Method and system for planning and running video-on-demand advertising

• US 10,547,889 B2
• Filed: 01/17/2018
• Issued: 01/28/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 11/05/2003
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Comcast Cable Communications LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Comcast Cable Communications LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Black, Neville A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Idowu, Olugbenga O
• Application Number:
  US15/873,561
• Publication Number:
  US 20180338173A1
• Time in Patent Office: 741 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0257 User requested
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/103 Transmitter-side switching
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/38 Arrangements for distribution where lower stations, e.g. receivers, interact with the broadcast
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/06 Arrangements for scheduling broadcast services or broadcast-related services
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/40 for identifying broadcast time
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/45 for identifying users
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/52 of users
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/63 for services of sales data processing systems or methods specially adapted for electronic commerce G06Q30/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2225 Local VOD servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2393 involving handling client requests scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2547 Third Party Billing, e.g. billing of advertiser
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25841 involving the geographical location of the client retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; arrangements for identifying locations of receiving stations in broadcast systems H04H60/51; location of the user terminal in data switching networks H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00
• 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 21/26241 involving the time of distribution, e.g. the best time of the day for inserting an advertisement or airing a children program
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2665 Gathering content from different sources, e.g. Internet and satellite
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2668 Creating a channel for a dedicated end-user group, e.g. insertion of targeted commercials based on end-user profiles information retrieval from the Internet by querying with filtering and personalisation G06F16/9535; arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast H04H20/10; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; adaptation of message content in packet-switching networks H04L51/063
• 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 21/47202 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 7/17318 : Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A method and system for planning and running video-on-demand (VOD) advertising includes a planner for planning advertising campaigns and an ad selector for running selected advertisements from selected ones of the campaigns. The campaigns are associated with household demographic classifications, video content category categories, household geographic locations, and/or video viewing times. In response to a viewer requesting a video, the selector selects the campaigns corresponding to the demographic classification associated with the viewer, the content category of the requested video, the geographic location associated with the viewer, and/or the viewing time at which the requested video is viewed. The demographic classification is determined by using an identifier of the viewer'"'"'s set-top-box. The selector may select the campaigns corresponding to the content categories of the requested video. The content categories are determined by using an identifier associated with the requested video.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by a computing device, a request for a program;

determining a plurality of sponsors, wherein each sponsor of the plurality of sponsors is associated with a fractional sponsorship of the program, and wherein each fractional sponsorship corresponds to a predetermined percentage of an audience for the program;

selecting, from the plurality of sponsors and based on demographic data associated with the request for the program, at least one sponsor to sponsor the program;

generating, by the computing device, a modified program comprising the program and at least one content item associated with the at least one sponsor; and

transmitting the modified program.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining the demographic data, wherein the demographic data corresponds to a neighborhood associated with the request for the program, and wherein selecting the at least one sponsor is based on the neighborhood.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a user associated with the request for the program;

determining a geographic location associated with the user; and

determining, based on the geographic location, the demographic data.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein determining the geographic location associated with the user comprises—

determining a ZIP+4 code associated with the user.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

retrieving, based on the request for the program, the demographic data from a demographic database.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the request for the program is received from a first user device, and wherein the demographic data is associated with a user of the first user device.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a requesting device identifier associated with the request for the program;

determining a geographic location associated with the requesting device identifier; and

determining, based on the geographic location, the demographic data.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the at least one sponsor is further based on a content category associated with the program.

9. A method comprising:

determining, by a computing device, a plurality of sponsorships of a program, wherein each sponsorship of the plurality of sponsorships is associated with a percentage of an audience of the program;

selecting, from the plurality of sponsorships of the program, based on demographic data associated with a user device, and based on a content classification associated with the program, a single sponsorship;

determining at least one sponsor content item associated with the single sponsorship;

generating, by the computing device, a modified program comprising the program and the at least one sponsor content item; and

transmitting the modified program.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

determining, by the computing device and based on rules associated with the plurality of sponsorships, one or more sponsorships corresponding to a content identifier associated with the program.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein selecting the single sponsorship is further based on comparing a cost associated with the single sponsorship with a predetermined budget.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

determining a geographic location associated with the user device; and

determining, based on the geographic location, the demographic data.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein determining the geographic location comprises:

determining, based on an asset identifier associated with the user device, the geographic location from a demographic database.

14. A system comprising:

a computing device; and

a video server,

wherein the computing device comprises;

one or more processors; and

memory storing executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors of the computing device, cause the computing device to;

transmit a request for a program to the video server; and

wherein the video server comprises;

one or more second processors; and

second memory storing second executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more second processors of the video server, cause the video server to;

receive, from the computing device, the request for the program;

identify a plurality of sponsors, wherein each sponsor of the plurality of sponsors is associated with a fractional sponsorship of the program, and wherein each fractional sponsorship corresponds to a predetermined percentage of an audience for the program;

select, from the plurality of sponsors and based on demographic data associated with the request for the program, at least one sponsor to sponsor the program;

generate a modified program comprising the program and at least one content item having an association with the at least one sponsor; and

transmit the modified program to the computing device.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the second executable instructions, when executed by the one or more second processors, cause the video server to select the at least one sponsor

further based on a neighborhood associated with the request for the program.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the second executable instructions, when executed by the one or more second processors, further cause the video server to:

determine a user associated with the request for the program;

determine a geographic location associated with the user; and

determine, based on the geographic location, the demographic data.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the second executable instructions, when executed by the one or more second processors, further cause the video server to:

determine the geographic location based on a ZIP+4 code associated with the user.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein the second executable instructions, when executed by the one or more second processors, further cause the video server to:

retrieve, based on the request for the program, the demographic data from a demographic database.

19. The system of claim 14, wherein the request for the program comprises an indication of a user of the computing device, and wherein the second executable instructions, when executed by the one or more second processors, further cause the video server to select the at least one sponsor based on the user.

20. The system of claim 14, further comprising:

a user device database,

wherein the second executable instructions, when executed by the one or more second processors, further cause the video server to;

determine a device identifier associated with the computing device;

retrieve, from the user device database, a geographic location associated with the device identifier; and

determine, based on the geographic location, the demographic data.