System and method for consumer-selected advertising and branding in interactive media

• US 8,407,086 B2
• Filed: 08/07/2011
• Issued: 03/26/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Slingshot Technologies LLC
• Original Assignee: Downing Place Limited Liability Company (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Kusumoto, Laura Lee, Sacerdoti, Earl David, Sigler, Leila Janine, Sigler, Sonya Lee
• Primary Examiner(s): OUELLETTE, JONATHAN P
• Application Number:
  US13/204,707
• Publication Number:
  US 20120029987A1
• Time in Patent Office: 597 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 705/14.16
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0214 Referral reward systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0224 based on user history

Abstract

A user of an interactive medium may select advertising for display on the user'"'"'s avatar, property, or other user-associated environment. The invention presents one or more advertisements to the user and allows the user to select at least one advertisement to display. The user may also choose a location for displaying the selected advertisement. The invention presents the selected advertisement to other users of the interactive medium. The invention tracks these presentations or displays and rewards the original user based on the presentation. The tracking data may also be used to bill the advertiser or optimize the process of selecting and displaying advertisements.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by a processing device, a user input identifying a selection of a location from a plurality of locations within a display in an interactive medium to present an advertisement associated with a first user identifier; and

determining, by the processing device, a payment corresponding to the first user identifier, the payment based on the selection of the location.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising tracking, by the processing device, a user interaction associated with the advertisement.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising presenting, by the processing device, the advertisement in at least one of:

an electronic mail message, a web browser, an instant message, a page, a text message, a video message, and a website.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the user interaction is associated with the user input.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the user interaction is at least one of:

generating the advertisement, selecting the advertisement, displaying the advertisement, accessing the advertisement, transmitting the advertisement, modifying the advertisement, accessing the display, triggering a sensor associated with the advertisement, an action performed by a first avatar associated with the first user identifier, an action performed by a second avatar associated with a second user identifier, and a billing activity.

6. The method of claim 2, further comprising generating, by the processing device, tracking data associated with the tracking.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising displaying, by the processing device, the tracking data.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising analyzing, by the processing device, the tracking data.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising, responsive to the analyzing, modifying, by the processing device, at least one of:

the advertisement, the location of the advertisement, the payment, a presentation of the advertisement and a transmission of the advertisement.

10. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

generating, by the processing device, tracking data associated with the tracking, wherein the user interaction is associated with the user input;

analyzing, by the processing device, the tracking data; and

responsive to the analyzing, modifying, by the processing device, at least one of;

the advertisement, the location of the advertisement, the payment, a billing activity, a presentation of the advertisement, and a transmission of the advertisement.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the user input identifies at least one of:

a size of the advertisement, an orientation of the advertisement within the display, a length of time the advertisement is to be displayed, a presence of audio in the advertisement, and a presence of video in the advertisement.

12. The method of claim 2, further comprising, responsive to the tracking, optimizing, by the processing device, at least one of:

a selection of the advertisement, a presentation of the advertisement, a modification of the advertisement, the location of the advertisement, and the payment.

13. The method of claim 2, further comprising, initiating, by the processing device, a billing activity responsive to the tracking.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the billing activity comprises at least one of:

assessing, by the processing device, a fee to a host of the interactive medium, assessing, by the processing device, a fee to an advertiser associated with the advertisement, and assessing, by the processing device, a fee to a user associated with the first user identifier.

15. The method of claim 2, further comprising modifying, by the processing device, the advertisement responsive to the tracking.

16. The method of claim 2, wherein the user interaction is associated with the first user identifier or a second user identifier, or a combination thereof.

17. The method of claim 2, wherein the payment is based on the user interaction.

18. A computer-readable memory device having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by a processing device, cause the processing device to perform operations comprising:

receiving a user input identifying a selection of a location from a plurality of locations within a display in an interactive medium to present an advertisement associated with a first user identifier; and

determining a payment corresponding to the first user identifier, the payment associated with the selection of the location.

19. The computer-readable memory device of claim 18, wherein the operations further comprise tracking a user interaction associated with the advertisement.

