Dynamic Advertising Insertion via Content Segmentation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current network-based personal media recorders (nPMRs) face limitations in customizing advertising delivery due to cost-prohibitive resources, making it inefficient to target individual subscribers or small groups with tailored advertising.

Innovation Solution

A content server that breaks program content into segments, stores advertisements as separate segments, and generates composite association indicia to dynamically select and deliver targeted advertising based on subscriber information, allowing for flexible advertising plans without storing multiple combinations of program and advertising segments.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If advertising is customized for individual subscribers or small groups, then advertising effectiveness is improved, but network resource consumption increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveadvertising customizationVSAvoidnetwork resource consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments program content into discrete program segments and advertising into separate advertising segments. This segmentation allows the system to selectively assemble different combinations of program and advertising segments for different subscribers without storing multiple complete versions of the same program, thereby reducing network resource consumption while maintaining advertising customization capability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent implements dynamic advertising insertion where the content server dynamically selects and inserts appropriate advertising segments into program segments at runtime based on subscriber profiles, preferences, and real-time conditions. This dynamic approach eliminates the need to pre-store multiple fixed advertising versions, optimizing network resource usage while achieving personalized advertising delivery.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

2Measurement precision

If multiple combinations of program and advertising segments are stored for different subscribers, then advertising targeting accuracy is improved, but storage requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveadvertising targeting accuracyVSAvoidstorage requirements

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent divides both program content and advertising content into separate, independently stored segments. Program segments are stored once, and advertising segments are stored separately in an advertising library. This segmentation enables the system to achieve precise advertising targeting by selectively combining segments at delivery time without storing multiple complete program versions with different advertising for each subscriber group.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates virtual copies of advertising combinations through dynamic assembly rather than physical storage. The content server generates customized advertising combinations on-demand by selecting appropriate advertising segments from the library and inserting them into program segments, eliminating the need to store multiple physical copies of the same program with different advertising.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

3Adaptability or versatility

If advertising is inserted in real-time based on subscriber information, then advertising relevance is improved, but processing complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveadvertising relevanceVSAvoidprocessing complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs preliminary actions by pre-segmenting program content and pre-processing advertising content into standardized advertising segments with metadata describing their characteristics, target audiences, and insertion points. This preliminary preparation reduces real-time processing complexity while maintaining advertising relevance, as the content server only needs to select and assemble pre-processed segments rather than creating advertising from scratch at delivery time.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces an advertising library as an intermediary component that stores pre-processed advertising segments and provides them to the content server. This intermediary structure simplifies the overall system architecture by separating advertising storage, processing, and delivery functions, making the real-time advertising insertion process more manageable while maintaining high advertising relevance.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentUS8645990B2Dynamic advertising control

Publication Date: 2014.02.04 CIENA CORP

AI summary

Subscribers request programs from a network based content server and view the requested programs via their customer equipment. The content server receives various programs and breaks the program content for each program into a sequence of program segments, which are logically linked by program association indicia. The content server also receives advertisements and stores the advertisements as advertising segments, which generally contain at least one complete advertisement, but the invention is not limited thereto. Upon receiving a program request from a subscriber, the content server will identify advertising segments to provide along with the program segments for the requested program, and where to place the advertising segments among the program segments. Next, the content server will generate composite association indicia identifying the sequence of program and advertising segments, and effect delivery of the program and advertising segments to the subscriber in the sequence defined by the composite association indicia.