Distribution device, distribution method and program

Abstract

To provide a distribution device for promoting use involving starting and operating application programs (apps).SOLUTION: A distribution device includes: a storage unit for storing a plurality of messages classified into categories corresponding to periods; a startup information acquisition unit for acquiring startup information representing that an application program has been started in a user terminal; a greeting message control unit for reading out from the storage unit, messages belonging to a category of the period corresponding to a date and time when the startup information is acquired and defining a message randomly selected from the read messages as a greeting message to be transmitted to the user terminal when the application program is started; and a distribution unit for distributing the greeting message to the user terminal.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a distribution device, a distribution method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Various application programs (apps) have been developed, and various methods have been researched to encourage a large number of users to use the apps. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology that enables customers to quickly order or reserve a taxi by simply operating a customer communication terminal. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-29580 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in Patent Document 1, messages such as reservation times or approaching taxis are sent to a user's device via push notifications. In push notifications, all or part of the notified message is displayed on the top edge of the smartphone's lock screen or home screen, and in many cases, the user can understand the content of the message sent via push notification without launching the app. For this reason, there is a problem in that push notifications do not necessarily lead to the launch of the app, and it is not possible to encourage usage such as launching and operating the app.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of this situation, and its purpose is to provide a distribution device, a distribution method, and a program that can promote use such as launching and operating an application program (app). [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] One aspect of the present invention is a distribution device comprising: a memory unit that stores a plurality of messages classified into categories corresponding to periods; a startup information acquisition unit that acquires startup information indicating that an application program has been launched on a user terminal; a greeting message control unit that reads from the memory unit messages belonging to the period category corresponding to the date and time at which the startup information was acquired, and randomly selects a message from the read messages as a greeting message to be sent to the user terminal when the application program is launched; and a distribution unit that distributes the greeting message to the user terminal.

[0007] One aspect of the present invention is a distribution method performed by a computer having a memory unit that stores a plurality of messages classified into categories corresponding to periods, in which a startup information acquisition unit acquires startup information indicating that an application program has been launched on a user terminal, a greeting message control unit reads from the memory unit messages that belong to the period category corresponding to the date and time at which the startup information was acquired, and selects a message at random from the read messages as a greeting message to be sent to the user terminal when the application program is launched, and a distribution unit distributes the greeting message to the user terminal.

[0008] One aspect of the present invention is a program that causes a computer having a memory unit that stores a plurality of messages classified into categories corresponding to times to acquire startup information indicating that an application program has been launched on a user terminal, reads from the memory unit messages that belong to the time category corresponding to the date and time at which the startup information was acquired, selects a message at random from the read messages as a greeting message to be sent to the user terminal when the application program is launched, and delivers the greeting message to the user terminal. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to promote utilization such as launching and operating an application program (app). [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a message delivery system according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a process performed by a distribution device according to an embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a distribution device according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of greeting message information according to an embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of background information according to an embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a process performed by a distribution device according to an embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of greeting message delivery history information according to an embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of greeting message delivery history information according to an embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram illustrating a flow of processing performed by the message delivery system according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0012] (About Message Delivery System 10) 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a message delivery system 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The message delivery system 10 includes a delivery device 100, a user terminal 300, and a network NW. The network NW may include a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), the Internet, a mobile communication network, a cellular network, or the like.

[0013] The distribution device 100 distributes business operator information related to services provided by businesses to the user terminal 300. The user terminal 300 is a terminal device such as a smartphone used by a user who uses a service provided by a business operator.

[0014] The business operator may be any organization, company, or individual, but may be, for example, a local government. In this case, the local government as a business operator provides local government information, such as information on procedures and events handled by the local government, information related to the daily lives of residents, and local recommendations, to residents of the local government as a service provided by the business operator. In other words, the local government as a business operator distributes the local government information as business operator information to user terminals 300 used by residents of the local government via distribution device 100.

[0015] In the message distribution system 10 of this embodiment, a dedicated application program (hereinafter simply referred to as a "distribution app") for transmitting business information is distributed, and by installing the distribution app on the user terminal 300, the user can obtain business information transmitted by the business via the user terminal 300.

[0016] The distribution device 100 distributes a personalized message to the user terminal 300. A personalized message is different from a greeting message and is not a notification addressed to an unspecified number of people, but rather notifies an individual user of information related to content from various content included in the distribution app. For example, a personalized message is used in a case where a user who has submitted a birth notification to a local government is notified of a one-month checkup after birth.

[0017] The distribution device 100 distributes personalized messages to the user terminal 300 by push notification. A push notification is a notification method in which a message is distributed spontaneously from the distribution device 100, rather than being distributed in response to a request from the user terminal 300. The push notification is displayed, for example, at the top of the lock screen or home screen of the user terminal 300.

[0018] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the processing performed by the distribution device. FIG. 2 shows an example of a screen of a distribution app on which a personalized message is displayed. As shown in this figure, in the distribution app, the personalized message is displayed in display area E1, and content other than the personalized message, such as an event notification, is displayed in display area E2. Display area E1 is provided when the distribution app is launched due to a push notification of a personalized message. When the user swipes display area E1, for example, a list of personalized messages or detailed content of the personalized message is displayed.

