Systems and methods for providing a direct marketing campaign planning environment

Abstract

Embodiments of system are disclosed in which selection strategies for a direct marketing campaign that identify consumers from a credit bureau or other consumer database can be planned, tested, and/or refined on a stable subset of the credit database. In some embodiments, once refined, consumer selection criteria may be used to execute the direct marketing campaign on the full consumer/credit database, which is preferably updated approximately twice weekly. In one preferred embodiment, the data for the test database represents a random sampling of approximately 10% of the full database and the sampling is regenerated approximately weekly in order to provide a stable set of data on which campaign developers may test their campaign. For each consumer in the sampling, the environment may allow a client to access and use both attributes calculated by the credit bureau and proprietary attributes and data owned by the client. The system allows for a plurality of clients to use the system substantially simultaneously while protecting the privacy and integrity of the client's proprietary data and results.

Claims

1. A computer system comprising: at least one of: (a) a firewall screening electronic communications to a testing server from a first user device associated with a first client and screening electronic communications to the testing server from a second user device associated with a second client, or (b) an access control list configured to authenticate user devices requesting access to the testing server; and the testing server, wherein the testing server is partitioned into at least a first virtual electronic partition associated with the first client and a second virtual electronic partition associated with the second client, wherein the testing server comprises one or more hardware processors configured by computer-executable instructions to at least: receive, from the first user device associated with the first client, a first request to access the testing server; access a first authentication determination regarding the first user device requesting access to the testing server; access a first data set associated with the first client and the first virtual electronic partition, wherein the first data set comprises a subset of a plurality of data records corresponding to millions of consumers, wherein the subset of the plurality of data records are determined based on a random sampling of data records; and based on the first authentication determination, allow the first client to test for a first campaign using the first data set, while restricting access by the first client to the second virtual electronic partition.

2. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the one or more hardware processors are further configured by computer-executable instructions to: receive a first campaign strategy associated with the first client; and provide a first user interface configured to allow the first client to test for a first marketing campaign test via the first virtual electronic partition using the first campaign strategy.

3. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of data records are depersonalized to include anonymous identifiers associated with the consumers as replacements for personal identifiable information associated with the respective consumers.

4. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the testing of the first campaign comprises allowing the first client to calculate attributes associated with the testing server and calculate attributes proprietary to the first client.

5. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the one or more hardware processors are further configured by computer-executable instructions to: receive, from the second user device associated with the second client, a second request to access the testing server; access a second authentication determination regarding the second user device requesting access to the testing server; access a second data set associated with the second client and the second virtual electronic partition; and based on the second authentication determination allow the second client to test for a second campaign using the second data set, while restricting access by the second client to the first virtual electronic partition and the first data set.

6. The computer system of claim 5, the one or more hardware processors are further configured by computer-executable instructions to allow the first client to test for the first campaign while simultaneously allowing the second client to test for the second campaign.

7. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the subset of the plurality of data records accessed by the computing system is less than 50% of the plurality of data records.

8. A computer-implemented method comprising: as implemented by a computing system, wherein the computing system is partitioned into at least a first virtual electronic partition associated with a first client and a second virtual electronic partition associated with a second client: receiving, from a first user device associated with the first client, a first request to access the computing system; accessing a first authentication determination regarding the first user device requesting access to the computing system; accessing a first data set associated with the first client and the first virtual electronic partition, wherein the first data set comprises a subset of a plurality of data records corresponding to millions of consumers, wherein the subset of the plurality of data records are determined based at least in part on a random sampling of the plurality of data records; and based on the first authentication determination, allowing the first client to test for a first campaign using the first data set, while restricting access by the first client to the second virtual electronic partition, wherein at least one of: (a) a firewall screens electronic communications to the testing server from the first user device associated with the first client and screen electronic communications from a second user device associated with a second client, or (b) an access control list is configured to authenticate user devices requesting access to the computing system.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8 further comprising: receiving a first campaign strategy associated with the first client; and providing a first user interface configured to allow the first client to test for a first marketing campaign test via the first virtual electronic partition using the first campaign strategy.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the subset of the plurality of data records accessed by the computing system is less than 50% of the plurality of data records.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the plurality of data records is depersonalized to include anonymous identifiers associated with the consumers as replacements for personal identifiable information associated with the respective consumers.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the plurality of data records comprises identifying information for each of the one or more consumers including a name and an address of the consumer.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 8 further comprising: obtaining first contact history data and client response data for the one or more consumers from the first client, wherein the plurality of data records is depersonalized to include anonymous identifiers associated with the consumers as replacements for personal identifiable information associated with the respective consumers, and the depersonalized data records are generated based at least in part on the first contact history data and client response data from the first client.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 13 further comprising: receiving, from the second user device associated with the second client, a second request to access the testing server; accessing a second authentication determination regarding the second user device requesting access to the testing server; accessing a second data set associated with the second client and the second virtual electronic partition; and based on the second authentication determination allowing the second client to test for a second campaign using the second data set, while restricting access by the second client to the first virtual electronic partition and the first data set.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, further comprising allowing the first client to test for the first campaign while simultaneously allowing the second client to test for the second campaign.

16. A non-transitory computer storage medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a computing system, cause the computing system to perform operations comprising: receiving, from a first user device associated with a first client, a first request to access the computing system; accessing a first authentication determination regarding the first user device requesting access to the computing system; accessing a first data set associated with the first client and a first virtual electronic partition, wherein the computing system is partitioned into at least the first virtual electronic partition associated with the first client and a second virtual electronic partition associated with a second client, wherein the first data set comprises a subset of a plurality of data records corresponding to millions of consumers, wherein the subset of the plurality of data records are determined by the computing system; and based on the first authentication determination, allowing the first client to test for a first campaign using the first data set, while restricting access by the first client to the second virtual electronic partition, wherein at least one of: (a) a firewall screens electronic communications to the testing server from the first user device associated with the first client and screens electronic communications from a second user device associated with the second client, or (b) an access control list is configured to authenticate user devices requesting access to the computing system.

17. The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 16 further storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a computing system, cause the computing system to perform additional operations comprising: receiving a first campaign strategy associated with the first client; and providing a first user interface configured to allow the first client to test for a first marketing campaign test via the first virtual electronic partition using the first campaign strategy.

18. The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 16, wherein the subset of the plurality of data records accessed by the computing system is less than 50% of the plurality of data records.

19. The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 16, wherein the plurality of data records is depersonalized to include anonymous identifiers associated with the consumers as replacements for personal identifiable information associated with the respective consumers.

