U.S. patent application number 11/771256 was filed with the patent office on 2008-11-13 for systems and methods for using video services records to provide targeted marketing services.
This patent application is currently assigned to Verizon Services Organization Inc.. Invention is credited to Steven D. Whitehead.
Application Number | 20080281697 11/771256 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39970390 |
Filed Date | 2008-11-13 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080281697 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Whitehead; Steven D. |
November 13, 2008 |
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR USING VIDEO SERVICES RECORDS TO PROVIDE
TARGETED MARKETING SERVICES
Abstract
Systems and methods can include collecting addressability
information about users accessing a service provider's IP-based
network communication services, collecting information sufficient
to identify when the user is accessing the service provider's
IP-based network communication services, collecting data from video
services usage by the user and using the collected data to
associate the user with certain marketing content. The systems and
methods can further include sending the marketing content to the
user through various distribution channels by using the
addressability information. The systems and methods can further
include recording the collected information over time to refine the
ability o predict the user's receptiveness to certain marketing
content so as to improve the effectiveness of TMS.
Inventors: |
Whitehead; Steven D.;
(Hudson, MA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
VERIZON;PATENT MANAGEMENT GROUP
1515 N. COURTHOUSE ROAD, SUITE 500
ARLINGTON
VA
22201-2909
US
|
Assignee: |
Verizon Services Organization
Inc.
Irving
TX
|
Family ID: |
39970390 |
Appl. No.: |
11/771256 |
Filed: |
June 29, 2007 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60917553 |
May 11, 2007 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
705/14.41 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/02 20130101;
H04N 21/25808 20130101; H04N 21/25883 20130101; H04N 21/6125
20130101; H04N 21/23106 20130101; G06Q 30/0242 20130101; H04N
21/454 20130101; H04N 21/2668 20130101; G06Q 30/0277 20130101; H04N
21/42684 20130101; G06Q 30/0251 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/14 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 30/00 20060101
G06Q030/00 |
Claims
1. A method comprising: collecting data associated with video
services usage; and identifying user receptiveness information
based on the data collected from the video services usage.
2. The method of claim 1 further comprising filtering the video
services usage prior to identifying user receptiveness information
based on the data collected from the video services usage.
3. The method of claim 1 further comprising associating data
collected from the video services usage with a user who used the
video services.
4. The method of claim 3 wherein associating the data collected
from the video services usage with the user comprises associating
the data collected from the video services usage with an identifier
associated with the user selected from the group consisting of user
identifier (ID), account ID, service-specific user ID, IP access
session ID, device ID, IP address and timestamp, and information
that uniquely identifies the user's access connection.
5. The method of claim 3 further comprising associating the user
with addressability information.
6. The method of claim 5 wherein associating the user with
addressability information does not involve the association of
personally identifiable information.
7. The method of claim 5 further comprising associating the user
with a target audience to which marketing content can be sent.
8. The method of claim 5 further comprising identifying, based on
the receptiveness information, marketing content for sending to the
user.
9. The method of claim 8 further comprising sending, based on the
addressability information, marketing content to the user through
at least one distribution channel.
10. The method of claim 1 further comprising: combining the
receptiveness information based on the data collected from the
video services usage with other receptiveness information
previously associated with the user to increase the predictive
ability of the receptiveness information associated with the
user.
11. The method of claim 10 further comprising associating the user
with addressability information.
12. The method of claim 11 further comprising identifying, based on
the receptiveness information, marketing content for sending to the
user.
13. The method of claim 12 further comprising: sending, based on
the addressability information, marketing content associated with
at least one marketing campaign to the user through at least one
distribution channel; and measuring the performance of the at least
one marketing campaign.
14. A system comprising: a video services module configured to
enable video services usage by at least one user and to collect
data from the video services usage; an information source module
configured to collect and maintain addressability information
associated with the at least one user; and a marketing information
processing module configured to identify user receptiveness
information based on the data collected from the video services
usage, associate the receptiveness information with the at least
one user, identify marketing content from at least one marketing
campaign to send to the at least one user on the basis of the
identified receptiveness information and associate the at least one
user with addressability information maintained in the information
source module.
15. The system of claim 14 further comprising a distribution
channel module configured to send the identified marketing content
to the at least one user through at least one marketing
distribution channel.
16. The system of claim 15 further comprising a marketing
information management module configured to send information to the
marketing information processing module for the purpose of
controlling the marketing content for sending to the at least one
user.
17. The system of claim 16 further comprising a performance
analysis module configured to collect data about and analyze the
performance of the at least one marketing campaign.
18. The system of claim 14 further comprising a database for
storing the association between the receptiveness information and
the at least one user.
19. The system of claim 18 wherein the marketing information
processing module is further configured to combine new
receptiveness information for the at least one user with the
receptiveness information for the at least one user stored in the
database and replace the receptiveness information for the at least
one user stored in the database with the combined receptiveness
information for the at least one user.
20. The system of claim 19 further comprising: a distribution
channel module configured to send the identified marketing content
to the at least one user through at least one marketing
distribution channel; a marketing information management module
configured to send information to the marketing information
processing module for the purpose of controlling the marketing
content for sending to the at least one user; and a performance
analysis module configured to collect data about and analyze the
performance of the at least one marketing campaign.
Description
[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional
Application No. 60/917,553 filed May 11, 2007, herein incorporated
by reference in its entirety.
[0002] The contents of the following applications, filed
concurrently herewith, are incorporated by reference in their
entirety: U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. ______,
Attorney Docket No. ______, titled "Systems and Methods for Using
DNS Records to Provide Targeted Marketing Services," U.S.
Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. ______, Attorney Docket
No. ______, titled "Systems and Methods for Using IP Transport
Records to Provide Targeted Marketing Services," U.S.
Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. ______, Attorney Docket
No. ______, titled "Systems and Methods for Using Voice Services
Records to Provide Targeted Marketing Services" and U.S.
Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. ______, Attorney Docket
No. ______, titled "Systems and Methods for Using Value-Added
Services Records to Provide Targeted Marketing Services."
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
[0003] Targeted marketing aims to simultaneously reduce the cost of
and improve the response to marketing campaigns by delivering
marketing content to recipients who are most likely to be receptive
to that content. Cost is reduced by limiting the distribution of
the content; response is improved by delivering the content to
those recipients most likely to respond.
[0004] Common examples of targeted marketing include the following:
direct-mail marketing, such as mail order catalog distribution,
wherein marketing content is mailed to households whose members
belong to a relevant affinity group; newsletter distribution to
those individuals who have expressed an explicit interest in
receiving the newsletter; advertising inserted into the response
pages of online search engines, such as Google.TM. and Yahoo.TM.
search, wherein the recipients are selected based on the keywords
they enter on the search page; and context-based advertisement
insertion, such as banner advertisements placed on a website,
wherein the website is selected based on knowledge, or implicit
assumption, that individuals in a target group are more likely to
visit that website than other websites.
[0005] Entities that employ targeted marketing face two challenges:
1) cost-effectiveness in identifying the individuals or groups most
likely to be differentially more receptive to the marketing
content; and 2) identifying the location where the marketing
content should be sent to reach those individuals or groups.
Responding to those challenges requires the acquisition and
processing of information associated with receptiveness and
addressability.
[0006] The convergence of communications, information, and
entertainment services industries has led to the emergence of
service providers that provide multiple services, including
Internet access, voice services, and video entertainment services
among others. Moreover, these service providers are delivering the
services over a converged services infrastructure, which, at its
core, is based on Internet Protocol (IP) networking technologies.
This extensive services infrastructure consists of systems,
information and processes needed to deliver a wide range of
information, entertainment and communications services to millions
of users. This infrastructure also represents a potentially
valuable set of resources on which to build and operate a wide
range of powerful marketing services.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] In order to facilitate a fuller understanding of the
exemplary embodiments, reference is now made to the appended
drawings, in which like reference characters are used to indicate
like elements. These drawings should not be construed as limiting,
but are intended to be exemplary only.
[0008] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system for delivering
IP-based services, according to an exemplary embodiment;
[0009] FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a method for acquiring access to
and using IP-based services, according to an exemplary
embodiment;
[0010] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a system for providing
targeted marketing services, according to an exemplary
embodiment;
[0011] FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a method for providing targeted
marketing services, according to an exemplary embodiment;
[0012] FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing relationships between
information to enable associating IP address-keyed receptiveness
information to users, according to an exemplary embodiment;
[0013] FIG. 6 is a flow chart of a method for implementing the
information and decision processing functions of the marketing
information processing module, according to an exemplary
embodiment;
[0014] FIG. 7 is a flow chart of a method for opportunistic
distribution of marketing content, according to an exemplary
embodiment;
[0015] FIG. 8 is a flow chart of a method for hybrid distribution
of marketing content, according to an exemplary embodiment;
[0016] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a service provider-based
targeted marketing services system, according to an exemplary
embodiment; and
[0017] FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a method for providing service
provider-based targeted marketing services, according to an
exemplary embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0018] The following description is intended to convey a thorough
understanding of the embodiments described by providing a number of
specific embodiments and details involving using video services
records to identify user interests, and using those user interests
to send marketing content to the user. It should be appreciated,
however, that these specific embodiments and details are exemplary
only.
[0019] As used herein, the term "marketing content" is interpreted
broadly to include any type of information that a service provider
or a third party may elect to send to a user. Thus, marketing
content can include, but is not limited to, offers for goods or
services, requests for charitable donations, requests for
information, general information not associated with an offer or
request, etc.
[0020] As used herein, the term "targeted marketing services (TMS)"
is interpreted broadly to include marketing activity whereby steps
are taken to deliver marketing content to a particular group of
individuals, the members of which are believed to be more receptive
to the content than other individuals.
[0021] As used herein, the term "user" is interpreted broadly to
include any individual or collection of individuals using at least
one service provided by a service provider. A user includes, but is
not limited to, an individual, a household that interacts with a
service provider using a single set of identifying data, a business
entity that interacts with a service provider using a single set of
identifying data, etc.
[0022] As used herein, the term "IP-enabled device" is interpreted
broadly to include any device capable of communicating with other
devices across an IP-based network. IP-enabled devices include, but
are not limited to, personal computers (PCs), personal digital
assistants (PDAs), smart phones, cellular telephones, set-top
boxes, etc.
[0023] The description below describes models at an introductory
and abstract level of the systems and methods used by service
providers to deliver IP-based services. These systems and methods
are well-known in the art. The models are intended only to provide
sufficient background for a thorough understanding of the
embodiments described.
[0024] The description below describes modules that may include one
or more servers, databases, subsystems and other components. As
used herein, the term "module" may be understood to refer to
software, firmware, hardware, and/or various combinations thereof
The modules are exemplary. The modules may be combined, integrated,
separated, and/or duplicated to support various applications and
may be centralized or distributed. A function described herein as
being performed at a particular module may be performed at one or
more other modules and/or by one or more other devices instead of
or in addition to the function performed at the particular module.
The modules may be implemented across multiple devices and/or other
components local or remote to one another. The devices and
components that comprise one module may or may not be distinct from
the devices and components that comprise other modules.
[0025] The technology infrastructure used by service providers to
deliver IP-based services can be extensive. The technology can
consist of the systems, information and processes needed to deliver
a wide range of information, entertainment and communications
services to millions of users.
[0026] From a marketing services perspective, this infrastructure
also can represent a potentially valuable set of resources on which
to build and operate a wide range of powerful marketing services.
Service provider infrastructure resources, in existing or slightly
modified form, can be used for at least two important purposes in a
marketing services context: 1) as a source of marketing
information, including both receptiveness information, which
relates to a user's receptiveness to particular marketing content,
and addressability information, which relates to a user's physical
or virtual location for sending marketing content; and 2) as a
distribution channel for sending marketing content to the user.
[0027] The IP-based services provided by service providers can
include IP access service. IP access service can allow a user to
obtain access to one or more public and/or private IP networks,
including but not limited to, the Internet. As part of this
service, the user can couple an IP-enabled device to the service
provider's access infrastructure. The service provider can provide
transport service through at least one of its networks and/or
interconnection services to other networks as needed to deliver
packets across other IP networks. This IP access service can be the
basis for a wide range of IP-based applications and services,
including, but not limited to, web browsing, file sharing,
multimedia streaming, electronic messaging, etc.
[0028] The IP-based services provided by service providers can
include IP-based video services. These services, using IP-based
technology, can allow users to view and/or experience video and/or
other multimedia content, e.g., movies, music, etc., through the
use of an IP-enabled device. Video services can be delivered in
near-real-time via a variety of streaming and/or progressive
download technologies. Video services can be delivered via bulk
download in advance for subsequent viewing at a later time. Video
services can be interactive. Video services can include, for
example, IP-based broadcast, multicast or unicast video
distribution. IP-based broadcast service can allow users to watch
video content from a line-up of multiple channels, each of which
contains a continuous feed of scheduled programming. IP-based
video-on-demand (VOD) can allow users to select, from a library of
choices, video content to view on demand. Video services can
involve IP packet transport across at least one public IP network,
at least one private IP network or a combination thereof
[0029] Referring to FIG. 1, a schematic diagram of a system for
delivering IP-based services, according to an exemplary embodiment,
is illustrated. System 20 can comprise a user 30, a user interface
module 32, a service provider 40 and an external service module
70.
[0030] The user 30 can be an individual or group that uses IP-based
services provided by and through the service provider 40. The user
30 can be associated with a service provider service subscription,
in which case the user 30 can be referred to as a subscriber and
can have an account with the service provider 40. The user 30 can
be an individual, as where a service is provided to a single
person, or a group, as where a service is provided to multiple
individuals, e.g., residential broadband data service provided to a
family, enterprise data services provided to employees of a
company, etc.
[0031] The user interface module 32 can provide a means for the
user 30 to couple at least one input and/or output device to the
service provider's infrastructure via an IP-enabled communications
link and to interact with IP-based services via the coupled
device(s). The systems and methods by which IP connectivity can be
established and maintained can vary widely and are well known in
the art.
[0032] Where the user interface module 32 implements at least one
network, such as a residential home network, the user interface
module 32 can provide local networking functions, including, but
not limited to, local address assignment, host configuration,
network address translation, security and access control. The
transmission medium used by the user interface module 32 to
communicate internally and with components of the service
provider's infrastructure can be based on wireline technologies,
wireless technologies, or a combination of both.
[0033] The user interface module 32 can comprise a wide range of
devices, software, applications, equipment and cabling including,
but not limited to, PCs, laptops, IP-enabled mobile devices
(handheld computers, cellular telephones), telephones, cameras,
microphones, displays, televisions, set-top-boxes, home-networking
equipment (routers, switches, modems) browsers, electronic games,
office automation application software, file transfer application
software, etc. Although varied, these components are well known in
the art.
[0034] The service provider 40 can provide at least one IP-based
service to at least one user 30. The at least one IP-based service
provided by the service provider 40 can include, but is not limited
to, web-browsing, e-mail, electronic messaging, file-transfer,
IP-based voice services, IP-based multimedia services, etc.
[0035] The service provider 40 can include an IP packet transport
module 42. The IP packet transport module 42 can route and forward
IP packets to and from the user interface module 32. The IP packet
transport module 42 can enforce certain transport service-level
agreements. The IP packets can originate at the user interface
module 32 and be destined for another service provider module or
the external service module 70. The IP packets can originate at the
service provider 40 or the external service module 70 and be
destined for the user interface module 32. All communications
between the user interface module 32 and other service provider
modules and/or the external service module 70 can be through IP
packets routed and forwarded through the IP packet transport module
42.
[0036] The IP packet transport module 42 can comprise a wide range
of devices, software, applications, equipment and cabling
including, but not limited to, interconnected routers and switches,
optical and electrical wiring, wireless transmitters and receivers,
etc. The IP packet transport module 42 can employ a wide range of
communication protocols and technologies including, but not limited
to, asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), Ethernet, Frame-relay,
multi-protocol label switching (MPLS), L2TP, IPSec, point-to-point
protocol (PPP), SONET, EV-DO, WiMax, etc. The IP packet transport
module 42 also can employ standard Internet protocols to operate
the network, including, but not limited to, IP, user datagram
protocol (UDP), transmission control protocol/internet protocol
(TCP/IP), ICMP, OSPF, ISIS, RIP, SNMP, etc. The components,
communication protocols and Internet protocols are well known in
the art.
