IP Library Granted Patent US 11,829,901
Granted Patent B2
US 11,829,901 · App. 16/011,194 · Granted Nov 28, 2023

Methods and apparatus to identify publisher advertising behavior

Inventors: Ronan Heffernan (Wesley Chapel, FL); Chad A. Hage (Clearwater, FL)
Assignee: The Nielsen Company (US), LLC
G06Q30/0205G06Q30/02G06Q30/0202G06Q30/0203G06Q30/0204G06Q30/0241G06Q30/0242G06Q30/0251G06Q30/0273G06Q30/0277
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,829,901
App. No.
16/011,194
Granted
Nov 28, 2023
Kind
B2
Abstract

Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture are disclosed to identify publisher advertising behavior. An example disclosed method includes initiating a first probing effort of an Internet publisher of interest to establish a baseline advertising ratio for a plurality of advertisers, determining a first advertising deviation based on a difference between the baseline advertising and a local advertising associated with a first geography of interest, and establishing a first probing frequency for the first geography of interest based on the first advertising deviation.

Claims (57)

1. An apparatus to probe an Internet publisher, the apparatus comprising:

a skew engine to determine a first advertising deviation of the Internet publisher based on a difference between a baseline advertising ratio and a local advertising ratio associated with a geography;

a probe interface to configure a first probing frequency at a network-connected server based on a comparison of the first advertising deviation to a first threshold, the network-connected server associated with the geography, the first probing frequency corresponding to probing efforts for the geography of the Internet publisher; and

a probe manager to re-configure the first probing frequency at the network-connected server by modifying the first probing frequency to a second probing frequency to manage the probing efforts for the geography in response to a difference between the first advertising deviation and a second advertising deviation of the Internet publisher satisfying a second threshold, the probe interface to transmit an instruction to the network-connected server to cause the network-connected server to perform the probing efforts at the second probing frequency.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the probe manager is to:

re-configure the first probing frequency by decreasing the first probing frequency to the second probing frequency to reduce computational probing waste in response to determining an advertising diversity decreased.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the baseline advertising ratio reflects a quantity of advertising space consumed on a website of the Internet publisher, the quantity of advertising space independent of the geography.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the geography is a first geography and further including a second geography, wherein the probe interface is to:

obtain data from a first server associated with the first geography; and

obtain data from a second server associated with the second geography, the probe interface to obtain data from the first and second servers via a network.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the probe interface is to cause at least one of the first server or the second server to navigate to a website of the Internet publisher.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the probe manager is to modify the first probing frequency to the second probing frequency in response to determining an advertising diversity increased.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the probe manager is to increase the first probing frequency to the second probing frequency based on a ratio of the first advertising deviation and the second advertising deviation.

8. A tangible machine readable storage medium comprising machine accessible instructions that, when executed, cause a machine to, at least:

determine a first advertising deviation of an Internet publisher based on a difference between a baseline advertising ratio and a local advertising ratio associated with a geography;

configure a first probing frequency at a network-connected server based on a comparison of the first advertising deviation to a first threshold, the network-connected server associated with the geography, the first probing frequency corresponding to a plurality of probing efforts for the geography of the Internet publisher;

re-configure the first probing frequency at the network-connected server by modifying the first probing frequency to a second probing frequency to manage the plurality of probing efforts for the geography in response to a difference between the first advertising deviation and a second advertising deviation of the Internet publisher satisfying a second threshold; and

transmit an instruction to the network-connected server to cause the network-connected server to perform the probing efforts at the second probing frequency.

9. The tangible machine readable storage medium of claim 8 , wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the machine to:

re-configure the first probing frequency by decreasing the first probing frequency to the second probing frequency to reduce computational probing waste in response to determining an advertising diversity decreased.

10. The tangible machine readable storage medium of claim 8 , wherein the baseline advertising ratio reflects a quantity of advertising space consumed on a website of the Internet publisher, the quantity of advertising space independent of the geography.

11. The tangible machine readable storage medium of claim 8 , wherein the geography is a first geography and further including a second geography, wherein the instructions, when executed, case the machine to:

obtain data from a first server associated with the first geography; and

obtain data from a second server associated with the second geography, the machine to obtain data from the first and second servers via a network.

12. The tangible machine readable storage medium of claim 11 , wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the machine to initiate instructions to cause at least one of the first server or the second server to navigate to a website of the Internet publisher.

13. The tangible machine readable storage medium of claim 8 , wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the machine to modify the first probing frequency to the second probing frequency in response to determining an advertising diversity increased.

