Internet-based brand marketing communication network for enabling commission-based e-commerce transactions along the fabric of the world wide web (www) using server-side driven multi-mode virtual kiosks (mmvks)

A Web-based brand marketing communication network, comprising:

• a Web-based subsystem for allowing brand management team members to remotely and independently create and deploy a plurality of Web-based Multi-Mode Virtual Kiosks (MMVKs) for a plurality of consumer products that are registered on said network so that said plurality of MMVKs can be installed in and launched from a plurality of HTML-encoded documents accessible on the World Wide Web (WWW) by consumers using a Web browser;
• wherein each said MMVK is implemented by (i) a computer-executable server-side component stored on a first Internet-enabled information server operably connected to the WWW, and (ii) a MMVK tag that references said computer-executable server-side component and is embeddable within any said HTML-encoded document, and
• wherein each said MMVK, when generated by said first Internet-enabled information server, has a graphical user interface (GUI) that is characterized by a plurality of independently programmable display modes selected from the group consisting of (i) an advertising display mode for displaying one or more advertising spots, (ii) a promotional display mode for displaying one or more promotional spots, and (iii) a brand information display mode for displaying a set of consumer product information resources arranged for selection by the consumer;
• a second Internet-enabled information server for serving a library of MMVK tags on the WWW for said plurality of consumer products registered with said network;
• wherein each said MMVK tag in said library is accessible from said second Internet-enabled information server for installation in an HTML-encoded document by embedding the MMVK tag in the HTML-based document;
• a second Web-based subsystem for allowing brand management team members to remotely and independently program said set of consumer product information resources displayable during said brand information display mode of each said installed MMVK;
• and
• a third Web-based subsystem for allowing members of the brand management team to remotely and independently program the advertising and promotional display modes of each MMVK with one or more advertising and promotional spots, as a given application may require;
• wherein, upon the Web-browser of the consumer encountering one said MMVK tag installed in one said HTML-encoded document, the computer-executable server-side component corresponding to the MMVK tag is automatically executed and the corresponding MMVK is generated by said first Internet-enabled information server and served to the Web browser for display and review by the consumer.