Immersive advertisements in a virtual universe

• US 10,115,113 B2
• Filed: 08/11/2008
• Issued: 10/30/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/11/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AirBNB Incorporated
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Hamilton, II, Rick A., O'Connell, Brian M., Pickover, Clifford A., Sand, Anne R., Walker, Keith R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Sorkowitz, Daniel M
• Application Number:
  US12/189,220
• Publication Number:
  US 20100036729A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,732 Days
• Field of Search: 705 14
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0251 Targeted advertisements

Abstract

The invention generally relates to systems and methods for advertising, and, more particularly, to systems and methods for providing immersive advertising in a virtual universe. In one aspect of the invention, there is a method for presenting a virtual universe advertisement (VU-ad) in a virtual universe (VU), receiving input from a user associated with a user avatar of the VU, and altering the VU-ad in response to the input.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for dynamically altering a virtual universe (VU), comprising:

presenting, by a computing device, a virtual universe advertisement (VU-ad) at a first location in the VU, wherein the VU-ad comprises an ad object and an ad avatar that are separate from a user avatar associated with a user of the VU, and wherein the VU of the computing device is accessible by the user via a network;

receiving, by the computing device, input from the user of the VU via the network;

dynamically altering, by the computing device, the VU-ad in response to the input from the user;

based on the user avatar contacting the ad object;

rendering, by the computing device, an ephemeral location that does not occupy permanent real estate in the VU, which ephemeral location is a temporary location in the VU;

teleporting, by the computing device, the user avatar from the first location to the ephemeral location;

displaying, by the computing device a video or machinima in real time at the ephemeral location for the user avatar to observe and/or interact with;

teleporting, by the computing device, the user avatar out of the ephemeral location back to the first location, or to another location in the VU, after the video or machinima is completed; and

un-rendering, by the computing device, the ephemeral location after the user avatar has been transported out of the ephemeral location so that the VU-ad does not occupy permanent real estate in the VU,

wherein the contacting the object comprises one of the user avatar touching, walking into, and flying into the object.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the input comprises at least one of:

a mouse command by the user;

a menu selection by the user;

a keystroke by the user;

a text communication by the user; and

a voice communication by the user.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the altering the VU-ad comprises at least one of:

moving the ad object or the ad avatar to a different location in the VU;

altering a visual appearance of the ad object or the ad avatar;

altering a written or spoken language of the VU-ad;

deleting the ad object or the ad avatar;

allowing the user avatar to assume a role of an actor in the VU-ad; and

allowing the user avatar to step into a three-dimensional representation of a scene and view the ad object and/or the ad avatar from different points of view.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing an incentive to the user, wherein the providing an incentive comprises at least one of;

transferring virtual money to an account of the user;

providing a promotional code to the user;

emailing a coupon to the user; and

mailing a coupon to the user.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the computing device is a host server in communication with an advertiser computing device via the network, and wherein at least one of the presenting, the receiving, and the altering is provided by a service provider under a subscription and/or fee agreement and/or based on advertising content to a user of the advertiser computing device, the method further comprising:

receiving, by the computing device, script defining the VU-ad from the advertiser computing device; and

storing, by the computing device, the script.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the computing device is a host server in communication with a plurality of client computing devices through the network and providing the plurality of client computing devices with access to the VU, and wherein a service provider at least one of creates, maintains, deploys and supports.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising compensating an entity associated with a location in the VU where the VU-ad is displayed.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the video or machinima comprises a machinima depicting events happening in real time or that have already happened at another location in the VU.

20. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the computing device, a user selection of a chosen character in a movie;

wherein the displaying the video or machinima comprises playing at least a portion of the movie with the user'"'"'s avatar assuming the role of the chosen character and performing the role of the chosen character according to a script of the movie.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving the input from the user comprises, during a first interaction of the user avatar with the VU-ad, receiving input from the user associated with the user avatar of the VU to alter a feature of the VU-ad, the method further comprising:

accessing, by the computing device, stored changeable features of the ad object defining which features of the ad object are changeable;

altering, by the computing device, the ad object of the VU-ad in response to the input and the stored changeable features;

saving, by the computing device, the alteration made to the VU-ad in a customer database; and

during a second interaction of the user avatar with the VU-ad, automatically presenting the VU-ad with the alterations made to the ad object based on the customer database.

8. A computer implemented method for dynamically altering advertising in a virtual universe, comprising:

providing, by a computing device, a program that defines a virtual universe advertisement (VU-ad), wherein the VU-ad comprises at least one of an ad avatar and an ad object;

displaying, by a computing device, the VU-ad at a first location in a virtual universe (VU) at a first time and at a second location in the VU at a second time, wherein the second location comprises an ephemeral location, that is rendered after a user avatar contacts the ad object in the first location and that does not occupy permanent real estate in the VU, and wherein the displaying of the VU-ad at the second location comprises displaying a video or machinima in real time at the second location for the user avatar to observe and/or interact with, wherein the ephemeral location is a temporary location in the VU rendered solely for the purpose of displaying the VU-ad;

displaying, by a computing device, the at least one of the ad avatar and the ad object as traveling in the VU between the first location and the second location;

obtaining, by a computing device, profile data associated with the user avatar, wherein the user avatar is separate from the at least one of the ad avatar and the ad object;

altering, by a computing device, the VU-ad based upon the obtained profile data;

teleporting, by a computing device, the user avatar from the second location back to the first location, or another location in the VU, after the video or machinima is completed;

un-rendering, by a computing device, the ephemeral location after the user avatar has been transported out of the second location after the video or machinima is completed;

compensating, by a computing device, at least one VU real-estate owner associated with the first location; and

compensating, by a computing device, an entity owning real estate upon which the traveling occurs.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the profile data is stored at:

a client computing device of a user associated with the user avatar;

a host computing device of the VU;

or

a database accessible by a host computing device of the VU.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the altering the VU-ad comprises at least one of:

changing a visual appearance of an ad object or ad avatar;

changing a spoken or written language of the ad avatar; and

providing an incentive to a user associated with the user avatar.

