CN106471532A - Content distribution platform for beverage dispensing environment - Google Patents

Abstract

A system configured to manage distribution of content in a beverage dispensing environment to one or more cooperating media/carriers, wherein the system receives a data on environmental conditions, where the medium/carrier may be located in a beverage environment (e.g., a bar/restaurant, hotel, or event venue), and wherein the system compares received data representing environmental conditions regarding beverage purchases with selection criteria to identify Content to be distributed to media/carriers such that the selected content is distributed to one or more cooperating media/carriers.

Description

Content distribution platform for beverage dispensing environment

Cross References to Related Applications

This application is an International PCT application that is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Application No. 13/659,155, filed October 24, 2012, entitled "Content Distribution Platform," which was filed on August 29, 2008 Continuation of and claim of priority to US Patent Application No. 12/201,205 (now US Patent No. 8,363,618), entitled "Content Distribution Platform," the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

Background technique

The spread of electronic communication technology has made it possible to deliver information in large quantities. For example, technologies such as electronic mail, instant messaging, web browsers, etc. have provided a medium through which electronic information can be quickly communicated to large numbers of people. Electronic devices including, for example, personal computers, mobile phones, personal digital assistants, smart phones, and television set-top boxes (eg, cable set-top boxes, satellite set-top boxes, etc.) enable consumers to quickly obtain information. The type and content of information that can be conveyed through modern communication technologies varies and includes everything from personal information to public advertisements.

Current practice is to deliver electronic content using electronic communication technologies and according to multiple content delivery paradigms. Such paradigms provide for delivering content based on one or more selected criteria, including user behavior (ie, how users have historically interacted with previously delivered electronic content) and geography (eg, location-based search services). The actual circumstances of the electronic content (eg, the type of content to be delivered) may also be utilized when determining where, when, or to whom the electronic content will be delivered. For example, a content provider may choose to electronically deliver electronic sports content to users during a particular season, ie, football content during football season. Also, with respect to arguably the most popular electronic content distribution network, the Internet, users can select the type of content they want to electronically deliver by browsing the World Wide Web to identify and request the selected electronic content.

Therefore, systems exist for data distribution. However, applicants have noted a need for an information distribution system that employs a new paradigm for delivering content during a beverage purchase experience for a user in a beverage dispensing-facilitating environment.

Contents of the invention

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

The systems and methods described herein provide computer-implemented interactive systems and methods based on selected content management premised on one or more environmental conditions of one or more cooperating sustainable media/carriers (e.g., digital displays) and a distribution paradigm that allows management and distribution of content, electronically or otherwise, to one or more cooperating sustainable media/carriers. In an illustrative implementation, a content distribution environment includes a content management and distribution engine operable to manage and distribute content to one or more cooperating media/carriers (e.g., digital displays), and an instruction set including at least one instruction to indicate the The content management and distribution engine processes data representing one or more environmental conditions of one or more media/carriers (e.g., a digital display) and selects distribution to one or more cooperating media/carriers (e.g., a digital display) based on the environmental condition data. contents of the digital display). In an illustrative implementation, content is distributed to one or more collaborative displays located within the beverage dispensing environment.

In illustrative operations, the example content management and distribution engine may associate one or more media/carriers (eg, digital displays) identifiers with one or more cooperating media/carriers (eg, digital displays). In illustrative operations, the example content management and distribution engine may process environmental condition data representing one or more environmental conditions of one or more collaborative media/carriers (e.g., digital displays) to identify one or more environmental conditions to apply. environmental condition criteria and applying the one or more environmental condition criteria to the one or more collaborative displays. In an illustrative operation, the exemplary content management and distribution engine may distribute selected content to one or more of Multiple collaboration media/carriers (eg, digital displays). Exemplary operable, the exemplary content management and distribution engine may track the distribution of content for collaborative media/carriers (eg, digital displays) and generate reports for display/storage with data representing content that has been distributed.

In an exemplary embodiment, a medium/carrier may include a medium that may present information to a consumer. For example, in an illustrative embodiment, a medium may include a light emitting diode display, a liquid crystal display, or other suitable technology for displaying information electronically. In an exemplary embodiment, a medium may include a display area for presenting information in a non-electronic form. The medium/carrier may, for example, be located at/on a physical location such as a trash receptacle, billboard, vending machine, bench, or any other location accessible to potential viewers.

In an exemplary embodiment, the medium/vehicle may also include one or more sensors or other mechanisms to collect data regarding environmental conditions in or near the area in which the medium/vehicle is located. For example, in an exemplary embodiment, an agent/carrier may include a sensor system for collecting information including, but not limited to, being near or passing near a particular agent/carrier at a particular time or for a particular period of time. Number of people or vehicles, and location of people/vehicles. In an exemplary embodiment, the medium/carrier may be adapted to communicate data regarding environmental conditions via a communication link to the content management and distribution system.

In an exemplary embodiment, the content management and distribution engine may be adapted to aggregate received data regarding environmental conditions. In an exemplary implementation, a content management and distribution system may associate an identifier with each medium/carrier. When receiving data on environmental conditions from a medium/carrier, the content management and distribution system may store the received data on an identifier corresponding to the medium/carrier to which the data relates.

In an exemplary embodiment, the content management and distribution system may be further adapted to process the environmental condition data and identify content for distribution to a particular medium/carrier based on the collected environmental condition data corresponding to the particular medium/carrier. For example, in an illustrative implementation, a content management and distribution system may process received environmental condition data to identify those media/carriers that regularly have a large number of people passing through them during a certain period of time.

In an exemplary embodiment, the exemplary content management and distribution system may further include integration into one or more beverage dispensing devices (e.g., beer taps, soda machines/dispensers, iced tea dispensers, water dispensers, or wine taps), To allow data regarding one of the environmental conditions surrounding the one or more beverage dispensing devices to be communicated to the content management and distribution system. In an exemplary/illustrative implementation, the content management and distribution system may be further configured to process environmental condition data from one or more beverage dispensing devices and/or media/carriers, and Environmental condition data collected by beverage dispensing equipment to identify content for dispensing to specific media/carriers. For example, in an illustrative implementation, a content management and distribution system may process received environmental condition data to identify One or more commercial transactions for the purchase of one or more selected beverages at a particular location in a cooperating medium/carrier, and content for delivery to the cooperating medium/carrier is selected based on the monitored commercial transactions. In an exemplary implementation, selected content may include, but is not limited to, coupons (e.g., time-limited coupons, open-ended coupons, or a combination thereof) for the purchase of additional beverages, points as rewards for selection Reward points as part of a rewards program (e.g. beverage promotional material, including hats, t-shirts or posters), and/or incentives to receive complimentary products/services.

In an illustrative implementation, a content management and distribution system may manage the distribution of specific digital content to media/carriers that have a determined level of commercial interest associated with purchasing one or more selected beverages at a specific date and time. Activity. In an illustrative embodiment, content may be distributed to media/carriers electronically or non-electronically. The content can be received and displayed at the medium/carrier.

The following description and drawings set forth certain illustrative aspects of the subject matter in detail. These aspects are representative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which subject matter can be employed and claimed subject matter is intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents.

Description of drawings

1 is a block diagram of an exemplary computing environment in accordance with an illustrative implementation of the systems and methods described herein;

2 is a block diagram of an exemplary networked computing environment in accordance with an illustrative implementation of the systems and methods described herein;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing collaboration of exemplary components according to an illustrative implementation of the systems and methods described herein;

4 is a block diagram showing an illustrative block diagram representation of an illustrative implementation of an example content management and distribution system in accordance with the systems and methods described herein;

5 is a block diagram of one or more cooperating components of an exemplary medium/carrier according to the systems and methods described herein;

6 is a block diagram showing an illustrative block diagram representation of an illustrative implementation of an example content management and distribution system operating as part of an example beverage dispensing environment in accordance with the systems and methods described herein;

7 is a flow diagram of an illustrative process performed in accordance with the systems and methods described herein to manage and/or distribute content;

8 is a flowchart of an illustrative process performed in accordance with the systems and methods described herein to identify selected content for management/distribution;

9 is a flow diagram of an illustrative process performed in accordance with the systems and methods described herein to identify selected content for management/distribution as part of a beverage dispensing environment; and

10 is a flowchart of an illustrative process performed in accordance with the systems and methods described herein to distribute selected content for management/distribution as part of a beverage dispensing environment.

detailed description

The claimed subject matter is now described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of claimed subject matter. It may be evident, however, that claimed subject matter may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to facilitate describing the claimed subject matter.

