Abstract:
A novel Internet advertising system and method is provided in which a targeted advertisement is embedded into a multimedia presentation. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the targeted advertisement is chosen from a group of advertisements and is inserted into the presentation to an individual user based on the specifications of an advertiser. In another preferred embodiment, in addition to targeting the advertisement to an individual user, the advertisement embedded into the multimedia presentation is provided with a hyperlink to a website chosen by the advertiser.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    This invention relates to computer systems in general, and more particularly to Internet advertising systems. Even more particularly, this invention relates to apparatus and methods for advertising on the Internet.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Advertising on the Internet has become one of the most important sources of revenue for providers and syndicators of Web content.  
           [0003]    Internet advertising generally consists of a banner advertisement presented to the user. These banner advertisements are a billboard which is separate from the provided content. The advertisement presented on the banner may be static, in that it comprises a fixed image, or the advertisement may be dynamic, in that it comprises a changing image. Often, the advertisement presented on the banner is overlooked, or even blocked by the user. As such, the effectiveness of banner advertising is of questionable merit.  
           [0004]    Another problem associated with current Internet advertising relates to the degree to which the advertising itself can be targeted. More particularly, when banner advertisements are displayed in conjunction with highly specialized content, those particular advertisements will naturally have a high degree of targeting to a particular audience. However, when banner advertisements are displayed or in conjunction with broad based content, those banner applications will typically have a low degree of targeting to a particular audience.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    As a result, one object of the present invention is to provide a novel Internet advertising system in which a multimedia presentation contains a targeted advertisement to a user&#39;s demographic characteristics, whereby to increase the effectiveness of those advertisements.  
           [0006]    Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel Internet advertising system which permits advertisements to be more closely targeted to a particular audience and to be dynamically embedded in a multimedia presentation.  
           [0007]    Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a hyperlink to a sponsor&#39;s website in a targeted advertising.  
           [0008]    Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novel Internet advertising system which can be used by content providers, syndication networks, media buyers, and others, to generate revenue.  
           [0009]    And still another object of the present invention is to provide a novel Internet advertising method which can be used by content providers, syndication networks and media buyers, and others, to generate revenue.  
           [0010]    In one form of the invention, the novel Internet advertising system comprises a multimedia presentation containing an embedded placeholder, a set of advertisements corresponding to the embedded placeholder with each advertisement being indexed by at least one demographic indicator, means for identifying at least one demographic characteristic of a user, means for selecting one advertisement from the set of advertisements having the most relevance to the user, means for inserting the selected advertisement into the embedded placeholder of the multimedia presentation, and means for delivering the multimedia presentation to the user.  
           [0011]    Furthermore, since the advertisement contained in the multimedia presentation is not part of the underlying stored program, but is rather one of a set of advertisements stored separately from the underlying program itself, the advertisement may be provided based on a demographic analysis of the user or based on other requirements imposed by a sponsor or media buyer. For example, if a user is of a particular demographic, the advertisement contained on a T-shirt in the multimedia presentation may read “NIKE”. For another user of another demographic, the advertisement contained on the T-shirt in the multi-media presentation may read “COKE”.  
           [0012]    In another embodiment of the invention, the novel advertising system provides a hyperlink in a targeted advertisement to a sponsor&#39;s website. By clicking on the targeted advertisement, the sponsor&#39;s website is opened in an Internet browser. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING  
       [0013]    These and other objects and features of the present invention will be more fully disclosed by the following detailed description of the invention, which is to be considered together with the associated drawings wherein like numbers refer to like parts and further wherein:  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a novel Internet advertising system formed in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 2 is an illustration of a screen capture of the present invention having an embedded placeholder;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 3 is an illustration of a computer window of the present invention having several advertisements corresponding with an embedded placeholder;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a novel Internet advertising system formed in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 5 is an illustration of a screen capture of the present invention having two embedded placeholders; and  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 6 is an illustration of a computer window having several advertisements corresponding to a second embedded placeholder of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0020]    Referring to FIGS.  1 - 6 , there is shown an Internet advertising system  5 . Internet advertising system  5  generally comprises a multimedia presentation  10  containing an embedded placeholder  15 ; a set of advertisements  20 A,  20 B,  20 C corresponding to embedded placeholder  15 , with each advertisement  20 A,  20 B,  20 C indexed to at least one demographic indicator; a user identifier  25 ; a selector  30  to choose one of the advertisements  20 A,  20 B,  20 C based on its indexed demographic indicator(s) and the user identifier  25 ; an inserter  35  to dynamically embed the chosen advertisement  20  into multimedia presentation  10 ; and a delivery system  40  to send multimedia presentation  10  to a user&#39;s computer  45 .  
         [0021]    Looking now at FIG. 1, Internet advertising system  5  is schematically shown. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, multimedia presentation  10  is created using a Web authoring tool. A commercially available Web authoring tool, or another specially designed program, is used to create multimedia presentation  10 . For example, one commercially available Web authoring tool is Macromedia&#39;s Flash Authoring Tool. Macromedia Flash is used by a Web author to produce multimedia presentation  10 . Embedded placeholder  15  is also inserted into multimedia presentation  10  where advertisement  20  will appear. Existing multimedia presentations  10  may also be updated by inserting an embedded placeholder  15  similar to a newly created multimedia presentation  10 . A Web authoring tool, such as Macromedia Flash, may be used for this insertion.  
         [0022]    Looking now at FIGS. 2 and 3, in multimedia presentation  10  there are many possible configurations of embedded placeholder  15  and advertisement  20 . For example, advertisement  20  could appear on a relatively static placeholder  15 , such as a street billboard (not shown), or a more complex placeholder  15 , such as a character&#39;s tee-shirt  15  (see FIG. 2) in a screen capture  50 . Several advertisements  20 A,  20 B,  20 C (see FIG. 3) are produced to correspond with the character&#39;s tee-shirt placeholder  15  (see FIG. 2). These advertisements  20 A,  20 B,  20 C in a screen capture  55 , are shown statically. However, in a preferred embodiment, the tee-shirt advertisements  20 A,  20 B,  20 c are programmed to dynamically follow the character&#39;s actions.  
         [0023]    Referring now to FIG. 1, user identifier  25  is transmitted from user&#39;s computer  45  to selector  30 . User identifier  25  is then analyzed to ascertain one or more demographic characteristics of the user. For example, one user identifier  25  are cookies generated by the user&#39;s Internet browser. These cookies may contain information about previous Web sites visited and Information submitted by the user. This information is then analyzed by selector  30 . Another example is a user completed survey answering questions which may include demographic information such as age, income and interests. The survey may be completed immediately prior to receiving media presentation  10  and thereby creating user identifier  25 . Alternatively, the survey may be completed at another time or location and stored on a server. This stored survey is then accessed by Internet advertising system  5  to create user identifier  25 .  
         [0024]    Still looking at FIG. 1, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, selector  30  compares user identifier  25  with the indexed demographic indicator(s) of advertisements  20 A,  20 B  20 C to select the most relevant advertisement for the user. Selector  30  may be implemented using various tools. One such tool is a Macromedia Generator server which receives user identifier  25  and then selects the most appropriate advertisement  20 . The server may be one or more machines owned and run by the company supplying multimedia presentation  10 , by a distribution or syndication company, a destination site, or a third party server company such as Beam. Other tools include, but are not limited to, off the shelf programs and programs written using known principles for making a comparison as described above and then selecting one advertisement  20  of advertisements  20 A,  20 B,  20 C.  
         [0025]    Still looking at FIG. 1, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, inserter  35  inserts selected advertisement  20  info embedded placeholder  15  to create a seamless advertisement which is dynamically contained in multimedia presentation  10  and targeted to the characteristics of user identifier  25 . For example, a Macromedia Generator computer program may be used as inserter  35 . Alternatively, other computer programs, either off the shelf or specifically created, may be used as inserter  35 .  
