U.S. patent application number 15/232564 was filed with the patent office on 2016-12-01 for targeted advertising.
The applicant listed for this patent is THOMSON LICENSING. Invention is credited to Chad Andrew Lefevre.
Application Number | 20160353174 15/232564 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 46000286 |
Filed Date | 2016-12-01 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160353174 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lefevre; Chad Andrew |
December 1, 2016 |
TARGETED ADVERTISING
Abstract
A method and apparatus for serving targeted advertising to a
user via a user device are described including receiving content
provided by a content provider, rendering the provided content,
viewing a commercial, wherein the commercial was spliced into the
content based on a default commercial selection algorithm at a
commercial break, determining if the user wants to rate the
commercial, accepting the user's rating of the commercial if the
user wants to rate the commercial and communicating the user's
rating of the commercial to the content provider.
Inventors: |
Lefevre; Chad Andrew;
(Indianapolis, IN) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
THOMSON LICENSING |
Issy les Moulineaux |
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FR |
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Family ID: |
46000286 |
Appl. No.: |
15/232564 |
Filed: |
August 9, 2016 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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14371313 |
Jul 9, 2014 |
9438957 |
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PCT/US12/25180 |
Feb 15, 2012 |
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15232564 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04N 21/812 20130101;
H04N 21/4756 20130101; G06Q 30/0244 20130101; H04N 21/25891
20130101; G06Q 30/0242 20130101; H04N 21/2665 20130101; H04N
21/2668 20130101; G06Q 30/0251 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H04N 21/475 20060101
H04N021/475; H04N 21/2665 20060101 H04N021/2665; H04N 21/81
20060101 H04N021/81; G06Q 30/02 20060101 G06Q030/02; H04N 21/258
20060101 H04N021/258; H04N 21/2668 20060101 H04N021/2668 |
Claims
1. A method, said method comprising: presenting first content
including a first commercial, said first commercial having been
selected based on a commercial selection algorithm; receiving a
user rating of said presented first commercial; and presenting
second content, said second content including a second commercial,
said second commercial having been selected based on a modified
commercial selection algorithm, said modified commercial selection
algorithm having been modified based on said received user rating
of said first commercial.
2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving
said first content from a server; forwarding said rating to said
server; and receiving said second content from said server.
3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving
said first content from a server; receiving a plurality of
commercials from an ad server; and receiving said second content
from said server.
4. The method according to claim 2, wherein said server is operated
by a content provider, wherein said content provider is a multiple
system operator, an online provider or a broadcast provider.
5. The method according to claim 2, wherein said commercial
selection algorithm is based on demographics or content or
demographics and content.
6. The method according to claim 3, wherein a user's rating of said
first commercial is provided to said ad server.
7. A method for a content provider to provide targeted advertising,
said method comprising: providing first content including a first
commercial, said first commercial having been selected based on a
commercial selection algorithm; receiving a user rating of said
first commercial; providing second content, said second content
including a second commercial, said second commercial having been
selected based on a modified commercial selection algorithm, said
modified commercial selection algorithm having been modified based
on said received user rating of said first commercial.
8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising said first
commercial is selected based on a user's profile as well as said
commercial selection algorithm.
9. The method according to claim 7, wherein said content provider
is a multiple system operator, an online provider or a broadcast
provider.
10. The method according to claim 7, wherein said commercial
selection algorithm is based on demographics or content or
demographics and content.
11. The method according to claim 7, wherein a user's rating of
said first commercial is provided to an ad server.
12. An apparatus, comprising: a display device for presenting first
content including a first commercial having been selected based on
a commercial selection algorithm, said first content including said
first commercial having been received by an input signal receiver;
a user interface for receiving a user rating of said presented
first commercial; and said display device for presenting second
content, said second content including a second commercial having
been received by said input signal receiver, said second commercial
having been selected based on a modified commercial selection
algorithm, said modified commercial selection algorithm having been
modified based on said received user rating of said first
commercial.
13. The apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising: said
input signal receiver, receiving said first content from a server;
said input signal receiver, forwarding said rating to said server;
and said input signal receiver, receiving said second content from
said server.
14. The apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising: said
input signal receiver, receiving said first content from a server;
said input signal receiver, receiving a plurality of commercials
from an ad server; and said input signal receiver, receiving said
second content from said server.
15. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said server is
operated by a content provider, wherein said content provider is a
multiple system operator, an online provider or a broadcast
provider.
16. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said commercial
selection algorithm is based on demographics or content or
demographics and content.
17. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein a user's rating of
said first commercial is provided to said ad server.
