U.S. patent application number 15/881615 was filed with the patent office on 2018-06-07 for methods for cross-market brand advertising, content metric analysis, and placement recommendations.
The applicant listed for this patent is Excalibur IP, LLC. Invention is credited to Scott Bedard, Anthony D. Chen, Shravan K. Goli, Ankarino Lara, Alexei Stoliartchouk.
Application Number | 20180158096 15/881615 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40509432 |
Filed Date | 2018-06-07 |
United States Patent
Application |
20180158096 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lara; Ankarino ; et
al. |
June 7, 2018 |
Methods for Cross-Market Brand Advertising, Content Metric
Analysis, and Placement Recommendations
Abstract
A computer-implemented method for processing and optimizing
selection of placement of advertising content related to a brand in
websites is provided. The method includes receiving from the user,
attributes of an advertisement to be placed on a brand-centric
website that relates to the brand, and receiving selections for
types of websites to place the advertisement. The method further
includes obtaining metrics from selected websites and historical
performance for similar advertisements when placed on the selected
websites. The method includes processing the obtained metrics and
historical performance to define an advertising model. The
advertising model defines a score correlated to effectiveness of
the advertisement. Optimizing the advertising model is then
performed to define a recommended advertising model, where the
recommended advertising model defines optimal selections of
websites for placement of the advertisement. The optimizing uses
multivariable optimization to correlate the obtained metrics to a
desired optimization criteria.
Inventors: |
Lara; Ankarino; (San
Francisco, CA) ; Bedard; Scott; (San Francisco,
CA) ; Chen; Anthony D.; (Santa Monica, CA) ;
Goli; Shravan K.; (San Jose, CA) ; Stoliartchouk;
Alexei; (San Francisco, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Excalibur IP, LLC |
New York |
NY |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
40509432 |
Appl. No.: |
15/881615 |
Filed: |
January 26, 2018 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
11863187 |
Sep 27, 2007 |
9898753 |
|
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15881615 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/0244 20130101;
G06Q 30/02 20130101 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 30/02 20060101
G06Q030/02 |
Claims
1. A method comprising: receiving attributes of an advertisement to
be placed on one of a plurality of brand-centric websites, the
brand-centric websites focused on a brand; presenting the
brand-centric websites to a remote computer based on the
attributes; receiving a selection of the one of the brand-centric
websites from the remote computer; analyzing the one of the
brand-centric websites to search a computer network to generate
suggestions of content-related websites in which an advertisement
is to be placed, wherein the content-related websites in which the
advertisement is to be placed has less information regarding the
brand than that in the one of the brand-centric websites in which
the advertisement is to be placed, wherein data for generating
content of the one of the brand-centric websites and the
content-related websites is obtained by a harvester, wherein a data
type processor is configured to classify the data into video,
audio, and text to generate classified data, wherein the classified
data is stored in an entertainment content repository, wherein the
content-related websites request the classified data via
corresponding application programming interfaces from the content
repository; receiving a selection of one or more of the
content-related websites from the remote computer; obtaining
metrics for similar advertisements when placed on a plurality of
selected websites, the selected websites including the one of the
brand-centric websites and the one or more of the content-related
websites; processing the metrics to define an advertising model,
the advertising model having a score correlated to effectiveness of
the advertisement; and optimizing the advertising model to define a
recommended advertising model, the recommended advertising model
defining optimal suggestions of websites including the one of the
brand-centric websites that has the classified data obtained from
the entertainment content repository and in which the advertisement
is to be placed.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the optimizing of the advertising
model includes executing multivariable optimization to enable
emphasis or non-emphasis of selection criteria.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the attributes include a type of
product or service to be advertised, or a marketing budget of an
advertiser, or a type of the advertisement, or a target customer of
the advertisement, or a combination of two or more thereof.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the harvester is configured to
obtain the data for generating the content from a plurality of
third-party data feeds, wherein the third-party data feeds have
information about a movie regarding the brand or a game regarding
the brand or a television show regarding the brand or a combination
of two or more thereof.
5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: monitoring user
interaction of a plurality of users with one or more modules of the
one of the brand-centric websites; accessing a plurality of
profiles of the plurality of users interacting with the one or more
modules; suggesting changes to the one or more modules based on the
user interaction and the profiles of the plurality of users.
6. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising: monitoring
user interaction of a plurality of users with one or more modules
on the one of the brand-centric websites; accessing a plurality of
profiles of the plurality of users interacting with the one or more
modules; allowing access to information regarding the user
interaction and the user profiles to a producer of the one of the
brand-centric websites; receiving modifications to the one or more
modules regarding the brand from the producer of the one of the
brand-centric websites.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the metrics include revenues
generated by placing the similar advertisements on the selected
websites, or demographics of a plurality of users accessing the
selected websites, or a number of clicks of the similar
advertisements placed on the selected websites, or sales of
products or services from the similar advertisements placed on the
selected websites, or a combination of two or more thereof.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the similar advertisements
advertise the brand.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein said processing the metrics is
performed to determine a demographic of users interested in
purchasing a product or service advertised by the
advertisement.
10. A system comprising: an ad processing server in communication
with a remote computer configured to be accessed by an advertiser,
the ad processing server configured to receive attributes from the
remote computer of an advertisement to be placed in one of a
plurality of brand-centric websites, wherein the ad processing
server is configured to provide the brand-centric websites to the
remote computer based on the attributes, wherein the ad processing
server is configured to receive a selection of the one of the
brand-centric websites from the remote computer, wherein the ad
processing server is configured to analyze the one of the
brand-centric websites to search a computer network to generate
suggestions of content-related websites in which the advertisement
is to be placed, wherein the content-related websites in which the
advertisement is to be placed has less information regarding a
brand than that in the one of the brand-centric websites in which
the advertisement is to be placed; a harvester coupled to the ad
processing server, wherein the harvester is configured to obtain
data for generating content of the one of the brand-centric
websites and the content-related websites; a data type processor
coupled to the harvester, wherein the data type processor is
configured to classify the data into video, audio, and text to
generate classified data; a content repository coupled to the data
type processor, wherein the content repository is configured to
store the classified data, wherein the content-related websites
request the classified data via corresponding application
programming interfaces from the content repository, a metrics
server coupled to the ad processing server, wherein the metrics
server is configured to receive a selection of the one or more of
the content-related websites, wherein the metrics server is
configured to process metrics for similar advertisements when
placed on a plurality of selected websites, wherein the selected
websites include the one of the brand-centric websites and the one
or more of the content-related websites, wherein the metrics server
is configured to process the metrics to define an advertising
model, wherein the advertising model has a score correlated to
effectiveness of the advertisement; and an optimization engine
coupled to the metrics server, wherein the optimization engine is
configured to optimize the advertising model to define a
recommended advertising model, wherein the recommended advertising
model defines optimal suggestions of websites including the one of
the brand-centric websites that has the classified data obtained
from the entertainment content repository and in which the
advertisement is to be placed.
11. The system of claim 10, wherein the advertising model is
optimized by performed multivariable optimization to enable
emphasis or non-emphasis of selection criteria.
12. The system of claim 10, wherein the attributes include a type
of product or service to be advertised, or a marketing budget of an
advertiser, or a type of the advertisement, or a target customer of
the advertisement, or a combination of two or more thereof.
13. The system of claim 10, wherein the harvester is configured to
obtain the data for generating the content from a plurality of
third-party data feeds, wherein the third-party data feeds have
information about a movie regarding the brand or a game regarding
the brand or a television show regarding the brand or a combination
of two or more thereof.
14. The system of claim 10, further comprising: a monitoring
processor coupled to the metrics server, wherein the monitoring
processor is configured to monitor user interaction of a plurality
of users with one or more modules of the one of the brand-centric
websites; a user profile processor coupled to the metrics server,
wherein the user profile processor is configured to access a
plurality of profiles of the plurality of users interacting with
the one or more modules; a suggestion processor coupled to the
monitoring processor and the user profile processor, wherein the
suggestion processor is configured to suggest changes to the one or
more modules based on the user interaction and the profiles of the
plurality of users.
15. The system of claim 10, further comprising: a monitoring
processor coupled to the metrics server, wherein the monitoring
processor is configured to monitor user interaction of a plurality
of users with one or more modules on the one of the brand-centric
websites; a user profile processor coupled to the metrics server,
wherein the user profile processor is configured to access a
plurality of profiles of the plurality of users interacting with
the one or more modules, wherein the content repository is
configured to store information regarding the user interaction and
the profiles, wherein access to the information regarding the user
interaction and the user profiles is provided to a producer remote
computer that is configured to be accessed by a producer of the one
of the brand-centric websites, a modification processor coupled to
the producer remote computer, wherein the modification processor is
configured to receive from the producer remote computer changes
regarding the brand to be made to the one of the brand-centric
websites.
16. The system of claim 10, wherein the metrics include revenues
generated by placing the similar advertisements on the selected
websites, or demographics of a plurality of users accessing the
selected websites, or a number of clicks of the similar
advertisements placed on the selected websites, or sales of
products or services from the similar advertisements placed on the
selected websites, or a combination of two or more thereof.
17. The system of claim 10, wherein the similar advertisements
advertise the brand.
18. The system of claim 10, wherein the metrics server is
configured to process the metrics for the similar advertisements to
determine a demographic of users interested in purchasing a product
or service advertised by the advertisement.
19. A computer readable medium containing program instructions,
wherein execution of the program instructions by one or more
processors of a computer system causes the one or more processors
to execute a plurality of operations of: receiving attributes of an
advertisement to be placed on one of a plurality of brand-centric
websites, the brand-centric websites focused on a brand; presenting
the brand-centric websites to a remote computer based on the
attributes; receiving a selection of the one of the brand-centric
websites from the remote computer; analyzing the one of the
brand-centric websites to search a computer network to generate
suggestions of content-related websites in which an advertisement
is to be placed, wherein the content-related websites in which the
advertisement is to be placed has less information regarding the
brand than that in the one of the brand-centric websites in which
the advertisement is to be placed, wherein data for generating
content of the one of the brand-centric websites and the
content-related websites is obtained by a harvester, wherein a data
type processor is configured to classify the data into video,
audio, and text to generate classified data, wherein the classified
data is stored in an entertainment content repository, wherein the
content-related websites request the classified data via
corresponding application programming interfaces from the content
repository; receiving a selection of one or more of the
content-related websites from the remote computer; obtaining
metrics for similar advertisements when placed on a plurality of
selected websites, the selected websites including the one of the
brand-centric websites and the one or more of the content-related
websites; processing the metrics to define an advertising model,
the advertising model having a score correlated to effectiveness of
the advertisement; and optimizing the advertising model to define a
recommended advertising model, the recommended advertising model
defining optimal suggestions of websites including the one of the
brand-centric websites that has the classified data obtained from
the entertainment content repository and in which the advertisement
is to be placed.
20. The computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the
optimizing of the advertising model includes executing
multivariable optimization to enable emphasis or non-emphasis of
selection criteria.
Description
CLAIM OF PRIORITY
[0001] This application is a continuation application and claims
priority to and benefit, under 35 U.S.C. .sctn. 120, of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 11/863,187 filed on Sep. 27, 2007, and
entitled "Methods for Cross-Market Brand Advertising, Content
Metric Analysis, and Placement Recommendations", which is
incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0002] This application is related to co-pending: (1) patent
application Ser. No. 11/736,560, filed on Apr. 17, 2007, entitled
"Systems and Methods for Managing a Brand universe for User
Information, Brand Related Marketing and User Interactivity", and
now abandoned, (2) patent application Ser. No. 11/736,571 filed on
Apr. 17, 2007, entitled "Methods For Promoting Brand-Centric
Advertising and Managing the Same", and now abandoned, (3) patent
application Ser. No. 11/863,204, filed on Sep. 27, 2007, entitled
"Methods for Managing Content for Brand Related Media, and now
issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,290,982, and (4) patent application Ser.