20. The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 16, further storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a computing system, cause the computing system to perform additional operations comprising: accessing a second authentication determination regarding the second user device requesting access to the testing server; accessing a second data set associated with the second client and the second virtual electronic partition; and based on the second authentication determination, allowing the second client to test for a second campaign using the second data set, while restricting access by the second client to the first virtual electronic partition and the first data set.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) A general architecture that implements various features of specific embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. The drawings and the associated descriptions are provided to illustrate embodiments of the invention and not to limit the scope of the invention. Throughout the drawings, reference numbers are re-used to indicate correspondence between referenced elements. In addition, the first digit of each reference number indicates the figure in which the element first appears.

(2) FIG. 1A illustrates one embodiment of a system for planning and executing a direct marketing campaign, including typical client components for accessing the system.

(3) FIG. 1B is a block diagram that shows how FIGS. 1B.sub.1, 1B.sub.2, and 1B.sub.3 can be combined to form a single high level block diagram depicting one embodiment of a system for planning and executing a direct marketing campaign.

(4) FIGS. 1B.sub.1, 1B.sub.2, and 1B.sub.3 are high level block diagrams depicting embodiments of the campaign planning and executing system 100 that improves campaign testing and refining capabilities.

(5) FIG. 2 depicts one embodiment of a partitioning solution that allows a plurality of individual clients to access the same sample database, without corrupting or having access to one another's data.

(6) FIG. 3 is a diagram that depicts one embodiment of a selection of data from the credit database to be included in the “snapshot” sample.

(7) FIG. 4 is a flowchart depicting one embodiment of a process for generating and maintaining a sample database environment.

(8) FIG. 5 is a flowchart that depicts one embodiment of a process 500 for using the sample database environment to assist a client 120 to test, analyze, refine, and execute a marketing campaign.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(9) Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying figures, wherein like numerals refer to like elements throughout. The terminology used in the description presented herein is not intended to be interpreted in any limited or restrictive manner, simply because it is being utilized in conjunction with a detailed description of certain specific embodiments of the invention. Furthermore, embodiments of the invention may include several novel features, no single one of which is solely responsible for its desirable attributes or which is essential to practicing the invention herein described.

(10) I. Overview

(11) The present disclosure relates to test environment for planning strategies for direct marketing campaigns. As used herein, a “strategy” refers to a set of selection criteria, also known as selection rules that may be used to form a query for execution on a database of records regarding prospective recipients of a direct marketing offer. The strategy may thus identify one or more attributes associated with the records that may be combined, often in a very complex query, to identify a desired subset of the records in the database.

(12) One example of a database that may be suitable for identifying prospective recipients of a direct marketing offer can be one or more databases of consumer information available from a credit bureau. Such credit bureau databases may comprise both credit-related and non-credit related data, such as demographic data, data from public records, and the like. In addition to credit bureaus, other business entities may provide access to suitable databases of consumer information, that may comprise credit-related and/or non-credit related data.

(13) One example of a direct marketing campaign offer is a firm offer of credit, for which campaign offer recipients may be identified using both credit-related and non-credit related data about consumers. Another example of a direct marketing campaign offer is an offer that is not a firm offer of credit, known as an “Invitation to Apply” (ITA) offer, which may be based on non-credit-related data alone. The systems and methods described herein are contemplated as also being useful for identifying recipients of other types of direct marketing offers that may be based on any of a variety of other types of data. Although, for ease of description, the systems and methods disclosed herein are frequently described as being performed on a credit bureau database and as providing a database environment in which clients can use credit-related data for planning direct marketing campaigns, it is to be understood that, in various embodiments, the campaigns may be planned using either credit-related data, non-credit-related data, or both. Furthermore, the environment may be provided by a credit bureau or other entity providing access to consumer data.

(14) Previous test environments for planning direct marketing campaigns using credit bureau data frequently included a full custom-built copy, known as a “full snapshot” or “100% snapshot,” of the credit database from which consumer names for the final direct marketing campaign are selected. Tasks performed in the 100% snapshot may include some or all of: analysis and campaign development, campaign set-up, audit and reporting on campaign logic, receiving client approval to proceed, and execution of the full direct marketing campaign. Since a credit bureau database may include records for hundreds of millions of consumers, building such a full copy of the database typically involves a significant lag time between initiation of the database snapshot building process and availability of the snapshot of use in testing. Thus, freshness of the data used may be compromised by the time testing begins. This lack of data freshness may be exacerbated when the data in the source database is itself lacking in freshness, due, for example, to infrequent updates.

(15) The lack of data freshness is yet further exacerbated when a direct marketing campaign developer, desiring to test and refine campaign strategies, must submit every new refinement of the campaign selection criteria to a credit bureau representative for running on the credit bureau database and must wait for a credit bureau representative to report on the results. The interjection of a third party into a campaign developer's refinement of a campaign strategy frequently makes the process inordinately cumbersome and time-consuming.

(16) Furthermore, lenders frequently desire to include proprietary data of their own and proprietary attribute definitions for use with the credit bureau data in campaign testing, refining, and finally, execution. The desire to include multiple data sources, including proprietary data for those who can afford the investment, frequently leads to building a proprietary test database for the lender's private use. A proprietary database or snapshot is not only an extremely expensive and time-consuming proposition, both to build initially and to update, but also typically yields a database with data that is out-of-date by the time the database is used for testing and finally executing the campaign strategy.

(17) On the other hand, using a snapshot of a database that is updated very frequently and that cannot be used and stored for re-use during the development of a campaign lessens a campaign developer's confidence that differences in campaign test results obtained from various test runs are the result of changes in the campaign's selection strategies and are not simply, in part or in total, the result of changes between the various snapshots.

(18) Systems and methods are disclosed herein for providing a direct marketing campaign planning environment, such as for marketing campaigns directed to consumers identified using a credit-related database system. Frequently, business entities carrying out a direct marketing campaign first identify a desired set of recipients for one or more marketing offers associated with the campaign, and contact the identified recipients, such as via mail, telephone, email, or the like, with the marketing offer.

(19) For purposes of the present disclosure, a “testing” phase is described in which the business entities may repeatedly test and refine a set of selection criteria for identifying consumers expected to be good prospects for a marketing campaign using a sample database that is a copy of a portion of a large database of consumer records. Once a satisfactory set of selection criteria is obtained, an “execution” phase includes using the selection criteria on the large database of consumer records to identify consumers to be recipients of the direct marketing offer. In some embodiments, contact information for the identified consumers may also be provided. In some embodiments, execution may further comprise using the contact information to contact the identified consumers with the direct marketing offer, and may further include tracking consumer response to the direct marketing campaign.

(20) II. Architecture

(21) FIG. 1A illustrates one embodiment of a system for planning and executing a direct marketing campaign. As depicted in FIG. 1A, the system 100 may comprise a consumer data warehouse 110, which is communication with a credit-related database 102, and a sample database 140. In preferred embodiments, the system 100 comprises one or more server systems (typically comprising multiple physical computers/machines) and associated content that are accessible to a plurality of client computing devices 101 via a network 103. The system 100 can be implemented using physical computer servers that are geographically co-located or that are geographically remote from one another. The system 100 may in some embodiments, include content that spans one or multiple internet domains.

