JP2022156231A - Advertising material distribution device and computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a device and a computer program for optimally and efficiently distributing advertising materials to each of a plurality of advertising spaces that are purchased in bulk.SOLUTION: An advertising material distribution device according to the present invention includes distribution condition input means capable of designating constraint conditions for each advertising space, wherein one of the constraint conditions includes a distribution ratio or distribution amount of each advertising material. Since material distribution determining means is provided for determining a submission amount for each advertising material by finding a solution of a given arithmetic expression that satisfies all the constraint conditions set by the distribution condition input means, in order to perform distribution to each advertising space of a plurality of advertising spaces according to this distribution ratio or distribution amount, the distribution of each advertising material in the plurality of advertising spaces is optimized in a short period of time. As a result, it becomes possible to select the advertising materials corresponding to zoning of consumer classes and to determine the submission amount for each advertising material, and effectiveness of the advertisements is improved.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a technique for supporting a buying plan, particularly for spot advertising frames, by optimally distributing advertising materials according to demand.

In television broadcasting, commercial messages (CMs) are broadcast as advertisements. CMs are classified into two types, so-called time CMs and spot CMs, depending on the trading format and the position of the advertising space. A time commercial is a program-providing commercial that is broadcast within a program by a sponsor of the program, so it is traded on a program-by-program basis. On the other hand, spot commercials are commercials that are traded in a form that is not associated with a program, and are traded by designating the time period for displaying advertisements. Spot CMs can be divided into PT (Participation), which is a CM frame that is broadcast within a program, and SB (Station Break), which is a CM frame that is broadcast between programs.

When an advertiser purchases an advertising space for spot commercials, it is possible to purchase a plurality of advertising spaces collectively (hereinafter also referred to as "bulk") instead of individually purchasing spot commercial spaces for each product brand. many. Compared to purchasing spot commercial slots for each brand, buying in bulk reduces the time and effort of purchasing for advertisers, and above all, transaction costs can be reduced, so depending on the purchasing method, the unit price can be lowered. Because there is

Prior literature on the optimization of material allocation to ad space includes a system that reallocates material allocation based on the difference between past audience ratings and real-time audience ratings (or predicted audience ratings) (for example, Patent Document 1 below). ).

Japanese Patent No. 6423132

Bulk purchasing has the advantage of lowering the purchase unit price. On the other hand, it is rare that products provided in all purchased commercial frames are for the same consumer group (for example, housewives in their 30s and 40s). Therefore, in bulk purchasing, advertising space for multiple product brands with different target consumer groups is purchased in bulk, and where the advertisement for each brand will be placed is not decided at the time of purchase.

For this reason, after bulk purchases, it is necessary to narrow down the zoning (days of the week and times of day that people often watch) for consumer segments that are assumed to be interested in each product brand, and to allocate advertising materials suitable for each of the bulk-purchased ad spaces. necessary. Here, the work of distributing the advertising materials is, for example, advertising material A for product brand X in the advertising space at 19:00 on Sundays, and advertising material B for product brand Y in the advertising space at 9:00 from Monday to Friday. means to allocate. In addition, the purchase of spot commercials is generally traded in units of Gross Rating Points (GRP), which will be described later, so it is also necessary to determine the amount of GRP to be invested in the designated advertising space in the allocation work. .

In the past, in most cases, the allocation of advertising materials was determined according to existing advertising patterns and agreements, and the determination of allocation, including fine adjustments, largely relied on experience and intuition. As a result, it takes a lot of time and effort, and quantitative verification of whether or not the allocation is appropriate has been carried out without sufficient verification. In addition, for various reasons, such as pursuing the possibility of a more appropriate allocation, or canceling the use of the planned advertisement material, the allocation determined before the advertisement is sometimes revised. In this case, instead of starting over from the beginning, it is difficult to make adjustments while maintaining the original constraints, even if you want to make some adjustments and make adjustments as easily as possible. Met.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and a computer program capable of optimally and efficiently allocating advertising material to each of a plurality of bulk-purchased advertising spaces and easily adjusting the allocation.

In order to achieve the above object, an advertising material distribution device according to the present invention is an advertising material distribution device that determines a placement amount (GRP) of advertising materials for a plurality of advertising spaces, and is capable of allocating to the plurality of advertising spaces. and a distribution condition input means for designating a constraint condition applied to one or more of the plurality of ad spaces in association with the data of the ad material, the allocation condition input means including at least the setting of the allocation ratio or the allocation amount of the advertising material as one of the constraints; In order to allocate to each ad frame of the plurality of ad frames according to the setting of the allocation ratio or the allocation amount, the advertisement material is obtained by obtaining a solution of a given arithmetic expression that satisfies the constraint condition set by the allocation condition input means. and allocation adjusting means for changing the allocation amount for each advertisement material determined by the material allocation determining means.

According to the advertisement material distribution apparatus of the present invention, the distribution condition input means is provided for specifying a constraint condition for each advertisement frame, and one of the constraint conditions includes the allocation ratio or the allocation amount of each advertisement material. In order to allocate to each ad frame of a plurality of ad frames according to this allocation ratio or allocation amount, a solution of a given arithmetic expression that satisfies the constraints set by the allocation condition input means is obtained, and the ad placement amount for each advertisement material is calculated. Since the material allocation determining means for determining is provided, it is possible to optimize the allocation of each advertisement material in a plurality of advertisement spaces in a short time. As a result, according to the present invention, it is possible to select advertisement materials corresponding to the zoning of the consumer group and to optimally determine the amount of advertisements to be placed for each advertisement material, thereby improving the effectiveness of the advertisement.