No. 11/863,202, filed on Sep. 27, 2007, entitled "Methods of
Ranking Content for Brand Centric Websites", and now abandoned,
each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its
entirety.
FIELD
[0003] The present invention relates to methods for generating and
managing brand data from various sources and to the access and
management of the brand content by brand owner or brand
managers.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
[0004] The computing industry has seen many advances in recent
years, and such advances have produced a multitude products and
services. Internet websites are examples of products and services,
which are created to give users access to particular types of
services, data, or searching capabilities. Today, websites can be
readily created by most individuals desiring to post information or
provide access or connectivity to other data. Websites are also
created, updated, and supported to provide constantly updated
current event information, news, and other information. This data
is highly managed and processed so that its presentation can be
easily displayed on web browsers or other Internet connected
devices.
[0005] Currently to date, however, content data is presented on
websites for specific content-type theme, and several brands may be
presented (especially if the website is a commercial website).
Although some media, news and entertainment websites attempt to
cover lots of information and on many different topics, the content
related to any brand mentioned on the site is only in limited
scale. If users are interested in finding more information about a
specific brand, the user must begin an intensive search for that
brand content. Unfortunately for the user, the search of a brand
may turn up many pages, websites, and sources that speak about the
brand, but in order to gain the best understanding about the
particular brand, the user will have to move from site-to-site, to
assemble a full understanding or gain the information they
desire.
[0006] The user, in this example, would feel disconnected with the
brand, when all is said and done, and the user may find him or
herself exhausted from the search and sometimes useless reading and
web navigation. As a result, these users, although they may have an
interest or desire to lean more about a brand, will not find the
process inviting nor incite a connection to the brand. Furthermore,
if other users also seek access to similar knowledge about the same
brand, those other users will not have knowledge about others
having or desiring the same experience. Consequently, user
experiences regarding particular brands tend to happen in a
relative vacuum.
[0007] It is in this context that embodiments of the invention
arise.
SUMMARY
[0008] Embodiments of the present invention provide methods and
computer implemented systems that provide content to be obtained,
rendered, and produced to define a brand centric site, in the form
of an internet site. The internet site will be accessible by any
device having access to the internet, whether it be traditional
desktop computers, wireless portable devices, televisions and any
device capable of obtaining the content and displaying the content
for user consumption. A brand centric site is a site generated by a
system that obtains (or uses instances of) brand related data from
disparate content sources over the internet, assembles the content
at a centric and dynamic location, and enables interactivity and
brand data contribution (in terms of content, feedback, ratings,
postings, uploads, comments, etc.). The brand contribution can be
by the brand owners, brand site managers, users, advertisers, etc.
As the system pulls content from users themselves, disparate sites
and data content channels, to dynamically generate brand sites, and
users of the sites are encouraged to participate more and
eventually grow into a passionate fan of the brand, as supported by
the brand site.
[0009] A benefit of having users fully engaged in the brand is that
brand owners will immediately have a pool of users that are likely
to be receptive to new or additional brand products and services.
The brand products and services may also be tangentially related
products and services, which may see high reception from the fan
base of particular brand sites. A benefit from the consumer's
standpoint is, that the consumer feels in control of his
participation in the brand site. For example, the consumer can rate
content, cause content to be removed or promoted, the consumer can
add his or her personal contribution to the brand site, and the
community can monitor the brand site for content not acceptable to
the site. Over time, users are also provided the flexibility to
customize their likes and dislikes to cause changes to the
presentation of the site content or deletion. If users are not
registered to a particular brand site, the brand site will
dynamically change in content and presentation depending on the
community of user's feedback and interactivity. If a user is signed
in to the site, the content and presentation can change in
presentation or existence depending on the user's behavior or
selected preferences.
[0010] By user behavior, it is meant that the system will monitor
user activity and determine best placements and presentation of
content, to best pull more user interactivity from the user. If the
user is signed in, the content placement and its presentation on
the site can be controlled by both the user's interactivity
behavior and also by the interactivity of the community. In some
cases, the user will only desire personalization based on his or
her own preferences.
[0011] It should be appreciated that the present invention can be
implemented in numerous ways, such as a process, an apparatus, a
system, a device or a method on a computer readable medium. Several
inventive embodiments of the present invention are described
below.
[0012] In one embodiment, a method for defining advertising content
related to a brand is provided. The method includes defining
attributes of an advertisement to be placed on a brand-centric
website that relates to the brand. Then, selecting types of
websites to place the advertisement. The types of websites do not
have to be brand-centric websites, but should include content
related to the brand. The method obtains metrics from selected
websites and historical performance for similar advertisements when
placed on the selected websites. Then, the method processes the
obtained metrics and historical performance to preliminarily define
an advertising model, where the advertising model defines a score
correlated to effectiveness of the advertisement. The method also
includes optimizing the advertising model to define a recommended
advertising model. The recommended advertising model defines
optimal selections of websites for placement of the
advertisement.
[0013] In another embodiment, a computer-implemented method for
processing and optimizing selection of placement, of advertising
content related to a brand, in websites of a network is provided.
The computer-implemented method is processed by a server in
response to communication from a user that is connected to the
server over the Internet. The method includes receiving from the
user, attributes of an advertisement to be placed on a
brand-centric website that relates to the brand, and also receiving
selections for types of websites to place the advertisement. The
types of websites do not have to be brand-centric websites, but
should include content related to the brand. Then, the method
includes obtaining metrics from selected websites and historical
performance for similar advertisements when placed on the selected
websites. The method includes processing the obtained metrics and
historical performance to preliminarily define an advertising
model. The advertising model defines a score correlated to
effectiveness of the advertisement. Optimizing the advertising
model is then performed to define a recommended advertising model,
where the recommended advertising model defines optimal selections
of websites for placement of the advertisement. The optimizing uses
multivariable optimization to correlate the obtained metrics to a
desired optimization criteria.
[0014] In still another embodiment, a system for processing and
optimizing selection of placement, of advertising content related
to a brand, in websites of a network, is provided. The system
includes an ad processing server in communication with a remote
computer accessed by a user. The ad processing server receives
attributes from the remote computer of an advertisement to be
placed in relation to a brand-centric website. The ad processing
server receives selections for types of websites to place the
advertisement, and the types of websites do not have to be
brand-centric websites, but should include content related to the
brand. The system also includes a metrics server for processing
metrics for the selected websites and historical performance for
similar advertisements when placed on the selected websites. The
metrics server processing metrics and historical performance being
used to preliminarily define an advertising model, such that the
advertising model defines a score correlated to effectiveness of
the advertisement. An optimization engine is provided to process
the metrics and historical performance. The optimization engine is
configured to perform multivariable optimization to generate a
recommended advertising model, and the recommended advertising
model defines optimal selections of websites for placement of the
advertisement. The brand-centric website that relates to the brand
is defined by one or more modules, each module contains one or more
of text, images, video clips, or graphics, and each module includes
at least some content related to the brand.
[0015] Other aspects of the invention will become apparent from the
following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the
principles of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] The invention may best be understood by reference to the
following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings.
[0017] FIG. 1 illustrates how brand events shape or impact consumer
interest, in accordance with one embodiment.
[0018] FIG. 2 illustrates layers of content that can be accessed to
generate a brand site, in accordance with one embodiment.
[0019] FIG. 3A illustrates an example brand site, which accesses
instances of brand content from separate websites, in accordance
with one embodiment.
[0020] FIG. 3B illustrates an example of content that may be
accessed to generate a brand site, in accordance with one
embodiment.
[0021] FIG. 4 illustrates a system diagram of the brand site
components and modules, in accordance with one embodiment.
[0022] FIG. 5A illustrates a system diagram of components that are
accessed interfaced to define brand content that is used to
generate a brand site, in accordance with one embodiment.
[0023] FIG. 5B illustrates a more detailed diagram of a system that
manages access and data for generation of brand sites, in
accordance with one embodiment.
[0024] FIG. 5C illustrates a bi-directional graph of relationships,
in accordance with one embodiment.
[0025] FIG. 5D illustrates related data and instances, in
accordance with one embodiment.
[0026] FIG. 6 illustrates an example brand site, in accordance with
one embodiment.
[0027] FIGS. 7A-7C illustrate example brand modules used to define
a brand site, in accordance with one embodiment.
[0028] FIGS. 8A-8B illustrate examples of brand sites and
advertisement integration, in accordance with one embodiment.
[0029] FIG. 9 illustrates a brand "persona" that is used to
generate a brand site, in accordance with one embodiment.
[0030] FIGS. 10A-10C illustrate examples of ad content being
associate with particular brand content, and its association across
brand instances, in accordance with one embodiment.
[0031] FIGS. 11A-11E illustrate example advertising interfaces, in
accordance with one embodiment.
[0032] FIG. 12 illustrates a graphical representation of a
plurality of instance-level websites, as related to acceptance of
proposed advertising, in accordance with one embodiment of the
present invention.
[0033] FIGS. 13 and 14 identify a process for defining an ad and
for shaping the identification of an optimized set of websites, for
placing an ad.
[0034] FIG. 15 shows a relationship between a brand site and the
network sites that have some content related to the brand, in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
[0035] FIG. 16 illustrates a system diagram of servers and
communication with the servers to process the optimized recommended
ad model, in accordance with one embodiment of the present
invention.
[0036] FIG. 17 illustrates example input parameters, defining the
user's goals, which can be used to generate the optimized
recommended ad model.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0037] Broadly speaking, the embodiments of the present invention
provide systems and methods for enabling brand centric
presentation, management, and interaction with media related to
particular brands. Each particular brand is managed at and by a
single brand site (referred to herein also as "brand universe" and
"brand world"), that collects brand centric data, news,
information, services, products, current events, user
interactivity, etc., from disparate channels (other sites), and
blends them together into the single brand site. The content
obtained from other channels will represent an instance of the
content, as that content can exist in both the other sites and on
the brand site. Thus, updates at the brand site or at the
originating sites will populate so that the best most current
information is maintained in relation to a brand site.
[0038] Brand universe is a system that is designed to serve
passionate fans of specific entertainment brands by providing them
a single and immersive place to "hang out" together online. Brand
universe is designed to meet a fan's emotional need for a
connection with a brand in addition to filling a functional need
for information or services. As these needs are filled, a unified
interface to the brand is provided, which assists in deepening and
strengthening relations with existing fans of the brand and also
assist in introducing a unified brand view to new consumers. These
new customers, by virtue of the dynamic experience, will be
converted into fans of the brand. As users (e.g., fans) interact
with the unified brand site(s), user interactivity can be tracked
to develop metrics regarding uses, likes, dislikes, interactions,
and commercial benefits to supporters of the brand (e.g.,
advertisers). This tracking of consumer/brand transactions will
enable functional reporting of these metrics. These metrics can
then be used by marketers of products related to the brand, to
determine likelihood of success and revenue generation if products
or services are marketed on particular brand sites.
[0039] In the following description, numerous specific details are
set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the
present invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in
the art that the present invention may be practiced without some or
all of these specific details. In other instances, well known
process operations have not been described in detail in order not
to unnecessarily obscure the present invention. Several exemplary
embodiments of the invention will now be described in detail with
reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0040] The following description will be broken down into four
parts, namely, a System and Functional Overview in (I), a System
Management, Content Sharing and Content Contribution description in
(II), Cross-Market Brand Ad Placement and Optimization in (III) and
a Brand Site Product and Computer-implemented Structure in
(IV).