[0019] (Regarding distribution device 100) FIG. 3 illustrates an example of the functional configuration of the distribution device 100. The distribution device 100 includes a control unit 110, a communication unit 120, and a storage unit 130. These components are implemented by, for example, a hardware processor such as a central processing unit (CPU) executing a program (software). Some or all of these components may be implemented by hardware (including circuitry) such as a large-scale integration (LSI), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or a graphics processing unit (GPU), or may be implemented by a combination of software and hardware. The program may be stored in advance in a storage device (a storage device having a non-transitory storage medium) such as a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), or a flash memory, or may be stored in a removable storage medium (a non-transitory storage medium) such as a DVD or CD-ROM, and installed by inserting the storage medium into a drive device.

[0020] The communication unit 120 is a communication interface that connects the distribution device 100 to the network NW. The communication unit 120 communicates with the user terminal 300 via the network NW. For example, the communication unit 120 is a network interface card (NIC) such as Ethernet (registered trademark) or a LAN.

[0021] The control unit 110 controls each unit of the distribution device 100. The control unit 110 includes a startup information acquisition unit 111, a greeting message control unit 112, a distribution unit 113, an individual message control unit 114, and a background selection unit 115.

[0022] The individual message control unit 114 delivers messages addressed to individuals. The individual message control unit 114 manages the status of messages addressed to individuals that have been notified to the user terminal 300. The status here refers to whether the content of the message addressed to an individual has been "read," meaning that the user has confirmed the content, or whether the content has not been confirmed, meaning that the status is "unread." For example, when a message addressed to an individual is received by the user terminal 300, the individual message control unit 114 sets the status of the message addressed to an individual to "unread."

[0023] Here, since the personalized message is delivered by push notification, the personalized message is displayed on the lock screen or home screen of the user terminal 300 even if the delivery application is not running on the user terminal 300. On the user terminal 300, the user can perform an operation to delete the push notification without launching the delivery application. In addition, when a user launches a distribution app by tapping a push notification, a personal message is displayed in the display area E1 shown in Figure 2, and when the user swipes this display area E1, the individual message control unit 114 sets the status of the personal message to "read."

[0024] When the display area E1 is swiped and the message addressed to an individual changes to the "read" status, the individual message control unit 114 erases the message addressed to an individual that was displayed in the display area E1 of the user terminal 300, and displays content other than the message addressed to an individual, such as an event notification that was previously displayed in the display area E2, on the entire display screen of the user terminal 300 (i.e., display areas E1 and E2).

[0025] Here, conventionally, when a delivery app is launched when there are no "unread" messages addressed to the individual, content other than the messages addressed to the individual, such as notifications of events displayed in display area E2 in Fig. 2, is displayed on the entire display screen (i.e., display areas E1 and E2) of user terminal 300. In other words, if there are "unread" messages addressed to the individual at the time the delivery app is launched, the messages are displayed in display area E1, and if there are no "unread" messages addressed to the individual, content other than the messages addressed to the individual is displayed in the entire display areas E1 and E2, and the screen layout when the delivery app is launched differs depending on whether there are "unread" messages addressed to the individual at the time the delivery app is launched.

[0026] By not launching the app, users will not be able to notice the more detailed and important information in personalized messages, or the useful services available in the delivery app, such as information on procedures and events handled by local governments, information related to residents' lives, and local recommendations. For example, users who delete push notifications without launching the delivery app, or users who have never received a push notification, are likely not to launch the app. To address this issue, in this embodiment, the user is made aware that some kind of message will be displayed in the display area E1, thereby encouraging the user to launch and operate the app.

[0027] Specifically, in this embodiment, when the delivery application is launched with no "unread" personalized messages, "other messages" different from personalized messages are displayed in the display area E1. Furthermore, as the "other messages," messages that convey greetings or consideration (greeting messages) are delivered.

[0028] By sending a greeting message and speaking to the user when the delivery app is launched, the user can feel that the app is being cared for. If the user feels that the app is being cared for, the so-called "reciprocity of favors" principle in behavioral economics will motivate the user to operate the delivery app. For example, if the user launches the delivery app without knowing that a greeting message will be delivered, the user will be surprised and impressed by the timely delivery of the greeting message, and will be motivated to try operating the delivery app. After the user learns that a greeting message will be delivered at launch, they will launch the delivery app in anticipation of the content notified in the greeting message. This will help to make launching the delivery app a habit and help the user become familiar with operating the delivery app.

[0029] For example, a distribution app may contain various content corresponding to business information. For example, the municipal information distributed by a municipality as a business via a distribution app may include information on disaster prevention and crime prevention, daily life and procedures, child rearing, education, health and welfare, tourism and events, public relations, garbage, etc., and may also contain content corresponding to further categories categorized into these categories. As such, municipal information is extremely diverse. Furthermore, each category tends to contain a large amount of information. As such, if a distribution app contains a wide variety of content, it may be difficult for users to find the information they want.