18. An apparatus for providing content, comprising: means for
providing first content including a first commercial, said first
commercial having been selected based on a commercial selection
algorithm; means for receiving a user rating of said first
commercial; means for providing second content, said second content
including a second commercial, said second commercial having been
selected based on a modified commercial selection algorithm, said
modified commercial selection algorithm having been modified based
on said received user rating of said first commercial.
19. The content provider according to claim 18, further comprising
said first commercial is selected based on a user's profile as well
as said commercial selection algorithm.
20. The content provider according to claim 18, wherein said
content provider is a multiple system operator, an online provider
or a broadcast provider.
21. The content provider according to claim 18, wherein said
commercial selection algorithm is based on demographics or content
or demographics and content.
22. The content provider according to claim 18, wherein a user's
rating of said first commercial is provided to an ad server.
Description
[0001] This application is a divisional of co-pending U.S.
application Ser. No. 14/371,313, filed Jul. 9, 2014 which is a 371
Patent Application of PCT/US 12/025180 filed Feb. 15, 2012, herein
incorporated by reference.
FIELD OF INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates generally to advertising and,
in particular to allowing a user (viewer) of video services to
change and impact the advertising he/she views. That is, the
present invention provides for improved targeted advertising.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Advertisements (like many things) are a matter of personal
preference. Some people found the Taco Bell dog funny and
endearing. Other people disliked the Taco Bell dog commercials. As
time passed, some people moved from the first camp into the second.
To a viewer of commercials, good commercials can have a great
effect: I like that commercial, so I'm more inclined to buy/use
that product. It has been largely overlooked that bad commercials
can have the opposite effect. Viewers will avoid products that are
represented by bad commercials. Or, similarly as illustrated above,
repetition can cause viewers to start avoiding the product over
time. In the case of certain events (watching college basketball
all day on a Saturday, for example), the same commercials are shown
repeatedly, causing even a good commercial to have the effect of a
bad commercial.
[0004] Advertisers make advertisements to appeal to viewers to
entice them to buy their product(s). Frequently, a bad
advertisement will turn a viewer off of a product, and repetition
of a bad advertisement can make a viewer avoid a product
altogether. Over-repetition of a good advertisement can have an
adverse effect as well.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] In multicast and broadcast applications, data are
transmitted from a server to multiple receivers over wired and/or
wireless networks. A multicast system as used herein is a system in
which a server transmits the same data to multiple receivers
simultaneously, where the receivers form a subset of all the
receivers up to and including all of the receivers. A broadcast
system is a system in which a server transmits the same data to all
of the receivers simultaneously. That is, a multicast system by
definition can include a broadcast system.
[0006] The present invention allows a viewer of video services to
influence the advertisements that he/she views. The present
invention allows the user to rank advertisements so that the
advertising (ad) server is able to transmit (send) more effective
advertisements to the user. At the same time, invaluable feedback
would be presented to the advertisers, allowing them to keep up
with current trends in viewing. The present invention would also
allow user rankings to be changed, to keep up with their current
preferences.
[0007] The present invention system would allow feedback from the
viewer to change the advertisements that are served to that
particular viewer, making the experience better for the viewer and
the advertiser as well. Engaging the user may also cut down on
"channel surfing," as the user may be more inclined to watch the
advertisements if he/she knows he/she can affect the advertisements
(ads). Feedback from the present would be made available to the
advertiser, thus creating an environment where actual user feedback
would drive new advertisements.
[0008] The present invention is similar to the Nielsen Ratings
system, in that the feedback from users will be made available to
the advertisers (the broadcasters in the Nielsen world) and can be
used to determine which advertisements are preferred. This, in
turn, may shape future advertisements (commercials). The present
invention is a system based on rankings, such as TV shows, movies,
products, etc . . . ).
[0009] A method and apparatus for serving targeted advertising to a
user via a user device are described including receiving content
provided by a content provider, rendering the provided content,
viewing a commercial, wherein the commercial was spliced into the
content based on a default commercial selection algorithm at a
commercial break, determining if the user wants to rate the
commercial, accepting the user's rating of the commercial if the
user wants to rate the commercial and communicating the user's
rating of the commercial to the content provider. Also described
are a method and apparatus for a content provider to provide
targeted advertising to a user device including communicating
content to the user device for rendering, retrieving the user's
profile, determining if the user has a user specific commercial
selection algorithm, splicing a commercial into the content based
on the user specific commercial selection algorithm and the user's
profile prior to a commercial break, serving the commercial to the
user device, determining if user feedback regarding rating of the
served commercial has been received, modifying the user's user
specific commercial selection algorithm if feedback was received
and splicing the commercial into the content based on a default
commercial selection algorithm prior to a commercial break if no
user specific commercial selection algorithm was located.
