Scheduling and presenting IPG ads in conjunction with programming ads in a television environment

• US 20010032333A1
• Filed: 12/27/2000
• Published: 10/18/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 02/18/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Prime Research Alliance E, LLC
• Original Assignee: Prime Research Alliance E., Inc.
• Inventors: Flickinger, Gregory
• Granted Patent: US 7,653,923 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/39
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/10 Arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast or the distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/40 Arrangements for broadcast specially adapted for accumulation-type receivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/31 Arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/72 using electronic programme guides [EPG] focusing on identifying broadcast space time H04H60/39 ; menu type display of EPG in television receivers H04N21/47
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/82 the transmission system being the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23106 involving caching operations prefetching while addressing of a memory level in which the access to the desired data or data block requires associative addressing means within memory systems or architectures G06F12/0862; caching at an intermediate stage in a data network H04L67/568
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• 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 21/25891 being end-user preferences retrieval of video data in a video database based on user preferences G06F16/739; arrangements for recognizing users' preferences H04H60/46; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26233 involving content or additional data duration or size, e.g. length of a movie, size of an executable file
• 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 21/2668 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 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/454 Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4821 : using a grid, e.g. sorted out by channel and broadcast time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 : involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 : Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8586 : by using a URL processing chained hypermedia data for information retrieval G06F16/94; information retrieval from the Internet by using URLs G06F16/955; URL in broadcast information H04H20/93; Web-based protocols H04L67/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/165 : Centralised control of user terminal subsequent to an upstream request signal H04N7/17345; Registering at central by two-way working H04N7/17309
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17354 : in an intermediate station common to a plurality of user terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17363 : at or near the user terminal

Abstract

A method and system whereby conventional television advertisements (i.e., those delivered to viewers while they watch television programming) can be delivered in conjunction with and correlated with advertisements that are presented to viewers in the Interactive Program Guide (IPG). Moreover, the invention described herein provides for delivering highly targeted ads to viewers in both conventional programming avails and in the IPG, and for linking the targeted ads in these two media to provide for enhanced and highly effective advertising campaigns.

Claims

1. A method for enhancing the effectiveness of advertising by linking the display of IPG ads with the display of programming ads, the method comprising:

linking at least one IPG ad with at least one programming ad to form at least one IPG-programming ad combination; and

displaying the IPG ad at least once in the IPG when the IPG is invoked immediately prior to or immediately subsequent to the display of the programming ad.

2. The method of

claim 1

, wherein at least one of the IPG ads or at least one of the programming ads is a targeted ad, thus forming a targeted IPG-programming ad combination.

3. The method of

claim 2

, wherein the targeted IPG-programming ad combination is assigned to at least one subscriber group, the subscriber group comprising at least one subscriber.

4. The method of

claim 3

, wherein the targeted IPG-programming ad combination is formed prior to the assignment of the combination to one or more subscriber groups.

5. The method of

claim 3

, wherein the targeted IPG-programming ad combination is formed subsequent to the assignment of at least one IPG ad or at least one programming ad to one or more subscriber groups.

6. The method of

claim 1

, wherein said displaying of the programming ad or the IPG ad is accomplished via programming ad or IPG ad substitution upstream from the subscriber premises.

7. The method of

claim 1

, wherein said displaying of the programming ad or the IPG ad is accomplished via programming ad or IPG ad substitution at the subscriber premises.

8. The method of

claim 7

, wherein said ad substitution is accomplished via a local queue of ads resident on a subscriber receiver or set-top box.

9. The method of

claim 1

, wherein the IPG ad is an interactive ad.

10. The method of

claim 9

, wherein the interactive IPG ad allows a viewer to request additional information regarding a particular linked programming ad or IPG ad including directly accessing a website via the IPG ad.

11. The method of

claim 9

, wherein a viewer interaction with said IPG ad causes a related linked programming ad to be subsequently displayed.

12. The method of

claim 1

, wherein the IPG ad is displayed in the IPG when the IPG is invoked during the presentation of one of the programming ads.

13. A method for managing the scheduling, delivery and presentation, to television viewers, of both programming ads and IPG ads, and for linking the display of such ads to enhance the effectiveness of ad campaigns comprising:

linking at least one IPG ad with at least one programming ad to form at least one IPG-programming ad combination; and

generating a presentation schedule of said IPG programming ad combination such that the display of at least one IPG ad member of said combination is presented in the IPG, when the IPG is invoked, immediately prior to or immediately subsequent to the display of at least one programming ad member of said combination.

14. The method of

claim 13

, further comprising delivering and displaying said IPG-programming ad combinations to at least one subscriber in accordance with said presentation schedule.

15. The method of

claim 13

, further comprising:

forming at least one subscriber group comprising at least one subscriber; and

assigning at least one of said IPG-programming ad combinations to said group.

16. The method of

claim 13

, wherein said generating of presentation schedules may be dynamic and said schedules may be updated in real-time in response to channel changes, viewership changes or other events.

17. The method of

claim 13

, wherein said schedule is created upstream from the subscriber'"'"'s premises.

18. The method of

claim 13

, wherein said schedule is created at the subscriber'"'"'s premises.

19. An advertisement management system (AMS) for managing the scheduling, delivery and presentation, to television viewers, of both programming ads and IPG ads, and for linking the display of said ads to enhance the effectiveness of advertising campaigns comprising:

a linking module for linking at least one IPG ad to at least one programming ad forming an IPG-programming ad combination; and

a display module for coordinating the display of said linked IPG ad and programming ad in a temporally linked fashion.

20. The system of

claim 19

, further comprising:

a scheduling module for generating one or more schedules for the coordinated display of said linked IPG and programming ads and wherein said display of the linked ads proceeds according to said schedule.

21. The system of

claim 20

, wherein at least one of said linking module, said scheduling module, and said display module is resident on a subscriber'"'"'s receiver or set-top box.

22. The system of

claim 20

, wherein said scheduling module may create schedules in real-time in response to channel changes, viewership changes or other events.

23. The system of

claim 19

, wherein said AMS includes a programming AMS and an IPG AMS, wherein the programming AMS and the IPG AMS are independent of one another.

24. The system of

claim 19

, wherein said AMS is a single integrated system that manages both programming ads and IPG ads.

25. A method for enhancing the effectiveness of advertising by linking the display of IPG ads with the display of programming ads comprising:

linking at least one IPG ad with at least one programming ad; and

displaying said IPG ad and said programming ad in a temporally linked fashion.

26. The method of

claim 25

, further comprising:

generating at least one schedule that temporally links the display of at least one IPG ad with at least one programming ad and wherein said displaying of said IPG ad and said programming ad proceeds in accordance with said schedule.

27. The method of

claim 26

, wherein at least one of said IPG ad and said programming ad is a targeted ad.