(22) The credit-related database 102 may be configured to receive, update, and store vast amounts of data. For example, in one embodiment, a credit bureau uses the credit-related database 102 for storing data received from a variety of sources for approximately three hundred million consumers. Such data may include, for example, demographic information, credit-related information, and information available from public records. Some or all of the data may be used, among other purposes, to calculate credit scores for the consumers.

(23) The consumer data warehouse 110 may be configured to store a copy or near-copy of the data in the credit-related database 102. In various embodiments, a copy of data from the credit-related database 102 is periodically extracted and reconfigured for updating the consumer data warehouse 110. For example, data from the credit-related database 102 may be processed by a set of ETL (Extract, Transform Load) servers before being transmitted to the consumer data warehouse 110.

(24) After the data has been transformed by the ETL servers, the data may be loaded to the consumer data warehouse 110, such as by way of a high speed server interconnect switch that handles incoming and outgoing communications with the consumer data warehouse 110. As one example, the high speed interconnect switch may be an IBM SP2 switch. In other embodiments, Gig Ethernet, Infiniband, and other high speed interconnects may be used.

(25) Embodiments of an architecture for the consumer data warehouse 110 may be implemented using a Massively Parallel Processing (MPP) hardware infrastructure. In one embodiment, IBM AIX pSeries servers (8-way p655) may act as the MPP building blocks of the consumer data warehouse 110. In other embodiments, other types of servers may act as the MPP building blocks of the system, for example, Linux servers, other types of UNIX servers, and/or Windows Servers. A similar architecture could also be implemented using Symmetric Multi-Processing (SMP) servers, such as IBM P690 32-way server or HP Superdome servers.

(26) In preferred embodiments, a relational database management system (RDBMS), such as a DB2 EEE8.1 system, manages the data in the consumer data warehouse 110.

(27) The system 100 can also include a sample database 140 that stores a temporary copy of a portion of the data in the consumer data warehouse 110, as will be described in greater detail below. The sample database 140 can serve as an environment in which one or more clients may test, refine, and/or validate a proposed marketing campaign before executing the campaign on the full consumer data warehouse 110.

(28) FIG. 1A further illustrates typical client components for accessing the system, in accordance with some embodiments of the invention. As depicted in this drawing, one or more clients can use a general purpose computer or computing device 101 with access to a network 103 to access the system 100.

(29) For example, one or more of the computing devices 101 may be a personal computer that is IBM, Macintosh, or Linux/Unix compatible. In one embodiment, the client computing device 101 includes a central processing unit (CPU), which may include a conventional microprocessor. The computing device 101 further includes a memory, such as random access memory (RAM) for temporary storage of information and a read only memory (ROM) for permanent storage of information, and a mass storage device, such as a hard drive, diskette, or optical media storage device.

(30) The client computing device 101 may include one or more commonly available input/output (I/O) devices and interfaces, such as a keyboard, mouse, touchpad, and printer. In one embodiment, the I/O devices and interfaces include one or more display device, such as a monitor, that allows the visual presentation of data to a user. More particularly, a display device provides for the presentation of GUIs, application software data, and multimedia presentations, for example. The client computing device 101 may also include one or more multimedia devices, such as speakers, video cards, graphics accelerators, and microphones, for example.

(31) The network 103 may comprise one or more of a LAN, WAN, or the Internet, for example, via a wired, wireless, or combination of wired and wireless, communication link that may be configured to be secured or unsecured.

(32) As further illustrated in FIG. 1A, the computer 101 of the client can run a campaign management tool 125 and business intelligence tool 126. The campaign management tool 125 and business intelligence tool 126 can be configured to perform research and analysis functions associated with testing and refining the proposed direct marketing campaign.

(33) Although the credit-related database 102 and the client computing devices 101 have been depicted in FIG. 1A as being external to the system 100, in other embodiments, one or more of the credit-related database 102 and/or the client computing devices 101 may be provided as part of the system 100, in which cases, communications may take place using one or more internal communications systems. Additionally or alternatively, rather than being a copy of the credit-related database 102, the consumer data warehouse 110 may receive update data, including, but not limited to demographic information, credit-related information, and/or information available from public records, directly from other sources.

(34) In some embodiments, clients 120 may access the consumer data warehouse 110 and/or may run campaigns directly rather than via the project manager 130.

(35) FIGS. 1B.sub.1, 1B.sub.2, and 1B.sub.3 are high level block diagrams depicting embodiments of a campaign testing and executing system 100 that improve campaign testing and refining capabilities. FIG. 1B shows how FIGS. 1B.sub.1, 1B.sub.2, and 1B.sub.3 can be combined to form a single high level block diagram depicting one embodiment of the campaign testing and executing system 100. The campaign testing and executing system 100 may be used, at least in part, by lenders, other providers of credit services or other business entities, and/or marketers working on their behalf (referred to, for purposes of this disclosure, as “clients” 120) who wish to use data available from one or more credit bureaus or other provider of consumer data to help identify consumers who may be interested in the services of the clients.

(36) In various embodiments, the campaign testing and executing system 100 may be implemented using a variety of computer hardware and software resources. For example, computer servers, such as web servers, database servers, campaign management tool servers, and business intelligence tool servers, as well as direct access storage device (DASD) capacity accessible by one or more of the above-described types of servers are used in various embodiments. Furthermore, associated software, such as cluster multi-processing software, campaign management software, business intelligence software, network communications software, and database management software (such as DB2, Oracle, or Sybase, for example) can also be used.

(37) In the embodiments depicted in FIGS. 1B.sub.1, 1B.sub.2, and 1B.sub.3, a consumer data warehouse 110 includes data about millions of consumers. In particular, data in the consumer data warehouse 110 may be a copy or near-copy of data from the database of credit-related data 102, which is used for calculating consumer credit ratings, among other uses, and which is updated daily or more frequently. The data in the consumer data warehouse 110 may be organized so as to make batch processing of the data more expedient and may be updated from the database of credit-related data 102 that is used for calculating consumer credit ratings on a regular, preferably frequent, basis, so that data in the consumer data warehouse 110 includes up-to-date changes in the consumers' records. In a preferred embodiment, the consumer data warehouse 110 is updated twice weekly.

