JP6159517B2 - Information processing apparatus and advertisement information providing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a data processing technique, and more particularly to a technique for providing advertisement information to a user.

  Services have been proposed in which a user's current location is acquired from the user's terminal and an advertisement for a store or the like located in the vicinity of the user's current location is provided to the user's terminal.

JP 2011-247914 A

  The present inventor determines the advertisement to be provided to the user by grasping one point of the user's location, and is effective for the user while expanding the opportunities for providing the advertisement to the user. We thought there was room for improvement in order to provide advertisements.

  The present invention has been made on the basis of the above-mentioned problem recognition of the inventor, and its main object is to provide a technology that effectively supports the provision of advertisements to users.

  In order to solve the above problems, an information processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes a map holding unit that stores map information of the real world, and a position acquisition unit that receives position information indicating the user's location from the user's terminal. A registered position holding unit that sets the received position information as a registered point of the user and stores it in correspondence with the user and the set time, and a plurality of registered points set within a predetermined time range for each user. A territory holding unit that recognizes a region formed by connection in a space based on map information, stores the recognized region corresponding to the user as a virtual territory, and provides advertisement information and advertisement information thereof An advertisement information holding unit that stores an advertisement providing point that is set in advance in association with map information as a place to perform, and an advertisement that provides users who include the advertisement providing point in their territory And a providing destination determining unit that determines as a providing destination of the advertisement information corresponding to a point.

  Another aspect of the present invention is an advertisement information providing method. This method is a method executed by an information processing apparatus connected to a user terminal via a communication network, the step of receiving position information indicating the location of the user from the user terminal, and the received position information An area formed by connecting a plurality of registration points set within a predetermined time range for each user is set as a registration point of the user and stored in correspondence with the user and the setting time point. Recognizing in the space based on map information, storing the recognized area in correspondence with the user as a virtual territory to be given to the user, and associating with the map information in advance as a place to provide advertisement information and the advertisement information The step of storing the set advertisement providing point in association with the advertisement providing point and the advertisement information corresponding to the user including the advertisement providing point in its own territory with the advertisement providing point Comprising determining a providing destination, a.

  It should be noted that any combination of the above-described constituent elements and a representation of the present invention converted between a system, a program, a recording medium storing the program, etc. are also effective as an aspect of the present invention.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, provision of the advertisement with respect to a user can be supported effectively.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the information delivery system of embodiment. It is a figure which shows a user's registration point typically. It is a figure which shows a user's territory typically. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the information delivery server of FIG. It is a figure which shows the data stored in a registration position holding part. It is a figure which shows the data stored in a territory holding part. It is a figure which shows the data stored in an advertisement information holding part. It is a figure which shows a user's territory typically. It is a figure which shows typically territorial adjustment between users. It is a figure which shows typically territorial adjustment between users. It is a figure which shows typically the territory adjustment between the users in a modification. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of an information delivery server. It is a flowchart which shows the territory update process of S20 of FIG. 12 in detail. It is a flowchart which shows the advertisement delivery process of S24 of FIG. 12 in detail. It is a figure which shows typically territorial adjustment between users. It is a figure which shows typically the user's territory in a modification.

  The advertisement distribution service proposed in the embodiment holds the advertisement content together with the advertisement providing area on the map. The advertising content is electronic data including documents and images for the purpose of promoting sales of products and providing information to users, and may be various coupons, discount coupons, guidance for new products and events, and the like. The advertiser includes, for example, a store, a company, and a local government. In this service, as the first stage of advertisement distribution, for each user, the location of the user within a predetermined period is registered on a map, and the registration points are connected on the map, for example, three or more areas on the map image are formed. A plane / area created by being surrounded by the coordinates indicated by the registration point is given to each user as a virtual territory (in other words, a control range, a territory). Then, the advertisement content associated with the advertisement providing area is provided to the user who includes the advertisement providing area in his / her territory.

  In this way, the advertising content to be provided to the user is determined not by the current location of the user, i.e., by the point, but by the area, i.e., the area connecting the location within the predetermined period, thereby providing the advertising effect. It is possible to expand advertisement providing opportunities for users who are assumed to be high. In addition, in the advertisement distribution service according to the embodiment, it is possible to realize so-called gamification in which a virtual territory is acquired on an actual map by an independent action of a user and an advertisement corresponding to the territorial area is acquired.

  FIG. 1 shows a configuration of an information distribution system 100 according to the embodiment. The information distribution system 100 includes a user terminal 10 a, a user terminal 10 b, a user terminal 10 c, an advertiser PC 12, and an information distribution server 14 that are collectively referred to as the user terminal 10. These devices are connected via the Internet 16 including a LAN / WAN as appropriate. The user terminal 10 is a portable information terminal that the user carries when moving, and is typically a smartphone. In addition, not only a smart phone but a mobile phone, a tablet terminal, etc. may be sufficient. The user terminal 10a, the user terminal 10b, and the user terminal 10c are operated by users A, B, and C, which are different users.

  The user terminal 10 is equipped with a GPS device. The GPS device receives GPS positioning information from GPS satellites, and calculates information indicating the current position of the user terminal 10 from the received information, specifically, latitude and longitude values. In the user terminal 10, the user activates an application for this service (location registration application) and performs an operation for registering the current location. The position registration application that has received this operation acquires the latitude and longitude values of the current location of the user terminal 10 (that is, the user's location) via the GPS device. Then, a location registration request including the acquired latitude and longitude values is uploaded to the information distribution server 14.

  In addition, the user terminal 10 is loaded with a browsing application that acquires information notified by push from the information distribution server 14 via a predetermined mediation server and displays the screen. As will be described later, when the information distribution server 14 determines a user who should provide an advertisement, the information distribution server 14 pushes the advertisement information to the user terminal 10 of the user, and the viewing application acquires the advertisement information pushed to the terminal itself. Display on the screen.