As used in this application, the word "exemplary" is used herein to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any aspect or design described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects or designs. Rather, use of the word "exemplary" is intended to illustrate concepts in a concrete fashion.

Additionally, the term "or" is intended to mean an inclusive "or" rather than an exclusive "or". That is, unless stated otherwise or clear from context, "X employs A or B" is intended to mean any natural inclusive permutation. That is, if X employs A; X employs B; or X employs both A and B, then "X employs A or B" satisfies any of the foregoing. Furthermore, the articles "a" and "an" as used in this application and the appended claims should generally be construed to mean "one or more" unless otherwise stated or the context clearly indicates a singular form.

Furthermore, the terms "system," "component," "module," "interface," "model," etc. are generally intended to mean a computer-related entity, be it hardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. For example, a component may be, but is not limited to being limited to, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or a computer. As an illustration, both an application running on a controller and a controller can be a component. One or more components can reside within a process and/or thread of execution, and a component can be localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or more computers.

Although the subject matter described herein may be described in the context of illustrative diagrams for processing one or more computing application features/operations for a computing application having user-interactive components, the subject matter is not limited to these particular embodiments. Rather, the techniques described herein may be applied to any suitable type of user-interactive component execution management method, system, platform, and/or apparatus.

Illustrative Computing Environment:

FIG. 1 depicts an example computing system 100 that may be used to implement various aspects of the systems and methods described herein. As shown in FIG. 1 , computing system 100 is capable of executing various computing applications 180 . Computing applications 180 may, for example, include computing applications, computing applets, computing programs, and sets of instructions running on computing system 100 to perform at least one function, operation, and/or process. Exemplary computing system 100 is primarily controlled by computer readable instructions, which may be in the form of software. The computer readable instructions may include instructions for computing system 100 for storing and accessing the computer readable instructions themselves. Such software may execute within central processing unit (CPU) 110 to enable computing system 100 to operate. In many known computer servers, workstations and personal computers, the CPU 110 is implemented by a microelectronic chip CPU called a microprocessor. Coprocessor 115 is an optional processor distinct from main CPU 110 that performs additional functions or assists CPU 110 . CPU 110 may be connected to coprocessor 115 through interconnect 112 . One common type of coprocessor is the floating point coprocessor, also known as a numeric or math coprocessor, which is designed to perform faster and better numerical calculations than a general-purpose CPU 110 .

In operation, CPU 110 fetches, decodes and executes instructions, and transfers information to and from other resources via system bus 105, the computer's main data transfer path. The system bus connects the components in computing system 100 and defines the medium through which data is exchanged. Memory devices coupled to system bus 105 include random access memory (RAM) 125 and read only memory (ROM) 130 . Such memory includes circuitry that allows information to be stored and retrieved. ROM 130 typically contains stored data that cannot be modified. Data stored in RAM 125 can be read or changed by CPU 110 or other hardware devices. Access to RAM 125 and/or ROM 130 may be controlled by memory controller 120 . Memory controller 120 may provide an address translation function that translates virtual addresses to physical addresses when executing instructions.

Additionally, computing system 100 may include peripherals controller 135 responsible for communicating instructions from CPU 110 to peripherals such as printer 140 , keyboard 145 , mouse 150 , and data storage drives 155 . Display 165 , controlled by display controller 163 , is used to display visual output produced by computing system 100 . Such visual output may include text, graphics, animated graphics, audio and video. Display controller 163 includes the electronic components needed to generate video signals that are sent to display 165 . Additionally, computing system 100 may contain network adapter 170 , which may be used to connect computing system 100 to external communication network 160 .

Computing system 100 may be adapted to implement the systems described herein, including, for example, content management/distribution systems, operator computing systems, content provider computing systems, and/or media/carriers described herein.

Illustrative computer network environment:

Computing system 100 as described above may be deployed as part of a computer network. In general, the above description of the computing environment applies to server computers and client computers deployed in a network environment. FIG. 2 shows an exemplary networked computing environment in which servers communicate with client devices via a communications network 160 in which the apparatus and methods described herein may be employed. As shown in FIG. 2, the server 205 may communicate via a communication network 160 (which may be a wired or wireless local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), intranet, extranet, peer-to-peer network, virtual private network, Internet, or other communication network) Interconnect with multiple client computing environments. Client computing environments may include devices such as tablet personal computers 210, mobile phones 215, telephones 220, personal computers 100, personal digital assistants 225, smart watches 230, smartphones 235, and other wearable computing devices 240 (e.g., Google Glass (Google Glass). GLASS), activity trackers (FitBit), etc.). In conjunction with the systems and methods described herein, the client computing environment may also include a medium/carrier 217, which may include an electronic device adapted to collect environmental content data, such as the number of people passing through the medium/carrier within a set period of time Or purchased/dispensed beverages from a beverage dispensing device and communicate the environmental condition data to the server system 205. In an exemplary embodiment, medium/carrier 217 may be adapted (electronically or otherwise) to display content received from server system 205 . In connection with the systems and methods described herein, for example, server 205 may be employed to provide content management and distribution services as described herein.

In a network environment with the Internet as the communication network 160, for example, the server 205 may be a dedicated computing environment server that operates to , 235, and 240 transmit data, which can be accomplished by one of several known protocols, such as Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP), or Wireless Application Protocol (WAP). Additionally, network computing environment 200 may utilize various data security protocols, such as Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) or Perfect Privacy (PGP). Each client computing environment 100, 210, 215, 217, 220, 225, 230, 235, and 240 can be equipped with an operating system 180 that can run to support one or more computing applications, such as a web browser (not shown). out) or other graphical user interface (not shown) or mobile desktop environment (not shown) to gain access to the server computing environment 205.

During operation, a user (not shown) may interact with computing applications running on the client computing environment to obtain desired data and/or computing applications. The data and/or computing applications may be stored on server computing environment 205 and communicated to collaborating users via client computing environments 100, 210, 215, 217, 220, 225, 230, 235, and 240 on exemplary communication network 160 . Participating users may request access to certain data and applications residing in whole or in part in server computing environment 205 . Such data may be passed between client computing environments 100, 210, 215, 217, 220, 225, 230, 235, and 240 and server computing environments for processing and storage. Server computing environment 205 may host computing applications, processes, and applets for data and application generation, authentication, encryption, and communication, and may communicate with other server computing environments (not shown), third-party service providers (not shown), ), Network Attached Storage (NAS), and Storage Area Network (SAN) collaborate to enable application/data transactions.

It should be understood that media/carriers 217 may include, but are not limited to, electronically or otherwise (e.g., flexible and/or non-flexible liquid crystal displays, flexible and non-flexible LED displays, for receiving Content Carrier) displays the various components of the Sustainability Content. It should also be understood that sustainable content may include, but is not limited to, electronic content that may be displayed on a collaborative medium/carrier, illustratively powered by a sustainable power source (e.g., solar, turbine, or other sustainable energy source) and/or presented on Content on media/substrates that are environmentally friendly and/or recyclable (eg, organic paint).

Content management and distribution:

FIG. 3 shows an illustrative implementation of an example content management and distribution environment 300 . As shown in FIG. 3, exemplary content management and distribution environment 300 includes media/carriers 320 and 325-330. Media/carriers 320 , 325 , and 330 are adapted to present information forwarded from content server computing environment 360 . In an exemplary embodiment, media/carriers 320, 325, and 330 may include display devices such as, for example, LCD displays, LED displays, or any other device or surface suitable for presenting informational content. In the illustrative embodiment, media/carriers 320, 325, and 330 include media or areas for receiving and displaying informational content by non-electronic means.

Medium/carriers 320, 325, and 330 are adapted to receive and present distribution content 305, 310, and 315, respectively, which may be received via communication network 335 or other means from server computing environment 360. For example, in the illustrative embodiment, media/carriers 320, 325, and 330 may receive content via network 335 and display the content electronically. In an exemplary embodiment, content may be distributed to media/carriers 320, 325, and 330 via other media/carriers 320, 325, and 330 than network 335, such as by manual, non-electronic display. For example, content may include or be included on a poster attached to a particular medium/carrier.

