Abstract:
Disclosed is a system and method for providing ads on mobile devices. In one embodiment, the present invention comprises a software application that is adapted to display an ad to a user before directing the user destination of a hyperlink embedded within the application. The ad remains open on a mobile screen until the user taps a skip/close button. When the ad closes, the user is automatically directed to another website or a hyperlink destination. Accordingly, the user must close or skip the ad before he or she is directed to a hyperlink destination. In another preferred embodiment, the ad is cached to increase the speed of ad content viewing for the user. In this regard, the ad is displayed immediately when the user clicks or taps on a hyperlink instead of being called from an ad server after the hyperlink is activated.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/993,039, filed on May 14, 2014, entitled “System and Method for Providing Advertising Slots Before the Hyperlink Destination in Portable Devices,” which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to a system and a method of online advertising. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a system and a method for providing online advertisements on portable electronic devices such as a mobile device. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    The distribution of advertising via computers is well established. For instance, advertising spaces on websites are sold much like in periodicals, radio, or television. Depending upon an advertising space, advertisers may utilize the space to display various graphics, pictures, short videos, or text relating to a specific product or service. Large graphics, pictures, and texts, however, require a substantial advertising space, which can be expensive or simply not available. In this regard, many advertisers include short hyperlinks that do not occupy much advertising space, but that can direct users to the advertiser&#39;s website. 
         [0004]    Such method is generally accomplished by displaying so-called “banners” disposed on the margins of a webpage. Though banners vary in size and shape, many banners are relatively small in size and can only provide relatively little information to the users. Accordingly, banners comprise hyperlinks that can direct the users from the website on which the users are currently visiting to an advertiser&#39;s website when the banner is activated via a mouse click. 
         [0005]    While banners eventually direct the users to an advertised product or the advertiser&#39;s website, the banners alone are ineffective marketing tools because they convey very little information to the users and consumers. Additionally, banners and other online advertisements do not have high consumer outreach and visibility when they are placed on low-traffic websites. Therefore, advertisers are confronted with the difficult task of determining which websites are appropriate for their products or services, and which websites have high-traffic. This task is particularly difficult when advertising on mobile websites because handheld electronic devices such as mobile phones comprise small display screens with limited viewable screen area. Accordingly, with respect to ad viewing, it is more difficult for advertisers to reach a broad cross section of the population with handheld electronic devices. 
         [0006]    Therefore, there is a need in the prior art for a new and novel type of online advertising slots that enables portable device application developers to display advertisements in an effective manner. The disclosed invention overcomes such problems in online advertising when advertising space is a main constraint. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    The present invention discloses a system and a method for providing advertising slots or “ad(s)” displayed to a user before being taken to a final destination of a hyperlink when using portable electronic devices. In one embodiment, an ad is displayed when the hyperlink is activated via a tap or a click, then remains open on a mobile screen until the user taps a skip/close button. When the ad closes, the user is automatically directed to another website or the hyperlink destination. Therefore, the present invention requires the user to activate the skip/close button in order to be redirected to the hyperlink destination, wherein the hyperlink destination may comprise an advertiser&#39;s website. In another preferred embodiment, the ad is cached on the user&#39;s mobile device or computer so as to increase the speed of ad content viewing for the user. 
         [0008]    It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method for advertising online, which comprises the method of displaying advertisements via hyperlinks on a mobile device before directing users and consumers to an advertiser&#39;s website. 
         [0009]    Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for providing advertisements to users of Internet services regardless of the particular mobile applications that are viewed by those users. 
         [0010]    In the light of the foregoing, these and other objects are accomplished in accordance with the principles of the present invention. Various other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, and the novel features will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]    The following detailed description, given by way of example and not intended to limit the present invention solely thereto, will best be appreciated in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals denote like elements and parts, in which: 
           [0012]      FIG. 1  depicts a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary method of advertising using a mobile hyperlink ad slot in accordance with the present invention. 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  depicts a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the present invention showing the interrelationship of the various components and usage thereof. 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  shows a flowchart illustrating the process of advertising server functionality in association with the mobile hyperlink ad slot in accordance with the present invention. 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  shows a flowchart illustrating the process of mobile device system functionality in association with the mobile hyperlink ad slot in accordance with the present invention. 
