Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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USING INFORMATION FROM USER VIDEO GAME INTERACTIONS TO TARGET
ADVERTISEMENTS, SUCH AS ADVERTISEMENTS TO BE SERVED IN VIDEO
GAMES FOR EXAMPLE
1. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1.1 FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention concerns targeting the serving of advertisements,
such as
advertisements to be rendered in virtual environments like video games for
example. In
particular, the present invention concerns determining user information for
use in targeting ads,
and determining and serving relevant ads in virtual environments such as video
games.
1.2 BACKGROUND INFORMATION
[0002] In-game advertising is becoming extremely popular. This trend is
expected to
continue since the 18 to 34 year old male demographic in the U.S. is watching
less TV and
spending more time playing video games than ever before. The video game
industry is
becoming a media force on par with the television and motion picture
industries. Consequently,
ad agencies and game producers are collaborating to introduce more ads into
video games.
Presently, in-game ads are used to advertise real products and services in a
manner analogous to
product placement in movies and television shows. For example, a decal on a
virtual race car
may advertise a product or service. As another example, a banner in a stadium
or on a race track
may advertise a product or service.
[0003] Unfortunately, ads placed in various video games.are typically
determined while
the game is developed and are therefore relatively static. Further, the ads
are typically targeted
to a broad demographic group. Consequently, in-game ads are often not as
relevant and useful
as they could be.
[0004] Another trend is that game producers are spending more money than
before to
develop video games. In the last generation of video game consoles (Sony
Playstation, Sega
Saturn, Nintendo 64, etc) game developers hardly reached the million dollar
mark in
development costs of a single video game. Presently, low end games often cost
a few millions of
dollars to develop, with high end games often costing even more. Game
development costs are
increasing while game prices have hit a ceiling. Although in-game ads help
game publishers
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offset such development costs, revenue from such advertising has not increased
fast enough to
keep pace with development costs.
[0005] In view of the foregoing, it would be useful to improve in-game
advertising. One
possible improvement would be to provide more useful and relevant ads. Another
possible
improvement would be to increase advertising revenues.
2. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:
[0006] Embodiments consistent with the present invention allow information
about a
person's interests and gaming behavior to be determined by monitoring their
online gaming
activities (and perhaps making inferences from such activities). Such
information may be used
to improve ad targeting. For example, such information may used to target ads
to be rendered in
a video game being played by the person.
3. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] Figure 1 is a bubble diagram of exemplary operations that may be
performed in a
manner consistent with the present invention, as well as information that may
be used and/or
generated by such operations.
[0008] Figure 2 is a flow diagram of an exemplary method for performing video
game
selection and play (e.g., user-video game interaction) tracking operations in
a manner consistent
with the present invention.
[0009] Figure 3 is a flow diagram of an exemplary method for performing ad
spot filling
operations in a manner consistent with the present invention.
[0010] Figure 4 is a flow diagram of an exemplary system for performing ad
serve
operations in a manner consistent with the present invention.
[0011] Figure 5 is a block diagram of an exemplary apparatus that may perform
various
operations in a manner consistent with the present invention.
[0012] Figure 6 is a messaging diagram illustrating operations of an exemplary
system
consistent with the present invention.
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4. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0013] The present invention may involve novel methods, apparatus, message
formats,
and/or data structures for improving ads, such as ads served in video games
for example, using
information about a video game player determined from their interactions with
a video game.
The following description is presented to enable one slcilled in the art to
malce and use the
invention, and is provided in the context of particular applications and their
requirements. Thus,
the following description of embodiments consistent with the present invention
provides
illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit
the present invention
to the precise form disclosed. Various modifications to the disclosed
embodiments will be
apparent to those slcilled in the art, and the general principles set forth
below may be applied to
other embodiments and applications. For example, although a series of acts may
be described
with reference to a flow diagram, the order of acts may differ in other
implementations when the
performance of one act is not dependent on the completion of another act.
Further,
non-dependent acts may be performed in parallel. No element, act or
instruction used in the
description should be construed as critical or essential to the present
invention unless explicitly
described as such. Also, as used herein, the article "a" is intended to
include one or more items.
Where only one item is intended, the term "one" or similar language isused. In
the following,
"information" may refer to the actual information, or a pointer to, identifier
of, or location of
such information. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to
the embodiments
shown and the inventors regard their invention to include any patentable
subject matter
described.
[0014] In the following definitions of terms that may be used in the
specification are
provided in 4.1. Then, environments in which, or with which, the present
invention may
operate are described in 4.2. Exemplary embodiments of the present invention
are described
in 4.3. Thereafter, specific examples illustrating the utility of one
exemplary embodiment of
the present invention are provided in 4.4. Finally, some conclusions
regarding the present
invention are set forth in 4.5.
4.1 DEFINITIONS
[0015] Online ads may have various intrinsic features. Such features may be
specified
by an application and/or an advertiser. These features are referred to as "ad
features" below.
