Advertising using a combination of video and banner advertisements

Abstract

In a system that includes a processor and a display device on which video programming can be displayed, a method for transitioning to a video advertisement by displaying a related banner advertisement. The method includes generating, on the display device, a display screen on which a video advertisement is to be displayed, the display screen being generated at a time before a time at which the video advertisement is available to be displayed. A banner advertisement is displayed on the display screen at a region that coincides with a region where the video advertisement is to be displayed. The banner advertisement can have a subject matter that is related to that of the video advertisement or alternatively have any subject matter. When the video advertisement becomes available to be displayed, the method can include replacing the banner advertisement with the video advertisement.

1 . In a broadcast system that includes a program provider that distributes broadcasts to one or more terminal processing devices, wherein the terminal processing devices comprise a processor and a display device on which video programming from a video provider can be displayed, a method for displaying video advertising content at a terminal processing device to a viewer by way of the display device, the method comprising the acts of: 
 receiving at the terminal processing device one or more video streams from a video provider containing a plurality of video advertisements that are to be displayed in an advertisement region on a display screen, wherein the advertisement region is displayed on the display screen concurrently with an enhanced television screen that includes at least one of an EPG or enhanced programming;    in response to user input, initiating the display of the enhanced television screen on the display;    determining at the terminal processing device that a first video advertisement is not yet available for display, and such that upon initiating the display of the enhanced television screen a short period of time lapses prior to the first video advertisement being available for display on the advertisement region of the display;    identifying at the terminal processing device a first banner advertisement having subject matter that is related to that of the first video advertisement;    displaying at the terminal processing device the first banner advertisement within the advertisement region of the display device;    analyzing at the terminal processing device the at least one trigger to identify the begin time when the first video advertisement is to be displayed;    determining at the terminal processing device that the begin time when first video advertisement is to be displayed has been reached;    determining at the terminal processing device that the first video advertisement is available for display; and    upon determining that both the begin time has been reached and determining that the first video advertisement is available for display, transitioning at the terminal processing device between the first banner advertisement and the first video advertisement to display the first video advertisement within the advertisement region.    
   
   
       2 . A method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the act of displaying comprises the acts of: 
 retrieving the display screen comprising an advertisement box; and    retrieving the first banner advertisement and displaying the first banner advertisement within the advertisement box.    
   
   
       3 . A method as recited in  claim 2 , wherein the act of transitioning comprises the acts of: 
 ceasing displaying the first banner advertisement within the advertisement box; and    upon ceasing displaying the first banner advertisement, displaying video advertising content within the advertisement box.    
   
   
       4 . A method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the first video advertisement comprises video advertising content and at least one trigger.  
   
   
       5 . A method as recited in  claim 4 , wherein, the video advertising content comprises at least one package, the at least one package comprising at least one of (i) a source identifier defining where the processor is capable of retrieving the video advertising content and (ii) a data file containing the video advertising content.  
   
   
       6 . A method as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising the acts of: 
 analyzing at the terminal processing device a plurality of video advertisements deliverable upon the first video stream, each of the plurality of video advertisements comprising a video content identifier defining the type of video advertising content associated with the video advertisement;    identifying at the terminal processing device at least one viewer preference of the viewer, the at least one preference defining which type of video advertising content a viewer is more likely to watch than other types of video advertising content; and    retrieving at the terminal processing device the first video advertisement in compliance with the at least one viewer preference.    
   
   
       7 . A method as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising the acts of: 
 analyzing at the terminal processing device a delivery schedule defining at least one of (i) a time, and (ii) a day for delivering the first video advertisement to the display device;    in response to analyzing the delivery schedule, identifying at the terminal processing device a currently viewable video advertisement on the first video stream, the currently viewable video advertisement comprising a start time and a stop time; and    identifying at the terminal processing device the first video advertisement from the first video stream, the first video advertisement being the next available video advertisement viewable after the stop time of the currently viewable video advertisement.    
   
   
       8 . A method as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising the acts of: 
 analyzing at the terminal processing device the first video advertisement, the first video advertisement comprising a stop trigger configured to identify the time when the video advertisement content is to cease being displayed upon the display device and a plurality of other triggers;    tracking at the terminal processing device the plurality of other triggers to identify the time remaining from the current time until the stop trigger is to be received by the processor; and    upon receiving the stop trigger, transitioning at the terminal processing device between the first video advertisement and another advertisement.    
   
