GB2458693A

GB2458693A - Insertion of advertisement content into website images

Info

Publication number: GB2458693A
Application number: GB0805646A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Malcolm John Siddall
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2008-03-28
Filing date: 2008-03-28
Publication date: 2009-09-30
Also published as: GB0905305D0; GB0805646D0

Abstract

An advertising method comprises presentation of images of an event upon a website, and inserting advertisement content into the event images. The viewer is presented with a spectator image 11 of an event venue which may include, for example, a sports arena, a shopping mall or a video game scene. Selected image regions 12,13 are reserved for the advertisement content, which is inserted into in these image regions. The advertisements may comprise still or moving images and/or sound. The user may be presented with tools to facilitate navigation around the spectator image, for example, a zoom function or the ability to alter the viewpoint.

Description

Themed Web Advertising This invention relates to themed web advertising.

S

Events, particularly sporting events, such as football matches, are sponsored' by companies paying for advertising opportunities that give them exposure to the spectators and television audiences. At football matches, for example, advertisements are placed on panels around the perimeter of the pitch and on the soffits of spectator stands. Cricket grounds will sometimes have a turf image advertisement, often made to a perspective that gives it s three-dimensional appearance to a particular television camera.

The association of an advertisement with a particular sport is valued by advertisers, because the promoted product is called to mind whenever the spectator thinks about the sport.

The present invention provides a means for extending the advertising opportunities presented by sporting and other events.

The invention comprises a themed web advertising method comprising, on or in connection with a website associated with an event or venue; presenting on the website a spectator image of the event or venue; inserting advertisements in the spectator image.

A venue may be a real venue, such as a football stadium or a race track such as Aintree or Silverstone, or a virtual venue, such as might be created for playing a video game, which might be an intel-net game.

The advertisements may appeal-Iii the spectator image as they would appeal-to a spectator at the event or venue or to a viewer of the televised event or venue, which may, for example, be around the perimeter of a football pitch, or along a racetrack. The event or venue may concern other activity than sport -a venue might, for example, be a shopping mall, and the advertisements may simply comprise facades of shops in the mall.

The spectator image may be a simple static image, but may also have provision for pan and/or zoom operations so that the numbei-of advertisements may substantially exceed what could be accommodated on a normal screen. The image may, for example, cornpnse a panoramic image of a football pitch or stadium and tools' may be provided to the viewer facilitating panning all around the image, changing the viewpoint and zooming in or out, whereby to present a wide viewing angle to locate a particular advertisement or a narrow viewing angle so as to magnify the image of one advertisement, and even pass through a virtual entrance to the interior, say, of a shop to inspect and select goods displayed thei-ein.

The advertisements may themselves comprise static or moving images, and be changeable, so that advertising space may be sold to different advertisers at different periods of time, and may in particular comprise moving text. whereby messages, for example, birthday greetings, can be displayed. An example of a moving image is a virtual football player with the name of a promoter on his strip, or a Formula I car racing around Silverstone, emblazoned with promoters' logos.

The website may have an audio content, and may also incorporate activity relative to an event, such, for example as a football match being played out on a football pitch, or a race around a race track constituting the spectator image. Advertisements may be purely visual, purely audio or mixed video and audio. An audio advertisement might constitute an announcement, say, over a tannoy system.

It may be arranged that zooming in on an advertisement suppresses background sound and opens a sound file to give details or promotional audio material about the product featured in the advertisement.

It may also be arranged that advertisements include links connecting the viewer to the advertiser's website or email address for enquiry or transactional purposes.

Advertising methods according to the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a virtual stand in a football stadium, displaying advertisements.

Figure 2 is a zoomed view of an individual advertisement from Figure 1; Figure 3 is a driver's view of a virtual car racetrack, displaying advertisements.

The drawings illustrate a themed web advertising method comprising, on or in connection with a website associated with an event or venue; presenting on the website a spectator image I I of the event or venue; inserting advertisements 12 in the spectator image.

The advertisements 12 appear in the spectator image 11 as they would appear to a spectator at the event or venue or to a viewer of the televised event or venue, which is, as in Figures 1 and 2, around the perimeter of a football pitch, or, Figure 3, along a race track, in this instance a motor racing track. The event or venue may concern other activity than sport -a venue might. for example, be a shopping mall, and the advertisements may simply comprise facades of shops in the mall.

It should be stressed that, while the images illustrated in the drawings may be similar to the images seen during televised football matches or of other actual events or venues, which necessarily contain images of actual advertising boards displayed at the venue televised, the advertisements illustrated in the drawings are inserted into the image of the event or venue electronically so as to appear where the actual advertising boards appear in the spectator image, or perhaps also in other or additional locations where, for example, actual advertisements could not, in the real situation, be placed, as where they would block the view of the field or event from actual spectators.

The spectator image I I may be a simple static image, as is actually shown in the drawings, but may also have provision for pan and/or zoom operations, as indicated by the arrows and symbols A and Z in Figures 1 and 3, so that the number of advertisements may substantially exceed what could be accommodated on a normal screen. The image may, for example, comprise a panoramic image of a football pitch or stadium and tools' may be provided to the viewer facilitating panning all around the image, changing the viewpoint and zooming in or out, whereby to present a wide viewing angle to locate a particular advertisement or a narrow viewing angle so as to magnify the image of one advertisement, as seen in Figure 2. In a virtual shopping mall venue, tools can be provided to navigate around the mall and pass through a virtual entrance to the interior, say, of a shop to inspect and select goods displayed therein. The viewer may be represented by an avatar, and navigation effected by the keyboard directional arrows, as in the popular virtual world Second Life'. A shop interior may be simple a billboard of advertising panels, or, with more sophistication, a set of floors' or departments selling different goods with illustrations of the goods, for example, a rail of clothes or drawers containing shoes that may be opened and the shoes taken out for closer inspection.

