Methods and apparatus to obtain anonymous audience measurement data from network server data for particular demographic and usage profiles

• US 9,355,138 B2
• Filed: 11/25/2014
• Issued: 05/31/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Original Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Inventors: Hannan, Kevin Michael, Papakostas, Achilleas, Perez, Albert Ronald, Yonker, Michael Andrew, Albino, Austin William
• Primary Examiner(s): Woo, Isaac M
• Application Number:
  US14/553,334
• Publication Number:
  US 20150081704A1
• Time in Patent Office: 553 Days
• Field of Search: 707600-899
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/00 Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24 Querying
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34

Abstract

Example audience measurement methods disclosed herein include accessing demographic information and identification information for subscribers of a service provider based on first data received from an audience measurement entity. Such disclosed example methods also include accessing network log data stored by the service provider for the subscribers using the identification information. Such disclosed example methods further include determining audience measurement data for the subscribers based on the network log data, the demographic information and the identification information, and removing the identification information from the audience measurement data to determine anonymous audience measurement data to send to the audience measurement entity.

Claims

1. An audience measurement method comprising:

accessing, with a processor, demographic information and identification information for subscribers of a service provider based on first data received from an audience measurement entity;

accessing, with the processor, network log data stored by the service provider for the subscribers using the identification information;

determining, with the processor, audience measurement data for the subscribers based on the network log data, the demographic information and the identification information; and

removing, with the processor, the identification information from the audience measurement data to determine anonymous audience measurement data to send to the audience measurement entity.

2. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the identification information includes device identifiers identifying devices associated with the subscribers.

3. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the network log data includes media identification information identifying media accessed by devices associated with the subscribers.

4. The method as defined in claim 1, further comprising including analyzing the network log data to determine network usage classifications associated with respective ones of the subscribers.

5. The method as defined in claim 4, further including processing the network usage classifications associated with the respective ones of the subscribers to determine a network usage profile for the subscribers.

6. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the demographic information and the identification information are stored in a first server associated with the service provider, and the audience measurement entity is prohibited from accessing the first server.

7. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the network log data is stored in a first server associated with the service provider, and the audience measurement entity is prohibited from accessing the first server.

8. A tangible computer readable storage device or storage disk comprising computer readable instructions which, when executed, cause a processor to at least:

access demographic information and identification information for subscribers of a service provider based on first data originating with an audience measurement entity;

access network log data stored by the service provider for the subscribers using the identification information;

determine audience measurement data for the subscribers based on the network log data, the demographic information and the identification information; and

remove the identification information from the audience measurement data to determine anonymous audience measurement data to send to the audience measurement entity.

9. The computer readable storage device or storage disk as defined in claim 8, wherein the identification information includes device identifiers identifying devices associated with the subscribers.

10. The computer readable storage device or storage disk as defined in claim 8, wherein the network log data includes media identification information identifying media accessed by devices associated with the subscribers.

11. The computer readable storage device or storage disk as defined in claim 8, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the processor to analyze the network log data to determine network usage classifications associated with respective ones of the subscribers.

12. The computer readable storage device or storage disk as defined in claim 11, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the processor to process the network usage classifications associated with the respective ones of the subscribers to determine a network usage profile for the subscribers.

13. The computer readable storage device or storage disk as defined in claim 8, wherein the demographic information and the identification information are stored in a first server associated with the service provider, and the audience measurement entity is prohibited from accessing the first server.

14. The computer readable storage device or storage disk as defined in claim 8, wherein the network log data is stored in a first server associated with the service provider, and the audience measurement entity is prohibited from accessing the first server.

15. An audience measurement apparatus comprising:

a measurement data sampler to;

access demographic information and identification information for subscribers of a service provider based on first data received from an audience measurement entity;

access network log data stored by the service provider for the subscribers using the identification information;

determine audience measurement data for the subscribers based on the network log data, the demographic information and the identification information; and

a privacy unit to remove the identification information from the audience measurement data to determine anonymous audience measurement data to send to the audience measurement entity.

16. The audience measurement apparatus as defined in claim 15, wherein the identification information includes device identifiers identifying devices associated with the subscribers.

17. The audience measurement apparatus as defined in claim 15, wherein the network log data includes media identification information identifying media accessed by devices associated with the subscribers.

18. The audience measurement apparatus as defined in claim 15, wherein the measurement data sampler is further to analyze the network log data to determine network usage classifications associated with respective ones of the subscribers.

19. The audience measurement apparatus as defined in claim 18, wherein the measurement data sampler is further to process the network usage classifications associated with the respective ones of the subscribers to determine a network usage profile for the subscribers.

20. The audience measurement apparatus as defined in claim 15, further including:

a first server to store the demographic information and the identification information, the audience measurement entity being prohibited from accessing the first server; and

a second server to store the network log data, the audience measurement entity being prohibited from accessing the second server.