It also has allocation adjustment means for changing the allocation amount for each advertisement material determined by the material allocation determination means. For this reason, it has a distribution adjustment means that quantitatively verifies whether the distribution is suitable and, if necessary, adjusts the distribution of materials while maintaining the originally set constraint conditions (ratio of materials). , it is possible to secure the reliability of the material allocation after correction, and to determine a highly reliable and reliable allocation that does not depend on experience and intuition.

It is the figure which showed as a block diagram the function of the advertisement material distribution apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. 4 is a flow chart showing a procedure of processing executed by an advertising material distribution device; It is a figure which shows the confirmation screen example of material basic information. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of distribution when stacking permission is set and when stacking is not permitted; It is the figure which showed an example which sets the usage restriction|limiting by a time slot|zone. It is the figure which showed the example of the screen for the setting of mandatory avoidance. It is the figure which showed the example of the screen for the setting of mandatory avoidance. It is the figure which showed the example of a screen for setting the allocation ratio for every advertisement material. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of allocating the household GRP to the GRP of each advertisement material according to the allocation ratio of FIG. 7; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a part of an example of a screen for designating different material ratio settings for each area or for each broadcast TV station. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen when designation of an allocation amount is performed using a GRP real number; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen when designation of an allocation amount is performed using a GRP ratio; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for designating an allocation amount based on a period ratio to a specific period; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for setting allocation amounts of each advertisement material in a specified specific period; FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for setting how much deviation of the optimum value calculated with respect to the GRP to be set is allowed; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for adjusting distribution results; It is a figure showing an example of hardware constitutions of an advertising material distribution device concerning one embodiment of the present invention.

The advertising material distribution device 100 according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
To summarize, the processing performed by the advertising material distribution device 100 is the cost required for bulk purchase (that is, the total GRP value), the purchased advertising space, and the target consumption of the product brand related to the advertisement to be placed. Based on the premise that the consumer demographics have already been determined, how to allocate the total GRP to each of the advertising slots is determined in consideration of the audience rating and consumer demographics.

The advertising material distribution device 100 is generally a terminal device such as a personal computer (PC) or server, but is not necessarily limited. For example, it may be a portable terminal such as a mobile phone, a smart phone, or a tablet terminal. An example of the hardware configuration of the advertising material distribution device 100 will be described later.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the main functions of an advertising material distribution device 100 that is one embodiment of the present invention. An advertising material distribution device 100 that allocates advertising materials to a plurality of bulk-purchased advertising spaces includes a material data acquisition unit 1, an allocation condition input unit 2, an audience rating data management unit 3, a material allocation determination unit 4, and an allocation adjustment unit. 5. At least a processing result presentation unit 6 is included. In this embodiment, a configuration in which these functions are realized by one device is shown, but in other embodiments, a configuration in which these functions are realized by a plurality of devices, systems, servers, or the like may be used.

In addition, the advertising material distribution device 100 can be connected to other devices and storage media via wired and/or wireless (for example, LTE (Long Term Evolution), NR (New Radio), Wi-Fi (R), etc.). and a function of storing data in an arbitrary storage medium.

As described above, bulk purchase means buying spot CM frames for a plurality of product brands at once in order to reduce the unit price of the advertising space. There are three types of bulk purchase methods, and (a) is the most frequently used method. Note that the consumer segment is sometimes referred to as a “target”.
(a) This is a method of purchasing advertising space for product brands with different targets. The greater the number of product brands that are matched, the greater the range of combined targets, and thus the greater the zoning of the consumer segment to which the advertising material is distributed.
(b) This is a method of buying together products with different conditions associated with product brand advertising spaces. If there are many product brands to match, it becomes impossible to satisfy all the conditions. Therefore, usually, each condition is relaxed and multiple zoning decisions are made.
(c) This is a method of purchasing advertising space for multiple product brands related to the same target. Since it is the same target, the labor of zoning can be reduced, but it cannot be said that the zoning range necessarily expands in proportion to the number of product brands. Rather, it is adopted in cases where a significant reduction in purchase unit price is expected by taking advantage of the scale merit of spot trading.
Bulk purchase targeted by the advertising material distribution apparatus 100 described below will be described as a case of buying together advertising spaces of different product brands targeted in (a) above, but bulk purchase according to other aspects is also possible in the present application. Application of the invention is possible.

In this embodiment, the material data is created in advance based on the TV station's proposal (and further negotiations with the advertisement purchaser) or other means, and is stored in the storage medium 7 accessible to the advertisement material distribution apparatus 100. Suppose material data is stored. Here, the material data is information related to the advertisement to be posted (for example, the title and identification number that identifies the advertisement, the number of seconds in the frame, the period to avoid the advertisement, the day of the week, the time zone, the target group, etc.). . Costs incurred for bulk purchases (ie, total GRP value) are also associated with material data.

The material data fetching unit 1 of the advertising material distribution device 100 reads material data necessary for the processing of the material distribution determining unit 4 from the storage medium 7 via an arbitrary network, and fetches the material data into the advertising material distribution device 100 . For example, when the user sets the title, identification number, etc. of a specific advertising material for each advertising space, the corresponding material data is captured and made available.

