Method for providing personalized, targeted advertisements during playback of media

• US 8,606,637 B1
• Filed: 10/06/2011
• Issued: 12/10/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/04/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T-Mobile Innovations LLC (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: Sprint Communications Company LP (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Delker, Jason R., Everson, John M., Gailloux, Michael A., Nichols, Jarrod A., Norris, James W.
• Primary Examiner(s): CASLER, TRACI
• Application Number:
  US13/267,550
• Time in Patent Office: 796 Days
• Field of Search: 705/14.66
• US Class Current: 705/14.66
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0251 Targeted advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0264 based upon schedule
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0272 Period of advertisement exposure
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A media player is provided. The media player comprises a communications interface, a memory store containing a plurality of personalized advertisements, and a media playback component. The targeted advertisements are refreshed by receiving updates from the communications interface during some of the intervals when the media player is connected to a network. The targeted advertisements are indexed by a plurality of characteristics, the first characteristic being a creation date of the targeted advertisements. The media playback component is configured to play a media content, wherein the media content is stored separately from the targeted advertisements, and to play one of the targeted advertisements in the memory store selected based on the characteristics of the one of the targeted advertisements.

Claims

1. A method of distributing advertising, comprising:

embedding, by a media content server, a metatag in a media content, wherein the metatag comprises identifying information;

analyzing, by an advertisement server, a usage history of a media player to identify a usage profile associated with the media player;

selecting, by the advertisement server, a plurality of targeted advertisements based on the usage profile associated with the media player;

transmitting, by the advertisement server, the plurality of targeted advertisements to storage on the media player during intervals of network connectivity of the media player;

storing, by the media player, the media content comprising the metatag;

playing, by the media player, the stored media content on the media player;

encountering, by the media player, the metatag during the playing of the media content;

in response to the encountering of the metatag, selecting, by the media player, a relevant targeted advertisement of the plurality of targeted advertisements based on the identifying information in the metatag, wherein only a subset of the plurality of targeted advertisements satisfies the identifying information; and

playing, by the media player, the relevant targeted advertisement.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifying information in the metatag designates a brand name, and wherein selecting the relevant targeted advertisement includes selecting at least one of the plurality of targeted advertisements that is associated with the brand name.

3. The method of claim 1, further including selecting, by the media player, another targeted advertisement of the plurality of targeted advertisements in storage on the media player based on the media player receiving a control input.

4. The method of claim 1, further including:

creating, by the media player, a log of a control input received by the media player during the playing of the relevant targeted advertisement; and

transmitting, by the media player, the log to the advertisement server during an interval of network connectivity of the media player, wherein targeted advertisements are selected by the advertisement server based in part on the log.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifying information of the metatag designates at least one of a subject category, a brand name, an age bracket, an income bracket, a regional designation, a sex, an education level, or a demographic signature.

6. The method of claim 1, further including selecting, by the media player, another targeted advertisement of the plurality of targeted advertisements in storage on the media player based at least in part on one of a time-of-day, a mobility status of the media player, or a location of the media player.

7. The method of claim 3, further including playing, by the media player, the other targeted advertisement of the plurality of targeted advertisements on the media player without substantially interfering with an interaction of a user with the media player.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the substantial interference with the interaction of the user with the media player is avoided by selecting one of an audio-only targeted advertisement or a scrolling message targeted advertisement.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the media content is one of a multimedia content, a television show, a digital video disk, a video game disk, an on-line game, a compact disk audio recording, a streaming video, a radio broadcast, or an audio recording file.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of targeted advertisements is stored on the media player over a plurality of separate network connectivity sessions.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the playing of the media content is paused during the playing of the relevant targeted advertisement, and wherein the media player ignores control inputs to stop, fast forward through, and skip over the relevant targeted advertisement during the playing of the relevant targeted advertisement.

12. A method of distributing advertising, comprising:

embedding, by a media content server, a metatag in a media content, wherein the metatag comprises identifying information;

analyzing, by an advertisement server, a usage history of a media player to identify a usage profile associated with the media player;

selecting, by the advertisement server, a first plurality of targeted advertisements based on the usage profile associated with the media player;

transmitting, by the advertisement server, the first plurality of targeted advertisements to storage on the media player during intervals of network connectivity of the media player;

storing, by the media player, the media content comprising the metatag;

playing for a first time, by the media player, the stored media content;

encountering, by the media player, the metatag during the first playing of the media content;

in response to the encountering of the metatag, selecting, by the media player, a first relevant targeted advertisement of the first plurality of targeted advertisements based on the identifying information in the metatag, wherein only a subset of the first plurality of targeted advertisements satisfies the identifying information;

playing, by the media player, the first relevant targeted advertisement;

analyzing again, by the advertisement server, the usage history of the media player to identify an updated usage profile associated with the media player;

selecting, by the advertisement server, a second plurality of targeted advertisements based on the updated usage profile associated with the media player;

transmitting, by the advertisement server, the second plurality of targeted advertisements to storage on the media player during intervals of network connectivity of the media player;

playing for a second time, by the media player, the stored media content;

encountering again, by the media player, the metatag during the second playing of the media content;

in response to encountering the metatag again, selecting, by the media player, a second relevant targeted advertisement of the second plurality of targeted advertisements based on the identifying information in the metatag, wherein only a subset of the second plurality of targeted advertisements satisfies the identifying information; and

playing, by the media player, the second relevant targeted advertisement of the second plurality of targeted advertisements, wherein the second relevant targeted advertisement is different from the first relevant targeted advertisement.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the transmitting of the second plurality of targeted advertisements occurs after the transmission of the first plurality of targeted advertisements, and wherein at least one of the second plurality of targeted advertisements replaces one of the first plurality of targeted advertisements in storage on the media player.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the second plurality of targeted advertisements is stored on the media player over a plurality of separate network connectivity sessions, and wherein the second plurality of targeted advertisements replace some of the first plurality of targeted advertisements.

15. The method of claim 12, further including:

creating, by the media player, a log of a control input received by the media player during the playing of the first relevant targeted advertisement; and

transmitting, by the media player, the log to the advertisement server during an interval of network connectivity of the media player, wherein targeted advertisements are selected by the advertisement server based in part on the log.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the identifying information of the metatag designates at least one of a subject category, a brand name, an age bracket, an income bracket, a regional designation, a sex, an education level, or a demographic signature.

17. The method of claim 12 further including selecting, by the media player, another targeted advertisement of the first plurality of targeted advertisements in storage on the media player based at least in part on one of a time-of-day, a mobility status of the media player, or a location of the media player.

18. The method of claim 12, wherein the media content is one of a multimedia content, a television show, a digital video disk, a video game disk, an on-line game, a compact disk audio recording, a streaming video, a radio broadcast, or an audio recording file.