Methods and apparatus to correct audience measurement data

• US 10,147,114 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2014
• Issued: 12/04/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 01/06/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Original Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Inventors: Toupet, Antonia, Yi, Peng Fei, Srivastava, Seema Varma
• Primary Examiner(s): Brady, Marie P
• Application Number:
  US14/502,409
• Publication Number:
  US 20150193813A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,526 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0242 Determining effectiveness of advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking

Abstract

An example involves determining a missing-audience factor based on first impressions corresponding to first client devices that do not have database proprietor (DP) identifiers for use by a DP to identify subscribers registered with the DP, and based on second impressions corresponding to second client devices that do have the DP identifiers used by the DP to identify subscribers registered with the DP. The first impressions represent accesses to media via the first client devices. The second impressions represent access to the media via the second client devices. The example involves determining a coverage-corrected unique audience (CCUA) size based on the missing-audience factor and a UA size of DP subscribers exposed to the media. The UA size is determined based on impressions logged by the DP. The CCUA size corresponds to impressions logged by the DP and not logged by the DP.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

logging a plurality of impressions at a first server of a first entity based on receiving a plurality of first network communications at the first server of the first entity from first client devices and second client devices, a first quantity of the impressions indicative of accesses to media at the first client devices, and a second quantity of the impressions indicative of accesses to the media at the second client devices;

instructing the first and second client devices, via redirect network communications, to send third network communications to a second server of a database proprietor, the third network communications to be indicative of the accesses to the media at the first and second client devices, the first client devices not including database proprietor identifiers for use by the database proprietor to identify subscribers registered with the database proprietor, the second client devices including the database proprietor identifiers for use by the database proprietor to identify subscribers registered with the database proprietor;

determining, by executing an instruction with a processor, a missing-audience factor based on the first quantity of the impressions logged by the first server for the first client devices not including the database proprietor identifiers, and based on the second quantity of the impressions logged by the first server for the second client devices including the database proprietor identifiers;

accessing a unique audience size of database proprietor subscribers exposed to the media, the unique audience size of the database proprietor subscribers generated by a process of the second server of the database proprietor based on a third quantity of impressions corresponding to the second client devices including the database proprietor identifiers exclusive of a fourth quantity of impressions corresponding to the first client devices not including the database proprietor identifiers; and

applying, by executing an instruction with the processor, the missing-audience factor to the unique audience size of the database proprietor subscribers exposed to the media to produce a coverage-corrected unique audience size that corrects the process of the second server of the database proprietor by using the coverage-corrected unique audience size to represent the first and second client devices in place of the unique audience size that corresponds to the second client devices exclusive of the first client devices.

2. The method of claim 1, further including determining a coverage-corrected impression count based on the coverage-corrected unique audience size and an impressions frequency, the coverage-corrected impression count representative of the third quantity of impressions corresponding to the second client devices and the fourth quantity of impressions corresponding to the first client devices.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the impressions frequency is the third quantity of impressions divided by the unique audience size of database proprietor subscribers.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the missing-audience factor includes dividing the first quantity of the impressions corresponding to the first client devices not including the database proprietor identifiers by the second quantity of the impressions corresponding to the second client devices including the database proprietor identifiers.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the missing-audience factor and the coverage-corrected unique audience size are determined for a particular demographic group identified by the database proprietor for the second client devices.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the missing-audience factor and the coverage-corrected unique audience size are determined by an audience measurement entity separate from the database proprietor.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the database proprietor is at least one of a social network service provider or an email service provider.

8. The method of claim 1, further including facilitating the logging of the third quantity of impressions at the second server of the database proprietor based on the instructing of the first and second client devices via the redirect network communications that cause the first and second client devices to communicate with the second server of the database proprietor to enable the second server of the database proprietor to log the third quantity of impressions.

9. The method of claim 8, further including instructing the first and second client devices to provide an identifier to the second server of the database proprietor, the identifier not identifying the media or a source of the media.

10. An apparatus comprising:

an impressions collector, implemented in a circuit, to;

log a plurality of impressions at a first server of a first entity based on receiving a plurality of first network communications at the first server of the first entity from first client devices and second client devices, a first quantity of the impressions indicative of accesses to media at the first client devices, and a second quantity of the impressions indicative of accesses to the media at the second client devices; and

instruct the first and second client devices, via redirect network communications, to send third network communications to a second server of a database proprietor, the third network communications to be indicative of the accesses to the media at the first and second client devices, the first client devices not including database proprietor identifiers for use by the database proprietor to identify subscribers registered with the database proprietor, the second client devices including the database proprietor identifiers for use by the database proprietor to identify subscribers registered with the database proprietor;

a missing-audience factor determiner to determine a missing-audience factor via a processor based on the first quantity of the impressions logged by the first server for the first client devices not including database proprietor identifiers, and based on the second quantity of the impressions logged by the first server for the second client devices including the database proprietor identifiers; and

a unique audience size corrector to;