   
       9 . A method as recited in  claim 8 , wherein the another advertisement is selected from the group consisting of (i) a video advertisement and (ii) a banner advertisement.  
   
   
       10 . A method as recited in  claim 8 , further comprising the acts of: 
 identifying at the terminal processing device a second video advertisement from a second video stream communicating with the processor, the second video advertisement comprising video advertising content and at least one trigger; and    in response to receiving the stop trigger, transitioning at the terminal processing device between a second banner advertisement and the advertising content of the second video advertisement to display the video advertising content to the viewer.    
   
   
       11 . A computer product for implementing, in a broadcast system that includes a program provider that distributes broadcasts to one or more terminal processing devices, wherein the terminal processing devices comprise a processor and a display device on which television programming can be displayed, a method for displaying video advertising content from a video provider at a terminal processing device to a viewer, the video advertising content selectable from at least one video advertisement content deliverable upon at least one video stream, the computer program product comprising: 
 a physical computer-readable medium carrying computer-executable instructions for implementing the method recited in  claim 1 .    
   
   
       12 . A computer product as recited in  claim 11 , wherein the first banner advertisement comprises advertising content and a banner content identifier.  
   
   
       13 . A computer product as recited in  claim 11 , wherein the first video advertisement comprises at least one announcement and at least one package, the at least one announcement notifying the processor of the availability of the first video advertisement.  
   
   
       14 . A computer program product as recited in  claim 11 , wherein the video advertising content is defined by at least one package, the at least one package comprising at least one of (i) an identifier defining a source from which the video advertising content is receivable and (ii) a data file containing the video advertising content.  
   
   
       15 . A computer product as recited in  claim 11 , wherein the program code means for displaying comprises: 
 program code means for retrieving a display screen comprising at least one advertisement box; and    program code means for retrieving the first banner advertisement and displaying the first banner advertisement within one of the at least one advertisement box.    
   
   
       16 . A computer product as recited in  claim 15 , wherein the program code means for transitioning comprises when the first banner advertisement is not displayed within the at least one advertisement box, program code means for displaying the video advertising content within the at least one advertisement box.  
   
   
       17 . A computer product as recited in  claim 21 , further comprising: 
 program code means for analyzing at the terminal processing device the at least one video advertisement deliverable upon at least one video stream, each of the at least one video advertisement comprising a video content identifier defining the type of video advertising content associated with the video advertisement;    program code means for identifying at the terminal processing device at least one viewer preference of the viewer, the at least one preference defining which type of video advertising content a viewer is more likely to watch than other types of video advertising content; and    program code means for retrieving at the terminal processing device the first video advertisement in compliance with the at least one viewer preference.    
   
   
       18 . A computer product as recited in  claim 11 , further comprising: 
 program code means for analyzing at the terminal processing device data representative of a schedule for the delivery of the first video advertisement to the display device, the schedule being accessible by the processor;    in response to analyzing the data, program code means for identifying at the terminal processing device a currently viewable video advertisement on the first video stream, the currently viewable video advertisement comprising a start time and a stop time defined by at least one trigger; and    program code means for identifying at the terminal processing device the first video advertisement from the first video stream, the first video being the next available video advertisement after the stop time of the currently viewable video advertisement.    
   
   
       19 . A computer product as recited in  claim 11 , further comprising: 
 program code means for analyzing at the terminal processing device the first video advertisement to identify a stop trigger identifying the time when the video advertisement content is to cease being displayed upon the display device;    program code means for tracking at the terminal processing device the first video advertisement deliverable to the processor to identify the amount of time remaining until the stop trigger is to be received by the processor; and    upon receiving the stop trigger, program code means for transitioning at the terminal processing device between the first video advertisement and a second banner advertisement to display the second banner advertisement to the viewer.    
   
   
       20 . A computer product as recited in  claim 19 , wherein the program code means for tracking comprises: 
 program code means for identifying a plurality of intermediate triggers within the first video advertisement, the plurality of intermediate triggers defining a plurality of time segments of the first video advertisement; and    program code means for tracking the plurality of time segments to determine the number of time segments remaining to be played to the viewer.    
   
   
       21 . A computer product as recited in  claim 19 , further comprising: 
 in response to identifying the stop trigger, program code means for identifying at the terminal processing device a second video advertisement from a second video stream communicating with the processor, the second video advertisement comprising video advertising content and at least one trigger; and    in response to receiving the stop trigger, program code means for transitioning at the terminal processing device between the second banner advertisement and the advertising content of the second video advertisement to display the video advertising content to the viewer.    
   
