Advertisement selection system supporting discretionary target market characteristics

• US 6,560,578 B2
• Filed: 01/31/2001
• Issued: 05/06/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/12/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Prime Research Alliance E, LLC
• Original Assignee: Expanse Networks, Inc.
• Inventors: Eldering, Charles A.
• Primary Examiner(s): GRAVINI, STEPHEN MICHAEL
• Application Number:
  US09/774,473
• Publication Number:
  US 20010004733A1
• Time in Patent Office: 825 Days
• Field of Search: 705/1, 705/10, 705/14, 705/26, 707/10, 707/104.1
• US Class Current: 705/14.39
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0237 at kiosk
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0239 Online discounts or incentives
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0242 Determining effectiveness of advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0254 based on statistics
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0255 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0268 at point-of-sale [POS]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0273 Determination of fees for advertising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement

Abstract

An advertisement selection system is presented in which vectors describing an actual or hypothetical market for a product or desired viewing audience can be determined. An ad characterization vector is transmitted along with a consumer ID. The consumer ID is used to retrieve a consumer characterization vector which is correlated with the ad characterization vector to determine the suitability of the advertisement to the consumer. The consumer characterization vector describes statistical information regarding the demographics and product purchase preferences of a consumer, and is developed from previous purchases or viewing habits. A price for displaying the advertisement can be determined based on the results of the correlation of the ad characterization vector with the consumer characterization vector.

Claims

1. A method for determining if an advertisement is applicable to a consumer based on similarities between a consumer profile associated with the consumer and an advertisement profile associated with the advertisement, the method comprising:

retrieving transaction records, wherein the transaction records include an inventory of recorded transactions of the consumer;

generating the consumer profile based at least in part on the transaction records and heuristic rules associated with at least some subset of the recorded transactions within the transaction records, wherein the heuristic rules define a probabilistic measure of at least one discretionary characteristic of the consumer not directly represented in the transaction records and the consumer profile identifies at least one probabilistic discretionary characteristic of the consumer that is not directly represented in the transaction records;

retrieving an advertisement profile associated with an advertisement, wherein the advertisement profile identifies at least one discretionary characteristic of an intended market for the advertisement; and

correlating the consumer profile with the advertisement profile to determine the applicability of the advertisement to the consumer based on similarities of the at least one probabilistic discretionary characteristic of the consumer with the at least one discretionary characteristic for the intended market for the advertisement.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein

the at least one probabilistic discretionary characteristic of the consumer included in the consumer profile identifies at least some subset of a probabilistic demographic characteristic, a probabilistic product preference characteristic, and probabilistic interest characteristic; and

the at least one discretionary characteristic for to intended market for the advertisement included in the advertisement profile identifies at least some subset of a demographic characteristic, a probabilistic product preference characteristic, and probabilistic interest characteristic.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein

the discretionary characteristics included in the consumer profile are generated based on transactions in a first field;

and

the advertisement associated with the advertisement profile is for a second field.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the first field and to second field differ based on at least some subset of product, service, or industry.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the discretionary characteristics are used to target advertisements to the consumer that typically would not be directly linked with the transactions.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the consumer profile further includes deterministic information about the consumer.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the consumer profile further includes transaction related traits.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the recorded transactions include consumer purchases.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the recorded transactions include consumer television interactions.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the recorded transactions include consumer Internet usage.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the transaction related traits include purchasing habits.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein the transaction related traits include television viewing habits.

13. The method of claim 7, wherein the transaction related traits include Internet usage habits.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising selecting targeted advertisements based on said correlating.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising presenting the targeted advertisements to the consumer.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein said presenting includes presenting the advertisement to the consumer via at least some subset of a television, Internet, mail, point-of-sale checkout, and kiosk.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the targeted advertisements are at least some subset of television commercial, Internet advertisement, in store advertisement and coupon.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein

the heuristic rules define a probabilistic measure of at least one demographic characteristic of the consumer;

the consumer profile identifies at least one probabilistic demographic characteristic of the consumer; and

the advertisement profile identifies at least one demographic characteristic of an intended market for the advertisement.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein

the heuristic rules define a probabilistic measure of at least one product preference characteristic of the consumer not directly represented in the transaction records;

the consumer profile identifies at least one probabilistic product preference characteristic of the consumer that is not directly represented in the transaction records; and

the advertisement profile identifies at least one product preference characteristic of an intended market for the advertisement.

