Analysis of controlled and automatic attention for introduction of stimulus material

• US 9,560,984 B2
• Filed: 10/29/2009
• Issued: 02/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nielsen Consumer LLC (Nielsen Holdings plc)
• Original Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Inventors: Pradeep, Anantha, Knight, Robert T., Gurumoorthy, Ramachandran
• Primary Examiner(s): Natnithithadha, Navin
• Assistant Examiner(s): MESSERSMITH, ERIC J
• Application Number:
  US12/608,660
• Publication Number:
  US 20110105937A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,658 Days
• Field of Search: 600544-545, 725 10- 12, 725/34, 705/14.66
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/16 Devices for psychotechnics using teaching or educational appliances G09B1/00 - G09B7/00; Testing reaction times ; Devices for evaluating the psychological state
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/163 by tracking eye movement, gaze, or pupil change
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/377 using evoked responses
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0244 Optimization
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute

Abstract

A system analyzes neuro-response measurements including regional electroencephalography (EEG) measurements from subjects exposed to stimulus materials to determine locations in stimulus materials eliciting controlled attention and automatic attention. Additional stimulus materials are inserted into locations having salient attention attributes. In some examples, a challenging task is used to direct controlled attention onto a location and additional stimulus material is subtly presented in the location to benefit from automatic attention and salient attention measurements.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

identifying, by executing an instruction with a processor, a first change in amplitude and a second change in amplitude in first neuro-response data gathered from a user while the user is exposed to entertainment;

synchronizing, by executing an instruction with the processor, the first neuro-response data with the entertainment;

identifying, by executing an instruction with the processor, a first temporal location in the entertainment coinciding with the first change in amplitude and a second temporal location in the entertainment coinciding with the second change in amplitude;

analyzing, by executing an instruction with the processor, the first neuro-response data to determine a first priming characteristic of the entertainment at the first temporal location based on one or more of (a) a first controlled attention level of the user at the first temporal location, (b) a first memory retention level of the user at the first temporal location, or (c) a first resonance level of the user at the first temporal location;

analyzing, by executing an instruction with the processor, the first neuro-response data to determine a second priming characteristic of the entertainment at the second temporal location based on one or more of (a) a second controlled attention level of the user at the second temporal location, (b) a second memory retention level of the user at the second temporal location, or (c) a second resonance level of the user at the second temporal location;

identifying, by executing an instruction with the processor, at least one of (1) a first retention characteristic of the entertainment at the first temporal location based on the first memory retention level or (2) a first resonance characteristic of the entertainment at the first temporal location based on the first resonance level;

identifying, by executing an instruction with the processor, at least one of (1) a second retention characteristic of the entertainment at the second temporal location based on the second memory retention level or (2) a second resonance characteristic of the entertainment at the second temporal location based on the second resonance level;

selecting, by executing an instruction with the processor, a third temporal location or a fourth temporal location in the entertainment as a first candidate temporal location for introduction of advertising material, the third temporal location occurring after the first temporal location and the fourth temporal location occurring after the second temporal location, the selecting of the first candidate temporal location including selecting the third temporal location based on (1) at least one of the first priming characteristic or the second priming characteristic and (2) when at least one of the first retention characteristic or the first resonance characteristic is increased relative to the respective second retention characteristic or the second resonance characteristic and selecting the fourth temporal location based on (1) at least one of the first priming characteristic or the second priming characteristic and (2) when the second retention characteristic or the second resonance characteristic is increased relative to the respective first retention characteristic or the first resonance characteristic; and

inserting the advertising material into the first candidate temporal location.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the analyzing of the first neuro-response data to determine the first priming characteristic further includes analyzing a first automatic attention level of the user in response to the entertainment at the first temporal location, and wherein the analyzing of the first neuro-response data to determine the second priming characteristic further includes analyzing a second automatic attention level of the user in response to the entertainment at the second temporal location.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the selecting of the first candidate temporal location includes selecting the third temporal location when the first automatic attention level is increased relative to the second automatic attention level and selecting the fourth temporal location when the second automatic attention level is increased relative to the first automatic attention level.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the entertainment includes at least one of video, audio or text.

5. The method of claim 1 further including:

obtaining eye tracking data from the user while the user is exposed to the entertainment;

synchronizing the eye tracking data with the entertainment;

identifying a spatial location in the entertainment coinciding with the eye tracking data; and

selecting the spatial location in the entertainment as a candidate spatial location for introduction of the advertising material.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the spatial location occurs during the first candidate temporal location.