[0010] A method and apparatus for using commercial ratings are
described including receiving user feedback, rating commercials
from a plurality of users, collecting commercial related data,
aggregating the commercial related data and the commercial ratings,
calculating statistics based on the aggregated data and applying
the statistics to a default commercial selection algorithm.
[0011] A method and apparatus are described including receiving
content provided by a content provider, rendering the provided
content, viewing a commercial, wherein the commercial was spliced
into the content based on a default commercial selection algorithm
at a commercial break, determining if the user wants to rate the
commercial, accepting the user's rating of the commercial if the
user wants to rate the commercial, and communicating the commercial
and the user's rating of the commercial to one or more social
networking sites.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] The present invention is best understood from the following
detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings. The drawings include the following figures briefly
described below:
[0013] FIG. 1A is a block diagram of an exemplary system for
delivering content to a user (such as a home or end user or
client).
[0014] FIG. 1B is a flowchart of the current model of ad
(commercial) viewing.
[0015] FIG. 1C is a block diagram of an exemplary receiving
device.
[0016] FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the targeted advertising ranking
(rating) system of the present invention from the user
perspective.
[0017] FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an exemplary embodiment of the
method of the present invention from the perspective of a content
provider.
[0018] FIG. 4 is an alternative exemplary embodiment of the method
of the present invention from the perspective of a content
provider.
[0019] FIG. 5 is an exemplary embodiment of the present invention
from the perspective of the content provider for receiving and
aggregating users advertising rankings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0020] The present invention rectifies both over-repetition of good
advertisements and rendering of bad commercials. It will make
viewers happier and advertisers happier, and therefore content
providers and Multiple System Operators (MSOs) happier. The present
invention is a system that requires some form of two way
communication with the video service. The present invention
interacts with a video server and includes the local STB, which
could be, for example, a PC, or a mobile device, interactive TV or
any other form of client device. On the server, there is a
preference engine that makes decisions on which advertisements to
transmit (send out, broadcast, multicast). In the preferred
embodiment, the advertisement decisions are targeted to an
individual STB or household.
[0021] As the viewer is watching a program, he/she has the ability
to rank the advertisement being rendered (displayed). The ability
of the user to rank advertisements may be through dedicated buttons
on a remote control, or pop-ups on the screen that can be selected,
or gesture based on an alternative system such as a mobile phone or
tablet, etc . . . The ranking may be, for example from 1 to 5 or
any other convenient choice of ranking levels. The ranking level
information would be transmitted (sent back) to the server. The
server could then use the received ranking level information to
tweak a preferences profile of the current user or household.
[0022] Additionally, these rankings would be stored and aggregated
together to give anonymous feedback to the advertisers as to which
commercials are doing well and which are not. This would allow
advertisers to pull commercials that are not having a good effect
on consumers and to create new commercials that are similar to what
viewers currently like. This would also serve to tell the
advertisers when a commercial (i.e. Taco Bell Dog) is starting to
move from liked to disliked. If the advertisers stop the
commercials at the right time, they are remembered well. If the
advertisers allow even good commercials to be overplayed, they are
remembered badly.
[0023] The user would be able to change his/her ranking of the
commercial at any given time. In this way, advertisers would be
able to determine if certain ads are overplayed or underplayed and
adjust advertisement rendering accordingly.
[0024] This feedback would be very valuable to the advertisers.
There are (and have been) television shows (programs) that do not
do well in the rankings, but do very well with certain key
demographics. These programs stay on the air because broadcasters
can charge more money for the advertisements during these shows, as
the advertisers want to access these specific demographics. That
is, ads will be played (rendered) in certain geographical areas
based on the local demographics and not through any sort of
interactivity. Canoe Ventures, Enhanced TV Binary Interchange
Format (EBIF) and tru2way allow users to interact with
advertisements on a macro-level. That is, for example, a user
(viewer) can click on a button that pops up during an ad for Ford
Focus to get additional information about one or more features of
the Ford Focus. This sort of macro-level interactivity is not the
micro-level of interaction of the present invention. Allowing the
ranking of advertisements coupled with their knowledge of viewer
demographics of the show would allow the advertisers to discover
what viewer demographics are positive for their advertisements.
Advertisements viewed online or via interactive TV are static
(pre-embedded into the video (content) stream or spliced into the
content stream) and limited in nature. Often, the same ad is
broadcast (multicast) a number of times. The present invention uses
an ad server to splice ads that the user would prefer based on the
user ranking (rating) of the ads into the content (video) stream.
