WO2017001026A1

WO2017001026A1 - Apparatus and method for synchronizing advertisements between a first device and a second device

Info

Publication number: WO2017001026A1
Application number: PCT/EP2015/066151
Authority: WO
Inventors: Nilo Mitra; Paul Higgs
Original assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ)
Priority date: 2015-07-01
Filing date: 2015-07-15
Publication date: 2017-01-05

Abstract

A method is provided in a first device for synchronizing an advertisement to be played on a second device with an advertisement being played on the first device. The method comprises receiving (step 201) a data transport stream, the data transport stream comprising a first advertisement for playing on the first device; determining (step 203) whether the received data transport stream comprises an application to be launched upon playing the first advertisement and, if so, launching the application (step 205); and sending (step 207) synchronization information to a network node, for enabling a network node to provide advertisement synchronization to a second device based on the first advertisement being played on the first device.

Description

Apparatus and Method for Synchronizing Advertisements between a First

Device and a Second Device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for advertisement synchronization between a first device and a second device, for example advertisement synchronization between a first device such as a hybrid terminal (for example a smart television) and a second device such as a companion device (for example a laptop, tablet or smartphone).

Background

Viewer attention deficit during the presentation of broadcast television commercials (hereafter referred to as advertisements or ads) is worsened by the proliferation of companion devices such as laptops, tablets, phablets and smartphones. Experience shows that while such devices distract from the main program, the effect is particularly significant during advertisement breaks when viewers catch up on their social networks, check emails, surf the web, and so on. This trend can have a significant impact on advertisers, who do not obtain the benefit of recall and recognition of advertisement content that expensive, premium TV advertisement spots command. Thus, traditional measures which correlate TV advertisement spend against viewer ratings are no longer valid, since this is becoming an inadequate measurement of viewer engagement with an advertisement being aired. Advertisement synchronization (also referred to hereafter as "Ad-Sync") with companion devices is an attempt by the advertising industry to try and regain some of this lost attention, by showing the same or similar advertisement (for example an advertisement from the same advertisement campaign) on the companion screen (albeit in a different format perhaps) at approximately the same time that the TV advertisement is running. Studies show that this reinforcement significantly enhances audience recognition and recall of the subject of the advertisement, driving higher returns for the advertiser from the advertisement campaign. Another variant is for cross-targeting, whereby a companion advertisement is based on a complementary aspect of the main TV advertisement (for example, an advertisement for a car on TV is matched with an auto insurance advertisement on a companion device). It is also possible for an advertiser of a competing product to bid more to play a competitive advertisement on the companion devices. The synchronized advertisement shown on the companion screen is typically tailored for that device, for example, a banner advertisement inside a mobile application, or a sponsored news item in a Twitter™ feed or an auto-playing video advertisement on a Facebook™ timeline from that advertiser.

Attempts have been made to provide advertisement synchronization. For example, in the so-called SyncNow™ network service by Civolution™, this system monitors thousands of channels worldwide for audio fingerprints, and can, upon the start of a TV advertisement, consult its audio fingerprint database to determine which advertisement is being played. This system then works with an advertisement exchange, for example a Facebook

(Advertisement) Exchange, to see if there are advertisers who would like to place bids for inserting appropriate advertisements as Facebook news feeds on companion devices. As neither Civolution nor Facebook know which users are watching which TV channel, such systems offer advertisements to users matching certain characteristics (e.g., demographics, device types, logged-in Facebook users etc.) with the hope that such statistical targeting captures a significant number of the target users who are both tuned to that TV channel and active on their companion devices while a particular advertisement airs.

In another variant, Civolution inserts watermarks into advertisements (for example from advertisers who wish to benefit from having synchronized advertisements), and have a Civolution mobile application software

(henceforward referred to by the better-known and commonly understood term "App" or "app", thereby also distinguishing it from other uses of the word "application") running on the companion device which either captures the watermark, or gathers a fingerprint of the advertisement through ambient audio sampling. The system then queries a fingerprint server, which identifies the advertisement, after which the SyncNow™ service queries advertisement exchanges/ad-networks to determine which advertiser bids the highest for placing a similar advertisement or a complementary advertisement on companion devices. Again, the advertisements are then offered to companion devices based on the statistical assumption that a defined demographic set of online users are indeed tuned to the same channel where the advertisement is airing.

Other systems provide TV advertisement synchronization to mobile devices by using "educated guesses" on what TV channel their audience is tuned to at any moment, and whether their mobile devices are attached to a WiFi network and stationary. Together with demographic and other data, such systems can request placement of advertisements from advertisement exchanges/ad- networks for mobile advertisements (typically banner advertisements) to match the advertisement that is airing on TV. This type of approach is purely statistical, but claims to provide a reduction in audience distraction based on advertisement synchronization by using mobile banner advertisements that require a click through (to get something), which serves as a proxy for viewer engagement. In systems such as those described above, for example a network based approach which determines the advertisement which is playing, there is a disadvantage in that such systems cannot determine if a particular household (much less a specific viewer) is tuned to that channel. Nor can such vendors of advertisement synchronization solutions know the active companion devices in a specific household. Therefore, when such systems query an advertisement exchange for a real-time bid for a synchronized advertisement, such systems cannot target a specific user or household or companion screen, which lowers the value of the advertisement impression considerably.

The current approaches are therefore a broad brush "spraying" of the synchronized advertisements to online users, for example using heuristics and statistical assumptions to reach an intended audience.