  The advertiser PC 12 is a PC installed on the advertiser side, and uploads and registers advertisement content and advertisement providing point data to the information distribution server 14. The information distribution server 14 is an information processing apparatus that provides an advertisement distribution service, and provides advertisement content registered by the advertiser PC 12 to the user terminal 10. As will be described later, the information distribution server 14 manages the registration points of a plurality of users and the territory of each user based on the registration points. And the advertising content corresponding to the advertisement provision point is provided to the user who uses the advertisement provision point as a territory.

Here, the basic concept of advertisement distribution by the information distribution system 100 will be outlined.
FIG. 2 schematically shows a user registration point. Eleven objects indicated by registration points 60a to 60k (hereinafter collectively referred to as "registration points 60") are locations registered by a single user between two weeks ago and the present. It is. For example, four locations from 60a to 60d are registered on August 1, three locations from 60e to 60g are registered on August 5, and four locations from 60h to 60k are registered. It shall be registered on the 10th of the month.

  FIG. 3 schematically shows the user's territory. The information distribution server 14 recognizes on the map image (in other words, in a two-dimensional space based on the map information) an area where the user registration points 60a to 60k are connected to each other by the line 62, and the area is the user's territory. 64 is determined. When a plurality of areas are recognized, the entire area obtained by combining the plurality of areas is determined as the user's territory 64. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, eight registration points 60 (registration point 60a, registration point 60b, registration point 60d, registration point 60e, registration point 60f, which are located relatively outside of the eleven registration points 60, are registered. The region formed by connecting the registration point 60g, the registration point 60i, and the registration point 60h) by the line 62 is determined as the user's territory 64.

  In other words, the information distribution server 14 according to the present embodiment determines, as the user's territory 64, an area formed by connecting the registration points 60 on the outer periphery among the plurality of registration points 60 by one user with the line 62. The region formed here can also be said to be the maximum region (overall region) formed by connecting all the registration points 60 by one user (N to N) with each other by the line 62. As a modified example, the closest registration points 60 among a plurality of registration points 60 are connected by a line 62, and the region formed as a result of finally connecting all the registration points 60 by a line 62 is defined as a user territory. It may be 64. Even if the positions and the number of the registration points 60 are the same, in the method of the embodiment, the area of the user's territory 64 is easily determined larger than the method of the modification.

  Here, in FIG. 3, advertisement providing points 66 a to 66 c collectively referred to as the advertisement providing points 66 are registered in advance. In other words, it is assumed that three advertisement contents associated with each of the advertisement provision point 66a to the advertisement provision point 66c are already registered in the information distribution server 14. In this case, since the advertisement providing point 66a and the advertisement providing point 66b are included in the user's territory 64, the advertisement content associated with each of the advertisement providing point 66a and the advertisement providing point 66b is distributed to the user. On the other hand, since the advertisement provision point 66c is outside the territory 64, the advertisement content associated with the advertisement provision point 66c is not provided to the user.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the information distribution server 14 of FIG. The information distribution server 14 includes a data processing unit 30 that executes and controls various data processes, and a data holding unit 20 that is a storage area for storing data for processing by the data processing unit 30. The data holding unit 20 includes a map holding unit 22, a registered position holding unit 24, a territory holding unit 26, and an advertisement information holding unit 28. The data processing unit 30 includes an advertisement acquisition unit 32, a position acquisition unit 34, a territory determination unit 36, a provision destination determination unit 38, a priority determination unit 40, an advertisement provision unit 42, an alert notification unit 44, A public information providing unit 46 is included. As will be described later, the information distribution server 14 also has a function as a web server.

  Each block shown in the block diagram of the present specification can be realized in terms of hardware by an element such as a CPU of a computer or a mechanical device, and in terms of software, it can be realized by a computer program or the like. The functional block realized by those cooperation is drawn. Therefore, those skilled in the art will understand that these functional blocks can be realized in various forms by a combination of hardware and software. For example, each functional block of the data processing unit 30 in FIG. 4 may be stored in a recording medium as a program module and installed in the storage of the information distribution server 14. Then, the function of each functional block may be exhibited by being read into the main memory of the information distribution server 14 and executed by the CPU of the information distribution server 14. Each functional block of the data holding unit 20 in FIG. 4 may be realized by the main memory or storage of the information distribution server 14.

  The map holding unit 22 holds map data in which real world map information, for example, objects on the actual ground surface are described. This map data is configured such that one point can be specified by a combination of latitude and longitude. For example, the map data may be configured by data in which a map image and coordinates on the map image are associated with latitude and longitude values.

  The registered position holding unit 24 holds data indicating the location of each user registered by each of a plurality of users (that is, data of registered points of each user). FIG. 5 shows data stored in the registered position holding unit 24. The registered position holding unit 24 holds a unique user ID for each user, position data indicating the position of the registered spot on the map, and a set date and time. The position data is a combination of latitude and longitude, and the set date is the date and time when the user's registration point is set.

  Returning to FIG. 4, the territory holding unit 26 holds territory data assigned to each user. FIG. 6 shows data stored in the territory holding unit 26. The territory holding unit 26 holds the user ID, the territory data, and the update date and update time of the territory data in association with each other. The territory data is data indicating the range of the territory given to the user on the map data held by the map holding unit 22. In other words, the territory data is data for forming a boundary / extension of a virtual territory. For example, among coordinate values (a plurality of combinations of latitude and longitude) in a map image held by the map holding unit 22, even a coordinate value (a plurality of combinations of latitude and longitude) included in the user's territory. Good.

  Returning to FIG. 4, the advertisement information holding unit 28 holds the advertisement information registered from the advertiser PC 12. FIG. 7 shows data stored in the advertisement information holding unit 28. The advertisement information holding unit 28 holds a unique advertisement ID, an uploaded advertisement content, and an advertisement provision condition and an advertisement provision point specified by the advertiser for each advertisement uploaded to the information distribution server 14. To do. The advertisement provision conditions are, for example, data specifying the provision start date and time, provision end date and time, provision frequency (once a day, once every 6 hours, etc.), and the maximum number of provisions (ten times, etc.). Also good. The advertisement providing point may be a combination of latitude and longitude for specifying the advertisement providing point on the map.

  Returning to FIG. 4, the information distribution server 14 provides an advertisement registration web page to the advertiser PC 12 to be displayed. This web page includes an advertisement content designation area, an advertisement provision condition input area, and an advertisement provision point designation area. The designated area of the advertisement content is a file system path of the advertiser PC 12, and may be an area for inputting a path character string indicating a storage position of the advertisement content data. The designated area for the advertisement provision point may be an area for allowing the advertiser to designate the advertisement provision point on the map image, or may be an area for inputting an address indicating the advertisement provision point. When a predetermined advertisement registration operation is detected, this web page causes the advertisement PC 12 to transmit the advertisement registration request data including the designated advertisement content, advertisement provision conditions, and advertisement provision point to the information distribution server 14. .

  When the advertisement acquisition unit 32 receives the advertisement registration request from the advertiser PC 12, the advertisement acquisition unit 32 assigns a unique advertisement ID and identifies the latitude and longitude of the advertisement provision point based on the data of the advertisement provision point specified in the advertisement registration request. To do. For example, when the advertisement providing point is designated on the map image, the latitude and longitude corresponding to the designated coordinates may be specified. Further, when the advertisement providing point is designated by an address, the latitude and longitude of the advertisement providing point may be acquired from a predetermined database device that holds the address and the latitude / longitude in association with each other or an external web service. . The advertisement acquisition unit 32 stores the advertisement content, the advertisement provision condition, and the advertisement provision point (latitude and longitude) specified in the advertisement registration request in the advertisement information holding unit 28 in association with the advertisement ID.

  The position acquisition unit 34 receives a position registration request from the user terminal 10. The location registration request includes the terminal ID of the requesting user terminal 10 and location data indicating the current user location. The position data is latitude and longitude data indicating the current position of the user terminal 10. The position acquisition unit 34 acquires set time point data (for example, current system time) indicating the current date and time when a position registration request is received. Then, the terminal ID specified in the position registration request is stored as a user ID in the registered position holding unit 24 in association with the position data and the set time data.

  The territory determination unit 36 is held in the map holding unit 22 according to the registration point data held in the registration position holding unit 24 for the user who registered the location when each of the plurality of users registered the location. Determine the territory in the space corresponding to the map data. Then, the user ID, the territory data, and the update date and time (the current date and time when the territory is determined) are stored in the territory holding unit 26 in association with each other. Hereinafter, this territory determination process is also referred to as “dynamic territory determination process”. The time when each of the plurality of users registers the location may be, for example, every time a location registration request is received by the location acquisition unit 34, and a registration point record in the registration location holding unit 24 is newly added. May be detected each time.

  Further, the territory determination unit 36 refers to the update date and time of each territory held in the territory holding unit 26 and detects that a predetermined period (24 hours or the like) has elapsed since the previous update (including new settings). Determine the user's territory again. Then, the user ID, the territory data, and the update date / time are associated with each other, and the existing record of the user in the territory holding unit 26 is updated. Hereinafter, this territory determination process is also referred to as “periodic territory determination process”. As a modification, the territory determination unit 36 may collectively determine the territories of each of a plurality of users as batch processing. For example, the territories of a plurality of users may be determined at a time at a predetermined territory determination timing (when it is detected that a predetermined time has been reached) and at a predetermined frequency (such as once a day).

  As a basic territory determination method, the territory determination unit 36 arranges a plurality of registration points by the user on the map image held in the map holding unit 22 according to the respective position data (latitude and longitude). Then, a region is formed by connecting a plurality of registration points with lines, one or more regions formed by connecting the plurality of registration points are recognized, and the entire region obtained by combining these regions is defined as the user's territory. decide. The territory determination unit 36 is a record in which a user ID (corresponding to a registration point) that is a territory determination target, territory data indicating coordinate values (latitude and longitude) included in the user's territory, and an update date and time are associated with each other. Is stored in the territory holding unit 26. If a record with the same user ID exists, the record is updated.

  Next, the exclusion of old registration points will be described. This is performed in both dynamic territory determination processing and periodic territory determination processing. The territory determination unit 36 refers to the set date and time of each of a plurality of registration points by the user in the territory determination process. Then, for registered points whose elapsed time from the set date and time exceeds a predetermined period (two weeks in this embodiment) among a plurality of registered points, subject of region recognition in the territory determination process Exclude from That is, the territory determination unit 36 recognizes a registration point set before the territory determination time point (that is, present) and before a predetermined time point in the past (two weeks ago) as invalid. The territory determination unit 36 recognizes the area on the map based on the effective registration point, and determines the user's territory based on the registration point set between the territory determination time and the predetermined range in the past. To do. As a result, as the territory data of the territory holding unit 26, the coordinate values belonging to the user's territory determined based on the relatively new registration point are held. In other words, the coordinate value indicating the old registration point and the coordinate value of the region that is out of the user's territory by excluding the old registration point, that is, the data of the region that is out of the user's territory over time, It will be deleted from the territory data of the holding unit 26.

