WO2015096791A1

WO2015096791A1 - Method and system for releasing media content

Info

Publication number: WO2015096791A1
Application number: PCT/CN2014/095025
Authority: WO
Inventors: Minghao XI
Original assignee: Tencent Technology (Shenzhen) Company Limited
Priority date: 2013-12-26
Filing date: 2014-12-25
Publication date: 2015-07-02
Also published as: CN104753975A

Abstract

Method and computer system for releasing media content are disclosed. The method includes: receiving a release request from an advertiser for a current release cycle, the release request specifying a target audience based on targeting criteria comprising one or more target parameters; and in response to the release request, releasing advertisements in one or more release periods within the current release cycle. During each current release period, the releasing comprises: determining a respective release budget for the current release period; identifying a respective restricted target audience for the current release period in accordance with the release budget, wherein identifying the restricted target audience includes imposing an additional restriction on the targeting criteria in the current release period; and starting the current release period to release advertisements to the respective restricted target audience based on the targeting criteria of the release request as modified by the additional restriction.

Description

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR RELEASING MEDIA CONTENT

PRIORITY CLAIM AND RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201310729456.7, entitled “Method and System for Controlling Release of Network Media Information" filed on December 26, 2013, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosed implementations relate generally to the field of computer and internet data processing technology, and in particular, to method and system for releasing media content.

BACKGROUND

Media content refers to information released in various display forms (such as web page, or other client interface) of an internet system. Media content adopts digital code as its carrier. Usually, the media content (e.g., an advertisement image or video) corresponds to a target web page (e.g., also referred to a landing page) , and the corresponding target web page may be displayed if a device user clicks the media content, so that the target web page may be displayed to the device user. How to effectively release and display the media content (e.g., digital ads) to targeted audiences and manage the displayed information effectively have become problems concerned by the present internet technology industry.

In order to solve the forgoing problems, various media content releasing systems appear in the industry recently. A media content releasing system is a data processing system that organizes, releases, displays, and manages the media content. It is desirable to have a method and a computer system for releasing media content to various device users in the network effectively and efficiently.

SUMMARY

The embodiments of the present disclosure provide methods and systems for maintaining and providing transaction information that may address the problems stated in the background section.

In some embodiments, a method for releasing media content is performed at a computer system (e.g., Ad server 208, Figures 2A-2B) with one or more processors, and memory. The method includes: receiving a release request from an advertiser for a current release cycle, the release request specifying a target audience for releasing advertisements based on targeting criteria comprising one or more target parameters； and in response to the release request, releasing advertisements in one or more release periods within the current release cycle. During each current release period of the one or more release periods, the releasing comprises: determining a respective release budget for the current release period for releasing advertisements for the advertiser； identifying a respective restricted target audience for the current release period in accordance with the release budget, wherein identifying the restricted target audience for the current release period includes imposing an additional restriction on the targeting criteria of the release request for use in the current release period； and starting the current release period to release advertisements to the respective restricted target audience based on the targeting criteria of the release request as modified by the additional restriction.

In some embodiments, a computer system (e.g., Ad server 208, Figures 2A-2B) , includes one or more processors, and memory storing one or more programs for execution by the one or more processors, the one or more programs include instructions for performing the operations of any of the methods described herein.

In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs, the one or more programs comprising instructions, which, when executed by a computer system (e.g., Ad server 208, Figures 2A-2B) , cause the computer system to perform the operations of any of the methods described herein. In some embodiments, a computer system (e.g., Ad server 208, Figures 2A-2B) includes means for performing, or controlling performance of, the operations of any of the methods described herein.

Various advantages of the present application are apparent in light of the descriptions below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The aforementioned features and advantages of the techniques as well as additional features and advantages thereof will be more clearly understood hereinafter as a result of a detailed description of preferred embodiments when taken in conjunction with the drawings.

To illustrate the technical solutions according to the embodiments of the present application more clearly, the accompanying drawings for describing the embodiments are introduced briefly in the following. The accompanying drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application； persons skilled in the art may obtain other drawings according to the accompanying drawings without paying any creative effort.

Figure 1A is a block diagram of a computer system for releasing network media information in accordance with some embodiments.

Figure 1B is a schematic diagram of releasing media content in accordance with some embodiments.

Figure 2A is a block diagram of an advertisement (Ad) environment in accordance with some embodiments.

Figure 2B is a block diagram of a computer system in accordance with some embodiments.

Figure 3 is a flow chart diagram of a method for releasing media content in accordance with some embodiments.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of releasing media content in accordance with some embodiments.

Figure 5 is a block diagram of a computer system for releasing network media content in accordance with some embodiments.

Figure 6 is a block diagram of a selecting module of the computer system for releasing network media content in accordance with some embodiments.

Figures 7A-7C are a flowchart diagram of a method for releasing media content in accordance with some embodiments.

Like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the subject matter presented herein. But it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the subject matter may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, and circuits have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the embodiments.

The following clearly and completely describes the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Apparently, the described embodiments are merely a part rather than all of the embodiments of the present application. All other embodiments obtained by persons of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present application without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present application.

Figure 1A is a block diagram of a computer system 100 for releasing network media information in accordance with some embodiments. As shown in Figure 1A, the computer system 100 comprises a user interface 101, a releasing control system 102, and an electronic payment system 103. The user interface 101 is used for performing man-machine interaction with an advertiser 110. The releasing control system 102 receives the media content requested to be released by the advertiser 110 through the user interface 101, and feeds media content to be released to a device user 120. The electronic payment system 103 is used for interacting with the advertiser 110, receiving a payment request of the advertiser 110, and submitting an electronic voucher to the releasing control system 102. The electronic voucher is an electronic exchange means. The advertiser 110 may obtain the service provided by the releasing control system 102 for releasing the media content by submitting the electronic voucher of specific amount to the releasing control system 102 through the electronic payment system 103.

In some embodiments, the releasing control system 102 comprises a releasable value (e.g., a release budget) calculating module 121, for receiving the electronic voucher submitted by the advertiser 110, and adding corresponding amount to the releasable value of the advertiser 110 according to the electronic voucher amount submitted by the advertiser 110, wherein the initial releasable value is 0. In some embodiments, the releasing control system 102 further comprises a releasing device 122, for releasing the media content of the advertiser. The releasing control system 102 also comprises a deduction calculating device 123, for calculating the real-time releasing deduction value of the advertiser according to situation of the real-time releasing of the media content of the advertiser. In some embodiments, a calculating method calculates the releasing deduction value according to the clicking situation of the media content. For example, an expense is generated when the media content is clicked once per time, and thus a real time releasing deduction is produced. Such deduction calculating method is also called as cost per click (CPC) method. The release deduction is calculated for each release period, and based on the actual number of clicks generated for the advertiser’s media content (e.g., ads) in the release period, and a cost per click. If the cost metric is other than cost per click, the release deduction is calculated based on the actual performance data (e.g., number of ads displayed, number of conversions accomplished) and the cost for that performance (e.g., cost per thousand impressions, cost per conversion, etc. ) . In some embodiments, the release period is the smallest unit of time during which the ad server is able to gather and aggregate the performance data for an advertiser before changing a release strategy for the advertiser based on the aggregated performance data. In some embodiments, the release period may be a small number of such smallest units of time, if using a single one of such smallest unit of time would impose too much processing burden on the ad server.