Distributions 305, 310, and 315 may be any information that may be displayed, viewed, transmitted, searched, copied, retrieved, annotated, navigated, and/or printed from media/carriers 320, 325, and 330, respectively. In an illustrative implementation or example, distribution content 305, 310, and 315 may be, for example, advertisement data, safety information data, environmental condition data, announcement data, and the like.

Each medium/carrier 320, 325 and 330 is also adapted to collect information about its location or surrounding environment. For example, media/carriers 320, 325, and 330 may include various sensor devices for gathering information about their surroundings. In an exemplary embodiment, media/vehicles 320, 325, and 330 may include infrared detector systems for detecting entities such as people, animals, machines, and/or vehicles passing through a particular media/vehicle within a specific time or period quantity. The media/vehicles 320, 325, and 330 also include sensors adapted to sense other environmental and weather conditions (eg, time, location, temperature, wind, brightness, precipitation, etc.) in proximity to a particular medium/vehicle. In another exemplary embodiment, media/carriers 320, 325, and 330 may collect information about transactions, such as commercial purchases that may be made in the vicinity of a particular carrier. The media/carriers 320, 325 and 330 may be adapted to collect any type of information about their surroundings. Such information is generally described herein as environmental condition data. It should be understood that the term "environmental condition" is not meant to be limiting, and may include, but is not limited to, one or more environmental conditions experienced by the cooperating medium/vehicle(s), including, but not limited to, the location of the medium/vehicle , dimensions of the medium/carrier, traffic at or near the location of the medium/vehicle (e.g. number of people walking, number of people driving past, dimensions of passing vehicles) as determined by cooperating traffic monitor-object counters, for example, The weather around the medium/carrier, etc.

Each of media/carriers 320, 325, and 330 may be adapted to collect and/or store environmental condition data, which in an exemplary implementation may be stored relative to the time the data was collected. Medium/carriers 320, 325 and 330 may be adapted to forward data to server 360 via communication network 335 or via other means, where the data is stored as environmental condition data 349 . Media/carriers 320, 325, and 330 may be adapted to forward data in real-time as it is collected. Alternatively or additionally, media/carriers 320, 325, and 330 may transmit collected environmental data at regular/predetermined intervals, thereby being received by the content management and distribution engine. For example, data may be transmitted at intervals of 15, 30, 45, 60 minutes.

In an illustrative embodiment, data may be transmitted by a medium/carrier over network 335 . Communication network 335 may include any communication technology suitable for communicating electronic data, including, for example, WAN, LAN, Internet, wired and wireless technologies.

Content management and distribution engine 350 executes on server computing environment 360 and is adapted to manage digital content and control distribution of the digital content to media/carriers 320 , 325 and 330 according to content and distribution paradigms. Content delivery guidelines 347 include rules and/or criteria used by content management and distribution engine 350 to identify content suitable for a particular medium/carrier. For example, in an exemplary implementation, content delivery guidelines 347 may specify that certain content 342 or certain types of digital content should be presented on the medium/carrier during a time period when there are a certain number of people in the vicinity of the medium/carrier. In an exemplary implementation, content delivery guidelines 347 may specify that during other time periods, content 342 reflecting the public announcement should be presented on a medium/carrier that satisfies certain conditions.

Content management and distribution engine 350 may refer to environmental condition data 349 continuously collected and aggregated from media/carriers 320 , 325 , and 330 when applying content delivery guidelines 347 to identify data to distribute. Content management and distribution engine 350 may further refer to medium/carrier tracking/monitoring data 340 to identify content to distribute at a particular time. Media/Carrier Tracking/Monitoring Data 340 reflects data collected about individual media/carriers. In an illustrative implementation, medium/carrier tracking/monitoring data may, for example, identify for each medium/carrier what content has been previously delivered, when the content was delivered, how long the content was displayed, whether a particular medium/carrier was unavailable, or is planned to be unavailable and why, etc. In an exemplary implementation, content management and distribution engine 350 assigns a unique identifier to each of media/carriers 320, 325, and 330 such that, for example, environmental condition data 349 and media/carrier tracking/monitoring data 340 Data can be stored against an identifier of the appropriate medium/carrier and easily retrieved for a particular carrier.

The content management and distribution engine 350 is also adapted to generate reports related to all aspects of system operation. For example, reports and associated report data 345 may be generated relating to usage of content, ie, what content was distributed, when content was distributed, and to which medium/carrier. Reports 345 can be generated on the performance of a particular medium/vehicle, i.e. what content was received, when the content was received, when the content was displayed, for how long the content was displayed, what contextual data was applied to the medium/carrier during a certain period of time carrier. Reports can be generated automatically at determined and scheduled intervals, but can also be selectively generated in response to requests from system operators and digital content providers who may make system requests.

FIG. 4 provides a view of an illustrative implementation of an example content management and distribution environment 400 . Content management and distribution platform 420 has access to digital content 417 , medium/carrier tracking/monitoring data 410 and reporting data 415 . In an exemplary implementation, content management and distribution application 437 may be a software application executing on content management and distribution platform 420, and may employ/execute distribution guidelines 439 (e.g., environmental condition criteria) to determine when distribution should be to the content of the medium/carrier. Environmental condition data may be stored separately at the content management and distribution platform 420 .

In an illustrative implementation, content management and distribution platform 420 may be operatively coupled (electronically or otherwise, such as via manual monitoring) to medium/carrier 425 and electronically coupled to content provider computing environment 440 via communication network 435 and a media/carrier operator computing environment 460. In an illustrative implementation, communication network 435 may include wired and/or wireless intranets, extranets, local area networks, wide area networks, and the Internet.

Medium/carrier 425 may be adapted by programming instructions or otherwise to collect and communicate environmental condition data to content management/distribution platform 420 and to receive and display distribution content 450 received from content management/distribution platform 420 . In an illustrative operation, media/carrier environment 425 may be associated by content management/distribution platform 420 according to a content management and distribution paradigm (e.g., when associating media/carriers, the distribution paradigm may rely on a number of environmental condition criteria, including but not limited to the dimensions of a given medium/carrier, the location of a given medium/carrier, etc.).

Participating users 430 can interact with medium/vehicle 425 in both active and passive capabilities. Participating users 430 may include, for example, persons passing near medium/vehicle 425 , but may also include, for example, vehicles passing nearby. In an example implementation, the medium/carrier 425 may have sensors that identify nearby environmental condition data. Environmental condition data may include, for example, information collected by sensors about participating users 430 and the like. For example, in an exemplary implementation, the medium/carrier 425 includes an infrared sensor to detect nearby participating users 430, as well as the time and velocity of the users when they are nearby. In an illustrative embodiment, an exemplary medium/vehicle 425 may be equipped with one or more sensors to detect one or more physical environmental conditions, which may include, but are not limited to, the number of people passing through a particular medium/vehicle 425, the occurrence, occurrence of at least one body gesture from at least one person, expression of spoken language, movement of at least one person, interaction with at least one data element on said at least one display system, stature of said at least one person, the amount of hair of the at least one person, the presence of facial hair of the at least one person, the height of the at least one person, the skin color of the at least one person, the presence of makeup on the at least one person, and/or The length of time at least one person viewed at the exemplary medium/carrier 425 .

Participating users 430 may actively interact with medium/vehicle 425 . For example, the medium/carrier may provide an interface that allows participating users 430 to enter information about themselves or the environment into the medium/carrier 425 . User 430 may answer questions or enter information displayed on medium/carrier 425 . Medium/carrier 425 may receive all types of input from user 430 . For example, medium/carrier 425 may accept voice input, keyboard (ie, text) input, electromagnetic card input, identification input, payment input, biometric scan, or any other means for transferring information from user 430 . Information collected from users is passed as environmental condition data to the content management/distribution platform, where it can be used by the content management and distribution application 437 to determine what content should be distributed to the medium/carrier. Accordingly, participating users 430 may make inputs to the medium/carrier to trigger distribution of content to the medium/carrier 425 by contributing to one or more selected environmental conditions that satisfy the one or more selected environmental condition criteria.

