Method and apparatus for providing control information of target advertisement

Abstract

According to an aspect of a technology described herein, provided is a method for providing control information of a target advertisement, the method being performed by a computing device and comprising the steps of: (a) receiving network information and advertisement identification information from a mobile terminal; (b) on the basis of the network information of the mobile terminal, identifying a content reproducing device corresponding to the mobile terminal among multiple content reproducing devices; (c) identifying, when the content reproducing device is identified, a target advertisement to be provided by the content reproducing device among multiple advertisements, on the basis of the advertisement identification information; and (d) generating control information for the target advertisement and transmitting the control information to the content reproducing device so that the target advertisement is preferentially provided by the content reproducing device on the basis of an execution condition of the target advertisement.

Description

Method and device for providing control information for targeted advertising

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for providing control information for targeted advertising.

[0002] In media services such as digital broadcasting, IPTV, and Internet-based content services, advertisements are provided by media service providers (e.g., terrestrial broadcasters, cable broadcasters, content providers, satellite broadcasters, IPTV operators, content service operators) that have contracts with advertisers.

[0003] For example, when a media service is provided on a channel-based basis, the media service provider places advertisements in the allocated advertising time slot for each channel and delivers them to viewers. Therefore, according to the conventional method, the same advertisements are delivered to multiple viewers during the allocated advertising time slot for each channel.

[0004] Meanwhile, technologies capable of delivering different advertisements to multiple viewers are being developed and used. For example, addressable TV advertising technology refers to a technology that delivers different targeted advertisements (also referred to as "tailored advertisements," "personalized advertisements," or "addressable TV advertisements") to each viewer (or household) based on reference information such as the characteristics and interests of the viewer (or household) watching the media service. Using addressable TV advertising technology, data can be collected and analyzed using content playback devices (e.g., set-top boxes, digital TVs, smart TVs, connected TVs, personal computers, and mobile terminals) that provide media services to viewers, thereby extracting viewer (or household) characteristics and delivering different targeted advertisements to each viewer (or household) based on these data. Addressable TV advertisements can be transmitted to content playback devices installed in each household using, for example, a broadcasting network or a communication network, and delivered to each household through the content playback devices.

[0005] Therefore, addressable TV advertising technology allows each viewer (or household) to receive different targeted ads, even when watching the same channel at the same time. For example, viewers (or households) interested in automotive content could be served car ads, viewers (or households) who enjoy cooking and home improvement content could be served kitchen and appliance ads, and households with babies could be served baby product ads.

[0006] Specifically, targeted advertisements may be provided during a designated advertising time slot for the target within the advertising time slot. Specifically, the advertising time slot may include a first advertising time slot that provides mandatory advertisements (default advertisements) and a second advertising time slot that provides the target, and the targeted advertisement may be provided during the second advertising time slot (also referred to as an alternate advertising time slot).

[0007] Meanwhile, in cases where there are an unspecified number of viewers, it is difficult to apply addressable TV advertising technology based on reference information such as viewer (or household) characteristics and interests. For example, in the case of content playback devices placed in public spaces or restaurants, it is difficult to identify the characteristics and interests of a large number of unspecified viewers. In such cases, addressable TV advertising technology can be applied by using, for example, the location of the content playback device as reference information.

[0008] Furthermore, when addressable TV advertising technology is applied, content playback devices deliver different advertisements to viewers based on reference information. Therefore, advertisers have difficulty determining which channel, when, and on which content playback device their advertisements will be delivered.

[0009] [Prior Art Literature]

[0010] [Patent Document]

[0011] (Patent Document 1) Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2020-0088146.

[0012] The purpose of the technology described herein is to provide a method and device for providing control information for a target advertisement, wherein the advertiser's advertisement can be preferentially provided by the content playback device by generating control information for the target advertisement based on the advertiser's mobile terminal and transmitting it to the content playback device, the advertiser can easily confirm that his advertisement is provided by the content playback device by generating provision schedule information for the target advertisement and transmitting it to the advertiser's mobile terminal, and the advertiser can easily confirm the details of his advertisement being provided by the content playback device by transmitting the details information to the advertiser's mobile terminal.