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For example, in the case of a text ad, ad features may include a title line,
ad text, and an
embedded link. In the case of an image ad, ad features may include images,
executable code,
and an embedded link. Depending on the type of online ad, ad features may
include one or more
of the following: text, a link, an audio file, a video file, an image file,
executable code,
embedded information, etc. An image ad may be scaled, rotated, skewed, etc.,
as needed, to fit
within an ad spot.
[0016] When an online ad is served, one or more parameters may be used to
describe
how, when, and/or where the ad was served. These parameters are referred to as
"serving
parameters" below. Serving parameters may include, for example, one or more of
the following:
features of (including information on) a video game or video game console (or
more generally,
"video game apparatus") on which, or with which, the ad was served, or of a
document on
which, or with which, the ad was served, information in an ad request
associated with the
serving of the ad, a user characteristic (e.g., their geographic location, the
language used by the
user, the type of browser used, previous page views, previous behavior, user
account, Web
coolcies, user device characteristics, etc.), a host or affiliate site (e.g.,
America Online, Google,
Yahoo) that initiated the request, an absolute position of the ad on a screen
or page on which it
was served, position of the ad within a video game in which the ad was served,
a position
(spatial or temporal) of the ad relative to other ads served, an absolute size
of the ad, a size of the
ad relative to other ads, a color of the ad, a number of other ads served,
types of other ads
served, time of day served, time of weelc served, time of year served, etc.
Naturally, there are
other serving parameters that may be used in the context of the invention.
[0017] Although serving parameters may be extrinsic to ad features, they may
be
associated with an ad as serving conditions or constraints. When used as
serving conditions or
constraints, such serving parameters are referred to simply as "serving
constraints" (or "targeting
criteria"). For example, in some systems, an advertiser may be able to target
the serving of its
ad by specifying that it is only to be served on weekdays, no lower than a
certain position, only
to users in a certain location, etc. As another example, in some systems, an
advertiser might
specify that its ad is to be served in certain video games, or on certain
video game apparatus. As
yet another example, in some systems, an advertiser might specify that its ad
is to be served only
to a certain type of user, or a user having certain attributes. As another
example, in some
systems, an advertiser may specify that its ad is to be served only if a page
or search query
includes certain keywords or phrases. As still yet another example, in some
systems, an
advertiser may specify that its ad is to be served only if a document, on
which, or with which,
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the ad is to be served, includes certain topics or concepts, or falls under a
particular cluster or
clusters, or some other classification or classifications (e.g., verticals).
In some systems, an
advertiser may specify that its ad is to be served only to (or is not to be
served to) user devices
having certain characteristics. Finally, in some systems an ad might be
targeted so that it is
served in response to a request sourced from a particular location, or in
response to a request
concerning a particular location.
[0018] "Ad information" may include any combination of ad features, ad serving
constraints, information derivable from ad features or ad serving constraints
(referred to as "ad
derived information"), and/or information related to the ad (referred to as
"ad related
information"), as well as an extension of such information (e.g., information
derived from ad
related information).
[0019] The ratio of the number of selections (e.g., clickthroughs) of an ad to
the number
of impressions of the ad (i.e., the number of times an ad is rendered) is
defined as the "selection
rate" (or "clickthrough rate" or "CTR") of the ad.
[0020] A "conversion" is said to occur when a user consummates a transaction
related to
a previously served ad. What constitutes a conversion may vary from case to
case and can be
determined in a variety of ways. For example, it may be the case that a
conversion occurs when
a user clicks on an ad, is referred to the advertiser's Web page, and
consummates a purchase
there before leaving that Web page. Alternatively, a conversion may be defined
as a user being
shown an ad, and making a purchase on the advertiser's Web page within a
predetermined time
(e.g., seven days). In yet another alternative, a conversion may be defined by
an advertiser to be
any measurable/observable user action such as, for example, downloading a
white paper,
navigating to at least a given depth of a Website, viewing at least a certain
number of Web
pages, spending at least a predetermined amount of time on a Website or Web
page, registering
on a Website, etc. Often, if user actions don't indicate a consummated
purchase, they may
indicate a sales lead, although user actions constituting a conversion are not
limited to this.
Indeed, many other definitions of what constitutes a conversion are possible.
[0021] The ratio of the number of conversions to the number of impressions of
the ad
(i.e., the number of times an ad is rendered) and the ratio of the number of
conversions to the
number of selections (or the number of some other earlier event) are both
referred to as the
"conversion rate" or "CR." The type of conversion rate will be apparent from
the context in
which it is used. If a conversion is defined to be able to occur within a
predetermined time since
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the serving of an ad, one possible definition of the conversion rate might
only consider ads that
have been served more than the predetermined time in the past.
[0022] A "property" is something on which ads can be presented. A property may
include online content (e.g., a Website, an MP3 audio program, online (e.g.,
video) games, etc.),
offline content (e.g., a video game played in a video game apparatus that is
not online, a
newspaper, a magazine, a theatrical production, a concert, a sports event,
etc.), and/or offline
objects (e.g., a billboard, a stadium score board, and outfield wall, the side
of truck trailer, etc.).
