HK1175281A - Sequenced video overlay advertisements - Google Patents

Description

Sequenced video overlay advertisements

Background

Online video content continues to expand in utility, popularity, importance, and length. Users find video content entertaining and take a significant amount of time to integrate. With popularity, the degree of user engagement (engage) of video content brings tremendous advertising potential. However, due in part to the high degree of user engagement, existing advertisement types incorporating video content tend to be ignored by users or do not work well in various measures including the degree of attention, engagement, and interaction with the user, click-through rate, conversation rate, and the like.

There is a need for advertising techniques (including more effective advertising techniques) that incorporate video.

Disclosure of Invention

Some embodiments of the present invention provide methods and systems for advertising in connection with video segments, including various forms of video and portions thereof, such as online video forms including downloaded or streamed video, television, and the like. A method is provided in which a sequence of time-spaced video overlay (including partial overlay) advertisements is displayed. The advertisements in the sequence may be user-interactive and may be related to the subject matter of the video segment that is displayed during display of the advertisement. The later one or more advertisements in the sequence may be related to or associated with each of the preceding advertisements in the sequence, and may be provided as part of or may assist in providing a reward for user interaction with each of the preceding advertisements. In some embodiments, the advertisements in the sequence are user-interactive, and one or more later advertisements in the sequence may be selected, modified, or customized based in part on user interaction with the earlier one or more advertisements. As such, embodiments of the present invention may greatly improve monetization of Web sites that incorporate advertisements, videos, including videos, and the like.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a distributed computer system according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a method according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a method according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a simplified depiction of an advertising sequence according to one embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a simplified depiction of an advertising sequence in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

While the invention has been described with reference to the above drawings, the drawings are for illustrative purposes and other embodiments of the invention are contemplated within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Detailed Description

The term "advertisement" as used herein is intended to broadly encompass advertisements of various types, forms and formats, whether direct or indirect, and whether mixed with non-advertising elements.

The term "overlay advertisement" as used herein is intended to broadly include any advertisement having any overlay element, even if other non-overlay advertisement portions or elements are included.

The term "reward" as used herein is intended to broadly include anything that a user desires, whether unconditional, speculative or indeterminate, and includes informational or other incentives. For example, the reward may include access to value-added content, a code or content unlock code, a coupon or coupon code, an image or music download, points or other incentives associated with the publisher, and the like. The reward may also include rewards such as opportunities not to receive the advertisement or certain advertisements, or other liberty or privilege, whether such rewards are positive or negative in nature. The reward may also include any benefit to the user, such as a tangible benefit. In some embodiments of the invention, rewards are conditional on some form of user interaction, and the commitment or likelihood of rewards results in greater user engagement, interest and curiosity.

In accordance with some embodiments, sequenced overlay advertisements provide a new type of advertising format that incorporates video segments and results in high user engagement. In addition, rewards at or near the end of the sequence further encourage user participation. Greater user engagement may result in better advertising effectiveness, including, for example, higher click-through and conversation rates. This in turn results in greater profit and return on investment for advertisers, publishers, and other interventionalists, and encourages greater advertiser spending. Further, the larger and persistent user engagement results in a user being more likely to continue viewing or interacting with video clips, Web pages, and the like. Embodiments of the present invention are particularly valuable given the value and cost (e.g., cost of million impressions or CPM) of advertisers advertising in connection with videos. The high value of advertising in conjunction with video also provides incentives for advertisers to provide incentives for users to interact or participate. In addition, sequenced advertisements according to embodiments of the present invention may provide publishers and advertisers with new sales packaging models, particularly for value-added content. This may include, for example, rewards that may include access to value-added content, such as free, restricted, introductory, or discounted access.

In some embodiments, the sequences may be connected together in various ways, such as by including steps or elements in a larger group, such as a group of information or a game. The composite or result information may be presented or included in one or more final advertisements or graphical user interfaces.

