U.S. patent application number 12/072130 was filed with the patent office on 2009-02-05 for integrated and synchronized cross platform delivery system.
Invention is credited to James R. Birch.
Application Number | 20090037949 12/072130 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40339389 |
Filed Date | 2009-02-05 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090037949 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Birch; James R. |
February 5, 2009 |
Integrated and synchronized cross platform delivery system
Abstract
A system and method for delivering targeted advertisements to
consumers by inserting the targeted advertisements into a content
stream. The content stream may be monitored for advertisement
placement opportunities, such that the targeted advertisements may
be seamlessly inserted into the content stream to replace an
advertisement in the content stream. The content stream's owner
and/or provider may be identified such that revenues from the
targeted advertisement may be shared with the owner's and/or
providers. The system and method are further able to use a
biometric recognition technique to verify that the targeted
advertisement is actually delivered to the targeted consumer.
Another aspect allows the targeted advertisements to be delivered
across multiple platforms in accordance with an advertising
campaign.
Inventors: |
Birch; James R.; (Spokane,
WA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
KARL R CANNON
PO BOX 1909
SANDY
UT
84091
US
|
Family ID: |
40339389 |
Appl. No.: |
12/072130 |
Filed: |
February 22, 2008 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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60903148 |
Feb 22, 2007 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
725/34 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/0277 20130101;
G06Q 30/0255 20130101; H04N 21/812 20130101; H04N 21/4532 20130101;
G06Q 30/0267 20130101; H04N 21/44218 20130101; G06Q 30/02 20130101;
H04N 7/163 20130101; H04N 21/44016 20130101; G06Q 30/0251 20130101;
G06Q 30/0261 20130101; G06Q 30/0269 20130101; H04N 21/2547
20130101; H04N 21/42201 20130101; H04N 21/23424 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
725/34 |
International
Class: |
H04N 7/10 20060101
H04N007/10 |
Claims
1. A method for placing targeted advertisements, said method
comprising the steps of: determining an identity of a user of an
electronic device; selecting a targeted advertisement linked to the
identity of the user; recognizing a targeted advertisement
placement opportunity in relation to a content stream; and causing
the targeted advertisement's rendering on the electronic device in
accordance with the targeted advertisement placement
opportunity.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of causing the targeted
advertisement's rendering on the electronic device comprises the
step of displacing an advertisement in the content stream.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of causing the targeted
advertisement's rendering on the electronic device comprises the
step of filling a slot for advertisement in the content stream.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of recognizing a
targeted advertisement placement opportunity comprises the step of
monitoring the content stream.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of recognizing a
targeted advertisement placement opportunity comprises the step of
accessing a programming schedule for the content stream.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of recognizing a
targeted advertisement placement opportunity comprises the step of
using codes embedded in the content stream.
7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of generating
a report regarding the rendering of the targeted advertisement on
the electronic device.
8. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of identifying
a provider of the content stream.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of identifying a
provider of the content stream comprises the step of accessing a
programming schedule.
10. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of identifying a
provider of the content stream comprises the step of determining a
channel of the content stream.
11. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of identifying a
provider of the content stream comprises the step of comparing data
in the content stream to data in a look-up table.
12. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of identifying a
provider of the content stream comprises the step of using data
codes embedded in the content stream.
13. The method of claim 1, wherein the content stream is a
television signal.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the television signal is at
least one of a satellite television signal and a cable television
signal.
15. The method of claim 1, wherein the content stream is generated
by a gaming console.
16. The method of claim 1, wherein the content stream is generated
from a player capable of reading an optical storage medium.
17. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of providing
the content stream.
18. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining an
identity of a user further comprises the step of using a biometric
recognition technique.
19. A method for delivering a targeted advertisement, said method
comprising the steps of: establishing in a computer environment a
database of user profiles; comparing a target profile to the user
profiles in the database to thereby determine a group of targeted
users; transmitting the targeted advertisement over a network to an
electronic device associated with each of the targeted users; and
causing the rendering of the targeted advertisement on the
electronic devices of each of the targeted users.
20. The method of claim 19, further comprising the steps of
monitoring a content stream for each of the electronic devices for
targeted advertisement placement opportunities and causing the
rendering of the targeted advertisement in accordance with the
targeted advertisement placement opportunities.
21. The method of claim 20, further comprising the step of
identifying providers of the content streams for each of the
electronic devices.
22. The method of claim 21, further comprising the step of
calculating a share of advertising revenues for each of the
providers of the content streams.
23. The method of claim 20, further comprising the step of
providing a content steam to at least a portion of the electronic
devices.
24. The method of claim 19, further comprising the step of
confirming that each targeted user is actually using an electronic
device through a biometric recognition technique.
25. The method of claim 19, further comprising the step of
delivering a content stream to each of the electronic devices of
the targeted users.
26. A method for placing a targeted advertisements, said method
comprising the steps of: identifying a user of an electronic
device; selecting a targeted advertisement linked to the identity
of the user; monitoring a content stream for a targeted
advertisement placement opportunity; recognizing a targeted
advertisement placement opportunity in relation to the content
stream; and causing the rendering of the targeted advertisement on
the electronic device in accordance with the targeted advertisement
placement opportunity.
27. The method of claim 26, further comprising the step of
transmitting the targeted advertisement to the electronic device
over a network.
28. The method of claim 26, further comprising the step of
identifying a provider of the content stream.
29. The method of claim 26, wherein the step of identifying a user
of an electronic device comprises the step of using a biometric
recognition technique.
30. The method of claim 26, wherein the step of causing the
rendering of the targeted advertisement on the electronic device in
accordance with the targeted advertisement placement opportunity
comprises the step of displacing an advertisement in the content
stream with the targeted advertisement.
31. A computer-implemented method, comprising: establishing in a
computer environment an account for a content provider, the account
representing the content provider's share of revenue derived from
advertisement placement in relation to a content stream associated
with the content provider; tracking advertisement placement in
relation to the content stream associated with the content
provider; calculating the content provider's share of revenues
generated from the advertisement placement; and adjusting the
account of the content provider to reflect the content provider's
share of revenues.
32. The method of claim 31, further comprising the step of placing
advertisements in relation to the content stream associated with
the content provider.
33. The method of claim 32, wherein the advertisements are targeted
advertisements.
34. The method of claim 31, further comprising the step of
monitoring the content stream for advertisement placement
opportunities.
35. The method of claim 34, further comprising the step of placing
advertisements in accordance with the advertisement placement
opportunities.
36. The method of claim 35, wherein the advertisements are targeted
advertisements.
37. The method of claim 31, further comprising the step of
displacing an advertisement in the content stream with another
advertisement.
38. The method of claim 31, further comprising the step of
replacing an advertisement in the content stream with a targeted
advertisement.
39. The method of claim 31, further comprising the steps of
establishing a communication path with an electronic device and
delivering an advertisement to the electronic device over the
communication path wherein the electronic device is able to render
both the content stream and the advertisement.
40. The method of claim 39, wherein the advertisement is a targeted
advertisement.
41. The method of claim 39, further comprising the step of
transmitting the content stream to the electronic device.
42. The method of claim 39, further comprising the step of
identifying a user of the electronic device using a biometric
recognition technique.
43. The method of claim 42, further comprising the step of
selecting targeted advertisements linked to the identity of the
user.
44. A system for placing targeted advertisements, said system
comprising: a user identification module for identifying a user of
an electronic device; an advertisement selection module for
selecting a targeted advertisement linked to the identity of the
user; an opportunity detection module for recognizing targeted
advertisement placement opportunities; and a switching module for
causing the rendering the targeted advertisement on the electronic
device in accordance with the advertisement placement
opportunity.
45. The system of claim 44, further comprising a storage medium for
storing the targeted advertisement, said storage medium being
associated with the electronic device.
46. The system of claim 44, further comprising a user interface for
the electronic device, wherein a biometric sensor is integrated
into said user interface, said biometric sensor providing a signal
to the user identification module, said signal carrying information
related to a captured biometric characteristic.
47. The system of claim 46, wherein the user interface is selected
from the group consisting of a remote control, a keyboard, keypad,
and a computer mouse.
48. The system of claim 46, wherein said biometric sensor is at
least one of a fingerprint scanner, a voice capturing device, and a
heartbeat capturing device.
49. The system of claim 44, further comprising a reporting module,
said reporting module operable to generate a report regarding the
rendering of the targeted advertisement.
50. The system of claim 44, further comprising a content tracking
module, said content tracking module operable to facilitate the
identification of a provider of a content stream into which the
targeted advertisement is placed.
51. The system of claim 44, further comprising a network gateway
module for receiving targeted advertisements from a remote
location.
52. The system of claim 44, further comprising a
microprocessor.
53. The system of claim 52, wherein each of the user identification
module, advertisement selection module, opportunity detection
module, and switching module is at least partially implemented
using computer readable instructions, said computer readable
instructions being executed on the microprocessor.
54. A system for managing a targeted advertising campaign, said
system comprising: a comparison module for comparing a target
profile to user profiles stored in an electronic database to
thereby identify a group of targeted users; an advertisement
delivery module for delivering a targeted advertisement associated
with the targeted profile to an electronic device associated with
each of the targeted users; and a content identification module for
facilitating the identification of providers of content streams
into which the targeted advertisement is placed.
55. The system of claim 54, further comprising a subscription
module for delivering user selected content streams to electronic
devices.
56. The system of claim 54, further comprising a revenue
calculation module for calculating a share of advertising revenues
for content providers.
57. The system of claim 54, further comprising an enrollment module
for enrolling users.
58. The system of claim 57, further comprising at least one
biometric sensor for capturing biometric reference samples from
users.
59. The system of claim 54, further comprising an electronic
device, said electronic device able to render the targeted
advertisement.
60. The system of claim 54, further comprising an opportunity
detection module for recognizing advertisement placement
opportunities.
61. The system of claim 60, further comprising a switching module
for causing the rendering the targeted advertisement in accordance
with the advertisement placement opportunities.
62. The system of claim 54, further comprising: a user
identification module for identifying a user of an electronic
device; and an advertisement selection module for selecting a
targeted advertisement linked to the identity of the user.