The targeted advertising of the present invention uses digital
insertion to splice in the preferred ads.
[0025] FIG. 1A is a block diagram of an exemplary system for
delivering content to a user (such as a home or end user or
client). The content originates from a content source 102, such as
a movie or production house. The content may be supplied in at
least one of two forms. One form may be a broadcast form of
content. The broadcast content is provided to the broadcast
affiliate manager 104, which is typically a national broadcast
service, such as the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), National
Broadcasting Company (NBC), Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS),
etc. The broadcast affiliate manager may collect and store the
content and may schedule delivery of the content over a delivery
network, shown as delivery network 1 (106). Delivery network 1
(106) may include satellite link transmission from a national
center to one or more regional or local centers. Delivery network 1
(106) may also include local content delivery using local delivery
networks (systems) such as over the air broadcast, satellite
broadcast or cable broadcast, or the internet. The locally
delivered content is provided to a receiving device 108 in a user's
home, where the content will subsequently be searched by the user.
It is to be appreciated that receiving device 108 can take many
forms and may be embodied as a set top box, a digital video
recorder (DVR), a gateway, a modem, a digital TV etc. Further, the
receiving device may act as an entry point or a gateway for a home
network system that includes additional devices configured as
either client or peer devices in the home network.
[0026] A second form of content is referred to as special content.
Special content may include content delivered as premium viewing,
pay-per-view or other content not provided to the broadcast
affiliate manager, e.g., movies, video games or other video
elements. In many cases, the special content may be content
requested by the user. The special content may be delivered to a
content manager 113. The content manager 113 may be a service
provider, such as an internet website, affiliated, for example,
with a content provider, broadcast service or delivery network
service. The content manager 113 may also incorporate internet
content into the delivery system. The content manager 113 may
deliver the content to the user's receiving device 108 over a
separate delivery network, delivery network 2 (112). Delivery
network 2 (112) may include high-speed broadband internet
communications systems. It is important to note that the content
from the broadcast affiliate manager 104 may also be delivered
using all or parts of delivery network 1 (106). In addition, the
user may also obtain content directly from the internet via
delivery network 2 (112) without necessarily having content managed
by content manager 113.
[0027] Several adaptations for utilizing the separately delivered
content may be possible. In one possible approach, the special
content is provided as an augmentation to the broadcast content,
providing alternative displays, purchase and merchandising options,
enhancement material, etc. In another adaptation, the special
content may completely replace some programming content provided as
broadcast content. Finally, the special content may be completely
separate from the broadcast content, and may simply be a media
alternative that the user may choose to utilize. For instance, the
special content may be a library of movies that are not yet
available as broadcast content.
[0028] Receiving device 108 may receive different types of content
from one or both of delivery network 1 and delivery network 2.
Receiving device 108 processes the content and provides a
separation of the content based on user preferences and commands.
Receiving device 108 may also include a storage device, such as a
hard drive or optical disk drive, for recording and playing back
content (audio, video and multimedia content). Further details of
the operation of receiving device 108 are described below in
relation to FIG. 1C. The processed content is provided to a display
device 114, which may be a conventional 2-D type display or may
alternatively be an advanced 3-D display.
[0029] Receiving device 108 may also be interfaced to a touch
screen control device 116, which may be adapted to provide user
control of receiving device 108 and/or display device 114. Touch
screen device 116 may also be capable of displaying content, which
may be graphics entries, such as user interface entries, or may be
a portion of the content that is delivered to display device 114.
Touch screen control device 116 may interface to receiving device
108 using any well known signal transmission system, such as
infrared (IR) or radio frequency (RF) communications and may
include standard protocols such as infrared data association (IRDA)
standard, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and the like or any other proprietary
protocols. Operations of touch screen control device 116 will be
described in further detail below.
[0030] Advertising server (ad server) 118 is a device that has ads
(commercials) stored therein and that may be connected to any one
or more of the Broadcast Affiliate Manager 104, the Content Manager
113 and/or the receiving device 108. The ads may be delivered to
any one or more of the Broadcast Affiliate Manager 104, the Content
Manager 113 and/or the receiving device 108 and spliced into the
content by same.