           [0016]      FIG. 5  shows a flowchart illustrating a cost per installation method used by advertisers to pay for installations of applications. 
           [0017]      FIG. 6  depicts an exemplary schematic diagram of the computer architecture used to operate the ad server in accordance with the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0018]    Referring now to  FIG. 1 , there is shown a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary method of advertising using a mobile hyperlink ad slot in accordance with the present invention. The present invention comprises a portable electronic device. Without limitation, the electronic device comprises as a tablet computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smart phone, and the like. Therefore it should be understood that system and method of the present invention are taught and disclosed in terms of mobile computing, the same principles are applicable to nearly any device capable of executing machine-readable instruction. 
         [0019]    In the illustrated embodiment, the portable electronic device comprises at least one mobile device  12  that is operated by at least one user  10 . The mobile device  12  comprises a data radio module  28  for connecting to a network  20  and an application  14  installed thereon, wherein the application  14  is stored in a memory unit of the mobile device  12 . The application comprises a software development kit (SDK)  16 , which is a mobile device executable software code that may be used to convert a hyperlink into a mobile hyperlink ad slot. 
         [0020]    The SDK  16  communicates with third party servers such as an ad server  18  over the network  20 . The SDK  16  analyzes hyperlinks  13  within the application  14  to retrieve one or more advertising creatives  11  from the ad server  18 . The advertising creative  11  is displayed in the application  14  before directing the user  10  to the destination of the hyperlink  24 . The SDK  16  may not be used as long as another code is in place that mimics the same actions as the SDK  16 . 
         [0021]    Referring now to  FIG. 2 , there is shown a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the present invention showing the interrelationship of the various components and the usage thereof. The mobile device  12  comprises device identifiers  30 , mobile storage unit  36  for storing the application  14  and SDK  16 , a data radio module  28 , and a display and control module  32 . The foregoing components are integrated together as a single module. The device identifier  30  is associated with the mobile device  12  such that each mobile device comprises a unique device identifier. Without limitation, the device identifier  30  comprises an advertising identifier, MAC address, Internet protocol address, Android device ID, user agent, HTTP cookie, or any other types of identification that can identify a specific mobile device. 
         [0022]    The SDK  16  makes ad requests by sending device identifiers  30  to the ad server  18  over the network  20 , and receives information therefrom. In this way, the SDK  16  and the ad server  18  comprise bidirectional communication. The ad server  18  comprises a server storage  38 , which includes a database  44  and an ad server module  40 , wherein the ad server module  40  is a readable instruction module that can perform various functions. In some embodiments, it is contemplated that the server storage  38  further comprises programs, scripts, and advertising creatives, among other types of information and data. 
         [0023]    The SDK  16  may use the data radio module  28  of the mobile device  12  to communicate with the ad server  18  via the ad server module  40  over the network  20 . It should be understood that the network  20  connecting the ad server  18  with the ad server module  40  and the mobile device  12  may or may not be on the same network. The network  20  may comprise the Internet, wireless communication, mobile communication, local network, metro network, wired network, optical, radio, electrical, telephone line, other network, and the like. 
         [0024]    Without limitation, the ad server  18  allows advertisers  22  to register for an account, manage the account, purchase advertising services, upload advertising creatives, and manage campaigns. It is contemplated that information input by the advertisers  22  may be stored in the database  44  on the ad server  18 . Advertisers  22  may be a direct advertiser as well as a demand-side platform, ad exchange, ad network, agency, affiliate network, or other parties related to mobile advertising. Advertisers  22  may target their ad campaign on the ad server module  40  by location, specific consumer demographics, network, mobile device make, mobile device model, operating system or platform, and any other information that may be available for the advertiser  22  to target a particular group of users  10  via their mobile devices  12 . 
         [0025]    Advertisers  22  can purchase advertising services online by uploading advertising creatives to the ad server  18 . The advertiser  22  may pay for a campaign based on cost per click/tap, cost per impression, cost per mile, cost per action, cost per install, cost per engagement, or any combination thereof. Any demographic information collected of the users  10  and other information such as the device identifiers  30  are stored on the server storage  38  or the database  44 . The stored information may be utilized by a machine learning system to learn users&#39; preferences and behavior in order to improve advertising content and delivery. It is contemplated that the machine learning system or a similar system may be operated via the ad server module  40 . 