[0013] In order to achieve the above technical problem, according to one form of the technology described herein, a method for providing control information of a target advertisement is provided, which is performed by a computing device, the method comprising: (a) receiving network information and advertisement identification information from a mobile terminal; (b) identifying a content playback device corresponding to the mobile terminal from among a plurality of content playback devices based on the network information of the mobile terminal; (c) when the content playback device is identified, identifying a target advertisement to be provided by the content playback device from among a plurality of advertisements based on the advertisement identification information; and (d) generating control information for the target advertisement and transmitting the control information to the content playback device so that the target advertisement is preferentially provided by the content playback device based on an execution condition of the target advertisement.

[0014] According to another aspect of the technology described herein, there is provided a device for providing control information of a target advertisement, including an operation processing unit configured to perform (a) processing for receiving network information and advertisement identification information from a mobile terminal, (b) processing for identifying a content playback device corresponding to the mobile terminal from among a plurality of content playback devices based on the network information of the mobile terminal, (c) processing for identifying a target advertisement to be provided by the content playback device from among a plurality of advertisements based on the advertisement identification information when the content playback device is identified, and (d) processing for generating control information for the target advertisement and transmitting the control information to the content playback device so that the target advertisement is preferentially provided by the content playback device based on an execution condition of the target advertisement.

[0015] According to the technology described herein, by generating control information for a target advertisement based on an advertiser's mobile terminal and transmitting it to a content playback device, the advertiser's advertisement can be preferentially provided by the content playback device, by generating provision schedule information for the target advertisement and transmitting it to the advertiser's mobile terminal, the advertiser can easily confirm that his advertisement is provided by the content playback device, and by transmitting detail information to the advertiser's mobile terminal, the advertiser can easily confirm the details of his advertisement being provided by the content playback device.

[0016] FIG. 1 is an exemplary flowchart of a method for providing control information of a targeted advertisement according to a first embodiment of the technology described herein.

[0017] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a device for providing control information of a target advertisement that executes a method for providing control information of a target advertisement according to a first embodiment of the technology described herein.

[0018] FIG. 3 is a drawing showing an environment in which a device for providing control information of a target advertisement, which executes a method for providing control information of a target advertisement according to a first embodiment of the technology described herein, is placed.

[0019] FIG. 4 is a drawing exemplarily illustrating a step of identifying a content playback device in a method for providing control information of a target advertisement according to a first embodiment of the technology described herein.

[0020] FIG. 5 is a drawing exemplarily showing execution conditions in a method for providing control information of a target advertisement according to a first embodiment of the technology described herein.

[0021] FIG. 6 is a drawing exemplarily showing control information in a method for providing control information of a target advertisement according to a first embodiment of the technology described herein.

[0022] FIG. 7 is a drawing exemplarily illustrating a step of determining whether a target advertisement has been distributed in a method for providing control information of a target advertisement according to a first embodiment of the technology described herein.

[0023] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of generating control information in a method for providing control information of a target advertisement according to a first embodiment of the technology described herein.

[0024] FIG. 9 is a diagram exemplarily illustrating a method for providing control information of a target advertisement according to a second embodiment of the technology described herein.

[0025] Hereinafter, a method for providing control information for targeted advertising and an embodiment of a device for providing control information for targeted advertising according to the technology described herein will be described in more detail with reference to the attached drawings. Furthermore, for convenience of explanation, the drawings illustrating embodiments of the technology described herein may depict only a portion of the actual configuration, omit portions, modify the configuration, or present a different scale.

[0026] <Example 1>

[0027] FIG. 1 is an exemplary flowchart of a method for providing control information of a target advertisement according to a first embodiment of the technology described herein, FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of a device for providing control information of a target advertisement that executes the method for providing control information of a target advertisement according to the first embodiment of the technology described herein, and FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an environment in which a device for providing control information of a target advertisement that executes the method for providing control information of a target advertisement according to the first embodiment of the technology described herein is arranged.

[0028] First, referring to FIG. 2, a device (100) for providing control information for a target advertisement, which executes a method for providing control information for a target advertisement according to a first embodiment of the technology described herein, will be described. The device (100) for providing control information for a target advertisement will also be referred to simply as a control information providing device (100) hereinafter.

[0029] Referring to FIG. 2, a control information providing device (100) that executes a method for providing control information of a target advertisement according to the first embodiment of the technology described herein may include a communication interface (110), an operation processing unit (130), and a storage unit (150).

[0030] The communication interface (110) performs communication with other devices, such as the content playback device (200) and mobile terminal (300) illustrated in FIG. 3, based on wired and wireless communication methods. The communication interface (110) may be implemented by a semiconductor device such as a communication chip.

