System and method for creating and managing multimedia sales promotions

• US 10,726,451 B1
• Filed: 01/08/2018
• Issued: 07/28/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 05/02/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: James E. Plankey, Thomas G. Gallaher
• Original Assignee: James E. Plankey, Thomas G. Gallaher
• Inventors: Plankey, James E, Gallaher, Thomas G
• Primary Examiner(s): Ruiz, Angelica
• Application Number:
  US15/865,029
• Time in Patent Office: 932 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/165 Management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0276 Advertisement creation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2743 Video hosting of uploaded data from client
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/854 Content authoring

Abstract

A system and method for creating and managing multimedia sales promotions with a multimedia dashboard application running on a computing device that is in networked communication with an inventory database for a particular retailer and is also in operative communication with a distribution server. In the preferred embodiment, the computing device is a handheld smartphone or tablet computer capable of operating the fully integrated multimedia sales promotion system. The multimedia dashboard application includes an item selector, a multimedia recording module, multimedia editors, and a distribution controller. The same multimedia dashboard application is used to record multimedia segments, select segments to be uploaded to and downloaded from the inventory database, edit the segments to produce multimedia promotions, and control the distribution of the promotions which provides users with a simplified and integrated system and process to market their goods.

Claims

1. An integrated system for recording, editing, and managing distribution of a multimedia sales promotion, comprising:

an inventory database of products in a sales inventory, wherein the inventory database comprises a set of multimedia segments corresponding with product information about the respective products in the sales inventory, and wherein the set of multimedia segments is comprised of a plurality of product photographs, a plurality of product videos, and a plurality of product audios;

a distribution server in communication with the inventory database; and

a first computing device in networked communication with the inventory database and in operative communication with the distribution server, wherein the computing device comprises a computer processor, a communications module, a memory module, a camera, a microphone, a display screen, a user interface, and a multimedia dashboard application running on the computer processor, wherein the user interface receives a first set of user inputs for operating the multimedia dashboard application, wherein the multimedia dashboard comprises an item selector, a recording module, a multimedia editor, and a distribution controller, wherein the multimedia dashboard application selects at least one of the multimedia segments for a first modification to the selected multimedia segment in the multimedia editor according to a first user input to the item selector, wherein the multimedia dashboard application activates at least one of the camera and the microphone to produce a new multimedia segment according to a second user input to the recording module, wherein the multimedia dashboard application produces a first multimedia promotion with a second modification to the new multimedia segment and the selected multimedia segment according a third user input to the multimedia editor, wherein the multimedia dashboard application communicates the first multimedia promotion to the inventory database through the communications module according to a fourth user input, and wherein the multimedia dashboard application publishes or communicates the first multimedia promotion through the distribution server according to a fifth user input to the distribution controller.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a second computing device running the multimedia dashboard application is in communication with the inventory database and the distribution server, wherein the second computing device receives a second set of user inputs for operating the multimedia dashboard application running on the second computing device, and wherein the multimedia editor in the multimedia dashboard application modifies the multimedia segments and produces a second multimedia promotion.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the distribution server distributes the first multimedia promotion to at least one of a retailer'"'"'s website, an online shopping bazaar, a social media website, a third-party marketing service, and a potential buyer.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the first multimedia promotion is comprised of a first video, wherein the multimedia editor further comprises at least one of an intro guide and an outro guide, and wherein a sixth user input to at least one of the intro guide and the outro guide produces a video segment with voiceover in a sequential order with the first multimedia promotion.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the multimedia editor further comprises a video sorter, and wherein a seventh user input to at least one of the video sorter rearranges the sequential order between the video segment with voiceover and the first multimedia promotion.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the multimedia editor further comprises a screen with a voiceover script field and a video field.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the multimedia editor further comprises a plurality of background music tracks, wherein the product audios are a plurality of voiceovers describing the products, and wherein a sixth user input to the multimedia editor selects one of the background music tracks for the first multimedia promotion.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the multimedia dashboard application further comprises a 360°

view template, wherein the 360°

view template is comprised of a 360°

recording template in the recording module and a 360°

editor in the multimedia editor, wherein the 360°

recording template accepts a plurality of videos in a predefined sequence around a periphery of a product, and wherein the 360°

editor is comprised of an automated selection of a plurality of image frames extracted from the videos.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the photo editor further comprises a silhouette photo template comprising a plurality of silhouette images and a silhouette sorter for rearranging a publication order of the silhouette images.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the multimedia dashboard application further comprises a livestream module comprising a live video feed and a live text chat, wherein the sales inventory is an inventory of vehicles, and wherein the multimedia dashboard application further comprises vehicle servicing module with access to customer information in the inventory database.

