Broadcast monitoring system and method
According to an aspect of the present invention, a communications environment including a local client/hub for monitoring, tracking, and reporting of unsold advertising inventory information. The unsold advertising inventory information is identified by a particular identifier (the “unsold identifier”). The local client/hub monitors unsold advertising inventory information related to the unsold identifier and forwards that unsold advertising inventory information to a data recorder. The unsold advertising inventory information includes the audio file, the radio station upon which the radio advertisement or program was broadcast, whether the advertisement or program was broadcast or not, the time and date the radio advertisement or program was broadcast, and other information. The data recorder passes the unsold advertising inventory information for each advertising and programming campaign to a web server where the unsold advertising inventory information is accessible over the Internet. In this manner, a subscriber may connect to the web server over the Internet and request a report on the broadcast of the advertising or program campaign. According to another aspect of the present invention, a communications environment includes a local client/hub for monitoring, tracking, and reporting on the verification of broadcast information in response to the delivery of radio advertising and radio programming. The advertising or programming campaign is identified by a particular audio file (the “campaign identifier”). The local client/hub monitors verification of broadcast information related to the campaign identifier and forwards that verification of broadcast information to a data recorder. The verification of broadcast information includes the audio file, the radio station upon which the radio advertisement or program was broadcast, whether the advertisement or program was broadcast or not, the time and date the radio advertisement or program was broadcast, and other information. The data recorder passes the verification of broadcast information for each advertising and programming campaign to a web server where the verification of broadcast information is accessible over the Internet. In this manner, a subscriber may connect to the web server over the Internet and request a report on the broadcast of the advertising or program campaign.
1 . A system for monitoring and reporting unsold advertising inventory information, comprising:
a local client hub for transmitting advertising inventory information, and for forwarding the advertising inventory information;
a data recorder for receiving the forwarded advertising inventory information, wherein the data recorder parses unsold station inventory information from the advertising inventory information, and makes the unsold station information available for further processing.
2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the advertising inventory information includes station information.
3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the unsold advertising inventory information includes format information selected as at least one of the group consisting of country, rock, pop, and jazz.
4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the advertising inventory information includes an associated indicator that denotes inventory as preemptable.
5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the advertising inventory information includes an indicator that denotes inventory as preemptable.
6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the advertising inventory information includes an indicator that denotes unsold advertising inventory as accepting a cost-per-spot advertisement.
7 . The system of claim 6 , wherein the unsold advertising inventory information includes indication of the minimum cost-per-spot that the unsold advertising inventory will accept.
8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the advertising inventory information includes an indicator that denotes unsold advertising inventory as accepting a direct response advertisement.
9 . The system of claim 8 , wherein direct response advertisement includes a cost-per-call advertisement.
10 . The system of claim 8 , wherein direct response advertisement includes a cost-per-inquiry advertisement.
11 . The system of claim 8 , wherein direct response advertisement includes a cost-per-sale advertisement.
12 . The system of claim 8 , wherein direct response advertisement includes a cost-per-transaction advertisement.
13 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the unsold advertising inventory includes radio preemptable advertisements.
14 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the unsold advertising inventory includes open inventory.
15 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the unsold advertising inventory includes non-paid advertisements.
16 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the unsold advertising inventory includes in-house promotional advertisements.
17 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the unsold advertising inventory includes public service announcements.
18 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the advertising inventory information includes an indication of when the unsold advertising inventory is scheduled to broadcast.
19 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the advertising inventory information includes an indication of when the unsold advertising inventory will expire.
20 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the advertising inventory information includes a duration indicating the length of the unsold advertising inventory.
21 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the data recorder is further configured to forward the unsold advertising inventory information to the web server upon posting of a programming schedule.
22 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the data recorder is further configured to forward the unsold advertising inventory information to the web server upon a fixed time schedule.
23 . The system of claim 22 , wherein the specified time interval is less than monthly.
24 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the data recorder is further configured to forward the unsold advertising inventory information to the web server upon a client or server side event.
25 . The system of claim 24 , wherein the specified time interval is less than daily.
26 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the system operates over a wide area network.
27 . The system of claim 26 , wherein the wide area network is the Internet.
28 . The system of claim 27 , wherein a web server is further configured to formulate a report based on the unsold advertising inventory information at predetermined time intervals.
29 . The system of claim 28 , wherein the web server is further configured to formulate a report based on the unsold advertising inventory information in response to a triggering event.
30 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the unsold advertising inventory information is collected from a radio station ad trafficking system.