Properties with content (e.g., magazines, newspapers, Websites, email
messages, etc.) may be
referred to as "media properties." Although properties may themselves be
offline, pertinent
information about a property (e.g., attribute(s), topic(s), concept(s),
category(ies), keyword(s),
relevancy information, type(s) of ads supported, etc.) may be available
online. For example, an
outdoor jazz music festival may have entered the topics "music" and "jazz",
the location of the
concerts, the time of the concerts, artists scheduled to appear at the
festival, and types of
available ad spots (e.g., spots in a printed program, spots on a stage, spots
on seat backs, audio
announcements of sponsors, etc.).
[0023] A "document" is to be broadly interpreted to include any machine-
readable and
machine-storable work product. A document may be a file,_ a combination of
files, one or more
files with embedded links to other files, a display screen or a video sequence
(e.g., of a video
game), etc. The files may be of any type, such as text, audio, image, video,
etc. Parts of a
document to be rendered to an end user can be thought of as "content" of the
document. A
document may include "structured data" containing both content (words,
pictures, etc.) and
some indication of the meaning of that content (for example, e-mail fields and
associated data,
HTML tags and associated data, etc.) Ad spots in the document may be defined
by embedded
infoimation or instructions. In the context of the Internet, a common document
is a Web page.
Web pages often include content and may include embedded information (such as
meta
information, hyperlinks, etc.) and/or embedded instructions (such as
JavaScript, etc.). In many
cases, a document has an addressable storage location and can therefore be
uniquely identified
by this addressable location. A universal resource locator (URL) is an address
used to access
information on the Internet.
[0024] A "Web document" includes any document published on the Web. Examples
of
Web documents include, for example, a Website or a Web page.
[0025] "Document information" may include any information included in the
document,
information derivable from information included in the document (referred to
as "document
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derived information"), and/or information related to the document (referred to
as "document
related information"), as well as an extensions of such information (e.g.,
information derived
from related information). An example of document derived information is a
classification
based on textual content of a document. Examples of document related
information include
document information from other documents with links to the instant document,
as well as
document information from other documents to which the instant document links.
[0026] Content from a document may be rendered on a""content rendering
application or
device". Examples of content rendering applications include an Internet
browser (e.g., Explorer,
Netscape, Opera, Firefox, etc.), a media player (e.g., an MP3 player, a
Realnetworlcs streaming
audio file player, etc.), a viewer (e.g., an Abobe Acrobat pdf reader), a
video game apparatus
(e.g., a video game console such as PlayStation2 from Sony, XBox from
Microsoft, GameCube
from Nintendo, etc., a personal computer, a mobile telephone, a personal
digital assistant, etc.)
etc.
[0027] A "content owner" is a person or entity that has some property right in
the
content of a media property (e.g., document). A content owner may be an author
of the content.
In addition, or alternatively, a content owner may have rights to reproduce
the content, rights to
prepare derivative works of the content, rights to display or perform the
content publicly, and/or
other proscribed rights in the content. Although a content server might be a
content owner in the
content of the documents it serves, this is not necessary. A "Web publisher"
is an example of a
content owner.
[0028] "User information" may include user behavior information and/or user
profile
information.
4.2 EXEMPLARY ADVERTISING ENVIRONMENTS IN WHICH, QR
WITH WHICH, THE PRESENT INVENTION MAY OPERATE '
[0029] Figure 1 is a bubble diagram of exemplary operations that may be
performed in a
manner consistent with the present invention, as well as information that may
be used and/or
generated by such operations. The environment 100 depicted in Figure 1 may be
used to
determine relevant ads and/or select relevant ad creatives to be shown in or
with video games.
Alternatively, or in addition, the environment 100 depicted in Figure 1 may be
used to track
user-video game interaction information, where such user information may be
used to help select
relevant ads shown to a user, but not in a video game. The environment 100 may
include game
play tracking operations 114, ad spot filling operations 138 and ad serving
operations 170.
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[0030] The game play tracking operations 114 may collect user input
information 118
and provide it to the ad spot filling operations 138. Furthermore, game state-
based information
130 may also be provided to the ad spot filling operations 138. Moreover, user
infoimation
inference operations 122 may be used to generate additional user information
126. Such
inferences may be made using user input information 118 and/or game state-
based information
130. Finally, the video game apparatus 110 may store other game information
134 such as
console name or brand, a console identifier, a console location, (currently
loaded) game
identifier, etc. Using the game state-based information 130, the user input
information 118, the
user information 126, and/or other game information 134, the ad spot filling
operations 138 may
(i) generate a request for relevant ads, (ii) forward the request to ad
serving operations 172
(through one or more networks 140) when an advertisement is to be displayed in
the game, and
(iii) render the ad(s) in one or more ad spots within the video game.
[0031] Advertisers 150 may interact with an ad server 160 via ad information
entry and
management operations 164 and networks 140 in order to submit their
advertisements and ad
information. This information is stored as ad information 168 and may include
ad creatives,
serving constraints, offer information, etc. The ad information entry and
management
operations 164 may inform the advertisers 150 of various game attributes to
which their ads can
be targeted.
