Patent Application
20100057570
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally in the field of communication technology. More particularly, the present invention relates to advertisement and entertainment communication systems and methods.
2. Background Art
Methods and systems for providing advertising and entertainment data have developed apace with the advance of communication technologies. For example, as print, radio, television, and online content-delivery methods and systems have matured, advertising-delivery methods and systems have matured in parallel. Thus, in the modern practice, advertising and entertainment data are delivered to consumers in a variety of ways. Notably, online content- and advertising-delivery methods and systems, being younger than their print, radio, and television cousins, have not advanced quite as far. This is not an indication that methods and systems for providing advertising and entertainment data online are not effective. As an example, advertising can be delivered with written articles on a web page, and text ads can be targeted to particular consumers in Internet search results. Furthermore, as another example, advertising can be embedded in audio or audiovisual media delivered via the Internet.
However, methods and systems for providing advertising and entertainment data that operate online still suffer from drawbacks. For instance, mobile computers and other mobile devices might be used in areas with Internet connectivity, such as in the home or at a wireless hotspot, and also used in areas with no Internet connectivity, such as in a remote area or on an airplane. Providing advertising and entertainment data to such devices can be difficult, because coordinating the delivery of advertising and entertainment data with the devices when they are online poses a challenge.
Other unique requirements often imposed in the advertising arts also pose challenges. For example, an advertisement might be provided subject to the requirement that the advertisement not be shown to a consumer past a certain date. The consequence of showing a particular advertisement to a consumer past a certain date includes, for example, consumer frustration or confusion because advertised sales or other events have passed. Another unique requirement imposed in the advertising arts is, for example, that an advertisement not be shown more than a predetermined number of times, i.e. the advertisement has an agreed impression limit. The consequence of showing a particular advertisement more than the predetermined number of times includes, for example, an unearned benefit accruing to the advertiser. Meeting such unique requirements is a particular challenge when providing advertising and entertainment data to devices that can be utilized both online and offline.
Accordingly, there is a need to overcome the drawbacks and deficiencies in the art by offering an improved method and system for providing advertising and entertainment data to consumers.
There are provided methods and systems for providing advertising and entertainment data, substantially as shown in and/or described in connection with at least one of the figures, and as set forth more completely in the claims.
The features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art after reviewing the following detailed description and accompanying drawings, wherein:
The present invention is directed to a method and system for providing advertising and entertainment data. Although the invention is described with respect to specific embodiments, the principles of the invention, as defined by the claims appended herein, can obviously be applied beyond the specific embodiments of the invention described herein. Moreover, in the description of the present invention, certain details have been left out in order to not obscure the inventive aspects of the invention. The details left out are within the knowledge of a person of ordinary skill in the art. The drawings in the present application and their accompanying detailed description are directed to merely exemplary embodiments of the invention. To maintain brevity, other embodiments of the invention, which use the principles of the present invention are not specifically described in the present application and are not specifically illustrated by the present drawings.
Server 104 comprises advertisement data 106 and entertainment data 108. In one embodiment, advertisement data 106 and entertainment data 108 are implemented as regions of memory in the memory of server 104. In another embodiment, advertisement data 106 and entertainment data 108 could be implemented as, for example, storage on a hard drive, or storage in one or more databases, as known in the art. Advertisement data 106 is configured to store a plurality of advertisement data, such as advertisement 120a, and entertainment data 108 is configured to store a plurality of entertainment data, such as episode 122a.
User device 110 comprises advertisement package 112 and entertainment package 114. In one embodiment, advertisement package 112 and entertainment package 114 are, in a manner similar to advertisement data 106 and entertainment data 108 of server 104, implemented as regions of memory in the memory of user device 110. In another embodiment, advertisement package 112 and entertainment package 114 could be implemented as, for example, storage on a laptop computer hard drive or personal digital assistant hard drive, as known in the art. Advertisement package 112 is configured to store, for example, a plurality of advertisement data, such as advertisement 120b and advertisement 124, and entertainment package 114 is configured to store, for example, a plurality of entertainment data, such as episode 122b and episode 126.
