All businesses have an ongoing need to market the goods and services they provide. In many cases, businesses use mailers, brochures, radio and television advertisements, internet advertisements and other marketing items that provide information about their business. The physical marketing material may come in a variety of sizes from magazine-sided catalogues and brochures to pamphlets and individual business cards.
Business cards are commonly exchanged between individuals as a means of passing along contact information. The business cards are typically constructed solely from paper, and do not contain any active elements. Recently, electronic elements have been added to business cards, brochures, and other marketing items in order to provide additional content that cannot be provided via a traditional piece of marketing material.
For example, video screens have been added to marketing materials, along with batteries, speakers, buttons, and other simple electronics. The video screens may be programmed to automatically start playing a prerecorded media segment relating to the business when a section of the brochure is opened. When such screens are added to marketing materials, the materials are often referred to as video brochures or video business cards. Video brochures may be manufactured using inexpensive structural materials and electronic components. This reduces their cost and makes them practical to give to people that are interested in the business.
Traditional manufacturing processes typically require that a large number of video brochures be produced when a given run is initiated. Because of the current nature of the brochures, businesses are unable to make customized video brochures and other electronic marketing material in small quantities, or at least not cheaply enough to make them economically feasible. For example, a business may want to make a personalized video brochure for a single user or for a small group of users that is unique to that user or group of users. Using current electronic marketing materials, the business would need to pay a large sum of money to produce the customized and personalized brochures. Accordingly, improvements can be made to allow personalized video brochures to be produced at a small scale.
Embodiments described herein are directed to systems, apparatuses, and methods for personalizing marketing materials such as video brochures. In one embodiment, an electronic marketing system is provided. The electronic marketing system includes an electronic display device and a housing. A first window is formed by the housing that allows the electronic display to be seen through at least a portion of the housing. A second window is formed in the housing and can, for example, provide a view of an insert in the housing.
In another embodiment, a system is provided that includes an electronic display and a housing that forms first and second windows. The first window allows the display to be viewed through at least a portion of the housing. The second window shows various portions of customized printing on an insert associated with the housing.
In another embodiment, a method is provided for personalizing a video brochure. The method includes the steps of printing a custom design on an insert, arranging the insert to show through a die cut window of the video brochure, and adhering the insert to the video brochure in the arranged position.
This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
Additional features and advantages will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art from the description or may be learned by the practice of the teachings herein. Features and advantages of embodiments described herein may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. Features of the embodiments described herein will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims.
To further clarify the above and other features of the embodiments described herein, a more particular description will be rendered by reference to the appended drawings. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only examples of the embodiments described herein and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The embodiments will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:
Embodiments described herein are directed to systems, apparatuses, and methods for personalizing marketing materials such as video brochures. In one embodiment, an electronic marketing apparatus is provided. The electronic marketing apparatus includes a battery, an electronic display device powered by the battery, and a housing. A first window is cut into the housing which allows the electronic display to be seen through at least a portion of the housing. A second window provides a view of an insert in the housing that is printed using a commodity printer.
In another embodiment, a system is provided which includes one or more microprocessors, an electronic display, and a housing that includes a first window. The first window allows the display to be viewed through at least a portion of the housing. The housing also includes a second window that shows various portions of customized printing on an insert printed using a commodity printer.
In another embodiment, a method is provided for personalizing a video brochure. The method includes the steps of printing a custom design on an insert using a commodity printer, cutting out at least a portion of the insert, arranging the cut out portion of the insert to show through a die cut window of the video brochure, and adhering the cut out portion of the insert to the video brochure in the arranged position.
Embodiments described herein may implement a computing system. The computing system may be incorporated into a housing, and may include, for example, a microprocessor, a sensor, a battery, a speaker, and an electronic display. The microprocessor may include embedded code which it is configured to execute upon triggering by the sensor or other trigger. The microprocessor may, for example, execute code that processes and displays a video or stationary image that is displayed in the electronic display. Thus, the term “computing system” includes any device, system, or combination thereof that includes at least one processor or microprocessor, and a physical and tangible computer-readable memory capable of having thereon computer-executable instructions that are executable by the processor (this computer-readable memory may store the movie or image, for example).
