Frames-based advertising service with response and activity reporting
First Claim
1. A method for displaying advertisements (“
- ads”
) at a point-of-sale (POS) location, the method comprising;
dividing a consumer transaction at a POS location into multiple time frames, a total duration of the time frames equaling a total duration of the transaction;
calculating a busyness metric indicative of a busyness of the POS location;
determining an advertisement (ad) from a set of available ads for display in one of the time frames as a function of (i) the busyness metric, wherein if the busyness metric exceeds a busyness threshold value the ad is selected from a portion of the available ads having a duration that is less than a predetermined duration, (ii) a priority level of the ad, wherein the priority level is manually adjustable at any time during the transaction, and (iii) an ad campaign including a plurality of ads, at least one of which is a sponsor ad, wherein a determination is made as to whether a conflict exists between the determined ad and the sponsor ad;
prior to displaying the ad, setting a minimum duration for the ad, wherein the minimum duration is independent of a predetermined duration of the ad;
displaying the ad in the one of the time frames; and
during the displaying, recalculating the busyness metric, wherein if the recalculated busyness metric exceeds the threshold value, the predetermined duration of the ad is reduced.
9 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An advertising service divides a consumer transaction at a POS location into multiple time frames. The service then determines an advertisement (ad) for display in one of the time frames and displays the ad in one of the time frames. One of the time frames spans one of the following activities: waiting for a consumer to begin a transaction, greeting a consumer, beginning a transaction, selecting a form of payment, swiping a card for a form of payment, entering a security code for the form of payment, identifying a product for purchase, displaying a total cost for products identified for purchase, signing for a purchase, thanking a consumer his purchase, surveying a consumer, promoting an event, applying for a credit card, informing a consumer, identifying a consumer, interacting with a consumer, and passing through an interstitial period. Determining the ad for display in one of the time frames includes transmitting information about the transaction to an ad-management service that then determines the ad for display based on the transmitted information. A response indicates the determined ad. The service prioritizes multiple ads competing for display and determines the ad with highest priority as the ad for display. The service displays the ad in the one time frame or in a frame following the one time frame. The service advances from the one time frame into another time frame and repeats the determination and display with the other time frame.
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Citations
55 Claims
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1. A method for displaying advertisements (“
- ads”
) at a point-of-sale (POS) location, the method comprising;dividing a consumer transaction at a POS location into multiple time frames, a total duration of the time frames equaling a total duration of the transaction; calculating a busyness metric indicative of a busyness of the POS location; determining an advertisement (ad) from a set of available ads for display in one of the time frames as a function of (i) the busyness metric, wherein if the busyness metric exceeds a busyness threshold value the ad is selected from a portion of the available ads having a duration that is less than a predetermined duration, (ii) a priority level of the ad, wherein the priority level is manually adjustable at any time during the transaction, and (iii) an ad campaign including a plurality of ads, at least one of which is a sponsor ad, wherein a determination is made as to whether a conflict exists between the determined ad and the sponsor ad; prior to displaying the ad, setting a minimum duration for the ad, wherein the minimum duration is independent of a predetermined duration of the ad; displaying the ad in the one of the time frames; and during the displaying, recalculating the busyness metric, wherein if the recalculated busyness metric exceeds the threshold value, the predetermined duration of the ad is reduced. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49)
- ads”
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50. A method for displaying advertisements (“
- ads”
) at a point-of-sale (POS) location, the method comprising;dividing a consumer transaction at a POS location into multiple time frames, a total duration of the time frames equaling a total duration of the transaction; receiving a first ad from a set of available ads for display during a first time frame and without regard to whether the transaction meets predetermined criteria; then engaging in the transaction; calculating a busyness metric as a function of a frequency of transactions performed at the POS location; during the transaction, receiving a second ad from the set of available ads for display during a second time frame when the transaction meets predetermined criteria; determining whether the first and second ads should be displayed, wherein the determination for each ad is a function of (i) the busyness metric, wherein if the business metric exceeds a busyness threshold value the ad is selected from a portion of the available ads having a duration that is less than a predetermined duration, (ii) a priority level of the ad, wherein the priority level is manually adjustable at any time during the transaction, and (iii) an ad campaign including a plurality of ads, at least one of which is a sponsor ad, wherein a determination is made as to whether a conflict exists between the determined ad and the sponsor ad; prior to displaying each ad, setting a minimum duration for the ad, wherein the minimum duration is independent of a predetermined duration of the ad; and displaying the first and second ads, wherein during the display of each ad, the busyness metric is recalculated and the predetermined duration of the ad is adjusted as a function of the busyness metric, and wherein if the recalculated busyness metric exceeds the threshold value, the predetermined duration of the ad is reduced. - View Dependent Claims (51)
- ads”
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52. A method for displaying advertisements (“
- ads”
) at a point-of-sale (POS) location, the method comprising;dividing a transaction into time frames, a total duration of the time frames equaling a total duration of the transaction, each of the time frames spanning one of the following activities; waiting for a consumer to begin a transaction; greeting a consumer; beginning a transaction; selecting a form of payment; swiping a card for a form of payment; entering a security code for the form payment; identifying a product for purchase; displaying a total cost for products identified for purchase; signing for a purchase; thanking a consumer for his purchase; surveying a consumer; promoting an event; applying for a credit card; informing a consumer; identifying a consumer; interacting with a consumer; and passing through an interstitial period; transmitting information about the transaction to an ad-management service; determining on the ad-management service, based on the information, an ad from a set of available ads for display, wherein the determination is a function of (i) a busyness metric, wherein if the busyness metric exceeds a busyness threshold value the ad is selected from a portion of the available ads having a duration that is less than a predetermined duration, (ii) a manually adjustable priority level of the ad, wherein the priority level for an ad for display when the transaction meets predetermined criteria (a “
specific ad”
) is by default higher than the priority of an ad for dipslay when no specific ad is available, and (iii) in ad campaign including a plurality of ads, at least one of which is a sponsor ad, wherein a determination is made as to whether a conflict exists between the determined ad and the sponsor ad;prior to displaying the ad, setting a minimum duration for the ad, wherein the minimum duration is independent of a predetermined duration of the ad; receiving a response indicating the service-determined ad; displaying the determined ad in one of (1) the one time frame and (2) a frame following the one time frame, wherein the ad is displayed from its beginning but not through its end due to an action of a consumer; if the ad is displayed in the one time frame, adjusting a duration of the ad based on the busyness metric; recording a representation of any response to the ad; and repeating the steps of determining and displaying an ad with successive ones of the multiple time frames until the transaction completes.
- ads”
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53. A computer-readable medium for data storage wherein is located a computer program for causing a POS system to display advertisement (“
- ads”
) bydividing a consumer transaction at a POS location into multiple time frames, a total duration of the time frames equaling a total duration of the transaction; determining an ad from a set of available ads for display in one of the time frames, wherein the determination is a function of (i) a busyness metric, wherein if the busyness metric exceeds a busyness threshold value the ad is selected from a portion of the available ads having a duration that is less than a predetermined duration, (ii) a manually adjustable priority level of the ad, and (iii) an ad campaign including a plurality of ads, at least one of which is a sponsor ad, wherein a determination is made as to whether a conflict exists between the determined ad and the sponsor ad; prior to displaying the ad, setting a minimum duration for the ad, wherein the minimum duration is independent of a predetermined duration of the ad; displaying the ad in one of the time frames; and adjusting the duration of the ad based on the busyness metric. - View Dependent Claims (54, 55)
- ads”
Specification