Method and apparatus to deliver video advertisements with enhanced user interactivity

1. A method comprising:

providing a processor that executes instructions for hosting video ads for display to a viewer;

said processor providing a configuration interface for an ad creator to select a set of interactivity features from a plurality of available interactivity features to associate with a video ad that is selected by said ad creator from among hosted video ads;

said processor storing metadata separate from the selected video ad said metadata comprising a record of said selected interactivity features that are associated with the selected video ad,

said processor sending a web page that includes the video ad, over a computer network to a hypermedia browser,

responsive to a request from the viewer to play the video ad, said processor sending an ad player and metadata over the computer network to the hypermedia browser;

the ad player causing the hypermedia browser to display an icon corresponding to each interactivity feature associated with the video ad as described by the metadata;

said processor transmitting an executable video player comprising an executable module over the computer network to the hypermedia browser in response to the viewer selecting an icon for activation,

wherein the executable module provides a particular interactivity feature corresponding to the selected icon with the video ad;

executing the downloaded executable module;

said processor receiving a notification that the particular interactivity feature was selected, and

dynamically adapting said executable video player module to change the selection and configuration of the interactive features on-the-fly by supplying metadata each time a viewer requests the related ad and, responsive thereto, the processor rendering the interactivity features anew;

wherein any changes to the metadata take effect without significant delay; and wherein the most current interactivity features are implemented in real time.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of available interactivity features include at least one of:

causing a telephone connection to be formed between the viewer and a representative affiliated with products or services of the video ad;

providing a hyperlink for the viewer to use to embed the video ad in other hypermedia content;

providing a video tour of a predetermined product or service or facility related to the associated video ad;

providing the viewer with further information about products or services of the video ad via instant message or text message;

emailing the video ad or a link to the video ad to a third party recipient identified by the viewer; and

sharing the video ad with viewer-identified recipients via social media.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving from the ad creator entry of data defining a desired interactivity feature;

wherein the desired interactivity feature is not included in the plurality of available interactivity features; and

adding the desired interactivity feature to the plurality of available interactivity features;

wherein the entered data comprises an icon that represents the desired interactivity feature and a reference to an executable module; and

wherein the executable module comprises one of a Java Applet, JavaScript, or hypertext code.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the notification that the particular interactivity feature was selected includes interactivity data; and

providing a display interface to display one or more reports representing the interactivity data, and repeatedly updating the one or more reports to reflect the most recently received interactivity data.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

automatically or in response to cursor position relative to display of the given video ad, the ad player displaying a semi-transparent bar over the given video ad, where the operation of displaying different icons representing different ones of the selected set of interactivity features is performed only in response to cursor proximity to the bar or viewer selection of the bar.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein displaying icons corresponding to the set of interactivity features employs one of the following options pre-selected by the ad creator via the configuration interface:

superimposing the icons over the video ad; or

displaying the icons in a pop-out or slide-out external to the video ad.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

after the video ad has been downloaded into a particular viewer's hypermedia browser and viewed by the particular viewer, a second ad creator using the configuration interface to change the set of interactivity features associated with the video ad and storing second metadata that describes the changed set of interactivity features;

subsequent to the ad creator changing the set of interactivity features associated with the video ad that was previously downloaded into the particular viewer's hypermedia browser, the particular viewer requesting to view the video ad again;

responsive to the viewer requesting to refresh the web page and view the video ad again, the hypermedia browser downloading the second metadata; and

the ad player displaying icons for the changed set of interactivity features.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of availability interactivity features includes at least one of:

presenting a poll for soliciting viewer input;

inviting a viewer to play a game; or

offering the viewer a coupon for a product.

