Targeted advertising through electronic program guide
First Claim
1. A method of presenting targeted advertisements to users of a media program service, the method comprising:
- obtaining a characterization of a user, wherein the characterization of the user comprises a subscriber characterization vector;
obtaining a characterization of each of a plurality of advertisements, wherein the characterization of each of the plurality of advertisements comprises one or more ad characterization vectors, each of the ad characterization vectors representing one or more targeting categories and wherein at least one of the targeting categories is weighted;
creating by a processor a set of targeted advertisements by performing a first mathematical correlation of the subscriber characterization vector with each of the ad characterization vectors;
generating an electronic listing of media streams at a central server;
creating an electronic programming guide page having the electronic listing of media streams and at least one advertisement opportunity;
obtaining a characterization of the at least one advertisement opportunity, the characterization based at least in part on the electronic listing of media streams;
selecting a subset of the set of targeted advertisements by performing a second mathematical correlation of the ad characterization vector of each advertisement in the set of targeted advertisements with the characterization of the at least one advertisement opportunity;
determining a price for inserting a first advertisement from the subset of targeted advertisements into the at least one advertisement opportunity based on an average correlation of the first correlation and the second correlation corresponding to the first advertisement;
inserting the first advertisement into the at least one advertisement opportunity, based at least in part on the average correlation and the determined price; and
downloading the electronic programming guide page with the inserted first advertisement to user equipment.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A mechanism for matching Electronic Program Guide (EPG) advertisements to subscribers or groups of subscribers and delivering those advertisements within the EPG. The subscribers are initially characterized in different groups by using commercially available data, such as demographic data. Furthermore, the groups of subscribers may be formed according to their characteristics. These characteristics may be derived from, but are not limited to, demographic data, geographic information or individual subscriber selection data. Subsequent to the formation of the groups, suitable advertisements to be placed in the EPG avails are selected, based on the matching of the advertisement characteristics to the characteristics of the groups, wherein the EPG avails are the advertising opportunities available within the EPG. Different versions of the EPG having targeted advertisements may be created, and the different versions may be placed on a download server for transmission over an access system to the subscriber. At the subscriber end, the different versions of the EPG may be received and the subscriber end, being assigned to a particular group, may receive the EPG which corresponds to that group. The subscriber end generally comprises a suitable subscriber interface, such as, a set-top box (STB) or a cable-ready television having a unique identification.
96 Citations
30 Claims
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1. A method of presenting targeted advertisements to users of a media program service, the method comprising:
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obtaining a characterization of a user, wherein the characterization of the user comprises a subscriber characterization vector; obtaining a characterization of each of a plurality of advertisements, wherein the characterization of each of the plurality of advertisements comprises one or more ad characterization vectors, each of the ad characterization vectors representing one or more targeting categories and wherein at least one of the targeting categories is weighted; creating by a processor a set of targeted advertisements by performing a first mathematical correlation of the subscriber characterization vector with each of the ad characterization vectors; generating an electronic listing of media streams at a central server; creating an electronic programming guide page having the electronic listing of media streams and at least one advertisement opportunity; obtaining a characterization of the at least one advertisement opportunity, the characterization based at least in part on the electronic listing of media streams; selecting a subset of the set of targeted advertisements by performing a second mathematical correlation of the ad characterization vector of each advertisement in the set of targeted advertisements with the characterization of the at least one advertisement opportunity; determining a price for inserting a first advertisement from the subset of targeted advertisements into the at least one advertisement opportunity based on an average correlation of the first correlation and the second correlation corresponding to the first advertisement; inserting the first advertisement into the at least one advertisement opportunity, based at least in part on the average correlation and the determined price; and downloading the electronic programming guide page with the inserted first advertisement to user equipment. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method of presenting targeted advertisements to users of a media program service, the method comprising:
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generating at least one electronic listing of media streams at a central server; obtaining a characterization of each of a plurality of advertisements, wherein the characterization of each of the plurality of advertisements comprises one or more ad characterization vectors, each of the ad characterization vectors representing one or more targeting categories and wherein at least one of the targeting categories is weighted; creating at least one set of advertisements based on the ad characterization vectors of each of the plurality of advertisements; associating, based on a first mathematical correlation between a characterization of the at least one electronic listing of media streams and the ad characterization vectors of each of the plurality of advertisements, each of the at least one electronic listings of media streams with at least one of the sets of advertisements; obtaining a characterization of a user associated with user equipment, wherein the characterization of the user comprises a subscriber characterization vector; determining a second mathematical correlation between the subscriber characterization vector and the ad characterization vectors of each of the advertisements in the at least one set of advertisements associated with a first of the at least one electronic listings of media streams; creating at least one electronic programming guide page having the first electronic listing of media streams and a first set of advertisements selected from the at least one set of advertisements associated with the first electronic listing of media streams, the first set of advertisements selected based on an average correlation of the first correlation and the second correlation, wherein said electronic programming guide page has at least one area for the display of advertisements; downloading at least one of the at least one electronic programming guide pages to the user equipment; and determining a price for presentation of each advertisement in the set of targeted advertisements based at least in part on the average correlation. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification