This invention relates to a system for operating an advertising platform. In particular, this invention relates to a system for operating an online advertising platform.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

We live in an information-rich age where consumers in the marketplace also suffer from poverty of attention and tend to skip or block advertising messages whether they are relevant to them or not. However, this defensive and reactive consumer behaviour may not be helping the consumers to make informed decisions which advertising messages are generally supposed to offer.

Nonetheless, it is possible to improve this poor consumer experience on online advertising media if the consumers are given the right to be the principal drivers in the marketing relationships and give permission to advertisers to interact with them in the way that they prefer and provide only the right adverts at the right time. This way of creating more enjoyable advertising experiences, called consumer permission advertising, consumer-first advertising or additive advertising experiences, seeks to create and nurture genuine relationships between the consumers and advertisers from low level of prospects or leads to high level of partners or advocates.

In view of the foregoing, it would be useful to provide a system and method through a flow-driven graphical user interface on an online advertising platform for consumers to enthusiastically engage with numerous adverts without being overwhelmed, present interactive online advertising formats with gamification features, and user-centred administrative settings which make the received adverts more personalised, targeted and valuable. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention, there is provided a system for operating an advertising platform including: - a graphical interface which is configured to be displayed to a user; advertising zones located on the graphical interface which are configured to display adverts to the user; a controller for allowing a user to control the nature of the adverts being displayed; and an advert creator for allowing the user to create adverts to be located in the advertising zones and displayed to further users.

It is to be appreciated that all adverts which are capable of being displayed may be provided by all users of the system. The users may include personal users or companies who wish to advertise their own goods or services to be sold. The users as a collective unit generate content in the form of advertising which the system consolidates and stores on a network. The network is then accessible by any suitable device having connection and access to the internet. The device then communicates with the network and retrieves relevant content i.e. adverts, according to a particular user’s preferences and displays the same to the user via a personal device.

The graphical interface may be configured according to a particular user profile and preference. The graphical interface may be displayable by any suitable display of the group including a conventional digital screen, computer monitor, cell-phone screen, tablet screen and television. The graphical interface may be configured to form part of a website. Alternatively, the graphical interface may be configured to be accessible by a website. The graphical interface may include a holding zone for holding specific links and/or names and/or logos to be displayed to the user. The holding zone may be located towards a periphery of the graphical interface. In particular, the holding zone may be substantially L-shaped, preferably extending along an operative left side and top regions of the graphical interface. The holding zone may be configured to be displayed while the user is navigating the platform. The holding zone may be configured to allow hiding or showing thereof by the user.

An authentication system may be provided for allowing authentication of a user’s identity before allowing access to the graphical interface. The authentication system may be in the form of a logging-in system which may typically require a particular username and password combination specific to a particular user, to allow the user to log in to a profile of the user and allow access to the graphical interface. It is to be appreciated that a logging-out system is also provided for allowing a user to log out and prevent displaying of personal information on the display.

A first identifier may be provided for displaying a name and/or logo of the advertising and/or service platform to the user. The first identifier may be located on the graphical interface, preferably being located within the holding zone thereof, and further preferably being located towards the operative top region of the holding zone.

A second identifier may be provided for displaying a name and/or logo of a current web page being visited by the user. The second identifier may be located on the graphical interface, preferably being located within the holding zone thereof, and further preferably being located towards an operative left side of the holding zone.

A data storage may be provided for allowing a user to store information such as work history, reminders, web pages and/or adverts of particular interest to the user. The data storage may include a storage access link which is displayable on the graphical interface for allowing the user to access data stored thereon. In particular, the storage access link may be located within the holding zone of the graphical interface, preferably being located towards the operative left side thereof, and further preferably being located beneath the second identifier. A money manager may be provided for allowing a user to load and manage funds relating to an account of the user and to the advertising platform. In particular, the money manager may be configured to allow a user to transfer funds to the advertising platform, transfer funds to a particular advertiser during a sale of a particular advertised item, article or service and/or transfer funds to further users of the platform. The money manager may include a money manager access link which is displayable on the graphical interface for allowing the user to access various functions provided thereby. In particular, the money manager access link may be located within the holding zone of the graphical interface, preferably being located towards the operative left side thereof, and further preferably being located beneath the storage access link.