The distribution condition input unit 2 presents a predetermined user interface so that the user of the advertisement material distribution apparatus 100 can input/specify data selection and conditions necessary for material distribution.
The audience rating data management unit 3 acquires and manages the actual audience rating data of television broadcast programs and advertisements. Audience rating data is, for example, data calculated or predicted from viewing history data obtained from measuring equipment connected to televisions such as survey cooperating households. Audience rating (all individuals aged 4 and over), audience rating for each target (individual audience rating by gender and age group, hereinafter also referred to as “individual audience rating” or “individual GRP”), real-time program average audience rating and time Includes all or part of the shift average ratings (so-called “P+C7 ratings”). The time-shift audience rating is the audience rating obtained by counting the views of the program recorded and reproduced within 7 days (=168 hours) from the start of broadcasting. Note that the audience rating data may be purchased from any audience rating tracking company as needed, or may be obtained by a system cooperating with the advertising material distribution apparatus 100 and used.

The material distribution determining unit 4 uses the material data captured by the material data capturing unit 1, various conditions input by the distribution condition input unit 2, and audience rating data acquired/managed by the audience rating data management unit 3. determines the distribution of advertising material for multiple bulk-purchased ad slots.
The distribution adjustment section 5 adjusts the result determined by the material distribution determination section 4 .
The processing result presenting unit 6 outputs the finally determined allocation contents and presents them so that they can be used as data in any format.

An example of a flowchart of processing executed by the advertising material distribution apparatus 100 is shown in FIG.
(1) Taking in Material Allocation Data (Step S10)
When the material distribution data fetching unit 1 fetches the material data, it confirms whether each advertisement material and the advertisement frame to be allocated are fixed. In other words, the advertising space once purchased or the advertising material that was supposed to be distributed may be changed for some reason. If material distribution is performed with indeterminate data, the processing result may not satisfy various conditions. In this case, the program will end up having to be redone, and there is a danger of a broadcasting accident if material that cannot be originally used is allocated and actually aired.

Therefore, at the stage of the material data fetching unit 1, it is determined whether the material data read out from the storage medium 7 is the latest, and whether there is any change or unusable advertisement frame. This confirmation may be performed by automatically detecting an error by comparing it with other information related to the program or advertisement, or by outputting an error confirmation instruction such as a checklist to the user of the advertisement material distribution apparatus 100. good. In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, a material basic information confirmation screen displaying the usable period of the material and the day of the week may be provided. If an error is detected, it is necessary to recreate the material data.

The material data fetching unit 1 discriminates materials that can be used and materials that cannot be used at each time of publication based on the basic information of each advertisement material, such as period, time, time zone, day of the week, number of seconds, etc., and can be used at the time of advertisement publication. When it is confirmed that it is in the state, it outputs a signal of completion of taking in to the allocation condition input unit 2 .

(2) Condition setting (step S20)
The distribution condition input unit 2, which has received the instruction to complete the loading, allows the user to select either the telecoupling distribution (step S21) or the condition setting distribution (step S22) as the distribution method.
When allocating multiple advertising materials to spot frames purchased in bulk, the simplest way of thinking about allocation is to allocate them to telecoms on a number basis (allocate them so that they are broadcast alternately). For example, the layout is A, B, A, B for materials A and B, and A, B, C, A, B, C for materials A, B, and C. When the user selects telecoupling allocation, the material allocation determination unit 4 uses the read material data to determine A, B, A, B or A, B, C, A, B in the order of the time of publication of the purchased advertisement space. , C, etc. In the telecoupling distribution, since the distribution is performed alternately mechanically, conditions such as the material ratio, which will be described later, are not reflected. Then, the allocation determination unit 2 sends a distribution determination (processing end) signal to the allocation adjustment unit 5 or the processing result presentation unit 6, and after the processing result presentation unit 6 completes the execution of the advertising material allocation device 100 ends.

Details of the condition setting are described below.
In the case of telecoupling distribution (step S21) described above, although it is simple and easy to understand, information on days of the week and time slots (that is, zoning) that the target of each material often watches is not taken into consideration. Moreover, if there is a difference in the total audience rating (GRP) of each time frame, efficient advertising effects can be expected by allocating non-uniform distribution amounts based on GRP, such as 200 GRP for material A and 500 GRP for material B. Since it can be done, there is a demand that if possible, it should be done other than the telecoupling allocation. However, when the number of advertisement materials increases, it takes a lot of time and effort to optimally distribute them.
The advertisement material distribution device 100 according to the present invention is especially assumed to be used in such a situation, and distributes a plurality of advertisement materials to the purchased spot advertisement frame while considering the target and GRP. enable In other words, it is characterized by conditional setting distribution (step S22) that allocates (distributes) the optimum amount for each material using household GRP (or ALLGRP) at the time of purchase or prediction, individual GRP, and P+C7 audience rating. .

<Regarding condition setting distribution>
When the user selects condition setting allocation, the allocation condition input unit 2 automatically or manually switches and displays screens for setting conditions necessary for material allocation using household GRP, individual GRP, etc. at the time of purchase. do.
(i) Setting Household GRP (or ALLGRP)/Individual GRP First, the allocation condition input unit 2 allows the user to set whether to allocate household GRP or individual GRP. As mentioned above, GRP is the total audience rating, material allocation for spot commercial frames is performed in units of GRP, and charges for spot commercial frames are generally calculated by multiplying GRP by per cost, which is the cost per GRP. is. In addition, since April 2020, individual audience ratings have been measured nationwide, and the transaction indicator has been changed from household audience ratings to all individual (ALL) audience ratings, so the household GRP explained below is , may be replaced with ALLGRP, which is the total audience rating of all individual (ALL) audience ratings. Additionally, P+C7 ratings may be used.