[0037] The information maintained by the IP packet transport module
42 can include information for establishing and maintaining network
connectivity between modules, routing packets based on destination
address and other service-related parameters, monitoring
performance, measuring usage, etc. The IP packet transport module
42 can inspect an IP packet to obtain data to forward the IP packet
to its destination. The IP packet transport module 42 also can
incorporate devices, e.g., deep packet inspection devices, to
inspect an IP packet for additional data, record that data and/or
act on the IP packet as it traverses the IP packet transport module
42.
[0038] The service provider 40 can include a user account module
44. The user account module 44 can manage the information related
to a user's account with the service provider 40 and associated
service provisioning information. The user 30 can interact with the
user account module 44 when the user 30 wants to add, modify or
delete services or properties, e.g., contact information, billing
information, etc., associated with the user's account. The user 30
can interact with the user account module 44 through the user
interface module 32, for example, through a customer service
website operated by the service provider 40 and/or through
non-IP-based systems, e.g., telephone, mail, face-to-face contact
with a service provider representative, etc.
[0039] The user account module 44 can consist of numerous
distributed computing systems. The user account module 44 can
comprise a wide variety of physical hardware, software and logical
systems including, but not limited to, databases, web servers,
client-server systems, element management and provisioning systems,
subscriber management systems, order processing systems, customer
call centers, automated voice response systems, etc. The underlying
systems and methods to implement the user account module 44 are
well known in the art.
[0040] The user account module 44 can interact with other service
provider modules as needed to configure infrastructure in order to
provide service. For example, the user 30 can establish a new DSL
broadband user account with the service provider 40. The user
account module 44 can interact with elements of the service
provider's access and edge networks, such as digital subscriber
line access multiplexers (DSLAMs), ATM switches, edge/gateway
routers, etc. This interaction can be to provision a logical
connection, e.g., ATM virtual circuit, Ethernet virtual local area
network (VLAN), etc. with the appropriate service parameters from
the subscribers home to a router at the edge of the service
provider's network. This provisioning can be referred to as static
because it is managed by the user account module 44 when the user
30 establishes service and can remain unchanged for an extended
period of time.
[0041] The user account module 44 can contain extensive
information, including, but not limited to, the following: 1) a
unique user identification number; 2) billing information, such as
a) a billing address, b) credit card and/or bank information, c)
billing status, d) credit history, etc.; 3) contact information,
such as a) at least one address in addition to the billing address,
b) at least one telephone number, c) at least one e-mail address,
etc.; 4) service information, such as a) at least one list of
authorized services, b) service agreements, associated rates and
charging methods, c) authentication and authorization credentials,
e.g., user identifiers (IDs), account IDs, passwords, public key
certificates, device IDs (set-top box IDs, subscriber identity
module (SIM) card IDs, device media access control (MAC) addresses)
d) service-specific parameters, e.g., data transport parameters
(rate limits, maximum burst size, minimum guaranteed rates), at
least one instant messaging (IM) identity, e-mail and/or voicemail
mailbox IDs, access codes, storage quotas, content subscriptions,
etc.; and 5) service provisioning information, such as a)
geographic or network location of the user interface module 32, b)
access link information, e.g., access link ID like ATM virtual
circuit ID or VLAN IDs, lists of access network elements traversed
by an access link, the name of the broadband remote access server
(BRAS) device that terminates the access link, the interface
identifier on the BRAS device that terminates the access link,
etc.
[0042] The service provider 40 can include a service attachment
module 46. The service attachment module 46 can dynamically
exchange service provisioning and configuration information with
the user interface module 32. Dynamic provisioning and
configuration can be performed to allow the service provider 40 to
allocate a limited resource, such as a public IP address, to the
user 30 while the service associated with that resource is in use.
Dynamic provisioning and configuration also can be performed
because the information needed for configuration or the devices to
be configured are known to the service provider 40 at the time when
service usage is to begin. For example, the specific device that
the user 30 employs to access a service can be unknown to the
service provider 40 until the user 30 initiates use of the service.
The service attachment module 46 also can interact with other
service provider modules to manage the configuration of services
provided by the service provider 40. The systems and methods used
to implement the service attachment module 46 can vary by service
but are well known in the art.
[0043] For video services, the service attachment module 36 can
authenticate and obtain registration information associated with
endpoint equipment, e.g., a set-top box, collect capability
information, e.g., supported codex and/or other media capabilities,
and deliver service configuration information to endpoint devices,
e.g., codex, service-related server addresses, program guide
carousel, etc. The components of the service attachment module 36
used for video services can include, but are not limited to,
computer servers, databases, web/HTTP servers, FTP servers,
multicast servers, etc. The protocols used by the service
attachment module 36 for video services can be based on the use of
HTTP, SOAP, XML, FTP, IGMP, etc.
[0044] The service attachment module 36 also can interact with
other service provider modules to manage the configuration of
services provided by the service provider 40. The systems and
methods used to implement the service attachment module 36 can vary
by service but are well known in the art.
[0045] The service attachment module 46 can include a network
attachment module 48. The network attachment module 48 can
coordinate the dynamic provisioning and configuration associated
with providing the user 30 with IP-transport services. The dynamic
provisioning and configuration associated with providing
IP-transport services can occur before the dynamic configuration
associated with higher-level services, such as voice and video,
because the dynamic configuration associated with higher-level
services can use the IP-access provided by the IP-transport
services. Thus, the network attachment module 48 can implement the
first step in a multi-step dynamic service bootstrapping
process.
[0046] The network attachment module 48 can manage the dynamic
assignment of public IP addresses to the user interface module 32
in support of IP-packet transport functions for IP-access service.
The network attachment module 48 can communicate configuration
information to the user interface module 32 in support of
higher-level services. The information managed and communicated can
include IP addresses for DNS servers, session initiation protocol
(SIP) proxies for voice services, Interactive Program Guides (IPGs)
for video services, etc.
[0047] The network attachment module 48 can comprise BRAS routers,
DHCP servers, RADIUS clients and servers, databases, transport
policy management systems, etc. The network attachment module 48
can use multiple protocols, including, but not limited to, PPP,
point-to-point protocol over ethernet (PPPoE), dynamic host
configuration protocol (DHCP), remote authentication dial-in user
service (RADIUS), common open policy service (COPS), etc.
[0048] The service provider 40 can include a domain name resolution
module 50. The domain name resolution module 50 can provide domain
name resolution services via the DNS. When two or more IP-enabled
end systems, known as hosts, communicate across an IP network, the
packets exchanged between the hosts can be delivered across the
network based on a unique numeric identifier, known as an IP
address. Each packet can contain a source IP address, which can
identify the host that sent the packet, and at least one
destination IP address, which can identify at least one host that
the packet can be sent to. The DNS can store and associate many
types of information with domain names, which can be alphanumeric
strings, typically human legible, used to identify a host on an
IP-based network. In particular, the DNS can associate a domain
name with an IP address. Thus, the DNS can act as a directory
service, through which domain names can be translated into IP
addresses, a process referred to as domain name resolution. The DNS
can be implemented as a hierarchically-organized,
globally-distributed system. The systems and methods used to
implement the DNS are well known in the art.
[0049] The use of domain names and the DNS can be ubiquitous in
IP-based networks. For example, World Wide Web uniform resource
locators (URLs) can contain the domain name of the host that stores
the resource associated with the URL. In the URL
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_name_system#History_of_the_DNS,"
the string fragment "en.wikipedia.org" can be the domain name of
the host that stores the web page for the wikipedia entry that
describes the DNS. Domain names and the DNS also can be used in
other IP-based services.
[0050] The domain name resolution module 50 can participate in a
DNS and be used for domain name resolution. To perform domain name
resolution, the domain name resolution module 50 can interact with
the user interface module 32. For example, software in a user's PC,
known as a resolver, can send a request to the domain name
resolution module 50 for the translation of a domain name, e.g.,
www.google.com, to the domain name's associated IP address. The
domain name resolution module 50 can process the request at a DNS
server that can perform a local directory look-up or can query
other DNS servers in the service-provider's network or in other
networks. Once the domain name resolution module 50 identifies the
associated IP address, e.g., 64.233.161.99, the domain name
resolution module 50 can send the associated IP address back to the
user's PC. Once the PC receives the IP address, the PC can cache
the IP address for a period of time based on the use of a
time-to-live parameter. This caching can reduce the rate and volume
of domain name resolution requests to the domain name resolution
module 50 by enabling the PC to use the resolved IP address for a
period of time.
[0051] The service provider 40 can include an other services module
52. The other services module 52 can manage the delivery of other
services provided by the service provider 40 but not yet
identified. These services can include, but are not limited to,
video services, voice services, online gaming services, download
services, restricted content services, security services (virus
detection, intrusion detection, parental controls), storage
services, personal media management services, etc. Management of
the delivery of these services can involve user identification,
authentication and service authorization, service delivery,
performance management and usage tracking. The other services
module 52 can interact with the user interface module 32.
[0052] Although the systems associated with the other services
module 52 can vary by service, the systems can include, but are not
limited to, servers, databases, storage systems, monitoring
systems, etc. Although the methods associated with the other
services module 52 also can vary by service, the methods can
include, but are not limited to, common IP-based distributed
systems and application technologies such as TCP, UDP, hypertext
transfer protocol (HTTP), SOAP, file transfer protocol (FTP), SIP,
real-time streaming protocol (RTSP), etc. The systems and methods
associated with the other services module 52 are well known in the
art.
[0053] Although the information managed and maintained by the other
services module 52 can vary by service, the information can
include, but is not limited to, user identity, authentication,
service authorization, service delivery state, resource
consumption, service usage, etc.
[0054] The other services module 52 can include a video services
module 54. The video services module 54 can comprise that portion
of the other services module 52 associated with supplying video
services. Services associated with the video services module 54 can
include, but are not limited to, the following: linear television
service, whereby a fixed line-up of scheduled television programs
is made continuously available to users; VOD, whereby users can
select from a menu, or library, of video content to be delivered
e.g., streamed, on demand; techniques whereby video is downloaded
in advance for later consumption; delivery of media forms other
than video, e.g., audio/music; etc.
[0055] The video services module 54 can perform multiple functions,
including, but not limited to, ingesting, encoding and decoding,
storing, managing and sending video/multimedia content. The video
services module 54 also can implement signaling functions
associated with sending video services. For example, the video
services module 54 can implement signaling functions related to
authentication and authorizing services and for controlling the
selection and delivery of content. The video module also can
monitor service performance and measure service usage for purposes
such as billing. Elements of the video services module 54 can
interact with elements of the user interface 24. This interaction
can occur through the IP packet transport module 32. Elements of
the video services module 54 also can interact, at the service
signaling level, with elements of the IP packet transport module 32
to ensure the availability of sufficient IP packet transport
resources to deliver the video service.
[0056] The data managed and maintained by the video services module
54 can include, but is not limited to, user identity,
authentication and authorization, user availability and
reachability, presence, resource availability and usage, service
performance and usage, etc.
[0057] Although, the systems and methods associated with the video
services module 54 can vary according to the services provided,
said systems and methods are well known in the art. The
technologies involved can be proprietary or based on public
standards. For example, the systems can include, but are not
limited to, content management systems, video transcoders,
encryption and decryption equipment, conditional access and digital
rights management systems, video transmission systems, video
servers, mixers and advertisement insertion systems, service
controllers, multicast servers, etc. The methods can include, but
are not limited to, IP unicast, IP multicast, IP broadcast, IGMP,
PIM-SM, various encoding protocols (MPEG, AVI, etc.), RTSP, HTTP,
SIP, various content encryption schemes and key exchange
technologies (AES, MD-5, SSL, IPSec, IKE, PKI keys), etc.
[0058] The external service module 70 can be an information,
entertainment, communications, etc., service, which may or may not
be commercial in nature, provided to the user 30 as accessed
through the service provider 40, though the external service module
70 need not be associated with the service provider 40. The user 30
can interact with the external service module 70 through the user
interface module 32 and the IP packet transport module 42. The
external service module 70 can communicate directly with the IP
packet transport module 42, as with, for example, direct network
connection or direct network peering, or can communicate indirectly
through one or more intermediary IP-based networks. The
communication path between the user 30 and the external service
module 70 can include public and/or private IP-based networks and
can include communications across non-IP based communication
channels, such as the public switched telephone network (PSTN). The
transmission medium between the user 30 and the external service
module 70 can include wireline technologies, wireless technologies
or a combination of both.
[0059] The systems comprising the external service module 70 can
include, but are not limited to, computers, databases, routers,
switches, firewalls, storage devices, web servers, email servers,
file servers, media servers, application servers, voice and
multimedia gateways, media mixers and trans-coders, conferencing
systems, etc. The systems and methods associated with the external
service module 70, though widely varied, are well known in the
art.
[0060] Referring to FIG. 2, a flowchart of a method for acquiring
access to and using IP-based services, according to an exemplary
embodiment, is illustrated. In block 110, the user 30 can interact
with the service provider 40 to sign-up for at least one service
and establish a user account. The user 30 can interact with the
service provider 40 through the user interface module 32, for
example, through a customer service website operated by the service
provider 40 and/or through non-IP-based systems, e.g., telephone,
mail, face-to-face contact with a service provider representative,
etc. The service provider 40 can collect user 30 and service
information. The user 30 and/or the service provider 40 can
configure hardware and software so the service can be delivered,
which can include, at a minimum, establishing basic IP transport
service.
[0061] For example, the user 30 can call the service provider 40 to
request high-speed data service, voice over internet protocol
(VoIP) service and/or IP-based video service. The service provider
40 can collect contact and billing information from the user 30, as
well as information for provisioning the service, such as the
address where service will be provided. The service provider 40 can
provide the user 30 with equipment for using the service, such as a
router, VoIP-enabled telephones, set-top boxes, etc. The service
provider 40 and/or the user 30 can configure the equipment for use.
The service provider 40 can configure the service provider's
infrastructure to provide the service. For example, the service
provider 40 can provision access links to the user's premises,
configure account and service information in service delivery
subsystems, etc. Method 100 then can proceed to block 120.
[0062] In block 120, the user 30 can establish a connection to the
service provider's infrastructure via an IP-enabled communications
link. The network attachment module 48 can perform dynamic service
configuration to establish basic IP connectivity and basic
service-level provisioning for the elements associated with the
user interface module 32. For example, the network attachment
module 48 can dynamically assign an IP address to an element of the
user interface module 32, such as a home router. The service
attachment module 46 can dynamically configure other IP-service
information, including, but not limited to, addresses for DNS
servers, SIP proxies, HTTP proxies, bootstrapping servers for video
services, etc.
[0063] For example, the user 30 can couple a home router to a
digital subscriber line (DSL) network, turn the router on and
configure the router. The home router can signal the service
provider's network to establish connectivity using a protocol, such
as PPP, PPPoE, DHCP, etc. The service attachment module 46 can
perform user authentication and authorization. The network
attachment module 48 can assign a dynamic IP address to the home
router, which the IP-enabled network can use to identify the host
associated with the user 30. At the completion of the attachment
process, the user interface module 32 can have an IP address,
functioning IP connectivity to the IP packet transport module 42
and essential configuration for other services. Method 100 then can
proceed to block 130.
[0064] In block 130, the user 30 can establish use of IP transport
services to communicate with other IP-enabled devices reachable
through the service provider's infrastructure. This capability can
provide the user 30 with the ability to send IP packets to other IP
addresses and to receive IP packets from other IP addresses. Method
100 then can proceed to block 140.
[0065] In block 140, the user 30 can establish use of domain name
resolution services to access other services. Many
application-level, IP-based services depend upon the DNS to
abstract away the details of numeric IP addresses and use logical
domain names instead. These applications can use DNS as a part of
the application-level service. For example, when using a web-based
application, such as browsing the Internet, the URLs used by the
user 30 to reach a given website can be expressed, not in terms of
numeric IP addresses, but rather with domain names. The same is
true for the vast majority of other Internet-based applications,
such as e-mail, ftp, telnet, IP-based voice and video services,
etc. Method 100 then can proceed to block 150.
[0066] In block 150, the user 30 can use application-level
services, such as web-browsing, e-mail, file-transfer, voice
services, video services, etc. All of the communication traffic
between the user 30 and the service can use IP transport services.
Some of the traffic between the user 30 and the service also can
use domain name resolution services. Where the application-level
services usage involves video services usage, the video services
module 54 can track the services usage based on a unique
identifier, such as a service-specific user ID, a device ID, etc.,
for billing and/or other purposes. For example, the service
provider 40 can offer VOD content access for an additional usage
fee. The user 30 can access the VOD content using a set-top box.
