JP2001312508A - Service providing method using information network - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a service providing method which can implement a push- type advertisement with the specified target segment and which uses a high hit ratio and high effective advertisement. SOLUTION: In the method, individual data on users are stored in a database 4 someway in advance. When each individual user starts a specified application software to utilize the service provided from a terminal 3, a service site 2 is made to be accessed automatically and the service site side recognizes each terminal user who has accessed. On the other hand, if an advertisement sponsor 5 has asked to advertise narrowing a the specified segment under a special condition, the users are specified by searching the database. The advertisement is displayed on the user's terminal if it is judged that the user is eligible after the evaluation of whether the user is the specified user or not when that user accessed the service site.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a service providing method using an information network such as the Internet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the rapid development of the Internet in recent years, various advertising methods using an information network such as the Internet have been developed. Among them, a common advertising method is to place a banner advertisement on a portal site or homepage, link the advertiser's homepage or advertising site in the banner advertisement area, and let users who visit the page view the banner advertisement. If you are interested in the ad, place your cursor in the banner ad area or the area of the product you are introducing, and click the mouse or perform other equivalent operations. It was to jump to the introduction page and get more detailed advertising information.

[0003] As a push-type advertising method, companies and advertising agents provide questionnaires, presents,
A method of collecting mail address information of a large number of users by other various methods and storing the collected mail address information in a database, and subsequently distributing advertisement information almost indiscriminately to registered users of the database has been widely used.

[0004]

However, in the former method of advertising using the conventional information network, the advertiser's homepage or product introduction page is used unless the user is interested in the advertisement. There is a problem that it is difficult to obtain the advertising effect without being accessed.

In the latter method, advertisement information is distributed almost indiscriminately to all users registered in the customer information database. Hit rate (probability of seeing or not seeing or probability of buying) to distribute advertising information uniformly without considering age group, gender, preference and other personal information is difficult to grasp
Had a very low problem.

The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional problem, and provides a service using an information network which can perform a push-type advertisement by narrowing an advertisement target and has a high hit rate and an advertisement effect. The aim is to provide a method.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a service providing method using an information network which can distribute information to a user who needs the information in a targeted manner.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a service providing method using an information network, comprising the steps of: specifying a user connected to a service provider via a terminal; Extracting a corresponding user; and, when the specified user is included in the extracted user, distributing and displaying advertisement information to a terminal of the user.

In the service providing method using the information network according to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to electronically request personal information of a user who uses the service site in advance in a database, for example, application software for accessing the service site for free. And distribute it to the user, and make a user registration.

[0010] When the user activates a specific application software to use the service from the terminal, the user automatically accesses the service site, and the service site recognizes the user of the terminal that has accessed the service site.

[0011] Thereafter, when a user accesses the service site, the user is recognized,
It is determined whether the user is applicable to the advertisement, and if the user is applicable, the advertisement information is transmitted to the terminal of the user to display the advertisement information.

[0012] Thus, the advertisement information can be provided only to the user segment targeted by the advertiser, and the advertisement effect can be improved.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a service providing method using an information network, comprising the steps of specifying a user connected to a service provider via a terminal, and extracting a user corresponding to the information specifying a delivery destination. Stages and
When the specified user is included in the extracted user, distributing the information to a terminal of the user and displaying the information.

[0014] In the service providing method using the information network according to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to electronically request personal information of a user who uses the service site in advance in a database, for example, application software for accessing the service site for free. And distribute it to the user, and make a user registration.

[0015] When the user activates specific application software from the terminal to use the service, the user automatically accesses the service site, and the service site recognizes the user of the terminal that has accessed the service site.

Thereafter, when a user accesses the service site, the user is recognized,
It is determined whether the user satisfies the distribution target condition, and if so, the information from the requester is transmitted to the terminal of the user and displayed.

[0017] Thus, information can be provided only to the user layer to which the information distribution requester is to be distributed, and information can be provided only to users who are likely to need it.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the service providing method using the information network according to the first or second aspect, the advertisement information or the information is accompanied by a specific character related to the information.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a service providing method using an information network, wherein a specific character representing a distribution source is displayed together with the display of advertisement information or information, so that the user can enjoy the service while enjoying the service. And the use of the service can be promoted.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the service providing method using the information network according to the first or second aspect, the step of extracting is performed based on a predetermined condition from a database storing personal information. It is.

