Patent Application
20080059293
In the following detailed description of example embodiments of the invention, reference is made to specific example embodiments of the invention by way of drawings and illustrations. These examples are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and serve to illustrate how the invention may be applied to various purposes or embodiments. Other embodiments of the invention exist and are within the scope of the invention, and logical, mechanical, electrical, and other changes may be made without departing from the subject or scope of the present invention. Features or limitations of various embodiments of the invention described herein, however essential to the example embodiments in which they are incorporated, do not limit other embodiments of the invention or the invention as a whole, and any reference to the invention, its elements, operation, and application do not limit the invention as a whole but serve only to define these example embodiments. The following detailed description does not, therefore, limit the scope of the invention, which is defined only by the appended claims.
Described herein is a system and a method that provides an interface between advertisers and media stations (e.g., radio and television stations). In an embodiment, the interface facilitates a wide area network-based buying and selling model and further allows an advertiser to modify advertisement content at or near real-time. For the purposes of this description, radio and radio transmissions include terrestrial or satellite audio transmissions.
Referring to the figures,
In some embodiments, placement software 124 includes markup language documents (e.g., HTML), script files (e.g., JavaScript, Active Server Pages, CGI, Perl), library files (e.g., DLL), or executable files (e.g., EXE). In a further embodiment, placement software 124 includes database and network interfaces, such as to connect to database 126 or network 118. Placement software 124 may, in some embodiments, be served within a web server environment. In alternative embodiments, placement software 124 includes a proprietary server application and requires proprietary client applications to enable the placement system 100.
Placement computer administrator interface 112 may be provided by placement software 124 using one or more of the technologies described above. In particular, in an embodiment, administrator interface 112 is provided to a user (e.g., administrator) in a web browser (e.g., Microsoft Internet Explorer). The administrator interface 112 may include a combination of static and dynamic elements as described in more detail below. An administrator may use administrator interface 112 to determine or manage availability, security, and access of placement computer 110.
Database 126 includes advertisement campaign table 128, media station table 130, and placement results table 132, in embodiments. Database 126 may be implemented as a relational database, a central database, a distributed database, an object database, or a flat file database, in various embodiments.
Advertisement campaign table 128 includes one or more data fields describing aspects of an advertisement or an advertisement campaign. For example, advertisement campaign table 128 may include an advertiser name or identification, a product, an advertisement content, a target demographic, a market geography, a maximum bid, a total budget, a budget spent, and the like.
Media station table 130 includes one or more data fields describing aspects of a media station. For example, media station table 130 may include a media station identifier, a media station name, one or more geographies, one or more demographic indications, and the like.
Placement results table 132 includes placement results data, derived from placement software 124. In an embodiment, placement results table 132 is periodically or regularly updated by placement software 124.
In addition, advertisement placement system 100 may include one or more media station computers 114 (e.g., clients). In an embodiment, each media station computer 114 includes a media station web browser 134, which may connect to the placement computer 110 via network 118. Media station web browser 134 can be used to provide media station interface 116. Media station interface 116 may be used by users (e.g., a media station advertising administrator) to provide details about a media station, such as demographic profile and advertising costs.
Network 118 may include, in various embodiments, wired or wireless network connections. In addition, network 118 may be implemented as a local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), or a combination. In an example embodiment, network 118 includes the Internet.
In addition, advertisement placement system 100 may include one or more advertiser computers 120. Similar to users of a media station computer 114, users of an advertiser computer 120 may use a web browser (e.g., advertiser web browser 136) to access placement computer 110 via network 118. Advertiser interface 122 is provided by placement software 124 and presented using advertiser web browser 136.
In operation in an example embodiment, a media station user can use media station computer 114 and connect to placement computer 110 via network 118. If the media station user had not previously connected with placement computer 110, then in one embodiment, the media station user may have to create an account. Using media station interface 116, the media station user can provide media station characteristics (e.g., demographics or geography of the listening audience) and, in one example embodiment, a minimum amount the media station will accept to air an advertisement.
