ASSET TARGETING SYSTEM FOR LIMITED RESOURCE ENVIRONMENTS

• US 20110041151A1
• Filed: 10/27/2010
• Published: 02/17/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Invidi Technologies Corporation
• Original Assignee: Invidi Technologies Corporation
• Inventors: SHEEHAN, Patrick M., CRISTOFALO, Michael
• Granted Patent: US 9,904,925 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/35
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/10 Arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast or the distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/31 Arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/375 Commercial

Abstract

The present invention provides targeted asset system implementations in contexts where there is limited or no ability to use a real-time return channel for communications from user equipment devices (e.g., STB) to the network. In one arrangement, a household classifier is generated and delivered to user equipment devices. The household classifiers are generated based on third party data and/or network usage information associated with the household. The system and method allow for generating highly accurate household classifications that may be forwarded to individual households where the user equipment device may implant the classifiers to select appropriate assets for delivery to the household.

Claims

1. A method for use in targeting broadcast network content, comprising:

providing a network platform for processing classifiers for delivery to user equipment devices in the broadcast network;

obtaining, at said network platform, household information from at least one information repository for a specific household in said broadcast network, wherein said household information putatively identifies multiple individual members of said specific household;

receiving, at said network platform, network usage information originating from said specific household, wherein said network usage information includes viewing information associated with one or more content channels output by at least one user equipment device at said specific household;

based on said information putatively identifying said multiple individual members of said household and said network usage information, assigning at least two or more classifiers associated with two or more individual members of said specific household, wherein said classifiers are different and include at least one of different temporal limitations and different content channel limitations;

delivering, via said broadcast network, said two or more assigned classifiers to said at least one user equipment device at said specific household, wherein during an asset viewing opportunity in programming output by said user equipment device and wherein said user equipment device delivers an asset based on the limitations of at least one of said assigned classifiers.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

utilizing said network usage information in conjunction with demographic information associated with each of the multiple individual members of said specific household to identify putative usage times for each individual member of said specific household, wherein said classifiers are assigned based at least in part on said putative usage times.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein a first assigned classifier is designated for use during a first temporal period and a second assigned classifier is designated for use during a second temporal period

4. The method of claim 1, wherein a first assigned classifier is designated for use with a first set of channels and a second assigned classifier is designated for use with a second set of channels.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said first and second sets of channels are different.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said user equipment device delivers said asset by selecting an asset from a storage device for insertion into a programming stream of said programming.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein delivering said asset comprises:

delivering, via said broadcast network, a plurality of asset transmission bands each including a separate asset, wherein said user equipment device tunes to one of said plurality of asset transmission bands based on limitations of said assigned classifiers to deliver said asset.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining household information comprises obtaining purchasing information associated with individuals of said household.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining household information comprises obtaining age and gender information associated with said individual members of said household.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving network usage information comprises receiving network usage information via a communications interface that is separate from said broadcast network.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving network usage information further comprises:

receiving temporal information associated with usage times of said user equipment device outputting network content.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving network usage information originating from said specific household comprises:

receiving at least first and second sets of network usage information, wherein said first and second sets are of network usage information are associated with first and second different user equipment devices of said specific household.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

assigning at least first and second classifiers for receipt by said first and second different user equipment devices.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a report originating from said user equipment device identifying assets delivered by said user equipment device.

16. A method for use in targeting broadcast network content, comprising:

providing a network platform for processing household classifiers for delivery to user equipment devices in the broadcast network;

obtaining, at said network platform, household information from at least one information repository for a household in said broadcast network wherein said household information putatively identifies multiple individual members of said household;

receiving, at said network platform, network usage information originating from said household, wherein said network usage information includes information associated with at least one of usage times and channels tuned to by at least one user equipment device at said household;

generating a plurality of household classifiers associated with putative members of said household based on said household information and said network usage information, wherein said plurality of classifiers each include at least one of temporal limitations and channel limitations, wherein said limitations are different between different classifiers;

delivering assets to said user equipment device, wherein said user equipment device is operative to output at least one of said assets in an asset viewing opportunity in programming output by said user equipment device in accordance with limitations of at least one of said plurality of household classifiers; and

receiving a report originating from said user equipment device identifying assets output by said user equipment device.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein said user equipment device outputs said at least one asset by selecting one or more assets from a storage device for insertion into a programming stream of said programming.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein said user equipment device outputs said at least one asset by selecting between a plurality of asset transmission bands each including a separate asset, wherein said user equipment device tunes to one of said plurality of asset transmission bands based on limitations of at least one of said plurality of household classifiers.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein, based on said information putatively identifying said multiple individual members of said household and said network usage information, assigning at least two or more household classifiers associated with two or more individual members of said specific household, wherein said household classifiers are different and include different temporal limitations or channel limitations.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein a first household classifier is designated for use with a first set of channels and a second household classifier is designated for use with a second set of channels.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein a first household classifier is designated for use with a first set of temporal limitations and a second household classifier is designated for use with a second set of temporal limitations.

22. A method for use in targeting broadcast network content, comprising:

providing a network platform for processing classifiers for delivery to user equipment devices in the broadcast network;

obtaining, at said network platform, household information from at least one information repository for a specific household in said broadcast network, wherein said household information putatively identifies multiple individual members of said specific household;

receiving, at said network platform, network usage information originating from said specific household, wherein said network usage information includes temporal information associated with usage times of at least one user equipment device outputting network content at said specific household and viewing information associated with one or more content channels output by said user equipment device;

based on said information putatively identifying said multiple individual members of said household and said network usage information, determining putative usage times associated with two or more of said individual members;

assigning at least two or more classifiers associated with two or more individual members of said specific household, wherein said classifiers are different and include at least one of different temporal limitations and different channel limitations;

delivering, via said broadcast network, said two or more assigned classifiers to said at least one user equipment device at said specific household, wherein the at least one user equipment device utilizes the assigned classifiers according to their limitations to select an asset from storage media for insertion into an asset viewing opportunity in programming content.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein obtaining household information comprises obtaining purchasing information associated with individuals of said household.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein obtaining household information comprises obtaining age and gender information associated with said individual members of said household.

25. The method of claim 22, wherein assigning said classifiers further comprises:

assigning at least one demographic limitation to each said classifier.

26. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

receiving a report originating from said user equipment device identifying assets inserted into asset viewing opportunities.