Advertising in virtual environments based on crowd statistics

摘要

Embodiments of the invention may be used to place a targeted advertisement on a billboard (or other advertising location) in an immersive virtual environment by determining the interests of a group of users at a given location to calculate an advertisement matching the whole group. The selected advisement may be based not only on the sum of individual interests for the avatars present in the particular location, but also current interaction between the avatars. As groups of users communicate with one another within a virtual world, the substance of their communications may contribute to what advertisement is selected and presented to the avatars at the advertising location.

主权项

1. A computer implemented method of dynamically selecting an advertisement to present in an immersive virtual environment, wherein steps of the computer implemented method are performed by a microprocessor, the computer implemented method comprising:
identifying a plurality of avatars within a specified proximity of an advertising location within the immersive virtual environment, wherein each avatar provides a graphical representation for a user in the immersive virtual environment, and wherein the plurality of avatars are configured to interact with elements of the immersive virtual environment and with other avatars; identifying a common interest of the plurality of avatars; selecting an advertisement to present at the advertising location, based on the common interest; and presenting the selected advertisement at the advertising location.