In some embodiments, the releasing control system 102 comprises a determining device 124, for subtracting the calculated real-time releasing deduction value from the releasable value corresponding to the advertiser, determining whether the releasable value corresponding to the advertiser is smaller than 0, forbidding releasing the media content of the advertiser if the releasable value is smaller than 0, and sending a notification to the advertiser. Otherwise, the media content is being continuously released for the advertiser.

Through the releasing control system 102, once the releasable value of the advertiser is deducted completely, the advertiser may be notified to resubmit another electronic voucher. After the electronic voucher submitted by the advertiser is received, a corresponding amount (e.g., a new budget specified for the current release cycle) is again added to the releasable value corresponding to the advertiser, the media content of the advertiser is again released, and subsequent deduction calculation and judgment are performed correspondingly.

In some embodiments, releasing the media content to targeted devices users comprises a technical solution for releasing the media content to targeted device users based on various parameters, including but are not limited to audience demography, media contents, audience behaviors, and/or the like. The advertiser submits a release request which is also called as an order to the releasing control system, wherein the release request comprises media content to be released and target parameters. The target parameters, for example, may be such information as a device user sex, a device user age, a device user location, a display time, a display scene, display content, a display frequency, original display information, redirection, and/or the like. When the device user sends a display request (such as a request for displaying web page, video, and/or the like) , the display request may include the information related to the display request, such as hours, location, display position, a device user age, a device user sex, and/or the like. The releasing control system compares the information included in the display request with the target parameters of the media content submitted by the advertiser, and releases the matched media content corresponding to the display request to a corresponding display on the device associated with the user, thereby the computer system 100 realizes an accurate and targeted release of the media content.

Figure 1B is a schematic diagram of releasing media content in accordance with some embodiments. For example, the releasing budget of a certain advertiser is 500 Yuan/day without any restriction including any target parameters. That is to say the media content may be directed to servers 150 to be released to all over the country and to any user. Because the target range of the release request is wide, the media content in the release request may be released to dozens of servers (e.g., servers 150) all over the country at a time as shown in Figure 1B. The click data at the front end of the system is collected slowly, which may usually include a delay of more than 10 minutes. Therefore, the computer system 100 cannot perform display adjustment according to the click data collected from the front end in real time, so as to cause a releasing deduction value exceeding the budget. For example, the releasing deduction value after releasing the media content once to the servers 150 all over the country may be 1000 Yuan determined from the click data collected from the front end. This situation results in exceeding the budget of 500 Yuan by 100％, which causes severe budget exceeding, and mass waste of overhead of machine resource and network band width resource of relevant equipment (such as terminal computer, Web server and/or the like) of the releasing control system 102.

In some embodiments, the advertisers with the long-tail business have the characteristics of a relatively small budget and a relatively large amount of media content for release. The release requests of those advertisers with long-tail business have limited budget but wide range of target parameters, thus the situation of exceeding the budget (namely the releasable value exchanged by the electronic voucher) often occurs after the media content is released for once.

Figure 2A is a block diagram of an advertisement (Ad) environment 200 in accordance with some embodiments. As shown in Figure 2A, the Ad environment 200 includes one or more device modules 202-1…202-N executed on respective devices 204-1…204-N, and sever module 206 executed on an Ad server 208. Device module 202 communicates with the Ad module 206 through one or more networks 210. The Ad environment 200 also includes one or more advertisers 222-1…222-N, each communicating with the Ad server 208 through the one or more networks 210. Ad server 208 also includes one or more databases, such as an Ad database 214 for storing various Ad media content (e.g., Ad 1…Ad N) from various advertisers 222-1…222-N used for online marketing. Ad server 208 also includes a target parameter database 216 for storing various target parameters, one or more of which may be included in the Ad requests to target suitable audience for releasing the media content to. In some embodiments, each advertiser may submit one or more advertising orders, and the advertising order may specify, for a given release period, which advertisements stored in the ad database are to be selected for which target audience (as described by the advertiser-specified targeting criteria) during which time period. The advertising order also specifies the release budget for the release period. The ad server 208 may receive thousands of ad requests during a give release period, and for each of the request, the ad server selects an advertisement based on a match between the ad slot specified in the ad request and the current advertising orders the server has received. For example, Ad module 206 retrieves one or more Ad content from the Ad database 214 upon device requests from the devices 204, and delivers the Ad content to webpage visitors associated with the devices 104. Each advertiser may be given some of the display opportunities that become available during the current release cycle, and the budget of each advertiser may be deducted by a different amount depending on how many ads of that advertiser was shown during that release cycle. Device module 202 provides various functionalities, such as displaying webpage contents, instant messaging, social networking services, and payment processing, and communications with the Ad server 208. Ad module 206 of the Ad server 208 provides server-side functionalities associated with Ad services, such as selecting and providing media content (e.g., video content or image content) related to online marketing (i.e., Ads) for displaying on the device 204. The environment 200 may include any number of devices like the device 204, each operating independently in its interaction with the Ad server 208.

In some embodiments, the Ad server 208 includes one or more processors 212, database (e.g., Ad database 214 and target parameter database 216) , an I/O interface (not shown) to one or more devices 104. In some embodiments, the Ad server 208 is implemented on one or more standalone data processing apparatuses or a distributed network of computers. In some embodiments, the Ad server 208 also employs various virtual devices and/or services of third party service providers (e.g., third-party cloud service providers) to provide the underlying computing resources and/or infrastructure resources of Ad server 208.

In some embodiments, the advertiser 222 includes one or more processors, databases, an I/O interface (not shown) to networks 210. In some embodiments, the server of the advertiser 222 is implemented on one or more standalone data processing apparatuses or a distributed network of computers. In some embodiments, the advertiser 222 also employs various virtual devices and/or services of third party service providers (e.g., third-party cloud service providers) to provide the underlying computing resources and/or infrastructure resources of the advertiser 222.