As broadly defined herein, a computing system may include at least one processing unit and memory. The memory may be physical memory, which may be volatile, non-volatile, or some combination of the two. The memory and the microprocessor may be powered by a battery that is embedded in or otherwise attached to the housing of the marketing apparatus described above. The code executed by the microprocessor may be referred to as an “executable module” or “executable component,” and can refer to software objects, routines, methods, or similar computer-executable instructions that may be executed on the computing system. For example, different videos or images may be displayed on the electronic display based on which sensor(s) has/have been triggered or which buttons have been pushed on the electronic marketing apparatus.
In some cases, the electronic marketing apparatus (or the computing system therein) may also contain communication channels that allow the computing system to communicate with other message processors over a wired or wireless network. Such communication channels may include hardware-based receivers, transmitters, or transceivers, which are configured to receive data, transmit data, or perform both.
Referring to the figures,
The electronic marketing apparatus 100 includes a housing 110. The housing may be of substantially any shape or size. For example, housing 110 may be the approximate size of a business card or wallet-sized card. Alternatively, the housing 110 may be brochure or pamphlet sized. Still further, the housing 110 may be approximately book sized or larger. One skilled in the art will recognize that the size and shape may be varied depending on various design considerations and purpose of the apparatus. In some cases, the shape of the housing 110 may be round, in others square, rectangular, triangular or some other shape. The housing 110 may be made of paper, cardboard, cardstock, or any other type of material.
The housing 110 may have one or more windows 101 cut into it, such as the window 101 of
The insert may be a cardstock insert, for example. The cardstock insert may be printable in a commodity printer. As the term is used herein, a “commodity printer” refers to a printer that is commonly purchased by average end users with average printing needs. A commodity printer is one found in traditional consumer electronics stores, and likely does not include more advanced features that are only found in commercial printers. The intent of the term “commodity printer” is to convey that it is a printer that is available to the average person and is not a piece of specialized printing equipment typically only available (or only affordable) by an institution such as a business. Printing on a cardstock insert enables personalization by each individual user, and printing on a much smaller scale. Indeed, it will be understood that professional printing often requires batches of hundreds or thousands of units. The embodiments herein can be economically printed in much smaller quantities (even a quantity of one) and can be individually customized by each user or each business.
As shown in
The electronic display 103 may be powered by a battery 107. Similar to other components described herein, the battery may be any type of battery, and may be larger or smaller depending on the application and the size of the display 103, the microprocessor 112, the speaker 104 and any other electronic components. In some cases, multiple batteries may be used simultaneously, or some of the batteries may function as backups for the primary batteries. The microprocessor 112 may be configured and designed to communicate with the electronic display 103, with the speaker 104, with various sensors 109 or buttons (e.g. 111A/111B), with communications systems such as a radio frequency identifier (RFID), Bluetooth, WiFi, or global positioning system (GPS) radios or other transceivers, with data ports such as universal serial bus (USB) ports or with other electronic components.
The sensors 109 may include piezoelectric sensors, inductive sensors, capacitive sensors, resistive sensors, or any other type of sensors may be implemented on or in the electronic marketing apparatus 100. For instance, a sensor 109 may be implemented at a fold to determine when the housing 110 unfolded. Upon unfolding, the sensor 109 may send a signal to the microprocessor 112 indicating that a video is to be played on the electronic display 103, or that an image is to be shown. The microprocessor 112 may then initiate playback of the movie or image. Other types of sensors may also be implemented including biometric sensors (e.g. fingerprint, iris, voice, etc.), touch screen sensors or other types of sensors. Indeed, depending on which sensor is activated, or depending on the extent to which each sensor is individually activated, different actions may be triggered.
The insert 105 (or at least a portion thereof) may be printed using a commodity printer. For example, a business or other entity may print a business name, logo, design, image, or other item on the insert 105. The printing may be accomplished with a commodity printer that is a non-specialized printer available to average consumers via traditional sales channels. Thus, in this manner, the business or other entity may print a single insert, if desired, and place it in the housing 110 to create a personalized video brochure.
As shown in
In some embodiments, the windows 101 and 106 in the housing 110 may be die cut. The die cut may provide a professional fit and finish for the windows, and further allows for various shapes to be cut into the housing 110 for the window. For example, a user may draw or design a window, and the window may then be die cut into the housing 110. A user may select the shape and size of the window. Furthermore, if multiple windows are to be cut into the face of the housing 110, each of the windows may be user-defined including size, shape, and position on the housing.