Environmental condition data collected at medium/carrier 425 may be communicated (electronically or otherwise) to content management/distribution platform 420 . Environmental condition data may be transmitted in real time or at determined intervals. In response to receiving data representing environmental conditions, content management/distribution platform 420 executing content management/distribution application 437 processes the environmental condition data and data representing media/carrier environment 425 according to one or more distribution guidelines 439 (e.g., environmental condition standards). data (eg, medium/carrier tracking/monitoring data 410 ) to identify selected content 417 distributed to medium/carrier 425 as distributed content 450 . The content management/distribution platform 420 may be used to select specific distribution guidelines 439 based on various selection criteria including, for example, the location of the media/carrier, weather conditions in proximity to the media/carrier, the size of the display at the media/carrier, and the media/carrier operating status.

In illustrative operation, content management/distribution platform 420 may store media/carrier tracking/monitoring data representing content distributed to media/carrier environment 425 and/or undistributed content, and process media/carrier tracking/monitoring data to generate report data 415 representing content 417 that was distributed and/or content 417 that was not selected for distribution. In an illustrative operation, content management/distribution platform 420 may communicate with content provider computing environment 440 to communicate generated report data. Also, in illustrative operations, depending on the environmental condition data received (e.g. no people passing by a given medium/vehicle for a selected time period, time of day, weather, etc.), the content management/distribution platform 420 may be operable to communicate with media/carrier environment 425 to request that media/carrier 425 be powered down in accordance with one or more selected power management paradigms performed by media/carrier environment 425 .

Content provider computing environment 440 is also communicatively coupled to content management and distribution platform 420 via communication network 435 . Content providers 445 may use environment 440 to access content management and distribution platform 420 for a number of reasons. For example, in an exemplary implementation, content provider 445 may use provider computing environment 440 to input new content, change content, and/or change or select criteria for presenting particular content items. Information entered at the provider computing environment 440 is communicated to and received at the content management and distribution system.

Intermediary/operator computing environment 460 may be communicatively coupled to content management and distribution platform 420 and intermediary/carrier 425 via communication network 435 . At the media/operator computing environment 460, a media/carrier operator 465 can interact with the environment 460 to control the system. For example, medium/carrier operator 465 may enter preferences, rules, and/or criteria that dictate what content is distributed and the circumstances under which distribution is made. The medium/carrier operator 465 may enter preferences, rules and/or selection criteria that determine which distribution guidelines or rules to employ. A medium/carrier operator 465 may also input content. Operator 465 input is received by content management/distribution platform 420 and may be reflected in one or more of the distribution guide and content 417 . A medium/carrier operator 465 may access system 460 to generate reports 415 .

Accordingly, the medium/carrier operator 465 may set one or more selected environmental condition criteria as a content provider 445 preference for delivery of selected content. In an illustrative operation, such content provider 445 preferences may be electronically communicated to the media/carrier operator 465 using the content provider computing environment 440, which communicates with the media/carrier operator computing environment 465 using The communication network 435 communicates. Such environmental condition criteria may be communicated by the media/carrier operator 465 to the content management/distribution platform 420 for processing and application to the content 417 . In illustrative operation, such environmental condition criteria may be stored as distribution guidelines 439 processed by content management/distribution application 427 .

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary media/carrier environment 500 that may be used, for example, in conjunction with the media/carriers of FIGS. 3 and 4 . As shown in FIG. 5 , in an illustrative implementation, exemplary media/carrier environment 500 includes media/carrier 505 that includes one or more cooperating components, including but not limited to communication component 510, display component 520 (for displaying electronic and non-electronic content), environmental condition data aggregator 530 and data storage 540.

In an illustrative implementation, environmental condition aggregator 530 may include one or more electronic/non-electronic mechanisms/devices/sensors for collecting data regarding one or more environmental conditions. For example, environmental condition aggregator 530 may include an infrared sensor, a temperature sensor, a clock, or any other device suitable for capturing environmental data of interest. Environmental condition aggregator 530 may be adapted to detect, sense, and record, for example, the number of people passing by a given physical location, the number of vehicles passing by a given physical location, and/or the weather proximate to a given physical location. In an exemplary embodiment, the environmental condition aggregator 530 may be adapted to capture commercial activity in the vicinity of a particular medium/carrier. For example, aggregator 530 may be adapted (via hardware and/or software) to record business transactions and/or purchases proximate to a given physical location. Data regarding a business transaction may be received from one or more other cooperating data collection components, such as a nearby vending machine, cash register, or other device suitable for recording the transaction. Aggregator 530 may be further adapted to monitor and record environmental conditions related to the operating status of components of media/carrier environment 500, including media/carrier 505, communication component 510, display component 520, data storage 540, and environmental condition aggregator 530 . For example, aggregator 530 may be adapted to record whether any component is inoperable or operating with reduced performance.

Data storage 540 may be adapted to store data related to the operation of media/carrier environment 500 , including data collected by environmental condition data aggregator 530 , for example. In general, data collected by aggregator 530 and stored in data store 540 is stored relative to the time it was collected. Data storage 540 also includes digital content to be displayed or otherwise transmitted by the medium/carrier.

The display component 520 may be adapted to display content delivered to the medium/carrier as determined and managed by the content management and distribution application. Display component 520 may be any device and/or medium suitable for displaying content, and may include either or both electronic and non-electronic display portions. In an exemplary implementation, a display component may include, for example, an LED display, an LCD display, a computer monitor, or any other device suitable for displaying relevant content. In an exemplary embodiment, the display assembly 520 may be composed of flexible materials, such as flexible light emitting diodes (LEDs) and liquid crystal displays (LCDs). In an exemplary embodiment, display assembly 520 may include a surface area suitable for receiving information in a non-electronically printed form, such as on a poster or other article suitable for displaying information.

Communication component 510 may be adapted to communicate information between media/carrier environment 500 and content management and distribution applications. Communication component 510 may include any device and/or network suitable for communicating relevant data, including, for example, environmental condition data and distribution content data. For example, communication component 510 may comprise any wireless or wired communication network and may use any relevant technology including, for example, LAN, WAN and Internet technologies.

In an illustrative embodiment, medium/carrier environment 500 includes one or more collectors of sustainable energy. For example, medium/carrier environment 500 may include a solar collector system. Alternatively or additionally, medium/carrier environment 500 may include a wind energy collector system. In an illustrative embodiment, a sustainable energy source provides the power used to run components of the medium/carrier environment.

Some or all of the exemplary media/carrier environment 500 may be physically located in flexible and/or rigid forms at various physical locations including, but not limited to, trash containers, billboards, vehicles, buildings, automated Vending machines, benches, bus stops, airports and floating billboards. In addition, the environment can include a carrier constructed of environmentally friendly and recyclable materials. For example, the carrier can include an organic coating.

In illustrative operation, the example media/carrier environment 500 may operably cooperate with a content management and distribution platform to receive content for display and interaction. In illustrative operation, the example media/carrier environment 500 is operable to aggregate various environmental condition data via one or more components of the example media/carrier environment for delivery to a collaborative A content management and distribution platform for selecting content to be managed and/or distributed to a medium/carrier environment by a collaborative content management and distribution platform.

FIG. 6 provides a view of an illustrative implementation of an example beverage dispense content management and distribution environment 600 . Content management and distribution platform 620 has access to digital content 635 (eg, sponsored content), medium/carrier tracking/monitoring data 630 and reporting data 625 . In an exemplary implementation, content management and distribution application 640 may be a software application executing on content management and distribution platform 620, and may employ/execute distribution guidelines 645 (e.g., environmental condition criteria) to determine when distribution should be to the medium/carrier. Environmental condition data may be stored separately at the content management and distribution platform 620 .

In an illustrative implementation, content management and distribution platform 620 may be operably coupled (electronically or otherwise, e.g., by manual monitoring) to media/carriers 650 and 665, and electronically coupled to beverage dispense monitoring device 610, It is operably connected to one or more beverage dispensing mechanisms (eg, beer taps, soda taps, or wine taps) 605a , 605b , 605c , 605d , and/or 605e , and via a communication network 615 . In an illustrative embodiment, communication network 615 may include a wired and/or wireless inline, mobile network, extranet, local area network, wide area network, or the Internet.