The setting of Household GRP or Personal GRP is related to the targeting of each piece of advertising material. That is, when personal GRP is set, a target is further specified for each material. Here, the targets are classified into, for example, "men aged 20 to 34", "women aged 20 to 34", "men aged 35 to 49", "women aged 35 to 49", etc., but not limited to these. , for example, C (Child) layer, T (Teen) layer, M (Male) 1-M3 layer, F (Female) 1-F3 layer, and the like. Targets that can be selected may be configured such that target information is registered for each material when creating material data so that only targets registered in advance for each advertising space can be selected.
On the other hand, when the household GRP is set, the target cannot be specified. Household GRP is set when targets are not specified for all materials.

(ii) Setting Permission for Stacking The distribution condition input unit 2 allows the user to set whether the distribution includes stacking or whether the distribution does not include stacking. Stacking refers to the state in which the same material is continuously distributed and piled up when the purchased advertising spaces are arranged in order of the time of publication. An example is shown in FIG.
If stacking permission is set for advertising materials A to C, the same materials may continue in the order of publication, for example, C, C, A, A, B, B. If stacking is not permitted, for example, allocation is performed in the order of B, C, A, B, A, B, and control is performed so that different materials are allocated to the ad frames before and after the time.
It should be noted that even if the interval between advertisements is any number of minutes or the dates are over, if the same material is distributed continuously at two points in time, it may be determined as stacking.

Stacking means that the same advertisement will be displayed more continuously than if it is not stacked, so various factors such as target characteristics, characteristics of the area where it will be broadcast, broadcast time zone, brand of the product targeted for advertisement, etc. In view of the factors, there are cases where it is better to avoid overlapping the same advertisements, and there are cases where it is better to display advertisements consecutively in order to give a strong impression. Note that even if stacking permission is set, there may be a case where the settings are not finally achieved due to other condition settings (for example, mandatory/avoidable settings).

(iii) Setting of restricted time period This is specified when the selected advertisement material is restricted to use in a specific time period. As shown in FIG. 5, for each advertisement material (for example, material A), the specific day of the week and time period for which use is restricted are set so that they can be visually confirmed by using a designated color or shading. By pressing the button, the usage restriction time zone is fixed.

(iv) Mandatory/Avoidable Settings Mandatory/Avoidable settings are specified when specifying the advertising material to be used or not to be used at each publication time. If the advertisement material to be used is specified, the use of the advertisement material in the specified time zone is distributed with high priority. Allocating with a high priority is because, as described in the setting of stacking permission, 100% allocation may not be achieved depending on other condition settings.
In addition, for the designation of advertisement materials that are not to be used, if there is a time period in which each material should not be broadcasted, it can be set in advance so that it cannot be selected. is.

FIG. 6A is an example screen for mandatory/avoid settings.
When the CM has already progressed or the optimization has been partially reflected, the broadcasted advertising material is allocated to the corresponding advertising space (see P frame in FIG. 6A). In FIG. 6, “A” indicating advertisement material A is attached to the first to fourth rows of advertisement spaces from the top of the essential material column. Therefore, it is possible to fix the part in which CM is running as "essential" and optimize only the remaining part. In addition, in the Q frame of FIG. 6A, "x" is shown in the rows and columns of the materials A and B, which means that the advertising frame is designated not to be placed. When a row or column that is not desired to be published is specified with a mouse or the like, and an avoidance button "No" 62 at the bottom of the screen is pressed, an "x" symbol is displayed in the corresponding row or column. In the publication time of the Q frame shown in FIG. 6A, only the material C without "x" is set as the publication target. Furthermore, in the R frame of FIG. 6A, material B has an "x", so it is set so that material B will not be published during the R frame publication time.

In FIG. 6B, only material A is posted for one week from May 5 to May 11 in the period designation field 63 from May 5 to May 20, 2020 (that is, materials B and C are This is an example in which it is set so as not to publish an advertisement. Switching of each material is designated by the required button 65 at the bottom of the screen. The right side of FIG. 6B shows a display example in which the material A is set in the essential material column, and an instruction is given to broadcast the material A at the time of publication of the set row and column.
Furthermore, if you want to set the material not to be published after a specific time or during a specific time, select material A, specify a specific time (for example, 24:00) in the time column 64, and click the avoidance button. By pressing "yes" 61, "x" is added to the column of material A after 24:00, and material A can be set not to be broadcast.

(v) Setting allocation amount or material ratio Set allocation amount or allocation ratio for each advertisement material.
Since the bulk-purchased total GRP value is read and displayed by the material data importing unit 1, the user directly inputs the GRP value (GRP real number) for the allocation amount of each material, and the total becomes the total GRP value. Specify as Alternatively, for the total GRP value purchased in bulk, a distribution designation is made by distributing the distribution ratio, for example, material A: 50%, material B: 30%, material C: 20% (total 100%). As shown in FIG. 7, when a desired ratio is entered in the allocation ratio column 71 and the setting button 72 is pressed, the total household GRP 81 (in the case of the example shown in FIG. 8, 2370.3) calculates the GRP for each material so that it is distributed according to the set ratio, and automatically displays it on the condition screen (box 82). If there are a plurality of target broadcast areas, distribution may be made by area (for example, by area such as Tokyo area, Osaka area, Nagoya area, etc.).