63. The method of claim 2, further comprising the steps of:
establishing in a computer environment a database of user profiles;
comparing a target profile to the user profiles in the database to
thereby determine a group of targeted users; transmitting the
targeted advertisement over a network to an electronic device
associated with each of the targeted users; identifying a provider
of a content stream; calculating a share of advertising revenues
for the provider; and adjusting an account of the provider to
reflect the provider's share of the advertising revenues.
64. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining an
identity of a user further comprises the step of using a
non-biometric recognition technique.
65. The method of claim 26, wherein the step of determining an
identity of a user further comprises the step of using a
non-biometric recognition technique.
66. The method of claim 39, further comprising the step of
identifying a user of the electronic device using a non-biometric
recognition technique.
67. The system of claim 44, wherein the user identification module
identifies the user of the electronic device using at least one of
a serial number of the electronic device, a phone number of the
electronic device, and an IP address of the electronic device.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Application No. 60/903,148, filed Feb. 22, 2007, which is hereby
incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, including but not
limited to those portions that specifically appear hereinafter, the
incorporation by reference being made with the following exception:
In the event that any portion of the above-referenced provisional
application is inconsistent with this application, this application
supercedes said above-referenced provisional application.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
[0002] Not Applicable.
BACKGROUND
[0003] 1. The Field of the Invention
[0004] The present disclosure relates generally to a system and
method for delivering a content stream and advertisements to a
user, and more particularly, but not necessarily entirely, to
delivering targeted advertisements to a user.
[0005] 2. Description of Related Art
[0006] Traditional advertisement methods involve broadcasting
advertising and programming material together to multiple
recipients in the same geographic area. For example, advertising
and programming material may be broadcast through a television or
radio station in a content stream.
[0007] For both television and radio advertising, historically,
advertisers have been forced to purchase time slots in delivering
their message. Time slots are selected based on demographic
information associated with the content. A.C. Nielson is the
industry's main provider of such demographic information for
television. For example, in order for an advertiser to reach a
35-year old woman, the advertisers may be forced to advertise on
multiple channels where the research indicates a significant
presence of such women. This is an indirect approach to reaching
the target audience with built in inefficiencies and redundancies.
Furthermore, the advertiser is unable to create direct integrated
and synchronized interactions between different advertising
platforms. Television and radio are one-way mediums that permit low
cost distribution to a large geographic area. That is, all
households within the geographic area receive the same programming
and advertisements. The advertisement is the same regardless of who
is the actual viewer. Satellite and cable delivery systems may have
the ability to provide customized advertisements based on a more
refined geographic region. However, these media lack the ability of
targeting individual users and doing so across a plurality of
platforms.
[0008] Internet Protocol Television ("IPTV") is another medium
available for advertising. Using IPTV, programming is directly
streamed from a remote server to a household. Although IPTV's
ability to target a unique household is greater than the previous
broadcast methods described above, IPTV is still unable to
synchronize or integrate an advertising campaign across other
platforms.
[0009] Further, there is presently little or no ability to
synchronize advertising across different platforms. For example, if
an advertiser wanted to combine a television advertisement with a
follow-up direct mail piece, the advertiser would blanket
advertisements on multiple channels during multiple time slots in
trying to reach the target audience. At some point, once the
advertiser felt that the saturation level had been reached, a
follow up direct mail piece would be sent out. The advertiser has
no way of confirming if the television advertisement had been seen
by the targeted individual prior to the direct mail piece arriving.
In fact, it's quite possible that the direct mail piece would
arrive before the targeted individual would even see the
advertisement.
[0010] As mentioned, television and direct mail represent two
different platforms that are available to advertisers. Internet
advertisements through banner ads and search result placements are
other platforms that are available to advertisers. In addition,
DVD/VHS, Gaming, PVR, and IPTV are additional platforms which can
be selected by advertisers in reaching their target audiences.
However, there is no ability to integrate or synchronize these
platforms based on current technologies, platforms, and
configurations.
[0011] The prior art is thus characterized by several disadvantages
that are addressed by the present disclosure. The present
disclosure minimizes, and in some aspects eliminates, the
above-mentioned failures, and other problems, by utilizing the
methods and structural features described herein. The features and
advantages of the disclosure will be set forth in the description
which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description,
or may be learned by the practice of the disclosure without undue
experimentation. The features and advantages of the disclosure may
be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and
combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] The features and advantages of the disclosure will become
apparent from a consideration of the subsequent detailed
description presented in connection with the accompanying drawings
in which:
[0013] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating one embodiment of a system
pursuant to the present disclosure;
[0014] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary embodiment of
the electrical device illustrated in FIG. 1;
[0015] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary embodiment of
the centralized management system illustrated in FIG. 1;
[0016] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating another embodiment of a
system pursuant to the present disclosure;
[0017] FIG. 5 is a flow chart according to an embodiment of the
present disclosure illustrating the placement of a targeted
advertisement to a user of an electronic device;
[0018] FIG. 6 is a flow chart according to an embodiment of the
present disclosure illustrating the placement of a targeted
advertisement into a content stream;
[0019] FIG. 7 is a flow chart according to another embodiment of
the present disclosure illustrating the placement of a targeted
advertisement based upon the identity of a user of an electronic
device; and
[0020] FIG. 8 is a flow chart according to another embodiment of
the present disclosure illustrating the placement of a targeted
advertisement based upon the source of the content stream.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0021] For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the
principles in accordance with the disclosure, reference will now be
made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific
language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be
understood that no limitation of the scope of the disclosure is
thereby intended. Any alterations and further modifications of the
inventive features illustrated herein, and any additional
applications of the principles of the disclosure as illustrated
herein, which would normally occur to one skilled in the relevant
art and having possession of this disclosure, are to be considered
within the scope of the disclosure claimed.
[0022] It must be noted that, as used in this specification and the
appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include
plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In
describing and claiming the present disclosure, the following
terminology will be used in accordance with the definitions set out
below. As used herein, the terms "comprising," "including,"
"containing," "characterized by," and grammatical equivalents
thereof are inclusive or open-ended terms that do not exclude
additional, unrecited elements or method steps.
[0023] As used herein, the term "content stream" means information
of an audio and/or visual nature that is delivered from one device
to another device. The content stream may be carried in a signal,
including electromagnetic signals and light based signals. The
information in the content stream may include both programming and
advertisements that can be rendered on an electronic device. The
content stream may be generated by an external source, such as a
television station broadcast tower, or by an integrated source,
such as a software driver for a storage medium. The content stream
may be stored in a storage medium, such as a hard drive or optical
storage medium.
[0024] As used herein, the term "render" and its grammatical
equivalents means to play, display, interpret, decode, show,
reproduce, or otherwise present the information in the content
stream in a manner that can be perceived by a user. Typically, the
information in the content stream is rendered using a display,
monitor, or screen in combination with speakers.
[0025] Many of the functional units described in this specification
have been labeled as modules, in order to more particularly
emphasize their implementation independence. For example, a module
may be implemented as a hardware circuit comprising custom VLSI
circuits or gate arrays, off-the-shelf semiconductors such as logic
chips, transistors, or other discrete components. A module may also
be implemented in programmable hardware devices such as field
programmable gate arrays, programmable array logic, programmable
logic devices or the like.
[0026] Modules may also be implemented in software code, sometimes
referred to as computer readable instructions, for execution by
various types of processors. An identified module of executable
code may, for instance, comprise one or more physical or logical
blocks of computer instructions that may, for instance, be
organized as an object, procedure, or function. Nevertheless, the
executables of an identified module need not be physically located
together, but may comprise disparate instructions stored in
different locations which, when joined logically together, comprise
the module and achieve the stated purpose for the module.
[0027] Indeed, a module of executable code may be a single
instruction, or many instructions, and may even be distributed over
several different code segments, among different programs, and
across several memory devices. Similarly, operational data may be
identified and illustrated herein within modules, and may be
embodied in any suitable form and organized within any suitable
type of data structure. The operational data may be collected as a
single data set, or may be distributed over different locations
including over different storage devices, and may exist, at least
partially, merely as electronic signals on a system or network.
[0028] Turning now to the present disclosure, applicant has
discovered an apparatus and method for creating an integrated and
synchronized advertisement and content delivery system. The present
disclosure may manage multiple phases of an advertising campaign
through the delivery of targeted advertisements across multiple
platforms. The present disclosure is able to discriminate amongst
various users of an electronic device through identification
techniques, such as biometric recognition techniques and
non-biometric recognition techniques. Once the identification of a
user is positively confirmed, the present disclosure may monitor a
content stream being delivered to the electronic device for an
advertisement placement opportunity. Once an advertisement
placement opportunity has been identified, a targeted
advertisement, selected in accordance with the user's profile, is
rendered to the user according to an advertisement placement
opportunity.
[0029] After rendering of the targeted advertisement, the present
disclosure may report the rendering of the targeted advertisement
to a centralized management system by sending an electronic
notification over a network. The receipt of the electronic
notification may automatically trigger the implementation of
another phase of the advertising campaign. Further, the present
disclosure may provide for revenue sharing with the providers
and/or owners of a content stream into which a targeted
advertisement is rendered.
[0030] Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a diagram of an
exemplary embodiment of a system 100 in accordance with the
principles of the present disclosure. An electronic device 102 is
able to render a content stream to a user. In one embodiment the
electronic device 102 is a television. In another embodiment the
electronic device is a cell phone 102. In still another embodiment
the electronic device 102 is a computer. In yet still another
embodiment, the electronic device 102 is a portable handheld
device, such as a digital music player (iPod, mp3 player, etc.).
Thus, it will be understood that the electronic device 102 is any
electronic device that is able to render, either visually, audibly
or otherwise, a content stream, to a user.
[0031] A content source 104 may provide the content stream to the
electronic device 102 over a communication path 106. The
communication path 106 between the content source 104 and the
electronic device 102 may comprise a wireless communication path, a
wired communication path, or a combination of both. The content
source 104 may be located remotely from the electrical device 102.
Alternatively, the content source 104 may be located proximate the
electronic device 102 or even integrated into the electronic device
102.
