Dynamically generated personalized advertising method

Abstract

A dynamic advertising method in which avatars corresponding to viewer-associated assets are inserted into advertising content displayed on viewer devices. Viewer records contain at least one viewer-associated avatar model which are used to selectively replace identified replaceable image elements in stored media content from content records - the system graphically renders final advertising content including the viewer-associated avatars of types corresponding to asset types assigned to at least one replaceable image element in the content. The method of tagging or preparing the mage content for use in association with the method is also disclosed.

Description

[0001]

[0002] This invention is in the field of electronic advertising methods related to the display of multimedia ad content on client devices of viewers / customers. More specifically a method is disclosed in which generic placeholder image elements (people, pets and the like) can be replaced with avatars of the actual viewer or associated people or other elements in final rendered content displayed.

[0003] Background:

[0004] Electronic advertising methods have proliferated as e-commerce methods have expanded in all retail spaces and channels. Different banner advertising, streaming video, static image display and other approaches are used and seen by individuals literally multiple times every hour, in addition to traditional omnichannel advertising distribution methods such as television and radio or print. One of the areas in which many companies have invested large amounts of resources in the online and customized advertising space is the area of targeted advertising namely helping advertisers to show their advertising content only to the most relevant potential customers. For example, methods involving demographic slicing on social networks and other websites, display of particular advertising content based upon particular website and electronic interactions, and the like. Targeting the display of particular fixed advertising content based upon different viewing parameters is a reasonably mature industry.

[0005] Something that has not yet been done is to actually target the appearance of advertising content based upon the potential viewer i.e. in addition to or in the place of targeting what advertising content will be displayed, there have been no significant body of attempts to actually customize the stored advertising content itself dynamically, to substitute specific image or video elements that might be most relevant to the particular viewer. For example it is contemplated that if it were possible to provide an advertising method in which the actual content itself which is rendered for display substituted the appearance of the viewer, their pets, their spouse or other personal assets affiliated with the viewer in place of placeholder generic items in the advertising content itself, this could significantly enhance the e-commerce experience and would it is believed to be extremely attractive to advertisers.

[0006] Summary of the Invention: One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a dynamic video advertising method in which visual advertising material will be personalized for display on the display interface of a viewer client device by dynamically re-rendering the static or moving video content to replace at least one replaceable image element in the image content with a corresponding avatar of a viewer associated asset. Insertion of partial or complete avatars corresponding to the viewer themselves or to other viewer associated assets into static image or video content will provide a significantly enhanced advertising consumption experience.

[0007] The method relies upon a server. The server typically comprises a processor and memory, and a network interface for communication with viewer client devices each having a viewer interface. The viewer client devices will typically be internet-connected smart devices or remote computers of potential clothing vendors and purchasers. Details of the server hardware will be understood to those skilled in the art and are all contemplated within the scope of the present invention, as are the various types of viewer client devices.

[0008] The server of the present invention hosts a advertising server software component for executing the steps of the method. The advertising server software component will comprise any combination of locally stored or locally accessible processor instructions for execution on the server in conjunction with its hardware components and in communication with networked client devices to aid the execution of the virtual fitting method as further outlined herein.

[0009] In addition to the advertising server software component, the server will also host or have access to a content database comprising content records each of which corresponds to a visual advertising content pie for selected displayed to viewers. Many different database structures will be understood to those skilled in the art.

[0010] Each content record would comprise and store the necessary image content for display via the display interface of a client device of the viewer - i.e. photo or video assets or the like. The content record would also include content matching criteria for the selected display of the associated image content to particular viewers - demographic matching criteria or the like. Content matching criteria, for use in selection or targeting of the availability of the image content associated with the particular content record, will be understood to those skilled in the art of targeted advertising and any type of store data which can be used to selectively render or selectively make available a particular image content piece based upon a match between the advertising image content and potential viewer will all be understood to be contemplated within the scope of the present invention.

[0011] The content record, in addition to the image content itself, will also include substitution details associated with at least one replaceable image element in the image content. The replaceable image element would be a particular element in the image content which it would be selectably desired to replace with rendered avatar content corresponding to a viewer. The substitution details for each replaceable image element in the image content would include an image avatar type of the replaceable image element selected from a preset list of selectable avatar types. For example a preset list of selectable avatar types might include indication of “primary advertising target”, “secondary human asset”, or the like - indicating particular elements within the photo or video content which should be replaced in rendering with avatars a particular viewer associated asset types. By using a preset list of selectable avatar types, the matching of replaceable image elements and viewer associated assets and viewer records, discussed below, is facilitated.

[0012] The substitution details for the replaceable image element, in addition to the image avatar type, would also include the necessary image Ta coordinates corresponding to the replaceable image element which could be used by the advertising server software component to dynamically render the image content and replace the particular replaceable image element with a viewer associated asset avatar. The image coordinates, as will be understood to those skilled in the art of photo and video processing, might effectively comprise mask coordinates or image recognition parameters which could be used by software components of the advertising server software to recognize and substitute a viewer associated asset avatar for an element in the base image content. The nature of the image coordinates with substitution and rendering and any type of image coordinate data necessary to be stored for this purpose dependent upon the type of masking or image recognition used to achieve the method of the present invention will all be understood to be within the scope hereof. In addition to the content database, the server would also have access to a viewer database which contains viewer records each of which correspond to an affiliated viewer. Each viewer record comprise at least identifying information of the view and any viewer matching criteria which can be used in the matching of content records and associated image content to the affiliated viewer. Again the specific nature of viewer matching criteria which might be desired to be captured, calculated or stored for the purpose of targeting the appearance of particular advertising image content corresponding to particular content records in the content database will be understood to those skilled in the art and all such criteria and associated data storage and data elements are contemplated within the scope of the present invention.

[0013] Additionally each viewer record would include the details of at least one viewer associated avatar model. The viewer avatar model would comprise a viewer avatar type selected from the preset list of selectable avatar types used to also categorize replaceable image elements, and a mathematical model permitting the graphic rendering of a dimensionally accurate avatar of the viewer associated asset. The viewer associated asset might for example the viewer themselves, such that the avatar would be in avatar of the viewer associated with the viewer record, or the viewer associated asset could be any other asset which it was desired to optionally render into dynamically generated advertising material to be displayed to the viewer / viewer on their viewer device. Any type of an article which could be viewed and a mathematical avatar model generated, which might be desired to be associated with a particular viewer, is contemplated within the scope hereof.