In addition, the distribution ratio based on the total household GRP in the entire area described above does not necessarily become the same distribution ratio when viewed by TV station, when viewed by day of the week, and when viewed by period. For example, referring to the example of FIG. 8, the ratios of all stations in Tokyo are A: 50.8 (1203.4/2370.3)%, B: 29.1% C: 20.2%, and the setting The ratio of A: 50%, B: 30%, C: 20% is almost equal to the ratio of A: 50%, B: 30%, C: 20%, but in the NTV station A: 33.2 (152.5/459.1)% B: 34.5% C: 32.5%. 2%, which is not the set ratio.

Therefore, it may be made possible to set different material ratios for each area or for each broadcast TV station. FIG. 9 shows an example in which setting divisions (details and granularity of setting) can be changed according to a desired combination from pull-down lists of "By region/station" and "By item".
In this way, the allocation amount of each material can be specified by setting the household GRP value for each material (GRP actual number), the ratio of the household GRP of each material to the total household GRP of the setting category (GRP ratio), and the number of advertisements for each material. It is desirable to select a plurality of designation methods such as (actual number) and the ratio of the number of manuscripts of each material to the total number of manuscripts of each set category (number ratio).

For example, the allocation amount specification method shown in FIG. 10A is for the GRP real number. Since the total is 574.3 GRP, material B is distributed so as to become 344.3 GRP. The allocation amount designation method shown in FIG. 10B is for the GRP ratio. 1×0.4) GRP, and 381.7 GRP for material B.
Multiple designation methods for the above-mentioned allocation amount can be set by broadcasting station, by day of the week, and by time rank (time division "A, special B, B, C" with different CM fees based on audience rating) It is the same.

Furthermore, it is possible to set a plurality of different periods as allocation targets and set allocation amounts according to period ratios. An example of the setting screen is shown in FIG. 10C. First, an arbitrary period division 92 is specified, and a period ratio 93 that makes the total 100% is input to each period division. In addition, as shown in FIG. 10D, the allocation amount of at least one advertisement material (material A in the case of FIG. 10D) may be input in each set period segment. The allocation amount of the material not specified (Material B in the case of FIG. 10D) is automatically calculated by subtracting the input allocation amount from the total GRP.

It should be noted that when conditions other than the period ratio are set as "GRP actual number", "GRP ratio", and "actual number" during the allocation determination process by the material allocation determination unit 4, the simultaneous establishment of a plurality of conditions is satisfied. , often not according to the exact set value. For this reason, it is set in advance to what extent the values calculated in the allocation determination process should be allowed. As a method of setting the allowable value, for example,
Tolerance: specified by ±XXX%,
MAX: Specify the set "GRP real number" or "GRP ratio" as the upper limit,
MIN: Designate the set "GRP real number" or "GRP ratio" as the lower limit,
There is a way to do that. An example of the setting screen is shown in FIG.
Further, the permissible range may be configured such that a predetermined range is stored in advance in the advertising material distribution apparatus 100 and the user can change it as appropriate.

The contents of a plurality of condition settings have been described above, and specific examples of actual settings are shown below.
<Example 1: Example of distributing only specific materials to arbitrary broadcasting stations>
We would like to purchase 1000 GRP in bulk for advertising materials (A, B) and distribute them to 4 broadcasting stations (T station, E station, N station, S station) in the Tokyo area. Also, the target of material A is the F1 layer (women aged 20-34), and the target of material B is the teen layer, and we want to distribute 1000 GRP at 46:54.
In other words, we want to distribute 460 GRP to material A and 540 GRP to material B. Specifically, we want to distribute 260 GRP for material A only to stations T and E, 200 GRP for material A to stations N and S, and 540 GRP for material B. . In this case, in order to make the above constraint GRP, the distribution condition input unit 2:
(1) In the material ratio setting shown in FIG. 7, set 46% (460 GRP) for material A and 54% (540 GRP) for material B,
(2) In the essential/avoidable setting shown in FIG. 6B, limit to the Tokyo area, and set material A (260 GRP) as an essential material for T station and E station.

<Example 2: Example of setting the ratio of specific period segments and the ratio between materials for the entire campaign>
1000 GRP was purchased in bulk for advertising materials (A, B), and the total material ratio during the period from May 5 to May 20, 2020 was set to A:B = 75%:25%, and an additional 5 I would like to set a period division ratio of 33% from May 5th to 9th, 33% from May 10th to 15th, and 34% from May 16th to 20th. In this case, in order to make the above constraint GRP, the distribution condition input unit 2:
(1) In the period ratio setting shown in FIG. 10C, check the "period + period ratio" 91 and set the period division 92 and the period ratio 93 described above.
(2) In setting the material ratio shown in FIG. 10D, set the material ratio to A:B=75%:25%.

It should be noted that the constraints described above are only representative examples, and other constraints can be included. Further, the interface (screen) for setting each constraint presented by the material distribution condition input unit 2 is merely an example, and needless to say, settings can be made on a screen with a different design.

(3) Allocation decision processing (step S30)
The material allocation determination unit 4 executes allocation determination processing based on the constraint conditions set in step S20. In the case of this embodiment, the optimum allocation for material allocation is determined by solving an optimization problem. Here, the optimization problem is defined as follows.
・Objective function: Minimize the difference between the household GRP target value for each material ・Variables: Advertisement volume of each advertising material by purchased advertising space ・Constraints: Avoid stacking, specify required time period, avoid time period , material ratio, area, TV station, day of the week, period, and time class. Note that the target cost may be used instead of the target GRP as the objective function. In this case, the variable may be the cost for each ad material for each ad space.