[0032] The content source 104 may be include, without limitation, a
television station network, a communications satellite, a cable TV
station, a gaming system, a web server, a cellular phone network,
electronic memory, a computer server, a music player, a computer, a
DVD player, a Blu-Ray disc player, an HD DVD player, a high
definition optical player, a CD player, a VCR player, a tape
recorder, personal video recorder ("PVR"), an IPTV station, and any
other similar and equivalent devices that transmit content streams
for rendering to electronic devices. It should therefore be
understood that the content source 104 includes any device,
apparatus, system or network capable of generating the content
stream.
[0033] As mentioned, the content stream may be delivered to the
electronic device 102 from the content source 104 over the
communication path 106. If the communication path 106 is a wireless
communication path, it may utilize a radio frequency communication
scheme such as those commonly used for broadcast television,
satellite TV, radio stations, pager networks, and cellular
telephones. If the communication path 106 is a wired communication
path, it may include cable TV networks, fiber optic networks, power
line networks, telephone lines, twisted pair, CAT-5, RCA cables,
coaxial cables, or any other type of conductor or light
transmission device used to carry information. In short, it should
be recognized that there is no limitation on the medium through
which the content stream is delivered to the electronic device 102
from the content source 104.
[0034] Further, it should be noted that the content stream may
originate from information stored in a variety of storage mediums,
including both electronic storage mediums and optical storage
mediums. For example, if the content source 104 is a gaming system,
the content stream may be generated from information stored on a
CD, DVD, Blu-Ray disc, or an HD DVD disk. If the content source 104
is a web server, the content stream may be generated from
information stored electronically on a storage medium accessible by
the web server.
[0035] The content stream provided by the content source 104 may be
provided on-demand or pursuant to a fixed broadcast schedule. For
example, in the case where the content source 104 is a web server,
the content stream may be provided when requested by the electronic
device 102. If the content source 104 is a television or a radio
network, the content stream may be broadcast constantly pursuant to
a fixed broadcast schedule. If the content source 104 is a gaming
system, the content stream may only be provided when the gaming
system is turned on and the appropriate game disk is installed into
the gaming system.
[0036] Likewise, the content source 104 may provide the content
stream in any one of a wide variety of formats. The only
restriction on the formatting of the content stream is that it must
be compatible for rending on the electronic device 102. Suitable
formats for the content stream include all audio, video, media,
proprietary, and other formats now known or known in the future.
Suitable formats, include, without limitation, NTSC, HTML, DTV,
AVI, Windows Media, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, QuickTime, RealVideo,
Flash and Shockwave. Other suitable formats include audio formats
such as AAC, AC3, MIDI, MP3, RealAudio, Waveform, and WMA. Other
suitable formats include image formats such as BMP, GIF, JPG, JPG
2000, MNG, PNG, SVG, TIFF. Other suitable formats include ASCII,
DOC, EBCDIC, HTML, OEBPS, RTF, Unicode, WPD, and XML. Still other
suitable formats include the CD, DVD, Blue-Ray, and HD DVD formats.
Further, it will be noted that the content stream may be first
received at an intermediary device, such as a decoder, router,
gateway, satellite receiver, a cable receiver, or a high definition
receiver, and then delivered to the electronic device 102.
[0037] The content stream provided by the content source 104
typically comprises a combination of both programming and
advertising. The content stream may, however, only comprise
programming with no advertising. Examples of programming may
include television shows, music, or other information. The term
"advertising" refers generally to a paid promotion for goods,
services, companies and ideas by a sponsor.
[0038] In addition to receiving the content stream from the content
source 104, the electronic device 102 may transmit and receive
communications from a centralized management system 110 over a
communication path 108. The centralized management system 110 may
be located at a remote location, thereby requiring that the
communication path 108 comprise a communications network. Suitable
networks for the communication path 108 may include, without
limitation, a computer network such as a local area network ("LAN")
or a wide area network ("WAN"). In one exemplary embodiment, the
network used by the communication path 108 is a packet-switched
network such as the Internet.
[0039] The communication path 108 between the centralized
management system 110 and the electronic device 102 may be direct
or in-direct. Further, the communication path 108 may use any one
of a wide variety of transmission mediums, including a wireless
communication path, a wired communication path, or a combination of
both. The electronic device 102 and the centralized management
system 110 may use an appropriate communications protocol to
communicate with each other as is known by one having ordinary
skill in the art.
[0040] The centralized management system 110 may include a storage
medium having targeted advertisements stored therein. In a manner
that will be described in more detail hereinafter, the centralized
management system 110 may transmit targeted advertisements to a
local storage medium associated with the electronic device 102.
Each targeted advertisement may be linked to a known user of the
electronic device 102. The electronic device 102 may then access
the targeted advertisements and render them to a specified or
targeted user of the electronic device 102 as specified in the
link. The targeted advertisements may be rendered to a targeted
user in accordance with advertisement placement opportunities in
the content stream from the content source 104. In one embodiment,
the targeted advertisements displace advertising in the content
stream.
[0041] In addition to the targeted advertisements, the centralized
management system 110 may further provide a subscription-based
content stream to the electronic device 102 over the communication
path 108. The subscription-based content stream may be stored
locally at the electronic device 102 in a storage medium for
rendering on-demand at a later time.
[0042] The subscription-based content stream may include customized
programming selected by a user of the electronic device 102. The
user may request the subscription-based content stream in a variety
of manners. In one embodiment, a user may simply select the desired
programming through a user interface of the electronic device 102.
The user interface may be a graphical user interface. For example,
the graphical user interface may list all of the programming
available from the centralized management system 110. The
programming may include television programs, movies, news, music
and sporting events. The subscription-based content streams may
also include subject matter based content. That is, a user may
elect to receive programming related to a particular topic. For
example, the user may select to receive programming related to a
particular sports team, actor, hobby, or event. The centralized
management system 110 would then deliver the programming selected
by the user in a content stream.
[0043] The subscription-based content stream may be rendered in
real-time on the electronic device 102. Alternatively, the
subscription-based content stream is stored at the electronic
device 102 for later rendering at a convenient to the user. Control
over the rendering of the subscription-based content stream may be
done through a user interface associated with the electrical device
102.
[0044] It will be appreciated that the subscription-based content
stream allows the delivery of programming that may otherwise be
unavailable. For example, a user may desire to receive a news
broadcast from a television station that does not broadcast in the
geographical area where the user resides. The subscription-based
content stream delivered from the centralized management system 110
allows the user to receive the news broadcast. Further, the user is
able to view the news broadcast at his or her leisure thereby
freeing the content stream from a fixed broadcast schedule.
Further, it will be appreciated that the ability of the centralized
management system 110 to deliver the content stream directly to the
electronic device 102 allows the user to select only the
programming that the user desires.
[0045] In one embodiment, the user may select to receive television
shows from multiple different channels. These television shows are
delivered in the subscription-based content stream from the
centralized management system 110 to the electronic device 102. The
user may then view the television shows as if they were all
broadcast on a single channel. In this sense, the user is able to
watch a "virtual channel" of programming selected by the user.
Thus, it will be appreciated that the user can select to receive
sporting events, movies, television shows, news broadcasts, music,
talk radio shows, or any other programming available from the
centralized management system 110.
[0046] The centralized management system 110 is not be limited to
any one content source and could offer content from a wide variety
of content sources, including television networks, movie studies,
radio stations, and even independent content sources. In one
embodiment, the centralized management system 110 may allow a user
to select to receive programming in a native language of the user
that would otherwise be unavailable. Further, the
subscription-based content stream may be provided to the
centralized management system 110 by an outside content source 120
over a communication path 122. It will be appreciated that the
centralized management system 110 may receive the
subscription-based content stream from a multiple outside content
sources, including content source 104. Thus, the present disclosure
uniquely allows programming that would not otherwise merit a
dedicated "channel" to be delivered to the electronic device
102.
[0047] The present disclosure also allows for advertisements to be
placed in relation to the subscription-based content streams. In
one embodiment, advertisements may be placed into the
subscription-based content streams at the centralized management
system 110. The subscription-based content streams are then
transmitted to the electronic device 102 together. In another
embodiment, the advertisements may be placed into the subscription
based content streams at the electronic device 102. Thus, in this
embodiment, the subscription-based content stream and the
advertisements may be separately transmitted to the electronic
device 102 by the centralized management system 110.
[0048] The advertisements placed into the subscription-based
content stream may be targeted to a specific user of the electronic
device 102. Alternatively, the advertisements may be placed into
the subscription-based content stream based upon some other
criteria, or even no criteria at all. Thus, if a user selects to
receive specific content stream, e.g., a television show, from the
centralized management system 110, the content stream would be
rendered at the electronic device 102 with the advertisements added
at the centralized management system 110 or at the electronic
device 102.
[0049] The electronic device 102 may report feedback to the
centralized management system 110 over the communication path 108.
The feedback may include an electronic notification reporting that
one or more targeted advertisements transmitted by the centralized
management system 110 to the electronic device 102 has in fact been
rendered to the targeted user. This feedback may allow the
centralized management system 110 to track the delivery of the
targeted advertisements. In addition, the feedback may include
information on the content stream into which the targeted
advertisement was placed. This information may be utilized by the
centralized management system 110 to identify a provider of the
content stream. As will be explained in more detail hereinafter,
the provider of the content stream may share any advertising
revenues generated from the placement of the targeted
advertisement.
[0050] At least one user of the electronic device 102 may be
required to complete an enrollment process with the centralized
management system 110. Alternatively, all the users of the
electronic device 102 may be required to enroll with the
centralized management system 110. For example, all of the members
of a household may be required to enroll with the centralized
management system 110.
[0051] The enrollment process may be completed through a wide
variety of methods, including through the electronic device 102,
another electronic device, live interview, or through a paper form.
A graphical user interface, such as an interactive web page, may be
employed to assist in the enrollment process. In one embodiment,
the enrollment process may require that a user complete a profile
assessment by providing information in response to survey-type
questions.
[0052] The profile assessment may gather information regarding the
age of the user, the sex of the user, the income of the user, the
marital and family status of the user, the race of the user, the
residence of the user, the native language of the user, the credit
rating of the user, the hobbies of the user, the general and
specific interests of the user, and/or any other information deemed
necessary to direct targeted advertisements to the user.
