Method And System For On-Line Survey Recruitment Ensuring Availability Of Control Group Participants

• US 20120143675A1
• Filed: 12/06/2010
• Published: 06/07/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kantar LLC
• Original Assignee: Dynamic Logic, Inc. (TNS Group Holdings Ltd.)
• Inventors: Aviv, Ronit, Dietrich, Peter Hinman
• Granted Patent: US 9,652,779 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14.44
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0245 Surveys

Abstract

A system and method are described for presenting on-line survey invitations to users over a network. The system enables selectively presenting survey invitations to users in accordance with a survey recruitment definition associated with a tag embedded within an on-line advertisement downloaded and executed on a user computer. If a determination is made by a survey recruitment server that a requestor is to be a potential control (unexposed) survey participant, then instructions are issued to the requesting user computer to obstruct presentation of the on-line advertisement which caused the issuance of the request for a survey invitation from the user computer.

Claims

1. A method for administering on-line survey recruitment on a network including a source of survey recruitment definitions and a user computer, the method comprising:

receiving, by the user computer, an on-line advertisement block including;

instructions for displaying an on-line advertisement on a display of the user computer, and

a survey recruitment tag;

executing, by the user computer, the survey recruitment tag and, as a result, issuing a request for a survey invitation, wherein the request identifies;

previous exposure to on-line advertisements, and

an advertisement identification corresponding to the on-line advertisement; and

receiving a response to the request for a survey invitation indicating the user computer is to be maintained as a control group participant in a survey corresponding to the online advertisement and, in response, obstructing presentation of the on-line advertisement on the display of the user computer.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the obstructing presentation of the on-line advertisement comprises over-writing a portion of the display of the user computer presenting the on-line advertisement.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein presentation of the downloaded advertisement is delayed pending receipt of the response to the request for a survey invitation;

and

wherein the obstructing presentation of the on-line advertisement is carried out by presenting a blank space in a portion of the display of the user computer for displaying the on-line advertisement until the response to the request for a survey invitation is received and processed to determine whether a user of the user computer is to be treated as a control group participant.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the survey invitation is presented as a pop-up window on the display of the user computer presenting the on-line advertisement.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the survey invitation is presented on a portion of the display of the user computer presenting the on-line advertisement, thus obstructing presentation of the on-line advertisement.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the response to the request for a survey invitation is provided by a survey participant recruitment server communicatively connected to the user computer via the network.

7. A non-transient computer-readable medium including computer-executable instructions for administering on-line survey recruitment on a network including a source of survey recruitment definitions and a user computer, the computer-executable instructions facilitating performing a method comprising the steps of:

receiving, by the user computer, an on-line advertisement block including;

instructions for displaying an on-line advertisement on a display of the user computer, and

a survey recruitment tag;

executing, by the user computer, the survey recruitment tag and, as a result, issuing a request for a survey invitation, wherein the request identifies;

previous exposure to on-line advertisements, and

an advertisement identification corresponding to the on-line advertisement; and

receiving a response to the request for a survey invitation indicating the user computer is to be maintained as a control group participant in a survey corresponding to the online advertisement and, in response, obstructing presentation of the on-line advertisement on the display of the user computer.

8. The non-transient computer-readable medium of claim 7 wherein the obstructing presentation of the on-line advertisement comprises over-writing a portion of the display of the user computer presenting the on-line advertisement.

9. The non-transient computer-readable medium of claim 7 wherein presentation of the downloaded advertisement is delayed pending receipt of the response to the request for a survey invitation;

and

wherein the obstructing presentation of the on-line advertisement is carried out by presenting a blank space in a portion of the display of the user computer for displaying the on-line advertisement until the response to the request for a survey invitation is received and processed to determine whether a user of the user computer is to be treated as a control group participant.

10. The non-transient computer-readable medium of claim 7 wherein the survey invitation is presented as a pop-up window on the display of the user computer presenting the on-line advertisement.

11. The non-transient computer-readable medium of claim 7 wherein the survey invitation is presented on a portion of the display of the user computer presenting the on-line advertisement, thus obstructing presentation of the on-line advertisement.

12. The non-transient computer-readable medium of claim 7 wherein the response to the request for a survey invitation is provided by a survey participant recruitment server communicatively connected to the user computer via the network.

13. A system for facilitating administering survey recruitment on a network including a source of survey recruitment definitions, the system including:

a user computer comprising a non-transient memory and a processor for storing and executing computer-executable instructions for facilitating performing the steps of;

receiving, by the user computer, an on-line advertisement block including;

instructions for displaying an on-line advertisement on a display of the user computer, and

a survey recruitment tag;

executing, by the user computer, the survey recruitment tag and, as a result, issuing a request for a survey invitation, wherein the request identifies;

previous exposure to on-line advertisements, and

an advertisement identification corresponding to the on-line advertisement; and

receiving a response to the request for a survey invitation indicating the user computer is to be maintained as a control group participant in a survey corresponding to the online advertisement and, in response, obstructing presentation of the on-line advertisement on the display of the user computer; and

a survey participant recruitment server computer comprising a non-transient memory and a processor for storing and executing computer-executable instructions for processing the request for a survey invitation from the user computer, based on a survey recruitment definition, and issuing the response to the request for the survey invitation.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the obstructing presentation of the on-line advertisement comprises over-writing a portion of the display of the user computer presenting the on-line advertisement.

15. The system of claim 13 wherein presentation of the downloaded advertisement is delayed pending receipt of the response to the request for a survey invitation;

and

wherein the obstructing presentation of the on-line advertisement is carried out by presenting a blank space in a portion of the display of the user computer for displaying the on-line advertisement until the response to the request for a survey invitation is received and processed to determine whether a user of the user computer is to be treated as a control group participant.

16. The system of claim 13 wherein the survey invitation is presented as a pop-up window on the display of the user computer presenting the on-line advertisement.

17. The system of claim 13 wherein the survey invitation is presented on a portion of the display of the user computer presenting the on-line advertisement, thus obstructing presentation of the on-line advertisement.

18. The system of claim 13 wherein the user computer and the survey participant recruitment server computer are communicatively connected via the network.