U.S. patent application number 13/622674 was filed with the patent office on 2013-01-17 for system and method for computer-created advertisements.
The applicant listed for this patent is Jon C. Evans. Invention is credited to Jon C. Evans.
Application Number | 20130018733 13/622674 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 44062777 |
Filed Date | 2013-01-17 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130018733 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Evans; Jon C. |
January 17, 2013 |
SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR COMPUTER-CREATED ADVERTISEMENTS
Abstract
Methods, systems, and computer readable media for of
automatically rendering an advertisement element on an
advertisement are disclosed. The method includes the steps of
obtaining an advertisement element to be rendered on the
advertisement, comparing the advertisement element to a set of
stored markup records, determining which stored markup record is
closest in at least one attribute to the advertisement element,
rendering the advertisement element in accordance with the closest
markup record, and displaying the rendered advertisement element on
the advertisement.
Inventors: |
Evans; Jon C.; (Sarasota,
FL) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Evans; Jon C. |
Sarasota |
FL |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
44062777 |
Appl. No.: |
13/622674 |
Filed: |
September 19, 2012 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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12829543 |
Jul 2, 2010 |
8296183 |
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13622674 |
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61254399 |
Nov 23, 2009 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/14.72 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/02 20130101;
G06Q 30/0276 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/14.72 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 30/00 20120101
G06Q030/00 |
Claims
1.-12. (canceled)
13. A system of automatically rendering an advertisement element on
an advertisement, comprising: a system bus for coupling system
components; at least one database coupled to the system bus; a
processing unit in communication with the database; software
executing on the processing unit, wherein the software: obtains an
advertisement element to be rendered on the advertisement from a
user; compares the advertisement element to a set of stored markup
records stored in the database; determines which stored markup
record is closest in at least one attribute to the advertisement
element; renders the advertisement element in accordance with the
closest markup record; and displays the rendered advertisement
element on the advertisement; an input device in communication with
the processing unit; and an output device in communication with the
processing unit.
14. The system of claim 13, wherein the advertisement element is
chosen from a database of advertisement elements or created newly
by a user.
15. The system of claim 13, wherein the set of stored markup
records includes at least one markup record previously saved by the
user.
16. The system of claim 15, the software further: determines if the
at least one stored markup record saved by the user is within a
predetermined variance in at least one attribute to the
advertisement element; renders the advertisement element in
accordance with the markup record saved by the user if the markup
record saved by the user is within the predetermined variance; or
renders the advertisement element in accordance with the closest
markup record saved by another if the markup record saved by the
user is not within the predetermined variance.
17. The system of claim 16, wherein the variance is within a 10%
height to width ratio.
18. The system of claim 13, the software further: obtains
customizations to the rendered advertisement element from the user;
and saves the customizations as a new markup record.
19. The system of claim 13, wherein the at least one attribute is
chosen from advertisement element height to width ratio, image
height to width ratio, advertisement dimensions, image dimensions,
text dimensions, text content, and advertisement content.
20. The system of claim 13, wherein if there are no stored markup
records or no markup record is close in at least one attribute to
the advertisement element, the advertisement element is distributed
evenly on the advertisement.
21. The system of claim 13, wherein the markup record comprises
style preferences of the user and others.
22. The system of claim 21, wherein the style preferences include
at least one of image size, image position, text size, text font,
text color, text position, background color, and rotation.
23. The system of claim 22, wherein the advertisement element is
rendered in accordance with the style preferences of the markup
record.
24. The system of claim 13, wherein the advertisement element
comprises at least one of text, an image, and a background.
25. A computer-readable media containing program instructions for
automatically rendering an advertisement element on an
advertisement, that causes a computer to: obtain an advertisement
element to be rendered on the advertisement from a user; compare
the advertisement element to a set of stored markup records;
determine which stored markup record is closest in at least one
attribute to the advertisement element; render the advertisement
element in accordance with the closest markup record; and display
the rendered advertisement element on the advertisement.
26. The computer-readable media of claim 25, wherein the
advertisement element is chosen from a database of advertisement
elements or created newly by a user.
27. The computer-readable media of claim 25, wherein the set of
stored markup records includes at least one markup record
previously saved by the user.
28. The computer-readable media of claim 27, wherein the media
further causes the computer to: determine if the at least one
stored markup record saved by the user is within a predetermined
variance in at least one attribute to the advertisement element;
render the advertisement element in accordance with the markup
record saved by the user if the markup record saved by the user is
within the predetermined variance; or render the advertisement
element in accordance with the closest markup record saved by
another if the markup record saved by the user is not within the
predetermined variance.