7. The method of claim 1 further including:

identifying a second candidate temporal location based on the first neuro-response data;

gathering third neuro-response data from the user while the user is exposed to the entertainment including the advertising material in the first candidate temporal location and the second candidate temporal location; and

selecting between the first candidate temporal location and the second candidate temporal location for inclusion of the advertising material based on the third neuro-response data.

8. The method of claim 1, further including selecting the advertising material to be introduced at the selected one of the third temporal location or the fourth temporal location based on content of the advertising material.

9. The method of claim 1, further including selecting the first temporal location or the second temporal location based on an interaction of the user with the entertainment.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first neuro-response data includes frontal cortex activity, the frontal cortex activity detected via frontal lobe electroencephalography data.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the frontal cortex activity is indicative of the first controlled attention level and the second controlled attention level.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the selecting of the third temporal location or the fourth temporal location as the first candidate temporal location further includes:

performing a comparison of the first priming characteristic to the second priming characteristic to identify which of the first priming characteristic or the second priming characteristic correlates to an increased receptivity of the user to the advertising material relative to the other of the first priming characteristic or the second priming characteristic; and

selecting the one of the first priming characteristic or the second priming characteristic based on the comparison.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the selecting of the third temporal location or the fourth temporal location is further based on an attribute of the advertising material to be introduced therein.

14. A system comprising:

a response integrator configured to align (1) first neuro-response data gathered from a user while the user is exposed to entertainment with (2) the entertainment; and

an analyzer configured to;

identify a first change in amplitude and a second change in amplitude in the first neuro-response data;

identify a first temporal location in the entertainment coinciding with the first change in amplitude and a second temporal location in the entertainment coinciding with the second change in amplitude;

analyze the first neuro-response data to determine a first priming characteristic of the entertainment at the first temporal location based on one or more of (a) a first controlled attention level of the user at the first temporal location, (b) a first memory retention level of the user at the first temporal location, or (c) a first resonance level of the user at the first temporal location;

analyze the first neuro-response data to determine a second priming characteristic of the entertainment at the second temporal location based on one or more of (a) a second controlled attention level of the user at the second temporal location, (b) a second memory retention level of the user at the second temporal location, or (c) a second resonance level of the user at the second temporal location;

identify at least one of (1) a first retention characteristic of the entertainment at the first temporal location based on the first memory retention level or (2) a first resonance characteristic of the entertainment at the first temporal location based on the first resonance level;

identify at least one of (1) a second retention characteristic of the entertainment at the second temporal location based on the second memory retention level or (2) a second resonance characteristic of the entertainment at the second temporal location based on the second resonance level;

select one of a third temporal location or a fourth temporal location in the entertainment as a first candidate temporal location for introduction of advertising material, the third temporal location occurring after the first temporal location and the fourth temporal location occurring after the second temporal location, the analyzer to select the third temporal location as the first candidate temporal location based on (1) at least one of the first priming characteristic or the second priming characteristic and (2) when at least one of the first retention characteristic or the first resonance characteristic is increased relative to the respective second retention characteristic or the second resonance characteristic and select the fourth temporal location as the first candidate temporal location based on (1) at least one of the first priming characteristic or the second priming characteristic and (2) when the second retention characteristic or the second resonance characteristic is increased relative to the respective first retention characteristic or the first resonance characteristic; and

insert the advertising material into the first candidate temporal location.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein

to analyze the first neuro-response data to determine the first priming characteristic, the analyzer is further to analyze a first automatic attention level of the user in response to the entertainment at the first temporal location, and

to analyze the first neuro-response data to determine the second priming characteristic, the analyzer is to analyze a second automatic attention level of the user in response to the entertainment at the second temporal location, and

the analyzer is to select one of the third temporal location or the fourth temporal location in the entertainment which coincides with increased automatic attention relative to the first automatic attention level or the second automatic attention level at the respective first temporal location or the second temporal location.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the analyzer is to align eye tracking data gathered from the user while the user is exposed to the entertainment with the entertainment, and the analyzer is to identify a spatial location in the entertainment coinciding with the eye tracking data and select the spatial location in the entertainment as a candidate spatial location for introduction of the advertising material.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the spatial location occurs during the selected one of the first temporal or the second temporal location.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein the advertising material includes a product placement within the entertainment.