[0031] The operation processing unit (130) can be implemented by semiconductor devices such as a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), and an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

[0032] The operation processing unit (130) may be implemented using, for example, a plurality of semiconductor elements. For example, the operation processing unit (130) may be implemented using a first semiconductor element that performs a communication function and a second semiconductor element that performs operation processing.

[0033] The operation processing unit (130) executes a method for providing control information of a target advertisement according to the first embodiment, and may also control a communication interface (110) and a storage unit (150) to execute the method for providing control information of a target advertisement according to the first embodiment.

[0034] The storage unit (150) stores data. The storage unit (150) may be implemented using semiconductor devices, such as semiconductor memory. The storage unit (150) may store, for example, target advertisement execution conditions described below and network information for each of multiple content playback devices. The storage unit (150) may also be implemented using, for example, multiple semiconductor devices.

[0035] Next, with reference to FIG. 3, the environment in which the control information providing device (100) is placed will be described.

[0036] Referring to FIG. 3, the control information providing device (100) is connected to the content playback device (200) and the mobile terminal (300) through a communication network.

[0037] A content playback device (200) is a device that receives and signals-processes content of a media service using at least one of a broadcasting network and a communication network and provides it so that it can be displayed. The content playback device (200) may include devices such as a set-top box, a digital TV, a personal computer, and a mobile terminal, for example. That is, the content playback device (200) may include not only a digital television or set-top box that receives and signals-processes content provided in a broadcast format and provides it, but also a computing device that can execute an application that can receive and signals-process content through a communication network and provide it. The content playback device (200) may include devices such as a connected TV and an addressable TV (ATV), for example.

[0038] A mobile terminal (300) is a portable computing device. Examples of mobile terminals include smartphones and tablet computers. Preferably, the mobile terminal (300) is the advertiser's mobile terminal or a mobile terminal associated with the advertiser.

[0039] The content playback device (200) and the mobile terminal (300) are configured to perform processing related to a method for providing control information of a target advertisement according to the technology described herein.

[0040] For example, the content playback device (200) can receive control information for a target advertisement described later from a control information providing device (100), and then provide a target advertisement according to the control information for the target advertisement. In addition, the content playback device (200) is configured to transmit, to the control information providing device (100), information indicating the details of execution of the target advertisement described later.

[0041] For example, the mobile terminal (300) can transmit the network information and advertisement identification information described below to the control information providing device (100), and is also configured to receive at least one of the information scheduled to be provided and the details information for the target advertisement described below.

[0042] Meanwhile, referring to FIG. 3, the content playback device (200) is connected to a network access device (250), such as an AP (access point), and can communicate with the control information providing device (100) through the network access device (250). The content playback device (200) can be connected to the network access device (250), for example, through a wired connection.

[0043] A mobile terminal (300) is connected to a network access device (350), such as an access point (AP), and can communicate with a control information providing device (100) through the network access device (350). The mobile terminal (300) can be connected to a network access device (250), for example, through a wireless connection.

[0044] Referring to FIG. 1 below, a method for providing control information of a target advertisement according to a first embodiment of the technology described herein will be described in more detail.

[0045] Referring to FIG. 1, the control information provision device (100), more specifically, the operation processing unit (130), receives network information and advertisement identification information from the mobile terminal (300) (step S110). The operation processing unit (130) receives network information and advertisement identification information from the mobile terminal (300), for example, via the communication interface (110).

[0046] The network information of the mobile terminal (300) includes, for example, network address information of the mobile terminal (300), and may include, for example, the IP address of the mobile terminal (300). More specifically, when the mobile terminal (300) is connected to a network access device (350), the network information of the mobile terminal (300) may include network information of the network access device (350). More specifically, the network information of the network access device (350) may include, for example, the IP address of the network access device (350). When the mobile terminal (300) is connected to the network access device (350), the IP address of the mobile terminal (300) is identical to the IP address of the network access device (350) when viewed from the outside.

[0047] Advertisement identification information is used to identify target advertisements in step S150, described below. Advertisement identification information may include, for example, advertiser identification information. Advertisement identification information may include, for example, target advertisement identification information. Advertisement identification information may include both advertiser identification information and target advertisement identification information.

[0048] Referring to FIG. 1, the control information providing device (100), more specifically, the operation processing unit (130), identifies a content playback device (200) corresponding to the mobile terminal (300) among a plurality of content playback devices (not shown) based on network information of the mobile terminal (300) (step S130).