[0014] There are many different mathematical approaches which could be taken to capture and rendering of the mathematical model stored in association with a viewer associated avatar model. For example, multiple lidar scans and photographic images of the associated asset could be used to generate the necessary mathematical avatar model, or other approaches will also be obvious to those skilled in the art and all such approaches are contemplated within the scope of the present invention. The viewer records could contain additional information as well as will be understood to those skilled in the art without departing from the intended scope of the present application.

[0015] The method comprises using the server and the advertising server software component to execute certain steps as required. The dynamic advertising rendering and display method is triggered in response to an ad request received at the server in respect of a client device of a viewer. Either the browser or software application on the viewer client device itself could generate the ad request, or in more sophisticated advertising methods a third-party server could also initiate the ad request, passing through the necessary authentication credentials to identify the viewer and connect or communicate in a session with the server for the purpose of rendering and display of the dynamic content on the display in accordance with the remainder of the present invention. On receipt of an ad request, initiated by the viewer client device or by a third party computer-aided network communication with the server, the server and the advertising server software component would parse the ad request to identify the viewer in respect of whom the request is originated, being the requesting viewer, along with any other session parameters contained within the ad request which might correspond to particular content matching criteria, viewer matching criteria, or other advertising targeting parameters to determine the availability of particular advertising content for display to the viewer. The available viewer associated avatar is in respect of a particular viewer record might even be used as parameters to determine which image content would be displayed if it were only desired to display particular image content for which there was the necessary avatar information stored in the viewer database to permit the dynamic personalization of the image or video content for display.

[0016] Certain ad requests might call for the display of a particular advertising content corresponding to a particular content record and others might call for the display of a advertisement based upon other matching criteria and both such approaches are contemplated within the scope of the present invention.

[0017] Following identification of the selected viewer, a selected viewer record would be selected from the viewer database and a selected content record if any would be selected from the content database which contained the details of image content for display to the requesting. The content matching criteria of the content records in the content database along with the viewer matching criteria of the selected viewer record and any other session parameters from the ad request could be used to properly select the advertising content for display. It will also be understood that in certain circumstances the ad request may contain no valid matching criteria such that no advertisement would be returned to the originating device - any type of an approach will be understood to be within the scope of the present invention.

[0018] Upon the identification of a selected content record, either being a particular content record requested in the ad request received by the server or a content record selected based upon matching criteria and session parameters, the next step in the dynamic advertising method could continue. The advertising server software component would compare the contents of the matches the viewer avatar type of any viewer associated avatar model stored in the selected viewer record. If there are any matched replaceable image elements these are the image elements which will be displayed in the final creation of the rendered image content for display to the viewer on their viewer device.

[0019] Following the determination of any matched image elements, the advertising server software component would render the image content from the selected content record for display to the viewer by their client device by replacing any matched image elements with the corresponding matched viewer associated avatar models, using the corresponding image coordinates stored in the content record and the necessary avatar model information stored in the viewer record. Effectively, the advertising server software component would render a final version of the stored image content in respect of the particular advertisement in which any custom elements stored in the selected viewer record would be swapped in place of similar categories of customizable elements in the stored basic or generic image content.

[0020] It will be understood that there may be cases in which the particular content record selected does not include any replaceable image elements having an image avatar type corresponding to any viewer avatar types of any viewer associated avatar models stored in the selected viewer record in which case the preestablished or generic version of the image content of the selected content record would be displayed. I.e. if none of the custom elements stored by if you are in respect of their viewer record correspond to any of the customizable elements in the image content of a particular ad to be called, the basic on customized version of the ad would be displayed.

[0021] The rendered image content would then be transmitted to the display of the client device of the viewer in question for display.

[0022] The rendered image content will only be altered with the substitution of viewer associated avatar models for any replaceable image elements which have matching viewer avatar type of an image avatar type. The remainder of the image content for which there are no matching viewer avatar types being rendered and displayed will be displayed in the original stored format, so that the same system and method of the present invention could be used to serve advertising content to users having viewer records configured on the system, and those who do not, or those who have not configured all of the desired viewer associated asset avatars of the tagged type in respect of a particular content record.

[0023] As outlined it is particularly and explicitly contemplated that the image content stored in association with the content record could comprise static graphic imagery such as photographs and the like, or could comprise video. Both such approaches are contemplated within the scope of the present invention, with attendant requirements on the advertising server software component and the data structure of the content database to permit the necessary storage of masking or other substitution details associated with the replacement of particular elements in the images.

[0024] As discussed, the viewer associated asset associated with a viewer associated avatar model in a viewer record could be the viewer themselves i.e. it could be a avatar of the viewer that is desired to be rendered in place of replaceable image elements in advertising content. In such a case the stored viewer associated avatar model would be a human avatar of the viewer.

[0025] In other cases, the viewer associated asset associated with a particular viewer associated avatar model could be a person associated with who is the subject of a viewer record and the viewer associated avatar model associated there with would be a human avatar of the associated person. Other types of viewer associated assets for whom avatar to be stored and substituted in accordance with the method could be pets, or other affiliated animate or inanimate objects. Any type of an object capable of mathematical modelling to render an avatar is contemplated within the scope hereof.

[0026] Depending upon the level of complexity of the image content or the overall advertising method, the number of replaceable image elements associated with the content record could be one or could be more than one.

[0027] In other embodiments of the present invention, a replaceable image element of a viewer record could refer to only a part of a viewer associated avatar model and the substitution details associated there with could contain the necessary information to properly insert only the relevant part of the related viewer associated avatar. For example, with the necessary modifications and enhancements to the advertising server software component, certain replaceable image elements can call for the replacement of only the head and shoulders of a human avatar versus the entire human avatar and the necessary information could be stored both in the content record as well as the viewer record.

