Abstract:
A system and method for increasing participant retention of advertisement information, including one or more advertisements for presentation to one or more participants; associated with each of said one or more advertisements, one or more questions for presentation to said one or more participants, the one or more questions being conclusively answerable based on the information contained in an associated advertisement; and a prize awarded to at least one of said one or more participants. Optionally, the present invention may be embodied in whole or in part in computer-readable media tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by a computer. Also optionally, presenting and submitting may occur in whole or in part over one or more communication networks. Also optionally, a timer may be utilized to measure how fast each of said one or more participants submits answers.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]    This application claims the priority of Provisional application No. 60/187,205 having a filing date of Mar. 3, 2000. 
     
    
     
       FIELD OF INVENTION  
         [0002]    The present invention relates to skill contests, trivia games, standardized tests and advertisements; and more particularly, to a system and method for increasing retention of advertisement information by testing participants on the information contained in advertisement.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    Generally, a skill contest is a game that includes an element of prize (redeemable points, awards, chances, things of value, advancement to another round or level, the opportunity to move a game piece, etc.) and an element of bona fide skill known and possessed by the general class of entrants, with the element of skill being determinative and controlling of the final result.  
           [0004]    A skill contest may be conducted in whole, or in part, over a network (e.g., the Internet, television, cable television, radio, telephone, etc., and various combinations thereof). For example, in a radio-based contest, ten (10) songs in a row may be broadcast simultaneously to all participants without disclosing the respective band names and song titles, with the first participant who telephones the radio station after the tenth song with the correct band names and respective song titles of all ten (10) songs winning a prize.  
           [0005]    A trivia game includes one or more questions for one or more players to answer. A trivia game may also include an element of prize, with the players winning a prize when they provide a correct answer to one or more trivia questions presented. A trivia game may also include an element of time. For example, after a question is presented to two or more players, the first player to initiate some event (e.g., activation of a “buzzer” or a switch) is given the opportunity to answer a question before the other player(s). As another example, the prize a player receives for correctly answering a question may be based on how quickly the player submits the correct answer (e.g., the faster a player answers correctly, the greater the awarded points).  
           [0006]    Standardized tests are used to measure various performance levels of test takers. One type of standardized test includes the presentation of printed material with one or more questions (multiple choice, true-false, fill-in-the-blank, etc.) relating to the printed material. This type of test may also be timed, with the test takers being given a fixed amount of time (e.g., three hours) in which to read the content and answer the questions presented.  
           [0007]    Advertisements are used to promote products and services and contain information about one or more products and/or services. Advertisements may be embodied in print media (e.g., black &amp; white and color newspaper ads, magazine ads, flyers, etc.) or multi-media (e.g., black &amp; white and color television commercials, computer animations, movie clips, etc.). Also, advertisements may be embodied in radio transmissions (audio only) or even scented materials (i.e., “scratch and sniff”). Further, advertisements may be embodied in various combinations thereof.  
           [0008]    It is desirable for an advertisement to be read, viewed, heard or otherwise experienced by its respective target audience so that the advertisement may have a promotional effect. Therefore, it is desirable for an advertisement to obtain the attention of its respective reading, viewing, listening and/or otherwise experiencing audience. However, even where the attention of target audience members are obtained, the information contained in an advertisement may not be fully appreciated, understood and/or remembered by one or more of the members because the members may either shift their attention away from the advertisement or simply fail to pay close attention thereto.  
           [0009]    Therefore, there is a need to increase the retention of information contained in advertisements by respective target audiences.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0010]    A novel system and method for increasing participant retention of advertisement information, the system and method including one or more advertisements for presentation to one or more participants; associated with each of said one or more advertisements, one or more questions for presentation to said one or more participants, the one or more questions being conclusively answerable based on the information contained in an associated advertisement; and a prize awarded to at least one of said one or more participants.  
           [0011]    Optionally, the present invention may be embodied in whole or in part in computer-readable media tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by a computer. Also optionally, the present invention may be practiced in whole or in part over one or more communication networks. Also optionally, a timer may be utilized to measure how fast each of said one or more participants submits answers.  
