Method and apparatus for providing targeted advertisements

• US 20020120498A1
• Filed: 02/23/2001
• Published: 08/29/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/23/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cox Communications Incorporated (Cox Enterprises Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Cox Communications Incorporated (Cox Enterprises Incorporated)
• Inventors: Gordon, Donald F., Bayrakeri, Sadik, Ludvig, Edward A., Comito, John P.
• Granted Patent: US 7,970,645 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0225 Avoiding frauds
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0255 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0264 based upon schedule
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute

Abstract

Techniques to deliver targeted advertisements and multimedia contents to viewers. Various types of advertisements are encoded and transmitted. The advertisements may be targeted for different coverage areas (e.g., national and local levels) and may further include various categories (e.g., kids, sports, business, and so on). At the terminal, one or more advertisements may be selected for display based on various selection schemes. The particular advertisement to be selected for display at a terminal may be based on the terminal'"'"'s assigned profile or user interaction at the terminal. The profile may be assigned based on the last program viewed at the terminal, a particular filter icon selected at the terminal, the observed television viewing habits of the viewer at the terminal, and so on. The techniques may also be advantageously used for delivery of other multimedia contents and for other applications.

Claims

1. A method for providing advertisements to a plurality of terminals, comprising:

receiving a first set of advertisements;

receiving a second set of advertisements;

composing one or more videos having included therein advertisements from the first and second sets;

encoding the one or more composed videos in accordance with a particular coding scheme;

multiplexing the one or more encoded videos into one or more transport streams; and

transmitting the one or more transport streams to the plurality of terminals.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

scheduling transmission of the first and second sets of advertisements.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving from a terminal a request for a particular advertisement;

encoding the requested advertisement; and

transmitting the encoded advertisement to the requesting terminal.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a set of one or more background videos, and

wherein the one or more composed videos include at least one background video.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the composing and encoding are performed at a head-end of an information distribution system.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the composing and encoding are distributed among a head-end and local neighborhood equipment of an information distribution system.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second sets of advertisements are targeted for first and second coverage areas, respectively, and wherein the second coverage area encompasses the first coverage area and additional areas.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first set of advertisements is targeted for a plurality of distribution nodes and the second set of advertisements is targeted for a particular distribution node.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one composed video includes a plurality of advertisements reduced in size and arranged in a non-overlapping arrangement.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein each advertisement in the first and second sets is defined with a set of slices, and wherein the slices for each advertisement are encoded and transmitted via a respective packet identifier (PID).

11. A method for providing contents to a plurality of terminals, comprising:

receiving a first set of contents targeted for a first coverage area;

receiving a second set of contents targeted for a second coverage area, wherein the second coverage area overlaps the first coverage area;

composing one or more videos having included therein contents from the first and second sets;

encoding the one or more composed videos in accordance with a particular coding scheme;

multiplexing the one or more encoded videos into one or more transport streams; and

transmitting the one or more transport streams to the plurality of terminals.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the contents relates to advertisements.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein at least a portion of the contents in the first and second sets are user selectable for display at the terminals.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the particular type of advertisement to be presented is based on user interaction at the terminal.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the particular type of advertisement to be presented is based on a viewer selection.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the particular type of advertisement to be presented is based on a profile assigned to the terminal.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the profile assigned to the terminal is based on a program last viewed at the terminal.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the profile assigned to the terminal is based on a particular icon selected at the terminal.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the profile assigned to the terminal is based on viewing habits characterized for the terminal.

21. The method of claim 17, wherein the profile includes a plurality of categories for a plurality of time spans.

22. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

receiving a selection for a particular type of advertisements;

sending a request for the selected type of advertisements;

receiving an encoded video corresponding to the selected type of advertisements; and

decoding and presenting the received video.

14. A method for presenting advertisements at a terminal, comprising:

receiving one or more transport streams having included therein one or more encoded videos for a plurality of advertisements;

receiving an indication of a particular type of advertisement to be presented on a display;

extracting an encoded video corresponding to the particular type of advertisement to be presented; and

decoding and presenting the extracted video.

23. An information distribution system comprising:

at least one insertion server, each insertion server configured to receive first and second sets of contents for first and second coverage areas, respectively, and to compose one or more videos having included therein contents from the first and second sets;

at least encoder, each encoder coupled to a respective insertion server and configured to encode the one or more composed videos in accordance with a particular coding scheme;

a transport stream generator coupled to the at least one encoder and configured to multiplex the one or more encoded videos into one or more transport streams; and

a delivery system coupled to the transport stream generator and configured to transmit the one or more transport streams to the plurality of terminals.

24. A terminal configurable to provide contents, comprising:

a demodulator operative to receive and demodulate a modulated signal to provide a transport stream;

a transport de-multiplexer coupled to the demodulator and operative to receive and process the transport stream to provide a sequence of packets for one or more encoded videos for a plurality of advertisements;

a controller configured to provide an indication of a particular type of advertisement to be presented on a display; and

at least one video decoder coupled to the transport de-multiplexer and configured to receive and decode the sequence of packets to provide decoded video for the particular type of advertisement to be presented.