[0032] The ad serving operations 172 may accept requests for ads from the ad
spot
filling operations 138. Such requests may include game state-based information
130, user input
information 118, user information (local) 126, and/or other game information
134, as well as
other pertinent information (e.g., ad size, ad type, when the ad will be
needed, etc.) necessary for
proper ad selection and rendering (e.g., display, text dialog, audio segment,
etc.). Using the
request information from the gaming system, the ad serving operations 172 may
select relevant
ads and/or ad creatives from the ad informationl68. If there are more than one
relevant ads
competing for a given ad spot (or too many relevant ads competing for a
limited number of ad
spots), the ad serving operations 172 may run an arbitration to select the
best ad or ads.
Subsequently, the ad serving operations 172 may provide the ad spot filling
operations 138 with
the selected ad(s) so that these ad(s) may be rendered in the appropriate ad
spots within the
video game.
[0033] The ad server may include accounting and/or billing operations 176 in
addition to
the ad serving operations 172 and the ad information entry and management
operations 164.
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[0034] A user information server 180 may be provided to accept, perhaps
generate, and
store user information (remote) 188. User game registration operations 192 may
accept and
store user information provided in a game or game console product
registration, or provided in
an online gaming subscription registration. User information inference and
storage operations
196 may infer certain attributes or characteristics of a user from user input
information 118. The
user infoimation serving operations 184 may be used to provide user
information 188 to a
requesting entity. For example, the ad server 160 might have a user
identifier, but no
information (or incomplete information) about a user. It may forward a request
to the user
information server 180, where the request includes a user identifier. The user
information server
180 may use the user identifier to look up pertinent user information (remote)
188 and return it
to the ad server 160.
[0035] The game play traclcing operations 114 may track game player (also
referred to as
a "user") input (e.g., play, selection, etc.) information 118. For instance,
in most simulation
games as in a Formula One racing game, a user may select a real world
malce/team of a car (e.g.,
Ferrari, Williams-BMW, McLaren-Mercedes, Renault, etc.), a particular driver
(e.g., Michael
Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, Rubens Barrichello, etc.) as well as the racing
track desired to
compete in (e.g. , Monte Carlo/Monaco, Nurburgring/Europe, Indianapolis/USA,
etc.), car color,
type of tires, etc. In other games, as in first person shooters, users may
select their character's
role such as a medic, a mercenary, an engineer, a warrior, a thief, a wizard,
an alien, etc. In
sports games, the user may select a team, a stadium, or even a player from
real team player
rosters. Moreover, in many games, users may select the sex of their character,
pre-defined
personalities of their characters, attire for their player(s), physical
attributes of their players (fat,
thin, muscular, tall, short, hair color and style, ethnicity, eye color,
etc.), soundtrack and other
sound/visual properties, and many other customizable features. Such selection
inputs may be
tracked by the game play traclting operations 114 and stored as user input
information 118,
which are then available to the ad spot filling operations 138.
[0036] Such user input information 118 may be used to help select relevant
ads. As
example one example, if a user selected a racing car from Dodge, the system
may show a Dodge
ad or something related. As another example, if the user selected a sports
team from Miami, the
system may show ads for tickets for events in Miami. As another example, if a
user selected a
soundtrack of "Beastie Boys" in a video game, the system may suggest ads for
rap/hip hop and
other related music, not Britney Spears. As yet another example, if a user
selected a black car to
drive in a racing game, the system may show ads with black cars, instead of
car in other colors.
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As still yet anther example, if the user selected a male character, the system
may show ads
tailored to males. If the user has been playing for over two hours
continuously, the system may
display ads for pizza-hut, coke, coffee and other related goods.
[0037] Game state-based information 120 may include information about the
user's
game-play. For example it may include, how fast the players are going through
the levels, how
familiar the players are with the game, what level are the players in (i.e.,
in many games players
attain levels of slcill as they play along and become more experienced; for
example a 99th level
wizard in a role playing game), how long have the players been playing the
game, how
frequently the user plays various games, play-pause habits, game information
stored to
non-volatile memory, etc. The game state-based information 130 may include
session
information (start time, play duration, etc.). This game state-based
information 130 is then
available to the ad spot filling operations 138. For example, if the user has
been playing for over
two hours continuously, the system may display ads for pizza-hut, coke, coffee
and other related
goods.
[0038] The user information inference operations (local and/or remote) 122
and/or 184
may use user input information 118 to infer attributes of the user 126 and/or
188. Such inferred
user information 126 and/or 188 may then be used when selecting eligible ad(s)
in accordance
with targeting attributes of the ads. The play characteristics of users,
particularly in online RPG
games (e.g., time spent chatting with other virtual players versus fighting,
time spent bartering
versus stealing, time spent exploring versus building, time spent trying new
items versus
completing levels, decisions made by players leading to certain situations
(good versus bad,
strategic versus short term), avoiding conflict (risk averse) versus being
aggressive, cooperating
and collaborating versus doing things alone, friendly versus hostile, etc.)
may be particularly
useful. User input information may be useful to help infer information about a
user. Some other
examples user information that may be inferred includes familiarity with a
game(s), time spent
playing a game(s), how fast is the user advancing and/or skill level, etc.