[0049] FIG. 4 is a drawing exemplarily illustrating a step of identifying a content playback device, i.e., step S130, in a method for providing control information of a target advertisement according to a first embodiment of the technology described herein.

[0050] Referring to FIG. 4, step S130 includes a step (S135) of comparing the network information of each of the plurality of content playback devices with the network information of the mobile terminal (300) to identify, among the plurality of content playback devices, the one having network information corresponding to the network information of the mobile terminal (300) as the content playback device (200).

[0051] Network information of each of the multiple content playback devices may be stored in advance, for example, in the storage unit (150).

[0052] In step S135, the network information of each of the plurality of content playback devices pre-stored in the storage unit (150) is compared with the network information of the mobile terminal (300), and among the plurality of content playback devices, the one having network information corresponding to the network information of the mobile terminal (300) is identified as the content playback device (200).

[0053] The network information of each of the plurality of content playback devices may include network information of each of the plurality of network connection devices (not shown) to which the plurality of content playback devices are connected.

[0054] In step S135, for example, among multiple content playback devices, a device having network information that matches the network information of a mobile terminal (300) is identified as a content playback device (200).

[0055] That is, when a mobile terminal (300) is connected to a network connection device (250) while a content playback device (200) is connected to a network connection device (250) among multiple content playback devices, more specifically, when the network connection device (250) of the content playback device (200) and the network connection device (350) of the mobile terminal (300) are the same, the content playback device (200) can be identified through step S135.

[0056] When the network connection device (250) of the content playback device (200) and the network connection device (350) of the mobile terminal (300) are the same, when viewed from the outside, the IP address of the content playback device (200) is the same as the IP address of the mobile terminal (300). Therefore, it can be determined that the content playback device (200) and the mobile terminal (300) belong to the same network group. In other words, it can be determined that the content playback device (200) among the multiple content playback devices corresponds to the mobile terminal (300).

[0057] Meanwhile, network information of each of the plurality of content playback devices may be converted based on, for example, a hash function and stored in advance in the storage unit (150).

[0058] In that case, in step S135, the network information of the mobile terminal (300) can be compared with the value converted based on the hash function described above and the network information converted based on the hash function of each of the plurality of content playback devices.

[0059] The network information of each of the multiple content playback devices is converted based on, for example, a hash function and stored in advance in the storage unit (150) to protect personal information, especially to protect personal information from malicious attacks such as hacking.

[0060] In that case, in step S135, among the plurality of content playback devices, the content playback device (200) is identified as one in which the network information converted based on the hash function matches the value of the network information of the mobile terminal (300) converted based on the hash function.

[0061] Meanwhile, if a content playback device (200) corresponding to a mobile terminal (300) is not identified among a plurality of content playback devices (not shown) in step S130, the execution of the method for providing control information of a target advertisement according to the present embodiment is terminated.

[0062] Referring back to FIG. 1, the control information providing device (100), more specifically, the operation processing unit (130), when the content playback device (200) is identified through step S130, identifies a target advertisement to be provided by the content playback device (200) among a plurality of advertisements (not shown) based on the advertisement identification information (step S150).

[0063] As described above, advertisement identification information may include, for example, advertiser identification information. In this case, in step S150, a target advertisement can be identified based on the advertiser identification information. More specifically, if multiple advertisements are stored in the storage unit (150) or an external storage device (not shown), the operation processing unit (130) can search for multiple advertisements based on the advertiser identification information and, among the multiple advertisements, identify the advertisement corresponding to the advertiser identification information as the target advertisement.

[0064] As described above, the advertisement identification information may include, for example, the identification information of the target advertisement. In this case, in step S150, the target advertisement may be identified based on the identification information of the target advertisement. More specifically, if multiple advertisements are stored, for example, in the storage unit (150) or an external storage device (not shown), the operation processing unit (130) may search for the multiple advertisements based on the identification information of the target advertisements and identify the advertisement corresponding to the identification information of the target advertisement as the target advertisement among the multiple advertisements. For example, if an advertiser runs one or more advertisements and designates a specific advertisement as the target advertisement, the advertisement identification information may include, for example, the identification information of the target advertisement.

[0065] Referring back to FIG. 1, the control information providing device (100), more specifically, the operation processing unit (130), generates control information for a target advertisement based on the execution conditions of the target advertisement and transmits it to the content playback device (200) so that the target advertisement is preferentially provided on the content playback device (200) (step S170). The operation processing unit (130) may transmit the control information for the target advertisement to the content playback device (200) via, for example, the communication interface (110).

