KR20010044052A - Method and System for Marketing Using On-line Shopping Game - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: The system and method for the marketing is provided for a user to purchase goods in more economical price or in free, to put a continuous and effective goods advertisement, and to extract the marketing information of the goods. CONSTITUTION: The information of the goods and the kind of the on-line game is transferred to the user's computers. The information, which the user selects about the goods and games to mount on the on-line game, is transferred to a management server through the internet. The management server transfers to mount the goods, which is selected by the user as a component of the on-line game, to the user's computer. The user transfers the result of the on-line game to the management server via the user's computer. The management server decides a fixed compensation level given to the user according to the result, and arranges to analyze the marketing information extracted from the user.

Description

Marketing method and system using online shopping game {Method and System for Marketing Using On-line Shopping Game}

The present invention relates to a marketing method and a system using an online shopping game, and more specifically, an online game that allows users to simultaneously enjoy e-commerce and games after connecting to a server through the Internet using a terminal with internet access. It relates to a marketing method and a system using a shopping game. The marketing method and the system according to the present invention, when a consumer wants to purchase a product using an electronic shopping mall or when playing a game, a product or a specific brand of a product (hereinafter, " "Commodity" as a component of the game is embedded in the game, so that consumers can obtain information about the value of use of the product through the game, and can purchase the product free or at low cost according to the performance of the game. It has the characteristic of creating new added value through synergy with both e-commerce and game business by giving the opportunity to consumers.

According to the marketing method and system of the present invention, the game itself can be used as a new advertising medium by continuously informing the consumer about the product in the process of participating in the game, and the consumer's desire and preference for the product. The information about the back can be directly investigated.

As a related art of the present invention, the limitations of the electronic shopping mall construction technology, the limitations of the online game, the limitations of the online advertising medium and the advertising technique, and the limitations of the online prize technique will be described.

In building an electronic shopping mall, how to produce an electronic catalog is the key to building an electronic shopping mall. Recently, the electronic shopping mall has a database of contents, which are mainly limited to the exchange value of products, such as price, specifications, and characteristics, for each product in the electronic catalog, classified into product groups, and the rest are indexed so that users can search them. This is a weak point that the sales force is halved because there is no process before the consumer to make a specific purpose purchase, that is, the process of stimulating the purchase desire. In addition, consumers are mainly sensitive to price comparisons, and thus, retailers are a major cause of declining value added of distribution by intensifying competition and lowering profitability.

On the other hand, currently online games are operated in such a way as to encourage users to use them through advertisements to provide free or paid game services to users who are registered as members. At this time, for the interest of the game, a virtual score or war record that is not equivalent to real money may be given to stimulate the desire for achievement. However, it does not have a specific reward system and simply stays at the stage of enjoying the game. If this process is repeated, the game is fed up, resulting in the departure of members. In order to prevent the departure of members, it is a reality that a marketing cost for developing new games or recruiting new members is incurred, and a high cost and low efficiency structure is fixed. In addition, the service is limited to the one-line structure between the game provider and the user, and thus remains a simple one-dimensional form in terms of expansion of the game industry through an organic connection with other industries.

Currently, the most commonly used online advertising medium is a banner, which is most commonly displayed in a rectangular space separate from the homepage or main content of the site, and recently, a banner attached to a cursor and a completely separate site from a specific site. Modified banner techniques, such as banners that are organized in spaces, or various banners have appeared in the form of mounting them in online machines using the principles of casino games.

However, as the number of banner ads increases, the noise of the ads increases and the attention rate decreases, and it is still within the limits of the 'export' advertising strategy, and there is no opportunity for consumers to select their preferred ads. It does not take advantage of the online media of interactive communication. In addition, since there is no free choice of consumers, there is still no way to overcome the basic limitation of separation of advertisements and consumer response surveys that offline advertising techniques have.

Conventional online sweepstakes provide a variety of event programs based on the logic of "What to give a predetermined prize", and select a specific prize according to the winner or rank of the participants, and recruits participants through advertising and promotion. However, this is a pre-selected specific product, which limits the number of participants.

It has a negative effect on the subject's concentration. In addition, by carrying out marketing activities at the level of individual products, many products cannot participate due to the burden of unnecessary events.

