Systems and methods for managing and distributing media content

Abstract

In accordance with the present invention, a media content management application that allows a user to customize, assemble, distribute, and track one or more versions of media content based on semantic criteria is provided.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for providing commercials to an audience, the method comprising: presenting a user with a publicly accessible website for managing a plurality of versions of commercials over the Internet, wherein the user is authorized to access features associated with the website by inputting at least one of a user name and a password;
 in response to determining that the user is authorized to access the features associated with the website, presenting a plurality of advertisement campaigns to the user on the website, wherein:
 the plurality of advertisement campaigns includes at least one customizable advertisement campaign that is selectable by the user; 
 the at least one customizable advertisement campaign includes a plurality of media slots, each media slot is configured to receive one or more media segments; and 
 metadata is associated with the one or more media segments; 
   in response to the user selecting the at least one customizable advertisement campaign, presenting options associated with the at least one customizable advertisement campaign to the user on the website;   assembling a completed commercial, wherein the assembling comprises correlating the selected options to the metadata associated with the one or more media segments, retrieving at least one media segment using the metadata, and inserting the retrieved media segment into the customizable advertisement campaign;   presenting a preview of the completed commercial on the website prior to delivering the completed commercial to the audience;   presenting a list of content providers on the website, wherein each content provider is selectable by the user;   in response to user selecting at least one content provider, presenting delivery options that correspond to the completed commercial to the user, wherein the delivery options include at least one of a delivery format, a delivery address, playback options, and a chargeback number; and   in response to receiving a request from the user to order the completed commercial, transmitting the completed commercial to at least one content provider in accordance with the delivery options selected by the user.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of advertisement campaigns includes at least one non-customizable advertisement campaign. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the completed commercial is delivered to the local content provider in a first format, and wherein the preview is presented in a second format. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the first format is one of: a videotape, a DVD, a CD, a high definition format, a standard definition format, an MPEG-2 format, an MPEG-4 format, a media format, and a media resolution, and wherein the second format is a media format capable of being transmitted over the Internet. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising: receiving an order for the completed commercial, wherein the completed commercial is physically delivered to a recipient in a format, and wherein the presented completed commercial is transmitted to the user over the Internet. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the completed commercial is presented to the user prior to transmitting the completed commercial to the at least one content provider. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving delivery information for the completed commercial;   receiving playback rules for the completed commercial; and   transmitting the completed commercial and the playback rules to the at least one content provider in accordance with the delivery information.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the playback rules comprise at least one of: a transmission time, a transmission date, a delivery location, and an offers relating to the completed commercial. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising tracking the number of transmissions of the completed commercial. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining whether the at least one local content provider transmitted the completed commercial in accordance with the playback rules; and   preventing the at least one local content provider from transmitting the completed commercial to an audience in response to determining that the at least one local content provider has not complied with the playback rules.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising providing the user with targeting options for the completed commercial, wherein the targeting options include at least one of a delivery format, a delivery address, playback options, and a chargeback number. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the delivery format is one of a videotape, a DVD, a CD, a high definition format, a standard definition format, an MPEG-2 format, an MPEG-4 format, a media format, and a media resolution. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising determining the targeting options associated with the at least one local content provider and removing targeting options that are not associated with that local content provider in response to the user selecting the at least one local content provider. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising tracking the number of times the completed commercial has been ordered. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising tracking the number of times the media segment is retrieved for insertion into the customizable advertisement campaign. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining the number of times the media segment is retrieved for insertion into the customizable advertisement campaign; and   providing the user with a purchasing recommendation that includes a subset of the One or more media segments, wherein the purchasing recommendation is based at least in part on the number of times the media segment has been retrieved.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 transmitting the completed commercials to a plurality of local content providers;   determining the number of times the completed commercial is transmitted to the plurality of local content providers; and   providing the user with a purchasing recommendation based on the determination, wherein the purchasing recommendation includes at least one of: a recommended advertisement campaign, a recommended non-customizable advertisement campaign, a recommended customizable advertisement campaign, a recommended completed commercial, and recommended media segments.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining the number of times an advertisement campaign is selected by the user; and   providing the user with a purchasing recommendation based on the determination, wherein the purchasing recommendation includes at least one of: a recommended advertisement campaign, a recommended non-customizable advertisement campaign, a recommended customizable advertisement campaign, a recommended completed commercial, and recommended media segments.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 tracking orders for completed commercials by a local content provider, wherein a chargeback number is associated with the local content provider; and   compiling chargeback data for the local content provider using the associated chargeback number.   
     