[0053] In addition, during the enrollment process, the user may
elect not to receive advertisements for certain products or
services. For example, the user may elect not to receive alcohol or
cigarette related advertisements during the enrollment process. The
enrollment process may take place on-line, through a personal
interview, or any other similarly related methodologies. The
profile information gathered from a user may be stored in a
database associated with the centralized management system 110. In
addition, the enrollment process may require the user to submit a
biometric or non-biometric reference sample to be used in
identifying the user.
[0054] Targeted advertisements may be supplied to the centralized
management system 110 from an advertising source 112. The
advertising source 112 may be operated by a third-party, such as an
advertising agency or by a marketing department of a company. The
advertising source 112 and the centralized management system 110
may engage in communications over a communication path 114.
[0055] Through the communication path 114, the advertising source
112 may transmit the targeted advertisements to the centralized
management system 110. The targeted advertisements may be provided
by the advertisement source 112 in a format suitable for
transmission to the electronic device 102 by the centralized
management system 110. Alternatively, the centralized management
system 110 may have the capability to format or re-format a
targeted advertisement for transmission to the electronic device
102. Further, the targeted advertisements may be provided to the
centralized management system 110 on a portable storage medium,
such as a CD or DVD.
[0056] In addition to the targeted advertisements, the
advertisement source 112 may provide target profiles associated
with the targeted advertisements. The target profiles may identify
a specific profile of a user to whom the targeted advertisements
are directed. The target profiles may be developed by using profile
information, which may contain demographic and behavioral
information, stored at the centralized management system 110.
[0057] Once a targeted advertisement and its associated target
profile have been received at the centralized management system
110, the centralized management system 110 may compare the target
profile to the profiles of all of the enrolled users to determine a
group of targeted users to whom the targeted advertisement should
be delivered. It will be appreciated by those having ordinary skill
in the art that the profiles of the targeted users may be only a
close match to the target profile and that an exact match is not
required between the target profile and a user's profile. In one
embodiment, there is a 90% or higher match between the target
profile and a user's profile in order for the user to be targeted.
In another embodiment, there is an 80% or higher match between the
target profile and a user's profile in order for the user to be
targeted. In still another embodiment, there is an 70% or higher
match between the target profile and a user's profile in order for
the user to be targeted.
[0058] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, if a user of
the electronic device 102 is found to have a profile that
corresponds to a target profile for a targeted advertisement, the
centralized management system 110 may deliver the targeted
advertisement to the electronic device 102 via the communication
path 108. In another embodiment, if a user of the electronic device
102 is found to have a profile that corresponds to the target
profile for the targeted advertisements, the centralized management
system 110 may deliver the targeted advertisements to the
electronic device 102 along with a subscription-based content
stream via the communication path 108.
[0059] The targeted advertisements, and, if transmitted, the
subscription-based content stream, may be stored in a storage
medium locally associated with the electronic device 102. When it
is confirmed that the targeted user is actually using the
electronic device 102, the electronic device 102 may render the
targeted advertisement to the user at the first available
opportunity or some at other specified opportunity. The
confirmation that the targeted user is actually using the
electronic device 102 may be accomplished through a biometric or
non-biometric recognition technique using the reference sample
submitted by the user during the enrollment process.
[0060] The rendering of the targeted advertisement to a targeted
user may be accomplished in several ways. In one embodiment, upon
verification that a targeted user is actually using the electronic
device 102, the electronic device 102 may begin monitoring the
content stream from the content source 104 or the subscription
based content stream from the centralized management system 110 for
advertisement placement opportunities. When an advertisement
placement opportunity is identified, the electronic device 102 will
render the targeted advertisement in accordance with the
advertisement placement opportunity.
[0061] Further, the electronic device 102, either separately or in
combination with the centralized management system 110, may also
identify the owner or provider of the content stream or
subscription-based content stream into which the targeted
advertisement is placed. This information may be stored for later
transmission to the centralized management system 110.
Alternatively, the electronic device 102 may gather data regarding
the content stream into which a targeted advertisement has been
placed such that the data may be used to identify the owner or
provider of the content stream. Thus, included in the
communications 108 from the electronic device 102 to the
centralized management system 110 may be information regarding the
content stream into which the targeted advertisement is placed.
Further, as previously mentioned, the electronic device 102 may
send an electronic notification reporting that one or more of the
targeted advertisements previously transmitted to the electronic
device 102 by the centralized management system 110 has in fact
been rendered to the targeted user. To the extent not previously
provided, the centralized management system 110 may determine the
content owner or content provider associated with the content
stream from information received from the electronic device 102
over communication path 108.
[0062] The centralized management system 110 may send
communications over a communication path 116 to a third-party
system 118 operated by a content owner or content provider
associated with the content stream from the content source 104.
This information may include a report regarding the placement of
the targeted advertisement into the content stream. The report may
also include information on the sharing of any advertisement
revenues generated by the advertisement placement as will be
explained hereinafter.
[0063] In addition, the communications between the centralized
management system 110 and the advertisement source 112 may include
a report regarding the placement of the targeted advertisement.
Likewise, the communications between the centralized management
system 110 and the content source 120 may include a report
regarding the placement of the targeted advertisement.
[0064] Although only one advertisement source 112 is depicted in
FIG. 1, it will be appreciated by those having ordinary skill in
the art that the centralized management system 110 may receive
targeted advertisements from multiple advertisement sources. In
this manner, the centralized management system 110 is able to
deliver targeted advertisements from multiple advertisement
sources. Further, it will be appreciated by those having ordinary
skill in the art, that multiple users may enroll with the
centralized management system 110 for the electronic device
102.
[0065] Moreover, although only one electronic device 102 is
depicted in FIG. 1, it will be appreciated by those having ordinary
skill in the art that multiple electronic devices, each having one
or more users, may receive targeted advertisements from the
centralized management system 110. In this manner, the centralized
management system 110 is able to deliver targeted advertisements
across multiple platforms to multiple users as will be explained in
greater detail hereinafter.
[0066] Referring now to FIG. 2, there is illustrated a diagram of
the logical and other components of an exemplary electronic device
102. As previously mentioned, the present disclosure is not limited
to any particular type of electronic device 102 and may include,
without limitation, televisions, cellular phones, computers,
personal digital assistants and portable music players. Thus, it is
to be understood by those having ordinary skill in the art that the
features disclosed in relation to FIG. 2 may be incorporated into a
wide range of electronic devices having the ability to render a
content stream.
[0067] The electronic device 102 may include standard device
electronics 200 and a local management system 202. The standard
device electronics 200 are those components typically associated
with that type of electronic device 102. For example, if the
electronic device 102 is a television, then the standard device
electronics 200 are those components found in a conventional
television. Likewise, if the electronic device 102 is a computer,
then the standard device electronics 200 are those components found
in a conventional computer. Additionally, if the electronic device
102 is a cellular phone, then the standard device electronics 200
are those components found in a cellular phone.
[0068] At a minimum, the standard device electronics 200 may
include an input module 204, a rendering module 206, and an output
module 208. In other words, typically common to all of the various
forms that the electronic device 102 may take, the standard device
electronics 200 may include the input module 204, the rendering
module 206 and the output module 208.
[0069] The input module 204 is operable to receive a signal
containing the content stream and contains all the necessary
circuitry to accomplish this task. For example, if the content
stream is received via a wireless connection, the input module 204
may include an antenna and associated radio frequency circuitry
necessary to receive the signal. Likewise, if the content stream is
received via a wired connection, the input module 204 may include
the appropriate connection jacks and the necessary circuitry to
accomplish this task. The input module 204 may include a modem, a
network card, or any other circuitry necessary to receive the
content stream.
[0070] The rendering module 206 is operable to receive the content
stream and provide it to the output module 208 in the appropriate
format. The output module 208 may comprise an electronic display,
screen, monitor, and/or speakers. The output module 208 allows a
user to perceive the content stream.
[0071] The local management system 202 includes various components
as will now be described. A network gateway module 210 is operable
to allow communications between the electronic device 202 and the
centralized management system 110. The network gateway module 210
may comprise a connection to a LAN or a WAN. In one exemplary
embodiment, the network gateway module 210 allows communications to
be received and transmitted over a network such as the Internet. In
particular, the network gateway module 210 facilitates the
communications with the centralized management system 110 over the
communication path 108. The targeted advertisements,
subscription-based content stream, and the feedback are all sent
and received through the network gateway module 210. In the
appropriate circumstances, the network gateway module 210 and the
input module 204 may share components.
[0072] The storage module 212 is operable to control storage of
information in a storage medium 230 and may include the appropriate
software drivers. The information stored on the storage medium 230
may include the targeted advertisements, subscription-based content
streams, computer software for the other modules, as well as any
other needed information or programming required to accomplish the
tasks described herein. The storage module 212 may also control
buffering of the targeted advertisements and/or subscription-based
content streams to thereby prevent a buffer underrun.
[0073] A switching module 214 is operable to cause that the
targeted advertisements received from the centralized management
system 110 are rendered on the electronic device 102 according to
the advertisement placement opportunities. In one embodiment, the
switching module 214 may comprise a switch capable of switching
between the content stream from the content source 104 and the
targeted advertisements stored on the storage medium 230. Thus, the
switching module 214 may switch the source for the rendering module
206 between the content stream from the content source 104 and the
targeted advertisements.
[0074] A content tracking module 216 tracks and records information
regarding the content stream into which the targeted advertisements
are placed. In one embodiment, the content tracking module 216 may
extract and record embedded codes in the content stream from the
content source 104. These embedded codes may then be transmitted to
centralized management system 110 where the content provider and/or
content owner of the content stream from the content source 104 may
be identified using the codes. In another embodiment, the content
tracking module 216 may also simply track and record the time and
the specific channel that carries the content stream. This
information may then be transmitted to the centralized management
system 110 where the content provider and/or content owner may be
identified.
[0075] In another embodiment, the content tracking module 216 may
record the internet address of a website into which the targeted
advertisements are placed. This information is then transmitted to
the centralized management system 216. In another embodiment, the
content tracking module 216 may also create a map of the data in
the content stream. The map of the data may then be transmitted to
the centralized management system 110 where the content provider
and/or content owner are identified using the data map. It will be
appreciated by those having ordinary skill in the art that any
process or methodology now known or known in the future that is
used to identify the owner or provider of the content stream falls
within the scope of the present disclosure.