The present invention has been developed to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art as described above, and provides the user with the product that the online game user wants to acquire as a component in the online game, according to the user's game performance It provides users with the opportunity to purchase products free of charge or at low cost, while continuously inserting them as a component in the game and continuously exposing them to users, enabling continuous and effective product advertisements. It is an object of the present invention to provide a marketing method and a system using an online game that can extract marketing information about a product based on information of users participating in an online game such as the number of users who prefer the corresponding product.

1 illustrates a configuration of a marketing system using an online game, which is an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a block diagram showing an operating system of a marketing system using an online game according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3A is a step-by-step diagram illustrating a marketing method using an online game according to an embodiment of the present invention, and is a flowchart illustrating a process of accessing an online game site provided by an online game user by the present invention.

3b is a step-by-step diagram illustrating a marketing method using an online game, which is an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a marketing system using an online game, which is an embodiment of the present invention.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention, the step of transmitting information on the type and goods of the online game to the terminal of the user; Inputting the user's selection information about the product to be mounted in the online game by the user's selection of the online game to be executed by the user through the user's terminal and transmitting it to the management server via the Internet; Mounting a product selected by the user as a component of the selected online game and transmitting the same to the terminal of the user; Transmitting information on the result of the online game performed by the user to the management server through the user's terminal; Determining a predetermined reward level to be given to the user according to the result of the transmitted online game; And it provides a marketing method using an online game comprising the step of analyzing and arranging information about the user.

In addition, the present invention comprises the steps of (a) selecting a product to be mounted in an online game according to a product search condition or arbitrarily, and transmitting information about the selected product; (B) mounting a product selected in the online game by using the information about the product transmitted in the step (a); (C) proceeding to play the online game on which the goods are loaded in step (b); (D) transmitting a result of the online game played in step (c); And (e) evaluating the result transmitted in the step (d) to calculate the advertisement cost or analyzing the characteristics of the potential customers.

Marketing system using an online game according to the invention, the subscriber management unit for managing a user, a prize provider and a product provider that is a subscriber of the online game site; The data on the exchange value of the product, such as the price, specifications, and characteristics of the product, and the data on the value of the product, such as the image of the product and the intended use, are classified according to a pre-selected criteria and the product is searched according to the classification system. Electronic catalog unit to provide; A theme store unit for reclassifying the products classified by the electronic catalog unit according to various themes, and providing a result of searching for the products according to the themes; A game unit providing an online game loaded with a product selected from the electronic catalog unit or the theme store unit or a randomly selected product; A prize management unit that aggregates and manages the performance of each product and subscriber based on the result of the online game provided by the game unit; An advertisement management unit calculating an advertisement fee for a specific period for each product based on the results collected by the prize management unit; A prospective customer analysis unit for analyzing and processing information on characteristics of an online game user based on the results collected by the prize management unit; Settlement results, such as settlement of dues for paid members received from the subscriber management unit, payment of goods by sales of goods received from the electronic catalog unit or the theme store, settlement results to online game users, prize providers and product providers It is characterized in that it comprises an electronic payment unit for notifying the job and issuing the bill and outputting the shipping list for the requested goods.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

1 illustrates a configuration of a marketing method and a system using an online game according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The subscriber's wired terminal 1 is a terminal that can be connected to the Internet 5, and includes a personal computer, a network PC, a communication terminal, and the like, and is a terminal provided with a program for using an online game provided by the present invention. Subscriber in this specification refers to an online game user, giveaway provider or prize provider.

The mobile communication terminal 2 is a terminal which can be connected to the Internet 5 and includes a mobile phone, an Internet phone or an IMT2000, and the subscriber uses the mobile communication terminal 2 to exchange the switching system 3 of the mobile communication company. The management server 4 can be connected after connecting to the Internet 5 via the Internet.

The exchange system 3 of the mobile communication company is a relay system which interconnects the mobile communication terminals 2 and connects the mobile communication terminal 2 and the Internet 5.

The management server 4 collects / stores the data received from the subscriber connected to the Internet 5 and transmits the processing result to the subscriber's mobile terminal 1 or the mobile operator's switchboard system 3 when necessary. Transfer to the terminal (2).

The Internet 5 is a computer network system that connects the subscriber's wired terminal 1 or the mobile operator's exchange system 3 to the management server 4. Hereinafter, "terminal" refers to both the wired terminal 1 and the mobile communication terminal 2 described above.

2 is a block diagram illustrating an operating system of a marketing system using an online game according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The subscriber terminal 1, 2 is provided with a normal application program for accessing the Internet and a program for executing the online game of the present invention provided by the management server 4.