[0030] By inducing users to operate the distribution app and encouraging them to do so, and by getting users familiar with how to operate the distribution app, users can understand what content is included in the distribution app and what operations are required to view that content. This allows users to appropriately find desired content from the various content included in the distribution app according to their own interests. If users can appropriately find desired content, this will reduce inquiries to local governments and allow users to properly complete administrative procedures themselves. This will contribute to the efficient operation of local governments.

[0031] The following mainly describes a configuration in which a greeting message is displayed in the display area E1 in response to the delivery application being launched in a state in which there are no "unread" personal messages.

[0032] Returning to the explanation of FIG. 3, the storage unit 130 includes a storage device such as an HDD, an SSD, or a flash memory. The storage unit 130 stores, for example, greeting message information 131, greeting message delivery history information 132, and background information 133. The greeting message information 131 is information relating to greeting messages delivered to the user terminal 300. The greeting message delivery history information 132 is information indicating the history of greeting messages delivered to the user terminal 300. The background information 133 is information relating to a background screen of the greeting message.

[0033] The startup information acquisition unit 111 acquires startup information. The startup information is information notified from the user terminal 300 to the distribution device 100 in response to the user terminal 300 being operated by a user or the like and the distribution app being launched. The distribution device 100 receives the startup information notified from the user terminal 300 via the communication unit 120, and outputs the startup information received by the communication unit 120 to the startup information acquisition unit 111. As a result, the startup information acquisition unit 111 acquires the startup information via the communication unit 120. The startup information acquisition unit 111 outputs the acquired startup information to the greeting message control unit 112.

[0034] The greeting message control unit 112 controls the delivery of greeting messages. The greeting message control unit 112 performs a start determination when it is triggered by acquiring start information from the start information acquisition unit 111. This start determination is a process of determining whether the delivery application is started in a state where there is no "unread" personal message.

[0035] For example, when a delivery app is launched by tapping a push notification displayed on the lock screen or home screen of the user terminal 300, the greeting message control unit 112 determines that the delivery app has been launched with an "unread" personalized message. On the other hand, when the delivery app is launched by a method other than tapping a push notification, for example, by tapping an icon of the delivery app displayed on the home screen of the user terminal 300, the greeting message control unit 112 determines that the delivery app has been launched with no "unread" personalized message.

[0036] When the greeting message control unit 112 determines in the activation determination that the delivery application has been activated in a state where there are no "unread" personalized messages, it reads out greeting message information 131 from the storage unit 130, and selects a message at random from the messages in the read greeting message information 131 as the greeting message to be transmitted to the user terminal 300 when the delivery application is activated. The greeting message control unit 112 outputs information indicating the content of the message selected as the greeting message to the delivery unit 113.

[0037] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of greeting message information 131. As shown in FIG. 4, the greeting message information 131 is information in which a category, a greeting message ID, a greeting message, a notification type, and the like are associated with each other. The category is information indicating a classification of a time period for greetings, and in this case indicates classifications such as morning, afternoon, evening, and night. The greeting message ID is information for uniquely identifying a greeting message. The greeting message indicates the content of the greeting message. The notification type indicates a type according to the content of the greeting message. In the example shown in this figure, the notification type indicates one of location, community, bus operation, and other types. In this way, the greeting message information 131 indicates a plurality of messages classified into categories corresponding to time periods. In other words, the storage unit 130 stores a plurality of messages classified into categories corresponding to time periods as the greeting message information 131.

[0038] In this figure, the storage unit 130 stores messages including greetings according to the time of day, but this is not limiting. As the greeting message information 131, it is sufficient to store messages including greetings according to at least the time of year, and for example, messages including greetings according to the season, time of year, time of year, calendar, 24 solar terms, etc. may be stored.

[0039] The greeting message control unit 112 reads out greeting message information 131 belonging to a category of a period corresponding to the date and time when the startup information is acquired from the storage unit 130, and selects a message randomly from the messages in the read greeting message information 131 as the greeting message. When greeting messages corresponding to time periods of a day, such as morning, afternoon, evening, and night, are stored as greeting message information 131 as shown in the example of FIG. 4, greeting message control unit 112 randomly selects a greeting message from messages belonging to the category of the time period corresponding to the time when the startup information is acquired. For example, if the time when the startup information is acquired is between 5:00 and 10:59, the greeting message control unit 112 extracts a series of messages corresponding to greeting message IDs (M1), (M2), ... in Figure 4 as greeting messages belonging to the "morning" category, and selects a message randomly from the extracted message group as the greeting message. If the time when the startup information is acquired is between 11:00 and 16:59, the greeting message control unit 112 extracts a series of messages corresponding to greeting message IDs (D1), (D2), (D3), etc. in Figure 4 as greeting messages belonging to the "daytime" category, and selects a message randomly from the extracted message group as the greeting message. If the time when the startup information is acquired is between 17:00 and 22:59, the greeting message control unit 112 extracts a series of messages corresponding to greeting message IDs (E1), (E2)... in Fig. 4 as greeting messages belonging to the "evening" category, and sets a message randomly selected from the extracted message series as the greeting message. If the time when the startup information is acquired is between 13:00 and 4:59 the next day, the greeting message control unit 112 extracts a series of messages corresponding to greeting message IDs (N1)... in Fig. 4 as greeting messages belonging to the "night" category, and sets a message randomly selected from the extracted message series as the greeting message.