29. The computer-readable media of claim 28, wherein the variance
is within a 10% height to width ratio.
30. The computer-readable media of claim 25, wherein the media
further causes the computer to: obtain customizations to the
rendered advertisement element from the user; and save the
customizations as a new markup record.
31. The computer-readable media of claim 25, wherein the at least
one attribute is chosen from advertisement element height to width
ratio, image height to width ratio, advertisement dimensions, image
dimensions, text dimensions, text content, and advertisement
content.
32. The computer-readable media of claim 25, wherein if there are
no stored markup records or no markup record is close in at least
one attribute to the advertisement element, the advertisement
element is distributed evenly on the advertisement.
33. The computer-readable media of claim 25, wherein the markup
record comprises style preferences of the user and others.
34. The computer-readable media of claim 33, wherein the style
preferences include at least one of image size, image position,
text size, text font, text color, text position, background color,
and rotation.
35. The computer-readable media of claim 34, wherein the
advertisement element is rendered in accordance with the style
preferences of the markup record.
36. The computer-readable media of claim 25, wherein the
advertisement element comprises at least one of text, an image, and
a background.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] This invention relates to the field of creating
advertisements, and more particularly to the field of dynamically
laying out elements of an advertisement.
[0003] 2. Introduction
[0004] Conventional business methods for creating advertising
require that written materials and other documentation be provided
by a customer (which we will refer to herein as the user) to third
party graphic artists who design the layout. The customer must wait
to receive a hard-copy proof from the artists, and then, after
reviewing and revising the proof, resend the proof to the artists
for redesign. When the proof is finally approved, the information
must be delivered to a commercial printer to produce the
advertisements in their final form. At each stage of the process,
there can be substantial delays. After one or more redesigns, the
customer must wait for a final proof and then, once approved, wait
for the final product to be produced.
[0005] The conventional process is time consuming and inefficient,
and can also be very expensive relative to the cost of services
that can be provided by the present invention. For example, a
customer must employ the services of a graphic artist, which can
add significant cost to the process. Moreover, the inclusion of a
graphic artist into the process requires additional time and
communications between the artist and the customer. Each time the
work-in-process is transferred between parties (for example, from
the graphic artist to the customer, from the customer to the
graphic artist, and from the graphic artist to the printer), the
work-in-process must enter the queue of the recipient, which may
add uncontrollable delays, not to mention the time associated with
the logistics of transferring materials. Accordingly, there is a
need for an improved system that is less time consuming and less
costly.
SUMMARY
[0006] The present invention overcomes the problems and
disadvantages associated with current strategies and designs and
provides new systems and methods of dynamically creating
advertisements.
[0007] One embodiment of the invention is directed to a method of
automatically rendering an advertisement element on an
advertisement. The method comprises the steps of obtaining an
advertisement element to be rendered on the advertisement from a
user, comparing the advertisement element to a set of stored markup
records, determining which stored markup record is closest in at
least one attribute to the advertisement element, rendering the
advertisement element in accordance with the closest markup record,
and displaying the rendered advertisement element on the
advertisement.
[0008] In preferred embodiments, the advertisement element is
chosen from a database of advertisement elements or created newly
by a user. Preferably, the set of stored markup records includes at
least one markup record previously saved by the user. In such
embodiments, the method further comprises determining if the at
least one stored markup record saved by the user is within a
predetermined variance in at least one attribute to the
advertisement element, rendering the advertisement element in
accordance with the markup record saved by the user if the markup
record saved by the user is within the predetermined variance, or
rendering the advertisement element in accordance with the closest
markup record saved by another if the markup record saved by the
user is not within the predetermined variance. In the preferred
embodiment, the variance is within a 10% height to width ratio.
[0009] In the preferred embodiment, the method further comprises
obtaining customizations to the rendered advertisement element from
the user, and saving the customizations as a new markup record.
Preferably, the at least one attribute is chosen from advertisement
element height to width ratio, image height to width ratio,
advertisement dimensions, image dimensions, text dimensions, text
content, and advertisement content. If there are no stored markup
records or no markup record is close in at least one attribute to
the advertisement element, the advertisement element is preferably
distributed evenly on the advertisement.
[0010] In a preferred embodiment, the markup record comprises style
preferences of the user and others. The style preferences may
include at least one of image size, image position, text size, text
font, text color, text position, background color, and rotation.
Preferably, the advertisement element is rendered in accordance
with the style preferences of the markup record and the
advertisement element comprises at least one of text, an image, and
a background.
