Methods, computer program products, and apparatus for providing targeted content based on user data

• US 8,869,194 B2
• Filed: 08/26/2008
• Issued: 10/21/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/26/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Yu, Ke, Brown, William
• Primary Examiner(s): Goodarzi, Nasser
• Assistant Examiner(s): Peng, Fred
• Application Number:
  US12/198,454
• Publication Number:
  US 20100058382A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,247 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 725/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23106 involving caching operations prefetching while addressing of a memory level in which the access to the desired data or data block requires associative addressing means within memory systems or architectures G06F12/0862; caching at an intermediate stage in a data network H04L67/568
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23418 involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics television picture signal circuitry for scene change detection H04N5/147; filtering for image enhancement G06T5/00; methods or arrangements for recognising scenes G06V20/00; arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59
• 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 21/25883 being end-user demographical data, e.g. age, family status or address arrangements for identifying locations of users in broadcast systems H04H60/52
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25891 being end-user preferences retrieval of video data in a video database based on user preferences G06F16/739; arrangements for recognizing users' preferences H04H60/46; 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 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44016 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for substituting a video clip
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8547 involving timestamps for synchronizing content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

Targeted content associated with user information stored in a database within a network in communication with a user device is received along with program content. A determination by a scanning process is made at what position or at what time in the program content to include the targeted content. The program content and the targeted content are rendered, with the targeted content included at the determined position or time in the program content, for presentation to at least one user. This rendering may occur within a network or within a user device.

Claims

1. A computer program product tangibly embodied on a non-transitory computer readable medium, for providing targeted content for advertising, the computer program product including instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform operations comprising:

receiving program content and the targeted content, wherein the targeted content is associated with user information stored in a database within a network;

locally storing the targeted content in a local database;

determining what time during and at what position in the program content to overlay the program content with the targeted content;

rendering the program content and the targeted content, with the targeted content included at the position determined in the program content, for presentation to a user;

reporting to a scanning module occasions in which the program content was overlaid with the target content, in order to charge an advertiser of the targeted content for the occasions; and

to report the occasions to the scanning module providing a generic reporting of the program content overlaid with the targeted content without revealing the targeted content according a level of privacy in reporting the occasions, the generic reporting further includes reporting when the targeted content was included during the program content and reporting where the targeted content was included in the program content according to the level of privacy while not revealing the targeted content.

2. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the position in the program content to include the targeted content is determined by identifying a portion of the program content containing advertising content;

wherein the advertising content is replaced with the targeted content;

wherein the occasions, reported to the scanning module, in which the program content was overlaid with the targeted content correspond to reporting at what point during the program content the targeted content is overlaid and reporting where in the program content that the targeted content is included, according to another level of privacy in reporting the occasions;

wherein the scanning module is for a network service provider.

3. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein a subject matter of the targeted content is a same as the program content;

determining at what time to include the targeted content in the program content by determining when the subject matter is playing during which to overlay the targeted content; and

causing a sports logo of the targeted content to overlay a display of the subject matter being played by the program content;

wherein the sports logo of the targeted content is a commercial sports brand symbol and the subject matter is sports content such that the commercial sports brand symbol overlays the display of the sports content being played by the program content.

4. The computer program product of claim 3, further comprising causing a targeted content provider to be charged a flat rate each time the sports logo of the targeted content overlays the display of the subject matter being played by the program content.

5. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the targeted content includes webpage content.

6. A computer program product tangibly embodied on a non-transitory computer readable medium, for providing targeted content for advertising, the computer program product including instructions that, when executed by a set top box, cause the set top box to perform operations comprising:

receiving program content and the targeted content, wherein the targeted content is associated with user information stored in a database within a network;

locally storing the targeted content in a local database;

determining what time during and at what position in the program content to overlay the program content with the targeted content;

rendering the program content and the targeted content, with the targeted content included at the position determined in the program content, for presentation to a user;

reporting to a scanning module occasions in which the program content was overlaid with the target content, in order to charge an advertiser of the targeted content for the occasions;

to report the occasions to the scanning module providing a generic reporting of the program content overlaid with the targeted content without revealing the targeted content according a level of privacy in reporting the occasions, the generic reporting by the set top box further includes reporting when the targeted content was included during the program content and reporting where the targeted content was included in the program content according to the level of privacy while not revealing the targeted content.

7. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein the position in the program content to overlay the targeted content is determined by identifying a portion of the program content containing advertising content, and wherein the advertising content is replaced with the targeted content.

8. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein a subject matter of the targeted content is a same as the program content;

and

wherein determining at what time to overlay the targeted content on the program content comprises determining when the subject matter is playing during which to overlay the targeted content.

9. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein rendering the program content and the targeted content occurs in the set top box.

10. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein the user information stored in the database within the network is updated with user information stored locally in the set top box.

11. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein the targeted content includes webpage content.

12. An apparatus for providing targeted content, the apparatus comprising:

a processor; and

a non-transitory computer readable medium with computer-executable instructions stored thereon, that when executed by the processor cause the processor to perform operations comprising;

receiving program content and the targeted content, wherein the targeted content is associated with user information stored in a database within a network;

locally storing the targeted content in a local database;

determining what time during and at what position in the program content to overlay the program content with the targeted content;

rendering the program content and the targeted content, with the targeted content included at the position determined in the program content, for presentation to a user;

reporting to a scanning module occasions in which the program content was overlaid with the target content, in order to charge an advertiser of the targeted content for the occasions;

to report the occasions to the scanning module, providing a generic reporting of the program content overlaid with the targeted content without revealing the targeted content according a level of privacy in reporting the occasions, the generic reporting further includes reporting when the targeted content was included during the program content and reporting where the targeted content was included in the program content according to the level of privacy while not revealing the targeted content.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the position in the program content to include the targeted content is determined by identifying a portion of the program content containing advertising content, and wherein the advertising content is replaced with the targeted content.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein a subject matter of the targeted content is a same as the program content;

and

wherein what time to overlay the targeted content in the program content comprises determining when the subject matter is playing during which to overlay the targeted content.

15. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the targeted content includes webpage content.