[0076] A reporting module 216 generates the feedback and other
information transmitted to the centralized management system 110.
The feedback may include information verifying the rendering of the
targeted advertising to the targeted user.
[0077] A campaign management module 220 insures that the targeted
advertisements are rendered according to any delivery requirements
sent by the centralized management system 110. For example, the
delivery requirements may set the sequence in which the targeted
advertisements are rendered to a user. The delivery requirements
may also specify where in the content stream that the targeted
advertisements should be placed.
[0078] A user identification module 222 is operable to identify the
user of the electronic device 102. The user identification module
222 may include integrated technologies that passively identify the
user of the electronic device 102. As used herein, the term
"passively" means that a user is not actively aware of the
operation of the user identification module or that the electronic
device does not require specific user input to trigger the delivery
of the targeted advertisements.
[0079] In one embodiment, the user identification module 222
utilizes biometric recognition technologies and techniques.
Suitable biometric recognition technology includes fingerprint
recognition, retina recognition, heartbeat recognition, voice
recognition, face recognition, and any other technology now known
or known in the future that utilizes a measurable, physical
characteristic or personal behavioral trait that may be used to
recognize the identity, or verify the claimed identity, of a user.
Other passive identification options for non-biometric technologies
and techniques include associating a specific user with a cellular
phone number, a serial number of an electronic device, or IP
address assigned to an electronic device. The user identification
module 222 may then identify a user based on the proximity of a
known user mobile device associated with a specific cellular phone
number, serial number, or IP address. The user identification
module 222 may also use active identification technologies such as
passwords, logins, and challenge questions to identify the
user.
[0080] In the case where the user identification module 222 employs
a biometric recognition technology, enrollment by the user may be
required. That is, a user may be required to submit a reference
sample of the characteristic or trait used to identify the user.
Once taken, the reference sample may be stored at the centralized
management system 110. The reference sample may be disseminated to
the electronic device 102 associated with the user through the
communication path 108. It will be appreciated that the reference
sample for a user may be disseminated to multiple electronic
devices 102 such that the user may only have to provide the sample
one time.
[0081] The user identification module 222 may include the necessary
components to capture the user's characteristic or trait. For
example, in the case where the biometric technology utilizes finger
print recognition, the user identification module 222 may include a
fingerprint scanner. Once the user's fingerprint is scanned, the
scan is compared to the reference sample to thereby identify the
user.
[0082] Once the user's identity is confirmed, or, stated another
way, the user of the electronic device is confirmed to have
previously enrolled with the centralized management system, an
advertisement selection module 223 determines if any targeted
advertisements on the storage medium are linked to that user. If a
targeted advertisement is linked to the current user of the
electronic device, then the advertisement selection module 223 may
then notify the switching module 214 and the opportunity detection
module 226 of a targeted advertisement that needs placement.
[0083] A communications module 224 is operable to control
communications between the electronic device 102 and the
centralized management system 110. The communications module 224
may include the necessary components and protocol to ensure
reliable communications.
[0084] The opportunity detection module 226 may be operable to
recognize advertisement placement opportunities in the content
stream or the subscription-based content stream. For example, the
opportunity detection module 226 may identify an advertising slot.
In one embodiment, in order to identify an advertisement placement
opportunity, the opportunity detection module 226 may monitor the
content stream for embedded codes that signal an upcoming slot
designated for advertising. The embedded codes may take the form of
an inaudible tone or any other type of signaling or flag. Once an
upcoming slot designated for advertising has been identified, the
opportunity detection module 226 may cause that the original
advertisements in the content stream be displaced by the targeted
advertisements using the switching module 214.
[0085] A subscription module 227 may manage the subscription-based
content stream from the centralized management system 110. The
subscription module 227 may be operable to generate a graphical
user interface to allow a user to select content or programming
available from the centralized management system 110. In this
regard, the centralized management system 110 may transmit to the
electronic device 102 over the communication path 108 a list of all
available content and programming.
[0086] The local management system 202 may include a microprocessor
228, also known as a centralized processing unit. As the various
modules 210-227 may include computer programming code, the modules
210-227 may utilize the microprocessor 228 to accomplish their
intended purposes as outlined herein.
[0087] It will be appreciated that the local management system 202
may be integrated into the electronic device 102 or may be
contained in a separate and stand alone unit having a connection to
the electronic device 102. It will further be noted that any of the
modules 210-227 may also be integrated into the electronic device
102, or any or all of them may be externally located with respect
to the electronic device 102. Further, omissions of any of the
modules 210-227 in an electronic device 102 still falls within the
scope of the present disclosure. That is, alternative embodiments
of the present disclosure may have less than all of the modules
210-227 shown in FIG. 2. Further, the modules 210-227 may share
common resources without departing from the scope of the present
disclosure.
[0088] Referring now to FIG. 3, there is illustrated a diagram of
the logical and other components of an exemplary centralized
management system 110. As mentioned above, the centralized
management system 110 may be remotely located from the electronic
device 102 such that the centralized management system 110 is able
to communicate with multiple electronic devices. Each of the
various components of the centralized management system 110 will
now be described.
[0089] A network gateway module 302 is operable to allow
communications between the electronic device 102 and the
centralized management system 110. The network gateway module 302
may comprise a connection to a network, such as a LAN or a WAN. In
one exemplary embodiment, the network gateway module 302 allows
communications to be received and transmitted over a network such
as the Internet. The network gateway module 302 may also allow
communications with the advertisement source 112 and the
third-party system 118.
[0090] A content identification module 304 is operable to identify
the content provider and/or the content owner of the content
stream. The content identification module 304 may use information
gathered by the electronic device 102 and transmitted to the
centralized management system 110 in order to identify the content
provider and/or content owner of the content stream. The content
identification module 304 may identify the content provider and/or
content owner of the content stream using any one of a variety of
methods described above.
[0091] In one embodiment, a content provider and/or content owner
of the content stream may be identified using codes embedded in the
content stream. The embedded codes may be extracted from the
content stream by the electronic device 102. Once extracted, the
codes may then be transmitted to the centralized management system
110 using communications 108. The content identification module 304
may then use the codes to properly identify the content provider
and/or content owner. In another embodiment, the content
identification module 304 may utilize a data point map extracted
from the content stream and transmitted to the centralized
management system 110 by the electronic device 102. The content
identification module 304 may then compare this map to known maps
to identify the content owner and/or content provider. In another
embodiment, the electronic device 102 may log the time and channel
on which the content stream is broadcast and transmit this
information to the centralized management system 110. The content
identification module 304 may then compare this information to a
programming schedule to identify the content owner and/or content
provider.
[0092] A communications module 306 is operable to control
communications between the electronic device 102 and the
centralized management system 110, the centralized management
system 110 and the advertisement source 112, and the centralized
management system 110 and the third-party system 118. For example,
the communications module 306 may identify optimal communication
times to download the targeted advertisements to the electronic
device 102. The communication module 306 may track successful and
unsuccessful communications and repeat as necessary. The
communication module 306 may be completely autonomous from human
interaction such that the communications with the electronic device
102 occur automatically.
[0093] A reporting module 308 may be operable to generate reports
regarding the targeted advertisement placing and any revenue
sharing with content providers. The reports may be generated
automatically pursuant to a reporting policy established by the
operators of the centralized management system 110. The reports
generated by the reporting module 308 may include information
received from the reporting module 218 on the electronic device
102. The reports 308 may be disseminated to the advertisement
source 112 and the third-party system 118.
[0094] A subscription module 310 is operable to provide a
subscription-based content stream having customized content to the
electronic device 102. For example, as explained previously, a user
of the electronic device 102 is able to select programming and
other content for delivery to the electronic device 102 from the
centralized management system 110. Targeted advertisements may be
placed into the subscription-based content stream at the
centralized management system 110 prior to transmission to the
electronic device 102. This may be done on-the-fly as the
subscription-based content stream is transmitted. Alternatively,
the subscription-based content stream may be transmitted separately
from the targeted advertisements.
[0095] Thus, the subscription module 310 that is operable to allow
a user to subscribe to any content stream available from the
centralized management system 110. As mentioned, the content stream
may be provided by an outside content source 120 over the
communication path 122 to the centralized management system 110. It
is contemplated that the present disclosure includes receiving
content streams from multiple content sources.
[0096] The subscription module 310 may provide a list of all
available content streams to the electronic device 102 to thereby
facilitate user selection at the electronic device 102. The
subscription module 310 may provide navigable menu screens to the
electronic device 102 such that the user may select from available
programming. For example, the screens may include all available
movies, shows, programming or other content available for delivery
to the electronic device 102 through the centralized management
system 110.
[0097] The centralized management system 110 may include a storage
module 312 that is operable to manage and control the storage of
information in a storage medium 326. The storage module 312 may
include a database management application suitable for the purposes
outlined herein. The storage module 312 may include the appropriate
software drivers for accessing information from the storage medium
326.
[0098] The centralized management system 110 may include a user
profile management and enrollment module 314 that is operable to
receive and manage user profiles in the storage medium 326. A user
profile may include information regarding a user of the electronic
device 102. The user profile management and enrollment module 314
may administer an on-line profile assessment to a user thereby
enroll a user with the centralized management system 110. The user
profile management and enrollment module 314 may also receive and
store biometric reference samples from users as part of the users
profile. In addition, the user profile management and enrollment
module 314 may also associate all of the electrical devices of a
user with the user's profile.
[0099] The centralized management system 110 may include a campaign
management module 316 that is operable to manage and control an
advertising campaign and to set any delivery requirements for the
targeted advertisements. An advertising campaign may include
various phases. Each phase may include the delivery of an
advertisement using a different platform. Using the feedback from
the electronic device 102, the campaign management module 316 is
able to cause subsequent phases of an advertising campaign to be
performed on a different platform or the same platform in a
sequential manner.
[0100] The centralized management system 110 may include a
comparison module 318 that is operable to compare the target
profiles for the targeted advertisements to the user profiles to
thereby determine a group of targeted users. At this point, the
centralized management system 110 may generate feedback to the
advertisement source 112 regarding the group of targeted users.
