The present invention relates to a method of publishing at least one element in an interface of a multiplatform application managed by a user to be executed on a computer device.

The invention also relates to a computer system and a computer program product suitable for carrying out such a method.

Background art

Advertising is a form of sponsored (paid) communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Typically the objective is to drive consumer behaviour with respect to a commercial offering. In the case of traditional media, advertising campaigns are received (viewed) via mass media such as newspapers, magazines, television commercials, radio advertisements, or even as outdoor advertising or direct mail. The recent popularization of the Internet and mobile networks has opened new ways of advertising via digital channels, the so-called new media, such as websites, social networks, text messages, computer games and software applications.

In the recent prior art, with relation to online advertising for delivering of marketing messages using the Internet, examples include contextual ads on search engine results pages, banner ads, blogs, rich media ads, social network advertising, interstitial ads, online classified advertising, advertising networks, e-mail marketing, e-mail spam, etc. These solutions, although acceptable in many scenarios, may have the drawbacks of being in many situations invasive and having annoying character, i.e. the user may be forced to divide his attention between an application interface and the advertisement. In fact, nowadays online users have access to a multitude of ad-blocking tools helping them to avoid being distracted by online advertisement. In this respect, a solution for online advertisement less annoying compared to the recent prior art and which additionally may provide some kind of benefit for the user may be desired.

Summary of the invention

Consequently, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of publishing at least one element in an interface of a multiplatform application managed by a user to be executed on a computer device more rewarding compared to the recent prior art.

To achieve the above, according to a first aspect, the invention provides a method of publishing at least one element in an interface of a multiplatform application managed by a user to be executed on a computer device. The method may comprise showing at least one image associated to each element to be published in the interface of the multiplatform application, receiving a selection from the user of a showed image associated to each element to be published, prompting the user to provide a second image related to the showed image selected by the user, obtaining a result of a verification about if the second image provided by the user matches the showed image selected by the user and in case of positive result, rewarding the user.

Publishing at least one element in an interface of a multiplatform application by showing at least one image in the interface of the multiplatform application, may allow integrating publishing elements into the typical operation of the multiplatform application.

In some embodiments, an element to be published in the interface of the multiplatform application may have several images associated to. The present invention may avoid that the user of the multiplatform application ignores the publishing element. In case that the second image provided by the user matches the showed image selected by the user, the user may be rewarded by accessing further digital content and/or by obtaining different types of virtual and material goods e.g. virtual tools in a game (e.g. accessories, weapons... ), discount vouchers, gifts, taking part in a draw, etc.

Further, the present invention may allow transforming the publishing element into an act of rewarding the user. In some embodiments, the user may be informed about the type of reward that may be possible to obtain if the result of verifying if the second image provided by the user matches the showed image selected by the user is positive. Alternatively, in some embodiments, previously to the selection of the showed image associated to each element to be published, the user may be allowed to select among different types of rewards. In some embodiments of the invention, obtaining a result of a verification about if the second image provided by the user matches the showed image selected by the user may comprise comparing the second image provided by the user to the showed image selected by the user and determining if the second image provided by the user matches the showed image selected by the user. The comparison may be carried out by using typical algorithms for digital image processing.

In some embodiments, rewarding the user may comprise unlocking digital content. It may be possible to allow the user accessing digital content related or not to the multiplatform application, e.g. addressing the user to an external website, accessing to application features, e.g. permitting the user to access to a specific virtual area of the multiplatform application, accessing to virtual goods within a game application, etc. In some embodiments, it may be performed receiving a predetermined action carried out by the user and verifying whether the action and the multiplatform application associated with the action have been previously registered. In case of positive result in the verification, it may be possible to obtain each element to be published in the interface of the multiplatform application based on predetermined parameters and associate at least one image to each element to be published in the interface of the multiplatform application. In case of negative result in the verification, an error message may be received. The actions that may have been previously registered may be actions that the user may carry out within the multiplatform application, or actions triggered by the multiplatform application. One example of the relation between action and reward may be e.g. a game application in which the action may be running and the reward may be "special virtual shoes" for running faster. The predetermined parameters may be e.g. type of multiplatform application (e.g. games, news, travelling, etc.), geographical area, date, time, type of action performed within the application (e.g. the action of running, jumping, shooting... in a game, a search in a travel browser, unlocking a level in a game , etc.).

In some embodiments, it may be possible to store each element to be published in the interface of the multiplatform application, as well as the associated images, descriptive and additional data in a database of a remote computing system.

In some embodiments, the predetermined parameters may comprise geopositional data related to the physical location of the user. It may be possible to select the elements to be published in the interface of the multiplatform application based on the geographical location of the user in order to adequate the matter of the elements to the scenario or area in which the user may be found.

In some embodiments, prompting the user to provide a second image related to the showed image selected by the user may comprise receiving the second image, which may have been obtained from one of the following mediums: a camera associated to the computer device, a physical storage medium associated to the computer device or a virtual repository addressed through an URL. The camera and the physical storage medium may be elements external to the computer device or arranged in the computer device. In a second aspect, the invention provides a computer system comprising a memory and a processor, embodying instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor. The instructions may comprise functionality to showing at least one image associated to each element to be published in the interface of the multiplatform application, receiving a selection from the user of a showed image associated to each element to be published, prompting the user to provide a second image related to the showed image selected by the user, obtaining a result of a verification about if the second image provided by the user matches the showed image selected by the user and in case of positive result, rewarding the user.

