Patent Publication Number: US-2022237666-A1

Title: Advertising System and Method

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION(S) 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/140,622 filed on 22 Jan. 2021, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This disclosure relates to advertising systems and methods and, more particularly, to advertising systems and methods that result in donations to charity. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Much of the internet is funded via advertisement revenue, wherein such advertisements are often inserted/provided when viewers are reviewing online content. These advertisements may be static advertisements and/or video advertisements that may be presented to the viewer in various ways (e.g., popup windows, banner ads, embedded video content, etc.). 
     The specific advertisements that are presented to the viewer may be governed by manual advertisement insertion deals between the publishers of online content and various advertising entities. Unfortunately, such advertisements are often seen by the viewer as an annoyance/interruption, as there is not incentivization for the viewer to review the advertisement. 
     SUMMARY OF DISCLOSURE 
     In one implementation, a computer-implemented method is executed on a computing device and includes: obtaining advert target information for a primary advert auction concerning a viewer of content, wherein the primary advert auction solicits bids for providing an advertisement to the viewer of the content, thus resulting in one or more primary bids; initiating a secondary advert auction based, at least in part, upon the advert target information, wherein the secondary advert auction solicits bids for providing the advertisement to the viewer of the content while requiring a donation to a charity, thus resulting in one or more secondary bids; and inserting at least one of the secondary bids into the one or more primary bids so that the at least one of the secondary bids may be considered when determining a winner of the primary advert auction. 
     One or more of the following features may be included. Inserting at least one of the secondary bids into the one or more primary bids so that the at least one of the secondary bids may be considered when determining a winner of the primary advert auction may include: inserting all of the secondary bids into the one or more primary bids so that all of the secondary bids may be considered when determining a winner of the primary advert auction. If one of the secondary bids is determined to be the winner of the primary advert auction, an offer to make the donation to the charity in exchange for the viewer of the content watching the advertisement may be made. The viewer of the content may be enabled to select the charity. Enabling the viewer of the content to select the charity may include: enabling the viewer of the content to select the charity from a plurality of predefined charities. Enabling the viewer of the content to select the charity may include: enabling the viewer of the content to predefine a preferred charity. The advert target information may include one or more of: demographic information concerning the viewer; viewing information concerning the content; and platform information. The advert target information may be defined within an advert auction offer for bids. The donation to the charity may be based upon a percentage of a secondary bid. The donation to the charity may be a fixed amount. 
     In another implementation, a computer program product resides on a computer readable medium and has a plurality of instructions stored on it. When executed by a processor, the instructions cause the processor to perform operations including obtaining advert target information for a primary advert auction concerning a viewer of content, wherein the primary advert auction solicits bids for providing an advertisement to the viewer of the content, thus resulting in one or more primary bids; initiating a secondary advert auction based, at least in part, upon the advert target information, wherein the secondary advert auction solicits bids for providing the advertisement to the viewer of the content while requiring a donation to a charity, thus resulting in one or more secondary bids; and inserting at least one of the secondary bids into the one or more primary bids so that the at least one of the secondary bids may be considered when determining a winner of the primary advert auction. 
     One or more of the following features may be included. Inserting at least one of the secondary bids into the one or more primary bids so that the at least one of the secondary bids may be considered when determining a winner of the primary advert auction may include: inserting all of the secondary bids into the one or more primary bids so that all of the secondary bids may be considered when determining a winner of the primary advert auction. If one of the secondary bids is determined to be the winner of the primary advert auction, an offer to make the donation to the charity in exchange for the viewer of the content watching the advertisement may be made. The viewer of the content may be enabled to select the charity. Enabling the viewer of the content to select the charity may include: enabling the viewer of the content to select the charity from a plurality of predefined charities. Enabling the viewer of the content to select the charity may include: enabling the viewer of the content to predefine a preferred charity. The advert target information may include one or more of: demographic information concerning the viewer; viewing information concerning the content; and platform information. The advert target information may be defined within an advert auction offer for bids. The donation to the charity may be based upon a percentage of a secondary bid. The donation to the charity may be a fixed amount. 
     In another implementation, a computing system includes a processor and a memory system configured to perform operations including obtaining advert target information for a primary advert auction concerning a viewer of content, wherein the primary advert auction solicits bids for providing an advertisement to the viewer of the content, thus resulting in one or more primary bids; initiating a secondary advert auction based, at least in part, upon the advert target information, wherein the secondary advert auction solicits bids for providing the advertisement to the viewer of the content while requiring a donation to a charity, thus resulting in one or more secondary bids; and inserting at least one of the secondary bids into the one or more primary bids so that the at least one of the secondary bids may be considered when determining a winner of the primary advert auction. 
     One or more of the following features may be included. Inserting at least one of the secondary bids into the one or more primary bids so that the at least one of the secondary bids may be considered when determining a winner of the primary advert auction may include: inserting all of the secondary bids into the one or more primary bids so that all of the secondary bids may be considered when determining a winner of the primary advert auction. If one of the secondary bids is determined to be the winner of the primary advert auction, an offer to make the donation to the charity in exchange for the viewer of the content watching the advertisement may be made. The viewer of the content may be enabled to select the charity. Enabling the viewer of the content to select the charity may include: enabling the viewer of the content to select the charity from a plurality of predefined charities. Enabling the viewer of the content to select the charity may include: enabling the viewer of the content to predefine a preferred charity. The advert target information may include one or more of: demographic information concerning the viewer; viewing information concerning the content; and platform information. The advert target information may be defined within an advert auction offer for bids. The donation to the charity may be based upon a percentage of a secondary bid. The donation to the charity may be a fixed amount. 