           [0012]    “for each of the one or more Players”=each player may participate at different times;  
           [0013]    During a round of play, for each of the one or more players, a player is first presented with a compilation of content to review; the player is then presented with at least one of the one or more questions relating to the content contained in the presented compilation, with the timer being started. The player then submits an answer to each of the presented one or more questions, with the timer being stopped and a time assigned to the player. A player may be a winner if the player submits the most correct answers to the one or more questions presented to the player in the shortest amount of time. There may be more than one winner per round, i.e., the top 2 players, the top 3 players, etc.  
           [0014]    Optionally, the present invention may be conducted over a network (e.g., the Internet; an intranet; television, radio, telephone, etc., and combinations thereof).  
           [0015]    In an alternative embodiment, a compilation of content is an advertisement, with the timer being started either when a player is presented with a compilation of content or when a player is presented with one or more questions.  
           [0016]    Other desires, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and the detailed description that follows. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0017]    The present invention is illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like references indicate similar elements and in which:  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 1 shows the provides a high-level perspective of the present invention;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 2 shows . . . ;  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0020]    As shown in FIG. 1, the present invention includes one or more players  10 . 1 - 10 . a  (for a &gt;1), a contest host  20 , and an archive  30 . An archive  30  contains one or compilations of content  31 ; associated with each compilation  31 , one or more questions  32  relating to the associated compilation  31 ; and associated with each of the one or more questions  32 , a correct answer  33  to the associated question  32 .  
         [0021]    While there may only be one player  10 . 1  (a=1), it is preferable to have two or more players  10 . 1  and  10 . a  (a &gt;1) to create a more direct competitive environment, which may make the present invention more exciting and fun. A player  10  may be a person or a group of persons (i.e., a team). Further, players  10  may be located remotely or together; and may play in a round simultaneously or at different times.  
         [0022]    A contest host  20  may be a person, a computer, or both (e.g., a person with the assistance of a computer). The purpose of a contest host  20  is to administer the present invention. As described in further detail below, a host  20  may perform administrative tasks of the present invention, such as            
         [0023]    selecting a compilation of content from the archive  
         [0024]    sequential, randomize first  
         [0025]    random  
         [0026]    exhibit the compilation of content  
         [0027]    hand it over  
         [0028]    display on a computer monitor or the like  
         [0029]    select a question  
         [0030]    same as compilation  
         [0031]    exhibit the question  
         [0032]    hand it over  
         [0033]    display it on a computer monitor or the like  
         [0034]    receive a submitted answer  
         [0035]    player types in answer &amp; hits submit button/activate switch/raises  
         [0036]    hand/speak, or the like  
         [0037]    selects a box &amp; hits submit button/activate switch  
         [0038]    compare submitted answer with correct answer  
         [0039]    retrieve correct answer from archive, compare  
         [0040]    measure performance times of players  
         [0041]    from start time to stop time  
         [0042]    Further, a contest host  20  may also be more than one person, computer, or both; with the persons, computers, or combinations sharing tasks independently or cooperatively. Also, a contest host  20  may be in whole, or in part, one or more players. For example, players may take turns acting as a host, or one or more players may assume certain roles of a host  20  (e.g., selecting a compilation of content and/or question, starting a timer, stopping a timer, keeping track of times, etc.).  
         [0043]    As shown in FIG. 2, optionally, the present invention may be conducted over one or more networks  15  (e.g., the Internet, an intranet, a telephone network, a television network, radio network, and various combinations thereof.) Where the present invention is conducted over a network  1   5 , a player  1   0  must have appropriate hardware (computer, telephone, television, etc.) in addition to a network connection to review compilations of content and questions, and to submit answers. For example, using a computer network would require players to have a computer with an input device and one or more devices to review a compilation of content (e.g., display device and/or sound card &amp; speakers); using a telephone network would require players to have a telephone; etc. Where the present invention is conducted over a computer network, a host  20  may be a computer server.  
