NZ501600A

NZ501600A - Laying out and placing advertisements in publications via the Internet

Info

Publication number: NZ501600A
Application number: NZ50160099A
Authority: NZ
Inventors: Geoffrey Hamilton Totham; Toby John Ralph
Original assignee: Ewt Trade & Business Consultan
Priority date: 1999-12-06
Filing date: 1999-12-06
Publication date: 2002-02-01

Abstract

A web site is set up that contains advertisement templates. The templates are customized to suit the requirements of particular advertisers. An advertiser logs on the web site, and chooses the template they wish to use. The details of the advertisement are filled in on the template. The advertiser can then choose which print publications the advertisement is to appear in, and then submit the advertisement.

Description

<div class="application article clearfix" id="description"> 1 Patents Act 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION No. 501600 10 Date: 6 December 1999 15 INTERNET-BASED DESIGN AND LAYOUT 20 We, EWT Trading and Business Consultants NZ Limited, a New Zealand corporation, of 23A Milburn Street, Dunedin, New Zealand, hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following 30 statement: om~ n -U!S 20C0 2 INTERNET-BASED DESIGN AND LAYOUT 10 Field of the Invention This invention relates to Internet-based design and lay-out of advertisements, documents, newsletters and other publications It relates particularly but not exclusively to a method of creating the layout for an advertisement or other document over the Internet using a template, without the need to resort to the services of a graphic design agency, thereby reducing lead time and cost. Background to the Invention In a typical transaction in which an advertiser places a display advertisement in a publication, there are numerous steps. Firstly, the advertiser identifies the publication(s) in which to place the advertisement and the desired 15 size of the advertisement. The advertiser then telephones an advertising agency to request price details. The agency then prepares a media schedule which indicates costings for the proposed advertisement, and faxes it to the advertiser. The advertiser then confirms (or changes) the booking with the agency, and the agency books space for the advertisement with the publication(s). The 20 advertiser types out the "copy" for the advertisement and faxes it to the agency. The agency re-types the advertisement on a typesetting machine, and submits a proposed layout to the advertiser The advertiser makes amendments to the layout and faxes it back to the agency. The agency prepares the final advertisement and faxes it to the advertiser. The advertiser confirms the final 25 proof and faxes formal approval to the agency. The agency sends the final advertisement to the publication(s), who place the advertisement and send an account to the agency. The agency then sends an account to the advertiser together with a "tearsheet" copy of the advertisement. It will readily be appreciated that this method of placing advertisements is 30 relatively inefficient. In particular, there is a significant lead time involved in accomplishing all of the steps, and there is a significant cost to the advertiser in the correspondence with the agency. Similar difficulties are encountered with regard to many different forms of publications required by organisations. The problems are particularly acute in the 3 case of large organisations which have multiple offices or franchises. In such cases, it is desirable to maintain a consistent organisational image throughout organisational documents, and this requires constant supervision and checking of proposed documents such as letterheads, business cards, advertising 5 material, signs, and newsletters. Recent advances in technology have meant that it is increasingly common for orders for goods to be placed over the Internet. Some publications, such as the Sydney Morning Herald and the Melbourne Trading Post, have made it possible for potential advertisers to submit classified advertisements directly over 10 the Internet. In such cases, the publication provides on its web site a page at which the intending advertiser can type in the copy for the proposed advertisement. Subject to satisfactory payment methods being arranged, and to the advertisement complying with applicable laws and the publication's guidelines, the advertisement is then inserted in the publication as a line 15 advertisement. In some cases, the advertiser can request, for an additional charge, a minor variation such as a bold heading. However, the advertiser does not have control over the typeface, font size, graphic appearance or layout of the advertisement. These characteristics of a line advertisement are determined by 20 the publication's standard appearance. Accordingly, the intervention of an advertising agency in preparing the advertisement has usually been considered unnecessary for classified advertisements, and the advertiser frequently deals directly with the publication In most cases, classified advertisements are placed by the advertiser sending the "copy" to the publication by mail or fax. The 25 publication then typesets the advertisement, and the advertiser does not get an opportunity to review the advertisement before it is published. In the case of display advertisements, a more elaborate procedure is justified because the advertiser needs some assurance that the appearance of the advertisement will be acceptable. Merely typing the copy into an Internet web 30 page associated with the publication is not sufficient, because it does not give the advertiser adequate assurance with regard to appearance. Usually, an advertiser prefers to develop a "corporate style" which applies to all advertisements associated with that advertiser A "corporate style" typically consists of a set of rules applying to the appearance of the advertisements, NOW AMENDED 4 including such features as typefaces, font sizes, colours, appearance and relative locations of graphic elements, text and images, and other similar features. Ordinarily, the advertising agency is responsible for developing and/or maintaining