METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR EVALUATING AN AUDIENCE IN A CONTENT-BASED NETWORK

• US 20110016482A1
• Filed: 07/15/2009
• Published: 01/20/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Time Warner Cable Enterprises LLC (Charter Communications Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Time Warner Cable Enterprises LLC (Charter Communications Incorporated)
• Inventors: Samame, Eduardo G., Santangelo, Bryan, Tidwell, Justin
• Granted Patent: US 9,178,634 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/14
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0251 Targeted advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0254 based on statistics
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/103 Transmitter-side switching
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/06 Arrangements for scheduling broadcast services or broadcast-related services
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/31 Arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/45 for identifying users
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/66 for using the result on distributors' side
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44224 Monitoring of user activity on external systems, e.g. Internet browsing

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for identifying, creating and distributing audience qualities and other information to an advertisement management system and/or an advertisement decision maker. In one embodiment, the methods and apparatus of the invention provide a technique for classifying data collected about an audience, and creating and grouping qualifiers to those classifications. The invention further includes methods and apparatus for managing an advertising inventory via a management system. The inventory is defined in one variant by predicted or known secondary content insertion opportunities, and a particular audience of the primary content associated with the insertion opportunity. Subscriber privacy and anonymity is also optionally maintained via e.g., hashing or encrypting data relating to the CPE and/or subscriber, thus ensuring that audience data is not traceable to a specific user account.

Claims

1. Content management apparatus for use within a content-based network, the apparatus comprising:

an advertising subsystem having an advertising content store, said advertising subsystem being configured to identify at least one advertising placement opportunity in delivered content;

a data collection subsystem;

a processing subsystem in data communication with said collection subsystem; and

a data storage subsystem in data communication with said processing subsystem;

wherein said data collection subsystem is configured to gather user-related data, and said processing subsystem is configured to process said user-related data and generate an advertising product based at least in part on said processed user-related data and said at least one placement opportunity.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said processing subsystem comprises:

an enrichment module configured to enrich said collected user-related data in at least one aspect; and

an anonymization module configured to substantially anonymize at least portions of said enriched user-related data.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said anonymized and enriched user data is stored in said data storage subsystem based on at least one anonymous identifier.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein said at least one anonymous identifier comprises a cryptographic hash of at least one of:

(i) a MAC address associated with a CPE of a user; and

(ii) a tuner-related variable.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said advertising content store comprises a plurality of advertisements or promotions from various different advertisers.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein at least a portion of said plurality of advertisements or promotions from various different advertisers have descriptive metadata associated therewith, said metadata being used by said processing subsystem in identifying potential candidate advertisements or promotions for a given one of said at least one placement opportunity.

7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein at least a portion of said plurality of advertisements or promotions from various different advertisers have descriptive metadata associated therewith, said metadata being used by said processing subsystem in determining suitability of a given advertisement or promotion for said advertising product.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said advertising product comprises an advertising inventory element, said element comprising:

(i) data regarding at least one placement opportunity; and

(ii) data regarding at least one of a user demographic or psychographic associated with said opportunity.

9. A method of generating an inventory element in a content-based network, said method comprising:

determining an opportunity for placement of at least one of a plurality of advertisements in a content stream;

determining one or more qualities of an audience of said opportunity for placement; and

generating an inventory element comprising a synthesis of said one or more qualities of said audience and said opportunity for placement.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein said one or more qualities of said audience comprise one or more of psychographic, geographic, demographic, and/or behavioral data.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising selecting one of said plurality of advertisements based at least in part on a relationship of said one advertisement to said one or more qualities of said audience.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said selection is further based at least in part on one or more factors regarding potential for revenue.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising generating a ranked list of said plurality of advertisements based at least in part on said relationship.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein said inventory element comprises a prioritized list of said plurality of advertisements, a priority of said list based at least in part on a relationship between said one or more qualities of an audience of said opportunity for placement and one or more attributes of a target audience of each of said advertisements.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein said act of generating an inventory element is performed at least in part at a headend entity of a cable network.

16. Computer readable apparatus comprising media adapted to contain a computer program having a plurality of instructions, which, when executed:

determine one or more opportunities for insertion of one or more of a plurality of available advertisements;

access data regarding a plurality of users; and

generate an output comprising an inventory of individual ones of said one or more opportunities for insertion having a plurality of users associated therewith sharing one or more characteristics with at least one of said plurality of available advertisements.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein said apparatus comprises a hard disk drive of a computerized host apparatus, said host apparatus being in data communication with a two-way content based network.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein said computer program further comprises instructions which, when executed, cause at least a portion of said generated output to be transmitted to an entity which posts or makes said inventory available to at least one advertiser.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein said transmission to an entity which posts or makes said inventory available to at least one advertiser further comprises formatting said at least portion of said generated output according to a data structure or protocol which permits machine reading of said at least portion of generated output.

20. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein said access of data regarding a plurality of users comprises accessing a data file relating to the activities of one or more subscribers of a content based network, said data file comprising information collected from one or more customer premises equipment associated with respective ones of said subscribers.

21. A method of doing business in a content-based network, comprising:

determining one or more opportunities for placement of secondary content, said placement opportunities each comprising an audience;

collecting data regarding said audience of each of said placement opportunities, said data comprising one or more characteristics; and

charging a secondary content source a premium to receive said collected data regarding said audience of each of said placement opportunities.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein said data regarding an audience comprises information regarding at least one of:

tuning event information; and

user activities taken with respect to content.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising grouping said audience based on at least one classification.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein said at least one classification comprises at least one of a demographics or psychographic classification.

25. The method of claim 21, wherein said secondary content comprises an advertisement or promotional segment.

26. The method of claim 21, wherein said secondary content source is selected based at least in part on a level of similarity between a product or service of said secondary content and said one or more characteristics.

27. The method of claim 26, further comprising providing said audience secondary content from said secondary content source at said placement opportunity.

28. A method of generating advertising revenue, comprising:

obtaining first data regarding the activity of a plurality of users of a content delivery network;

obtaining second data regarding at least one advertising placement opportunity;

qualifying said users with respect to a qualification metric based at least in part on said first data;

generating a product describing said placement opportunity and at least one qualification of said users; and

allowing one or more advertisers to purchase said product for consideration.