A third identifier may be provided for displaying the identity of a user currently logged in on the platform. The third identifier may be in the form of a name and/or picture. The third identifier may be located within the holding zone of the graphical interface, preferably being located toward an operative top part of the holding zone, and further preferably being located toward an operative top, right side thereof. The third identifier may include a log-out link for allowing the user to log out of its profile.

A browsing zone may be located on the graphical interface for allowing a user to view and browse internet websites and/or webpages. The browsing zone may be located towards a generally central region of the graphical interface. The browsing zone may be configured to display contents of any particular web page and change accordingly when a user follows the numerous links found thereon. The browsing zone may be configured to display a plurality of service links upon authentication or logging in of a particular user. In particular, the plurality of service links may be configured to vary, either randomly or according to the particular user’s preferences, over the course of time. The plurality of service links may be configured to vary upon logging in of the user. A layout of the plurality of service links may be configurable according to the particular user’s preferences and profile. A greeting zone may be provided for displaying greetings to the user upon logging in. The greetings displayed may be in the form of any suitable greeting phrase and may be configured to be related to the time, day, month, season or year. The greeting zone may be further configured to display a current date and/or time.

An avatar may be displayed on the graphical interface, preferably in the greeting zone, which is configured to assist a user when navigating the advertising platform, websites, webpages and/or service links followed by the user. The avatar may be in the form of a dynamic avatar which may be capable of communicating with the user. It is to be appreciated that tutorials on how to use the advertising platform may be provided through the avatar. The avatar may be configured to be themed according to a user’s preferences. Further, the avatar may be configured to communicate with the user using any suitable language.

The advertising zones may be located toward an operative right side of the graphical interface. The advertising zones may be arranged in a stacked manner. It is to be appreciated that any number or advertising zones may be placed in the graphical interface. The stacked advertising zones may be configured to be re-arrangeable by a user according to the user’s particular preferences. The advertising zones may be configured to display various types of adverts typically in the form of text, audio, picture, video, barcodes, particularly quick response barcodes typically known as QR™ codes, and/or any other information generated by a computer such as that contained in augmented reality. The advertising zones may include links and/or buttons which provide the user with various functions. The various functions may include an expansion function for expanding a particular advert into an expanded view wherein the particular advert fits and fills the graphical interface, typically covering other adverts, a shrink function for returning the advert from an expanded view to a normal view wherein all other adverts are displayed as usual, a tag function for allowing a user to tag a particular advertiser such that adverts from the advertiser are shown first in the user’s adverts, a discard function which allows a user to delete or remove a particular advert, a targeted advert view function which allows a user to view the number of adverts provided by the particular advertiser which are specifically targeted to the user and a follow function which allows a user to visit a website, webpage or social media site which may be related to the particular advert. The advertising zones may further include indicators which may be configured to indicate to the user that additional images and/or videos are available to be viewed. The various functions may further include a search function which may be configured to allow a user to search a website, webpage or social media site which may be linked to a particular advert. The search function may be configured to search similar products, services, events and/or advertising campaigns provided by any particular advertiser.

A plurality of advertising zones may be configured to display static adverts which remain in the same position on the graphical interface until changed by an advertiser, interacted with by a user or removed by a user. A plurality of advertising zones may be configured to display dynamic adverts which change in position relative the interface on a timed basis.

