Audio Advertising

Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer program products, in which an indication of a telephone call being placed from a calling number is received, and a determination is made of an audio advertisement to play based on the calling number. The audio advertisement is played based on the determination.

1 . A computer-implemented method, comprising:
 determining that a calling party is being placed on hold during a telephone call;   in response to determining that the calling party is being placed on hold during the telephone call, conducting an auction for selection of a content item to be presented to the calling party, wherein each content item is associated with a bid;   selecting a first content item based at least in part on a result of the auction;   presenting at least a portion of the first content item for a period of time while the calling party is on hold; and   updating a number of times the first content item was delivered.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the selected content item is an audio advertisement. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the bid represents an amount a content sponsor associated with an content item is willing to pay each time the content item is presented. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 updating a listen-through rate of the first content item, wherein the listen-through rate is a measure of a number of times the first content item was played for at least a threshold time period divided by a measure of a number of times the first content item was delivered.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the threshold time period is measured from a beginning of the content item to a time when the calling party is taken off hold. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein selecting a first content item is based at least in part on a category of advertisements associated with the called party. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein selecting the first content item comprises socially targeting the first advertisement based on the calling party. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein presenting the first content item prior to a called party answering the telephone call comprises:
 playing the first content item as at least one of a ringback tone, a call waiting tone, or a hold tone.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining a portion of the first content item that has been presented; and   charging a content sponsor associated with the first content item an amount based on the portion.   
     
     
         10 . A system comprising:
 one or more computers and one or more storage devices storing instructions that are operable, when executed by the one or more computers, to cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising:   determining that a calling party is being placed on hold during a telephone call;   in response to determining that the calling party is being placed on hold during the telephone call, conducting an auction for selection of a content item to be presented to the calling party, wherein each content item is associated with a bid;   selecting a first content item based at least in part on a result of the auction;   presenting at least a portion of the first content item for a period of time while the calling party is on hold; and   updating a number of times the first content item was delivered.   
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the selected content item is an audio advertisement. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the bid represents an amount a content sponsor associated with an content item is willing to pay each time the content item is presented. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 updating a listen-through rate of the first content item, wherein the listen-through rate is a measure of a number of times the first content item was played for at least a threshold time period divided by a measure of a number of times the first content item was delivered.   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the threshold time period is measured from a beginning of the content item to a time when the calling party is taken off hold. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein selecting a first content item is based at least in part on a category of advertisements associated with the called party. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein selecting the first content item comprises socially targeting the first advertisement based on the calling party. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein presenting the first content item prior to a called party answering the telephone call comprises:
 playing the first content item as at least one of a ringback tone, a call waiting tone, or a hold tone.   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 determining a portion of the first content item that has been presented; and   charging a content sponsor associated with the first content item an amount based on the portion.   
     
     
         19 . A computer program product, encoded on one or more non-transitory computer storage media, comprising instructions that when executed by one or more computers cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising:
 determining that a calling party is being placed on hold during a telephone call;   in response to determining that the calling party is being placed on hold during the telephone call, conducting an auction for selection of a content item to be presented to the calling party, wherein each content item is associated with a bid;   selecting a first content item based at least in part on a result of the auction;   presenting at least a portion of the first content item for a period of time while the calling party is on hold; and   updating a number of times the first content item was delivered.   
     
     
         20 . The computer program product of  claim 19 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 updating a listen-through rate of the first content item, wherein the listen-through rate is a measure of a number of times the first content item was played for at least a threshold time period divided by a measure of a number of times the first content item was delivered.