This feedback may include the information regarding the number of
users in the group of targeted users. This information may allow
the modification of the target profile such that the size of the
group of targeted users may be increased or decreased. This process
may undergo several iterations until a desired group of targeted
user profiles has been generated.
[0101] Once the targeted users have been identified and finalized
by the comparison module 318, the centralized management system 110
may transmit the targeted advertisements to an electronic device
102 associated with each of the targeted users via the
advertisement delivery module 319. The advertisement delivery
module 319 may also transmit a link associated with a targeted
advertisement. The link may identify the targeted user to whom the
targeted advertisement is directed. In this manner, the electronic
device 102 may utilize the link to ensure proper delivery of the
targeted advertisement to the targeted user.
[0102] It should be noted that users who do not have a matching
profile to the targeted profile may not receive the targeted
advertisements. The delivery of the targeted advertisements to the
electronic devices 102 of the targeted users may take place as the
system demands allow. Typically, this may occur during off-peak
hours. Further, the process may occur over several hours, days or
weeks depending upon the size of the group of targeted users.
[0103] An account management module 320 is operable to establish
and manage accounts for content providers and advertisement
providers. The account management module may establish a revenue
account for the content providers. The revenue accounts of each of
the content providers may be updated to reflect the content
providers share of any advertising revenues generated from the
placement of the targeted advertisements in relation to a content
stream associated with the content providers. The content providers
may provide the content streams directly to the centralized
management system through content source 120 or to directly to the
electronic device 102 through content source 104. Thus, the present
disclosure is able to compensate content providers for the
placement of targeted advertisements in content streams from the
content source 104 or subscription-based content streams from the
centralized management system 110.
[0104] A revenue calculation module 322 may be operable to
calculate any revenue sharing of any compensation received for
placing the targeted advertisements. Compensation for placing the
targeted advertisement may be received from the operators of the
advertising source 112, which may include advertising agencies or
companies. It will be appreciated that because the present
disclosure is able in most cases to identify the content provider
of the content stream into which the targeted advertisements are
placed, that the operators of the centralized management system 110
are able to share revenues with the content provider of the content
stream.
[0105] Further, the revenue calculation module 322 may generate a
report that is transmitted to the third-party system 118, which may
be operated by the content providers of the content stream. The
revenue calculation module 322 calculates the revenue sharing based
upon the particular content stream into which a targeted
advertisement is placed. For example, if the electronic device 102
is a television tuned to a broadcast television station showing a
movie, the electronic device 102 may insert a targeted
advertisement into the movie during a regularly scheduled
commercial break. The electronic device 102 may record the time
that the targeted advertisement was placed and the channel showing
the movie. This information may be transmitted back to the
centralized management system 110. Using this information, the
centralized management system 110 may then identify the content
provider, i.e., the broadcast television station, and the content
owner, i.e., the owner of the movie being broadcast (such as a
movie studio). The revenue calculation module 322 may then
calculate shares of the compensation received from an advertising
agency to place the targeted advertisement among the operators of
the centralized management system 110, and the content owner, and
content provider. This model may require that the operators of the
centralized management system 110 establish revenue sharing
agreements with the content providers to determine the amount of
the revenue share. As used herein, the term "content provider"
shall be construed to also include content owners.
[0106] The centralized management system 110 may include a
microprocessor 324, also known as a central processing unit, that
is operable to process any of the required data from any of the
modules 302-322. The processor 324 may take any one of a variety of
forms including a single processor or multiple processors. Further,
it will be appreciated that the centralized management system 110
may be integrated into a single computing device or may be
distributed across multiple computing platforms. It will further be
noted that the modules 302-322 may also be integrated into a single
computing device or may be separately located amongst multiple
computing platforms. Further, omission of any of the modules
302-322 falls within the scope of the present disclosure. That is,
alternative embodiments of the present disclosure may have less
than all of the modules 302-322 shown in FIG. 3.
[0107] Referring now to FIG. 4, there is shown another exemplary
embodiment of the present disclosure. A centralized management
system 400 may comprise one or more computing devices 402 in
communication with an electronic storage medium 404. The
centralized management system 400 may receive targeted
advertisements in an electronic format from a computing device 406.
The computing device 406 and the centralized management system 400
may communicate over a computer network, such as the Internet. The
computing device 406 may be operated by advertisers or advertising
agencies. When received at the centralized management system 400,
the targeted advertisements are electronically stored in the
electronic storage medium 404.
[0108] It should be noted that the targeted advertisements may
stored in any format suitable for rendering on an electronic
device. For example, suitable formats for the targeted
advertisements include AVI, Windows Media, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4,
QuickTime, RealVideo, Flash and Shockwave. Other suitable formats
include audio formats such as AAC, AC3, MIDI, MP3, RealAudio,
Waveform, and WMA. Other suitable formats include image formats
such as BMP, GIF, JPG, JPG 2000, MNG, PNG, SVG, TIFF. Other
suitable formats include ASCII, DOC, EBCDIC, HTML, OEBPS, RTF,
Unicode, WPD, and XML. Still other suitable formats include DVD,
Blue-Ray, and HD DVD.
[0109] The computing device 406 may also transmit target profile to
the centralized management system 400 in association with the
targeted advertisements. The target profile may specify a specific
profile of the intended recipients of the targeted advertisements.
The centralized management system 400 compares the target profile
to user profiles stored on the electronic storage medium 404 using
a computer application running on computing devices 402. The
comparison of the target profile to the user profiles results in a
list of targeted users for the targeted advertisements. Thus, it
will be understood that the targeted users have a profile that
matches or is close to the targeted profile. This list of targeted
users may be stored on the electronic storage medium 404.
[0110] The targeted advertisements may include individual
advertisements intended to be rendered on different platforms. For
example, the targeted advertisements may include an advertisement
in a format suitable for rendering on a television, an
advertisement in a format suitable for rendering on a computer, and
an advertisement in a format suitable for rendering on a cellular
phone. The centralized management system 400 is able to manage the
delivery of the targeted advertisements across multiple platforms
to a targeted user as will be described in more detail below.
[0111] The centralized management system 400 is also able to
communicate with a computing device 408. The computing device 408
may control a traditional advertising platform 410 such as direct
mailers, electronic mail, or an outbound call center. The
centralized management system 400 may direct the computing device
408 to initiate a phase of an advertising campaign through the
traditional advertising platform 410 to the targeted users or any
one of the targeted users. The centralized management system 400
may send the information, i.e. the advertisement, to be used by
traditional advertising platform 410.
[0112] The centralized management system 400 may also control the
timing of when the computing device 408 initiates the campaign
through the traditional advertising platform 410. The computing
device 408 may report back to the centralized management system 400
confirming the execution of the advertising through the traditional
advertising platform 410.
[0113] A user 412 may enroll with the centralized management system
400 by completing a profile assessment. This may be accomplished
via an online survey, personal interview, or any similarly related
methodologies. During the enrollment process, the user 412 may
provide information relating to his or her profile, which is stored
by the centralized management system 400. As mentioned previously,
the profile may include information regarding the age of the user
412, the sex of the user 412, income of the user 412, marital and
family status of the user 412, the race of the user 412, the native
language of the user 412, the credit rating of the user 412,
hobbies of the user 412, interests of the user 412, or any other
information that can be used to direct targeted advertisements to
the user 412.
[0114] During the enrollment process, the user 412 may also provide
a reference sample for biometric identification purposes. The
reference sample may include a reference sample suitable for
identifying the user 412 using any biometric recognition
technology, including, without limitation, fingerprint recognition,
retina recognition, heartbeat recognition, voice recognition, face
recognition, and any other technology now known or known in the
future that utilizes a measurable, physical characteristic or
personal behavioral trait that may be used to recognize the
identity, or verify the claimed identity, of a user. The user 412
may also be required to submit information for use with other
personal identification technologies, such as passwords, logins,
identification numbers, and challenge questions--all of which can
be used to identify the user 412.
[0115] In return for enrollment, the user 412 may be provided with
one or more platforms through which the advertisements may be
delivered. Some of the platforms provided to the user 412 may be a
type of electronic device. FIG. 4 illustrates examples of some of
the suitable platforms in the form of electronic devices that may
be provided to the user 412 in return for enrollment with the
centralized management system 400. These electronic devices may
include a computer 414, a cell phone 416, and a television 418. In
addition, the user 412 may be provided with an aftermarket box 420
for enabling a traditional television 422 to be used in accordance
with the present disclosure.
[0116] Each of the computer 414, phone 416, television 418, and box
420, may have integrated components for enabling two-way electronic
communications with the centralized management system 400. These
communications may occur over a network, such as the Internet. The
centralized management system 400 is able to deliver appropriate
targeted advertisements to each of the computer 414, phone 416, the
television 418, and the box 420. The targeted advertisements are
saved in a storage medium associated with each of the computer 414,
phone 416, television 418, and the box 420 for later use. For this
reason, it will be appreciated that a targeted advertisement may be
transmitted in a format suitable for rendering on the electronic
device to which it is sent. In this manner, the present disclosure
is able to deliver advertisements across multiple platforms to the
same user.
[0117] The computer 414 may include a keyboard 414A, a mouse 414B,
a remote control 414C and a camera 414D. The keyboard 414A, mouse
414B and the remote control 414C may each include a biometric
sensor for determining the identification of the user 412. The
biometric sensor may include, for example, a fingerprint scanner,
heartbeat scanner, or a microphone used to capture the voice of the
user 412. In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the identity
of the user 412 is confirmed passively. For example, the
fingerprint scanner may be located on a control button such that by
using the control button, the fingerprint of the user 412 is
automatically and passively captured. In another embodiment, the
identity of the user is captured actively. For example, the user
412 may be required to speak such that the voice of the user 412
may be captured for recognition. The camera 414D may be used to
capture an image of the face of the user 412 for use with facial
recognition techniques.
[0118] The television 418 may include a remote control 418A. The
remote control 418A may include a biometric sensor, including, for
example, a fingerprint scanner, a heartbeat scanner, or a
microphone. In addition, a camera may be incorporated into the
remote control 418A for enabling the use of facial recognition
techniques. Once a biometric characteristic or trait is captured,
the remote control 418A may transmit this information to the
television 418. In addition, the remote control 418A may be used
for content selection.
