WO2001063509A1

WO2001063509A1 - Computer advertising method with advertisement exclusive program

Info

Publication number: WO2001063509A1
Application number: PCT/KR2001/000224
Authority: WO
Inventors: Do-Won Cho
Original assignee: Cho Do Won
Priority date: 2000-02-25
Filing date: 2001-02-15
Publication date: 2001-08-30
Also published as: KR100379889B1; AU3613701A; KR20000024642A

Abstract

This invention relates to the computer advertising method with advertisement exclusive program, and in particular, to install the advertisement exclusive program in user's computer and update it through internet, in case to select advertisement offered and add a mount of money or point to the advertisement exclusive program, by transmitting present money or point accumulated from the advertisement exclusive program to administrator's server, a user could use the money or point accumulated and an advertiser could check the effect of advertisement and change the main advertisement and point.

Description

COMPUTER ADVERTISING METHOD WITH ADVERTISEMENT EXCLUSIVE PROGRAM

Technical Field

The present invention relates in general to a method for providing advertisements using the Internet and computers, and more particularly to a computer advertisement method using an advertisement dedicated program, wherein the advertisement dedicated program is installable in a user computer and continuously updatable over an Internet network so that new advertisements can be provided in the user computer regardless of an online or offline connection to the Internet network. wherein a user can select a desired advertisement during the offline connection to the Internet network or an advertisement provided in a site of a site manager during the online connection to the Internet network and receive a predetermined amount of money or points in compensation for the advertisement selection, which are accumulatively added up and stored respectively in the advertisement dedicated program and a server of the manager, and wherein the manager can provide an advertiser with statistical data about advertisement selections by the user.

Background Art

Recently, personal computers have become widespread in companies and homes and the use of the Internet through the personal computers has rapidly increased nationally and internationally, resulting in an explosive increase in the number of Internet users. In this connection, the Internet and personal computers have been highlighted as new advertising media owing to their use by many persons.

In particular, it was very difficult to provide external advertisements through personal computers, in that most of them were privately used by individuals. However. with popularization of computer communication networks such as Internet networks, recently, many methods have been developed to provide advertisements using communication dedicated programs under the condition that computers are connected to the Internet networks.

For example, a site manager establishes an Internet site associated with a server and invites Internet users to access the established Internet site and register themselves as members. Each time Internet users registered as members gain access to the Internet site and view an advertisement provided in the site, the site manager pays the users a predetermined amount of cash or accumulates a predetermined amount of points or cyber money assigned to the users. An advertiser pays a predetermined advertising fee to the site manager according to a contract with the manager. This example is a representative computer advertisement method. In such a conventional computer method, box-shaped graphics related to an advertisement, which is a so-called banner advertisement, are displayed on a homepage of a site manager. If a member visitor clicks on the banner advertisement, then he or she is linked to an Internet site of an advertiser associated with the advertisement or shown detailed contents of the advertisement displayed on the screen. The advertiser pays a predetermined advertising fee to the site manager in compensation for advertising his or her goods or company. The site manager pays a predetermined amount of money or points to the visitor in compensation for clicking on the banner advertisement.

However, the above-mentioned Internet banner advertisement method has a disadvantage in that a site manager can provide an advertisement to a user only when the user visits a site of the manager using a communication dedicated program, such as a general Web browser, or a communication dedicated program provided by the manager under the condition that he or she remains linked to the Internet. That is. advertisers cannot gain such active access to users as when they provide other advertisement media, and thus cannot help passively waiting for the users to access specific Internet sites associated with the advertisers.

Further, a banner advertisement is generally linked to a site of an advertiser or a screen picture containing detailed contents thereof, and a user can move to the advertiser site or screen picture by accessing the Internet, visiting a site associated with the banner advertisement and clicking on the advertisement using a mouse. In this regard, the user cannot view the banner advertisement if he or she moves to any other site than the site associated with the advertisement. Namely, conventional banner advertisements ma} become disposable, resulting in a reduction in advertising effects.