     The details of one or more implementations are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features and advantages will become apparent from the description, the drawings, and the claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a diagrammatic view of a distributed computing network including a computing device that executes an advertising process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  is a diagrammatic view of an advertisement auction platform accessible by the advertising process of  FIG. 1  according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
       and 
         FIG. 3  is a flowchart of the advertising process of  FIG. 1  according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     System Overview 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , there is shown advertising process  10 . Advertising process  10  may be implemented as a server-side process, a client-side process, or a hybrid server-side/client-side process. For example, advertising process  10  may be implemented as a purely server-side process via advertising process  10   s . Alternatively, advertising process  10  may be implemented as a purely client-side process via one or more of advertising process  10   c   1 , advertising process  10   c   2 , advertising process  10   c   3 , and advertising process  10   c   4 . Alternatively still, advertising process  10  may be implemented as a hybrid server-side/client-side process via advertising process  10   s  in combination with one or more of advertising process  10   c   1 , advertising process  10   c   2 , advertising process  10   c   3 , and advertising process  10   c   4 . Accordingly, advertising process  10  as used in this disclosure may include any combination of advertising process  10   s , advertising process  10   c   1 , advertising process  10   c   2 , advertising process  10   c   3 , and advertising process  10   c   4 . 
     Advertising process  10   s  may be a server application and may reside on and may be executed by computing device  12 , which may be connected to network  14  (e.g., the Internet or a local area network). Examples of computing device  12  may include, but are not limited to: a personal computer, a server computer, a series of server computers, a mini computer, a mainframe computer, a smartphone, or a cloud-based computing platform. 
     The instruction sets and subroutines of advertising process  10   s , which may be stored on storage device  16  coupled to computing device  12 , may be executed by one or more processors (not shown) and one or more memory architectures (not shown) included within computing device  12 . Examples of storage device  16  may include but are not limited to: a hard disk drive; a RAID device; a random access memory (RAM); a read-only memory (ROM); and all forms of flash memory storage devices. 
     Network  14  may be connected to one or more secondary networks (e.g., network  18 ), examples of which may include but are not limited to: a local area network; a wide area network; or an intranet, for example. 
     Examples of advertising processes  10   c   1 ,  10   c   2 ,  10   c   3 ,  10   c   4  may include but are not limited to a web browser, a game console user interface, a mobile device user interface, or a specialized application (e.g., an application running on e.g., the Android™ platform, the iOS™ platform, the Windows™ platform, the Linux™ platform or the UNIX cm platform). The instruction sets and subroutines of advertising processes  10   c   1 ,  10   c   2 ,  10   c   3 ,  10   c   4 , which may be stored on storage devices  20 ,  22 ,  24 ,  26  (respectively) coupled to client electronic devices  28 ,  30 ,  32 ,  34  (respectively), may be executed by one or more processors (not shown) and one or more memory architectures (not shown) incorporated into client electronic devices  28 ,  30 ,  32 ,  34  (respectively). Examples of storage devices  20 ,  22 ,  24 ,  26  may include but are not limited to: hard disk drives; RAID devices; random access memories (RAM); read-only memories (ROM), and all forms of flash memory storage devices. 
     Examples of client electronic devices  28 ,  30 ,  32 ,  34  may include, but are not limited to, a smartphone (not shown), a personal digital assistant (not shown), a tablet computer (not shown), laptop computers  28 ,  30 ,  32 , personal computer  34 , a notebook computer (not shown), a server computer (not shown), a gaming console (not shown), and a dedicated network device (not shown). Client electronic devices  28 ,  30 ,  32 ,  34  may each execute an operating system, examples of which may include but are not limited to Microsoft Windows™, Android™, iOS™, Linux™, or a custom operating system. 
     Users  36 ,  38 ,  40 ,  42  may access advertising process  10  directly through network  14  or through secondary network  18 . Further, advertising process  10  may be connected to network  14  through secondary network  18 , as illustrated with link line  44 . 
     The various client electronic devices (e.g., client electronic devices  28 ,  30 ,  32 ,  34 ) may be directly or indirectly coupled to network  14  (or network  18 ). For example, laptop computer  28  and laptop computer  30  are shown wirelessly coupled to network  14  via wireless communication channels  44 ,  46  (respectively) established between laptop computers  28 ,  30  (respectively) and cellular network/bridge  48 , which is shown directly coupled to network  14 . Further, laptop computer  32  is shown wirelessly coupled to network  14  via wireless communication channel  50  established between laptop computer  32  and wireless access point (i.e., WAP)  52 , which is shown directly coupled to network  14 . Additionally, personal computer  34  is shown directly coupled to network  18  via a hardwired network connection. 