The service provider 40 can recognize the user's set-top box device
ID, allowing the service provider 40 to track service usage for
billing purposes. Method 100 then can proceed to block 160.
[0067] In block 160, the user 30 can functionally detach from the
service provider's IP network. This detachment can be intentional,
as where the user 30 deliberately shuts down an element of the user
interface module 32, or unintentional, as where a power disruption
shuts down the user interface module 32. As a result, the user
interface module 32 can lose IP connectivity to the service
provider's network elements, and the service provider 40 can
recover for future use any dynamic resources allocated to the user
30 during block 120.
[0068] For example, if the network attachment module 48 previously
had assigned a dynamic IP address to the user's home router, that
IP address can be deallocated and disassociated from that user's
home router. The service provider 40 can then assign the IP address
to a different user 30.
[0069] The period in time during which a specific user 30 is
associated with a specific IP address can be the user's IP access
session. An IP access session can begin when the service provider
40 allocates an IP address to a specific user 30 and can end when
the service provider 40 deallocates that IP address from that user
30.
[0070] An IP access session can begin via either static or dynamic
processes. For example, the user's IP address can be statically
allocated when the user 30 establishes an account with the service
provider 40 in block 110, in which case the IP access session
begins when the user 30 establishes the account and can last as
long as the user 30 maintains the account with the service provider
40. The user's IP address can be dynamically allocated by the
network attachment module 48 in block 120, in which case the IP
access session can begin when the IP address is allocated and can
end when the IP address is deallocated in block 160. Where the IP
address is dynamically allocated, the user 30 can have multiple IP
access sessions during the time that the user 30 maintains an
account with the service provider 40. Each IP access session can
involve a different IP address allocated by the network attachment
module 48. The user 30 can have multiple IP access sessions at the
same time if, for example, the user 30 has a user interface module
32 that can establish multiple simultaneous IP connections to the
IP packet transport module 42.
[0071] For example, the user 30 can establish DSL broadband service
with the service provider 40, with the user 30 obtaining,
installing and configuring any equipment and the service provider
40 performing any initial service configuration. The user 30 can
turn on the user's DSL modem and/or home router. The home router
can negotiate connectivity and host configuration parameters with
the service attachment module 46, using DHCP, for example. This
negotiation can include a request for and subsequent assignment of
an IP address to the home router. Once this negotiation has been
completed, the IP access session can begin.
[0072] The IP access session can last as long as the service
provider 40 associates the assigned IP address to the user's home
router. This association can end for any number of reasons. For
example, where the home router is using DHCP for network
configuration, the association can end if the DHCP lease period for
the address expires before the home router renews it, in which case
the home router can lose connectivity to the service provider 40,
and the IP access session can end. Returning to FIG. 2, after the
user 30 functionally detaches from the service provider's network,
Method 100 then can proceed back to block 110.
[0073] In block 110, the user 30 can reestablish the connection to
the service provider's infrastructure via an IP-enabled
communications link. For example, if the detachment in block 160
was unintentional, the user 30 can resolve any problems that
resulted in the detachment and reestablish the connection. If the
detachment in block 160 was intentional, the user 30 can
reestablish the connection at the user's convenience. When the user
30 reattaches to the network and receives a new, or even the same,
IP address, a new IP access session can begin. The concept of an IP
access session can apply to wireless-based IP access services, as
well as to wireline-based services.
[0074] A variety of information can be associated with an IP access
session, either directly or indirectly. IP access session
information can include the IP address assigned to the user 30 by
the service provider 40, by which the user 30 can be reachable by
other hosts on the network. IP access session information can
include an IP access session ID, a unique identifier assigned to
the IP access session by the service provider 40. The IP access
session ID can be used by the service provider 40 for internal data
management purposes as a key for retrieving information associated
with the IP access session. IP access session information can
include network access information. Network access information can
identify the network access facilities being used during the IP
access session. Network access information can include, for
example, an identifier for the IP access session network connection
used to reach the user 30 and the name of the BRAS on which the
access connection is terminated. IP access session information can
include IP access session lifecycle information. This IP access
session lifecycle information can include, but is not limited to,
the session start time, the session state, e.g., active/ongoing or
inactive/terminated and, if terminated, the session stop time.
[0075] IP access session information can include user identity
information. User identity information can be information that
either directly or indirectly identifies the user. For example,
direct identification information can include a unique user ID
assigned to the user 30 by the service provider 40 at the time that
service is established and provided by the user 30 to establish a
connection to the service provider's infrastructure, e.g., user ID
authentication credentials passed during PPP negotiation. Indirect
identification information can include the network access
information previously described, e.g., the user's IP access
session network connection identifier and terminating BRAS. Using
the network access information, the user's identity can be obtained
by associating the information with information stored in other
databases managed by the service provider 40, e.g., network
provisioning databases.
[0076] Information that can be indirectly linked with an IP access
session can be separated into two classes: 1) information that can
be linked to an IP access session via knowledge of the user's
identity and 2) information that can be linked to an IP access
session via knowledge of the IP address associated with the
session. Examples of user identity linked information can include,
but is not limited to, user contact information, e.g., mailing
address, telephone number, e-mail address, etc., demographic
information, service subscription information, etc. Examples of IP
address-linked information can include, but is not limited to,
information related to specific patterns of service usage collected
based on IP address during the IP access session. These classes of
information linked indirectly with an IP access session can, in
turn, be linked with each other through their association with the
IP access session. Thus, it is possible, in principle, to use an IP
access session to associate information keyed based on an IP
address to a specific user 30. This association, once made and
recorded, can persist beyond the duration of the IP access
session.
[0077] IP access session information can reside in multiple
locations throughout the service provider's infrastructure. Direct
information, such as the IP access session identifier, allocated IP
address, network access information and user information can reside
within the service attachment module 46. The service provider 40
can elect to extend the function of the service attachment module
46 to dynamically collect, organize and manage this information as
IP access sessions come and go over time. User identity linked
information can reside in the user account module 44, including in
user account and/or user service configuration databases. User
identity linked information also can reside in modules that
implement individual services, including, but not limited to, the
IP packet transport module 42 and the other services module 52. IP
address linked information can reside in the IP-based service
modules, including, but not limited to, the IP packet transport
module 42, the domain name resolution module 50 and the other
services module 52.
[0078] Based on this description of an IP access session and the
information associated therewith, certain properties of an IP
access session can be identified. For each IP access session, the
user 30 can be associated uniquely with an IP address. This
property can have two important implications: 1) for each IP access
session, the IP address can be used to identify the user 30 and can
be used to communicate with the user 30 for the duration of the IP
access session; and 2) any information collected during the IP
access session concerning the use of services and based on the IP
address can be associated with the user 30. Thus, any IP service
usage that reveals relevant marketing information about the user 30
can be collected during the IP access session and used later in
that session to send marketing content addressed to the IP access
session IP address over an IP-based communication channel or
processed and associated with the user 30 for subsequent use.
[0079] An IP access session can persist for a long time, e.g.,
days, weeks, months or even years. This property can be especially
true for IP access sessions based on wired network connections
because such connections can be established and maintained
indefinitely. Wireless IP access connections, and the associated IP
address assignments, can be more transient due to mobility issues
and device power constraints. An IP access session can last longer
than the online session of the user 30. This situation can be
especially true where the user accesses IP-based services through a
device, e.g., a PC, coupled to a home network. Although the user 30
can shutdown the PC after a period of usage, the IP access session
can persist as long as the user's home router remains powered and
coupled to the network. Thus, when the user 30 turns on the
original PC, or some other device, such as a set-top box, that can
couple to the home network, for another period of usage, that
subsequent period of usage can continue to be associated with the
same IP access session as the earlier period of usage. This
situation can exist because the IP access session can be associated
with the IP address provided and assigned to the user's home router
by the service provider 40. Although the user's home network can
support a variety of IP hosts over an extended period of time using
network address translation (NAT) and other private networking
techniques, the service provider 40 addresses each of the hosts via
the IP address assigned to the home router. Enterprise networks can
function similarly.
[0080] An IP access session can involve multiple platforms. The
user interface module 32 can comprise a private network that
contains multiple IP-enabled devices, e.g., PCs, laptops, set-top
boxes, etc., all accessed through a single IP connection managed by
a home-router. Again, the service provider 40 can address each of
the devices through a single IP address assigned to the home
router. Thus, a single IP access session can involve multiple
devices either over time or at about the same time.
[0081] An IP access session can be treated anonymously or
non-anonymously. A system or service can address the user 30
through the IP address associated with the IP access session
without determining the user's identity. On the other hand, the
service provider 40 can combine information associated with the IP
access-session, such as a user ID, with other information in its
system, such as information in a customer account database, to
determine the user's identity.
[0082] An IP access session can be tracked. The service provider's
infrastructure can contain elements in the service attachment
module 46 for dynamic assignment of IP addresses and/or the user
account module 44 for static assignment of IP addresses that can be
well-suited for tracking when an IP access session begins and ends.
These elements can track and manage information about the lifecycle
of each IP access session.
[0083] Referring to FIG. 3, a schematic diagram of a system for
providing targeted marketing services, according to an exemplary
embodiment, is illustrated. System 200 can comprise at least one
information source module 210, a marketing information management
module 212, a marketing information processing module 214, a
distribution channel module 216 and a performance analysis module
218.
[0084] The information source module 210 can collect information
and forward that information to the marketing information
processing module 214. The information source module 210 also can
process the information before forwarding.
[0085] The information collected by the information source module
210 can be receptiveness information and/or addressability
information. Receptiveness information can be information that
pertains to an individual's or a group's potential receptiveness to
marketing content, e.g., a propensity to purchase a product.
Receptiveness information can come from a wide variety of sources
and can be of varying types. For example, receptiveness information
can include demographic information, e.g., race, age, gender,
income, education, etc. Receptiveness information can include
geographic information, e.g., current location, location of
residence, country, state, town, zip code, etc. Receptiveness
information can include membership information, e.g., current or
past memberships in social, professional, religious and/or other
organizations. Receptiveness information can include purchasing
behavior, e.g., records of past purchases, such as grocery store
purchases, recent shopping patterns, records of product research,
etc. Receptiveness information can include personal interest
information, e.g., newsletter and magazine subscriptions,
participation in activities, frequent visits to certain websites,
etc. Receptiveness information can include information that can be
considered personal.
[0086] The nature of receptiveness information can range from
generic, e.g., demographic or interest profile information, to
marketing campaign specific, e.g., knowledge of a former customer.
Regardless of the nature of the information, receptiveness
information relevance, in terms of predicting receptiveness to
marketing content, can be measured with respect to that marketing
content. Individual pieces of receptiveness information can be
combined and processed in various ways to increase the predictive
capability of the aggregated information over that of the
individual pieces.
[0087] Addressability information can be information used to send
marketing content to an individual or a group. Like receptiveness
information, addressability information can come from a wide
variety of sources and can be of varying types. For example,
addressability information can include a mailing address that can
be used to send marketing content through the U.S. postal service
or a private courier. Addressability information can include a
telephone number that can be used to send marketing content via
telephone, e.g., telemarketing. Addressability information can
include an e-mail address that can be used to send marketing
content via electronic mail. Addressability information can include
an HTTP cookie that can be used to recognize the user 30 at a
future point in time, whereupon the web content delivered to the
user 30 can be customized to send marketing content, e.g., a
targeted advertisement. Addressability information can include an
IP address that, similar to the HTTP cookie, can be used to
recognize and interact with the user 30 at a future point in time
within the duration of an IP access session, whereupon the IP
service being used can be modified to send marketing content.
[0088] Addressability information can be considered personally
identifiable information (PII), which can be considered
non-anonymous, if, given the information, the identity of the
individual or group associated with the information can be
identified either directly from the information itself or when
easily combined with other publicly available information. Examples
of addressability information that can be considered PII can
include, but are not limited to, full name, postal address,
telephone number and e-mail address. Examples of addressability
information that can be considered non-PII can include, but are not
limited to, IP address and HTTP cookies, as long as the cookie does
not contain PII. The distinction between PII and non-PII
addressability information can be important to targeted marketers
because anonymous marketing techniques can be considered more
desirable, from a privacy standpoint, than non-anonymous marketing
techniques.
[0089] To be of value for TMS, each piece of receptiveness
information can be associated with some type of addressability
information and vice versa. For example, receptiveness information
that someone visited a website dedicated to providing data to
individuals shopping for a certain product, e.g., automobiles, can
provide little value to a targeted marketer, if no information
exists that can identify where the targeted marketer can send
marketing content to that visitor. Conversely, that same
information combined with addressability information that
identifies where the targeted marketer can send marketing content
to the visitor can be of greater value.
[0090] The information source module 210 also can collect and send
data related to the operation of the information collection
process, e.g., status, configuration, resource consumption,
processing rate, match rates, etc., to the marketing information
management module 212.
[0091] The marketing information management module 212 can manage
the configuration of and control the information associated with at
least one marketing campaign being conducted by System 200. The
marketing information management module 212 can receive and
maintain information about the marketing campaign, including, but
not limited to the following: who is sponsoring the marketing
campaign and billing information for the sponsor; how to identify a
target audience member (TAM), e.g., what receptiveness information
to look for; which distribution channels to use and the associated
addressability information to acquire; what marketing content to
deliver; how long the marketing campaign will last; and what
performance metrics to use for the campaign and current performance
relative to those metrics. The marketing information management
module 212 can send relevant portions of this information to the
other elements of System 200 to control, manage and monitor those
elements' functions.
[0092] The marketing information processing module 214 can receive
and process information from the information source module 210 in
conjunction with the control information received from the
marketing information management module 212 to produce and use
actionable marketing information (AMI).
[0093] AMI can be receptiveness information associated with
addressability information. AMI can be the basis for controlling a
targeted marketing campaign. The effectiveness of AMI at
controlling a targeted marketing campaign can depend on the quality
of the receptiveness information and the addressability
information. The metric for measuring how well the receptiveness
information and, by extension, the AMI can be used to predict the
receptiveness of a target TAM to the marketing content can be
deemed predictive ability. The metric for measuring how accurately
the addressability information and, by extension, the AMI can be
used to deliver marketing content to a targeted audience member,
while avoiding delivery to non-targeted individuals, can be deemed
targeting accuracy. For example, AMI that can be used to deliver
marketing content to a targeted individual can have greater
targeting accuracy than AMI that can be used to deliver marketing
content to a group to which that individual belongs, e.g., a
household or a company. High-value AMI can have high predictive
ability and high targeting accuracy.
[0094] The value of AMI also can be affected by other attributes of
the information that comprises the AMI, including, but not limited
to, the following: 1) timeliness, including how quickly the
information can be acquired, processed and acted upon; 2) privacy
attributes, including whether the information is anonymous,
collected with the knowledge and permission of the owner, retained
for an extended period of time, shared with others, etc.; 3)
source, including any restrictions imposed on use of the
information; 4) cost, including the cost to acquire, process and
act upon the information; 5) scope, including the breadth of the
information. For example, a source of information can produce AMI
with a high predictive ability but applicable only to a small
potential audience. Another source of information can produce AMI
with lower predictive ability but applicable to a large potential
audience. An ideal source of information can produce highly
predictive AMI with high targeting accuracy and with wide scope,
leading to the identification of a large audience of receptive
individuals that can be accurately targeted.
[0095] The marketing information processing module 214 can combine
individual units of receptiveness information, addressability
information and AMI to improve the quality of AMI and generate new
AMI. For example, by combining information about multiple websites
visited by the user 30, the marketing information processing module
214 can be able to generate AMI with higher predictive ability than
AMI based on one website visited by the user 30. AMI with higher
targeting accuracy also can be generated. For example, using
information about the user's IP address during an IP access session
to determine the user's mailing address by cross-referencing data
stored in the service attachment module 46 and the user account
module 44, the marketing information processing module 214 can
associate relevant IP service usage information to the user's
mailing address, enabling the IP service usage information to be
used to drive a direct mail campaign based on knowledge of the
user's mailing address.