I. The Brand Universe System and Functional Overview
[0041] In one embodiment, a notion of brand universe is that it
powers the place where users spend time between the major
transactional events upon which their brand relationship is based.
Thus it "fills in the gaps" in their relationship with the brand.
This can be illustrated in FIG. 1, which defines a graph 100. Graph
100 defines release events 102 for different products of the brand,
or services or media related to a particular brand. Consumer
interest without brand universe support would be defined by plot
104, where consumer interest wanes between peaks, defined by the
release events 102. Consumer interest with brand universe support
is defined by plot 106, where consumer interest is smoothed out
more, supporting those times between release events 106.
[0042] Thus, by providing a unified and dynamic brand site where
fans can hang out online, brand universe smoothes the levels of
consumer attention paid to a brand between release events 106
(e.g., transactional events), allowing a "base" level of attention
that is higher than the existing state, as well as an ongoing means
of communication regarding new brand related transactional
opportunities, including micro-transaction opportunities that
otherwise could not be effectively marketed. For example, the brand
universe site can provide fans of Shrek.TM. with the ability to
download a new Shrek.TM. 3 theme for their desktop. As a standalone
feature, this type of transaction could not be efficiently marketed
using television, outdoor, print, or radio, but could easily and
efficiently be promoted to fans connected to Shrek.TM. through the
brand universe site. In one embodiment, brand sites are defined
from stitched together community features from across different
content sites. By way of example, the content sites may be the
sites created and managed by Yahoo, Inc..TM. (e.g., Answers.TM.,
BIX, Flickr.TM., News, Forums, etc.). Other content can come from
communities, news, feeds, etc., where such content is presently
scattered among disparate sites and networked sources. Of course,
the content can come from other sites not managed by Yahoo,
Inc.TM..
[0043] In one embodiment, as brand universe places primacy first
and foremost on the interest of the fan, the experience is always
context-oriented versus category or function oriented. The brand is
at the center and "build out" an experience around that brand. This
is illustrated in FIG. 2, that defines a context diagram 120 for a
brand 122. For each brand site or world, the context diagram 120
defines the various layers of abstraction, which all point to the
brand 122. In this example, the layers include, without limitation
and without restriction to ordering: (1) advertising and promotion;
(2) user generated content; (3) third party content; (4) Yahoo!
content; (5) official content of the brand; (6) brand content 122.
For each brand site, associated with each brand, the layers of
abstraction for context are applied. As shown, four brands 124 are
illustrated, for which a brand site world is created. Brand site
worlds are shown for: (a) a television show "LOST.TM." 124a, (b)
actor "Will Smith" 124b; (c) "Nintendo Gaming.TM." 124c; and (d)
the character "Shrek.TM." 124d.
[0044] Using the model of context diagram 120, it can be shown that
an infinite variety of content and services may be built up around
a core brand. However, in accordance with one embodiment, it is a
goal to have the experience oriented around the subject brand
versus the individual elements or other brands. This focus enables
the brand site to "maintain an illusion" that the consumer is
interacting with their brand, rather than utilizing a bunch of
generic functions. For example, where compromises have to be made
to test a new technology or to make an integration commitment, they
should be made carefully and with a clear path to complete brand
integration.
[0045] Major brands (e.g., products and/or services) have multiple
manifestations in multiple media categories, and precise knowledge
of these instances and their relationship to the brand world site
(and to each other) is essential. For instance, it is not enough to
know that Brand X has video games, a TV show, trading cards; but it
is also essential to know each specific SKU, episode, card series,
etc. This specific knowledge is preferred because it provides the
basis upon which to track user interest and to drive transactions.
This information also provides the mechanism where users can be
made aware of additional brand related-content and services (i.e.,
Shrek.TM. 3 the movie is the entry point, but Shrek.TM. the brand
site, incorporates the movie, the games, the merchandise, the
videos, the mash ups, etc. and the Shrek.TM. community).
[0046] Thus, all accessible instances of the brand "roll up" (i.e.,
connect) to the "brand site", but the brand site is larger than the
sum of its parts, as it offers the opportunity for fans to go
beyond the tangible manifestations to the idealized, theoretical
"essence" of the brand. For instance, Nintendo's.TM. "Mario.TM.",
shown as a brand site 124c of FIG. 2, may exist in many specific
games, but the idea of Mario.TM. is bigger than any single game or
group of games, and in fact has its own unique qualities in the
mind of individual fans. The Brand universe system is working at
its very best when it offer experiences and tools that allow fans
to transcend the specific and move into the idealized or expanded
concept of the brand via interaction with the system and with each
other.
[0047] Because brand universe is configured to function 24/7, and
with or without the help of the brand owner, the system is designed
to generate a steady stream of high quality fan content. This
stream, fed by the passion and creativity of the fan base, is one
facet which "fills in the gaps" between traditional fan/brand
transactions. As a result, fan content must not be treated as an
afterthought of throwaway add on, but instead as the "star of the
show". Therefore careful thought and attention is given to the
"pull" components which generate the content and the "push"
components which identify the best, and subsequently promote that
content, both within the Yahoo.TM. Inc. environment and outside,
via portable representations and viral components.
[0048] Specific reference is made to Yahoo's.TM. content, but it
should be understood that the content can be managed by other
entities, such as media companies, Internet companies, combinations
of media and internet companies, and the like. Thus, although the
brand universe system makes use of the media content already
managed by sites within Yahoo.TM. Inc., these content sites should
be viewed only as exemplary, as the system can well function when
supported by other entities.
[0049] In one embodiment, it is important to have a correct sense
of scale when pulling content from fans. To manage this, certain
levels of interaction at the "instance" level are provided. For
instance, the system will provide one set of interactions at Star
Wars.TM. Episode 1.TM. HD-DVD; another for Star Wars.TM., Episode
1.TM.; another for Star Wars.TM., the Original Trilogy.TM.; another
for Star Wars.TM., and another for Lucas Film.TM., and another for
Chewbacca.TM. or Hans Solo.TM.. Thus, the brand universe system is
designed to precisely invoke fan content when it is most effective
to the overall brand site. Effectiveness can be monitored based on
user interaction or can be judged based on past performance on
individual sites or on other brand sites.
[0050] Most interfaces around entertainment media objects throw an
incredible number of choices at the user, usually in the form of
countless tabs, links and promo boxes. A brand world site defined
by the Brand universe system offers a simpler approach. Each
interaction is carefully optimized to deliver the best possible
user experience given what is known about the users needs,
eliminating extraneous information and navigation in the process.
At every step of the way, the brand universe system offers a "best
guess" at the consumer's next need and makes that best guess
obvious and inviting to the user via a large, highly visible
promotion. By narrowing the "next step" invitation in this way,
more time and effort is placed on this spot on the site. The brand
universe system will therefore enable testing and tracking to fully
understand the relationship between an offer and its context, in
terms of generating user response.
[0051] In one embodiment, the interfaces provided by the brand
universe system take the users' previous visits into account and
will generate an appropriate reaction. Thus, the same content is
not blindly promoted to the user and instead, by looking at what
the user has already done and what has happened since they last
visited, a best guess promotion is placed in front of them, to thus
promote what they will want to do next. These are informed,
personal guess--not just a list of most popular or most recent
items, or items that strike the fancy of a human editor. The best
guess promotion can be incorporated into each page of the brand
site, not just top level pages, thus providing a full and rich
interactive experience to the fan of the brand.
[0052] In one aspect of the system, the scale of promotion is
responsive to individual tastes and visit histories. To fully
customize the experience, the brand universe system defines
creative page placement of content, which is auto generated.
Promotional auto generation happens naturally through the addition
of content, through the identification of content as particularly
good or relevant, or in response to a marketing spend. The
promotional engine is automated--creating units and placements
on-the-fly as new material becomes available. The system also
drives the inclusion of a specific sampling component that puts its
own assumptions and biases to the test--giving new material a
chance to be successful in "limited release"--and aids in early
detection against new consumer trends.
[0053] The promotional system of brand universe is configured in an
automated manner, but the system will enable human "overrides".
Human overrides are important, as the system can grow and change in
an automatic manner, as content data changes. However, promotion
data can be added, changed, tracked and optimized continuously
(e.g., daily, real-time, etc.). The promotion data can be provided
by brand owners, brand fans, advertisers that see a possible link
between their products or services and the brand or the brand's
demographics.
[0054] The brand universe system, by its created brand sites can
expose users to new brands that they might be interested in, but
might have forgotten or not known about in the first place. The
brand universe system is configured to do this naturally and on
demand in response to partnerships with brand owners who want to
create a higher level of visibility for their brands by "injecting"
them into the system.
[0055] In one embodiment, and as a result, most promotional areas
can contain a mix of paid and non paid (i.e. best guess) promotion,
though neither will be necessarily marked as such, particularly
where endemic brands are concerned. One aspect of particular
benefit to the brand site (generated by the Brand universe system)
is that the mix between paid and non-paid placement is
substantially balanced at all times. The user on a brand site
should not notice or think anything is "wrong" (or forced on them)
when an endemic brand is promoted for revenue related reasons.
Thus, the integrate is natural, seamless, and more effective than
simply placing a disjointed ad in front of a user. In one
embodiment, all paid, endemic, non-media brand promotion in these
mixed areas will keep users within the site, versus sending users
to other sites (i.e. the user does not click on something that
looks like an internal link and end up on an external site).
[0056] In one aspect of the invention, the brand universe system,
for particular brand sites, can encompasses all entertainment
brands and sub brands. From a promotional point of view, all brands
are not created equal. Some will appeal disproportionately to
certain segments of society, and where those segments are desired
the Brand universe system places special automated emphasis. That
is, the brand universe system self-adjusts to provide content on
particular brand sites which best mesh with the expected
demographic. By doing this, a brand universe site will be an
inviting place to visit for users of the brand and the users can be
best converted into more passionate fans. When users become fans,
and the content is provided based on their likes, each brand site
can market its content to enable maximum usage and maximum
opportunities for revenue generation.
[0057] As activity is tracked, it is possible to know with great
specificity what is hot at any moment in time relating to a given
brand, for subsequent adjustment of a brand site by the brand
universe system. In one embodiment, this information is fed to
special programming sites (e.g., Inside Y! programming) so that it
always reflects this specific knowledge, versus general promotional
categories. For example, if someone types "Scarlett Johannson", the
return should be the best option at that moment--i.e. "Scarlett
Johannson in red at the Oscars.TM."--versus the generic "images,
news, videos, etc." The search result should have the energy and
the vitality of the moment vs. the dead feel of a reference book,
so that the most relevant and up to the minute result is presented.
This functionality, again, will turn users of the brand into
fans.
[0058] Programming by the brand universe system takes time of day
into account. The time of day should subtlety permeate the
interface as well as the programming choices that are made. For
example, after school, kid-friendly brands are emphasized while as
the night goes on, brands with a mature nature may be more freely
promoted.
[0059] Users influence the material programmed to them by implicit
and explicit activity. The brand universe system offers users a
chance to identify themselves as a "fan" of whatever they are
looking at, be it a brand, an instance, or another user. In one
embodiment, once they declare themselves as a fan of something,
content deriving from that thing should "bubble up" to the top of
their experience within the brand site.
[0060] As has already been mentioned, the brand universe system
also tracks where a user goes and intelligently uses that
information to make programming choices. For instance, a user that
regularly uses movies Resident Evil.TM., Silent Hill.TM., and Alone
in the Dark.TM. is clearly a fan of survival horror, so when a new
franchise in this genre is created, the system will let him know.
Knowledge of the user lets the system use programming to "sow seeds
on fertile ground" connecting users to relevant brands rather than
relying on sheer volume and brute force.
[0061] The mix of explicit and implicit inputs is designed to
create a situation where a user is constantly surrounded by
brands--some trusty old favorites, some of the hot new passions of
the day, and others just coming up on the horizon; all moving
together in orbit around the user to create a dynamic and totally
personalized experience, as illustrated below.
[0062] The brand universe system provides several reporting
concepts, in accordance with one embodiment. For example, brand
level reporting is provided. The fundamental level of reporting is
at the user/brand level. In one embodiment, every single discreet
user interaction with a brand is recorded. These include but are
not limited to: Visit, Pages viewed/editorial content consumed,
Video streamed/uploaded, Files (image, flash, mp3, other)
downloaded/uploaded, Prices checked, Contributions, answers,
ratings, reviews, comments, postings, searches, etc. In a further
aspect, the demographic profile of the user accrues to the brand
during any interaction, thus creating a dynamic demo profile for
each brand and for each interaction.
[0063] In still another embodiment, all activity needs to be viewed
at the smallest instance level. For example, at the instance level
of the DVD for Lord of the Rings.TM., which SKU (DVD Entity)
generated the most activity, and within that SKU the content that
generated the most activity with each segment, etc. For instance, I
should know that in Lord of the Rings.TM.: The Fellowship of the
Ring area, males ages 18-22 are a particularly hot segment, but
where fan art around that concept is concerned, the target age
drops to 14-16. This data feeds our content acquisition engine.
This also tells us what our "best offer" is at the instance and
Inside Y! level.
[0064] In one embodiment, the brand universe system is configured
to systematically identify up and coming brands. There are three
ways in which this is done. First, whenever a new brand or instance
of a brand is announced, the brand is tracked, months or even years
ahead of its release. In this manner, it is known from the
beginning and throughout the development cycle, how it is stacking
up relative to other brands. Second, the programming system is
continually sampling new items. Any major blips in activity,
increased sampling, and pending sustained response may trigger an
alert system. Thirdly, wherever possible, search must be mapped
into the brand world so that it is possible to know exactly what
users are looking for.
[0065] In one embodiment, all brand activity must be totally
transparent in a relevant manner to each constituency of the
ecosystem. Consumers see the impact of brand activity in places
such as top 10 lists, and in the programming they receive. Brand
owners see the activity through widgets and real time reports that
let them know how their products or services are positively
impacted by the brand site. Other interested parties, such as
retailers, analysts, licensees, etc. see their own version of the
data.
[0066] The content creator (whether user or brand owner) may opt to
buy, at the time of upload, a promotional package that will
increase the visibility of their content. They may also do this in
a systematic way by striking a larger relationship with the ad
sales team which would "build in" promotion for a certain number of
their assets, whenever they are available. Furthermore, a real-time
reporting system will enhance the sense of excitement by
demonstrating usage of the asset as it occurs, and providing a
sense of the immediate impact of pulling a promotional lever.
[0067] The brand universe system 130 is, in part, built from
instance levels as shown in FIG. 3A. In accordance with one
embodiment, the instance levels 134 are accessed for their content
and fed to a brand level 132, that defines a brand site for
Shrek.TM. 124d, as noted in FIG. 2.
[0068] Specific instance levels 134, already having brand content,
can be tapped to define a richer and more immediate experience at
the brand site. The instance levels are also referred to as
"verticals". The verticals are, on their own, separate websites
that target a type of media. The type of media may be movies,
games, etc, as noted in detail below. These separate websites
therefore contain content for more than one brand, so long as the
content is somewhat related to the media type. The brand content
present on the separate websites, will therefore be referred to as
instances, and such instances (i.e., brand content) can be shared
with particular brand sites. The instances of the brand content, in
one embodiment, will be present on both the separate website and on
the brand sites, and any change to either one, may be
synchronized.
[0069] The verticals should offer a best-on-the-internet experience
around any particular instance of the Brand. If a user comes to Y!
Movies 136 looking for info on Shrek.TM. 3, then the user will find
it there, just as the will for Shrek.TM. Video Games within Y!
Games 140. However, from either of these specific instances, the
user may be invited to step into a Shrek.TM. "World" (e.g., the
brand level 132) where Shrek.TM. is represented across instances.
Once a user has taken a step out of the vertical (instance level
132) and into the world (brand level 132), all subsequent activity
takes place within the world context, vs. the vertical (though the
information is the same in both). Other illustrated verticals
include Y! Celeb 138, Y! Games.TM. 140, Y! Kids.TM. 142, etc.
Again, although the verticals are those provided by Yahoo Inc., the
verticals can be provided by any media company or individual. In
one embodiment, where a brand exists in a single category, then the
"world" becomes the page within the vertical for that Brand. Still
with this example, the TV show "Heroes.TM." only exists within Y!
TV.TM., until such time as it branches out into other brands like
video games, toys, etc.
[0070] In one embodiment and with reference to FIG. 3A, each
instance of Shrek.TM. as represented in the verticals is "aware"
that it is a part of the larger "Shrek.TM." concept, and thus, when
a promotion occurs that is related to Shrek.TM. it can instantly
populate across all related pages on all verticals with one
command. This aspect is beneficial to promoting "micro" events
because it touches every consumer that makes sense with minimal
programming effort.
[0071] Beyond standard use cases, the brand universe system is
designed to add an emotional edge. For instance: (1) Fan has five
minutes to spend, what have we got? (2) Fan wants to extend that
kick he gets from his favorite character on his favorite show, how
does he do it? (3) Fan wants to be "on the inside" and "first" to
see that new trailer, how do we make it happen? (4) Fans wants to
"hang out" and relax with other fans, how do we enable it? (5) Fan
wants to be recognized as a top notch fan, etc. (6) Fans want to
make their brand a simultaneous communal experience, how can we
make this happen? (7) Fans want to create their own ending to a
movie, etc. Thus, the brand universe system meets a fan's emotional
need and defines a connection with the brand, in addition to a
functional need for information or services.
[0072] Still further, the brand universe system is configured with
functionality to identify and recognize key brand site
contributors. This feature is facilitated by providing greater
access to tools and control over content on site, and by providing
identifiers that set them apart from other members of the
community. For example, being a "Level 10" member of the community
or a "Lead Editor" of a show or a "#1 fan" of a particular brand.
This leveling should reflect both explicit and implicit
contributions to the site. The brand universe system also allows
third-parties to log in and directly publish content to the site.
Security is provided to ensure the right level of access is granted
to the right user.
II. System Management, Content Sharing and Content Contribution
[0073] FIG. 3B illustrates a brand universe system that feeds from
disparate content providers, which also contain and manage content
related to the specific brand. The specific brand is illustrated by
brand/user data 158 cell at the center of the brand universe. One
level of farming for content (related to each brand) may occur from
instance levels (e.g., verticals), that in this example, are
managed by Yahoo.TM. Inc. Of course, other separate websites,
managed by other entities will work. Examples include: (A) user
generated content (UGC), such as Flickr.TM. data, del.icio.us,
Yahoo360.TM., etc.; (B) Yahoo tools and Services, such as Yahoo
Messenger.TM., Yahoo Search.TM.; (C) Monetization, such as Yahoo
Shopping.TM., Advertising, and Premium Services; (D) Content, such
as Yahoo News.TM., 3.sup.rd Party Content (e.g., current event
data, RSS feeds), Yahoo Entertainment.TM., etc. This list was
provided to give an overall flavor of the various data content
sources and their function, and should not be restrictive, as they
were provided for example purposes only.
[0074] Example brand sites are shown in FIG. 3B, namely television
shows "LOST.TM." or "American Idol.TM." 124a, (b) celebrities "Tom
Cruise.TM." and "Paris Hilton.TM." 124e; (c) "Nintendo Gaming.TM."
124c; (d) the movie character "Shrek.TM." 124d; (e) Action
Heroes.TM. 124b, etc. These brand sites, as noted above, will also
feed in brand content data from the various vertical sites (e.g.,
to obtain brand content instances (levels 134)). Example vertical
sites may include, Movies.TM. 136, Celebs 138, TV 139, Games 140,
etc. The brand sites, although they will share content with
verticals, the brand site will provide a more complete brand world,
as the brand sites pull (roll up) data from the various instance
levels, while also integrating user data, user generated content,
brand-centric user experiences, brand-related chat, brand
merchandising, etc., to define the brand/user data 158
experience.
[0075] FIG. 4 illustrates a system diagram 160, in accordance with
one embodiment of the present invention. System diagram 160
illustrates a brand site 124 that includes a number of components
that make up the brand site 124, when implemented in accordance
with one embodiment of the present invention. The brand site 124 is
for Brand X, and the brand site is organized, in one embodiment, to
include a plurality of modules. The plurality of modules are shown
as module A, module B, . . . module N. In one embodiment, module
definition and programming will simplify their integration into the
brand site, so that APIs and pluggability enable fast and efficient
publication and edits of new content, submission of new content,
and overall management of the brand site content. In addition to
the modules, the brand site 124 may include a number of other
feathers such as advertisements 202a, user generated content 202b,
and other images, icons, menus, or interactive features, in
addition to text 204.
[0076] The various components provided around the modules of the
brand site 124 are designed to seamlessly blend into the presented
content that is brand-specific and targeted to the specific
demographic for the given brand being rendered at the brand site
124. The brand site 124 is accessed by users 161 over the internet,
and users 161 will be able to access the brand site 124 from any
number of connected devices. The connected devices can include
desktop computers, laptops, mobile devices, cell phones, personal
digital assistants (PDAs), and any other device that is capable of
accessing the content provided by the brand site 124. The various
users 161 access brand site X at their convenience, and may also
personalize their brand X site for their enjoyment or normal use
habits.
[0077] In one embodiment, brand X site is also provided with a
log-in module to enable a user to login with a user name and
password to then access the modules of brand X, in a user defined
presentation, that is most preferable to the specific user.
Accordingly, the brand site 124 not only provides the dynamic
information in a pre-defined format, but the format can also be
rearranged and prioritized depending on the preferences of the
specific users that may log into the brand site 124. Depending on
user interactivity with the brand site 124 and the different
modules of the brand site, the system 160 is configured to provide
interactivity monitoring 172, that saves data regarding the
monitoring to the metrics analysis 174 module.
[0078] The interactivity monitoring 172 is configured to monitor
specific user's activity on the brand site 124 to capture
preferences, user demographics, most frequently used content,
identify when user generated content is supplied by the users, and
navigational activity within the brand site 124. All of these
metrics are provided to various components of the system 160. The
system 160 is shown to provide access to the metrics analysis 174
to users 175. Users may access the metrics directly through the
brand site 124 by way of displays that indicate popularity of
specific modules, components within the modules, or recently viewed
data by other users 161.
[0079] Additionally, metrics analysis may be provided for specific
content parts managed by the brand owners 176. In this manner,
metrics can be provided in a more granular manner, so that very
specific brand content can be individually monitored, tracked,
updated, changed, or eliminated, based on one or more decision
factors. Such factors may be due to business reasons or user
satisfaction or user dissatisfaction.
[0080] The brand owners noticing specific activity on the brand
site 124, may find a need to develop additional modules for the
brand site 124, modify the products or services rendered by the
brand site 124, or introduce new promotions for the brand products
or services. The brand owners would therefore get a substantially
real-time view into the popularity of their specific brand, and
could provide a viewpoint into desired functionality, or desired
services that may be missing on the brand site 124, to thus provide
additional monetization to the brand owner 176 (e.g., by selling
(i.e., through e-commerce or non-ecommerce traditional store
transactions) brand content services or products, or services or
products advertised on the brand site). The metrics analysis 174 is
also shown available to advertisers 178. Advertisers 178 desiring
to inject their content into a particular brand site 124 would be
provided with metrics that identify the popularity of the brand and
other related advertising services or products.