     WAP  52  may be, for example, an IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, Wi-Fi, and/or Bluetooth device that is capable of establishing wireless communication channel  50  between laptop computer  32  and WAP  52 . As is known in the art, IEEE 802.11x specifications may use Ethernet protocol and carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (i.e., CSMA/CA) for path sharing. As is known in the art, Bluetooth is a telecommunications industry specification that allows e.g., mobile phones, computers, and personal digital assistants to be interconnected using a short-range wireless connection. 
     Traditional Advertising Auction Process (Overview) 
     Referring also to  FIG. 2 , assume for illustrative purposes that a viewer (e.g., viewer  100 ) is viewing content (e.g., content  102 ) on a computing platform (e.g., platform  104 ). Examples of content  102  may include but are not limited to audio content, video content, graphical content and/or text-based content. Examples of platform  104  may include but are not limited to: a personal computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a tablet computer, a smartphone, or a cloud-based computing platform. 
     As is known in the art, advertisements (e.g., advertisement  106 ) are typically targeted toward the likes and the interests of the recipient of the advertisement. Examples of advertisement  106  may include but are not limited to audio advertisements, video advertisements, graphical advertisements and/or text-based advertisements. Accordingly, the publisher of content  102  may identify the subject matter of content  102  so that advertisements (e.g., advertisement  106 ) related to the subject matter of content  102  may be directed to the viewer (e.g., viewer  100 ). Therefore, if the viewer (e.g., viewer  100 ) is reviewing content (e.g., content  102 ) concerning guitars, advertising process  10  may provide guitar-related advertisements (e.g., advertisement  106 ) to viewer  100 ; if the viewer (e.g., viewer  100 ) is reviewing content (e.g., content  102 ) concerning cars, advertising process  10  may provide car-related advertisements (e.g., advertisement  106 ) to viewer  100 ; and if the viewer (e.g., viewer  100 ) is reviewing content (e.g., content  102 ) concerning sports, advertising process  10  may provide sports-related advertisements (e.g., advertisement  106 ) to viewer  100 . Accordingly, advertising process  10  may monitor the content (e.g., content  102 ) that the viewer (e.g., viewer  100 ) is reviewing and provide advertisements (e.g., advertisement  106 ) to viewer  100  that are related to that content (e.g., content  102 ). 
     For the following example, assume that the viewer (e.g., viewer  100 ) is reading a web-based article (e.g., content  102 ) concerning guitars on their laptop computer (e.g., platform  104 ). Further assume that their laptop computer (e.g., platform  104 ) includes various cookies (e.g., cookies  108 ) that identify the viewer (e.g., viewer  100 ) as a 35-45 year old male who lives in Connecticut and their laptop computer (e.g., platform  104 ) as a HP™ model ABC123 that is running Windows 11™. 
     As is known in the art, cookies (e.g., cookies  108 ) are text files with small pieces of data (e.g., a username, a password, demographic information) that are used to improve a viewer&#39;s experience as the viewer uses e.g., a computer network, a computer application, and/or a website by identifying the viewer (e.g., viewer  100 ), the viewer&#39;s computer (e.g., platform  104 ) and the viewer&#39;s preferences in general. Data stored in a cookie (e.g., cookies  108 ) may be created by a remote server (not shown) upon connection, wherein this data may be labeled with an ID unique to the viewer (e.g., viewer  100 ) and their computer (e.g., platform  104 ). When cookies (e.g., cookies  108 ) are exchanged between platform  104  and the remote server (not shown), the remote server (not shown) may read the information included within the cookies (e.g., cookies  108 ) so that the remote server (not shown) knows what information to serve to the viewer (e.g., viewer  100 ). 
     This information (e.g., demographic information concerning viewer  100 ; viewing information concerning content  102 ; and/or platform information concerning platform  104 ) may be packaged to form advert target information  110 . Accordingly, advert target information  110  may identify the viewer (e.g., viewer  100 ) and define what they are currently doing and what platform they are currently using, wherein this advert target information  110  may be used to provide advertisements (e.g., advertisement  106 ) to viewer  100  that are related to that content (e.g., content  102 ). 
     Advert target information  110  may be provided, via supply side platform (SSP)  112 , to auction platform  114 . For example, advert target information  110  may be defined within an advert auction offer (e.g., advert auction offer  116 ) that is provided to auction platform  114 . As is known in the art, supply side platform  112  is a platform that enables publishers (e.g., publishers of content  102 ) to sell advertising space (via auction platform  114 ) to the consumers (e.g., viewer  100 ) of such content (e.g., content  102 ), thus providing an advertiser (e.g., one of advertisers  118 ,  120 ,  122 ,  124 ) with the ability to provide e.g., advertisement  106  to viewer  100 . 
     Demand side platform (DSP)  126  may enable the advertisers (e.g., one of advertisers  118 ,  120 ,  122 ,  124 ) to buy media space (via auction platform  114 ), thus enabling one of the advertisers (e.g., one of advertisers  118 ,  120 ,  122 ,  124 ) to provide e.g., advertisement  106  to viewer  100 . 
     As is known in the art, auction platform  114  is a marketplace where DSPs (e.g., demand side platform  126 ) and SSPs (e.g., supply side platform  112 ) trade, usually via auctions (e.g., primary advert auction  128 ). For example and continuing with the above-discussed example in which viewer  100  is reading content  102  concerning guitars on platform  104 , the publisher of content  102  may provide advert target information  110  to auction platform  114  via supply side platform  112 . Advert target information  110  may define viewer  100  as a 35-45 year old male who lives in Connecticut and uses an HP™ model ABC123 laptop (e.g., platform  104 ) that is running Windows 11™ to review content  102 , which is an article about guitars. 