31 . The system of claim 30 , wherein the radio station ad trafficking system is a Wicks Broadcasting system.
32 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the unsold advertising inventory information is collected from a radio station program trafficking system.
33 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the unsold advertising inventory information is collected from a radio station automation system.
34 . The system of claim 33 , wherein the radio station automation system is a Scott Studios' system.
35 . The system of claim 33 , wherein the radio station automation system is an ENCO system.
36 . The system of claim 33 , wherein the radio station automation system is a RCS system.
37 . The system of claim 33 , wherein the radio station automation system is a Prophet Systems system.
38 . The system of claim 33 , wherein the radio station automation system is an AudioVault system.
39 . The system of claim 33 , wherein the radio station automation system is a Broadcast Software International system.
40 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the unsold advertising inventory information is published by a station manually.
41 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the unsold advertising inventory information is published by a station automatically.
42 . A method of reporting the unsold advertising inventory using a local hub, comprising:
accumulating unsold advertising inventory information associated with a radio station;
in response to a request for a report, formulating the report based on the accumulated unsold advertising inventory information for the selected radio station;
formatting the report for transmission over the Internet; and
transmitting the formatted report over the Internet to an entity or system.
43 . The method of claim 42 , wherein the accumulating occurs substantially continuously and the report includes the last unsold advertising inventory information accumulated.
44 . The method of claim 42 , wherein the formatting the report comprises converting the report to a HyperText Markup Language readable by a web browser.
45 . The method of claim 42 , wherein the formatting the report comprises converting the report Extensible Markup Language (XML).
46 . The method of claim 42 , wherein the report comprises a listing of the unsold advertising inventory that is preemptable.
47 . The method of claim 42 , wherein the report comprises a listing of the unsold advertising inventory that will accept a cost-per-spot advertisement.
48 . The method of claim 42 , wherein the unsold advertising inventory information is accumulated in a campaign database stored on a web server accessible over the Internet.
49 . The method of claim 48 , wherein the formulating the report comprises accessing the campaign database to retrieve the unsold advertising inventory information associated with the selected radio station or radio format and tabulating the unsold advertising inventory information in accordance with the request for the report.
50 . The method of claim 42 , wherein the report comprises a listing of the unsold advertising inventory that will accept a direct response advertisement.
51 . The method of claim 50 , wherein direct response advertisement includes a cost-per-call advertisement.
52 . The method of claim 50 , wherein direct response advertisement includes a cost-per-inquiry advertisement.
53 . The method of claim 50 , wherein direct response advertisement includes a cost-per-sale advertisement.
54 . The method of claim 50 , wherein direct response advertisement includes a cost-per-transaction advertisement.
55 . The method of claim 42 , wherein the report comprises a listing of radio stations with unsold advertising inventory.
56 . The method of claim 42 , wherein the unsold advertising inventory includes radio preemptable advertisements.
57 . The method of claim 42 , wherein the unsold advertising inventory includes open inventory.
58 . The method of claim 42 , wherein the unsold advertising inventory includes non-paid advertisements.
59 . The method of claim 42 , wherein the report comprises geographical data associated with unsold advertising inventory.
60 . The method of claim 42 , wherein the report comprises station format information associated with unsold advertising inventory.
61 . The method of claim 42 , wherein the report comprises audience demographic information associated with unsold advertising inventory.
62 . The method of claim 42 , wherein the report comprises time slot performance data information associated with unsold advertising inventory.
63 . The method of claim 42 , wherein the formatted report is transmitted over the Internet as electronic mail.
64 . A method of reporting the unsold advertising inventory information of radio stations using a local hub, comprising:
monitoring unsold advertising inventory information associated with a selected radio station;
in response to the occurrence of a triggering event, generating an alert associated with the unsold advertising inventory information; and
transmitting the alert to an entity or system.
65 . The method of claim 64 , wherein the triggering event includes a scheduled but failed broadcast of an advertisement or program.
66 . The method of claim 64 , wherein the triggering event includes a successful broadcast of an advertisement or program.
67 . The method of claim 64 , wherein transmitting the alert comprises issuing a paging message to the entity associated with the advertising or program campaign.