The dynamic adverts may be configured to interchange positions at predetermined intervals which may be set according to a particular user’s preferences or to preferences of a system administrator. A dynamic advert may be configured to allow user interaction therewith when the advert occupies an interactive position. In particular, the dynamic advert occupying the interactive position provides a user with an additional set of functions relating to the particular advert. In particular, only once the user places the dynamic advert into the interactive position, the dynamic advert may be configured to reveal its contents and/or display the additional set of functions. The additional set of functions may include a play button for allowing a user to play an audio and/or video file provided by the advert and/or a view button for allowing a user to view images provided by the advert. It is to be appreciated that the play button is only displayed when an audio and/or video file is contained in the advert and the view button is only displayed when an image or images are contained in the advert. The set of functions may further include a number display for displaying a total number of users who previously selected a play or view button, the number display preferably being configured to display the relevant number to the user only once the user has selected the play or view button. It is to be appreciated that the number display only shows the relevant number after the user has moved the corresponding advert into the interactive position thereby enabling playing and/or viewing content thereof. Further, the relevant number may be viewable only by the user interacting with the advert, the advertiser of the advert and/or the system administrator. The number display may be configured to provide a user with a prize should a user’s unique number be a predetermined number, typically determined by a particular advertiser. The set of functions may yet further include an action function which may be configured to provide the user with a set of actions that may be carried out. The set of actions may include contacting the advertiser, typically via telephone, cell-phone or e-mail, saving the advert, sharing the advert, referring the advert, buying a product advertised on the advert, signing up for a newsletter or other information relating to the advertised product or advertiser.

The dynamic adverts may include a selection button for allowing a user to select a particular dynamic advert and move the advert into the interactive position. It is to be appreciated that the selection button may be displayed on every dynamic advert in order to give the user the option of moving the advert into the interactive position. The selection button may include any suitable arrow-like image for depicting the movement of the advert to the interactive position. The dynamic adverts may further include a stop and sort button for allowing a user to stop the dynamic adverts from rotating or interchanging and to sort the order in which the dynamics adverts interchange and move into the interactive position.

The controller may be configured to access personal data provided by a user in order to control and/or filter adverts to be displayed to the user. In particular, the personal data provided by the user may include but is not limited to any one or more of the group including age, gender, race, education, religion, occupation, address and interests. The controller may be further configured to monitor browsing behaviour of the user in order to further control and/or filter adverts being displayed to the user on the advertising platform. The controller may include a configurator for allowing a user to configure settings of the advertising platform. The settings may include language, font size, image size, a theme of the interface, sizes of the various zones, advert types such as photos or videos and number of adverts to be displayed. The settings may further include a catalogue of various selectable topics for allowing a user to control the topic and/or content of certain adverts according to the selected topics. The controller may further include an activation means for allowing a user to activate or deactivate the advertising zones in operation.

The advert creator may include an advert creation link, preferably being located on the graphical interface, for allowing a user and/or advertiser access thereto. Adverts created by a user may be configured to be displayable via the advertising zones once payment from the user to a system administrator is made and/or confirmed and after having been approved by the system administrator. A data access link, preferably being located on the graphical interface, may be provided for allowing user access to data or statistics relating to the created advert, which data may include, but is not limited to, the total number of times an advert is moved into the interactive position by other users, the number of times an advert has been moved into the interactive position, a record of the specific action taken by the user upon interaction therewith such as saving the advert, calling the advertiser, buying the product and a record of the details and nature of the advertiser’s response to the action taken by the user. The advert creation link and/or data access link may be located and/or displayed in the holding zone, browsing zone and/or in a region of the advertising zones. Adverts which have been created by a user may be displayed by the browsing zone upon logging in of the user. The advert creator may be configured to operate with the money manager such that the cost of creating an advert or running an advertising campaign within a specified period will be debited from the user’s account, provided sufficient funds are loaded onto the account.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for operating an advertising platform which includes: - displaying a graphical interface to a user, which graphical interface contains advertising zones in which adverts are located; providing a controller to a user to allow the user to control the nature of the adverts displayed on the graphical interface; and providing an advert creator for allowing users to create adverts to be displayed on the graphical interface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A system for operating an advertising platform in accordance with the invention will now be described by way of the following, non-limiting examples with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings: -

Figure 1 is a schematic showing a layout of a graphical interface of a system for operating an advertising platform in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 is a schematic showing a number of the advertising zones;