Examples of device 204 include, but are not limited to, a handheld computer, a wearable computing device, a personal digital assistant (PDA) , a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a cellular telephone, a smart phone, an enhanced general packet radio service (EGPRS) mobile phone, a media player, a navigation device, a game console, a television, a remote control, or a combination of any two or more of these electronic devices or other electronic devices.

Examples of one or more networks 210 include local area networks (LAN) and wide area networks (WAN) such as the Internet. One or more networks 210 are, optionally, implemented using any known network protocol, including various wired or wireless protocols, such as Ethernet, Universal Serial Bus (USB) , FIREWIRE, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) , Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE) , code division multiple access (CDMA) , time division multiple access (TDMA) , Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) , Wi-MAX, or any other suitable communication protocol.

Ad environment 200 shown in Figure 2A includes both a device portion (e.g., the device module 202) and a server-side portion (e.g., the server module 206) . In some embodiments, data processing is implemented as a standalone application installed on the device 204. In addition, the division of functionalities between the device and server portions of Ad environment data processing can vary in different embodiments.

Figure 2B is a block diagram of an Ad system 208 in accordance with some embodiments. The Ad server 208, typically, includes one or more processors 212, one or more network interfaces 204 (e.g., including I/O interface to one or more clients 118 and I/O interface to one or more external services 232) , memory 230, and one or more communication buses 234 for interconnecting these components (sometimes called a chipset) . Memory 230 includes high-speed random access memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, DDR RAM, or other random access solid state memory devices； and, optionally, includes non-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic disk storage devices, one or more optical disk storage devices, one or more flash memory devices, or one or more other non-volatile solid state storage devices. Memory 230, optionally, includes one or more storage devices remotely located from one or more processing units 212. Memory 230, or alternatively the non-volatile memory within memory 230, includes a non-transitory computer readable storage medium. In some implementations, memory 230, or the non-transitory computer readable storage medium of memory 230, stores the following programs, modules, and data structures, or a subset or superset thereof:

·operating system 242 including procedures for handling various basic system services and for performing hardware dependent tasks；

·network communication module 244 for connecting the Ad server 208 to other computing devices (e.g., devices 204 and other external service (s) ) connected to one or more networks 210 via one or more network interfaces 232 (wired or wireless) ；

·server module 206, which provides server-side data processing for the Ad server (e.g., Ad media content receiving, requests processing, and/or Ad releasing) , includes, but is not limited to:

οadvertiser request handling module 252 for handling the requests from the advertisers 222, such as processing and storing the Ad media content and/or the target parameters included in the requests from the advertisers；

οdevice request handling module 254 for receiving and processing the requests (e.g., request for Ad media content to be displayed on the devices) from the devices 204；

οbudget control module 256 for determining a release budget for a release cycle or a release period for releasing advertisements for an advertiser；

οselect module 258 for selecting restricted target audience for a release cycle or a release period in accordance with the release budget；

οrelease module 260 for releasing the advertisements to the selected restricted target audience； and

οadvertiser management module 262 for monitoring and managing the advertisers activities, and identifying the long-tail advertiser (s) ； and

·server data 270 storing data for the social networking platform, including but not limited to:

οAd database 214 storing respective Ad media contents received from various advertisers 222； and

οtarget parameter database 216 storing various target parameters included in the requests from the advertisers, the target parameters used for selecting suitable audience to release the Ad media content to.

Each of the above identified elements may be stored in one or more of the previously mentioned memory devices, and corresponds to a set of instructions for performing a function described above. The above identified modules or programs (i.e., sets of instructions) need not be implemented as separate software programs, procedures, or modules, and thus various subsets of these modules may be combined or otherwise re-arranged in various implementations. In some implementations, memory 230, optionally, stores a subset of the modules and data structures identified above. Furthermore, memory 230, optionally, stores additional modules and data structures not described above.

In some embodiments, at least some of the functions of devices 204 are performed by the Ad server 208, and the corresponding sub-modules of these functions may be located within the Ad server 208 rather than the device 204. The Ad environment 200 and device 204 shown in Figures 2A-2B, respectively, are merely illustrative, and different configurations of the modules for implementing the functions described herein are possible in various embodiments.

Figure 3 is a flow chart of the release control method 300 of media content of the present application. Referring to Figure 3, the method comprises determining (301) a releasable value (e.g., an advertiser-specified release budget) corresponding to a release request from an advertiser of the media content to be released. The media content to be released is expected to be released to the specified audiences, wherein the media content may include digital formats such as character, picture, audio, video and/or the like. A releasing instruction of the media content is included in the release request by the advertiser. The advertiser may set various target parameters in the release request. The target parameters, for example, may include a user sex, a user age, a user location, a display time, a display scene, display content, a display frequency, original display information, redirection, and/or the like. When the device sends a display request (such as a request for displaying Ad media content on a webpage, video, and/or the like) , the Ad server 208 may identify information included in the display request, like as hours, location, display position, a user age, a user sex, and/or the like. The Ad server 208 then compares the information in the display request with the target parameters of the release request submitted by the advertiser, and displays the matched media content corresponding to the display request on a corresponding display position on the device, thereby realizing accurate and targeted releasing of the media content.

The release requests from the advertisers may include target parameters. If the advertiser does not set any target parameters, the target audience range of the advertiser is usually wide by default. That is, the media may be released to any audience at any device. In the release request, the advertiser further needs to specify an advertiser-specified release budget. For example, with respect to certain media content, the advertiser-specified release budget is N ＝500 Yuan/day. That is, the expenditure from the advertiser for releasing the media content is at most 500 Yuan per day. If the advertiser-specified release budget is used up, then the media content cannot be released any longer.

In some embodiments, the specific method of determining the releasable value corresponding to the release request of the media content to be released in the step 301 further comprises reading (311) the specified releasing value in the release request of the media content to be released； reading (312) an available releasing balance of a submitter of the release request； and selecting (313) the smaller one from the specified releasing value and the available releasing balance as the releasable value corresponding to the release request of the media content to be released.

The releasing balance is calculated and obtained after the releasing control system receives a prepaid electronic voucher submitted by the advertiser. The electronic voucher is just an electronic exchange means. The advertiser may obtain a service of releasing the network media information provided by the Ad server by submitting an electronic voucher of specific amount to the Ad server through an electronic payment system. The electronic voucher may include electronic cash, electronic cash card, and/or the like.

For example: the available releasing balance (also called as account balance) M of a certain advertiser is 5000 Yuan, and the specified releasing value (also called as the advertiser-specified release budget) N of the release request of the media content submitted by the advertiser is 500 Yuan/day, then the releasable value (e.g., the current release budget) of the release request is min (M, N) ＝500 Yuan/day.

The method 300 further comprises estimating (302) the releasing deduction amount corresponding to the target parameters of the release request. The Ad server checks the statistical data of the previous release cycles related to the advertiser to obtain the display number and click rate from the previous release cycles of releasing the media content for the advertiser based on the target parameters； calculates an estimated releasing deduction amount, for example, by multiplying the display number by the click rate to obtain a click number, and then multiplying the click number with a deduction amount for one click to obtain the estimated releasing deduction amount corresponding to the target parameters of the release request.

In some embodiments, the releasing of the media content has a release period, so that the possible deduction amount of releasing the media content in one releasing period (such as 15 minutes) may be specifically estimated based on the target parameters included in the release request. For example, the number of clicks that can be received in a time window of 15 minutes may be calculated according to the landing time of a click data file. Then the deduction amount is obtained by multiplying the click number with unit price (e.g., 100 Yuan/minute) . For example, the releasing deduction amount for 15 minutes is calculated to be that MAX_COST ＝ 1500 Yuan.

When the estimated releasing deduction amount exceeds the releasable value, the method 300 further comprises subdividing (303) the target parameters of the release request to obtain a sub-set of the sub-parameters, or to identify additional restriction target parameters. The method 300 also comprises estimating (303) the releasing deduction amounts corresponding to the sub-set of the target parameters, or to the additional restriction target parameters.

For example, the releasable value N in the foregoing example is 500 Yuan/day, and the estimated releasing deduction amount MAX_COST is 1500 Yuan, then the MAX_COST is far greater than the releasable value. Therefore, the target parameters of the release request may be subdivided to obtain a sub-set of the sub-parameters. The Ad server may also identify additional restriction target parameters to reduce the releasing deduction amount.

In some embodiments, subdividing (303) the target parameters of the release of the release request to obtain a sub-set of the sub-parameters comprises: determining one or more sub-sets of sub-parameters within the target parameters of the release request according to a predetermined hierarchy structure of the target parameters, and selecting one or more sub-sets of sub-parameters obtained through the subdividing.

For example, for the geographical locations, the present hierarchy structure comprises two levels, wherein the first level is the whole country, and the second level is the specific city or province. The specific city or province is sub-set of sub-parameters obtained by subdividing the target parameters of the whole country.

Other target parameters may also have hierarchy structures. In one example, for the target parameter of a user age, the first level refers to all ages, and the second level refers to various specified age ranges, such as 15 to 25 years old, 26 to 35 years old, 36 to 45 years old, and the like. Each specified age range is a sub-set of sub-parameters obtained by subdividing the target parameters of the user age in all ages.

In another example, for the target parameter of a display time, the first level refers to all display hours, and the second level refers to various specified display hour ranges, for example, from 8: 00 to 10: 00, from 10: 00 to 12: 00, from 12: 00 to 14: 00, ..., from 18: 00 to 20: 00, and the like. Each specified display hour range is a sub-set of sub-parameters obtained by subdividing the target parameters of the display time in all display hours.

If the advertiser does not specify a specific sub-set of sub-parameters in the release request, then the Ad server 208 may designate the target parameter of a certain type as the first level by default. For example, if specific city or province is not defined in the release request, then the Ad server 208 may designate the whole country as the releasing range of the release request by default. If specified age ranges are not defined in the release request, then the Ad server 208 may designate all age ranges as the releasing range of the release request by default. In some embodiments when the first level of target parameter is used for estimating the releasing deduction amount, the estimated releasing deduction amount may exceed the releasable value determined in the step 301, which may cause severe budget exceeding and thus mass waste of overhead of machine resource and network band width resource of relevant equipment. Therefore, according to the present application, the target parameters of the release request is subdivided in the step 303 to obtain the sub-set of sub-parameters, and by select a sub-set of sub-parameters to release in subsequent procedures, thus the probability of budget exceeding is reduced, and the machine resources and network band width resources of relevant equipment of the Ad server 208 can be saved.

In some embodiments, estimating (303) the releasing deduction amount corresponding to each sub-set of sub-parameters comprises: checking the historically released statistical data of the advertiser, and obtaining the exposure number and click rate in the previous release cycles or release periods under the condition of the sub-set of sub-parameters. For each sub-set of sub-parameters, the exposure number is multiplied with a click rate to obtain a click number, and then the click number is multiplied with a deduction amount of one click to obtain the estimated releasing deduction amount corresponding to the sub-set of sub-parameters of the release request.

For example, the geographical location is designated as a target parameter. The deduction amount corresponding to each specific city or province is estimated. Usually the releasing of the media content has one or more releasing periods, and the possible deduction amount of releasing the media content to each specific city or province in one releasing period (such as 15 minutes) may be estimated. For example, the click number of each specific city or province may be respectively calculated and obtained according to the information of the click data file received in the previous release cycle or period. An array COST [n] may be obtained by multiplying the click number with a unit price. For example, the following Table 1 is a specific example of the array COST [n] .

Table 1 An exemplary embodiment of array COST [n]

Geographical Location	Estimated releasing deduction amount for a city
Geographical Location	Estimated releasing deduction amount for a city	Beijing	50 Yuan
Shanghai	30 Yuan	Beijing	50 Yuan
Shanghai	30 Yuan	Guangdong province
	200 Yuan	Guangdong province
	200 Yuan	Jiangsu province
	150 Yuan	Jiangsu province
	150 Yuan	Zhejiang province
	120 Yuan	Zhejiang province
	120 Yuan	Hubei province
	100 Yuan	Hubei province
	100 Yuan	...

The method 300 further comprises selecting (304) at least one sub-set of sub-parameters according to the requirements of the releasing deduction amount corresponding to the sub-set of sub-parameters and the specified deduction amount. In some embodiments, selecting (304) at least one sub-set of sub-parameters comprises: a step A of setting the array consisting of the n sub-sets of sub-parameters as a candidate array COST [n] , setting a deduction variable V equal to 0, and setting a result array COST_RES [] empty； and a step B of randomly selecting one sub-set of sub-parameters from the candidate array COST [n] , adding the releasing deduction amount corresponding to the sub-set of sub-parameters to the deduction variable V, removing the sub-set of sub-parameters from the candidate array COST [n] , and adding the sub-set of sub-parameters into the result array COST_RES [] ； a step C of determining whether the deduction variable V is greater than a delta*releasable value: proceeding to step D if yes； otherwise returning to step B, wherein delta is an specified coefficient, which may be adjusted through a configuration file, and usually the value range of delta is 1.2>delta>1.0； and a step D of taking the sub-set of sub-parameters in the result array COST_RES [] as a selected sub-set of sub-parameters.

