U.S. patent application number 12/082447 was filed with the patent office on 2008-10-16 for method for correcting impression flow.
Invention is credited to Justin Holmes, Peter Sispoidis, Jeffrey Thibeault.
Application Number | 20080254889 12/082447 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39854232 |
Filed Date | 2008-10-16 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080254889 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Sispoidis; Peter ; et
al. |
October 16, 2008 |
Method for correcting impression flow
Abstract
A system and method for correcting impression flow to a gaming
environment is provided and includes determining a number of
available impressions for delivery to at least one content cell in
the gaming environment for a desired time period, determining a
number of available users for the gaming environment for the
desired time period, generating a target number of impressions to
be delivered to the gaming environment for a predefined portion of
the desired time period and generating a weighting value for the at
least one content cell responsive to said target number of
impressions.
Inventors: |
Sispoidis; Peter; (Guilford,
CT) ; Holmes; Justin; (Guilford, CT) ;
Thibeault; Jeffrey; (Branford, CT) |
Correspondence
Address: |
THE LAW OFFICES OF STEVEN MCHUGH, LLC
46 WASHINGTON STREET
MIDDLETOWN
CT
06457
US
|
Family ID: |
39854232 |
Appl. No.: |
12/082447 |
Filed: |
April 11, 2008 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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60923264 |
Apr 12, 2007 |
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60923344 |
Apr 12, 2007 |
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60923345 |
Apr 12, 2007 |
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60923346 |
Apr 12, 2007 |
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60923351 |
Apr 12, 2007 |
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60923352 |
Apr 12, 2007 |
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60923353 |
Apr 12, 2007 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
463/42 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G07F 17/3227 20130101;
G06Q 30/02 20130101; G06Q 30/0202 20130101; G07F 17/32
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
463/42 |
International
Class: |
A63F 9/24 20060101
A63F009/24 |
Claims
1. A method for correcting impression flow to a gaming environment,
comprising: determining a number of available impressions for
delivery to at least one content cell in the gaming environment for
a desired time period; determining a number of available users for
the gaming environment for the desired time period; generating a
target number of impressions to be delivered to the gaming
environment for a predefined portion of the desired time period;
and generating a weighting value for the at least one content cell
responsive to said target number of impressions.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein said determining a number of
impressions includes determining a number of impressions for each
of a Market/Title/Type, a Market/Title and a Market/Type.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein said determining a number of
available users includes determining a number of users for each of
a Market/Title/Type, a Market/Title and a Market/Type.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein said generating a target number
of impressions includes determining a number of impressions to be
delivered to the gaming environment for at least a portion of the
desired time period.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein said generating a target number
of impressions includes calculating said target number of
impressions by dividing said number of impressions to be delivered
to the gaming environment for at least a portion of the desired
time period by said at least a portion of the desired time
period.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein said desired time period is a
plurality of days and said predefined portion of the desired time
period is equal to one day.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein said generating a weighting value
includes calculating a cell factor by dividing said target number
of impressions by a number of impressions for a Market/Type.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein said determining a number of
impressions includes determining a number of impressions for each
of a Market/Title/Type, a Market/Title and a Market/Type and
multiplying each of said number of impressions for each by a
desired frequency cap.
9. A system for implementing a method for correcting impression
flow to a gaming environment, the system comprising: a network
having a database; and a gaming device connected to the network and
configured to operate in a gaming environment, wherein at least one
of the gaming device and the network includes a means for,
determining a number of available impressions for delivery to at
least one content cell in the gaming environment for a desired time
period; determining a number of available users for the gaming
environment for the desired time period; generating a target number
of impressions to be delivered to the gaming environment for a
predefined portion of the desired time period; and generating a
weighting value for the at least one content cell responsive to
said target number of impressions.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein said determining a number of
impressions includes determining a number of impressions for each
of a Market/Title/Type, a Market/Title and a Market/Type.
11. The method of claim 9, wherein said determining a number of
available users includes determining a number of users for each of
a Market/Title/Type, a Market/Title and a Market/Type.
12. The method of claim 9, wherein said generating a target number
of impressions includes determining a number of impressions to be
delivered to the gaming environment for at least a portion of the
desired time period.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein said generating a target number
of impressions includes calculating said target number of
impressions by dividing said number of impressions to be delivered
to the gaming environment for at least a portion of the desired
time period by said at least a portion of the desired time
period.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein said desired time period is a
plurality of days and said predefined portion of the desired time
period is equal to one day.
15. The method of claim 9, wherein said generating a weighting
value includes calculating a cell factor by dividing said target
number of impressions by a number of impressions for a
Market/Type.
16. The method of claim 9, wherein said determining a number of
impressions includes determining a number of impressions for each
of a Market/Title/Type, a Market/Title and a Market/Type and
multiplying each of said number of impressions for each by a
desired frequency cap.