[0031] Referring now to FIG. 1B, which is a flowchart of the
current model of ad (commercial) viewing. At 105 the user receives
and views content (e.g., a TV program or a movie or any other
content, which may include audio, video or multimedia content). The
content may be received from (provided by) a content provider (such
as a Multiple System Operator (MSO) such as Comcast, Verizon FIOS,
Atlantic Broadband or a local cable provider), a satellite system
operator (such as one operated by DirecTV) or the internet. At 110
in accordance with metadata contained in the content or based on
time, the content provider interrupts the content for a commercial
break. At 115, the content provider inserts or splices an ad
(commercial) into the content (program, movie, etc.). At 120 the
inserted (spliced) ad is served to the users (viewers). The content
and the ads are both broadcast (multicast) to the users (viewers,
customers, clients).
[0032] FIG. 1C is a block diagram of an exemplary receiving device.
Receiving device 200 may operate similar to the receiving device
described in FIG. 1A and may be included as part of a gateway
device, modem, STB or other similar communications device.
Receiving device 200 shown may also be incorporated into other
systems including an audio device or a display device. In either
case, several components necessary for complete operation of the
system are not shown in the interest of conciseness, as they are
well known to those skilled in the art.
[0033] In receiving device 200, the content is received by an input
signal receiver 202, which may be one of several known receiver
circuits used for receiving, demodulation and decoding signals
provided over one of the several possible networks including
over-the-air, cable, satellite, Ethernet, fiber and phone line
networks. The desired input signal may be selected and retrieved by
the input signal receiver 202 based on user input provided through
a control interface or touch panel interface 222. Touch panel
interface 222 may include an interface to a touch screen device.
Touch panel interface 222 may also be adapted to interface to a
cellular phone, a tablet device, a mouse, a standard remote control
device, a high end remote control device or any device with similar
capabilities. Input signal receiver may also be adapted to provide
a back channel to provide feedback regarding user rating of a
commercial.
[0034] The decoded output signal is provided to an input stream
processor 204. Input stream processor 204 performs the final signal
selection and processing, and includes separation of video content
from audio content for the content stream. The audio content is
provided to an audio processor 206 for conversion from the received
format, such as a compressed digital signal to an analog waveform
signal. The analog waveform signal is provided to an audio
interface 208 and further to the display device or audio amplifier.
Alternatively, the audio interface 208 may provide a digital signal
to an audio output device or display device using a High-Definition
Multimedia Interface (HDMI) cable or alternative audio interface
such as via a Sony/Phillips Digital interconnect Format (SPDIF).
The audio interface may also include amplifiers for driving one or
more sets of speakers. The audio processor 206 also performs any
necessary conversion for the storage of the audio signals.
[0035] The video output from the input stream processor 204 is
provided to a video processor 235. The video signal may be one of
several formats. Video processor 235 provides, as necessary, a
conversion of the video content based on the input signal format.
Video processor 235 also performs any necessary conversion for the
storage of the video signals.
[0036] Storage device 212 stores audio and video content received
at the input. Storage device 212) allows later retrieval and play
back of the content under the control of a controller 214 and also
based on commands, e.g., navigation instructions such as
fast-forward (FF) and rewind (Rew), received from a user interface
216 and/or touch panel interface 222. Storage device 212 may be a
hard disk drive, one or more large capacity integrated electronic
memories, such as static RAM (SRAM) or dynamic RAM (DRAM) or may be
an interchangeable optical disk storage system such as a compact
disk (CD) drive or a digital video disk (DVD) drive.
[0037] The converted video signal from video processor 235, either
originating from the input or from storage device 212, is provided
to the display interface 218. Display interface 218 further
provides the display signal to a display device of the type
described above. Display interface 218 may be an analog signal
interface such as red-green-blue (RGB) or may be a digital
interface such as HDMI. It is to be appreciated that display
interface 218 generates various screens for presenting the search
results in a three dimensional grid as will be described in more
detail below.
[0038] Controller 214 is interconnected via a bus to several of the
components of device 200, including input stream processor 202,
audio processor 206, video processor 235, storage device 212 and a
user interface 216. Controller 214 manages the conversion process
for converting the input stream into a signal for storage on the
storage device or for display (rendering). Controller 214 also
manages the retrieval and play back of stored content. Furthermore,
as will be described below, controller 214 performs searching of
content and the creation and adjusting of the grid display
representing the content, either stored or to be delivered via the
delivery networks described above.
[0039] Controller 214 is further coupled to control memory 240
(e.g., volatile or non-volatile memory including RAM, SRAM, DRAM,
ROM, programmable ROM (PROM), flash memory, electronically
programmable ROM (EPROM), electronically erasable programmable ROM
(EEPROM), etc.) for storing information and instruction code for
controller 214. Control memory 240 may store instructions for
controller 214. Control memory may also store a database of
elements, such as graphic elements containing content. The database
may be stored as a pattern of graphic elements. Alternatively, the
control memory may store the graphic elements in identified or
grouped memory locations and use an access or location table to
identify the memory locations for the various portions of
information related to the graphic elements. Additional details
related to the storage of the graphic elements will be described
below. Further, the implementation of control memory 240 may
include several possibilities, such as a single memory device or
alternatively more than one memory circuit communicatively
connected or coupled together to form a shared or common memory.