The method 300 further comprises releasing (305) the media content to a device based on the selected sub-set of sub-parameters.

In the present application, even if the specified releasing value set by the advertiser in the release request is lower, and the range of the target parameters is wide, the sub-set of sub-parameters of the release request can be calculated and compared with the releasable value of the advertiser, so as to release the media content to each sub-set of sub-parameters, for example, releasing the media content to a certain specific city or province to effectively control the problem of budget exceeding.

Moreover, in case that a releasing period is set for the releasing control system, in a further preferred embodiment, the specific method of releasing the media content to be released to a device based on the selected sub-set of sub-parameters in the step 305 comprises: traversing the at least one sub-set of sub-parameters, and releasing the media content to the device based on the sub-set of sub-parameters traversed in each releasing period in sequence. Through the manner of releasing according to the order and releasing the media content to one sub-set of sub-parameters in each releasing period in sequence, the problem of budget exceeding may be avoided, thus saving the machine resources and network band width resources of relevant equipment of the Ad server.

For example: the specified releasing value budget of a certain advertiser is 500 Yuan/day without any restriction in target parameters. Then, according to the present application, one specific city or province is selected from the foregoing array COST [n] in each releasing period in sequence to release, to ensure that the click expense of one release period is within 100 Yuan, so as to effectively control the problem of budget exceeding, and improving the exposure efficiency of the media content released by the Ad server.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of releasing media content in accordance with some embodiments. Referring to Figure 4, an estimated releasing deduction amount for a city or a province is shown in Table 1. According to the estimated deduction amount of each geographical location, it can be estimated that the budget will be exceeded by 200％ if the media content is released to the whole country, so that resources and bandwidths of the Ad server are wasted. Therefore, the releasing geographical location range of the request is reduced. For example, releasing advertisements from the first release periods to the fifth release periods in the order of to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong province, Zhejiang province, and Hubei province in sequence, the estimated deduction amount is calculated to be 50 + 30 + 200 + 120 + 100 ＝500, and thus the release budget of the advertiser is deducted without exceeding the release budget, and the resource or bandwidth is not wasted at the same time.

Figure 5 is a block diagram of a computer system 500 for releasing network media content in accordance with some embodiments. Referring to FIG. 5, a user interface 101 is used for performing man-machine interaction with an advertiser 110 for releasing media content. The computer system 500 receives the media content associated with the advertiser through the user interface 101. An electronic payment system 103 is used for interacting with the advertiser, receiving a payment request of the advertiser and submitting an electronic voucher to the releasing control system 510 of the computer system 500. The electronic voucher is an electronic exchange means. The advertiser may obtain the service provided by the releasing control system 510 for releasing the media content by submitting a electronic voucher with a certain amount to the releasing control system 510 through the electronic payment system 103.

As shown in Figure 5, the releasing control system 510 of the present application specifically comprises: a releasable value module 501 for determining a releasable value corresponding to the release request for releasing the media content for an advertiser； a total estimating module 502 for estimating a releasing deduction amount corresponding to the target parameters of the release request； a sub-set estimating module 503 for, in case that the estimated releasing deduction amount exceeds the releasable value, subdividing the target parameters of the release request to obtain sub-sets of sub-parameters, and estimating the releasing deduction amounts corresponding to each sub-set of sub-parameters； a selecting module 504 for selecting at least one sub-set of sub-parameters according to the requirements of the releasing deduction amount corresponding to the sub-set of sub-parameters and the specified deduction amount； and a releasing module 505 for releasing the media content to a device associated with a device user complying with the selected sub-set of sub-parameters.

The target parameters may include a user sex, a user age, a user location, a display time, a display scene, display content, a display frequency, original display information, redirection, and/or the like. In one embodiment, the target parameters refer to geographical locations and the sub-sets of sub-parameters refer to a city or a province. In another embodiment, the target parameters refer to a user age, and the sub-sets of sub-parameters refer to specified age ranges such as 15 to 25 years old, 26 to 35 years old, 36 to 45 years old, and/or the like. In yet another embodiment, the target parameters may refer to a display time of the media content, and the sub-sets of sub-parameters refer to specified display time, for example, from 8: 00 to 10: 00, from 10: 00 to 12: 00, from 12: 00 to 14: 00, ..., from 18: 00 to 20: 00, and/or the like.

In some embodiments, the releasable value module 501 comprises: a checking submodule for checking the specified releasing value in the release request of the media content, and checking the available releasing balance of a advertiser of the release request； and a releasable value determining submodule for selecting a smaller one from the specified releasing value and the available releasing balance as the releasable value corresponding to the release request of the media content.

In some embodiments, the total estimating module 502 is used for: checking the historically released statistical data of the advertiser from which the release request is sent, and obtaining the exposure number and click rate of the historically released media content of the advertiser under the condition of the target parameters of the release request； multiplying the exposure number with the click rate to obtain a click number, and then multiplying the click number with the deduction amount of one click to obtain the estimated releasing deduction amount corresponding to the target parameters of the release request.

In some embodiments, the sub-set estimating module 503 specifically comprises: a determining submodule for determining whether the estimated releasing deduction amount exceeds the releasable value, and triggering a subsequent subdividing module in the case that the releasing deduction amount exceeds the releasable value； a subdividing submodule for determining a sub-set of the sub-parameters of the release request according to the predetermined hierarchy structure of the target parameters, and designating the sub-set of the sub-parameters as the sub-set of the sub-parameters obtained through the subdividing； and an estimating submodule for checking the historically released statistical data of the advertiser from which the release request is sent, and obtaining the exposure number and click rate of the historically released network media information of the releaser under the condition of each sub-set of the sub-parameters of the release request； and for each sub-set of the sub-parameters, multiplying the exposure number with the click rate to obtain a click number, and then multiplying the click number with the deduction amount of one click to obtain the estimated releasing deduction amount corresponding to the sub-set of the sub-parameters of the release request.

Figure 6 is a block diagram of the selecting module 504 of the computer system 500 for releasing media content in accordance with some embodiments. As shown in Figure 6, the selecting module 504 comprises a initialization submodule 541 for setting the array consisting of the n sub-sets of sub-parameters obtained by subdividing as a candidate array COST [n] , setting a deduction variable V equal to 0, and setting a result array COST_RES [] empty.

The selecting module 504 further comprises a random selecting submodule 542 for selecting one sub-set of sub-parameters from the candidate array COST [n] , adding the releasing deduction amount corresponding to the sub-set of sub-parameters to the deduction variable V, removing the sub-set of sub-parameters from the candidate array COST [n] , and adding the sub-set of sub-parameters into the result array COST_RES [] .