[0096] The distribution channel module 216 can send marketing
content once the marketing information processing module 214
combines AMI with marketing content from the marketing information
management module 212. A wide range of distribution channels can be
employed by the distribution channel module 216 to send marketing
content. The distribution channel module 216 can use an on-demand
distribution channel, e.g., direct mail. Marketing content can be
sent to the user 30 through an on-demand distribution channel at
any time. The distribution channel module 216 can use an
opportunistic distribution channel, e.g., a web advertisement
insertion server. Marketing content can be sent to the user 30
through an opportunistic distribution channel only when the
opportunity exists to do so. For example, a web advertisement
insertion server can insert a web advertisement targeted to the
user 30 into the web page of a website when the server detects the
presence of the user 30 at the website. Thus, the advertisement can
be sent to the user 30 only when the user 30 visits a website
served by that advertisement insertion server. Once the
distribution channel module 216 sends marketing content to a TAM,
the distribution channel module 216 can send feedback to the
marketing information processing module 214 to influence future
decisions.
[0097] The performance analysis module 218 can receive information
from the marketing information management module 212 and the
distribution channel module 216 to measure the effectiveness of at
least one marketing campaign. The performance analysis module 218
also can identify means for marketing campaign optimization and
report results back to the marketing information management module
212. The performance analysis module 218 can include mechanisms for
detecting and analyzing responses from both targeted and
non-targeted audience members.
[0098] Referring to FIG. 4, a flowchart of a method for providing
targeted marketing services, according to an exemplary embodiment,
is illustrated. In block 250, the marketing information management
module 212 can create, define and organize at least one marketing
campaign. This process can include processing the information about
the marketing campaign previously identified as received and
maintained by the marketing information management module 212.
Method 240 then can proceed to block 260.
[0099] In block 260, the information source module 210 can collect
source marketing information about at least one potential audience
member (PAM). A PAM can be an entity considered for inclusion in at
least one target audience for at least one marketing campaign. A
PAM can be an individual or a group. The relationship between a PAM
and one or more individuals can be determined by the nature of the
information that can be used to address the entity. One or more
unique identifiers can potentially be associated with a PAM.
Depending on the embodiment of the TMS system, such identifiers can
include, but are not limited to, user IDs, IP access session IDs,
device IDs, unique IDs embedded in HTTP cookies, various other
service-related IDs, etc. A unit of AMI can be associated with a
PAM.
[0100] The information source module 210 can collect source
marketing information from multiple locations and can incorporate
previously described elements of the service provider's
infrastructure. The user account module 44 can contain valuable
information about the user 30, including, but not limited to, where
the user 30 is located, how to reach the user 30, what services the
user 30 uses and how those services are provisioned. This
information can include both addressability information, e.g.,
mailing address, e-mail address, telephone number, etc., and
receptiveness information, e.g., services used, location, etc. For
example, location can serve as receptiveness information because
location can be used to select or filter at least one PAM. User
location can be obtained in a number of ways, including, but not
limited to, directly from existing information, e.g., zip code,
telephone area code, etc., or inferentially from access connection
configuration information, e.g., combining information about the
user's terminating BRAS with information about the location of the
BRAS.
[0101] Information contained in the user account module 44 also can
be linked with other information sources, in much the same way that
primary and foreign keys can be used in relational databases to
link together information stored in different database tables. For
example, a set-top box ID can be used to link video service usage
information to a user account ID and subsequently back to the
user's address for billing purposes. Similarly, the relationships
between the set-top box ID, the user account ID and the user's
address can be used to link receptiveness information, e.g., video
service usage, to addressability information, e.g., mailing
address, for targeted marketing purposes. Information in the user
account module 44 that can serve, in one form or another, as a
key/relational link for linking other pieces of information can
include, but is not limited to, the following: unique user
identifiers, e.g., a unique subscriber account number; e-mail
addresses; telephone numbers; service authentication and
identifying credentials, e.g., user IDs, public key certificates,
private shared secrets, etc.; user device IDs, e.g., set-top box
IDs, SIM-card IDs, device MAC addresses, etc.; and/or uniquely
identifying access link information, e.g., a user's access circuit
ID combined with an identifier for the circuit's terminating
BRAS.
[0102] As previously described, the systems and methods comprising
the user account module 44 are well known in the art. For the
purposes of using elements of the user account module 44 as part of
the information source module 210, these same systems and methods
can be used. Some extensions can be implemented to expose the
information in the user account module 44 to other components of
the information source module 210 or to organize the information in
a more suitable manner for use. The same fundamental information
technologies underlying the service provider's use of the user
account module 44 to deliver IP-based services, however, can be
used to implement elements of the user account module 44 as part of
the information source module 210.
[0103] The information source module 210 can support multiple means
for accessing marketing information contained in the user account
module 44. For example, other components of the information source
module 210 can be enabled to query elements of the user account
module 44 for relevant marketing information. Support for such
queries can be general and can, for example, include mechanisms for
retrieving information based on a wide range of query attributes,
including, but not limited to, user ID, access-link-information,
other identifiers associated with the user 30 or the user's
equipment, address information, etc. The information retrieved by
such queries also can include all or part of the information
identified as potential query attributes. The interface between the
relevant elements of the user account module 44 and other
components of the information source module 210 also can support
asynchronous notification functions, whereby the other components
can be notified asynchronously of changes in the state of the
information maintained by the user account module 44. The
interfaces between the relevant elements of the user account module
44 and other components of the information source module 210 can
include at least one of the interfaces used by the user account
module 44 in support of the delivery of IP services.
[0104] Elements of the service attachment module 46, in general,
and the network attachment module 48, in particular, also can
comprise elements of the information source module 210. The network
attachment module's ability to manage the use of IP addresses and
track the lifecycle of IP access sessions can make the network
attachment module 48 a valuable source of marketing information.
Information about the user's IP access session maintained by the
network attachment module 48 can include, but is not limited to,
the following: a unique IP access session identifier, a unique IP
address; a unique user identifier; unique information about the
user's access connection, e.g., BRAS identifiers, access circuit
identifiers, etc.; and IP access session lifecycle information,
e.g., status, start time, end time, etc. This information can be
used to associate the user 30 with an IP address during an IP
access session. Thus, during an IP access session, any information
that can be associated with an IP address also can, in turn, be
associated with the user 30 associated with that IP address.
[0105] This association between the user 30 and the IP address can
be used to obtain addressability information in at least two ways.
First, the IP address itself can be addressability information
because it can be used to directly address the user 30. For
example, the user 30 can be browsing a website, and the web-server
delivering the content can recognize the user 30 based on the
source IP address of the HTTP request. The web-server can use the
IP address to insert or otherwise send targeted marketing content
into the content sent to the user 30. A similar approach can be
applied to services other than web-browsing, such as
video-on-demand service, for example.
[0106] Second, the IP address to user association maintained by an
IP access session can be used to relate an IP address to more
extensive addressability information. For example, the information
source module 210 can collect useful receptiveness information,
e.g., information that the user 30 has visited a website of
interest, and this receptiveness information can be associated with
an IP access session IP address. The receptiveness information then
can be linked back to the user 30 via the IP address to user
association. The user 30 then can be linked to more extensive
addressability information, e.g., mailing address, phone number,
e-mail address, etc., associated with the user 30 elsewhere in the
service provider's system. Thus, the information relating an IP
address to a user 30, at a given point in time, can be used to
connect to more extensive addressability information beyond the IP
address alone.
[0107] This association between the IP address and the user's
unique identifier at a given point in time can be direct and
explicitly maintained in the network attachment module 48. The
association between the IP address and the user's unique identifier
at a given point in time can be indirect and can be associated via
one or more association steps. For example, the network attachment
module 4837 can maintain information associating the use of an IP
address at a given point in time to information that uniquely
identifies the user's access connection, e.g., BRAS and circuit ID.
The information that uniquely identifies the user's access
connection can, in turn, be associated with other information in
the user account module 44 and/or the network attachment module 48
that relates the user's access connection information to the user's
unique identifier.
[0108] The addressability information accessible through the
network attachment module 48 can be either PII or non-PII,
depending on the service provider's approach and policies. For
example, when an IP address is used as addressability information
to send marketing content to the user 30 associated with an IP
access session, the addressability information can be considered
non-PII because the IP address, and it's usage at a given point in
time for IP-based services does not personally identify the
subscriber, nor can the IP address be easily combined with publicly
available information to uniquely identify the user 30. Conversely,
when the IP address associated with the user 30 during the course
of an IP access session is combined with other addressability
information maintained by the service provider 40, such as user
account information maintained in the user account module 44, the
IP address can be used to obtain and link PII addressability
information, e.g., a mailing address, to the user 30 and the user's
receptiveness information.
[0109] The association between the user 30 and the IP address also
can be used to obtain receptiveness information in at least two
ways. First, just as the association between an IP address and a
user ID can be used to associate receptiveness information to
extended addressability information, the same association can be
used to associate multiple pieces of receptiveness information to
the user 30. The continuity of the association between the user 30
and an IP address during an IP access session can allow any
receptiveness information keyed to the IP address during the IP
access session to be associated with the user 30. This concept can
apply both to information collected across multiple sources and
information collected over time.
[0110] Referring to FIG. 5, a block diagram showing relationships
between information to enable associating IP address-keyed
receptiveness information to users, according to an exemplary
embodiment, is illustrated. Block 310 can represent mytes of
receptiveness information generated using IP Address A over a given
period of time. A myte can be defined as an individual unit of
marketing information. The defining characteristic of a myte can be
that the marketing information can be linked, either directly or
indirectly, to a PAM. A myte that contains receptiveness
information can be a receptiveness information myte (RI-myte). A
myte that contains addressability information can be an
addressability information myte (AM-myte). Multiple mytes can be
linked and combined in various ways to create AMI and to determine
whether to target a PAM for marketing content delivery. Block 312
can represent an RI-myte generated at time 4.8 (RI-myte A4.8).
Timestamp "4.8" can be a simplified representation, for exemplary
purposes, of a measurement of a point in time. The timestamp used
can be a measurement of the number of seconds since Jan. 1, 1970,
e.g. "11804744374," a YYYY.MM.DD.HH:MM:SS format, e.g.,
2007.06.01.22:05:36, or any other format to denote a distinct point
in time. Block 314 can represent an RI-myte generated at time 5.2
(RI-myte A5.2). Block 316 can represent an RI-myte generated at
time 5.6 (RI-myte A5.6).
[0111] Block 320 can represent mytes of receptiveness information
generated using IP Address B over a given period of time that
overlaps with the given period of time that RI-mytes are being
generated using IP Address A. Block 322 can represent an RI-myte
generated at time 4.1 (RI-myte B4.1). Block 324 can represent an
RI-myte generated at time 5.2 (RI-myte B5.2). Block 326 can
represent an RI-myte generated at time 5.8 (RI-myte B5.8).
[0112] Block 330 can represent IP access session information
maintained by the service provider 40 in at least one module. The
network attachment module 48 can have allocated IP address A to a
user (User1) with user ID A1 at time 1.0 and de-allocated IP
address A from User1 at time 5.3. The network attachment module 48
can have allocated IP address B to a second user (User2) with user
ID B1 at time 2.3 and not yet de-allocated IP address B from that
User2. The network attachment module 48 can have allocated IP
address A to a third user (User3) with user ID A2 at time 5.6 and
not yet de-allocated IP address A from User3.
[0113] By combining the information available in Block 310 with the
information available in Block 330, the service provider 40 can
associate each RI-myte with the user ID using IP address A when the
RI myte was generated. By combining the information available in
Block 320 with the information available in Block 330, the service
provider 40 can associate each RI-myte with the user ID using IP
address B when the RI myte was generated. Thus, the service
provider 40 can associate RI-mytes A4.8 and A5.2 with user ID A1 ,
RI-mytes B4.1, B5.2 and B5.8 with user ID B1 and RI-myte A5.4 with
user ID A2 as represented in Block 340. b
[0114] Block 350 can represent user account information maintained
by the service provider 40 in at least one module. The user account
information can associate each user with the user's user ID. By
combining the information available in Block 350 with the
information available in Block 340, the service provider 40 can
associate each RI-myte with a specific user and other information
associated with that specific user. Thus, the service provider 40
can associate RI-mytes A4.8 and A5.2 with user User1, RI-mytes
B4.1, B5.2 and B5.8 with user User2 and RI-myte A5.6 with user
User3 as represented in Block 360. This association with each
specific user can include association with each specific user's
name, address, telephone number or any other addressability
information associated with the specific user that can be
maintained in the service provider's system.
[0115] The second way that IP access session information can be
used as receptiveness information is by using the IP address
associated with an IP access session to infer information about the
geographic location of the user 30. For example, the service
provider 40 can associate at least one contiguous range of IP
addresses to a single network access element, e.g., a BRAS. Each
single network access element, in turn, can service only users in a
single geographic area. In a DSL service scenario, the BRAS can be
located in a telephone company's central office and can service
only users whose telephone lines are serviced by that central
office. Thus, the geographic scope of the IP addresses associated
with the BRAS can be limited to a small geographic area, e.g.,
addresses within a single zip code or a small number of zip
codes.
[0116] The information source module 210 can support multiple means
for accessing marketing information contained in the network
attachment module 48. For example, other components of the
information source module 210 can be enabled to query elements of
the network attachment module 48 for relevant marketing
information. Support for such queries can be general and can, for
example, include mechanisms for retrieving information based on a
wide range of query attributes, including, but not limited to, a
user ID, an IP address and timestamp, a unique IP access session
ID, unique user access connection information, etc. The information
retrieved by such queries also can include all or part of the
information identified as potential query attributes.
[0117] The interface between the relevant elements of the network
attachment module 48 and other components of the information source
module 210 also can support asynchronous notification functions,
whereby the other components can be notified asynchronously of
changes in the state of the information maintained by the network
attachment module 48. For example, the network attachment module 48
can notify at least one other component of the information source
module 210 when an IP access session associated with a given IP
address ends, so that session-related information can be updated,
consolidated or otherwise processed. The interfaces between the
relevant elements of the network attachment module 48 and other
components of the information source module 210 can include at
least one of the interfaces used by the network attachment module
48 in support of the delivery of IP services.
[0118] Elements of the video services module 54 also can comprise
elements of the information source module 210. A user's video
services usage can be a source of marketing information. The kinds
of marketing information that can be collected from the video
services module 54 include, but are not limited to, the following:
data pertaining to video services usage, data used to link an
RI-myte to a specific user, data indicating at least one marketing
campaign for which an RI-myte can be relevant, etc. Data used to
link information to a specific user can include, but is not limited
to, at least one video services-level user identifier or
authentication credential (user ID, SIP-uniform resource identifier
(URI), http-cookie ID, public key, shared secret), at least one
video services-level device identifier (set-top box ID, SIM ID, MAC
address), an IP address and timestamp, etc.
[0119] Rather than collecting data from all video services usage,
more selective methods can be employed. The video services module
54 can collect a limited amount of data based on a variety of
filtering criteria. These filtering criteria can be provided by the
marketing information management module 212. For example, the video
services module 54 can collect information from video services
usage by a limited set of users, e.g., as identified by IP-address
and/or for a limited set of communicating endpoints or end-systems,
e.g., as identified by IP-address. These filtering criteria can
manage the volume of data gathered, while retaining the data
value.
[0120] The video services module 54 can collect data from the video
services usage of interest to permit the information source module
210 to associate RI-mytes with the user 30 whose actions resulted
in generation of the RI-myte. This data can include, but is not
limited to, a timestamp of the time at which the video services
module 54 generated the data, the IP address of the source of the
data, service specific user identifiers, etc.
[0121] The user endpoint device that originates video services data
can be operating on a private network using private/non-routable IP
addresses, such as might occur for a set-top box operating in a
home network. As the IP packets traverse the routing device, e.g.,
home router, that is responsible for managing the private address
space, a NAT operation can be performed on the packets, as is well
known in the art. This NAT operation can translate the private
source IP address of the packet into the public (and routable) IP
address associated with the user 30. It is this public IP address
that can be seen and captured by the video services module 54.
[0122] The video services module 54 can generate an RI-myte each
time that the video services module 54 collects data. These
RI-mytes can be aggregated and combined with other information in
various ways. For example, the user's device ID can be combined
with information available in the service attachment module 46 to
associate the data with the user 30. The time at which the data was
generated and the IP address of the source of the video services
data also can be combined with information available in the network
attachment module 48 to associate the data with an IP access
session and, hence, the user 30. Using either of these approaches,
receptiveness information generated during video services module
usage can be associated with the user 30 and, possibly, associated
with the user's addressability information.
