SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PROVIDING ADVERTISING SERVICES TO DEVICES WITH AN ADVERTISING EXCHANGE

• US 20150287103A1
• Filed: 04/23/2014
• Published: 10/08/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/03/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vungle, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Vungle, Inc.
• Inventors: Gupta, Arvind, Chan, Wayne, Myers, Raymond, Solomon, Sasha, Kang, Daniel, Deignan, Michael
• Granted Patent: US 9,336,538 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0251 Targeted advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement

Abstract

Methods and systems are described for providing advertising services to a device with an advertising exchange. In one embodiment, a system receives a configuration call from a device upon initiation of a software application and associated advertising services software on the device. The system sends a configuration file to the device in response to the configuration call. The configuration file includes different options for obtaining an advertisement (ad) to play on the device during an ad play event. The options include playing an ad cached on the device, obtaining at least one ad from an ad store of the system, and obtaining at least one ad from an advertising exchange that includes third party participants.

Claims

1. An advertising system for improved network bandwidth utilization in obtaining at least one ad to be delivered via a network to a client device, comprising:

a storage medium to store one or more software programs; and

processing logic including at least one processor of an ad server that is configured to execute instructions of at least one software program to;

receive a configuration call from the client device upon initiation of a software application and initiation of associated advertising services software on the client device;

send a configuration file to the client device in response to the configuration call, wherein the configuration file includes a plurality of options for obtaining an advertisement (ad) to play on the client device including a first option for playing at least one ad cached on the client device, a second option for planning to play at least one ad cached on the client device and requesting at least one ad from an ad store of the advertising system that is more likely to convert than the at least one ad cached on the client device, and a third option for planning to play at least one ad cached on the client device and requesting at least one ad from an ad exchange that is more likely to convert than the at least one ad cached on the client device;

receive an ad request from the client device, upon a play ad event of the software application on the client device; and

determine, with the processing logic including at least one processor of the ad server, based on a determined option of the configuration file whether at least one cached ad on the client device will be used, whether the ad store of the advertising system to be accessed for at least one ad, or whether the ad exchange to be accessed for at least one ad, wherein the determined option is based on configurable parameters including bandwidth of a network connection between the advertising system and the client device for improved bandwidth utilization in obtaining the at least one ad to be delivered via the network to the client device and availability of higher converting ad campaigns from the ad store or ad exchange for improved utilization of ad campaigns.

2. The advertising system of claim 1, wherein the processing logic is further configured to execute instructions of at least one software program to:

access the ad store of the advertising system to obtain at least one ad based on a conversion rate of the at least one ad of the ad store if the second option of the configuration file is determined.

3. The advertising system of claim 1, wherein the processing logic is further configured to execute instructions of at least one software program to:

access the ad exchange to obtain at least one ad based on a conversion rate of the at least one ad of the ad exchange if the third option of the configuration file is determined; and

generate an auction based on different business rules including at least one of a floor price, inventory allocation, and participants who can participate in the auction.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the processing logic is further configured to execute instructions of at least one software program to:

send an ad exchange request to each participant of the auction with the ad exchange request including configurable parameters including at least one of ad length, bit rate for playing the ad, ad categories, age ratings, a limit for a number of redirects to minimize latency, and the floor price.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the processing logic is further configured to execute instructions of at least one software program to:

receive ad exchange responses from one or more participants of the auction;

process the ad exchange responses; and

determine which of the one or more participants if any will serve at least one ad for playing on the device.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the processing logic is further configured to execute instructions of at least one software program to:

send to the device an ad response with at least one ad from one of the ad store and a selected participant from the exchange.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein the processing logic is further configured to execute instructions of at least one software program to:

access the ad store or the ad exchange to obtain at least one ad based on a conversion rate of the at least one ad from the ad store or the ad exchange if a fourth option of the configuration file is determined;

stream at least one ad to be played during the ad play event if a fifth option of the configuration file is determined; and

access the system to obtain at least one ad based on a conversion rate of the at least one ad of the system that is planned for streaming to the client device if a sixth option of the configuration file is determined.