The selecting module 504 further comprises a proceeding submodule 543, used for determining whether the deduction variable V is greater than the delta*releasable value； proceeding to the after-mentioned designating submodule 544 if yes； otherwise returning to the random selecting submodule 542； and the delta is an specified coefficient in a value range from 1.0 to 1.2.

The selecting module 504 further comprises a designating submodule 544, used for designating the sub-set of sub-parameters existing in the result array COST_RES [] as the selected sub-set of sub-parameters.

Through the processing of the present application, even if the specified releasing value set by the advertiser in the release request is low, and the range of the target parameters is wide, the sub-set of sub-parameters of the release request which is most suitable for display may be calculated according to the releasable value of the advertiser, so as to release the media content to each sub-set of sub-parameters, for example, releasing the media content to a specific city or a province to effectively avoid exceeding the release budget.

Referring back to Figure 5, in some embodiments the releasing module 505 is used for traversing the at least one sub-set of sub-parameters selected, and releasing the media content to the users associated to the devices complying with the sub-set of sub-parameters traversed in each release period in sequence. Through the manner of releasing according to the order and releasing the media content to one sub-set of sub-parameters in each releasing period in sequence, the problem of exceeding the budget may be solved, thus saving the machine resources and network band width of relevant equipment of the Ad server.

For example: the specified releasing value budget of a certain advertiser is 500 Yuan/day without any parameters. According to the present application, a specific city or a province is selected from the foregoing array COST [n] in each releasing period in sequence, to ensure that the click expense produced in one releasing is within 100 Yuan, so as to effectively solve the problem of exceeding budget, and improving the display efficiency of the media content released by the releasing control system of the Ad server.

Figures 7A-7C are a flowchart diagram of a method 700 for releasing media content in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, method 700 is performed by a computer system with one or more processors, and memory. For example, in some embodiments, method 700 is performed by Ad server 208 (Figures 2A-2B) or a component thereof (e.g., server module 206, Figures 2A-2B) . In some embodiments, method 700 is governed by instructions that are stored in a non-transitory computer readable storage medium and the instructions are executed by one or more processors of the computer system. Optional operations are indicated by dashed lines (e.g., boxes with dashed-line borders) .

The computer system includes the Ad server 208 for handling requests from various advertisers, managing advertisement selection, and in response to receiving device requests from one or more devices to request advertisements for display on the one or more devices, selecting corresponding advertisements for releasing to the one or more devices for display. For example, when a device downloads a webpage, the device renders and displays the webpage on the device, e.g., in a browser. One or more content request scripts are embedded in the webpage downloaded by the device, and upon displaying the webpage on the device, the device sends device requests in accordance with the one or more content request scripts to the server through the network (s) , wherein the device requests include various selection criteria related to: the publisher of the webpage, the content of webpage, the device, the user of the device, and/or the display slot to be filled on the webpage, such that the server can compare these selection inputs (imposed by the publisher of the webpage, or related to the device and/or user of the device) with one or more target parameters imposed by the advertisers to select the suitable advertisements for display on the webpage.

The computer system receives (702) a release request from an advertiser for a current release cycle. The release request specifies a target audience (or target device users) for releasing advertisements based on targeting criteria comprising one or more target parameters.

In some embodiments, the Ad server receives one or more release requests from different advertisers transmitted through the network (s) , each of the one or more release requests from a corresponding advertiser includes one or more target parameters which are used by the server to select the targeting users and to broadcast/release the advertisements of the corresponding advertiser to the selected users.

The one or more target parameters include one or more selected from a group consisting of: geographical locations (e.g., Shanghai, Beijing, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Hubei, etc. ) , a user age, a user sex, a user race, a user occupation, a release time, a release context theme (e.g., a webpage related to politics, a webpage related to sports, etc. ) , a display frequency, display slot information (e.g., media content resolution, format, file size, etc. ) , and the like.

Each target parameter may include a set of one or more sub-parameters that further define the audience targeted by the target parameter. For example, a target parameter of “geographic location ＝ China” targets all users located within China. The target parameter of “geographic location ＝ China” includes a set of sub-parameters that further divide the target audience. In some embodiments, the set of sub-parameters can have different levels of sub-divisions. For example as shown in Figure 4, the target parameter of “geographic location ＝ China” can have province-level sub-parameters, including for example, “geographic location ＝ China-Guangdong (or Guangdong province) ” , “geographic location ＝ China-Zhejiang (or Zhejiang province) ” , “geographic location ＝ China-Hubei (or Hubei province) ” , etc. Similarly, the target parameter of “geographic location ＝ China” can have also have city-level sub-parameters, including for example, “geographic location ＝ Shanghai” , “geographic location ＝ Beijing” , etc. Some target parameters does not have multiple levels of divisions for sub-parameters. For example, for the target parameter “Gender ＝All” , the set of sub-parameters include “Gender ＝Male” and “Gender ＝ Female” .

By selecting a sub-set of all sub-parameters of a target parameter at a particular level of division, the target audience defined by the target parameter can be reduced to a restricted target audience. By releasing advertisements to a restricted target audience during each current release period of one or more release periods of the current release cycle can help prevent releasing too many advertisements in the current release cycle and exceeding the advertising budget authorized by the release request.

The release request from an advertiser also includes media content of the advertisement from the advertiser. The format of the media content includes, but is not limited to: stationary image (s) , video content, text files, and audio component. The release request may also include redirection information included in the advertisements (e.g., URL link, etc. )

In some embodiments in response to the release request, the computer system releases (704) advertisements in one or more release periods within the current release cycle. During each current release period of the one or more release periods, the releasing comprises determining (706) a respective release budget for the current release period for releasing advertisements for the advertiser.

In some embodiments, the release request from the advertiser further includes (712) an advertiser-specified budget. The release budget for each current release period of the one or more release periods is smaller than the advertiser-specified budget. In some embodiments, determining the release budget for the current release period comprises: determining (714) a current balance for the advertiser for releasing advertisements with respect to the current release period； and choosing (714) an amount smaller than the current balance as the release budget for the current release period.

In some embodiments, the current release cycle for releasing advertisements for the advertiser may include one or more periods of releasing advertisements. In the case that the release cycle includes only one release period, the release budget is equal to the current balance, and equal to the advertiser-specified budget.

In some embodiments, there are more than one release period in a release cycle, at the beginning of the first release period of the current release cycle, the current balance of the advertiser is equal to the advertiser-specified budget for the current release cycle. For each release period after the first release period, the release budget is smaller than the balance. In some embodiments, after finishing the one or more previous release periods of the current release cycle, the later release periods have release budgets that take up larger fractions of the remaining balance as compared to the earlier release periods, and the last release period has a release budget that takes up all of the remaining balance. The current balance may be calculated by subtracting an already used amount for releasing advertisements for the advertiser in the previous one or more release periods, from the advertiser-specified budget of the current release cycle specified in the release request.

