Method and system for planning and running video-on-demand advertising

• US 20050096978A1
• Filed: 11/05/2003
• Published: 05/05/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/05/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Comcast Cable Communications LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Comcast Cable Holdings LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Black, Neville A.
• Granted Patent: US 9,136,956 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14.55
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0257 User requested
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/103 Transmitter-side switching
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/38 Arrangements for distribution where lower stations, e.g. receivers, interact with the broadcast
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/06 Arrangements for scheduling broadcast services or broadcast-related services
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/40 for identifying broadcast time
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/45 for identifying users
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/52 of users
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/63 for services of sales data processing systems or methods specially adapted for electronic commerce G06Q30/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2225 Local VOD servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2393 involving handling client requests scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2547 Third Party Billing, e.g. billing of advertiser
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25841 involving the geographical location of the client retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; arrangements for identifying locations of receiving stations in broadcast systems H04H60/51; location of the user terminal in data switching networks H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25883 being end-user demographical data, e.g. age, family status or address arrangements for identifying locations of users in broadcast systems H04H60/52
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26241 involving the time of distribution, e.g. the best time of the day for inserting an advertisement or airing a children program
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2665 Gathering content from different sources, e.g. Internet and satellite
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2668 Creating a channel for a dedicated end-user group, e.g. insertion of targeted commercials based on end-user profiles information retrieval from the Internet by querying with filtering and personalisation G06F16/9535; arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast H04H20/10; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; adaptation of message content in packet-switching networks H04L51/063
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42684 Client identification by a unique number or address, e.g. serial number, MAC address, socket ID network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming H04L61/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 : Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A method and system for planning and running video-on-demand (VOD) advertising includes a planner for planning advertising campaigns and an ad selector for running selected advertisements from selected ones of the campaigns. The campaigns are associated with household demographic classifications, video content category categories, household geographic locations, and/or video viewing times. In response to a viewer requesting a video, the selector selects the campaigns corresponding to the demographic classification associated with the viewer, the content category of the requested video, the geographic location associated with the viewer, and/or the viewing time at which the requested video is viewed. The demographic classification is determined by using an identifier of the viewer'"'"'s set-top-box. The selector may select the campaigns corresponding to the content categories of the requested video. The content categories are determined by using an identifier associated with the requested video.

Claims

1. A method for planning video-on-demand advertising to accompany videos when the videos are delivered by a service provider to viewers in response to requests for the videos by the viewers, each video having at least one content category, each viewer being located at a respective residence, each respective residence being in a neighborhood and having a geographic location, each neighborhood having a corresponding demographic classification, the method comprising:

defining advertising campaigns each having at least one advertisement;

associating each advertising campaign with at least one content category;

associating each advertising campaign with at least one geographic location served by the service provider;

associating each advertising campaign with at least one demographic classification; and

associating each advertising campaign with at least one interval of time.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

identifying the advertising campaigns which are associated with a content category matching one of the content categories of a video; and

identifying at least one advertisement of at least one of the identified advertising campaigns as being eligible for accompanying the video.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

identifying the advertising campaigns which are associated with a geographic location matching the geographic location of the residence at which a viewer is located; and

identifying at least one advertisement of at least one of the identified advertising campaigns as being eligible for accompanying a video delivered to the viewer.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

identifying the advertising campaigns which are associated with a demographic classification matching the demographic classification corresponding to the neighborhood of the residence at which a viewer is located; and

identifying at least one advertisement of at least one of the identified advertising campaigns as being eligible for accompanying a video delivered to the viewer.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

identifying the advertising campaigns which are associated with an interval of time matching the time at which a viewer requests a video; and

identifying the at least one advertisement of at least one of the identified advertising campaigns as being eligible for accompanying the video requested by the viewer.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

identifying the advertising campaigns which are associated with at least one of a content category matching at least one of the content categories of a video, a demographic classification matching the demographic classification corresponding to the neighborhood of the residence at which a viewer is located, a geographic location matching the geographic location of the residence at which the viewer is located, and an interval of time matching the time at which the viewer requests the video; and

identifying at least one advertisement of at least one of the identified advertising campaigns as being eligible for accompanying the video.