[0123] The information source module 210 can support multiple means
for accessing marketing information contained in the video services
module 54. For example, a near-real-time stream can be implemented
whereby each time that an RI-myte is generated, the RI-myte is
delivered to at least one other component of the information source
module 210. The RI-mytes also can be collected and delivered in
non-near-real-time. Other components of the information source
module 210 also can be enabled to query elements of the video
services module 54. The data delivered to other components of the
information source module 210 can include, but is not limited to,
the following: the device ID of the source of the IP packet, a
timestamp of the time at which an IP packet associated with video
services was received, the IP address of the source of the IP
packet, the video service being accessed, a list of at least one
marketing campaign or other pattern matching information that the
IP packet associated with the record matched, etc.
[0124] A wide range of matching, filtering and aggregation
functions can be implemented within the video services module 54.
These functions also can be implemented elsewhere in the
information source module 210 or in the marketing information
processing module 214. Elements of the video services module 54
also can be part of the marketing information processing module
214.
[0125] The interfaces between the relevant elements of the video
services module 54 and other components of the information source
module 210 can include at least one of the interfaces used by the
video services module 54 in support of the delivery of IP services.
For example, the hardware and software that comprise the video
services module 54 can be extended to support the additional
functionality associated with the information source module 210. In
other words, the information source module functions can be
integrated directly into the video services module 54 systems
themselves. As the video services module 54 performs the functions
associated with video services usage, it also can perform the
information source module 210 functions. The existing video
services module 54 also can be left in place and an additional
processing element added to perform the information source module
functions with traffic mirroring techniques used to duplicate part
or all of the IP traffic.
[0126] A variety of technologies exist that can be used to
implement the data collection functions. These technologies are
well known in the art. The technologies can include, but are not
limited to, the use of routers and switches, application proxies
and gateways, etc. These technologies can be deployed in a variety
of ways. For example, proxies, gateways and/or data collection
devices can be placed in line with the primary IP packet transport
pathways. Such inline techniques can be useful when used in
conjunction with other techniques for inserting information, or
otherwise modifying the packet traffic between the communicating
endpoints, e.g., inserting marketing content.
[0127] The physical elements that embody the video services module
54 portion of the information source module 210 can be distributed
throughout the service provider's video services module 54.
Accordingly, distributed systems technologies can control,
configure, manage and aggregate information associated with these
elements. The information technologies associated with implementing
such distributed systems are well known in the art.
[0128] Returning to FIG. 4, the marketing campaign definition in
block 160 can influence the collection of source marketing
information in block 165. For example, the volume of video services
usage on a service provider's network can be large. Moreover, much
video services usage can be irrelevant to predicting activities of
interest. Therefore, as part of the marketing campaign definition
in block 160, the marketing information management module 212 can
deliver information used by the information source module 210 to
filter the information collected from the video services module
54.
[0129] The information supplied by the marketing information
management module 212 can include, but is not limited to, filtering
information that can be used to differentiate between video
services usage that is of interest and video services usage that is
not. This filtering information can relate to a variety of
attributes which can include, but are not limited to, the IP
address of the source of the video services, the video service
being used, at least one marketing campaign identifier (or other
use indicator(s)) associated with the filter parameter, etc.
[0130] For example, the marketing information management module 212
can specify at least one filter description to be sent to the
marketing information processing module 214 or to the information
source module 210 that contains the following information for each
description: at least one video asset filter pattern that can be
used to identify one or more video assets that are of interest and
at least one marketing campaign identifier. The video asset filter
pattern can be used to identify video services usage events to
select for further processing. For example, the pattern can specify
a genre of a video asset such that a match occurs whenever the user
30 initiates viewing of a video asset associated with the specified
genre. If a match occurs, the associated video services usage event
can be processed further to create an RI-myte, which then can be
sent to the marketing information processing module 214. If no
match occurs for any filter, then the video services usage event
can be ignored.
[0131] The at least one marketing campaign identifier associated
with a filter description can provide an indication of the
marketing campaign (or other uses) to which the information can
apply. When a video services usage matches a filter pattern, the
RI-myte that is created can include the at least one marketing
campaign identifier associated with the filter, so downstream
elements can associate different RI-mytes with specific marketing
campaigns (or other potential uses) for further processing.
[0132] A filter pattern specified in a filter description can take
on a variety of forms. For example, filter patterns can include,
but are not limited to, the following: exact string matches,
partial string matches, case-sensitive or case-insensitive matches,
wildcards, range matches, etc. For example, a filter description
for a motion picture studio that wishes to identify users who may
be interested in a new action-comedy genre movie can be specified
as a campaign ID 7655432 with a filter pattern that includes full
or partial VOD titles available in the same genre, action and/or
comedy in the genre field of the VOD content, etc. As another
example, a filter description for an automobile company can be
specified as a campaign ID 5433210 with a filter pattern that
includes full or partial VOD titles available that identify movies
in which the company's automobiles are featured.
[0133] Block 260 also can occur in parallel with block 250 with the
two processes influencing each other. For example, the information
source module 210 can collect and send data related to the
operation of the domain name resolution module 50, e.g., status,
configuration, resource consumption, processing rate, match rates,
etc., back to the marketing information management module 212 for
use in refining the marketing campaign. Method 240 then can proceed
to block 270.
[0134] In block 270, the marketing information processing module
214 can process the information supplied by the marketing
information management module 212 and the information source module
210 to generate AMI and match it to marketing content. Block 270
can comprise a wide range of information processing activities
including, but not limited to, matching, filtering, sorting,
aggregating, accumulating, combining, de-referencing, etc. to
generate AMI. Using that AMI, the marketing information processing
module 214 can match marketing content from at least one marketing
campaign with at least one TAM.
[0135] The marketing information processing module 214 can perform
several types of operations to process the information supplied by
the marketing information management module 212 and the information
source module 210, including, but not limited to, the following:
operations related to processing and managing receptiveness
information, e.g., selecting and filtering receptiveness
information, associating receptiveness information with a PAM,
combining receptiveness information in various ways to improve its
predictive value, aging receptiveness information over time as its
relevance/predictive value wanes, etc.; operations related to
creating and maintaining state and profile information for a PAM,
e.g., combining new receptiveness information with old
receptiveness information or previous state and profile information
to compute new state and profile information, aging state and
profile information over time as its relevance/predictive value
wanes, storing state and profile information over time, retrieving
state and profile information as needed to support other
operations, etc.; operations related to processing and managing
addressability information, e.g., expanding the addressability
information associated with a PAM, updating and maintaining
addressability information over time, etc.; operations related to
selecting and maintaining target audiences, e.g., deciding whether
a PAM should be a member of a target audience, maintaining and
updating membership information over time, generating audience
lists and supporting membership queries, etc.
[0136] Referring to FIG. 6, a flowchart of a method for
implementing the information and decision processing functions of
the marketing information processing module, according to an
exemplary embodiment, is illustrated. In block 410, the marketing
information processing module 214 can receive receptiveness
information from the information source module 210. Receptiveness
information can be in the form of at least one RI-myte. The at
least one RI-myte can be received in near-real-time. The at least
one RI-myte can be received individually or in conjunction with
other RI-mytes. Block 410 can involve receiving the at least one
RI-myte, buffering, and possibly storing, the at least one RI-myte
and making the at least one RI-myte available to subsequent stages.
Method 400 then can proceed to block 420.
[0137] In block 420, the at least one RI-myte can be filtered and
additional information can be associated with the at least one
RI-myte, e.g., marketing campaign identifiers for marketing
campaigns to which the at least one RI-myte could be relevant. A
wide range of filtering operations can be employed. Filtering
operations can be applied individually or in combination. Examples
of possible filters can include, but is not limited to, the
following: source IP address filters, video service type filters,
zip code filters, opt-out filters, etc.
[0138] Source IP address filters can specify patterns for source IP
addresses that can be contained in an RI-myte. Source IP address
filters can be useful for a wide range of information. For example,
source IP address filters can be used to limit the geographic scope
of accepted receptiveness information because the service provider
40 can allocate IP addresses in a manner that allows contiguous
ranges of IP addresses to be associated with specific geographic
regions.
[0139] Video service type filters can specify patterns for types of
video services that may be of interest. The type of video service
being used by the user 30 can be useful because the type of video
service being used can be used to detect user activity in various
areas of interest.
[0140] Zip code filters can specify a pattern of zip codes that can
be used to filter receptiveness information. Zip code filters can
be useful for geographic filtering. Incoming RI-mytes can lack zip
code information initially. Therefore, processing can be performed
to expand the addressability information associated with the
RI-myte before the zip code filter is applied. For example, the
processing can include, but is not limited to the following steps:
1) using the IP address and timestamp to identify the user's IP
access session; 2) associating the IP access session with the
user's ID; 3) using the user's ID to access user account data
containing the user's mailing address; and 4) extracting the
zip-code from the mailing address and associating it with the
RI-myte.
[0141] Opt-out filters can be used to detect and reject
receptiveness information that pertains to users who do not wish to
participate as PAMs in some or all of the marketing services. As
with the zip code filters, before such filters can be applied,
incoming receptiveness information can be expanded with additional
`opt-out` information by performing one or more information
expansion operations in order to associate opt-out information with
the RI-myte in question.
[0142] In addition to using filters to select or reject RI-mytes,
filtering operations can, as a side effect, attach additional
information to an RI-myte. For example, a filter can be associated
with at least one specific marketing campaign and can attach this
information to the RI-mytes that the filter matches in order to
facilitate subsequent processing.
[0143] If the at least one RI-myte does not match any of the
various filtering criteria, Method 400 then can proceed to block
422. In block 422, the at least one RI-myte can be discarded. If
the at least one RI-myte matches at least one of the various
filtering criteria, the at least one RI-myte can be retained, and
Method 400 then can proceed to block 430.
[0144] In block 430, the at least one RI-myte can be associated
with at least one PAM identifier. The at least one PAM can be
contained in the at least one RI-myte. The at least one RI-myte can
be associated with the at least one PAM identifier by combining and
linking the information contained in the at least one RI-myte with
other information available to the marketing information processing
module 214.
[0145] For example, an RI-myte generated by recording data from
video services usage can contain information including, but not
limited to, the device ID of the source of the IP packet, a
timestamp of the time at which the video services module 54
received the IP packet associated with the video services usage,
the IP address of the source of the IP packet and information about
the video service being requested. This information alone can be
insufficient to associate the RI-myte with a specific user.
However, the user's identity can be determined by linking the
device ID contained in the RI-myte with additional information
maintained in the service attachment module 46. The user's identity
also can be determined by linking the source IP address and
timestamp information contained in the RI-myte with additional
information about the service provider's IP access sessions
maintained in the network attachment module 48. Using this
additional information, the IP access session ID and, if desired,
the user ID can be associated with the RI-myte.
[0146] Multiple identifiers can be used to identify a PAM,
including, but not limited to, an IP access session ID, a user ID,
at least one device ID, a service-specific user ID, etc. The at
least one RI-myte can contain a variety of information that can be
used as input for linking the RI-myte to the at least one PAM
identifier, including, but not limited to, an IP address, timestamp
information, at least one device ID, a service-specific user ID,
cookies, etc.
[0147] The information available to the marketing information
processing module 214 for associating the at least one RI-myte with
the at least one PAM identifier can be contained in various
elements of the service provider's infrastructure. For example, an
IP access session ID, a user ID, a unique IP address, timestamp
information and unique access connection information all can be
associated with each other in the network attachment module 48. The
user ID and the unique access connection information also can be
associated with each other, as well as with at least one
service-specific user ID and at least one device ID, in the user
account module 44. The at least one service-specific user ID and
the at least one device ID also can be associated with each other,
as well as with the unique IP address, the timestamp information
and at least one HTTP cookie-based ID, in the other services module
52. Other associations can exist between identity information
contained in the various modules.
[0148] By exploiting the associations between these various forms
of identity information, the at least one RI-myte can be associated
with the PAM who was involved in the at least one RI-myte's
generation. These association operations can be applied in parallel
and/or in sequence to expand the information associated with the at
least one RI-myte. The information associated with the at least one
RI-myte can be virtually limitless as long as the proper relational
associations exist between the various pieces of information. Thus,
an association operation can be used to associate at least one
RI-myte with at least one PAM, as well as with other information,
e.g., addressability information. Method 400 then can proceed to
block 434.
[0149] In block 434, the marketing information processing module
214 can elect whether to retain information gathered about the
status of at least one PAM for use in the future, for example, to
establish a context for future campaign decisions. If the marketing
information processing module 214 retains PAM state information,
Method 400 can proceed to block 436. In block 436, the PAM state
information can be updated. Method 400 then can proceed to block
440.
[0150] In block 440, the at least one RI-myte that has been
associated with the at least one PAM can be combined and considered
with any other information maintained with that at least one PAM.
This combined information can be used in multiple ways, including,
but not limited to, accumulating evidence in favor of a decision,
performing a logical operation that leads to a decision,
compressing the information into a more compact form, etc. For
example, the combined information can be used to evaluate whether
the at least one PAM should be included as a member or members of
at least one target audience for at least one marketing
campaign.
[0151] A wide range of information fusion and decision algorithms
can be used, ranging from stateless triggers based on the
occurrence of a single piece of receptiveness information to
stateful algorithms that can be arbitrarily complex and highly
intelligent. The output of these algorithms can be new
receptiveness information that results from the combination of
other pieces of information. This new receptiveness information can
be processed further, used for decision making, stored as state for
future processing or used to update profile information associated
with a PAM, etc. The component pieces of information that are
combined to create the new receptiveness information can come from
the service provider's infrastructure or from external sources. The
component pieces of information that are combined to create the new
receptiveness information can originate at different points in
time, from different sources or both.
[0152] A wide variety of combining operations can be used. For
example, a numeric weight can be assigned to each piece of
receptiveness information. Separate pieces of receptiveness
information then can be combined through a simple mathematical
operation, e.g., summation, weighted summation, etc. Such numerical
methods can be useful to implement algorithms by which numeric
thresholds can be used to make audience membership decisions. In
another example, receptiveness information can be combined based on
logical operations. Each piece of receptiveness information can be
viewed as the occurrence of a proposition, which can be applied to
an inference rule to reach a conclusion, e.g., a decision.
[0153] In addition to combining operations, aging operations can be
used to reflect the fact that the predictive ability of information
can wane over time. Therefore, aging operations can be used to age
out the information over time. For example, a numeric temporal
discounting algorithm can be applied whereby a piece of information
is given progressively less value as it ages. Information can be
maintained and considered for a fixed window of time only. Such
temporal operations can be useful to detect and/or estimate levels
of increased user activity in areas of interest.
[0154] The marketing information processing module 214 also can
create and maintain persistent interest profiles for PAMs. For
example, the marketing information processing module 214 can
combine the at least one RI-myte that has been associated with the
at least one PAM with other RI-mytes associated with the same at
least one PAM to create, or update, at least one PAM profile. The
new PAM profile can be stored, possibly in a PAM profile database.
The marketing information processing module 214 also can perform
periodic updates on the PAM profile without the arrival of new
information associated with the PAM. For example, the marketing
information processing module 214 can age the PAM profile
information over time.
[0155] These PAM profiles can be persistent in the sense that the
marketing information processing module 214 can maintain them over
a period of time, and they can be unassociated with a single
marketing campaign. By maintaining an interest profile per PAM, the
marketing information processing module 214 can establish a form of
persistent receptiveness information that can be a resource for
making audience selection decisions.
[0156] These PAM profiles can encode a wide range of information
about a PAM. For example, attributes that can be encoded in a PAM
profile can include, but are not limited to, indicators related to
various sports, hobbies, professions, financial matters, travel,
generation/age, etc. The same information fusion techniques used to
apply receptiveness information to individual marketing campaigns
also can be applied to the creation and maintenance of PAM
profiles.
[0157] Creating and maintaining PAM profiles can decouple, in time,
the information collection and analysis process from the marketing
campaign decision process. Thus, information collected over a
period of time can be applied, at a later date, to a marketing
campaign that had not yet been conceived at the time that the PAM
profiles were initially created. The marketing information
processing module 214 can use the PAM profile database as a source
of information for selecting a target audience for a given
marketing campaign. This selection process can be based on PAM
profile information either alone or combined with other sources of
receptiveness information.