In a third aspect, the invention provides a system of publishing at least one element in an interface of a multiplatform application managed by a user to be executed on a computer device. The system may comprise computer means for showing at least one image associated to each element to be published in the interface of the multiplatform application, computer means for receiving a selection from the user of a showed image associated to each element to be published, computer means for prompting the user to provide a second image related to the showed image selected by the user, computer means for obtaining a result of a verification about if the second image provided by the user matches the showed image selected by the user and in case of positive result, computer means for rewarding the user.

Finally, according to a fourth aspect, the invention provides a computer program product comprising program instructions for causing a computer to perform the method of publishing at least one element in an interface of a multiplatform application managed by a user to be executed on a computer device as described above. The invention also relates to such a computer program product embodied on a storage medium (for example, a CD-ROM, a DVD, a USB drive, on a computer memory or on a read-only memory) or carried on a carrier signal (for example, on an electrical or optical carrier signal).

Throughout the description and claims the word "comprise" and variations of the word, are not intended to exclude other technical features, additives, components, or steps. Additional objects, advantages and features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the description or may be learned by practice of the invention. The following examples and drawings are provided by way of illustration, and they are not intended to be limiting of the present invention. Reference signs related to drawings and placed in parentheses in a claim, are solely for attempting to increase the intelligibility of the claim, and shall not be construed as limiting the scope of the claim. Furthermore, the present invention covers all possible combinations of particular and preferred embodiments described herein.

Brief description of the drawings Particular embodiments of the present invention will be described in the following by way of non-limiting examples, with reference to the appended drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a flux diagram that represents the steps of a method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 shows the interface of a multiplatform application according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed description of embodiments

In the following descriptions, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be understood by one skilled in the art, however, that the present invention may be practiced without some or all of these specific details. In other instances, well known elements have not been described in detail in order not to unnecessarily obscure the description of the present invention.

Figure 1 is a flux diagram that represents a method according to a possible embodiment of the present invention, and it shows a plurality of steps:

• Step 101 is the beginning of the method;

• In step 102 some actions may be performed in order to verify if the multiplatform application may be used for publishing elements;

• In step 103 the elements to be published may be selected;

• In step 104 at least one image associated to each element to be published may be shown in the interface of the multiplatform application;

· In step 105 a selection from the user of a showed image associated to each element to be published may be received;

• In step 106 the user may be prompted to provide a second image related to the showed image selected by the user;

• In step 107 a result of a verification may be obtained about if the second image provided by the user matches the showed image selected by the user, in case of positive result;

• In step 108 the user may be rewarded by unlocking digital content associated to the multiplatform application, in case of negative result;

• In step 109 the user may not be rewarded;

· Step 1 10 may be the end of the method.

More specifically, in step 102, in order to determine whether the multiplatform application may be used to publish at least one element, some actions that the user may carry out within the multiplatform application, or actions that may be triggered by the multiplatform application and the type of multiplatform application may be verified in order to determine whether these actions have been previously registered in a database of the multiplatform application. In some embodiments, the registered possible actions and the possible types of multiplatform applications may be stored in a remote computing system and this remote computing system may verify whether these actions and the multiplatform application may be used for publishing elements. In case that that the multiplatform application and/or the some actions may not be allowed to publish at least one element, an error message may be generated in step 1 1 1.

In step 103, the elements to be published may be selected based on several parameters as e.g. type of multiplatform application (e.g. games, news, travelling, etc.), geographical area (that may be obtained with GPS capabilities of the computer device in which the multiplatform application is implemented), date, time, type of action (e.g. the action of running, jumping, shooting... in a game, a search in a travel browser, etc.) and they may be associated to predetermined images. In some embodiments, the elements to be published may be associated to descriptive data that may be shown in the user interface. In some embodiments, the images and the descriptive data associated to the elements may be shown in the interface of the multiplatform application. In some embodiments, the selection of the elements and the association of said elements to predetermined images and/or descriptive data may be performed in the remote computing system in which the elements and/or the images and/or descriptive data may be stored.

In step 104, the images associated to each element to be published may be shown in the interface of the multiplatform application. As consequence, the user may visualize in the interface of the multiplatform application (within the context of the multiplatform application or not) the images associated to each element to be published. In step 105, a selection from the user of a showed image associated to an element is received. The user may be instructed to select one image associated to the element, or this selection may be intuitive. Additionally, it may be possible that the user ignores the selection of an image associated to an element provoking that the user may not be rewarded. In some embodiments, in the case where the user may have not access to the selection of an image associated to the element, it may be possible to permit the user to select the image later on. In this respect, the multiplatform application may show the user a list with the most recent published elements and associated showed images in the interface of the multiplatform application. In some embodiments, the selection from the user may be received at the remote computer system.