     Accordingly, auction platform  114  may initiate primary advert auction  128  to enable the advertisers to submit bids (e.g., bids  130 ,  132 ,  134 ,  136 ) concerning primary advert auction  128 , wherein these bids (e.g., bids  130 ,  132 ,  134 ,  136 ) may define the amount that an advertiser is willing to pay for the ability to provide e.g., advertisement  106  to viewer  100 . For example, assume that:
         advertiser  118  submits a bid (e.g., bid  130 ) of $0.01 for the ability to provide advertisement  106  to viewer  100 , as advertiser  118  is slightly interested because content  102  concerns guitars . . . so advertiser  118  wants to insert an advertisement (e.g., advertisement  106 ) for a US-based guitar company they represent;   advertiser  120  submits a bid (e.g., bid  132 ) of $0.03 for the ability to provide advertisement  106  to viewer  100 , as advertiser  120  is moderately interested because content  102  concerns guitars and viewer  100  is located in Connecticut . . . so advertiser  120  wants to insert an advertisement (e.g., e.g., advertisement  106 ) for a local Connecticut guitar company they represent;   advertiser  122  submits a bid (e.g., bid  134 ) of $0.08 for the ability to provide advertisement  106  to viewer  100 , as advertiser  122  is highly interested because content  102  concerns guitars and viewer  100  is a 35-45 year old male . . . so advertiser  122  wants to insert an advertisement (e.g., e.g., advertisement  106 ) for an Arizona-based Rock-n-Roll fantasy camp they represent; and   advertiser  124  submits a bid (e.g., bid  136 ) of $0.10 for the ability to provide advertisement  106  to viewer  100 , as advertiser  124  is extremely interested because content  102  concerns guitars and viewer  100  is a 35-45 year old male who lives in Connecticut . . . so advertiser  124  wants to insert an advertisement (e.g., e.g., advertisement  106 ) for a Connecticut-based Rock-n-Roll fantasy camp they represent.       

     Auction platform  114  may review these bids (e.g., bids  130 ,  132 ,  134 ,  136 ) and select the highest bid (e.g., bid  136 ) and the high bidder (e.g., advertiser  124 ) as the winner of primary advert auction  126 , thus providing advertiser  124  with the ability to provide advertisement  106  (e.g., an advertisement for a Connecticut-based Rock-n-Roll fantasy camp that advertiser  124  represents) to viewer  100  of content  102 . 
     Enhanced Advertising Auction Process 
     Referring also to  FIG. 3  and as discussed above, advertising process  10  may obtain  200  advert target information (e.g., advert target information  110 ) for a primary advert auction (e.g., primary advert auction  128 ) concerning a viewer (e.g., viewer  100 ) of content (e.g., content  102 ) on a computing platform (e.g., platform  104 ). As also discussed above, this primary advert auction (e.g., primary advert auction  128 ) may solicit bids for providing an advertisement (e.g., e.g., advertisement  106 ) to the viewer (e.g., viewer  100 ) of the content (e.g., content  102 ), thus resulting in one or more primary bids (e.g., bids  130 ,  132 ,  134 ,  136 ). 
     As also discussed above, examples of content  102  may include but are not limited to audio content, video content, graphical content and/or text-based content, wherein examples of platform  104  may include but are not limited to: a personal computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a tablet computer, a smartphone, or a cloud-based computing platform. 
     As also discussed above, the advert target information (e.g., advert target information  110 ) may include one or more of: demographic information concerning the viewer (e.g., viewer  100 ); viewing information concerning the content (e.g., content  102 ); and platform information (e.g., concerning platform  104 ), wherein this advert target information (e.g., advert target information  110 ) may be defined within advert auction offer  116  for bids (e.g., bids  130 ,  132 ,  134 ,  136 ). 
     Additionally, advertising process  10  may initiate  202  a secondary advert auction (e.g., secondary advert auction  138 ) based, at least in part, upon the advert target information (e.g., advert target information  110 ), wherein the secondary advert auction (e.g., secondary advert auction  138 ) solicits bids for providing the advertisement (e.g., e.g., advertisement  106 ) to the viewer (e.g., viewer  100 ) of the content (e.g., content  102 ) while requiring a donation (e.g., donation  140 ) to a charity (e.g., charity  142 ), thus resulting in one or more secondary bids (e.g., secondary bids  144 ). As will be discussed below in greater detail, the donation (e.g., donation  140 ) to the charity (e.g., charity  142 ) may be based upon a percentage of a secondary bid (e.g., one of secondary bids  144 ) and/or a fixed amount. The duration of secondary advert auction  138  may be shorter (e.g., 50 milliseconds) than the duration of primary advert auction  128  (e.g., 100 milliseconds). Additionally, secondary advert auction  138  may be effectuated through the same auction platform (e.g., auction platform  114 ) as primary advert auction  128 . 
