Process for providing targeted user content blended with a media stream

• US 8,495,674 B1
• Filed: 09/17/2009
• Issued: 07/23/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/08/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Yahoo AD Tech LLC
• Original Assignee: Lightningcast, Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Johnson, Jayne F., DesJardins, G. Thomas
• Primary Examiner(s): Bui, Kieu Oanh T
• Application Number:
  US12/561,837
• Time in Patent Office: 1,405 Days
• Field of Search: 725 32- 34, 725/134, 725/136
• US Class Current: 725/32
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/68 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23424 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for inserting or substituting an advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/438 Interfacing the downstream path of the transmission network originating from a server, e.g. retrieving encoded video stream packets from an IP network
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4524 involving the geographical location of the client retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; systems specially adapted for using geographical information in broadcast systems H04H60/70; protocols in which the network application is adapted for the location of the user terminal in communication control or processing H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/458 Scheduling content for creating a personalised stream, e.g. by combining a locally stored advertisement with an incoming stream; Updating operations, e.g. for OS modules ; time-related management operations arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast or during the distribution H04H20/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8455 involving pointers to the content, e.g. pointers to the I-frames of the video stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only

Abstract

A network system provides delivery of customized target content, such as advertising, to individual users. A profile is produced at a home client user having parameters with values associated with the home client user, such as geographic and demographic infonnation. The receiver software at the home client matches the spot content flame for each spot content to the profile of the user to select those spot content units which have a match. These selected spot content units are stored at the home user and are blended into the media stream at the locations of the spot markers to produce an information data stream for the user that is customized for that user. A spot auditor at the home client measures the type and quantity of play back of the spot content received by the home user and this is reported to the spot content provider for measurement of the effectiveness in the distribution of the spot content.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, at a client system, a plurality of spot content units and associated spot target information for targeting the plurality of advertisement content units to users;

storing, at a client system, a set of the plurality of spot content units that are associated with spot target information that matches user profile information associated with a user of the client system;

receiving, at the client system, a media stream, wherein the media stream includes one or more media content units and at least one spot marker, the at least one spot marker designating a spot location for inserting one or more spot content units into the media stream and including a category of a media content unit corresponding to the spot location;

detecting, at the client system, the at least one spot marker included in the received media stream;

selecting, at the client system, at least one spot content unit from the set of spot content units based on the category of the media content unit corresponding to the spot location;

in response to detecting the at least one spot marker, inserting, at the client system, the selected at least one spot content unit into the media stream at the spot location designated by the detected at least one spot marker, thereby generating a user information stream that includes the one or more media content units and the selected at least one spot content unit; and

presenting, at the client system, the user information stream.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein:

each spot content unit in the set of spot content units is associated with a category;

and

selecting at least one spot content unit from the set of spot content units comprises selecting at least one spot content unit that has an associated category that matches the category of the media content unit corresponding to spot location included in the detected at least one spot marker.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the category included in the detected at least one spot marker indicates a category for a media content unit that is adjacent the detected at least one spot marker in the media stream.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the detected at least one spot marker further includes a duration of the spot location; and

selecting at least one spot content unit from the set of spot content units comprises selecting at least one advertisement spot content unit that has a duration that matches the duration included in the detected at least one spot marker.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the user profile information includes user geographic information;

the spot target information for targeting the plurality of advertisement content units includes target geographic information associated with the plurality of advertisement content units; and

storing a set of the plurality of spot content units includes storing spot content units that are associated with target geographic information that matches the user geographic information included in the user profile information.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

recording an identity of the selected at least one spot content unit included in the user information stream; and

transmitting a record of the identity to a selected entity.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving the media stream comprises sending a request to one or more servers for the media stream and, in response to the request, receiving the media stream from the one or more servers.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein:

receiving a plurality of spot content units and spot target information includes receiving a spot content stream, the spot content stream including the plurality of spot content units and an associated spot frame that specifies the spot content target information; and

storing a set of spot content units includes;

determining the spot content units in the spot content stream that include an associated spot frame that specifies spot target information that matches the user profile information; and

storing the determined spot content units in a cache on the client system.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein inserting, at the client system, the selected at least one spot content unit into the media stream at the location designated by the spot marker comprises replacing the detected at least one spot marker in the media stream with the selected at least one spot content unit.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the spot target information comprises at least one of target geographic information or target demographic information.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the plurality of spot content units include category information indicating categories of the plurality of spot content units;

storing a set of spot content units includes storing the categories of the plurality of spot content units; and

selecting at least one spot content unit includes selecting a spot content unit with a category that matches the category of the media content unit corresponding to the ad spot location.