[0158] All of the information available for the at least one PAM
can be used to decide whether the at least one PAM is selected for
membership in at least one target audience. The information used in
the membership decision can include, but is not limited to the
following: any receptiveness information that has been associated
with the at least one PAM and has survived filtering and
processing; any information encoded in the profile of the at least
one PAM; any addressability information associated with the PAM,
especially those forms of addressability information that can be
used by the target marketing campaign; any information about the
marketing campaign to which the target audience applies, including,
but not limited to, specification of a selection/decision algorithm
and associated parameters, e.g., thresholds, time-frames, etc, any
intrinsic value (financial or otherwise) associated with the
campaign, execution status, such as the actual versus desired
number of messages delivered, etc.; any other PAM-related
information, including, but not limited to, information about
acceptable levels of exposure to marketing messages, either at a
per campaign or aggregate level, information about other campaigns
to which the PAM can be a audience member and their associated
intrinsic values, information about a PAM's willingness to
participate, e.g., opt-in/opt-out information, etc.
[0159] A wide range of algorithms can be devised to implement the
selection operation. For example, an algorithm can determine
whether a PAM should be included in a target audience for a given
marketing campaign approach based on calculating a numeric score
that weights individual pieces of relevant receptiveness
information. RI.sub.i can be used to denote a piece of relevant
receptiveness information received at time i. W(RI.sub.i) can be
used to indicate a weight or numeric value that provides an
indication of the extent to which RI.sub.i predicts the likely
PAM's receptiveness to the marketing campaign. W(RI.sub.i) values
can be positive, indicating increased receptiveness, or negative,
indicating decreased receptiveness.
[0160] A selection algorithm can be devised whereby a temporally
discounted summation of receptiveness information accumulated over
time can be computed. TV(t) can be a total value estimate of the
receptiveness of a given PAM to a given marketing campaign at time
t. TV(t) can be defined as follows:
TV(t)=SUM(W((RI.sub.i)*.gamma..sup.(t-i)), where the sum can be
computed over all available accumulated receptiveness information
and .gamma. can be a temporal discounting factor between 0 and 1. A
PAM can be considered a candidate for membership in an audience if,
at any point in time, the value of TV(t) exceeds a set threshold.
Otherwise, the PAM can be rejected as a candidate for membership in
the audience. TV(t) can be computed when new information becomes
available and/or periodically to allow for information aging to
discount the metric. If sufficient evidence of receptiveness is
accumulated in a sufficiently short period of time, the PAM will be
considered a candidate for the target audience.
[0161] TV(t) can account for receptiveness without accounting for
other factors, including, but not limited to, addressability,
exposure control, competing campaigns etc. To account for these
other factors, the decision algorithm can be extended with other
logic. For example, before adding a PAM to a target audience the
decision algorithm can verify that the addressability information
used by the target campaign, e.g., mailing address, is available
for the PAM. If the addressability information is not available,
the PAM can be rejected. For exposure control, the algorithm can
reject the PAM if the number of times the PAM or has been selected
for a target audience over a given timeframe exceeds a certain
threshold. To account for competing campaigns, the selection
algorithm can compare the intrinsic values associated with each
competing campaign and add the PAM to the campaign with the highest
value first. By combining a series of logical and numeric
computations, the algorithm can make audience membership decisions
relatively efficiently.
[0162] Once a PAM is selected for a target audience, the marketing
information processing module 214 can maintain that selection
decision and adjust it over time. Multiple factors can affect the
status of a PAM with respect to a given target audience over time,
including, but not limited to, the following: the arrival of new
receptiveness information; the aging of receptiveness information
over time; changes in the PAM's addressability information; changes
in the target campaign itself, such as expiration; changes if the
status of the PAM identity, such as where the PAM is identified by
an IP access session ID that subsequently is terminated. Algorithms
for detecting these factors and updating the membership status of a
PAM in response thereto can be devised as long as the marketing
information processing module 214 has notification and/or query
support from the other modules in System 200. Method 400 then can
proceed to block 444.
[0163] In block 444, the marketing information processing module
214 can elect whether to retain information gathered about the
status of at least one PAM for use in the future. If the marketing
information processing module 214 retains PAM state information,
Method 400 can proceed to block 446. In block 446, the PAM state
information can be updated. Method 400 then can proceed to block
450.
[0164] In block 450, the marketing information processing module
214 can decide whether to include the at least one PAM as a member
or members of at least one target audience for at least one
marketing campaign If the at least one PAM is not included as a
member or members of at least one target audience for at least one
marketing campaign, Method 400 can proceed to block 452, where
Method 400 can end. If the at least one PAM is included as a member
or members of at least one target audience for at least one
marketing campaign, Method 400 can proceed to block 460.
[0165] In block 460, the addressability information associated with
the at least one PAM can be expanded so marketing content
associated with the marketing campaign can be sent to the PAM. The
marketing information processing module 214 can use addressability
information to act on a marketing decision. The marketing
information processing module 214 can have access to a wide range
of addressability information, including, but not limited to, a
user's IP address, e-mail addresses, postal addresses, telephone
numbers, device IDs, various service-specific user IDs, etc.
Addressability information can be part of a PAM identifier, e.g.,
where the PAM can be identified by a unique identifier which itself
serves as addressability info, such as an e-mail address. Depending
upon the at least one target campaign and its at least one
associated distribution channel, different addressability
information can be added.
[0166] To obtain addressability information, information associated
with the PAM can be linked with information available in the
information source module 210. Addressability information expansion
operations can be implemented using the same relational association
techniques previously described for associating receptiveness
information with a PAM. In other words, addressability information
can be associated with a PAM or a piece of receptiveness
information by following a chain of relational associations,
whereby unique keying information can be used to identify the
relevant unit of information.
[0167] For example, an IP access session ID can be a unique PAM
identifier. To expand the addressability information associated
with the PAM, the marketing information processing module 214 can
use the IP access session ID as an index key to lookup information
about the PAM's IP access session in the network attachment module
48. The information obtained in the lookup operation can include
the associated user ID. The user ID, in turn, can be used as a
index key to retrieve information about the user's account from the
user account module 44. The information in the user account module
44 can contain the desired addressability information, e.g., e-mail
addresses, postal address, phone number, etc. In this way, PAM
information can be expanded to include additional addressability
information so the desired marketing content can be sent through
the desired distribution channel.
[0168] In addition to expanding the addressability information
associated with a PAM, the marketing information processing module
214 can actively manage the association and respond to information
changes. Such active management can be important where the
addressability information can be volatile. For example, if the
user's IP address is being used as the primary source of
addressability, then changes in the user's IP address can be
reflected in the addressability information associated with the
user 30.
[0169] Multiple approaches can be used to manage the relationship
between a PAM and it's addressability information. The information
source module 210 can notify the marketing information processing
module 214 upon detecting any change in the addressability
information. For example, the network attachment module 48 can
notify the marketing information processing module 214 when the
user's IP access session terminates, so that any associated
addressability information can be updated. The marketing
information processing module 214 can attempt to verify the
addressability information by querying the information source
module 210 just before using the addressability information. The
marketing information processing module 214 can defer expanding
addressability information until the specific addressability
information will be used to send marketing content. Method 400 then
can proceed to block 464.
[0170] In block 464, the marketing information processing module
214 can elect whether to retain information gathered about the
status of at least one PAM for use in the future. If the marketing
information processing module 214 retains PAM state information,
Method 400 can proceed to block 466. In block 466, the PAM state
information can be updated. Method 400 then can proceed to block
470.
[0171] In block 470, information about the target audience for at
least one marketing campaign can be updated. Target audience lists
can be generated that can be used to drive on-demand marketing
channels, e.g., direct mail, e-mail, telemarketing, etc. Procedures
for generating these target audience lists can vary. Lists of TAMs
can be produced in periodic batches or incrementally as new members
are added. The information contained in each target audience list
can vary by campaign and by the distribution channel used.
[0172] Audience membership information can be stored in a database
and maintained within the marketing information processing module
214 over time. The database can be an audience membership database.
The marketing information processing module 214 can expose
interfaces by which other components, e.g., the distribution
channel module 216, can query the marketing information processing
module 214 to obtain audience membership information. This
capability can be used to send marketing content on an
opportunistic basis in those instances where the delivery of
marketing content to a TAM can only occur when an opportunity
arises. The opportunistic distribution channel can query the
marketing information processing module 214 in near-real-time when
a marketing opportunity becomes, or is about to become, available.
For example, the query can include information that can be used to
identify a TAM. This information can be used by the marketing
information processing module 214 to lookup stored audience
membership information for the TAM and return it to the
distribution channel module 216, which, in turn, can use the
audience membership information to select and send marketing
content.
[0173] The query interface supported by the audience membership
database can support a wide range of search capabilities and
support audience queries based on a wide range of information. This
information can include, but is not limited to, the following: IP
address and timestamp, e.g., the current time, as a means for
looking up a TAM based on IP address and, by association, IP access
session ID; device ID, e.g., to identify a TAM via associated
device ID; service-specific user ID, e.g., to identify a TAM via
associated service-specific user ID; IP access session ID; user ID;
e-mail address; geographic information, e.g., to identify a group
of TAMs in a given geographic region; campaign ID information,
e.g., to specify the target audience of interest.
[0174] For example, the marketing information processing module 214
can receive a variety of information that causes the marketing
information processing module 214 to assign the PAM to a particular
marketing campaign, thus making the PAM a TAM for that campaign.
The marketing information processing module 214 can store the TAM
information in the audience membership database. The distribution
channel module 216 can use the audience membership database to send
marketing content messages via an opportunistic distribution
channel by querying the database when a marketing opportunity
becomes available. The query can include information that can be
used to identify the PAM associated with the opportunity, e.g., an
IP address. The audience membership database can processes the
query and send a response, which can include information about
marketing campaigns for which the PAM is a TAM. Upon receiving the
response, the distribution channel module 216 can choose
appropriate marketing content, e.g., content associated with the
selected marketing campaign, if any, and send the content to the
TAM through the distribution channel. Usage information about the
PAM also can be fed back into the marketing information processing
module 214 by the distribution channel module 216 to aid in
controlling exposure.
[0175] The audience membership database can be used for purposes
other than servicing opportunistic distribution channel functions.
For example, the audience membership database can be queried by an
outside entity to generate an on-demand audience membership
list.
[0176] Returning to FIG. 4, after the marketing information
processing module 214 has processed the information supplied by the
marketing information management module 212 and the information
source module 210 to generate AMI and match it to marketing
content, Method 240 then can proceed to block 280.
[0177] In block 280, marketing content can be sent to at least one
TAM by the distribution channel module 216. The distribution
channel module 216 can make use of multiple distribution channels
as part of an end-to-end service provider-based TMS system. These
distribution channels can include, but are not limited to, the
following: direct mail distribution, e-mail distribution,
telemarketing, web-based advertising insertion, IP-transport-based
interstitial advertisement insertion, IP-based video service
advertisement insertion. These distribution channels can be used
individually or in combination in the context of a service
provider-based TMS system.
[0178] These distribution channels can be categorized as on-demand
or opportunistic. Marketing content can be sent to a TAM through an
on-demand distribution channel at any time, once the TAM has been
identified and sufficient addressability information has been
obtained. On-demand distribution channels can include, but are not
limited to, direct mail distribution, e-mail distribution,
telemarketing, certain forms of video service advertisement
insertion, etc.
[0179] For on-demand distribution, the distribution channel module
216 can contain a marketing content database that can contain
marketing content. The distribution channel module 216 can receive
at least one TAM list generated by the marketing information
processing module 214 that contains information for at least one
TAM. Specifically, the at least one TAM list can contain
addressability and marketing campaign information for the at least
one TAM. The distribution channel module 216 can combine the
information in the at least one TAM list with information from the
marketing content database to send marketing content to the at
least one TAM. The content and form of the marketing content and
the methods used to deliver the content can vary. The delivery of
the content can be in near-real-time relative to the arrival time
of the at least one TAM list from the marketing information
processing module 214 or the timing of the delivery can be
decoupled from the arrival of the at least one TAM list.
[0180] Once the distribution channel module 216 sends the marketing
content to the at least one TAM, the distribution channel module
216 can provide feedback, in the form of exposure reporting, to the
marketing information processing module 214. This feedback can be
used by the marketing information processing module 214 to
influence future audience membership decisions.
[0181] Direct mail distribution can involve sending marketing
content to at least one TAM via the postal service or a private
package carrier. Direct mail can be an on-demand distribution
channel, in that, once selection and address information are
available, marketing content can be sent to the TAM at any time.
The addressability information used for direct mail distribution
can be a postal address, which can be PII. The service provider 40
can obtain the postal address from the user account module 44.
Automated direct mail distribution systems are well known in the
art and can be created without resources unique to a service
provider 40.
[0182] Telemarketing can involve sending marketing content to at
least one TAM via telephone calls made to the TAM. Marketing
content can be sent via automated systems, human operators or a
combination thereof Telemarketing can be an on-demand distribution
channel, in that, once selection and address information are
available, marketing content can be sent to the TAM at any time.
The addressability information used for telemarketing can be a
telephone number, which can be PII. The service provider 40 can
obtain the telephone number from the user account module 44.
Telemarketing systems are well known in the art and can be created
without resources unique to a service provider 40.
[0183] E-mail distribution can involve sending marketing content to
at least one TAM via electronic mailing systems, including those
accessible through the Internet. Marketing content can be sent as
individual e-mail messages and/or can be embedded in other
e-mail-based content, such as e-mail-based newsletters. E-mail
distribution can be an on-demand distribution channel, in that,
once selection and address information are available, marketing
content can be sent to the TAM at any time. The addressability
information used for e-mail distribution is an e-mail address for
the TAM, which can be PII. The service provider 40 can obtain the
e-mail address from the user account module 44 and/or from user
profile database associated with the other services module 52.
E-mail distribution systems are well known in the art and can be
created without resources unique to a service provider 40. However,
the service provider 40 can be able to leverage its existing e-mail
distribution system for delivering marketing content.
[0184] Marketing content can be sent to a TAM through an
opportunistic distribution channel only when an opportunity arises.
Opportunistic distribution channels can include, but are not
limited to, web advertisement insertion, IP-transport-based
interstitial advertisement insertion, certain forms of video
service advertisement insertion, etc. Content distribution
opportunities can arise based on the activities of the TAM, e.g.,
during the course of a web-browsing session to a specific web site.
Thus, the distribution channel module 216 can initiate an
interaction with the marketing information processing module 214 to
request information about how best to respond to an available
marketing opportunity.
[0185] Referring to FIG. 7, a flow chart of a method for
opportunistic distribution of marketing content, according to an
exemplary embodiment, is illustrated. In block 510, a PAM, using
the user interface module 32, can interact with an IP-based
service, including, but not limited to, IP-transport services,
web-based services, IP-based video-on-demand services, etc. For
example, the PAM can use a PC and other home networking devices to
interact with a web-based content server to view a web page or use
a set-top-box and other home networking devices to interact with an
IP-based video service to purchase and view a movie. Method 500
then can proceed to block 520.
[0186] In block 520, the service provider 40 can detect an
opportunity to deliver marketing content during the course of
service delivery. The service provider 40 then can notify the
distribution channel module 216 that the opportunity exists. The
information conveyed in the notification can include sufficient
information to identify the PAM, e.g. an IP address and timestamp
associated with the PAM and/or the PAM's user interface module 32,
a device ID, a service-specific user ID, etc. Method 500 then can
proceed to block 530.
[0187] In block 530, the distribution channel module 216 can query
the marketing information processing module 214 to request
information about available marketing campaigns for which the PAM
in question can be a TAM. The information in the query can be
sufficient to identify the PAM. The query also can contain
information that can influence the decision of the marketing
information processing module 214. Method 500 then can proceed to
block 540.
[0188] In block 540, the marketing information processing module
214 can perform near-real-time processing to determine which
marketing campaign, if any, should be applied to the marketing
content delivery opportunity. This processing can include accessing
an audience membership database. The marketing information
processing module 214 then can send a response to the distribution
channel module 216, identifying the marketing campaign, at which
point the PAM can become a TAM. Method 500 then can proceed to
block 550.
[0189] In block 550, the distribution channel module 216 can
retrieve the identified marketing content from a marketing content
database and send it to the user interface module 32 being used by
the TAM for service usage. Method 500 then can proceed to block
560.
[0190] In block 560, the distribution channel module 216 can send
feedback, in the form of exposure reporting, to the marketing
information processing module 214. This feedback can be used by the
marketing information processing module 214 to influence future
audience membership decisions.