7. A machine-accessible non-transitory medium containing executable computer program instructions which when executed by a data processing system cause said system to perform a method for improved network bandwidth utilization in obtaining at least one ad to be delivered via a network to a client device, the method comprising:

receiving a configuration call from the client device upon initiation of a software application and associated advertising services software on the client device;

sending a configuration file to the client device in response to the configuration call, wherein the configuration file includes a plurality of options for obtaining an advertisement (ad) to play on the client device including a first option for playing at least one ad cached on the client device, a second option for planning to play at least one ad cached on the client device and requesting at least one ad from an ad store of the system that is more likely to convert than the at least one ad cached on the client device, and a third option for planning to play at least one ad cached on the client device and requesting at least one ad from an ad exchange that is more likely to convert than the at least one ad cached on the client device;

receiving an ad request from the client device, upon a play ad event of the software application; and

determining, with processing logic including at least one processor of an ad server of the system, based on a determined option of the configuration file whether at least one cached ad on the client device will be used, whether the ad store of the system to be accessed for at least one ad, or whether the ad exchange to be accessed for at least one ad, wherein the determined option is based on configurable parameters including bandwidth of a network connection between the advertising system and the client device for improved bandwidth utilization in obtaining the at least one ad to be delivered via the network to the client device and availability of higher converting ad campaigns from the ad store or ad exchange for improved utilization of ad campaigns.

8. The machine-accessible non-transitory medium of claim 7, the method further comprising:

accessing the ad store of the system to obtain at least one ad based on a conversion rate of the at least one ad of the ad store if the second option of the configuration file is determined.

9. The machine-accessible non-transitory medium of claim 7, the method further comprising:

accessing the ad exchange to obtain at least one ad based on a conversion rate of the at least one ad of the ad exchange if the third option of the configuration file is determined; and

generating an auction based on different business rules including at least one of floor price, inventory allocation, and participants who can participate in the auction.

10. The machine-accessible non-transitory medium of claim 9, the method further comprising:

sending an ad exchange request to each participant of the auction with the ad exchange request including configurable parameters including at least one of ad length, bit rate for playing the ad, ad categories, age ratings, a limit for a number of redirects to minimize latency, and the floor price.

11. The machine-accessible non-transitory medium of claim 10, the method further comprising:

receiving ad exchange responses from one or more participants of the auction;

processing the ad exchange responses; and

determining which of the one or more participants if any will serve at least one ad for playing on the device.

12. The machine-accessible non-transitory medium of claim 11, the method further comprising:

sending to the device an ad response with at least one ad from one of the ad store and a selected participant from the exchange.

20. The machine-accessible non-transitory medium of claim 7, the method further comprising:

accessing the ad store or the ad exchange to obtain at least one ad based on a conversion rate of the at least one ad from the ad store or the ad exchange if a fourth option of the configuration file is determined;

streaming at least one ad to be played during the ad play event if a fifth option of the configuration file is determined; and

accessing the system to obtain at least one ad based on a conversion rate of the at least one ad of the system that is planned for streaming to the client device if a sixth option of the configuration file is determined.

13. A method for improved network bandwidth utilization in obtaining at least one ad via a network for a client device comprising:

initiating a software application on the client device;

sending a configuration call to an ad system upon the initiation of the software application and associated advertising services software on the client device;

receiving a configuration file from the ad system in response to the configuration call, wherein the configuration file includes a plurality of options for obtaining an advertisement (ad) to play on the client device including a first option for playing at least one ad cached on the client device, a second option for planning to play at least one ad cached on the device and requesting at least one ad from an ad store of the advertising system that is more likely to convert than the at least one ad cached on the client device, and a third option for planning to play at least one ad cached on the client device and requesting at least one ad from an ad exchange that is more likely to convert than the at least one ad cached on the client device;

determining, with at least one processor of the client device that is configured to execute instructions of device functionality, a configurable option of the configuration file that indicates whether at least one cached ad on the client device will be used for the first option, whether the ad store of the system to be accessed for at least one ad for the second option, or whether the ad exchange to be accessed for at least one ad for the third option; and

upon a play ad event, sending the ad request with the configurable determined option of the configuration file to the ad system, wherein the determined option is based on configurable parameters including bandwidth of a network connection between the ad system and the client device for improved bandwidth utilization in obtaining the at least one ad via the network for the client device and availability of higher converting ad campaigns from the ad store or ad exchange for improved utilization of ad campaigns.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

determining which option of the configuration file will be processed or enabled for processing an ad request based on one or more configurable parameters including at least one of a bandwidth for a connection between the client device and the ad system, device characteristics, user characteristics, a service level agreement of a publisher of the software application, a cache window, and business rules.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

receiving an ad response from the ad system with the ad response including at least one ad from the ad store based on a conversion rate of the at least one ad from the ad store, at least one ad from the ad exchange based on a conversion rate of the at least one ad from the ad exchange, at least one ad from a third party database that has not participated in the ad exchange based on a conversion rate of the at least one ad from the third party database, or instructions to play at least one ad cached on the client device.