         [0026]    Referring still to FIG. 1, delivery system  40  is shown for sending multimedia presentation  10  having an embedded advertisement  20  to user&#39;s computer  45 . In a preferred embodiment of the invention, delivery system  40  is an Internet connection between the site where multimedia presentation  10  is stored and the user&#39;s computer  10 . In another preferred embodiment of the invention, delivery system  40  is a syndication network. A syndication network supplies information or content, such as multimedia presentation  10 , to one or more Websites for publication. Here, the syndication network  40  collects multimedia presentation  10  and selected advertisement  10  and delivers these to the user&#39;s computer  45 , syndication network  40  may collect multimedia presentation  10  containing selected advertisement  20  already inserted therein; alternatively, syndication network  40  may collect multimedia presentation  10  and selected advertisement  20  separate from one another and merge them together prior to delivery at user&#39;s computer  45 .  
         [0027]    Now looking at FIG. 4, a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in which Internet advertising system  5  includes a hyperlink  60  in selected advertisement  20  contained in multimedia presentation  10 ; a server  65  storing multimedia presentation  10 , advertisements  20 A,  20 B,  20 C selector  30 , and inserter  35 ; and a media buyer component  70  supplying information from user identifier  25  delivered by delivery system  40 .  
         [0028]    Still looking at FIG. 4, hyperlink  60  is located on the selected advertisement  20  delivered to the user&#39;s computer  45 . Hyperlink  60  corresponds to the sponsor&#39;s website of the selected advertisement  20 . As such, invoking hyperlink  60  opens the sponsor&#39;s Web site. This action of invoking hyperlink  60  may also be reported within Internet advertising system  5  to charge the sponsor not only for providing hyperlink  60  but also for the user&#39;s demonstrated interest shown by invoking hyperlink  60 .  
         [0029]    Referring now to FIG. 4, server  65  is shown having multimedia presentation  10 , advertisements  20 A,  20 B,  20 C, selector  30 , and inserter  35 . In this configuration, server  65  uses the Macromedia Generator computer program to store multimedia presentation  10  and advertisements  20 A,  20 B,  20 C. Generator server  65  also functions as selector  30  and inserter  35  in accordance with information sent through delivery system  40  and media buyer component  70 .  
         [0030]    This selection is then relayed to server  65  for insertion of advertisement  20  into multimedia presentation  10 .  
         [0031]    Looking now at FIGS. 1 and 4, the total number of each advertisement  20  inserted into multimedia presentations  10 , and viewed by the user, is logged by Internet advertising system  5 . The number of displays of each advertisement  20  may be logged within selector  30  or, when appropriate, in server  65 . This stored number of displays is then used to charge sponsors according to the number of views presented. The revenue generated by these charges is then divided between the owner of delivery system  40 , such as a syndication company, the owner of media buyer component  70 , such as a media buy company, and the owner of multimedia presentation  20 , such as Internet content provider.  
         [0032]    Looking now at FIGS. 5 and 6, there is shown a screen capture  55  having tee-shirt placeholder  15  and another placeholder  15 ′ for a billboard type advertisement from a group of advertisements  20 A′,  20 B′,  20 C′ corresponding to placeholder  15 ′. The present invention is not limited to one or two placeholders  15 ,  15 ′ and is also not limited to three advertisements  20 ,  20 ′.  
         [0033]    Alternatively, another preferred embodiment of the Internet advertising system  5  does not rely on the demographics of a user to target advertisements. In this embodiment, the selector  30  may randomly select advertisement  20  or be pre-programmed concerning the selection of advertisement  20 .  
         [0034]    It should, of course, be appreciated that the present invention is by no means limited to the particular construction and method steps disclosed above and/or shown in the drawings, but also comprises any modifications or equivalents within the scope of of claims.