The computer system identifies (708) a respective restricted target audience for the current release period in accordance with the release budget. The identifying the restricted target audience for the current release period includes imposing an additional restriction on the targeting criteria of the release request for use in the current release period

In some embodiments, imposing the additional restriction on the targeting criteria of the release request for the current release period comprises at least one of: adding (716) one or more additional target parameters independent of the one or more target parameters to the targeting criteria of the release request, and replacing (716) at least one of the one or more target parameters of the target criteria with a sub-set of all sub-parameters of the at least one target parameter.

In some embodiments, the additional target parameter used for modifying targeting criteria of the release request may be a target parameter that is distinct and independent of the one or more target parameters specified in the release request. Alternatively, a target parameter specified in the release request may be replaced with a subset of all sub-parameters at a particular level such that the audience identified by the subset of all sub-parameters of the original target parameter is a smaller audience than the audience identified by the original target parameter. For example, the restriction target parameter includes “Shanghai and Beijing” as the additional restriction of the target parameter of “all cities in China with populations more than 10 million” included in the release request from the advertiser.

In some embodiments, identifying the restricted target audience for the current release period includes estimating (718) respective expected release expenditures in accordance with one or more test restrictions imposed on the targeting criteria in the release request. The estimating is based on release information from one or more previous release cycles of the advertiser. In some embodiments, identifying the restricted target audience for the current release period includes, based at least on a comparison between the respective expected release expenditures and the release budget for the current release period, selecting (718) one or more of the test restrictions as the additional restriction to be impose on the targeting criteria during the current release period.

In some embodiments, the respective expected release expenditures are estimated using one or more compensation methods selected from a group consisting of: cost per click (CPC) , cost per mille (CPM) , cost per point (CPP) , click through rate (CTR) , and view through rate (VTR) . In some embodiments, the expected release expenditures are calculated in the same way as the budget is spent. The advertiser specifies what cost calculation method to be used to deduct from the budget.

In some embodiments, selecting the one or more of the test restrictions as the additional restriction to be impose on the targeting criteria during the current release period further comprises choosing (720) one or more restriction target parameters such that a total expected expenditure for releasing advertisements in accordance with the one or more restriction target parameters imposed on the targeting criteria matches the release budget for the current release period in accordance with predetermined matching criteria.

In some embodiments, the predetermined matching criteria can be a threshold specifying how close the total expected expenditure needs to be to the release budget. In some embodiments, the matching criteria require that the test restriction with the lowest expected expenditure that is within a threshold difference from the release budget to be selected.

In some embodiments, the total expected expenditure for releasing advertisements in accordance with the one or more restriction target parameters imposed on the targeting criteria of the release request are calculated by:

wherein T is the total expected expenditure, Δ is a coefficient with a value in a range from 1.0 to 1.2, m is the number of the one or more restriction target parameters chosen for releasing the advertisements in the current release cycle, and E_i is an expected release expenditure for the i-th restriction target parameter of the m restriction target parameters imposed on the targeting criteria of the release budget. E_i is estimated based on release information from the one or more previous release cycles.

In some embodiments, selecting the one or more of the test restrictions as the additional restriction to be impose on the targeting criteria during the current release period further comprises choosing (722) the one or more restriction target parameters further based on respective advertiser preferences or historic performances of the sub-parameters of at least one of the target parameters of the release request.

In some embodiments, advertiser preferences may include the advertiser’s designation as to which sub-parameters of a target parameter represents the most important target audience sector for the current release cycle. The advertiser can provide a ranking of the sub-parameters, or a list of the most important sub-parameters. The historic performance can be the historic click rate, or conversion rate, or other performance metrics for measuring the success rate of the target parameters. In some embodiments, the restriction target parameters selected for respective releasing periods of the current releasing cycle may be distinct from each other.

In some embodiments, after identifying a respective restricted target audience for the current release period in accordance with the release budget, the computer system starts (710) the current release period to release advertisements to the respective restricted target audience based on the targeting criteria of the release request as modified by the additional restriction.

In some embodiments, before releasing the advertisements in the one or more release periods within the current release cycle, the computer system determines (724) whether the advertiser is a long-tail advertiser based on the release request from the advertiser. In some embodiments, the characteristics of the long-tail advertiser include one or more of: a limited advertiser-specified release budget, a wide targeting range, and a large population of target users.

In some embodiments, the computer system can recognize whether the advertiser is a long-tail advertiser by checking the previous records of this advertiser (and possible past records of other advertisers with similar targeting criteria) to see whether releasing the advertisements for this advertiser once according to the release request frequently exceeded the limited advertiser-specified budget.

In some embodiments, in accordance with a determination that the release budget for the current release period is less than a predetermined threshold, ending the current release cycle. In some embodiments, the predetermine threshold is compared with the release budget to determine if more release periods of the current release cycle is needed. To start the next release period of in the current release cycle, the current balance needs to be determined to be greater than or equal to the lowest expected release expenditure for any type of restricted target audience that can be specified by imposing restrictions on the targeting criteria of the release request. If no such restricted target audience can be identified (e.g., when releasing to the smallest target audience identifiable by the system will cause the remaining budget to be exceeded by an unacceptably large amount, then no more release is performed. The current release period and the current release cycle are thus ended.

While particular embodiments are described above, it will be understood it is not intended to limit the invention to these particular embodiments. On the contrary, the invention includes alternatives, modifications and equivalents that are within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the subject matter presented herein. But it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the subject matter may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, and circuits have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the embodiments.

Although some of the various drawings illustrate a number of logical stages in a particular order, stages that are not order dependent may be reordered and other stages may be combined or broken out. While some reordering or other groupings are specifically mentioned, others will be obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art and so do not present an exhaustive list of alternatives. Moreover, it should be recognized that the stages could be implemented in hardware, firmware, software or any combination thereof.