(38) In the consumer data warehouse 110, the data may be organized generally as records of data for each consumer. Each record may be divided conceptually into attributes associated with each consumer. Examples of demographic, credit, or custom attributes that may be useful to clients 120 wishing to identify potential customers may include, but are not limited to: number of credit cards held by the consumer, total available credit, total current balance, number of late payments within the last year, number of late payments within the last three years, no tradelines, and the like. In addition, some attributed may be derived from other attributes, such as but not limited to derived attributes that are aggregations of other attributes or that are calculated from other attributes. In many embodiments, the consumer data warehouse 110 may include hundreds of attributes for each consumer. Some attributes, and especially attributes useful to a wide variety of clients using the system 100, may be pre-calculated for the consumer records and may be generally available to the clients as a generic attribute view 111 from the consumer data warehouse 110. Clients 120 may also wish to define custom attributes for their own use to help identify consumers of interest. Instructions for calculating these proprietary attributes may be input to the consumer data warehouse 110 by a custom attribute coder 160 on behalf of individual clients 120 for use by the individual clients. The custom attributes may be stored in a plurality of client views 112, which allow each client 120 to access only their own proprietary attributes.

(39) In some embodiments, in addition to the attributes in views 111, 112, clients may provide other data 113 that may be used together with the data in the consumer data warehouse 110 to identify potentially good prospects for a direct marketing campaign. For example, clients 120 may wish to include historical information identifying consumers who have previously been contacted in one or more direct marketing campaigns, response history information about consumers who have been contacted, information identifying consumers who have requested not to be contacted, and/or the like. Other non-campaign related data may also be included with the other data 113.

(40) Generally, when a client 120 wishes to run a direct marketing campaign, a campaign flowchart 121 is generated to describe a plan for identifying desired consumers from the records in the consumer data warehouse 110. The campaign flowchart 121 is typically a complex plan for using a large number of attributes from the generic attribute view 111 and the client view 112, along with other client data 113, to categorize the consumers and to select consumers whose attributes place them in one or more desired categories. The campaign flowchart 121 is provided to a project manager 130 who, among other tasks, accepts the campaign flowchart 121 for extracting the desired information, often in the form of consumer names and contact information, from the consumer data warehouse 110.

(41) In order to help the client 120 design a campaign flowchart 121 that successfully identifies consumers appropriate for a given direct marketing campaign, the campaign testing and executing system 100 advantageously includes a sample database 140 that serves as a temporarily available environment in which a client may test, refine, and validate a proposed campaign flowchart 121. The sample database 140 preferably includes data from a random or semi-random sampling of the records in the consumer data warehouse 110 so that results obtained from test campaigns run on the sample database 140 will be statistically meaningful indicators of the results that would be obtained using the full consumer data warehouse 110. It is desirable for the sample database 140 to include a sufficiently large sampling of the consumer data warehouse 110 records to provide a statistically meaningful sample while being sufficiently small to allow for quick building of the database 140 and quick execution of test campaigns. Preferably, the sample database 140 includes fewer records than the consumer data warehouse 110. In one embodiment, a sample size of 10% of the full consumer data warehouse 110 is preferred. That is, the sample database includes at least a portion of the data from 10% of the consumer records in the full consumer data warehouse 110. In other embodiments, other preferred sizes may be used, including 1% to 70%, or 5% to 25% of the records in the credit-related database 102. Although embodiments of the systems and methods are described herein with reference to a 10% sample database 140, embodiments of the systems and methods are also contemplated as being used with a sample database 140 that represent a different portion of the full consumer data warehouse 110.

(42) As depicted in FIGS. 1B.sub.1, 1B.sub.2, and 1B.sub.3, once a sample (for example, 10% of the data warehouse records) is selected, generic attributes from the generic view 111 and proprietary attributes in the client view 112 that are associated with consumers in the sample go through an extraction and data load process executed by a data load module 150 to build the sample database 140. Generic attributes may be stored in a repository of consumer core data 141 and proprietary attributes from the client view 112 may be stored in a repository of client pre-calculated data 142. In various embodiments, certain portions of the selected records the consumer data warehouse 110 may be omitted from records in the sample database 140. For example, consumer name and contact information may be deleted from the records to be used for campaign testing in order to comply with various governmental regulations regarding proper use of consumer credit information. Instead, anonymous identifier numbers and general location information may be used to identify the individual records and to allow a geographically representative sample to be selected. As will be familiar to a practitioner of skill in the art, other methods of anonymizing consumer records while retaining their usefulness for campaign development may also be used.

(43) As depicted in FIGS. 1B.sub.1, 1B.sub.2, and 1B.sub.3, a copy of some or all of the other client data 113 may be stored in a repository of other client data 143 for use with the sample database 140.

(44) In one embodiment, to test, analyze, and refine a proposed campaign, the client 120 uses a campaign management tool 125 and/or a business intelligence tool 126 to access a sample client view 144 that includes data from the repository of sampled consumer core data 141, the associated repository of client pre-calculated data 142, and the repository of other client data 143. The campaign management tool 125 and the business intelligence tool 126 are software applications that may be accessed and run using a personal computer (PC) or any of a variety of other commonly available computing devices in order to send queries to the sample database 140, to generate reports based at least in part on information obtained from the sample database 140, and to perform other research and analysis functions associated with testing and refining the proposed direct marketing campaign. In preferred embodiments, the client 120 may access the campaign testing and executing system 100 by way of the Internet or other communications network 103.

(45) In preferred embodiments, the campaign management tool 125, or another aspect of the campaign testing and executing system 100, provides the client 120 with a “layman, user-friendly” data dictionary that describes elements available within the sample database 140. The client 120 is preferably also provided with a “look-up” capability for various available categories of attributes, for example mortgage-related attributes, credit-rating related attributes, or the like. In some embodiments, the client 120 may additionally or alternatively create and use proprietary attributes for use in the direct marketing campaign.

(46) Preferably, the campaign management tool 125 allows the client 120 to be able to conduct high-level campaign development functions, such as segmentation of the consumer population, selection of one or more such segments, and/or suppression of one or more segments or one or more individual consumers from the selection results.

(47) Furthermore, the campaign management tool 125 preferably provides the client 120 with a capability to construct queries for testing and executing the campaign through a graphic user interface (GUI). The campaign query interface allows for basic and advanced logic to be defined and used to construct queries in one or more database query languages, such as Standard Query Language (SQL). In a preferred embodiment, the query interface provides the client 120 with a capability to create SQL queries directly, to view either or both of SQL queries created directly by the user and/or queries generated via the query builder interface, and to edit either or both of SQL queries created directly by the user and/or queries generated via the query builder interface.

(48) The query interface of the campaign management tool 125 preferably allows the client 120 to name query definitions, to save query definitions, to reuse query definitions. Additionally, in a preferred embodiment, the query interface provides the client 120 with an ability to record and modify campaign selection rules for future use. In some embodiments, the query interface allows the client 120 to share query definitions with one or more authorized users.

(49) Furthermore, in a preferred embodiment, the query interface allows the client 120 to test a query, to view query results, and to print the query results. For each query result, the query interface may have the capability to provide a sample of the underlying data.