The medium/carrier 650 or 665 may be configured via programming instructions or otherwise to collect environmental condition data via one or more environmental condition monitoring devices 652 (e.g., cameras, traffic counters, infrared sensors, or GPS) and transmit it to the content management /distribution platform 620, and receives and displays the distributed content 650a received from the content management/distribution platform 620 (eg, containing triggering content for one or more illegal commercial activities involving users 655). In an illustrative operation, media/carrier environment 650 or 665 may be associated by content management/distribution platform 420 according to a content management and distribution paradigm (e.g., when associating media/carriers, the distribution paradigm may rely on a number of environmental condition criteria, including, but not limited to, the size of a given medium/carrier, the location of a given medium/carrier, etc.).

Participating users 655 can interact with medium/vehicle 650 or 665 in active and passive capabilities. Participating users 655 may include, for example, people passing near the vehicle/vehicle 650 or having the medium/vehicle 655 on their bodies, but may also include, for example, counting the number of beverages selected within a nearby distance of the medium/vehicle 650 . In an exemplary embodiment, the medium/carrier 650 or 665 may have sensors that identify nearby environmental condition data. For example, environmental condition data may include data collected by environmental condition monitoring device 652, which may be about participating users 655, beverage types located proximate to medium/carrier 650 or 665, and/or by selected beverage dispensing devices according to exemplary Quantity/frequency/timing of dispensing selected beverages from data collected by beverage dispensing monitoring device 610, which is operatively connected to one or more beverage dispensing mechanisms (e.g., beer, soda, or wine taps) 605a, 605b , 605c, 605d and/or 605e. For example, in an exemplary implementation, medium/carrier 650 may include infrared, camera, and/or GPS sensors for detecting nearby participating users 655 and/or types of beverages that participating users 655 are purchasing or have purchased. Additionally, in an illustrative implementation, the medium/carrier 665 may include a GPS sensor to identify the location of participating users 655 who may possess the medium/carrier 665 for use by a collaboration application (not shown) for communication to content management/distribution Platform 620 for selecting and delivering content specific to participating users 655 who own media/carriers 665 to allow participating users to have one or more commercial benefits (such as discounts, giveaways, or rewards) associated with purchasing the desired beverage 660.

Participating users 655 may actively interact with medium/vehicle 650 or 665 . For example, the medium/carrier may provide an interface that allows participating users 650 or 665 to enter information about themselves or about the environment into the medium/carrier 650 or 665 . User 655 may answer questions displayed on medium/carrier 650 or 665, participate in a trivia game, or otherwise enter information. The medium/carrier 650 or 665 may further include hardware and software to receive all types of input from the user 655 . For example, medium/carrier 650 or 665 may accept voice input, gesture input, keyboard (i.e. text) input, magnetic card input, identification input, payment input, biometric scan, or any other means for sending information from user 655. Information collected from users is communicated as environmental condition data to content management/distribution platform 620 where it can be used by content management and distribution application 640 to determine what content should be distributed to medium/carrier 650 or 665 . Accordingly, participating user 655 may make an input to medium/carrier 650 or 665 to trigger an input to medium/carrier 650 by contributing to one or more selected environmental conditions that satisfy one or more selected environmental condition criteria. or 665 distribution content.

Environmental condition data collected at medium/carrier 650 or 655 and/or beverage dispense monitoring device 610 may be communicated (electronically or otherwise) to content management/distribution platform 620 . Environmental condition data may be transmitted in real time or at determined intervals. In response to receiving data representing environmental conditions, content management/distribution platform 620 executing content management/distribution application 640 is illustratively configured to process environmental condition data and data representing media/carriers 650 or 665 (e.g., tracking of media/carriers). /monitoring data 630) to identify digital content 635 distributed to medium/carrier distribution content 650a. Content management/distribution platform 620 may be used to select specific distribution guidelines 645 based on various selection criteria, including, but not limited to, the location of medium/vehicle 660 or 655, weather conditions in proximity to medium/vehicle 650, or medium/vehicle 650 or 665, for example The size of the display at the location, the operating status of the media/carrier 650 or 665, and/or the business activity associated with the dispensing of beverages near the media/carrier 650 or 665.

In illustrative operation, content management/distribution platform 620 may store tracking/monitoring data for media/carriers representing content distributed to media/carrier environment 650 or 665 and/or undistributed content, and may process media/carrier The data is tracked/monitored to generate report data 625 representing content 635 that was distributed and/or content 635 that was not selected for distribution. In an illustrative operation, content management/distribution platform 620 may communicate with content provider computing environment 670 to communicate generated report data. Also, in illustrative operations, depending on the environmental condition data received (e.g. no people passing by a given medium/vehicle for a selected time period, time of day, weather, etc.), the content management/distribution platform 620 may be operable to communicate with media/carrier environment 650 or 665 to request that media/carrier 650 or 665 be powered down according to one or more selected power management paradigms performed by media/carrier environment 650 or 665 .

As shown in FIG. 6 , the example beverage dispensing content management and distribution environment 600 may also include a content provider computing environment 670 for electronically cooperating with the content management and distribution platform 620 . Content provider computing environment 670 may operatively communicate data to content management and distribution platform 620 via communication network 615 . Content providers 675 may use computing environment 670 to access content management and distribution platform 620 for a number of reasons. For example, in an exemplary implementation, content provider 675 may use content provider computing environment 670 to perform one or more functions, such as entering new content, changing content, and/or changing or selecting criteria for presenting a particular content item . Information entered at content provider computing environment 670 is communicated to and received at content management and distribution platform 620 for use in selecting and distributing content 650a on exemplary media/carriers 650 or 665 .

In illustrative operation, participating users 655 may participate in beverage dispensing environment 600 to purchase desired beverages 660 that may be dispensed from one or more beverage dispensing devices 605a through 650e. Exemplarily, when the beverage 660 is being dispensed from the one or more beverage dispensing devices 605a-650e, the exemplary beverage dispensing monitoring device 610 communicatively coupled to the one or more beverage dispensing devices 605a-650e can communicate via the communication network 615 to Data representing beverage dispensing (eg, beverage dispensing environmental condition data) 660 is provided to content management and distribution platform 620 for processing. Responsive to receiving beverage dispensing environmental condition data, content management and distribution platform 620 may be operable to select digital content 635 for delivery to one or more of the beverage dispensing devices that are dispensing the desired beverage (e.g., 605a to 650e). The medium/carrier 650 or 665, ie, the selected distribution with a relevance or context to the beverage 660 purchased by the user 655. In an illustrative operation, selected and distributed content 650 may include various data including, but not limited to, one or more coupons, one or more rewards, one or more incentives, one or more redeemable giveaways, and and/or include data indicating that a user may interact with the medium/carrier to win a trivia game including, but not limited to, one or more coupons, one or more rewards, one or more incentives, one or more redeemable giveaways.

In an illustrative operation, participating user 655 may run an application (not shown) on medium/carrier 665 that cooperatively communicates with content management and distribution platform 620 over communications network 615 to provide data representative of the user's particular beverage purchases (e.g., the type, style, brand, and price of the user's preferred beverages, and other demographic information), which can be used by the content management and distribution platform 620 to select user-specific content 635, which will be based on the user profile (e.g., , coupons for beverages of a particular type, style, brand, and/or price, or beverage-related products (such as meals or promotional materials) that are relevant to a particular user.

7 is a flowchart of an exemplary process performed by the illustrative content management and distribution platform of FIGS. 3 and 4 . At block 700, the content management and distribution application associates an identifier with one or more cooperating media/carriers. Accordingly, each medium/carrier is associated with an identifier used by the content management and distribution system to store data related to the particular medium/carrier, and to identify data for distribution to the medium/carrier.

At block 710, the environmental condition data is processed so that it can be used to identify content to distribute. As mentioned above, ambient content data is collected at the medium/carrier. Ambient content data may include, for example, the number of people passing through one or more medium/vehicles, the number of vehicles passing through one or more medium/vehicles, the weather in the vicinity of one or more medium/vehicles, and the one or more medium/vehicles. Purchases made near the carrier. The ambient content data is transmitted to a content management/distribution system, wherein the ambient content data is stored relative to an identifier corresponding to the particular medium/carrier from which the data was derived.