[0191] Web advertisement insertion can involve inserting marketing
content into the content delivered to at least one TAM as the at
least one TAM browses one or more websites. For example, a PAM can
visit a website associated with a TMS system that can have web
advertisement insertion capabilities. Information that can be used
to identify the user can be collected via a variety of means. This
information then can be used, possibly in combination with other
information collected during the browsing process, to select
marketing content to deliver to the PAM, making the PAM a TAM. The
marketing content can be incorporated into the content provided by
the website and sent to the TAM. The type and form of marketing
content sent to the TAM can vary widely and can be limited only to
the extent that the marketing content can be incorporated into HTTP
sent content. For example, marketing content can be rendered as a
banner advertisement image embedded in the body of an HTML page, as
a complex multimedia application sent via HTTP to the TAM, etc.
[0192] Web advertisement insertion can be an opportunistic
distribution channel, in that, marketing content cannot be sent to
the TAM at any time; marketing content can only be sent to the TAM
when the TAM is visiting a website associated with a TMS system
that can have web advertisement insertion capabilities. These
websites can be internal, e.g., owned and operated by the service
provider 40, or external, e.g., affiliated, but not owned and
operated by the service provider 40.
[0193] The addressability information used for web advertisement
insertion can vary. Information embedded in HTTP cookies can be
used to identify the PAM through a user identifier embedded in the
cookie that indicates a unique web-browsing session ID, the
identity of a user account that can be associated with the website,
etc. as is well known in the art. For a service provider-based TMS
system, cookie-based approaches to identifying PAMs can be used, so
long as the information encoded in the cookie can be linked through
information relationships back to a PAM.
[0194] However, an alternative approach is also available. The
PAM's IP address and timestamp can be used as a key for dynamically
identifying the PAM as previously discussed. The website, in
addition to collecting any other relevant decision information, can
provide the TMS system with the source IP address and timestamp
associated with the PAM's HTTP request. The source IP address and
timestamp, in turn, can be used to identify the PAM using the
unique information resources available to the service provider 40.
For example, the IP address and timestamp of the request can be
used to associate the request with the PAM's IP access session via
information maintained in the network attachment module 48. The IP
access session can specify the PAM or can be linked back further to
a user ID via information maintained in the network attachment
module 48 or the user account module 44, which can specify the PAM,
or can be linked back further to other types of identifiers, e.g.,
device ID, service-specific user ID, etc., which can specify the
PAM.
[0195] This alternative approach can be used without the website
delivering a timestamp to the TMS system because it can be
implicitly inferred to be the time that the IP address is
delivered. The time that the IP address is delivered can be used
because, in opportunistic distribution channels, the identification
and marketing campaign decision processing occurs in near-real,
time.
[0196] The HTTP cookie-based web advertisement insertion approaches
are well known in the art and can be performed without resources
unique to the service provider 40. The IP address-based web
advertisement insertion approach, on the other hand, can use
resources unique to the service provider 40.
[0197] Transport-based advertisement insertion can involve using
service provider transport resources associated with the IP packet
transport module 42, e.g., routers, proxies, gateways, etc., to
dynamically insert marketing content in the service content
exchanged between the user 30 and the service provider 40. The
marketing content can be inserted in the packets that flow between
the user 30 and a service entity, e.g., website, as the packets
traverse the IP packet transport module 42. To support this
capability, elements of the IP packet transport module 42 can be
extended to support the distribution channel module 216. A variety
of technologies, well known in the art, can enable these extended
capabilities including, but not limited to, deep-packet inspection
devices, proxies, service gateways, etc.
[0198] For example, the IP packet transport module 42 can modify
the information content in an HTTP response delivered from a web
server to the user 30. That modification can be to insert marketing
content into the HTTP content sent by the web server.
[0199] Transport-based advertisement insertion can be an
opportunistic distribution channel, in that, marketing content
cannot be sent to the TAM at any time; marketing content can only
be sent to the TAM during opportunities provided by the TAM via
network usage activity.
[0200] The addressability information used for transport-based
advertisement insertion can vary and can depend on the service
being used. For example, the TAM's IP address and timestamp can
identify the PAM, in a manner similar to that previously described
for the web advertisement insertion distribution channel. This
approach can be particularly useful for transport-based
advertisement insertion because the IP address and timestamp can be
extracted from the underlying packet flow being manipulated. Other
addressability/identity information also can be used. For example,
the IP packet transport module 42 can look deeper, e.g., above open
systems interconnection (OSI) layer 4, into the packet flow between
the user 30 and the service provider 40 to extract HTTP cookies,
service user IDs, device IDs, etc. that can be linked back to a PAM
via information available in a service provider-based TMS
system.
[0201] Referring back to Method 500, the IP packet transport module
42 can enable the interaction between the PAM and the IP-based
service in block 510 by transporting the IP packets between the PAM
and the IP-based service. Elements of the IP packet transport
module 42 can detect service usage as packets traverse the service
provider's infrastructure, detect an opportunity to deliver
marketing content and convey this information to other elements of
the distribution channel module 216 in block 520. Method 500 then
can proceed as described to block 550, where elements of the
distribution channel module 216 can retrieve an interstitial
advertisement from the marketing message database and send that
interstitial advertisement to elements of the IP packet transport
module 42, which are also elements of the distribution channel
module 216, for insertion into the packet stream heading back to
the TAM. Method 500 then can proceed as described to block 560.
[0202] Transport-based advertisement insertion can be used with
multiple end-services, including, but not limited to,
web/HTTP-based services, IP-based video services, etc. When used
with HTTP-based services, the IP packet transport module 42 can
modify the content of the HTTP response packets sent back to the
TAM from an end-services web server.
[0203] Transport-based advertisement insertion can be used to
insert marketing content in the content stream associated with an
end-service provider, without explicit interaction with, or even
knowledge and consent of, the end-service provider. Thus,
transport-based advertisement insertion can be applied to both
services that are internal and external to the service provider 40,
including unaffiliated providers of external services.
[0204] Transport-based advertisement insertion also can be
implemented by installing elements of the distribution channel
module 216 in the user interface module 32, rather than in the IP
packet transport module 42. Using this implementation, marketing
content can be sent to a client device, e.g., a set-top box, in
advance for insertion based on available opportunities. This
approach can be considered opportunistic, on-demand or a hybrid of
an on-demand/opportunistic distribution channel. The approach can
be considered opportunistic in the sense that marketing content can
be delivered only when the TAM uses the service. The approach can
be considered on-demand in the sense that a TMS system can send the
content to the client device any time and the content will, most
likely, be sent to the TAM at some point, assuming that the TAM
uses the service on a regular basis.
[0205] One type of video service advertisement insertion, referred
to as client-side video advertisement insertion can function in
this same hybrid manner. In client-side video advertisement
insertion, marketing content can be sent to and stored on the
service user's video terminal device, e.g., a set-top box, in
advance and spliced into the user's video stream on the video
terminal device as opportunities arise during video-service
play-out. Client-side video advertisement insertion can be used to
send marketing content for video-on-demand services as well as for
linear-scheduled video services, e.g., broadcast television.
Client-side video advertisement insertion also can be applied to
video streams that have been prerecorded on the video terminal
device for play-out at a later time, e.g., video streams recorded
by a digital video recorder.
[0206] Client-side video advertisement insertion can be applied to
video services that are not based on IP-transport. For example, if
the video terminal device has tuning, decoding and media splicing
capabilities, marketing content delivered via this type of IP-based
distribution channel can be spliced into a media stream coming from
a traditional radio frequency digital cable service, e.g.,
quadrature amplitude modulation-based, or from an over-the-air
digital video service, e.g., Advanced Television Systems
Committee-based.
[0207] The addressability/identification information used by
client-side video advertisement insertion can vary. The video
terminal device, and thus the TAM, can be addressed by an IP
address and a timestamp, a device ID, a service-specific user ID or
other identifying information. The selection of
addressability/identification information can depend on the
different characteristics of these different options. For example,
the use of an IP address and timestamp to identify the TAM can be
selected where the service provider 40 wishes to operate the
marketing service in an anonymous manner. Where anonymity is not an
objective, the use of other identifiers can be more convenient.
[0208] Referring to FIG. 8, a flow chart of a method for hybrid
distribution of marketing content, according to an exemplary
embodiment, is illustrated. In block 610, the marketing information
processing module 214 can send at least one TAM list to elements of
the distribution channel module 216 located in the service
provider's infrastructure. The at least one TAM list can associate
at least one targeted marketing campaign to at least one TAM and
the TAM's associated addressability/identity information. Method
600 then can proceed to block 620.
[0209] In block 620, the elements of the distribution channel
module 216 located in the service provider's infrastructure can
retrieve the marketing content associated with the at least one
targeted marketing campaign and send it to elements of the
distribution channel module 216 located in the user interface
module 32, e.g., the user's video terminal device. This marketing
content can be appropriate for the TAM associated with the user
interface module 34 as determined by addressability information
associated with the user interface module 32. The elements of the
distribution channel module 216 located in the service provider's
infrastructure also can send control data to the elements of the
distribution channel module 216 located in the user interface
module 32 that can specify under what conditions the marketing
content can be sent to the TAM. This control information can
specify marketing information processing module-like policy
information about the applicability of different marketing content
to different potential opportunities that can arise on the user
interface module 32. Method 600 then can proceed to block 630.
[0210] In block 630, the elements of the distribution channel
module 216 located in the user interface module 32 can store the
marketing content in a local cache. Storing the marketing content
can prepare the elements of the distribution channel module 216
located in the user interface module 32 to begin operation in an
opportunistic mode. Method 600 then can proceed to block 640.
[0211] In block 640, the TAM can begin interacting with the user
interface module 32 to receive services, e.g., begin a
video-on-demand session, view broadcast television, etc. Method 600
then can proceed to block 650.
[0212] In block 650, the elements of the distribution channel
module 216 located in the user interface module 32 can monitor the
service, e.g., a video stream being rendered, and detect
opportunities to insert marketing content therein. For example, the
elements of the distribution channel module 216 located in the user
interface module 32 can be able to detect cue tones or other
signals embedded in a video stream originating from the other
services module 52. Method 600 then can proceed to block 660.
[0213] In block 660, the elements of the distribution channel
module 216 located in the user interface module 32 can detect an
advertisement insertion opportunity, evaluate the opportunity and
retrieve appropriate marketing content from the local cache. The
evaluation of the advertisement insertion opportunity can be based
on locally-cached policy information. Method 600 then can proceed
to block 670.
[0214] In block 670, the marketing content can be inserted into the
content being consumed by the TAM, e.g., spliced into the video
stream and sent to the TAM.
[0215] Another type of video service advertisement insertion,
referred to as video-on-demand (VOD) advertisement insertion can
apply to VOD services and can function in an opportunistic manner.
VOD advertisement insertion can involve splicing targeted marketing
content into the video stream, at an advertisement insertion
opportunity, as the video stream is sent to the TAM during a VOD
service. VOD advertisement insertion can be an opportunistic
distribution channel, in that marketing content can only be sent to
the TAM when the TAM interacts with the VOD service to order and
playback video content, e.g., a movie. When the TAM interacts with
the VOD service to order and playback video content, targeted
marketing content, e.g., advertisements, can be spliced into the
video content being sent to the TAM.
[0216] The addressability information used by a VOD advertisement
insertion distribution channel can vary. For example, the source IP
address and timestamp associated with the VOD session can be used
as a key to identify/address the underlying TAM. Other forms of TAM
identifying information also can be used, including, but not
limited to, a device ID, a unique service-level user ID, etc. The
techniques used by the VOD advertisement insertion distribution
channel to identify the TAM by linking provided keying information
with other relational information contained in various service
provider resources, e.g., the network attachment module 48, user
account module 44, other services module 52, etc. can be similar to
those previously described for the web-based advertisement
insertion distribution channel.
[0217] Referring back to Method 500, for VOD advertisement
insertion, the interaction between the PAM and the IP-based service
in block 510 can be the PAM interacting with the other services
module 52 to browse, select and initiate a VOD session, e.g., by
using RTSP. This activity can trigger the detection, in block 520,
of at least one marketing content insertion opportunity associated
with the VOD media that is to be sent to the PAM. Method 500 then
can proceed as previously described to block 550, where the
distribution channel module 216 can splice the marketing content
into the VOD media content stream before sending the media content
stream to the TAM. The splicing function used to merge the
marketing content with the VOD media content can involve cue tones,
or other signals, embedded in VOD media content to detect insertion
points and is well known in the art. Method 500 then can proceed as
previously described to block 560.
[0218] VOD advertisement insertion can use different strategies for
signaling and determining the marketing content associated with a
VOD session. For example, a single insertion opportunity can be
detected and indicated during the initial VOD session negotiation
and the distribution channel module 216 can send multiple
advertisements for insertion for the duration of the session.
Opportunity indications also can be signaled as they arise in the
stream.
[0219] VOD advertisement insertion techniques also can be applied
to other forms of media on demand, such as audio media, e.g.,
music-on-demand.
[0220] Returning to FIG. 4, after the marketing content has been
sent to at least one TAM by the distribution channel module 216,
Method 240 then can proceed to block 290.
[0221] In block 290, the performance analysis module 218 can
collect and analyze feedback relating to the performance of at
least one marketing campaign. This analysis can include generation
of information, e.g., a performance report, that can be delivered
to the marketing campaign sponsor through the marketing information
management module 212. The results of the analysis also can be
delivered to the marketing information management module 212 for
use in adjusting the marketing campaign definition in order to
improve performance. Method 240 then can proceed to block 250 for
redefinition of the marketing campaign.
[0222] Referring to FIG. 9, a schematic diagram of a service
provider-based targeted marketing services system, according to an
exemplary embodiment, is illustrated. FIG. 9 illustrates an example
of a service provider-based targeted marketing services system and
contains the technology infrastructure that can be used by the
service provider 40 to leverage the video services module 54, the
user account module 34 and the network attachment module 48 as
information sources to gain insight into the user's video services
usage activities, obtain addressability information and use that
information to send targeted marketing content to the user 30 via a
direct mail distribution channel. A service provider-based TMS
system can include other technology infrastructure used to leverage
other information sources based on other activities and used to
deliver marketing content to the user 30 via other distribution
channels. System 700 can comprise a user 30, a user interface
module 32 and a service provider 40.
[0223] The user 30 and the user interface module 32 can be as
described for System 20. The user 30 can be an individual or group
that uses IP-based services provided by and through the service
provider 40. The user interface module 32 can provide a means for
the user 30 to couple at least one input and/or output device to
the service provider's infrastructure via an IP-enabled
communications link and to interact with IP-based services via the
coupled device(s).
[0224] The service provider 40 can comprise an IP packet transport
module 42, a user account module 44, a service attachment module
46, a network attachment module 48, a domain name resolution module
50, an other services module 52, an information source module 210,
a marketing information management module 212, a marketing
information processing module 214, a distribution channel module
216 and a performance analysis module 218. The IP packet transport
module 42, user account module 44, service attachment module 46,
network attachment module 48, domain name resolution module 50, and
other services module 52 can be as described for System 20. The IP
packet transport module 42 can route and forward IP packets to and
from the user interface module 32. The user account module 44 can
manage the information related to a user's account with the service
provider 40 and associated service provisioning information. The
service attachment module 46 can dynamically exchange service
provisioning and configuration information with the user interface
module 32. The network attachment module 48 can coordinate the
dynamic provisioning and configuration associated with providing
the user 30 with IP-transport services. The domain name resolution
module 50 can provide domain name resolution services via the DNS.
The other services module 52 can manage the delivery of other
services provided by the service provider 40.
[0225] The other services module 52 can include a video services
module 54. The video services module 54 can be as described for
System 20. The video services module 54 can comprise that portion
of the other services module 52 associated with supplying video
services.
[0226] In addition, the video services module 54 can include a
video server 704, a video filter 708 and a VOD content database
210. The IP packets sent to the VOD server 704 can be processed to
send VOD content available in the VOD content database 710 back to
the user interface 32 through the IP packet transport module 42.
The video server 704 also can detect IP packets containing video
services usage of interest and record relevant data about those IP
packets.
[0227] The relevant data can include, but is not limited to, the
source device ID of the IP packet, the source IP address of the
packet, a timestamp of the time the IP packet was received, the
destination IP address of the packet, information about the video
service requested, etc. and constitutes RI-mytes. The video filter
708 can receive the RI-mytes from the video server 704 and filter
them. Those RI-mytes that match at least one target pattern can be
retained, while those RI-mytes that do not match at least one
target pattern can be discarded. A large percentage of RI-mytes can
be discarded by the video filter 708. The video filter 708 also can
tag retained RI-mytes with additional campaign information, e.g., a
marketing campaign ID, or other use indicator, that can be used by
the marketing information processing module 214 to establish
processing context and determine proper handling. Information
contained in the RI-mytes retained by the video filter 708 can
include, but is not limited to, an indicator of the type of
RI-myte, e.g., a video services usage-based myte, the source IP
address of the IP packet, the video service requested, associated
pattern matched information, the time of the request, a list of at
least one marketing campaign or other use indicators to which the
RI-myte applies, etc.