In other words, the material distribution determination unit 4 determines the target household GRP for each advertisement material (obtained by proportionally dividing the target household GRP by the material ratio) under set constraints such as stacking avoidance and material ratios. As a solution, the ad placement amount of each advertisement material for each purchase advertisement space that minimizes the difference from the target GRP for each advertisement material is obtained. By calculating the absolute value of the difference between the GRP corresponding to the ad placement amount and the target GRP for each ad material among combinations of ad placement amounts for each purchase ad space that can satisfy the constraint conditions, the absolute value It is a process of finding the placement amount distribution that minimizes the sum of , and it is possible to apply it as a linear programming problem while maintaining linearity. Thus, complex processing calculations can be avoided compared to non-linear optimization problems.

Although the objective function in the optimization process described above was to minimize the difference between the household GRP (or cost) and the target value, individual GRP may be used as an index instead of "household". In other words, under the set constraints, the solution of the amount of advertisement (or cost) for each advertisement frame to be purchased is obtained with respect to the objective function of maximizing the total individual GRP of each target for each advertisement material. If the target is the M1 layer (men aged 20 to 34), the processing is for maximization within the M1, and if the target is the F1 layer (females aged 20 to 34), the processing is for maximization within the F1. Constraints may be the same as those used in household GRP, or different constraints may be used.
The objective function when using the individual GRP is different from that when using the household GRP. If it is a household, it can be processed as a lump sum GRP, but in the case of an individual, the difference from the target value of the GRP of the M1 layer is It cannot be said that it is necessarily related to the difference from the target value of GRP in other strata (for example, F1 stratum), and since the parameters for calculating GRP are not the same for different strata, it is simply the individual GRP of each stratum. It is set to maximize the total.

The basic algorithm for the optimization problem that maximizes the total individual GRP is explained in the case of <Example 1: Example of distributing only specific material to an arbitrary broadcasting station> described above.
• Procedure 1: First, among the purchased advertising slots, the GRP values of two individual target layers (F1 layer and teen layer) are compared for N station and S station. Since the material A is for an advertisement for the F1 layer, it is determined that the material A should be preferentially allocated to an advertisement frame in which the GRP value of the F1 is higher than the GRP value of the other target layer (teen layer). In the case of example 1, only material A is allocated for stations T and E, so the GRP value of the teen layer is not compared, and the purchased advertising space is for material A. . Material B is also done in the same way, comparing the GRP value of F1 and the GRP value of the teen layer only for the N station and the S station, and placing the material B in the advertisement space where the GRP value of the teen layer is higher than the GRP value of F1. Decide on priority allocation. However, if there are other constraint conditions for the set material ratio and mandatory avoidance, they may not always be preferentially assigned.

・Procedure 2: The total GRP (F1 layer GRP) of the advertising space of the 4 stations to which material A is assigned based on the priority of procedure 1 is the maximum, and the N station to which material B is assigned based on the priority of procedure 1 and the ad placement amount distribution combination that maximizes the sum of the GRP (teen layer GRP) of the advertising space of the S station.

Algorithms for optimization problems have been researched for quite some time, and many types of solvers have been developed for solving problems, and are now publicly available, so descriptions thereof will be omitted in this specification. The material distribution determining unit 4 of the present application also does not require a special optimization solver, and any solver that can solve general linear programming problems can be applied.
Note that in other embodiments, the optimization problem may be modeled as a mathematical programming problem. For example, if the model of interest is a linear model, the system may be optimized by solving a linear programming problem using a standard linear programming/optimal solver such as CPLEX or MINOS. In still other embodiments, the optimization problem may be formulated as a non-linear problem and solved using any one of a number of non-linear optimization techniques.

Other embodiments include computing allocation combinations by computational processes other than optimization problems. For example, you can use pattern matching to extract advertisement slots with similar placement patterns and constraints, and set an amount proportional to the allocation amount used in the extracted past placement patterns as the current allocation amount. good. In particular, if past ad placement patterns have completed the result correction (fine adjustment) described later, it is expected that there will be no need to fine-tune the distribution this time, so it is possible to further simplify the work. be.

(4) Result Correction (Step S40)
·Optimization Judgment When the allocation determination by the material allocation determination section 4 is completed, the allocation adjustment section 5 makes an optimization judgment as to how well the optimum material allocation has been performed, and outputs the result on the screen. The user determines whether or not it is necessary to correct the distribution based on the optimization determination result. Judgment is made, for example, by using the fact that the allocation condition input unit 2 has set an allowable value, and whether or not the GRP amount calculated by the material allocation determination unit 4 as to be allocated for each advertising space falls within the set allowable range. It can be determined by the number of ad slots available. The adequacy of material allocation is quantified by outputting the ratio of ad slots within the allowable range to the total number of ad slots to be purchased as a percentage.

If the number of ad slots falling within the allowable range is greater than a predetermined threshold (for example, 80%), it is determined that the allocation was possible under the set constraint conditions, and the user decides that adjustment of the allocation is unnecessary. Just do it. On the other hand, if less than 80% of all ad spaces fall within the allowable range, it is assumed that the set constraint conditions were unreasonable. However, in some cases, such as 75%, the ratio of ad spaces falling within the allowable range does not reach the threshold of 80%, but does not deviate extremely from the threshold. In such a case, the user may change the material determined by the material allocation determination unit 4 for a part of the purchase advertisement frame (for example, replace material A with material B for a certain advertisement frame). ), and by increasing or decreasing the allocated GRP amount calculated by the material allocation determination unit 4, adjustment for reaching or approaching the threshold value may be executed.