17. A computer readable storage medium having computer executable
instructions for implementing a method for correcting impression
flow to a gaming environment, the method comprising: determining a
number of available impressions for delivery to at least one
content cell in the gaming environment for a desired time period;
determining a number of available users for the gaming environment
for the desired time period; generating a target number of
impressions to be delivered to the gaming environment for a
predefined portion of the desired time period; and generating a
weighting value for the at least one content cell responsive to
said target number of impressions.
18. The computer readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein said
determining a number of impressions includes determining a number
of impressions for each of a Market/Title/Type, a Market/Title and
a Market/Type.
19. The computer readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein said
determining a number of available users includes determining a
number of users for each of a Market/Title/Type, a Market/Title and
a Market/Type.
20. The computer readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein said
generating a target number of impressions includes determining a
number of impressions to be delivered to the gaming environment for
at least a portion of the desired time period.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application relates to U.S. Provisional Patent
Application Ser. No. 60/923,264 (Atty. Docket No. IGA-0001-P),
filed Apr. 12, 2007, U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.
60/923,344 (Atty. Docket No. IGA-0002-P), filed Apr. 12, 2007, U.S.
Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/923,345 (Atty. Docket
No. IGA-0003-P), filed Apr. 12, 2007, U.S. Provisional Patent
Application Ser. No. 60/923,346 (Atty. Docket No. IGA-0004-P),
filed Apr. 12, 2007, U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.
60/923,351 (Atty. Docket No. IGA-0005-P), filed Apr. 12, 2007, U.S.
Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/923,352 (Atty. Docket
No. IGA-0006-P), filed Apr. 12, 2007, U.S. Provisional Patent
Application Ser. No. 60/923,353 (Atty. Docket No. IGA-0007-P),
filed Apr. 12, 2007, all of which are incorporated by reference
herein in their entireties.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This disclosure relates generally to the delivery of
impressions for an advertising campaign and more particularly to a
method for monitoring and adjusting impression flow for an
advertising campaign within a gaming environment.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] As the placement of realistic advertisements in video games
becomes more popular and acceptable in the gaming community, more
and more advertisers are beginning to utilize video game
advertisements as a viable source of revenue. Currently, most video
games that employ realistic advertisements typically utilize a
static advertising technique that involves placing each
advertisement in one site throughout the game play. As such, the
location of the advertisement cannot change or move and other
advertisements cannot take its place. Thus, although there may be
multiple advertisements in one game, each advertisement can only
occupy a single location throughout the entire game. This is
undesirable because it lacks the ability to maximize the effect of
the advertisement on the gamer.
[0004] One way to increase the effectiveness of the advertisement
on the gamer is to utilize real-time dynamic advertising techniques
which allow for the targeting of advertisements to specific gamers
or groups of gamers. These dynamic advertising techniques allow
multiple advertisements from different advertisers to be rotated
throughout the same site during game play. Moreover, these dynamic
advertising techniques allow for different content types, such as
Billboard, Logo, Video, Audio and Beacons, to be used to display
advertisements to the gamer, wherein each of these content types is
capable of receiving and displaying multiple advertisements
throughout the game for display to the gamer. For example, a racing
game may have a billboard display advertising for one product as a
racing car passes the billboard a first time. However, subsequent
times the race car goes passes the billboard, entirely different
advertisements may be displayed. Thus, dynamic advertising not only
enhances the reality of the game's content, it maximizes the
revenue generating capability of the software product by generating
multiple revenue streams, as opposed to the one revenue stream
generated using static advertising techniques.
[0005] Unfortunately however, one problem that currently exists
with dynamic advertising involves the efficient delivery of
impressions for advertising campaigns. For example, if an
impression is under-delivered to a gamer, then the product is not
getting the agreed-upon or desired advertising exposure which may
result in poor sales, unhappy clients and a low revenue stream. On
the other hand, if an impression is over-delivered to a gamer, then
the product is getting more than the desired advertising exposure,
which results in saturation, thereby devaluing each impression.
This is undesirable for at two reasons. First, the over-delivery
delivery of impressions may result in an early end to an
advertising campaign because the number of impressions delivered
may meet its target goal too early in given time period. For
example, if IGA contracts to deliver 175,000 impressions over a
four-week period, and delivers 75,000 impressions in the first
week, the campaign may have to end early because it will be
difficult to effectively spread the remaining 100,000 impressions
over the remaining three weeks. Second, the over-delivery of
impressions may prevent other advertisements from being delivered
thereby interfering with other delivery contracts and reducing
other revenue streams.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] A method for correcting impression flow to a gaming
environment, is provided and includes determining a number of
available impressions for delivery to at least one content cell in
the gaming environment for a desired time period, determining a
number of available users for the gaming environment for the
desired time period, generating a target number of impressions to
be delivered to the gaming environment for a predefined portion of
the desired time period and generating a weighting value for the at
least one content cell responsive to said target number of
impressions.
[0007] A system for implementing a method for correcting impression
flow to a gaming environment is provided, wherein the system
includes a network having a database and a gaming device connected
to the network and configured to operate in a gaming environment,
wherein at least one of the gaming device and the network includes
a means for determining a number of available impressions for
delivery to at least one content cell in the gaming environment for
a desired time period, determining a number of available users for
the gaming environment for the desired time period, generating a
target number of impressions to be delivered to the gaming
environment for a predefined portion of the desired time period and
generating a weighting value for the at least one content cell
responsive to said target number of impressions.