the "corporate style" rules for an advertiser; hence the complicated 5 steps in placing a display advertisement through an advertising agency, as outlined above. Moreover, the Internet sites which allow placement of classified advertisements in a publication do not allow the placement of one advertisement in multiple publications (although some publish the advertisement on a web site 10 as well as in a printed publication), and they do not provide comparisons of the benefits of advertising in different publications, in the way that an advertising agency provides these benefits. Summary of the Invention 15 According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided an Internet- based method of laying out advertisements and placing them in publications, including the following steps: (a) A facilitator provides an Internet web site which can be accessed by advertisers who wish to place advertisements in publications; 20 (b) One or more advertisement templates are defined for each advertiser, each advertisement template having a style and appearance approved by or on behalf of the advertiser; (c) When desiring to place an advertisement in a publication, a advertiser accesses the Internet web site, selects one or more publications in which the 25 advertisement is to appear, selects one of the advertiser's templates, and enters the details of the advertisement into the template; and (d) The advertisement is then forwarded by the facilitator either directly or via an intermediary to the publication or publications selected by the advertiser. The Internet web site may be designed in any suitable way, and may 30 provide to the visitor any suitable information. In a preferred embodiment, the Internet web site further includes data concerning the available advertisement types, sizes and prices for the publications into which advertisements may be placed. The site is designed in such a way that the choice of templates presented to the advertiser after a particular publication has been selected is a AS AMENDED including such features as typefaces, font sizes, colours, appearance and relative locations of graphic elements, text and images, and other similar features. Ordinarily, the advertising agency is responsible for developing and/or maintaining the "corporate style" rules for an advertiser; hence the complicated 5 steps in placing a display advertisement through an advertising agency, as outlined above. Moreover, the Internet sites which allow placement of classified advertisements in a publication do not allow the placement of one advertisement in multiple publications (although some publish the advertisement on a web site 10 as well as in a printed publication), and they do not provide comparisons of the benefits of advertising in different publications, in the way that an advertising agency provides these benefits. Summary of the Invention 15 According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided an Internet- based method of laying out advertisements and placing them in publications, including the following steps: (a) a facilitator provides an Internet web site which can be accessed by advertisers who wish to place advertisements in publications; 20 (b) two or more advertisement templates of differing sizes are defined for each advertiser, each advertisement template having a style and appearance approved by or on behalf of the advertiser; (c) when desiring to place an advertisement in a publication, an advertiser accesses the Internet web site and selects one or more publications in which the 25 advertisement is to appear together with size and placement details; (d) the advertiser selects one of the advertiser's templates which is of a size suitable for placement in the selected publication or publications, and enters details of the advertisement into the template; and (e) the advertisement is then forwarded by the facilitator either directly or via 30 an intermediary to the selected publication or publications together with instructions indicating the advertiser's selections. The advertiser preferably uses the advertiser's computer as a remote terminal to access the Internet site across the Internet. NOW AMENDED 5 group of templates which match the advertisement types and sizes available in that publication. It will be appreciated that the invention affords the advertiser an opportunity to reduce lead time on advertisements and to reduce costs. The 5 costs of an advertisement may be billed to the advertiser in any suitable way. In a preferred arrangement, after the advertiser has entered details of the advertisement, an account for the cost of the advertisement is automatically generated and forwarded to the advertiser. The step of the advertiser entering details of the advertisement may be 10 accomplished in any suitable manner. It may simply involve entering text, and using graphics associated with the predefined template. Alternatively, it may involve the advertiser uploading one or more images for use in the advertisement. As a further alternative, the step of the advertiser entering details of the 15 advertisement may include the advertiser selecting and placing in the advertisement clip-art, text, uploaded images and/or other design elements in accordance with a range of design constraints specified by the template. This gives the advertiser flexibility in designing the advertisement, while ensuring that the final advertisement complies with the advertiser's "corporate style" and has 20 an acceptably professional appearance (because it complies with the guidelines provided by the template), without having to consult a graphic artist. As a further feature, the Internet web site may be designed in such a way that the prices and/or other information which an advertiser sees when accessing the Internet web site are individually tailored to that particular advertiser, 25 reflecting any pricing agreements which may exist between the advertiser and the publication(s) and between the advertiser and the facilitator. This enables the advertiser to take into account, for example, any volume discounts to which the advertiser may be entitled by reason of the amount of advertising being placed through a particular publication. 