VIDEO AD DELIVERY USING CONFIGURABLE VIDEO AD POLICIES

• US 20100175079A1
• Filed: 01/07/2009
• Published: 07/08/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/07/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Zhigu Holdings Limited
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Gupta, Ashish, Braun, David A., Shi, Tianjun, Schwesinger, Mark D., Masterson, Mark H., Vetticappallil, Xavier John
• Granted Patent: US 8,914,824 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/32
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25833 involving client hardware characteristics, e.g. manufacturer, processing or storage capabilities allocation of resources considering hardware capabilities in multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/5044; allocation of resources considering software capabilities in multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/5055
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/262 Content or additional data distribution scheduling, e.g. sending additional data at off-peak times, updating software modules, calculating the carousel transmission frequency, delaying a video stream transmission, generating play-lists scheduling strategies for dispatcher in multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/4881; arrangements for scheduling broadcast services or broadcast-related services H04H60/06; flow control in packet networks H04L47/10; establishing a time schedule or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/62
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6581 Reference data, e.g. a movie identifier for ordering a movie or a product identifier in a home shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

Systems and methods for video ad delivery using configurable dynamic video ad policies are provided. A system for delivering video ads to a video client may include an ad platform service. The ad platform service may have a media registration module configured to receive input data including a video ad policy and associated metadata and digital video content from a digital video content client. The ad platform service may further include a registration database configured to store input data received from the media registration module. The ad platform service may further include a manifest service and an associated manifest generation engine, wherein the manifest service may be configured to receive an ad manifest request from a video client. In response, the manifest generation engine may be configured to generate a manifest instance based on input data received at the manifest service, the manifest service being configured to send the manifest instance to the video client.

Claims

1. A system for delivering video ads to a video client, the system comprising an ad platform service executable on an advertising server, the ad platform service including:

a media registration module configured to receive input data including a video ad policy and associated metadata and digital video content from a digital video content client;

a registration database configured to store input data received from the media registration module; and

a manifest service and an associated manifest generation engine, wherein the manifest service is configured to receive an ad manifest request from a video client, and in response, the manifest generation engine is configured to generate a manifest instance based on input data received at the manifest service, the manifest service being configured to send the manifest instance to the video client.

2. The ad platform service of claim 1, wherein the manifest instance sent to the video client enables the video client to send an ad request to an ad delivery engine associated with the ad platform service and further enables the video client to receive one or more ads from the ad delivery engine responsive to the ad request.

3. The ad platform service of claim 1, wherein the video ad policy includes a plurality of ad policy parameters, wherein the ad policy parameters include one or more of ad/program ratio, ad duration, ad type, ad replay policy, maximum number of ad pods, maximum ads per ad pod, pre-roll and post-roll enablement, sponsored ad rules, “

click to continue”

option, ad skip threshold.

4. The ad platform service of claim 3, wherein the ad policy parameters are dynamically re-definable to enable the digital video content client to modify a pre-existing video ad policy by updating one or more ad policy parameters, wherein the updating of one or more ad policy parameters does not conflict with the pre-existing video ad policy.

5. The ad platform service of claim 4, wherein the ad policy parameters are defined based on temporal parameters.

6. The ad platform service of claim 4, wherein the ad policy parameters are defined based on one or more video client parameters.

7. The ad platform service of claim 6, wherein video client parameters include a type of viewer device on which the video client is configured to be executed, the type being one or more of a set-top box, a mobile phone, a personal computer, a gaming system, and a handheld personal digital assistant.

8. The ad platform service of claim 6, wherein video client parameters include a number of video clients, wherein the number of video clients may include one or more of a number of concurrent video clients, a number of aggregate video clients, and a number of video clients over a predetermined time period.

9. The ad platform service of claim 6, wherein video client parameters include one or more of user characteristics associated with the video client and a digital video content replay policy, wherein the digital video content replay policy may include an aggregate number of replays of the digital video content.

10. The ad platform service of claim 1 wherein metadata includes ad placement and ad type information.

11. A method for delivering video ads to a video client, the method comprising, at an advertising server:

receiving, from a digital video content client, input data including a video ad policy and associated metadata and digital video content, at a media registration module of an ad platform service;

receiving, from a video client, an ad manifest request at a manifest service of the ad platform service;

generating, in response to the ad manifest request, a manifest instance at the manifest service based on the input data associated with the ad manifest request; and

sending the manifest instance to the video client, from the manifest service of the ad platform, responsive to the ad manifest request.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising

receiving, from the video client, an ad request at an ad delivery engine associated with the ad platform service;

and

sending one or more ads from the ad delivery engine of the ad platform service to the video client, responsive to the ad request.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the video ad policy includes a plurality of ad policy parameters including one or more of ad/program ratio, ad duration, ad type, maximum number of ad pods, maximum ads per ad pod, pre-roll and post-roll enablement, sponsored ad rules, “

click to continue”

option, and ad skip threshold, and wherein the ad policy parameters are dynamically re-definable to enable the digital video content client to modify a pre-existing video ad policy by adding one or more new ad policy parameters, wherein the addition of one or more new ad policy parameters does not conflict with the pre-existing video ad policy.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein ad policy parameters are based on temporal parameters.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein ad policy parameters are based on one or more video client parameters.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein video client parameters include a type of viewer device on which the video client is configured to be executed, the type being one or more of a set-top box, a mobile phone, a personal computer, a gaming system, and a handheld personal digital assistant.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein video client parameters include a number of video clients, wherein the number of video clients may include one or more of a number of concurrent video clients, a number of aggregate video clients, and a number of video clients over a predetermined time period.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein video client parameters include one or more of user characteristics associated with the video client and a digital video content replay policy, wherein the digital video content replay policy may include an aggregate number of replays of the digital video content.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein metadata includes ad placement and ad type information.

20. A method for use in display of video ads on a video client executed on a viewer device, the method comprising:

sending an ad manifest request to a manifest service of an ad platform service;

receiving a manifest instance from the manifest service of the ad platform service, responsive to the ad manifest request;

sending an ad request to an ad delivery engine based on the manifest instance; and

receiving one or more ads from the ad delivery engine based on the manifest instance, responsive to the ad request, wherein the video ad policy includes ad policy parameters, the ad policy parameters being dynamically re-definable to enable the digital video content client to modify a pre-existing video ad policy by adding one or more new ad policy parameters, wherein the addition of one or more new ad policy parameters does not conflict with the pre-existing video ad policy, the ad policy parameters including one or more of ad/program ratio, ad duration, ad type, maximum number of ad pods, maximum ads per ad pod, pre-roll and post-roll enablement, sponsored ad rules, “

click to continue”

option, and ad skip threshold; and

wherein ad policy parameters are defined based on one or more of temporal parameters, a type of video client, a number of video clients, a plurality of user characteristics associated with the video client, and a digital video content replay policy.