Systems which monitor for fingerprints for an advertisement have the disadvantage of requiring the user to add an app to their companion device to fingerprint the TV audio. This cannot always be assumed to be present in most companion devices. Also, fingerprinting techniques are offered by a number of companies for other purposes (such as music identification), and thus one cannot necessarily expect a user to add a different app merely for advertisement synchronization purposes. Also, a fingerprinting app for advertisement synchronization purposes has the disadvantage of requiring a continuous monitoring of the audio signal and a regular interaction with the network, both of which are battery intensive and may not be popular with users. Summary

It is an aim of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus which obviate or reduce at least one or more of the disadvantages mentioned above.

According to a first aspect there is provide a method in a first device, for synchronizing an advertisement to be played on a second device with an advertisement being played on the first device. The method comprises receiving a data transport stream, the data transport stream comprising a first

advertisement for playing on the first device, and determining whether the received data transport stream comprises an application to be launched upon playing the first advertisement and, if so, launching the application. The method further comprises sending synchronization information to a network node, for enabling a network node to provide advertisement synchronization to a second device based on the first advertisement being played on the first device.

According to another aspect there is provided a method in a network node for synchronizing an advertisement to be played on a second device with an advertisement being played on a first device. The method comprises receiving synchronization information from the first device, the synchronization

information identifying a first advertisement being played on the first device and an external address associated with the first device. The method further comprises using the synchronizing information to obtain a second

advertisement for playing by a second device having the same external address as the first device.

According to another aspect there is provided a first device for synchronizing an advertisement to be played on a second device with an advertisement being played on the first device. The first device is adapted to receive a data transport stream, the data transport stream comprising a first advertisement for playing on the first device. The first device is further adapted to determine whether the received data transport stream comprises an application to be launched upon playing the first advertisement and, if so, launch the application. The first device is further adapted to send synchronization information to a network node, for enabling a network node to provide advertisement synchronization to a second device based on the first advertisement being played on the first device. According to another aspect there is provided a network node for synchronizing an advertisement to be played on a second device with an advertisement being played on a first device. The network node is adapted to receive

synchronization information from the first device, the synchronization

information identifying a first advertisement being played on the first device and an external address associated with the first device. The network node is further adapted to use the synchronizing information to obtain a second advertisement for playing by a second device having the same external address as the first device.

According to another aspect there is provided a first device for synchronizing an advertisement to be played on a second device with an advertisement being played on the first device, the first device comprising a processor and a memory, said memory containing instructions executable by said processor. The first device is operative to receive a data transport stream, the data transport stream comprising a first advertisement for playing on the first device, and determine whether the received data transport stream comprises an application to be launched upon playing the first advertisement and, if so, launching the application. The first device is further operative to send

synchronization information to a network node, for enabling a network node to provide advertisement synchronization to a second device based on the first advertisement being played on the first device.

According to another aspect there is provided a network node for synchronizing an advertisement to be played on a second device with an advertisement being played on a first device, the network node comprising a processor and a memory, said memory containing instructions executable by said processor. The network node is operative to receive synchronization information from the first device, the synchronization information identifying a first advertisement being played on the first device and an external address associated with the first device. The network node is further operative to use the synchronizing information to obtain a second advertisement for playing by a second device having the same external address as the first device.

According to another aspect there is provided a first device for synchronizing an advertisement to be played on a second device with an advertisement being played on the first device. The first device comprises a first module configured to receive a data transport stream, the data transport stream comprising a first advertisement for playing on the first device. The first device further comprises a second module configured to determine whether the received data transport stream comprises an application to be launched upon playing the first advertisement and, if so, launch the application. The first device further comprises a third module configured to send synchronization information to a network node, for enabling a network node to provide advertisement synchronization to a second device based on the first advertisement being played on the first device. According to another aspect there is provided a network node for synchronizing an advertisement to be played on a second device with an advertisement being played on a first device. The network node comprises a first module configured to receive synchronization information from the first device, the synchronization information identifying a first advertisement being played on the first device and an external address associated with the first device. The network node comprises a second module configured to use the synchronizing information to obtain a second advertisement for playing by a second device having the same external address as the first device. According to another aspect there is provided a method in a broadcast network for synchronizing an advertisement to be played on a second device with an advertisement being played on a first device. The method comprises receiving broadcast content containing television programming, and associating an advertising synchronization application with an advertisement to be played on a first device during a slot in the television programming. The method further comprises creating a data transport stream comprising the broadcast content, the first advertisement and the associated advertising synchronization application. The method further comprises delivering the data transport stream to the first device.

According to another aspect there is provided a computer program configured, when run on a computer, to carry out a method according to the method described herein, and as defined in the appended claims.

According to another aspect there is provided a computer program product comprising a computer readable medium and a computer program according to the above stored on the computer readable medium.

Brief description of the drawings For a better understanding of examples of the present invention, and to show more clearly how the examples may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example only, to the following drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows an example of a typical network;

Figure 2 shows an example of a method according to an embodiment; Figure 3 shows an example of a method according to another embodiment; Figure 4 shows an example of an application of an embodiment; Figure 5 shows an example of an application of an embodiment; Figure 6 shows an example of a first device according to an embodiment;

Figure 7 shows an example of a network node according to another

embodiment;

Figure 8 shows another example of a first device according to an embodiment;

Figure 9 shows another example of a network node according to another embodiment; and

Figure 10 shows an example of a method in a broadcast network, according to another embodiment.

Detailed description

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the teachings of the present disclosure 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 obscure the present disclosure. Additionally, it should be understood that although present disclosure is described primarily in the context of television programming delivered through a broadcast network, the disclosure can be implemented for any other type of audio-visual content such as, for example, movies, non-television video programming or shows, and the like, and also for multicast delivered content.