30 The publication or publications to which the invention applies may be any suitable type of publication. Suitable types of publication include, in particular, the following: (a) Newspapers; (b) Magazines; AS AMENDI 5 The step of entering details of the advertisement into the template may be accomplished in any suitable manner. Preferably, it involves the sub-steps: (a) the advertiser downloads the template from the Internet site to the advertiser's computer; 5 (b) the advertiser enters details of the advertisement into the template on the advertiser's computer; and (c) the advertiser uploads the completed advertisement to the Internet site. Thus the amending is preferably done on the advertiser's computer, rather than on the remote Internet site. 10 The Internet site may be designed in any suitable way, and may provide to the visitor any suitable information. In a preferred embodiment, the Internet web site further includes data concerning the available advertisement types, sizes and prices for the publications into which advertisements may be placed. The site is designed in such a way that the choice of templates presented to the 15 advertiser after a particular publication has been selected is a group of templates which match the advertisement types and sizes available in that publication. It will be appreciated that the invention affords the advertiser an opportunity to reduce lead time on advertisements and to reduce costs. The costs of an advertisement may be billed to the advertiser in any suitable way. In 20 a preferred arrangement, after the advertiser has entered details of the advertisement, an account for the cost of the advertisement is automatically generated and forwarded to the advertiser. The step of the advertiser entering details of the advertisement may be accomplished in any suitable manner. It may simply involve entering text, and 25 using graphics associated with the predefined template. Alternatively, it may involve the advertiser uploading one or more images for use in the advertisement. As a further alternative, the step of the advertiser entering details of the advertisement may include the advertiser selecting and placing in the 30 advertisement clip-art, text, uploaded images and/or other design elements in accordance with a range of design constraints specified by the template. This gives the advertiser flexibility in designing the advertisement, while ensuring that the final advertisement complies with the advertiser's "corporate style" and has NOW AMENDED (c) Journals; (d) Catalogues; (e) Directories; (f) Display signs; 5 (g) Engravings; (h) Screen-printed signs; (i) Other forms of printed publications; (j) CD-ROMs, DVDs, computer discs or other computer data storage media; (k) On-line electronic publications; 10 (I) Television or video programs; (m) Telephone directories. The system on which the inventive method operates preferably allows users to search the database for previous advertisements by search criteria such as placement date, publication or client, etc. It also preferably allows 15 advertisements to be warehoused for final approval by a supervisor or a manager prior to final dispatch to the publication. The system also preferably allows the user to format text i.e. font size, style, bold, italics etc, or alternatively lock these facilities if the advertiser is concerned that the user's autonomy may risk a departure from the advertiser's 20 corporate style. According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided an Internet-based method of designing and ordering documents, including the following steps: (a) A facilitator provides an Internet web site which can be accessed by 25 clients who wish to design and order documents; (b) One or more document templates are defined for each client, each document template having a style and appearance approved by or on behalf of the client; (c) When desiring to design and order a document, a client accesses the 30 Internet web site, selects one the client's templates, and enters or amends the document contents within the template; and (d) The document design is then forwarded by the facilitator either directly or / via an intermediary to a printer, signwriter or other document producer. AS AMENDED 6 an acceptably professional appearance (because it complies with the guidelines provided by the template), without having to consult a graphic artist. As a further feature, the Internet web site may be designed in such a way that the prices and/or other information which an advertiser sees when accessing 5 the Internet web site are individually tailored to that particular advertiser, reflecting any pricing agreements which may exist between the advertiser and the publication(s) and between the advertiser and the facilitator. This enables the advertiser to take into account, for example, any volume discounts to which the advertiser may be entitled by reason of the amount of advertising being placed 10 through a particular publication. The publication or publications to which the invention applies may be any suitable type of publication. Suitable types of publication include, in particular, the following: (a) Newspapers; 15 (b) Magazines; (c) Journals; (d) Catalogues; (e) Directories; and (f) Other forms of printed publications. 20 The system on which the inventive method operates preferably allows users to search the database for previous advertisements by search criteria such as placement date, publication or client, etc. It also preferably allows advertisements to be warehoused for final approval by a supervisor or a manager prior to final dispatch to the publication. 