In the service providing method using the information network according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, distribution targets can be accurately and quickly extracted based on specific conditions, for example, conditions such as age group, gender, hobbies, and preferences. .

[0022]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the configuration of an information providing system using a service providing method according to one embodiment of the present invention. The Internet 1 is used as an information network, and a large number of user terminals 3 are connected to the WWW service provider 2 of the service site via the Internet 1.

The user terminal 3 has installed therein communication software having necessary functions such as a mail function, a schedule function and a chat function and WWW browser software.
Using a browser, access is made via the Internet 1 from an access point of an Internet connection service provider contracted by the user.

Communication software using the service providing method of this embodiment is prepared by the WWW service provider 2, and is downloaded free of charge by accessing the WWW service provider 2 from the user terminal 3 using the WWW browser software. And can be installed.

The WWW service provider 2 is connected to the Internet 1 and is linked to various agent service providers on the Internet 1, for example, agent service providers such as search agents, news agents, and shopping agents. In addition, it can be linked to the terminal 5 of the advertisement sponsor company for the service.

The WWW service provider 2 executes (1) a user management function and (2) an agent service.

The user management function (1) is a function for receiving and managing user registration according to a predetermined procedure.
Then, it has a function of guiding the user's use by a specific character and a blowing message or a voice message so that the user uses the next agent service.

When the WWW service provider 2 allows any user to download and install the communication software free of charge, the ID number and the password are registered, the handle name is registered if necessary, and a general questionnaire is used. By inputting the address, age, gender, hobby, taste, and the like into a text box prepared in advance in a format and transmitting the personal information, the personal information received in the database (DB) 4 is registered together with the ID number, thereby obtaining a large number of users. Store the personal information.

The agent service of (2) includes the following.

Search service Mail service Chat shopping service Entertainment linked service Messenger service <User terminal> The user terminal 3 is a general personal computer having a communication function, but is used for simple communication. , Mobile terminals such as mobile phones are also used.
Communication software downloaded from the service site or obtained offline and the WW
A W browser is installed, the user connects to the Internet 1 from the access point of the Internet connection service provider with which the user has contracted, and the WWW service provider 2 of the service site has an authentication code (usually an ID code and password). You can log in by entering

Various kinds of data necessary for using the above-mentioned various services are held in the communication software, and are updated and registered. For example, address data, mail data, and the like.

This communication software is also used by users who want to deliver an advertisement catchphrase or some kind of message to an unspecified large number or a predetermined number of users, such as advertisers, club caretakers, or persons having similar preferences. Has a messenger service function described below.

The messenger service function will be described as follows. When the user activates the messenger service function after the window screen is developed by the OS in the user terminal 3S on the transmission side, the lamp icon (hereinafter, "magic (for convenience of explanation)" shown in FIG. A1) is displayed as a resident icon.

By pointing the resident icon A1 with the cursor A2 and performing a predetermined operation such as a single click or a double click of the left button,
As shown in the screen (ii), a character A3, which is an anthropomorphic agent, appears from the magic lamp A1 together with smoke, and the connection procedure for the WWW service provider 2 is automatically executed. Note that the character A3 is anthropomorphized here, but the anthropomorphization here is sufficient if it performs a human-like action, and it is possible to imitate an animal such as a dog or a bear or an imaginary object. Good.

When the connection procedure is completed, a messenger destination list window W1, a message entry window W2, a send button W3, and a sealed letter designation button W4 are displayed on the jet A4 from the character A3 as shown in a screen (iii). Is done.

The messenger destination input to the destination list window W1 can specify a user such as an e-mail address or an address unique to the server. This destination list can be input by the user on the transmission side by himself / herself. However, the destination list is automatically transcribed by using a list of addresses specifying the user obtained from the WWW service provider 2 by the transmission target extraction service described later. You can also enter it.

In the message entry window W2, a message to be conveyed by the transmitting user is input. This message can also be automatically transcribed to a message registered in advance in the WWW service provider 2 by the transmission person extraction service described later. it can.