68 . A system for monitoring and reporting the verification of broadcast of radio advertising identified by a campaign identifier, comprising:
a local hub for transmitting verification of broadcast information of radio advertising, and verification of broadcast information to a data recorder;
the data recorder for storing the verification of broadcast information and parsing campaign information from the verification of broadcast information, the campaign information comprising radio advertising or radio programming information associated with a broadcast event to the campaign identifier, wherein the data recorder forwards the verification of broadcast information to a web server;
the web server for accumulating the verification of broadcast information and forwarding the verification of broadcast information over a wide area network in response to a request for the verification of broadcast information associated with the campaign identifier.
69 . The system of claim 68 , wherein the verification of broadcast information includes an audio file associated with the campaign identifier.
70 . The system of claim 68 , wherein the verification of broadcast information includes an advertising campaign name associated with the campaign identifier.
71 . The system of claim 68 , wherein the verification of broadcast information includes the scheduled time of play, the actual play time, and the duration of the advertising campaign associated with the campaign identifier.
72 . The system of claim 68 , wherein the verification of broadcast information is collected from a radio station automation system.
73 . The system of claim 72 , wherein the radio station automation system is a Scott Studios' system.
74 . The system of claim 72 , wherein the radio station automation system is an ENCO system.
75 . The system of claim 72 , wherein the radio station automation system is a RCS system.
76 . The system of claim 72 , wherein the radio station automation system is a Prophet Systems system.
77 . The system of claim 72 , wherein the radio station automation system is an AudioVault system.
78 . The system of claim 72 , wherein the radio station automation system is a Broadcast Software International system.
79 . The system of claim 68 , wherein the verification of broadcast information is collected from a radio station ad trafficking system.
80 . The system of claim 79 , wherein the radio station ad trafficking system is a Wicks Broadcasting system.
81 . The system of claim 68 , wherein the broadcast information includes information on a radio advertisement.
82 . The system of claim 68 , wherein the broadcast information includes information on a syndicated radio advertisement.
83 . The system of claim 68 , wherein the verification of broadcast information includes indication that the radio advertisement was scheduled to, but failed to broadcast.
84 . The system of claim 68 , wherein the transmittal of information is performed in a store and forward manner.
85 . The system of claim 68 , wherein the verification of broadcast information includes indication that the radio advertisement or radio program was scheduled to broadcast over the air.
86 . The system of claim 68 , wherein the verification of broadcast information includes an indication that the radio advertisement or radio program successfully was delivered to the transmitter for subsequent broadcast.
87 . The system of claim 68 , wherein the verification of broadcast information includes a date and time of day that the radio advertisement was broadcast.
88 . The system of claim 68 , wherein the verification of broadcast information includes a duration indicating the length of time the radio advertisement was broadcast over the air.
89 . The system of claim 68 , wherein the data recorder is further configured to forward the campaign information to the web server upon the completion of the radio advertisement or radio program broadcast.
90 . The system of claim 68 , wherein the data recorder is further configured to forward the campaign information to the web server upon the initiation of the radio advertisement or radio program broadcast.
91 . The system of claim 68 , wherein the data recorder is further configured to forward the campaign information to the web server at a specified time interval.
92 . The system of claim 91 , wherein the specified time interval is less than monthly.
93 . The system of claim 92 , wherein the specified time interval is less than daily.
94 . The system of claim 68 , wherein the web server is further configured to formulate a report based on the campaign information in response to the request for the campaign information.
95 . The system of claim 94 , wherein the report comprises a listing of radio advertisements that successfully were delivered to the transmitter for subsequent broadcast over the air.
96 . The system of claim 94 , wherein the report comprises a listing of radio advertisements that were scheduled to, but failed to be delivered to the transmitter for subsequent broadcast over the air.
97 . The system of claim 68 , wherein the wide area network is the Internet.
98 . The system of claim 68 , wherein the web server is further configured to formulate a report based on the campaign information at predetermined time intervals.
99 . The system of claim 68 , wherein the web server is further configured to formulate a report based on the campaign information in response to a triggering event.
100 . A method of reporting the broadcast of radio advertising and radio programming using a local hub, comprising:
monitoring verification of broadcast information associated with a selected radio advertisement;
in response to the occurrence of a triggering event, generating an alert associated with the verification of broadcast information; and
transmitting the alert to an entity associated with the advertising campaign.
101 . The method of claim 100 , wherein the triggering event includes a scheduled but failed broadcast of an advertisement.
102 . The method of claim 100 , wherein the triggering event includes a successful broadcast of an advertisement.
103 . The method of claim 100 , wherein the triggering event includes a successful initiation of broadcast of an advertisement.
104 . The method of claim 100 , wherein transmitting the alert comprises issuing a paging message to the entity associated with the advertising or program campaign.