Still further, the memory may be included with other circuitry,
such as portions of bus communications circuitry, in a larger
circuit.
[0040] The user interface also includes an interface for a
microphone. The user interface may be wired or wireless, allowing
for the reception of an audio signal for use in the present
invention. Such an audio command would have to be processed through
a speech recognition unit (not shown). The user interface process
of the present invention employs an input device to provide
feedback for the targeted advertising ranking system and method of
the present invention. To allow for this a touch panel device may
be interfaced via the user interface and/or the touch panel
interface. A touch panel device allows operation of various devices
including receiving device or the STB or to provide input to the
targeted advertising ranking method and system of the present
invention. The touch panel device allows input based on hand
movements or gestures or by touching options rendered to (displayed
on) the touch panel device. The touch panel device may also be
included as part of a remote control device. Feedback to the server
may be accomplished, for example, via the user interface 216 or the
touch panel interface 222, both of which are in two-way
communication with controller 214. Controller 214 is in two-way
communication with input stream processor 204, which is in two-way
communication with input signal receiver 202. Input signal receiver
202 is in two-way communication with various components as
indicated in FIG. 1A.
[0041] In a first embodiment of the present invention, a user
(viewer) can rank (rate) ads similar to the Nielsen rating system
used to rate TV programs. The user can update his/her ad ranking
(rating) at any time. In a preferred embodiment this occurs at the
time an ad (commercial) is played (rendered) so that the user is
viewing the ad (commercial) at the time the user ranks (rates) the
ad so it is fresh in the user's mind.
[0042] Referring now to FIG. 2, a flowchart of the targeted
advertising ranking (rating) system of the present invention from
the user perspective is described. A user device may be an
interactive TV (2D or 3D), a computer, a laptop, a dual mode smart
phone, a personal digital assistant, a tablet device, an iPod, an
iPhone, an iPad or any equivalent device for receiving content. At
205 the user receives and views content (e.g., a TV program or a
movie or any other content, which may include audio, video or
multimedia content). The content may be received from (provided by)
a content provider (such as a Multiple System Operator (MSO) such
as Comcast, Verizon FIOS, Atlantic Broadband or a local cable
provider), a satellite system operator (such as one operated by
DirecTV) or the internet. At 210 in accordance with metadata
contained in the content or based on time, the content provider
interrupts the content for a commercial break. At 215, the content
provider inserts or splices an ad (commercial) into the content
(program, movie, etc.). At 220 the inserted (spliced) advertisement
is served to the users (viewers). The content and the ads are both
broadcast (multicast) to the users (viewers, customers, clients).
The user (viewer) is invited to rank (rate) the ad (commercial). At
225 a test is performed to determine if the user wants to rank
(rate) the advertisement. The user may be further induced to rank
(rate) advertisements by the content provider through direct
payments to the user or coupons that the user can use for the
advertised products or points earned towards a product or service
or monthly bill reduction based on the number of advertisements
ranked (rated). If the user does not want to rank (rate) the
advertisement, then processing proceeds to 205 after the
advertisement finishes airing. The lack of interest in ranking the
advertisement may be taken to mean the user does not wish to
participate in the ad ranking program or that the user has stepped
out of the room and is not viewing the advertisement. If the user
wants to rank (rate) the advertisement, at 230 the user provides a
ranking of the advertisement. The ranking may be a numeric value or
may be a "thumbs up or down" meaning the user likes or dislikes the
advertisement. At 233 the user ranking data (information) is
communicated to the content provider, where the content provider
may include but is not limited to MSOs, satellite providers or
internet providers. The communication to the content provider may
be performed directly by the user device or by a receiving device
such as described above. The content provider may use the user
advertisement ranking information in any number of ways as will be
described in more detail below.
[0043] The user may indicate both his/her desire to participate in
the advertisement ranking and the actual advertisement ranking by
any number of means including using a button of an IR remote
control device or using a touch screen or using hand movements or
gestures via a gesture sensing controller such as may be connected
to user interface 216.