  FIG. 8 schematically shows the user's territory. This figure shows the territorial area after registration points 60a to 60d in FIG. 3 have been invalidated as user registration points after two weeks from the set date and time. As is clear from a comparison between FIG. 3 and FIG. 8, if the user does not add a registration point, the user's registration point gradually becomes invalid and the user's territory becomes smaller as time passes. For example, when the user's territory falls within the range of the territory 64 in FIG. 8, the advertisement associated with the advertisement provision point 66a is no longer provided to the user.

  Next, territorial adjustment processing between users will be described. This can be said to be processing for preventing duplication of territory between users for exclusively giving one region on the map to only one user, and can be said to be processing for switching territories between users. Executed mainly during dynamic territory determination processing. When the territory determination unit 36 newly determines the territory of a certain user (referred to as “user B”), the territory data and the territory data already assigned to another user (referred to as “user A”) In comparison, it is determined whether there is an overlap between the two territories. In the case of duplication, the user A's territory is adjusted so as to give priority to the user B who is the user who has newly registered the current position and is the user who has newly given the territory. Specifically, the overlapping area is excluded from the territory of user A as the territory of user B. Thereby, at least a part of the area on the map which has been the territory of user A until then becomes the territory of user B, and the territory of user A becomes smaller than before.

  In this embodiment, a plurality of coordinate values (combination of latitude and longitude) as user B's territory data are compared with a plurality of coordinate values (combination of latitude and longitude) as user A's territory data. When there is a match, it is determined that both territories overlap. The territory determination unit 36 stores the coordinate value as the territory data of the user B in the territory holding unit 26 as it is, while the territory of the user B among the coordinate values as the territory data of the user A stored in the territory holding unit 26. Delete the data that matches the coordinate value as data. Further, the territory determination unit 36 invalidates the registration point where the position data matches the coordinate value as the territory data of the user B among the registration points of the user A stored in the registration position holding unit 24. The record of the registration point that should be invalidated is deleted from the registration position holding unit 24.

  9 and 10 schematically show territorial adjustment between users. In FIG. 9, the registration points of the user A are indicated by the registration points 60a to 60k, and the territory 64 of the user A has been set. Here, it is assumed that the user B sequentially registers seven locations and the seven registered points 68 are sequentially registered. As a result, the territory 72 of the user B is determined as shown in FIG. On the other hand, an area overlapping with the territory 72 of the user B is excluded from the territory 64 of the user A, and the territory 64 of the user A becomes smaller. Further, the registration point 60e, the registration point 60f, and the registration point 60g of the user A are invalidated.

  As described above, when the user B registers the location in the territory of the user A, at least a part of the territory of the user A so far is switched to the territory of the user B. In the example of FIG. 10, the advertisement content corresponding to the advertisement provision point 66a is provided to the user A as usual, but the advertisement content corresponding to the advertisement provision point 66b is provided to the user B instead of the user A so far. It is switched as follows.

  As a modified example of the territory adjustment process, when it is determined that there is an overlap between the territory of the user A and the territory of the user B, the territory determination unit 36 first stores the user A's stored in the registered position holding unit 24. Of the registered points, registered points whose position data matches the coordinate values as the territory data of the user B may be invalidated. Thereafter, the territory determination unit 36 may determine the territory of the user A again based on the registration point of the user A that remains valid, and may update the territory data of the user A stored in the territory holding unit 26. FIG. 11 corresponds to FIG. 10 and schematically shows territorial adjustment between users in the modification. In this example, among the 11 registration points 60 of the user A shown in FIG. 9, the registration point 60e, the registration point 60f, and the registration point 60g included in the territory 72 of the user B are first invalidated. Then, the territory 64 of the user A is newly determined based on the eight registration points 60 that remain valid.

  Returning to FIG. 4, when the location of a certain user (referred to as “user B”) is newly registered, the alert notification unit 44 moves the registered location to the territory of another user (referred to as “user A”). It is determined whether or not it is included. Specifically, the alert notification unit 44 has received a location registration request from the terminal of the user B by the location acquisition unit 34, or a record of a registration point by the user B has been added to the registration location holding unit 24. Is detected, the coordinate value (combination of latitude and longitude) as the location data of the registered point is included in the plurality of coordinate values (combination of latitude and longitude) as the territory data of the user A. Determine whether.

  When the alert notification unit 44 determines that the registration point of the user B is included in the territory of the user A, the alert notification unit 44 notifies the user A's terminal (for example, the user terminal 10a) of an alert message to that effect. The alert message may be transmitted from the information distribution server 14 to the user terminal 10a by a known push notification mechanism. In this case, the alert notification unit 44 may transmit the alert message and the user ID (terminal ID) to a predetermined mediation server for push notification, and cause the alert message to be transmitted to the user terminal 10 from the mediation server.

  This alert message can be said to be a message notifying that the territory of the user A has been taken by another user and notifying that the territory of the user A has been taken by another user. The alert notification unit 44 may set a document indicating that a part of the territory of the user A is taken away by another user as an alert message. The territory range of the current user A on the map and the other user's territory You may set the image (for example, FIG. 9) which shows a registration point. That is, you may set the information which shows the area | region deprived by another user among the territories of the user A. Further, the alert notification unit 44 notifies an advertisement (store name, type of advertisement content, etc.) placed in the territory to be taken away by other users as an alert message, that is, an advertisement that will not be provided to the user A if left alone. A document to be set may be set.

  When the providing destination determination unit 38 detects that a predetermined advertisement delivery timing (for example, a predetermined time) has been reached, the advertisement providing condition is satisfied among the plurality of advertisements held in the advertisement information holding unit 28. To identify the ads that are eligible for distribution. For example, if an advertisement defines the provision start date / time, provision end date / time, and maximum provision count as the advertisement provision conditions, the current date / time is after the provision start date / time and before the provision end date / time, and the provision count so far is less than the maximum provision count When it is, the advertisement is specified as a delivery target advertisement.

  The provision destination determination unit 38 refers to the territory data of each user, identifies a user to whom the territory including the advertisement provision point of the distribution target advertisement is assigned, and determines the user as a distribution destination user of the advertisement. As described above, since one area on the map is determined as the territory of only one user, one distribution destination user is determined for one advertisement content. For example, when the advertisement providing point is switched from the territory of the user A to the territory of the user B for the advertisement content having a certain point on the map as the advertisement providing point, the providing destination determination unit 38 corresponds to the advertisement providing point. The advertisement content providing destination is switched from user A to user B.

  When the providing destination determining unit 38 determines the delivery of a plurality of advertisements to one user, in other words, the priority determining unit 40 determines a plurality of advertisements when the same user is determined as a delivery destination user of the plurality of advertisements. Determine the priority for serving between ads. Specifically, the priority determination unit 40 identifies a plurality of registered points that are closest to the advertisement providing point of each of the plurality of advertisements among the plurality of registered points of the distribution destination user, Associate the registration points. Then, referring to the set date and time of each of the plurality of registered points, the higher priority is determined for the advertisement corresponding to the registered point with the newer set date and time. In other words, a relatively high priority is determined for an advertisement corresponding to a registration point with a relatively new set date and time, and a relatively low priority is assigned to an advertisement corresponding to a registration point with a relatively old set date and time. decide.

  The advertisement providing unit 42 provides the advertisement content of the distribution target advertisement specified by the providing destination determining unit 38 to the user terminal 10 of the distribution destination user determined by the providing destination determining unit 38. For example, the advertisement providing unit 42 may transmit the URL of the advertisement content from the information distribution server 14 to the user terminal 10 by a known push notification mechanism. When an information provision request (for example, an HTTP request) specifying the URL of the advertising content is received, data of the web page including the advertising content specified by the URL is transmitted to the user terminal 10, and the web browser of the user terminal 10 is used. Advertising content may be displayed.

  The advertisement providing unit 42 distributes a plurality of advertisement contents according to the priority determined by the priority determination unit 40 when the providing destination determination unit 38 determines the same user as a distribution destination user of a plurality of advertisements. Provide to users. For example, when push notification of list information (summary information) of a plurality of advertisement contents is made to the user terminal 10, information of advertisement contents with higher priority may be displayed at the top of the list information. Moreover, you may display the information of the advertising content with a relatively high priority in a mode that stands out from the advertising content with a relatively low priority (in other words, an emphasized mode or a mode with high visibility). Further, when there is a limit on the number of advertisement contents that can be provided at one time (upper limit number 3 or the like), advertisement contents with higher priority may be preferentially provided to the user.

  The public information providing unit 46 is information managed by the information distribution server 14, and information that is permitted to be disclosed to any of a plurality of users (hereinafter also referred to as “public information”) to the user terminal 10. provide. This public information includes territory image information (for example, information shown in FIG. 10) drawn by distinguishing the territory ranges of a plurality of users on a map, and advertisement information being provided on the map (data of advertisement contents and advertisement provision points). May be acquirable advertisement information. When the public information providing unit 46 receives an HTTP request for requesting public information, the public information providing unit 46 may transmit the data of the web page including the public information to the user terminal 10 and display the public information on the web browser of the user terminal 10.

The operation of the information distribution system 100 configured as above will be described below.
The advertiser registers the advertising content in the information distribution server 14 via the advertiser PC 12. At that time, an advertisement providing point on the map is designated. As the advertisement providing point, for example, the location of the store, the venue of the event, or the like may be specified, or a point that the advertiser wants the user to visit may be specified.

  A user acquires a virtual territory by registering the current position to the information distribution server 14 via the user terminal 10 as needed while going out and moving around the city. When the user is an advertisement providing destination by acquiring the territory, information on the advertisement content is provided from the information distribution server 14 to the user terminal 10. The user acquires and confirms the advertising content via the user terminal 10. For example, when the advertising content is a coupon, the user can use the coupon at an advertiser's store to purchase a product at a low price. Further, the user terminal 10 displays an alert message from the information distribution server 14 and public information on the screen.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the operation of the information distribution server 14. Although not shown in the figure, the advertisement acquisition unit 32 receives an advertisement registration request from the advertiser PC 12 and associates the advertisement content with the advertisement provision point and stores them in the advertisement information holding unit 28. When receiving the location registration request from the user terminal 10 (Y in S10), the location acquisition unit 34 stores the location of the user specified in the location registration request in the registration location holding unit 24 as a registration point (S12). When the registered location of the user is included in another user's territory (Y of S14), the alert notification unit 44 notifies the alert message to the user terminal 10 of another user (S16). If the user's registration point is not within the territory of another user (N in S14), S16 is skipped, and if a location registration request is not accepted (N in S10), S12 to S16 are skipped.

  When a new location registration request is received from the user terminal 10 (dynamic territory determination processing timing is reached), or when a predetermined period elapses from the previous territory update processing (periodic territory determination processing timing is reached) (Y in S18) ), Territory update processing described later is executed (S20). If it is not the territory update timing (N in S18), S20 is skipped. When a predetermined time is reached as the advertisement distribution timing (Y in S22), an advertisement distribution process described later is executed (S24). If it is not the advertisement distribution timing (N in S22), S24 is skipped. When a public information provision request is received from the user terminal 10 (Y in S26), the public information providing unit 46 provides public information related to advertisements and territories managed by the information distribution server 14 to the user terminal 10 (S28). If the public information provision request is not accepted (N in S26), S28 is skipped.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing in detail the territory update process of S20 of FIG. The territory determination unit 36 recognizes the record of the old registration point that has passed a predetermined time from the set date and time among the registration points of the territory update target user as invalid in the territory determination, that is, as the outside of the territory determination processing target. (S30). Then, the territory of the territory update target user is determined based on the registration points where the predetermined time has not elapsed since the set date and time among the registration points of the territory update target user (S32). If there is an overlap area between the territory update target user's territory and another user's territory (Y in S34), the territory determination unit 36 gives priority to the territory update target user, that is, the user who has registered a new location. The territory is adjusted (S36). For example, the area on the map overlapping between users is switched from the territory of another user to the territory of the territory update target user. If there is no territorial overlap between users (N in S34), S36 is skipped. The processes of S34 and S36 may be executed only in the dynamic territory determination process.

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing in detail the advertisement distribution process in S24 of FIG. The provision destination determination unit 38 determines the advertisement to be distributed among the advertisements held in the advertisement information holding unit 28 and the user who is the distribution destination of the advertisement (S40). When distribution of a plurality of advertisements is determined for one user (Y in S42), the priority determination unit 40 determines the priority of providing each advertisement to the distribution destination user (S44). If a plurality of advertisements are not distributed to one user (N in S42), S44 is skipped. The advertisement providing unit 42 provides the advertisement content to be distributed to the user terminal 10 that is the distribution destination, and when providing a plurality of advertisement contents to one user terminal 10, the advertisement providing unit 42 sets the priority determined by the priority determining unit 40. Information on each advertisement is provided to the user terminal 10 in a corresponding manner (S46).

  According to the information distribution system 100 of the embodiment, a region formed by connecting a plurality of registered points indicating a plurality of locations of the user is set as the user's territory, and the advertisement content is provided to the user including the advertisement providing point in the territory. To do. As a result, even if the user does not visit the advertisement providing point itself, in other words, even if the user is not conscious of the advertisement providing point itself, an advertisement within the user's range of action (that is, a region where the user is relatively easy to visit) can be displayed. It becomes easy to provide to the user. Therefore, it is possible to expand the advertisement providing opportunity for the user who is assumed to have a high advertising effect for the advertiser, and it is possible to expand the opportunity for acquiring the advertisement within the action range for the user.

  Further, according to the information distribution system 100, by making a registration point where a predetermined time (for example, two weeks) has elapsed from the set time point invalid at the time of territory determination, the user's territory is determined based on the location of a relatively new user. decide. This makes it easy to control the amount of advertisement delivery according to the freshness of the registration point. For example, the advertisement is suitable for a relatively new user's range of action, and the user can easily purchase the product (easily participate in the event). It will be easier to provide advertisements in the area that is assumed. Further, when providing a plurality of advertisements to one user, an advertisement with a new setting date and time of a registration point close to the advertisement providing point is given to the user with priority. Thereby, a plurality of advertisements can be provided in a manner according to the freshness of the registration point. For example, an advertisement in a region where the user has acted relatively new can be given priority over an advertisement in another region, and the user can easily purchase a product. It will be easier to provide advertisements in regions that are assumed to be easy to participate in events.

  Further, according to the information distribution system 100, one area on the map is exclusively determined as the territory of only one user. Specifically, when a new location registration is made by a user, the territory of another user is adjusted with priority given to the user who registered the new location. Therefore, if the user acquires a desired advertisement and wants to continue acquiring the advertisement, it is necessary to continue registration of the location, and the user can be encouraged to go out and walk around the city. In this way, by bringing together territories among users, it is possible to encourage users to go out and stroll, and as a result, it is possible to promote product purchase and support the activation of the shopping street. Also, when providing coupons as advertisements, the number of users who actually receive the offer is one user per offer (for example, per day). To promote sales of products.

  Further, according to the information distribution system 100, when a user's territory is changed to another user's territory, an alert to that effect is notified to the user. Accordingly, the user can be prompted to go out again, walk around the city, and register a location in order to recover the territory, in other words, to continue acquiring advertisements. Further, according to the information distribution system 100, public information regarding the territory and the advertisement is provided to the user. Thereby, it becomes easy to provide the user with an incentive to expand the territory like a game. Moreover, it becomes easy to make a user act aiming at the advertisement provision point so that an advertisement useful for a user can be acquired. For example, an advertisement with a large merit will be acquired by many users, and it will be easy for many users to go out and register their locations.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram schematically illustrating territorial adjustment between users. This figure corresponds to FIG. 10 and shows the state of territorial recovery by user A, in which part of the territory has been taken away by user B. Here, the user A confirms the alert message notified from the information distribution server 14 on the user terminal 10 and goes out to recover the territory, in other words, to recapture the advertising content corresponding to the advertisement providing point 66b. It is assumed that registration point 60l, registration point 60m, and registration point 60n are newly registered. As a result, the area 80 indicated by shading in FIG. 15 is included in the territory 64 of the user A, and the advertising content corresponding to the advertisement providing point 66b is provided to the user A again. As described above, according to the information distribution system 100, in order to acquire advertising content, the user is encouraged to acquire or expand the territory, and to take away or recapture the territory from other users. Can be urged.

  The present invention has been described based on the embodiments. This embodiment is an exemplification, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to combinations of the respective constituent elements and processing processes, and such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention. is there. A modification is shown below.