Like the size and shape of the window 101, the printing on the insert 105 and/or on the housing 110 may be user-defined. For instance, the printing may include custom printing that has user-selected patterns, a name, an image, a logo, or some other user-selected item. In some cases, a pattern identifying the size, shape, and location of the window 101 is transmitted to a commodity printer prior to printing, so that the custom printing may be carried out on the insert 105 and/or on the housing 110.
The insert 105 may be a cardstock insert, a cardboard insert, a paper insert or other type of insert. The insert 105 may be of substantially any size or shape or thickness. In cases of cardstock and paper inserts, the inserts are printable on commodity printers. Thus, a user can design the size and shape of the window 101 and can design or select the image shown through the window, whether the image is printed on the housing 110 directly or printed on an insert 105. If the image or other design is printed on a cardstock insert, that cardstock insert may then be inserted into the housing 110 of the electronic marketing apparatus. The cardstock insert 105 is then viewable through the window 101 in the housing 110.
In some cases, the cardstock insert (or at least a portion thereof) is cut out. For example, the portion of the cardstock insert that has the printed image or design may be cut out. This cut out portion may then be arranged behind the window 101. Thus, the insert 105 may be largely blank except for the custom printed-portion or may have the custom-printed portion cut out. This cut out portion may be adhered to the surface of the housing 110 such that it is arranged over the window 101. In this manner, the cut-out portion is visible to users through the window 101.
As shown in
The system of
In some embodiments, the window 101 is die cut into the housing 110. In such cases, as in
As mentioned above, the size, shape and placement of the die cut window is also variable and may be personalized by the user as desired.
It will be understood that while a USB port is shown in
In view of the systems and apparatuses described above, methodologies that may be implemented in accordance with the disclosed subject matter will be better appreciated with reference to the flow charts of
Method 600 describes a method for personalizing a video brochure. The method includes printing a custom design on an insert using a commodity printer (610), cutting out at least a portion of the insert (620), arranging the cut out portion of the insert to show through a die cut window of the video brochure (630), and adhering the cut out portion of the insert to the video brochure in the arranged position (640). The custom design 102 printed on the insert 105 may be selected or designed by a user. The user may then cut out the part of the insert that has the custom design printed thereon. Alternatively, this portion may be cut out with a die cut. The cut-out portion of the insert 105 may be arranged so as to show through window 101. Once arranged in the proper position, the cut-out portion may be secured in place using tape, glue, or some other adhering means.
In some case, the insert may be placed in a housing 110 that has been pre-printed. For example, in cases where the electronic marketing apparatus 100 is a video brochure, the housing 110 may be pre-printed with a design or logo. This printing may occur prior to printing the custom design 102 on the insert 105 using the commodity printer. Thus, in this manner, one or more housings may be pre-printed with some logo or design or may be left blank. These housings may then be used with the printed inserts 105 to create a customized video brochure that is economically producible at small scales. The finished size of the video brochure and the actual size or shape of the die cut window are both variable and can be changed for different applications or different users. Use of the die cut window 101 in any size or shape allows personalization of the video brochure or other type of electronic marketing apparatus.
Accordingly, customers may print their name, logo, design, etc. onto a provided sheet of cardstock that is commodity-printer friendly. Once the cardstock is printed it may be cut out and arranged to show through the die cut window. The cardstock piece will be adhered to the brochure showing through the die cut panel. The insert may then be permanently secured via industrial double stick tape, for example. This creates a fit and finished piece that maintains the quality expected in a video brochure.
The concepts and features described herein may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from their spirit or descriptive characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the disclosure is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.
This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/563,486, filed Sep. 6, 2019 and scheduled to issue as U.S. Pat. No. 10,660,222 on May 19, 2020, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/088,480, filed Apr. 1, 2016 and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,455,709 on Oct. 22, 2019. The foregoing applications are incorporated herein by this reference in their entirety.
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Parent | 16563486 | Sep 2019 | US |
Child | 16874921 | US | |
Parent | 15088480 | Apr 2016 | US |
Child | 16563486 | US |