25 The system also preferably allows the user to format text i.e. font size, style, bold, italics etc, or alternatively lock these facilities if the advertiser is concerned that the user's autonomy may risk a departure from the advertiser's corporate style. As an additional feature, the inventive method may include a facility for 30 designing and ordering documents, including the following steps: (a) One or more document templates are defined for each advertiser, each document template having a style and appearance approved by or on behalf of the advertiser; NOW AMENDED 7 This method can be used for preparing any suitable type of document. Suitable types of documents include the following: (a) business stationery; (b) a sign; 5 (c) a leaflet or brochure. Preferably, the Internet web site further includes data concerning available document types, quantities and prices. According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided an Internet-based method of laying out newsletters or parts of newsletters, including 10 the following steps: (a) A facilitator provides an Internet web site which can be accessed by clients who wish to lay out newsletters; (b) One or more newsletter templates are defined for each client, each newsletter template having a style and appearance approved by or on behalf of 15 the client, and partially pre-written content provided by a newsletter writer; (c) When desiring to lay out a newsletter, a client accesses the Internet web site, selects one of the client's newsletter templates, and enters or uploads one or more newsletter articles into the template; and (d) The newsletter layout and content is then forwarded by the facilitator 20 either directly or via an intermediary to a printer for printing. According to yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided an Internet-based method for providing a consistent image for a range of publications made by an organisation, including the following steps: (a) A facilitator provides an Internet web site which can be accessed by 25 individuals within the organisation; (b) For each type of publication required by the organisation, a template is designed, the various templates presenting a consistent organisational style and appearance; (c) When an individual within the organisation desires to create a publication, 30 the individual accesses the Internet web site, selects one of the organisation's templates, and enters details of the publication into the template; and (d) The publication design is then forwarded by the facilitator either directly or via an intermediary to a printer, signwriter or publisher. AS AMENDED 7 (b) When desiring to design and order a document, an advertiser accesses the Internet web site, selects one the advertiser's templates, and enters or amends the document contents within the template; and (c) The document design is then forwarded by the facilitator either directly or 5 via an intermediary to a printer, signwriter or other document producer. This method can be used for preparing any suitable type of document. Suitable types of documents include the following: (a) business stationery; (b) a sign; 10 (c) a leaflet or brochure. Preferably, the Internet web site further includes data concerning available document types, quantities and prices. According to a further optional feature of the invention, there may be provided an additional facility for laying out newsletters or parts of newsletters, 15 including the following steps: (a) One or more newsletter templates are defined for each advertiser, each newsletter template having a style and appearance approved by or on behalf of the advertiser, and partially pre-written content provided by a newsletter writer; (b) When desiring to lay out a newsletter, an advertiser accesses the Internet 20 web site, selects one of the advertiser's newsletter templates, and enters or uploads one or more newsletter articles into the template; and (c) The newsletter layout and content is then forwarded by the facilitator either directly or via an intermediary to a printer for printing. 8 Brief Description of the Drawings The invention will hereinafter be described in greater detail by reference to the attached drawings which show an example form of the invention. It is to be understood that the particularity of those drawings does not supersede the 5 generality of the preceding description of the invention. Figure 1 is a flow chart illustrating the process flows for an embodiment of the invention. Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing the system of Figure 1 from the point of view of the client application. 10 Figure 3 shows an opening screen for an embodiment of the invention. Figure 4 shows a welcome screen for the embodiment of Figure 3 Figure 5 shows a password or client code entry screen for the embodiment of Figure 3. Figure 6 shows a post-password welcome screen for the embodiment of 15 Figure 3. Figure 7 shows a geographical area selection screen for the embodiment of Figure 3. Figure 8 shows a media selection screen for the embodiment of Figure 3. Figure 9 shows a booking selection screen for the embodiment of Figure 20 3. Figure 10 shows a template selection screen for the embodiment of Figure 3. Figure 11 shows a template editing screen for the embodiment of Figure 3. 25 Figure 12 shows an email confirmation message for the embodiment of Figure 3. Figure 13 shows the attachment to the email confirmation message of Figure 12. Figure 14 shows a template selection screen for a range of business 30 stationery according to the embodiment of Figure 3. Detailed Description Figure 1 shows a process according to an embodiment of the invention from beginning to end, from the point of view of the background processing. 