Dynamic Telephone Number Assignment for Campaign Attribution
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing content management systems face challenges in tracking and attributing calls generated from content items, especially when the number of content items exceeds the available unique telephone numbers, making it difficult for content sponsors to measure the effectiveness of their campaigns.
Innovation Solution
A dynamic telephone number assignment system that assigns a pool of available telephone numbers to content items, associates these numbers with user interactions, and routes future calls to the content sponsor, even after the number is returned to the pool, allowing for effective reporting on campaign performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a pool of telephone numbers is reused across multiple content items, then the system can handle more content items than available unique numbers, but it becomes difficult to track and attribute calls to specific content items
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a telephony system as an intermediary between the content management system and the telephone number pool. This intermediary maintains a mapping between telephone numbers and content item identifiers, enabling call attribution even when numbers are reused. The telephony system acts as a mediator that preserves the relationship between temporary number assignments and their corresponding content items through stored associations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-establishing the mapping between telephone numbers and content item identifiers before calls are made. The telephony system stores the association between a telephone number and a content item identifier in advance, so when a call is made to a reused number, the system can retrieve the original content item association and attribute the call correctly, even after the number has been returned to the pool and reassigned.
2Productivity
If telephone numbers are dynamically assigned and returned to the pool, then number availability is maximized, but the ability to route future calls to the original content sponsor is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback by continuously maintaining and updating the mapping between telephone numbers and content item identifiers in the telephony system. Even after a number is returned to the pool and potentially reassigned to a different content item, the feedback mechanism ensures that the original association is preserved in the mapping data structure, allowing the system to correctly route calls based on the stored content item identifier rather than relying solely on current number assignment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a logical copy of the association between telephone numbers and content items through the mapping mechanism. Instead of relying on the physical persistence of the number assignment, the system creates and stores a representation of the association (content item identifier linked to telephone number) that can be retrieved and used for routing decisions independently of whether the original number is still assigned to that content item.
3Measurement precision
If unique telephone numbers are assigned to each content item, then call tracking is simplified, but the system cannot handle more content items than available unique numbers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a one-to-one mapping dimension (unique telephone number per content item) to a many-to-one dimension (multiple content items sharing a pool of telephone numbers). By introducing the telephony system with its mapping capability, the system adds another dimension of organization where telephone numbers are linked to content item identifiers through stored associations, enabling precise tracking even in the reused number scenario and effectively increasing system capacity beyond the number of available unique telephone numbers.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, and apparatus include computer programs encoded on a computer-readable storage medium for dynamic telephone number assignment. A method includes: providing a content item to a user device, the content item including a control for initiating a call to a content sponsor associated with the content item; assigning a telephone number from a pool to the content item; receiving a control interaction indication; facilitating a connection between the user and the content sponsor based on the interaction; storing an association between a user identifier, the telephone number, and a content sponsor identifier such that future calls from the user to the telephone number can be routed to the content sponsor, even after the telephone number has been returned to the pool; and linking a content item impression with the connection such that a report can be generated that shows an effectiveness of the content item impression.