When the transmission button W3 is clicked after a predetermined input, the agent A3 disappears momentarily and only the magic lamp A1 remains on the terminal 3S on the transmission side as shown in FIG. 2 (iv). At this time, the sealed button W4
Is checked, the message is displayed on the terminal 3S on the transmission side when the message is opened later on the user terminal 3R on the transmission destination (reception side). Then, when a message is transmitted to an unspecified number of user terminals 3R and many users open the message, the message is displayed on the sender terminal 3S as an e-mail address list of the unopened person ( Not shown).

When the message arrives at the user terminal 3R on the receiving side, the display of the magic lamp A1 changes to a blinking display as shown in FIG. 2 (v) to notify the user that a message has arrived. Here, the user terminal 3R designated as the transmission destination of the message
Is limited to the user who actually uses the magic lamp, as described later. This is possible because the magic lamp A1 is displayed resident on the terminal 3R.

Then, as shown in FIG. 7 (vi), the source agent character A3 appears, the sender's address W5 and the message content W6 are displayed in the balloon A5, and a button W7 for closing the message screen and a reply are displayed. Button W8 is displayed.

The user on the receiving side displays the screen of terminal 3R (vi)
In, if the reply button W8 is pointed with the cursor and clicked, the screen is expanded to the screen (vii).

This screen (vii) is a screen for creating a reply message, in which the character A13 on the receiver side appears in place of the character A3 on the sender side up to that time, and the original character A13 appears in the balloon A14. Display window W11 of the sender's address, entry window W of the reply message
12, a transmission button W13, and a sealed button W14 are displayed.

The user on the receiving side inputs a reply message on the reply screen (vii) of the terminal 3R and clicks the send button W13 to transmit the reply message to the terminal 3S of the original caller. become.

When the reply message arrives at the original calling user terminal 3S, as shown in FIG. 2 (viii),
The character A13 of the receiver side is displayed, a reply message W16 is displayed in the balloon A6 together with the address W15 of the original receiver side, and a close button W17 and a re-reply button W18 are displayed. When the reply mail is received, both characters A3 and A13 may appear and the display form may be such that they are interacting.

By using the messenger software having such a function, it is possible to distribute the following advertisement information by specifying a user who has a high probability of being interested in the advertisement information, and also to distribute information in a friendly manner. Become. The messenger software can distribute the contents once stored in a buffer, or alternatively, can distribute the contents to a user terminal in real time.

First, a method for distributing advertisement information will be described. In the system configuration of FIG. 1, the advertiser accesses the WWW service provider 2 via the Internet 1 by using the terminal 5, and the page of the advertisement estimation screen W21 prepared by the WWW service provider 2 as shown in FIG. open.

The advertiser makes an input necessary for narrowing down the advertisement target on this screen W21, and clicks an estimate button B1. This becomes an estimate request and is transmitted to the WWW service provider 2.

The input on the estimation screen W21 will be described. Since the advertiser wants to narrow down the advertising target of the product or service to be promoted in order to enhance the advertising effect, he prepares selection items S1, S2,... Such as gender, age group, region, hobbies, interests, and preferences. Keep it. Also,
Since the advertisement information is distributed using the messenger function described above, the character CR used as the character A3 (see FIG. 2 (vi)) on the calling side is transmitted to the terminal 3 of the target user.
.., CR2,... Are prepared so as to be likely to be favorable to the user to be advertised, and can be selected and designated according to the advertiser's intention and budget.

Then, such a quotation screen W21 is sent from the WWW service provider 2 to the terminal 5 of the advertiser for display, and the advertiser selects and designates this screen W21 to create an advertisement quotation request form, and completes it. Click on the quote button W22 to request a quote
Send to W service provider 2.

The WWW service provider 2 having received the advertisement estimation request searches the personal information database 4 to extract a group of users corresponding to the conditions of the advertisement target, and creates an advertisement request screen W23 as shown in FIG. Then, the summary is transmitted to the terminal 5 of the advertisement requester. This advertisement request screen W23
Then, the estimated calculated amount W24 is displayed, an input box W25 for an advertisement message and an input box W26 for a URL to be linked are prepared, and the advertisement image character A21 selected by the client is displayed. The advertisement image character A21 is displayed as the sender character A3 shown in FIG. 2 when the advertisement information is specified and distributed to the user.

On this screen, an advertisement message is input in the message input window W25, a URL is input in the input window W26 of the advertisement site 6, and a request button W27 is clicked to form a WWW service from the advertiser terminal 5 as a formal advertisement request. The provider 2 receives an order for an advertisement, and executes an advertisement information distribution service described later. Here, if the re-estimation button W28 is clicked, the display returns to the advertisement estimation screen W21, and the estimation procedure is performed again. If the cancel button W29 is clicked, the request is canceled.

Next, the distribution processing of the advertising information after the WWW service provider 2 receives the distribution request of the advertising information from the advertiser terminal 5 will be described. The WWW service provider 2 knows the user who is running the above-mentioned communication software on the user terminal 3. This is because communication software distributed free of charge automatically starts WWW
This is realized by incorporating a function of accessing the service provider 2 site.

Therefore, if a certain advertiser requests a distribution of advertisement information, the list of advertisement target users extracted from the database 4 described above is held during the advertisement period, for example, for one day, one week, and one month. In addition, a search is performed to determine whether the user who actually started the communication software is listed in the advertisement target user list, and if the user is a relevant user, the WWW service provider 2 becomes the sender, and the messenger service shown in FIG. To send the advertiser's advertising information as a message to the advertised user. At this time, the character A21 selected by the advertiser is used as the character A3 of the transmission source.

Therefore, when the user activates the communication software, the screens (v) and (vi) appear on the terminal 3 of the user. Here, the character A21 selected by the advertiser is displayed as the character A3 on the transmission side, the advertisement message input by the advertiser is displayed in the window W6, and the URL of the advertisement site 6 is also displayed.

On the other hand, if the user who received the advertisement clicks the URL of the advertisement site, the user can jump to the advertisement site 6 and receive the advertisement information.

When the user is interested in the advertisement message and wants to request a pamphlet or give some opinion, the user clicks the reply button W8 on the screen (vi) to display the screen (vii). Is displayed, and input and input an opinion.

The above advertisement distribution method is summarized as shown in the flow of FIG.

(0) First, as a major premise, as described above, it is assumed that the WWW service provider 2 stores as much personal information as possible in the database 4 or that such personal information is externally stored. Provided. Then, for example, the communication software for executing the service may be downloaded from a service site of the WWW service provider 2 free of charge, and a method of acquiring personal information necessary for user registration may be used.

(I) The advertiser uses the terminal 6 to request an advertisement quote from the WWW service provider 2.

(II) The WWW service provider 2 searches the personal information database 4 built by itself or provided from outside based on the advertisement quote request (only the search result is provided from outside. The user to be advertised is narrowed down, and the e-mail addresses of each user are listed and held (however, from the viewpoint of privacy protection, the WWW service provider 2 sends the extracted list of e-mail addresses of the user to the requester). Will not be disclosed).

(III) The WWW service provider 2 notifies the advertiser of the estimate of the advertisement service.

(IV) The advertiser orders the advertisement request from the WWW service provider 2 if the advertiser decides the distribution of the advertisement information in consideration of the cost effect.

(V) Upon receiving the advertisement request, the WWW service provider 2 picks up the users listed in the advertisement target list from the users who are currently accessing the service site, and the respective user terminals 3 Deliver advertising information to.

At the time when the advertisement information is distributed in response to the advertisement distribution request, there are many advertisement target users who have not accessed the service site 2, but the advertisement information is reliably distributed to such users. In order to do so, an expiration date (for example, one day, one week, one month, etc.) of the advertisement delivery is contracted between the advertiser and the service site, and the advertisement target user who has accessed within the time limit is For example, up to 3 times, up to 5 times, 1
The advertisement message is delivered under a predetermined condition such as only once per access.

As a result, the advertiser selects the character A3 from the user's magic lamp A11 as the character A3 at the user terminal 3 which has received the advertisement information, and the character A21 appears, and the advertisement message is displayed on the spout A5. The icon of the advertisement site 6 is displayed in a form linked to the URL.

(VI) When the user clicks the advertisement icon, the user jumps to the linked URL and displays a predetermined page of the advertisement site.