[0011] Another embodiment of the invention is directed to a system
for automatically rendering an advertisement element on an
advertisement. The system comprises a system bus for coupling
system components, at least one database coupled to the system bus,
a processing unit in communication with the database, software
executing on the processing unit, an input device in communication
with the processing unit, and an output device in communication
with the processing unit. The software obtains an advertisement
element to be rendered on the advertisement from a user, compares
the advertisement element to a set of stored markup records stored
in the database, determines which stored markup record is closest
in at least one attribute to the advertisement element, renders the
advertisement element in accordance with the closest markup record,
and displays the rendered advertisement element on the
advertisement.
[0012] In a preferred embodiment, the advertisement element is
chosen from a database of advertisement elements or created newly
by a user. Preferably, the set of stored markup records includes at
least one markup record previously saved by the user. In a
preferred embodiment, the software further determines if the at
least one stored markup record saved by the user is within a
predetermined variance in at least one attribute to the
advertisement element, renders the advertisement element in
accordance with the markup record saved by the user if the markup
record saved by the user is within the predetermined variance, or
renders the advertisement element in accordance with the closest
markup record saved by another if the markup record saved by the
user is not within the predetermined variance. Preferably, the
variance is within a 10% height to width ratio.
[0013] In a preferred embodiment, the software further obtains
customizations to the rendered advertisement element from the user,
and saves the customizations as a new markup record. Preferably,
the at least one attribute is chosen from advertisement element
height to width ratio, image height to width ratio, advertisement
dimensions, image dimensions, text dimensions, text content, and
advertisement content.
[0014] If there are no stored markup records or no markup record is
close in at least one attribute to the advertisement element, the
advertisement element is preferably distributed evenly on the
advertisement. In the preferred embodiment, the markup record
comprises style preferences of the user and others. The style
preferences can include at least one of image size, image position,
text size, text font, text color, text position, background color,
and rotation, preferably the advertisement element is rendered in
accordance with the style preferences of the markup record and the
advertisement element comprises at least one of text, an image, and
a background.
[0015] Another embodiment of the invention is directed toward a
computer-readable media containing program instructions for
automatically rendering an advertisement element on an
advertisement, that causes a computer to obtain an advertisement
element to be rendered on the advertisement from a user, compare
the advertisement element to a set of stored markup records,
determine which stored markup record is closest in at least one
attribute to the advertisement element, render the advertisement
element in accordance with the closest markup record, and display
the rendered advertisement element on the advertisement.
[0016] In a preferred embodiment, the advertisement element is
chosen from a database of advertisement elements or created newly
by a user. Preferably, the set of stored markup records includes at
least one markup record previously saved by the user. Preferably,
the media further causes the computer to determine if the at least
one stored markup record saved by the user is within a
predetermined variance in at least one attribute to the
advertisement element, render the advertisement element in
accordance with the markup record saved by the user if the markup
record saved by the user is within the predetermined variance, or
render the advertisement element in accordance with the closest
markup record saved by another if the markup record saved by the
user is not within the predetermined variance. Preferably, the
variance is within a 10% height to width ratio.
[0017] In a preferred embodiment, the media further causes the
computer to obtain customizations to the rendered advertisement
element from the user, and save the customizations as a new markup
record. Preferably, the at least one attribute is chosen from
advertisement element height to width ratio, image height to width
ratio, advertisement dimensions, image dimensions, text dimensions,
text content, and advertisement content.
[0018] If there are no stored markup records or no markup record is
close in at least one attribute to the advertisement element, the
advertisement element is preferably distributed evenly on the
advertisement. Preferably, the markup record comprises style
preferences of the user and others. The style preferences can
include at least one of image size, image position, text size, text
font, text color, text position, background color, and rotation. In
the preferred embodiment, the advertisement element is rendered in
accordance with the style preferences of the markup record and the
advertisement element comprises at least one of text, an image, and
a background.
[0019] Other embodiments and advantages of the invention are set
forth in part in the description, which follows, and in part, may
be obvious from this description, or may be learned from the
practice of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0020] The invention is described in greater detail by way of
example only and with reference to the attached drawings, in
which:
[0021] FIG. 1 illustrates an example system embodiment;
[0022] FIG. 2 illustrates a method embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0023] As embodied and broadly described herein, the disclosures
herein provide detailed embodiments of the invention. However, the
disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that
may be embodied in various and alternative forms. Therefore, there
is no intent that specific structural and functional details should
be limiting, but rather the intention is that they provide a basis
for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one
skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention.