[0028] The system and software of the present invention could provide a software interface by which advertisers seeking to use the system and method of the present invention could rapidly create content records for use in accordance with the remainder of the system and method. The advertising server software component could also comprise any type of a mathematical modelling software capable of rendering the final image content for display with substitution of the replaceable image elements as desired or required in accordance with the remainder of the method. The system and method of the present invention could be offered on a service bureau basis whereby the server and software thereof could be connected via an API or otherwise into third-party advertising platforms for the purpose of serving customized advertising content, or in other approaches, the system and method of the present invention could be deployed on a single vendor basis within a particular single vendor website environment. Both such approaches will be understood to those skilled in the art and the necessary modifications etc. are all contemplated within the scope of the present invention to achieve such approach.

[0029] The software of the present invention for integration with e-commerce platforms of various types, along with the method of dynamic advertising content rendering outlined herein, and a server hosting the databases and software component outlined for the purpose of achieving the objectives of the present invention are all intended to be within the scope of this provisional disclosure and capable of claiming at a later date.

[0030]

[0031] of the Drawings:

[0032] To easily identify the discussion of any particular element or act, the most significant digit or digits in a reference number refer to the figure number in which that element is first introduced. The drawings enclosed are: Figure l is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of the system of the present invention including client devices communicating directly with the advertising server for demonstrative purposes;

[0033] Figure 1 A is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the system of the present invention demonstrating a third-party server interposed between the advertising server of the present invention and the client devices displaying content to viewers;

[0034] Figure 2 is a block diagram demonstrating one embodiment of basic data structures of the databases of the system of Figure 1.

[0035] Figure 3 is a block diagram demonstrating the key components of one embodiment of the server in accordance with the present invention; and

[0036] Figure 4 comprises a flowchart demonstrating the steps of a first embodiment of the method of the present invention.

[0037] Detailed Description of Illustrated Embodiments:

[0038] As outlined herein, the present invention comprises a dynamic personalized advertising method for use in the display of customized visual advertising content to viewers - in which avatars of the viewer or other viewer associated assets would be substituted for generic elements in the image or video advertising content.

[0039] Image content and replaceable image elements:

[0040] As outlined, the general concept of the present invention is a method of dynamically generating and displaying personalized advertising content to viewers. Generic visual content i.e. photos or static graphics, or video, would be formatted and stored along with substitution details for at least one replaceable image element in the visual content, which replaceable image element could be replaced with an avatar of a viewer or some other viewer associated asset.

[0041] The substitution details stored in respect of each article of image content in a content record would include masking coordinates or parameters or other image substitution parameters which could be used by the advertising server software component to render the image content for final display on the display of the user client device substituting the associated replaceable image elements with the avatars stored in association with the viewer.

[0042] Also disclosed herein is the method of creating the content records in the content database in accordance with the present invention, by displaying the image content on the display of a client device operatively connected to the server which would permit for the selection or application of markup details or masking or image substitution parameters which could be used to identify and subsequently assist in the re-rendering of the image content with the replaceable image elements being replaced with any category matching avatars stored in the corresponding viewer record. Providing a user interface on which a user of the system could create content records by selecting the replaceable image elements and entering or providing via the user interface of the client device the necessary information the generation of the substitution details for storage in relation to the content record in question will also be understood to be within the scope of the present invention.

[0043] Avatar type category listing:

[0044] As outlined throughout, the replaceable image elements and the viewer associated avatar models stored in the content and viewer databases of the present invention categorized by selecting a corresponding avatar type from a preset list stored within the system. The concept of a fixed matching list of avatar types which could be used to match viewer avatar models with replaceable image elements is key to the operability of the present invention. Any type of categories which could be used to allow for streamlined record configuration and operation of the method of the present invention will all be understood to be within the scope hereof. Content matching criteria:

[0045] content matching criteria would be stored with respect to content records in the content database to put it matching of content records for display particular viewers corresponding to viewer records in the viewer database of the present invention. As discussed throughout, the concept of actual demographic or other computer assisted advertising targeting methods is a mature field understood by those skilled in the art and any type of content matching criteria which could be used to result in the matching of particular content records from the content database for display to a particular viewer device when an ad request is received will be understood to those skilled in the art and are all intended within the scope hereof.

[0046] It will also be understood that the content records of the content database could be linked to one or more external data sources containing the content matching criteria which could be used to directly or indirectly aid in the matching of particular content records for display.

[0047] Viewer-associated assets:

[0048] As will be understood, the underlying concept of the present invention is to be able to substitute avatars of a viewer of advertising content or other associated assets related to the viewer into static or video advertising content. The image content of the advertising in question would include substitution details which would be masking or image substitution parameters used to substitute the avatars in question for replaceable image elements marked and stored in respect of the image content of a content record.

[0049] The concept of viewer associated assets is relevant to this aspect of the invention. Each viewer record corresponding to an advertising viewer stored in the viewer database of the present invention would include at least one viewer-associated avatar model which would include a selected viewer avatar type which would be selected from the preset list of avatar types or categories as detailed throughout this document at described above. The viewer avatar type indication would effectively allow the matching of particular types of viewer avatar models stored within viewer records to particular replaceable image elements in a particular image content of a content record. For example it is explicitly contemplated that the system of the present invention could include viewer avatar models that corresponded to the viewer themselves, their spouse, children or some other related human beings, or even pets or other inanimate assets were of personal importance to them. By substituting these avatars in place of replaceable image elements in the image content of a particular content record when displayed, the image content would effectively be personalized for the viewer such that they can see themselves in the image so to speak the viewer themselves could be pictured driving a car in a car advertisement with their spouse in the passenger seat, they could be playing in the yard with their children and their pet etc. The concept of a viewer associated assets being the viewer themselves, or any other animate or inanimate object as outlined above will be understood to be within the intended scope of the present invention. As outlined in further detail throughout, the viewer avatar models stored in respect of a particular viewer associated asset would include the necessary image or mathematical information which would allow for the rendering of an avatar representing the particular viewer associated asset when final copies of image content from a content record were rendered for display on a viewer device.

[0050] Viewer matching criteria:

[0051] Viewer matching criteria would be stored in viewer records in the viewer database, to permit actual matching of content records from the content database for display to particular viewers. As discussed throughout, the concept of actual demographic or other computer assisted advertising targeting methods is a mature field understood by those skilled in the art and any type of viewer matching criteria which could be used to result in the matching of particular content records from the content database for display to a particular viewer device when an ad request is received will be understood to those skilled in the art and are all intended within the scope hereof.