Inferences drawn from
such user input information may be made using known classification means such
as neural
networks, Bayesian networks, support vector machines, etc. Such inferred user
information may
be useful to help target ads. For instance, users that spend a long time
bartering instead of
stealing in a game may suggests that they are interested in the best deals
rather than the flashiest
items so the system may show ads reflecting value. As another example, users
that spend a lot
of time exploring suggest that they maybe interested in vacations, so the
system may show ads
for vacations. As another example, users that spend a lot of time chatting
instead of fighting or
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performing other activities in online games suggest that they lilce to chat,
so the system may
show ads for cell phones, ads for long distance plans, chat messengers, etc.
[0039] To summarize, the ad spot filling operations 138 are responsible for
requesting
ads by the ad server and subsequently providing the ad for rendering on the ad
spot. In
particular whenever an ad is to be displayed in the game, the ad spot filling
operations 138 may
submit a request an ad serving operations 172. The request may include user
information
(Recall, e.g., 118 and 126.), game information (Recall, e.g., 130 and 134.),
characteristics (e.g.,
type, size, etc.) of the ad that is to be delivered, an identifier for the
game console 110, etc.
Instances where ads may be displayed or otherwise rendered in video games are
numerous. For
instance, in a first person shooter, ads could be displayed at vending
machines, billboards,
posters on walls, a TV screen that the character walks by, etc. In racing
games, advertisements
could be placed on the car or on signage or billboards along the streets and
racetracks, or maybe
even announced on the virtual radio of the car that the player is driving. In
many sports games,
advertisements may be displayed on score boards and along the sidelines of the
court/field. Ads
may be inserted as textual or spoke dialog, as an audio clip in a virtual
radio, etc. In online
action-adventure and role playing games (RPGs), it is common to simulate real
world-like
environments where gamers may roam vast environments thereby providing
numerous locations
where ads might be displayed. For instance, gamers may roam and interact
through large city
marlcets (e.g., stop for food at a McDonalds, get a haircut, go to a night
club for drinks, buy a
car, buy property, move through the city using a cab/bus/subway, buy goods
from various stores,
play a video game in an arcade, etc.), thus providing many potential spots
where ads might be
displayed just as in real city markets.
[0040] Thus, the ad serving operations 172 may be used to select appropriate,
relevant,
ads and may use attributes and pertinent information gathered during game
play. Such ad
serving operation 172 may also use offer information (e.g., bids) submitted by
the advertisers
160 along with their ads to select winning ads when multiple eligible ads
compete for an ad spot
(or too few ad spots). Once the winning ad(s) has been selected, the ad
serving operations 172
may return the ads back to the ad spot filling operations 138 for rendering in
the video game.
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4.3 EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS
4.3.1 EXEMPLARY METHODS
[0041] Figure 2 is a flow diagram of an exemplary method 200 for perfornling
selection
and play tracking operations in a manner consistent with the present
invention. Specifically, the
method 200 may be used to monitor and store information about how a user plays
and interacts
with a video game(s). (Recall Figure 1, 130.) Various actions may be performed
by the method
200 depending on various events that may occur. (Block 210) When a gaming
system (e.g.,
Sony PlayStation, Nintendo GameCube, Microsoft Xbox, a PC, etc.) is powered
on, the method
200 may start session tracking. (Block 220) Conversely, when a gaming system
is powered off
or shut down, the method 200 may end the session tracking (Block 230) and
store and/or
transmit the session information (Block 240). During the power-on state, user
inputs occur. In
response, the method 200 may track such user input. (Block 250) The method may
use the user
input to infer user information. (Block 260) Subsequently, the method 200 may
store and/or
transmit the information about the user input and/or inferred user information
for further use.
(Block 270)
[0042] Referring back to blocks 220, 230 and 250, the method 200 may monitor
the
user's selections and game play every time a gaming system is in operation.
Specifically, the
method 200 may start a session tracking (begin monitoring and collecting user
information)
every time a gaming system is powered on. When a player turns off the gaming
system, the
method 200 may end the session tracking and store/transmit the session
information collected
during the operation of the gaming system. Session information may include,
for example, a
game identifier, a start time, a pause time(s), etc.
[0043] Referring back to blocks 250, 260 and 270, the method 200 may simply
track
user inputs, but may also use the inputs of the user to infer user
information/characteristics.
User input may include user selections, user dialog, user play, etc. User
selections may include,
for example, one or more of characters, vehicles (e.g., a specific make of an
automobile, car
color, engine modifications, car modifications, etc.), tracks, courses or
fields (e.g., a specific
racetrack, a specific stadium, etc.), teams, players, attire, physical
attributes, etc. There are
many customizations a user may select from depending on the genre of the game.
These
selections may reflect the user's fondness, preferences, and/or interests.
User dialog (e.g., from
role playing games, simulation games, etc.) may be used to characterize the
user (e.g., literate or
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illiterate, profane, blunt, or polite, quiet or chatty, etc.). Also, user play
may be used to
characterize the user (e.g., cautious, strategic, risk-talcer, aggressive, non-
confrontational,
stealthy, honest, dishonest, cooperative, uncooperative, etc.).