20. The method of claim 15, further comprising determining a price to present the advertisement to the consumer.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the price is based on said correlating.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the price is an increasing monotonic function based on the similarities determined in said correlating.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein the price is a decreasing monotonic function based on the similarities determined in said correlating.

24. The method of claim 1, wherein

said retrieving an advertisement profile includes retrieving a plurality of advertisement profiles, each of the advertisement profiles including discretionary characteristics of an intended target market of an associated advertisement;

and

said correlating includes correlating the consumer profile with each of the plurality of advertisement profiles.

25. A system for determining if an advertisement is applicable to a consumer based on similarities between a consumer profile associated with the consumer and an advertisement profile associated with the advertisement, the system comprising:

means for retrieving transaction records, wherein the transaction records include an inventory of recorded transactions of the consumer;

means for generating the consumer profile based at least in part on the transaction records and heuristic rules associated with at least some subset of the recorded transactions within the transaction records, wherein the heuristic rules define a probabilistic measure of at least one discretionary characteristic of the consumer not directly represented in the transaction records and the consumer profile identifies ax least one probabilistic discretionary characteristic of the consumer that is not directly represented in the transaction records;

means for retrieving an advertisement profile associated with an advertisement, wherein the advertisement profile identifies at least one discretionary characteristic of an intended market for the advertisement; and

means for correlating the consumer profile with the advertisement profile to determine the applicability of the advertisement to the consumer based on similarities of the at least one probabilistic discretionary characteristic of the consumer with the at least one discretionary characteristic for the intended market for the advertisement.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein

the at least one probabilistic discretionary characteristic of the consumer included in the consumer profile identifies at least some subset of a probabilistic demographic characteristic, a probabilistic product preference characteristic, and probabilistic interest characteristic; and

the at least one discretionary characteristic for the intended market for the advertisement included in the advertisement profile identifies at least some subset of a demographic characteristic, a probabilistic product preference characteristic, and probabilistic interest characteristic.

27. The system of claim 25, wherein

the discretionary characteristics included in the consumer profile are generated based on transactions in a first field;

and

the advertisement associated with the advertisement profile is for a second field.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein the first field and the second field differ based on at least some subset of product, service, or industry.

29. The system of claim 25, wherein the discretionary characteristics are used to target advertisements to the consumer that typically would not be directly linked with the transactions.

30. The system of claim 25, further comprising means for selecting targeted advertisements based on said correlating.

31. The system of claim 30, further comprising means for presenting the targeted advertisements to the consumer.

32. The system of claim 31, wherein said means for presenting include at least sane subset of a television, Internet, mail, point-of-sale checkout, and kiosk.

33. The system of claim 30, wherein the targeted advertisements are at least some subset of television commercial, Internet advertisement, in store advertisement and coupon.

34. A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium for determining if an advertisement is applicable to a consumer based on similarities between a consumer profile associated with the consumer and an advertisement profile associated with the advertisement, the computer program comprising:

a source code segment for retrieving transaction records, wherein the transaction records include an inventory of recorded transactions of the consumer;

a source code segment for generating the consumer profile based at least in part on the transaction records and heuristic rules associated with at least some subset of the recorded transactions within the transaction records, wherein the heuristic rules define a probabilistic measure of at least one discretionary characteristic of the consumer not directly represented in the transaction records and the consumer profile identifies at least one probabilistic discretionary characteristic of the consumer that is not directly represented in the transaction records;

a source code segment for retrieving an advertisement profile associated with an advertisement, wherein the advertisement profile identifies at least one discretionary characteristic of an intended market for the advertisement; and

a source code segment for correlating the consumer profile with the advertisement profile to determine the applicability of the advertisement to the consumer based on similarities of the at least one probabilistic discretionary characteristic of the consumer with the at least one discretionary characteristic for the intended market for the advertisement.

35. The computer program of claim 34, wherein

the at least one probabilistic discretionary characteristic of the consumer included in the consumer profile identifies at least some subset of a probabilistic demographic characteristic, a probabilistic product preference characteristic, and probabilistic interest characteristic; and

the at least one discretionary characteristic for the intended market for the advertisement included in the advertisement profile identifies at least some subset of a demographic characteristic, a probabilistic product preference characteristic, and probabilistic interest characteristic.