(50) In one embodiment, the campaign management tool 125 includes a query interface that allows the client 120 to select individuals from the marketing database based upon individual or household criteria. The query interface allows the client 120 to add data sources for the purpose of selection for individual campaigns. The query interface further provides the client 120 with an ability to select records based on a “times mailed” calculation derived from the historical campaign response data. The query interface may provide the capability to identify customer segments. The query interface may additionally or alternatively provide the client 120 with a capability to utilize independent queries for each segment and segmentation trees to split the customer universe into subgroups.

(51) In some embodiments, the same campaign management tool 125 and the business intelligence tool 126 software applications that are used for running direct marketing campaigns on the full consumer data warehouse 110 (the 100% environment) may also provide all functionality needed for allowing clients 120 to directly create and test campaigns on the sample database 140 (10% environment). In some embodiments, separate query interfaces for campaign testing and campaign execution may be provided. In some embodiments, the campaign management tool 125 and the business intelligence tool 126 software applications may provide some, but not all, preferred functionality for providing the systems and methods disclosed herein, in which case supplemental software may be added to or used in conjunction with the campaign management tool 125 and/or the business intelligence tool 126 software to provide the missing functionality.

(52) The client 120 may run and re-run the test campaign on the sample database 40 as desired, performing champion/challenger tests, for example, and observing the effects of modifications on the campaign results. In various embodiments, the data in the sample database 140 remains temporarily static until the sample database 140 is re-built, using a new randomly selected sampling of the credit-related database 102 records which may take place at regular intervals, such as for example, once a week. Thus, the client 120 can have confidence that the various campaign test runs being run during a given week are being run on the same data. In other embodiments, the data in the sample database 140 may be updated according to another schedule, such daily, monthly, upon demand by one or more clients, at random intervals, or the like.

(53) In various embodiments, the client 120 can run various types of reports using the campaign management tool 125 and/or the business intelligence tool 126 software in order to aid in analysis of the data and test results. For example, in one embodiment, the client 120 may run one or more campaign analysis reports that allow the client 120 to predict response to the direct marketing campaign within a segment or group of segments of the targeted population. The client 120 may also use reports to refine future marketing strategies. In some embodiments, the client 120 may specify a preferred output layout for the reports.

(54) In some embodiments, the campaign management tool 125 and the business intelligence tool 126 software do not communicate directly with one another and do not directly share metadata or queries, although the client 120 may manually transfer queries, for example, from one to the other. In other embodiments, the campaign management tool 125 and the business intelligence tool 126 software may be configured to have access to shared metadata and queries.

(55) Once the client 120 has had an opportunity to test and/or refine the campaign strategy and is satisfied with the campaign strategy, the client may provide the campaign flowchart 121, which reflects the desired campaign strategy, to the project manager 130 for running on the full data warehouse 110 environment as currently updated.

(56) As was described above, in preferred embodiments, the consumer data warehouse 110 is updated twice weekly or at another advantageously frequent interval to insure “freshness” of the data. Thus, although the campaign testing may, in some embodiments, have been run on data that was about ten days old, the actual campaign may be run on data that is three days old or newer. In some embodiments, once the client 120 submits the desired campaign strategy in the form of a campaign flowchart 121 to the project manager 130, either directly or via an intermediary, the campaign may be run on the full consumer data warehouse 110 and results returned to the client 120 within as little as three business days or less. In other embodiments, results may be returned to the client 120 within another advantageously short period of time.

(57) In preferred embodiments, the campaign management tool 125 and/or the business intelligence tool 126 may provide a variety of reporting services to the client 120. For example, the campaign management tool 125 may also provide the client 120 with data about consumer responses received in connection with one or more executed direct marketing campaigns. In other embodiments, the client 120 may receive consumer response reports from another source. In one embodiment, a response analysis report may provide an analysis of responses received from a direct marketing campaign executed through the system 100. The response analysis report may summarize results over periods of time with shorter comparison periods in the immediate weeks after a campaign is executed to longer time frames after the campaign has completed. The response analysis report may provide flexibility to perform analysis of various levels and/or categories of summarization, which may include, but are not limited to: customer segments, product line, product campaign, promotion, offer, collateral, media, and/or vendor.

(58) In some embodiments, a client data maintenance service 165 provides the client 120 with an ability to store campaign-related data related to client campaigns. For example, the client data maintenance service 165 may make campaign data accessible for further campaign development purposes, for analysis purposes, and/or in order to update/delete/archive campaign data for client campaigns. The client data maintenance service 165 may provide the ability to receive and store campaign-related data for direct marketing campaigns that may be common to most or all of a client's campaigns and thus may be useful for future campaigns. The client data maintenance service 165 may collect data of individual promotions in order to derive a “times contacted” calculation for use in future campaign development.

(59) In some embodiments, the client data maintenance service 165 may further record updates to identifying information, such as name, address, and/or telephone information received during a direct marketing campaign. The client data maintenance service 165 may record mail disposition updates for individual consumer records, such as whether a direct mailing advertisement was mailed or not mailed, along with associated explanatory reason codes. The client data maintenance service 165 may record telephone contact disposition updates for individual consumer records, such as whether a direct mailing advertisement call was made or not made, along with associated explanatory reason codes. In other embodiments, other types of data may additionally or alternatively be maintained on behalf of the client 120, by the client data maintenance service 165 and/or as part of the campaign management 125 or business intelligence tool 126 services.

(60) In some embodiments the system 100 may be used for planning a variety of types of campaigns, including, for example, both firm offers of credit and ITA offers. In some embodiments, the system 100 may provide access for clients 120 to two or more sample databases 140, including at least one sample database that includes only non-credit related data. This type of non-credit related sample database may be used, for example, for planning campaigns where the use of consumer credit data is not permitted. In other embodiments, the sample database 140 may be configured to include a mix of credit and non-credit information, such that the system 100 may provide clients 120 with access to both the credit and the non-credit information or to only the non-credit information in the sample database 140.

(61) The methods and processes described above and throughout the present disclosure may be embodied in, and fully automated via, software code modules executed by one or more general purpose computers/processors. The code modules may be stored in any type of computer-readable medium or other computer storage device. Some or all of the methods may alternatively be embodied in specialized computer hardware.

(62) FIG. 2 depicts one embodiment of a partitioning solution that allows a plurality of individual clients 120′, 120″, 120′″, 120″″ to access the same sample database 140, without corrupting or having access to one another's proprietary data. As was depicted in FIGS. 1B.sub.1, 1B.sub.2, and 1B.sub.3, the sample database 140 includes a repository of core consumer data 141, available to all clients, which includes data associated with a randomly selected portion, such as 10%, of the records in the full consumer data warehouse 110. In a preferred embodiment, once a week, a new 10% sample of the full consumer data warehouse 110 is randomly selected, extracted from the consumer data warehouse 110, cleansed of undesirable or unnecessary attributes, such as name, address, other contact information, and the like, and is loaded into the repository of core consumer data 141. In addition, pre-calculated attributes associated with the generic attribute view 111 for the selected portion of the consumer records can be calculated and loaded in to the repository of core consumer data 141 that is commonly available to clients using the sample database 140.