14. The tangible machine readable storage medium of claim 8 , wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the machine to increase the first probing frequency to the second probing frequency based on a ratio of the first advertising deviation and the second advertising deviation.

15. A system to probe an Internet publisher, the system comprising:

means for determining a first advertising deviation of the Internet publisher based on a difference between a baseline advertising ratio and a local advertising ratio associated with a geography;

means for configuring a first probing frequency at a network-connected server based on a comparison of the first advertising deviation to a first threshold, the network-connected server associated with the geography, the first probing frequency corresponding to probing efforts for the geography of the Internet publisher; and

means for re-configuring the first probing frequency at the network-connected server by modifying the first probing frequency to a second probing frequency to manage the probing efforts for the geography in response to a difference between the first advertising deviation and a second advertising deviation of the Internet publisher satisfying a second threshold, the configuring means to transmit an instruction to the network-connected server to cause the network-connected server to perform the probing efforts at the second probing frequency.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein the re-configuring means is to:

re-configure the first probing frequency by decreasing the first probing frequency to the second probing frequency to reduce computational probing waste in response to determining an advertising diversity decreased.

17. The system of claim 15 , wherein the baseline advertising ratio reflects a quantity of advertising space consumed on a website of the Internet publisher, the quantity of advertising space independent of the geography.

18. The system of claim 15 , wherein the geography is a first geography and further including a second geography, wherein the configuring means is to:

obtain data from a first server associated with the first geography; and

obtain data from a second server associated with the second geography, the configuring means to obtain data from the first and second servers via a network.

19. The system of claim 18 , wherein the configuring means is to cause at least one of the first server or the second server to navigate to a website of the Internet publisher.

20. The system of claim 15 , wherein the re-configuring means is to modify the first probing frequency to the second probing frequency in response to determining an advertising diversity increased.

21. The system of claim 15 , wherein the re-configuring means is to increase the first probing frequency to the second probing frequency based on a ratio of the first advertising deviation and the second advertising deviation.

22. An apparatus comprising:

memory;

machine readable instructions; and

at least one processor to execute the machine readable instructions to:

determine a first advertising deviation of an Internet publisher based on a difference between a baseline advertising ratio and a local advertising ratio associated with a geography;

configure a first probing frequency at a network-connected server based on a comparison of the first advertising deviation to a first threshold, the network-connected server associated with the geography, the first probing frequency corresponding to probing efforts for the geography of the Internet publisher;

re-configure the first probing frequency at the network-connected server by modifying the first probing frequency to a second probing frequency to manage the probing efforts for the geography in response to a difference between the first advertising deviation and a second advertising deviation of the Internet publisher satisfying a second threshold; and

transmit an instruction to the network-connected server to cause the network-connected server to perform the probing efforts at the second probing frequency.

23. The apparatus of claim 22 , wherein the at least one processor is to execute the instructions to:

re-configure the first probing frequency by decreasing the first probing frequency to the second probing frequency to reduce computational probing waste in response to determining an advertising diversity decreased.

24. The apparatus of claim 22 , wherein the baseline advertising ratio reflects a quantity of advertising space consumed on a website of the Internet publisher, the quantity of advertising space independent of the geography.

25. The apparatus of claim 22 , wherein the geography is a first geography and further including a second geography, wherein the at least one processor is to execute the instructions to:

obtain data from a first server associated with the first geography via a network; and

obtain data from a second server associated with the second geography via the network.

26. The apparatus of claim 25 , wherein the at least one processor is to execute the instructions to cause at least one of the first server or the second server to navigate to a website of the Internet publisher.

27. The apparatus of claim 22 , wherein the at least one processor is to execute the instructions to modify the first probing frequency to the second probing frequency in response to determining an advertising diversity increased.

28. The apparatus of claim 22 , wherein the at least one processor is to execute the instructions to increase the first probing frequency to the second probing frequency based on a ratio of the first advertising deviation and the second advertising deviation.