In addition to aggregating the contextual content data, the content management/distribution system determines a set of contextual condition selection criteria that should be applied to the contextual content data in order to identify content to distribute. Different environmental condition selection criteria may be employed based on any number of factors. For example, environmental condition selection criteria may be based on, for example, the time of day or year, the location of one or more media/vehicles, the size of one or more media/vehicles, the weather in the vicinity of one or more media/vehicles, and a or the operating status of multiple media/carriers to select. These inputs can be used to identify a set of selection criteria that are then used to query environmental condition data.

At block 720, one or more environmental condition criteria are applied to identify the selected content for distribution to one or more media/carriers. Content management and distribution applications may apply relevant content distribution guidelines or conditional criteria to eg environmental condition data in order to determine which content should be delivered to which media/carriers. For example, content distribution/delivery guidelines may specify that a medium/carrier located in a certain area and having a certain number of individuals nearby within a certain time frame is to receive a certain set of content. The content condition selection criteria may specify, for example, that one or more mediums/vehicles with a certain threshold of traffic in the vicinity or proximity (i.e., the number of people and/or vehicles passing in the vicinity) are candidates for receiving a particular advertisement or announcement . Content condition selection criteria may specify, for example, that media/carriers having a particular location, experiencing particular weather conditions, and/or having commercial transactions occurring nearby are candidates for receiving particular advertisements.

At block 730, the content management and distribution system manages/distributes distribution of the identified selected content to one or more collaborative media/carriers. The system can manage/distribute by specifying, for example, what is to be distributed, the medium/carrier to distribute the content, when the content is to be distributed, how the content is to be distributed, and/or who is responsible for the management/distribution. The content management and distribution system may electronically transmit selected data over the communication network at data and times specified by the system. The selected data can be displayed at the medium/carrier via electronic means (eg LCD display). In an exemplary implementation, the content management and distribution system may manage the distribution of content by, for example, identifying that particular content is to be delivered manually. The content may be displayed on the surface of the medium/carrier in a non-electronic form.

At block 740, track and/or monitor information related to content distributed to the medium/carrier as well as non-selected content. In an exemplary implementation, the tracked related information may include, for example, the content that was distributed, the medium/carrier over which the content was distributed, when the content was distributed, the duration that the content was displayed, and the like. Tracking and monitoring data is stored for later retrieval.

At block 750, one or more reports are generated for display/storage. Reports can be generated from any and all data collected by the content management and distribution platform. For example, reports can be generated from tracking and monitoring data. Reports can be generated for any number of purposes and on any number of projects. For example, a report may be generated describing specific content that was distributed and content that was not selected for distribution. Reports can be generated illustrating the performance of a particular medium/carrier. Reports may be generated at predetermined intervals or in response to requests from content providers and/or operators of the system. Report data can be stored for later retrieval.

FIG. 8 depicts an example process that may be performed by the illustrative content management and distribution platforms of FIGS. 3 and 4 . As shown, at block 800, one or more environmental condition criteria are defined to associate the selected content with the one or more selected environmental conditions. In an illustrative implementation, such environmental condition criteria may include, but are not limited to, the location of the medium/vehicle, the weather in the vicinity of the medium/vehicle, the size of the medium/vehicle, and the operating status of the medium/vehicle. Based on environmental condition criteria, selected content may be identified for distribution to one or more collaborative media/carriers. In an illustrative implementation, advertisements for automobiles (i.e., an exemplary selection of content) may be associated for distribution to collaborative media that are of sufficient size to display automobile-type advertisements and that are located near gas stations (e.g., environmental condition criteria) .

At block 810, ambient content data is collected at the medium/carrier as described above. Contextual content data may include, for example, the number of people passing through one or more mediums/vehicles, the number of vehicles passing through one or more mediums/vehicles, the weather near one or more mediums/vehicles, and the businesses near one or more mediums/vehicles. Transactions (for example, buying soda). The ambient content data is transferred to a content management/distribution system where it is stored relative to the specific medium/carrier from which the data was derived.

At block 820, environmental condition criteria are applied to the collected environmental condition data to identify which selected content to distribute to one or more collaborative media/carriers that are experiencing the one or more environmental conditions. Content management and distribution applications apply relevant content distribution guidelines/standards/rules to determine which content should be delivered to which media/carriers. For example, content distribution/delivery criteria may specify that a medium/carrier located in a certain area and having a certain number of individuals nearby within a certain time frame will receive a certain set of content.

At block 830, the identified content is distributed to collaborative media/carriers. Selected data may be transmitted electronically over a communication network. In another implementation, the content may be delivered via other means (eg, manually).

At block 840, the content management and distribution platform tracks information related to content distributed to media/carriers as well as content not selected for distribution. In an exemplary implementation, relevant information to be tracked may include, for example, the content that was distributed, the medium/carrier over which the content was distributed, when the content was distributed, the duration that the content was displayed, and the like. Tracking and monitoring data is stored for later retrieval.

At block 850, the content management and distribution platform generates one or more reports. Reports can be stored and/or displayed. Reports may reflect information about content that has been distributed, but may also reflect information about content that has not been selected for distribution.

9 is a flowchart of an example process performed by the illustrative content management and distribution platforms of FIGS. 3 , 4 , and 6 as part of the example beverage dispensing environment 600 of FIG. 6 . At block 900, the content management and distribution application associates an identifier with one or more collaborative media/carriers that are part of the exemplary beverage dispensing environment (eg, 600 of FIG. 6). Accordingly, each medium/carrier is associated with an identifier which is used by the content management and distribution system to store data related to the particular medium/carrier and to identify data for distribution to the medium/carrier.

At block 910, the environmental condition data is processed so that it can be used to identify content to distribute. As mentioned above, ambient content data is collected at the medium/carrier. Ambient content data may include any of the following, including but not limited to, for example, the number of people passing through one or more mediums/vehicles, the number of beverages of a particular type dispensed near one or more mediums/vehicles, and Purchases of a particular beverage made near the medium/vehicle, and/or the number of beverages of various types in the vicinity of the medium/vehicle. The ambient content data is transferred to a content management/distribution system, where it is stored relative to an identifier corresponding to the particular medium/carrier from which the data was derived.

In addition to aggregating the contextual content data, the content management/distribution system determines a set of contextual condition selection criteria that should be applied to the contextual content data in order to identify content to distribute. Different environmental condition selection criteria may be employed based on any number of factors. For example, environmental condition selection criteria may be based on, for example, time of day or year, location of one or more media/carriers, size of one or more media/carriers, weather in the vicinity of one or more media/carriers, one or more The operating status of multiple media/vehicles, the type of event or events in the vicinity of the media/vehicles (e.g., a sporting event, theatrical performance, concert, moving movie or game project), the progress of events in the vicinity of the media/vehicles (e.g. , start, middle, end, intermission or halftime), the score of the event or the attendance of the event and other event characteristics. These inputs can be used to identify a set of selection criteria that are then used to query environmental condition data.

At block 920, one or more environmental condition criteria are applied to identify the selected content for distribution to one or more media/carriers. Content management and distribution applications may apply relevant content distribution guidelines or conditional criteria to eg environmental condition data in order to determine which content should be delivered to which media/carriers. For example, content distribution/delivery criteria may specify that an agent/carrier located in a certain area and having a certain number of individuals nearby within a certain time frame will receive a certain set of content based on beverage dispenses, purchases, or beverage inquiries, etc. The content condition selection criteria may specify that one or more mediums/carriers, for example, having a certain threshold of foot traffic holding a particular beverage in the vicinity or or proximity, are candidates for receiving a particular advertisement or announcement. Content condition selection criteria may specify, for example, that media/carriers having a particular location, experiencing particular weather conditions, and/or having commercial transactions (eg, beverage purchases) occurring nearby are candidates for receiving particular advertisements.

At block 930, the content management and distribution system manages/distributes distribution of the identified selected content to one or more collaborative media/carriers. The system may manage/distribute by, for example, specifying the content to be distributed, the medium/carrier on which the content is to be distributed, when the content will be distributed, how the content will be distributed, and/or who will be responsible for managing/distributing it. The content management and distribution system may electronically transmit selected data over the communication network at data and times specified by the system. The selected data may be displayed electronically at the medium/carrier eg via an LCD display. In an exemplary implementation, the content management and distribution system may manage the distribution of content by, for example, identifying that particular content is to be delivered manually. Content may be displayed on the surface of the medium/carrier in a non-electronic form.