19. The system of claim 14, wherein the analyzer is to identify a second candidate temporal location based on the first neuro-response data and to select between the first candidate temporal location and the second candidate temporal location for inclusion of the advertising material based on third neuro-response data gathered from the user while the user is exposed to the entertainment including advertising material in the first candidate temporal location and the second candidate temporal location.

20. A tangible machine readable storage medium comprising instructions, which when executed, cause a machine to at least:

identify a first change in amplitude and a second change in amplitude in first neuro-response data, the first neuro-response data from a user gathered while the user is exposed to entertainment;

synchronize the first neuro-response data with the entertainment;

identify a first temporal location in the entertainment coinciding with the first change in amplitude and a second temporal location in the entertainment coinciding with the second change in amplitude;

analyze the first neuro-response data to determine a first priming characteristic of the entertainment at the first temporal location based on one or more of (a) a first controlled attention level of the user at the first temporal location, (b) a first memory retention level of the user at the first temporal location, or (c) a first resonance level of the user at the first temporal location;

analyze the first neuro-response data to determine a second priming characteristic of the entertainment at the second temporal location based on one or more of (a) a second controlled attention level of the user at the second temporal location, (b) a second memory retention level of the user at the second temporal location, or (c) a second resonance level of the user at the second temporal location;

identify at least one of (1) a first retention characteristic of the entertainment at the first temporal location based on the first memory retention level or (2) a first resonance characteristic of the entertainment at the first temporal location based on the first resonance level;

identify at least one of (1) a second retention characteristic of the entertainment at the second temporal location based on the second memory retention level or (2) a second resonance characteristic of the entertainment at the second temporal location based on the second resonance level;

select one of a third temporal location or a fourth temporal location in the entertainment as a first candidate temporal location for introduction of advertising material, the third temporal location occurring after the first temporal location and the fourth temporal location occurring after the second temporal location, the instructions to cause the machine to select the third temporal location as the first candidate temporal location based on (1) at least one of the first priming characteristic or the second priming characteristic and (2) when at least one of the first retention characteristic or the first resonance characteristic is increased relative to the respective second retention characteristic or the second resonance characteristic and select the fourth temporal location as the first candidate temporal location based on (1) at least one of the first priming characteristic or the second priming characteristic and (2) when the second retention characteristic or the second resonance characteristic is increased relative to the respective first retention characteristic or the first resonance characteristic; and

insert the advertising material into the first candidate temporal location.

21. The medium of claim 20, wherein the instructions further cause the machine to:

synchronize eye tracking data with the entertainment, the eye tracking data obtained from the user while the user is exposed to the entertainment;

identify a spatial location in the entertainment coinciding with the eye tracking data; and

select the spatial location in the entertainment as a candidate spatial location for introduction of the advertising material.

22. The medium of claim 21, wherein the spatial location occurs during the selected one of the first temporal location or the second temporal location.

23. The medium of claim 20, wherein the advertising material includes a product placement in the entertainment.

24. The medium of claim 20, wherein the instructions further cause the machine to:

identify a second candidate temporal location based on the first neuro-response data;

gather third neuro-response data from the user while the user is exposed to the entertainment including the advertising material in the first candidate temporal location and the second candidate temporal location; and

select between the first candidate temporal location and the second candidate temporal location based on the third neuro-response data.

25. A method comprising:

identifying, by executing an instruction with a processor, a first change in amplitude and a second change in amplitude in first neuro-response data gathered from a user while the user is exposed to entertainment;

synchronizing, by executing an instruction with the processor, the first neuro-response data with the entertainment;

identifying, by executing an instruction with the processor, a first temporal location in the entertainment coinciding with the first change in amplitude and a second temporal location in the entertainment coinciding with the second change in amplitude;

analyzing, by executing an instruction with the processor, the first neuro-response data to determine a first priming characteristic of the entertainment at the first temporal location based on one or more of (a) a first controlled attention level of the user at the first temporal location, (b) a first memory retention level of the user at the first temporal location, or (c) a first resonance level of the user at the first temporal location;

analyzing, by executing an instruction with the processor, the first neuro-response data to determine a second priming characteristic of the entertainment at the second temporal location based on one or more of (a) a second controlled attention level of the user at the second temporal location, (b) a second memory retention level of the user at the second temporal location, or (c) a second resonance level of the user at the second temporal location;

selecting, by executing an instruction with the processor, a third temporal location or a fourth temporal location in the entertainment as a first candidate temporal location for introduction of advertising material based on at least one of the first priming characteristic or the second priming characteristic, the third temporal location occurring after the first temporal location and the fourth temporal location occurring after the second temporal location;

selecting the advertising material to be introduced at the selected one of the third temporal location or the fourth temporal location based on content of the advertising material, the selected advertising material being first advertising material; and

introducing (1) the first advertising material in the entertainment at the selected one of the third temporal location or the fourth temporal location for a first duration and (2) second advertising material in the entertainment not associated with the respective first priming characteristic or the second priming characteristic at the selected one of the third temporal location or the fourth temporal location for a second duration, the second duration being less than the first duration, the second advertising material not based on an analysis of the first neuro-response data.