     For example and upon the initiation  202  of the secondary advert auction (e.g., secondary advert auction  138 ) based, at least in part, upon the advert target information (e.g., advert target information  110 ), various advertisers (e.g., one or more of advertisers  146 ) may submit bids (e.g., secondary bids  144 ) for providing advertisement  106  to viewer  100  of content  102 , wherein all of these bids (e.g., secondary bids  144 ) must include a donation component (e.g., donation  140 ). For example, this donation component (e.g., donation  140 ) may be a percentage of the winning bid (e.g., 50% of the winning bid amount is donated to charity  142 ) or a fixed amount (e.g., $0.05 of the winning bid amount is donated to charity  142 ). 
     The secondary advert auction (e.g., secondary advert auction  138 ) may utilize a supply side platform (e.g., supply side platform  148 ) to enable publishers (e.g., publishers of content  102 ) to sell advertising space (via secondary advert auction  138 ) to the consumers (e.g., viewer  100 ) of such content (e.g., content  102 ) and/or a demand side platform (e.g., demand side platform  150 ) to enable the advertisers (e.g., one or more of advertisers  146 ) to buy media space (via secondary advert auction  138 ), thus enabling one of the advertisers (e.g., one of advertisers  146 ) to provide e.g., advertisement  106  to viewer  100 . 
     As discussed above, the duration of secondary advert auction  138  may be shorter (e.g., 50 milliseconds) than the duration of primary advert auction  128  (e.g., 100 milliseconds). Accordingly, secondary advert auction  138  may end BEFORE primary advert auction  128 . Accordingly, advertising process  10  may insert  204  at least one of the secondary bids (e.g., at least one of secondary bids  144 ) into the one or more primary bids (e.g., bids  130 ,  132 ,  134 ,  136 ) so that the at least one of the secondary bids (e.g., at least one of secondary bids  144 ) may be considered when determining a winner of the primary advert auction (e.g., primary advert auction  128 ). 
     As discussed above:
         advertiser  118  submits a bid (e.g., bid  130 ) of $0.01 for the ability to provide advertisement  106  to viewer  100 , as advertiser  118  is slightly interested because content  102  concerns guitars . . . so advertiser  118  wants to insert an advertisement (e.g., advertisement  106 ) for a US-based guitar company they represent;   advertiser  120  submits a bid (e.g., bid  132 ) of $0.03 for the ability to provide advertisement  106  to viewer  100 , as advertiser  120  is moderately interested because content  102  concerns guitars and viewer  100  is located in Connecticut . . . so advertiser  120  wants to insert an advertisement (e.g., e.g., advertisement  106 ) for a local Connecticut guitar company they represent;   advertiser  122  submits a bid (e.g., bid  134 ) of $0.08 for the ability to provide advertisement  106  to viewer  100 , as advertiser  122  is highly interested because content  102  concerns guitars and viewer  100  is a 35-45 year old male . . . so advertiser  122  wants to insert an advertisement (e.g., e.g., advertisement  106 ) for an Arizona-based Rock-n-Roll fantasy camp they represent; and   advertiser  124  submits a bid (e.g., bid  136 ) of $0.10 for the ability to provide advertisement  106  to viewer  100 , as advertiser  124  is extremely interested because content  102  concerns guitars and viewer  100  is a 35-45 year old male who lives in Connecticut . . . so advertiser  124  wants to insert an advertisement (e.g., e.g., advertisement  106 ) for a Connecticut-based Rock-n-Roll fantasy camp they represent.       

     Further, assume that:
         a first of advertisers  146  submits a bid (e.g., a first of secondary bids  144 ) of $0.13 for the ability to provide advertisement  106  to viewer  100 , as the first of advertisers  146  is moderately interested because content  102  concerns guitars and the first of advertisers  146  is moderately motivated to give back in the form of donations to (in this example) charity  142  . . . so the first of advertisers  146  wants to insert an advertisement (e.g., e.g., advertisement  106 ) for a local New Hampshire guitar company they represent; and   a second of advertisers  146  submits a bid (e.g., a second of secondary bids  144 ) of $0.16 for the ability to provide advertisement  106  to viewer  100 , as the second of advertisers  146  is extremely interested because content  102  concerns guitars and the second of advertisers  146  is extremely motivated to give back in the form of donations to (in this example) charity  142  . . . so the second of advertisers  146  wants to insert an advertisement (e.g., e.g., advertisement  106 ) for a local Massachusetts guitar company they represent.       

     When inserting  204  at least one of the secondary bids (e.g., at least one of secondary bids  144 ) into the one or more primary bids (e.g., bids  130 ,  132 ,  134 ,  136 ) so that the at least one of the secondary bids (e.g., at least one of secondary bids  144 ) may be considered when determining a winner of the primary advert auction (e.g., primary advert auction  128 ), advertising process  10  may insert  206  all of the secondary bids (e.g., all of secondary bids  144 ) into the one or more primary bids (e.g., bids  130 ,  132 ,  134 ,  136 ) so that all of the secondary bids (e.g., all of secondary bids  144 ) may be considered when determining a winner of the primary advert auction (e.g., primary advert auction  128 ). 
