Targeted television advertisements based on online behavior

What is this patent about?

’260 is related to the field of targeted advertising and cross-media content delivery. Specifically, it addresses the technical challenge of linking a user’s internet browsing behavior with their television viewing experience to deliver relevant commercials. The background context involves the shift toward personalized media, where advertisers seek to bridge the gap between the data-rich environment of web browsing and the high-impact environment of television without compromising user privacy through the collection of personally identifiable information.

The underlying idea behind ’260 is that a user’s home network acts as a natural bridge between disparate devices. By identifying a common IP address—the single point where a local network meets the public internet—the system can infer that a computer and a television set-top box belong to the same household. This insight allows the system to map online interests, such as searching for travel or insurance, to a specific television hardware endpoint without ever needing to know the user’s name, street address, or social security number.

The claims of ’260 focus on a method for electronically associating an online access IP address with a set-top box identifier based on their shared presence behind a common network gateway. The independent claims cover the automated process of receiving profile information derived from web activity at a specific IP, matching that IP to a previously associated set-top box, and selectively directing a targeted television advertisement to that specific box for presentation to the viewer.

In practice, the invention works by monitoring the dynamic IP addresses assigned to modems and routers. When a set-top box communicates with a central server, the server captures the originating IP address. Simultaneously, when a computer on the same network visits a participating website, that site reports the same IP address and the user’s activity. The system uses this IP-based association to route video advertisements to the set-top box, either for immediate streaming or for storage on a digital video recorder to be played back during a relevant program.

This approach differentiates itself from prior art by eliminating the need for shared login credentials or registration data to link devices. Unlike systems that rely on a single provider for both internet and television, this invention enables cross-media targeting even when the ISP and the cable provider are different entities. By utilizing non-personally-identifiable information and transient network identifiers, the system provides a privacy-compliant mechanism for advertisers to reach specific audiences across the two most dominant screens in the home.