Determining relative effectiveness of media content items

Abstract

The effectiveness of advertisements with respect to a group of panelists is measured. Based on the results of such analysis, advertisements and/or variants thereof are selected for presentation to consumers. Effectiveness of advertisements is measured, in one embodiment, by detecting exposure to advertisements, and then monitoring panelist behavior following exposure to an advertisement. In one embodiment, the group of panelists is a representative sample of a larger population, so that observations of panelist behavior can be used as a basis for making decisions regarding presentation of advertisements to a larger audience having characteristics similar to those of the panelists.Once the relative effectiveness for various audiences has been determined, advertisements can be selected for presentation to individual consumers or to groups of consumers, so as to maximize effectiveness. In one embodiment, such analysis and selection is performed substantially in real-time.

1 . (canceled) 
     
     
         2 . An apparatus comprising:
 a memory;   instructions in the apparatus; and   a processor to execute the instructions to:
 determine a first exposure of a first panelist to a first media based on a comparison of a first signature and reference signatures, the first signature determined by sampling ambient audio collected by a mobile computing device to identify first media having audio included in the ambient audio; 
 determine, based on a first correlation of a first Internet action with the first exposure to the first media, a first effectiveness score of the first media for a first demographic group of the first panelist; 
 determine a second exposure of a second panelist to a second media based on a comparison of a second signature and the reference signatures, the second signature determined by sampling the ambient audio to identify second media having audio included in the ambient audio; 
 determine, based on a second correlation of a second Internet action with the second exposure to the second media, a second effectiveness score of the second media for the first demographic group for the second panelist; 
 select the first media or the second media for presentation to a user belonging to the first demographic group based on a comparison of the first effectiveness score and the second effectiveness score; and 
 transmit the selected one of the first media or the second media for presentation to the user. 
   
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the user is not a panelist. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , further including the processor to:
 store a representation of the first effectiveness score and the second effectiveness score in a database; and   wherein selecting the first media or the second media for presentation to the user includes:
 retrieving a previously stored representation of the first effectiveness score of the first media and the second effectiveness score of the second media for the first demographic group of a plurality of panelists and 
 selecting the first media or the second media based on the previously stored representation of the first effectiveness score and the second effectiveness score. 
   
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , further including the processor to:
 monitor additional exposure of a third panelist of the first demographic group to the first media;   receive a notification of an Internet action performed by the third panelist;   correlate the Internet action with the exposure to the first media to determine an updated effectiveness score of the first media for the first demographic group; and   present the updated effectiveness score via an output device.   
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , further including the processor to:
 present the selected one of the first media or the second media via a first communication mechanism; and   transmit at least one of the first Internet action or the second Internet action in a communication via a second communication mechanism, the second communication mechanism different from the first communication mechanism.   
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the first media or the second media includes an advertisement. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the selecting of the first media or the second media is further based on at least one of a geographic location of the user, a purchase history of the user, or a stated preference of the user. 
     
     
         9 . A hardware computer-readable storage device comprising computer program code, encoded on the storage device, which when executed causes a processor to at least:
 determine a first exposure of a first panelist to a first media based on a comparison of a first signature and reference signatures, the first signature determined by sampling ambient audio collected by a mobile computing device to identify first media having audio included in the ambient audio;   determine, based on a first correlation of a first Internet action with the first exposure to the first media, a first effectiveness score of the first media for a first demographic group of the first panelist;   determine a second exposure of a second panelist to a second media based on a comparison of a second signature and the reference signatures, the second signature determined by sampling the ambient audio to identify second media having audio included in the ambient audio;   determine, based on a second correlation of a second Internet action with the second exposure to the second media, a second effectiveness score of the second media for the first demographic group for the second panelist;   select the first media or the second media for presentation to a user belonging to the first demographic group based on a comparison of the first effectiveness score and the second effectiveness score; and   transmit the selected one of the first media or the second media for presentation to the user.   
     
     
         10 . The hardware computer-readable storage device of  claim 9 , wherein the user is not a panelist. 
     
     
         11 . The hardware computer-readable storage device of  claim 9 , wherein the program code, when executed, causes the processor to:
 store a representation of the first effectiveness score and the second effectiveness score in a database; and   wherein selecting the first media or the second media for presentation to the user includes:
 retrieving a previously stored representation of the first effectiveness score of the first media and the second effectiveness score of the second media for the first demographic group for a plurality of panelists; and 
 selecting the first media or the second media based on the previously stored representation of the first effectiveness score and the second effectiveness score. 
   
     
     
         12 . The hardware computer-readable storage device of  claim 9 , wherein the program code, when executed, causes the processor to:
 monitor additional exposure of a third panelist of the first demographic group to the first media;   receive a notification of an Internet action performed by the third panelist;   correlate the Internet action with the exposure to the first media to determine an updated effectiveness score of the first media for the first demographic group; and   present the updated effectiveness score via an output device.   
     
     
         13 . The hardware computer-readable storage device of  claim 9 , wherein the program code, when executed, causes the processor to:
 present the selected one of the first media or the second media via a first communication mechanism; and   transmit at least one of the first Internet action or the second Internet action in a communication via a second communication mechanism, the second communication mechanism different from the first communication mechanism.   
     
     
         14 . The hardware computer-readable storage device of  claim 9 , wherein the first media or the second media includes an advertisement. 
     
     
         15 . A method comprising:
 determine a first exposure of a first panelist to a first media based on a comparison of a first signature and reference signatures, the first signature determined by sampling ambient audio collected by a mobile computing device to identify first media having audio included in the ambient audio;   determining, based on a first correlation of a first Internet action with the first exposure to the first media, a first effectiveness score of the first media for a first demographic group of the first panelist;   determine a second exposure of a second panelist to a second media based on a comparison of a second signature and the reference signatures, the second signature determined by sampling the ambient audio to identify second media having audio included in the ambient audio;   determining, based on a second correlation of a second Internet action with the second exposure to the second media, a second effectiveness score of the second media for the first demographic group for the second panelist;   selecting the first media or the second media for presentation to a user belonging to the first demographic group based on a comparison of the first effectiveness score and the second effectiveness score; and   electronically transmitting the selected one of the first media or the second media for presentation to the user.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the user is not a panelist. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the selecting of the first media or the second media is further based on at least one of a geographic location of the user, a purchase history of the user, or a stated preference of the user. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 15 , further including:
 storing a representation of the first effectiveness score and the second effectiveness score in a database; and   wherein selecting the first media or the second media for presentation to the user includes:   retrieving a previously stored representation of the first effectiveness score of the first media and the second effectiveness score of the second media for the first demographic group for a plurality of panelists; and   selecting the first media or the second media based on the previously stored representation of the first effectiveness score and the second effectiveness score.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 15 , further including:
 monitoring additional exposure of a third panelist of the first demographic group to the first media;   receiving a notification of an Internet action performed by the third panelist;   correlating the Internet action with the exposure to the first media to determine an updated effectiveness score of the first media for the first demographic group; and   presenting the updated effectiveness score via an output device.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 15 , further including:
 presenting the selected one of the first media or the second media via a first communication mechanism; and   transmitting at least one of the first Internet action or the second Internet action in a communication via a second communication mechanism, the second communication mechanism different from the first communication mechanism.   
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the first media or the second media includes an advertisement.