The management server 4 has a service program server and a web application server. In order to prevent leakage of information from customers, a firewall system, which is an Internet access control system, may be installed in the management server 4.

3A and 3B are flowcharts illustrating step by step a marketing method using an online game according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3A is a flowchart illustrating a process of connecting an online game user (hereinafter referred to as a "user") to an online game site provided by the present invention, and FIG. 3B is a flowchart illustrating a step of executing an online game.

First, an online game user connects to the Internet to use an online game using the terminals 1 and 2 (S101). When the user attempts to connect to the Internet, the connection status is displayed on the monitors of the terminals 1 and 2 of the user (S102).

The terminal 1, 2 of the user connected to the Internet connects to the online game site (S103). It is determined whether the state in which the user terminals 1 and 2 are connected to the online game site is in a connected state where security is maintained to allow normal electronic commerce (S104). In particular, in the case of the connection using the mobile communication terminal 2 in which the connection state changes frequently, it is necessary to check such a connection state in order to maintain a stable connection state continuously.

When the terminals 1 and 2 of the user are normally connected to the online game site, the ID and password are sequentially input from the user (S105 and 106).

The ID and password entered by the user are compared with the corresponding ID and password stored in the subscriber information database to determine whether they match (S107). To select a service according to the user level (S108). If the connected user is not an existing registrant, enter the user's personal information (user's name, ID, password, address, social security number / business registration number, occupation / business status, life pattern, business information, etc.). The information entered is stored in the subscriber information database.

Next, the user searches for a product provided by the online game site and selects a desired product to purchase (S109). In this step, the user selects a product to be loaded into the online game according to the product search condition or arbitrarily, and the management server 4 transmits the information about the product selected by the user to the user terminals 1 and 2. . In the present invention, if a user searches for a product and selects a specific product from the searched products, the selected product is loaded into the game. If the product is not selected, any product selected by the management server is loaded into the game (S111).

Specifically, the management server 4 provides information about the type, exchange value, and use value of the product searched for according to the product search condition requested by the user on the online game site (game type, game time, method, etc.). When provided with the user, the user selects the desired products and games to purchase using the terminals 1 and 2 and transmits the selection results to the online game site. The management server 4 is based on the information received from the user's terminal (1, 2), to create a new game content or to modify the existing game content so that the product selected by the user appears in the content of the online game selected by the user (S110).

If the user does not select a product, the game contents are newly created or existing game contents are made to appear in the contents of the online game selected by the user from the electronic catalog database in the online game site. To correct (S111). That is, among the products stored in the electronic catalog database, a product to be mounted in the online game is selected according to a predetermined condition, and information about the selected product and the online game is transmitted to the online game site. Here, the preset condition is a condition set by the on-line game site operator and means, for example, determining the number of times to mount the game or the priority of the loading.

In addition, "making the product selected by the user appear in the contents of the online game selected by the user" means configuring the game so that the product ultimately selected by the user is a product selected by the user or selected by the user on the screen of the game. For example, a product may be a component of a game and continuously displayed on a game screen. Specifically, in the case of a game where the ultimate goal of the game is to reach a predetermined point, the game may be configured to display a product selected by the user at the target point and configure the game so that the user reaches the selected product. In the case of a game, for example, a game may be reconfigured to display a product selected by a user at a predetermined point of the board and to include a point occupied by the product in its own area. In addition, in the case of a brick breaking game, for example, a game may be configured such that a product selected by the user is continuously displayed as a brick and the broken brick is collected in the user's warehouse. In the present invention, the type of game provided to the user is not particularly limited, and in particular, some of the games described above are merely one embodiment for explaining the configuration of the present invention. In the present invention, since the product selected by the user or a product selected by the management server is invaded into the game to create new game rules and execution strategies, the user who runs the game feels more interest in the game. In the process and as a result, the user perceives the product as much more valuable and necessary than before playing the game.

The user executes the online game on which the selected product or the arbitrary product is mounted using the terminals 1 and 2 (S112).

When the online game is finished, the user calculates the score obtained by the user in the online game, determines whether the user wins or loses, and calculates the types of products appearing in the online game and the exposure time in the online game (S113). Depending on the type of game selected by the user, calculation of the score obtained by the user and determination of whether or not the win or lose can be performed. The score earned by the online game user is calculated to give a discount when purchasing a selected product or any other product, and whether or not to win or lose is determined to give the user a predetermined discount when purchasing the selected product. The types of products appearing in the online games and the exposure time in the online games are calculated to calculate the advertising costs of the products.