[0044] As will be described in more detail below, the user input and/or
inferred user
infoimation may be used to select ads more relevant to the user.
[0045] Figure 3 is a flow diagram of an exemplary method 300 for performing ad
spot
filling operations in a manner consistent with the present invention. The ad
spot filling
operations are responsible for requesting in-game ad(s) as well as receiving
the requested ad(s)
and rendering them in the appropriate spots within the video game. Different
branches of the
method 300 are performed in response to different events. (Block 310)
Specifically, if an ad (or
ads) is desired (to be rendered in the game), the method 300 may obtain the ad
spot information
(Block 320) and at least one of (A) game state-based information, (B) user
input information,
(C) user information, and (D) other game information. (Block 330) Finally, the
method 300
may generate a request for one or more ads. The request may include the ad
spot information,
and at least one of (A) game state-based information, (B) user input
information, (C) user
infoirnation, and (D) other game information. (Block 340) Referring back to
block 310, the
method 300 may also receive one or more requested ad(s) (e.g., from the ad
server). If so, the
method 300 may proceed to place the ad(s) in the appropriate ad spot(s) for
rendering.
[0046] Referring back to the right branch of Figure 3, ads may be desired at
various
times. For example, ads may be desired at one or more of (a) at power up, (b)
at game load, (c)
during play, (d) as need, (e) prior to predicted need, etc.
[0047] Referring back to block 320, the ad spot information may include an ad
spot
identifier, ad size, ad type, ad duration, etc. Referring back to block 330,
the game state-based
information may include information such as that described above with
reference to 130 of
Figure 1, the user input information may include information such as that
described above with
reference to 118 of Figure 1, the user information may include information
such as that
described above with reference to 126 of Figure 1, and the other game
information may include
information such as that described above with reference to 134 of Figure 1.
[0048] Referring back to block 340, once the method 300 has obtained the
pertinent
information mentioned above, it may proceed to request ads from an ad server.
The ad server
uses the information included in the request to determine eligible, relevant
ads. If there are too
many eligible, relevant ads for a given ad spot(s), the ad server may
arbitrate among the
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competing ads (e.g., using an auction). The determined ad(s) is returned back
to method 300
wherein it is subsequently rendered in the appropriate ad spot.
[0049] Figure 4 is a flow diagram of an exemplary method 400 for performing ad
serving operations in a manner consistent with the present invention. The
method 400 is
responsible for providing requested ads to gaming systems. Specifically, the
method 400 may
accept an ad request from a gaming system. (Block 420) Upon receiving such a
request, the
method 400 may determine one or more ads using at least one of (A) user
information, (B) game
state-based information, (C) user input information, (D) other information,
and (E) ad spot
information, perhaps in connection with ad serving constraints. Once the ad or
ads have been
determined, the method 400 may forward the ad(s) back to the gaming system.
(Block 460)
[0050] Referring back to block 440, the user information may include user
information
stored on the game system. Alternatively, or in addition user information from
another source
may be used. (Recall, e.g., 188 of Figure 1). That is, the ad server might
have sent a request for
user information, where the request includes a user identifier, or a gaming
system identifier.
[0051] Further, the method 400 may perform arbitration operations in order to
determine
winning ads among a number of competing ads since there may be too many ads
contending for
too few ad spots. Hence, advertisers may submit offer information (e.g., bids)
along with their
ads. As a result, when selecting ads, the method 400 may consider the user
information, game
state-based information, user input information, ad spot information and/or
other information to
determine relevant ads, and then use offer information, perhaps in addition to
other factors, to
score or rank the relevant ads.
4.3.2 EXEMPLARY APPARATUS
[0052] Figure 5 is high-level block diagram of a machine 500 that may perform
one or
more of the operations discussed above. The machine 500 basically includes one
or more
processors 510, one or more input/output interface units 530, one or more
storage devices 520,
and one or more system buses and/or networks 540 for facilitating the
communication of
information among the coupled elements. One or more input devices 532 and one
or more
output devices 534 may be coupled with the one or more input/output interfaces
530.
[0053] The one or more processors 510 may execute machine-executable
instructions
(e.g., C or C++ running on the Solaris operating system available from Sun
Microsystems Inc. of
Palo Alto, California or the Linux operating system widely available from a
number of vendors
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such as Red Hat, Inc. of Durham, North Carolina) to effect one or more aspects
of the present
invention. At'least a portion of the machine executable instructions may be
stored (temporarily
or more permanently) on the one or more storage devices 520 and/or may be
received from an
external source via one or more input interface units 530.
[0054] In one embodiment, the machine 500 may be one or more conventional
personal
computers, and/or one or more video game apparatus (i.e., any device on which
a video game
may be played such as, for example, a video game console, a personal computer,
a mobile
phone, a personal digital assistant, etc.). In this case, the processing units
510 may be one or
more microprocessors. The bus 540 may include a system bus. The storage
devices 520 may
include system memory, such as read only memory (ROM) and/or random access
memory
(RAM). The storage devices 520 may also include a hard disk drive for reading
from and
writing to a hard disk, a magnetic disk drive for reading from or writing to a
(e.g., removable)
magnetic disk, and an optical disk drive for reading from or writing to a
removable (magneto-)
optical disk such as a compact disk or other (magneto-) optical media.