[0008] A computer readable storage medium having computer
executable instructions for implementing a method for correcting
impression flow to a gaming environment is provided, wherein the
method includes determining a number of available impressions for
delivery to at least one content cell in the gaming environment for
a desired time period, determining a number of available users for
the gaming environment for the desired time period, generating a
target number of impressions to be delivered to the gaming
environment for a predefined portion of the desired time period and
generating a weighting value for the at least one content cell
responsive to said target number of impressions.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] The foregoing and other features and advantages of the
present invention will be more fully understood from the following
detailed description of illustrative embodiments, taken in
conjunction with the accompanying figures in which like elements
are numbered alike:
[0010] FIG. 1 is a high level schematic block diagram illustrating
one embodiment of a gaming system, in accordance with the present
invention.
[0011] FIG. 2 is a lower level schematic block diagram illustrating
the integration server of the embodiment of the gaming system of
FIG. 1, in accordance with the present invention.
[0012] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a method for
generating impression numbers, in accordance with the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0013] In-Game Advertising (IGA) typically involves placing product
advertisement impressions into a game space in a manner similar to
that used for real time, real space advertisements. To ensure that
an impression is not over-delivered or under-delivered to the game
space, impression delivery has to be controlled to deliver the
desired impression to an area of the game space a correct number of
times as may be requested by an advertiser.
[0014] In accordance with the present invention, one embodiment for
controlling content delivery involves employing a dynamic method of
weighting impressions to automatically and dynamically adjust the
delivery of impressions for an advertising campaign. Thus, as an
advertising campaign is running, the impression flow to the game
space is monitored and corrected to ensure that the impression
delivery remains on target as requested by the advertiser. In this
way, advertising impressions are never over-delivered or
under-delivered to a user. Although one way this may be
accomplished involves matching content type (such as ad type,
aspect ratio and/or file format) to the placeholder into which the
advertisement impression is to be shown, without more advanced
features this approach is insufficient. The present invention
provides these advanced features and allows for more advanced
planning such as interlaced inventory placement (ensuring an even
distribution of different content items throughout a game),
distributed time-based delivery targets (delivering a specific
number of impressions spread out over a time range or interval) and
Share-of-Voice delivery (delivering to a percentage of the total
inventory) which may employ a much more complicated mechanism for
determining which content item to display. It is contemplated that
any type of advertising content may be implemented with the
invention, including but not limited to 3-Dimensional and/or
holographic content.
[0015] In accordance with the present invention, a process which
employs a combination of adjustable weighting and random selection
techniques with a feedback loop to achieve advanced planning
features is provided, wherein the term feedback loop is used to
indicate the fact that the weight value may be adjusted dynamically
as desired. For example, the weight value may be adjusted based on
the actual performance of a campaign and may be determined by the
impression data that is received by the integration system servers.
By using random selection and relying on the laws of probability of
large numbers, if a specific placeholder inside of a game space can
contain three possible different content items, then it can be
determined with some certainty that each content item will be
delivered at least one-third of the time. As such, this allows for
the enablement of an interlaced inventory placement feature which
ensures that every content item will be delivered during an
advertising campaign. And adding a weighting system allows for the
capability to influence the random selection process by making one
or more items more likely to be selected over the other items.
[0016] Consider the situation where a placeholder inside of a game
space has three possible content items, where one content item is
assigned a weighted value of "10" while the other two content items
are each assigned a weighted value of "5" and where a random value
is selected based on a total weighted value as desired, for example
a total weighted value equal to "20." Thus, in this case the
selected random value is between "1" and "20" inclusive, where a
value between "1" and "10" selects the first item, a value between
"11" and "15" selects the second item and a value between "16" and
"20" selects the third item. It should be appreciated that the
random value may be generated using any method and/or device
suitable to the desired end purpose, such as random number
generator. Statistically, it can be seen that the first item will
typically be selected about fifty percent of the time, while each
of the other items will typically be selected about twenty-five
percent of the time. Adjusting these weighted values over time
based on past delivery results (i.e. feedback) allows for the
evaluation of a specific piece of content and the determination of
whether that specific piece of content needs to be delivered more
or less frequently in order to reach a targeted number of
impressions over a specific time period.
[0017] In accordance with the present invention, each content item
may have at least one weighted value associated with it, wherein
the weighted value may be adjusted based on one or more desired
characteristics, such as the actual performance of a campaign
and/or a forecasted performance of a campaign. As such, the
weighted value may take into account all campaigns being delivered,
including campaigns that are delivering content into only one
specific title. Moreover, frequency capping may be used to limit
the number of views per user/per time period, where the frequency
cap value may be specified either before or after an advertising
campaign is created and/or implemented. If desired, the frequency
cap value may be used in the calculations to control or limit the
number of views communicated to an individual user. Accordingly,
the frequency cap value may be a value that indicates the maximum
number of impressions that any individual user should see for a
specified period regardless of the game title or content type. For
example, if research (or other acceptable method) determines that a
user becomes desensitized to an advertisement after viewing the
impression 5 times over a one week period, the frequency cap value
could be used to limit the impression views per individual user to
5 impressions per user/per week. Another example would be if an
advertisement is to be targeted only to an age group of between
18-20 years, the frequency cap value for age groups outside of this
demographic could be set to "0," while the frequency cap value for
age groups inside of this demographic could be set to a higher
value as desired.