36. The computer program of claim 34, wherein

the discretionary characteristics included in the consumer profile are generated based on transactions in a first field;

and

the advertisement associated with the advertisement profile is for a second field.

37. The computer program of claim 36, wherein the first field and the second field differ based on at least some subset of product, service, or industry.

38. The computer program of claim 34, wherein the discretionary characteristics are used to target advertisements to the consumer that typically would not be directly linked with the transactions.

39. The computer program of claim 34, further comprising means for selecting targeted advertisements based on said correlating.

40. The computer program of claim 39, further comprising means for presenting the targeted advertisements to the consumer.

41. A method for identifying consumers to be targeted with an advertisement, the method comprising:

retrieving transaction records, wherein the transaction records include an inventory of transactions recorded for a plurality of consumers and identifies which of the recorded transactions are associated with which of the plurality of consumers;

generating a consumer profile for at least a subset of the plurality of consumers identified in the transaction records, wherein each consumer profile is based at least in part on the recorded transactions associated with the consumer and heuristic rules associated with at least some subset of the recorded transactions associated with the consumer, wherein the heuristic rules define a probabilistic measure of at least one discretionary characteristic of the consumer not directly represented in the transaction records and the consumer profile identifies at least one probabilistic discretionary characteristic of the consumer that is not directly represented in the transaction records;

retrieving an advertisement profile associated with the advertisement, wherein the advertisement profile identifies at least one discretionary characteristic of an intended market for the advertisement; and

identifying a set of consumers to receive the advertisement by correlating the advertisement profile with at least a subset of the consumer profiles.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein said identifying includes determining those consumers having at least one discretionary characteristic matching at least one discretionary characteristic of the intended market for the advertisement.

43. The method of claim 41, wherein said identifying includes determining those consumers having similarities between the at least one probabilistic discretionary characteristic of the consumer and the at least one discretionary characteristic for the intended market for the advertisement.

44. The method of claim 41, wherein

the heuristic rules define a probabilistic measure of at least some subset of a demographic characteristic, a product preference characteristic, and an interest characteristic of the consumer not directly represented in the transaction records;

the consumer profile identifies at least some subset of a probabilistic demographic characteristic, a probabilistic product preference characteristic, and a probabilistic interest characteristic of the consumer that is not directly represented in the transaction records; and

the advertisement profile identifies at least some subset of a demographic characteristic, a product preference characteristic, and an interest characteristic of an intended market for the advertisement.

45. The method of claim 41, wherein

the discretionary characteristics included in the consumer profile are generated based on transactions in a first field;

and

the advertisement associated with the advertisement profile is for a second field.

46. The method of claim 45, wherein the first field and the second field differ based on at least some subset of product, service, or industry.

47. The method of claim 41, wherein the discretionary characteristics are used to target advertisements to the consumer that typically would not be directly linked with the transactions.

48. The method of claim 41, wherein the consumer profile further includes at least some subset of deterministic information about the consumer and transaction related traits.

49. The method of claim 41, wherein the transactions include at least some subset of consumer purchases, consumer television interactions, and consumer Internet usage.

50. The method of claim 48, wherein the transaction related traits include at least some subset of purchasing habits, television viewing habits, and Internet usage habits.

51. The method of claim 41, further comprising presenting the targeted advertisements to the set of consumers.

52. The method of claim 51, wherein said presenting includes presenting the advertisement to the set of consumers via at least some subset of a television, internet, mail, point-of-sale checkout, and kiosk.

53. The method of claim 41, wherein the targeted advertisements are at least some subset of television commercial, Internet advertisement, in store advertisement and coupon.

54. A system for identifying consumers to be targeted with an advertisement, the system comprising:

means for retrieving transaction records, wherein the transaction records include an inventory of transactions recorded for a plurality of consumers and identifies which of the recorded transactions are associated with which of the plurality of consumers;

means for generating a consumer profile for at least a subset of the plurality of consumers identified in the transaction records, wherein each consumer profile is based at least in part on the recorded transactions associated with the consumer and heuristic rules associated with at least some subset of the recorded transactions associated with the consumer, wherein the heuristic rules define a probabilistic measure of at least one discretionary characteristic of the consumer not directly represented in the transaction records and the consumer profile identifies at least one probabilistic discretionary characteristic of the consumer that is not directly represented in the transaction records;

means for retrieving an advertisement profile associated with the advertisement, wherein the advertisement profile identifies at least one discretionary characteristic of an intended market forte advertisement; and

means for identifying a set of consumers to receive the advertisement by correlating the advertisement profile with at least a subset of the consumer profiles.