A first modification will be described.
In the embodiment described above, the territory determination unit 36 recognizes an area formed by connecting the user registration points themselves and determines the area as the user's territory. As a modified example, the territory determination unit 36 is an area within a predetermined range around each registered point, in other words, an area within the predetermined range starting from each registered point (herein referred to as “first area”). May be recognized once. The region in the predetermined range may be a circle having a radius of 5 meters, for example. The territory determination unit 36 may recognize an entire area (here, “second area”) formed by connecting a plurality of first areas, and recognize the second area as the user's territory. In other words, the territory determination unit 36 uses, as a user's territory, an area covered with a predetermined length radius from the line segment connecting two registration points, for example, a rounded square area as shown in FIG. You may recognize it.

  FIG. 16 schematically shows the user's territory in the modified example. The territory determination unit 36 of this modification recognizes the first region (circular region indicated by a broken line) around the two registration points 74 and then connects the two first regions with a line 76 (solid line). The second area is determined as the user's territory 78. For example, a first area and a second area are drawn on a map image, a plurality of coordinate values (combination of latitude and longitude) included in the second area are specified, and the plurality of coordinate values are used as territorial data. You may store in the determination part 36. FIG. According to the first modified example, even when the number of registration points of the user is small (for example, even when there are two registration points), it is easy to secure a certain range of area as the user's territory. When the number of registration points by the user is 1, the first area may be recognized as the user's territory. In addition, when the number of registered points by the user is 2 or less, the user's territory is determined by the method of the first modification. On the other hand, when the number of registered points by the user is 3 or more, the user's territory is determined by the method described in the embodiment. You may decide the territory.

A second modification will be described.
Although not mentioned in the above embodiment, the territory determination unit 36 may limit the registration points of the user to be recognized as territory to those within a predetermined spatial range. Specifically, You may restrict | limit to the distance from the other registration point of a user below a predetermined value. The distance threshold may be, for example, 100 meters, and an appropriate value may be determined based on the knowledge of the designer, an experiment using the information distribution system 100, or the like. When the territory determination unit 36 of this modified example forms a region by connecting a plurality of registration points, when the distance between two registration points is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value, the two registration points are connected. If the distance is larger than a predetermined value, it is prohibited to connect the two registration points.

  Referring to FIG. 3, if the distance between registration point 60a and registration point 60h is larger than a predetermined value, territory determination unit 36 of this modification detects the fact and directly connects registration point 60a and registration point 60h. Prohibit that. Here, it is assumed that the territory determination unit 36 determines that the distance between the registration spot 60a and the registration spot 60j and the distance between the registration spot 60j and the registration spot 60h are not more than a predetermined value. At this time, instead of the line connecting the registration point 60a and the registration point 60h, the territory determination unit 36 uses a line connecting the registration point 60a and the registration point 60j and a line connecting the registration point 60j and the registration point 60h as boundaries. The user's territory 64 is determined. According to the second modified example, since a registration point away from other registration points becomes invalid in the territory determination process, it is possible to suppress an excessively wide territory from being given to a user with a small number of registration points. .

A third modification will be described.
In the above-described embodiment, when a plurality of advertisements are provided to one user, an advertisement with a new setting date and time of a registration point close to the advertisement provision point is given to the user with priority. As a modified example, an advertisement with an older setting date and time of a registration point close to the advertisement providing point may be preferentially provided to the user. The priority determination unit 40 in this modified example identifies a plurality of registered points located closest to the advertisement providing point of each of the plurality of advertisements among the plurality of registered points of the distribution destination user, Associate registration points. Then, referring to the set date and time of each of the plurality of registered points, the higher priority is determined for the advertisement corresponding to the registered point with the older set date and time. In other words, an advertisement corresponding to a registration point with a relatively old set date is determined with a relatively high priority, and an advertisement corresponding to a registration point with a relatively new set date is given a relatively low priority. decide. Also in the case of the third modification, a plurality of advertisements can be provided in a manner corresponding to the freshness of the registered points. For example, an advertisement corresponding to a registered point having a short period until invalidation (which is invalidated at an earlier time) , It can be provided to the user in a manner prioritizing the advertisement corresponding to the other registration points. In addition, an advertisement that is nearing the end of provision to the user can be displayed on the user terminal 10 in a priority manner, and the use of the advertisement or re-registration of the location near the old registration point can be promoted.

A fourth modification will be described.
In the above embodiment, one point on the map is designated as the advertisement providing point. In a modification, an area on a map having a range as an advertisement providing point may be designated. For example, the advertiser may specify the range of the advertisement providing point on the map image, or may specify the advertisement providing point in units of town streets. In this modification, the advertisement acquisition unit 32 stores, in the advertisement information holding unit 28, a plurality of coordinate values (combination of latitude and longitude) on the map image corresponding to the advertisement providing point designated by the advertisement registration request. The provision destination determination unit 38 determines, as an advertisement distribution destination, a user who uses at least one of a plurality of coordinate values as an advertisement provision point as his territory. Thereby, a plurality of users are easily determined as advertisement distribution destinations. As described above, the configuration described in the embodiment is particularly suitable from the viewpoint of cost performance when distributing a coupon or the like that directly promotes the user's economic activity as an advertisement. On the other hand, the configuration described in the fourth modification is particularly suitable when information should be widely known to many users as an advertisement.