[0081] For instance, if soft drinks are being advertised in a
seamless manner in one of the modules of the particular brand site
that relate to sports, other drink type advertisers may see an
advantage to also providing similar seamless-type advertising
modules for the given brand site. The metrics could also provide
data regarding access by users, susceptibility of users to access
the specific advertisements, revenue generated by previous
advertisers, and other metrics similarly usable by advertising
companies. The system 160 could also provide access to brand site
producers 180. The brand site producers 180 are individuals that
manage the structure parts of the brand site 124, certain placement
of modules within the brand site 124 (if promotion packages are
paid), the organization of data, and the feed of some data in and
out of the brand site 124.
[0082] By providing brand site producers access to metrics analysis
174, it is possible for the brand site producers to more fully
understand the use and interactivity being experienced by users,
and could also provide insights into improvements to further
integrated the modules of the brand site 124 in a more seamless, or
interactive manner. The metrics analysis 174 is also shown
providing information to a brand site promotion logic block 175.
Brand site promotion logic 175 is designed to intelligently read
the metrics analysis 174, apply rules to improve promotions of
specific items within the brand site 124, and in an automated
manner, promote certain content within the brand site 124 to a more
prominent role, or demote certain content either to less prominent
roles. Additionally, the complete removal from the brand site may
occur, depending on the user interactivity, and other metric
analysis performed on the usefulness of the brand site 124.
[0083] Continuing with FIG. 4, the system 160 is also shown to
include a block 162 that defines module relations and sharing with
vertical content sites. Module 162 is designed to feed the brand
site 124 with specific modules that may be obtained or shared with
vertical sites 134'. As noted above, vertical sites may include
other separate sites that share the content found on the brand site
124, and any changes made in either the brand site 124 or the
vertical sites 134' may be seamlessly integrated and synchronized
in relation to the features being shared. A block 164 is also shown
providing user generated content (UGC). User generated content is
that which is produced by users 161 and uploaded to the brand site
124. The user generated content may be simple feedback information
provided by forms, menus, ratings, or actual interactive content
(videos, pictures, data) produced by users and submitted for
publication into the brand site 124.
[0084] Block 166 shows content and meta-data feeds that are also
provided to the brand site 124. The content can include content
found from third parties, such as user organizations, meta-data
regarding those different pieces of content, and the like. By
providing block 166 as an input to the brand site 124, the brand
site 124 will appear to be receiving the most up-to-date
information regarding the brand X. Block 168 provides brand related
content owners access to portions of the brand site 124. Brand
related content owners may be those which provide content that is
not specifically about the brand, but is very related to the brand
and thus can be provided to the brand site 124 for tight
integration.
[0085] As will be shown in FIG. 9, a brand-related content owner
168 may be the owner of the ringtones shown in the bottom right
hand corner of screen 900. Although the brand owner (or
persona-subject) in screen shot 900 of FIG. 9 is Will Smith.TM.,
the ringtones are not necessarily owned by Will Smith.TM., but they
are considered brand-related content, and it is owned by specific
companies that would like to provide such content to Will
Smith's.TM. brand site 900. Next, is a brand site producer tool 170
block that provides brand site producers access to the brand site
124 to perform modifications, updates, retooling, and any other
adjustments or updates that may be necessary in view of its
structure, content, or organization.
[0086] FIG. 5A illustrates a system view diagram 160' for the brand
universe system, in accordance with one embodiment of the present
invention. The system view diagram 160' defines an entertainment
content repository (ECR) 240 for holding data related to various
brand sites. The ECR 240 will therefore store in a plurality of
databases information regarding different brands, assets,
relationships, meta-data, and other information that will link
specific brand sites to the various components for obtaining the
content and for presenting the content to users. In this example,
the ECR 240 is shown interfaced with services 220.
[0087] Services 220 are shown to include, in this example,
personalization 222, promotions 224, services interfaces 226,
advertising 228, analytics 230, and Yahoo.TM. network services 232.
These services 220 therefore provide the ECR 240 with access to
brand-centric experiences in vertical worlds defined in an instance
level 134. As noted above, the instance level 134 can include
various sites that hold data regarding the specific brand site
being created, managed and interfaced to the ECR 240. In the
example shown, vertical sites include Yahoo games 140, Yahoo movies
136, Yahoo TV 139, Yahoo kids 142, Yahoo celebs 138, etc. The
resulting example brand site 124d is the brand universe site for
Shrek.TM., in this example.
[0088] The world for Shrek.TM. shown by the brand site 124d is the
brand level 132, as previously discussed with reference to FIG. 3A.
The brand site 124 is also illustrated by an icon in the ECR, as
the brand site 124 stores information regarding the brand site
124d, as well as brand content instances 142, 138, which may be
obtained from different vertical sites, mentioned above. Data
related to different brand sites 124a, 124b, are also similarly
stored in the ECR 240, for access by the various processing engines
of the brand site universe system 160', in accordance with one
embodiment of the present invention.
[0089] The ECR 240 is also shown to receive content 252 from
various third party data feeds 254. The third party data feeds 254
can provide information such as TV guide information, gaming
information, movie information, and thus populate that information
to the ECR 240 as it relates to the specific brand sites with the
ECR 240. The content 252 is, as noted above, added and managed by
producer tools 242. The producer tools 242 can be managed by brand
site producers 244. The brand site producers 244 may be charged
with the organization, orientation, content, and placement of the
various modules within specific worlds (brand sites). Interfacing
with the ECR 240 is an internal recording block 250 and a partner
dashboard 248.
[0090] Partner users and brand site managers 246 can therefore gain
access to the various components and interfaces that communicate
with the ECR 240. For instance, a partner dashboard 248 (e.g., user
interface that is user accessible over the web) will allow
advertisers or owners of specific brands marketed, displayed, or
highlighted by brand sites to view the performance of brand sites,
the various modules on those brand sites, or content on the
specific brands based on user interactivity with the site. Internal
reporting 250 will also allow brand site managers to make
adjustments to the brand sites, depending on the performance as
monitored by user interactivity, feedback and other metrics.
[0091] FIG. 5B illustrates a brand universe system 300, defining
additional aspects of content acquisition, content management,
reporting, and presentation for brand sites, in accordance with one
embodiment of the present invention. The entertainment content
repository (ECR) 240 is shown receiving data from various
components. One component is content and meta-data feeds 254'. The
content and meta-data feeds may include user feeds and other data
that is then forwarded to a harvester 302. The harvester 302 is
configured to obtain the data from various communication data
source connections (e.g., HTTP, FTP, and other communication
protocols ports, formats, and links) and forward that data to a
data processing block 304.
[0092] The data processing block 304 will identify the different
types of data such as text data, image data, meta-data, video data,
and other types of data so that data can be properly forwarded to a
data import block 306. Data import block 306 is configured to
forward and map the different pieces of data with appropriate
identifiers, tags, and meta-data to the databases of the
entertainment content repository 240. The ECR 240 is also
interfaced with framework 326 that is coupled to API blocks 328.
Example API blocks 328 are shown to include, in this embodiment,
movie API 330, games API 332, TV API 334, and brand API 336. These
APIs are configured to provide access to the different vertical
instances (on the separate websites) where components of the brand
are shared and obtained between the vertical sites and the brand
sites managed by the brand universe system 300.
[0093] In this example, front end 340 is provided to enable users
to gain access to the different vertical sites, such as the movies
front end 342, the TV front end 344, the games front end 346, and
the various worlds front ends 348 (brand sites). As illustrated,
brand sites 124 are accessed through the worlds front end 348 that
then provide requests to the API blocks 328, and data is provided
to the front end 348 for display and rendering on a display screen
of the various users. The API block 328 may also provide a search
request to the ECR 240 through a search block 241 to render search
results data back to the users interfacing with the brand sites or
the various vertical sites associated with front ends 342, 344, or
346. The search block 241 is a search index that is re-populated on
a regular basis via a data export 239 from the ECR 240. API block
328 then hits the Search block 241 with search requests.
[0094] The front end 340 is also shown coupled to other Yahoo
domain services 350 that can provide additional data and
information to the brand sites 124. The users 360 will therefore
interface with the screens provided by the front end 340, to cause
interactive use of the various brand sites. As users 360 interface
with the different brand sites, the interfacing and interactivity
with the brand sites and its content are monitored. A
reporting/business analytics module 248a-2 is provided to monitor
the activity of the various brand sites as used by user 360.
[0095] The reporting/business analytics module 248a-2 is internal
processing (e.g., to the operator of the brand sites), and such
information that is also used by the producers of the brands sites
to improve the quality of the experience for the users (i.e., that
are becoming fans) of the brands, and also make adjustments based
on this information. The reporting/business analytics module 248a-2
also provides an automated data feed to the recommendations block
324a. This recommendations block 324a is a recommendations
algorithm/system that interfaces with the front end 340. The
reporting/business analytics 248a-2 is part of the internal
reporting 250, as discussed in reference to FIG. 5A. The
reporting/business analytics module 248b can be a separate system
or integrated system, that takes user interaction data and ECR 240
data as inputs, and outputs recommendations based on user data. In
one embodiment, the system can be an integrated platform tool or a
third party tools that interfaces with the brand universe system
300. The partner dashboard 248 includes content reporting and
submission 248a-1.
[0096] The content reporting block 248a-1 is a read-only interface
for brand owners 380 in to the reporting/business analytics module
248b. The content submission block 248a-1 is an interface where
content (images, videos, etc.) and data may be submitted by content
or brand owners 380 to the ECR 240. The functionality of content
submission is, in one embodiment, geared to drive the content
promotion service 322. Brand site producers 244 can view, edit, or
approve any submissions made by the content or brand owners 380 in
the content submission block 248a-2. Once approved (or it can
automatically be approved depending on the brand owner 380), the
content can be automatically promoted by the content promotion
service 322. As used herein, "promoting content" means that the
content takes on a more visible position on the interface pages, so
that more user traffic migrates toward the promoted content.
[0097] Moderation tools 370 are provided to enable the content or
brand owners 380 and the brand site producers 244 to moderate the
type of content posted as user generated content (UGC). If the user
generated content or user feedback is posted on the brand site, and
such content is offensive or destructive toward the brand in any
way, as judged by the brand owners or brand site producers, then
that data can be removed or adjusted.
[0098] In addition to recommendations 324a, other modules with
processing logic that provide functionality include user profiling
services 324b (e.g., "a user's recently viewed content (e.g., such
as movies, games, TV shows, video clips, photos, etc.)", "most
viewed/most popular content on a site, in the last hour, 24 hours,
week, month, all-time", "most viewed/most popular content by
audience segment (i.e. what movies are popular for 18-24 year old
females)", "ad targeting based on a user's interest profile
generated from what they view over time"), ratings and reviews
324c, message boards 324d, user generated content (UGC) 324e,
Flickr.TM. and other services 324f. In one example, the moderation
tools 370 can be used to moderate content submitted through
324b-324f. These services 324 are provided to manage, submit or
present data, interactive menus, graphics, and other information
that may be fed back to specific brand sites in the form of
modules, content data, or supporting information for the modules
for presentation on the brand sites. The brand sites will therefore
be able to interface directly with rich content information that is
up-to-date, provides user involvement, and enables further blending
of the brand with the user's experience to assist in converting
users into fans of a brand site.