     As discussed above, a first of advertisers  146  submits a bid (e.g., a first of secondary bids  144 ) of $0.13 for the ability to provide advertisement  106  to viewer  100 , while a second of advertisers  146  submits a bid (e.g., a second of secondary bids  144 ) of $0.16 for the ability to provide advertisement  106  to viewer  100 . Accordingly and in such an implementation, both of secondary bids  144  (e.g., the $0.13 bid and the $0.16 bid) may be inserted  204  into the one or more primary bids (e.g., bids  130 ,  132 ,  134 ,  136 ) so that both of secondary bids  144  (e.g., the $0.13 bid and the $0.16 bid) may be considered when determining a winner of the primary advert auction (e.g., primary advert auction  128 ). 
     Alternatively, only the winning (e.g., the highest) of the secondary bids (e.g., secondary bids  144 ) may be inserted  204  into the one or more primary bids (e.g., bids  130 ,  132 ,  134 ,  136 ) so that this winning (e.g., the highest) of the secondary bids (e.g., secondary bids  144 ) may be considered when determining a winner of the primary advert auction (e.g., primary advert auction  128 ). 
     As discussed above, a first of advertisers  146  submits a bid (e.g., a first of secondary bids  144 ) of $0.13 for the ability to provide advertisement  106  to viewer  100 , while a second of advertisers  146  submits a bid (e.g., a second of secondary bids  144 ) of $0.16 for the ability to provide advertisement  106  to viewer  100 . Accordingly and in such an implementation, only one of the secondary bids  144  (e.g., the $0.16 bid) may be inserted  204  into the one or more primary bids (e.g., bids  130 ,  132 ,  134 ,  136 ) so that only one of the secondary bids  144  (e.g., the $0.16 bid) may be considered when determining a winner of the primary advert auction (e.g., primary advert auction  128 ). 
     If one of the secondary bids (e.g., one of secondary bids  144 ) is determined to be the winner of the primary advert auction (e.g., primary advert auction  128 ), advertising process  10  may offer  208  to make the donation (e.g., donation  140 ) to the charity (e.g., charity  142 ) in exchange for the viewer (e.g., viewer  100 ) of the content (e.g., content  102 ) watching the advertisement (e.g., e.g., advertisement  106 ). 
     For example, assume that the charity (e.g., charity  142 ) is the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and that the donation (e.g., donation  140 ) is a fixed amount (e.g., $0.05 of the winning bid amount is donated to charity  142 ). Accordingly, the primary bids (e.g., bids  130 ,  132 ,  134 ,  136 ) have values of $0.01, $0.03, $0.08 and $0.10 (respectively). As these primary bids (e.g., bids  130 ,  132 ,  134 ,  136 ) do not have a donation component, assume that the entire amount of these bids (less any administrative fees) is provided to the publisher of content  102 , namely of $0.01, $0.03, $0.08 and $0.10 (respectively). 
     For this example, assume that advertising process  10  inserts  206  all of the secondary bids (e.g., all of secondary bids  144 ) into the one or more primary bids (e.g., bids  130 ,  132 ,  134 ,  136 ) so that all of the secondary bids (e.g., all of secondary bids  144 ) may be considered when determining a winner of the primary advert auction (e.g., primary advert auction  128 ). Accordingly, both of secondary bids  144  (e.g., the $0.13 bid and the $0.16 bid) may be inserted  204  into the one or more primary bids (e.g., bids  130 ,  132 ,  134 ,  136 ) so that both of secondary bids  144  (e.g., the $0.13 bid and the $0.16 bid) may be considered when determining a winner of the primary advert auction (e.g., primary advert auction  128 ). 
     As discussed above, assume for this example that the donation (e.g., donation  140 ) is a fixed amount (e.g., $0.05 of the winning bid amount is donated to charity  142 ). As both of secondary bids  144  (e.g., the $0.13 bid and the $0.16 bid) include a $0.05 donation component donation (e.g., donation  140 ), a smaller portion of these bids (less any administrative fees) is provided to the publisher of content  102 . For example, $0.08 of the $0.13 bid is provided to the publisher of content  102 , while $0.11 of the $0.16 bid is provided to the publisher of content  102 . 
     Continuing with the above-stated example, as $0.11 of the $0.16 bid (e.g., the second of secondary bids  144 ) is provided to the publisher of content  102 , advertising process  10  may determine this bid to be the winning bid within primary advert auction  128  (as $0.11 being provided to the publisher of content  102  exceeds $0.10 being provided to the publisher of content  102  via bid  136 ). Accordingly, advertising process  10  may determine this bid to be the winning bid within primary advert auction  128  (as $0.11 is provided to the publisher of content  102 ), thus enabling the second of advertisers  146  to provide advertisement  106  to viewer  100 , wherein viewer  100  may be asked to (or enticed into) watching advertisement  106  by the offer of making a donation (e.g., donation  140 ) to a charity (e.g., charity  142 ). 
     For example, advertising process  10  may enable  210  the viewer (e.g., viewer  100 ) of the content (e.g., content  102 ) to select the charity (e.g., charity  142 ). For example and when enabling  210  the viewer (e.g., viewer  100 ) of the content (e.g., content  102 ) to select the charity (e.g., charity  142 ), advertising process  10  may enable  212  the viewer (e.g., viewer  100 ) of the content (e.g., content  102 ) to select the charity (e.g., charity  142 ) from a plurality of predefined charities. Alternatively and when enabling  212  the viewer (e.g., viewer  100 ) of the content (e.g., content  102 ) to select the charity (e.g., charity  142 ), advertising process  10  may enable  214  the viewer (e.g., viewer  100 ) of the content (e.g., content  102 ) to predefine a preferred charity. 