11. An integrated system for recording, editing, and managing distribution of a multimedia sales promotion, comprising:

an inventory database of vehicles in a sales inventory, wherein the inventory database comprises a set of multimedia segments corresponding with vehicle information about the respective vehicles in the sales inventory, and wherein the set of multimedia segments is comprised of a plurality of vehicle photographs, a plurality of vehicle videos, and a plurality of vehicle audios;

a distribution server in communication with the inventory database;

a first computing device in networked communication with the inventory database and in operative communication with the distribution server, wherein the computing device comprises a computer processor, a communications module, a memory module, a camera, a microphone, a display screen, a user interface, and a multimedia dashboard application running on the computer processor, wherein the user interface receives a first set of user inputs for operating the multimedia dashboard application, wherein the multimedia dashboard comprises an item selector, a recording module, a multimedia editor, and a distribution controller, wherein the multimedia dashboard application selects at least one of the multimedia segments for a first modification to the selected multimedia segment in the multimedia editor according to a first user input to the item selector, wherein the multimedia dashboard application activates at least one of the camera and the microphone to produce a new multimedia segment according to a second user input to the recording module, wherein the multimedia dashboard application produces a first multimedia promotion with a second modification to the new multimedia segment and the selected multimedia segment according a third user input to the multimedia editor, wherein the multimedia dashboard application communicates the first multimedia promotion to the inventory database through the communications module according to a fourth user input, and wherein the multimedia dashboard application publishes or communicates the first multimedia promotion through the distribution server according to a fifth user input to the distribution controller; and

a second computing device running the multimedia dashboard application is in communication with the inventory database and the distribution server, wherein the second computing device receives a second set of user inputs for operating the multimedia dashboard application running on the second computing device, and wherein the multimedia editor in the multimedia dashboard application modifies the multimedia segments and produces a second multimedia promotion.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the first multimedia promotion is comprised of a first video, wherein the multimedia editor further comprises at least one of an intro guide and an outro guide, and wherein a sixth user input to at least one of the intro guide and the outro guide produces a video segment with voiceover in a sequential order with the first multimedia promotion.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the multimedia editor further comprises a screen with a voiceover script field and a video field.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the multimedia editor further comprises a plurality of background music tracks, wherein the vehicle audios are a plurality of voiceovers describing the vehicles, and wherein a sixth user input to the multimedia editor selects one of the background music tracks for the first multimedia promotion.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the multimedia dashboard application further comprises a 360°

view template, wherein the 360°

view template is comprised of a 360°

recording template in the recording module and a 360°

editor in the multimedia editor, wherein the 360°

recording template accepts a plurality of videos in a predefined sequence around a periphery of a product, and wherein the 360°

editor is comprised of an automated selection of a plurality of image frames extracted from the videos.

16. A method of recording, producing, and distributing a multimedia promotion, comprising:

selecting a set of multimedia segments relating to a corresponding set of products in an inventory database via a multimedia dashboard application executing on a computer processor and without adding another application, wherein the computer processor is operatively communicating with a distribution server in communication with the inventory database, and wherein the multimedia segments are comprised of a plurality of photos, a plurality of videos, and a plurality of audios;

recording a new multimedia segment using the multimedia dashboard application executing on the computer processor;

editing at least one of the new multimedia segment and the selected multimedia segments using the multimedia dashboard application executing on the computer processor to produce at least one edited multimedia segment;

generating, via the multimedia dashboard application executing on the computer processor the multimedia promotion with the edited multimedia segment;

uploading the multimedia promotion from the computer processor to the distribution server in communication with the inventory database via the multimedia dashboard application executing on the computer processor; and

controlling a distribution of the multimedia promotion to a set of potential buyers by the distribution server with the multimedia dashboard application executing on the computer processor.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising the steps of:

recording a custom voiceover track for the new multimedia segment using the multimedia dashboard application executing on the computer processor, wherein the new multimedia segment is a new video;

adding the custom voiceover track to the new video using the multimedia dashboard application executing on the computer processor to produce a custom video; and

combining the custom video with the set of selected multimedia segments using the multimedia dashboard application executing on the computer processor to produce the multimedia promotion, wherein the custom video is at least one of an intro video and an outro video in sequence with the set of selected multimedia segments.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the multimedia dashboard application further comprises a 360°

view function comprised of the steps of recording a plurality of videos in a predefined sequence around a periphery of a product, automatically selecting a plurality of image frames extracted from the videos, and combining the selected image frames into a rotatable 360°

view.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the computer processor executes the steps according to a set of user inputs entered into a first mobile computer, wherein the computer processor is at least one of a local processor within the first mobile computer and a cloud-based computer processor in networked communication with the first mobile computer through a web browser interface.

20. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of executing the multimedia dashboard application on a first mobile computer and a second mobile computer, wherein the first mobile computer uploads the multimedia promotion to the inventory database, and wherein the second mobile computer edits at least one of the multimedia segments in the multimedia promotion with a custom video and a voiceover track.