[0024] With reference to FIG. 1, an exemplary system includes at
least one general-purpose computing device 100, including a
processing unit (CPU) 120 and a system bus 110 that couples various
system components including the system memory such as read only
memory (ROM) 140 and random access memory (RAM) 150 to the
processing unit 120. Other system memory 130 may be available for
use as well. It can be appreciated that the invention may operate
on a computing device with more than one CPU 120 or on a group or
cluster of computing devices networked together to provide greater
processing capability. The system bus 110 may be any of several
types of bus structures including a memory bus or memory
controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a
variety of bus architectures. A basic input/output (BIOS) stored in
ROM 140 or the like, may provide the basic routine that helps to
transfer information between elements within the computing device
100, such as during start-up. The computing device 100 further
includes storage devices such as a hard disk drive 160, a magnetic
disk drive, an optical disk drive, tape drive or the like. The
storage device 160 is connected to the system bus 110 by a drive
interface. The drives and the associated computer readable media
provide nonvolatile storage of computer readable instructions, data
structures, program modules and other data for the computing device
100. The basic components are known to those of skill in the art
and appropriate variations are contemplated depending on the type
of device, such as whether the device is a small, handheld
computing device, a desktop computer, a computer server, or a
wireless devices, including wireless Personal Digital Assistants
("PDAs") (e.g., Palm.TM. VII, Research in Motion's Blackberry.TM.,
Apple's iPhone.TM.), wireless web-enabled phones, other wireless
phones, etc.
[0025] Although the exemplary environment described herein employs
the hard disk, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art
that other types of computer readable media which can store data
that are accessible by a computer, such as magnetic cassettes,
flash memory cards, digital versatile disks, cartridges, random
access memories (RAMs), read only memory (ROM), a cable or wireless
signal containing a bit stream and the like, may also be used in
the exemplary operating environment.
[0026] To enable user interaction with the computing device 100, an
input device 190 represents any number of input mechanisms, such as
a microphone for speech, a touch-sensitive screen for gesture or
graphical input, keyboard, mouse, motion input, speech and so
forth. The device output 170 can be one or more of a number of
output mechanisms known to those of skill in the art, for example,
printers, monitors, projectors, speakers, and plotters. In some
embodiments, the output can be via a network interface, for example
uploading to a website, emailing, attached to or placed within
other electronic files, and sending an SMS or MMS message. In some
instances, multimodal systems enable a user to provide multiple
types of input to communicate with the computing device 100. The
communications interface 180 generally governs and manages the user
input and system output. There is no restriction on the invention
operating on any particular hardware arrangement and therefore the
basic features here may easily be substituted for improved hardware
or firmware arrangements as they are developed.
[0027] For clarity of explanation, the illustrative system
embodiment is presented as comprising individual functional blocks
(including functional blocks labeled as a "processor"). The
functions these blocks represent may be provided through the use of
either shared or dedicated hardware, including, but not limited to,
hardware capable of executing software. For example the functions
of one or more processors presented in FIG. 1 may be provided by a
single shared processor or multiple processors. (Use of the term
"processor" should not be construed to refer exclusively to
hardware capable of executing software.) Illustrative embodiments
may comprise microprocessor and/or digital signal processor (DSP)
hardware, read-only memory (ROM) for storing software performing
the operations discussed below, and random access memory (RAM) for
storing results. Very large scale integration (VLSI) hardware
embodiments, as well as custom VLSI circuitry in combination with a
general purpose DSP circuit, may also be provided.
[0028] Embodiments within the scope of the present invention may
also include computer-readable media for carrying or having
computer-executable instructions or data structures stored thereon.
Such computer-readable media can be any available media that can be
accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. By way
of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can
comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage,
magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any
other medium which can be used to carry or store desired program
code means in the form of computer-executable instructions or data
structures. When information is transferred or provided over a
network or another communications connection (either hardwired,
wireless, or combination thereof) to a computer, the computer
properly views the connection as a computer-readable medium. Thus,
any such connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium.
Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope
of the computer-readable media.
[0029] Computer-executable instructions include, for example,
instructions and data which cause a general purpose computer,
special purpose computer, or special purpose processing device to
perform a certain function or group of functions.
Computer-executable instructions also include program modules that
are executed by computers in stand-alone or network environments.
Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects,
components, and data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks
or implement particular abstract data types. Computer-executable
instructions, associated data structures, and program modules
represent examples of the program code means for executing steps of
the methods disclosed herein. The particular sequence of such
executable instructions or associated data structures represents
examples of corresponding acts for implementing the functions
described in such steps.
[0030] Those of skill in the art will appreciate that other
embodiments of the invention may be practiced in network computing
environments with many types of computer system configurations,
including personal computers, hand-held devices, multi-processor
systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics,
network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like.
Networks may include the Internet, one or more Local Area Networks
("LANs"), one or more Metropolitan Area Networks ("MANs"), one or
more Wide Area Networks ("WANs"), one or more Intranets, etc.
Embodiments may also be practiced in distributed computing
environments where tasks are performed by local and remote
processing devices that are linked (either by hardwired links,
wireless links, or by a combination thereof) through a
communications network. In a distributed computing environment,
program modules may be located in both local and remote memory
storage devices.
[0031] In the preferred embodiment, a user utilizes an Internet
connection in order to access a website on a host computer. The web
site may, for example, be maintained and hosted by a commercial
printer, a supplier, or an Internet Service Provider. The website,
when accessed, may request a user to log into the site by entering
a username and password. In the preferred embodiment, users will
log in using a User Name and Password. However, in certain
embodiments, additional information can be required, for example
store number or company identification. The User Name and Password
can be an email address or combination of letters, numbers, and/or
symbols. Preferably, each User Name is unique. Based on user
identification, access to the system can be determined.
Furthermore, based on user identification, a user's preferences,
saved advertisements, accessible databases, and other resources the
user has access to, is uploaded.
[0032] In the preferred embodiment, the user will be presented with
the choice of starting a new advertisement or loading a
pre-existing advertisement. If the user chooses to load a
pre-existing advertisement, the pre-existing advertisement may be
saved on a server, the user's work station, or at another location.
Furthermore, the pre-existing advertisement may be an advertisement
created by another user. If the user chooses to start a new
advertisement, the user will be presented with a choice of
advertising formats. Generally, a user will specify the advertising
format that is desired. Preferably, the user selects an advertising
format from a plurality of advertising formats displayed on the
computer screen. More preferably, the user selects from a menu of
advertising formats. An advertising format establishes the type of
advertisement that is desired. Examples include circulars that are
distributed by hand to potential users, newspaper inserts that are
distributed as part of a newspaper, direct mail advertisements that
are mailed directly to potential users, newsletters that are
distributed to existing clients in order to keep them informed, and
banners. Advertising materials that may be generated using the
present invention are not limited to these examples, but may
include any kind of print, digital, electronic or other form of
advertisement, including, but not limited to, post cards, coupons,
price cards, shelf-talkers, posters, signage, flyers, run-of-press
(ROP) or other newspaper or magazine ads, digital displays or
signs, billboards, presentations, website ads, text messages (e.g.
SMS or MMS), social media advertisements, product sheets, catalogs,
order guides, brochures, collateral materials, letterhead, business
cards, pocket folders, display materials, web banners, pop-up
advertisements, reports, digital proofs and other types of
advertisements, literature, and printed or electronic
materials.
[0033] Once an advertisement format is chosen, the user will have
the opportunity to customize the advertisement format. For example,
the user may choose the number of pages, size of the pages or
advertisement, number of elements per page, themes (i.e. seasonal
themes, holiday themes, color pallets), and font style. Once an
advertising format has been selected and customized, a user may
select a template that corresponds to the selected advertising
format. In one embodiment, the present invention will provide a
one-to-one correspondence between available advertising formats and
templates. It is recognized and understood, however, that a
selected advertising format may have a plurality of templates that
correspond to the selected format. Moreover, different advertising
formats may share one or more templates. In the case of a
one-to-one correspondence, the selection of an advertising format
may pre-ordain the selection of a template.
[0034] Preferably, after selecting an advertising format, the user
will be provided with an opportunity to select one of a plurality
of templates that correspond to a selected advertising format. For
example, if a circular is chosen as an advertising format, the user
may be presented with a plurality of pre-defined templates for a
circular. By selecting one of the pre-defined templates, the user
will be able to save much time in designing a custom circular. It
is understood and acknowledged, however, that the present invention
may also be designed to permit a user to have even greater
flexibility by presenting a template that provides a user with
greater flexibility in terms of overall layout and design.
[0035] Once a template is chosen, the user is provided with an
opportunity to customize the template. In the case where a template
involves multiple pages, the user may be provided with an
opportunity to select a page of the template to design and/or edit.
In either event, the user may begin to customize the advertisement.