7. A method for planning video-on-demand advertising to accompany videos when the videos are delivered by a service provider to viewers in response to requests for the videos by the viewers, each video having at least one content category, the method comprising:

defining advertising campaigns each having at least one advertisement; and

associating each advertising campaign with at least one content category.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising:

identifying the advertising campaigns which are associated with a content category matching one of the content categories of a video; and

identifying at least one advertisement of at least one of the identified advertising campaigns as being eligible for accompanying the video.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein each viewer is located at a respective residence having a geographic location, the method further comprising:

associating each advertising campaign with at least one geographic location served by the service provider.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein:

identifying the advertising campaigns includes identifying the advertising campaigns which are associated with a content category matching at least one of the content categories of a video and a geographic location matching the geographic location of the residence at which a viewer is located.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein each respective residence is in a neighborhood having a corresponding demographic classification, the method further comprising:

associating each advertising campaign with at least one demographic classification.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein:

identifying the advertising campaigns includes identifying the advertising campaigns which are associated with a content category matching at least one of the content categories of a video, a geographic location matching the geographic location of the residence at which a viewer is located, and a demographic classification matching the demographic classification corresponding to the neighborhood of the residence at which the viewer is located.

13. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

associating each advertising campaign with at least one interval of time.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein:

identifying the advertising campaigns includes identifying the advertising campaigns which are associated with a content category matching at least one of the content categories of a video, a geographic location matching the geographic location of the residence at which a viewer is located, a demographic classification matching the demographic classification corresponding to the neighborhood of the residence at which the viewer is located, and an interval of time matching the time at which the viewer requests the video.

15. A method for planning video-on-demand advertising to accompany videos when the videos are delivered by a service provider to viewers in response to requests for the videos by the viewers, each viewer being located at a respective residence having a geographic location, the method comprising:

defining advertising campaigns each having at least one advertisement; and

associating each advertising campaign with at least one geographic location served by the service provider.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising:

identifying the advertising campaigns which are associated with a geographic location matching the geographic location of the residence at which a viewer is located; and

identifying at least one advertisement of at least one of the identified advertising campaigns as being eligible for accompanying a video delivered to the viewer.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein each respective residence is in a neighborhood having a corresponding demographic classification, the method further comprising:

associating each advertising campaign with at least one demographic classification.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein:

identifying the advertising campaigns includes identifying the advertising campaigns which are associated with a geographic location matching the geographic location of the residence at which a viewer is located and a demographic classification matching the demographic classification corresponding to the neighborhood of the residence at which the viewer is located.

19. The method of claim 17 further comprising:

associating each advertising campaign with at least one interval of time.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein:

identifying the advertising campaigns includes identifying the advertising campaigns which are associated with a geographic location matching the geographic location of the residence at which a viewer is located, a demographic classification matching the demographic classification corresponding to the neighborhood of the residence at which the viewer is located, and an interval of time matching the time at which the viewer requests a video.

21. The method of claim 16 further comprising:

associating each advertising campaign with at least one interval of time.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein:

identifying the advertising campaigns includes identifying the advertising campaigns which are associated with a geographic location matching the geographic location of the residence at which a viewer is located and an interval of time matching the time at which the viewer requests a video.

23. A method for planning video-on-demand advertising to accompany videos when the videos are delivered by a service provider to viewers at given times in response to requests for the videos by the viewers, each viewer being located at a respective residence having a geographic location, each respective residence being in a neighborhood, each neighborhood having a corresponding demographic classification, the method comprising:

defining advertising campaigns each having at least one advertisement; and

associating each advertising campaign with at least one demographic classification.

24. The method of claim 23 further comprising:

identifying the advertising campaigns which are associated with a demographic classification matching the demographic classification corresponding to the neighborhood of the residence at which a viewer is located; and

identifying at least one advertisement of at least one of the identified advertising campaigns as being eligible for accompanying a video delivered to the viewer.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein each video has at least one content category, the method further comprising:

associating each advertising campaign with at least one content category.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein:

identifying the advertising campaigns includes identifying the advertising campaigns which are associated with a demographic classification matching the demographic classification corresponding to the neighborhood of the residence at which a viewer is located and a content category matching at least one of the content categories of a video.

27. The method of claim 24 further comprising:

associating each advertising campaign with at least one interval of time.

28. The method of claim 27 wherein:

identifying the advertising campaigns includes identifying the advertising campaigns which are associated with a demographic classification matching the demographic classification corresponding to the neighborhood of the residence at which the viewer is located and an interval of time matching the time at which the viewer requests a video.

29. A method for planning video-on-demand advertising to accompany videos when the videos are delivered by a service provider to viewers in response to requests for the videos by the viewers, the method comprising:

defining advertising campaigns each having at least one advertisement; and

associating each advertising campaign with at least one interval of time.

30. The method of claim 29 further comprising:

identifying the advertising campaigns which are associated with an interval of time matching the time at which a viewer requests a video; and

identifying at least one advertisement of at least one of the identified advertising campaigns as being eligible for accompanying the video requested by the viewer.