The spectator image I I may, however, be a moving image, such as a continuous pan around a stadium or a continuous circuit around a racetrack, with provision for stopping the motion in order to settle on a desired advertisement.

The advertisements 12 may themselves comprise static or moving images, and be changeable, so that advertising space may be sold to different advertisers at different periods of time, and may in particular comprise moving text, whereby messages, for example, birthday greetings, can be displayed. The soffIt panel 13 in Figure 1 could be adapted to display moving text, to this end. Birthday greetings and like messages may. of course, only be of interest to the addressee of the message, and it may be arranged that the greetings are only visible to the addressee accessing the site, so that many such messages can be carried simultaneously. It may be open to the addressee, or to whoever ordered and paid for the greeting, to email the image to other addresses, for example, family and friends. On the other hand, an eight-year-old United supporter may be particularly thrilled to know that his name is displayed on his club's website to visitors all over the world. and this may also be offered as a service.

Another example of a moving image is a virtual football player, or a whole team, with the name of a promoter on their strip, or a Formula I cat' racing around Silverstone.

emblazoned with promoters' logos, which, again, may be electronically inserted rather than being video images of actual advertisements affixed to the vehicles.

The website may have an audio content, and may also incorporate activity relative to an event, such, for example as a football match being played out on a football pitch, or a race around a race track constituting the spectator image. The audio content could comprise background audio, such as crowd noise and perhaps commentaly in a football match, or engine noise from cars on a racetrack. Advertisements may be purely visual.

purely audio or mixed video and audio. An audio advertisement might constitute an announcement, say, over a tannoy system, which could be synchronized with a moving text message, and played whenever the message is navigated to and zoomed in on.

It may he arranged that zooming in on an advertisement suppresses background sound and opens a sound file to give details or promotional audio material about the product featured in the advertisement.

The spectator image may, of course, be in colour or monochrome. A monochrome spectator image may carry advertisements in colour. While a monochrome image may be displayed on a generally accessible website, a colour version may be sent to subscribers or designated recipients e.g. of greetings or other messages. Such an arrangement may have value in protecting the images against being copied for piracy or counteifeit purposes.

It may also be arranged that advertisements include links connecting the viewer to the advertiser's website or email address for enquiry or transactional purposes. Clicking a pointer on an image of a pair of shoes, for example, might be arranged to open a link to a screen in which shoe colour and size can be selected and the shoes ordered.

I

Many other variations can be added and other virtual venues and events to which people will be drawn by the nature of the venue or the event can be contemplated within the context of the invention.

Claims

Claims: A themed web advertising method comprising, on or in connection with a website associated with an event or venue; presenting on the website a spectator image of the event or venue; inserting advertisements in the spectator image.
2 A method according to claim I, in which the venue is a real venue.
3 A method according to claim I. in which the venue is a virtual venue, such as might be created for playing a video game, which might be an internet game.
4 A method according to any one of claims I to 3, in which the advertisements appear in the spectator image as they would appear to a spectator at the event or venue or to a viewer of the televised event or venue.
A method according to claim 4, in which the advertisements appear around the perimeter of a football pitch, or along a racetrack.
6 A method according to any one of claims I to 5, in which the event or venue concerns other activity than sport.
7 A method according to claim 6, in which the venue is a shopping mall.
8 A method according to claim 7, in which the advertisements comprise facades of shops in the mall.
9 A method according to any one of claims I to 8, in which the spectator image is a static image.
A method according to claim 9, in which the spectator image also has provision for pan and/or zoom operations.
II A method according to claim I 0, iii which the image comprises a panoramic image of a football pitch or stadium and tools' are provided to the viewer facilitating panning all around the image, changing the viewpoint and zooming in or out.
12 A method according to claim 10, in which the spectator image comprises an image of a shopping mall and tools' are provided to the viewer to pass through a virtual entrance to the interior of a shop to inspect and select goods displayed therein.
13 A method according to any one of claims Ito 12, in which the advertisements compise static images.
14 A method according to any one of claims ito 13, in which the advertisements comprise moving images.
A method according to any one of claims I to 5, in which the advertisements are changeable, so that advertising space may be sold to different advertisers at different periods of time.
16 A method according to any one of claims I to 15, in which the advertisements comprise moving text, whereby messages, for example, birthday greetings, can be displayed.
17 A method according to any one of claims Ito 16, in which a moving image is an image of a football player with the name of a promoter on his strip.
18 A method according to any one of claims Ito 16, in which a moving image is an image of a Formula I or other car racing around a race track, emblazoned with promoters' logos.
19 A method according to any one of claims Ito 18, in which the website has an audio content.
A method according to any one of claims Ito 19, in which the website incorporates activity relative to an event, such, for example as a football match being played out on a football pitch, or a race around a race track constituting the spectator image.
21 A method according to any one of claims Ito 20, in which advertisements are purely visual.
22 A method according to any one of claims I to 20, in which advertisements are purely audio.
23 A method according to any one of claims I to 21, in which advertisements are mixed video and audio.
24 A method according to any one of claims I to 23, in which it is arranged that zooming in on an advertisement suppresses background sound and opens a sound file to give details or promotional audio mateilal about the product featured in the advertisement.A method according to any one of claims I to 25, in which it is arranged that advertisements include links connecting the viewer to the advertiser's website or email address for enquiry or transactional purposes.