For example, a user can add images, ad areas, graphics, groupings
of images (e.g. a family of products), etc. A user can also
customize the location, size, etc. of such ad elements. These ad
elements can be copied and duplicated. In such embodiments, the
user may be able to save the customized template for future use,
for use by other users, or for use in other ads.
[0036] In a preferred embodiment, the user may be presented with
options to include pre-defined advertisement elements as well as
new advertisement elements that the user may create. A pre-defined
advertisement element is one that was created previously and saved
into memory (e.g., stored into a database or otherwise on a
computer memory). An advantage of using pre-defined advertisement
elements is that the business or corporation may provide these as
suggestions of or requirements for, products to be offered for a
particular ad and/or selling season. This provides the user with a
desired base of products to consider, which further reduces the
time to customize an advertisement. Alternatively, the pre-defined
advertisement element may be saved as part of a template, in which
case the next time a template is used, it may be defined to include
the pre-defined advertisement element. Preferably, templates
include additional areas that permit new products to be advertised.
One way of readily identifying areas where new product ads may be
placed is by coloring an area of the template with a color. That
way, a user readily sees a blank portion on the template and may
"import" (or otherwise add by way of an editor) a new advertisement
element.
[0037] In preferred embodiments, users can upload images, graphics,
articles and other advertising elements directly into the system.
Once an element is uploaded, the system can check to see if the
element conforms to specifications and matches the rules
established by the administrator, for example proper DPI, size,
color, clipping path, etc. If the image does not confirm to the
specifications, the system can provide the user with information as
to why the image is unacceptable and offer options for completion.
For example the system can suggest correcting and re-uploading the
image, upload the unacceptable image anyway, or having the image
corrected by another entity. The interface can provide fields to
add a title, description, item number, SKU, weight, size, packaging
information, price, custom text or other corresponding information.
Furthermore, users can crop the newly uploaded images prior to
saving. Once entered, the system processes the information and,
when finished, makes the new advertisement element available for
immediate use.
[0038] Another embodiment allows a user to be part of a "public"
database of user-uploaded advertisement elements. The "public"
database is shared by all users opting into the service. Any image,
ad template, item, photo, graphic, article, etc. in the database is
available to all users. A user may upload an advertisement element
to the "public" database for use by all users, or may upload the
advertisement element to a "private" database for use only by that
user.
[0039] In the preferred embodiment, the user will select and/or
upload each advertisement element to be included in the
advertisement. The system will then intuitively recognize and
understand historical design attributes and preferences based on
the user data and render the selected and/or uploaded advertisement
elements based on the attributes and preferences. The design
attributes can include, for example, images, placement of logos,
text formatting, price, description, or other style attributes.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a method 200 of rendering
the advertisement elements.
[0040] Method 200 begins at step 202, where the system obtains
information from the user. The information may include, but is not
limited to, the advertisement's parameters (e.g. size, type of
advertisement, number of advertisement elements per page, placement
of advertisement elements (e.g. which advertisement element is
designated for which ad space), and themes), the chosen
advertisement elements to be inserted into the advertisement
(including any image and/or text), and the style preferences of the
user and other users (e.g. saved markup records for previously
inserted advertisement element). The system can automatically
arrange the advertisement elements on the advertisement (e.g. based
on a set of priorities) or the user can choose the arrangement of
the advertisement elements on the advertisement (either before or
after the system automatically arranges the advertisement
elements). For each chosen advertisement element, method 200
progresses to step 204, where the system attempts to match the
chosen advertisement element with at least one markup record. A
markup record is a record of a customized formatting and styling of
an advertisement element. The markup record can include, but is not
limited to, image size, image position, text size, text font, text
color, text position, background color, and rotation. At step 206,
the system determines if there is at least one markup record that
matches the chosen advertisement element. If there are no matches,
at step 208, the system determines that a similar advertisement
element to the chose advertisement element has never been used in
an advertisement before, spreads the chosen advertisement element
out equally over the ad space for the advertisement element, and
allows the user to customize the appearance of the chosen
advertisement element. Once the user customizes the appearance of
the chosen advertisement element, the system saves the user's
preferences for future advertisement elements as a new markup
record.
[0041] On the other hand, if at step 206, the system does find at
least one match, the system queries the matches of markup records,
at step 210, to determine if, at step 212, any of the matches have
similar or proportional ad space dimensions (e.g. height to width
ratio) of the chosen advertisement element's ad space dimensions.