[0040] The background selection unit 115 selects a background image to be set as the background of the greeting message. The background selection unit 115 reads out background information 133 from the storage unit 130 in response to the greeting message control unit 112 selecting the greeting message.

[0041] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of background information 133. As shown in FIG. 5, background information 133 is information in which notification types are associated with background images. The notification type indicates a type according to the content of the message. Here, the notification type indicates one of location, community, bus operation, and other types, and corresponds to the notification type of greeting message information 131 shown in FIG. 4. In this diagram, the background image is designed according to the notification type. For example, the background image for the notification type corresponding to "location" is designed to resemble a map. The background image for the notification type corresponding to "bus operation" is designed to resemble a route map. The background image for the notification type corresponding to "community" is designed to resemble a region or cityscape. In the example shown in the figure, the outline of the designed map or route map is clearly drawn in the background image, but this is not limiting. The background image may have a light design in which the outline of the map or route map is not clearly drawn and gradually blends into the background color.

[0042] The background selection unit 115 selects a background image corresponding to the notification type of the greeting message selected by the greeting message control unit 112. The background selection unit 115 identifies the notification type associated with the greeting message selected by the greeting message control unit 112 by referring to the greeting message information 131. The background selection unit 115 selects a background image corresponding to the identified notification type, and outputs image information of the selected background image to the distribution unit 113.

[0043] The distribution unit 113 transmits a greeting message to the user terminal 300. The greeting message is transmitted to the user terminal 300 so that the content of the greeting message selected by the greeting message control unit 112 is displayed on the background selected by the background selection unit 115.

[0044] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the processing performed by the distribution device. FIG. 6 shows an example of a screen that is displayed when the distribution app is launched when there are no "unread" personal messages. As shown in this diagram, a greeting message is displayed in display area E1. Content such as event notifications is displayed in display area E2. For example, when the user swipes display area E1, the greeting message is erased. In response to a swipe operation on display area E1, distribution device 100 erases the greeting message and then displays content other than the greeting message, such as event notifications that had been displayed in display area E2, on the entire display screen of user terminal 300 (i.e., display areas E1 and E2).

[0045] In this manner, in this embodiment, when the delivery app is launched with no "unread" personalized messages, a greeting message is displayed in the display area E1 where personalized messages are displayed. This makes the user aware that a message will be displayed in the display area E1, and encourages the user to launch and operate the app.

[0046] Here, the greeting message control unit 112 may select a greeting message based on a delivery history. The delivery history is a history of greeting messages sent to the user terminal 300. For example, when the delivery unit 113 delivers a greeting message, it issues a delivery history ID, associates the delivery date and time of the delivered greeting message, the greeting message ID, and the like with the issued delivery history ID to generate a delivery history, and stores the generated delivery history in the greeting message delivery history information 132.

[0047] 7 and 8 are diagrams showing examples of greeting message delivery history information 132 according to an embodiment. The greeting message delivery history information 132 is information in which a delivery history ID, delivery date and time, greeting message ID, reaction, etc. are associated with each other. The delivery history ID is information that uniquely identifies the delivery history. The delivery date and time indicates the date and time when the greeting message was delivered. The greeting message ID is information that uniquely identifies the greeting message. The reaction is a reaction from a user who received the greeting message.

[0048] As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 , the delivery history may include reactions from users who received the greeting message. Reactions from users who received the greeting message can be acquired by any method. For example, when a greeting message displayed in a delivery app is swiped, a question such as "What did you think of the greeting message?" is displayed along with options such as "good" and "bad." The user selects an option based on the reaction they felt from the greeting message. When an option is selected by the user, information indicating the selection result is notified from the user terminal 300 to the delivery device 100. When the delivery device 100 receives the selection result notified from the user terminal 300, the delivery device 100 stores the reaction according to the received selection result in the greeting message delivery history information 132 as the user's reaction to the greeting message.

[0049] The greeting message control unit 112 may deliver a message that receives a positive response from the user as the greeting message. In this case, when selecting a greeting message, the greeting message control unit 112 reads greeting message delivery history information 132 from the storage unit 130. The greeting message control unit 112 extracts messages that match extraction conditions from the read greeting message delivery history information 132. The extraction conditions are conditions for extracting candidates for the greeting message to be selected from the messages in the greeting message information 131. For example, the greeting message control unit 112 uses the extraction conditions to extract from the greeting message delivery history information 132 messages that belong to a category corresponding to the date and time when the startup information was received and that have a response equal to or greater than a threshold, for example, "good" or "fairly good." The greeting message control unit 112 randomly selects a message from the extracted messages as the greeting message.