Furthermore, the term "first device" may be used interchangeably herein to refer to a "user terminal," "client terminal," "subscriber terminal," or a "hybrid terminal", in any form factor, including hybrid terminals that support connections to a broadcast/multicast network and a broadband network. An example of a hybrid terminal is a smart television. The connection to the broadcast network allows the hybrid terminal to receive the broadcasted content and signals through a transport stream, and the connection to the broadband network provides a "back channel" that allows the hybrid terminals to communicate with various network servers through an IP network such as the Internet. The broadcast/multicast transport stream of the programs may be delivered to the hybrid terminal according to the below-discussed teachings of the present disclosure. It is noted here that because the teachings of the present disclosure equally apply to a transport stream delivered by a television broadcast network either via traditional broadcast means (terrestrial/satellite/cable means) or via IP unicast or multicast means, the term "hybrid terminal" is also used below to include a terminal that supports IP unicast or multicast functionality such as, for example, an IPTV terminal, an IP Set-Top Box (IP-STB), or a hybrid terminal having IPTV functionality such as, for example, when the hybrid terminal operates as an IP-STB for an IP delivered channel. Thus, even if a "hybrid terminal" may not support the IPTV functionality in some embodiments, the term "hybrid terminal" may still be used below for the sake of convenience and ease of discussion.

Likewise, the term "second device" may be used interchangeably herein to refer to a "user terminal", "client terminal", "subscriber terminal" or a "companion device", including companion devices such as laptops, tablet devices, phablets, and smartphones.

Similarly, the terms such as "client," "user," "viewer," "consumer," "subscriber," and other terms of similar import may be used interchangeably herein to refer to an individual viewer, as opposed to all the users in a household, watching broadcast/multicast programs on a hybrid terminal. As above, the broadcast/multicast transport stream of the programs may be delivered to the hybrid terminal according to the teachings of the present disclosure, and the hybrid terminal may be configured as discussed below to process the received transport stream to provide the advertisement synchronization to a viewer who also has a companion device. For ease of discussion, the terms "program" and "channel", as in the case of a TV program or TV channel, may be used interchangeably herein as may be evident from the context.

It is observed that the term "advertisement" is used herein as an example of "interstitial programming," which generally refers to textual, video, audio, or audio-visual content inserted at pre-determined ad insertion points or splice points in the linear flow of the main television programming being delivered to a hybrid terminal through broadcast/multicast, or to textual, video, audio or audiovisual content inserted into advertising banners or other advertising units on applications or programs running on companion devices. Thus, the teachings of the present disclosure may also apply to enable advertisement synchronization with other non-advertisement type "interstitial programming" or content such as, for example, various non-commercial programs like video clips, news clips, a specific audio clip, and so on. For ease of understanding the principle of the present disclosure, however, the readily-recognized terms "advertisement" or "ad" have been primarily used in the discussion below merely as a convenient shorthand for the more generic term "interstitial programming".

Thus, while the embodiments described herein refer to methods and apparatus for synchronizing an advertisement playing on a companion device (for example a laptop, tablet, phablet, smartphone or similar) with an advertisement playing on a hybrid device (for example a broadcast advertisement running on a smart television), it is noted that the embodiments described herein may be applied more widely to any type of first content playing or being displayed on a first device with any type of second content playing or being displayed on a second device.

Figure 1 shows a smart television 10 of the form which are now widely available worldwide, and which support a hybrid terminal model where broadcast (or linear) TV content from a broadcast network 20 is consumed through an ATSC/DVB/ISDB based broadcast connection 21 (provided by terrestrial, cable or satellite access) together with a broadband connection 22 to a broadband network 30 such as the Internet, via a router 25, (for example a home router which communicates with the hybrid terminal 10 via a local communication network, such as a WiFi signal 23i of a WiFi network). The router 25 can also act as a routing hub for allowing other devices 15, such as companion devices 15i to 15N to communicate with the IP/Broadband network 30 (e.g. via WiFi signals 23₂, 233 and broadband connection 22). The HbbTV 2.0 specification, as found in

(http://www.hbbtv.org/pages/about hbbtv/specification-2.php), provides a standard that is implemented in smart televisions sold in Europe and other parts of the world following this standard. One feature of this standard is that it enables the availability of interactive applications to be signalled via the broadcast channel 21 using an Application Information Table (AIT, as defined by the ETSI Technical Standard 102 809) in the MPEG Transport Stream for a program. This enables an application to be launched after the application is retrieved via the broadband access.

Figure 2 shows an example of a method in a first device according to an embodiment, for synchronizing an advertisement to be played on a second device with an advertisement being played on the first device. The first device may comprise for example a hybrid terminal, such as a smart television, while the second device may comprise for example a companion device, such as a laptop, tablet, phablet or smartphone.

The method comprises receiving a data transport stream, the data transport stream comprising a first advertisement for playing on the first device, step 201 . In step 203 the method comprises determining whether the received data transport stream comprises an application to be launched upon playing the first advertisement and, if so, launching the application, step 205. In step 207 the method comprises sending synchronization information to a network node, for enabling a network node to provide advertisement synchronization to a second device based on the first advertisement being played on the first device. It is noted that the synchronizing information is sent using the application which has been launched. In this way, an application relating to advertisement synchronization can be associated with an advertisement (for example referred to as an Ad-Sync app), which can be automatically launched as the advertisement starts to play on the first device.

In one embodiment, the application to be launched is received in an application information table (AIT) within the received data transport stream, for example as described above in the HbbTV specification.

