SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONSUMER-SELECTED ADVERTISING AND BRANDING IN INTERACTIVE MEDIA

• US 20100293569A1
• Filed: 07/28/2010
• Published: 11/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Slingshot Technologies LLC
• Original Assignee: Avatizing LLC
• Inventors: Sigler, Sonya Lee, Kusumoto, Laura Lee, Sacerdoti, Earl David, Sigler, Leila Janine
• Granted Patent: US 8,417,535 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/23
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0209 Incentive being awarded or redeemed in connection with the playing of a video game
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0212 Chance discounts or incentives
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0213 Consumer transaction fees
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0217 involving input on products or services in exchange for incentives or rewards
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0219 based on funds or budget
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0239 Online discounts or incentives
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0252 based on events or environment, e.g. weather or festivals
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0276 Advertisement creation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement

Abstract

Participants in an interactive environment implemented by computer networks and other media such as interactive television are recruited to advertise products and brands to the other participants and viewers that are users of the media. Each participant may select from a set of available advertisements, which can be displayed in association with the user'"'"'s avatar, virtual space and virtual objects within or embodying the virtual world. Participants are given incentives to do this by the availability of rewards, such as coupons, real or virtual money or other resources, which are provided by the advertising sponsors, based on adoption of the advertising by the participant, as well as on factors such as exposure of the selected advertisements to other users. Allowing the users to exercise advertising choice, as participant or viewer, the invention also facilitates collection of data regarding consumer preferences.

Claims

1. A method for selected advertising within an interactive medium, comprising:

providing an advertisement group to a first user by at least one processor of a first group of at least one processors, wherein the advertisement group comprises at least one advertisement;

receiving, by at least one processor of a second group of at least one processors, a selection of at least one advertisement from the advertisement group from the first user;

associating, by at least one processor of a third group of at least one processors, the at least one advertisement with at least one location within the interactive medium;

creating, by at least one processor of a fourth group of at least one processors, a selected advertisement from the selection of the at least one advertisement and the at least one location within the interactive medium;

storing, by at least one processor of a fifth group of at least one processors, at least one of said at least one advertisement, the at least one location of the at least one advertisement, or the selected advertisement;

presenting, by at least one processor of a sixth group of at least one processors, the selected advertisement to at least one user within the interactive medium, wherein the at least one user has access to the interactive medium; and

determining, by at least one processor of a seventh group of at least one processors, eligibility for a reward, wherein the reward is based on at least the presenting the selected advertisement.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

providing, by the at least one processor, a plurality of locations to the first user to select to present the at least one advertisement; and

receiving, by the at least one processor, a selection of the at least one location from the plurality of locations from the first user.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

selecting, by the at least one processor, the at least one location.

19. The method according to claim 1, wherein a given pair of said at least one processor of said first group of said at least one processors;

said at least one processor of said second group of said at least one processors;

said at least one processor of said third group of said at least one processors;

said at least one processor of said fourth group of said at least one processors;

said at least one processor of said fifth group of said at least one processors;

said at least one processor of said sixth group of said at least one processors;

said at least one processor of said sixth group of said at least one processors; and

said at least one processor of said seventh group of said at least one processors, comprise at least one of;

a same processor;

a same group of processors;

different processors;

or

different processors from different groups of processors.

20. The method according to claim 1, wherein said at least one processor comprises at least one of:

a machine;

a computer processor;

a communications processor;

an interactive television processor;

a receiver processor;

a display processor;

a mobile phone processor;

or

a handheld device processor.

21. The method according to claim 1, wherein said determining comprises:

indicating said eligibility to the first user.

22. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

when a plurality of locations exists, providing the plurality of locations to the first user to select to present the at least one advertisement within the interactive media and receiving a selection of at least one location from the plurality of locations from the first user; and

when only one location exists, selecting a selection of the one location.