[0052] It will also be understood that the viewer records of the viewer database could be linked to one or more external data sources containing the viewer matching criteria which would be used to assist in the matching of particular content records for display, at the connection of the viewer records, the viewer database for the entire system of the present invention to permit enhanced matching or targeting of particular content records in respect of particular viewer records will all be understood to be within the intended scope hereof.

[0053] Selective substitution / rendering:

[0054] One of the key aspects of the present invention which will be understood by those skilled in the art is that the method of substitution of avatars related to viewers or other viewer associated assets in place of marked replaceable image elements in particular image content to be displayed would be selective insofar as if a particular type of replaceable image elements were present in the image content of content record, but the affiliated viewer record of the viewer viewing the content did not include a viewer avatar model having a matching avatar type to the avatar type of the replaceable image element, that element would simply not be substituted. In the example of a car advertisement if the selected viewer record being used to render the final viewable version of the image content included a viewer avatar model corresponding to the primary viewer themselves, but no viewer avatar model tag from the avatar type listing as the spouse or a secondary human model, the system of the present invention could be created in such a way that the avatar of the viewer themselves would be substituted as the primary driver of the vehicle in the advertisement, but no spouse or passenger would be placed in the passenger seat, or else the generic placeholder individual could be left in the passenger seat in other embodiments. The attendant modifications or programming required to allow for the selective substitution of particular avatar models into the image content - and based upon the avatar types stored with respect to the avatar models and the replaceable image elements in the viewer records and content records in question will all be understood to those skilled in the art and are all contemplated within the scope of the present invention.

[0055] System and architecture overview:

[0056] For the purpose of describing the method of the present invention we will now describe briefly the overall architecture of the system 1 of the present invention as required for the purpose of describing the invention. Referring to Figure 1 there is shown a schematic diagram of the system 1 of the present invention. The system 1 comprises a server 2 having a network interface 3 capable of communication with viewer client devices 4 or third party servers 4A. The viewer client devices 4 and third party servers 4A are shown connected to the server 2 via the Internet 9. It is assumed that in many cases the server 2 would communicate with the client devices 4 through a browser interface or something similar - any type of an approach which results in either a browser interface or locally installed client software on a client device 4.

[0057] The server 2 would also include or be operatively connected to a data store 5, capable of hosting or containing a plurality of databases for the practice of the method of the present invention. Shown are the content database 6 and a viewer database 7. Details of an example of a data structure for these databases are shown in subsequent Figures. In addition to the necessary other software and hardware components of any type of server 2, the server 2 also includes as an additional component particularly required for the practice of the method of the present invention a advertising server software component 8, operable on the server and capable of executing the steps of the method.

[0058] The system embodiment shown in Figure 1 shows a direct connection between the viewer client devices 4 and the server 2 i.e. a scenario in which advertising content will be streamed directly from the server 2 to the viewer client device 4 in a direct session. In other embodiments, the server 2 of the present invention could communicate directly with the viewer client devices 4 through third party servers which were in direct session communication with the viewer client devices 4. Figure 1 A shows such an alternate system, in which the server two of the present invention might serve advertising content to viewer client devices 4 via other third-party websites and servers 2A - the third-party website or server 2A that was in direct session communication with the client device 4 might also in these embodiments be component responsible for originating the ad request as they are transmitted to the server 2 of the present invention. The system embodiments of Figures 1 and 1 A will be understood to really only show to demonstrative embodiments of the system and concept of the present invention. Any type of a system architecture resulting in the ability of a server 2 in accordance with the present invention in connection to the necessary data structures to transmit directly or indirectly to the display of a viewer client device 4 customized and dynamically generated advertising content in accordance with the remainder of the method of the present invention will all be understood to be contemplated within the scope hereof. In certain cases also, the advertising server software component of the present invention could be provided as a component or a locally installed software component on a pre-existing Web server otherwise involved in the facilitation of communication sessions with viewer client devices 4, and that type of an approach is also within the scope of the present invention.

[0059] Referring to Figure 2 there is shown a demonstrative data structure for the data store 5 and the content database 6, viewer database 7. Each of these databases 6, 7 are shown in this Figure. As will be obvious to those skilled in the art other types of data structures could also be used in which each of the databases 6, 7 could be data residing within a single database structure. Either a single consolidated dataset for individual or silo databases will be understood to be within the intended scope of the present invention.

[0060] Figure 3 shows one embodiment of a server 2 in accordance with the present invention. The method of the present invention and the overall architecture would be client / server in nature and would rely on a server 2 configured for use in the processing of virtual fitting data transactions in accordance with the method. The server 2, a sample embodiment of which is shown in Figure 3, might consist of one or more servers 2 - a single server or a server farm approach. The server 2 would comprise one or more processors 15 and memory 16. The memory 16 might contain various software components or a series of processor instructions for use in the method of the present invention or otherwise in the operation of the server 2. Processor instructions corresponding to the advertising server software component are shown stored within the memory 16 in this Figure.

[0061] Memory 16 may comprise non-transitory storage media that electronically stores information. The electronic storage media of memory 16 may include one or both of system storage that is provided integrally (i.e., substantially non-removable) with server(s) 1 and / or removable storage that is removably connectable to server(s) 1 via, for example, a port (e.g., a USB port, a firewire port, etc.) or a drive (e.g., a disc drive, etc.). Memory 16 may include one or more of optically readable storage media (e.g., optical discs, etc.), magnetically readable storage media (e.g., magnetic tape, magnetic hard drive, floppy drive, etc.), electrical charge-based storage media (e.g., EEPROM, RAM, etc.), solid-state storage media (e.g., flash drive, etc.), and / or other electronically readable storage media. Memory 16 may include one or more virtual storage resources (e.g., cloud storage, a virtual private network, and / or other virtual storage resources). Memory 16 may store software algorithms, information determined by processor(s) 15, information received from server(s) 2, information received from client devices, and / or other information that enables server(s) 2 to function as described herein.