In some embodiments, the ordered advertisement may provide or create a visually appealing partial story or story line in addition to providing various contextually relevant appealing elements (which may include images or other graphical elements). In some embodiments, these storylines (including partial storylines) may be influenced or guided at least in part by user interaction. In some embodiments, advertisements in a sequence may provide parts or segments of a puzzle or other larger item in conjunction with user interaction, and during or at the end of a video, a user may be allowed, called or invited, or participate in assembling the segments.

In some embodiments, a storyline or storyline-related sequence may be used to essentially portray the story about product benefits or product usage, all in an interactive, immersive, visually appealing, and possibly rewarding manner. In some embodiments, user interaction with some or any of these storyline elements may result in a browser being opened that links to a Web site associated with the product or other advertising sequence or advertising video, or the like.

In some embodiments, the last advertisement in the sequence may provide the user with some form of reward for interaction with some or all of the preceding advertisements in the sequence. Thus, the final advertisement and reward may be conditioned on the user's interaction with one or more previous advertisements in the sequence. This fact may be explicit or implicit to the user, or the user may be aware of it through a repetitive experience. The final advertisement or graphical user interface may also provide options to the user, including options related to the reward or alternative reward.

In some embodiments, the advertisements in the sequence may be numbered, such as "1/3," etc., to let the user know or determine that the advertisement is part of the sequence. Further, in some embodiments, overlay advertisements are marked as advertisements in some manner to prevent user confusion.

The rewards in accordance with embodiments of the invention may vary. For example, the reward may include presenting information to the user including previous advertisements in the sequence and the results of the user's interaction with those advertisements, which may include composite information and additional information. For example, the sequence may include advertisements that are respectively associated with different progressive steps in the recipe. User interaction with all or each such advertisement may be rewarded. The reward may include a complete recipe including each step from the previous advertisement. The recipe may include additional information about the recipe in addition to these steps. The user interaction may guide the advertising sequence and reward, for example, by allowing the user to select recipes in previous advertisements or to customize recipes. Further, after the user receives the reward, the user is more likely to participate in other advertising sequences.

In some embodiments, each time a user interacts, the user may be presented with increasingly valuable information. For example, the sequence may relate to steps in a "how to do" wizard, and user interaction may result in steps in the wizard being revealed, such as steps that are increasingly valuable.

In another embodiment, the advertisements in the sequence may relate to games for participation by the user. The game may be of any type, such as a small scene game (trivia game), a sweepstakes game (sweepstakes), etc., and may be associated with a video sequence. Some games may compare a user's performance with previous performance of other users, or may even include game elements that are online at the same time. For example, the user's performance may be compared to other users who may have previously viewed the sequence of advertisements or who are viewing the sequence. Some embodiments provide content-relevant quizzes or quizzes that call users actively into advertising elements and provide input.

In some embodiments, advertisements in a sequence may include components of a larger puzzle, require user interaction to continue or evolve, and so forth. The final advertisement or graphical user interface may include, for example, assembled or completed puzzles, or some other type of assembly, integration, or completion. Of course, many other possibilities exist.

In some embodiments, user interaction with advertisements in the sequence may cause or result in further presentation or user engagement opportunities along with, in parallel with, or separate from the video segment. For example, a user click or other action may cause an additional browser to open, or may cause a child window or a micro site to appear or open, or may cause other associated overlay advertisements, etc.

Various embodiments of the present invention may be used in conjunction with online video, including pre-roll or post-roll advertising as well as non-linear advertising, overlay or moth-roll advertising, and the like. Further, advertisements in a sequence may include advertisements that fall into more than one of the types. Some embodiments of the invention may be used in conjunction with Long Format (LF) video playback.

Overlay advertisements according to embodiments of the present invention may be timed, placed, or ordered in many different ways. For example, in some embodiments, overlay advertisements in a sequence may be timed to appear at regular or irregular intervals throughout a video (which intervals may be based at least in part on the duration of the video), or may be placed in coordination with particular video content. In some embodiments, advertisement placement may be dynamic and based at least in part on user interaction. Further, in some embodiments, advertisement placement may be based at least in part on targeting or user history, which may include, for example, user history regarding viewing video content, or play data logs associated with users.