(VII) The advertiser pays the advertisement fee, for example, at the end of the month or other payment method agreed with the WWW service provider 2.

(VIII) Further, the WWW service provider 2 pays a character usage fee to the copyright owner of the character.

As described above, according to the advertisement information distribution method of the present embodiment, only the user who is likely to be interested in the advertisement is accessed from the user terminal 3 during the advertisement request period. In this case, an advertisement message can be delivered, and the advertisement effect can be enhanced.

If the messenger service shown in FIG. 2 is applied, a service providing method as shown in FIG. 6 can also be realized. The service providing method according to the second embodiment is characterized by information distribution in a friendly manner of the service system. For example, if a user recruits like-minded players (same preferences) to support a famous athlete (hereinafter referred to as A-player for simplicity of explanation) and wants to exchange information, As the information owner 8, the service provider 2 requests the service provider 2 to list friends (S1). The use of the service may be paid or free. However, the following description will be made on the assumption that the service is free to promote the use of the service.

The service provider 2 that has received the request performs a preliminary examination, accepts the club if it is a club or other distribution purpose that does not violate public order and morals, and searches the personal information database 4 ( Only search results may be provided from the outside), registered users who support A player are extracted, and an address list is created and held (S2).

Subsequently, the information master 8 displays the screen (ii) in FIG.
In i), if a message is input to the message entry window W2 and the transmission button W3 is clicked, the message is transmitted to the service provider 2 as transmission information, where it is relayed and the corresponding user 3 listed in advance is displayed. (S3).

The screen (v) of FIG. 3 is displayed on the terminal 3 of the user who has received such information distribution when the communication software is started, and the fact that the message has arrived is notified. ) Appears.

Therefore, if the user wants to respond to this message, he or she clicks the reply button W8, expands it to the screen (vii), inputs a reply message on this screen, and clicks the send button W13 to send the original information. Can send a reply message to the person.

Thus, for example, it is possible to use the service site of the service provider 2 to recruit members of the famous A player's club and exchange opinions.

In both of the above-described embodiments, the service provider 2 distributes information from the target user list extracted from the database 4 to users who are actually accessing the service site. Has enabled the distribution of hot advertising information and general information in real time, but is not limited to this.
Advertisement information or general information is distributed to the mailing post for all users listed from the database 4, and when the relevant user starts the service software and performs a mail receiving procedure, the information is transmitted to the mailing post. You may make it deliver to the user terminal 3.

[0077]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention,
Advertisers can provide advertising information only to the user segment targeted by the advertiser, and can improve the advertising effect.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the information can be provided only to the user group to which the information distributor intends to distribute, and the information is provided only to the users who are likely to need the information. It is possible to exchange opinions afterwards, and in particular, it is possible to recruit members of clubs and supporters' associations, providing a place for mutual exchange of opinions.

According to the third aspect of the invention, by displaying a specific character representing the distribution source together with the display of the advertisement information and other information, the user can enjoy the service while enjoying the service. Thus, use of the service can be promoted.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, by extracting information stored in the database, it is possible to accurately and quickly specify a user to be delivered.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a service providing system using a service providing method according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing functions of a messenger service on a transmitting side and a receiving side in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a screen for an advertisement quote request procedure by an advertiser in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a screen for an advertisement request procedure by an advertiser in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the above embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a service providing system using a service providing method according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Internet 2 Service Provider 3 User Terminal 4 Database 5 Advertiser Terminal 6 Advertisement Site 8 Information Main Terminal

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Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A step of specifying a user connected to a service provider via a terminal, a step of extracting a user corresponding to information for specifying an advertisement target, and the specified user being included in the extracted user. Distributing and displaying the advertisement information to the terminal of the user when the service is provided, using the information network. 2. A step of specifying a user connected to a service provider via a terminal; a step of extracting a user corresponding to information for specifying a distribution destination; and the step of extracting the specified user from the extracted users. Distributing the information to the user's terminal and displaying the information when the service is provided, using the information network. 3. The service providing method using an information network according to claim 1, wherein a specific character related to the information is added to the advertisement information or the information. 4. The service providing method using an information network according to claim 1, wherein in the extracting step, the personal information is extracted from a database containing personal information based on a predetermined condition.