On the other hand, if the judgment result is considerably deviated from the threshold, such as 40% or less, the user should change the initial constraint condition itself so that it is an overall correction rather than a change/adjustment to a part of the advertising space. (For example, instead of changing the overall allocation ratio to material A: 50%, material B: 30%, material C: 20%, material A: 80%, material B: 10%, material C: 10%, etc.) Then, the material allocation determining unit 4 executes the allocation again.

In addition, a selection is made between adjusting part of the advertising space described above (hereinafter referred to as "fine adjustment" for ease of understanding) or redoing the optimization process itself by changing the initial constraint conditions themselves. may be automatically determined by the distribution adjustment unit 5 according to the determination result and the threshold instead of entrusting to the user.

Allocation Fine Adjustment Processing An example of correcting the material allocation by the user who recognizes the need for fine adjustment based on the optimization determination result of the allocation adjustment unit 5 will be described below.
The simplest modification is a method of directly changing the material of the advertising space that the user wants to modify to another material on the modification screen. In this case, for the purpose of simplifying the recalculation of material ratios, outputting the allocation result list to a table in a predetermined format may be utilized. Specifically, formulas for calculating material ratios already set on tables or spreadsheets in which data has been entered are embedded in macro functions, and when the user changes the material for a desired ad space, the macro calculates the material ratios. The function starts and displays the material ratio after changing the material. The user can determine the allocated materials that retain the initial material ratio while repeating material changes and data updates.

However, in the distribution condition input unit 2, there may be a mistake in which a material that should have been initially set to be avoided is carelessly allocated, or a material other than the material set as essential is allocated. In addition, even though the material ratio is specified at the beginning, the material ratio changes due to the result correction, so it is necessary to reconfirm the material ratio after correction.

In this way, in the case of manually correcting the materials on the result correction screen of the distribution adjustment unit 5, it is necessary to carefully change the allocated materials accurately while maintaining the initially set avoidance conditions, material ratios, etc. It is a labor-intensive task.

Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 12, when the user specifies to change the allocated material C indicated by the arrow in the table determined by the material allocation determining unit 4 to the material A (simultaneously specifying material change for a plurality of advertising spaces). ), the allocation adjustment unit 5 outputs a warning if the material is not changeable, and even if the changeable material is specified, the allocation GRP of other ad spaces will be affected by the change of the relevant ad space. Including automatic fine-tuning of the amount so that the initially set material ratio is maintained. Furthermore, a plurality of candidates are selected based on the results of a simulation performed by the allocation adjustment unit 5 regarding which of the plurality of advertisement slots should be changed to a different material and how much the allocated GRP amount should be increased or decreased. You may make it present to a user so that it may select from inside.

As a result, even if the material of a specific ad space is changed, the allocated GRP amount that maintains the overall material ratio including other ad spaces is calculated, so fine adjustment work by the user is extremely simple. Then, the optimization judgment is performed again for the combination of materials after the corrected material change, and if it is found that the threshold value of 80% or more is not satisfied, a new allocation combination is tried while repeating the designation of the material change several times. and make corrections until the desired combination is obtained. The iterations of this new allocation combination can be accumulated as an algorithm that learns actions that maximize value through trial and error, called Reinforcement Learning, which is one type of machine learning. That is, the allocation adjustment unit 5 divides each of the so-called "state", "behavior", and "reward" of the so-called three elements in reinforcement learning into the current determination result, the material allocation amount for the frame to be changed, and the material allocation amount after change. , and select the action that ultimately maximizes the value. Examples of algorithms for reinforcement learning include "Q-learning", "Sarsa", and "Monte Carlo method", but the present embodiment does not limit algorithms applied to reinforcement learning. These reinforcement learning algorithms are known to those skilled in the art and are omitted here.

By executing the advertisement material distribution apparatus 100 of this embodiment in this way, it is possible to maintain the material ratio and easily determine the type of material and the amount of material allocation that satisfies the threshold for the optimization determination.

Furthermore, when there are a plurality of candidates for changing the allocated materials that can maintain the material ratio, the allocation adjusting section 5 is configured to present the user with which one is better for the purpose of minimizing the user's trouble and mistakes. It is possible. For example, even if the result of the optimization determination is satisfied by using a new allocated material A after change, if the material ratio is not maintained, the allocated material for other advertising frames is adjusted so that the material ratio is maintained. is automatically extracted and recommended to the user. This allows the user to easily recognize other layout combinations that maintain the set material ratio.

By the way, there may be a situation where the distribution adjustment unit 5 cannot select a combination of allocated materials that can maintain the material ratio. In order to indicate that such a situation cannot be dealt with by fine adjustment, the user resets the constraint conditions in the material distribution condition input unit 2 (relaxing one or more constraint conditions, etc.), and the material distribution determination unit 4 determines the material Recalculate allocation.

Moreover, in the optimization determination, the factor of the poor optimization result may be the narrowness of the permissible range described with reference to FIG. 11 . As the tolerance increases, the percentage of ad slots that fall within that range will increase, resulting in better optimization results. Therefore, it may be arranged such that it is possible to make a proposal by inversely calculating to what extent the allowable range set by the user on the advertising material distribution apparatus 100 should be expanded to meet the optimization determination threshold.

(5) Result reflection (step S50)
The processing result presenting unit outputs the finally determined material allocation data result to a screen or a printer. The display and format are not particularly limited.