[0044] In a second embodiment of the present invention, the first
embodiment is enhanced to include the ability to splice in user
preferred ads using an advertisement server (ad server) and a set
top box (STB). This is one way that the content provider may use
the ad ranking information. The method of the present invention
from the user perspective (shown in FIG. 2) does not change
appreciably. The only difference will be that the user will see ads
that the user prefers because the head end (content provider) will
modify the user's commercial (advertisement) algorithm to display
ads that the user prefers. In this case, the content will still be
broadcast (multicast) to any users requesting the content but the
ads will be unicast to specific users (households, offices). The
preferred embodiment will transmit the ads to the local STB, which
will splice the advertisements in at the scheduled commercial
break. Digital insertion is the means by which the advertisements
are selected. The ad server could supply specific ads to be spliced
into the content based on its data base or metadata. The relevant
data could be decoupled from the ad (advertisement, commercial)
itself. There are multiple ways that this could be accomplished
using the ad server or the receiving device or even the home
gateway as the engine for making decisions and/or accomplishing the
splicing.
[0045] FIG. 3 is an exemplary embodiment of the method of the
present invention from the perspective of a content provider. At
305 the content provider (e.g., head end) communicates content to
the user(s). Content is multicast or broadcast to the user device
for the user to view. At 310 according to a commercial break
algorithm, a commercial break occurs or is imminent (scheduled or
to be scheduled). A commercial break may be scheduled based on
content metadata such as a scene change. The content provider
(e.g., head end) looks in its database to locate the user's
profile. At 320 a test is performed to determine if a profile for
this particular user was located. If no profile for this particular
user was located then at 325, the content provider inserts
(splices) a default commercial (advertisement) into the content
based on the default commercial selection algorithm available at
the content provider. At 330, the content provider serves (spools)
the default commercial selection algorithm. The default commercial
may be based on geography (demographics) and/or program content. If
a profile was located for this particular user then at 335, the
content provider inserts (splices) one or more commercials into the
content based on the user's profile and commercial selection
algorithm. If certain advertisements are "liked" (or ranked, for
example, a 3 (or more) on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being very much
liked) then the advertisement would be aired (served, shown) more
often. If certain advertisements are "disliked" (or ranked, for
example, a 2 (or less) on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being very much
liked) then the advertisement would be aired (served, shown) less
often. For example, if the user (viewer) continues to "dislike"
diaper commercials, the user's commercial selection algorithm
begins to show not only fewer diaper commercials but fewer
commercials involving products for very young children. On the
other hand, if the user (viewer) continues to "like" beer
commercials, then advertisements for beer and other alcohol
products would be aired (served, shown) more often. It may also be
possible to discern whether the user (viewer) likes advertisements
that are humorous. At 340 the selected advertisements are served
(spooled) to the user device directly or by way of a receiving
device as described above. In a preferred embodiment this is
accomplished by transmitting (sending, communicating) the selected
advertisement(s) to the user device directly or a receiving device
(such as a local STB, DVR or similar device) to be spliced into the
content locally at the scheduled commercial break. Since digital
insertion is the means by which the advertisements are selected,
the advertisements have to have metadata associated with each ad to
select the ads that the user prefers. At 345 a test is performed to
determine if the content provider received the user's feedback
(advertising ranking). User feedback may also include a time for
re-airing the ranked (rated) advertisement. The time may be a
specific time or a time period after which the advertisement can be
re-aired. For example, the user may generally "like" a certain
commercial but feel that it is being repeated too often so can
request that it not be aired (served, shown, rendered, displayed)
for an hour. If the content provider received the user's feedback,
then at 350 the content provider modifies this particular user's
commercial selection algorithm. At 355 a test is performed to
determine if the commercial break is finished (done, over,
complete). If the commercial break is not finished, then processing
proceeds to 310. If the commercial break is finished, then
processing proceeds to 305. If the content provider has not
received user feedback then at 360, the content provider finishes
serving (spooling) the current commercial and processing proceeds
to 355.
[0046] It should be noted that certain very popular events (such as
the Super Bowl) may be exempted (excluded) by the broadcaster from
the above described ranking method. In such cases the user's
commercial selection algorithm and/or the ability to rank (rate)
ads may be disabled or the ability to rank (rate) ads may remain
enabled while the commercial selection algorithm is disabled.