[0050] Furthermore, the greeting message control unit 112 may use, as an extraction condition, messages that belong to a time category corresponding to the date and time when the startup information is received and whose delivery frequency is equal to or less than a threshold value to extract messages from the greeting message information 131. For example, if the time when the startup information is received is in a time zone that belongs to the "morning" category, then, from messages in the greeting message information 131 with greeting message IDs of "Mn (n=1, 2, ...)", messages that have a delivery frequency equal to or less than a threshold value, for example, messages that have never been delivered, are extracted. The greeting message control unit 112 randomly selects a message from the extracted messages and sets it as the greeting message. 7, the greeting message delivery history information 132 shows four delivery histories corresponding to delivery history IDs TX1 to TX4 as messages belonging to the "morning" category, and indicates that messages with greeting message IDs (M1), (M5), (M3), and (M2) have been delivered (symbol H1). In this case, for example, if the next time startup information is received is in a time zone belonging to the "morning" category, the greeting message control unit 112 extracts a message corresponding to greeting message ID (M4) in the delivery history that has not yet been delivered as a message that meets the extraction condition.

[0051] Alternatively, the greeting message control unit 112 may include in the greeting message a phrase that stimulates the user's desire to collect. Here, "collecting" refers to collecting greeting messages delivered to the user terminal 300 as greeting messages acquired by the user. For example, the greeting message control unit 112 generates complete information based on the delivery history. The complete information is information about greeting messages acquired by the user, and is information indicating, for example, the ratio of the number of greeting messages delivered to the user to the total number of messages in the delivery app, the number of undelivered messages, etc. The greeting message control unit 112 includes the "completion information" in the greeting message. For example, the greeting message control unit 112 may include the completion information in the message of greeting message ID (M1) by adding a message such as "Good morning. Recent..." followed by information such as "If you collect two more, the greeting messages in the 'Morning' category will be complete" or "You have collected eight of the nine greeting messages in the 'Morning' category." 8, the delivery history corresponding to the delivery history ID TX4 indicates that a message with a greeting message ID (M4#) has been delivered (symbol H2). This indicates that a message with completion information added to the message corresponding to the greeting message ID (M4) has been delivered as a greeting message.

[0052] FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of processing performed by the message delivery system. The user terminal 300 launches a delivery application (step S10). In response to the launch of the delivery application on the user terminal 300, the user terminal 300 transmits startup information to the delivery device 100. Upon receiving the startup information from the user terminal 300, the delivery device 100 randomly selects a greeting message ID belonging to a category of the time period corresponding to the time at which the startup information was received (step S11). The delivery device 100 reads the storage unit 130 based on the selected greeting message ID and acquires a message corresponding to the selected greeting message ID as a greeting message (step S12). The delivery device 100 delivers the greeting message to the user terminal 300 (step S13). The delivery device 100 delivers the greeting message by transmitting greeting message information (information including the content of the greeting message, a background image, etc.) to the user terminal 300. The user terminal 300 receives the greeting message from the distribution device 100 (step S14) and displays the received greeting message in the display area E1 of the distribution app (step S15). The user terminal 300 determines whether an operation to restart the distribution app has been performed (step S16). For example, if the user wants to collect greeting messages or want to have the next greeting message delivered, the user performs an operation to restart the distribution app. That is, the user performs an operation to close the distribution app and then performs an operation to start the distribution app again. If an operation to restart the distribution app has been performed in step S16, the distribution device 100 returns to step S10. On the other hand, if an operation to restart the distribution app has not been performed in step S16, the distribution device 100 ends the processing.

[0053] 9 illustrates an example in which a greeting message ID is selected in step S11 and a greeting message corresponding to the greeting message ID is obtained from greeting message information 131 in step S12, but this is not limiting. In step S11, a message may be randomly selected from messages belonging to a category of a time period corresponding to the time when the activation information was received, and the selected message may be used as the greeting message. In this case, step S12 can be omitted.

[0054] As described above, the message delivery system 10 of the embodiment includes the storage unit 130, the startup information acquisition unit 111, the greeting message control unit 112, and the delivery unit 113. The storage unit 130 stores greeting message information 131 (plurality of messages categorized into categories corresponding to time periods). The startup information acquisition unit 111 acquires startup information indicating that a delivery app (application program) has been launched in the user terminal 300. The greeting message control unit 112 reads out greeting message information 131 corresponding to the date and time at which the startup information was acquired (messages belonging to the category of the time period corresponding to the date and time at which the startup information was acquired) from the storage unit 130. The greeting message control unit 112 randomly selects a message from the read messages as the greeting message to be transmitted to the user terminal 300 when the delivery app is launched. The delivery unit 113 delivers the greeting message to the user terminal 300. As a result, the management system 1 of the embodiment can deliver a greeting message according to the time when the delivery app is launched on the user terminal 300, which shows more consideration for the user than delivering a simple message without a seasonal greeting, and can encourage the user to operate the delivery app based on the principle of "reciprocity of favors." Therefore, it is possible to promote usage such as launching and operating an application program (app).

[0055] Furthermore, in the message delivery system 10 of the embodiment, the storage unit 130 stores greeting message information 131 (messages including greetings according to the time period as a season). The greeting message control unit 112 selects a greeting message from messages belonging to the time period category corresponding to the time when the startup information is received. As a result, the message delivery system 10 of the embodiment can deliver greeting messages including greetings according to the time period, such as "good morning," "hello," and "good evening," thereby achieving the same effects as those described above.

