Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR GENERATING AN
ADVERTISING SCHEDULE
BACKGROUND
The invention relates generally to schedule management and, more particularly,
to a
system and method for generating an advertising schedule for use in one or
more
advertising mediums.
Many media companies in television, radio, print and the Internet generate
revenues
through advertising. The demand for advertising on television, radio, print or
the
Internet can be quite high because each type of media enables an advertiser to
broadcast commercial messages to targeted audiences. Accordingly, a media
company's allotted time or space for advertising can sell out quite rapidly.
For
instance, in television, some television networks can sell about 60%-80% of
their
prime advertising time, also known as billable content or billable time slots,
for a year
in a short two to three week period. The rest of the billable content is
typically sold
during the rest of the year on a quarterly basis.
A current approach to selling billable content is based on predicting the
show's
ratings, measured in terms of viewership ratings, before the airing of a
particular
show. Based on these predictions, a contract is formed between the broadcast
network and an advertiser. The contract generally outlines the terms and
conditions
including the cost to the advertiser and expectations for the total viewership
units to
be provided by the broadcast network. These contracts are used to schedule the
billable content for the shows, with a goal being to fulfill each contract by
the end of
the contractual term.
A number of outcomes typically determine the fulfillment of each contract from
the
perspective of the broadcast network. The scheduled advertising slots may
exactly
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meet the ratings prediction, which means that the cost was optimal and the
advertiser's
expectations were met. The scheduled advertising slots may not perform
satisfactorily in which case the network may have to allocate additional
advertising
slots in order to fulfill the contract. The scheduled advertising slots may
even
outperform the ratings prediction, in which case, the network could have
charged
more for the advertising slots, and has lost potential income. Finally, the
contract may
not even be met due to a lack of availability of advertising slots, which is
not a
desirable outcome.
Traditionally broadcasting systems have been built around "function driven
processes". That is, each process within the broadcast system is tailored to
meet: the
specific requirements associated with the functionality of a subsystem of the
broadcast
system. Function driven processes may include, for example, research, sales,
traffic,
on-air operations, and so forth. The research function may be associated with
a
research subsystem that determines projections regarding the viewership of a
particular show and measures trends or changes in demographics and ratings.
Similarly, the sales function may be associated with a sales planning
subsystem that
establishes the brand placement in a particular show as a function of the
ratings and
the contract information. The traffic function may be associated with a
traffic
subsystem that generates an advertisement schedule based upon expected ratings
and
contractual obligations.
The availability of information within the above subsystems is distributed
among a
number of functions and throughout different stages of the broadcast process.
In
addition, the function driven processes mentioned above, are domain specific
and may
not function in an integrated fashion. Optimization is generally possible only
within a
particular functional group rather than across the broadcast system as a
whole, leading
to a limited ability to efficiently plan, manage and place billable content
within a
broadcast schedule. This may result in a partitioning and isolation of
information
between the different function driven processes that comprise the broadcast
system
and may require manual intervention to enable a smooth process flow between
the
subsystems of such a system.
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For an efficient operation of a broadcast network, an integration of the
different
functions that comprise the broadcast network is therefore desirable. In
addition,
there is a need for a method and system for enabling the optimal placement of
billable
advertising slots within a broadcast schedule, by integrating the
functionality of the
different processes within the broadcast system in an efficient and timely
manner.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
Embodiments of the present invention address this and other needs. In one
embodiment, a method for generating an advertising schedule is provided. The
method comprises automatically generating an advertisement schedule based on
an
inventory of available advertising slots characterized by a projected audience
and one
or more scheduling criteria for each advertisement to be scheduled.
In a second embodiment, a system for generating an advertising schedule is
provided.
The system comprises a data source and one or more computers connected to the
data
source. The computers are configured to execute one or more applications
related to
the generation of an advertising schedule. The system further comprises a
network
connecting the one or more computers and the data source. The one or more
applications are executed on the one or more computers and interact with the
data
source to automatically generate the advertising schedule based on an
inventory of
available advertising slots characterized by a projected audience and one or
more
scheduling criteria for each advertisement to be scheduled.
In a third embodiment, a method for generating an advertising schedule is
provided.
The method comprises determining at least one of a viewing trend, an
advertising rate
or projected ratings for programming content to be delivered. Then, the method
comprises determining one or more scheduling criteria for one or more
advertisements
to be scheduled based on the viewing trend, the advertising rate or the
projected
ratings. Finally, the method comprises automatically generating an advertising
schedule based on the one or more scheduling criteria, an inventory of
available
advertising slots and/or the projected ratings.
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DRAWINGS
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention
will
become better understood when the following detailed description is read with
reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like
parts
throughout the drawings, wherein:
Fig. 1 is an exemplary illustration of a system for generating an advertising
schedule
in accordance with embodiments of the invention; and
Fig. 2 is a flowchart of exemplary logic including exemplary steps for
automatically
generating an advertising schedule in accordance with embodiments of the
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Fig. 1 is an exemplary illustration of a system for generating an advertising
schedule
in accordance with embodiments of the invention. In accordance with one
embodiment, and as will be described in greater detail below, the system 10 is
configured to automatically generate an advertisement schedule by integrating
one or
more diverse information sources associated with different broadcast
functions.