At block 940, track and/or monitor information related to content distributed to the medium/carrier as well as non-selected content. In an exemplary implementation, relevant information that is tracked may include, for example, the content that was distributed, the medium/carrier over which the content was distributed, when the content was distributed, the duration that the content was displayed, or incentives (e.g., coupons, rewards, etc.) or gifts). Tracking and monitoring data is stored for later retrieval.

At block 950, one or more reports are generated which may be displayed/stored. Reports can be generated from any and all data collected by the content management and distribution platform. For example, reports can be generated from tracking and monitoring data. Reports can be generated for any number of purposes and on any number of projects. For example, a report may be generated describing specific content that was distributed and content that was not selected for distribution. Reports can be generated illustrating the performance of a particular medium/carrier. Reports may be generated at predetermined intervals or in response to requests from content providers and/or operators of the system. Report data can be stored for later retrieval.

10 depicts an example process that may be performed by the illustrative content management and distribution platforms of FIGS. 3 , 4 , and 6 as part of the illustrative beverage dispensing environment of FIG. 6 . As shown, at block 1000, one or more environmental condition criteria are defined to associate selected content with one or more selected environmental conditions. In an illustrative implementation, such environmental condition criteria may include, but are not limited to, the location of the medium/vehicle, the weather in the vicinity of the medium/vehicle, the size of the medium/vehicle, commercial activity in the vicinity of the medium/vehicle (e.g., beverage transactions, inquiry or cashed) and/or the operating status of the media/substrate. Based on environmental condition criteria, selected content may be identified for distribution to one or more collaborative media/carriers. In an illustrative embodiment, advertisements for selected beverages and associated materials (i.e., exemplary selected content) may be associated for distribution to a cooperating medium/carrier of sufficient size to display beverage-type advertisements, and Located in the beverage distribution environment (bar/restaurant, hotel, or event venue) (eg, environmental condition standards).

At block 1010, ambient content data is collected at the medium/carrier as described above. Ambient content data may include, for example, the number of people passing through one or more vehicles/vehicles, the number and type of drinks in the vicinity of one or more vehicles/vehicles, the weather in the vicinity of one or more vehicles/vehicles, the distribution of drinks, and A commercial transaction (e.g. buying a drink) that takes place in the vicinity of multiple mediums/vehicles. The ambient content data is transferred to the content management/distribution system where it stores the ambient content data relative to the specific medium/carrier from which the data was derived.

At block 1020, environmental condition criteria are applied to the collected environmental condition data to identify which selected content to distribute to one or more collaborative media/carriers that are experiencing the one or more environmental conditions. Content management and distribution applications apply relevant content distribution guidelines/standards/rules to determine which content should be delivered to which media/carriers. For example, content distribution/delivery criteria may specify that an intermediary/carrier located in a certain area and having a certain number of individuals who purchased a certain beverage nearby within a certain time frame will receive a certain set of content.

At block 1030, the identified content is distributed to collaborative media/carriers. Selected data may be transmitted electronically over a communication network. In another implementation, the content may be delivered via other means (eg, manually).

At block 1040, the content management and distribution platform tracks information related to content distributed to media/carriers as well as content not selected for distribution. In an exemplary implementation, relevant information to be tracked may include, for example, the content that was distributed, the medium/carrier over which the content was distributed, the time when the content was distributed, or the duration that the content was displayed. Tracking and monitoring data is stored for later retrieval.

At block 1050, the content management and distribution platform generates one or more reports. Reports can be stored and/or displayed. Reports may reflect information about content that has been distributed, but may also reflect information about content that has not been selected for distribution.

Accordingly, systems and methods for managing and distributing digital content have been disclosed herein. In an exemplary implementation, content is selected for distribution based in part on environmental conditions at the device at which the electronic content is to be displayed. The examples and implementations disclosed herein are for illustrative purposes only. Other embodiments that may not be explicitly disclosed are within contemplated implementations. For example, any suitable device may be used to collect environmental data and display content. Additionally, any type of environmental condition data can be collected and used to determine what to deliver. Furthermore, any type of selection criteria/guidelines/rules may be used to identify content for distribution to a particular medium/carrier.

The methods described herein and the adaptations of the disclosed system may be implemented by computer-executable instructions stored on one or more computer-readable media or transmitted by any suitable type of signal. The method can be performed at least partially manually. The steps of the method can be implemented by software or a combination of software and hardware and in any of the above ways. Computer-executable instructions may be the same process executing on a single or multiple microprocessors or multiple processes executing on a single or multiple microprocessors. The method can be repeated any number of times as desired, and the steps of the method can be performed in any suitable order.

The subject matter described herein may operate in the general environment of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, executed by one or more components. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Often the functionality of the program modules may be combined or distributed as desired. Although the above description generally refers to computer-executable instructions of a computer program running on a computer, the user interfaces, methods and systems can also be implemented in combination with other program modules. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks and/or implement particular abstract data types.

Moreover, the subject matter described herein can be implemented in most any suitable computer system configuration, including uniprocessor or multiprocessor computer systems, miniature computing devices, mainframe computers, personal computers, stand-alone computers, handheld computing devices, wearable computing devices, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, and the like, and distributed computing environments in which tasks are performed by remote processing devices linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices. The methods and systems described herein can be implemented on a computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions and signals (eg, electronic signals) manufactured to transmit (eg, over a network) such information.

Although the subject matter has been described above in specific language for structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing some of the claims.

It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies falling within the claimed subject matter, and many further combinations and permutations of the subject matter are possible. Although only one particular feature of several implementations may be disclosed, such a feature may be combined with one or more other features of other implementations of the subject matter that may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application.

Furthermore, it should be understood that various aspects as described herein can be implemented on portable computing devices and other aspects can be implemented on distributed computing platforms. Likewise, various aspects as described herein can be implemented as a set of services.

It should be understood that the systems and methods described herein are susceptible to various modifications and alternative constructions. This application is not intended to limit the systems and methods described herein to the particular configurations described herein. On the contrary, the systems and methods described herein are intended to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents falling within the scope and spirit of the systems and methods described herein.

It should also be noted that the systems and methods described herein can be implemented in a variety of electronic environments (including non-wireless and wireless computing environments), partial computing environments, and real-world environments. The various techniques described herein may be implemented in hardware or software, or a combination of both. Preferably, the techniques are implemented in a computing environment that maintains a programmable computer comprising a computer network, processors, servers, processor-readable storage media (including volatile and non-volatile memory and and/or storage elements), at least one input device, and at least one output device. Computing hardware logic, cooperating with various instruction sets, is applied to the data to perform the functions described above and generate output information. Output information is applied to one or more output devices. The programs used by the exemplary computing hardware can preferably be implemented in various programming languages, including high-level procedural or object-oriented programming languages, to communicate with computer systems. Illustratively, the apparatus and methods described herein can be implemented in assembly or machine language, if desired. In any case, the language may be a compiled or interpreted language. Each such computer program is preferably stored on a storage medium or device (e.g., ROM or disk) readable by a general-purpose or special-purpose programmable computer for configuring and operating the computer to execute when the storage medium or device is read by the computer the above process. The apparatus may also be considered to be implemented as a computer-readable storage medium configured with a computer program, wherein the storage medium so configured causes a computer to operate in a specific and predefined manner.

Although exemplary embodiments of the systems and methods described herein have been described in detail above, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that, without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of the systems and methods described herein, modifications may be made. Many other modifications. Accordingly, these and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the systems and methods described herein.

What has been described above includes examples of claimed subject matter. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes of describing the claimed subject matter, but one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that many further combinations and permutations of the claimed subject matter are possible of. Accordingly, the claimed subject matter is intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, to the extent that the term "comprises" is used in the specification or claims, the term is intended to be used in an "inclusive" manner, which is similar to the manner in which the term "comprises" is used because "comprises" is included in the claims中 is used as a transition word.

The systems and methods described herein are better defined by the following exemplary claims.

