Advertising methods for advertising time slots and embedded objects

• US 7,979,877 B2
• Filed: 12/23/2003
• Issued: 07/12/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Roku, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Intellocity USA, Inc. (Kudelski SA)
• Inventors: Zenoni, Ian, Lemmons, Thomas, Huber, Thomas
• Primary Examiner(s): Hirl, Joseph P
• Assistant Examiner(s): RABOVIANSKI, JIVKA A
• Application Number:
  US10/745,899
• Publication Number:
  US 20050137958A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,758 Days
• Field of Search: 725/36, 725/32, 725/35
• US Class Current: 725/36
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0275 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02

Abstract

Disclosed is a process for an advertising bidding system in which advertisers can bid on advertising time slots or enhanced ads that can be inserted in either prerecorded or live television programming. A high degree of flexibility is provided by allowing embedded ads to be purchased and displayed in a very short time period. This allows TV broadcasters to increase revenues and allows advertisers to have more flexibility in advertising. Objects can be inserted in the display video broadcast using enhancements such as by using mark-up language overlay pages or by video combination techniques. The effect of these ads can be evaluated for advertising campaigns.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for auctioning advertising opportunities in a video broadcast, the method comprising:

selecting a predetermined number of advertising opportunities in a video broadcast for auctioning;

auctioning the selected predetermined number of advertising opportunities to interested advertisers in an auction; and

generating, using one or more processors, an interactive advertisement for an advertising opportunity won by an advertiser in the auction, the advertising opportunity is associated with at least an object identified within the video broadcast using a pattern recognition software, and the advertisement is graphically embedded into a selective area of the identified object based on placement and contour data for the identified object generated using the pattern recognition software.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the interactive advertisement becomes interactive when activated.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the placement and contour data form a boundary around the identified object within which the advertisement may be embedded.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the placement and contour data comprise coordinates of the identified object.

5. A computer-implemented method of inserting embedded advertisements in video broadcasts, the method comprising:

identifying at least one embedded advertising opportunity in a video program;

auctioning the embedded advertising opportunity to interested advertisers in an auction sale;

inserting, using one or more processors, an embedded interactive advertisement in the video program for an advertiser that has won the auction sale, the embedded interactive advertisement is graphically inserted into a selective area of an object identified, using a pattern recognition software, within a scene of the video program based on placement and contour data for the identified object generated using the pattern recognition software; and

transmitting the video program with the embedded interactive advertisement to viewers.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

selecting the interested advertisers based on attribute data associated with the interested advertisers matching an attribute of the at least one embedded advertising opportunity.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the inserting an embedded interactive advertisement in the video program comprises:

inserting the embedded interactive advertisement in the video program using video combination techniques.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the inserting an embedded interactive advertisement in the video program comprises:

inserting the embedded interactive advertisement in the video program using markup language overlay pages.

9. A computer-implemented method of generating a video program with embedded advertisement, the method comprising:

identifying embedded advertising opportunities in the video program;

providing description of the embedded advertising opportunities to interested advertisers;

auctioning the embedded advertising opportunities to the interested advertisers in an auction sale;

selecting an advertiser from the interested advertisers as a winner of an embedded advertising opportunity from the auction sale; and

embedding, using one or more processors, an interactive advertisement in the video program to generate a video program with the embedded interactive advertisement, the embedded interactive advertisement is associated with the advertiser that has won the auction sale, and the embedded interactive advertisement is graphically inserted into an object identified, using a pattern recognition technology, within a scene of the video program based on placement and contour data generated for the identified object using the pattern recognition technology on the identified object in the scene.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the embedded interactive advertisement is configured to be an interactive advertisement when activated.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the embedded interactive advertisement is activated using a control device.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein based on the embedded interactive advertisement being activated, information associated with the advertiser is presented.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the information associated with the advertiser is presented on a display.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the information associated with the advertiser is presented using wireless communication.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the information associated with the advertiser is presented on a display of a portable device.