In step 106, the user may be prompted to provide a second image related to the selected showed image. The second image may be obtained from one of the following mediums: a camera associated to the computer device which may comprise the multiplatform application, a physical storage medium associated to the same computer device (that may be arranged in the computer device or not) or a virtual repository addressed through an URL. In some embodiments, the second image may be provided to the remote computing system. Once the second image is provided, the image selected by the user may be retrieved in order to carry out the step 107.

In step 107, a result of verifying if the second image provided by the user matches the showed image selected by the user may be obtained. In some embodiments, this result may be obtained from a remote computing system. If the second image provided by the user comprises the published element that was associated to the image shown in the interface of the multiplatform application and selected by the user, the multiplatform application may generate a confirmation message and the user may be rewarded in step 108. If the second image provided by the user does not comprise the published element that was associated to the image shown in the interface of the multiplatform application and selected by the user, the multiplatform application may generate an informative message, the user may not be rewarded and some possible alternatives may be carried out in step 109. In some embodiments, the confirmation message and the error message may be generated in the remote computing system.

In step 108, the user may be rewarded if the second image provided by the user matches the showed image selected by the user. Rewarding the user may comprise unlocking digital content. It may be possible to permit the user to access digital content related or not to the multiplatform application, e.g. addressing the user to an external website, accessing to the next phase in a videogame, virtual accesses in general, increasing the virtual capabilities of the multiplatform application, etc. In some embodiments, after rewarding the user, it may be possible to remove the showed image selected by the user. According to another embodiment, when there is only one element to be published in the interface of the multiplatform application, the showed image selected by the user may not be removed even if the user may be rewarded or not. In some embodiments, the actions related to the reward of the user may be performed from the remote computing system.

In step 109, the user may not be rewarded if the second image provided by the user does not comprise the element published in the associated image shown in the interface of the multiplatform application, i.e. the second image provided by the user does not match the showed image selected by the user. In this respect, several actions may be carried out, e.g. allowing the user to select a further showed image associated to the element, allowing the user to provide a further image related to the showed image selected by the user, allowing the user to select a showed image associated to a further element, denying the user the reward and/or ending the multiplatform application. The user may obtain the opportunity of selecting a further showed image associated to the published element and providing an image related to the further showed image associated to the element. The user may be allowed with a second attempt of providing a further image related to the showed image selected by the user. The user may obtain the opportunity of selecting a showed image associated to a further element and providing an image related to the showed image associated to the further element. The user may be deprived of reward and the access to further digital content may keep locked. In some embodiments, it may be possible to end the execution of the multiplatform application, e.g. when the multiplatform application is a lite version. In some embodiments, the actions related to the non-rewarding of the user may be performed from the remote computing system.

Step 1 10 is the end of the method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 shows an interface 200 of a multiplatform application according to an embodiment of the present application. Figure 2 shows the interface 200, some images 201 and the direct access to the digital camera 202 arranged in the computer device in which the multiplatform application is implemented. In this particular embodiment, the user may select one of the images 201 that may be associated to elements to be published, i.e. coffee, muffin, ice cream, etc. Once that one of the images 201 is selected by the user, the user may be prompted to provide a second image related to the selected showed image 201. For this particular embodiment, the image may be obtained from a digital camera device arranged in the computer system in which the multiplatform application is implemented. In order to get access to the digital camera device, the user may select the direct access 202 within the interface 200 of the multiplatform application. Once the user obtains a second image related to the selected showed image 201 , a verification about if the second image provided by the user matches the showed image 201 selected by the user may be carried out. In case of positive result, the user may be rewarded, e.g. obtaining access to further digital content associated to the multiplatform application which comprises the interface 200 and/or for example a free coffee in a coffee shop owned or sponsored by the advertiser. In case of negative result, the execution of the multiplatform application may be blocked and the user may be forced to restart the multiplatform application. Although this invention has been disclosed in the context of certain preferred embodiments and examples, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention extends beyond the specifically disclosed embodiments to other alternative embodiments and/or uses of the invention and obvious modifications and equivalents thereof. Thus, it is intended that the scope of the present invention herein disclosed should not be limited by the particular disclosed embodiments described before, but should be determined only by a fair reading of the claims that follow. Further, although the embodiments of the invention described with reference to the drawings comprise computer apparatus and processes performed in computer apparatus, the invention also extends to computer programs, particularly computer programs on or in a carrier, adapted for putting the invention into practice. The program may be in the form of source code, object code, a code intermediate source and object code such as in partially compiled form, or in any other form suitable for use in the implementation of the processes according to the invention. The carrier may be any entity or device capable of carrying the program. For example, the carrier may comprise a storage medium, such as a ROM, for example a CD ROM or a semiconductor ROM, or a magnetic recording medium, for example a floppy disc or hard disk. Further, the carrier may be a transmissible carrier such as an electrical or optical signal, which may be conveyed via electrical or optical cable or by radio or other means.

When the program is embodied in a signal that may be conveyed directly by a cable or other device or means, the carrier may be constituted by such cable or other device or means. Alternatively, the carrier may be an integrated circuit in which the program is embedded, the integrated circuit being adapted for performing, or for use in the performance of, the relevant processes.