In one embodiment the application launched from the AIT comprises an embedded URL relating to where the synchronization information is to be sent. There is thus provided a network call launched by the application relating to an Ad-Sync, wherein the network call solves one aspect of the matter of TV advertisement synchronization with companion devices. In one example the network call uses an AIT as described in co-pending patent application

14/577,359 by the present Applicant, which is incorporated herein by reference.

In one embodiment, the synchronization information comprises an external address associated with the first device and the identity of the first

advertisement being played on the first device. Thus, the network call to the network node (or server) and the synchronization information contained therein, serves as a definitive indication that the specific advertisement is playing on a specific first device (e.g. smart TV). This deals with a first issue of advertising synchronization, which is determining which specific advertisement is being played on a particular first device for advertisement synchronization purposes. In one example the URL of the network node (server) is embedded into a field in the AIT, which causes an HTTP GET to that server indicating that the advertisement is running. As with above, the network call serves as a definitive indication that the advertisement is playing on the first device (e.g., the receiving smart TV set).

Figure 3 shows an example of the steps that may be performed in a network node (for example a network server), for synchronizing an advertisement to be played on a second device with an advertisement being played on a first device.

The method comprises receiving synchronization information from the first device, the synchronization information identifying a first advertisement being played on the first device and an external address associated with the first device, step 301 . The synchronizing information is used, step 303, to obtain a second advertisement for playing by a second device having the same external address as the first device.

In this way the synchronization information provides an indication of what particular advertisement is being played on a particular first device at that time.

The network node may comprise, for example, a Supply Side Platform (SSP) of an online publisher that handles placement of advertisements. The first device may comprise for example a hybrid terminal such as a smart television, while the second device may comprise for example a companion device such as a laptop, tablet device, phablet or smartphone. Upon the network node subsequently receiving an advertisement request from a second device, the method in the network node further comprises determining whether the second device has the same external address as the first device. If so, the method comprises informing the second device of the second

advertisement to be played on the second device. It is noted that the informing step may comprise sending an advertisement tag or pointer to the second device, pointing to a location where the second device can access the second advertisement for playback.

In one example the external address comprises an IP address of a home network associated with the first device and the second device. For example, the external address may comprise the IP address of a router or broadband connection device which links the first device and the second device to the external broadband network or Internet.

The step of obtaining the second advertisement may comprise sending the external address of the first device and the identity of the first advertisement to an advertisement network or an advertisement exchange and receiving an advertisement tag relating to the second advertisement that is chosen to be synchronized with the first advertisement. The advertisement tag can then be stored with the associated external address at the network node. Thus, obtaining and storing the second advertisement may comprise obtaining and storing a tag or pointer associated with the second advertisement. When a second device subsequently sends a request to the SSP for an advertisement, the external address of the second device can be used to match the second device with the external address that is stored in the SSP, which hence relates to the first advertisement being played on the first device.

A network node such as a SSP may handle programmatic purchases on behalf of online publishers of advertising units in online web pages or apps (e.g., Facebook) displayed on a second device. The synchronizing data accompanying the network call, which includes the information about the TV advertisement that is airing at the particular device, may also include other data, for example any cookies for the SSP's domain, as well as the TV's external IP address derived from the received IP packet. This allows the SSP to contact advertisement networks or advertisement exchanges to find an advertiser who wishes to take advantage of advertisement synchronization to serve similar or complementary advertisements to that user's companion devices.

The method of Figure 3 therefore deals with a second issue of ad

synchronization, namely how to obtain knowledge of active companion devices in the household where the TV ad is airing. The HTTP query that the ad app makes to the SSP will contain the external address associated with the first device, for example the external IP address of the home or local network of that first device. Requests to (online) web sites from any other companion devices in this home network (which include ad units in web pages or apps being viewed by these companion devices) will also include this external IP address, for example in their IP packet headers. Thus, all HTTP requests emanating from this household with this external IP address will quite reasonably be assumed to come from companion devices within the home network. The different devices will, of course, have different cookies for the various visited domains, as well as possibly different HTTP headers such as device Operating System (OS), device type, screen size etc., including cookies for the domain of the SSP. In one embodiment, a network node such as a SSP can thus identify different companion devices in the same home network based on their common external address (IP address), in combination with at least one or more of their OS, device type, screen size etc., and their SSP cookies.

Thus, any HTTP requests from companion devices in this household, whilst the TV ad is airing, will carry the external IP address of the household. As the user on a second device visits web sites during the airing of the TV

advertisement, requests from the web site publisher to the SSP for

advertisements to fill the ad units on the web pages being visited will include this IP address as well as cookies previously placed on companion screen browsers by the SSP. The IP address and the cookie value sent by the SSP to advertisement networks and advertisement exchanges can allow

corresponding Demand Side Platforms (DSPs, which help advertisers find appropriate online inventory on which to place their ads) to find appropriate synchronized or targeted advertisements to place for such ad requests based on the profile of the user.

With regard to the detailed interactions between SSPs and advertisement networks and advertisement exchanges, and how DSPs choose an appropriate online advertisement, the embodiments described herein are intended to include any method or technique, including those that are well established techniques in the online ad serving industry. The embodiments described herein provide solutions which deal with how to make a definitive determination that a first device, such as a smart television in a household, is airing a particular advertisement at a certain point in time, and a determination that all online requests at that time or shortly thereafter are arising from active companion devices within that household. Once these two pieces of information are available, the ability to serve a synchronized advertisement to companion devices is possible without approximations, guess work or using statistical heuristics. Figure 4 describes in greater detail a first of two stages for synchronizing advertisements between a first device and a second device according to embodiments of the present invention. This first stage illustrates how a hybrid device such as a smart television indicates to the advertising back end the particular TV advertisement that is airing at a given moment in time. This is then used by the advertising backend to determine if there are advertisers who wish to take advantage of advertising synchronization on companion devices within the same home network.