[0056] Moreover, the message delivery system 10 of the embodiment further includes a background selection unit 115. The storage unit 130 further stores a plurality of backgrounds according to the content of the message. In response to the selection of a greeting message by the greeting message control unit 112, the background selection unit 115 reads background information 133 (plurality of backgrounds according to the content of the message) from the storage unit 130, and selects a background according to the content of the greeting message as the background of the greeting message from the read background information 133. In this way, the message delivery system 10 of the embodiment can deliver a message to which a background according to the content of the greeting message has been added, thereby achieving the same effect as that described above.

[0057] The message delivery system 10 of the embodiment further includes an individual message control unit 114. The individual message control unit 114 controls delivery of an individual message (an individual message different from a greeting message and addressed to a user from a business operator) to the user terminal 300 by push notification. The greeting message control unit 112 determines whether the delivery app has been launched in response to delivery of the individual message, or whether the delivery app has been launched regardless of delivery of the individual message. For example, when a delivery app is launched by tapping a push notification displayed on the lock screen or home screen of the user terminal 300, the greeting message control unit 112 determines that the delivery app was launched when there is an "unread" personal message, that is, that the delivery app was launched in response to the delivery of a personal message. On the other hand, when the delivery app is launched by a method other than tapping on a push notification, for example, by tapping on the delivery app icon displayed on the home screen of the user terminal 300, the greeting message control unit 112 determines that the delivery app was launched when there were no "unread" personal messages, that is, that the delivery app was launched regardless of whether a personal message was delivered. The greeting message control unit 112 selects a greeting message when it determines that the delivery app has been launched regardless of whether a personalized message has been delivered. As a result, in the message delivery system 10 of the embodiment, a greeting message can be delivered when the delivery app has been launched regardless of whether a personalized message has been delivered. Therefore, even if a personalized message has not been notified, it is possible to induce the delivery app to be launched, thereby achieving the same effect as described above.

[0058] In the message delivery system 10 of the embodiment, the greeting message control unit 112 controls the delivery app so that the greeting message is displayed in a display area (display area E1) where messages addressed to individuals are displayed. This makes the message delivery system 10 of the embodiment aware to the user that some kind of message is displayed in the display area (display area E1), and encourages the user to start and operate the app.

[0059] Furthermore, in the message delivery system 10 of the embodiment, the storage unit 130 further stores greeting message delivery history information 132 (delivery history of greeting messages sent to the user terminal 300). When selecting a greeting message, the greeting message control unit 112 reads the delivery history from the storage unit 130. From the delivery history read from the storage unit 130, the greeting message control unit 112 randomly selects a message from messages that belong to a category for a period corresponding to the date and time when the startup information was received, and whose delivery frequency is equal to or less than a threshold, as the greeting message. As a result, the message delivery system 10 of the embodiment can deliver to the user terminal 300 a greeting message that has never been sent to the user terminal 300 or that is sent only rarely to the user terminal 300 from messages prepared in advance as greeting message information 131, thereby achieving the same effect as described above.

[0060] Furthermore, in the message delivery system 10 of the embodiment, the storage unit 130 further stores greeting message delivery history information 132 (delivery history of greeting messages sent to the user terminal 300). When selecting a greeting message, the greeting message control unit 112 reads the greeting message delivery history information 132 from the storage unit 130. If the read greeting message delivery history information 132 indicates that the percentage of messages already delivered among messages belonging to the category corresponding to the date and time when the startup information was received is equal to or greater than a threshold, the greeting message control unit 112 includes a statement corresponding to that percentage in the greeting message. This allows the message delivery system 10 of the embodiment to include a statement such as "If you collect two more, you will have a complete collection of greeting messages in the 'Morning' category." This can encourage users to collect greeting messages, achieving the same effect as described above.

[0061] Furthermore, in the message delivery system 10 of the embodiment, the storage unit 130 further stores greeting message delivery history information 132 (reactions to greeting messages sent to the user terminal 300). When selecting a greeting message, the greeting message control unit 112 reads the greeting message delivery history information 132 (reactions to greeting messages sent to the user terminal 300) from the storage unit 130. Based on the read greeting message delivery history information 132 (reactions to greeting messages sent to the user terminal 300), the greeting message control unit 112 sets, as the greeting message, a message that is randomly selected from messages that belong to the category of the period corresponding to the date and time when the startup information was received and that have received a reaction to the greeting message sent to the user terminal 300 that is equal to or greater than a threshold. As a result, the message delivery system 10 of the embodiment can deliver, as a greeting message, a message that receives a favorable reaction from users, thereby achieving the same effect as described above.

[0062] The message delivery system 10 and the delivery device 100 in the above-described embodiment may be implemented in whole or in part by a computer. In this case, a program for implementing the functions may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program may be loaded into a computer system and executed. Note that the term "computer system" as used herein includes hardware such as an OS and peripheral devices. Furthermore, the term "computer-readable recording medium" refers to portable media such as flexible disks, optical magnetic disks, ROMs, and CD-ROMs, as well as storage devices such as hard disks built into a computer system. Furthermore, the term "computer-readable recording medium" may also include devices that dynamically store programs for a short period of time, such as communication lines used when transmitting programs via networks such as the Internet or telephone lines, or devices that store programs for a fixed period of time, such as volatile memory within a computer system that serves as a server or client. The program may be designed to implement some of the functions described above, or may be capable of implementing the functions in combination with a program already stored in the computer system, or may be implemented using a programmable logic device such as an FPGA.

