Integrated inventory management system for media advertising

• US 7,689,590 B2
• Filed: 06/30/2004
• Issued: 03/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/03/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: iHeartMedia Management Services, Inc. (iHeartMedia, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Clear Channel Management Services LP (iHeartMedia, Inc.)
• Inventors: Fox, Billy Shane
• Primary Examiner(s): ALAM, SHAHID AL
• Application Number:
  US10/880,669
• Publication Number:
  US 20040236794A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,099 Days
• Field of Search: 707/10, 707/104.1, 705/10, 705/26, 705/14, 705/40, 705/5, 705/8, 705/28
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/145 Payments according to the detected use or quantity
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0202 Market predictions or forecasting for commercial activities
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0205 Location or geographical consideration
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0222 During e-commerce, i.e. online transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0272 Period of advertisement exposure
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0273 Determination of fees for advertising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0283 Price estimation or determination
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

A computer-implemented yield management system and method for media advertising are provided. The system includes demand curve data associated with an availability of advertising time slots. The demand curve data is defined by a function P_N=P_L*P_N and P_N=P_H*F_N. The system also includes and inventory module to create advertising inventory for a plurality of media provides, the advertising inventory containing available advertising time slots, a yield management module to generate pricing information based on the demand curve data, a forecasting module to generate advertising time segments that meet specific criteria in the advertising inventory and a pricing module to create a pricing strategy using the demand curve data where the price of advertising varies for one ore more advertising time slots in the advertising inventory based on the available advertising inventory.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented yield management system for media advertising, comprising:

a processor;

memory coupled to the processor;

demand curve data stored in the memory, the demand curve data associated with an availability of advertising time slots, wherein the demand curve data is defined by a function P_N=P_L*F_N, wherein a sale N has a price and P_N is the price for the sale N, P_L is the sale N starting price when 0% of the advertising inventory associated with a particular advertising request has been sold, and F_N is a multiplier that starts at 1.0 before a first sale and has a value which increases as a total amount of capacity available for the particular advertising request approaches zero, and P_N=P_H*F_N, where P_H is the sale N final price when 100% of the advertising inventory associated with the particular advertising request has been sold, wherein F is a demand curve function that determines an applicable price at inventory levels between the sale N starting and final prices, F_H representing the function F value when 100% of the advertising inventory associated with the particular advertising request has been sold and F_N representing the function F value at sale N;

an inventory module executable by the processor to create advertising inventory for a plurality of media providers, the advertising inventory containing available advertising time slots;

a yield management module executable by the processor, the yield management module to generate pricing information based on the demand curve data;

a forecasting module to generate advertising time segments that meet specific criteria in the advertising inventory; and

a pricing module to create a pricing strategy using the demand curve data where the price of advertising varies for one or more advertising time slots in the advertising inventory based on the available advertising inventory.

2. The yield management system of claim 1, wherein the demand curve data comprises non-linear data.

3. The yield management system of claim 1, wherein the demand curve data defines a hyperbolic function.

4. The yield management system of claim 1, wherein the demand curve data defines a parabolic function.

5. The inventory management system of claim 1, wherein the demand curve data represents a function having a first, linear segment starting at 0% of advertising inventory sold, and a second, non-linear segment ending at 100% of advertising inventory sold.

6. The inventory management system of claim 5, wherein the first linear segment starts at a point A and ends at a point B and the second non-linear segment starts at point B and ends at a point C, wherein point A indicates a beginning rate with 0% sold, point B indicates where a slope of the demand curve begins to increase, and point C indicates where the slope of the demand curve again increases, and point B is located in the demand curve data in a position between 10% to 50% sold.

7. The inventory management system of claim 6, wherein point B indicates a position in the demand curve data which corresponds to one of 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 35%, 40% or 50% of the advertising inventory sold.

8. A computer-implemented yield management system for media advertising, comprising:

a processor;

memory coupled to the processor;

demand curve data stored in the memory, the demand curve data associated with an availability of advertising time slots, wherein the demand curve data represents a function having a first, linear segment starting at 0% of advertising inventory sold, and a second, non-linear segment ending at 100% of advertising inventory sold, wherein the first linear segment starts at a point A and ends at a point B and the second non-linear segment starts at point B and ends at a point C, wherein point A indicates a beginning rate with 0% sold, point B indicates where a slope of the demand curve begins to increase, and point C indicates where the slope of the demand curve again increases, wherein point B indicates a position in the demand curve data which corresponds to 10% of the advertising inventory sold when historic demand for the associated advertising time slot or program has been more than 145% of advertising inventory sold;

an inventory module executable by the processor to create advertising inventory for a plurality of media providers, the advertising inventory containing available advertising time slots;

a yield management module executable by the processor, the yield management module to generate pricing information based on the demand curve data;

a forecasting module to generate advertising time segments that meet specific criteria in the advertising inventory; and

a pricing module to create a pricing strategy using the demand curve data where the price of advertising varies for one or more advertising time slots in the advertising inventory based on the available advertising inventory.

9. A computer-implemented yield management system for media advertising, comprising:

a processor;

memory coupled to the processor;

demand curve data stored in the memory, the demand curve data associated with an availability of advertising time slots, wherein the demand curve data represents a function having a first, linear segment staffing at 0% of advertising inventory sold, and a second, non-linear segment ending at 100% of advertising inventory sold, wherein the first linear segment starts at a point A and ends at a point B and the second non-linear segment staffs at point B and ends at a point C, wherein point A indicates a beginning rate with 0% sold, point B indicates where a slope of the demand curve begins to increase, and point C indicates where the slope of the demand curve again increases, wherein point B indicates a position in the demand curve data which corresponds to 50% of the advertising inventory sold when historic demand for the associated advertising time slot or program has been less than 54% of the advertising inventory sold;

an inventory module executable by the processor to create advertising inventory for a plurality of media providers, the advertising inventory containing available advertising time slots;

a yield management module executable by the processor, the yield management module to generate pricing information based on the demand curve data;

a forecasting module to generate advertising time segments that meet specific criteria in the advertising inventory; and

a pricing module to create a pricing strategy using the demand curve data where the price of advertising varies for one or more advertising time slots in the advertising inventory based on the available advertising inventory.