An advertising user may connect to placement computer 110 using advertiser computer 120 via network 118. In an embodiment, if the advertising user has not used the system 100 before to place advertising, then the advertising user may have to create an account on placement computer 110. The advertising user can submit one or more advertising campaigns to placement computer 110 via placement software 124. Advertising campaigns include details about a product's advertising, such as the product, advertisement content, and advertising budget. In an embodiment, the advertising user may update or revise one or more of the parameters provided after submitting the advertising campaign. For example, the advertising user may adjust the maximum bid. As another example, the advertising user may revise advertising content in or near real-time, such that the next time the advertisement is read or displayed, the revised content is used.
As an advertising placement request runs, placement software 124 periodically, regularly or from time to time analyzes media station table 130 and advertising campaign table 128 to determine if one or more advertisements contained in advertising campaign table 128 correspond to or match available markets, as described in media station table 130. In one example embodiment, every characteristic of a media station (e.g., demographic coverage, geographic coverage, minimum bid amount) must match a corresponding advertising campaign characteristic, as stored in the advertising campaign table 128, to be included in the placement results table 132. In an alternative embodiment, one or more media station characteristics may not match, but may be close enough to include in placement results table 132. Thresholds to control close matches may be provided by media stations or advertisers. Additionally, placement software 124 may receive and manage bids from other advertisers or receive and manage media station advertisement opportunities from other media stations. Placement results derived from at least placement results table 132 are provided to media station computer 114 and advertiser computer 120 via media station interface 116 and advertiser interface 122 respectively. In an embodiment, a user (e.g., a media station user such as a DJ), can interact with media station interface 116 to update the placement results displayed on media station interface 116. In an embodiment, placement results are provided using a “push” system, such that a media station computer 114 is automatically or regularly refreshed with updated content from the placement computer 110. Placement results may be refreshed when an event is detected. Events may include an update to an advertising campaign, such as when an advertisement campaign is added or removed from the advertising campaign table 128, or when an advertising campaign is updated, such as when a media station broadcasts an advertisement and an advertising campaign's budget is updated, which may affect its availability to other media stations. Another event may be an update of an advertising campaign by the advertising user. Updates may include changing the maximum bid, changing the target demographic or geography, or modifying the advertising content.
At 504, one or more media station parameters are received. In an embodiment, the media station parameters are provided by media stations and include data that identifies the media station, describes the media station's audience (e.g., demographic information or geographic information), or placement-related information, such as a minimum bid amount. Additional information may include such things as product preferences, estimated audience size, or other metrics useful in matching an advertiser to a target market. In an embodiment, a media station may include one or more parameters that cause advertising to be automatically selected. For example, in some placement models, a “buy out” price is indicated such that if a purchaser wants to immediately finalize a purchase, the purchaser may indicate that they are willing to pay the “buy out” price and then will be automatically awarded the offered item. In this context, a media station may provide a threshold price, such that if any advertiser has a maximum bid amount greater than or equal to the threshold price, the advertisement is automatically selected and stored in the placement results table 132.
At 506, advertisement parameters and media station parameters are analyzed. In an embodiment, the analysis attempts to match an advertisement campaign with at least one media station using at least one of a demographic indication or a geographic indication. In an embodiment, a match is found only when all demographic or geographic constraints provided by an advertiser in advertising campaign table 128 match the demographic or geographic profile of a media station. In another embodiment, at least one demographic or geographic constraint contained in the advertising campaign table 128 has to match a demographic or geographic indicia of a media station. In an embodiment, matches that fail to correspond at each demographic or geographic factor may be rated, such as by a score (e.g., 7/10 or 4 stars) and the score may be provided to the media station computer 114 or the advertiser computer 120. At 508, any matches are stored, such as in the placement results table 132.