[0055] A user may enter commands and information into the personal computer
through
input devices 532, such as a keyboard and pointing device (e.g., a mouse) for
example. Other
input devices such as a microphone, a joystick, a game pad, a satellite dish,
a scanner, or the
like, may also (or alternatively) be included. These and other input devices
are often connected
to the processing unit(s) 510 through an appropriate interface 530 coupled to
the system bus
540. The output devices 534 may include a monitor or other type of display
device, which may
also be connected to the system bus 540 via an appropriate interface. In
addition to (or instead
of) the monitor, the personal computer may include other (peripheral) output
devices (not
shown), such as spealcers and printers for example.
4.3.3 ALTERNATIVES AND EXTENSIONS
[0056] The methods for targeting online in-game ads is not limited by the
methods
described above. There could be a number of different ways and variations to
the
aforementioned for targeting online in-game ads. For instance, one could just
simply target ads
based on the type of the game and the expected demographics. Eligible ads
could be selected
using an arbitration process, such as an auction for example.
[0057] Although some of the embodiments described above facilitated (A)
tracking user
input or interaction with a video game (and perhaps inferring user information
from such user
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input), and (B) dynamically determining ads, perhaps (C) using user
information, embodiments
consistent with the present invention need not perform all of these functions.
Indeed, various
embodiments consistent with the present invention may employ only one or
perhaps two of
these features. For example, at least some embodiments consistent with the
present invention
may track user video game inputs (and perhaps infer use information from such
user input) and
use such user information for other purposes, such as targeting ads not
rendered in the video
game. As another example, user information gathered or inferred from video
game inputs or
interactions need not be considered when determining an ad(s) relevant to an
ad spot in a video
game. That is, some embodiments consistent with the present invention may only
dynamically
determine ads for a video game (or an instance thereof) without any relevance
information
provided from a particular video game console. As yet another example, user
information from
some other source may be used to target ads to ad spots in a video game being
played on a
gaming system associated with the user. Other combinations of these features
are possible.
[0058] According to the aforementioned, the system may collect information
about a
user's game-play behavior. Examples of information that could be useful,
particularly in
massive multiplayer online RPG's, may be the specific dialogue entered by the
users while
chatting or interacting with other players/characters within the game. For
example, the dialogue
could indicate that the player is aggressive, profane, polite, literate,
illiterate, influenced by
current culture or subculture, etc. Also decisions made by the players may
provide more
information such as whether the player is a risk taker, risk averse,
aggressive, passive,
intelligent, follower, leader, etc. This iriformation may be used and analyzed
in order to help
select and deliver more relevant ads to users.
[0059] Furthermore, although ad creatives may be images akin to banner ads,
the system
may use ad creatives that are text and speech of a character that the player
may interact with.
For instance, in the popular game series Simms, a character that a user
interacts with may
suggest (as an advertisement) to listen to the newly released Coldplay album.
The user may
reply positively (if given a choice) and listen to clips from the new Coldplay
album. As another
example in a car racing game, after a user crashes his Honda civic, an
announcer could be used
to advertise by saying for instance "if he had a Hummer, he would have gotten
the better of that
altercation", etc.
[0060] Users' inputs may imply a positive or negative response to an
advertisement. For
example, in a Simms type game, the ad might be a character saying "What to
listen to the new
Coldplay album." A'response such as "yes", "sure", "absolutely", "you bet",
etc. could indicate
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a positive user response to the ad (lilce a selection of a text or banner ad
on a Webpage), while a
response such as "no", "nah", etc. could indicate a negative user response to
the ad (like clicking
the close box of an ad on a Webpage). Such user-ad actions may be tracked and
used for various
purposes such as billing, billing conditions, ad scoring, etc. For example, a
rate of a particular
user action or group of actions with respect to ad impressions can be tracked
and used in a
manner similar to ad selection rates, and/or ad conversion rates.
[0061] Games may already have ads in place. For example, games may come with
hundred or even thousand of ads of all different types already installed or
loaded. This may be
used to ensure that there will always be available ads to display in the game
and not interfere
with gameplay since there could be circumstances wherein, ads may not be
returned soon
enough, the gaming system is offline, a desired degree of relevancy could not
be determined,
etc. These ads may be shipped with targeting criteria and may be selected for
ad display by a
"lightweight" virtual ad server running on the user's gaming system to emulate
how ads would
be selected by a real ad server from a gaming system connected online. Thus,
ads, and perhaps
targeting criteria and other ad information, may be provided on the same
storage media (e.g.,
CD, ROM, DVD, etc.) as the video game.
