Method and apparatus for analyzing data and advertising optimization

A computer system for optimizing an advertising schedule, the computer system comprising:

• a CPU;
• a memory coupled to the CPU;
• a database residing in the memory, the database containing a plurality of person-by-person data files, the plurality of person-by-person data;
• a database mining engine residing in the memory;
• a data conversion mechanism residing in the memory, the data conversion mechanism comprising a mechanism for converting data from a first data format to a second data format;
• and
• a graphical user interface residing in the memory and being executed by the CPU, wherein the graphical user interface provides a plurality of choices for optimizing the advertising schedule according to a plurality of indices.

A computer-implemented method, the method comprising the steps of:

• (a) providing an advertising campaign containing a plurality of advertising spots;
• (b) identifying one of the plurality of advertising spots as a least valuable advertising spot;
• (c) removing the least valuable advertising spot from the advertising campaign;
• (d) identifying a plurality of alternative options to add to the advertising campaign;
• (e) selecting one of the plurality of alternative options and adding the selected alternative option to the advertising campaign to achieve a modified advertising campaign;
• (f) scoring the modified advertising campaign;
• and
• (g) repeating steps b, c, d, e, and f in order to achieve an optimal advertising schedule.

A computer system with a graphical user interface comprising:

• a CPU;
• a memory coupled to the CPU;
• a database residing in the memory, the database comprising a plurality of person-by-person media-related records which describe a series of choices and decisions made by an identified sample audience in relation to a media vehicle;
• a database mining engine residing in the memory and being executed by the CPU;
• and
• at least one icon which accesses the plurality of person-by-person records contained in the database via the database mining engine and presents at least one advertising optimization choice to a user of the graphical user interface.

A computer system for analyzing data and optimizing an advertising schedule, the system comprising:

• a CPU;
• a memory coupled to the CPU;
• a database residing in the memory, the database comprising a plurality of person-by-person records which describe a series of television choices and decisions made by an identified sample audience;
• a database mining engine residing in the memory, the database mining engine comprising a plurality of Boolean filters used to screen the plurality of person-by-person records contained in the database;
• and
• a graphical user interface residing in the memory and being executed by the CPU, wherein the user interface accesses the person-by-person records in the database via the database mining engine and iteratively optimizes the advertising schedule using a predetermined method.

A method of calculating a ratio, the method comprising the steps of:

• generating a first media-related exposure value;
• generating a second media-related exposure value;
• and
• combining the first and second media-related exposure values to create the ratio.

A method of calculating a media analysis ratio, the method comprising the steps of:

• selecting a subset of person-by-person media-related access data from a database thereby generating a first media-related exposure value;
• selecting a subset of person-by-person media-related access data from the database thereby generating a second media-related exposure value;
• and
• dividing the first media-related exposure value by the second media-related exposure value to create the media analysis ratio.

A computer system with a graphical user interface comprising:

• a CPU;
• a memory coupled to the CPU;
• a database residing in the memory, the database comprising a plurality of person-by-person media-related records which describe a series of choices and decisions made by an identified sample audience in relation to a media vehicle;
• a database mining engine residing in the memory and being executed by the CPU;
• and
• a graphical user interface with at least one icon which accesses the plurality of person-by-person records contained in the database via the database mining engine and presents at least one advertising optimization choice to a user of the graphical user interface.