Besides, a conventional Internet advertisement is displayed on a predetermined position of a homepage of a manager site while being limited in size, which leads to a limitation in the number of advertisements to be displayed. Moreover, the conventional Internet advertisement is shown to all users accessing the associated homepage, irrespective of the users' selections, so an advertiser of the advertisement cannot check advertising effects.

Disclosure of the Invention

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a computer advertisement method using an advertisement dedicated program, wherein an advertiser-oriented advertisement or advertisement provider-oriented advertisement can be changed to a customer-oriented advertisement, a specific advertisement can be continuously provided to users even under the condition that the users are not connected to the Internet, thereby enabling an advertiser of the specific advertisement to gain active access to the users, and a manager can provide a new advertisement to personal computers of the users whenever being accessed by the users over the Internet.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a computer advertisement method using an advertisement dedicated program, which is capable of providing various forms of advertisements to users with various tastes to maximize advertising effects on the users with the various tastes.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a computer advertisement method using an advertisement dedicated program, wherein a user can receive a compensation for advertisement selection under terms agreed by a provider and advertiser as well as himself or herself, and a manager can collect information about the advertisement selection by the user.

In accordance with the present invention, the above and other objects can be accomplished by the provision of a computer advertisement method using an advertisement dedicated program in an Internet system, the Internet system having a manager server for providing an advertisement associated site, at least one user computer connected to the manager server over an Internet network for performing online communication with the server, and at least one advertiser server connected to the manager server over the Internet network for performing the online communication with the server, wherein the advertisement dedicated program is installable in the user computer and continuously updatable over the Internet network so that new advertisements can be provided in the user computer regardless of an online or offline connection to the Internet network, wherein a user can select a desired advertisement during the offline connection to the Internet network or an advertisement provided in the site during the online connection to the Internet network and receive a predetermined amount of money or points in compensation for the advertisement selection, which are accumulatively added up and stored respectively in the advertisement dedicated program and the manager server, and wherein the manager server can provide the advertiser server with statistical data about advertisement selections by the user.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing the construction of an Internet system to which a computer advertisement method is applied according to the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the computer advertisement method in accordance with the present invention; and

Fig. 3 is a view schematically showing an exemplary screen picture provided according to the present invention.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

With reference to Fig. 1, there is schematically shown in block form the construction of an Internet system to which a computer advertisement method is applied according to the present invention.

As shown in Fig. 1 , the Internet system comprises a manager server 10 including a registered member information database 11 , point management database 12. advertisement database 13, commodity database 14 and manager site 15, an Internet network 20, a user computer 30 connected to the manager site 15 via the Internet network

20 and having an advertisement dedicated program 31 installed therein, and an advertiser server 40 connected to the manager site 15 via the Internet network 20.

Fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the computer advertisement method in accordance with the present invention.

First, at a member registration step S10, in order to use an advertisement dedicated program, a user gains access to the manager site 15 of the manager server 10 using his or her user computer 30, enters his or her personal information in the manager site 15 and registers himself or herself as a member of the site 15. At an advertisement dedicated program installation step S20, the user receives the advertisement dedicated program from a manager and installs the received program in the user computer 30.

At an advertisement selection step S30, the user selects a desired advertisement using the user computer 30. At a point/advertisement selection information accumulation step S40. the user accumulates points assigned to the advertisement selected at the advertisement selection step S30 and information regarding the advertisement selection in the advertisement dedicated program installed in the user computer 30.

At a point calculation/ advertisement dedicated program update step S50. the user gains access to the manager site 15 and sends information about the accumulated points (or money) and the accumulated advertisement selection information to the manager server 10. Then, the manager server 10 adds up the accumulated points and advertisement selection information and updates the advertisement dedicated program 31 in response to an advertiser's request or as needed. At a point use step S60, the user exchanges the accumulated points (or money) for a desired one of commodities exhibited in the manager site 15 in connection with the commodity database 14.