         [0026]    Referring now to  FIG. 3 , there is shown a flow diagram showing one example of communication between an advertiser and an ad server. It is noted that the operations after the start  50  step are not limited to the ordering shown. In step  52 , the ad server receives advertising creatives from the advertiser, and the advertising creatives is stored 54 on the server storage. In step  56 , the ad server receives advertising parameters from the advertiser, wherein the advertising parameters are used to reach people of specific demographics. In step  57   a , the ad server may require the advertiser to make a payment. If the advertiser is required to make a payment, the ad server may receive a payment  57   b  from the advertiser. The ad server may retain a percentage of the payment and disburse the remaining payment to the developer of the application in which the advertising creatives is made accessible. 
         [0027]    In step  58 , the SDK makes an ad request by sending one or more device identifiers to an ad server over a network. This occurs when the user clicks or taps on a hyperlink embedded within the application. Once the ad server receives the ad request, the ad server module then determines the correct advertising creative to send to the SDK  60  to display within the application on the mobile device. Once the correct advertising creative is determined, it is transmitted to the SDK over the network  62  and the advertising creative is shown to the user on his or her mobile device. Thereafter, the SDK transmits stats and data back over the network to the ad server  64 . The stats and data may comprise information such as the number of times the advertising creative has been viewed and/or clicked, tapped, or otherwise activated. When the received data is provided to the advertiser  66 , and the process is finished  68 . In some embodiments, the stats are also provided to the developer of the application that the SDK is integrated in. 
         [0028]    Referring now to  FIG. 4 , there is shown a flow diagram of the mobile device communicating with the ad server. It is noted that the operations after the start  70  step are not limited to the ordering shown. When the SDK integrated within the operating application is executed, the SDK sends an ad request to the ad server by transmitting one or more device identifiers  72 . In step  74 , the SDK receives advertising creative from the ad server. In step  76 , the received advertising creative may be stored or cached in the mobile storage unit to increase the speed of ad content viewing for the user, depending upon embodiment. In this regard, the ad is displayed immediately when the user clicks or taps on a hyperlink within the application instead of being called from a server after the hyperlink is activated. 
         [0029]    In step  78 , the SDK is executed again within the application when a hyperlink is activated via click or a tap. In step  80 , the advertising creative stored in step  76  is displayed. Thereafter, the user may engage or interact with the ad or skip the ad to be directed to the hyperlink destination. In step  82  the SDK sends stats and back to the ad server when advertising creatives are shown, and the process is finished  84 . As discussed above, the stats may also be provided to the developer of the application that the SDK is integrated in. 
         [0030]    Referring now to  FIG. 5 , there is shown a flow diagram of a cost per install campaign being executed at step  86  for providing advertising slot before hyperlink destinations within mobile devices. In step  88 , user activates an advertising creative by tapping or clicking, wherein the advertising creative is accessible via a first application comprising the SDK. The advertising creative may comprise a link to access a second application such as an advertiser application that is different from the instant application of the present invention. When the advertising creative is activated via a click or a tap, the SDK sends a device identifier to the ad server, which is then stored in the database thereof. 
         [0031]    In step  90 , the advertiser application is installed on the user&#39;s mobile device. In step  92 , the installed advertiser application is executed on the user&#39;s mobile device. When the advertiser application is executed, the SDK that is integrated within the advertiser application sends the device identifier to the ad server  94 . In step  96 , the ad server module on the ad server compares and matches the device identifier received in step  88  with the device identifier received in step  94 . If the device identifiers match, the advertiser is charged for the application installation. It is contemplated that the advertiser may pay for each application installation via electronic fund transfer from an account associated with the advertiser. Once the advertiser pays for each application installation, the process is finished  98 . 