16. A machine-accessible non-transitory medium containing executable computer program instructions which when executed by a client device cause said client device to perform a method for improved network bandwidth utilization in obtaining at least one ad via a network for the client device, the method comprising:

initiating a software application on the client device;

sending a configuration call to an ad system upon the initiation of the software application and associated advertising services software on the client device;

receiving a configuration file from the ad system in response to the configuration call, wherein the configuration file includes a plurality of options for obtaining an advertisement (ad) to play on the client device including a first option for playing at least one ad cached on the client device, a second option for planning to play at least one ad cached on the client device and requesting at least one ad from an ad store of the ad system that is more likely to convert than the at least one ad cached on the client device, and a third option for planning to play at least one ad cached on the client device and requesting at least one ad from an ad exchange that is more likely to convert than the at least one ad cached on the client device;

determining, with at least one processor of the client device that is configured to execute instructions of device functionality, a configurable option of the configuration file that indicates whether at least one cached ad on the client device will be used for the first option, whether the ad store of the system to be accessed for at least one ad for the second option, or whether the ad exchange to be accessed for at least one ad for the third option; and

upon a play ad event, sending the ad request with the configurable determined option of the configuration file to the ad system, wherein the determined option is based on configurable parameters including bandwidth of a network connection between the ad system and the client device for improved bandwidth utilization in obtaining the at least one ad via the network to the client device and availability of higher converting ad campaigns from the ad store or ad exchange for improved utilization of ad campaigns.

17. The machine-accessible non-transitory medium of claim 16, the method further comprising:

determining which option of the configuration file will be processed or enabled for processing an ad request based on one or more configurable parameters including at least one of a bandwidth for a connection between the client device and the ad system, device characteristics, user characteristics, a service level agreement of a publisher of the software application, a cache window, and business rules.

18. The machine-accessible non-transitory medium of claim 17, the method further comprising:

receiving an ad response from the ad system with the ad response including at least one ad from the ad store based on a conversion rate of the at least one ad from the ad store, at least one ad from the ad exchange based on a conversion rate of the at least one ad from the ad exchange, at least one ad from a third party database that has not participated in the ad exchange based on a conversion rate of the at least one ad from the third party database, or instructions to play at least one ad cached on the client device.

21. An apparatus for improved network bandwidth utilization in obtaining at least one ad to be obtained via a network to a client device, comprising:

means for storing one or more software programs; and

means for receiving a configuration call from the client device upon initiation of a software application and initiation of associated advertising services software on the client device;

means for sending a configuration file to the client device in response to the configuration call, wherein the configuration file includes a plurality of options for obtaining an advertisement (ad) to play on the client device including a first option for playing at least one ad cached on the client device, a second option for planning to play at least one ad cached on the client device and requesting at least one ad from an ad store of the advertising system that is more likely to convert than the at least one ad cached on the client device, and a third option for planning to play at least one ad cached on the client device and requesting at least one ad from an ad exchange that is more likely to convert than the at least one ad cached on the client device;

means for receiving an ad request, upon a play ad event of the software application; and

means for determining based on a determined option of the configuration file whether at least one cached ad on the client device will be used, whether the ad store of the advertising system to be accessed for at least one ad, or whether the ad exchange to be accessed for at least one ad, wherein the determined option is based on configurable parameters including bandwidth of a connection between the advertising system and the client device for improved bandwidth utilization in obtaining the at least one ad via the network to the client device and availability of higher converting ad campaigns from the ad store or ad exchange for improved utilization of ad campaigns.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, further comprising:

means for accessing the ad store of the advertising system to obtain at least one ad based on a conversion rate of the at least one ad of the ad store if the second option of the configuration file is determined.

23. The apparatus of claim 21, further comprising:

means for accessing the ad exchange to obtain at least one ad based on a conversion rate of the at least one ad of the ad exchange if the third option of the configuration file is determined; and

means for generating an auction based on different business rules including at least one of a floor price, inventory allocation, and participants who can participate in the auction.