Figure 3 is a schematic showing the advertising zones shown in Figure 2 being interacted with by a user;

Figure 4 is a schematic showing an advert in an interactive zone being interacted with by a user; and Figure 5 is a schematic showing further interaction between a user and adverts in the advertising zone.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawings, reference numeral 10 refers generally to a system for operating an advertising platform in accordance with the present invention. The system for operating an advertising platform 10 includes a graphical interface 12 which is configured to be displayed to a user, advertising zones 14 located on the graphical interface 12 which are configured to display adverts 16 to the user, a controller (not shown) for allowing a user to control the nature of the adverts 16 being displayed and an advert creator (not shown) for allowing the user to create adverts to be located in the advertising zones 14 and displayed to further users.

It is to be appreciated that all adverts which are capable of being displayed are provided by all users of the system 10. The users include personal users or companies who wish to advertise their own goods or services to be sold. The users as a collective unit generate content in the form of advertising which the system consolidates and stores on a network. The network is then accessible by any suitable device having connection to the internet. The device then communicates with the network and retrieves relevant content i.e. adverts, according to a particular user’s preferences and displays the same to the user via a personal device.

The graphical interface 12 is displayable by any suitable display (not shown) of the group including a conventional digital screen, computer monitor, cell-phone screen, tablet screen and television. The graphical interface 12 is configured according to a particular user profile and preference. The graphical interface 12 is configured to form part of a website as shown in the drawings. Alternatively, the graphical interface 12 is configured to be accessible by a website. The graphical interface 12 includes a holding zone 18 for holding specific links, names and logos to be displayed to the user. The holding zone 18 is located towards a periphery of the graphical interface 12. In particular, the holding zone 18 is substantially L-shaped, typically extending along an operative left side and top regions 20 and 22, respectively, of the graphical interface 12. The holding zone 18 is configured to be displayed while the user is navigating the platform. The holding zone 18 is configured to allow hiding or showing thereof by the user.

An authentication system (not shown) is provided for allowing authentication of a user’s identity before allowing access to the graphical interface 12. The authentication (not shown) system is in the form of a logging-in system (not shown) which typically requires a particular username and password combination specific to a particular user, to allow the user to log in to a profile of the user and allow access to the graphical interface 12. It is to be appreciated that a logging-out system (not shown) is also provided for allowing a user to log out and prevent displaying of personal information on the display.

A first identifier 24 is provided for displaying a name and logo of the advertising service and/or platform to the user. The first identifier 24 is located on the graphical interface 12, typically being located towards the operative top part 22 of the holding zone 18.

A second identifier 26 is provided for displaying a name and/or logo of a current web page being visited by the user. The second identifier 26 is located on the graphical interface 12, typically being located towards an operative left side 20 of the holding zone 18.

A data storage is provided for allowing a user to store information such as work history, reminders, web pages and/or adverts 16 of particular interest to the user. The data storage includes a storage access link 28 which is displayable on the graphical interface 12 for allowing the user to access data stored thereon. In particular, the storage access link 28 is located within the holding zone 18 of the graphical interface 12, typically being located beneath the second identifier 26.

A money manager is provided for allowing a user to load and manage funds relating to an account of the user and to the advertising platform. In particular, the money manager is configured to allow a user to transfer funds to the advertising platform, transfer funds to a particular advertiser during a sale of a particular advertised item, article or service or transfer funds to further users of the platform. The money manager includes a money manager access link 30 which is displayable on the graphical interface 12 for allowing the user to access various functions provided thereby. In particular, the money manager access link is located within the holding zone of the graphical interface 12, typically being located beneath the storage access link 28.

A third identifier 32 is provided for displaying the identity of a user currently logged in on the platform. The third identifier 32 is in the form of a name or picture. The third identifier 32 is located within the holding zone 18 of the graphical interface 12, typically being located toward an operative top, right side 34 thereof. The third identifier 24 includes a log-out link 36 for allowing the user to log out of its profile.

