GB2568657A

GB2568657A - A valuation and indexing system

Info

Publication number: GB2568657A
Application number: GB1716370.0A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jeremy Flynn Michael
Original assignee: Datapowa Ltd
Current assignee: Datapowa Ltd
Priority date: 2017-10-06
Filing date: 2017-10-06
Publication date: 2019-05-29
Also published as: GB201716370D0

Abstract

A valuation and indexing system 100 uses robot modules 108,110,112,114 to harvest a set of data points relating to a sponsored or candidate sponsored entity, such as a sportsperson or an event, over a specified time period. A computer 102,104 is configured to process the harvested data points to provide a value index which is indicative of the performance of the sponsored or candidate sponsored entity relative to other comparable entities. The value index can then be communicated to a user, such as a sponsor, an entity or their agent or representative, to facilitate assessment of the entity in terms of past, present and/or predicted future performance. Preferably, a monetary value is associated with the value index. The invention may be used for more accurately assessing the commercial value of an entity when making sponsorship agreements. The robots can harvest data from sources such as television viewership statistics, social media, league tables, and websites.

Description

The present invention relates to a valuation and indexing system and, particularly but not exclusively, a valuation and indexing system and method for determining the monetary sponsorship value in a sports event, sports person or team of sports persons.

The practice of sponsoring sporting events, sports persons or team of sports person is widespread. In such arrangements, the sponsor typically pays a one-off, or regular ongoing, financial sum to the sponsored entity in return for advertising and / or endorsement of the sponsor’s products or services by the sponsored entity. The magnitude of the financial sum paid by the sponsor for such advertising / endorsement is typically based on an assessment of the financial and commercial value the sponsor will obtain during the sponsorship period as a result of such advertising / endorsement. These sums are typically agreed between the sponsor and the sponsored entity (or their agent). For example, a golf club manufacturer might have assessed the value in sponsoring a famous golfer to use their golf clubs at all major tournaments, and to appear in a prescribed number / stature of company television / online advertisements, as say £5 million per year. Whereas the golfer’s agent might have assessed the sponsorship value as say £7 million per year. Upon negotiation, a deal for say £6 million per year might be agreed.

However, when establishing such a sponsorship arrangement, and when any such arrangement reaches expiry / renewal it can be very difficult to accurately assess its commercial value. This is typically a problem for both the sponsor (who must ensure that they maximise the financial benefit obtained for a given sponsorship budget) and for the sponsored entity (whose agents will typically have a mandate to maximise the financial benefit to the sponsored entity by selecting sponsorship from the most lucrative sponsor).

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a valuation and indexing system comprising:

a plurality of robot modules for harvesting a set of data points relating to a sponsored or candidate sponsored entity; and a computer configured to process the harvested data points into a resultant value index which is indicative of the relative performance of the sponsored or candidate sponsored entity relative to other sponsored or candidate sponsored entities;

communicating said resultant value index to a user such that they may assess the sponsored or candidate sponsored entity past, present or assessed future performance.

Optionally, the valuation and indexing system further comprises the step of associating a monetary value with the resultant value index and communicating that to the user.

Optionally, the step of communicating said resultant value index may comprise communicating the resultant value index to either or both of a sponsor and / or sponsored entity or their representative.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of valuing and indexing a sponsored entity, the method comprising:

providing a plurality of robot modules and utilising said robot modules to harvest a set of data points relating to a sponsored entity;

processing said harvested data points on a computer in order to determine a resultant value index which is indicative of the relative performance of the sponsored or candidate sponsored entity relative to other sponsored or candidate sponsored entities;

communicating the resultant value index to a user such that they may assess the sponsored or candidate sponsored entity past, present or assessed future performance.

Further features and advantages of the aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the claims and the following description.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example only, with reference to the following diagrams, in which:Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a valuation and indexing system according to an embodiment of the invention; and

Fig. 2 is a block diagram of a computing system (either a server or client, or both, as appropriate), with optional input devices (e.g., keyboard, mouse, touch screen, etc.) and output devices, hardware, network connections, one or more processors, and memory/storage for data and modules, etc. which may be utilized in conjunction with embodiments of the present invention.

In the present application, the term sponsored entity” means any entity capable of being sponsored and includes, for example, sporting and non-sporting human and non-human individuals such as individual sport persons or athletes, animals, motor sport teams, vehicles etc. as well as one-off, regular or annual events such as football matches and music festivals etc.

Referring to Fig. 1, an exemplary system 100 is shown within which the present invention may be embodied. The system 100 includes a computer system comprising a first database server 102, second database server 104, and client device 106. Robots or bots” 108, 110, 112, 114 are provided and communicate with the second database server 104 via programming interface(s) 116. Web framework application(s) 118 are provided and communicate with the first database server 102 via programming interface 120.

The web framework(s) 118 and robots 108, 110, 112, 114 are connected to a network 122, such as the internet.

The first database server 102 may comprise a mongoDB” database such as that provided by MongoDB, Inc. of 229 W. 43rd Street, 5^th Floor, New York NY 10036, United States; however, it will be appreciated that many other database platforms may alternatively be utilised. This database may be utilised to store qualitative data on the sponsored or candidate sponsored entity.

The second database server 104 may comprise a Data Crawler” platform which continually updates based on information harvested by the robots 108, 110, 112, 114 as discussed subsequently; however, it will be appreciated that many other database platforms may alternatively be utilised.

The robots 108 - 114 may comprise a variety of different robots configured to harvest a variety of different data sets. For example, the robots 108 - 114 might be configured to harvest data from television, social media, website and search engine analytics, coach/manager information, historical performance league tables, sponsorship information, team websites, print, sports betting, demographic data and data reports etc. Many more robots which harvest many more streams of data from different sources may of course be provided in addition or instead of the four shown in the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 1.

The programming interface 116 which communicates the second server 104 and the robots 108 - 114 may be based on a Python programming language framework such as Scrapy” administered by Scrapinghub Ltd of Cuil Greine House, Ballincollig Commercial Park, Link Road, Ballincollig, Co. Cork, Ireland; however, it will be appreciated that many other programming language frameworks may alternatively be utilised.

The web frame work(s) 118 may comprise a number of different frameworks such as Python-based Django (administered by the Django Software Foundation), Java Script based Angular JS and / or Java Script based JSON; however, it will be appreciated that many other programming language frameworks may alternatively be utilised.

The programming interface 120 which communicates the web framework(s) 118 with the first database server 102 may utilise either Python or Java Script; however, it will be appreciated that many other programming language frameworks may alternatively be utilised.

In use, the robots 108 to 114 continually update their respective datasets by harvesting relevant data from the network / internet 122. The frequency of such harvesting of the network / internet 122 may be dependent upon the particular robot and its configuration. For example, social media, website and search engine robots might be configured to harvest such information every few minutes, or hours; however, TV data robots may be configured to harvest information of TV viewership statistics less regularly.

The system then combines any relevant qualitative data (created by a panel of experts) or historical data from the first database server 102 and any real-time” data sets stored in the second database server 104 (obtained from the robots 108 to 114) with one another in order to determine a resultant valuation index 124. When combining the data, an estimation of media reach on social media engagement and how that amplifies any brand associated with the sponsorship is conducted. This may involve utilising various data points to combine a measure of brand influence by followers on social media. The resultant index 124 is then communicated to the user via a client device 106 which allows the user to sort and filter sponsored entities and candidate sponsored entities by perceived past, present or predicted value.

This then allows users (whether they be sponsor, sponsored entity or agent) to see realtime and accurate valuations of a sponsored entity or candidate sponsored entity which takes account of the sponsored entity current performance, media exposure and hence perceived market value. The system also beneficially allows the data of the resultant index 124 to be filtered and processed in innovative ways. For example, a particular sponsor is able to filter results by budget and time period, and will immediately be presented with a list of potential sponsored entities fitting their criteria. In addition, a sponsor is able to instantly assess the value of their sponsorship portfolio and reassess any individual sponsorship arrangements at any time dependent upon a sponsored entity’s performance. Furthermore, a sponsored entity (or their agent) is able to assess and reassess their own value dependent upon performance and media exposure which may enable them to either demonstrate their past, ongoing and future value to the sponsor and / or negotiate improved sponsorship arrangements with existing or new sponsors.

The system of the above described invention therefore automatically places an up to date and accurate commercial / financial value on the sponsored entity. The system of the invention could therefore be used to automatically manage a sponsorship budget, switching and allocating said budget between entities based on performance and media exposure. Alternatively, the system may be configured to simply suggest the correct match between sponsor and sponsored entity and allow the parties to then more manually agree any sponsorship arrangement. This manual step supported by the system of the invention may be advantageous where the association between particular sponsors and sponsored entities is important. For example, certain sport stars might not wish to be sponsored by certain brands and certain brands might not wish to sponsor certain sport stars.

Figure 2 depicts a block diagram of computer system 200 suitable for implementing servers 102, 104, client 106, robots 108 - 114, programming interface 116, web framework(s) 118, and programming interface 120. Computer system 200 includes bus 202 which interconnects major subsystems of computer system 200, such as central processor 204, memory 206 (typically RAM, but which may also include ROM, flash RAM, or the like), input/output controller 208, network interface 210, audio device, such as speaker system 212 via audio output interface 214, display screen 216 via display adapter 218 and a Human Interface Device (HID) 220 via HID Controller 222.