While the integration and use of such diverse, cross-function information to
automatically generate a schedule is one possibility, other cross-
functionality
applications, such as research, sales, accounting and so forth, may also
benefit from
the present technique. Therefore, though the automatic generation of an
advertising
schedule using the present data integration techniques is one example
discussed
herein, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that other
applications utilizing
data associated with different functions are contemplated and may be developed
in
accordance with the present technique.
In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, and as will be described
in
greater detail below, the system 10 for generating an advertising schedule is
based on
an inventory of available advertising slots characterized by a projected
audience and
one or more scheduling criteria for each advertisement to be scheduled. The
inventory of available advertising slots may be present on one or more
broadcast
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networks and/or one or more broadcast mediums (such as television, radio, the
Internet, and so forth). As used herein, the term "inventory" refers to a list
of
available advertising slots within a broadcast schedule, in which billable
content or
commercials are aired. Further, the projected audience may include television
viewers, radio listeners and Internet users and the scheduling criteria are
generated
based on a desired number of audience members having one or more desired
demographic attributes.
Referring to Fig. 1, the system 10 generally includes a data source 12, one or
more
computers 26, 28, 30, 32 and 34 connected to the data source 12 and a network
50
connecting the computers and the data source 12. In accordance with the
illustrated
embodiment, the computers 26, 28, 30, 32 and 34 may include personal
computers,
workstations, servers, mainframes, or any other suitable processor-based
system.
Further, the computers 26, 28, 30, 32 and 34 are configured to execute one or
more
applications related to the generation of the advertising schedule. The
applications
may include one or more function driven processes, such as research, sales,
traffic,
on-air operations and accounting, that contribute to the generation of an
advertisetnent
schedule within the system 10. In one embodiment, and as shown in Fig. 1, the
applications comprise a research application 14, a sales application 16, a
traffic
application 18, an on-air application 20 and an accounting application 22.
In accordance with an exemplary operation of the system 10, the research
application
14 determines performance projections for one or more shows that comprise the
aired
programming content within the broadcast schedule, in terms of the number of
viewers delivered for each show. In particular, and as shown in Fig. 1, the
research
application 14 determines viewing trends 38, advertising rates 40 and
projected
ratings 42 based on a set of show ratings 36 associated with the aired
programming
content 37. The programming content 37 may include television shows, radio
shows,
Internet web pages, or other forms of non-advertisement or primary content
which an
audience seeks out. The viewing trends 38 are determined based on the number
of
audience members having one or more desired demographic attributes that have
watched each airing of a particular show associated with the aired programming
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content over a period of time when such information is available. The viewing
trends
38 may also be determined based upon other viewership predictors, such as
focus
group or other research results, statistical models based on similar shows
and/or on
time and day variables, reviews and press coverage, and so forth. The
advertising rate
40 is the rate specified by an advertiser for a set of advertising slots over
a specified
duration of time. The projected ratings 42 for a show are determined based on
the
number of audience members having one or more desired demographic attributes
that
are expected to watch each airing of a particular show during a broadcast
period. The
projected ratings 42 for a particular show may also be determined based on
several
factors, such as, for example, a set of historical ratings 36 for a particular
show, the
competing shows on other networks, the performance of the adjacent shows in
the
program schedule and the historical viewing trends 38 for each show associated
with
the aired programming content.
The sales application 16 sells advertisement space to advertisers, based on a
negotiated delivery for a set of viewers at a specified rate. In a particular
embodiment, the sales application 16 determines a set of scheduling criteria
(often in
the form of contract terms) for each advertisement to be scheduled based on
the
viewing trends 38, the advertising rates 40 and the projected ratings 42
determined by
the research application 14. The scheduling criteria 48 may include a set of
advertising slots requested by an advertiser at a specified rate over a
specified
duration of time. The scheduling criteria 48 may also include a set of terms
and
conditions, such as, for example, the cost of allocating a set of advertising
slots
requested by the advertiser at the specified rate, the available number of
advertising
slots for sale and the expectations for the total viewership units for aired
programming
content within the broadcast schedule.
The traffic application 18 determines the placement of advertisements within
the
shows that comprise the broadcast schedule. The traffic application 18
automatically
generates the advertising schedule based on information generated by other
functional
groups. For example, in an exemplary embodiment, the scheduling criteria 48
(generated by the sales application 16), the inventory of available
advertising slots 46,
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the projected ratings 42 (generated by the research application 14) and the
programming content 37 may be utilized by the traffic application 18 to
generate a
schedule 44 which fulfills the scheduling criteria 48 in view of the other
information.
In an alternate embodiment, and as shown in Fig. 1, the traffic application 18
may
generate multiple advertising schedules (44a - 44n) for multiple broadcast
networks,
such as, for example, different television, radio, and Internet channels,
networks or
media.