26. A method comprising:

identifying, by executing an instruction with a processor, a first change in amplitude and a second change in amplitude in first neuro-response data gathered from a user while the user is exposed to entertainment;

synchronizing, by executing an instruction with the processor, the first neuro-response data with the entertainment;

identifying, by executing an instruction with the processor, a first temporal location in the entertainment coinciding with the first change in amplitude and a second temporal location in the entertainment coinciding with the second change in amplitude;

analyzing, by executing an instruction with the processor, the first neuro-response data to determine a first priming characteristic of the entertainment at the first temporal location based on one or more of (a) a first controlled attention level of the user at the first temporal location, (b) a first memory retention level of the user at the first temporal location, or (c) a first resonance level of the user at the first temporal location;

analyzing, by executing an instruction with the processor, the first neuro-response data to determine a second priming characteristic of the entertainment at the second temporal location based on one or more of (a) a second controlled attention level of the user at the second temporal location, (b) a second memory retention level of the user at the second temporal location, or (c) a second resonance level of the user at the second temporal location;

selecting, by executing an instruction with the processor, a third temporal location or a fourth temporal location in the entertainment as a first candidate temporal location for introduction of advertising material based on at least one of the first priming characteristic or the second priming characteristic, the third temporal location occurring after the first temporal location and the fourth temporal location occurring after the second temporal location;

identifying, by executing an instruction with the processor, a first spatial location and a second spatial location in the entertainment coinciding with the first neuro-response data;

analyzing, by executing an instruction with the processor, the first neuro-response data to determine a third controlled attention level of the user at the first spatial location, the first spatial location including the advertising material;

analyzing, by executing an instruction with the processor, the first neuro-response data to determine a fourth controlled attention level of the user at the second spatial location;

identifying, by executing an instruction with the processor, whether the fourth controlled attention level at the second spatial location decreased as compared to the third controlled attention level at the first spatial location; and

selectively adjusting, by executing an instruction with the processor, a location of the advertising material between the first spatial location and the second spatial location based on the identification.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the advertising material includes a product placement within the entertainment.

28. A method comprising:

identifying, by executing an instruction with a processor, a first change in amplitude, a second change in amplitude, and a third change in amplitude in first neuro-response data gathered from a user while the user is exposed to the entertainment;

synchronizing, by executing an instruction with the processor, the first neuro-response data with the entertainment;

identifying, by executing an instruction with the processor, a first temporal location in the entertainment coinciding with the first change in amplitude, a second temporal location in the entertainment coinciding with the second change in amplitude, and a third temporal location in the entertainment coinciding with the third change in amplitude;

analyzing, by executing an instruction with the processor, the first neuro-response data to determine a first priming characteristic of the entertainment at the first temporal location based on one or more of (a) a first controlled attention level of the user at the first temporal location, (b) a first memory retention level of the user at the first temporal location, or (c) a first resonance level of the user at the first temporal location;

analyzing, by executing an instruction with the processor, the first neuro-response data to determine a second priming characteristic of the entertainment at the second temporal location based on one or more of (a) a second controlled attention level of the user at the second temporal location, (b) a second memory retention level of the user at the second temporal location, or (c) a second resonance level of the user at the second temporal location;

analyzing, by executing an instruction with the processor, the first neuro-response data to determine a third priming characteristic of the entertainment at the third temporal location based on one or more of (a) a third controlled attention level of the user at the third temporal location, (b) a third memory retention level of the user at the third temporal location, or (c) a third resonance level of the user at the third temporal location;

selecting, by executing an instruction with the processor, a fourth temporal location or a fifth temporal location in the entertainment as a first candidate temporal location for introduction of advertising material based on at least one of the first priming characteristic or the second priming characteristic, the fourth temporal location occurring after the first temporal location and the fifth temporal location occurring after the second temporal location;

selecting, by executing an instruction with the processor, one of (a) a sixth temporal location occurring after the third temporal location or (b) the other of the fourth temporal location or the fifth temporal location not selected as the first candidate temporal location as a second candidate temporal location for introduction of the advertising material or additional advertising material based on at least one of the first priming characteristic, the second priming characteristic, or the third priming characteristic; and

inserting at least one of (a) the advertising material into the first candidate temporal location or (b) the advertising material or the additional advertising material into the second candidate temporal location.