31. The method of claim 30 wherein each video has at least one content category, the method further comprising:

associating each advertising campaign with at least one content category.

32. The method of claim 31 wherein:

identifying the advertising campaigns includes identifying the advertising campaigns which are associated with an interval of time matching the time at which the viewer requests the video and a content category matching at least one of the content categories of the video.

33. A video-on-demand system comprising:

a display device having a set-top-box (STB), the STB having an identifier, the STB being located at a residence of a neighborhood;

a server connected to the STB, wherein the server transmits a video to the STB upon receiving a request for the video from a viewer of the display device; and

a selector operable for using an identifier indicative of the video to determine content categories of the video, the selector operable for using the STB identifier to determine both a demographic classification corresponding to the neighborhood of the residence and a geographic location of the residence, wherein the selector selects advertisements from a group of advertisements as a function of at least one of the determined content categories, the determined demographic classification, and the determined geographic location, wherein the server transmits the selected advertisements with the video to the STB for the viewer to view on the display device.

34. A video-on-demand system comprising:

a display device having a set-top-box (STB), the STB having an identifier, the STB being located at a residence of a neighborhood;

a server connected to the STB, wherein the server transmits a video to the STB upon receiving a request for the video from a viewer of the display device; and

a selector operable for using an identifier indicative of the video to determine content categories of the video, and the selector operable for using the STB identifier to determine both a demographic classification corresponding to the neighborhood of the residence and a geographic location of the residence;

wherein the selector selects advertisements from a group of advertisements as a function of at least one of the determined content categories, the determined demographic classification, the determined geographic location, and the time of the request;

wherein the server transmits the selected advertisements with the video to the STB for the viewer to view on the display device.

35. A video-on-demand method for use with a network connecting a set-top-box (STB) of a display device to a server, the STB having an identifier and being located at a residence of a neighborhood, the method comprising:

transmitting a video from the server over the network to the STB upon receiving a request for the video from a viewer of the display device;

using an identifier indicative of the video to determine content categories of the video;

using the STB identifier to determine a demographic classification corresponding to the neighborhood of the residence and to determine a geographic location of the residence;

selecting advertisements from a group of advertisements as a function of at least one of the determined content categories, the determined demographic classification, and the determined geographic location; and

transmitting the selected advertisements with the video from the server to the STB for the viewer to view on the display device.

36. A video-on-demand method for use with a network connecting a set-top-box (STB) of a display device to a server, the STB having an identifier and being located at a residence of a neighborhood, the method comprising:

transmitting a video from the server over the network to the STB upon receiving a request for the video from a viewer of the display device;

using an identifier indicative of the video to determine content categories of the video;

using the STB identifier to determine a demographic classification corresponding to the neighborhood of the residence and to determine a geographic location of the residence;

selecting advertisements from a group of advertisements as a function of at least one of the determined content categories, the determined demographic classification, the determined geographic location, and the time of the request; and

transmitting the selected advertisements with the video from the server to the STB for the viewer to view on the display device.

37. A video-on-demand system comprising:

a display device having a set-top-box (STB), the STB being located at a residence of a neighborhood;

a server connected to the STB, wherein the server transmits a video to the STB upon receiving a request for the video from a viewer of the display device; and

a selector operable for using an identifier indicative of the video to determine content categories of the video, wherein the selector selects advertisements from a group of advertisements as a function of the determined content categories, and the server transmits the selected advertisements with the video to the STB for the viewer to view on the display device.

38. The system of claim 37 wherein:

the selector uses an identifier of the STB to determine a demographic classification corresponding to the neighborhood of the residence, wherein the selector selects the advertisements as a function of the determined content categories and the determined demographic classification.

39. The system of claim 37 wherein:

the selector uses an identifier of the STB to determine a geographic location of the residence, wherein the selector selects the advertisements as a function of the determined content categories and the determined geographic location.

40. The system of claim 37 wherein:

the selector selects the advertisements as a function of the determined content categories and the time of the request.

41. The system of claim 37 wherein:

the selector uses an identifier of the STB to determine a demographic classification corresponding to the neighborhood of the residence and a geographic location of the residence, wherein the selector selects the advertisements as a function of the determined content categories, the determined demographic classification, and the determined geographic location.

42. A video-on-demand system comprising:

a display device having a set-top-box (STB), the STB having an identifier, the STB being located at a residence of a neighborhood;

a server connected to the STB, wherein the server transmits a video to the STB upon receiving a request for the video from a viewer of the display device; and

a selector operable for using an identifier of the STB to determine a demographic classification corresponding to the neighborhood of the residence, wherein the selector selects advertisements from a group of advertisements as a function of the determined demographic classification, and the server transmits the selected advertisements with the video to the STB for the viewer to view on the display device.