[0099] Producer tools 242 are also provided to enable brand site
producers 244 to interact with the content in the ECR 240. The
producer tools 242 include a page programming tool (PPT) 242b, and
a content programming tool (CPT) 242a that is interactively coupled
to the ECR 240. The tools of 242a and 242b are provided in the form
of interactive programs and forms that enable brand site producers
244 to properly manage their brand content as it is presented to
the ECR, for then publication on the brand sites 124, when users
360 access the worlds front end 348. A content promotion service
322 is also provided and is shown receiving data from the ECR 240,
and then interfaced with the front end 340 to provide the brand
sites 124 with instant content promotion services, so that when
users 360 are viewing the brand sites, certain content can be
highlighted.
[0100] The highlighted content can be promotional information that
is either paid for by advertisers in the brand sites, or can be
promoted to a higher prominence on the page if users desire more
functionality from specific components and modules of the brand
site. These and other functionalities are provided by the brand
universe system 300, in accordance with one embodiment of the
present invention.
[0101] FIG. 5C illustrates a bi-directional relationships diagram
400 that defines how specific data pieces are interconnected to a
specific brand to define modules or parts of modules of a brand
site, based on information obtained from other sources. The
bi-directional relationships diagram 400 is also referred to as web
relationships that relates specific pieces of the web in terms of
"degrees of separation". The graph therefore does not define a
hierarchy with respect to components, but simply their
inter-relationships. The various components that are interrelated
and illustrated by the bi-directional relationships diagram 400
include entities identified by "E", and assets identified by "A".
The brand (of the brand site) is identified as "B".
[0102] An asset is a piece of content that can be consumed such as
photos, videos, new articles, and any other content that may relate
to an entity. An entity is a specific person or thing that relates
to the brand, and may also be related to other entities. For
instance, the Superman.TM. TV show entity can be related to both
the Superman entity season 1 and the Superman entity season 2. The
Superman.TM. season 1 entity can also be related to other episode
entities. Certain ones of the entities may also include specific
assets. An example of an asset is shown as cover art or track
information, which may be related to Superman.TM. 3 album
entity.
[0103] Thus, the brand "Superman.TM." is able to identify its
relations to specific entities, and the specific entities can also
be related to other entities, depending on the content of the
specific entities. The bi-directional relationship diagram 400 is
shown to illustrate the dynamic web that is formed when a brand
site, such as a brand site for Superman, is linked to the content
instances present at other entities, and related to those entities
by the relationship graph. As the content grows, additional links
to other entities and assets can be plugged in to the appropriate
location on the bi-directional relationship graph 400. Accordingly,
the web nature of the relationships enables easy interrelationships
to the data so that presentation can be easily integrated into the
brand sites.
[0104] FIG. 5D illustrates a brand reporting structure 500 for an
example brand site 124. Brand site 124 is for Shrek.TM. 3. As
noted, the brand level report includes all non-additive uniques and
additive page views, time spent, video streams, photo views,
metrics related to the brand, etc. As noted in the key of FIG. 5D,
a square box is a virtual reporting object that is a roll-up of
additive and non-additive metrics of physical pages, video clips,
and photos associated to the object. The curve bottom box defines a
physical page that is related to an entity or a brand. The
parallelogram may define a video or a photo asset.
[0105] And, the asset can be related to multiple entities. The
Shrek.TM. brand 124 is shown to include a number of modules 124-1,
124-2, and 124-3. 124-2 is a module-level reporting that includes
uniques, module views, clicks, and time spent. Module 124-1 may be
regarded as a main module, but the main module may be promoted or
demoted, depending on various factors, as noted above. Module 124-3
may be a blog module that would enable users to blog (comment)
about different aspects of the Shrek.TM. 3 brand site 124.
[0106] In this example, Shrek.TM. 3 the movie entity 136a, is shown
directly related to Shrek.TM. 3 brand. Shrek.TM. 3 the movie entity
136a, includes an entity page 1 which is the main page for the
movie entity 136a. Asset 506, which is a video clip 1, is also
shown to be part of the movie entity for Shrek.TM. 3 136a. In
addition, video clip 1 506 is also part of an asset that relates to
the Eddie Murphy contribution entity 502. The Eddie Murphy
contribution entity 502 may include a page 1 which is its main
page, and would provide some uniques, page views, and time spent.
The Shrek.TM. 3 game entity 140a is also shown related to the
Shrek.TM. 3 TV entity 139a, which also relates to the Shrek.TM. 3
brand 124.
[0107] The Shrek.TM. 3 game entity 140a would include its main page
and reviews. A movies entity 504 would include its own front page,
and could also be related to the brand 124. In addition, the
Shrek.TM. 3 movie entity 136a would also be related to the movies
entity 504. Accordingly, an advantage of the brand universe system
is its ability to tap into the content of related entities and the
assets of those related entities to populate the brand site in a
modular form that dynamically utilizes those assets when those
assets are related and linked to the brand.
[0108] FIG. 6 illustrates an example brand site 600, in accordance
with one embodiment of the present invention. Brand site 600 is an
example brand site that incorporates various entities and assets to
seamlessly display the information on a brand site that links data
(or shares an instance) from the various verticals and other
content producing entities.
[0109] The resulting brand site 600 has a focus, in this example,
around the computer gaming console brand "Wii.TM." by
Nintendo.TM..
[0110] The brand owner Nintendo.TM. may or may not participate in
the generation of the brand site 600, but brand related information
from various entities, and its assets, will be seamlessly compiled
and presented in module form into a seamless display that is all
brand-centric to create brand fans. In this example, the
highlighted module is a module called choose your favorite
Nintendo.TM. character, and allows users to vote 604 regarding
their selected favorite character. A photos module 606 is also
provided to enable users to post their own photos (or view photos
of others) and share experiences (in a community environment)
regarding the Wii.TM. video game console and its applications.
[0111] By allowing users to post photographs regarding their
experiences with the Wii.TM., the site provides a means to engage
the users and give them ownership regarding the content of the
brand site 600. In one embodiment, a photo capture and tagging
application, such as Flickr.TM. (or other photo sharing and tagging
site) may be used by users to capture images regarding their use of
Wii.TM. products and games and post their photos to Flickr.TM. to
enable upload to the Wii.TM. photos module 606 of FIG. 6.
[0112] Additionally shown is a module that will enable users to
deck out their avatars 610, and the avatars can be decked out with
Wii.TM.-type clothing or styles. The concept of an avatar is a
make-believe character that can take on a persona and be dressed or
styled in a certain manner. The avatar may be owned by a user, and
the user may wish to dress the avatar or provide the avatar with
Wii.TM.-type equipment, clothing, or the like. The module 610
although relates generically to avatars, its integration into the
brand site 600 is brand-related due to the ability of the decking
out avatars with Wii.TM.-type products and services, and thus, is
related as an entity and possibly an asset to the brand site
600.
[0113] Feature games module 612 also provides a link to a games
vertical site that feeds 612 (or provides access to an instance of
the same brand content), into the brand site due to its
relationship, and also may exist at the vertical site at the same
time. An advertisement 608 is integrally placed within the brand
site 600 and provides relationship to the content of the brand
site. Advertisement 608 relates to gaming and users viewing this
gaming information on a brand site 600 related to the Wii.TM.
gaming console would view the advertisement information with
relevance as opposed to distraction, as is common in other sites
that advertise unrelated goods and services to the content of a
page. Module 614 provides Wii.TM. links around the world.
[0114] In this example, module 614 is a dynamic link portal that
identifies websites that have been tagged as relating to the
Wii.TM. product or service. For example, a service called delicious
(Del.icio.us.TM.) is a program site that allows users to tag
certain web pages and sites, and then search the web for web pages
and sites that have been tagged with certain tag identifiers. In
this manner, a user can access a number of related sites that are
tagged with information that define their content or part of their
content, as related to the brand site 600.
[0115] Additionally shown is module 616 that provides answers to
questions posted by users regarding the Wii.TM. product and
services. Thus, the module for answers with entries related to the
Wii.TM. product are also made and included into the brand site 600.
The brand site 600 also includes a navigation bar 602, for example,
which allows users to navigate to other pages within the brand site
600 to further focus on other categories of the same brand, as
represented by different pages, which are also built by modules and
advertisements which all relate to the same brand information, or
provide additional characteristics for defining aspects of the
brand. Examples provided in the navigation bar 602 include a home
page, a Wii.TM. info link, a games link, a message boards link, a
videos link, a buyer's guide link, and others.
[0116] FIGS. 7A and 7B provide examples of brand sites that are
constructed by assembling modules (stacked vertically in this
example), that can be placed at various levels within the brand
site and moved up (promoted) or moved down (demoted), depending on
user interactivity, brand owner preferences, or brand site
producers. The various modules, as noted above, can be moved up or
down to emphasize their more relevant nature as compared to other
modules within the site, and can also be demoted and moved off of
the site, depending on their usefulness, interactivity metrics, and
other measuring criteria.
[0117] When advertising modules are integrated into the brand site,
such as advertising module 710, the module is represented in
seamless manner with other content information, so as to make the
advertising information blend seamlessly with the content, and so
as to not obscure the experience for fans of a particular brand
site. The modules are also represented in a form that provides an
entertainment value to the user of the brand site, such as by
providing video clips, recent activities that may relate to user
questions, postings, allowing users to vote in regard to their
preferences, and other information.
[0118] In one embodiment, module 714 may provide a lot of user
interactivity during the module's lifetime on the brand site. For
those modules that have high user interactivity, one embodiment
would blend in advertisements in between content so that user
sifting through content will periodically run into advertisements
that blend in with the content being viewed or desired to be viewed
by users. In this manner, the advertisement is presented to the
user in a seamless manner that is not an obstruction or distraction
to their intended use of the content. Referring to FIG. 7B, a user
can be provided with advertisements such as movie trailer 740,
which blend and appear to be just another module of the site.
[0119] The brand site of FIG. 7B is for transformers, and the
transformers can have various types of content that allow user
interactivity to further connect with the user's likes, dislikes,
and increase their fan level associated with the brand.
[0120] FIG. 7C illustrates and example of a module 748 from FIG.
7B. In this example, this module allows users to rate the various
modules that make up the brand site. As shown, a bar labeled "rate
this" allows a user to select button 762 or button 764 to indicate
whether they like or dislike a particular module. If more users
dislike than like the module, then the module may be demoted over
time to a less prominent location on the brand site. In another
embodiment, the module may be removed completely from the brand
site in response to users voting the module off the site.
[0121] Modules which provide a high level of satisfaction to users,
would be rated higher and possibly moved up in prominence on the
brand site. Thus, module 748 is considered to be an interchangeable
and pluggable module 770 that is capable of being integrated into
the world site and moved up and down, depending on its prominence,
based on user interactivity.
[0122] FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate examples of a brand site for
Shrek.TM., in accordance with once embodiment of the present
invention. The brand site 800 of FIG. 8A illustrates examples of
commerce transactions that are possible through the brand site. A
shop icon 802 is provided to enable users to shop for
Shrek.TM.-related products or services. Additionally, sponsorship
and advertisements can be provided on the same brand site 800 as
those sponsorships and advertisements relate directly to the brand
Shrek.TM..
[0123] A viewing of the brand site 800, as it relates to the
sponsorships and advertisements, will illustrate a similarity in
the products and services that relate to Shrek.TM., and their
integration into the brand site do not detract from its usefulness
and user desire to navigate through the content provided by the
brand site 800.
[0124] FIG. 8B illustrates a brand site page that would enable
users to connect to a Shrek.TM. fan club 822. By connecting to the
Shrek.TM. fan club 822, users will join a club that will provide
them with additional access to content, new releases, and
information regarding their brand. In essence, by providing users
with a club-level commitment by the brand site, the users are
converted from basic users and move into a fan level, thus
increasing their interactivity with the site.