In the example of Figure 4 there is depicted a smart TV 410 which receives a data stream from a broadcaster 420. Also depicted is a network node 430, such as a Supply Side Platform (SSP) or advertising exchange. Demand Side Platforms (DSPs) or advertiser nodes 440i and 440₂ are also shown.

Step 0: It is assumed that the broadcaster 420 populates a data transport stream with an application relating to advertising synchronization (Ad-Sync), for example by populating an Application Information Table (AIT) in a MPEG-2 Transport Stream for each advertisement where Ad-Sync is sought. In one example "A", the broadcaster populates the data stream, for example the AIT in the data stream, with a URL to an advertising application. In another example "B", the broadcaster populates the data stream, for example the AIT in the data stream, with a URL to an advertising monitoring server in the network. It is noted that example "B" can be more efficient as it requires fewer network calls, but either option is open to the broadcaster 420.

Step 1 : Upon receipt of the data transport stream, the smart TV 410 plays the advertisement, which also causes the Ad-Sync application to launch.

Step 2: For an AIT with a URL of type "A", the Ad-Sync app is retrieved by resolving that URL followed by another HTTP GET to the URL embedded within that app. For an AIT with a URL of type "B", the act of resolving it via a HTTP GET gives the indication to the monitoring server of the playout of that advertisement. It is noted that the URL embedded within the Ad-Sync app is the same as the URL of type "B". Retrieving an Ad-Sync app and then making a second call based on the embedded URL to the ad monitoring service requires additional network interactions, but this option is left open in case a broadcaster has other uses for this app.

The domain of the ad monitoring server URLs is that of the Supply Side Platform (SSP) 430 that various online publishers (e.g. Web sites) use for ad placements on their sites, and to whom the broadcaster 420 offers the Ad- Sync capability. It is noted that by varying these domains, each advertisement sync request could be targeted at a different SSP. In one example the full URL is further constructed by appending to the domain the identity of the

advertisement playing on the first device - this may, for instance, be in the form specified by the advertising industry specification in an advertising identifier (Ad-ID), as specified in http://www.ad-id.org/. Thus, a typical URL could be constructed to form http://www.SSP.com/sync/Ad-IDzzzzz. The HTTP request message, i.e. the HTTP GET message in this example, includes an external address relating to the smart TV 410, such as the external IP address assigned by an Internet Service Provider (ISP) for this household and hence the smart TV, e.g. "IP Address: x.x.x.x".

In noted that the HTTP request may also include headers which convey important information such as cookies, as well as the external IP address once the HTTP request passes through the Network Address Translation (NAT) function.

Step 3: The SSP 430 receiving such a request recognizes it as a request for a Ad-Sync, and formulates an appropriate bid request for the placement of synchronized advertisements on one or more companion devices. The SSP 430 includes in the bid request additional information, such as the external address (IP address of the household), which may assist the bidders to formulate competitive bids.

The bids are submitted to various DSP or advertising exchanges 440 (for example a Facebook advertising exchange), which act as proxies for advertisers.

Step 4a shows an example of a bid being submitted to DSP/Advertiser 440i . Step 4b shows an example of a bid being submitted to DSP/Advertiser 440₂.

The DSPs can use whatever backend information they require to see if they have data on the particular household identified by the external IP address. There is a rich set of data available that DSPs use to determine their bids. Step 5a shows an example where the DSP 440i identifies the advertisement being aired on the smart TV as one from its client, and chooses to bid a certain amount to pay for a synchronized advertisement to be played on a companion device, the bid being shown as step 6a.

Step 5b shows an example where the DSP 440₂ recognizes that it can serve a complementary advertisement on behalf of another advertiser, and offers another bid, for example a higher bid for a complementary synchronized advertisement, the bid shown as step 6b.

Step 7: At some point after receiving the GET message from the smart TV 410, the SSP/Exchange 430 may send an acknowledgement signal to the smart TV 410, for example a HTTP "200 OK" message.

Step 8: The SSP/Exchange 430 receives all bids and then determines which bid to accept (for example using an algorithm specified by the SSP/Exchange operator).

Step 9: The winning bidder is informed, in this example the winning bidder being the DSP/Advertiser 440₂. Step 10: In response to being informed that its bid has been successful, the DSP/Advertiser 440₂ sends an advertisement tag (Ad tag) to the

SSP/Exchange 430. The advertisement tag can comprise a pointer to a location where the advertisement is stored, or from where the advertisement may be played. For example, the advertisement tag may comprise a well- known piece of HTML code that determines the placement of the ad on a web page and the ad server to whom the request should be placed for the actual advertising material.

Step 1 1 : The Ad tag of a companion screen ad associated with the external address (e.g. IP address) is stored by the SSP/Exchange 430 for use in subsequent interactions. It is noted that steps 3 through 1 1 can be completed in about 150-250 milliseconds from the time the TV advertisement starts being aired, which means that a synchronized advertisement can be played on another device while the first advertisement is still being aired.

Certain steps described above, for example those relating to the

advertisement bidding process per se, may comprise current industry practice used by online advertisement management platforms to match advertisers with targeted ad placements on online publisher properties.