A browsing zone 38 is located on the graphical interface 12 for allowing a user to view and browse internet websites or webpages. The browsing zone 38 is located towards a generally central region 40 of the graphical interface 12. The browsing zone 38 is configured to display contents of any particular web page and change accordingly when a user follows the numerous links found thereon. The browsing zone 38 is configured to display a plurality of service links 42 upon authentication or logging in of a particular user. In particular, the plurality of service links 42 are configured to vary, either randomly or according to the particular user’s preferences, over the course of time. The plurality of service links 42 are configured to vary upon logging in of the user. A layout of the plurality of service links 42 is configurable according to the particular user’s preferences.

A greeting zone 44 is provided for displaying greetings to the user upon logging in. The greeting displayed is in the form of any suitable greeting phrase and is configured to be related to the time, day, month, season or year. The greeting zone 44 is further configured to display a current date and time.

An avatar is displayed on the graphical interface 12, typically in a space 46 in the greeting zone 44, which is configured to assist a user when navigating the advertising platform, websites, webpages or service links which the user opens. The avatar is in the form of a dynamic avatar which is capable of communicating with the user. It is to be appreciated that tutorials on how to use the advertising platform are provided through the avatar. The avatar is configured to be themed according to a user’s preferences. Further, the avatar is configured to communicate with the user using any suitable language.

The advertising zones 14 are located toward an operative right side 48 of the graphical interface 12. The advertising zones 14 are arranged in a stacked manner. It is to be appreciated that although eight advertising zones 14 are depicted in the drawings, any number or advertising zones 14 can be placed in the graphical interface 12. The stacked advertising zones 14 are configured to be re-arrangeable by a user according to the user’s particular preferences. The advertising zones 14 are configured to display various types of adverts 16 typically in the form of text, audio, picture, video, barcodes, particularly quick response barcodes typically known as QR™ codes or any other information generated by a computer such as that contained in augmented reality. The advertising zones 14 include links in the form of buttons 50 which provide the user with various functions. The various functions include an expansion function (not shown) for expanding a particular advert into an expanded view wherein the particular advert fills and fits the graphical interface 12, a shrink function 52 for returning the advert from an expanded view to a normal view wherein all other adverts 16 are displayed as usual, a tag function for allowing a user to tag a particular advertiser such that adverts from the advertiser are shown first in the user’s adverts, a discard function (not shown) which allows a user to delete or remove a particular advert 16, a targeted advert view function (not shown) which allows a user to view the number of adverts 16 provided by the particular advertiser which are specifically targeted to the user and a follow function (not shown) which allows a user to visit a website, webpage or social media site which are related to the particular advert. The advertising zones 14 further include indicators 53 which are configured to indicate to the user a type of media to be provided by an advert, in particular, an indicator 53.1 indicates that additional images are available to be viewed and an indicator 53.2 indicates that audio is available. The various functions further include a search function 54 which is configured to allow a user to search a website, webpage or social media site which is linked to a particular advert. The search function 54 is configured to search similar products, services, events or advertising campaigns provided by any particular advertiser.

A plurality of advertising zones 14 are configured to display static adverts 56 which remain in the same position on the graphical interface 12 until changed by an advertiser, interacted with by a user or removed by a user. A further plurality of advertising zones 14 are configured to display dynamic adverts 58 which change in position relative the interface 12 on a timed basis.

