Locally driven advertising system

• US 20020002488A1
• Filed: 03/01/2001
• Published: 01/03/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/1997
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Digital Delivery Networks, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Digital Delivery Networks, Inc.
• Inventors: Williams, James B., Peterson, Harold L., Rigler, Joel R., Muyres, Matthew R.
• Application Number:
  US09/797,639
• Publication Number:
  US 20020002488A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/123 Shopping for digital content
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0258 Registration
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0272 Period of advertisement exposure
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0014 for vending, access and use of specific services not covered anywhere else in G07F17/00 meter-controlled dispensing of liquid, gas or electricity G07F15/00

Abstract

A method for providing offline advertising. A digital content vending machine, DCVM includes a client on a personal computer, PC. The DCVM contains an infrastructure and an inventory of digital content, which includes advertisements. The infrastructure and inventory may both be stored in a hard drive, or the inventory may instead be stored on a removable media, such as a CD, DVD, or tape. Customers shop in a plurality of stores operated by vendors and the advertising is then presented to them. A master server may also be provided to update the infrastructure and inventory, particularly including advertisements into the inventory.

Claims

1. A method for providing offline advertising on a personal computerized system, wherein the personal computerized system has a display unit and a primary storage unit, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a campaign set in the primary storage unit, wherein said campaign set includes a plurality of ads each having respective deployment attributes;

(b) generating a viewable window on the display unit, wherein said viewable window includes at least one position;

(c) retrieving a said ad from said campaign set based on its respective said deployment attributes; and

(d) presenting said ad in said position, thereby permitting a user of the personal computerized system to view said ad.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said primary storage unit is a hard disk drive and at least part of said campaign set is stored in said hard disk drive prior to its purchase either as part of the personal computerized system or for addition to the personal computerized system.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one said position has at least one temporal location, thereby permitting different said ads to be presented based on their having respective said deployment attributes and time.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said deployment attributes include at least one member of the set consisting of display start date, display end date, duration, subscription period, circulation period, and impression count.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the primary storage unit further includes a local inventory of digital content and said ad is for an item of said digital content.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the personal computerized system includes a network link permitting communication with a remote computer system having a master inventory of digital content and said ad is for an item of said digital content.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the personal computerized system includes a network link permitting communication with a remote computer system, and further wherein said campaign set is an initial campaign set, and the method further comprising:

(e) receiving a second campaign set from said remote computer system.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said ad has a graphical element and a click thru link;

and the personal computerized system further includes an input unit with which said user of the personal computerized system may selectively click a said position in said viewable window on the display unit of the personal computerized system, thereby permitting said user to follow said click thru link.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said at least some of said click thru links cause step (b) through step (d) to occur using a different said ad from said campaign set.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

(e) accumulating impression counts for respective said ads; and

(f) aggregating said impression counts into a report.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the personal computerized system includes a network link permitting communication with a remote computer system, and the method further comprising:

(g) communicating said report to said remote computer system.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said step (f) further includes incorporating demographic information about at least one said user of said personal computerized system into said report.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein said campaign set is an initial campaign set, and the method further comprising:

(h) receiving a second campaign set from said remote computer system, wherein said second campaign set has content based at least in part on said report.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the primary storage unit further includes an inventory of digital content which said user of the personal computerized system may access, and the method further comprising:

(h) receiving different said digital content, based at least in part on said report, via said network link from a remote computer, wherein said remote computer may be, but is not necessarily, said second computer which receives said report; and

(i) changing said inventory with said different said digital content.

15. A computer program, embodied on a computer readable storage medium, for providing offline advertising on a personal computerized system having a display unit and a primary storage unit, the computer program comprising:

(a) a code segment that generates a viewable window on the display unit, wherein said viewable window includes at least one position;

(b) a code segment that retrieves a said ad from a campaign set which has been pre-stored in the primary storage unit, based on its respective said deployment attributes; and

(c) a code segment that presents said ad in said position, thereby permitting a user of the personal computerized system to view said ad.

16. The computer program of claim 15, wherein said code segment (c) presents said ad in said position based on its having a temporal location, thereby permitting different said ads to be presented based on their having respective said deployment attributes and time.

17. The computer program of claim 16, wherein said deployment attributes include at least one member of the set consisting of display start date, display end date, duration, subscription period, circulation period, and impression count.

18. The computer program of claim 15, wherein the personal computerized system includes a network link permitting communication with a remote computer system, and the computer program further comprising:

(d) a code segment that operates said network link to said access remote computer system and retrieve said ad from a master inventory of digital content stored there on.

19. The computer program of claim 15, wherein the personal computerized system further includes an input unit with which said user of the personal computerized system may selectively click in said viewable window on the display unit and said ad has a graphical element and a click thru link, and the computer program further comprising:

(d) a code segment that monitors said positions to see if a user selectively clicked one and directs the personal computerized system to follow said click thru link.

20. The computer program of claim 19, further comprising:

(e) a code segment that accumulates impression counts for respective said ads; and

(f) a code segment that aggregates said impression counts into a report.

21. The computer program of claim 20, wherein the personal computerized system includes a network link permitting communication with a remote computer system, and the computer program further comprising:

(g) a code segment that communicates said report to said remote computer system.