[0066] FIG. 5 is a drawing exemplarily showing execution conditions in a method for providing control information of a target advertisement according to a first embodiment of the technology described herein.

[0067] Referring to FIG. 5, the execution conditions may include at least one of conditions for channels through which targeted advertisements can be provided, conditions for the number of times targeted advertisements can be provided, conditions for regions through which targeted advertisements can be provided, and conditions for time zones through which targeted advertisements can be provided.

[0068] For example, in FIG. 5, “CH#1 to CH#4”, “CH#12 to CH#14”, and “CH#21 to CH#99” are exemplified as “providable channels”, which means that among the multiple channels of the media service, targeted advertisements can be provided only on the channels corresponding to “CH#1 to CH#4”, “CH#12 to CH#14”, and “CH#21 to CH#99”.

[0069] For example, in FIG. 5, “3 times a day” and “15 times a week” are exemplified as “number of times available”, which means that the target advertisement can be provided up to a limit of 3 times a day and 15 times a week.

[0070] For example, in FIG. 5, “Gangnam-gu, Seoul” and “Seocho-gu, Seoul” are exemplified as “available areas,” meaning that targeted advertisements can only be provided in the Gangnam-gu and Seocho-gu areas of Seoul.

[0071] For example, in FIG. 5, “11:00 AM to 1:00 PM” and “5:00 PM to 9:00 PM” are exemplified as “available time zones,” which means that targeted advertisements can only be provided during the time zones of “11:00 AM to 1:00 PM” and “5:00 PM to 9:00 PM.”

[0072] The execution conditions illustrated in Figure 5 are for illustrative purposes only, and the technology described herein is not limited to these conditions. For example, the execution conditions may be modified in various ways during actual implementation.

[0073] Meanwhile, in step S170, if the execution conditions are not met, for example, if the target advertisement has already been provided the "available number of times," the area is not eligible for target advertisement provision, or the time zone is not eligible for target advertisement provision, execution of the method for providing target advertisement control information according to the present embodiment is terminated. In this case, a message indicating that the target advertisement cannot be provided due to the failure to meet the execution conditions may be transmitted to the mobile terminal (300).

[0074] FIG. 6 is a drawing exemplarily showing control information in a method for providing control information of a target advertisement according to a first embodiment of the technology described herein.

[0075] Control information may be generated through step S170 so that it can be provided from the content playback device (200) while satisfying the aforementioned execution conditions. For example, the control information may include channel information regarding the channel on which the target advertisement will be provided and time information regarding the time at which the target advertisement will be provided on the aforementioned channel.

[0076] For example, referring to FIG. 6, "CH#4" is exemplified as channel information, and "from 6:30:20 PM to 6:30:35 PM" is exemplified as time information. This means that the target advertisement identified in step S150 is provided on "CH#4" "from 6:30:20 PM to 6:30:35 PM."

[0077] Meanwhile, the control information may further include a channel switching command.

[0078] The channel switching command is a command that controls channel switching of the content playback device (200) so that a target advertisement is provided at a time corresponding to time information on a channel corresponding to channel information in the content playback device (200).

[0079] For example, if the channel information is set as "CH#4" and the time information is set as "from 6:30:20 PM to 6:30:35 PM," the channel switching command can be set as "switch to CH#4 at 6:30:20 PM."

[0080] Meanwhile, multiple control information can be generated.

[0081] That is, as illustrated in FIG. 6, control information including "CH#13" as channel information, "from 6:31:20 PM to 6:31:35 PM" as time information, and "switch channel to CH#13 at 6:31:20 PM" as channel switching command, and control information including "CH#22" as channel information, "from 6:32:20 PM to 6:32:35 PM" as time information, and "switch channel to CH#22 at 6:32:20 PM" as channel switching command may be generated.

[0082] That is, the control information may include first control information including “CH#4” as channel information, second control information including “CH#13” as channel information, and third control information including “CH#22” as channel information.

[0083] The control information illustrated in Figure 6 is for illustrative purposes only, and the technology described herein is not limited thereto. For example, the control information may be modified in various ways during actual implementation.

[0084] FIG. 7 is a drawing exemplarily illustrating a step of determining whether a target advertisement has been distributed in a method for providing control information of a target advertisement according to a first embodiment of the technology described herein.

