Interactive product placement system and method therefor

• US 10,425,698 B2
• Filed: 05/18/2018
• Issued: 09/24/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aibuy Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Aibuy Incorporated
• Inventors: Briggs, Christian, McBurnett, Heath, Galindo, Delfino, Knuth, Freddy
• Primary Examiner(s): Corbo, Nicholas T
• Application Number:
  US15/983,934
• Publication Number:
  US 20180338188A1
• Time in Patent Office: 494 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/237 Communication with additional data server
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2393 involving handling client requests scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2542 for selling goods, e.g. TV shopping payment schemes, payment architectures or payment protocols for electronic shopping systems G06Q20/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26603 for automatically generating descriptors from content, e.g. when it is not made available by its provider, using content analysis techniques
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44222 Analytics of user selections, e.g. selection of programs or purchase activity monitoring of user selections in data processing systems G06F11/34; arrangements for monitoring the user's behaviour or opinions in broadcast systems H04H60/33
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47205 for manipulating displayed content, e.g. interacting with MPEG-4 objects, editing locally
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47217 for controlling playback functions for recorded or on-demand content, e.g. using progress bars, mode or play-point indicators or bookmarks specific graphical features in visual interfaces H04N21/4312
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4722 for requesting additional data associated with the content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4725 using interactive regions of the image, e.g. hot spots details of information retrieval from the Internet by using URLs G06F16/955; processing chained hypermedia data for information retrieval G06F16/94
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47815 Electronic shopping payment schemes, payment architectures or payment protocols for electronic shopping systems G06Q20/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8133 specifically related to the content, e.g. biography of the actors in a movie, detailed information about an article seen in a video program
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8455 involving pointers to the content, e.g. pointers to the I-frames of the video stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8545 for generating interactive applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8547 involving timestamps for synchronizing content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/858 Linking data to content, e.g. by linking an URL to a video object, by creating a hotspot

Abstract

A method for presenting advertisements for commercial products in video productions, whereby the commercial product is placed in the video production as an element of the video production. A viewer is enabled to interact with the video production to select the product. Information is then displayed about the selected product; and the viewer is enabled to purchase the selected product.

Claims

1. A media system, comprising:

one or more processors; and

at least one memory operatively coupled to at least one of the one or more processors and storing instructions that when executed cause at least one of the one or more processors to;

generate a cue point data structure including at least one set of cue point metadata, each set of cue point metadata identifying a start point at which an ad event is to be presented in a media presentation and a pointer to ad event data;

store the cue point data structure independent of a storage location of the media presentation; and

associate the cue point data structure with the media presentation such that playing the media presentation causes, for each set of cue point metadata;

display of a calling cue point in a media timeline,

display of a visual representation of ad event data indicated by the pointer in the corresponding set of cue point metadata, and

the visual representation configured to, upon user interaction with an object within the visual representation of the ad event data, provide information not previously displayed to a viewing user.

2. The media system of claim 1, wherein at least one set of cue point metadata further includes at least one motion path action associated with the corresponding ad event data.

3. The media system of claim 1, wherein at least one set of cue point metadata further includes at least one fade action associated with the corresponding ad event data.

4. The media system of claim 1, wherein at least one set of cue point metadata further includes at least one glow action associated with the corresponding ad event data.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one memory also stores instructions that when executed cause the at least one of the one or more processors to:

present an editor to a user, the editor configured to display the media presentation and one or more advertising elements associated with the one or more ad events, the editor also configured to receive input from the user defining motion of at least one of the one or more advertising elements and store information defining the motion in the cue point data structure.

6. The media system of claim 5, wherein:

the one or more advertising elements comprise one or more overlay objects; and

for each of at least one of the one or more overlay objects, the editor is configured to receive from the user input defining a path to animate the overlay object.

7. The media system of claim 1, wherein the at least one memory also stores instructions that when executed cause the at least one of the one or more processors to:

present an editor to a user, the editor configured to receive input from the user defining one or more layers to be added by the editor to a base layer that includes the media presentation.

8. The media system of claim 7, wherein the editor is further configured to receive input from the user identifying a selection of one or more tools in a toolkit the toolkit including at least one of:

a pen tool configured to allow the user to identify a freeform shape in at least one of the layers;

a shape tool configured to allow the user to identify a predefined shape in at least one of the layers;

a paint tool configured to allow the user to identify a freeform element in at least one of the layers;

an erase tool configured to allow the user to remove portions of shapes or lines in at least one of the layers; and

a mask tool.

9. The media system of claim 1, wherein the at least one memory also stores instructions that when executed cause the at least one of the one or more processors to:

present an editor to a user, the editor configured to display the media presentation and one or more advertising elements associated with the one or more advertising events, the editor also configured to define properties, interactive elements, visuals, and motion of one or more advertising elements.

10. The media system of claim 1, further comprising:

a backend connection to an advertising server that provides the advertising material.

11. The media system of claim 1, wherein each set of cue point metadata further includes an action associated with the corresponding advertising material.

12. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions for associating a video production with one or more cue points that trigger one or more advertising events, the instructions when executed causing at least one processing device to:

create a cue point data structure including at least one set of cue point metadata, each set of cue point metadata identifying a start point at which advertising material is to be displayed in a video production and a pointer to the advertising material;

store the cue point data structure independent of a storage location of the video production; and

associate the cue point data structure with the video production such that playing the video production causes, for each set of cue point metadata;

display of a visual representation of the advertising material indicated by the pointer in the corresponding set of cue point metadata, and

the visual representation of the advertising material configured to, upon user interaction with an object within the visual representation of the advertising material, provide information about the advertising material that was not previously displayed to a viewing user.

13. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12, further comprising instructions that when executed cause the at least one processing device to:

present an editor to a user, the editor configured to display the video production and one or more advertising elements associated with the one or more advertising events, the editor also configured to receive input from the user defining motion of at least one of the one or more advertising elements and store information defining the motion in the cue point data structure.

14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein:

the one or more advertising elements comprise one or more overlay objects; and

for each of at least one of the one or more overlay objects, the editor is configured to receive from the user input defining a path to animate the overlay object.

15. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12, further comprising instructions that when executed cause the at least one processing device to:

present an editor to a user, the editor configured to receive input from the user defining one or more layers to be added by the editor to a base layer that includes the video production.

16. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12, further comprising instructions that when executed cause the at least one processing device to:

present an editor to a user, the editor configured to display the video production and one or more advertising elements associated with the one or more advertising events, the editor also configured to define properties, interactive elements, visuals, and motion of one or more advertising elements.

17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein each set of cue point metadata further includes an action associated with the corresponding advertising material.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17, wherein the action comprises one of:

fading, glowing, or a motion path.