At an advertisement result provision step S70, the manager server 10 arranges the accumulated points and advertisement selection information on specific terms and provides the arranged results as advertisement results to the advertiser. The computer advertisement method will hereinafter be described in more detail.

At the member registration step S10, in order to register as a member of the manager site 15 and receive a service therefrom, the user enters personal information, such as a name, address, telephone number, identification (ID), password, etc., according to a general member registration procedure requested by the manager site 15. At the advertisement dedicated program installation step S20. the user downloads the advertisement dedicated program 31 from the manager server through the manager site 15 and installs the downloaded program in the user computer 30. As an alternative, the advertisement dedicated program 31 may be installed in the user computer 30 directly through separate storage means provided from the manager. If the advertisement dedicated program 31 is installed in the user computer 30, then it is linked in a software manner to a variety of application programs installed previously in the computer 30. At the time that the user runs a desired one of the application programs and clicks on a menu using a mouse, the advertisement dedicated program is called to display an advertisement on the screen. At the advertisement selection step S30, the user selects an advertisement displayed through the advertisement dedicated program 31 while using an application program in the user computer 30 regardless of an online state where the user computer 30 is connected to the Internet network 20 or an offline state where the computer 30 is not connected to the Internet network 20. In the offline state, more detailed contents of the selected advertisement, stored in the advertisement dedicated program, are displayed on the screen or the user is invited to access a company of the selected advertisement over the Internet network 20.

In the online state, the user may access the manager site 15 and then select advertisements displayed on an advertisement dedicated homepage of the manager. managed by the manager server 10 and linked to the advertisement database 13, or on certain portions of the manager site 15. If the user selects a desired one of the displayed advertisements, then the manager server 10 displays more detailed contents of the selected advertisement, stored in the advertisement database 13, on the screen or invites the user to access a homepage of a company of the selected advertisement.

At the point/advertisement selection information accumulation step S40, the user accumulates points, cyber money or cash assigned to the advertisement selected at the advertisement selection step S30 in the advertisement dedicated program 31 installed in the user computer 30. At this step S40, information about the advertisement selection by the user is stored in the advertisement dedicated program 31 together with the points assigned to the selected advertisement. The advertisement selection information may preferably include the number of advertisement selections, a selection time, a season, a weather, a date, a special occasion, etc.

At the point calculation/ advertisement dedicated program update step S50, the user gains access to the manager site 15 and sends information about the accumulated points (or money) and the accumulated advertisement selection information to the manager server 10. Then, the manager server 10 adds up the accumulated points and advertisement selection information and stores the added-up results in the point management database 12 if the added-up results reach predetermined conditions. The manager server 10 also updates the advertisement dedicated program 31 in response to the advertiser's request or as needed. The updated advertisement dedicated program 31 contains new advertisements and information regarding them, thereby providing optimum advertisements to the user according to the user's occupation, age, sex. taste and the like.

The above predetermined conditions may preferably be a condition where the accumulated points (or money) exceeds a predetermined value and a condition where an advertisement viewing period of time exceeds a predetermined value. Alternatively, while the user is connected to the manager site 15, the manager server 10 may store in the point management database 12 points (money) and advertisement selection information being continuously accumulated.

The accumulated points (or money) stored in the point management database 12 are also sent to the advertisement dedicated program 31 in the user computer 30 so that they can be confirmed by the user. At the point use step S60, the user exchanges the accumulated points (or money) for a desired one of commodities exhibited in the manager site 15 in connection with the commodity database 14. Alternatively, the user may exchange the accumulated points for cash. At the advertisement result provision step S70, the manager server 10 arranges the accumulated points and advertisement selection information on specific terms and sends the arranged results to the advertiser server 40 over the Internet network 20. As a result, the advertiser can check the advertisement results in detail and obtain data necessary to the improvement in advertising effects. Therefore, the advertiser can adjust the amount of points assigned to his or her own advertisement, analyze classes of main users who selected the advertisement, and then take the analyzed result as fundamental data of the next advertisement.