If the user achieves a certain goal in the game, a corresponding score is given, and according to the score, the game performance of the online game user is counted and the reward level is evaluated so that the user can purchase the product selected in whole or in part. (S114).

The management server 4 evaluates the game results performed by the user to calculate the advertising costs or analyze the characteristics of the potential customers (S115). Specifically, the advertising fee is calculated based on the game result data including the number of times a specific product is selected and the time exposed to the game. In addition, users who select a specific product are classified as potential customers, and the classified audiences are extracted statistical data on characteristics of the population, such as demographic characteristics or characteristics according to living patterns, and based on the extracted data, The characteristics of the participating users will be analyzed.

Next, a configuration of a marketing system using an online game according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 4.

The subscriber management unit 10 includes basic bibliographic information such as a user's name, ID, password, address, resident / business registration number, occupation / business status such as a user, a prize provider, a product provider, and a living pattern or business area suitable for each subscriber's characteristics. Receive and store subscriber information, and authenticate and manage it. All the information entered is stored in the subscriber database, updated regularly and updated to maintain the accuracy of the data. In addition, among new or existing subscribers, a user who wants to convert to a paid service in order to receive an extended service is required to select a desired item among the proposed services, and the changed items are stored in a paid database to be applied through a separate authentication. Provide service.

The electronic catalog unit 11 classifies the data on the exchange value of the product, such as the price, specifications, and characteristics of the product, and the data on the use value of the product, such as the image of the product and the intended use, according to a preselected criterion. The user can search for a desired product according to a product group or an indexing system based on an image. The prize provider or the product provider who has undergone the authentication process in the subscriber management unit 10 may register information on the exchange value and the use value of the product in the product catalog unit 11, and this process may be performed by the operator of the online game system. It may also be carried out by.

The theme shop unit 12 re-classifies the products of the electronic catalog database into various themes that can stimulate consumer's desires according to the fashion trends and social issues at the time, in conjunction with the electronic catalog unit 11, and then to the theme store database. Save it. In order to facilitate a user's product search, a search by theme is possible, and if a specific theme is selected, all of the corresponding products are displayed. In addition, when a specific product is searched by the user, a specific theme to which the searched product belongs is displayed. When a specific theme is selected by the user, all products corresponding to the specific theme to which the searched product belongs are displayed.

The game unit 13 is stored in a database when the user decides to immediately purchase a specific product in the electronic catalog unit 11 or the theme store unit 12 or selects an item to be purchased in the future. It provides an online game program desired by the user among various game programs. At this time, the product selected by the user appears as an element of the game in the game selected by the user. When the user directly connects to the game center unit 13 without selecting a specific product in the electronic catalog unit 11 or the theme store unit 12, the game center unit 13 is a management server 4 Provides an online game program that appeared as an element of the game of a product arbitrarily determined in the). The game center unit 13 includes a game database storing game programs of quizzes, games, events, and other various fields.

The prize management unit 14 manages the execution result of the game provided by the game unit 13 in which the game user participated. The execution result of the game is transmitted to the prize management unit 14, by providing a coupon that can be used to discount all or part of the selected product to a user who has achieved a certain goal, or by earning points that can be used when purchasing other products later Manage. For each user and subscriber, a valuation system that aggregates performance, such as the availability of the game and the achievement of goals, and determines the reward level is stored in the prize database.

The advertisement management unit 15 calculates an advertisement fee for a specific period based on the results collected by the prize management unit 14 and stores data related thereto in an advertisement database. Necessary data includes data used to calculate advertising costs, such as the number of times a particular product has been selected and the amount of time it has been exposed to the game.

Since the prospective customer analysis unit 16 selects a product by a free will, the prospective customer analyzing unit 16 analyzes the characteristics of the online game user and provides marketing information to the prize provider and the product supplier by analyzing the characteristics of the online game user. . At this time, statistical data on characteristics of the population, such as demographic characteristics or life patterns, of customers who select a particular product is stored in the prospective customer database.