[0018] The weighted values may also be based on a plurality of
parameters as desired, such as impression type, title, geographic
market and/or soft limit (i.e. frequency cap). These parameters may
then be arranged in a table of impressions which includes a
corresponding number of content types, titles, geographic markets,
and soft limits (frequency cap) on the number that should be seen
by any individual during a specified time period. The number of
available users (i.e. users playing the game who are going to/are
generating impressions--may be determined as desired, such as by
historical/forecast data) and impressions in a specific time period
(such as, one day) may then be determined for various situations,
such as 1) each combination of Market, Title, and Type, 2) each
combination of Market and Title, 3) each combination of Market and
Type and 4) each Market. The Market, Title and Type may be dictated
by the client, wherein the Market may refer to a specific
geographic location (area) that an advertising campaign is intended
to be delivered to, the Title may refer to a software application
that has been enabled to receive the advertising content and/or
send impressions and the Type may refer to a specific category of
advertising, such as Billboard, Logo, Video, Audio, etc. The
available impression numbers may then be determined, where one
embodiment for determining available impression numbers involves
(1) determining the number of expected users for a time period for
each combination specified using historical and/or forecasted
(predicted) data, (2) applying a confidence value to both the
number of expected users and each combination, and (3) combining
the values from items (1) and (2) and then multiplying these values
by the determined frequency cap.
[0019] It should be appreciated that although the concepts as
discussed herein are discussed with regards to a gaming environment
as follows, any type of gaming environment or configuration may be
used. Referring to FIG. 1, one embodiment of a gaming system 10 for
implementing the method of the invention showing the connectivity
between the elements is shown and includes a user gaming device 20
having gaming software 30 and application software (SDK) 40, a
gaming server 50 (optional) and an integration server 60 which
includes advertiser information 70. During gameplay, the gaming
software 30 communicates with the gaming server 50 (optional) to
facilitate the gameplay and the SDK 40 communicates with the
integration server 60 to facilitate the integration of advertising
content. Referring to FIG. 2, a lower level block diagram
illustrating the elements of the integration server 60. As shown,
the interaction within the integration server 60 is illustrated by
a first set of arrows 75 which represents the flow of impressions
through the integration server 60, a second set of arrows 80 which
represents the flow of advertising content through the integration
server 60 and a third set of arrows 85 which represents the flow of
control messages (i.e. figuring out a user location, start session
message, etc.) through the integration server 60.
[0020] Referring to FIG. 3, a block diagram illustrating one
embodiment of a method 200 for correcting impression flow is shown
and includes determining the number of impressions that should be
delivered to each cell in a game title (wherein the cell specifies
the impression type) for a desired time period, as shown in
operational block 202. The impression values may be broken down as
desired, such as by target market. The available users/impressions
for the desired Market, Title, Type (as may be specified by the
cell) and/or any desired combination thereof are then retrieved, as
shown in operational block 204. The number of impressions to be
delivered to the Market for a given game Title and/or Type is
retrieved, as shown in operational block 206, and the number of
impressions already delivered for the campaign to the Market,
Title, Type and/or any desired combination thereof is retrieved, as
shown in operational block 208.
[0021] At this point, the number of impressions left to be
delivered in the campaign for the Market, Title and/or Type
combination (i.e. required minus delivered) is then determined, as
shown in operational block 210. In accordance with the invention,
the number of impressions left to be delivered in the campaign may
be calculated, estimated and/or predicted. The target number of
impressions needed per time period (remaining impressions to be
delivered divided by the time periods left in the campaign) is then
determined, as shown in operational block 212. The target number of
impressions needed per time period is then compared with the number
of available impressions for the time period for the Market, Title,
and/or Type combination and/or the Market and Title combination, as
shown in operational block 114. If the target number of impressions
is greater than either available amount (or the difference between
either grows over a period of time), then this is an indication
that the requirements of the campaign may not be met by the end of
the campaign with the specified frequency cap, and thus can be used
as an early warning that either more inventory is needed and/or the
campaign targets should be modified.