9 Starting at the top left hand side of the diagram, the user logs on to the system. The User ID is checked, the user is identified, and the user selects the media house for the advertisement. The user may select "book space" or "place an advertisement". Templates for the user are then displayed; the user selects a 5 template, and the application downloads the template from the web server to the user's computer. A software application loads document editing software (in this case Microsoft Word) and displays the advertisement with restricted editing controls made available. The user saves the document, and the application uploads and 10 saves the document back to the web server (using the Internet) into an "uploads" folder. The user adds print production information to the booking; this information is sent to the web server and saved into a database. The user can modify the data or document, or duplicate or delete the booking; then the user can confirm the booking. The booking details are saved to 15 the database, an email confirmation is sent to the customer, and the document is then processed into an appropriate format from a word processing document to a Postscript format and a PDF (Adobe Portable Document File) format. The PDF file is then sent to the user, who logs back on to the web server and approves or rejects the advertisement. This action results in another email being sent to the 20 user. Figure 2 illustrates the system from the point of view of the application which the client installs on the client's computer. Firstly, the client application logs in to the server application, which establishes the session and provides the user interface. Web browser software on the client computer provides for 25 navigation of the user interface. The client application gets a template from remote storage associated with the server and stores it in a temporary file in local storage. A word processor application operating on the client computer provides for editing of the temporary file. The client application then provides for saving of the document, which results in deletion of the temporary file and uploading of the 30 saved document to temporary storage on the server. The document is then used to register the order, then saved in Postscript and PDF versions to produce the final documents. 10 The flowcharts of Figures 1 and 2 are specific to the advertisement aspect of the invention. Similar information flows apply to other aspects of the invention such as newsletter creation, stationery design, and signage design Referring now to Figures 3 to 14, there are shown the screens which, 5 according to an example embodiment of the invention, an advertiser encounters when placing an advertisement or requesting a publication. Figure 3 shows the "home page" screen, which is encountered when a client who wishes to place an advertisement or request a publication first runs the application on the client's computer. In order to proceed, the client selects the "Connect" icon which is 10 illustrated near the bottom right hand corner of the screen This results in an internet connection being established, and the screen of Figure 4 being displayed. The client is given four main options- "Advertising", "Signage", "Newsletters" and "Others". Other options include the option to register for the first time and the option to obtain an overview of the system. In 15 order to illustrate the first aspect of the invention, we will assume that the client selects the item "Advertising". The screen illustrated in Figure 5 is then displayed to the client The client types in the applicable client code and selects "Enter". In this embodiment of the invention it is necessary for the client to be registered and allocated a client code 20 before the booking process can proceed. The "Welcome" screen of Figure 6 is then displayed to the client, and the client selects "Continue". The screen of Figure 7 is then displayed, giving the latest news about the service and also instructions for use. At the left hand side of the screen there is a list of regions, in this case consisting mostly of States of 25 Australia. The client selects one of the regions, and the screen of Figure 8 is then displayed. This screen is similar to that of Figure 7, but it also includes on the left hand side a list of the names of publications in the region which was selected by the advertiser in the previous step. In this case, it is assumed that the client selected "Northern Territory", and a list of print media published in the Northern 30 Territory is displayed. The client then selects one of the publications for placing a booking. In this case, the client selects "NT News Saturday", and the screen of Figure 9 is displayed. Figure 9 gives details of the booking deadline for this publication. 11 Next, the client selects the item "Booking with Production", and the screen of Figure 10 is displayed. This is a set of templates for different-sized advertisements which are available for use by the client. These templates have been designed previously by a graphic designer in order to ensure that any 5 advertisement created using one of the templates reflects the corporate style of the client and complies with the design rules governing that corporate style. Each of the templates also has an indicative costing for the proposed advertising placement. The client selects the left hand template, and applicable template is then 10 downloaded to the client's computer, whereafter the screen of Figure 11 is displayed. This is in fact a Microsoft Word document which automatically opens on the client's computer. The client types into the appropriate spaces or amends the copy for the advertisement, while the choice of style and overall appearance is constrained by the template. When finished, the client selects the "Save" icon 15 located near the bottom left corner of the screen of Figure 11, whereupon the amended document is automatically uploaded to the web server, with a confirmatory email being generated and forwarded to the client's email address. Figure 12 shows an example of a confirmatory email. A PDF version of the advertisement is attached, and an example of this is shown in Figure 13 The 20 client can examine the PDF file, and then log back on to the web server to approve or reject the advertisement. As will readily be appreciated, a similar editing and placement method applies for ordering other documents such as stationery, signage and newsletters over the Internet using the website illustrated in Figure 4 For 25 example, by selecting the "Others" option in Figure 2, the client may, after passing through appropriate preliminary screens, be presented with the stationery design templates of Figure 14. The client selects the applicable template, downloads and edits it, saves and uploads the edited version, specifies the quantities required, and waits for the printed items to arrive. By selecting the 30 "Signage" option in Figure 4, the client may choose to lay out one or more signs, and