The dynamic adverts 58 are configured to interchange positions at predetermined intervals which are set according to preferences of a system administrator. A dynamic advert 58 is configured to allow user interaction therewith when the advert occupies an interactive position 60. In particular, the dynamic advert occupying the interactive position 60 provides a user with an additional set of functions 61 relating to the particular advert. In particular, only once the user places the dynamic advert 58 into the interactive position 60, the dynamic advert 58 is configured to reveal its contents and display the additional set of functions 61. The additional set of functions 61 include a play button 62 for allowing a user to play an audio or video file provided by the advert or a view button (not shown) for allowing a user to view images provided by the advert. It is to be appreciated that the play button 62 is only displayed when an audio or video file is contained in the advert and the view button (not shown) is only displayed when an image or images are contained in the advert. The set of functions further include a number display 66 for displaying a total number of users who previously selected a play button 62 or view button (not shown), the number display 64 typically being configured to display the relevant number to the user once the user has selected the play or view button. It is to be appreciated that the number display 64 only shows the relevant number after the user has moved the corresponding advert into the interactive position 60 thereby enabling playing or viewing content thereof. Further, the relevant number is viewable only by the user interacting with the advert, the advertiser of the advert and/or the system administrator. The number display 64 is configured to provide a user with a prize offering 65 should the user’s unique number be a predetermined number, typically determined by a particular advertiser. The set of functions yet further include an action function 66 which is configured to provide the user with a set of actions that are carried out. The set of actions include contacting the advertiser, typically via telephone, cell-phone or e-mail, saving the advert, sharing the advert, referring the advert, buying a product advertised on the advert, signing up for a newsletter or other information relating to the advertised product or advertiser.

The dynamic adverts 58 include a selection button 68 for allowing a user to select a particular dynamic advert and move the advert into the interactive position 60. It is to be appreciated that the selection button 68 is displayed on every dynamic advert 58 in order to give the user the option of moving the advert to the interactive position 60. Further, moving the dynamic advert 58 into the interactive position typically discards the remaining dynamic adverts 58. The selection button 68 includes any suitable arrow-like image for depicting the movement of the advert to the interactive position. The dynamic adverts 58 further include a stop and sort button 70 and 72, respectively, for allowing a user to stop the dynamic adverts 58 from rotating or interchanging and to sort the order in which the dynamic adverts 58 interchange and move into the interactive position 60.

The controller (not shown) is configured to access personal data provided by a user in order to control and/or filter adverts 16 to be displayed to the user. In particular, the personal data provided by the user includes, but is not limited to, any one or more of the group including age, gender, race, education, religion, occupation, address and interests. The controller (not shown) is further configured to monitor browsing behaviour of the user in order to further control and filter adverts 16 being displayed to the user on the advertising platform. The controller includes a configurator (not shown) for allowing a user to configure settings of the advertising platform. The settings include language, font size, image size, a theme of the interface, sizes of the various zones, advert types such as photos or videos and number of adverts 16 to be displayed. The settings further include a catalogue (not shown) of various selectable topics for allowing a user to control the topic and content of certain adverts 16 according to the selected topics. The controller further includes an activation means (not shown) for allowing a user to activate or deactivate the advertising zones 14 in operation.

The advert creator includes an advert creation link 74, typically being located on the graphical interface 12, for allowing user access thereto. Adverts created by a user are configured to be displayable via the advertising zones 14 once payment from the user to a system administrator is made or confirmed and after having been approved by the system administrator. In particular, the advert creation link 74 is located in a region of the advertising zones 14, typically being located and displayed in the region of the advert 16. A data access link (not shown), typically located on the graphical interface, is provided for allowing user or advertiser access to data and statistics relating to the created advert (not shown). The data includes, but is not limited to, the total number of times an advert is moved into the interactive position by other users, the number of times an advert has been moved into the interactive position 60, a record of the specific action taken by the user upon interaction therewith such as saving the advert, calling the advertiser, buying the product and a record of the details and nature of the advertiser’s response to the action taken by the user. The data access link (not shown) is typically located and displayed in the browsing zone 38 of the graphical interface 12. Adverts which have been created by a user are displayed to the user in the browsing zone 38 upon logging in of the user. The advert creator is configured to operate with the money manager such that the cost of creating an advert or running an advertising campaign within a specified period will be debited from the user’s account should the user create an advert, provided sufficient funds are loaded onto the account.

It is, of course, to be appreciated that the system for operating an advertising platform in accordance with the invention is not limited to the precise constructional and functional details as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings and which may be varied as desired.