A number of optimization algorithms may be used by the traffic application 18
to
determine the placement of advertisements within the shows that comprise the
broadcast schedule. Example of optimization algorithms that may be used by the
traffic application 18 can be found in co-pending U.S. Patent Application
Serial
Number 10/418,494 entitled "METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR SCHEDULING
BROADCAST COMMERCIAL VIDEOTAPES", filed on April 18, 2003 and co-
pending U.S. Patent Application Serial Number 10/389,303 entitled "METHODS
AND APPARATIS FOR SCHEDULING BROADCAST COMMERCIALS", filed on
March 14, 2003, both of which are assigned to the assignee of the present
application
and both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
The system 10 further comprises an on-air application 20 configured to
broadcast the
generated advertisement schedule 44 in conjunction with the program schedule.
In
one embodiment, the on-air application may broadcast the advertisement
schedules
(44a - 44n) to multiple broadcast networks. As will be appreciated by those of
ordinary skill in the art, the ratings 36 generated by airing the schedule 44
may be
provided to other functional groups, such as the research group, to perform
their
respective functions. An accounting application 22 may also be present and may
compare the actual ratings 36 with the scheduling criteria 48 to determine the
status of
any given contract as fulfilled or unfulfilled. This information may be used
to
optimize the fulfillment of the scheduling criteria and maximize the revenue
generated.
Furthermore, as will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art,
data
integration and/or centralization as described herein facilitates the feedback
and
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updating of commonly owned, used, or shared information. For example, such
integration allows for feedback within the system 10 that enables the update
of
information as new information (such as, new or updated contracts, new or
updated
inventory, or updated ratings) becomes available to the various functional
groups. In
one embodiment, and as shown in Fig. 1, the data source 12 enables the
constant
feedback and update of information within the various functional groups, by
centrally
managing the information shared by the various functional groups.
Fig. 2 is a flowchart of exemplary logic including steps for automatically
generating
an advertisement schedule 44 in accordance with embodiments of the invention.
As
shown in Fig. 2, in step 52, viewing trends 38, advertising rates 40 and
projected
ratings 42 for programming content to be aired are determined. As mentioned
above,
the viewing trends 38 are determined based on the number of audience members
having one or more desired demographic attributes that have watched each
airing of a
particular show associated with the aired programming content over a period of
time.
The advertising rate 40 is the rate specified by an advertiser for a set of
advertising
slots over a specified duration of time and the projected ratings 42 for a
show are
determined based on the number of audience members having one or more desired
demographic attributes that are expected to watch each airing of a particular
show
during a broadcast period.
In step 54, one or more scheduling criteria 48, such as contract terms, for
one or more
advertisements to be scheduled are determined based on the viewing trends 38,
the
advertising rate 40 and the projected ratings 42. As mentioned above, the
scheduling
criteria 48 may include a set of advertising slots requested by an advertiser
at a
specified rate over a specified duration of time and are generated based on a
desired
number of audience members having one or more desired demographic attributes.
In step 56, the advertising schedule 44 is automatically generated based on
the
scheduling criteria 48, an inventory of available advertising slots 46 and the
projected
ratings 42. As mentioned above, the inventory of available advertising slots
is on one
or more broadcast networks andlor broadcast mediums.
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In step 58, the generated advertisement schedule is broadcast in conjunction
with the
program schedule. In one embodiment, a plurality of advertising schedules for
a
plurality of broadcast networks is generated and broadcast.
In step 60, the actual program ratings 36 are compared with the scheduling
criteria 48,
such as contract terms, to determine if the criteria have been met. This
information
may be used to optimize the fulfillment of the scheduling criteria and
maximize the
revenue generated. As mentioned above, a feedback process enables the constant
update of information, as new information becomes available to the various
functional
groups, such as research, sales, traffic, on-air and accounting within the
broadcast
process. For example, in the depicted logic, determination of contract
fulfillment at
step 60 may in turn be used in subsequent iterations to determine upstream
criteria
such as advertising rates and/or other upstream criteria that contribute to
subsequent
contracts and, thereby, to subsequent schedules.
Embodiments of the invention offer several advantages including the ability to
monitor the various function driven processes that comprise the generation of
the
advertising schedule and integrate and/or centralize the data and information
from
each function. Further, information from any stage of the broadcast process
may be
accessible by any of the other function driven processes, such as sales,
research,
traffic, on-air and accounting. The integration of the information from the
different
stages of the broadcast process improves the sales and contract generation
process and
improves placement of inventory within the broadcast schedule. In addition,
the
system disclosed in accordance with embodiments of the present invention, is
capable
of scheduling advertisements across multiple broadcast networks and multiple
broadcast mediums in embodiments where the functional information for the
relevant
networks and/or media is integrated for the different functional groups, as
discussed
herein.
While only certain features of the invention have been illustrated and
described
herein, many modifications and changes will occur to those skilled in the art.
It is,
therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all
such
modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the invention.
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