Informed Holdout Segmentation for Ad Campaign Lift Accuracy

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current methods for selecting holdout groups in advertisement campaigns are unreliable due to random selection, leading to biased and erroneous lift calculations, as they do not account for variations in consumer purchasing behaviors and demographics, resulting in computational waste and inaccurate modeling of campaign performance.

Innovation Solution

The method involves segregating households into segments with similar purchasing behaviors, demographics, and responsiveness to advertising, using a consistent holdout ratio across segments to identify holdout groups, thereby ensuring accurate and balanced data for lift calculations.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If random selection is used to form holdout groups, then the selection process is simple and fast, but the accuracy of lift calculations deteriorates due to bias and erroneous results

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesimplicity of holdout group selectionVSAvoidaccuracy of lift calculations
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the consumer population into distinct groups based on purchasing behaviors, demographics, and advertising responsiveness. By dividing the population into homogeneous segments and forming holdout groups within each segment, the method ensures that holdout groups are representative and comparable to test groups, thereby improving the accuracy of lift calculations while maintaining operational feasibility through automated segmentation processes.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Measurement precision

If holdout group size is increased to improve representativeness, then the accuracy of lift calculations improves, but the reach of the advertisement campaign deteriorates because fewer consumers are exposed to the campaign

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveaccuracy of lift calculationsVSAvoidreach of advertisement campaign
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent resolves this contradiction by segmenting the population and forming holdout groups within each segment rather than using a single large holdout group. This allows the overall campaign to maintain high reach by exposing most consumers to the advertisement, while still ensuring accurate lift calculations through properly constituted holdout groups in each segment that are comparable to their respective test groups.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies different holdout ratios to different segments based on their specific characteristics. Rather than applying a uniform holdout ratio across all consumers, the method tailors the holdout group composition to each segment's purchasing behavior, demographics, and advertising responsiveness, thereby optimizing both accuracy and reach for each local segment while maintaining overall campaign effectiveness.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

3Productivity

If random selection is used for holdout groups, then the process requires minimal data processing, but computational waste occurs due to erroneous lift calculations requiring additional calculations to correct

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecomputational efficiencyVSAvoidcomputational waste
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs preliminary segmentation and holdout group formation based on purchasing behaviors, demographics, and advertising responsiveness before conducting lift calculations. By pre-establishing comparable holdout and test groups within each segment, the method prevents erroneous results that would require additional corrective calculations, thereby reducing computational waste and improving overall computational efficiency.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent incorporates feedback mechanisms where the segmentation and holdout group formation are optimized based on observed purchasing behaviors and advertising responsiveness. This feedback loop ensures that holdout groups are properly constituted from the beginning, preventing computational waste that would result from correcting erroneous lift calculations and improving the overall computational process.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

4Ease of operation

If holdout groups are formed without considering consumer characteristics, then the process is simple and quick, but the reliability of campaign performance modeling deteriorates due to biased data

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesimplicity of holdout group formationVSAvoidreliability of campaign performance modeling
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments consumers into homogeneous groups based on purchasing behaviors, demographics, and advertising responsiveness, then forms holdout groups within each segment. This segmentation approach ensures that holdout groups are representative and comparable to test groups, thereby improving the reliability of campaign performance modeling while maintaining operational simplicity through automated segmentation processes.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent forms holdout groups with specific local qualities tailored to each consumer segment's characteristics. By considering purchasing behaviors, demographics, and advertising responsiveness when forming holdout groups within each segment, the method ensures that holdout groups are comparable to their respective test groups, thereby improving the reliability of campaign performance modeling without significantly complicating the formation process.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentEP3776434B1Methods and apparatus to determine informed holdouts for an advertisement campaign
Publication Date: 2024.06.05 NC VENTURES LLC
  • EP3776434B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3776434B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3776434B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

Methods and apparatus are disclosed to determine informed holdouts for an advertisement campaign. An example storage medium includes instructions that, when executed, cause a machine to retrieve user identifiers associated with purchase instances; determine households that correspond to the user identifiers; identify a first and a second group type, the first group type exhibiting a first threshold of purchase behaviors, and the second group type exhibiting a second threshold of purchase behaviors; identify a first holdout group and a second holdout group, reduce computational lift calculation resource consumption by constraining the first holdout group to a first percentage, constraining the second holdout group to a second percentage, the first percentage equal to the second, the first and the second holdout groups are not to be exposed to an advertisement campaign; and determine a lift calculation for the advertisement campaign based on the first and the second holdout groups.