Claims

A method for releasing media content, comprising:

at a computer system having one or more processors and memory:

receiving a release request from an advertiser for a current release cycle, the release request specifying a target audience for releasing advertisements based on targeting criteria comprising one or more target parameters； and

in response to the release request, releasing advertisements in one or more release periods within the current release cycle, wherein during each current release period of the one or more release periods, the releasing comprises:

determining a respective release budget for the current release period for releasing advertisements for the advertiser；

identifying a respective restricted target audience for the current release period in accordance with the release budget, wherein identifying the restricted target audience for the current release period includes imposing an additional restriction on the targeting criteria of the release request for use in the current release period； and

starting the current release period to release advertisements to the respective restricted target audience based on the targeting criteria of the release request as modified by the additional restriction.
The method of claim 1, wherein the release request from the advertiser further includes an advertiser-specified budget, and wherein the release budget for each current release period of the one or more release periods is smaller than the advertiser-specified budget.
The method of claim 2, wherein determining the release budget for the current release period comprises:

determining a current balance for the advertiser for releasing advertisements with respect to the current release period； and

choosing an amount smaller than the current balance as the release budget for the current release period.
The method of claim 1, wherein imposing the additional restriction on the targeting criteria of the release request for the current release period comprises at least one of:

adding one or more additional target parameters independent of the one or more target parameters to the targeting criteria of the release request, and

replacing at least one of the one or more target parameters of the target criteria with a sub-set of all sub-parameters of the at least one target parameter.
The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the restricted target audience for the current release period includes:

estimating respective expected release expenditures in accordance with one or more test restrictions imposed on the targeting criteria in the release request, the estimating being based on release information from one or more previous release cycles of the advertiser； and

based at least on a comparison between the respective expected release expenditures and the release budget for the current release period, selecting one or more of the test restrictions as the additional restriction to be impose on the targeting criteria during the current release period.
The method of claim 5, wherein selecting the one or more of the test restrictions as the additional restriction to be impose on the targeting criteria during the current release period further comprises:

choosing one or more restriction target parameters such that a total expected expenditure for releasing advertisements in accordance with the one or more restriction target parameters imposed on the targeting criteria matches the release budget for the current release period in accordance with predetermined matching criteria.
The method of claim 6, wherein selecting the one or more of the test restrictions as the additional restriction to be impose on the targeting criteria during the current release period further comprises:

choosing the one or more restriction target parameters further based on respective advertiser preferences or historic performances of the sub-parameters of at least one of the target parameters of the release request.
The method of claim 1, further comprising:

before releasing the advertisements in the one or more release periods within the current release cycle, determining whether the advertiser is a long-tail advertiser based on the release request from the advertiser, wherein the characteristics of the long-tail advertiser includes one or more of: alimited advertiser-specified release budget, a wide targeting range, and a large population of target users.
A computer system, comprising:

one or more processors； and

memory for storing one or more programs to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs comprising instructions for:

receiving a release request from an advertiser for a current release cycle, the release request specifying a target audience for releasing advertisements based on targeting criteria comprising one or more target parameters； and

in response to the release request, releasing advertisements in one or more release periods within the current release cycle, wherein during each current release period of the one or more release periods, the releasing comprises:

determining a respective release budget for the current release period for releasing advertisements for the advertiser；

identifying a respective restricted target audience for the current release period in accordance with the release budget, wherein identifying the restricted target audience for the current release period includes imposing an additional restriction on the targeting criteria of the release request for use in the current release period； and

starting the current release period to release advertisements to the respective restricted target audience based on the targeting criteria of the release request as modified by the additional restriction.
The computer system of claim 9, wherein the release request from the advertiser further includes an advertiser-specified budget, and wherein the release budget for each current release period of the one or more release periods is smaller than the advertiser-specified budget.
The computer system of claim 10, wherein determining the release budget for the current release period comprises:

determining a current balance for the advertiser for releasing advertisements with respect to the current release period； and

choosing an amount smaller than the current balance as the release budget for the current release period.
The electronic device of claim 9, wherein imposing the additional restriction on the targeting criteria of the release request for the current release period comprises at least one of:

adding one or more additional target parameters independent of the one or more target parameters to the targeting criteria of the release request, and

replacing at least one of the one or more target parameters of the target criteria with a sub-set of all sub-parameters of the at least one target parameter.
The electronic device of claim 9, wherein identifying the restricted target audience for the current release period includes:

estimating respective expected release expenditures in accordance with one or more test restrictions imposed on the targeting criteria in the release request, the estimating being based on release information from one or more previous release cycles of the advertiser； and

based at least on a comparison between the respective expected release expenditures and the release budget for the current release period, selecting one or more of the test restrictions as the additional restriction to be impose on the targeting criteria during the current release period.
The electronic device of claim 13, wherein selecting the one or more of the test restrictions as the additional restriction to be impose on the targeting criteria during the current release period further comprises:

choosing one or more restriction target parameters such that a total expected expenditure for releasing advertisements in accordance with the one or more restriction target parameters imposed on the targeting criteria matches the release budget for the current release period in accordance with predetermined matching criteria.
A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs, the one or more programs comprising instructions, which, when executed by an electronic device with one or more processors and a display, cause the device to perform operations comprising:

receiving a release request from an advertiser for a current release cycle, the release request specifying a target audience for releasing advertisements based on targeting criteria comprising one or more target parameters； and

in response to the release request, releasing advertisements in one or more release periods within the current release cycle, wherein during each current release period of the one or more release periods, the releasing comprises:

determining a respective release budget for the current release period for releasing advertisements for the advertiser；

identifying a respective restricted target audience for the current release period in accordance with the release budget, wherein identifying the restricted target audience for the current release period includes imposing an additional restriction on the targeting criteria of the release request for use in the current release period； and

starting the current release period to release advertisements to the respective restricted target audience based on the targeting criteria of the release request as modified by the additional restriction.
The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the release request from the advertiser further includes an advertiser-specified budget, and wherein the release budget for each current release period of the one or more release periods is smaller than the advertiser-specified budget.
The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein determining the release budget for the current release period comprises:

determining a current balance for the advertiser for releasing advertisements with respect to the current release period； and

choosing an amount smaller than the current balance as the release budget for the current release period.
The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein imposing the additional restriction on the targeting criteria of the release request for the current release period comprises at least one of:

adding one or more additional target parameters independent of the one or more target parameters to the targeting criteria of the release request, and

replacing at least one of the one or more target parameters of the target criteria with a sub-set of all sub-parameters of the at least one target parameter.
The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein identifying the restricted target audience for the current release period includes:

estimating respective expected release expenditures in accordance with one or more test restrictions imposed on the targeting criteria in the release request, the estimating being based on release information from one or more previous release cycles of the advertiser； and

based at least on a comparison between the respective expected release expenditures and the release budget for the current release period, selecting one or more of the test restrictions as the additional restriction to be impose on the targeting criteria during the current release period.
The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein selecting the one or more of the test restrictions as the additional restriction to be impose on the targeting criteria during the current release period further comprises:

choosing one or more restriction target parameters such that a total expected expenditure for releasing advertisements in accordance with the one or more restriction target parameters imposed on the targeting criteria matches the release budget for the current release period in accordance with predetermined matching criteria.