In one embodiment of the present invention, advertisements and episodes (e.g. advertisement 120a and episode 122a) are, for example, audiovisual media, such as media that can be played on a television screen and on audio speakers. In another embodiment, advertisements and episodes may be, for example, audio-only media such as an audio advertisement and an audio commentary (e.g., a podcast), respectively. Together, advertisements and episodes are utilized, in one embodiment, by user device 110 for playing ad-supported content. Thus, for example, user device 110 may be provided an episode (e.g. episode 122b) for display at no cost, and may also be provided an advertisement (e.g. advertisement 120b) for display before, during, or after episode 122b. For example, advertisement 120b can be implemented as an advertisement for a special-offer event at a Disney theme park, and episode 122b may be a full episode of the television show “Lost.” Thus, for example, while watching a display of the episode of Lost on user device 110, during a commercial break a user of user device 110 is shown the advertisement for the special-offer event.
In addition to comprising, for example, audiovisual media, advertisements and episodes (e.g. advertisement 120a and episode 122a) also comprise an associated first advertising expiration data and an associated first entertainment expiration data, respectively. The first advertising expiration data associated with advertisement 120a, for example, is implemented as, in one embodiment, a date and time stamp, such that after the date and time represented by the stamp advertisement 120a expires. Thus, for example, an advertisement for a special-offer event at the Disney theme park may also comprise a date and time stamp so that the advertisement expires after the special-offer event has occurred. Similarly, the first entertainment expiration data may also be implemented as a date and time stamp, such that after the date and time represented by the stamp episode 122a expires. Thus, in one embodiment an episode of Lost may comprise a first entertainment expiration data configured such that the episode expires after a use-period (e.g., six months) has expired.
In one embodiment, the first advertising expiration data and the first entertainment expiration data of the advertisements and episodes (e.g. advertisement 120a and episode 122a) are not implemented as date and time stamps. Instead, the first advertising expiration data and the first entertainment data are implemented as, for example, impression limits, such that an advertisement or an episode expires after a predetermined number, or count, of displays. Such an impression limit implementation is valuable if, for example, an advertiser purchases advertisement 120a to be displayed a limited number (e.g. 10) times. In such an embodiment, server 104 can be configured, for example, to receive from user device 110 an advertising report detailing, for example, how many times an advertisement has been displayed.
In one embodiment, the first advertising expiration data associated with an advertisement (e.g. advertisement 124) affects the display of an episode as well as the display of the associated advertisement. For example, if the first advertising expiration data is implemented as a date and time stamp, a user device such as user device 110 is configured in one embodiment to disable a display of episodes in entertainment package 114 if advertisement package 112 does not contain an unexpired advertisement. In this way, one embodiment of the invention prevents the display of an episode on user device 110 if user device 110 does not have an advertisement to display also.
As shown in
During transaction 130, in one embodiment of the present invention user device 110 transmits a first request to server 104. The first request can be implemented, for example, as a digital message transmitted via network 102. The first request can be configured, for example, as a request for one or more of the plurality of entertainment data stored in entertainment data 108. The first request can also be configured, for example, as a request for one or more of the plurality of advertisement data stored in advertisement data 106. In one embodiment, the first request can be configured as a request for both, i.e. one or more of the plurality of entertainment data and one or more of the plurality of advertisement data.
User device 110 may transmit the first request during transaction 130 under a variety of different circumstances. For example, in one circumstance, user device 110 transmits the first request after the first advertising expiration data of advertisement 124 has expired. In such a circumstance, in which the first advertising expiration data is implemented as a date and time stamp, and in which advertisement 124 is the only advertisement stored in user device 110, user device 110 is configured such that no episode (e.g. episode 126) can be displayed until an advertisement having an unexpired first advertising expiration data is stored. As such, the first request is configured as a request for one or more of the plurality of advertisement data stored in advertisement data 106. Server 104 responds, in transaction 132, by transmitting to user device 110 advertisement 120b associated with a first advertising expiration data that is not yet expired. User device 110 may thereby display episode 126 again.