by selecting the "Newsletters" option, the client may choose to upload articles for inclusion in a newsletter. One aspect of the invention provides a unique internet enabled solution to the production of newsletters and in-house publications. A "master" newsletter 12 can be prepared using quality journalism on lead articles. Typically these articles might be run on a national, international or corporate scale. As part of the template, individual clients would not be able to alter these stories. A series of more local stories (typically on a Statewide or countrywide or 5 divisional or interest group basis) can then be inserted in the template. If a country has say 15 States or provinces, there might, for example, be 15 of these stories, one per area. These stories are locked in to the template for that area, and cannot be changed by individual clients. Thus in this example there are 15 templates, with one common national story but 15 Statewide stories. All these 10 are automatically available to a local user. Underneath this are some changeable stories or blank columns or advertising. These are sections of the template that can be changed by individual users once they have logged on and given their individual user number. Thus if there are say 100 offices in each of 15 States, there will be one national story, 15 15 Statewide stories and 1500 individual stories which vary by office. This method enables a high quality newsletter to be produced simply and inexpensively, with local content. Industry specific newsletters can also be created and held as templates, thus offering small enterprises a high quality low cost option for newsletter production. Similar benefits apply for magazines and 20 in-house publications for large organisations such as global corporations. Another specific application of the invention is in Yellow Pages directory entry placement. In the US, there are several thousand different Yellow Pages telephone directories, with different deadlines and advertising costs. The present invention allows a directory sales person, for example, to typeset, cost and book 25 several advertisements for a customer directly at the point of sale One particular difficulty with telephone directories is in placing advertisements for large organisations consisting of independent franchises. The inventive method could overcome this difficulty by permitting individual franchisees to log on to a web site, select from a menu the regions pertinent to their franchises, view a list of 30 relevant directories which is then provided, select a predefined template from a range of available templates specified by the controlling franchisor, type in the variable components of the advertisement (such as address and telephone number), obtain a quote, and book the advertisement. 13 In order to create an embodiment of the invention, there was a requirement for an application which would enable the user to navigate a website, download and modify a template and submit it to a remote server using the web. To provide a wide range of editing facilities in a familiar environment a 5 Microsoft word template was used in the initial embodiment. To avoid needing to have additional ports open in firewalls and to simplify installation only http was used for any data exchange. Although the basic functionality for doing this is available in Microsoft Word and Microsoft Internet explorer, using these applications would require a 10 fair amount of expertise on the part of the user, would require the use of macros in the templates and the concomitant enabling of these in MS Word with associated risks of virus infections and also leave a lot of scope for errors. Basically the user would navigate to the page in the browser and click on a link to a template which would then open in the browser. After editing the 15 template the user would need to save a copy giving it a unique filename and taking note of the location. The user would then double click on a macro button in the document and on the next page he would click another control and recalling the name and location of the file saved submit it to the server. During this procedure a number of dialog boxes could be presented by the 20 system depending on the order in which things happened. The correct answer to at least one of these would be counter intuitive. At any stage the user could navigate to a page out of sequence in the browser or select the wrong document or simply forget the next step. The user would also need to manually delete the temporary files that 25 would otherwise accumulate on the user's local hard disk. The presence of these could also be confusing in following sessions. To eliminate these problems in the initial implementation, a new application was developed to simplify the user interface and eliminate most possible reasons for error. The application creates objects that make use of the 30 OLE server capabilities of Microsoft Word and Internet Explorer to provide basic editing and browsing capabilities while itself handling the user interface and enabling data to be transferred without user interaction, something that for security reasons is not possible using a standard web browser The application also performs some housekeeping chores and can potentially maintain a local database relating to interactions with the web server. A separate OLE server resides on the server site and handles the conversion of file formats The system uses a number of applications which are tied together to form an unique 'whole'. In use are: MS Internet Information Server, ColdFusion Server, Microsoft Word (opens Word documents and saves them as postscript files on the server), Quark Xpress, 4th Dimension (the multiuser database server with its ODBC driver interface for ColdFusion), AppleScript, web pages written using HTML, JavaScript and ColdFusion tags, Acrobat Exchange and the custom OEM and doctopsc applications. The ways these interact are shown in Figures 1 and 2. It is to be understood that various alterations, additions and/or modifications may be made to the parts previously described without departing from the ambit of the invention. </div>