[0062] Processor(s) 15 may be configured to provide information processing capabilities in server(s) 2. As such, processor(s) 15 may include one or more of a digital processor, an analogue processor, a digital circuit designed to process information, an analogue circuit designed to process information, a state machine, and / or other mechanisms for electronically processing information. In some implementations, processor(s) 15 may include a plurality of processing units. These processing units may be physically located within the same device, or processor(s) 15 may represent processing functionality of a plurality of devices operating in coordination.

[0063] In many embodiments, the server 2 is contemplated to be a Web server, where client devices would use a web browser for interaction therewith. Where a local app was developed, server 2 might not be a Web server per se but might be a server 2 capable of interaction with that type of an interface on remote client devices. Either such approach is contemplated within the scope hereof.

[0064] Server 2 would also include at least one network interface 3 via which it could communicate with the at least one communications network for the purpose of enabling communication with the viewer client devices of the remainder of the method as outlined herein. It will be understood by those skilled in the art of network design and hardware and software design that certain server architectures might include more than one network interface 3 and any type of a server 2 and network interface 3 design which enabled the communication of the server 2 as outlined in the remainder of the method would all be contemplated within the scope of the present invention.

[0065] Advertising server software component: The server of the present invention hosts a advertising server software component for executing the steps of the method. The advertising server software component will comprise any combination of locally stored or locally accessible processor instructions for execution on the server in conjunction with its hardware components and in communication with networked client devices to aid the execution of the virtual fitting method as further outlined herein.

[0066] The advertising server software component 8 resident on or accessible to the server 2 would be key to the performance of the present method. Functions of the advertising server software component 8 would include the creation, administration, and maintenance of database records within the databases 6, 7 along with interacting with client devices as required for the purpose of facilitating the method. The advertising server software component 8 could also encompass any additional required querying, reporting or added software functionality.

[0067] The advertising server software component 8 will comprise any compiled processor instructions capable of being executed by the processor of the server 2. It will be understood that any advertising server software component 8 having the effect of being able to administer the method of the present invention as outlined is contemplated within the scope of the present invention.

[0068] The advertising server software component 8 might comprise a core software engine with additional mathematical modules attached for the purpose of rendering the various mathematical models of the graphics in question. The mathematical and graphic rendering components insofar as they are interoperable or connected with the primary advertising server software component would for the purpose of this disclosure comprise a part of the advertising server software component and overall and in aggregate comprise a portion of the contemplated advertising server software component 8 and its functionality.

[0069] Data store:

[0070] As will be understood to those skilled in the art there are many different data structures which could be in the storage of necessary data and operation of the system of the present invention.

[0071] Referring to the sample embodiment of a data structure the present invention shown in Figure 2 there is shown a content database 6, which represents the content dataset required in order to operate the dynamic advertising content for display method of the present invention. The content database 6 comprises a plurality of content records 20, each of which corresponds to a piece of advertising content which it is desired to display in accordance with the remainder of the method of the present invention to viewers. Insofar as the method here relates to the rendering and dynamic display of visual advertising content, the image content corresponding to a content record 20 would either be a photo or static image, or video or moving image material. Both such approaches are contemplated within the scope of the present invention.

[0072] Each content record 20 includes the necessary fields or data to practice the method. In basic embodiments, the content record 20 would include a serial key or record identifier 21, along with the stored data including images, parameters or other information representing the original or underlying image content 23 which will be displayed to viewers in accordance with the remainder of the method. The image content 23 will represent the static or video imagery which is desired to displayed to viewers in accordance with the remainder the present invention, with or without the rendering of viewer associated avatars therein - i.e. the image content 23 stored in the content record 20 would represent the original or non-dynamic or unaltered advertising comment which will be displayed to users who do not have a viewer record or an associated customized avatar model information stored within the viewer database 7.

[0073] The content record 20 will also include content matching criteria 22 which are any necessary parameters required for the matching of a particular advertisement stored with content record 20 with the particular viewer. As outlined elsewhere herein, the specific types of information which could be used and stored as content matching criteria 22 will be well understood to those skilled in the art of targeted online advertising and the like, and any type of data or information stored in this regard for use in the matching of viewer records with content records in accordance with the remainder of the method of the present invention are understood to be intended within the scope of the present invention. Additionally as outlined in as shown in this Figure, each content record 20 will include the necessary information for at least one replaceable image element 24 which has been masked or otherwise identified within the image content 23 for replacement with viewer associated avatar models 34 as outlined in respect of the remainder of the invention. In respect of each replaceable image element sub record 24 the data structure would include at least an image avatar type 25 selected from a preset list of image avatar types stored within the server 2 and the data store 5, which can be matched against a viewer avatar types 35 of viewer avatar models 34 in viewer records 30 in the viewer database 7. In addition to the image avatar type 25, each replaceable image element 24 would be identified and stored in association with image coordinates 25 corresponding to the image content 23 and being the necessary masking details or image substitution information required for the advertising server software component 8 to appropriately substitute a viewer avatar model 34 having spawning viewer avatar type 35 from a selected viewer record 30 as the image content 3 is dynamically rendered to an advertising request in accordance with the remainder of the method of the present invention.

[0074] It will be understood that various additional types of information might be desired to be stored in relation to content records 20 either in the same records or in a related or linked data structure and any additional information stored to allow for the execution of conceptually aligned iterations of the method of the present invention are all contemplated within the scope hereof. Additionally the data structure of Figure 2 also shows a viewer database 7 comprising a plurality of viewer records 30 each of which corresponds to a potential viewer of dynamic advertising comment in accordance with the remainder of the method of the present invention. Each viewer record 30 would include a necessary record identifier or serial information 31 along with additional viewer details 32 perhaps identifying the viewer in more detail etc. As shown in this embodiment, the viewer record also includes at least one viewer matching criteria 33, being parameters which can be used for the targeted display of particular image content 23 in content records 20. The concept of the use of the viewer matching criteria 33, and the attendant scope of the information which could be stored in that type of a structure or field, will be understood in relation to the overarching context of targeted advertising display outlined herein and will be intended to encompass any type of information which could be used to match viewer records 30 with content records 20 by interaction or alignment between the viewer matching criteria 33 and the content matching criteria 22 of corresponding content records 20.