Assignments (8)
RELEASE (REEL 054066 / FRAME 0064) Recorded May 11, 2023
From: CITIBANK, N.A.
To: GRACENOTE, INC.; A. C. NIELSEN COMPANY, LLC; EXELATE, INC.; GRACENOTE MEDIA SERVICES, LLC; THE NIELSEN COMPANY (US), LLC; NETRATINGS, LLC
Reel/Frame 063605/0001 →
RELEASE (REEL 053473 / FRAME 0001) Recorded May 11, 2023
From: CITIBANK, N.A.
To: A. C. NIELSEN COMPANY, LLC; EXELATE, INC.; GRACENOTE, INC.; GRACENOTE MEDIA SERVICES, LLC; THE NIELSEN COMPANY (US), LLC; NETRATINGS, LLC
Reel/Frame 063603/0001 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded May 8, 2023
From: GRACENOTE DIGITAL VENTURES, LLC; GRACENOTE MEDIA SERVICES, LLC; GRACENOTE, INC.; TNC (US) HOLDINGS, INC.; THE NIELSEN COMPANY (US), LLC
To: ARES CAPITAL CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 063574/0632 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Apr 28, 2023
From: GRACENOTE DIGITAL VENTURES, LLC; GRACENOTE MEDIA SERVICES, LLC; GRACENOTE, INC.; TNC (US) HOLDINGS, INC.; THE NIELSEN COMPANY (US), LLC
To: CITIBANK, N.A.
Reel/Frame 063561/0381 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Jan 31, 2023
From: GRACENOTE DIGITAL VENTURES, LLC; GRACENOTE MEDIA SERVICES, LLC; GRACENOTE, INC.; TNC (US) HOLDINGS, INC.; THE NIELSEN COMPANY (US), LLC
To: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A.
Reel/Frame 063560/0547 →
CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT TO CORRECT THE PATENTS LISTED ON SCHEDULE 1 RECORDED ON 6-9-2020 PREVIOUSLY RECORDED ON REEL 053473 FRAME 0001. ASSIGNOR(S) HEREBY CONFIRMS THE SUPPLEMENTAL IP SECURITY AGREEMENT. Recorded Oct 7, 2020
From: A.C. NIELSEN (ARGENTINA) S.A.; A.C. NIELSEN COMPANY, LLC; ACN HOLDINGS INC.; ACNIELSEN CORPORATION; ACNIELSEN ERATINGS.COM; AFFINNOVA, INC.; ART HOLDING, L.L.C.; ATHENIAN LEASING CORPORATION; CZT/ACN TRADEMARKS, L.L.C.; EXELATE, INC.; GRACENOTE, INC.; GRACENOTE DIGITAL VENTURES, LLC; GRACENOTE MEDIA SERVICES, LLC; NETRATINGS, LLC; NIELSEN AUDIO, INC.; NIELSEN CONSUMER INSIGHTS, INC.; NIELSEN CONSUMER NEUROSCIENCE, INC.; NIELSEN FINANCE CO.; NIELSEN FINANCE LLC; NIELSEN INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS, INC.; NIELSEN MOBILE, LLC; NMR INVESTING I, INC.; TCG DIVESTITURE INC.; TNC (US) HOLDINGS, INC.; THE NIELSEN COMPANY (US), LLC; VIZU CORPORATION; VNU MARKETING INFORMATION, INC.; NMR LICENSING ASSOCIATES, L.P.; NIELSEN HOLDING AND FINANCE B.V.; THE NIELSEN COMPANY B.V.; VNU INTERNATIONAL B.V.
To: CITIBANK, N.A
Reel/Frame 054066/0064 →
SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Jun 9, 2020
From: A. C. NIELSEN COMPANY, LLC; ACN HOLDINGS INC.; ACNIELSEN CORPORATION; ACNIELSEN ERATINGS.COM; AFFINNOVA, INC.; ART HOLDING, L.L.C.; ATHENIAN LEASING CORPORATION; CZT/ACN TRADEMARKS, L.L.C.; EXELATE, INC.; GRACENOTE, INC.; GRACENOTE DIGITAL VENTURES, LLC; GRACENOTE MEDIA SERVICES, LLC; NETRATINGS, LLC; NIELSEN AUDIO, INC.; NIELSEN CONSUMER INSIGHTS, INC.; NIELSEN CONSUMER NEUROSCIENCE, INC.; NIELSEN FINANCE CO.; NIELSEN FINANCE LLC; NIELSEN INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS, INC.; NIELSEN MOBILE, LLC; NIELSEN UK FINANCE I, LLC; NMR INVESTING I, INC.; TCG DIVESTITURE INC.; TNC (US) HOLDINGS, INC.; THE NIELSEN COMPANY (US), LLC; VIZU CORPORATION; VNU MARKETING INFORMATION, INC.; NMR LICENSING ASSOCIATES, L.P.; NIELSEN HOLDING AND FINANCE B.V.; THE NIELSEN COMPANY B.V.; VNU INTERNATIONAL B.V.
To: CITIBANK, N.A.
Reel/Frame 053473/0001 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jul 15, 2018
From: HEFFERNAN, RONAN; HAGE, CHAD A.
To: THE NIELSEN COMPANY (US), LLC
Reel/Frame 046354/0362 →