METHOD OF ADVERTISING ON COMPUTERS
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to advertising and, more particularly, advertising on a computer connected to a network of computers.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION As computer networks such as the internet have become popular, the operators of websites have sold space for advertisements. Selling advertising space on a popular website is very profitable, where millions of users can be targeted for particular advertisements.
A standard method for advertising on a website has been to include banners across a portion of the website. These are most commonly in the form of a rectangular box with a promotional message and/or illustration which can change every several seconds. To visit the website of the advertised product, the user merely moves the indicator or pointer of their tracking device or mouse onto the banner and clicks to link to the site.
The advertisements on the banners are either fixed or are changed every several seconds to a new advertisement. The advertisements, and particularly the advertisements that change, are generally provided to the site by an advertiser for inclusion on the host site.
Another common method of advertising on the internet has been to have another, usually smaller window pop up when a particular site is connected. The smaller window can be either the site of the product and/or service advertised itself or it can be a link to the site of the product and/or service advertised. If the user wishes to proceed, they can click on and access the window or if not, they can close the smaller box comprising the advertisement.
In addition to the fact that new ways to advertise which catch a person's attention are always being sought, the above methods of advertising are somewhat limited. Additionally, users who are actively moving through the internet do not always wish to scroll past advertisements or close smaller windows that pop open.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method of advertising on an interconnected network of computers.
It is a further object to provide such a method that is innovative and does not interfere with active movement through the internet.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
These and other objects are achieved by the present claimed invention which is directed to a method of advertising on a computer connected to a network of computers, the computer including a display and a tracking device having an indicator on the display, comprising the steps of timing the period that the indicator remains idle on the display and posting an advertisement on the display after a predetermined period in which the indicator has remained idle. The advertisement also acts as a hyperlink to the website of the advertiser.
In a preferred embodiment, the advertisement is removed after a predetermined period of time once the indicator of the tracking device has been moved. The advertisement can also be removed once the user moves to another website or page on a website without clicking on the advertisement.
Another preferred aspect of the present invention is to have the pointer of the tracking device itself converted into the advertisement. In yet another aspect, the advertisement appears in the form of an icon
or logo representing the product and/or service being advertised. For example, a COCA-COLA bottle, MERCEDES BENZ three point star, NIKE swoosh or the like would appear after a predetermined idle time. The advertisement would remain where it is posted, even after the pointer was moved, for at least a predetermined time so that the user could click on the advertisement or go back to the advertisement and click on the advertisement to link to the advertiser's site. In another aspect, the advertisement could be pasted on the display virtually indefinitely, for the user to go back to.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The attached figures are intended to illustrate the present invention and not to limit the invention in any manner whatsoever.
FIGURE 1 is a schematic of a display with a normal indicator prior to the predetermined idle time. FIGURE 2 is a schematic of a display after the predetermined idle time.
FIGURE 3 is a schematic of a display wherein the idle time exceeds the refresh period.
FIGURE 4 is a schematic of a display wherein the advertisement has been pasted onto the host website.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The preferred embodiment of the present invention is directed to a method of advertising on a computer connected to the internet. Preferably the method of advertising includes the posting of an advertisement 2, which acts as or includes a hyperlink to the advertiser's own website, on a host site 8 being visited by a user based on the idle time of the tracking device or indicator controlled by the tracking device.
Computers for use in navigating the internet generally have a display 4 and a tracking device which controls an indicator 6 or pointer on the display. Most commonly the tracking device is a mouse and an arrow appears as the indicator 6, controlled by the mouse (see FIGURE 1). It is also typical that the pointer 6 is in the image of an arrow until the indicator is positioned over a link, when the arrow generally turns into the image of a hand with the index finger extended. There are many methods that can be used to control the indicator 6 so that it transforms into an advertisement after the predetermined idle period. A method believed to be suitable, though not exclusive, is Java script and the Active-X Controls. Using this programming language, the advertising company or web browser can penetrate the user's PC and access the mouse indicators coding, allowing it to change or transform from the regular shaped arrow to any other shape, figure, or advertising logo (see FIGURE 2). The advertising companies network will also continuously feed the advertisements into the user's PC, as soon as the host websites prompts the company that the user has accessed their site.