[0075] Each viewer record 30 is shown in this Figure includes information related to a potential plurality of viewer avatar models for each of which would be stored within the record or a related sub record structure etc. Each viewer avatar model 34 comprises the necessary information to match a particular viewer avatar type 35 against the image avatar types 25 of identified replaceable image elements 24 or in a corresponding content record 20, and substitute that particular viewer avatar model 34 in the rendering of the final image content 23 for display on the viewer client device using the mathematical model 36 or other data and information stored in association with the viewer avatar model 34 to permit the graphic rendering of that type of an avatar into the image content 23. It will be understood that the mathematical model 36 stored in respect of any viewer avatar model 34 could be any type of information or data required to allow the advertising server software component 8 to render the final version of the image content 3 with the substitution of the avatar in question in place of a particular replaceable image element 24 for which there was a match of image avatar type 25 and viewer avatar type 35.

[0076] Each viewer avatar model 34 would correspond to a particular viewer associated asset or object. Those viewer associated assets or objects, associated with the viewer the subject of the viewer record 30, could comprise the viewer themselves i.e. an avatar of the viewer themselves who it would be desired location to substitute into image content for display, or the viewer associated assets who were the subject of additional viewer avatar’s 34 could also be additional friends, family or people, pets, or even inanimate objects, which were related categorically by viewer avatar type 35 to the viewer subject of the viewer record 30 and who it was desired to optionally substitute into certain dynamically rendered advertising content from time to time. For example, in addition to one viewer avatar model 34 which corresponded to a viewer avatar type of “viewer”, “primary”, etc. (the picklist of avatar types in the server could be structured in many different ways), there could be additional avatar models 34 corresponding to “spouse”, “child”, “pet” “house” etc. - all of which could be avatar is capable of rendering into image content to provide more or less customized content for viewing by the viewer when they were viewing a finally rendered customized version of image content from a content record 20. The avatar models and the mathematical models 36 stored within the viewer records 30 could be created in numerous ways, based either upon photographs, lidar scans or the like of the viewer associated asset in question. The details of any underlying images, videos or lidar scans and the like could also be stored in the corresponding viewer record 30 if it were desired to do so. While those details would not be necessary for the rendering of final copies of image content, since the mathematical model 36 saved within the viewer record 30 would also have the necessary configuration to permit substitution of that avatar into the image content, both such approaches are contemplated within the scope of the present invention.

[0077] Method overview:

[0078] Figure 4 is a flowchart demonstrating the steps of a first embodiment of the method of the present invention, resulting in the display of dynamically rendered and personalized advertising content to the user interface of a viewer client device 4.

[0079] As outlined throughout, the method of the present invention would be achieved using a server 2 such as shown in the two system embodiments demonstrated in Figure 1 or 1 A. The server 2 would host a data store 5 containing a viewer database settlement a content database 6, as well as in advertising server software component. The method as shown in Figure 4 would be applicable with attendant modifications either in cases where the server 2 was directly serving a communication and advertising session to the viewer client device 4, as shown in the system embodiment of Figure 1, or alternatively is equally as applicable with respect to the embodiment of the system of Figure 1 A, wherein the viewer client device 4 is directly in communication with a third-party server 2A, which in turn calls the serving of the dynamically customized add in accordance with the method of the present invention by transmission of an ad request to the server 2 and either includes in that ad request a direct network address for transmission of the customized advertising content back to the viewer client device 4 or provides an address by which the transmitted rendered content can be received back at the third-party server 2 for subsequent transmission and display in the session with the viewer client device 4. Operation of the method in both ways will be understood to those skilled in the art and any type of a method such as this will be understood to be within the scope intended.

[0080] The advertising server software component 8 resident on the server 2, in operation in conjunction with the network interface 3 and other components of the server 2 what in many embodiments comprise a listener or a loop such as is shown in Figure 4, listening on the network interface 3 for the receipt of an ad request.

[0081] The server 2 would receive an ad request in respect to particular viewers and viewer client devices 4 via a network interface 3. When the server received an ad request, the method of the present invention would be triggered. Receipt of an ad request at the server 2 is shown at Step 4-1. The ad request on receipt by the server 2 would be parsed to extract therefrom the identity of a viewer in respect of whom dynamically customized advertising content was to be delivered along with for example the network address of a user client device to which the content should be transmitted etc. The viewer identification details contained within the ad request would be used to match the ad request to a viewer record 30 within the viewer database 7 if a viewer record 30 exists for the viewer in question. If no viewer record 30 existed matching the viewer identification details stored within a particular ad request, there would be no selected viewer record and thus the method would not dynamically render any corresponding advertising content and rather would potentially simply display non-customized image content from a content record 20 in accordance with the remainder of the invention.

[0082] An ad request when received from a viewer client device 4 or third-party server 2 would include viewer identification details as well as session parameters which could be used for the identification of a corresponding viewer record 30 as well as for the purpose of targeting the advertising content to be displayed. Upon receipt of the advertising request at the server 2, shown at 4-1, the ad request would be parsed to extract the viewer identification details, session parameters and the other information available for the purpose of the practice of the method.

[0083] Based upon the viewer identification details extracted from the ad request by the software 8, the next step in the method would be that the software would search the viewer database 7 to ascertain if there was a matching or selected viewer record 30. The viewer identification details included in extracted from the ad request would be matched against viewer details stored in the viewer records 30 in that database 7 for the purpose of ascertaining if there was a selected viewer record 30. A decision block determining the existence of the selected viewer record 30 is shown at 4-2.

[0084] If there was no selected viewer record 30 corresponding to the ad request, the system could continue by serving a non-customized. In the non-customized leg of the decision block shown at 4-2, showing steps that would be executed where there was no selected viewer record 30, the next step would be the determination of the selected content record 20 i.e. the particular image content or advertising content to be displayed to the viewer corresponding to the ad request would be selected. In a case where there was no selected viewer record 30 located in the viewer database seven corresponding to the details within the ad request, the session parameters in the ad request or other information would be the likely information used in conjunction with the content matching criteria in the content records 20 to select a content record 20 for processing or display.

