METHOD AND COMPUTING DEVICE FOR OPTIMIZING PLACEMENT OF DIGITAL SIGNAGE CONTENT BASED ON AUDIENCE SEGMENTS

1 . A method for optimizing placement of digital signage content based on audience segments of digital signage display units, the method comprising

storing in a memory of a computing device audience segments of digital signage display units;

receiving by the computing device characteristics of a digital signage content from a customer user interface;

processing by a processing unit of the computing device characteristics of the digital signage content and the plurality of audience segments to identify potential placements for the digital signage content based on the digital signage characteristics;

transmitting the potential placements for the digital signage content to the customer user interface;

receiving by the computing device bids for the potential placements for the digital signage content from the customer user interface; and

processing the bids for the potential placements to identify optimized placements for the digital signage content based on the characteristics of the digital signage content and bids received.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the audience segment comprises at least one of the following: data related to a gender of the audience, data related to an age range of the audience, data related to a salary range of the audience, data related to a profession of the audience, data related to a domain of interest of the audience, and data related to a geographical area where the corresponding particular digital signage display unit is located.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the audience segments corresponds to a plurality of digital signage display units located in a same geographical area.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the characteristics of the digital signage content comprise at least one of the following: a target gender, a target age range, a target salary range, a target profession, a target domain of interest, and a target geographical area.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein a monetary value is determined for each of the plurality of audience segments by the processing unit of the computing device, the monetary value of a specific audience segment being determined based on a level of accuracy of the specific audience segment, the monetary value being higher for a higher level of accuracy and lower for a lower level of accuracy.

6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the selection of the at least one target audience segment further takes into consideration a budget, the monetary value of each audience segment, and a strategy for optimizing placement of the digital signage content based on the budget and the monetary value of the audience segments.

7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the strategy for optimizing the budget consists in one of the following: selecting audience segments having a lower cost and a lower level of accuracy, and selecting audience segments having a higher cost and a higher level of accuracy.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the selection of the at least one target audience segment further takes into consideration requirements related to parameters of the digital signage units corresponding to the audience segments, the parameters including at least one of the following: a specific geometry of one or more screens of the digital signage display units, a specific area of the one or more screen where the digital signage content is to be displayed, time availabilities for displaying the digital signage content on the digital signage display units, and a personalization of a viewer level.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of audience segments is received via the communication interface of the computing device from at least one third party computing device which generates the plurality of audience segments.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of audience segments are generated by the processing unit of the computing device based on information received via the communication interface of the computing device from at least one third party computing device.

11 . A non-transitory computer program product comprising instructions deliverable via an electronically-readable media such as storage media and communication links, the instructions when executed by a processing unit of a computing device providing for optimizing placement of digital signage content based on audience segments of digital signage display units by:

storing in a memory of the computing device audience segments of digital signage display units;

receiving by the processing unit of the computing device characteristics of a digital signage content from a customer user interface;

processing by the processing unit of the computing device the characteristics of the digital signage content and the plurality of audience segments to identify potential placements for the digital signage content based on the digital signage characteristics;

transmitting the potential placements for the digital signage content to the customer user interface;

receiving by the computing device from the customer user interface bids for the potential placements for the digital signage content; and

processing the bids for to identify optimized placements for the digital signage content based on the characteristics of the digital signage content and bids received.

12 . A computing device adapted for optimizing placement of digital signage content based on audience segments associated to digital signage display units, the computing device comprising:

memory for storing a plurality of audience segments of digital signage display units;

at least one of a communication interface and a user interface for receiving characteristics of a digital signage content;

a processing unit for processing the characteristics of the digital signage content and the plurality of audience segments to identify potential placements of the digital signage content based on the digital signage characteristics, the processing unit further transmitting the potential placements for the digital signage content through the at least one communication interface, the processing unit receiving through the at least one communication interface bids for the potential placements for the digital signage content, and the processing unit identifying optimized placements based on the characteristics of the digital signage content and bids received.

13 . The computing device of claim 12 , wherein the audience segment comprises at least one of the following: data related to a gender of the audience, data related to an age range of the audience, data related to a salary range of the audience, data related to a profession of the audience, data related to a domain of interest of the audience, and data related to a geographical area where the corresponding particular digital signage display unit is located.

14 . The computing device of claim 12 , wherein the characteristics of the digital signage content comprise at least one of the following: a target gender, a target age range, a target salary range, a target profession, a target domain of interest, and a target geographical area.

15 . The computing device of claim 12 , wherein a monetary value is determined for each of the plurality of audience segments by the processing unit, the monetary value of a specific audience segment being determined based on a level of accuracy of the specific audience segment, the cost being higher for a higher level of accuracy and lower for a lower level of accuracy.

16 . The computing device of claim 15 , wherein the optimized placement of the digital signage content further takes into consideration a budget, the monetary value determined for each of the plurality of audience segments, and a strategy for optimizing the budget based on the monetary value of the audience segments.

17 . The computing device of claim 16 , wherein the optimized placement of the digital signage content comprises: selecting audience segments having a lower cost and a lower level of accuracy, and selecting audience segments having a higher cost and a higher level of accuracy.