A second stage relates to how one or more second devices, for example one or more companion devices in a household, where the TV advertisement is airing on the smart TV, are served synchronized advertisements, for example during at least part of the air time of the TV advertisement (and possible a period of time following the airing) - to reinforce the message and impact of the TV advertisement. This is illustrated in Figure 5.

Figure 5 illustrates how advertising synchronization may be used with companion devices, for example companion devices 510i and 510₂ in the example. In the call flow shown in the example, the steps associated with a user (or users) of companion devices 510i and 510₂ within a household watching a program on a smart TV turn their attention during an advertisement break to their companion screens 510i and 510₂.

Step 1 a shows companion device 510i retrieving some web pages (for example from a server relating to a travel company) based on its user inputs. For example, the companion device 510i sends a GET message for some page, and provides its IP address, and possibly some other headers and profile information such as cookies. Step 2a shows the remote server 520i , such as a travel website, returning the requested page, with one or more slots for advertisements. The web pages returned therefore include slots where online ads are to be placed. In industry practice, such slots are filled with ad tags that direct the browser to the backend advertising platform (in this case the SSP/Exchange) which will determine the exact ad placement.

Step 3a shows the SSP/Exchange 530 receiving a GET message from the companion device, requesting an advertisement for a specific slot. The GET message includes the external address (IP address) of the companion device 520i. In other words, each companion device requests an ad placement for a specific slot from the SSP/Exchange. As with each HTTP request from devices in this household (i.e. which share a common local or home network), the IP address of this household is provided as a part of the IP packet conveying the HTTP request.

As mentioned previously in Figure 4, the SSP/Exchange 530 may perform an advertisement bidding process to obtain a synchronized advertisement that is associated with the advertisement being played on the smart TV and/or the user of the smart TV, through the link provided by the IP address, for placement in the requested slot.

Step 4a shows the SSP/Exchange 530 returning an Ad tag which has been stored for this address, the ad tag in this example being from Advertiser 2 (e.g. 440₂ of Figure 4). This step corresponds to step 10 of Figure 4. The

SSP/Exchange therefore returns the Ad tag stored for this IP address in at least one ad placement request so that at least one ad on the companion screen is synchronized with that being aired on the TV. It is noted that other ad unit placement requests for additional units on the visited web page could be fulfilled using the usual targeting algorithms used by the advertising platforms, i.e. rather than using synchronized advertising. Steps 1 b, 2b, 3b and 4b of Figure 5 show similar steps when a second companion device 5102 attempts to retrieve web pages from a fashion website 520₂.

The embodiments described herein provide a definitive way of synchronizing advertisements delivered to companion devices with those currently airing on a TV set at the same location (linked to the same local network). The embodiments have the advantage of not requiring any vendor-specific functionality to be installed on the client device in order to offer this capability, or the use of statistical assumptions that a TV in a particular household is indeed tuned to that advertisement. The embodiments described herein also have an advantage in that companion screens that are in the same household can, without the addition of any extra software or user intervention, see at least one synchronized ad in any online interactions during the time when the TV ad is airing, or in a period thereafter. Figure 6 shows an example of a first device 600 according to another embodiment, for synchronizing an advertisement to be played on a second device with an advertisement being played on the first device. The first device comprises a processor 601 and a memory 603, said memory 603 containing instructions executable by said processor 601 . Said first device 600 is operative to receive a data transport stream, the data transport stream comprising a first advertisement for playing on the first device. Said first device 600 is operative to determine whether the received data transport stream comprises an application to be launched upon playing the first advertisement and, if so, launch the application. Said first device 600 is further operative to send synchronization information to a network node, for enabling a network node to provide advertisement synchronization to a second device based on the first advertisement being played on the first device.

Figure 7 shows an example of a network node 700 according to another embodiment, for synchronizing an advertisement to be played on a second device with an advertisement being played on a first device. The network node comprises a processor 701 and a memory 703, said memory 703 containing instructions executable by said processor 701 . Said network node 700 is operative to receive synchronization information from the first device, the synchronization information identifying a first advertisement being played on the first device and an external address associated with the first device. Said network node 700 is further operative to use the synchronizing information to obtain a second advertisement for playing by a second device having the same external address as the first device. Figure 8 shows an example of a first device 800 according to another

embodiment, for synchronizing an advertisement to be played on a second device with an advertisement being played on the first device. The first device comprises a first module 801 configured to receive a data transport stream, the data transport stream comprising a first advertisement for playing on the first device. The first device further comprises a second module 803 configured to determine whether the received data transport stream comprises an application to be launched upon playing the first advertisement and, if so, launch the application. The first device 800 further comprises a third module 805

configured to send synchronization information to a network node, for enabling a network node to provide advertisement synchronization to a second device based on the first advertisement being played on the first device.

Figure 9 shows a network node 900 for synchronizing an advertisement to be played on a second device with an advertisement being played on a first device. The network node comprises a first module 901 configured to receive

synchronization information from the first device, the synchronization information identifying a first advertisement being played on the first device and an external address associated with the first device. The network node 900 further comprises a second module 903 configured to use the synchronizing information to obtain a second advertisement for playing by a second device having the same external address as the first device.

According to another embodiment there is provided a first device for

synchronizing an advertisement to be played on a second device with an advertisement being played on the first device. The first device is adapted to receive a data transport stream, the data transport stream comprising a first advertisement for playing on the first device. The first device is further adapted to determine whether the received data transport stream comprises an application to be launched upon playing the first advertisement and, if so, launch the application. The first device is further adapted to send

According to another embodiment, there is provided a network node for synchronizing an advertisement to be played on a second device with an advertisement being played on a first device. The network node is adapted to receive synchronization information from the first device, the synchronization information identifying a first advertisement being played on the first device and an external address associated with the first device. The network node is further adapted to use the synchronizing information to obtain a second advertisement for playing by a second device having the same external address as the first device.