[0228] The management and configuration of the filters applied by
the video filter 708, as well as the marketing campaign ID or other
use indicator used by the video filter 708 to tag RI-mytes, can be
provided by the marketing information management module 212.
[0229] The information source module 210, marketing information
management module 212, marketing information processing module 214,
distribution channel module 216 and performance analysis module 218
can be as described for System 200. The information source module
210 can collect information and forward that information to the
marketing information processing module 214. The marketing
information management module 212 can manage the configuration of
and control the information associated with at least one marketing
campaign being conducted by a TMS. The marketing information
processing module 214 can combine individual units of receptiveness
information, addressability information and AMI to improve the
quality of AMI and generate new AMI. The distribution channel
module 216 can send marketing content once the marketing
information processing module 214 combines AMI with marketing
content from the marketing information management module 212. The
distribution channel module 216 also can inform the audience
selection module 738 and the performance analysis module 218, that
the marketing content has been sent to the user 30. The performance
analysis module 218 can receive information from the marketing
information management module 212 and the distribution channel
module 216 to measure the effectiveness of at least one marketing
campaign. The performance analysis module 218 also can send the
effectiveness measurement to the marketing information management
module 212.
[0230] As previously described, the information source module 210
can include elements of the user account module 44, the service
attachment module 46, the network attachment module 48 and the
video services module 54 as depicted by the overlap between the
information source module 210 and those modules. The information
source module 210 can include the VOD server 704 and the video
filter 708 in the video services module 54.
[0231] The marketing information processing module 214 can include,
an IP address-based geographic filter 734, an IP access session
resolver 736, an audience selection module 738, a user resolver 740
and an opt-out filter 742. The IP address-based geographic filter
734 can receive RI-mytes from the video filter 708 and compare the
source IP address contained therein with at least one IP address
pattern that can be specific to at least one marketing campaign.
Those RI-mytes that match at least one IP address pattern can be
retained, while those RI-mytes that do not match at least one IP
address pattern can be discarded. The management and configuration
of the filters applied by the IP address-based geographic filter
734 can be provided by the marketing information management module
212. The IP address-based geographic filter 734 can send retained
RI-mytes to the IP access session resolver 736.
[0232] The IP access session resolver 736 can associate each
RI-myte with an individual user's IP access session. For each
RI-myte received, the IP access session resolver 736 can query the
network attachment module 48 to lookup the associated IP access
session for the RI-myte. Each query can contain various information
including, but not limited to, the source IP address, a timestamp,
etc. The network attachment module 48 can process the request and
return information that includes, but is not limited to, a unique
IP access session ID that is uniquely associated with the user 30,
the IP access session IP address, the IP access session start time,
unique access circuit information associated with the IP access
session, a unique user ID associated with the IP access session, an
account ID, etc. The IP access session resolver 736 can avoid
querying the network attachment module 48 for each RI-myte received
by caching query results locally and searching the local cache
first for subsequent RI-mytes, querying the network attachment
module 48 if the local cache lacks the information. The network
attachment module 48 can notify the IP access session resolver 736
when an IP access session expires so the IP access session resolver
736 can flush its local cache for that IP access session. The IP
access session resolver 736 also can avoid querying the network
attachment module 48 or can query the network attachment module 48
for more limited information for each RI-myte that already contains
sufficient information to identify the user 30, e.g., a device ID
or other unique identifier associated with the user 30, before the
IP access session resolver 736 receives the RI-myte. The IP access
session resolver 736 can associate the information received from
the network attachment module 48 with the RI-myte and send the
enhanced RI-myte to the user resolver 740.
[0233] The user resolver 740 can use the information associated
with the RI-myte, e.g., the device ID, the account ID, unique
access circuit information associated with the IP access session, a
unique user ID associated with the IP access session, etc. to
associate the user information with the RI-myte. The user resolver
740 can associate locally cached user information with the RI-myte
if, for example, the user resolver 740 had previously processed an
RI-myte generated by the same user 30. The user resolver 740 can
issue a query to the user account module 44 to retrieve the user
information to be associated with the RI-myte. The query to the
user account module 44 can include a user ID or other unique user
identification information. The query also can specify the
information being sought. For example, the query can request the
user's postal address and service profile information, e.g. direct
mail opt-out preferences. The user resolver 740 can associate the
information supplied in response to the query with the RI-myte and
send the enhanced RI-myte to the opt-out filter 742.
[0234] The opt-out filter 742 can receive RI-mytes from the user
resolver 740 and filter the RI-mytes on the basis of opt-out
preferences. In other words, the opt-out filter 742 can discard the
RI-myte if the service profile information associated with the
RI-myte indicates that the user 30 has elected not to participate
in the specified type of marketing service, e.g., video services
usage-based direct mail. The opt-out filter 742 can send retained
RI-mytes to the audience selection module 738.
[0235] The audience selection module 738 can receive the RI-myte
from the opt-out filter 742 and evaluate it against any other
contextual information that the audience selection module 738 can
be maintaining for the at least one marketing campaign and user 30
associated with the RI-myte in order to make a decision about
whether to include the associated user 30 in the target audience of
the at least one marketing campaign. The audience selection module
738 can use the algorithms previously described for this purpose.
If the audience selection module 738 decides to add the user 30
associated with the RI-myte to the at least one target audience,
the audience selection module 738 can add the user 30 to at least
one list of TAMs for the at least one marketing campaign. The
audience selection module 738 can send the at least one list of
TAMs for the at least one marketing campaign to the distribution
channel module 216. The audience selection module 738 can send a
complete at least one list of TAMs or can send updates to the at
least one list of TAMs as additional TAMs get assigned.
[0236] The distribution channel module 216 can use the at least one
list of TAMs to send direct mail marketing content to at least one
TAM. Sending the direct mail marketing content to the at least one
TAM can include, but is not limited to, printing, addressing and
sending the physical marketing materials associated with the
marketing content through the mail.
[0237] Referring to FIG. 10, a flowchart of a method for sending
service provider-based targeted marketing services, according to an
exemplary embodiment, is illustrated. FIG. 10 illustrates one
example of a method for sending service provider-based TMS and
contains the steps that can be used by the service provider 40 to
leverage the video services module 54, the user account module 44
and the network attachment module 48 as information sources to gain
insight into the user's video services usage activities, obtain
addressability information and use that information to send
targeted marketing content to the user 30 via a direct mail
distribution channel. A method for sending service provider-based
TMS can include other steps used to leverage other information
sources based on other activities and used to send marketing
content to the user 30 via other distribution channels.
[0238] In block 802, the marketing information management module
212 can send information associated with at least one marketing
campaign to the video filter 708 and the IP address-based
geographic filter 734 to manage the information retained and
discarded by those filters. The information sent by the marketing
information management module 212 can include, but is not limited
to, at least one video services request target pattern, at least
one source IP address target pattern, a marketing campaign ID, or
other use indicator, that can be used by the marketing information
processing module 214 to establish processing context and determine
proper handling, etc. The information sent by the marketing
information management module 212 can be used in blocks 822, 826
and 830.
[0239] In block 110, the user 30 can interact with the service
provider 40 to sign-up for at least one service and establish a
user account. This step can proceed as described for Method 100.
For example, the user 30 can arrange for Internet access service
and VOD service from the service provider 40. The user 30 and/or
the service provider 40 can set up and configure equipment for
delivery of the service, e.g., a PC, home router, home network,
set-top box, etc. Method 800 then can proceed to block 120.
[0240] In block 120, the user 30 can establish a connection to the
service provider's infrastructure via an IP-enabled communications
link. This step can proceed as described for Method 100. For
example, the user's home router can use DHCP to interact with the
service provider's edge router and DHCP server to request and
receive an IP address along with other host configuration
information. This information, in turn, can be used by the user's
home router to dynamically configure other IP devices in the home,
support NAT services, etc. During this step, the user's IP access
session can start, and information about the IP access session can
be maintained in the network attachment module 48. The information
maintained can include, but is not limited to, the IP address
assigned to the user's home router, the access information
identifying the user 30, the time that the IP access session began,
the user's ID, etc. Method 800 then can proceed to block 130.
[0241] In block 130, the user 30 can establish use of IP transport
services to communicate with other IP-enabled devices reachable
through the service provider's infrastructure. This step can
proceed as described for Method 100. Method 800 then can proceed to
block 140.
[0242] In block 140, the user 30 can establish use of domain name
resolution services to access other services. This step can proceed
as described for Method 100. For example the user 30 can establish
use of domain name resolution services to access websites on the
Internet. Method 800 then can proceed to block 150.
[0243] In block 150, the user 30 can use application-level
services, such as web-browsing, e-mail, file-transfer, voice
services, video services, etc. This step can proceed as described
for Method 100. For example, the user 30 can request a VOD on a
set-top box. Method 800 then can proceed to block 806.
[0244] In block 806, the IP packet transport module 42 can route an
IP packet sent by the user interface 32 to the appropriate module
within the service provider's infrastructure. The appropriate
module within the service provider's infrastructure for video
services usage, e.g., the VOD request, can be the video services
module 54. Method 800 then can proceed to block 810.
[0245] In block 814, the VOD server 704 can process the IP packet
and act on the IP packet accordingly. For example, the VOD server
704 can identify the VOD content requested by the user 30, retrieve
the VOD content from the VOD content database 710 and send the VOD
content back to the user interface 32.
[0246] In block 818, the VOD server 704 can log the video services
usage request and record relevant data. The relevant data can
include, but is not limited to, the device ID associated with the
IP packet, the source IP address of the IP packet, a timestamp of
the time that the packet was received, the video service requested,
etc. The collection of data can constitute an RI-myte. Method 800
then can proceed to block 822.
[0247] In block 822, the information resource module 105 can
perform an initial filtering operation using an element of the
video services module 54, the video filter 708, to discard RI-mytes
that are irrelevant to Method 800. The video filter 708 can filter
the RI-myte based on video services request pattern matching, using
the video services request patterns sent by the marketing
information management module 212 in block 802. If the RI-myte
fails to match at least one video services request pattern, Method
800 can proceed to block 824, where Method 800 can end. If the
RI-myte matches at least one video services request pattern, Method
800 can proceed to block 826.
[0248] In block 826, the video filter 708 can tag the RI-myte with
at least one marketing campaign ID or other use indicator sent by
the marketing information management module 212 in block 802. Thus,
the information included in the RI-myte being sent for further
processing by the video filter 708 can include, but is not limited
to, the source device ID of the request, the source IP address of
the request, the timestamp of the time that the request was
received, the type of RI-myte, e.g., video services usage-based
RI-myte, the video services request, associated pattern-matched
information, at least one marketing campaign ID or other use
indicator to which the RI-myte applies, etc. Method 800 then can
proceed to block 830.
[0249] In block 830, the IP address-based geographic filter 734 can
filter the RI-myte based on IP address pattern matching, using the
IP address patterns sent by the marketing information management
module 212 in block 802. The IP address patterns against which the
RI-myte's source IP address is compared can be marketing campaign
specific. For example, the IP address-based geographic filter 734
can check an incoming RI-myte against at least one pattern
associated with any of the marketing campaigns to which the RI-myte
was associated by the video filter 708. In this way, the IP
address-based geographic filter 734 can be applied in a campaign
specific manner. If the RI-myte fails to match at least one IP
address pattern, Method 800 can proceed to block 832, where Method
800 can end. If the RI-myte matches at least one domain name
pattern, Method 800 can proceed to block 834.
[0250] In block 834, the IP access session resolver 436 can
associate the RI-myte with the user's IP access session. The IP
access session resolver 436 can query the network attachment module
48 to lookup the associated IP access session for the RI-myte. The
query can contain various information available in the RI-myte,
including, but not limited to, the source IP address, a timestamp,
etc. The network attachment module 48 can process the request and
return information that includes, but is not limited to, a unique
IP access session ID that is uniquely associated with the user 30,
the IP access session IP address, the IP access session start time,
unique access circuit information associated with the IP access
session, a unique user ID associated with the IP access session,
etc. The IP access session resolver 436 can associate the
information received from the network attachment module 48 with the
RI-myte and send the enhanced RI-myte to the user resolver 740. At
this point, the RI-myte can have been filtered for relevance to at
least one marketing campaign, associated with at least one
marketing campaign and associated with information from the IP
access session that generated the RI-myte. Method 800 then can
proceed to block 838.
[0251] In block 838, the user resolver 740 can associate the
RI-myte with user information. The user resolver 740 can query the
user account module 44 to lookup the relevant user information. The
query can contain information previously associated with the
RI-myte and unique to the user 30, including, but not limited to, a
unique account ID, a unique user ID, a device ID, unique access
circuit information, etc. The query also can contain an indication
of what information the user resolver 740 wants to receive in
response to the query. This information can include any information
maintained in the user account module 44 including, but not limited
to, the user's name, postal address, e-mail address, service
profile information, e.g., direct mail opt-out preferences, etc. If
the user resolver 740 has previously queried the user account
module 44 using the same query information, the user resolver 740
can retrieve the user information from a locally stored cache,
rather than query the user account module 44 again. Method 800 then
can proceed to block 842.
[0252] In block 842, the opt-out filter 742 can filter the RI-myte
on the basis of opt-out preferences. The opt-out preferences
against which the RI-myte's service profile information is compared
can be marketing campaign specific. For example, the distribution
channel for one marketing campaign associated with the RI-myte can
be direct mail, while the distribution channel for another campaign
associated with the RI-myte can be e-mail. The user's service
profile information can indicate that the user 30 has selected to
opt-out of receiving e-mail-based marketing content but has not
selected to opt-out of receiving direct mail-based marketing
content. If the user's service profile information indicates that
the user 30 has opted-out of all of the marketing service types
associated with the RI-myte, Method 800 can proceed to block 844,
where Method 800 can end. If the user's service profile information
indicates that the user 30 has not opted-out of at least one of the
marketing service types associated with the RI-myte, Method 800 can
proceed to block 846.
[0253] In block 846, the audience selection module 738 can evaluate
the RI-myte against any other contextual information that the
audience selection module 738 can be maintaining for the at least
one marketing campaign and user 30 associated with the RI-myte in
order to make a decision about whether to include the associated
user 30 in the target audience of at least one marketing campaign.
The audience selection module 738 can use the algorithms previously
described for this purpose. If the audience selection module 738
does not include the associated user 30 in the target audience of
at least one marketing campaign, Method 800 can proceed to block
848, where Method 800 can end. If the audience selection module 738
includes the associated user 30 in the target audience of at least
one marketing campaign, Method 800 can proceed to block 850.
[0254] In block 850, the audience selection module 738 can add the
user 30 and the user's associated information to at least one list
of TAMs for at least one marketing campaign and can send the at
least one list of TAMs to the distribution channel module 216. For
example, the audience selection module 738 can generate, for a
marketing campaign that is using direct mail to distribute
marketing content, a list of names of users with associated postal
addresses and send the list to the distribution channel module 216.
The audience selection module 738 can send a complete at least one
list of TAMs or can send updates to the at least one list of TAMs
as additional TAMs get assigned. Method 800 then can proceed to
block 854.
[0255] In block 854, the distribution channel module 216 can use
the at least one list of TAMs to send direct mail marketing content
to at least one TAM. Sending the direct mail marketing content to
the at least one TAM can include, but is not limited to, printing,
addressing and sending the physical marketing materials associated
with the marketing content through the mail. Method 800 then can
proceed to block 858.
[0256] In block 858, the distribution channel module 216 can inform
the audience selection module 738 and the performance analysis
module 218, that the marketing content has been sent to the user
30. The audience selection module 738 can use this information to
inform subsequent target audience membership decisions. The
performance analysis module 218 can use this information to measure
the effectiveness of the marketing campaign for which the marketing
content was sent. Method 800 then can proceed to block 862.
[0257] In block 862, the performance analysis module 218 then can
send the effectiveness measurement to the marketing information
management module 212. The marketing information management module
212 can use the effectiveness measurement to modify the marketing
campaign for which effectiveness was measured. For example, the
marketing information management module 212 can adjust the filter
information sent to the video filter 708 and/or the IP
address-based geographic filter 734 to change the number and/or
types of RI-mytes retained by those filters.
* * * * *
References