[0085] Referring to FIG. 7, the control information providing device (100), more specifically, the operation processing unit (130), determines whether the target advertisement has already been distributed to the content playback device (200) prior to step S170 (step S190). That is, the operation processing unit (130) determines whether the target advertisement has been transmitted to the content playback device (200) and stored in the content playback device (200). Step S190 may be performed, for example, by transmitting a confirmation request to the content playback device (200) to inquire whether the target advertisement is stored and receiving a confirmation response from the content playback device (200). Alternatively, step S190 may be performed by a business providing addressable TV advertising technology transmitting a target advertisement to the content playback device (200) and confirming whether the target advertisement is stored in the content playback device (200).

[0086] The control information providing device (100), more specifically, the operation processing unit (130), if it is determined in step S190 that the target advertisement has not been distributed to the content playback device (200), distributes the target advertisement to the content playback device (200) (step S210). Step S210 may be performed, for example, by directly transmitting the target advertisement stored in the storage unit (150) to the content playback device (200) via the communication interface (110). Alternatively, it may be performed by transmitting the identification information of the target advertisement stored in an external device (not shown) to the content transmission device (200) via the communication interface (110) and having the content transmission device (200) directly receive the target advertisement from the external device.

[0087] The control information providing device (100), more specifically, the operation processing unit (130), if it is determined in step S190 that the target advertisement has already been distributed to the content playback device (200), performs step S170.

[0088] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of generating control information in a method for providing control information of a target advertisement according to a first embodiment of the technology described herein.

[0089] Referring to FIG. 8, the control information providing device (100), more specifically, the operation processing unit (130), if it is determined in step S190 that the target advertisement has already been distributed to the content playback device (200), generates channel information to indicate a channel whose alternative advertisement time arrives earliest among a plurality of channels capable of providing the target advertisement, and generates time information to indicate at least a part of the alternative advertisement time of the channel corresponding to the generated channel information (step S173).

[0090] The control information providing device (100), more specifically, the operation processing unit (130), if it is determined in step S190 that the target advertisement has not been distributed to the content playback device (200), generates channel information to indicate a channel whose alternative advertisement time arrives earliest after the time required to distribute the target advertisement to the content playback device (200) among a plurality of channels capable of providing the target advertisement, and generates time information to indicate at least a part of the alternative advertisement time of the channel corresponding to the generated channel information (step S175).

[0091] More specifically, this will be explained with reference to the example in Fig. 6.

[0092] In Fig. 6, three pieces of control information are exemplified: first control information including “CH#4” as channel information, second control information including “CH#13” as channel information, and third control information including “CH#22” as channel information.

[0093] If the current time is 6:30:15 PM, the target advertisement is distributed to the content playback device (200), and the alternative advertisement provision time in “CH#4” is “from 6:30:20 PM to 6:31:19 PM,” the operation processing unit (130) can generate the first control information whose channel information is “CH#4” as control information.

[0094] Or, if the current time is 6:30:19 PM, the target advertisement has not been distributed to the content playback device (200), and the time required to distribute the target advertisement to the content playback device (200) is 2 seconds, the operation processing unit (130) may generate the second control information having the channel information as "CH#13" as the control information, rather than the first control information having the channel information as "CH#4".

[0095] That is, in the case of the first control information, which is "CH#4", considering the time required to distribute the target advertisement to the content playback device (200), it is difficult for the content playback device (200) to normally provide the target advertisement in "CH#4".

[0096] The example of generating control information with reference to FIG. 8 is for illustrative purposes only and may be modified in various ways.

[0097] For example, if the current time is 6:30:15 PM and the target advertisement is distributed to the content playback device (200), the first control information, the second control information, and the third control information can all be generated as control information and transmitted to the content playback device (200).

[0098] Alternatively, if the current time is 6:30:19 PM, the target advertisement has not been distributed to the content playback device (200), and the time required to distribute the target advertisement to the content playback device (200) is 2 seconds, the second control information and the third control information, excluding the first control information, may be generated as control information and transmitted to the content playback device (200).

[0099] As described above, when the content playback device (200) receives control information for a target advertisement, it provides the target advertisement based on the control information. As described above, the target advertisement can be provided after switching channels based on a channel switching command.

[0100] As described above, according to the first embodiment, the advertiser's advertisement can be provided preferentially by the content playback device (300) by generating control information for the target advertisement based on the advertiser's mobile terminal (300) and transmitting it to the content playback device (300).

[0101] <Example 2>

[0102] FIG. 9 is a diagram exemplifying a method for providing control information for targeted advertisements according to a second embodiment of the technology described herein. The method for providing control information for targeted advertisements according to the second embodiment described in FIG. 9 may be implemented in addition to the method for providing control information for targeted advertisements according to the first embodiment described above.