     For example and while viewer  100  is reviewing content  102  (e.g., an article concerning guitars), advertising process  10  may present viewer  100  with the opportunity to watch advertisement  106  in exchange for donation  140  being made to charity  142 . Accordingly and if viewer  100  has a predefined charity (e.g., in their user profile), advertising process  10  may enable  214  viewer  100  of content  102  to make donation  140  this predefined charity (e.g., charity  142 ). Alternatively and if viewer  100  does not have a predefined charity (e.g., if a new user and/or does not have a profile-defined charity), advertising process  10  may provide viewer  100  with a list of available charities (e.g., a) American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, b) the World Wildlife Fund, c) Saint Jude&#39;s Children&#39;s Hospital, and d) the Wounded Warrior Project) and enable  212  viewer  100  of content  102  to select a charity (e.g., charity  142 ) from this plurality of predefined charities (e.g., a) American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, b) the World Wildlife Fund, c) Saint Jude&#39;s Children&#39;s Hospital, and d) the Wounded Warrior Project). 
     Once the viewer (e.g., viewer  100 ) watches advertisement  106 , advertising process  10  may make donation  140  to charity  142 . For example, advertising process  10  may require viewer  100  to completely watch advertisement  106  before donation  140  is made to charity  142 , Alternatively, advertising process  10  may require viewer  100  to at least partially watch advertisement  106  before donation  140  is made to charity  142 . 
     Illustrative Implementation Examples 
     There are many different ways in which advertising process  10  may be implemented, wherein these various implementations may provide various benefits. Accordingly, the following are illustrative examples of the manner in which advertising process  10  may be implemented. 
     Nested Ad-Tags
         The viewer (e.g., viewer  100 ) may visit a web page (e.g., content  102 ).   The web page (e.g., content  102 ) may contain an SSP ad tag (e.g., included within advert target information  110 ), which may request an advert (e.g., advertisement  106 ) from an Ad-Exchange (e.g., auction platform  114 ).   The Ad-Exchange (e.g., auction platform  114 ) may send bid requests (not shown) to multiple DSPs (e.g., DSPs  126 ).   The DSPs (e.g., DSP  126 ) may submit bids (e.g., bids  130 ,  132 ,  134 ,  136 ) concerning what they will pay to insert an advert (e.g., advertisement  106 ).   A Value-Add Distributor (e.g., VAD  152 ) may also submit a bid (e.g., bid  144 ).   The Ad-Exchange (e.g., auction platform  114 ) may pick the highest bid, and may connect the winning DSP (e.g., DSP  126 /DSP  150 ) to the SSP ad tag (e.g., included within advert target information  110 ).       

     If the winning bid was from the Value-Add Distributor (e.g., VAD  152 ):
         The Value-Add Distributor (e.g., VAD  152 ) may deliver a first creative tag (e.g., creative tag  154 ) to the SSP ad tag (e.g., included within advert target information  110 ), wherein this first creative tag (e.g., creative tag  154 ) may contain its own SSP ad tag (e.g., nested SSP ad tag  156 ).   The nested SSP ad tag (e.g., nested SSP ad tag  156 ) may request an advert (e.g., advertisement  106 ) from the Ad-Exchange (e.g., auction platform  114 ), wherein this nested SSP ad tag (e.g., nested SSP ad tag  156 ) may specify a Deal-ID (e.g., Deal-ID  158 ).   The DSP (e.g., DSP  150 ) for that Deal-ID (e.g., Deal-ID  158 ) may submit a bid (e.g., bid  144 ) for what they will pay to the Ad-Exchange (e.g., auction platform  114 ) to insert an advert (e.g., advertisement  106 ). This bid (e.g., bid  144 ) may include payment for the extra value (e.g., donation  140 ) provided by the Value-Add Distributor (e.g., VAD  152 ).   The Ad-Exchange (e.g., auction platform  114 ) may pick the highest bid, and may connect the winning DSP (e.g., DSP  150 ) to the nested SSP ad tag (e.g., nested SSP ad tag  156 ), wherein the winning DSP (e.g., DSP  150 ) may send the advertiser creative (e.g., advertiser creative  160 ) to the nested SSP ad tag (e.g., nested SSP ad tag  156 ).   The first creative tag (e.g., creative tag  154 ) may display the advertiser creative (e.g., advertisement  106 ), wherein this display may include extra framing elements, interactivity, and modifications added by the first creative tag (e.g., creative tag  154 ).       

     The use of a Deal-ID (e.g., Deal-ID  158 ) may provide a way to control across the two auctions (e.g., advert auctions  128 ,  138 ) what final creative (e.g., advertisement  106 ) is delivered to viewer (e.g., viewer  100 ). If a Deal-ID (e.g., Deal-ID  158 ) is not specified, a nested marketplace may be run, which may require consent from the Ad-Exchange (e.g., auction platform  114 ) to avoid breaking safety rules around changing creative content. 