Fig. 3 is a view schematically showing an exemplary screen picture provided according to the present invention, wherein a user can select any one of advertisements displayed on the screen.

As shown in Fig. 3, at the moment that the user uses his or her computer, the advertisement dedicated program 31 loaded in the computer runs to display current points of the user on a point display window 51 of the screen 50. While the user uses a certain application program 52, the advertisement dedicated program 31 displays various forms of advertisements, such as a banner advertisement 53, mouse pointer advertisement 54, window advertisement 55, attached advertisement 56, etc., on the screen 50. If the user selects a desired one of the advertisements displayed on the screen 50, then the advertisement dedicated program 31 adds points assigned to the selected advertisement to the current points of the user on various terms.

Industrial Applicability

As apparent from the above description, the present invention provides a computer advertisement method using an advertisement dedicated program, wherein users can select desired ones of a variety of advertisements, and a manager can provide the selected advertisements to the users in various forms according to registered information of the users, namely, occupations, ages, sexes, tastes and the like. Therefore, the manager can efficiently connect the users to advertisers so as to enjoy the high confidence and support of both of them.

Further, according to the present invention, advertisements can be provided to users at any time when the users use their computers, irrespective of an online or offline connection to the Internet. Also, the manager can send an updated advertisement dedicated program to the user computers whenever the users are connected to a site of the manager over the Internet. As a result, the manager is able to provide a new advertisement to the users at a certain period. Moreover, the advertisers can collect the advertisement results and take the collected results as fundamental data of the next advertisements, thereby maximizing advertising effects.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.

Claims

Claims:

1. A computer advertisement method using an advertisement dedicated program, comprising the steps of: a), by a user, entering his or her personal information in a manager site and registering himself or herself as a member of the manager site; b), by the user, installing the advertisement dedicated program in his or her user computer; c), by said user, selecting a desired advertisement using said user computer; d), by said user, accumulating points or money assigned to the advertisement selected at said step c) and information regarding the advertisement selection in said advertisement dedicated program installed in said user computer; e), by a manager server, adding up the accumulated points or money and advertisement selection information, storing the added-up results in a point management database and updating said advertisement dedicated program in response to an advertiser's request or as needed; f). by said user, exchanging the accumulated points or money for a desired one of commodities exhibited in said manager site in connection with a commodity database; and g), by said manager server, arranging the accumulated points or money and advertisement selection information on specific terms and providing the arranged results as advertisement results to the advertiser.

2. The computer advertisement method as set forth in Claim 1. wherein said step e) includes the step of, by said user, gaining access to said manager site and sending information about the accumulated points or money and the accumulated advertisement selection information to said manager server, and, by said manager server, adding up the accumulated points or money and the accumulated advertisement selection information, storing the added-up results in said point management database if the added-up results reach predetermined conditions and updating said advertisement dedicated program in response to the advertiser's request or as needed, said updated advertisement dedicated program containing new advertisements and information regarding them, thereby providing optimum advertisements to said user according to the user's occupation, age, sex and taste.

3. The computer advertisement method as set forth in Claim 2, wherein said predetermined conditions include a condition where the accumulated points or money exceeds a predetermined value and a condition where an advertisement viewing period of time exceeds a predetermined value, and wherein said step e) further includes the step of. by said manager server, storing in said point management database points or money and advertisement selection information being continuously accumulated while said user is connected to said manager site.

4. The computer advertisement method as set forth in Claim 1 , wherein said step g) includes the step of, by said manager server, arranging the accumulated points and advertisement selection information on the specific terms and sending the arranged results to an advertiser server over an Internet network, thereby enabling said advertiser to check the advertisement results in detail.