         [0044]    As shown in FIG. 3, the present invention includes one or more compilations of content  31 . i  (for i&gt;1). A compilation of content  31  contains one or more instances of content, where content may be any type of content found in traditional advertisements (print media) or more modern advertisements (multi-media); and may be cover any type of subject, including but not limited to, product and/or service promotions, history, mathematics, grammar, science, geography, trivia-based subject matter, current events, etc. Furthers a compilation of content  31  may be an Internet web site.  
         [0045]    Referring again to FIG. 3, associated with each compilation of content  31 . i  are one or more questions  32 . i.j  (for j≧1) relating to the content contained in the associated compilation  31 . i ; and associated with each question  32 . i.j , a correct answer  33 . i.j . It is important to note that each compilation  31 . i  (for i&gt;2) may have a different number of questions  32  associated therewith, as long as each compilation  31 . i  has at least one question  32  associated therewith.  
         [0046]    A question  32  may be any type of question; such as, multiple choice, yes/no, true/false, fill-in-the-blank, or any other known or obvious type of question (e.g., the JEOPARDY™ game show uses questions in the form of answers and answers in the form of questions). Further, a question  32  may also include one or more incorrect answer choices; e.g., multiple choice questions and true-false questions.  
         [0047]    A correct answer  33  will be dictated by its associated question  32 .  
         [0048]    According to the present invention, an archive  30  may use any known or obvious storage medium, or combinations, capable of effectuating the present invention as claimed. It should be noted that the particular medium employed may be limited by the particular type of content to be stored. For example, multi-media requires a medium capable of embodying sounds and/or video (cassette tapes, video tapes, computer disks, DVD, CD-ROM, etc.); and print media may be stored either on the same mediums as multi-media, or a paper-based medium or the like. Association between compilations  31 , questions  32  and answers  33  may be achieved via a plurality of techniques, such as by alphanumeric codes (e.g., FIG. 3), color coding, order of organization, and other known or obvious association techniques.  
         [0049]    In a preferred embodiment, archive  30  is a computer database for the storage and retrieval of compilations  31 , questions  32  and answers  33 . A plurality of types of databases (relational, hierarchical, star, etc.) and association techniques (pointers, indexes, primary keys, machine addresses) may be used.  
         [0050]    As shown in FIG. 4, preferably archive  30  is a computer database having a compilation table  100  and a question-answer table  200 . A compilation table  100  may include a C# field  101  for storing primary keys used to access compilations of content; and a C_Data field  102  for storing a compilation of content. A question-answer table  200  may include a C# field  101  and a Q# field  201  for storing primary keys used to access a question and an answer; and a Q_Data field  202  and an A_Data field  203  for storing a question and answer, respectively.  
         [0051]    Similarly, archive  30  may be paper-based. For example, one or more sheets of paper or cards (e.g., index cards) may have imprinted thereon a compilation of content containing information; one or more questions relating to the content contained in the compilation; and a correct answer for each question. A compilation  31 , associated question or questions  32  and answers  33  may individually or in combination span one or more sheets of paper or cards.  
         [0052]    The present invention also includes a timer for measuring time, such as a stop watch, an hour glass, one or more computer clocks, a computer software timer, or other known or obvious forms of timers. A timer may use any real unit of time, such as hours, minutes, seconds and fractions of a second (e.g., {fraction (1/10)} of a second, {fraction (1/100)} of a second, {fraction (1/1000)} of a second, etc.) Further, discrete units of time may also be employed to the extent desired (e.g., the number of times a counter is incremented, etc.).  
         [0053]    According to the present invention, a timer is used to measure an elapsed amount of time during which a player either submits answers to one or more questions presented, or reviews a compilation of content and submits answers to one or more questions presented. The former timing protocol applies where the compilation of content relates to any type of subject, and the latter timing protocol applies where the compilation of content is limited to advertisements.  
         [0054]    Where the present invention is conducted over a computer network, a timer is preferably implemented with one or more computer clocks. A computer clock may be located at a host computer (computer server), a player&#39;s computer or a third party&#39;s computer.  
         [0055]    Performance score is determined by the number of correct answers submitted and/or the speed in which answers are submitted.  