[0119] The box 420, attached externally to a conventional
television 422, may also include a biometric sensor, including, for
example, a fingerprint scanner, a heartbeat scanner, or a
microphone. In addition, a camera may be incorporated into the box
420 for enabling the use of facial recognition techniques. The box
420 may use the information to identify the user 412.
[0120] It will be appreciated that the use of the biometric
recognition techniques allow for the positive identification of
instances when the user 412 is actually using the electronic
devices, namely the computer 414 and the televisions 418 and 422.
Further, these recognition techniques ensure that the targeted
advertisements are rendered to the user 412 and not some other
party that happens to use any of the electronic devices shown in
FIG. 4.
[0121] It will be appreciated, that each user of an electronic
device may be required to enroll with the centralized management
system 400. For example, all of the members of a household may
enroll with the system 400. In this case, targeted advertisements
for each household member may be sent to the electronic devices
414, 418, and 420 shown in FIG. 4.
[0122] Further, since the targeted advertisements are stored
locally at each electronic device, the targeted advertisements can
be rendered to the appropriate user 412 when it is confirmed that
the user 412 is actually using the electronic device through the
identification techniques described herein. In other words, a
targeted advertisement may not be rendered until it is confirmed
that the user 412 is actually using the one of the electronic
devices 414, 418, and 420 shown in FIG. 4.
[0123] The manner in which the targeted advertisements are rendered
to the user 412 will now be explained for one exemplary embodiment
of the present disclosure. In regards to the computer 414, the
targeted advertisements may be rendered to the user 412 anytime
that the user 412 is confirmed to be using the computer 414 through
a biometric recognition technique or another identification
technique. In addition, the computer 414 may receive an incoming
content stream over a network from a content provider, such as an
internet service provider. In one embodiment, integrated modules in
the computer 414 monitors the incoming content stream for targeted
advertisement placement opportunities. The computer 414 may be able
to replace an advertisement in the content stream with a targeted
advertisement directed to the user 412. For example, in the case
where the content stream includes a banner ad, the computer 414 may
replace the banner ad in the content stream, with a targeted
advertisement banner ad. In another embodiment, the incoming
content stream is monitored at a router level instead of at the
computer 414. The advertisement placement can then take place at
the router level in the same manner described herein. In another
embodiment, the incoming content stream is routed through a
proprietary server or gateway. The advertisement placement can take
place at this proprietary server or gateway in the same manner
described herein. Thus, it should be understood that advertisement
placement into a content stream can take place at any point along
the path of the content stream between the content provider and the
electronic device which renders the content stream. Further, the
targeted advertisement placement may take place at the content
provider prior to transmission.
[0124] Typically, the user 412 never sees the original banner ad
transmitted in the content stream, since it is replaced with the
targeted advertisement sent by the centralized management system
400. This placement process is facilitated by the fact that the
target advertisements are stored locally on the computer 414, a
router, or proprietary server, as the case may be. The present
disclosure is able to be used to replace other advertisements
typically found on webpages. In addition, the targeted
advertisements may be inserted into computer applications running
on the computer 414. The computer applications may include computer
games and the like.
[0125] In regards to the television 418, the targeted
advertisements may be rendered to the user 412 anytime that the
user 412 is confirmed to be watching the television 418 through a
biometric recognition technique or another identification
technique. For example, the biometric sensor on the remote control
418A may assist in identifying the user 412. The television 418 may
have the necessary components for storing and rendering the
targeted advertisements integrated into the television 418. The
television 418 may also have the necessary components for
communicating with the centralized management system 400 integrated
therein.
[0126] In one embodiment, after the positive confirmation that the
user 412 is using the television 418, the television 418 monitors
an incoming content stream for advertisement placement
opportunities. The incoming content stream may include, without
limitation, broadcast television signals, satellite signals, cable
signals, IPTV signals, signals from gaming consoles (Xbox,
Playstation, Nintendo), and signals from VCR, DVD, Blue-Ray and HD
DVD players. The advertisement placement opportunities may be
recognized from embedded signals in the content stream, a
programming schedule, or by any other means as previously
described.
[0127] Once a targeted advertisement placement opportunity has been
identified, a targeted advertisement directed specifically to the
user 412 is retrieved from a local storage medium and rendered to
the user 412 in accordance with the targeted advertisement
placement opportunity. Alternatively, the targeted advertisement
may be pre-buffered by the television 418 for nearly instantaneous
rendering. The rendering of the targeted advertisement may involve
displacing an advertisement in the incoming content stream.
However, the user 412 typically will not know that an advertisement
in the content stream has been displaced by a targeted
advertisement as it appears to be part of the normal content
stream.
[0128] In regards to the television 422, it may not have the
integrated components to store and render targeted advertisement to
the user 412. The use of the box 420, which has the components
necessary for storing and rendering the targeted advertisements
received from the centralized management system 400, allows for the
placement of the targeted advertisements in a manner similar to
that described in relation to television 418. Further, the box 420
may include biometric recognition technologies for positively
identifying when the user 412 is watching the television 422. It
will be appreciated that the use of box 420 allows the present
disclosure to be used with off-the-shelf consumer products, such as
television 422. The box 420 can be adapted to function with other
types of electronic devices.
[0129] In regards to the cellular phone 416, the targeted
advertisements may be rendered to the user 412 at anytime on a
display of the phone 416. Further, the phone 416 may not require
the use of a biometric recognition technology due the fact the
cellular phones typically do not have multiple users. However, the
use of a biometric recognition technology or other identification
technique with a cellular phone is within the scope of the present
disclosure. The targeted advertisements may be delivered over a
cellular phone network from the centralized management system 400.
Prior to rendering, the targeted advertisement may be stored in a
memory device of the phone 416.
[0130] Each of the electronic devices, i.e., computer 414, phone
416, television 418, and box 420 may report the rendering of a
targeted advertisement to the user 412 back to the centralized
management system 400. This reporting or feedback is particularly
useful in managing an advertising campaign directed to the user
412. For example, once it has been determined that an advertisement
has been rendered to the user 412, using any of the electronic
devices, computer 414, phone 416, box 420, and television 418, the
centralized management system 400 may implement another phase of an
advertising campaign. For example, the centralized management
system 400 may instruct that the computing device 408 implement a
follow-up advertisement to the user 412 using a traditional
advertising platform 410, e.g., a direct mailer, as previously
described.
[0131] Likewise, the ability of the electronic devices illustrated
in FIG. 4, i.e., the computer 414, phone 416, television 418, and
box 420 to provide reports or feedback allows for reports to be
sent to computing device 406. Thus, if computing device 406 is
operated by advertisers, the advertisers are able to track the
progress of the placement of their targeted advertisements in
virtually real-time. The same applies if the computing device 406
is operated by a content provider.
[0132] Each of the electronic devices shown in FIG. 4, i.e., the
computer 414, phone 416, television 418, and box 420 may also be
able to identify the provider or owner of the content stream into
which a targeted advertisement is placed. This may be done with or
without the assistance of the centralized data system 400. As
previously discussed, this may be accomplished via embedded coding
in the content stream. Alternatively, this may be accomplished via
consulting a programming schedule or through mapping data points in
the content stream and referring to a look-up table.
[0133] As mentioned, the identification of the user 412 may occur
passively or actively through the integrated components of the
electronic devices, i.e., the computer 414, phone 416, television
418, and box 420, shown in FIG. 4. The integrated components in the
electronic devices shown in FIG. 4 may take the form of the
components shown in relation to the local management system 202
shown in FIG. 2. Typically, the present disclosure captures the
required identification data through the normal use of the
electronic devices by the user 412.
[0134] The centralized management system 400 may comprise several
computing devices to accomplish the features described herein. The
centralized management system 400 may take the form of the
centralized management system 110 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3.
Additionally, the centralized management system 400 may comprise
various servers, including application servers, file transfer
servers, and database servers.
[0135] A computing device suitable for use as part of the
centralized management system 400 will now be described. It will be
appreciated that this same description may describe a suitable form
for computer 414. The computing device may have various forms,
including a desktop PC, a dedicated server, a laptop or a portable
tablet form, or a hand held form. The features of the computing
device described herein may be integrated or separable from the
computing device. For example, while the computing device may have
a monitor, it may be integrated into the computing device, such as
the case of a laptop or tablet type computer.
[0136] The computing device suitable for use as part of the
centralized management system 400 or computer 414 may include a
system memory and a system bus that interconnects various system
components including the system memory to a processing unit. The
system bus may be any of several types of bus structures including
a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local
bus using any of a variety of bus architectures as is known to
those skilled in the relevant art. The system memory may include
read only memory (ROM) and random access memory (RAM). A basic
input/output system (BIOS), containing the basic routines that help
to transfer information between elements within the computing
device, such as during start-up, is stored in the ROM. The
computing device may further include a hard disk drive for reading
and writing information to a hard disk, a magnetic disk drive for
reading from or writing to a removable magnetic disk, and an
optical disk drive for reading from or writing to a removable
optical disk such as a CD ROM, DVD, or other optical media.
[0137] It will be appreciated that the hard disk drive, magnetic
disk drive, and optical disk drive may be connected to the system
bus by a hard disk drive interface, a magnetic disk drive
interface, and an optical disk drive interface, respectively. The
drives and their associated computer-readable media provide
nonvolatile storage of computer readable instructions, data
structures, program modules and other data for the computing
device. Although the exemplary environment described herein employs
a hard disk, a removable magnetic disk, and a removable optical
disk, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the relevant art
that other types of computer readable media which can store data
that is accessible by a computer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash
memory cards, digital video disks, Bernoulli cartridges, random
access memories, read only memories, and the like, may also be used
in the exemplary operating environment.
[0138] A number of program modules may be stored on the hard disk,
magnetic disk, optical disk, ROM or RAM, including an operating
system, one or more applications programs, other program modules,
and program data. The application programs may include programs
suitable for accomplishing the features and tasks described herein
with relation to the centralized management system 400 or the
computer 414. A user may enter commands and information into the
computing device through input devices such as a keyboard and a
pointing device, such as a mouse. These and other input devices are
often connected to the processing unit through a serial port
interface that is coupled to the system bus. Increasingly, such
devices are being connected by the next generation of interfaces,
such as a universal serial bus interface with a USB port, and to
which other hubs and devices may be connected. Other interfaces
(not shown) that may be used include parallel ports, game ports,
and the IEEE 1394 specification.