[0022] However, if the target number of impressions is less than
the available impressions, then the target number of impressions is
set to the number of available impressions, as shown in operational
block 216. A "cell factor" may be determined and introduced, as
shown in operational block 218, wherein one embodiment of the "cell
factor" is the target value of impressions divided by the number of
available impressions for the Market and Type combination. It
should be appreciated that the number of available impressions may
be determined by retrieving the number of available users for each
cell in a title for the Market and multiplying this number by the
frequency cap. This results in the number of available impressions
for that cell. The impression goal for a particular cell for a
campaign may then be determined by multiplying the number of
impressions available for the cell by the "cell factor," as shown
in operational block 220, where the impression goal for that
particular cell for the campaign may be a proportion of the
available impressions for the cell which will be allocated to the
campaign. The weighting value for each Market, Content Item, and/or
Cell combination may then be determined, as shown in operational
block 222. One embodiment for accomplishing this for each cell in a
title that the campaign is targeted to involves dividing the
impression goal for that cell by the number of content items that
can be delivered into that cell. This value is the weighting value
and can be used to ensure that each content item has an equal
chance of being shown in that Market and Cell.
[0023] Accordingly, the above relationships can be expressed using
the equations as follows:
Avail.sub.c,m,t=UU.sub.m,t*FC.sub.c;
Avail.sub.c,i=UU.sub.i*FC.sub.c;
IG.sub.c,i=Avail.sub.c,i*IT.sub.c,t-ID.sub.c,t
IG.sub.c,i=Avail.sub.c,i*((IT.sub.c,t-ID.sub.c,t/TP.sub.c)/Avail.sub.c,m-
,t)
wherein, c is a specific campaign, i is a specific cell, m is a
specific market, t is a specific ad type, FC.sub.c is the frequency
cap for the specific campaign, UU.sub.m,t is the number of unique
users for the specific market and ad type, UU.sub.i is the number
of unique users for the specific cell, IT.sub.c,t is the total
target impressions for the specific campaign and ad type,
ID.sub.c,t is the number of impressions already delivered for the
specific campaign and ad type, TP.sub.c is the number of time
periods remaining in the campaign and IG.sub.c,i is the impression
goal for the campaign and cell.
[0024] It should be appreciated that historical data may be
retrieved from a database of impressions that the network has
already received and stored. However, before a title is released,
no historical data is available, so the "confidence" level in the
accuracy of any historical data regarding that title is practically
0%, and the number of available impressions is taken directly from
forecasting methods (where the confidence level is typically 100%).
After a title has been released and actual impressions from it are
received, the "confidence" level in the accuracy of the historical
data grows and less reliance is placed on forecasting methods to
predict what the title will be able to deliver.
[0025] In accordance with the present invention, one embodiment of
the method disclosed hereinbefore is described in terms of the
following example. Consider the situation where there are two (2)
campaigns: Campaign A and Campaign B. Campaign A is required to be
delivered to Market M with a frequency cap of seven (7) impressions
per user per week. It should deliver 100,000 Billboard impressions
and 150,000 Logo impressions to Title T and 75,000 Billboard
impressions to Title U over a 10 week period (i.e. 70 days).
Campaign A includes two Billboard content items (A.sub.1 and
A.sub.2), and one Logo content item (A.sub.3). On the other hand,
Campaign B is required to be delivered to Market M with a frequency
cap of ten (10) impressions per user per week. It should deliver
50,000 Billboard impressions to Title T and 25,000 Billboard
impressions to Title U over a 5 week period (i.e. 35 days).
Campaign B includes one Billboard content Item (B.sub.1).
Additionally, Title T includes one (1) Billboard Cell (X) and one
(1) Logo Cell (Y) and Title U includes one (1) Billboard Cell (Z).
Furthermore, assume that both Campaign A and Campaign B are started
on the same date and two (2) weeks (i.e. 14 days) of impressions
have already been delivered to both campaigns.
[0026] In accordance with the invention, the number of available
users and impressions in a specific time period (such as one (1)
day) is determined for each combination of Market, Title and Type;
each combination of Market and Title, each combination of Market
and Type and/or each Market. It should be noted that although they
can be, these numbers are typically not calculated by summing since
a single user may see multiple types of advertisements, use
multiple game titles and/or may appear in multiple markets, where
the frequency should still apply across content types, game titles
and markets for any individual user. In this case, the available
number of impressions are calculated by determining the number of
expected users for the time period for each combination specified
using historical and/or forecasted data, applying a confidence
value to both, combining them and then multiplying them by the
frequency cap value specified. For this example, assume that the
time period is one (1) day and that from a combination of
historical (e.g. impressions stored in a database) and forecast
methods, the following is known that on an average day (i.e. our
time period):
[0027] Combination of Market, Title and Type [0028] In Market M,
Title T will deliver on average 50,000 Billboard impressions to
13,000 unique users and 100,000 Logo impressions to 20,000 unique
users and in Market M, Title U will deliver on average 250,000
Billboard impressions to 30,000 unique users and 0 Logo impressions
to 0 unique users.
[0029] Combination of Market and Title [0030] In Market M, Title T
will deliver on average a total of 150,000 impressions to 20,000
unique users (Note that the unique users value may not equal the
sum of the Billboard uniques and Logo uniques indicating that 3,000
users saw only Billboards, 7,000 users saw only Logos, and 10,000
users saw both billboards and Logos) and in Market M, Title U will
deliver on average a total of 250,000 impressions to 30,000 unique
users.