55. The system of claim 54, wherein said means for identifying determines those consumers having at least one discretionary characteristic matching at least one discretionary characteristic of the intended market for the advertisement.

56. The system of claim 54, wherein said means for identifying determines those consumers having similarities between the at least one probabilistic discretionary characteristic of the consumer and the at least one discretionary characteristic for the intended market for the advertisement.

57. The system of claim 54, wherein

the heuristic rules define a probabilistic measure of at least some subset of a demographic characteristic, a product preference characteristic, and an interest characteristic of the consumer not directly represented in the transaction records;

the consumer profile identifies at least some subset of a probabilistic demographic characteristic, a probabilistic product preference characteristic, and a probabilistic interest characteristic of the consumer that is not directly represented in the transaction records; and

the advertisement profile identifies at least some subset of a demographic characteristic, a product preference characteristic, and an interest characteristic of an intended market for the advertisement.

58. The system of claim 54, wherein

the discretionary characteristics included in the consumer profile are generated based on transactions in a first field;

and

the advertisement associated with the advertisement profile is for a second field.

59. The system of claim 58, wherein the first field and the second field differ based on at least some subset of product, service, or industry.

60. The system of claim 54, wherein the discretionary characteristics are used to target advertisements to the consumer that typically would not be directly linked with the transactions.

61. The system of claim 54, further comprising means for presenting the targeted advertisements to the set of consumers.

62. The system of claim 61, wherein said means for presenting includes at least some subset of a television, Internet, mail, point-of-sale checkout, and kiosk.

63. The system of claim 54, wherein the targeted advertisements are at least some subset of television commercial, Internet advertisement, in store advertisement and coupon.

64. A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium for identifying consumers to be targeted with an advertisement the computer program comprising:

a source code segment for retrieving transaction records, wherein the transaction records include an inventory of transactions recorded for a plurality of consumers and identifies which of the recorded transactions are associated with which of the plurality of consumers;

a source code segment for generating a consumer profile for at least a subset of the plurality of consumers identified in the transaction records, wherein each consumer profile is based at least in part on the recorded transactions associated with the consumer and heuristic rules associated with at least some subset of the recorded transactions associated with the consumer, wherein the heuristic rules define a probabilistic measure of at least one discretionary characteristic of the consumer not directly represented in the transaction records and the consumer profile identifies at least one probabilistic discretionary characteristic of the consumer that is not directly represented in the transaction records;

a source code segment for retrieving an advertisement profile associated with the advertisement, wherein the advertisement profile identifies at least one discretionary characteristic of an intended market for the advertisement; and

a source code segment for identifying a set of consumers to receive the advertisement by correlating the advertisement profile with at least a subset of the consumer profiles.

65. The computer program of claim 64, wherein said source code segment for identifying determines those consumers having at least one discretionary characteristic matching at least one discretionary characteristic of the intended market for the advertisement.

66. The computer program of claim 64, wherein said source code segment for identifying determines those consumers having similarities between the at least one probabilistic discretionary characteristic of the consumer and the at least one discretionary characteristic for the intended market for the advertisement.

67. The computer program of claim 64, wherein

the heuristic rules define a probabilistic measure of at least some subset of a demographic characteristic, a product preference characteristic, and an interest characteristic of the consumer not directly represented in the transaction records;

the consumer profile identifies at least some subset of a probabilistic demographic characteristic, a probabilistic product preference characteristic, and a probabilistic interest characteristic of the consumer that is not directly represented in the transaction records; and

the advertisement profile identifies at least some subset of a demographic characteristic, a product preference characteristic, and an interest characteristic of an intended market for the advertisement.

68. The computer program of claim 64, wherein

the discretionary characteristics included in the consumer profile are generated based on transactions in a first field;

and

the advertisement associated with the advertisement profile is for a second field.

69. The computer program of claim 68, wherein the first field and the second field differ based on at least some subset of product, service, or industry.

70. The computer program of claim 64, wherein the discretionary characteristics are used to target advertisements to the consumer that typically would not be directly linked with the transactions.

71. The computer program of claim 64, further comprising a source code segment for presenting the targeted advertisements to the set of consumers.

72. The computer program of claim 64, wherein the targeted advertisements are at least some subset of television commercial, Internet advertisement, in store advertisement and coupon.