29. A method comprising:

identifying, by executing an instruction with a processor, a first change in amplitude and a second change in amplitude in first neuro-response data gathered from a user while the user is exposed to entertainment;

identifying, by executing an instruction with the processor, an absence of change in amplitude in the first neuro-response data gathered from the user while the user is exposed to the entertainment;

synchronizing, by executing an instruction with the processor, the first neuro-response data with the entertainment;

identifying, by executing an instruction with the processor, a first temporal location in the entertainment coinciding with the first change in amplitude and a second temporal location in the entertainment coinciding with the second change in amplitude;

identifying, by executing an instruction with the processor, a third temporal location in the entertainment coinciding with the absence of the change in the amplitude;

analyzing, by executing an instruction with the processor, the first neuro-response data to determine a first priming characteristic of the entertainment at the first temporal location based on one or more of (a) a first controlled attention level of the user at the first temporal location, (b) a first memory retention level of the user at the first temporal location, or (c) a first resonance level of the user at the first temporal location;

analyzing, by executing an instruction with the processor, the first neuro-response data to determine a second priming characteristic of the entertainment at the second temporal location based on one or more of (a) a second controlled attention level of the user at the second temporal location, (b) a second memory retention level of the user at the second temporal location, or (c) a second resonance level of the user at the second temporal location;

selecting, by executing an instruction with the processor, a fourth temporal location or a fifth temporal location in the entertainment as a first candidate temporal location for introduction of advertising material based on at least one of the first priming characteristic or the second priming characteristic, the fourth temporal location occurring after the first temporal location and the fifth temporal location occurring after the second temporal location;

selecting the third temporal location as a second candidate temporal location for introduction of the advertising material or additional advertising material; and

inserting at least one of (a) the advertising material into the first candidate temporal location or (b) the advertising material or the additional advertising material into the second candidate temporal location.

30. A method comprising:

identifying, by executing an instruction with a processor, a first change in amplitude and a second change in amplitude in first neuro-response data gathered from a user while the user is exposed to entertainment;

synchronizing, by executing an instruction with the processor, the first neuro-response data with the entertainment;

identifying, by executing an instruction with the processor, a first temporal location in the entertainment coinciding with the first change in amplitude and a second temporal location in the entertainment coinciding with the second change in amplitude;

analyzing, by executing an instruction with the processor, the first neuro-response data to determine a first priming characteristic of the entertainment at the first temporal location based on one or more of (a) a first controlled attention level of the user at the first temporal location, (b) a first memory retention level of the user at the first temporal location, or (c) a first resonance level of the user at the first temporal location;

analyzing, by executing an instruction with the processor, the first neuro-response data to determine a second priming characteristic of the entertainment at the second temporal location based on one or more of (a) a second controlled attention level of the user at the second temporal location, (b) a second memory retention level of the user at the second temporal location, or (c) a second resonance level of the user at the second temporal location;

selecting, by executing an instruction with the processor, a third temporal location or a fourth temporal location in the entertainment as a first candidate temporal location for introduction of advertising material based on at least one of the first priming characteristic or the second priming characteristic, the third temporal location occurring after the first temporal location and the fourth temporal location occurring after the second temporal location;

inserting the advertising material into the first candidate temporal location;

accessing, by executing an instruction with the processor, second neuro-response data gathered from the user while the user is exposed to the advertising material at the first candidate temporal location;

determining, by executing an instruction with the processor, an effectiveness of the advertising material at the first candidate temporal location based on the second neuro-response data; and

updating or maintaining, by executing an instruction with the processor, the first priming characteristic or the second priming characteristic based on the effectiveness.

31. The method of claim 30, further including:

inserting the advertising material at a second candidate location corresponding to whichever of the third temporal location or the fourth temporal location is not selected as the first candidate location;

accessing third neuro-response data gathered from the user while the user is exposed to the advertising material at the second candidate location;

determining an effectiveness of the advertising material at the second candidate location;

detecting a difference in the effectiveness at the first candidate material and the effectiveness at the second candidate location; and

maintaining the selection of the first candidate location or modifying to select the second candidate location for introduction of advertising material based on the difference.