The electronic payment unit 17 is settled the dues for the paid member received from the subscriber management unit 10, the product price settlement by the product sales received from the electronic catalog unit 11 or the theme store unit 12, Settlement payments for the online game user received from the prize management unit 14, or settlement of the advertisement costs for the advertisers received from the advertisement management unit 15, and the like, the notification of the settlement result to the user, prize provider and product provider Issue a bill and print out a shipping list for the requested item. The settlement result is transmitted to the subscriber management unit 10 so that the settlement result can be stored in the subscriber database. Stored settlement results are used for subscriber management. Information such as the issuance and aggregation of bills and confirmation of payment is stored in the sales database.

As described above, according to the present invention, an online game user is provided with information on the value of use of a product through a game, and is provided with an opportunity to purchase the product free or at low cost according to the performance of the game. The provider can mount a product in the game, and the advertisement of the product can be highly recognized, and the marketing information can be extracted based on the information of the consumers who participated in the online game.

In terms of the game business, it adds to the game an appropriate reward that gives the game an opportunity to “shop” —that is, an online game user wants to buy something—that adds to the game's realism, thereby bringing more users to the online game. Induce them to participate.

In addition, compared to the conventional online game revenue structure that allows game users to use the game free of charge and runs the business only by profits from banner advertisements, shopping mall operating profit, prize system operation fee, and game itself are used as advertising media. New advertising costs can be added.

In terms of the electronic shopping mall business, "interesting" is added to shopping, which can double service competitiveness and greatly increase visits by consumers, and existing electronic shopping mall companies, which focused on simple product sales, are spending to increase the number of customers. Excessive marketing costs can be reduced. In addition, in the aspect of online advertising business, the game itself can be used to overcome the limitations of banner media, which are becoming less noticeable. Also, consumers can freely select specific products to understand their future purchasing tendency. By doing so, it is possible to overcome the limitations of existing advertising techniques that separate research and advertising.

Claims (7)

Transmitting information on the type and product of the online game to the user terminals 1 and 2; The user's selection information on the online game to be executed by the user and the product to be mounted in the online game is input through the user terminals 1 and 2 and transmitted to the management server 4 via the Internet. step; Mounting a product selected by the user into the game as a component of the selected online game and transmitting the same to the terminal 1 or 2 of the user; Transmitting information on the result of the online game performed by the user to the management server 4 through the user terminals 1 and 2; Determining a predetermined reward level to be given to the user according to the result of the transmitted online game; And And a method of analyzing and arranging information about the user. The method of claim 1, The step of transmitting the information on the type and goods of the online game to the user terminal 1, 2, According to the product search and game conditions requested by the user, the information on the exchange value and the product value of the product and the information on the available game are extracted from the database and transmitted to the user's terminal (1, 2). Marketing method using an online game characterized by. The method according to claim 1 or 2, In the step of determining the reward level to be given to the user according to the result of the online game, the achievement of the user in the online game is classified into a predetermined level, and the product is provided free of charge or the product is provided according to the level. Marketing method using an online game, characterized in that to provide a discount when purchasing. The method according to claim 1 or 2, Analyzing and organizing information about users, Comprising a step of calculating the advertising costs for the product by arranging the time and the number of times the product selected by the user is exposed to the user marketing method using an online game. The method according to claim 1 or 2, Analyzing and organizing information about users, Categorizing the user who selected the product as an audience, A marketing method using an online game, further comprising the step of making a database of user information including personal information of the user. A subscriber management unit that manages users, prize providers, and product providers who are subscribers of the online game site; An electronic catalog unit for classifying and storing data on exchange value of goods and data on use value of goods according to a preselected criterion, and searching for the classified goods according to a user's request and providing the result to the user; A game unit for providing a user with an online game in which a product selected from the electronic catalog unit is mounted as a component of a game at the user's request; A prize management unit which aggregates and manages the performance of each product and subscriber based on the user's game performance result for the online game provided by the game unit; An advertisement management unit calculating an advertisement fee for a specific period for each product based on the results collected by the prize management unit; A prospective customer analysis unit for analyzing and processing information on characteristics of the user based on the results collected by the prize management unit; And Settlement of the paid member received from the subscriber management unit, the operation of notifying the settlement result to the user, prize provider or product provider and issuing a statement, and outputting the shipping list for the product requested by the user Marketing system using an online game, characterized in that it comprises an electronic payment unit. The method of claim 6, It further comprises a theme store unit for reclassifying and storing the products classified by the electronic catalog unit according to various themes, searching for the products by the theme according to the user's request, and providing the result to the user. The game unit is a marketing system, characterized in that to provide a user with an online game loaded with the product selected in the theme store unit as a component of the game.