If none of the matches have similar or proportional ad space
dimensions, at step 214, the system queries the matches to
determine, at step 216, if any of the matches have a variance in ad
space dimensions within 10% of the chosen advertisement element's
ad space dimensions. If there are no matches within 10%, the
system, at step 218, formats the chosen advertisement element in
accordance with the closest matched markup record (e.g. a markup
record having a 15% variance, a 20% variance, or a 25% variance in
ad space dimensions).
[0042] On the other hand, if at step 216, there is at least one
markup record within 10% of the chosen advertisement element's ad
space dimensions, at step 220, the system filters out the remaining
markup records that have ad space dimensions greater than a 10%
variance from the chosen advertisement element's ad space
dimensions. At step 222, the system determines if the chosen
advertisement element contains an image. If the chosen
advertisement element does not contain an image, at step 224, the
system queries the results, and, at step 226, determines the number
of markup records that have a variance in ad space dimensions
within 10% of the chosen advertisement element's ad space
dimensions and were created by the current user. If there are no
markup records that have a variance in ad space dimensions within
10% of the chosen advertisement element's ad space dimensions and
were created by the current user, at step 228, the system formats
the chosen advertisement element in accordance with the markup
records that has a variance in ad space dimensions closest to the
chosen advertisement element's ad space dimensions and was created
by another user. However, if there is at least one markup record
that has a variance in ad space dimensions within 10% of the chosen
advertisement element's ad space dimensions and was created by the
current user, the system, at step 230, formats the chosen
advertisement element in accordance with the markup records that
has a variance in ad space dimensions closest to the chosen
advertisement element's ad space dimensions and was created by the
current user.
[0043] If, at step 222, the system determines that the chosen
advertisement element has an image, at step 232, the system filters
out the markup records that do not have images. At step 234, the
system queries the filtered results to determine, at step 236, if
any of the remaining markup records were created by the current
user and have image dimensions within 10% variance of the image
dimensions in the chosen advertisement element. If there is not at
least one remaining markup records that was created by the current
user and has image dimensions within 10% variance of the image
dimensions in the chosen advertisement element, at step 238, the
system formats the chosen advertisement element in accordance with
the markup record that has the closets variance in image dimension
and/or a markup record created by another user. On the other hand,
if there is at least one remaining markup records that was created
by the current user and has image dimensions within 10% variance of
the image dimensions in the chosen advertisement element, at step
240, the system formats the chosen advertisement element in
accordance with the markup record that has the closets variance in
image dimension and was created by the current user.
[0044] Returning to step 212, if at least one of the markup records
has similar or proportional ad space dimensions (e.g. height to
width ratio) to the chosen advertisement element's ad space
dimensions, the system, at step 242 filters out the markup records
that do not have similar or proportional ad space dimensions. At
step 244, the system determines if the chosen advertisement element
contains an image. If the chosen advertisement element does not
contain an image, at step 246, the system queries the results, and,
at step 248, determines the number of markup records that have
similar or proportional ad space dimensions to the chosen
advertisement element's ad space dimensions and were created by the
current user. If there are no markup records that have similar or
proportional ad space dimensions to the chosen advertisement
element's ad space dimensions and were created by the current user,
at step 250, the system formats the chosen advertisement element in
accordance with the markup records that has an ad space dimensions
closest to the chosen advertisement element's ad space dimensions
and was created by another user. However, if there is at least one
markup record that has similar or proportional ad space dimensions
to the chosen advertisement element's ad space dimensions and was
created by the current user, the system, at step 252, formats the
chosen advertisement element in accordance with the markup records
that has an ad space dimensions closest to the chosen advertisement
element's ad space dimensions and was created by the current
user.
[0045] If, at step 244, the system determines that the chosen
advertisement element has an image, at step 254, the system filters
out the markup records that do not have images. At step 256, the
system queries the filtered results to determine, at step 258, if
any of the remaining markup records were created by the current
user and have image dimensions within 10% variance of the image
dimensions in the chosen advertisement element. If there is not at
least one remaining markup records was created by the current user
and has image dimensions within 10% variance of the image
dimensions in the chosen advertisement element, at step 260, the
system formats the chosen advertisement element in accordance with
the markup record that has the closets variance in image dimension
and/or a markup record created by another user. On the other hand,
if there is at least one remaining markup records that was created
by the current user and has image dimensions within 10% variance of
the image dimensions in the chosen advertisement element, at step
262, the system formats the chosen advertisement element in
accordance with the markup record that has the closets variance in
image dimension and was created by the current user.
