider may access location-identifying information about the user. The location-identifying information may comprise a zip code, street address, or the like, which is sufficiently specific to allow the advertising provider to identify an AOR in the AOR datastructure. Accordingly, generalized location information, such as city, state, and/or country may not be sufficient. The location-identifying information may be used to identify the dealer that is assigned to the user. The advertising provider may access dealer-specific information, which may be used to generate dealer-targeted advertising for the user.