   
       22 . In a broadcast system that includes a program provider that distributes broadcasts to one or more terminal processing devices, wherein the terminal processing devices comprise a processor and a display device on which video programming from a video provider can be displayed, a method for targeting a viewer with video advertising content based upon the viewers preferences, the method comprising the acts of: 
 receiving at the terminal processing device one or more video streams containing a plurality of video advertisements;    retrieving at the terminal processing device preference data from a data source, the preference data representing viewing selections of the viewer;    identifying at the terminal processing device a plurality of video advertisements deliverable to the processor by a plurality of video streams, each video advertisement of the plurality of video advertisements comprising video advertising content, at least one trigger, and a video content identifier;    analyzing at the terminal processing device each of the plurality of video streams to identify at least one video advertisement of the plurality of video advertisements in compliance with the preference data based on the video content identifier of the at least one video advertisement;    initiating display, at the terminal processing device, a display screen having an advertisement region in which the at least one video advertisement is to be displayed, wherein upon initiating the display, it is determined that the at least one video advertisement is temporarily not available for display;    identifying at the terminal processing device a first banner advertisement in compliance with the preference data;    while waiting for the at least one video advertisement to become available, displaying at the terminal processing device the first banner advertisement within the advertisement region of the display device, and such that the first banner advertisement is displayed prior to initiating display of said at least one video advertisement and after initiating display of the display screen and advertising region;    analyzing at the terminal processing device the at least one trigger to identify a begin time when the at least one video advertisement is to be displayed;    determining at the terminal processing device that the begin time when the at least one video advertisement is to be display has been reached;    determining at the terminal processing device that the at least one video advertisement is available for display; and    in response to analyzing the video content identifier of the at least one video advertisement, analyzing at the terminal processing device the at least one trigger to identify the begin time, determining that the begin time has been reached, and determining that the at least one video advertisement is available for display, transitioning between the first banner advertisement and the least one video advertisement in order to display the at least one video advertisement when the at least one video advertisement is available for display.    
   
   
       23 . A method as recited in  claim 22 , wherein the data source is at least one of (i) a data source local to the processor and (ii) a data source remote to the processor.  
   
   
       24 . A method as recited in  claim 32 , wherein the preference data is defined by at least one of (i) the viewer's prior viewing activities and (ii) demographic information relating to the viewer.  
   
   
       25 . A method as recited in  claim 22 , wherein the first banner advertisement comprises banner advertisement content and at least one identifier of banner advertisement type.  
   
   
       26 . A method as recited in  claim 22 , wherein the act of displaying a first banner advertisement comprises the acts of: 
 retrieving a display screen, the display screen comprising an advertisement box; and    retrieving the first banner advertisement and displaying the first banner advertisement within the advertisement box.    
   
   
       27 . A method as recited in  claim 26 , wherein retrieving the display screen comprises retrieving the display screen from at least one of (i) a mass storage device in communication with the processor and (ii) a remote source.  
   
   
       28 . A method as recited in  claim 22 , wherein each of the plurality of video streams is an MPEG stream.  
   
   
       29 . A method as recited in  claim 22 , wherein each of the plurality of video streams comprises at least one of (i) an MPEG stream and (ii) a data stream.  
   
   
       30 . A method as recited in  claim 22 , wherein each video advertisement comprises at least one of (i) zero or more triggers, (ii) one or more announcements, and (iii) one or more packages.  
   
   
       31 . A method as recited in  claim 30 , wherein the act of analyzing each of the plurality of video streams comprises the act of analyzing each video content identifier to identify those video advertisements having a video content identifier that complies with the preference data.  
   
   
       32 . A method as recited in  claim 22 , further comprising the acts of: 
 in response to transitioning between the first banner advertisement and the at least one video advertisement, identifying at the terminal processing device a second banner advertisement having a banner content identifier in compliance with the preference data;    identifying at the terminal processing device a second video advertisement having a video content identifier in compliance with the preference data; and    in response to identifying the second banner advertisement and the second video advertisement, preparing at the terminal processing device to transition from the first video advertisement to the second banner advertisement and from the second banner advertisement to the second video advertisement.    
   
   
       33 . A method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the enhanced television screen includes at least an EPG.