[0125] As users grow closer to the interactivity of the site, users
are more likely to purchase products or services related to the
brand due to their "taking ownership of" the brand and committing
to its products and services. As an example, users that may be part
of the Shrek.TM. fan club could be provided with additional cell
phone 824 content, special web page content 826, and special access
to avatars 828.
[0126] FIG. 9 illustrates a brand site 900 for the actor Will
Smith.TM.. The actor Will Smith.TM. 902 is shown in a prominent
location on the brand site 900 in a module located at the topmost
portion of the page. A movies module 903 is provided in the brand
site to enable access to clips, or movies in which Will Smith was
an actor, and provides a direct relationship to the brand site 900.
Module 904 is geared to provide the latest information by the actor
to its audience of the brand site. As shown, Will Smith.TM. logged
in to the brand site and provided information regarding his
activities from the set of "I am legend".
[0127] This module provides users with a deep connection to the
actor Will Smith and his persona, and his current activities.
Another module 906 provides a photo gallery of different
photographs in which Will Smith.TM. is captured and associated
descriptions of the photographs are provided for Will Smith's.TM.
audience. An album's module 908 is also provided that provides
links to albums produced by Will Smith or in which Will Smith.TM.
had some original contribution for, as it relates to the brand Will
Smith.TM.. Along with the modules providing information, and media
which users may purchase, users are also provided with other
modules in which advertisers may seamlessly integrate their
products and services in a user friendly manner. For instance,
module 910 is integrated into the brand site in close relation to
Will Smith's.TM. movie clips, which makes the advertisement flow to
the user of the brand site.
[0128] A module 912 is also provided to enable users to post their
questions related to some content or activities or content provided
in the brand site 900. A photos gallery is also provided in module
914, and a ringtone and music list is provided in module 916.
Module 909 also provides a featured music video that can be played
while users visit the brand site 900. The various modules that make
up the brand site 900 therefore define the brand universe system's
ability to access content from vertical sites (i.e., use or share
instances of the brand content) and obtain dynamic data and feeds
into the site to make the site appear, and function as an
up-to-date portal of information that is composed of information
continuously generated and submitted by the brand owners,
advertisers, and users.
[0129] In still another embodiment, the brand site is more than
just a site, as brand experiences can be distributed through out
the internet. As one example only, a blogger can add a video module
on a blog about the brand or related site. This brand related
content is thus integrated with the brand site.
[0130] FIG. 10A illustrates a movie site 136 that can display a
number of movie parts 960, that relate to different movies being
presented on the movie site 136. As noted above, this may be a
vertical site that targets a particular media type. Additionally, a
user may decide to post advertising for a specific movie or relate
advertisements to a specific movie on the movie site 136. In this
example, the Shrek.TM. movie content 136-1 is shown in the movie
site 136. Additionally, an ad posting 952 which may have been
posted to the movie site, by virtue of advertising through a
brand-related posting, will be linked to (or associated with, or
placed beside) the specific movie content.
[0131] FIG. 10B illustrates a game site 140, where game parts 962
are illustrated, as well as a Shrek game content 140-1. If the user
has selected to advertise for a selected brand, the user's
advertising posting 952 may also be correlated to the Shrek game
140-1, as shown in FIG. 10B. The associating may be by virtue of
placing the advertisement beside the Shrek.TM. game, or blending
the advertisement with portions of the Shrek.TM. game, in between
games, in between game levels of a game, etc. Any number of
associating techniques may also be used, so long as a brand
association occurs when a posting is set to relate to particular
advertisements of specific brand parts (that may be present on the
various vertical sites).
[0132] Additionally, FIG. 10C shows a brand site 124. The brand
site 124 may also include content parts from the various sites,
such as the movie site 136 and the game site 140. In this example,
the Shrek.TM. game 140-1 and the Shrek.TM. movie 136-1 is part of
the brand site 124. Still further, the brand-related advertisement
that was posted 952, is also shown in association with the
component parts of the brand site. For instance, if the user
desired to post a brand advertisement for the Shrek.TM. brand site
124, that advertisement may also be populated to the various
individual websites that also contain the Shrek.TM. content. In one
embodiment, the user may be allowed to select whether to post the
advertisement in the entire interconnected web of websites, as well
as the brand site, or only in particular websites and the brand
site, or combinations thereof.
[0133] FIG. 11A illustrates an advertising management site 950 that
has various options to allow advertisers to access site metrics,
post advertisements, manage their advertisements, and relate
advertisers to certain brand elements, in accordance with one
embodiment of the present invention.
[0134] The advertisement management site 950 shown in FIG. 11A has
a brand site selection 956 region that allows advertisers to select
brand sites that may be of interest for advertising. In one
example, an advertiser may access the advertisement management site
950 and use selector 957 to select the brand site Shrek. If the
advertiser selects the brand site Shrek.TM. using selector 957, the
advertisement management site 950 may display another page as shown
in FIG. 11B.
[0135] FIG. 11B illustrates a page of the advertising management
site 950 where the user/advertiser is provided with related site
958 information and advertisement submission and format 960
features. In one example, the related site 958 identification will
display the various websites that contain Shrek.TM. material. In
this example, other websites that may contain Shrek.TM. material
may include a games website, a movies website, and others. As
shown, the user has selected, by checking boxes for advertisement,
advertising in the game site, and the movie site. Before the user
advertises in these particular websites, the user is also provided
with advanced options 959, that allow the user to determine other
advertisement options presented by the advertising management site
950.
[0136] The advanced options may provide information regarding page
usage by users, previous advertisers, rates for advertising,
special programs, etc. Of course, any number of other options may
also be provided using the advanced option feature 959. In one
embodiment, the features and options are presentable for each
particular website or brand site. Further, the user may be allowed
to post advertisements using the advertisement format 960 feature.
The user may be prompted to select the type-format of advertisement
that they wish to post.
[0137] For instance, the user may be provided with selection menus
that will allow the user to identify and select banner types, clip
videos, pic-photos, animated ads, and the like. A number of other
screens and menus (not shown) may be provided to allow the user to
format and post the particular advertisement for the specific brand
site and websites having brand content.
[0138] FIG. 11C illustrates the advertisement management site 950
where a user that has advertised on the site is provided with
information regarding the advertisement activity. In one example,
the user is provided with a listing of sites as well as the brand
site 951, where advertising will occur in relation to their desires
to post advertisements for these particular websites, as well as
the brand site. The user can also be provided with advertising
owner tools 964. The advertising owner tools 964 allow the user to
see details regarding their postings for the specific brand site,
and the website containing the components of the brand.
[0139] The owner tools 964 may provide additional details, and
monitoring methods that define user activity in relation to their
advertisements, and other e-commerce related information.
Accordingly, the user (e.g., ad owner) may be given instantaneous
access to determine whether their advertising for the specific
brand and in a specific website, is providing a return as expected,
based on prior use metrics, current use metrics, or other
information.
[0140] If for instance, an advertiser places ads in one site, two
sites, or multiple sites, and/or also a brand site(s), the use
metrics can be broken down in a number of ways. The advertiser can
be provided with detailed metrics for single sites, multiple sites,
multiple brand sites, or a combination of all. Consequently, the
advertiser is able to obtain rich information that is broken down
into the best way understood by the advertiser and will allow for
intelligent decisions regarding the placement of further ads,
renewals, cancellations, etc.
[0141] FIG. 11D illustrates an example where a user may be provided
with a posting conditions region 966, a posting cost region 968, a
package pricing region 970, and a discount region 972. These
different regions may be provided to the ad owner (or marketing
professionals) as additional ad owner tools that allow the user to
determine what the conditions are for the posting (e.g., posting
contract), as well as the cost associated with posting an
advertisement in each of the websites, as well as the posting in
the brand site. Additional features may include the package pricing
capability that will allow a user to post one advertisement
associated with a particular brand, and that advertisement is
automatically populated to all instances of the brand throughout
the various websites.
[0142] Additionally, the user may be provided with discount
information for pricing associated with package postings.
E-commerce transaction screens may also be provided to allow the
user to submit content, format content, pay for content, monitor
demographics associated with their postings, and monitor income
generated from user activity.
[0143] FIG. 11E illustrates a metrics reporting screen that may
provide yet additional information to the user that is posting
advertisements on the brand sites. The advertiser may be provided
with detailed monitoring 974 that may be granularly displayed for
different aspects of the various websites, as well as the brand
site. Example metrics may include demographics of users accessing
the specific websites, the user activities on those websites, the
user contributions to those websites, prior historic performance
for the types of ads posted on these websites, previous sales,
clicks, and other metrics associated with determining whether
advertisements are performing or not.
[0144] These detailed metrics 974 may also be provided for the
brand site, as specific advertisements may also be joined or placed
in close relation to specific portions of content on the brand
site. For instance, an advertiser may wish to have his or her brand
advertisement placed next to music type content. Or, the advertiser
may wish to have his or her advertisement always placed closer to
message boards related to the brand. In either case, the
user/advertiser is provided with various capabilities to place
advertisements and tie them specifically to a brand and brand parts
within a brand site, or the websites from which the content is
shared with the brand site. These and other advertising features
are enabled by the systems, methods and computer readable media of
the advertising modules.
III. Cross-Market Brand Ad Placement and Optimization
[0145] FIG. 12 illustrates a graphical representation of a
plurality of instance-level websites 134, as related to acceptance
of proposed advertising, in accordance with one embodiment of the
present invention. Each of the instance-levels 134 represent
websites that are part of a network of sites. The network of sites
can include websites for particular types of interests,
information, communication, groups, etc. An example network of
websites is the network serviced by Yahoo!.TM., Inc., of Sunnyvale,
Calif.
[0146] The websites can be accessed from a homepage that provides
links to the various instance-level websites, directly at a given
address, or by link. For purposes of illustration, the
instance-level websites include an autos website, a travel website,
a sports website, and others. In this illustration, a user may wish
to place an advertisement in one or more of the instance-level
websites of the network. The proposed advertisement "A" 1012 is the
advertisement that the user wishes to place on one or more websites
of the network. The proposed advertisement A 1012 is shown to
contain ad content 1020. This ad content 1020 will include
advertisement data that will then be propagated to the various
instance-level websites per the final placement selections dictated
by optimized processing, in accordance with one embodiment of the
present invention.
[0147] As shown, the instance-level websites can include content of
various types, such as text, images, video, graphics, animations,
and combinations thereof. Particularly, the instance-level websites
can include a plurality of modules 1010 that serve as
self-contained module page entities that can be placed, removed,
updated, etc., to or from each of the various websites. The modules
1010 may be capable of receiving the proposed advertisement "A" as
shown, and the modules can, and often do include other content. In
one embodiment, the instance-level websites can include content
related to a particular brand, and such brand related content is
noted as "B" 1014. B 1014 is shown integrated within various parts
of the instance-level websites 134, as well as in various modules
1010.
[0148] As noted above, a brand site 124 is one that primarily
caters to the particular brand, whereas the instance-level websites
can include content related to the brand, but are not necessarily
targeting a focus around the brand. Thus, a user wishing to place
an advertisement and correlate that advertisement to a particular
brand, would have to select various instance-level websites that
have at least some correlation to the brand. If the brand site 124
relates to a brand of truck-type vehicles, then the user wishing to
place ad "A", may wish to place his advertisement for the ad
instance 1020 in close relation to the truck brand. Although a
truck is noted to be a brand, it should be broadly understood that
the brand can be for any commercial brand, and can be in the form
of products, services, people, groups, etc.