In some embodiments, the sequence or the subject matter or content of the advertisements in the sequence is associated with, or deemed to coincide with, one or more subjects associated with the video segment. Furthermore, even if the topics of the sequence are not related to the topics of the video segments, the topics may be designed to likely match the interests of the user, such that a user who is interested in one topic may have a relatively high likelihood of being interested in another topic. Further, in some embodiments, advertisements in a sequence may be strategically placed during portions of a video segment that may be more highly active user engagement or attention. Further, ad placement may be based at least in part on particular cue points in the video where, for example, the video is relatively less intrusive.

In some embodiments, each of several overlay advertisements in the sequence is presented simultaneously with the portion or time period of the video segment most relevant or consistent with the advertisement. For example, if a certain time period of a video includes a particular person or place, the advertisements presented in the sequence for that time period may also be related to that person or place, or a category associated with that person or place, or a topic deemed to be consistent with that person or place, and so forth. The classification, historical advertisement effectiveness information, and historical user behavior information may be used to improve advertisement selection. In addition, many well-known targeting modalities may be employed, such as behavioral targeting, geographic targeting, demographic targeting, interest targeting, and the like.

In some embodiments, the sequences are dynamically combined and may be modified or partially combined in the course of presentation of the sequences based at least in part on user interaction with advertisements presented in the sequences. In this manner, user engagement may be promoted because the user is involved in and actually affects the sequence of advertisements.

In some embodiments, the later or last advertisement or group of advertisements may be collocated and linked with some or all of the preceding advertisements in the sequence in some manner. For example, the last advertisement in the sequence may include a combined step or element of something associated with the previous advertisement in the sequence, may provide results of the user interacting with the previous advertisement, may make reference to the sequence or user engagement, and so forth.

FIG. 1 is a distributed computer system 100 according to one embodiment of the invention. The system 100 includes a user computer 104, an advertising computer 106, and a server computer 108, all coupled or couplable to the internet 102. Although the internet 102 is depicted, the present invention contemplates other embodiments in which the internet is not included, as well as embodiments in which other networks in addition to the internet are included, including one or more wireless networks, WANs, LANs, telephony, cellular or other data networks, and the like. The present invention also contemplates embodiments in which the user computer or other computer may be or include a wireless, portable, or handheld device such as a cell phone, PDA, or the like.

Each of the one or more computers 104, 106, 108 may be distributed and may include various hardware, software, applications, algorithms, programs, and tools. The computer may also include a hard disk, a monitor, a keyboard, a pointing or selection device, etc. The computer may operate with an operating system such as microsoft Windows or the like. Each computer may include a Central Processing Unit (CPU), data storage devices, and various amounts of memory, including RAM and ROM. The computer may also include various programs, applications, algorithms, and software to implement searches, search results, and advertisements, such as graphical or banner advertisements as well as keyword searches and advertisements in the context of spontaneous searches. Many types of advertisements are contemplated, including text advertisements, rich advertisements, video advertisements, and the like.

As described herein, each server computer 108 includes one or more CPUs 110 and a data storage device 112. The data storage device 112 includes a database 116 and a sequenced video overlay advertisement program 114.

The programs 114 are intended to broadly include all programs, applications, algorithms, software, and other tools necessary to implement or facilitate the implementation of methods and systems in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. The elements of the program 114 may reside on a single server computer or be distributed among multiple computers or devices.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a method according to one embodiment of the invention. In step 202, using one or more computers, during and in connection with presentation of a video segment, a time-spaced subsequence of two or more advertisements of the time-spaced sequence of advertisements is presented, wherein the two or more advertisements of the subsequence are associated with each other.

In step 204, using one or more computers, after presentation of the time-spaced subsequence, at least one advertisement in the time-spaced sequence of advertisements is presented during or at the end of presentation of the video segment and in conjunction with the video segment. The at least one advertisement is associated with each of the two or more advertisements in the subsequence.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a method 300 according to one embodiment of the invention. Step 302 is similar to step 202 of fig. 2.