[0063] Although an embodiment of the present invention has been described above in detail with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and includes designs within the scope of the gist of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0064] 10. Message delivery system 100...Distribution device 110...Control unit 111…Startup information acquisition unit 112...Greeting message control section 113…Distribution Department 114...Individual message control section 115...Background selection section 130...Storage section 300...User terminal

Claims

1. a storage unit for storing a plurality of messages classified into categories corresponding to time periods; a launch information acquisition unit that acquires launch information indicating that an application program has been launched in a user terminal; a greeting message control unit that reads from the storage unit messages that belong to the period category corresponding to the date and time when the startup information was acquired, and selects a message randomly from the read messages as a greeting message to be transmitted to the user terminal when the application program is started; a delivery unit that delivers the greeting message to the user terminal; Equipped with an individual message control unit that controls a message addressed to the user from the business operator to be delivered to the user terminal by push notification, the message being different from the greeting message; the greeting message control unit determines whether the application program has been started in response to the delivery of the personalized message or whether the application program has been started regardless of the delivery of the personalized message, and selects the greeting message when it determines that the application program has been started regardless of the delivery of the personalized message. Distribution device.

2. The delivery device according to claim 1 , wherein the greeting message control unit controls the application program so that the greeting message is displayed in a display area where the personalized message is displayed.

3. a storage unit for storing a plurality of messages classified into categories corresponding to time periods; a launch information acquisition unit that acquires launch information indicating that an application program has been launched in a user terminal; a greeting message control unit that reads from the storage unit messages that belong to the period category corresponding to the date and time when the startup information was acquired, and selects a message randomly from the read messages as a greeting message to be transmitted to the user terminal when the application program is started; a delivery unit that delivers the greeting message to the user terminal; Equipped with the storage unit further stores a delivery history of the greeting message sent to the user terminal; When selecting the greeting message, the greeting message control unit reads out the delivery history from the storage unit, and, from the read delivery history, randomly selects a message from messages that belong to the category of the period corresponding to the date and time when the startup information was received and whose delivery frequency is equal to or less than a threshold, and sets the selected message as the greeting message. Distribution device.

4. a storage unit for storing a plurality of messages classified into categories corresponding to time periods; a launch information acquisition unit that acquires launch information indicating that an application program has been launched in a user terminal; a greeting message control unit that reads from the storage unit messages that belong to the period category corresponding to the date and time when the startup information was acquired, and selects a message randomly from the read messages as a greeting message to be transmitted to the user terminal when the application program is started; a delivery unit that delivers the greeting message to the user terminal; Equipped with the storage unit further stores a delivery history of the greeting message sent to the user terminal; When selecting the greeting message, the greeting message control unit reads the delivery history from the storage unit, and if, from the read delivery history, the percentage of messages that have already been delivered among messages belonging to the category of the period corresponding to the date and time when the startup information was received is equal to or greater than a threshold, the delivery device causes wording corresponding to the percentage to be included in the greeting message.

5. a storage unit for storing a plurality of messages classified into categories corresponding to time periods; a launch information acquisition unit that acquires launch information indicating that an application program has been launched in a user terminal; a greeting message control unit that reads from the storage unit messages that belong to the period category corresponding to the date and time when the startup information was acquired, and selects a message randomly from the read messages as a greeting message to be transmitted to the user terminal when the application program is started; a delivery unit that delivers the greeting message to the user terminal; Equipped with The storage unit further stores a reaction to the greeting message transmitted to the user terminal, When selecting the greeting message, the greeting message control unit reads the reaction from the storage unit, and, based on the read reaction, randomly selects a message from messages that belong to the period category corresponding to the date and time when the startup information was received, and whose reaction is equal to or greater than a threshold, as the greeting message. Distribution device.

6. A distribution method performed by a computer having a storage unit that stores a plurality of messages classified into categories corresponding to time periods, the method comprising: a launch information acquisition unit acquires launch information indicating that an application program has been launched on the user terminal; a greeting message control unit reads out from the storage unit messages belonging to the period category corresponding to the date and time when the startup information was acquired, and randomly selects a message from the read messages as a greeting message to be transmitted to the user terminal when the application program is started; a distribution unit that distributes the greeting message to the user terminal; an individual message control unit controls to deliver, to the user terminal by push notification, a personalized message different from the greeting message and addressed to the user from the business; the greeting message control unit determines whether the application program has been started in response to the delivery of the personalized message or whether the application program has been started regardless of the delivery of the personalized message, and selects the greeting message when it determines that the application program has been started regardless of the delivery of the personalized message. Delivery method.

7. The greeting message control unit controls the application program so that the greeting message is displayed in a display area where the personalized message is displayed. The distribution method according to claim 6.

