System and method for auctioning targeted advertisement placement for video audiences

Abstract

A method of auctioning targeted advertisement placement for video audiences, contains the steps of: receiving one or more advertising campaign, where each advertising campaign is defined by one or more advertisement effect criteria, and where each advertising campaign is for providing one or more advertisement to one or more viewer profile; receiving at least one bid for at least one of the one or more advertisement campaign; determining an optimal placement of a requested advertisement based upon the advertisement effect criteria and bid prices provided, so as to optimize revenue; and billing an advertiser according to a level at which a request of the advertiser, as defined by an associated advertising campaign, was supplied and actual viewership of the one or more advertisement associated with the advertising campaign.

1 . A method of auctioning targeted advertisement placement for video audiences, comprising the steps of:
 receiving one or more advertising campaign, where each advertising campaign is defined by one or more advertisement effect criteria, and where each advertising campaign is for providing one or more advertisement to one or more viewer profile;   receiving at least one bid for at least one of the one or more advertisement campaign;   determining an optimal placement of a requested advertisement based upon the advertisement effect criteria and bid prices provided, so as to optimize revenue; and   billing an advertiser according to a level at which a request of the advertiser, as defined by an associated advertising campaign, was supplied and actual viewership of the one or more advertisement associated with the advertising campaign.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the number of bids from a single advertiser is limited to a predefined number of bids. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the advertisement effect criteria is provided with priorities identifying which of the advertisement effect criteria is more important. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a time limit is provided for allowing the receiving of a bid for the at least one of the one or more advertisement campaign. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a commercial break has multiple advertisement locations available, and wherein the step of determining an optimal placement of a requested advertisement considers the multiple advertisement locations available. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of identifying one or more viewer profile associated with one or more set top box, wherein each of the one or more viewer profile is a potential recipient of the one or more advertisement. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the advertisement effect criteria includes at least one viewer profile. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the advertisement effect criteria includes at least one geographical location. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein each advertising campaign is associated with one advertiser, and wherein the method further comprises the step of selecting an advertising campaign from the one or more advertising campaigns for execution, resulting in the one or more advertisement associated with the selected advertising campaign being forwarded to a targeted viewer profile defined in the selected advertising campaign. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the step of billing further comprises the steps of:
 identifying actual viewer profiles currently consuming content;   determining viewer profiles that consumed the forwarded one or more advertisement; and   calculating a total number of viewers of the viewer profiles that consumed the forwarded one or more advertisement.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of billing further comprises using a game theoretic approach of bonuses to increase incentive of advertisers to bid an actual value of the advertisement to the advertiser. 
     
     
         12 . A system for auctioning targeted advertisement placement for video audiences, comprising:
 logic configured to receive one or more advertising campaign, where each advertising campaign is defined by one or more advertisement effect criteria, and where each advertising campaign is for providing one or more advertisement to one or more viewer profile;   logic configured to receive at least one bid for at least one of the one or more advertisement campaign;   logic configured to determine an optimal placement of a requested advertisement based upon the advertisement effect criteria and bid prices provided, so as to optimize revenue; and   logic configured to bill an advertiser according to a level at which a request of the advertiser, as defined by an associated advertising campaign, was supplied and actual viewership of the one or more advertisement associated with the advertising campaign.   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the number of bids from a single advertiser is limited to a predefined number of bids. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the advertisement effect criteria is provided with priorities identifying which of the advertisement effect criteria is more important. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein a time limit is provided for allowing the receiving of a bid for the at least one of the one or more advertisement campaign. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein a commercial break has multiple advertisement locations available, and wherein the logic configured to determine an optimal placement of a requested advertisement considers the multiple advertisement locations available. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 12 , further comprising logic configured to identify one or more viewer profile associated with one or more set top box, wherein each of the one or more viewer profile is a potential recipient of the one or more advertisement. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the advertisement effect criteria includes at least one viewer profile. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the advertisement effect criteria includes at least one geographical location. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein each advertising campaign is associated with one advertiser, and wherein the system further comprises logic configured to select an advertising campaign from the one or more advertising campaigns for execution, resulting in the one or more advertisement associated with the selected advertising campaign being forwarded to a targeted viewer profile defined in the selected advertising campaign. 
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 20 , wherein billing further comprises:
 identifying actual viewer profiles currently consuming content;   determining viewer profiles that consumed the forwarded one or more advertisement; and   calculating a total number of viewers of the viewer profiles that consumed the forwarded one or more advertisement.   
     
     
         22 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the logic configured to bill further performs the step of using a game theoretic approach of bonuses to increase incentive of advertisers to bid an actual value of the advertisement to the advertiser.