[0139] A monitor or other type of display device is also connected
to the system bus via an interface, such as a video adapter. In
addition to the monitor, the computing device typically includes
other peripheral output or input devices. For example, an ultra
slim XGA touch panel may be used. A resistive finger touch screen
may also be used.
[0140] Further, it is well understood by those having the relevant
skill in the art that a keyboard, scanner, printer, external drives
(e.g., hard, disk and optical) and a pointing device may be
connected to the computing device suitable for use as part of the
centralized management system 400 or the computer 414. In addition,
the computing device may be capable of communicating with a network
and sending/receiving audio, video and data.
[0141] The computing device may operate in a networked environment
using logical connections to one or more remote computers or
electronic devices as described herein. The types of connections
between networked devices include dial up modems, e.g., a modem may
be directly used to connect to another modem, ISDN, xDSL, cable
modems, wireless and include connections spanning users connected
to the Internet. The remote computer may be another personal
computer, a server, a router, a network PC, a peer device or other
common network node, and typically includes many or all of the
elements described in relation to the computing device. In
particular, the computing device may be able to communicate with
the electronic devices described herein.
[0142] When used in a LAN networking environment, the computing
device is connected to a local network through a network interface
or adapter. The computing device may also connect to the LAN via
through any wireless communication standard, such as the 802.11
wireless standard. When used in a WAN networking environment, the
computing device typically uses modem or other means for
establishing communications over the wide area network. It should
be noted that the modem may be internal or external and is
connected to the system bus. It will be appreciated that the
network connections described herein are exemplary and other means
of establishing a communications link between the computers may be
used, e.g., from a LAN gateway to WAN.
[0143] Generally, the data processors of the computing device
suitable for use as part of the centralized management system 400
or the computer 414 are programmed by means of instructions stored
at different times in the various computer-readable storage media
of the computer. Programs and operating systems are typically
distributed, for example, on floppy disks or CD-ROMs. From there,
they are installed or loaded into the secondary memory of a
computer. At execution, they are loaded at least partially into the
computer's primary electronic memory. The disclosure described
herein includes these and other various types of computer-readable
storage media when such media contain instructions or programs for
implementing the steps described herein in conjunction with a
microprocessor or other data processor. The disclosure also
includes the computing device itself when programmed according to
the methods and techniques described herein.
[0144] Referring now to FIG. 5, there is depicted a flow diagram
according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. At step 500,
a targeted advertisement along with an associated target profile is
received at a centralized management system. The targeted
advertisement and the target profile may be transmitted either
separately or together over a computer network. Alternatively, the
targeted advertisement and the target profile may be delivered to
the centralized management system on a portable storage medium. The
targeted advertisement and the target profile are then loaded onto
the centralized management system. The centralized management
system may comprise a computer database having a plurality of user
profiles stored therein.
[0145] At step 502, a computer application running on the
centralized management system compares the target profile to the
user profiles in order to determine a group of targeted users. The
comparison should return at least one targeted user. The targeted
users have a profile that match or are closely matched to the
target profile.
[0146] At step 504, the targeted advertisements are delivered to
electronic devices of the users having a profile that matches the
target profile. This may be accomplished by transmitting the
targeted advertisement from the centralized management system to
one or more electronic devices associated with each targeted
user.
[0147] At step 506, the electronic device confirms when the
targeted user is actually using the electronic device, and, at step
508, the electronic device renders the targeted advertisement to
the targeted user. At step 510, a report regarding the rendering of
the targeted advertisement is generated. The report may be
electronically transmitted back to the centralized management
system.
[0148] Referring now to FIG. 6, there is depicted a flow diagram
according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. At steps 600
and 602, a content stream is monitored for an advertisement
placement opportunity. The advertisement placement opportunity may
be a regular advertising slot in the content stream.
[0149] At step 604, an advertisement in the content stream is
replaced with a targeted advertisement. This may be accomplished by
switching an input from a source carrying the content stream to a
source carrying the targeted advertisement. The targeted
advertisement may be pre-buffered such that the switch to targeted
advertisement may be accomplished on-the-fly and without
interruption. After the targeted advertisement has been rendered,
the source of the input may be immediately switched back to the
source carrying the content stream. This step should provide a
seamless integration of the targeted advertisement into the content
stream, to the extent possible, such that the switch is
unnoticeable to a user.
[0150] At step 606, the content owner or content provider of the
content stream is identified. This may require extracting embedded
codes from the content stream. In addition, other recognition
techniques may be employed, including mapping data points in the
content stream and comparing these data points to a known data
point mappings in a look-up table. Alternatively, a programming
schedule may be employed to identify the content owner or content
provider.
[0151] At step 608, revenues generated by the targeted
advertisement placement may be shared with the content owner and/or
content provider. In this manner, the content owner and/or
providers are compensated for the displacement of their normal
advertisements in the content stream.
[0152] Referring now to FIG. 7, there is depicted a flow diagram
according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. At step 700,
a user, referred to herein as the "current user" for purposes
clarity, interacts with an electronic device. The electronic device
may have the ability to place targeted advertisements.
[0153] At step 702, the electronic device determines whether any
enrolled users have been previously associated with the electronic
device. An enrolled user is a person who has completed a profile
assessment and, in one embodiment, provided a biometric reference
sample for identification purposes. If it is determined that an
enrolled user has been associated with the electronic device, at
step 704, the electronic device will attempt to confirm whether the
current user of the electronic device is one of the enrolled users.
This may be accomplished through a biometric recognition technique,
such as a fingerprint scan. In one embodiment, the current user's
fingerprint scan will compared to the reference samples of the
enrolled users to make this determination.
[0154] If the current user of the electronic device is confirmed to
be an enrolled user, then at step 705, a determination is made
whether any targeted advertisements are linked to the user. If no
targeted advertisements are linked to the current user, then the
branch ends at step 709. If it is determined that there is a
targeted advertisement linked to the user, then, at step 706, a
content stream being rendered by the electronic device is monitored
to recognize an advertisement placement opportunity. Once the
advertisement placement opportunity is recognized, then, at step
708, a targeted advertisement is rendered to the user in accordance
with the advertisement placement opportunity. At step 711, it is
determined whether another targeted advertisement is available for
placement. If yes, the process loops back to step 706. If no, then
this branch then ends at step 709.
[0155] If at step 702, it is determined that there are no enrolled
users associated with the electronic device, at step 710, the
current user of the electronic device may be enrolled. This may
include gathering data about a profile assessment of the current
user and capturing a biometric reference sample, such as a
fingerprint scan. The current user's data, including the current
user's profile assessment and biometric reference sample, may then
be transmitted and stored at a centralized management system at
step 712.
[0156] At step 714, the centralized management system may then
update the electronic device to thereby associate an enrolled user
with the electronic device. This branch ends by returning to step
700.
[0157] If at step 704, the current user cannot be matched to any of
the enrolled users, at step 716, a determination is made whether
the current user is accessing personalized content of any of the
enrolled users. If the user is accessing personalized content,
then, at step 718, an association between the current user and an
enrolled user, to whom the personalized content is typically
associated, is created. Then, targeted advertisements may be
delivered to the current user at steps 706 and 708. If the current
user is not accessing personalized content, then at step 720, a
temporary guest registration may be granted to the current user to
thereby allow the current user to operate the electronic
device.
[0158] Referring now to FIG. 8, there is depicted a flow diagram
according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. At step 800,
it is determined that a user is using an electronic device. At step
802, it is determined whether the content stream being accessed by
the user is a subscription-based content stream or a third-party
content stream. A subscription-based content stream may be a
content stream whose content is delivered specifically to the user
at the user's request. A third-party content stream may be a
delivered using a broadcast type network.
[0159] If the content stream is a subscription-based content
stream, at step 804, targeted advertisements are inserted into the
subscription-based content stream and the subscription-based
content stream is rendered on the electronic device. This branch
then ends at step 806.
[0160] If the content stream being accessed by the user is
generated from a non-subscription based content stream, at step
808, it is determined whether the non-subscription based content
stream has embedded codes in the non-subscription based content
stream. If embedded codes are present in the non-subscription based
content stream, then at step 810, targeted advertisements may be
placed into the non-subscription based content stream. If no
embedded codes are found in the non-subscription based content
stream, then at step 812, it is determined whether the content can
be identified through another method, such as data point mapping of
the non-subscription based content stream. If the content cannot be
identified, this branch ends at step 806.
[0161] If the content can be identified at step 802, then at step
814, it is determined whether permission from the content owner
and/or provider to insert targeted advertisements has been
obtained. If no permission has been obtained, then this branch ends
at step 806. If permission has been obtained, then the targeted
advertisements are inserted into the non-subscription based content
stream at step 810 and the branch ends at step 806.
[0162] Those having ordinary skill in the relevant art will
appreciate the advantages provide by the features of the present
disclosure. For example, it is a feature of the present disclosure
to provide a system for delivering targeted advertisements to a
user of an electronic device. Another feature of the present
disclosure is to provide a confirmation or verification that a
targeted advertisement has been rendered to a targeted user. It is
a further feature of the present disclosure, in accordance with one
aspect thereof, to provide revenue sharing with an owner or
provider of a content stream into which a targeted advertisement
has been placed. As used in the following claims, the term "content
stream" may be construed to incorporate subscription-based content
streams as discussed above.
[0163] In the foregoing Detailed Description, various features of
the present disclosure are grouped together in a single embodiment
for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of
disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that
the claimed disclosure requires more features than are expressly
recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect,
inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single
foregoing disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claims are
hereby incorporated into this Detailed Description of the
Disclosure by this reference, with each claim standing on its own
as a separate embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0164] It is to be understood that the above-described arrangements
are only illustrative of the application of the principles of the
present disclosure. Numerous modifications and alternative
arrangements may be devised by those skilled in the art without
departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure and
the appended claims are intended to cover such modifications and
arrangements. Thus, while the present disclosure has been shown in
the drawings and described above with particularity and detail, it
will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that
numerous modifications, including, but not limited to, variations
in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation,
assembly and use may be made without departing from the principles
and concepts set forth herein.
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