[0046] Method 200 is repeated for each chosen advertisement element
until each chosen advertisement element is arranged and formatted
on the advertisement. After each advertisement element is arranged
and formatted on the advertisement, the user will have the
opportunity to reformat the advertisement element. The system will
record each reformatted advertisement element and save the data as
a new markup record, thereby adding to the database of markup
records and providing better rendering of advertisement elements in
the future.
[0047] In a preferred embodiment, the user is provided with an
opportunity to preview the advertisement as it will look when
printed. One way to provide this opportunity is with a "preview"
button which upon clicking will automatically display or print an
image that looks very much like the final advertisement as it
should be printed. The system may also electronically display a
proof to be accepted before printing an ad. A proof may also be
available in the "Archives" section of the program after publishing
the ad prior to printing. The proof may also be emailed or provided
electronically.
[0048] When the advertisement has been finalized (i.e., when the
template has been designed and edited to include all of the
products and information that the user decided to include), the
user may review the preview as displayed by the computer or the
system may generate a hard-copy preview or printer's proof for the
user to review. How and where the proof is generated depends upon
the advertising format that is being used. For example, for a black
and white advertisement, the proof may be generated at a printer
operated by the user (on the premises of the user). In certain
embodiments, the user can print a low-resolution version of the ad.
If a multi-colored glossy circular is desired, the proof may be
generated by a professional printer that is located remotely
relative to the user. To generate a preview, the present invention
may transmit electronically the advertisement to a commercial
printer, who may process and create an electronic preview or print
a hard-copy proof of the final advertisement. In certain
embodiments, the user can zoom in and/or out of an ad page.
[0049] A user may review the preview to confirm that the draft
advertisement is acceptable in terms of content, design, quality,
etc. If the user approves of the preview, the final advertisements
may be printed, and preferably, in accordance with any printing
specification that may have been provided by the user and/or
generated by the program. In addition, the invention may offer the
user an automatic checking feature of prices, quantities, inventory
availability (e.g. in store availability or availability from
distributor or manufacturer facilities) or other options (e.g.
size, color, composition) against preset or predetermined
parameters. In certain embodiments, once an ad is complete, the
system can save the changes to the ad made by the user as a data
file and can deliver the file to other sources for further
processing and production. The ad may be output as an electronic
file, for example, the file output may be a pdf, eps, tiff, jpeg,
gif, png, mpeg, mp3, mp4, avi, mov, or other applicable file
format. For example the system can deliver the file to point of
sale systems, main frame computer systems, graphic artists for
manual creative development, data-driven output devices, etc. In
another embodiment of the present invention, a user may select
files to be processed and presented to a target audience through a
website, digital display, electronic mail, cellular or wireless
technology, etc. The order, sequence, length of time displayed, and
other advertisement display functions are controlled by a user
through the system.
[0050] In one embodiment of the present invention, the methods and
systems may provide delivery options. For example, a user may chose
from a plurality of delivery options that include a) a direct
mailing to potential users whose names and addresses are provided
by the user, b) a direct shipping to a newspaper publisher, and c)
a direct shipping to the user at one or multiple locations. When a
direct mailing is selected, the user may preferably provide a data
file of names and addresses of persons who will receive hard copies
or electronic direct mailings. The data file may be provided, for
example, via the Internet or a storage media (e.g. hard drives, zip
disks, CDs, diskettes, flash drives).
[0051] Furthermore, the system may integrate with third parties.
The integration may include ordering, producing, and/or
distributing advertisements. The system can provide data and files
necessary to complete a transaction from start to finish. For
example, the system can integrate with international printing,
packaging and delivery services, direct mail distribution services,
stock photography and image services, postcard printing and
delivery services, and email marketing services. In addition to
advertising service providers, a third party may also be other
businesses, manufacturers, distributors, etc., in affiliated or
interested industries. In certain embodiments, the third party has
access to the system. The third party can upload data and
advertisement elements, mange the data, and create pre-merchandised
or suggested ads that are posted to users. When users login, the
users may be alerted to these new ads and may be able to customize
them for the user's specific businesses and needs.
[0052] Other embodiments and uses of the invention will be apparent
to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification
and practice of the invention disclosed herein. All references
cited herein, including all publications, U.S. and foreign patents
and patent applications, are specifically and entirely incorporated
by reference. It is intended that the specification and examples be
considered exemplary only with the true scope and spirit of the
invention indicated by the following claims. Furthermore, the term
"comprising" includes the terms "consisting of" and "consisting
essentially of," and the terms comprising, including, and
containing are not intended to be limiting.
* * * * *