Referring to Figure 10, according to another embodiment there is provided a method in a broadcast network for synchronizing an advertisement to be played on a second device with an advertisement being played on a first device. The method comprises receiving broadcast content containing television

programming, step 1001 . The step 1003, the method comprises associating an advertising synchronization application with an advertisement to be played on a first device during a slot in the television programming. A data transport stream is created, step 1005, the data transport stream comprising the broadcast content, the first advertisement and the associated advertising synchronization application. The step 1007 the method comprises delivering the data transport stream to the first device. In this way, by delivering advertising synchronization information with the television programming and the advertisement in the data transport stream, this enables a first device receiving the data transport stream to launch an application for enabling a second advertisement for playback on a companion device of the first device to be synchronized with the advertisement being played on the first device.

According to another embodiment there is provided a computer program configured, when run on a computer, to carry out a method as described herein, and as defined in the appended claims. According to another embodiment, there is provided a computer program product comprising a computer readable medium and a computer program according to the above, stored on the computer readable medium.

In some embodiments, multiple TVs may be provided in a household, with different viewers associated with each. For the case of multiple TVs, each tuned to a different channel, there is a possibility of companion devices not getting the correct synchronized advertisement. In one embodiment, cookies already present in companion devices from various web sites previously visited (and which may be also augmented by access to various existing offline data sources) can be used to closely identify the online profile of the user, and serve appropriate targeted online advertisements to that user. If the subject of the first advertisement being played on the first device (e.g. smart TV) matches the profile of a user of a second device (e.g. companion device user), the synchronized online advertisement or an online advertisement on the same subject by the same advertiser may be shown as a synchronized advertisement. If the online profile of the user does not match the subject of the TV advertisement being aired, the user will be served online ads that match the user's profile. Thus, the user is not shown synchronized online advertisements that would have no relevance for the user. Therefore, for a multi-TV household with different viewers watching programs on each TV, in one embodiment a network node can be configured such that the advertising synchronization process does not take precedence over the targeting algorithms based on the user's online profile that define his or her online ad placements. In such an embodiment, advertisement synchronization is an extra feature for online advertisements, a further reinforcement in the fortuitous case when the TV ad and the user's profile recommendations match. In another embodiment, the reverse may be applied, whereby advertising synchronization takes precedence over user profile information. Thus, in one embodiment an advertisement request from a second device to a network node may comprises profile information relating to the user of the second device, and wherein the profile information is used to assist with selecting the second advertisement for playing on the second device. In one example the profile information takes precedence over synchronization information when selecting a second advertisement. In another example the profile information is used to supplement the synchronization information when selecting a second advertisement. In another example the synchronization information takes precedence over the profile information when selecting a second advertisement. A network operator or advertiser can decide whether there is any value to serving at least one advertisement that is synchronized to the TV

advertisement, irrespective of what is suggested by the user's online profile, or if this is seen as having a negative effect.

In some embodiments described herein, the confirmation that an

advertisement is definitively airing is made possible by the network call from the TV receiving the advertisement using the ad-specific URL provided in the AIT. This is done without querying the TV or making any statistical assumption about the likelihood that a certain household is likely to be watching that program (and hence that ad at a particular time).

The embodiments described herein have an advantage that they do not necessarily require any additional software on a smart television and/or companion devices. Companion devices are identified via their sharing of the same external IP address as the TV in their interactions , e.g. HTTP

interactions, with the network.

Smart TVs with the ability to support HbbTV (or ATSC2.0 or Hybridcast apps) are becoming commonplace. It is therefore not unreasonable to assume that broadcasters could be persuaded to take advantage of creating such simple ad apps or enhancements to the AIT table that would allow them to enhance the value of their TV ad inventory by offering advertisers greater engagement through TV and online ad synchronization.

The embodiments described herein also have the advantage of leaving the back end advertising ecosystem unchanged. For example, the ability of SSPs (acting on behalf of publishers) to offer advertising synchronization

opportunities to DSPs (acting on behalf of advertisers) can remain the same as in current practice. Furthermore, the current cookie based techniques coupled with access to offline databases to allow user profiling and hence targeted ad delivery can remain unchanged. In one example, a user need not necessarily be shown an online ad synched with the TV if the topic of the TV ad is not something that fits with that user's online profile.

With such targeted ad synching opportunities as described herein, a

broadcaster could also promote ad sales not only for its TV inventory, but also sell ad inventory belonging to other online publishers. This could increase their advertising revenues. Such an approach would also increase the value of their TV ad slots.

The embodiments described above provide a method and apparatus for synchronizing TV advertisements with companion devices, which are able to determine or identify the program or channel to which any given TV is tuned, and without requiring monitoring software running on the TV and/or set-top- box (STB), and without having to querying the STB to which the TV is attached, and without having to ask the service provider (who owns the STB) to provide this information. None of these options are directly available to third parties, especially advertisers or their marketing proxies.

The embodiments described above also provide a method and apparatus for determining which companion device or devices a user (associated with the TV) has active, e.g. identify the program to which a specific TV is tuned and the companion devices active in that TV's environment. This has the

advantage of increasing the value of synchronized advertisements for providers of such service, since advertisements can be targeted to users and their devices, leading to greater revenues for all parties in the value chain that brings together the broadcaster and the advertiser.