Software on a host or feeder website preferably controls the present invention. Preferably, the system utilizes a software timer based on a system timer to time the period for which the indicator 6 (or tracking device) has been idle. The operator of the software can further determine the length of the idle period of time of the indicator 6 which is required prior to posting of the advertisement 2. A predetermined period of from about 2 to about 10 seconds is believed to be suitable under the current internet environment, with 4-8 seconds being preferred. The operator of the software can likewise predetermine the posted period related to the period of
time after the user moves the indicator 6 which the advertisement 4 will remain posted. A posted period of 2-10 seconds, and preferably 4-8 seconds is believed to be suitable for the current internet environment, or until a new page or website is connected to by the user. It is contemplated that the posted period will be less than the idle period so that only one advertisement 2 appears on the display 4 at one time.
Moreover, it is contemplated that the posted advertisement 2 can be pasted onto the host site 8 virtually indefinitely if the user clicks the tracking device prior to moving the indicator 6. Alternatively, the advertisement 2 can be pasted on the host site 8 if the user moves the indicator 6, moves it back onto the advertisement 2 and clicks once. The user can then hyperlink by a second click or a double click on the pasted advertisement 2, depending on the format chosen. This allows the user to go back to the advertisement to hyperlink to the advertiser's website at a later time. Additionally, the timer can be used to select when an advertisement 2 is changed to another advertisement 2, or a variation of the advertisement 2 such as various automobiles in an automobile manufacturer's line, if desired. This allows an administrator to have a posted advertisement 2 changed after a predetermined refresh period of time, i.e. every 3-15 seconds, to permit a variety of advertisements as the indicator remains idle (see FIGURE 3).
In its preferred embodiment, the advertisements 2 are fed to the host site from a separate supplier or feeder server. Thus, the advertisements 2 provided do not need to be maintained by the website host, much as banners are supplied to various websites 8.
In another aspect of the present invention, the advertisement 2 can be posted in various ways on the host website. One method is to post the advertisement 2 at a
particular spot on the host website 8 after the predetermined idle period, preferably in a visible spot on the host website 8 which does not cover information. Another option is to convert the indicator 6 or pointer of the tracking device itself into the advertisement 2 at a location where the pointer 6 is positioned during the idle period. Of course, an alternative would be to post the advertisement 2 in a location related to the indicator 6, such as adjacent the pointer 6.
In this embodiment, it is preferred that when the indicator 6 is moved, the advertisement 2 remains and the pointer 6 resumes. It is believed that a suitable period for the advertisement 2 to remain is a period of from about 1-10 seconds and, preferably, 2-6 seconds. As mentioned above, it is preferred that clicking the tracking device prior to moving the indicator 6 results in the advertisement/hyperlink being pasted on the website so that the user can return to the advertisement/ hyperlink at their leisure (see FIGURE 4).
In another aspect, it is anticipated that the advertisement 2 posted after a predetermined idle period is an icon or logo related to the products and/or services. For example, if the advertiser is COCA-COLA, a bottle could appear, if MERCEDES BENZ , a three point star could be used, etc. The advertisement 2 could then be changed to a different advertisement after a refresh period or into an alternative of the advertisement posted, i.e. the COCA-COLA bottle can change to the circular COCA-COLA script logo.
PROPHETIC EXAMPLE
A user connects to a host website 8 and allows the indicator 6 of the tracking device to remain idle for a period of about 5 seconds. The indicator then turns into an advertisement 2 which is an image of a JEEP
WRANGLER. As the indicator 6 remains idle for more than 5 seconds, the advertisement 2 turns into the L.L. BEAN catalog logo. When the user moves their tracking device the logo remains for about 3 seconds and the pointer 6 reappears . The user then moves the indicator 6 over the logo and clicks on the logo to paste the logo on the host site. The user then goes back and clicks on the advertisement 2 to hyperlink to the L.L. BEAN catalog website. Of course, modifications and developments of the present invention will make themselves apparent to persons skilled in the art learning of the present invention. All such obvious variations of the invention are intended to fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention, limited by the appended claims.