[0085] Following the selection of a selected content record 20 either using the session parameters from the ad request, randomly or otherwise, in the display response to an ad request for which there was not a viewer record 30 corresponding to the viewer identification particulars contained in the ad request, the server 2 would render the image content from the selected content record 20 without any changes -shown at step 4-4 - i.e. no replaceable image elements in the image content would be replaced with viewer specific avatars, and the basic or standard content stored in the content record 20 would be used. Transmission or display of the rendered content, without changes, at a viewer client device associated with the ad request is shown at step 4-5 and following the display of the standardized version of the image content for the selected content record 20, the loop or listener for ad request would be continued - shown at step 4-6. It will be understood that with the appropriate design of the hardware and software of the server 2 and the advertising server software component 8, the system could serve multiple ad requests at the same time and the necessary modifications to permit the service of multiple ad request in series or in parallel by the software 8 will all be understood to be within the scope of the present invention.

[0086] The alternative, following the disassembly and interpretation of the ad request by the server 2 and the software 8 - shown at the selection of a selected viewer record 30 decision block 4-2, would be if there is in fact a selected viewer record 30 located in the viewer database 7 corresponding to the viewer details contained within the ad request. If there is a selected viewer record 30, the yes leg of the 4-2 decision block would be activated in the software and method as shown - first resulting in the determination of a selected content record 20, shown at step 4-7. As outlined throughout, the selection of a selected content record 20 would use the content matching criteria from the content records 20 in the content database 6 and the viewer matching criteria stored in the viewer records 30 in the viewer database 7, along with the session parameters that might also have been included in the ad request which would be useful for content matching purposes and any other necessary algorithmic or mathematical requirements to match a particular content record as the selected content record 20. Any number of types of content matching approaches will be understood to those skilled in the art, based upon the use of stored content matching criteria in the content records 20, the viewer matching criteria stored in the viewer records 30 along with session parameters from the ad request to demographically or otherwise match a particular content record 20 is the selected content record 20 to be displayed.

[0087] Following the selection of a selected content record 20, the software 8 would match the replaceable image elements 24 related to the image content of that particular selected content record 20 with available viewer avatars 35 from the selected viewer record 30. This is done by comparing the content avatar type for each image element 24 stored in or in association with the selected content record 20 with the viewer avatar type 35 for each viewer avatar model 34 stored in or in association with the selected viewer record 30. Any replaceable image elements 24 for which there is a matched type of avatar model 34 stored within the viewer record 30 will be removed and the matched avatar models 34 substituted therefore the rendering of the final video or static imagery for display to the viewer. Comparison or selection of matching image elements and avatars is shown at step 4-8. If there is not a matching type of avatar model 34 in the selected viewer record 30 for each replaceable image element 24 stored within the selected content record 20, only a partial number of the replaceable image elements 24 in the image content associated with the selected content record 20 can be replaced.

[0088] The next step in this process is the rendering of the image content of the selected content record 20, substituting the matched viewer avatar models 34 from the viewer record 30 with any matching types of replaceable image elements 24 associated with the image content of the selected content record 20. As discussed throughout, the actual replacement of the image elements 24 with the viewer avatar models 34 could be achieved by a masking and substitution approach, an image element and recognition substitution system or the like. This is shown at 4-9.

[0089] Finally at 4-10 is shown at step corresponding to the transmission of the rendered final image content to a viewer client device 4 for display and the display of that content thereon. In the case of the direct communication between the server 2 and the viewer client device 4 the transmission of the rendered content would be direct between those two devices. In certain embodiments where the ad request related to a particular content customization and display execution originated with a third-party server 2A, the ad request might include session parameters including a session address or a device address for the ultimate viewer client device 4 for which the content that is to be displayed allowing for the direct transmission even in that case from the server 2 to the viewer client device 4, or in other embodiments using an intermediate server 2A of this nature the content could be transmitted back to the intermediate server and relate to the viewer client device 4 in question. All such approaches are contemplated within the scope of the present invention.

[0090] Following the display of the customized image content related to the selected content record 20, based upon one or more viewer avatar models 34 stored in or in relation to the selected viewer record 30, the listening loop would continue, shown at 4-11. To discuss in practical terms execution of the steps of the method of the present invention, a viewer engaged in some type of an online activity for which an advertising ad request is originated to the server of the present invention would receive targeted visual advertising content. If the viewer was a viewer who had a viewer record configured in the viewer database of the system of the present invention that contains one or more viewer avatar models 34, the viewer avatar models would be substituted to the generic, so for example if a car advertisement was selected for display to the viewer via their viewer client device, an avatar model 34 of the viewer themselves could be substituted or placed in the driver seat of the car as displayed where the viewer avatar type 35 for that particular avatar model 34 corresponded to the content avatar type corresponding to the replaceable image element 24 of the driver or the driver seat of the car. Various modifications to the system and method of the present invention will be understood to those skilled in the art and all are contemplated within the scope hereof.

[0091] Software modeling components:

[0092] As outlined, the advertising server software component 8 will include numerous elements which will have the purpose of rendering mathematical or graphical models of the viewer associated asset avatars stored in particular viewer records, or also of the rendering of a combined graphical display model of a particular image content stored in a content record in association with the substitution of viewer associated asset avatars and place of replaceable image elements therein. The necessary software algorithms and mathematical modeling required to render the data to display avatars and combined imagery in accordance with the remainder of the present invention, are all contemplated in accordance with the scope of the present invention.

[0093] It may be possible or desirable in certain iterations of the system and method of the present invention for the advertising server software component 8 to include integration or incorporation of third-party software components to be used for these mathematical modeling functions, and it will be understood that the advertising server software component 8 might comprise locally installed or remotely connected software components of third parties to deliver the combined required functionality outlined herein and all such approaches are also contemplated within the scope of the present invention.

[0094] As outlined any number of types of advertising server software components 8 can be contemplated which will achieve the objective of executing the steps of the method in response to an ad request in respect of a viewer.