12. A client device comprising:

an output device;

one or more processing devices; and

one or more storage devices storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processing devices, cause the one or more processing devices to;

receiving, at a client system, a plurality of spot content units and associated spot target information for targeting the plurality of advertisement content units to users;

store a set of the plurality of spot content units that are associated with spot target demographic information that matches user profile information associated with a user of the client system;

receive a media stream, wherein the media stream includes one or more media content units and at least one spot marker, the at least one spot marker designating a spot location for inserting one or more spot content units into the media stream and including a category of a media content unit corresponding to the spot location;

detect the at least one spot marker included in the received media stream;

select at least one spot content unit from the set of spot content units based on the category of the media content unit corresponding to the spot location;

in response to detecting the at least one spot marker, insert the selected at least one advertisement content unit into the media stream at the spot location designated by the detected at least one spot marker, thereby generating a user information stream that includes the one or more media content units and the selected at least one spot content unit; and

present the user information stream using the output device.

13. The client device of claim 12 wherein:

each spot content unit in the set of spot content units is associated with a category; and

the stored instructions, when executed by the one or more processing devices, further cause the one or more processing devices to select at least one spot content unit advertisement from the set of spot content units by selecting at least one spot content unit that has an associated category that matches the category of the media content unit corresponding to the spot location included in the detected at least one spot marker.

14. The client device of claim 13 wherein the category in the detected at least one spot marker indicates a category for a media content unit that is adjacent the detected at least one spot marker in the media stream.

15. The client device of claim 12 wherein:

the detected at least one spot marker further includes a duration of the spot location; and

the stored instructions, when executed by the one or more processing devices, further cause the one or more processing devices to select at least one spot content unit from the set of spot content units by selecting at least one spot content unit that has a duration that matches the duration included in the detected at least one sport marker.

16. The client device of claim 12 wherein:

the user profile includes user geographic information;

the spot target information for targeting the plurality of advertisement content units includes target geographic information associated with the plurality of advertisement content units; and

the stored instructions, when executed by the one or more processing devices, further cause the one or more processing devices to store a set of the plurality of spot content units by storing spot content units that are associated with target geographic information that matches the user geographic information included in the user profile.

17. The client device of claim 12 wherein the instructions further comprise instructions that, when executed by the one or more processing devices, cause the one or more processing devices to:

record an identity of the selected at least one spot content unit included in the user information stream; and

transmit a record of the identity to a selected entity.

18. The client device of claim 12 wherein, to receive the media stream, the instructions include instructions that, when executed by the one or more processing devices, cause the one or more processing devices to send a request to one or more servers for the media stream and, in response to the request, receive the media stream from the one or more servers.

19. The client system of claim 12 wherein the instructions further include instructions that, when executed by the one or more processing devices, cause the one or more processing devices to:

receive a spot content stream, the spot content stream including the plurality of spot content units and an associated spot frame that specifies the spot content target information;

determine the spot content units in the spot content stream that include an associated spot frame that specifies target information that matches the user profile information; and

store the determined spot content units in a cache on the client system.

20. The client system of claim 12 wherein, to insert the selected at least one spot content unit into the media stream at the spot location designated by the detected at least one spot marker, the instructions include instructions that, when executed by the one or more processing devices, cause the one or more processing devices to replace the detected at least one spot marker in the media stream with the selected at least one spot content unit.

21. The client system of claim 12 wherein the spot target information comprises at least one of target geographic information or target demographic information.

22. The client system of claim 12, wherein:

the plurality of spot content units include category information indicating categories of the plurality of spot content units;

the stored instructions further include instructions that, when executed by the one or more processing devices, cause the one or more processing devices to;

store a set of spot content units by storing the categories of the plurality of spot content units; and

select at least one spot content unit by selecting a spot content unit with a category that matches the category of the media content unit corresponding to the ad spot location.

23. A method comprising:

receiving, at a client system, a spot content stream, the spot content stream including multiple spot content units and a spot frame associated with each of the multiple spot content units that specifies target information for targeting each of the multiple spot content units to users;

identifying spot content units in the spot content stream that include an associated spot frame that specifies target information that matches the user profile information in a user profile associated with user of the client system;

storing the identified matching spot content units in an cache on the client system;

additionally receiving, at the client system, a media stream, wherein the media stream includes one or more media content units and at least one spot marker, the at least one spot marker designating a spot location for inserting one or more spot content units into the media stream and including a category of a media content unit corresponding to the spot location;

detecting, at the client system, the at least one spot marker included in the received media stream, the detected at least one spot marker;

selecting, at the client system, at least one spot content unit from the cache based on the category of the media content unit corresponding to the spot location;

in response to detecting the at least one spot marker, inserting, at the client system, the selected at least one spot content unit into the media stream at the location designated by the detected at least one spot marker, thereby generating a user information stream that includes the one or more media content units and the selected at least one spot content unit; and

displaying, at the client system, the user information stream.