Method and system for targeted marketing by leveraging video-based demographic insights

• US 7,267,277 B2
• Filed: 04/28/2005
• Issued: 09/11/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions Holdings Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Hampapur, Arun, Senior, Andrew W., Dietrich, Brenda Lynn, Apte, Chidanand
• Primary Examiner(s): Hess; Daniel A.
• Application Number:
  US11/116,409
• Publication Number:
  US 20060243797A1
• Time in Patent Office: 866 Days
• Field of Search: 705/14, 705/16, 705/18, 705/21, 235/462.01, 235/454, 902/22
• US Class Current: 235/454
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/208 Input by product or record sensing, e.g. weighing or scanner processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

Demographic and transaction data are presented in a report usable for marketing-related purposes and other applications using a camera apparatus to capture customer image data at a point-of-sale location and sends the image data to a customer image database where the image data is stored. Demographic data (such as gender, age group, height) are extracted from the customer image data and sent to the customer image database. Point-of-sale transaction data is collected and sent to a transaction database where the transaction data is stored. A computer processes customer image data, transaction data, and attributes relating to the customer image data and transaction data, to correlate extracted demographic data to transaction data. The correlated data is preferably sent to a target marketing database and used to generate a market research report.

Claims

1. A computer implemented system for obtaining a report which correlates demographic data and transaction data at a point-of-sale location, comprising:

a camera or equivalent imaging device for obtaining customer image data at a point-of-sale location;

a transaction data collector for collecting transaction data at said point-of-sale location;

and a computer or network of computers which

(a) classifies one or more images or portions of said images obtained with said camera or equivalent imaging device, using extracted information from said customer image data, into one or more categories based on one or more attributes that correspond to said extracted information,

(b) classifies one or more transactions obtained with said transaction data collector into one or more categories based on one or more attributes,

(c) correlates one or more classified images or portions of images with one or more classified transactions, and

(d) generates a report of the correlated information from (c),

wherein said computer classifies said one or more images under (a) according to dwell time.

2. The computer implemented system of claim 1 further comprising a printer for printing said report from (d).

3. The computer implemented system of claim 1 further comprising a display for displaying said report from (d).

4. The computer implemented system of claim 1 wherein said camera or equivalent imaging device is a video camera.

5. The computer implemented system of claim 1 wherein said camera or equivalent imaging device is a still camera.

6. The computer implemented system of claim 1 wherein said transaction data collector is a scanner.

7. The computer implemented system of claim 6 wherein said scanner reads bar codes.

8. The computer implemented system of claim 6 wherein said scanner reads RFID tags.

9. The computer implemented system of claim 1 wherein said computer classifies said one or more images under (a) further according to one or more of gender, ethnicity, age, and socio-economic status.

10. The computer implemented system of claim 1 wherein said computer classifies said one or more images under (a) further according to one or more of size and height.

11. The computer implemented system of claim 1 wherein said computer operates in an interactive manner for classifying said one or more images under (a).

12. The computer implemented system of claim 1 wherein said computer operates in an automated manner for classifying said one or more images under (a).

13. The computer implemented system of claim 1 wherein said categories used by said computer to classify said one or more transactions under (b) include one or more of date, time of day, and type of good.

14. The computer implemented system of claim 1 wherein said report generated by said computer under (d) includes a response model.

15. A method for obtaining a report which correlates demographic data and transaction data at a point-of-sale location, comprising the steps of:

obtaining customer image data at a point-of-sale location using a camera or equivalent imaging device;

collecting transaction data at said point-of-sale location;

classifying one or more images or portions of said images obtained with said camera or equivalent imaging device, using extracted information from said customer image data, into one or more categories based on one or more attributes that correspond to said extracted information;

classifying one or more transactions obtained with said transaction data collector into one or more categories based on dwell time and one or more further attributes;

correlating one or more classified images or portions of images with one or more classified transactions; and

generating a report of the correlated information.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein said step of collecting transaction data is obtained using a scanner.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein said step of classifying one or more images is accomplished interactively with a computer.

18. The method of claim 15 wherein said step of classifying one or more images is accomplished automatically with a computer.