9. A computer system comprising:

a server hosting video ads for display to a viewer comprising a configuration interface for an ad creator to select a set of interactivity features from a plurality of available interactivity features to associate with a video ad that is selected by said ad creator from among said hosted video ads and to change the selection and configuration of said interactivity features on-the-fly, including after the video ad is live, without having to create and start a new ad campaign;

wherein the plurality of availability interactivity features includes at least one of:

presenting a poll for soliciting viewer input;

inviting the viewer to play a game, or offering the viewer a coupon for a product;

an ad creation metadata store storing metadata separate from the selected video ad, said metadata comprising a record of said selected interactivity features that are associated with said selected video ad;

said server sending a Web page that includes the video ad to a client computing device for display on said client computing device by a hypermedia browser, wherein the hypermedia browser:

downloads downloading an ad player;

executes executing the ad player to play the video ad;

receives said metadata describing the selected set of interactivity features;

displays one or more icons representing each of the selected set of interactivity features associated with the video ad;

receives input requesting activation of to activate an icon;

receives an executable video player comprising an executable video player module over the computer network, wherein the executable video player module is associated with the activated icon for providing a particular interactivity feature; and sends notification that the particular interactivity feature was selected; and dynamically adapting said executable video player module to change the selection and configuration of the interactive features on-the-fly by supplying metadata each time a viewer requests the related ad and, responsive thereto, the processor rendering the interactivity features anew;

wherein any changes to the metadata take effect without significant delay; and wherein the most current interactivity features are implemented in real time.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the hypermedia browser is further configured to perform:

receiving input to reload the web page;

downloading second metadata, wherein the second metadata is different from the metadata associated with the video ad that was previously downloaded into the hypermedia browser; and

the ad player displaying icons corresponding to a changed set of interactivity features.

11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

said processor storing an impression count representing a number of times each hosted video ad has been played;

responsive to receiving a notification that a particular video ad of a plurality of video ads has been played, said processor incrementing the impression count of the particular video ad that has been played;

said processor storing an interaction count corresponding to a number of times an interactivity feature associated with a video has been selected, wherein said interactivity features are implemented with the executable video player comprising an executable module sent to a hypermedia browser in response to a viewer selecting an icon for activation, wherein the executable video player module provides a particular interactivity feature corresponding to the selected icon with the video ad;

responsive to receiving a notification that a particular interactivity feature associated with the particular video ad has been selected, said processor incrementing the interaction count for the particular interactivity feature associated with the particular video ad has been selected;

for each video ad provided by an advertising server, said processor computing an engagement score based on:

the impression count for said each video ad; and

the interactivity count corresponding to each type of interactivity feature associated with said each video ad;

said processor displaying a representation of the engagement score computed for said each video ad using at least one of text and graphics; and

said processor repeatedly updating the displayed representation to reflect interactivity data most recently collected.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein a distinct interactivity count is stored representing a number of times the following has occurred:

requests to view a video ad;

redirection of viewers to one or more predetermined websites;

causing a telephone connection to be formed between a viewer and a representative affiliated with products or services of the video ad;

requests to obtain a predetermined coupon related to products or services of a video ad;

requests for a hyperlink to use in embedding a video ad in other hypermedia content;

activation of a video tour of a predetermined product or service or facility related to a video ad;

requests for further information about products or services of a video ad via instant message or short message or email;

requests to email a video ad or a link to a video ad to a viewer identified recipient; and

requests to share a video ad with one or more viewer-identified recipients via social media.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising storing a distinct interactivity count representing a number of times a particular icon representing a custom interactive feature is selected for activation;

wherein the custom interactive feature is defined by the ad creator by providing the icon that represents the custom interactivity feature and a reference to an executable module.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein computing the engagement score further includes scaling the engagement score according to all or a selected group of other video ads hosted by the advertising server.

15. The method of claim 11 , wherein computing the engagement score for a particular video ad further comprises:

determining a predetermined scaling factor for each type of interactivity feature;

computing a scaled interaction score for said each type of interactivity feature, the scaled interaction score computed based on the interactivity count for said each type of interactivity feature and the predetermined scaling factor;

computing a total interaction score for the particular video ad by summing each scaled interaction score associated with the video ad;

dividing the computed total interaction score by the impression count of the particular video ad to yield a quotient; and

normalizing the quotient based on the impression count to fit into a predetermined range.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein normalizing the quotient is performed using Bayesian estimation.

17. The method of claim 15 , further comprising:

storing a first impression count for a first video ad;

computing a first quotient for the first video ad;

computing a first engagement score for the first video ad using the first interaction count and the first quotient;

storing a second impression count for a second video ad that is greater than the first interaction count;

computing a second quotient for the second video ad that is equal to the first quotient; and

computing an engagement score for the second video ad that is greater than the first engagement score.