A fifth modification will be described.
In the above embodiment, the user's location information is acquired by the GPS device of the user terminal 10. As a modification, the current position of the user may be acquired by means other than the position measurement by GPS. For example, 1) When the user terminal 10 performs 3G communication, position estimation based on the distance between a plurality of 3G base stations and the user terminal and the radio wave intensity emitted from each base station may be executed. 2) When the user terminal 10 performs Wi-Fi (registered trademark) communication, position estimation based on a Wi-Fi (registered trademark) access point may be executed. 3) The user's current position may be acquired by manually inputting an address to the user terminal 10 by the user. 4) A user may input / select a spot name such as a store name or a landmark name, and the user terminal 10 may specify / estimate an address corresponding to the spot name. 5) When the user terminal 10 has an electronic payment function, the user terminal 10 may acquire the current position of the user by identifying the address corresponding to the store where the electronic payment is made. The information distribution server 14 may acquire the basic information for user position specification / estimation, and the information distribution server 14 may execute the user position specification / estimation process. Further, the user terminal 10 or the information distribution server 14 may appropriately access an external web service and acquire latitude / longitude data corresponding to an address, a spot name, or the like.

A sixth modification will be described.
In the above embodiment, the user's territory is determined based on the user's registered points in the last two weeks, that is, relatively new registered points. However, the user's territory determination criteria are not necessarily limited to new registration points, and registration points within various time ranges may be adopted as territory determination criteria. For example, when the registered position holding unit 24 continuously holds the user's registered points from the past to the present, the user's territory may be determined using the old registered points.

  As an example, as a territory determination standard for determining the destination of the advertisement from the end of 2012 to the New Year, there are a plurality of past periods, here are past large consecutive holidays. Specifically, (A) 5 in 2012 / 1-5/10 (Golden Week period), (B) 2012 8/4-8/19 (Bonsai period), (C) 2012 9/8-9/23 (Silver Week period) A registration point may be adopted. According to this, it is possible to determine the advertisement delivery destination based on the location of the user in the past large holiday, and it is expected that the ad will be in the vicinity of the location of the target store etc. for the next large holiday In other words, it becomes easy to efficiently distribute advertisements to users who are assumed to have a high sales promotion effect.

  Moreover, the registration point in any one period of said (A)-(C) may be employ | adopted, and the registration point of the latest large holiday period may be employ | adopted. Further, as the territory determination standard for determining the destination of the 2013 Golden Week advertisement, the above-mentioned (A), that is, the registration point during the same period of one year ago may be adopted. Of course, it is not limited to a large holiday period, and registration points in any past period considered to be effective for the advertiser (advertisement provider) to narrow down the advertisement provision target may be adopted. In addition, when limiting the registration point as a territory determination standard to a specific time range, which time range is limited based on the knowledge and experience of the administrator of the information distribution system 100 and the advertiser, It may be set in the information distribution server 14 at an arbitrary timing. Then, the territory determination unit 36 may determine the user's territory based on the registered points in the set time range, and the provision destination determination unit 38 may determine the advertisement distribution destination based on the territory.

  It should also be understood by those skilled in the art that the functions to be fulfilled by the constituent elements recited in the claims are realized by the individual constituent elements shown in the embodiments and the modified examples or by their linkage. For example, the territory holding unit described in the claims may be realized by cooperation between the territory determination unit 36 and the territory holding unit 26 described in the embodiment.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 User terminal, 12 Advertiser PC, 14 Information delivery server, 22 Map holding part, 24 Registration position holding part, 26 Territory holding part, 28 Advertising information holding part, 32 Advertisement acquisition part, 34 Position acquisition part, 36 Territory determination part 38 providing destination determining unit, 40 priority determining unit, 42 advertisement providing unit, 44 alert notification unit, 46 public information providing unit, 100 information distribution system.

Claims (4)

A map holding unit for storing real-world map information;
A location acquisition unit that receives location information indicating the location of the user from the user's terminal;
A registered position holding unit configured to store the received position information as a registration point of the user and store the position information in association with the user and the set time;
As a virtual territory that recognizes an area formed by connecting a plurality of registration points set within a predetermined time range for each user on a space based on the map information, and gives the recognized area to the user A territory holding unit for storing corresponding to the user;
An advertisement information holding unit for storing the advertisement information and an advertisement providing point set in advance in association with the map information as a place for providing the advertisement information;
A provision destination determination unit that determines a user including the advertisement provision point in his territory as a provision destination of advertisement information corresponding to the advertisement provision point;
Equipped with a,
The territory holding unit switches at least a part of the territory of the first user as the territory of the second user when a registration point of the second user is set in the territory of the first user,
In the case where the advertisement providing point is included in the area switched as the territory of the second user, the providing destination determining unit determines the advertisement information providing destination corresponding to the advertisement providing point from the first user. the information processing apparatus according to claim to switch between the second user.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the territory holding unit excludes a registration point of a user for which a predetermined time has elapsed from a setting time point as a region recognition target.   When a plurality of pieces of advertisement information are to be provided to one user, a plurality of registered points of the user closest to each advertisement providing point of the plurality of pieces of advertisement information are recognized, and an elapsed time from the set time of each registered point The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a priority determining unit that determines a priority of provision between advertisement information according to. A method executed by an information processing apparatus connected to a user terminal via a communication network,
Receiving location information indicating the location of the user from the user terminal;
Setting the received location information as a registration point of the user and storing it in correspondence with the user and the set time;
A virtual area that recognizes an area formed by connecting a plurality of registration points set within a predetermined time range for each user on a space based on map information in the real world, and gives the recognized area to the user Storing in correspondence with the user as territory;
Storing the advertisement information and an advertisement providing point set in advance in association with the map information as a place for providing the advertisement information;
Determining a user including the advertisement providing point in his / her territory as a provider of advertisement information corresponding to the advertisement providing point;
When a registration point of the second user is set in the territory of the first user, switching at least a part of the territory of the first user as the territory of the second user;
When the advertisement providing point is included in the area switched as the territory of the second user, the step of switching the advertisement information providing destination corresponding to the advertisement providing point from the first user to the second user. When,
A method for providing advertisement information, comprising:

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