Bus 202 allows data communication between central processor 204 and system memory 206, which may include read-only memory (ROM) or flash memory (neither shown), and random access memory (RAM) (not shown), as previously noted. RAM is generally the main memory into which operating system and application programs are loaded. ROM or flash memory may contain, among other software code, Basic Input-Output system (BIOS) which controls basic hardware operation such as interaction with peripheral components. Applications resident with computer system 200 are generally stored on and accessed via computer readable media, such as hard disk drives, optical drives or other storage medium. Additionally, applications may be in the form of electronic signals modulated in accordance with the application and data communication technology when accessed via network interface 210 or other telecommunications equipment (not shown).

Network interface 210 may provide direct connection to remote servers via direct network link to the Internet via a POP (point of presence). Network interface 210 may provide such connection using wireless techniques, including digital cellular telephone connection, Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD) connection, digital satellite data connection or the like.

Many other devices or subsystems (not shown) may be connected in a similar manner (e.g., document scanners, digital cameras and so on). Conversely, all of the devices shown in Fig. 2 need not be present to practice the present disclosure. Devices and subsystems may be interconnected in different ways from that shown in Fig. 2. Operation of a computer system such as that shown in Fig. 2 is readily known in the art and is not discussed in detail in this application. Software source and/or object codes to implement the present disclosure may be stored in computer-readable storage media such as one or more of system memory 204, fixed disk, optical disk or accessed via network interface 210. The operating system provided on computer system 200 may be a variety or version of either MS-DOS® (MS-DOS is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Washington), WINDOWS® (WINDOWS is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Washington), OS/2® (OS/2 is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation of Armonk, New York), UNIX® (UNIX is a registered trademark of X/Open Company Limited of Reading, United Kingdom), Linux® (Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds of Portland, Oregon), or other known or developed operating system. In some embodiments, computer system 200 may take the form of a tablet computer or other electronic device, such as a smartphone” or smart television, amongst other examples. In mobile, low power and entertainment computer alternative embodiments, the operating system may be iOS® (iOS is a registered trademark of Cisco Systems, Inc. of San Jose, California, used under license by Apple Corporation of Cupertino, California), Android® (Android is a trademark of Google Inc. of Mountain View, California), Blackberry® Tablet OS (Blackberry is a registered trademark of Research In Motion of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada), webOS (webOS is a trademark of Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. of Texas), and/or other suitable operating systems.

The detailed descriptions of this disclosure are presented in part in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bits within a computer memory representing alphanumeric characters or other information. A computer generally includes a processor for executing instructions and memory for storing instructions and data. When a general purpose computer has a series of machine encoded instructions stored in its memory, the computer operating on such encoded instructions may become a specific type of machine, namely a computer particularly configured to perform the operations embodied by the series of instructions. Some of the instructions may be adapted to produce signals that control operation of other machines and thus may operate through those control signals to transform materials far removed from the computer itself. These descriptions and representations are the means used by those skilled in the art of data processing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art.

An algorithm is here, and generally, conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of steps leading to a desired result. These steps are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic pulses or signals capable of being stored, transferred, transformed, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It proves convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, symbols, characters, display data, terms, numbers, or the like as a reference to the physical items or manifestations in which such signals are embodied or expressed. It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely used here as convenient labels applied to these quantities.

Some algorithms may use data structures for both inputting information and producing the desired result. Data structures greatly facilitate data management by data processing systems, and are not accessible except through sophisticated software systems. Data structures are not the information content of a memory, rather they represent specific electronic structural elements which impart or manifest a physical organization on the information stored in memory. More than mere abstraction, the data structures are specific electrical or magnetic structural elements in memory which simultaneously represent complex data accurately, often data modelling physical characteristics of related items, and provide increased efficiency in computer operation.

Further, the manipulations performed are often referred to in terms, such as comparing or adding, commonly associated with mental operations performed by a human operator. No such capability of a human operator is necessary, or desirable in most cases, in any of the operations described herein which form part of embodiments of the present invention; the operations are machine operations. Useful machines for performing the operations of one or more embodiments of the present invention include general purpose digital computers or other similar devices. In all cases the distinction between the method operations in operating a computer and the method of computation itself should be recognized. One or more embodiments of present invention relate to methods and apparatus for operating a computer in processing electrical or other (e.g., mechanical, chemical) physical signals to generate other desired physical manifestations or signals. The computer operates on software modules, which are collections of signals stored on a media that represents a series of machine instructions that enable the computer processor to perform the machine instructions that implement the algorithmic steps. Such machine instructions may be the actual computer code the processor interprets to implement the instructions, or alternatively may be a higher level coding of the instructions that is interpreted to obtain the actual computer code. The software module may also include a hardware component, wherein some aspects of the algorithm are performed by the circuitry itself rather as a result of an instruction.