[0062] All popular current generation video consoles (i.e., Playstation, Xbox,
Gamecube,
etc) use games shipped on non-writable optical disk media (i.e., CD, DVD, BD,
etc) hence,
game state-based information and user information are saved onto memory cards
(or some other
non-volatile, readable and writable memory means) utilized by the consoles.
This allows
players to save their game and continue perhaps at a later time. These memory
cards allow
players to store game information from many different games depending on the
memory
capacity of the card. Typically, dozens of games may be saved. Such saved
information may be
thought of state information, and offers a valuable source of information to
the advertisers and
the present invention. Specifically, by examining a gaming system's memory
card every time a
player connects online, the present invention (system) may examine the
player's gaming history
and stored status information. This may provide a large amount of information
that may be used
to better target ads to the user. Games the user is currently active and
interested in can be
determined. For instance, if a user has saved information from ten games and
eight out of the
ten games are racing games, then it may be inferred that the player is a
racing fanatic and might
find car-related ads, ads for other racing games the player might not have
played already, etc.,
useful. The system could even examine the game state-based and user
information of the
various games saved on the memory card. For example, if it is found that the
player is mostly
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racing with a BMW and generally German automobiles throughout the saved racing
games on
the memory card, then it might be inferred that the user is a BWM and German
automobile
aficionado, and may find ads for such cars useful. As can be appreciated from
the foregoing, by
examining a gaming system's memory card(s), useful insights about the user may
be gained.
[0063] Although many of the exemplary embodiments described above concerned
video
games, embodiments consistent with the present invention may be used in other
virtual
environments or immersive environments.
4.4 EXAMPLES OF OPERATIONS IN AN EXEMPLARY
EMBODIMENT CONSISTENT WITH THE PRESENT INVENTION
[0064] Figure 6 is a messaging diagram illustrating operations of an exemplary
system
consistent with the present invention. When generating a request to fill an ad
spot, ad spot
filling operations 138 may accept game information 610 as indicated by 620.
The game
information 610 may include one or more of user input information 118, game
state-based
information 130, other game information 134 and user information (local) 126.
The ad spot
filling operations 138 may generate an ad request including at least some of
the ad information
610. The request may include other pertinent information about the ad spot to
be filled (e.g., ad
type, number of ads, when needed, etc.). As indicated by 630, the ad request
is forwarded to ad
serving operations 172. The ad serving operations 172 may simply use the
information included
in the request 630, as well as ad information 168, as indicated by 670 and
680, to generate one
or more relevant ads. The ad(s) may then be returned to the ad spot filling
operations 138 as
indicated by 690.
[0065] Note that the ad serving operations 172 may also query the user
information
serving operations 184 as indicated by 640. User information serving
operations 184 may obtain
requested user information (remote) 188 as indicated by 650 and provide the
requested user
information (remote) back to the ad serving operations 172 as indicated by
660.
[0066] The game information may be different for different users. Consider,
for
example, a virtual racing video game used by three (3) users -- A, B, and C.
Suppose that user
A selects an outdoor, dirt, 4x4 course, selects a yellow H2 Hummer, selects a
male driver, and
drives aggressively during the race. Suppose, that user B selects a city race,
selects a tuned
Toyota Supra in multi-color with a pink base, selects a female driver, and
drives in a neutral
manner during the race. Finally, suppose that user C selects a World Cup Race
track in Madrid
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Spain, selects an Audi R8R in multi-color, selects a male driver, and drives
in a strategic manner
during the race.
[0067] Given the assumptions in the foregoing example, suppose that Dodge
wants to
place an advertisement. It may have various alternative ads with different
serving constraints or
targeting criteria. Suppose further that it has a variable color, with a
default value. Thus, the
system may show a "Dodge RAM-Tough Truck" ad creative with a yellow truck to
user A, a
"Dodge Neon Sport" ad creative with a pink car to user B, and a "Dodge Viper"
ad creative with
a Dodge Viper in a default color to user C. Suppose that a ticket broker wants
to advertise
tickets for various events. Three ads for three events, each having different
serving constraints
or targeting criteria, may be -- tickets for an NFL football game, tickets for
a Gwen Steffani
concert, and tickets for the US Open Golf Tournament. Thus, the system may
show the ad
creative for the NFL football game tickets to user A, the ad creative for the
Gwen Steffani
concert tickets to user B, and the ad creative for tickets for the US Open
Golf Tournament to
user C. As a final example, suppose that there are different ad creatives for
different television
shows. An ad creative for the TV show "Fear Factor" may be shown to user A, an
ad creative
for the TV show "American Idol" may be shown to user B, and an ad creative for
the "Nightly
Business Report" may be shown to user C. As these examples, demonstrate,
embodiments
consistent with the present invention may be used to serve more relevant and
more useful ads to
video game players. Such ads may be rendered on ad spots within the video
games, though they
may be rendered on ad spots on other documents instead or in addition.
4.5 CONCLUSIONS
[0068] As can be appreciated from the foregoing, embodiments consistent with
the
present invention may be used to target in-game ads and serve more relevant
and useful ads.
Embodiments consistent with the present invention may monitor user video game
inputs to
improve ad targeting and provide more relevant and useful ads to the users.
19