In step 304, using one or more computers, at least one advertisement in the time-spaced sequence of advertisements is presented during and in conjunction with the presentation of the video segment after the presentation of the time-spaced subsequence. The at least one advertisement is associated with each of the two or more advertisements in the subsequence. Further, the two or more advertisements are video overlay advertisements. Each of the two or more advertisements and the at least one advertisement are user-interactive and are associated with each other and with a topic. The content of a later set of one or more advertisements in the sequence is affected by user interaction with an earlier set of one or more advertisements in the sequence, wherein the earlier set of advertisements precedes the later set of advertisements. The at least one advertisement contains content elements such that the content elements of each of the two or more advertisements are reflected in the content elements of the at least one advertisement. Further, the at least one advertisement is associated with providing a reward for user interaction with each of the two or more advertisements.

Fig. 4 is a simplified representation of an advertising sequence 400 according to one embodiment of the present invention. In particular, FIG. 4 provides a simplified representation of screen shots 402, 418, 420, 430 associated with each of four increasingly later points in a video segment. At each of these four points, an advertisement 404, 415, 421, 432 in the sequence of advertisements is presented.

Screenshot 402 includes an earlier scene from a cooking video, specifically video scene a, which includes a chef chatting about pizza preparation and cooking. According to one embodiment of the invention, the overlay advertisement 404 appears at the bottom of the screen. Overlay advertisement 404 includes a plurality of portions including a brand advertising portion 406, a pin portion 408, a center portion 410, an upper portion 412, a lower right portion 414, and an upper right portion 416.

Brand advertising portion 406 may provide any form of brand advertising. In some embodiments, the portion includes a color graphic, a company name, and possibly some additional information (e.g., a company website). In some embodiments, brand advertising portion 406 or other elements themselves may include features such as miniature videos, for example. Brand advertising portion 406 may include the following functionality: for example, where the portion is selected, a browser is opened that renders a company Web page, or more advertisements are displayed that may include non-overlay advertisements, etc.

The pin portion 416 may take various forms, such as an image of a pin. The pin portion 416 may have the function of: for example, where the portion is selected, the overlay advertisement 404 is held on the screen, or the advertisement or a portion thereof is saved, or the like.

The upper portion 412 may be some other type of advertisement, such as a display stating "click here save," and may include such functionality: for example, where the portion is selected, more advertisements, coupons, discounts, etc. are caused to be displayed.

The central portion 410 includes elements of the storyline type that overlay the primary order of the advertisement 404. The center portion 410 may include text for the first step in the pizza recipe. The center portion 410 may include various glyphs, colors, etc., and may include graphics. The subject matter of the contents of the central portion 410 is associated with the subject matter of the screenshot 402 (pizza or pizza cooking).

The lower right portion 414 adjacent to the center portion 410 and the upper right portion 416 may include text that provides a collocation relationship between the center portion 410 and the upper right portion 416. For example, the lower right portion 414 may include text that states "other cooking ideas". The upper right portion 416 may provide suggested other recipes, such as sweet spots, and may include graphics, colors, and the like. The upper right portion 416 may include such functionality: for example, where the portion is selected, information about the dessert is provided (e.g., additional advertisements, browsers, micro-sites, etc.).

As described above, the center portion 410 may be the primary focus of the overlay advertisement 404. In some embodiments, the central portion 410 includes functionality. For example, in some embodiments, if the user selects the center portion 410 or interacts with the center portion 410, other overlay advertisements in the sequence may only be displayed immediately or at a later time in the video.

Screenshot 418 appears after screenshot 404. The screen shot 418 includes a video scene B that includes a chef preparing a pizza raw material.

Overlay advertisement 415 is similar to overlay advertisement 404. However, at least the central portion 419 is different. In particular, the center portion 419 includes a second step in the recipe that is a second portion of the storyline that begins in the overlay advertisement 404. In some embodiments, the overlay advertisement 415 will not be displayed unless, for example, some form of user interaction or engagement occurs in connection with the previous overlay advertisement 404, and the user may be aware or informed of this or not. Overlay advertisements 415 (and other overlay advertisements) may be timed to also be associated with the subject matter of the video, or with both the subject matter of the video and the more specific subject matter in screenshot 418.