[0047] FIG. 4 is an alternative exemplary embodiment of the method
of the present invention from the perspective of a content
provider. FIG. 4 is the same as FIG. 3 except that 435 replaces 335
so the above description will not be repeated. At 435, the selected
commercial(s) (advertisement(s)) is (are) inserted (spliced) into
the content based on the user's commercial selection algorithm and
the current time slot advertiser. A particular advertiser may have
selected and be paying for their advertisement to run in a
particular time slot so that one of this advertiser's commercials
must run in this time slot. However, if the advertiser is, for
example, Procter and Gamble, which manufactures many products
including toothpaste and diapers, then the ad (commercial,
advertisement) that is most in line with the user's preferences
based on this particular user's commercial selection algorithm will
be served (spooled, played, rendered, delivered). Thus, assuming
that the advertiser has advertisements for several of its products
available, then an advertisement for this advertiser would always
be played in this time slot but it may not be the advertisers
preferred or suggested advertisement.
[0048] In a third embodiment of the present invention, the first
embodiment of the present invention is enhanced to include
advertising insertion control using social networking feedback. In
this embodiment, the user can send advertisements that they like to
their BFFs using any one of the plurality of social networking
sites and ask their friends to rank the advertisements as well. The
advertiser thus gets even wider exposure (free) with the added
benefit that the original viewer's (user's) BFFs get the
advertisement with an endorsement (that the original user liked the
advertisement) from the original user. In this embodiment, the user
would operate as indicted by FIG. 2 but in lieu of or in addition
to step 233, the user would via a user device communicate
(transmit, send) the advertisement that the user liked (enjoyed)
and ranked to one or more social networking websites to the user's
BFFs. Social networking sites like Twitter have "trending" topics
that are related to special hashtags that can be sent as part of
the message. An advertiser would be able to easily see that their
ad is trending and follow the discussion of their ad (as Twitter is
a public forum). Advertisers could also set up FaceBook pages or
the like (which many have already done) and users might be able to
push their ratings to these sites. A user might not only choose to
"like" an ad, but could send a notification to their friends that
they disliked a commercial. This may induce others to watch the ad
to see what they think of it, or it may cloud public opinion much
like a newspaper or magazine article might.
[0049] In a fourth embodiment of the present invention, certain
advertisement rankings (ratings) are provided to advertisers
anonymously. FIG. 5 is an exemplary embodiment of the present
invention from the perspective of the content provider for
receiving and aggregating users advertising rankings. At 505 the
content provider receives users' feedback (advertising rankings).
The advertising rankings may be a numeric value or simply a "like"
or "dislike". At 510, the content provider collects commercial
related data as well as the day and the time that the advertisement
(commercial) was aired, the geography (demographics), the number of
times that the advertisement was aired (served) per program and/or
per channel and the commercial metadata. At 515 the collected data
is aggregated and optionally assigned weights. The aggregated
collected data is stored in any or all of a variety of ways
including per user, by the date and/or time of day, by the
geography (demographics) by the program and/or by the channel. It
should be noted that demographics are available at least by using
census data, which is in many cases at the (city) block level. At
520 the content provider accesses and uses the aggregated
advertising ranking data in the database to determine in which
shows (programs, channels) and/or in which geographic region
(demographics) and/or at what time and/or day of the week to air
(serve) certain advertisements. The content providers can offer
this information to advertisers either for a fee or as an
inducement to place their advertisements with this service. In this
way, the advertisers do not receive any personal data so privacy is
retained. Advertisers are, however, better able to allocate their
marketing budgets and better target consumers that are likely to be
interested in buying their products. At 525, the content provider
also uses the advertisement rankings to update its default
commercial selection algorithm. This gives the content provider (or
the advertiser through the content provider) the ability to remove
ads that are not received well by users (viewers, consumers,
clients, customers) or to rotate advertisements by day of the week,
time of day, program, channel, demographics, etc.
[0050] It is to be understood that the present invention may be
implemented in various forms of hardware, software, firmware,
special purpose processors, or a combination thereof. Preferably,
the present invention is implemented as a combination of hardware
and software. Moreover, the software is preferably implemented as
an application program tangibly embodied on a program storage
device. The application program may be uploaded to, and executed
by, a machine comprising any suitable architecture. Preferably, the
machine is implemented on a computer platform having hardware such
as one or more central processing units (CPU), a random access
memory (RAM), and input/output (I/O) interface(s). The computer
platform also includes an operating system and microinstruction
code. The various processes and functions described herein may
either be part of the microinstruction code or part of the
application program (or a combination thereof), which is executed
via the operating system. In addition, various other peripheral
devices may be connected to the computer platform such as an
additional data storage device and a printing device.
[0051] It is to be further understood that, because some of the
constituent system components and method steps depicted in the
accompanying figures are preferably implemented in software, the
actual connections between the system components (or the process
steps) may differ depending upon the manner in which the present
invention is programmed. Given the teachings herein, one of
ordinary skill in the related art will be able to contemplate these
and similar implementations or configurations of the present
invention.
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