Yahoo Patent Reveals Ad Measurement Methods Based on Tracking Consumer Data

Yahoo wants billboards and other public advertising to be “smart.” In patent application 14/675,004 filed at the Patent and Trademark Office Oct. 6, based on a March 2015 filing, Yahoo said it’s looking at ways to pull data from consumers’ devices to make messaging more efficient. The patent describes ways that advertising channels in public spaces can be configured to deliver “adaptive and targeted advertising in real time.” It refers to “sensor data” collected from user devices employed to monitor consumer engagement with ads. Unlike online advertising that’s personalized to individual users, the patent covers what Yahoo calls "grouplization," where advertising content is chosen based on an “aggregate representation” of the target audience that’s derived from real-time information. A billboard could be equipped with digital cameras that capture images or video of vehicles approaching the billboard. Using image recognition, information about the makes and models of the vehicles on the road could be used “to further inform the selection of advertisements” based on demographic characteristics. Sensor data could include “keywords spoken” by consumers near the billboard, the speed of the vehicle they’re traveling in or video data indicating whether any individuals looked directly at the advertising content using image recognition or eye-tracking techniques. Where an advertising display includes a touch screen, direct user interaction could be measured. Advertisers could compete for placement through bids based on aggregate audience profiles. Ad content intended for a digital billboard “might need to comply with traffic safety regulations that prohibit video content from being displayed,” it said.