It is noted that, in some embodiments, the first device and the second device may form part of the same device, for example where a user is watching TV comprising an advert on a device such as a laptop or tablet, and then switches to another application on that same device during an advertisement break (for example to a Facebook application running on the same device).

It should be noted that the above-mentioned embodiments illustrate rather than limit the invention, and that those skilled in the art will be able to design many alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. The word "comprising" does not exclude the presence of elements or steps other than those listed in a claim, "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality, and a single processor or other unit may fulfil the functions of several units recited in the claims. Any reference signs in the claims shall not be construed so as to limit their scope.

Claims

1 . A method in a first device, for synchronizing an advertisement to be played on a second device with an advertisement being played on the first device, the method comprising:

receiving (step 201 ) a data transport stream, the data transport stream comprising a first advertisement for playing on the first device;

determining (step 203) whether the received data transport stream comprises an application to be launched upon playing the first advertisement and, if so, launching the application (step 205); and

sending (step 207) synchronization information to a network node, for enabling a network node to provide advertisement synchronization to a second device based on the first advertisement being played on the first device.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the application to be launched is received in an application information table, AIT, within the received data transport stream.

3. A method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the AIT comprises an embedded URL relating to where the synchronization information is to be sent.

4. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the

synchronization information comprises an external address associated with the first device and the identity of the first advertisement being played on the first device.

5. A method in a network node for synchronizing an advertisement to be played on a second device with an advertisement being played on a first device, the method comprising:

receiving (step 301 ) synchronization information from the first device, the synchronization information identifying a first advertisement being played on the first device and an external address associated with the first device; and

using (step 303) the synchronizing information to obtain a second advertisement for playing by a second device having the same external address as the first device.

6. A method as claimed in claim 5 further comprising:

receiving an advertisement request from a second device;

determining whether the second device has the same external address as the first device and, if so:

informing the second device of the second advertisement to be played on the second device.

7. A method as claimed in claim 5 or 6, wherein the external address comprises an IP address of a local network associated with the first device and the second device.

8. A method as claimed in any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the step of obtaining the second advertisement comprises:

sending the external address of the first device and the identity of the first advertisement to an advertisement exchange;

receiving an advertisement tag relating to the second advertisement that is to be synchronized with the first advertisement; and

storing the advertisement tag with the associated external address.

9. A method as claimed in any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the

advertisement request from the second device comprises profile information relating to the user of the second device, and wherein the profile information is used to assist with selecting the second advertisement for playing on the second device.

10. A method as claimed in claim 9 wherein:

the profile information takes precedence over synchronization information when selecting a second advertisement; or

the profile information is used to supplement the synchronization information when selecting a second advertisement; or

the synchronization information takes precedence over the profile information when selecting a second advertisement.

1 1 . A method in a broadcast network for synchronizing an advertisement to be played on a second device with an advertisement being played on a first device, the method comprising:

receiving (step 1001 ) broadcast content containing television

programming;

associating (step 1003) an advertising synchronization application with an advertisement to be played on a first device during a slot in the television programming;

creating (step 1005) a data transport stream comprising the broadcast content, the first advertisement and the associated advertising synchronization application; and

delivering (step 1007) the data transport stream to the first device.

12. A first device for synchronizing an advertisement to be played on a second device with an advertisement being played on the first device, the first device being adapted to:

receive a data transport stream, the data transport stream comprising a first advertisement for playing on the first device;

determine whether the received data transport stream comprises an application to be launched upon playing the first advertisement and, if so, launch the application; and

send synchronization information to a network node, for enabling a network node to provide advertisement synchronization to a second device based on the first advertisement being played on the first device.

13. A network node for synchronizing an advertisement to be played on a second device with an advertisement being played on a first device, the network node being adapted to:

receive synchronization information from the first device, the

synchronization information identifying a first advertisement being played on the first device and an external address associated with the first device; and

use the synchronizing information to obtain a second advertisement for playing by a second device having the same external address as the first device.

14. A first device (600) for synchronizing an advertisement to be played on a second device with an advertisement being played on the first device, the first device comprising a processor (601 ) and a memory (603), said memory (603) containing instructions executable by said processor (601 ), whereby said first device (600) is operative to:

determine whether the received data transport stream comprises an application to be launched upon playing the first advertisement and, if so, launching the application; and

15. A network node (700) for synchronizing an advertisement to be played on a second device with an advertisement being played on a first device, the network node comprising a processor (701 ) and a memory (703), said memory (703) containing instructions executable by said processor (701 ), whereby said network node (700) is operative to: receive synchronization infornnation from the first device, the

16. A first device (800) for synchronizing an advertisement to be played on a second device with an advertisement being played on the first device, the first device comprising:

a first module (801 ) configured to receive a data transport stream, the data transport stream comprising a first advertisement for playing on the first device; a

a second module (803) configured to determine whether the received data transport stream comprises an application to be launched upon playing the first advertisement and, if so, launch the application; and

a third module (805) configured to send synchronization information to a network node, for enabling a network node to provide advertisement synchronization to a second device based on the first advertisement being played on the first device.

17. A network node (900) for synchronizing an advertisement to be played on a second device with an advertisement being played on a first device, the network node comprising:

a first module (901 ) configured to receive synchronization information from the first device, the synchronization information identifying a first advertisement being played on the first device and an external address associated with the first device; and

a second module (903) configured to use the synchronizing information to obtain a second advertisement for playing by a second device having the same external address as the first device.

18. A computer program configured, when run on a computer, to carry out a method according to any one of claims 1 to 1 1 .

19. A computer program product comprising a computer readable medium and a computer program according to claim 18 stored on the computer readable medium.