11. A computer program product for dynamically altering a virtual universe (VU) comprising a computer usable hardware storage device having a computer readable program stored in the hardware storage device, wherein the computer readable program when executed on a computing device is operable to cause the computing device to:

stage a virtual universe advertisement (VU-ad) at a first location in the VU, wherein the VU-ad comprises an ad avatar and an ad object that are separate from a user avatar; and

alter the VU-ad based upon;

profile data associated with the user avatar, and

interaction of the user avatar with the VU-ad;

based on the user avatar contacting the ad object;

render an ephemeral location that does not occupy permanent real estate in the VU, which ephemeral location is a temporary location in the VU;

teleport the user avatar from the first location to the ephemeral location;

display a video or machinima in real time at the ephemeral location for the user avatar to observe and/or interact with;

teleport the user avatar out of the ephemeral location back to the first location, or to another location in the VU, after the video or machinima is completed; and

un-render the ephemeral location after the user avatar has been transported out of the ephemeral location so that the VU-ad does not occupy permanent real estate in the VU;

wherein the contacting the object comprises one of the user avatar touching, walking into, and flying into the object.

12. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the altering the VU-ad comprises at least one of:

moving the ad object or the ad avatar to a different location;

altering a visual appearance of the ad object or the ad avatar;

altering a written or spoken language of the VU-ad;

deleting the ad object or the ad avatar;

allowing the user avatar to assume a role of an actor in the VU-ad; and

allowing the user avatar to step into a three-dimensional representation of a scene and view at least one of the ad object and the ad avatar from different points of view.

13. A method for dynamically altering advertising in a virtual universe (VU), comprising:

providing a computer infrastructure structured and arranged to;

present a virtual universe advertisement (VU-ad) at a first location in the VU, wherein the VU-ad comprises a three-dimensional representation of a scene in the VU, an ad avatar, and an ad object that are separate from a user avatar associated with a user of the VU, and wherein the user has access to the VU via a user computing device communicating with the computer infrastructure through a network;

permit the user of the VU to interact with the VU-ad during the presenting;

alter at least one characteristic of the VU-ad based upon the interaction;

based on the user avatar contacting the ad object;

render an ephemeral location that does not occupy permanent real estate in the VU;

teleport the user avatar from the first location to the ephemeral location;

display a video or machinima in real time at the ephemeral location for the user avatar to observe and/or interact with;

teleport the user avatar out of the ephemeral location back to the first location, or to another location in the VU, after the video or machinima is completed; and

un-render the ephemeral location after the user avatar has been transported out of the ephemeral location, wherein the ephemeral location is a temporary location in the VU rendered solely for the purpose of displaying the VU-ad;

wherein the contacting the object comprises one of the user avatar touching, walking into, and flying into the object.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the interaction comprises at least one of the following:

a mouse command by the user;

a menu selection by the user;

a keystroke by the user;

a text communication by the user; and

a voice communication by the user.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the computer infrastructure is further operable to provide an incentive to the user.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein a service provider at least one of creates, maintains, deploys and supports the computer infrastructure.

17. A system for dynamically altering a virtual universe (VU), comprising:

computer hardware and software structured and arranged to;

present a virtual universe advertisement (VU-ad) at a first location in the VU, wherein the VU-ad comprises an ad object and an ad avatar that are separate from a user avatar associated with a user;

during a first interaction of the user avatar with the VU-ad, receive input from the user associated with the user avatar of the VU to alter a feature of the VU-ad;

access stored changeable features of the ad object defining which features of the ad object are changeable;

alter the VU-ad in response to the input and the stored changeable features;

save the alteration made to the VU-ad in a customer database;

during a second interaction of the user avatar with the VU-ad, automatically present the VU-ad with the alterations made to the VU-ad based on the customer database;

based on the user avatar contacting the ad object;

render an ephemeral location that does not occupy permanent real estate in the VU, which ephemeral location is a temporary location in the VU;

teleport the user avatar from the first location to the ephemeral location;

displaying, on a graphical user interface (GUI), display a video or machinima in real time at the ephemeral location for the user avatar to observe and/or interact with;

teleport the user avatar out of the ephemeral location back to the first location, or to another location in the VU, after the video or machinima is completed; and

un-render the ephemeral location after the user avatar has been transported out of the ephemeral location so that the VU-ad does not occupy permanent real estate in the VU;

wherein the contacting the object comprises one of the user avatar touching, walking into, and flying into the object.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein:

the ad avatar originally communicates in a first language, and

based upon the input from the user, the altering comprises causing the ad avatar to communicate in a second language different from the first language.