Claims (29)

1. Content management and distribution systems for use in beverage dispensing environments, including: at least one computing processor; and Computing memory communicatively coupled to the at least one computing processor, the computing memory having stored thereon computer-executable instructions for causing the content management and distribution system to perform operations, comprising: A set of selection criteria for identifying information displayed at the at least one display system is selected by the content management and distribution system based on at least one display system factor, the display system factors including (i) the at least one display at least one of the location of the system, (ii) the physical size of the at least one display system, (iii) the physical orientation of the at least one display system, and (iv) the operational status of the at least one display system; receiving by the content management and distribution system data representative of at least one environmental condition collected by one or more environmental condition sensing devices operatively cooperating with the at least one display system, the environmental condition including beverage dispensing-related at least one physical environmental condition, the at least one display system is operatively connected to a communication network that provides at least one data service including one of a voice service, a television service, and a broadband connection service, and is within a distance from the At least one of the following physical environmental conditions occurs within a predetermined distance of at least one display system: number of people, occurrence of a commercial transaction, occurrence of at least one physical gesture from at least one person, expression of spoken language, movement of at least one person, interaction with at least one data element on said at least one display system, said at least one the size of the person, the amount of hair on the at least one person, the presence of facial hair on the at least one person, the height of the at least one person, the skin color of the at least one person, the the presence of makeup, the length of time the at least one person viewed the at least one display system, the amount of beverage dispensed, and the type of beverage dispensed; querying, by said content management and distribution system, content data residing on a data store to select content to distribute, applying a selected set of selection criteria and data representative of said at least one environmental condition; and The selected content is communicated to at least one display system. 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the selected content includes at least one of textual content, graphical content, video content, and audio content. 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the at least one display system comprises an existing display unit. 4. The system of claim 2, wherein the at least one display system comprises a mobile phone, a smart phone, a kiosk, a directory display unit, an emergency information display unit, an electronic billboard, an electronic bulletin board, a television, an interactive At least one of a sequencing unit, a tablet computing device, a personal computer, a wearable computer, a smartphone, a smart watch, and a mobile-enabled watch device. 5. The system of claim 4, wherein said at least one environmental condition sensing device is integrated in at least one cooperating assembly comprising said at least one display system and at least one beverage dispensing device. 6. The system of claim 5, wherein the digital communication network comprises a wireless communication network. 7. The system of claim 5, wherein the selected content is overlaid on other content displayable by the at least one display system, the other content including at least one of television content and announcement content. 8. The system of claim 7, wherein the selected content is selected based on the at least one environmental condition, the environmental condition comprising connectivity to the selected subscription-based data service, the subscription-based Data services include user interface applications. 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the selected content is selected based on the at least one environmental condition including interactivity with a user interface application. 10. The system of claim 1, wherein the computational memory includes computer-executable instructions stored thereon that cause the content management and distribution system to perform further operations, including for At least one instruction for tracking content distributed to the at least one display system and for storing data representative of the tracked content. 11. The system of claim 10, wherein the computational memory includes computer-executable instructions stored thereon that cause the content management and distribution system to perform further operations, including for At least one instruction for generating report data from data representing tracked content. 12. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one display system is configured to receive content and display the received content according to at least one instruction provided by the content management and distribution system. 13. The system of claim 5, further comprising: at least one integrated computing processor operative to cooperate with said at least one environmental condition sensing device and to execute at least one computing instruction to process said at least one environmental condition sensed by said at least one environmental condition sensing device conditional data. 14. The system of claim 13, wherein said at least one environmental condition sensing device comprises a camera, at least one motion sensor, at least one people counter, communication network router, credit card terminal, weather station, thermostat, flow meter, At least one of an electric meter, an audio microphone, a game console controller, a remote control, a smart phone, a tablet computing device, a keyboard, a pointing device, and a touch display panel. 15. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one display system includes a display panel for displaying content. 16. The system of claim 15, wherein the at least one display system comprises at least one of a light emitting diode display, a liquid crystal display, and a display panel having a first portion comprising a light emitting diode display panel and having a liquid crystal Displays the second part of the section. 17. The system of claim 16, wherein the at least one display system is configured to electronically receive content from the content management and distribution system. 18. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one display system includes a display configured to display content, a computing processor operative to and configured to sense the at least one Cooperating with said at least one environmental condition sensing means of environmental conditions, said communication component is configured to communicate with said content management and distribution system. 19. The system of claim 18, wherein the at least one display system further comprises data storage. 20. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one display system is configured to receive operator input including voice, text, biometric data, payment data, gesture data, demographic data, At least one of the beverage identification data. 21. The system of claim 1, further comprising: At least one data store operative to store data including at least one of content for distribution, guidelines for distributing content, tracking data identifying previously distributed content, reporting data. 22. A computer-implemented method for managing and/or distributing content, comprising: At the computing system, a set of selection criteria for identifying information displayed at the at least one display system is selected by the content management and distribution system based on at least one display system factor, including (i) the at least one of at least one display system, (ii) physical dimensions of the at least one display system, (iii) physical orientation of the at least one display system, and (iv) operational status of the at least one display system; At the computing system, data representing at least one environmental condition collected by at least one environmental condition sensing device operatively cooperating with the at least one display system is received by the content management and distribution system, the environmental condition comprising at least one physical environmental condition related to beverage dispensing, said at least one display system being operatively connected to a communications network providing at least one data service comprising one of a voice service, a television service, and a broadband connection service, and at least one of the following physical environmental conditions occurs within a predetermined distance from the at least one display system: number of people, occurrence of a commercial transaction, occurrence of one or more body gestures from at least one person, expression of spoken language, movement of at least one person, interaction with at least one data element on said at least one display system, said The stature of at least one person, the amount of hair on said at least one person, the presence of facial hair on said at least one person, the height of said at least one person, the skin color of said at least one person, the the presence of makeup on the at least one person, the length of time the at least one person viewed the at least one display system, the amount of beverage dispensed, and the type of beverage dispensed; At said computing system, content data residing on a data store is queried by said content management and distribution system, applying a selected set of selection criteria and data representative of said at least one environmental condition, to select content data for distribution content; and At the computing system, the selected content is communicated to the at least one display system. 23. The method of claim 22, further comprising: An identifier is associated with the at least one collaborative display system. 24. The method of claim 22, wherein receiving data indicative of the at least one environmental condition of the at least one collaborative display system comprises receiving data indicative of dispensing at least one beverage. 25. The method of claim 22, further comprising: Selection criteria are received from collaborating content providers. 26. The method of claim 22, further comprising: Content distributed to the at least one collaborative display system is tracked and data representative of the tracked content is stored. 27. The method of claim 26, further comprising: Report data is generated from data representing what is being tracked. 28. The method of claim 22, wherein receiving data representative of environmental conditions comprises receiving data representative of environmental conditions according to a schedule. 29. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising computer-readable instructions that, when executed by a computing system, cause the computing system to perform operations, comprising: At the computing system, a set of selection criteria for identifying information displayed at one or more display systems is selected by the content management and distribution system based on at least one display system factor, including (i) the At least one of the location of the at least one display system, (ii) the physical size of the at least one display system, (iii) the physical orientation of the at least one display system, and (iv) the operational status of the at least one display system kind; At the computing system, data representing at least one environmental condition collected by at least one environmental condition sensing device operatively cooperating with the at least one display system is received by the content management and distribution system, the environmental condition comprising at least one physical environmental condition related to beverage dispensing, said at least one display system being operatively connected to a communications network providing at least one data service comprising one of a voice service, a television service, and a broadband connection service, and at least one of the following physical environmental conditions occurs within a predetermined distance from the at least one or more display systems: number of people, occurrence of a commercial transaction, occurrence of at least one physical gesture from at least one person, expression of spoken language, movement of at least one person, interaction with at least one data element on said at least one display system, said at least one the size of the person, the amount of hair on the at least one person, the presence of facial hair on the at least one person, the height of the at least one person, the skin color of the at least one person, the the presence of makeup, the length of time the at least one person viewed the at least one display system, the amount of beverage dispensed, and the type of beverage dispensed; At the computing system, content data residing on the data store is queried by the content management and distribution system, applying the selected set of selection criteria and data representing the at least one environmental condition, to select the desired the content of the distribution; and At the computing system, the selected content is communicated to the at least one display system.