         [0032]    In another embodiment, the present invention allows mobile application developers to earn revenue by implementing the SDK within their own mobile applications that will display advertisers&#39; ads. This embodiment requires users to install and execute a developer&#39;s application. When the developer&#39;s application is executed, the SDK sends a device identifier to the ad server, which is then stored therein. Thereafter, users can utilize the developer&#39;s application and interact with advertising creatives therein. Once one or more advertising creatives is activated, the SDK sends the device identifier to the ad server for the second time. The ad server compares the device identifiers to determine if they match. If the device identifiers match, then the developer receives a payment via electronic fund transfer in his or her account, and the process is completed. 
         [0033]    Referring now to  FIG. 6 , there is shown an exemplary schematic diagram of a computer that is used as an ad server to software component for the present system. The computer comprises a central processing unit (CPU)  102 , a network interface input  100  for connecting to a network  20 , a display device  15  having a display screen for providing visual displays, input/output controllers  104  for connecting to various peripheral devices and computer accessories, a system memory  108 , and a server storage  38 . The foregoing components are electrically connected via a system bus  106  so as to allow the components to operate together. Without limitation, the system memory  108  comprises various memory units such as Random Access Memory (RAM)  110 , Read Only Memory (ROM)  112 , and cache memory. The system memory  108  is separate and distinct from the server storage  38 , which comprises the ad server module  40 , an operating system  114 , advertising creatives  11 , and the database  44 . 
         [0034]    The present method and system of online advertising overcomes the current problems of aggressive advertisement slots provided to end users using mobile applications. Current aggressive advertisement slots discourage end users from utilizing mobile applications, which in turn impacts the long-term revenue stream for mobile applications. In accordance with the present invention, an advertisement module is provided that produces an advertisement slot that is subtle and only displayed to the user before the user is directed to a destination of a hyperlink, wherein the hyperlink is embedded in the application. More specifically, any mobile application developer seeking to create an additional advertisement slot within their mobile application design may integrate the SDK or software module that creates an advertisement slot before directing a user to a hyperlink destination. 
         [0035]    In summary, the present invention provides a new advertising slot and method of use, enabling portable device application developers to display advertisements in a convenient manner. Application developers may integrate a SDK or advertisement module that enables a mobile application to create a new advertisement slot or give the developers an opportunity to improve their revenue stream by creating an additional advertisement slot. The new advertisement slot will be displayed before the destination of a hyperlink that has been triggered on by the end user. In use, mobile applications that have hyperlinks may be readily monetized. In this regard, the present invention has a wide application of use. For instance, the present invention may be utilized with a news application or a messaging application where users can exchange messages that include hyperlinks. The present invention may also be used with social network applications that allow users to share hyperlinks. Alternatively, the present invention may be used with applications for vehicles and other electronic devices such as televisions and computers. 
         [0036]    It is contemplated for embodiments of the invention to extend to individual elements and concepts described herein, independently of other concepts, ideas or system, as well as for embodiments to include combinations of elements recited anywhere in this application. Although illustrative embodiments of the invention have been described in detail herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to those precise embodiments. As such, many modifications and variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in this art. Accordingly, it is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the following claims and their equivalents. Furthermore, it is contemplated that a particular feature described either individually or as part of an embodiment can be combined with other individually described features, or parts of other embodiments, even if the other features and embodiments make no mentioned of the particular feature. This, the absence of describing combinations should not preclude the inventor from claiming rights to such combinations. 
         [0037]    In general, the routines executed to implement the embodiments of the invention, may be implemented as part of an operating system or a specific application, component, program, object, module or sequence of instructions referred to as “computer programs.” The computer programs typically comprise one or more instructions set at various times in various memory and storage devices in a computer, and that, when read and executed by one or more processors in a computer, cause the computer to perform operations necessary to execute elements involving the various aspects of the invention. Moreover, while the invention has been described in the context of fully functioning computers and computer systems, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various embodiments of the invention are capable of being distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that the invention applies equally regardless of the particular type of machine or computer-readable media used to actually effect the distribution. Examples of computer-readable media include but are not limited to recordable type media such as volatile and non-volatile memory devices, USB and other removable media, hard disk drives, optical disks (e.g., Compact Disk Read-Only Memory (CD xROMS), Digital Versatile Disks, (DVDs), etc.), and flash drives, among others.