4. A machine readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to provide selected advertising within an interactive medium, the instructions comprising:

providing an advertisement group to a first user;

receiving a selection of at least one advertisement from the advertisement group from the first user;

when a plurality of locations exists, providing the plurality of locations to the first user to choose to present the at least one advertisement within the interactive medium and receiving a selection of at least one location from the plurality of locations from the first user;

when only one location exists, determining, a selection of the one location;

creating a selected advertisement from the selection of the at least one advertisement and the selection of at least one location;

storing at least one of the selection of the at least one advertisement, the selection of the at least one location of the at least one advertisement, or the selected advertisement; and

presenting the selected advertisement to at least one user within the interactive medium, wherein the at least one user has access to the interactive medium.

5. The machine readable storage medium of claim 4, wherein said advertisement group comprises at least one of:

at least one advertisement,

at least one advertisement of at least one category, or

at least one advertisement of at least one advertisement profile.

6. The machine readable storage medium of claim 4, further comprising:

providing a reward to at least the first user, wherein the reward is based on at least said creating a selected advertisement.

7. The machine readable storage medium of claim 4 wherein the at least one location comprises at least one of a wearable display, a game piece, a game card, a game element, a display controlled or influenced by the first user, a portion of a web page, a portion of a web page for a period of time, a time slot in an audio or video stream, a portion of screen real estate in a video stream, a radio or television broadcast, an on-hold audio message, real world clothing, an electronic billboard, a billboard with a processor-controlled display, a vending machine, programmable paper, a virtual character, a virtual representation of a user, a virtual place, media present in a real-world space, or media projected onto a real-world space;

and

determining a manner of displaying the selected advertisement based on a nature of the selected location.

8. The machine readable storage medium of claim 4, wherein the advertisement group is provided by an advertising server;

and

the at least one location comprises at least one of;

at least a portion of a web page whose content is owned or controlled by the first user,

at least a portion of a screen presented on a mobile phone whose content is owned or controlled by the first user,

at least a portion of a media stream whose content is owned or controlled by the first user, or

at least a portion of a web-based game; and

the presenting comprises the advertising server choosing one or more advertisements from the selected advertisement based on a user profile.

9. The machine readable storage medium of claim 4, wherein the interactive medium comprises interactive television;

the at least one advertisement comprises a video advertisement; and

the at least one location comprises at least a portion of a television display.

10. The machine readable storage medium of claim 4, wherein the at least one advertisement comprises at least one of:

a representation of a real-world individual, a group of real-world individuals, a real-world object, a group of real-world objects, or a group of real-world individuals and real-world objects.

11. The machine readable storage medium of claim 4, wherein said presenting the selected advertisement comprises tracking at least one interaction with the selected advertisement by the at least one user.

12. The machine readable storage medium of claim 4, wherein the at least one location comprises a virtual billboard in an interactive medium and wherein said presenting comprises receiving a selection of a virtual location of the interactive medium from the virtual billboard and providing access to said virtual location in said interactive medium.

13. The machine readable storage medium of claim 6, wherein the reward comprises being transported to at least one virtual location.

14. The machine readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the at least one interaction comprises at least one of sharing at least one aspect of the interactive medium using the advertisement, tracking click events and click-through events, or transferring aspects of the interactive medium to a second medium.

15. The machine readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the interactive medium comprises a virtual world and the second medium comprises at least one of a different virtual world, a display in the real world, a collaborative virtual environment, a multi-user virtual environment, a massively multiplayer online game, an interactive themed environment, or an augmented reality system media displayed on at least one of an interactive television, an electronic bumper sticker, an article of clothing with a flexible screen, a billboard with a processor-controlled display, a mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant, a tablet computer, a mobile station, a gaming system, an augmented reality display, a telepresence system, or a videoconference display.

16. The machine readable storage medium of claim 4, further comprising:

creating a profile for the first user adapted for use in a plurality of interactive media, wherein the profile is accessible in at least one of said plurality of said interactive media, wherein the profile comprises at least one of;

registration information,

environment continuation information to allow the first user to continue where the first user previously stopped in the interactive medium,

information on at least one selected advertisement of the first user,

information on the selection of the at least one advertisement, or

information on the selection of the at least one location.