access a unique audience size of database proprietor subscribers exposed to the media, the unique audience size of the database proprietor subscribers generated by a process of the second server of the database proprietor based on a third quantity of impressions corresponding to the second client devices including the database proprietor identifiers exclusive of a fourth quantity of impressions corresponding to the first client devices not including the database proprietor identifiers; and

apply, by executing an instruction with the processor, the missing-audience factor to the unique audience size of the database proprietor subscribers exposed to the media to produce a coverage-corrected unique audience size that corrects the process of the second server of the database proprietor by using the coverage-corrected unique audience size to represent the first and second client devices in place of the unique audience size that corresponds to the second client devices exclusive of the first client devices.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, further including an impressions corrector, implemented in a circuit, to determine a coverage-corrected impression count based on the coverage-corrected unique audience size and an impressions frequency, the coverage-corrected impression count representative of the third quantity of impressions corresponding to the second client devices and the fourth quantity of impressions corresponding to the first client devices.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the impressions frequency is the third quantity of impressions divided by the unique audience size of database proprietor subscribers.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the missing-audience factor determiner determines the missing-audience factor by dividing the first quantity of the impressions corresponding to the first client devices not including the database proprietor identifiers by the second quantity of the impressions corresponding to the second client devices including the database proprietor identifiers.

14. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the missing-audience factor determiner determines the missing-audience factor and the unique audience corrector determines the coverage-corrected unique audience size for a particular demographic group identified by the database proprietor for the second client devices.

15. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the missing-audience factor determiner and the unique audience corrector are operated by an audience measurement entity separate from the database proprietor.

16. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the database proprietor is at least one of a social network service provider or an email service provider.

17. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the impressions collector is to facilitate the logging of the third quantity of impressions at the second server of the database proprietor based on the instructing of the first and second client devices via the redirect network communications that cause the first and second client devices to communicate with the second server of the database proprietor to enable the second server of the database proprietor to log the third quantity of impressions.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the impressions collector instructs the first and second client devices to provide an identifier to the second server of the database proprietor, the identifier not identifying the media or a source of the media.

19. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a processor to at least:

log a plurality of impressions at a first server of a first entity based on receiving a plurality of first network communications at the first server of the first entity from first client devices and second client devices, a first quantity of the impressions indicative of accesses to media at the first client devices, and a second quantity of the impressions indicative of accesses to the media at the second client devices;

instruct the first and second client devices, via redirect network communications, to send third network communications to a second server of a database proprietor, the third network communications to be indicative of the accesses to the media at the first and second client devices, the first client devices not including database proprietor identifiers for use by the database proprietor to identify subscribers registered with the database proprietor, the second client devices including the database proprietor identifiers for use by the database proprietor to identify subscribers registered with the database proprietor;

determine a missing-audience factor based on the first quantity of the impressions logged by the first server for the first client devices not including the database proprietor identifiers, and based on the second quantity of the impressions logged by the first server for the second client devices including the database proprietor identifiers;

access a unique audience size of database proprietor subscribers exposed to the media, the unique audience size of the database proprietor subscribers generated by a process of the second server of the database proprietor based on a third quantity of impressions corresponding to the second client devices including the database proprietor identifiers exclusive of a fourth quantity of impressions corresponding to the first client devices not including the database proprietor identifiers; and

apply, by executing an instruction with the processor, the missing-audience factor to the unique audience size of the database proprietor subscribers exposed to the media to produce a coverage-corrected unique audience size that corrects the process of the second server of the database proprietor by using the coverage-corrected unique audience size to represent the first and second client devices in place of the unique audience size that corresponds to the second client devices exclusive of the first client devices.

20. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the instructions are further to cause the processor to determine a coverage-corrected impression count based on the coverage-corrected unique audience size and an impressions frequency, the coverage-corrected impression count representative of the third quantity of impressions corresponding to the second client devices and the fourth quantity of impressions corresponding to the first client devices.

21. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 20, wherein the impressions frequency is the third quantity of impressions divided by the unique audience size of database proprietor subscribers.

22. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the instructions cause the processor to determine the missing-audience factor by dividing the first quantity of the impressions corresponding to the first client devices not including the database proprietor identifiers by the second quantity of the impressions corresponding to the second client devices including the database proprietor identifiers.

23. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the instructions cause the processor to determine the missing-audience factor and the coverage-corrected unique audience size for a particular demographic group identified by the database proprietor for the second client devices.

24. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the instructions cause the processor to determine the missing-audience factor and the coverage-corrected unique audience size at an audience measurement entity separate from the database proprietor.

25. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the database proprietor is at least one of a social network service provider or an email service provider.

26. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the instructions cause the processor to facilitate the logging of the third quantity of impressions at the second server of the database proprietor based on the instructing of the first and second client devices via the redirect network communications that cause the first and second client devices to communicate with the second server of the database proprietor to enable the second server of the database proprietor to log the third quantity of impressions.

27. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 26, wherein the instructions cause the processor to instruct the first and second client devices to provide an identifier to the second server of the database proprietor, the identifier not identifying the media or a source of the media.