Some embodiments of the present invention also relate to an apparatus for performing these operations. This apparatus may be specifically constructed for the required purposes or it may comprise a general purpose computer as selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer. The algorithms presented herein are not inherently related to any particular computer or other apparatus unless explicitly indicated as requiring particular hardware. In some cases, the computer programs may communicate or relate to other programs or equipment through signals configured to particular protocols which may or may not require specific hardware or programming to interact. In particular, various general purpose machines may be used with programs written in accordance with the teachings herein, or it may prove more convenient to construct more specialized apparatus to perform the required method steps. The required structure for a variety of these machines will appear from the description below.

In this description, several terms which are used frequently have specialized meanings in the present context.

The terms network, local area network, LAN, wide area network, or WAN mean two or more computers which are connected in such a manner that messages may be transmitted between the computers. In such computer networks, typically one or more computers operate as a server, a computer with large storage devices such as hard disk drives and communication hardware to operate peripheral devices such as printers or modems. Other computers, termed workstations, provide a user interface so that users of computer networks can access the network resources, such as shared data files, common peripheral devices, and inter workstation communication. Users activate computer programs or network resources to create processes” which include both the general operation of the computer program along with specific operating characteristics determined by input variables and its environment. Similar to a process is an agent (sometimes called an intelligent agent), which is a process that gathers information or performs some other service without user intervention and on some regular schedule. Typically, an agent, using parameters typically provided by the user, searches locations either on the host machine or at some other point on a network, gathers the information relevant to the purpose of the agent, and presents it to the user on a periodic basis. A module” refers to a portion of a computer system and/or software program that carries out one or more specific functions and may be used alone or combined with other modules of the same system or program.

The term desktop means a specific user interface which presents a menu or display of objects with associated settings for the user associated with the desktop. When the desktop accesses a network resource, which typically requires an application program to execute on the remote server, the desktop calls an Application Program Interface, or API, to allow the user to provide commands to the network resource and observe any output. The term Browser refers to a program which is not necessarily apparent to the user, but which is responsible for transmitting messages between the desktop and the network server and for displaying and interacting with the network user. Browsers are designed to utilize a communications protocol for transmission of text and graphic information over a worldwide network of computers, namely the World Wide Web” or simply the Web”. Examples of Browsers compatible with one or more embodiments of the present invention include the Chrome browser program developed by Google Inc. of Mountain View, California (Chrome is a trademark of Google Inc.), the Safari browser program developed by Apple Inc. of Cupertino, California (Safari is a registered trademark of Apple Inc.), Internet Explorer program developed by Microsoft Corporation (Internet Explorer is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation), the Opera browser program created by Op.era Software ASA, or the Firefox browser program distributed by the Mozilla Foundation (Firefox is a registered trademark of the Mozilla Foundation). Although the following description details such operations in terms of a graphic user interface of a Browser, one or more embodiments of the present invention may be practiced with text based interfaces, or even with voice or visually activated interfaces, that have many of the functions of a graphic based Browser.

Although particular embodiments of the invention have been disclosed herein in detail, this has been done by way of example and for the purposes of illustration only. The aforementioned embodiments are not intended to be limiting with respect to the scope of the statements of invention.

It is contemplated by the inventors that various substitutions, alterations, and modifications may be made to the invention without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the statements of invention.

Claims

1. A valuation and indexing system comprising:

a plurality of robot modules for harvesting a set of data points relating to a

5 sponsored or candidate sponsored entity over a specified time period; and a computer configured to process the harvested data points into a resultant value index which is indicative of the performance of the sponsored or candidate sponsored entity relative to other sponsored or candidate sponsored entities;

communicating said resultant value index to a user to facilitate assessment of the

10 sponsored or candidate sponsored entity in terms of past and/or present and/or predicted future performance.

2. A valuation and indexing system according to claim 1, further comprising the step of associating a monetary value with the resultant value index and communicating that to

15 the user.

3. A valuation and indexing system according to claim 2, wherein the said resultant value index is communicated to any or all of a sponsor, a sponsored entity, or representatives thereof.

4. A method of valuing and indexing a sponsored entity, the method comprising: providing a plurality of robot modules and utilising said robot modules to harvest a set of data points relating to a sponsored entity;

processing said harvested data points on a computer in order to determine a

2 5 resultant value index which is indicative of the performance of the sponsored or candidate sponsored entity relative to other sponsored or candidate sponsored entities;

communicating the resultant value index to a user to facilitate assessment of the sponsored or candidate sponsored entity in terms of past and/or present and/or predicted future performance.