[0095] Image rendering functionality and approaches:

[0096] It is specifically contemplated that the image rendering aspect of the advertising server software component 8 could take many different approaches. In one approach it is contemplated that the image coordinates that would be saved in respect of a particular replaceable image element in the image content of a content record could be masking details which could be used by the system of the present invention to mask out the base content of the image content within a particular mask corresponding to a particular replaceable image element and substitute in the re-rendering or final rendering of the image content of viewer related image avatar. In other cases, the advertising server software component 8 might include the necessary software instructions for the processor of the server to actively or dynamically apply an image substitution function read for example there might be artificial intelligence based image substitution tools available either which could run locally on the server or which might even be cloud-based or remotely available by a network connection, API etc. to the server which could use image coordinates which identified particular image elements in the image content and could automatically substitute the necessary avatars and stitch them correctly into the image for most realistic display to the viewer client device. Any type of a image rendering functionality which would provide the ability to substitute avatars saved in accordance with the remainder of the method of the present invention in place of replaceable image elements in the images will all be understood within the scope of the present invention.

[0097] Generating content records and image content substitution details:

[0098] In addition to the method of substitution of customized avatars of viewer associated assets into image-based viewing content, the present invention also is intended to comprise the software and method steps associated with actually creating the markup or data structure related to image content in content records in association with a content database, as outlined in association with the remainder of the invention is explicitly contemplated that a software interface could be provided through which the static or dynamic image content could be displayed to a user in the user could use the interface to markup the image content to identify the at least one replaceable image element therein. This could comprise providing masking tools which would permit the user to actually apply a specific and detailed mask to the image content, the masking details or other image coordinates etc. being the image coordinates saved with respect to the substitution details for that replaceable image element. The interface could also permit the user to select from the preset list of avatar types stored within the system the image avatar type to be stored within respect of the particular identified replaceable image element. Many different approaches will be understood to be within the realm of desirable customer facing user displays or interfaces and any type of provision of a software system and method that permitted the selection are capture of necessary substitution details with respect to image content for storage in a content record in association with the remainder of the present invention outlined herein is all intended to be encompassed within the scope of the present invention.

[0099] It will be apparent to those of skill in the art that by routine modification the present invention can be optimized for use in a wide range of conditions and application. It will also be obvious to those of skill in the art that there are various ways and designs with which to produce the apparatus and methods of the present invention. The illustrated embodiments are therefore not intended to limit the scope of the invention, but to provide examples of the apparatus and method to enable those of skill in the art to appreciate the inventive concept.

[0100] Those skilled in the art will recognize that many more modifications besides those already described are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein. The inventive subject matter, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the scope of the appended claims. Moreover, in interpreting both the specification and the claims, all terms should be interpreted in the broadest possible manner consistent with the context. The terms "comprise" and "comprising" should be interpreted as referring to elements, components, or steps in a non-exclusive manner, indicating that the referenced elements, components, or steps may be present, or utilized, or combined with other elements, components, or steps not expressly referenced.

Claims

Claims:

1. A method of dynamically generating and displaying personalized visual advertising material on the display interface of a viewer client device, using a server comprising:a. a processor and memory;b. a network interface for communication with viewer client devices each having a display interface;c. an advertising server software component for executing the steps of the method;d. a content database comprising content records each corresponding to visual advertising content and comprising:i. image content for display via the display interface of a client device of a viewer; andii. content matching criteria for display of the image content to particular viewers;iii. substitution details related to at least one replaceable image element in the image content, said substitution details comprising:

1. an image avatar type of the replaceable image element, selected from a preset list of selectable avatar types; and2. the necessary image coordinates corresponding to the replaceable image element, which image coordinates can be used by the advertising server software component to dynamically render the image content replacing the replaceable image element with a viewer associated avatar;e. a viewer database containing viewer records each corresponding to an affiliated viewer and comprising:i. identifying information of the viewer;ii. any viewer matching criteria for use in the matching of content records and associate image content to the affiliated viewer;iii. at least one viewer-associated avatar model comprising:

1. a viewer avatar type, selected from the preset list of selectable avatar types; and2. a mathematical model permitting the graphic rendering of a dimensionally-accurate avatar of a viewer-associated asset;said method comprising using the server and the advertising server software component to, on receipt of an ad request in respect of a client device of a viewer:a. parsing the ad request to identify the viewer associated with the client device originating same, being the requesting viewer, along with any session parameters contained within the ad request for use in the selection of appropriate advertising material for display;b. selecting a selected viewer record corresponding to the requesting viewer from the viewer database;c. selecting a selected content record from the content database containing the details of image content for display to the requesting viewer; using the content matching criteria along with the viewer matching criteria of the selected viewer record and any session parameters from the ad request;d. determining if the image avatar type for any replaceable image element from the selected content record matches the viewer avatar type of any viewer-associated avatar model stored in the selected viewer record, each such matched replaceable image element being a matched image element;e. rendering the image content from the selected content record for display to the viewer by replacing any matched image elements with the corresponding matched viewer-associated avatar model, based upon the corresponding image coordinates stored in the content record; andf. displaying the rendered image content on the display of the client device of the viewer;wherein the rendered image content will only be altered with the substitution of viewer-associated avatar models for replaceable image elements having matching viewer avatar type and image avatar type, the remainder of the image content for which there is no matching viewer avatar type being rendered and displayed in the original form of the stored image content.

2. The method of Claim 1 wherein the viewer avatar model stored in respect of a viewer-associated asset is generated based upon multiple lidar scans and photographic images of the asset.

3. The method of Claim 1 wherein the image content of a content record is a static photographic image.

4. The method of Claim 1 wherein the image content of a content record is a video clip.

5. The method of Claim 1 wherein the viewer-associated asset associated with a viewer-associate avatar model is the viewer, and viewer-associated avatar model is a human avatar of the viewer.

6. The method of Claim 1 wherein the viewer-associated asset associated with a viewer-associate avatar model is a person associated with the viewer, and the viewer-associated avatar model is a human avatar of the associated person.

7. The method of Claim 1 wherein the viewer-associated asset associated with a viewer-associate avatar model is a pet associated with the viewer, and the viewer- associated avatar model is an avatar of the associated pet.

8. The method of Claim 1 wherein the number of replaceable image elements associated with a content record is one.

9. The method of Claim 1 wherein the number of replaceable image elements associated with a content record is more than one.

10. The method of Claim 1 wherein a replaceable image element of a content record refers to only a part of a viewer-associated avatar model, and the substitution details associated therewith contain the necessary information to properly only insert the relevant part of the related viewer-associated avatar in place of the replaceable image element in the rendered image content.

Images