Screenshot 420 appears after screenshot 418. Screenshot 420 includes a video scene C, specifically a scene where the chef places an uncooked pizza in an oven. The overlay advertisement 421 is similar to the overlay advertisements 404, 415. However, at least the central portion 424 is different. In particular, the center portion 424 includes a third step in the recipe that is a third portion of the storyline that begins in the overlay advertisement 404. In some embodiments, the overlay advertisement 421 will not be displayed unless some form of user interaction or engagement occurs with the previous overlay advertisement 415 or other previous advertisements, or both.

Screenshot 430 appears after screenshot 420. Screenshot 430 includes a video scene D that includes a scene of a cooked pizza on a table. Overlay advertisement 432 is different in form from previous overlay advertisements and includes brand advertisement 426 and lower portion 428. The lower portion 428 is the last advertisement in the sequence, which includes the previous overlay advertisements 404, 415, 421. The lower portion 428 includes a complete pizza recipe including the recipe steps included in the previous overlay advertisement 404, 415, 421 in the sequence. The lower portion 428 may also include additional recipes or other information, information that aggregates or links the steps included in the previous overlay advertisements 404, 415, 421 with other information, and may include text, graphics, colors, etc.

Fig. 5 is a simplified representation of an advertising sequence 500 according to one embodiment of the present invention. In particular, FIG. 5 provides screenshots 504, 516, 522, 532 associated with each of four increasingly later points in a video segment. At each of these four points, the advertisements 512, 520, 528, 542 in the sequence of advertisements are presented as overlay advertisements.

Screenshot 504 includes a pre-stage scene from the perspective of the cartoon show "Family Guy," specifically video scene a (a close-up of the character Lois in his living room). According to one embodiment of the invention, the overlay advertisement 512 appears at the bottom of the screen. Overlay advertisement 512 includes brand advertising portion 510 and larger portion 508.

Brand advertisement portion 510 may include text, graphics, colors, etc. related to the brand. This portion may include other elements, such as a collocation with the contents of the screenshot 504 or larger portion 508. In this case, larger portion 508 is associated with the quiz game, and brand advertising portion 510 may include collocation text such as "quiz game sponsored by brand A" or the like. Brand a may be, for example, a food company that makes dessert products.

The larger portion 508 includes the first of a series of test questions associated with the Family Guy. Specifically, the larger portion 508 invites the user to select an answer from several possible answers to the question "what the maiden name of Lois is". Lois is a role in Family Guy and is also displayed in screen shot 504, making the test question very relevant to the content.

The following screen shot 516 includes video scene B, a Family Guy scene including the character Meg, Quagmire, and another character in the castle set. The larger portion 518 of the overlay advertisement 520 includes another test question, "Meg changes its name to what". The larger portion 518 continues the test beginning with the previous overlay advertisement 512. In some embodiments, the overlay advertisement 520 is displayed only if the user selects an answer to the previous test question.

A further subsequent screenshot 522 includes video scene C, a Family buy scene that includes a close-up of Lois and Quagmire in the castle. The overlay advertisement 528 includes a larger component 526 that gives another test question "which department the Quagmire is in the military".

Still further screen shot 532 may be, for example, a user reward graphical user interface that is displayed only if the user has participated in the full test, and may be displayed, for example, at the end of the video. The screenshot 532 includes a message 534 from Brand A to the participating user, such as "Brand A thanks you for your participation! This is a reward for you, please enjoy! The "screenshot 532 also includes a portion 536 that contains a coupon for brand a products, and two graphics 538, 541 that may depict a particular brand a dessert product. The various elements of screenshot 532 may be user interactive, such as by allowing a browser to open that links to the brand a website, etc.

Of course, fig. 4 and 5 depict only two of the myriad possibilities.

The foregoing description is intended only to illustrate the invention and other embodiments are contemplated as being within the spirit of the invention.