20. The computer-readable memory device of claim 18, wherein the operations further comprise presenting the advertisement in at least one of:

an electronic mail message, a web browser, an instant message, a page, a text message, a video message, and a website.

21. The computer-readable memory device of claim 19, wherein the user interaction is associated with the user input.

22. The computer-readable memory device of claim 19, wherein the user interaction is at least one of:

generating the advertisement, selecting the advertisement, displaying the advertisement, accessing the advertisement, transmitting the advertisement, modifying the advertisement, accessing the display, triggering a sensor associated with the advertisement, an action performed by a first avatar associated with the first user identifier, an action performed by a second avatar associated with a second user identifier, and a billing activity.

23. The computer-readable memory device of claim 19, wherein the operations further comprise generating tracking data associated with the tracking.

24. The computer-readable memory device of claim 23, wherein the operations further comprise displaying the tracking data.

25. The computer-readable memory device of claim 24, wherein the operations further comprise analyzing the tracking data.

26. The computer-readable memory device of claim 25, wherein the operations further comprise, responsive to the analyzing, modifying at least one of:

the advertisement, the location of the advertisement, the payment, a presentation of the advertisement and a transmission of the advertisement.

27. The computer-readable memory device of claim 19, wherein the operations further comprise:

generating tracking data associated with the tracking the user interaction, wherein the user interaction is associated with the user input;

analyzing the tracking data; and

responsive to the analyzing, modifying at least one of;

the advertisement, the location of the advertisement, the payment, a billing activity, a presentation of the advertisement, and a transmission of the advertisement.

28. The computer-readable memory device of claim 27, wherein the user input identifies at least one of:

a size of the advertisement, an orientation of the advertisement within the display, a length of time the advertisement is to be displayed, a presence of audio in the advertisement, and a presence of video in the advertisement.

29. The computer-readable memory device of claim 19, wherein the operations further comprise, responsive to the tracking, optimizing at least one of:

a selection of the advertisement, a presentation of the advertisement, a modification of the advertisement, the location of the advertisement, and the payment.

30. The computer-readable memory device of claim 19, wherein the operations further comprise initiating a billing activity responsive to the tracking.

31. The computer-readable memory device of claim 30, wherein the billing activity comprises at least one of:

assessing a fee to a host of the interactive medium, assessing a fee to an advertiser associated with the advertisement, and assessing a fee to a user associated with the first user identifier.

32. The computer-readable memory device of claim 19, wherein the operations further comprise modifying the advertisement responsive to the tracking.

33. The computer-readable memory device of claim 19, wherein the user interaction is associated with the first user identifier or a second user identifier, or a combination thereof.

34. The computer-readable memory device of claim 19, wherein the payment is associated with the user interaction.

35. An apparatus comprising:

a memory device configured to store instructions associated with an application program; and

a processing device that, in response to executing the instructions stored in the memory device, is configured to;

receive a user input identifying a selection of a location from a plurality of locations within a display in an interactive medium to present an advertisement associated with a first user identifier; and

determine a payment corresponding to the first user identifier, the payment based on the selection of the location.

36. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the processing device is further configured to track a user interaction associated with the advertisement.

37. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the processing device is further configured to present the advertisement in at least one of:

an electronic mail message, a web browser, an instant message, a page, a text message, a video message, and a website.

38. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the user interaction is associated with the user input.

39. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the user interaction is at least one of:

generating the advertisement, selecting the advertisement, displaying the advertisement, accessing the advertisement, transmitting the advertisement, modifying the advertisement, accessing the display, triggering a sensor associated with the advertisement, an action performed by a first avatar associated with the first user identifier, an action performed by a second avatar associated with a second user identifier, and a billing activity.

40. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the processing device is further configured to generate tracking data associated with the tracking the user interaction.

41. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the processing device is further configured to display the tracking data.

42. The apparatus of claim 41, wherein the processing device is further configured to analyze the tracking data.

43. The apparatus of claim 42, wherein the processing device is further configured to, responsive to the analyzing, modify at least one of:

the advertisement, the location of the advertisement, the payment, a presentation of the advertisement and a transmission of the advertisement.

44. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the processing device is further configured to:

generate tracking data associated with the tracking the user interaction, wherein the user interaction is associated with the user input;

analyze the tracking data; and

responsive to the analyzing, modify at least one of;

the advertisement, the location of the advertisement, the payment, a billing activity, a presentation of the advertisement, and a transmission of the advertisement.

45. The apparatus of claim 44, wherein the user input identifies at least one of:

a size of the advertisement, an orientation of the advertisement within the display, a length of time the advertisement is to be displayed, a presence of audio in the advertisement, and a presence of video in the advertisement.

46. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the processing device is further configured to optimize, responsive to the tracking, at least one of:

a selection of the advertisement, a presentation of the advertisement, a modification of the advertisement, the location of the advertisement, and the payment.

47. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the processing device is further configured to initiate a billing activity responsive to the tracking.

48. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein the billing activity comprises at least one of:

assessing a fee to a host of the interactive medium, assessing a fee to an advertiser associated with the advertisement, and assessing a fee to a user associated with the first user identifier.

49. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the processing device is further configured to modify the advertisement responsive to the tracking.

50. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the user interaction is associated with the first user identifier or a second user identifier, or a combination thereof.

51. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the payment is associated with the user interaction.

52. An apparatus comprising:

means for receiving a user input identifying a selection of a location from a plurality of locations within a display in an interactive medium to present an advertisement associated with a first user identifier; and

means for determining a payment corresponding to the first user identifier, the payment associated with the selection of the location.

53. The apparatus of claim 52, further comprising means for tracking a user interaction associated with the advertisement.

54. The apparatus of claim 52, further comprising means for presenting the advertisement in at least one of:

an electronic mail message, a web browser, an instant message, a page, a text message, a video message, and a website.

55. The apparatus of claim 53, wherein the user interaction is associated with the user input.

56. The apparatus of claim 53, wherein the user interaction is at least one of:

generating the advertisement, selecting the advertisement, displaying the advertisement, accessing the advertisement, transmitting the advertisement, modifying the advertisement, accessing the display, triggering a sensor associated with the advertisement, an action performed by a first avatar associated with the first user identifier, an action performed by a second avatar associated with a second user identifier, and a billing activity.

57. The apparatus of claim 53, further comprising means for generating tracking data associated with the means for tracking the user interaction.

58. The apparatus of claim 57, further comprising means for displaying the tracking data.

59. The apparatus of claim 58, further comprising means for analyzing the tracking data.

60. The apparatus of claim 59, further comprising, means for modifying, responsive to the means for analyzing, at least one of:

the advertisement, the location of the advertisement, the payment, the display of the advertisement and a transmission of the advertisement.

61. The apparatus of claim 53, further comprising:

means for generating tracking data associated with the tracking the user interaction, wherein the user interaction is associated with the user input;

means for analyzing the tracking data; and

means for modifying, responsive to the means for analyzing, at least one of;

the advertisement, the location of the advertisement, the payment, a billing activity, the display of the advertisement, and a transmission of the advertisement.

62. The apparatus of claim 61, wherein the user input identifies at least one of:

a size of the advertisement, an orientation of the advertisement within the display, a length of time the advertisement is to be displayed, a presence of audio in the advertisement, and a presence of video in the advertisement.

63. The apparatus of claim 59, further comprising, means for optimizing, responsive to the means for analyzing, at least one of:

a selection of the advertisement, a presentation of the advertisement, a modification of the advertisement, the location of the advertisement, and the payment.

64. The apparatus of claim 53, further comprising means for initiating a billing activity responsive to the means for tracking.

65. The apparatus of claim 64, wherein the billing activity comprises at least one of:

assessing a fee to a host of the interactive medium, assessing a fee to an advertiser associated with the advertisement, and assessing a fee to a user associated with the first user identifier.

66. The apparatus of claim 53, further comprising means for modifying the advertisement responsive to the means for tracking.

67. The apparatus of claim 53, wherein the user interaction is associated with the first user identifier or a second user identifier, or a combination thereof.

68. The apparatus of claim 53, wherein the payment is associated with the user interaction.