A hardware configuration of the advertising material distribution apparatus 100 will be described.
The advertising material distribution apparatus 100 according to the embodiment described above is implemented by a computer 1000 configured as shown in FIG. 13, for example. FIG. 13 is a hardware configuration diagram showing an example of a computer that implements the functions of the advertising material distribution apparatus 100. As shown in FIG. Computer 1000 has CPU 1100 , RAM 1200 , ROM 1300 , HDD 1400 , communication interface (I/F) 1500 , input/output interface (I/F) 1600 and media interface (I/F) 1700 .

The CPU 1100 operates based on programs stored in the ROM 1300 or HDD 1400 and controls each section. The ROM 1300 stores a boot program executed by the CPU 1100 when the computer 1000 is started up, a program depending on the hardware of the computer 1000, and the like.

The HDD 1400 stores programs executed by the CPU 1100, data used by the programs, and the like. Communication interface 1500 receives data from another device via a predetermined communication network, sends the data to CPU 1100, and transmits data generated by CPU 1100 to another device via a predetermined communication network.

The CPU 1100 controls output devices such as displays and printers, and input devices such as keyboards and mice, through an input/output interface 1600 . CPU 1100 acquires data from an input device via input/output interface 1600 . CPU 1100 also outputs the generated data to an output device via input/output interface 1600 .

Media interface 1700 reads programs or data stored in recording medium 1800 and provides them to CPU 1100 via RAM 1200 . CPU 1100 loads such a program from recording medium 1800 onto RAM 1200 via media interface 1700, and executes the loaded program. The recording medium 1800 is, for example, an optical recording medium such as a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) or a PD (Phase change rewritable disc), a magneto-optical recording medium such as an MO (Magneto-Optical disk), a tape medium, a magnetic recording medium, or a semiconductor memory. etc.

For example, when the computer 1000 functions as the advertising material distribution apparatus 100 according to the embodiment, the CPU 1100 of the computer 1000 implements the functions of the control unit 130 by executing programs or data loaded onto the RAM 1200 . CPU 1100 of computer 1000 reads and executes these programs or data from recording medium 1800, but as another example, these programs or data may be obtained from another device via a predetermined communication network.

As described above, some of the embodiments of the present application have been described in detail based on the drawings. It is possible to carry out the invention in other forms with modifications.

(others)
Further, among the processes described in the above embodiments and modifications, all or part of the processes described as being performed automatically can be performed manually, or described as being performed manually. All or part of the processing can also be performed automatically by known methods. In addition, information including processing procedures, specific names, various data and parameters shown in the above documents and drawings can be arbitrarily changed unless otherwise specified. For example, the various information shown in each drawing is not limited to the illustrated information.

Also, each component of each device illustrated is functionally conceptual, and does not necessarily need to be physically configured as illustrated. In other words, the specific form of distribution and integration of each device is not limited to the one shown in the figure, and all or part of them can be functionally or physically distributed and integrated in arbitrary units according to various loads and usage conditions. Can be integrated and configured.

Also, the above-described embodiments and modifications can be appropriately combined within a range that does not contradict the processing content.

1 material data acquisition unit 2 allocation condition input unit 3 audience rating data management unit 4 material allocation determination unit 5 allocation adjustment unit 6 processing result presentation unit 7 storage medium 100 advertisement material allocation device

Claims (5)

An advertising material distribution device for determining an advertising material placement amount (GRP) for a plurality of advertising spaces,
material data acquisition means for acquiring data of advertisement materials that can be allocated to the plurality of advertisement spaces;
Allocation condition input means for specifying a constraint applied to one or more of the plurality of ad spaces in association with the data of the advertisement material, wherein setting of an allocation ratio or an allocation amount of the advertisement material is set as the constraint condition. the allocation condition input means including at least one;
the allocation condition for allocating a total placement amount corresponding to the total order amount required for purchasing the plurality of advertising spaces to each of the plurality of advertising spaces according to the setting of the allocation ratio or the allocation amount; material allocation determination means for determining the allocation amount for each advertisement material by obtaining a solution of a given arithmetic expression that satisfies the constraint conditions set by the input means;
and an advertisement material allocation device, comprising allocation adjustment means for changing the allocation amount for each advertisement material determined by the material allocation determination means. 2. The advertising material distribution apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said distribution adjusting means adjusts the distribution amount for each of said advertising materials so that said distribution ratio is maintained. 3. The allocation adjustment means according to claim 1, wherein said allocation adjustment means makes an optimization determination based on a ratio of the advertising space for which the decided allocation amount of the advertising material is within a permissible range with respect to the total number of said plurality of advertising spaces. Advertising material distribution device. The constraint conditions include at least one of the following: setting of the type of publication amount (GRP), designation of target, setting of stacking permission or non-permission, setting of time period with usage restrictions, setting of necessity or avoidance, setting of period 4. The advertising material distribution device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: A computer program for causing a computer to execute a process of determining an advertising material placement amount (GRP) for a plurality of advertising slots, the computer comprising:
a process of retrieving data of advertising materials that can be allocated to the plurality of advertising spaces;
a process of specifying, in association with the data of the advertising material, a constraint applied to one or more of the plurality of advertising spaces and including at least setting of an allocation ratio or an allocation amount of the advertising material;
In order to allocate a total placement amount equivalent to a total order amount required for purchasing the plurality of advertising spaces to each of the plurality of advertising spaces according to the setting of the allocation ratio or the allocation amount, the constraint condition A process of determining the allocation amount for each advertisement material by obtaining a solution of a given arithmetic expression that satisfies
a process of changing the allocation amount for each advertisement material determined by the process of determining the allocation amount for each advertisement material;
computer program that causes the

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