Claims (20)

1. A method for advertising in connection with video, comprising:

presenting, with one or more computers, during and in conjunction with presentation of a video segment, a time-spaced subsequence of two or more advertisements of a time-spaced sequence of advertisements, wherein the two or more advertisements of the subsequence are associated with each other; and

presenting, with one or more computers, after presentation of the time-spaced subsequence, during presentation of the video segment or at an end of presentation of the video segment, and in conjunction with the video segment, at least one advertisement of the time-spaced sequence of advertisements, wherein the at least one advertisement is associated with each advertisement of the two or more advertisements of the subsequence.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the two or more advertisements and the at least one advertisement are user-interactive, and wherein content of a later set of one or more advertisements in the sequence is affected by user interaction with an earlier set of one or more advertisements in the sequence, wherein the earlier set of advertisements precedes the later set of advertisements.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein each of the two or more advertisements and the at least one advertisement are associated with each other for a topic.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein a particular advertisement in the sequence is displayed during a portion of the video segment such that a subject matter of the portion of the video segment is associated with a subject matter of the particular advertisement.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the two or more advertisements and the at least one advertisement are part of a storyline.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the two or more advertisements and the at least one advertisement are user-interactive.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein presenting comprises displaying.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one advertisement contains content elements such that the content elements of each of the two or more advertisements are reflected in the content elements of the at least one advertisement.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the advertisements in the sequence are video overlay advertisements and are overlaid for the video segment.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein user interaction with each of the two or more advertisements results in a reward, and wherein the at least one advertisement is associated with the reward.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the reward comprises one or more coupons associated with the subject matter or content of the advertisements in the sequence.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the reward comprises reducing exposure to advertisements.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the reward comprises providing an ability to access value-added online content.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the advertisements in the sequence are part of a user-interactive game.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the advertisements in the sequence are part of a user-interactive game in which a user selects an answer from a set of possible answers.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the advertisements in the sequence comprise images.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the sequence is non-linear.

18. A system for advertising in connection with video, comprising:

one or more server computers coupled to the internet; and

one or more databases coupled to the one or more server computers;

wherein the one or more server computers are to:

presenting, during presentation of a video segment and in conjunction with the video segment, a time-spaced subsequence of two or more advertisements of a time-spaced sequence of advertisements, wherein the two or more advertisements of the subsequence are associated with each other; and

presenting, after presentation of the subsequence of the time interval, at least one advertisement in the sequence of advertisements of the time interval during presentation of the video segment or at an end of presentation of the video segment, and in conjunction with the video segment, wherein the at least one advertisement is associated with each advertisement of the two or more advertisements in the subsequence.

19. The method of claim 18, comprising storing advertisements of the sequence of advertisements in at least one of the one or more databases.

20. A computer-readable medium or media containing instructions for performing a method relating to advertising in connection with video, the method comprising:

presenting, with one or more computers, during and in conjunction with presentation of a video segment, a time-spaced subsequence of two or more advertisements of a time-spaced sequence of advertisements, wherein the two or more advertisements of the subsequence are associated with each other, and wherein the two or more advertisements are video overlay advertisements; and

presenting, with one or more computers, after presentation of the time-spaced subsequence, during presentation of the video segment or at an end of presentation of the video segment, and in conjunction with the video segment, at least one advertisement of the time-spaced sequence of advertisements, wherein the at least one advertisement is associated with each advertisement of the two or more advertisements in the subsequence;

wherein the two or more advertisements are video overlay advertisements;

wherein each of the two or more advertisements and the at least one advertisement are user-interactive, associated with each other and with a topic;

wherein the content of a later set of one or more advertisements in the sequence is affected by user interaction with an earlier set of one or more advertisements in the sequence, wherein the earlier set of advertisements precedes the later set of advertisements;

wherein the at least one advertisement contains content elements such that the content elements of each of the two or more advertisements are reflected in the content elements of the at least one advertisement; and is

Wherein the at least one advertisement is associated with providing a reward for user interaction with each of the two or more advertisements.