[0103] Referring to FIG. 9, the control information provision device (100), more specifically, the operation processing unit (130), generates provision schedule information for a target advertisement, which includes channel information indicating a channel on which the target advertisement will be provided and time information indicating a time at which the target advertisement will be provided on the channel, and transmits the information to the mobile terminal (300) (step S230). The operation processing unit (130) may transmit the provision schedule information to the mobile terminal (300) via, for example, the communication interface (110).

[0104] The information to be served could be something like, "Your ad will be served on CH#4 from 6:30:20 PM to 6:30:35 PM."

[0105] Accordingly, the user of the mobile terminal (300) can easily check when and through which channel the target advertisement is provided.

[0106] Referring again to FIG. 9, the control information provision device (100), more specifically, the operation processing unit (130), receives, from the content playback device (200), information indicating the execution history of the targeted advertisement (step S250). The operation processing unit (130) may receive the information, for example, via the communication interface (110).

[0107] Next, the control information provision device (100), more specifically, the operation processing unit (130), transmits the details information to the mobile terminal (300) (step S270). The operation processing unit (130) may transmit the details information, for example, via the communication interface (110).

[0108] Accordingly, the user of the mobile terminal (300) can easily check the details of the targeted advertisement provided.

[0109] As described above, according to the second embodiment, by generating provision schedule information for target advertisements and transmitting it to the advertiser's mobile terminal (300), the advertiser can easily confirm that his / her advertisement is provided by the content playback device (200), and by transmitting the details information to the advertiser's mobile terminal (300), the advertiser can easily confirm the details of his / her advertisement being provided by the content playback device (200).

[0110] <Other examples>

[0111] Although the embodiments of the technology described herein have been described in detail, this is merely an example of the technology described herein, and those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications may be made without departing from the essential characteristics of the technology described herein.

[0112] For example, according to another form of the technology described herein, a device for providing control information of a target advertisement is provided, including an operation processing unit configured to perform (a) processing for receiving network information and advertisement identification information from a mobile terminal, (b) processing for identifying a content playback device corresponding to the mobile terminal from among a plurality of content playback devices based on the network information of the mobile terminal, (c) processing for identifying a target advertisement to be provided by the content playback device from among a plurality of advertisements based on the advertisement identification information when the content playback device is identified, and (d) processing for generating control information for the target advertisement and transmitting the control information to the content playback device so that the target advertisement is preferentially provided by the content playback device based on an execution condition of the target advertisement.

[0113] Other features of the method for providing control information for targeted advertising according to the technology described herein can also be applied to a device for providing control information for targeted advertising according to the technology described herein, i.e., a control information providing device (100).

[0114] Therefore, the embodiments described in this specification are intended to illustrate, not limit, the technology described herein, and these embodiments do not limit the spirit or scope of the technology described herein. The scope of the technology described herein should be interpreted by the following claims, and all technologies within the scope equivalent thereto should be construed as being included within the scope of the technology described herein.

[0115] According to the technology described herein, by generating control information for a target advertisement based on an advertiser's mobile terminal and transmitting it to a content playback device, the advertiser's advertisement can be preferentially provided by the content playback device, by generating provision schedule information for the target advertisement and transmitting it to the advertiser's mobile terminal, the advertiser can easily confirm that his advertisement is provided by the content playback device, and by transmitting detail information to the advertiser's mobile terminal, the advertiser can easily confirm the details of his advertisement being provided by the content playback device.

[0116] [Explanation of symbols

[0117] 100: Control information providing device 110: Communication interface

[0118] 130: Operation processing unit 150: Storage unit

[0119] 200: Content playback device 250: Network access device

[0120] 300: Mobile terminal 350: Network access device

Claims

1. It is performed by a computing device, (a) a step of receiving network information and advertisement identification information from a mobile terminal; (b) a step of identifying a content playback device corresponding to the mobile terminal among a plurality of content playback devices based on the network information of the mobile terminal; (c) when the content playback device is identified, a step of identifying a target advertisement to be provided on the content playback device among a plurality of advertisements based on the advertisement identification information; and (d) a step of generating control information for the target advertisement and transmitting it to the content playback device so that the target advertisement is preferentially provided on the content playback device based on the execution conditions of the target advertisement; A method of providing control information for targeted advertising that includes:

2. In paragraph 1, The above step (b) is, (b-1) A step of comparing the network information of each of the plurality of content playback devices with the network information of the mobile terminal, and identifying the content playback device among the plurality of content playback devices that has network information corresponding to the network information of the mobile terminal as the content playback device. A method of providing control information for targeted advertising, which includes:

3. In paragraph 2, The network information of each of the above plurality of content playback devices is converted based on a hash function and stored in advance. A method for providing control information of a target advertisement, wherein in the step (b-1), the network information of the mobile terminal is converted based on the hash function and the network information converted based on the hash function of each of the plurality of content playback devices is compared.