     Deal Labelling within an Ad-Exchange
         The viewer (e.g., viewer  100 ) may visit a web page (e.g., content  102 ).   The web page (e.g., content  102 ) may contain an SSP ad tag (e.g., included within advert target information  110 ), which may request an advert (e.g., advertisement  106 ) from the Curation Ad-Exchange (e.g., auction platform  162 )   The Curation Ad-Exchange (e.g., auction platform  162 ) may:
           i. add a Deal-ID (e.g., Deal-ID  158 ) for the Value-Add Distributor (e.g., VAD  152 ); and   ii. send bid requests (not shown) to multiple DSPs (e.g., DSPs  150 ).   
           The DSPs (e.g., DSPs  150 ) may submit bids (e.g., bids  144 ) for what they will pay to insert an advert (e.g., advertisement  106 ). Only those DSPs (e.g., DSP  150 ) that recognize the Deal-ID (e.g., Deal-ID  158 ) will submit bids.   The Curation Ad-Exchange (e.g., auction platform  162 ) may pick the highest bid (e.g., bid  144 ) and may connect the winning DSP (e.g., DSP  150 ) to the SSP ad tag (e.g., included within advert target information  110 ).   The winning DSP (e.g., DSP  150 ) may deliver the Value-Add Creative (e.g., advertisement  106 ) to the SSP ad tag (e.g., advertisement  106 ), wherein this Value-Add Creative (e.g., advertisement  106 ) may be displayed to the viewer (e.g., viewer  100 ).   The payment from the winning DSP (e.g., DSP  150 ) may be split between the SSP (e.g., SSP  112 ) and the Value-Add Distributor (e.g., VAD  152 ) by the Curation Ad-Exchange (e.g., auction platform  162 ).       

     Using a Customized Ad-Exchange
         The viewer (e.g., viewer  100 ) may visit a web page (e.g., content  102 ).   The web page (e.g., content  102 ) may contain an SSP ad tag (e.g., included within advert target information  110 ), which may request an advert (e.g., advertisement  106 ) from the Customized Ad-Exchange (e.g., auction platform  162 ).   The Customized Ad-Exchange (e.g., auction platform  162 ) may send bid requests (not shown) to multiple DSPs (e.g., DSPs  150 ).   These DSPs (e.g., DSPs  150 ) may submit bids (e.g., bids  144 ) concerning what they will pay to insert an advert (e.g., advertisement  106 ).   The Customized Ad-Exchange (e.g., auction platform  162 ) may pick the highest bid, wherein the winning DSP (e.g., DSP  144 ) may provide an advertiser creative (e.g., advertiser creative  160 ).   The Customized Ad-Exchange (e.g., auction platform  162 ) may combine the advertiser creative (e.g., advertiser creative  160 ) with a Value-Add Creative template (e.g., Value-Add Creative template  164 ) to create the Value-Add Creative (e.g., advertisement  106 ), wherein this templating may be implemented using macros.   The Customized Ad-Exchange (e.g., auction platform  162 ) may deliver the Value-Add Creative (e.g., advertisement  106 ) to the SSP ad tag (e.g., included within advert target information  110 ), and the Value-Add Creative (e.g., advertisement  106 ) may be displayed to the viewer (e.g., viewer  100 ).   The payment from the winning DSP (e.g., DSP  150 ) may be split between the SSP (e.g., SSP  112 ) and the Value-Add Distributor (e.g., VAD  152 ) by the Customized Ad-Exchange (e.g., auction platform  162 ).       

     General 
     As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, the present disclosure may be embodied as a method, a system, or a computer program product. Accordingly, the present disclosure may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Furthermore, the present disclosure may take the form of a computer program product on a computer-usable storage medium having computer-usable program code embodied in the medium. 
     Any suitable computer usable or computer readable medium may be utilized. The computer-usable or computer-readable medium may be, for example but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, device, or propagation medium. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer-readable medium may include the following: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a transmission media such as those supporting the Internet or an intranet, or a magnetic storage device. The computer-usable or computer-readable medium may also be paper or another suitable medium upon which the program is printed, as the program can be electronically captured, via, for instance, optical scanning of the paper or other medium, then compiled, interpreted, or otherwise processed in a suitable manner, if necessary, and then stored in a computer memory. In the context of this document, a computer-usable or computer-readable medium may be any medium that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The computer-usable medium may include a propagated data signal with the computer-usable program code embodied therewith, either in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. The computer usable program code may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to the Internet, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc. 
     Computer program code for carrying out operations of the present disclosure may be written in an object oriented programming language such as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like. However, the computer program code for carrying out operations of the present disclosure may also be written in conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages. The program code may execute entirely on the user&#39;s computer, partly on the user&#39;s computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user&#39;s computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user&#39;s computer through a local area network/a wide area network/the Internet (e.g., network  14 ). 
     The present disclosure is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of the disclosure. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, may be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer/special purpose computer/other programmable data processing apparatus, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
     These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that may direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
     The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
     The flowcharts and block diagrams in the figures may illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustrations, may be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions. 
     The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. 
     The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of all means or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended to include any structure, material, or act for performing the function in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. The description of the present disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the disclosure in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the disclosure and the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the disclosure for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. 
     A number of implementations have been described. Having thus described the disclosure of the present application in detail and by reference to embodiments thereof, it will be apparent that modifications and variations are possible without departing from the scope of the disclosure defined in the appended claims.