Customized advertising for online slideshow

• US 8,458,598 B1
• Filed: 01/23/2009
• Issued: 06/04/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/23/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: GoldMail, Inc. (PointAcross, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: GoldMail, Inc. (PointAcross, Inc.)
• Inventors: Hakel, Thomas, Simpson, David Andrew, Vilevac, Paul N.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Tuyetlien
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ayeni, Abimbola
• Application Number:
  US12/359,239
• Time in Patent Office: 1,593 Days
• Field of Search: 715/4, 715/730, 715/731, 715/733, 705/14, 725/1
• US Class Current: 715/749
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0251 Targeted advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/031 Electronic editing of digitised analogue information signals, e.g. audio or video signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02

Abstract

Example embodiments provide apparatuses and methods directed to a system for presenting customized advertisements and branding in conjunction with an audio-visual presentation, e.g., an online slideshow with audio enhancement, played on a player module on an access device. In example embodiments, the online slideshow includes a customized pre-roll advertisement, a customized post-roll advertisement, and/or a customized banner advertisement on the final slide of the slideshow. The system also might customize the GUI views displayed by the player module which plays the online slideshow and/or the player landing page on the CDN that hosts the player module. In example embodiments, the system might base the customization on branding (e.g., in support of “white labeling”), seasonal themes, and/or personalization.

Claims

1. A method of playing a playable online slideshow, comprising:

receiving at a server over the Internet a registered online slideshow including an image content file, an audio file, and a timing file developed with a composer module of a personal computer, wherein the timing file relates the image content file to the audio content file using cue points;

receiving from a computer of a viewer a name of said viewer requesting access to the online slideshow;

verifying that the name of the viewer matches an authorized name associated with the online slideshow;

downloading said timing file of the online slideshow to the computer of the viewer;

measuring a bandwidth of a network connection of the computer of the viewer;

determining a time to download content to the computer of the viewer based on the bandwidth of the network connection of the computer of the viewer and a size of the online slideshow, wherein the bandwidth of the network connection is determined by dividing a number of bytes downloaded from the server to the computer of the viewer by the time it took to download the number of bytes;

downloading, using progressive download, the image content file and the audio content file comprising audio-enhanced slideshow content to the computer of the viewer including an advertisement;

playing the online slideshow and the advertisement on the computer of the viewer, including playing the first advertisement, the online slideshow played in accordance with the timing file;

recording a list of content played for the viewer; and

uploading the list from the computer of the viewer.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the advertisement is a pre-roll advertisement which is played before playing the online slideshow.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the advertisement is a post-roll advertisement which is played after playing the online slideshow.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the advertisement is a mid-roll advertisement that is played during the playing of the online slideshow.