[0149] The user could place the advertisement directly in the brand
site 124, but the user may also wish to place the advertisement A
in the different instance-level websites, and so positioned in some
type to relationship to the brand content that may be present in
the various instance-level websites. As shown in the autos site,
brand related content B is shown placed in close relation to the
desired placement of the proposed advertisement A 1012. Thus, a
user would benefit from placing the advertisement content 1020 in
close relation to the brand content B, which may be currently shown
on the auto site. In a similar way, the user would benefit from
placing the advertisement A in close relation to the brand content
in the travel site and in the sports site. However, placing
advertisements next to particular brand content on the various
instance-level websites may be difficult due to the ever-changing
content on the instance-level websites.
[0150] In one embodiment, a processing engine is configured to
allow for the automated recommendation of placements for particular
advertisements in the different instance-level websites, depending
on the user's defined goal. For example, if the user wishes to
place an advertisement that is targeting a new product
introduction, the user may wish to optimize the placement for
optimum visual impact as opposed to optimizing the revenue that may
be generated from the advertisement itself. If the user was
optimizing for cost of placement, a different model would be
generated. Each of the models would, however, be generated so that
placement of the advertisement is placed or presented in close
relation to a particular brand identity, as may be selected by the
user.
[0151] FIG. 13 illustrates a process for inputting attributes about
a proposed advertisement, and then processing the advertisement to
generate an ad model that identifies particular sites for which the
ad should be placed, in relation to the brand that is selected.
Initially, in an attribute's entry page 1042, a user is asked to
define the ad in operation 1040. The user is prompted to select
various categories 1044, which include, for example, what type of
product or service, the target customer, the marketing budget, the
type of ad (graphic, text, video, etc.), and how the ad relates to
the brand, and the level of promotion desired for the particular
advertisement. The content for the ad may also be uploaded at this
time.
[0152] It should be noted that these parameters are provided as an
example, and they are not exhaustive of the different particulars
and attributes that can be used to define the type of ad for which
a user wishes to place, in accordance with one embodiment of the
present invention. Based on the attributes that are provided by the
user, the system will then provide an initial site selection page
1046. The initial site selection page 1046 will allow the user to
identify sites for the ad in operation 1048. In this embodiment,
the user is presented with a plurality of different brand sites.
The plurality of brand sites are noted as a, b, and c. Other brand
sites may also be provided for the user so the user can select the
particular brand that he or she wishes to target, for the
particular advertisements.
[0153] In one embodiment, the user may select a particular brand
"a" that relates to trucks. The brand site for trucks "a" is then
processed so as to generate a new plurality of network sites that
include content related to the brand "a". The network sites are d,
e, and f. If, however, the user had selected a different brand,
different network sites would be suggested in this initial site
selection page. Accordingly, the user will first have to select a
brand site and then, the system will generate a plurality of
options or categories of network sites that are suitable for
advertising the particular ad so that a correlation can be made
between the selected brand and the ad that is going to be
placed.
[0154] Based on the selections by the user, the process moves to an
ad model page 1050. Ad model 1050 is generated by processing site
metrics (of the selected sites, e.g., sites a, d and f) to
establish ad placement scores and also the cost for the ad model.
As shown, the processing 1052 will take into account selected site
metrics 1053a, cost analysis 1053b, and historical performance for
similar ads 1053c. The processing will thus generate the data that
is presented in the ad model 1050. The ad model 1050 illustrates
the various selected sites, which are shown to be "a" for the
particular brand, and "b" and "f" of the network sites.
[0155] This selection is generated based on the selections inputted
by the user in the screen 1046. Based on the user's entries, a
particular cost is derived for the placement of the ad. In
addition, a score is generated for the ad, and the score is an
absolute score similar to a rating. The higher the score, the
closer the ad placement is to the desired goal. Thus, the score is
the result of processing the selected site metrics for the sites
"d" and "f", and analyzing the historical performance for similar
ads on those particular sites, as well as the cost analysis for the
type of ad being generated. The processing can also generate user
demographics that indicate who would be interested in these
particular advertisements, and the purchase rate associated with
these particular advertisements.
[0156] Purchase rate can be categorized in terms of the number of
clicks, the number of sales, the number of interest or comments, or
different types of interaction. Additionally, the user can be
provided with a listing of similar products that have advertised
with this particular ad model and the ad's success. At this point,
the ad model is the preliminary model generated based on the user's
own selection of the particular network sites that were d and f. If
the user wishes to further optimize the ad model, the user can
select operation 1051 so that the ad model can be optimized using
multi-variable optimization.
[0157] In FIG. 14, a screen 1060 is shown that illustrates a
recommended ad model. The recommended ad model has been adjusted so
as to recommend that the user only advertise in sites e and f, as
opposed to the original sites that the user had selected, which
were d and f. These limited number of sites are shown in this
example for ease of illustration, however, it should be understood
that the number of sites can be many (including sub-pages or links
to single sites), and a number of types of brand sites can also be
many. In this example, the cost for placing the ad has actually
been reduced for the user, while the score increased from 37 to 53.
In addition, user demographics are also shown such that the
purchase rate has increased to 60 percent. In this example, the
optimized and recommended ad model was primarily optimized to
increase the purchase rate.
[0158] The particular parameter that the user wishes to optimize on
is an input to the system and thus, the recommended ad model would
be different if the user's inputs or desired optimization
parameters are different. In operation 1062, the generated
recommended new ad site selections and/or ad presentation is
generated, based on a multi-variable optimization, and the
optimization criteria provided by the user. Multi-variable
optimization is a mathematical process that takes in a plurality of
variables, such as the desired outcome of the ad, and then presents
a selection of variables that would optimize as specific outcome.
Multi-variable optimization mathematics and processes are well
known in the art, and any number of these processes may be used so
as to enable the optimization of the particular criteria defined by
the user.
[0159] In screen 1060, the user is provided with another option to
view the ad 1012, and thus present a screen 1064 that shows the
advertisement A in the particular brand site, as well as the
network sites that were selected to be optimal, based on the user's
criteria. The finalized ad placement 1066 is then presented so that
the user can view the ad in the example websites, by populating the
ad as shown in operation 1068. Formatting may also be applied, to
enable the user to visualize either a final product or a prototype
of the ad placement.
[0160] FIG. 15 illustrates an example where an ad for a product or
service A is placed in relation to a particular brand a. The
structure 1070 is shown to illustrate the relationship of a user
selecting a particular brand for which to correlate or assimilate
the particular ad placement and then populate that advertisement to
the various websites, which may be part of the network or other
brands. In this example, the other network sites are 1074. Each of
the sites that are shown to be part of the network site, e.g.,
sites d, e, and f, have some content that relate to brand A.
[0161] For this reason, the user that selected the advertisement to
be related to brand a, will be shown a listing of network sites
that also include at least some content that relates to brand a,
integrated within the network sites. If the selection were for the
advertisement to relate to brand b, a different subset of network
sites will be presented, and similarly, if the advertisement were
to be related to brand c, yet a different subset of network sites
would be presented as options for the user to initially select the
brand to be placed on those sites.
[0162] As noted above, there is an initial selection by the user to
select particular network sites based on an initial brand selected,
and thus, to generate an initial and preliminary ad model as shown
in 1050 of FIG. 13. If the user wishes to optimize the ad model,
the optimized model would then generate potentially a different set
of network sites to advertise in, as opposed to the initial set. In
other embodiments, it may be possible that the initial ad model
would be identical to the recommended ad model, if the user
intelligently selected the different sites and the different sites
correlate to the particular goals desired by the user, when
optimized using the multi-variable optimization.
[0163] FIG. 16 illustrates a system where an ad processing server
1202 is shown in communication with a user that provides
advertising input. The ad processing server 1202 is in
communication with metrics servers 1204. The metrics servers 1204
are themselves, communicating with the network site server
processing and the brand site server processing servers 1206, and
1208, respectively. The network site and brand site servers
processed the different websites that are then monitored to
determine metrics of use, popularity, purchases, interactions,
communication, changes in content, and the like.
[0164] These various metrics are then stored by the metric servers
1204 and made available to the ad processing module 1202. The
metrics servers 1204 are therefore continuously updated based on
the activity at the network sites and the brand sites. The brand
site activity is recorded as shown in monitors 1210 and the network
site activity is recorded in 1211. The network site activity is
recorded for metrics calculations if the network site includes some
brand content that may relate to a particular brand site. For
instance, if a sports site includes some content related to one of
the brand sites, that particular website and the content that is
related to the brand site content on the network site is
monitored.
[0165] By monitoring these metrics, it is possible for the ad model
processing 1202 to identify network sites that include some brand
content that relates the brand, and also fine tune the suggested
network sites, based on the target optimizing criteria provided by
the user. The advertisement A can then be populated to the
different network sites and brand sites, if appropriate.
[0166] FIG. 17 illustrates an example where user defined goals 1220
may include a plurality of goals. The plurality of goals may be
optimized for product introduction, demographics, optimized to
relate a product to a brand, cost placement, purchase rate over
time, etc. These goals are inputs from the user, in addition to the
definition of the ad and the related focus of the ad to some brand.
The ad model processing 1202' takes in the inputs and executes an
optimization engine. The optimization engine process a number of
multivariable computations to optimize on one or more criteria, as
may be defined by the user. Example multivariable computations
includes graphing techniques to find interactions in lines, planes
and multidimensional surfaces. In some cases, the multivariable
computations include finding minimums or maximums in curves,
surfaces or intersecting planes. Example multivariable algorithms
include, but are not limited to (1) minimum search by coordinate
and conjugate directions descent, (2) Powell's method; (3) the
modified Hooke-Jeeves method (4) simplex Nelder-Meed method; (5)
quasi-gradient method; (6) random directions search; and (7)
simulated annealing, all of which are know and incorporated herein
by reference. Multivariable optimization is also sometimes referred
to as multivariate testing or multivariate optimization. The
generic process defines the ability to "optimize" content or groups
of content, to present the best possible combination of content
given some limiting criteria. The limiting criteria, as used
herein, is the user's goal.
[0167] The goal may be to generate more revenue, define a splashy
advertisement, a high profile promotion, etc. The process can be
holistic and should be able to work on any page on a site and on
any form of content, and can recognizes interrelationships among
elements on a page and a site. Thus, based on the optimization, a
set of recommended websites are presented to the user in the form
of a recommended ad model 1222. The websites that are recommended
each have at least some content that relates to the brand.
IV. Brand Site Product and Computer-Implemented Structure
[0168] Embodiments of the present invention may be practiced with
various computer system configurations including hand-held devices,
microprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable
consumer electronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers and the
like. The invention can also be practiced in distributed computing
environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices
that are linked through a wire-based or wireless network.
[0169] With the above embodiments in mind, it should be understood
that the invention can employ various computer-implemented
operations involving data stored in computer systems. These
operations are those requiring physical manipulation of physical
quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take
the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored,
transferred, combined, compared and otherwise manipulated.
[0170] Any of the operations described herein that form part of the
invention are useful machine operations. The invention also relates
to a device or an apparatus for performing these operations. The
apparatus can be specially constructed for the required purpose, or
the apparatus can be a general-purpose computer selectively
activated or configured by a computer program stored in the
computer. In particular, various general-purpose machines can be
used with computer programs written in accordance with the
teachings herein, or it may be more convenient to construct a more
specialized apparatus to perform the required operations.
[0171] The invention can also be embodied as computer readable code
on a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium is any
data storage device that can store data, which can be thereafter be
read by a computer system. The computer readable medium can also be
distributed over a network-coupled computer system so that the
computer readable code is stored and executed in a distributed
fashion.
[0172] Although the foregoing invention has been described in some
detail for purposes of clarity of understanding, it will be
apparent that certain changes and modifications can be practiced
within the scope of the appended claims. Accordingly, the present
embodiments are to be considered as illustrative and not
restrictive, and the invention is not to be limited to the details
given herein, but may be modified within the scope and equivalents
of the appended claims.
* * * * *