43. The system of claim 42 wherein:

the selector uses the STB identifier to determine a geographic location of the residence, wherein the selector selects the advertisements as a function of the determined demographic classification and the determined geographic location.

44. The system of claim 42 wherein:

the selector selects the advertisements as a function of the determined demographic classification and the time of the request.

45. A video-on-demand system comprising:

a display device having a set-top-box (STB), the STB having an identifier, the STB being located at a residence of a neighborhood;

a server connected to the STB, wherein the server transmits a video to the STB upon receiving a request for the video from a viewer of the display device; and

a selector operable for using the STB identifier to determine a geographic location of the residence, wherein the selector selects advertisements from a group of advertisements as a function of the determined geographic location, and the server transmits the selected advertisements with the video to the STB for the viewer to view on the display device.

46. The system of claim 45 wherein:

the selector selects the advertisements as a function of the determined geographic location and the time of the request.

47. A video-on-demand system comprising:

a display device having a set-top-box (STB);

a server connected to the STB, wherein the server transmits a video to the STB upon receiving a request for the video from a viewer of the display device; and

a selector operable for selecting advertisements from a group of advertisements as a function of the time of the request, and the server transmits the selected advertisements with the video to the STB for the viewer to view on the display device.

48. A video-on-demand method for use with a network connecting a set-top-box (STB) of a display device to a server, the STB being located at a residence of a neighborhood, the method comprising:

transmitting a video from the server over the network to the STB upon receiving a request for the video from a viewer of the display device;

using an identifier indicative of the video to determine content categories of the video;

selecting advertisements from a group of advertisements as a function of the determined content categories; and

transmitting the selected advertisements with the video from the server to the STB for the viewer to view on the display device.

49. The method of claim 48 wherein the STB has an identifier, the method further comprising:

using the STB identifier to determine a demographic classification corresponding to the neighborhood of the residence;

wherein selecting includes selecting the advertisements as a function of the determined content categories and the determined demographic classification.

50. The method of claim 48 wherein the STB has an identifier, the method further comprising:

using the STB identifier to determine a geographic location of the residence;

wherein selecting includes selecting the advertisements as a function of the determined content categories and the determined geographic location.

51. The method of claim 48 wherein:

selecting includes selecting the advertisements as a function of the determined content categories and the time of the request.

52. The method of claim 48 wherein the STB has an identifier, the method further comprising:

using the STB identifier to determine both a demographic classification corresponding to the neighborhood of the residence and a geographic location of the residence;

wherein selecting includes selecting the advertisements as a function of the determined content categories, the determined demographic classification, and the determined geographic location.

53. A video-on-demand method for use with a network connecting a set-top-box (STB) of a display device to a server, the STB having an identifier and being located at a residence of a neighborhood, the method comprising:

transmitting a video from the server over the network to the STB upon receiving a request for the video from a viewer of the display device;

using the STB identifier to determine a demographic classification corresponding to the neighborhood of the residence;

selecting advertisements from a group of advertisements as a function of the determined demographic classification; and

transmitting the selected advertisements with the video from the server to the STB for the viewer to view on the display device.

54. The method of claim 53 further comprising:

using the STB identifier to determine a geographic location of the residence;

wherein selecting includes selecting the advertisements as a function of the determined demographic classification and the determined geographic location.

55. The method of claim 53 wherein:

selecting includes selecting the advertisements as a function of the determined demographic classification and the time of the request.

56. A video-on-demand method for use with a network connecting a set-top-box (STB) of a display device to a server, the STB having an identifier and being located at a residence of a neighborhood, the method comprising:

transmitting a video from the server over the network to the STB upon receiving a request for the video from a viewer of the display device;

using the STB identifier to determine a geographic location of the residence;

selecting advertisements from a group of advertisements as a function of the determined geographic location; and

transmitting the selected advertisements with the video from the server to the STB for the viewer to view on the display device.

57. The method of claim 56 wherein:

selecting includes selecting the advertisements as a function of the determined geographic location and the time of the request.

58. A video-on-demand method for use with a network connecting a set-top-box (STB) of a display device to a server, the method comprising:

transmitting, at a given time, a video from the server over the network to the STB upon receiving a request for the video from a viewer of the display device;

selecting advertisements from a group of advertisements as a function of the given time; and

transmitting the selected advertisements with the video from the server to the STB for the viewer to view on the display device.