17. The machine readable storage medium of claim 4, wherein the advertisement and the at least one location are selected using at least one of the interactive medium and an ancillary support environment, wherein the ancillary support environment comprises at least one interface for exchanging information and at least one choice and wherein the interactive medium is interrupted by the first user to engage with the ancillary support environment.

18. The machine readable storage medium of claim 4, wherein the at least one advertisement is provided by an advertising server;

the at least one location comprises at least one of a virtual space controlled by the first user; and

said presenting further comprises the advertising server choosing one or more advertisements from the selected advertisement based on a user profile.

23. A method for selected advertising within an interactive medium, comprising:

associating, by at least one processor of a first group of at least one processors, at least one advertisement based on a selection selected by a first user from an advertisement group comprising at least one advertisement with at least one location within the interactive medium;

creating, by at least one processor of a second group of at least one processors, a selected advertisement from the selection of the at least one advertisement and the at least one location within the interactive medium;

storing, by at least one processor of a third group of at least one processors, at least one of said at least one advertisement, the at least one location of the at least one advertisement, or the selected advertisement;

presenting, by at least one processor of a fourth group of at least one processors, the selected advertisement to at least one user within the interactive medium, wherein the at least one user has access to the interactive medium; and

determining, by at least one processor of a fifth group of at least one processors, eligibility for a reward, wherein the reward is based on at least the presenting the selected advertisement.

24. A method for selected advertising within an interactive medium, comprising:

providing an advertisement group to a first user by at least one processor of a first group of at least one processors, wherein the advertisement group comprises at least one advertisement; and

receiving, by at least one processor of a second group of at least one processors, a selection of at least one advertisement from the advertisement group from the first user;

wherein the selection is adapted for association with at least one location within the interactive medium;

a selected advertisement is adapted for creation from the selection of the at least one advertisement and the at least one location within the interactive medium;

at least one of said at least one advertisement, the at least one location of the at least one advertisement, the selected advertisement are adapted for storage;

the selected advertisement is adapted for presentation to at least one user within the interactive medium, wherein the at least one user has access to the interactive medium; and

eligibility for a reward is adapted for determination; and

the reward is adapted to be based on at least being adapted for presentation of the selected advertisement.

25. A machine readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to provide selected advertising within an interactive medium, the instructions comprising:

creating a selected advertisement from a selection of at least one advertisement and a selection of at least one location,

wherein the selection of at least one advertisement was received from a first user when the first user was provided an advertisement group, and wherein the selection of the at least one location was determined by when a plurality of locations exist, the plurality of locations were provided to the first user to choose presentation of the at least one advertisement within the interactive medium and the selection of the at least one location from the plurality of locations was received from the first user, or when only one location existed, the selection of the one location was determined;

storing at least one of the selection of the at least one advertisement, the selection of the at least one location of the at least one advertisement, or the selected advertisement; and

presenting the selected advertisement to at least one user within the interactive medium, wherein the at least one user has access to the interactive medium.

26. A machine readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to provide selected advertising within an interactive medium, the instructions comprising:

providing an advertisement group to a first user;

receiving a selection of at least one advertisement from the advertisement group from the first user;

when a plurality of locations exists, providing the plurality of locations to the first user to choose to present the at least one advertisement within the interactive medium and receiving a selection of at least one location from the plurality of locations from the first user;

when only one location exists, determining, a selection of the one location; and

wherein a selected advertisement is adapted to be created from the selection of the at least one advertisement and the selection of the at least one location;

wherein at least one of the selection of the at least one advertisement, the selection of the at least one location of the at least one advertisement, or the selected advertisement, is adapted to be stored; and

the selected advertisement is adapted to be presented to at least one user within the interactive medium, and wherein the at least one user is provided access to the interactive medium.