[0031] Combination of Market and Type [0032] In Market M, on
average a total of 300,000 Billboard impressions will be delivered
to 40,000 unique users (Note again that this may indicate that
10,000 users played only Title T, 27,000 users played only Title U,
and 3,000 users played both titles T and U) and in Market M, on
average a total of 100,000 Logo impressions will be delivered to
17,000 unique users.
[0033] Each Market [0034] In Market M, on average a total of
400,000 impressions will be delivered to 50,000 unique users.
[0035] Moreover, assume that from historical data it is already
known that for Campaign A: delivery of 20,000 Billboard impressions
and 30,000 Logo impressions to Title T and 10,000 Billboard
impressions to Title U has already occurred and for Campaign B:
delivery of 15,000 Billboard impressions to Title T and 5,000
Billboard impressions to Title U has already occurred.
[0036] In accordance with the present invention, the available
impressions and users can be determined by determining the number
of impressions that should be delivered to each cell in a game
title for the time period, broken down by target market. This may
be accomplished by retrieving the available users for the
combination of Market, Title, and Type, the combination of Market
and Title, and/or the combination of Market and Type and
calculating the available impressions by multiplying by the
specified frequency cap. For example, Available
impressions=Available users*Frequency Cap. Moreover, the number of
impressions required to be delivered for the campaign to the Market
for the Game Title and Type and the number of impressions already
delivered for the campaign to the Market, Game Title and Type
combination are retrieved. The number of impressions left to be
delivered in the campaign for the Market, Title and Type
combination are then determined (i.e. required
impressions--delivered impressions) along with the target number of
impressions needed per time period (i.e. divide by time periods
left in the campaign).
[0037] The target number of impressions needed is then compared
against the number of available impressions for the time period for
the Market, Title and Type combination and/or the Market and Title
combination. And if the target number of impressions is greater
than either available amount (or the difference between either
grows over a period of time), then this can be viewed as an
indication that the campaign requirements may not be met at the end
of the campaign with the specified frequency cap and may be used as
an `early warning` that more inventory may be needed or that the
campaign targets need to be modified. On the other hand, if the
target number of impressions is greater than the available
impressions, then the target number of impressions may be set to
the number of available impressions. The `cell factor` is then
determined by dividing the target value by the number of available
impressions for the Market and Type combination, wherein available
impressions for a cell is the number of available users for each
cell in a title for the Market multiplied by the specified
frequency cap. The impression goal for a particular cell for the
campaign (which may be a proportion of the available impressions
for the cell which will be allocated to the campaign) can be
determined by multiplying the `cell factor` by the number of
impressions available for the cell.
[0038] To continue the example with Campaign A and Campaign B,
using the above approach gives the following results:
Campaign A
[0039] For Market M, Title T, Billboards: [0040] Available Users by
Market/Title/Type=13,000; [0041] Available Impressions by
Market/Title/Type=13,000*(Freq Cap) 7=91,000; [0042] Available
Users by Market/Title=20,000; [0043] Available Impressions by
Market/Title=20,000*(Freq Cap) 7=140,000; [0044] Available Users by
Market/Type=40,000; [0045] Available Impressions by
Market/Type=40,000*(Freq Cap) 7=280,000; [0046] Impressions
required=100,000; [0047] Impressions already delivered=20,000;
[0048] Impressions left to be delivered=100,000-20,000=80,000;
[0049] Time period left in Campaign=70 days-14 days=56 days; [0050]
Impressions required per day=80,000/56=1,429.
[0051] If the number of impressions required is less than the
number of available impressions for both Market/Title/Type and
Market/Title, then the campaign should be able to successfully
deliver. In this case, the number of available impressions for
Market/Title/Type=91,000, the number of impressions available for
Market/Title=140,000 and the number of (remaining) impressions
required=80,000. Thus, the number of remaining impressions required
is less than both the number of impressions available for
Market/Title and the number of available impressions for
Market/Title/Type.
Accordingly,
[0052] Target Value=1,429; and [0053] Cell
Factor=1,429/280,000=0.0051. And since there is only one billboard
cell (X) in title T and the number of available impressions for the
billboard cell (X) for the Market/Title/Type is 91,000, then the
impression goal for Campaign A, Cell X is given by:
[0054] Impression Goal for Campaign A, Cell
X=91,000*0.0051=464.
[0055] For Market M, Title U, Billboards: [0056] Available Users by
Market/Title/Type=30,000; [0057] Available Impressions by
Market/Title/Type=30,000*(Freq Cap) 7=210,000; [0058] Available
Users by Market/Title=30,000; [0059] Available Impressions by
Market/Title=30,000*(Freq Cap) 7=210,000; [0060] Available Users by
Market/Type=40,000; [0061] Available Impressions by
Market/Type=40,000*(Freq Cap) 7=280,000; [0062] Impressions
required=75,000; [0063] Impressions already delivered=10,000;
[0064] Impressions left to be delivered=75,000-10,000=65,000;
[0065] Time period left in Campaign=70 days-14 days=56 days; [0066]
Impressions required per day=65,000/56=1,161.
[0067] As above, if the number of impressions required is less than
the number of available impressions for both Market/Title/Type and
Market/Title, then the campaign should be able to successfully
deliver that number. In this case, the number of available
impressions for Market/Title/Type=210,000, the number of
impressions available for Market/Title=210,000 and the number of
(remaining) impressions required=65,000. Thus, the number of
remaining impressions required is less than both the number of
impressions available for Market/Title and the number of available
impressions for Market/Title/Type. Accordingly, [0068] Target
Value=1,161; and [0069] Cell Factor=1,161/280,000=0.0041. And since
there is only one billboard cell (Z) in title T and the number of
available impressions for the billboard cell (Z) for the
Market/Title/Type is 210,000, then the impression goal for Campaign
A, Cell Z is given by:
[0070] Impression Goal for Campaign A, Cell
Z=210,000*0.0041=861.
[0071] For Market M, Title T, Logos: [0072] Available Users by
Market/Title/Type=20,000; [0073] Available Impressions by
Market/Title/Type=20,000*(Freq Cap) 7=140,000; [0074] Available
Users by Market/Title=20,000; [0075] Available Impressions by
Market/Title=20,000*(Freq Cap) 7=140,000; [0076] Available Users by
Market/Type=17,000; [0077] Available Impressions by
Market/Type=17,000*(Freq Cap) 7=119,000; [0078] Impressions
required=150,000; [0079] Impressions already delivered=30,000;
[0080] Impressions left to be delivered=150,000-30,000=120,000;
[0081] Time period left in Campaign=70 days-14 days=56 days; [0082]
Impressions required per day=120,000/56=2,143.
[0083] As above, if the number of impressions required is less than
the number of available impressions for both Market/Title/Type and
Market/Title, then the campaign should be able to successfully
deliver that number. In this case, the number of available
impressions for Market/Title/Type=140,000, the number of
impressions available for Market/Title=140,000 and the number of
(remaining) impressions required=120,000. Thus, the number of
remaining impressions required is less than both the number of
impressions available for Market/Title and the number of available
impressions for Market/Title/Type. Accordingly, [0084] Target
Value=2,143; [0085] Cell Factor=2,143/119,000=0.0180; And since
there is only one logo cell (Y) in title T and the number of
available impressions for the logo cell (Y) for the
Market/Title/Type is 140,000, then the impression goal for Campaign
A, Cell Y is given by:
[0086] Impression Goal for Campaign A, Cell
Y=140,000*0.0180=2,520.
Campaign B
[0087] Market M, Title T, Billboards: [0088] Available Users by
Market/Title/Type=13,000; [0089] Available Impressions by
Market/Title/Type=13,000*(Freq Cap) 10=130,000; [0090] Available
Users by Market/Title=20,000; [0091] Available Impressions by
Market/Title=20,000*(Freq Cap) 10=200,000; [0092] Available Users
by Market/Type=40,000; [0093] Available Impressions by
Market/Type=40,000*(Freq Cap) 10=400,000; [0094] Impressions
required=50,000; [0095] Impressions already delivered=15,000;
[0096] Impressions left to be delivered=50,000-15,000=35,000;
[0097] Time period left in Campaign=35 days-14 days=21 days; [0098]
Impressions required per day=35,000/21=1,667.
[0099] As above, if the number of impressions required is less than
the number of available impressions for both Market/Title/Type and
Market/Title, then the campaign should be able to successfully
deliver that number. In this case, the number of available
impressions for Market/Title/Type=130,000, the number of
impressions available for Market/Title=200,000 and the number of
(remaining) impressions required=35,000. Thus, the number of
remaining impressions required is less than both the number of
impressions available for Market/Title and the number of available
impressions for Market/Title/Type. Accordingly, [0100] Target
Value=1,667; [0101] Cell Factor=1,667/400,000=0.0041; And since
there is only one billboard cell (X) in title T and the number of
available impressions for the billboard cell (X) for the
Market/Title/Type is 130,000, then the impression goal for Campaign
B, Cell X is given by:
[0102] Impression Goal for Campaign B, Cell
X=130,000*0.0041=533.
[0103] Market M, Title U, Billboards: [0104] Available Users by
Market/Title/Type=30,000; [0105] Available Impressions by
Market/Title/Type=30,000*10=300,000; [0106] Available Users by
Market/Title=30,000; [0107] Available Impressions by
Market/Title=30,000*10=300,000; [0108] Available Users by
Market/Type=40,000; [0109] Available Impressions by
Market/Type=40,000*10=400,000; [0110] Impressions required=25,000;
[0111] Impressions already delivered=5,000; [0112] Impressions left
to be delivered=25,000-5,000=20,000; [0113] Time period left in
Campaign=35 days-14 days=21 days; [0114] Impressions required per
day=20,000/21=952.