At 604, an indication is received selecting an advertisement campaign (e.g., an advertisement) that will be broadcasted. For example, a media station user using media station interface 116 may activate an icon, link, or other graphical user interface control to select an advertisement from placement results presented on media station interface 116. In the context of a radio station, a radio announcer may select a matching advertisement from the placement results display and read the corresponding advertisement text during a broadcast (e.g., ad content field 304 in advertisement campaign table 128 in
In some embodiments, a media station user may select one or more advertisements to reserve them for later broadcast. This mechanism may be preferable in a live broadcast where the announcer (e.g., disc jockey) may prepare advertisements a few moments before the advertisement is read. For example, while music is playing, a DJ may use that time to select one or more advertisements for live broadcast and to plan a segue into the next advertising program break. In such an embodiment, the advertisement campaign budget may be debited by the amount of the advertising cost or have some other indication that the advertisement campaign has a reserved selected advertisement queued for broadcast. If the media station user fails to actually use the advertisement, then a fee may be charged to the media station for reserving the advertisement inappropriately. The fee may be a function of the price of the advertisement, such as a percentage. Alternatively, the media station may be restricted from reserving further advertising if a threshold number of unmet commitments are detected. For example, a media station user may be restricted from reserving advertising if the number of advertisements read is less than 85% of the number of advertisements reserved or selected. This type of mechanism may dissuade a media station user from blocking other media stations from access to the advertisement for prolong periods without actually using the advertising.
In an embodiment, where multiple advertisers meet the media station's characteristics and minimum bid requirement, two or more qualifying advertisements are displayed to the media station user. In such a case, the media station user may choose to advertise a particular advertisement based on some other preference other than the maximum bid amount offered.
In an embodiment, advertisers can update their advertisement content in or near real-time by using the advertiser interface 122 to access the advertisement campaign table 128, such that the media station will broadcast the most current version. To ensure currency, in an embodiment, each time the advertising campaign is selected by a media station user to be advertised, the advertisement campaign table 128 is accessed by placement software 124 and the most current version of the ad is retrieved from the ad content field 304. Advertising content may be generated from various sources. For example, an advertiser may want to update advertising content to reflect one or more frequently used search terms found on the Internet.
Using such a system may be advantageous to provide an advertiser with a way to maintain updated and current advertising content and for a media station to be provided with advertisements that match one or more of the media station's characteristics. Such a system also allows for media stations who read an advertisement content over a live broadcast to be assured of relaying the most current information for their audience.
At 606, the database is updated to reflect the transaction. For example, after the advertisement is broadcasted, the advertiser is charged for the broadcast. The charge may be reflected in the advertising campaign table 128, such as in budget spent field 314. Additionally, placement results table 132 may be updated to reflect that the advertising campaign was broadcast and may further include details such as time and date of the broadcast. In an embodiment, the database update initiates re-analysis of the advertisement parameters and media station parameters (step 506 in
The machine 700 includes a processor 702, a main memory 706, and a static memory 708, which communicate with each other via a bus 724. The machine 700 may further include a video display unit 712 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT)). The machine 700 also includes an alphanumeric input device 714 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor control device 716 (e.g., a mouse), a disk drive unit 718, a signal generation device 722 (e.g., a speaker) and a network interface device 710 to interface the computer system to a network 726.
The disk drive unit 718 includes a machine-readable medium 720 on which is stored a set of instructions or software 704 embodying any one, or all, of the methodologies described herein. The software 704 is also shown to reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory 706 and/or within the processor 702. The software 704 may further be transmitted or received via the network interface device 710.
For the purposes of this specification, the term “machine-readable medium” shall be taken to include any medium which is capable of storing or encoding a sequence of instructions for execution by the machine and that cause the machine to perform any one of the methodologies of the inventive subject matter. The term “machine-readable medium” shall accordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to, solid-state memories, optical and magnetic disks, and carrier wave signals. Further, while the software is shown in
Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that any arrangement that achieves the same purpose, structure, or function may be substituted for the specific embodiments shown. This application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the example embodiments of the invention described herein. It is intended that this invention be limited only by the claims, and the full scope of equivalents thereof.
The Abstract is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R. §1.72(b), which requires that it allow the reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. Also, in the above Detailed Description, various features may be grouped together to streamline the disclosure. This should not be interpreted as intending that an unclaimed disclosed feature is essential to any claim. Rather, inventive subject matter may lie in less than all features of a particular disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment.