         [0056]    As shown in FIG. 5,  
         [0057]    the timer may be started:  
         [0058]    1. when question/compilation is sent by host to player (server clock)  
         [0059]    2. when question/compilation is received by player (player clock)  
         [0060]    3. when question/compilation is displayed (player clock); and the timer may be stopped:  
         [0061]    1. when answer is sent by player to host (player clock)  
         [0062]    2. when question/compilation is received host (server clock)  
         [0063]    A prize may be any form of prize; such as, redeemable points, coupons, awards, chances, money, things of value, advancement to another round, the opportunity to move a game piece and/or other known or obvious forms of prizes.  
         [0064]    The present invention includes one or more rounds of play. The duration of a round of play may be defined in any known or obvious way desired. For example, a round may be defined based on a fixed period of time (e.g., one month), a fixed number of players (e.g., 300 players), a fixed number of prizes (e.g., until an allocated cash or prize pool is depleted), or a fixed number of questions and/or compilations (e.g., until the questions and/or compilations have been presented 1, 2, 3, . . . , n times).  
         [0065]    The Present Invention is Now Described in Operation.  
         [0066]    [0066]FIG. 6 illustrated the basic method steps in block diagram form according to one embodiment of the present invention. During a round of play, for each player participating in the round, a player is presented with a compilation of content  100  by a contest host  20 . Presentation includes selecting a compilation of content from the archive and exhibiting it for a player to review. Selection may be based on a FIFO, LIFO or random-based protocol. Preferably, the selection is random, utilizing any known or obvious random selection technique desired, in order to provide equal fairness to all participating players. For example, with a paper-based archive, sheets of paper or cards may be scattered or shuffled with a compilation being selected by hand without first looking at the content. For a computer-based archive, a similar shuffling or scattering technique may be used; or preferably, a random number may be generated and used to reference a compilation stored in the archive. Conveniently, most, if not all, computer languages include a built-in random number generation function. For example, where there are ten (10) compilations, the randomly generated number two (“2”) may be used to access the 2 nd  compilation stored in the archive, or the 2 nd  compilation stored in an array of data structures.  
         [0067]    Exhibiting a compilation of content  31  may be effectuated in a plurality of ways; and notably, the form in which a compilation of content is exhibited may be dictated by the particular type of content. For example, where a content of a compilation  100  may be represented in printed form only, exhibiting may be effectuated by either physically handing a sheet of paper, card, etc. to a player for the player to read, or displaying the content on a computer monitor for the player to read. As a further example, where the content of a compilation  100  includes movie clips, animations and/or sounds (multimedia content), respective multi-media hardware must be employed. For example, exhibiting an animation would require a computer and computer screen; a projector and screen combination; a VCR player and display, etc.; and exhibiting one or more sounds would require a sound generating device (stereo/amplifier, sound card, etc.) and speaker combination.  
         [0068]    In a network application of the present invention, exhibiting content may require the sending of a compilation of content  100  by a server (host) over the Internet to a participating player. In such an application, the content may be in the form of digital data representing text, graphics, animations, video clips, sound effects, sound bites, music, etc., and may be exhibited via a player&#39;s computer (computer screen, speakers).  
         [0069]    Timing  
         [0070]    IF (Compilation of content=Advertisement)  
         [0071]    THEN  
         [0072]    a. start timer when compilation provided, or  
         [0073]    b. start timer when question presented.  
         [0074]    c. no timer at all.  
         [0075]    IF (Compilation of content=Any type of Content)  
         [0076]    THEN  
         [0077]    a. start timer when question presented or as closely as possible. For network-based . . . (see computer clock option above)  
         [0078]    The player is allowed to read, view and/or hear the compilation of content before presentation of questions.  
         [0079]    According to one embodiment, the present invention is practiced over a computer network (such as the Internet  20 ) with a game server  10  operatively connected to the Internet  20  and one or more players  31 . 1 - 31 . i  (where i≧1), each player having a remote computer  30 . 1 - 30 . i  operatively connected to the Internet  20 .  
         [0080]    In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments thereof. It will, however, be evident that various modifications and/or changes may be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.