In another circumstance, user device 110 may transmit the first request during transaction 130 after the first entertainment expiration data of episode 126 has expired. In such an circumstance, in which the first entertainment expiration data is implemented as a date and time stamp, user device 110 is configured such that episode 126 cannot be displayed. As such, the first request is configured as a request for one or more of the plurality of entertainment data stored in entertainment data 108. Server 104 responds, in transaction 134, by transmitting to user device 110 episode 122b having a first entertainment expiration data that is not yet expired. User device 110 may thereby display episode 122b (but not episode 126, which still has an expired first entertainment expiration data).
In a variation of the circumstance described above, user device 110 transmits the first request during transaction 130 after the first entertainment expiration data of episode 126 expires, and the first request is configured as a request for both one or more of the plurality of entertainment data and one or more of the plurality of advertisement data. Such a variation may occur when the first entertainment expiration data of episode 126 has expired, and the first advertising expiration data of advertisement 124 is near expiration, but not yet expired. Server 104 responds, in transactions 132 and 134, by transmitting to user device. 110 advertisement 120b and episode 122b having a first advertising expiration data and a first entertainment expiration data that are not yet expired. User device 110 may thereby display episode 122b without being effected by the expiration of the first advertising expiration data of advertisement 124. Instead, the display of episode 122b will instead be limited by, for example, the later expiration of the first advertising expiration data of advertisement 120b.
In one embodiment, subsequent to transactions 130, 132, and 134, user device 110 transmits a second request to server 104. Like the first request, the second request can be configured, for example, as a request for one or more of the plurality of entertainment data stored in entertainment data 108. The second request can also be configured, for example, as a request for one or more of the plurality of advertisement data stored in advertisement data 106. In one embodiment, the second request can be configured as a request for both, i.e. one or more of the plurality of entertainment data and one or more of the plurality of advertisement data, each associated with a second entertainment expiration data and second advertising expiration data, respectively.
As shown in
As shown in
In step 410 of flowchart 400, a server corresponding to server 104 in
In step 412 of flowchart 400, the server receives the first request from the user device. The first request can be implemented, for example, as a digital message transmitted via a network corresponding to network 102 in
In step 414 of flowchart 400, the server determines whether the first request includes a request for advertisement data. If the first request does not, then flowchart 400 proceeds to step 418. If the first request does include such a request, flowchart 400 proceeds to step 416. In step 416 of flowchart 400, the server transmits one or more of the plurality of advertisement data to the user device. The server responds, in a transaction corresponding to transaction 132, by transmitting to the user device an advertisement, corresponding to advertisement 120b, having a first advertising expiration data that is not yet expired. Flowchart 400 then proceeds to step 418.
In step 418 of flowchart 400, the server determines whether the first request includes a request for entertainment data. If the first request does not, then flowchart 400 returns to step 410 to wait for a second request. If the first request does include such a request, flowchart 400 proceeds to step 420. In step 420 of flowchart 400, the server transmits one or more of the plurality of advertisement data to the user device. The server responds, in a transaction corresponding to transaction 134, by transmitting to the user device an episode, corresponding to episode 122b, having a first entertainment expiration data that is not yet expired. Flowchart 400 then returns to step 410 to wait for a second request.
In the manner described above, some embodiments of the present invention, which are shown in exemplary system 100, in
From the above description of the invention it is manifest that various techniques can be used for implementing the concepts of the present invention without departing from its scope. Moreover, while the invention has been described with specific reference to certain embodiments, a person of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that changes can be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. It should also be understood that the invention is not limited to the particular embodiments described herein, but is capable of many rearrangements, modifications, and substitutions without departing from the scope of the invention.
