Systems and methods for targeted advertisement delivery

Abstract

In one aspect, a computing apparatus is configured to receive a request for a profile to customize information for presentation to a user identified in the request and, responsive to the request identifying the user, provide the profile that is generated based on transaction data of the user. The profile summarizes the transaction data of the user using a plurality of values representing aggregated spending in various areas. The information includes an advertisement selected, prioritized, adjusted, or generated based on the profile. The advertisement includes at least an offer, such as a discount, incentive, reward, coupon, gift, cash back, benefit, product, or service.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer-implemented method, comprising:
 determining, by a computing apparatus, an identifier of a user to whom information is to be presented;   transmitting, by the computing apparatus, a request for a profile to a portal, the request including the identifier of the user;   receiving, by the computing apparatus, the profile from the portal, the profile generated based on transaction data of the user, the profile including a plurality of factor values and a plurality of cluster identifiers, wherein the factor values and the cluster identifiers summarize spending of the user aggregated in various merchant categories in relation with spending of a set of users; and   customizing, by the computing apparatus, the information to be presented to the user based on the profile.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the factor values are computed based on factor definitions determined from a factor analysis of a plurality of variables. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the factor analysis is based on transactions of a plurality of users. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the variables aggregate the transactions of the plurality of users according to merchant categories. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the variables include spending frequency variables and spending amount variables. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the profile is calculated prior to the request and selected from a plurality of profiles based on the request identifying the user. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the profile is computed via:
 identifying payment transactions of the user based on the request identifying the user; and   applying factor definitions and cluster definitions to the payment transactions of the user to generate the profile of the user, wherein the factor definitions and cluster definitions are determined based on payment transactions of a plurality of users.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein transactions processed by the transaction handler are classified in a plurality of merchant categories; and the factor definitions combine the plurality of merchant categories to summarize aggregated spending in the plurality of merchant categories. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein each of the plurality of factor values indicates a level of aggregated spending of the user in an area. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the user is identified via an internet protocol address; and an account identifier of the user is determined based on the internet protocol address to determine the profile of the user. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 storing account data including a street address of the user;   mapping the internet protocol address to a street address of a computing device; and   identifying the account identifier of the user based on matching the street address of the computing device and the street address of the user stored in the account data.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the user is identified via an identifier of a browser cookie associated with the user. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 presenting to the user information customized in accordance with the profile.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the information customized in accordance with the profile comprises an advertisement selected, prioritized, adjusted, or generated based on the profile. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the advertisement comprises at least an offer selected from the group consisting of: discount, incentive, reward, coupon, gift, cash back, benefit, product, and service. 
     
     
         16 . A non-transitory computer storage medium storing instructions configured to instruct a computer apparatus to at least:
 determine, by the computing apparatus, an identifier of a user to whom information is to be presented;   transmit, by the computing apparatus, a request for a profile to a portal, the request including the identifier of the user;   receive, by the computing apparatus, the profile from the portal, the profile generated based on transaction data of the user, the profile including a plurality of factor values and a plurality of cluster identifiers, wherein the factor values and the cluster identifiers summarize spending of the user aggregated in various merchant categories in relation with spending of a set of users; and   customize, by the computing apparatus, the information to be presented to the user based on the profile.   
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory computer storage medium of  claim 1 , wherein the factor values are computed based on factor definitions determined from a factor analysis of a plurality of variables. 
     
     
         18 . A computing apparatus, comprising:
 at least one processor; and   memory storing instructions configured to instruct the at least one processor to at least:
 determine, by the computing apparatus, an identifier of a user to whom information is to be presented; 
 transmit, by the computing apparatus, a request for a profile to a portal, the request including the identifier of the user; 
 receive, by the computing apparatus, the profile from the portal, the profile generated based on transaction data of the user, the profile including a plurality of factor values and a plurality of cluster identifiers, wherein the factor values and the cluster identifiers summarize spending of the user aggregated in various merchant categories in relation with spending of a set of users; and 
 customize, by the computing apparatus, the information to be presented to the user based on the profile. 
   
     
     
         19 . The computing apparatus of  claim 18 , wherein the instructions are further configured to instruct the at least one processor to:
 providing information customized according to the profile for presentation to the user.   
     
     
         20 . The computing apparatus of  claim 18 , wherein the factor values are determined based on factor definitions computed from payment transactions of a plurality of users; and transactions of user are aggregated according to merchant categories for conversion to the factor values according to the factor definitions.