Claims

<div class="application article clearfix printTableText" id="claims"> NOW AMENDED 15 The claims defining the invention are as fallows: 1. An Internet-based method of laying out advertisements and placing them in publications, including the following sjteps: (a) A facilitator provides an Internet web site whicty can be accessed by advertisers who wish to place advertisements in publications; (b) One or more advertisement templates are de/ned for each advertiser, each advertisement template having a style and appearance approved by or on / ■' behalf of the advertiser; / / / 10 (c) When desiring to place/an advertisement ;n a publication, an advertiser $ accesses the Internet web site, selects one or more publications in which the advertisement is to appear^ielects one of the advertiser's templates, and enters the details of the advertisement into the template; and I i (d) The advertisement is then forwarded ,by the facilitator either directly or via ■/ / 15 an intermediary to the publication or publications selected by the advertiser. - J /
2. A method according to claim 1 wherein the Internet web site further includes data concerning the available* advertisement types, sizes and prices for the publications Into which advertisements may be placed, and wherein further 20 the choice of templates presented /o the advertiser after a particular publication has been selected is a group of templates which match the advertisement types and sizes available in that publication. /
3. A nriethod according tcr'claim 1 or claim 2 wherein, after the advertiser has 25 entered Retails of the advertisement, an account for the cost of the advertisement / is automatically generated/and forwarded to the advertiser. / / / j
4. / A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the step of the advertiser entering details of the advertisement includes the advertiser uploading 30 one or more images/for use in the advertisement. / ' 5. A method/according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the step of the advertiser entering details of the advertisement includes the advertiser selecting and placing the advertisement clip-art, text, uploaded images and/or other A
S AMENDED Claims 

1. An Internet-based method of laying out advertisements and placing them in publications, including the following steps: 5 (a) a facilitator provides an Internet web site which can be accessed by advertisers who wish to place advertisements in publications; (b) two or more advertisement templates of differing sizes are defined for each advertiser, each advertisement template having a style and appearance approved by or on behalf of the advertiser; 10 (c) when desiring to place an advertisement in a publication, an advertiser accesses the Internet web site and selects one or more publications in which the advertisement is to appear together with size and placement details; (d) the advertiser selects one of the advertiser's templates which is of a size suitable for placement in the selected publication or publications, and enters 15 details of the advertisement into the template; and (e) the advertisement is then forwarded by the facilitator either directly or via an intermediary to the selected publication or publications together with instructions indicating the advertiser's selections. 20 2. A method according to claim 1 wherein the advertiser uses the advertiser's computer to access the Internet site, wherein further the step of entering details of the advertisement into the template involves the sub-steps: (a) the advertiser downloads the template from the Internet site to the advertiser's computer; 25 (b) the advertiser enters details of the advertisement into the template on the advertiser's computer; and (c) the advertiser uploads the completed advertisement to the Internet site. 

3. A method according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the Internet web site 30 further includes data concerning the available advertisement types, sizes and prices for the publications into which advertisements may be placed, and wherein further the choice of templates presented to the advertiser after a particular publication has been selected is a group of templates which match the advertisement types and sizes available in that publication. NOW AMENDED 16 design elements in accordance with a range />f design constrain/s specified by the template.
6. A method according to claim 2 whe/ein the prices and/$j(r other information which an advertiser sees when accessing the Internet wet/site are individually tailored to that particular advertiser, reflecting any pricing agreements which may exist between the advertiser and the/publication(s) and yoetween the advertiser and the facilitator.
7. A method according to anyone of claims 1 top wherein the publication or publications are one or more of tne following types:. (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) (i) G) (k) (I) (m) Newspapers; Magazines; Journals; Catalogues; Directories; Display signs; Engravings; Screen-printed signs; Other forms Zf printed publications; CD-ROMs„/DVDs, computer dj4cs or other computer data storage media; On-line electronic publicatior^; Television or video progran/s Telephone directories.
8. An Internet-based metl/od of designing and ordering documents, including the following steps; (a) ff facilitator providers an Internet web site which can be accessed by clients/who wish to desigji and order documents; (b) / One or more document templates are defined for each client, each document template having a style and appearance approved by or on behalf of the client; AS AMENDED 16 

4. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein, after the advertiser has entered details of the advertisement, an account for the cost of the advertisement is automatically generated and forwarded to the advertiser. 5 

5. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the step of the advertiser entering details of the advertisement includes the advertiser uploading one or more images for use in the advertisement. 10 6. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the step of the advertiser entering details of the advertisement includes the advertiser selecting and placing in the advertisement clip-art, text, images and/or other design elements in accordance with a range of design constraints specified by the template. 15 

7. A method according to claim 3 wherein the prices and/or other information which an advertiser sees when accessing the Internet web site are individually tailored to that particular advertiser, reflecting any pricing agreements which may exist between the advertiser and the publication(s) and between the advertiser 20 and the facilitator. 

8. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 wherein the publication or publications are one or more of the following types: (a) Newspapers; (b) Magazines; (c) Journals; (d) Catalogues; (e) Directories; or (f) Other forms of printed publications. 30
9. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 8 further including a facility for designing and ordering documents, including the following steps: NOW AMENDED 17 / (c) When desiring to design and order a document, a client accesses the Internet web site, selects one the client's templates, and enters or amends the document contents within the template; an<a / (d) The document design is then forwarded by the facilitator either directly or 5 via an intermediary to a printer, signwriter or other documervt producer. 

9. A method according to claim 8 wherein the document is one of the following types of documents; / / (a) business stationery; / / 10 (b) a sign; / / (c) a leaflet or brochure. / /
10. A method according to claim 8 or claim 10 wherein the Internet web site further includes data concerning available document types, quantities and prices. 15 / /
11. An Internet-basea method of laying out newsletters or parts of newsletters, including the following steps; / (a) A facilitator provides an Internet web site which can be accessed by clients who wish to lay out newsletters; / 20 (b) One or more newsletter templates are defined for each client, each newsletter template having a style ana appearance approved by or on behalf of the client, and pantially pre-written extent provided by a newsletter writer; (c) When desiring to lay out a iVewsletter, a client accesses the Internet web site, selects one of the client's newsletter templates, and enters or uploads one 25 or more newsletter articles into thre template; and (d) The newsletter layout and content is then forwarded by the facilitator either directly or via an intermediary to a printer for printing. / /
12. At/ Internet-based rrj^thod for providing a consistent image for a range of 30 publications made by an organisation, including the following steps: (a) /A facilitator provides an Internet web site which can be accessed by individuals within the organisation; NOW AMENDED (b) For each type of publication requi/ed by the organisation, a template is designed, the various templates presenting a consistent organisational style and appearance; (c) When an individual within the ofganisation desires io create a publication, the individual accesses the Internet/web site, selects qine of the organisation's / ■' templates, and enters details of the/publication into the/template; and (d) The publication design is tften forwarded by th$ facilitator either directly or via an intermediary to a printer, ^ignwriter or publisher. / / 10 Dated: 17 August 2000 Phillips Ormonde & Fitzpatri^k Patent Attorneys for: EWT TRADING AND BUSINESS CONSULTANTS NZ LIMITED AS AMENDED 17 (a) One or more document templates are defined for each advertiser, each document template having a style and appearance approved by or on behalf of the advertiser; (b) When desiring to design and order a document, an advertiser accesses 5 the Internet web site, selects one of the advertiser's templates, and enters or amends the document contents within the template; and (c) The document design is then forwarded by the facilitator either directly or via an intermediary to a printer, signwriter or other document producer. 10 10. A method according to claim 9 wherein the document is one of the following types of documents: (a) business stationery; (b) a sign; (c) a leaflet or brochure. 15 

11. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 further including a facility for laying out newsletters or parts of newsletters, including the following steps: (a) One or more newsletter templates are defined for each advertiser, each newsletter template having a style and appearance approved by or on behalf of 20 the advertiser, and partially pre-written content provided by a newsletter writer; (b) When desiring to lay out a newsletter, an advertiser accesses the Internet web site, selects one of the advertiser's newsletter templates, and enters or uploads one or more newsletter articles into the template; and (c) The newsletter layout and content is then forwarded by the facilitator 25 either directly or via an intermediary to a printer for printing. </div>