4. In paragraph 2, The network information of the above mobile terminal includes network information of a network access device to which the mobile terminal is connected, A method for providing control information for targeted advertising, wherein each of the plurality of content playback devices includes network information of each of the plurality of network access devices to which the plurality of content playback devices are connected.

5. In paragraph 1, The above advertising identification information includes the advertiser's identification information, The above step (c) is, (c-1) A step for identifying the target advertisement based on the identification information of the advertiser. A method of providing control information for targeted advertising, the control information including:

6. In paragraph 1, The above advertisement identification information includes identification information of the target advertisement, The above step (c) is, (c-2) A method for providing control information of a target advertisement, comprising a step of identifying the target advertisement based on the identification information of the target advertisement.

7. In paragraph 1, A method for providing control information for a target advertisement, wherein the execution condition includes at least one of a condition for a channel through which the target advertisement can be provided, a condition for a number of times the target advertisement can be provided, a condition for a region through which the target advertisement can be provided, and a condition for a time zone through which the target advertisement can be provided.

8. In paragraph 1, A method for providing control information of a target advertisement, wherein the control information includes channel information about a channel on which the target advertisement is to be provided and time information about a time at which the target advertisement is to be provided on the channel.

9. In paragraph 8, A method for providing control information of a target advertisement, wherein the control information further includes a channel switching command for controlling channel switching of the content playback device so that the target advertisement is provided on the channel at the time in the content playback device.

10. In paragraph 1, (e) a step of determining whether the target advertisement has already been distributed to the content playback device prior to step (d); and (f) If it is determined in step (e) that the target advertisement is not distributed to the content playback device, a step of distributing the target advertisement to the content playback device. A method of providing control information for targeted advertising that further includes:

11. In paragraph 10, The above control information includes channel information about the channel on which the target advertisement will be provided and time information about the time at which the target advertisement will be provided on the channel. The above step (d) is, (d-1) If it is determined in step (e) that the target advertisement has been distributed to the content playback device, a step of generating the channel information to indicate a channel whose alternative advertisement time arrives earliest among a plurality of channels capable of providing the target advertisement, and generating the time information to indicate at least a part of the alternative advertisement time of the channel. A method of providing control information for targeted advertising, the control information including:

12. In paragraph 10, The above control information includes channel information about the channel on which the target advertisement will be provided and time information about the time at which the target advertisement will be provided on the channel. The above step (d) is, (d-2) If it is determined in step (e) that the target advertisement is not distributed to the content playback device, a step of generating the channel information to indicate a channel whose alternative advertisement time arrives earliest after the time required to distribute the target advertisement to the content playback device among a plurality of channels capable of providing the target advertisement, and generating the time information to indicate at least a part of the alternative advertisement time of the channel. A method of providing control information for targeted advertising, the control information including:

13. In paragraph 1, (g) a step of generating provision schedule information for the target advertisement, which includes channel information indicating a channel on which the target advertisement will be provided and time information indicating a time at which the target advertisement will be provided on the channel, and transmitting the information to the mobile terminal. A method of providing control information for targeted advertising that further includes:

14. In paragraph 1, (h) a step of receiving history information indicating the history of execution of the target advertisement from the content playback device; and (i) Step of transmitting the above details to the mobile terminal A method of providing control information for targeted advertising that further includes:

15. (a) A processing unit configured to perform processing for receiving network information and advertisement identification information from a mobile terminal, (b) processing for identifying a content playback device corresponding to the mobile terminal from among a plurality of content playback devices based on the network information of the mobile terminal, (c) processing for identifying a target advertisement to be provided by the content playback device from among a plurality of advertisements based on the advertisement identification information when the content playback device is identified, and (d) processing for generating control information for the target advertisement and transmitting it to the content playback device so that the target advertisement is preferentially provided by the content playback device based on the execution condition of the target advertisement. A device that provides control information for targeted advertising including:

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