(63) Furthermore, the system 100 may provide each client 120 accessing the sample database 140 with additional proprietary data owned by the client. The proprietary data may include custom attributes, as defined in the client view 112 of the consumer data warehouse 110 and/or may be custom attributes defined for the current campaign. The custom attributes can be calculated for the randomly selected portion of the consumer records and are loaded in the repository of client pre-calculated data 142 in the sample database 140. In addition, other client data 143, proprietary to each client, may be made available use for by the associated client. For example, client-specific campaign history data and/or client-specific response history data may be provided to clients 120 using the sample database 140. This test environment which persists for one week, or for another desired span of time, provides a stable environment that is very helpful to campaign developers.

(64) As depicted in FIG. 2, the generic data available to all clients and the proprietary data exclusive to individual clients 120′, 120″, 120′″, 120″″ are depicted as Schema 1, Schema 2, Schema 3, and Schema 4. Each schema may, in various embodiments, include the client pre-calculated data 142 for the 10% or other sized sample and/or the other client data 143 that were described with reference to FIGS. 1B.sub.1, 1B.sub.2, and 1B.sub.3 and may be used with the data in the repository of core customer data 141.

(65) FIG. 2 shows that each schema is accessible only to its respective client 120, and is shielded from access or use by other clients by a system of partition. The partition plan depicted in FIG. 2 allows a plurality of clients 120 to access the sample database 140 simultaneously or nearly simultaneously for testing and refining their respective campaign strategies. In one embodiment, the campaign testing and executing system 100 allows for from one up to one hundred clients 120 to access the same sample database 140, including the shared core consumer data 141 and each client's 120 proprietary data, simultaneously. Clients may pose up to one hundred queries per month and may extract from less than one up to over thirty million names per month. In other embodiments, the system 100 may accommodate more than one hundred clients 120 and/or may allow the clients 120 to pose up to another advantageous number of queries and/or extracted names per given time period. In still further embodiments, the system 100 may provide multiple sample databases 140 for use by one or more clients 120.

(66) Starting at the bottom of FIG. 2, a plurality of clients 120′, 120″, 120′″, 120″″ access the business intelligence 126 and/or campaign management 125 tools for testing and refining their respective campaign strategies. A firewall 210 allows access to the system for clients 120 with approved campaign credentials and protects computers used by the individual clients from improper access by others.

(67) The clients 120′, 120″, 120′″, 120″″ access the campaign web application server 220 and are given access to their respective partitions. In some embodiments, the clients 120′, 120″, 120′″, 120″″ can connect using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) and/or can use vendor specific user credentials. In one embodiment, access to the campaign server 240 is controlled by an Access Control List (ACL) 230, such as an ACL that makes use of a password or other identifier to correctly authenticate a client 20 wishing to access the system 100, as will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art in light of the present disclosure. The campaign server 240 accesses the data stored in the sample database server 140 in order to carry out the queries, tests, report generation, and the like that may be requested by the individual clients 120. Once again, communications between the sample database server 140 and the campaign server 240 is controlled by means of an ACL 250. In some embodiments, the sample database server 140 can be implemented using a relational database, such as IBM DB2, Sybase, Oracle, CodeBase and Microsoft® SQL Server as well as other types of databases such as, for example, a flat file database, an entity-relationship database, and object-oriented database, and/or a record-based database.

(68) Thus, clients gain the benefits typically associated with a custom test and execution database system that includes their own data as well as very up-to-date generic consumer data without a substantial delay for database build time and without the very costly up-front financial investment that are typically associated with proprietary databases.

(69) Furthermore, as was described with reference to FIGS. 1B.sub.1, 1B.sub.2, and 1B.sub.3 above, in some embodiments, in addition to having access to different proprietary data 142, 143, different clients may also be provided with access to different portions of the core consumer data 141 in the sample database 140. For example, one or more clients 120 planning a first type of campaign may be allowed access to all of the data in the core consumer data 141, while clients 120 planning a second type of campaign may be allowed access to a portion of the data in the core consumer data 141. Furthermore, in some embodiments, a given client 120 may be allowed access to all of the data in the core consumer data 141 for a first type of campaign, while the same client 120 may, at the same time, be allowed access to only a portion of the data in the core consumer data 141 for use in planning a second type of campaign. In one embodiment, access control to the data in the core consumer data 141 of the sample database 140 is implemented, at least in part, using the various schemas for the various clients 120, as depicted in FIG. 2.

(70) FIG. 3 is a diagram that depicts one embodiment of a selection of data from the credit database to be included in the “snapshot” sample database 140. In the embodiment shown, the following types of data are included: consumer credit information 310, consumer non-credit information 320, client custom data 330, client contact history data 340, and client response data 350. In some embodiments, the client 20 uses the campaign management software tool 125 for campaign development and/or the business intelligence tool 126 for analysis and reporting. The consumer credit information 310 and the consumer non-credit information 320 both come as part of the 10% sample data load from the generic attributes 111 in the consumer data warehouse 110. Together, they make up the consumer core data 141 depicted in FIGS. 1B.sub.1, 1B.sub.2, 1B.sub.3 and FIG. 2. In this embodiment, each record in the consumer credit information 310 and the consumer non-credit information 320 includes a household identifier (HSN), a personal identifier (PIN), and a selection of consumer attributes. The client custom data 330 is stored in the repository of proprietary attributes 142 depicted in FIGS. 1B.sub.1, 1B.sub.2, and 1B.sub.3. In this embodiment, each record in the client custom data 330 includes a household identifier (HSN), a personal identifier (PIN), and a selection of proprietary consumer attributes. In various embodiments, client custom information may not include consumer name, street address or encrypted PIN information, and does include, for each consumer, an element, such as zip code, that can be matched to data within the sample database 141 and the consumer data warehouse 110. The client contact history data 340 and the client response data 350 may both come from the copy of the other client data 143 in the sample database 140, which includes data about the full population of consumers. These data sources are used, for example, to filter campaign results based on past contact history and client response information. The past contact history and client response information may indicate that if a given consumer appears in the list of campaign results, the consumer should be removed from list, for any of a variety of reasons. In some embodiments, some of the data from the client provided data 330, 340, 350 records may not be used for campaign development, in order to comply with federal and other regulations that control the use of credit-related data for advertising purposes.

(71) In one embodiment, a sample test environment is built that represents data from a random 10% of a consumer credit database. The 10% test environment may be used for analysis, campaign development, campaign set-up, and for executing, auditing and reporting on logic proposed for the campaign. The client 120 may review results of the above and may approve or decline to approve execution of the proposed campaign strategy on the full and most recently updated version of the consumer credit database. If the client 120 declines approval, the client may choose to modify and re-test the campaign strategy one or more times until a desired campaign strategy is achieved. Thus, the full campaign executes the desired campaign strategy in the 100% environment of the full consumer data warehouse 110.

(72) Although the foregoing systems and methods have been described in terms of certain preferred embodiments, other embodiments will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from the disclosure herein. For example, in some embodiments, it may be desirable to add one or more demographic tables to allow for development of Invitation to Apply (ITA) lists (non-credit data lists) for direct marketing campaigns by clients. In some embodiments, credit data from more than one credit bureau may be available for use in connection with the systems and methods described herein.

(73) Furthermore, although the systems and methods disclosed herein have been described by way of embodiments in which the clients 120 are typically credit providers or marketers working to plan direct marketing campaigns on their behalf, other embodiments, in which clients 120 are other types of business entities who wish to make use information from the consumer data warehouse 110, especially for planning direct marketing campaigns, are also envisioned.

(74) IV. Operation

(75) FIG. 4 is a flowchart depicting one embodiment of a process 400 for generating and maintaining a sample database environment 140. In block 410, the system 100 performs a sampling of the records in the credit-related database 102. In preferred embodiments, the sampling includes data about a portion of the records in the credit-related database 102. The data may include some or all of the attributes and other data stored for the sampled records. In some preferred embodiments, the sampling includes data about a percentage or fraction of the records, such as 10% of the records, or another percentage of the records in the range of 5%-25% of the records. In some embodiments, the sampling is a randomly selected portion of the records in the credit-related database 102. In other embodiments, the sampling may be selected partially randomly, such as by segmenting the records in the credit-related database 102 and by randomly selecting a portion of the records from one or more of the segments.

(76) In block 420, the system 100 calculates one or more generic attributes associated with the sampled records. The generic attributes may be calculated from attribute definitions stored in one or more generic attribute views 111 and commonly available to clients 120 of the system 100.

(77) In block 430, the data load module 150 of the system 100 cleanses and loads data from the sampled records and the associated attributes. For example, undesirable or unnecessary attributes, such as name, address, other contact information, and the like may be removed from the sample being used for the sample database 140 in order to comply with rules and regulations that govern the use of credit-related data. Attributes may also be removed from the sample data in order to decrease the size of the sample database 140, so that building and running tests on the sample database 140 may be carried out efficiently and expeditiously.

(78) The processes in blocks 440 and 450 are carried out individually for each client 120 using the sample database 140. In block 440, the data load module 150 of the system 100 cleanses and loads client-proprietary attributes, such as those stored in the client's client view 112, deleting undesirable or unnecessary attributes. The data load module 150 may also load other attributes defined by the client for use in the current campaign strategy and/or may load other client data 143 provided by the client 120.

(79) In block 450, the system 100 provides the client 120 with access to the sample database 140, including the generic 141 and the proprietary 142, 143 data. As was described with reference to FIG. 2, the sample database 140 is advantageously configured, using a system of one or more partitions, firewalls, Access Control Lists (ACLs), and/or other security measures to provide access to the same generic data 141 to a plurality of clients 120, simultaneously or near-simultaneously. Additionally, each client 120 may access and use their own client-proprietary data in conjunction with the generic data, without danger that there client-proprietary data will unintentionally become available to other clients 120. This configuration provides for a shared database 140 that economically and efficiently provides a shared environment for campaign testing, while also providing the benefits of a usually much costlier custom testing environment that also for the secure inclusion of proprietary attributes and other information in the campaign strategy testing.

(80) In block 460 the system 100 determines if a lifespan associated with the current version of the sample database 140 is complete. As one example, in embodiments in which the sample database 120 is updated weekly, the lifespan is one week. If the lifespan associated with the current version of the sample database 140 is not yet complete, the system 100 continues to provide the clients 120′, 120″, 120′″ with access to the sample database 140. If the lifespan associated with the current version of the sample database 140 is complete, the process 400 returns to block 410 where the system 100 creates a new version of the sample database 140 to replace the previous version.

(81) FIG. 5 is a flowchart that depicts one embodiment of a process 500 for using the direct marketing campaign planning environment to assist a client 120 to test, analyze, refine, and execute a marketing campaign, in accordance with some embodiments disclosed herein.

(82) In block 505, the system 100 generates a sample database 140 test environment, as has been described with reference to FIG. 4 and elsewhere throughout the present disclosure.

(83) In block 510, the system 100 accepts from the client 120 a proposed set of campaign selection rules to be tested for implementing a campaign strategy. The goal of the campaign strategy may be to identify good prospects for a direct marketing campaign. The goal of the testing may be to identify selection rules, also known as prospect selection criteria, that can successfully identify from the sample database 140 a desired set of prospects for the campaign and that can thus be predicted to identify from the full database of consumer data 110 a desired set of prospects for the campaign being planned. The selection rules may, in some embodiments, be formatted as a database query based on attributes associated with records in the sample database 140 test environment. In some embodiments, the campaign management tool 125 and the business intelligence tool 126 can be configured to provide the client 120 with a data dictionary that describes various categories of attributes available for segmenting the consumer populations, such as mortgage-related attributes, credit-related attributes, various proprietary attributes, and/or the like.

(84) In block 520, the system 100 runs, on behalf of the client 120, a test campaign on the sample database 140 using the proposed campaign selection rules. In some embodiments, the campaign management tool 125 and the business intelligence tool 126 can be configured to access a sample client view 144 of the sample database 140. The sample client view 144 can be configured to include data from the repository of core consumer data 141, repository of client pre-calculated data 142, and repository of other client data 143. In some embodiments, the campaign management tool 125 and/or business intelligence tool 126 can be configured to provide the client 120 with a GUI that provides a query interface to run, name, construct, save, and/or reuse queries for the sample database 140. The queries can, in some embodiments, correspond to campaign selection rules. In some embodiments, the query interface can be configured to provide the client 120 with the ability to record and modify campaign selection rules for future.

(85) In block 530, the system 100 provides results of the test campaign performed as described in block 520 to the client 120 for analysis. The campaign management tool 125 and/or business intelligence tool 126 can be configured to allow the client 120 to conduct high-level campaign development functions, such as segmentation of the consumer population, selection of one or more segments, and/or suppression of one or more segments or one or more individual consumers from the selection results, using individual, household, and/or other criteria. The campaign management tool 125 and/or business intelligence tool 126 can also be configured to generate reports based at least in part on information obtained from the sample database 140, and/or to perform other research and analysis functions associated with testing and refining the proposed direct marketing campaign. In some embodiments, the campaign management tool 125 and/or business intelligence tool 126 can be configured to generate reports predicting the response to the direct marketing campaign within a segment or group of segments of the targeted population.

