Methods and apparatus to collect distributed user information for media impressions and search terms

• US 9,237,138 B2
• Filed: 04/24/2014
• Issued: 01/12/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Original Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Inventors: Bosworth, Alan N., Alla, Madhusudhan Reddy, Splaine, Steven J., Shivampet, Brahmanand Reddy, Gaynor, Kevin K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Golabbakhsh, Ebrahim
• Application Number:
  US14/261,085
• Publication Number:
  US 20150189500A1
• Time in Patent Office: 628 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6254 by anonymising data, e.g. decorrelating personal data from the owner's identification
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0203 Market surveys; Market polls
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0251 Targeted advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/50 Testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/04 for providing a confidential data exchange among entities communicating through data packet networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/062 for key distribution, e.g. centrally by trusted party cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key distribution involving a central third party H04L9/0819
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for supporting real-time applications in data packet communication real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM] H04L51/04; selective video distribution H04N21/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/32 including means for verifying the identity or authority of a user of the system or for message authentication, e.g. authorization, entity authentication, data integrity or data verification, non-repudiation, key authentication or verification of credentials
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2351 involving encryption of additional data arrangements using cryptography for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/23
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25808 Management of client data terminal profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/303
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25866 Management of end-user data customer care in data networks H04L41/5077
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42684 Client identification by a unique number or address, e.g. serial number, MAC address, socket ID network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming H04L61/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44226 on social networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6582 Data stored in the client, e.g. viewing habits, hardware capabilities, credit card number arrangements where receivers interact with the broadcast H04H20/38
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication

Abstract

An example method includes receiving a media identifier and an impression identifier from a device, the media identifier being indicative of media presented at the device; receiving the impression identifier in association with first user information from a first database proprietor as a result of the first database proprietor obtaining a first identifier sent from the device, the first identifier identifying at least one of the device or a user; receiving the impression identifier in association with second user information from a second database proprietor as a result of the second database proprietor obtaining a second identifier sent from the device, the second identifier identifying at least one of the device or the user; identifying the first and second user information as associated with a same user based on the impression identifier; and associating the first and second user information with the media identifier.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a media identifier and an impression identifier from a media device, the media identifier being indicative of media presented at the media device;

receiving the impression identifier in association with first user information from a first database proprietor as a result of the first database proprietor obtaining a first identifier encrypted with a first encryption key by the media device and sent from the media device, the first identifier identifying at least one of the media device or a user of the media device;

receiving the impression identifier in association with second user information from a second database proprietor as a result of the second database proprietor obtaining a second identifier encrypted with a second encryption key by the media device and sent from the media device, the second identifier identifying at least one of the media device or the user of the media device, the second identifier being different than the first identifier;

identifying the first user information and the second user information as associated with a same user based on the impression identifier; and

associating the first user information and the second user information with the media identifier.

2. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the first database proprietor is a social network service, the first identifier is a username of the user registered with the social network service, and the first user information is demographic information corresponding to the user and stored by the social network service.

3. The method as defined in claim 2, wherein the second database proprietor is a wireless service provider of the media device, the second identifier is a device identifier used by the wireless service provider to identify the media device and to associate the second user information with the user of the media device, and the second user information is demographic information corresponding to the user and stored by the wireless service provider.

4. An apparatus comprising:

a processor; and

a storage device including computer readable instructions which, when executed, cause the processor to at least;

access a media identifier and an impression identifier received from a media device, the media identifier being indicative of media presented at the media device;

access first user information received in association with the impression identifier from a first database proprietor as a result of the first database proprietor obtaining a first identifier encrypted with a first encryption key by the media device and sent from the media device, the first identifier identifying at least one of the media device or a user of the media device;

access second user information received in association with the impression identifier from a second database proprietor based on the second database proprietor obtaining a second identifier encrypted with a second encryption key by the media device and sent from the media device, the second identifier identifying at least one of the media device or the user of the media device, the second identifier being different than the first identifier;

identify the first user information and the second user information as associated with a same user based on the impression identifier; and

associate the first user information and the second user information with the media identifier.

5. The apparatus as defined in claim 4, wherein the first database proprietor includes a social network service and the second database proprietor includes a wireless service provider, the first identifier including a username of the user registered with the social network service, and the second identifier comprising a device identifier used by the wireless service provider to identify the media device.

6. The apparatus as defined in claim 5, wherein the user information includes first demographic information of the user stored by the social network service, and second demographic information of the user stored by the wireless service provider.

7. A tangible computer readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a machine to at least:

access a media identifier and an impression identifier received from a media device, the media identifier being indicative of media presented at the media device;

access first user information received in association with the impression identifier from a first database proprietor as a result of the first database proprietor obtaining a first identifier encrypted with a first encryption key by the media device and sent from the media device, the first identifier identifying at least one of the media device or a user of the media device;

access second user information received in association with the impression identifier from a second database proprietor based on the second database proprietor obtaining a second identifier encrypted with a second encryption key by the media device and sent from the media device, the second identifier identifying at least one of the media device or the user of the media device, the second identifier being different than the first identifier;

identify the first user information and the second user information as associated with a same user based on the impression identifier; and

associate the first user information and the second user information with the media identifier.

8. The tangible computer readable storage medium as defined in claim 7, wherein the first database proprietor includes a social network service and the second database proprietor includes a wireless service provider, the first identifier including a username of the user registered with the social network service, and the second identifier including a device identifier used by the wireless service provider to identify the media device.

9. The tangible computer readable storage medium as defined in claim 8, wherein the first user information includes first demographic information of the user stored by the social network service, and second demographic information of the user stored by the wireless service provider.

10. A method, comprising:

instructing a media provider to associate executable instructions with media; and

receiving data from a media device in response to the media device executing the instructions, the instructions causing the media device to;

collect a media identifier indicative of media presented at the media device;

encrypt a user identifier that identifies the user of the media device, the encrypting of the user identifier based on a first encryption key corresponding to a first database proprietor having first user information associated with the user identifier;

encrypt a device identifier that identifies the media device, the encrypting of the device identifier based on a second encryption key corresponding to a second database proprietor having second user information associated with the device identifier;

send the media identifier in association with an impression identifier to a data collection server;

send the encrypted user identifier and the impression identifier to a second server associated with the first database proprietor; and

send the encrypted device identifier and the impression identifier to a third server associated with the second database proprietor.

11. The method as defined in claim 10, wherein the data received from the media device includes the media identifier and the impression identifier.

12. The method as defined in claim 11, further including associating the data received from the media device with a media impression based on the impression identifier.

13. The method as defined in claim 10, further including:

receiving the first user information from the first database proprietor;

receiving the second user information from the second database proprietor; and

identifying the first user information and the second user information as associated with a same user based on the impression identifier.

14. The method as defined in claim 13, further including associating the first user information and the second user information with the media identifier.

15. The method as defined in claim 10, wherein the instructions are to further cause the media device to encode the encrypted user identifier and the encrypted device identifier in a single identifier, the instructions to cause the media device to send the encrypted user identifier by sending the single identifier to the second server and sending the encrypted device identifier includes sending the single identifier to the third server.