8. A distribution method performed by a computer having a storage unit that stores a plurality of messages classified into categories corresponding to time periods, the method comprising: a launch information acquisition unit acquires launch information indicating that an application program has been launched on the user terminal; a greeting message control unit reads out from the storage unit messages belonging to the period category corresponding to the date and time when the startup information was acquired, and randomly selects a message from the read messages as a greeting message to be transmitted to the user terminal when the application program is started; a distribution unit that distributes the greeting message to the user terminal; the storage unit further stores a delivery history of the greeting message sent to the user terminal; When selecting the greeting message, the greeting message control unit reads the delivery history from the storage unit, and, from the read delivery history, randomly selects a message from messages that belong to the category of the period corresponding to the date and time when the startup information was received and whose delivery frequency is equal to or less than a threshold, and sets the selected message as the greeting message. Delivery method.

9. A distribution method performed by a computer having a storage unit that stores a plurality of messages classified into categories corresponding to time periods, the method comprising: a launch information acquisition unit acquires launch information indicating that an application program has been launched on the user terminal; a greeting message control unit reads out from the storage unit messages belonging to the period category corresponding to the date and time when the startup information was acquired, and randomly selects a message from the read messages as a greeting message to be transmitted to the user terminal when the application program is started; a distribution unit that distributes the greeting message to the user terminal; the storage unit further stores a delivery history of the greeting message sent to the user terminal; When the greeting message control unit selects the greeting message, the greeting message control unit reads out the delivery history from the storage unit, and if the read delivery history indicates that a ratio of messages that have already been delivered among messages belonging to the category of the period corresponding to the date and time when the startup information was received is equal to or greater than a threshold value, the greeting message control unit includes a statement according to the ratio in the greeting message. Delivery method.

10. A distribution method performed by a computer having a storage unit that stores a plurality of messages classified into categories corresponding to time periods, the method comprising: a launch information acquisition unit acquires launch information indicating that an application program has been launched on the user terminal; a greeting message control unit reads out from the storage unit messages belonging to the period category corresponding to the date and time when the startup information was acquired, and randomly selects a message from the read messages as a greeting message to be transmitted to the user terminal when the application program is started; a distribution unit that distributes the greeting message to the user terminal; The storage unit further stores a reaction to the greeting message transmitted to the user terminal, When selecting the greeting message, the greeting message control unit reads the reaction from the storage unit, and, based on the read reaction, randomly selects a message from messages that belong to the period category corresponding to the date and time when the startup information was received, and whose reaction is equal to or greater than a threshold, as the greeting message. Delivery method.

11. A computer having a storage unit for storing a plurality of messages classified into categories corresponding to time periods, acquiring start-up information indicating that an application program has been started on a user terminal; reads from the storage unit messages belonging to the period category corresponding to the date and time when the startup information was acquired, selects a message at random from the read messages, and sets the selected message as a greeting message to be sent to the user terminal when the application program is started; and distributes the greeting message to the user terminal. Controlling the delivery of a personalized message, different from the greeting message and addressed to the user from the business, to the user terminal by push notification; determining whether the application program was started in response to the delivery of the personalized message or whether the application program was started regardless of the delivery of the personalized message, and selecting the greeting message when it is determined that the application program was started regardless of the delivery of the personalized message; program.

12. Controlling the application program so that the greeting message is displayed in a display area in which the personalized message is displayed. The program according to claim 11.

13. A computer having a storage unit for storing a plurality of messages classified into categories corresponding to time periods, acquiring start-up information indicating that an application program has been started on a user terminal; reads from the storage unit messages belonging to the period category corresponding to the date and time when the startup information was acquired, selects a message at random from the read messages, and sets the selected message as a greeting message to be sent to the user terminal when the application program is started; and distributes the greeting message to the user terminal. further storing a delivery history of the greeting message sent to the user terminal; When selecting the greeting message, the delivery history is read from the storage unit, and a message is selected at random from the delivery history from among messages that belong to the period category corresponding to the date and time when the startup information was received and whose delivery frequency is equal to or less than a threshold, and the selected message is set as the greeting message. program.

14. A computer having a storage unit for storing a plurality of messages classified into categories corresponding to time periods, acquiring start-up information indicating that an application program has been started on a user terminal; reads from the storage unit messages belonging to the period category corresponding to the date and time when the startup information was acquired, selects a message at random from the read messages, and sets the selected message as a greeting message to be sent to the user terminal when the application program is started; and distributes the greeting message to the user terminal. further storing a delivery history of the greeting message sent to the user terminal; When the greeting message is selected, the delivery history is read from the storage unit, and if the read delivery history indicates that the ratio of messages that have already been delivered among messages belonging to the category of the period corresponding to the date and time when the startup information was received is equal to or greater than a threshold value, a message corresponding to the ratio is included in the greeting message. program.

15. A computer having a storage unit for storing a plurality of messages classified into categories corresponding to time periods, acquiring start-up information indicating that an application program has been started on a user terminal; reads from the storage unit messages belonging to the period category corresponding to the date and time when the startup information was acquired, selects a message at random from the read messages, and sets the selected message as a greeting message to be sent to the user terminal when the application program is started; and distributes the greeting message to the user terminal. further storing a reaction to the greeting message sent to the user terminal; When selecting the greeting message, the reaction is read from the storage unit, and a message is selected at random from messages that belong to the period category corresponding to the date and time when the startup information was received based on the read reaction, and the selected message has a reaction equal to or greater than a threshold, and the selected message is set as the greeting message. program.

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