     
         20 . A method for providing commercials to an audience, the method comprising:
 presenting a user with a publicly accessible website for managing a plurality of versions of commercials over the Internet, wherein the user is authorized to access features associated with the website by inputting at least one of a user name and a password;   in response to determining that the user is authorized to access the features associated with the website, retrieving a plurality of customizable advertisement campaigns, media segments, and user data associated with the user;   presenting the plurality of advertisement campaigns to the user on the website, wherein the at least one customizable advertisement campaign includes a plurality of media slots, each media slot is configured to receive one or more of the retrieved media segments, and wherein metadata is associated with each of the retrieved media segments;   in response to the user selecting one of the customizable advertisement campaigns, presenting options associated with that customizable advertisement campaign on the website;   assembling a completed commercial, wherein the assembling comprises correlating the selected options to the metadata associated with the retrieved media segments and inserting at least one of the retrieved media segments into the customizable advertisement campaign;   presenting a preview of the completed commercial on the website prior to delivering the completed commercial to the audience;   presenting a list of content providers on the website, wherein each content provider is selectable by the user;   in response to user selecting at least one content provider, presenting delivery options that correspond to the completed commercial to the user, wherein the delivery options include at least one of a delivery format, a delivery address, playback options, and a chargeback number; and   in response to receiving a request from the user to order the completed commercial, transmitting the version of the commercial to at least one content provider in accordance with the delivery options selected by the user.   
     
     
         21 . A method for providing commercials to an audience, the method comprising:
 presenting a user with a publicly accessible website for managing a plurality of versions of commercials over the Internet, wherein the user is authorized to access features associated with the website by inputting at least one of a user name and a password;   in response to determining that the user is authorized to access the features associated with the website, presenting the user with options associated with a version of a commercial on the website;   assembling the version of the commercial using the received options, wherein the assembling comprises inserting media segments from a database into an advertisement campaign;   ordering the version of the commercial using the received options in response to receiving an order from the user on the website; and   using the received options and in response to the order, delivering the version of the commercial to a content provider.   
     
     
         22 . A system for providing commercials to an audience, the system comprising:
 an access component that is configured to:
 present a user with a publicly accessible website for managing a plurality of versions of commercials over the Internet, wherein the user is authorized to access features associated with the website by inputting at least one of a user name and a password; 
 in response to determining that the user is authorized to access the features associated with the website, transmit an authorization for the user to a commercial creation component; 
   the commercial creation component that is configured to:
 present the user with a plurality of advertisement campaigns to the user on the website, wherein:
 the plurality of advertisement campaigns includes at least one customizable advertisement campaign that is selectable by the user; 
 the at least one customizable advertisement campaign includes a plurality of media slots, each media slot is configured to receive one or more media segments; and 
 metadata is associated with the one or more media segments; 
 
 in response to the user selecting the at least one customizable advertisement campaign, present options associated with the at least one customizable advertisement campaign to the user on the website; and 
 transmit the selected options to an assembly component; 
   the assembly component that is configured to:
 assemble a completed commercial, wherein the assembling comprises correlating the selected options to the metadata associated with the one or more media segments, retrieving at least one media segment using the metadata, and inserting the retrieved media segment into the customizable advertisement campaign; 
 present a preview of the completed commercial on the website prior to delivering the completed commercial to the audience; 
   a delivery component that is configured to:
 present a list of content providers on the website, wherein each content provider is selectable by the user; and 
 in response to user selecting at least one content provider, presenting delivery options that correspond to the completed commercial to the user, wherein the delivery options include at least one of a delivery format, a delivery address, playback options, and a chargeback number; and 
   an ordering component that is configured to, in response to receiving a request from the user to order the completed commercial, transmit the completed commercial to at least one content provider in accordance with the delivery options selected by the user.   
     
     
         23 . A system for providing commercials to an audience, the system comprising:
 a processor at least partially executing a media content management application that is configured to:
 present a user with a website for managing a plurality of versions of commercials over the Internet, wherein the user is authorized to access features associated with the website by inputting at least one of a user name and a password; 
 in response to determining that the user is authorized to access the features associated with the website, present the user with options associated with a version of a commercial on the website; 
 assemble the version of the commercial using the received options, wherein the assembling comprises inserting media segments from a database into an advertisement campaign; 
 order the version of the commercial using the received options in response to receiving an order from the user on the website; and 
 using the received options and in response to the order, deliver the version of the commercial to a content provider.