[0115] As above, if the number of impressions required is less than
the number of available impressions for both Market/Title/Type and
Market/Title, then the campaign should be able to successfully
deliver that number. In this case, the number of available
impressions for Market/Title/Type=300,000, the number of
impressions available for Market/Title=300,000 and the number of
(remaining) impressions required=20,000. Thus, the number of
remaining impressions required is less than both the number of
impressions available for Market/Title and the number of available
impressions for Market/Title/Type. Accordingly, [0116] Target
Value=952; [0117] Cell Factor=952/400,000=0.0024; And since there
is only one billboard cell (Z) in title U and the number of
available impressions for the billboard cell (Z) for the
Market/Title/Type is 300,000, then the impression goal for Campaign
B, Cell Z is given by:
[0118] Impression Goal for Campaign B, Cell
Z=300.000*0.0024=720.
[0119] The weighting value for each Market, Content Item, and Cell
combination is then determined for each cell in a title that the
campaign is targeted to by dividing the impression goal for that
cell by the number of content items that can be delivered into that
cell. This weighting value is representative of the statistical
probability that the content item will be delivered to that cell
and assures that each content item has an equal chance to be shown
in that Market and Cell. Thus, the weighting values for the above
example is as follows:
Campaign A
[0120] For Market M, Content A.sub.1, Cell X: Weight=464/2=232;
[0121] For Market M, Content A.sub.2, Cell X: Weight=464/2=232;
[0122] For Market M, Content A.sub.3, Cell Y:
Weight=2,520/1=2,520;
[0123] For Market M, Content A.sub.1, Cell Z:
Weight=861/2=430.5;
[0124] For Market M, Content A.sub.2, Cell Z:
Weight=861/2=430.5.
Campaign B
[0125] For Market M, Content B.sub.1, Cell X: Weight=533/1=533;
[0126] For Market M, Content B.sub.1, Cell Z: Weight=720/1=720.
[0127] It should be appreciated that the method of the present
invention may be embodied, in whole or in part, via software,
firmware and/or hardware. Moreover, the application software may be
implemented via any type or configuration of software suitable to
the desired end purpose, such as a generic SDK and/or an
application specific SDK. Furthermore, the software application may
be embedded, in whole or in part. Additionally, the method of the
present invention may be embodied, in whole or in part, via
instruction using training manuals (i.e. text based materials),
seminars, classes, and/or any other media suitable to the desired
end purpose. Moreover, although the method of the present invention
may be implemented, in whole or in part, via software, hardware,
firmware and/or any combination thereof, it is also contemplated
that the method of the present invention may also be implemented,
in whole or in part, without the use of software, hardware,
firmware and/or any combination thereof. For example, without the
full or partial use of any software, hardware and/or firmware
and/or with any combination thereof, but rather via instruction
using PC based software and/or classroom instruction with text
materials (i.e. books, pamphlets, handouts, tapes, optical media,
etc.).
[0128] Moreover, each of the elements of the present invention may
be implemented in part, or in whole, in any order suitable to the
desired end purpose. In accordance with an exemplary embodiment,
the processing required to practice the method of the present
invention, either in whole or in part, may be implemented, wholly
or partially, by a controller operating in response to a
machine-readable computer program. In order to perform the
prescribed functions and desired processing, as well as the
computations therefore (e.g. execution control algorithm(s), the
control processes prescribed herein, and the like), the controller
may include, but not be limited to, a processor(s), computer(s),
memory, storage, register(s), timing, interrupt(s), communication
interface(s), and input/output signal interface(s), as well as
combination comprising at least one of the foregoing. It should
also be appreciated that the embodiments disclosed herein are for
illustrative purposes only and include only some of the possible
embodiments contemplated by the present invention.
[0129] Furthermore, the invention may be wholly or partially
embodied in the form of a computer system or controller implemented
processes. It should be appreciated that any type of computer
system (as is well known in the art) and/or gaming system may be
used and that the invention may be implemented via any type of
network setup, including but not limited to a LAN and/or a WAN
(wired or wireless). The invention may also be embodied in the form
of computer program code containing instructions embodied in
tangible media, such as floppy diskettes, CD-ROMs, hard drives,
and/or any other computer-readable medium, wherein when the
computer program code is loaded into and executed by a computer or
controller, the computer or controller becomes an apparatus for
practicing the invention. The invention can also be embodied in the
form of computer program code, for example, whether stored in a
storage medium, loaded into and/or executed by a computer or
controller, or transmitted over some transmission medium, such as
over electrical wiring or cabling, through fiber optics, or via
electromagnetic radiation, wherein when the computer program code
is loaded into and executed by a computer or a controller, the
computer or controller becomes an apparatus for practicing the
invention. When implemented on a general-purpose microprocessor the
computer program code segments may configure the microprocessor to
create specific logic circuits.
[0130] While the invention has been described with reference to an
exemplary embodiment, it should be understood by those skilled in
the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be
substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope
of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to
adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the
invention without departing from the scope thereof. Therefore, it
is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular
embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out
this invention, but that the invention will include all embodiments
falling within the scope of the appended claims. Moreover, unless
specifically stated any use of the terms first, second, etc. do not
denote any order or importance, but rather the terms first, second,
etc. are used to distinguish one element from another.
* * * * *