(86) In block 540, the system 100 receives from the client 120 an indication as to whether it is satisfied with the campaign strategy. If the client 120 is not satisfied, and if the lifespan of the sample database 140 is not yet expired, then the process 500 returns to block 510, and the testing and refining process can be repeated. The client 120 may modify and update the campaign selection rules and re-run the test campaign using new prospect selection criteria. In some embodiments, if the client 120 is not satisfied, and if the lifespan of the sample database 140 has expired, then the client 120 may continue testing the campaign selection rules once the sample database 140 has been rebuilt using a new randomly selected portion of the consumer data warehouse 110.

(87) Alternatively, if, in block 540, the client 120 is satisfied with the results of the current set of prospect selection criteria, the process 500 moves to block 550 where the client 120 can provide a campaign flowchart 121. The campaign flowchart 121 can be configured to specify the desired campaign strategy.

(88) In block 555, the campaign flowchart 121 is used as a specification for running a direct marketing campaign on the full consumer data warehouse 110 using the selection criteria identified during the testing on the sample database 140. In some embodiments, the project manager 130 accepts the campaign flowchart 121 from the client 120 and causes the campaign to be executed on the full consumer data warehouse 110. In some embodiments, the campaign with the tested selection criteria may be run on full consumer data warehouse 110 directly by the client 120 and/or may be run on another database of consumer information

(89) In block 560, the system 100 may optionally provide the client 120 with one or more consumer response reports associated with the direct marketing campaign. In some embodiments, the campaign management tool 125 and/or business intelligence tool 126 can be configured to provide the client 120 with consumer response reports received in connection with one or more direct marketing campaigns actually carried out. The consumer response reports may provide an analysis of consumer responses received from a direct marketing campaign. In some embodiments, the reports may summarize results over periods of time, including shorter comparison periods in the immediate weeks after a campaign is executed, and/or longer time frames, such as years after the campaign has completed.

(90) The reports may provide flexibility to perform analysis of various levels and/or categories of summarization, which may include, but are not limited to: customer segments, product line, product campaign, promotion, offer, collateral, media, and/or vendor. In some embodiments, a client data maintenance service 165 can also be configured to store campaign-related data from executed campaigns that can, in some embodiments, be utilized for future campaigns. In some embodiments, the other client data 113 and/or repository of other client data 143 can be configured to store the campaign-related data for use in future campaigns.

(91) IV. Various Embodiments of System and Method Implementations

(92) In various embodiments, the systems and methods for providing a direct marketing campaign planning and execution environment may be embodied in part or in whole in software that is running on one or more computing devices. The functionality provided for in the components and modules of the computing device(s), including computing devices included in the system 100, may comprise one or more components and/or modules. For example, the computing device(s) may comprise multiple central processing units (CPUs) and a mass storage device(s), such as may be implemented in an array of servers. In one embodiment, the computing device comprises a server, a laptop computer, a cell phone, a personal digital assistant, a smartphone or other handheld device, a kiosk, or an audio player, for example.

(93) In general, the word “module,” “application”, or “engine,” as used herein, refers to logic embodied in hardware and/or firmware, and/or to a collection of software instructions, possibly having entry and exit points, written in a programming language, such as, for example, Java, Ruby, Ruby on Rails, Lua, C and/or C++. These may be compiled and linked into an executable program, installed in a dynamic link library, or may be written in an interpreted programming language such as, for example, BASIC, Perl, or Python. It will be appreciated that modules, applications, and engines may be callable from others and/or from themselves, and/or may be invoked in response to detected events or interrupts. Instructions may be embedded in firmware, such as an EPROM.

(94) It will be further appreciated that hardware may be comprised of connected logic units, such as gates and flip-flops, and/or may be comprised of programmable units, such as programmable gate arrays or processors. The modules, applications, and engines described herein are in certain applications preferably implemented as software modules, but may be represented in hardware or firmware in other implementations. Generally, the modules, applications, and engines described herein refer to logical modules that may be combined with other modules and/or divided into sub-modules despite their physical organization or storage.

(95) In some embodiments, the computing device(s) communicates with one or more databases that store information, including credit data and/or non-credit data. This database or databases may be implemented using a relational database, such as Sybase, Oracle, CodeBase and Microsoft® SQL Server as well as other types of databases such as, for example, a flat file database, an entity-relationship database, and object-oriented database, and/or a record-based database.

(96) In one embodiment, the computing device is IBM, Macintosh, and/or Linux/Unix compatible. In another embodiment, the computing device comprises a server, a laptop computer, a cell phone, a Blackberry, a personal digital assistant, a kiosk, or an audio player, for example. In one embodiment, the computing device includes one or more CPUs, which may each include microprocessors. The computing device may further include one or more memory devices, such as random access memory (RAM) for temporary storage of information and read only memory (ROM) for permanent storage of information, and one or more mass storage devices, such as hard drives, diskettes, or optical media storage devices. In one embodiment, the modules of the computing are in communication via a standards based bus system, such as bus systems using Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI), Microchannel, SCSI, Industrial Standard Architecture (ISA) and Extended ISA (EISA) architectures, for example. In certain embodiments, components of the computing device communicate via a network, such as a local area network that may be secured.

(97) The computing is generally controlled and coordinated by operating system software, such as the Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Linux, SunOS, Solaris, PalmOS, Blackberry OS, or other compatible operating systems. In Macintosh systems, the operating system may be any available operating system, such as MAC OS X. In other embodiments, the computing device may be controlled by a proprietary operating system. Conventional operating systems control and schedule computer processes for execution, perform memory management, provide file system, networking, and I/O services, and provide a user interface, such as a graphical user interface (GUI), among other things.

(98) The computing device may include one or more commonly available input/output (I/O) devices and interfaces, such as a keyboard, mouse, touchpad, microphone, and printer. Thus, in one embodiment the computing device may be controlled using the keyboard and mouse input devices, while in another embodiment the user may provide voice commands to the computing device via a microphone. In one embodiment, the I/O devices and interfaces include one or more display device, such as a monitor, that allows the visual presentation of data to a user. More particularly, a display device provides for the presentation of GUIs, application software data, and multimedia presentations, for example. The computing device may also include one or more multimedia devices, such as speakers, video cards, graphics accelerators, and microphones, for example.

(99) In one embodiment, the I/O devices and interfaces provide a communication interface to various external devices. For example, the computing device may be configured to communicate with one or more networks, such as any combination of one or more LANs, WANs, or the Internet, for example, via a wired, wireless, or combination of wired and wireless, communication links. The network communicates with various computing devices and/or other electronic devices via wired or wireless communication links.

(100) Although the foregoing invention has been described in terms of certain embodiments, other embodiments will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from the disclosure herein. Moreover, the described embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Indeed, the novel methods and systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms without departing from the spirit thereof. Accordingly, other combinations, omissions, substitutions and modifications will be apparent to the skilled artisan in view of the disclosure herein. For purposes of discussing the invention, certain aspects, advantages and novel features of the invention have been described herein. Of course, it is to be understood that not necessarily all such aspects, advantages or features will be embodied in any particular embodiment of the invention.