Support device for providing advertisements

Abstract

To provide technical means to support postering companies in delivering advertisements in a manner that encourages them to view the advertisements. [Solution] The advertising support device 1 according to the present invention comprises: a recipient information acquisition unit 113 that acquires recipient information relating to the advertiser, including an SNS account and address; a mode designation unit 115 that designates one or more modes of provision from a group including paper media provision mode and online provision mode based on the recipient information; a link distribution unit 120 that distributes a link to the advertising page to the account relating to the advertiser for advertisers for whom online provision mode has been designated; a delivery command unit 117 that commands the delivery of the advertisement in paper media to the address relating to the advertiser for advertisers for whom paper media provision mode has been designated; and a reward granting unit 121 that grants a reward to the viewer's account when the advertising page is viewed via the link.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an advertisement providing support device.

Background Art

[0002] Advertisements are carried out by mailing advertising paper media printed with advertisement information. The advertising paper media is also called a flyer. However, in the distribution of flyers, there are various problems such as the problem that the mailed flyers fill up the post, the problem that the flyers mailed later overflow from the post and scatter on the floor, and the problem that the paper consumption in flyers becomes an environmental burden.

[0003] Regarding technologies aiming to solve various problems caused by flyer distribution in conventional services and prior arts, etc., Patent Document 1 notifies, on the homepage of the website of the notification administrator, a method of obtaining flyer information using a personal computer, a web-compatible mobile phone, or digital home appliances. The notification administrator discloses flyer information on the homepage of the website to residents of buildings and condominiums in a specific area requested by a flyer delivery company on the homepage of the website. The notification administrator discloses a business system in which if a resident who wishes to register their email address, information on a real-time service that requires urgency within a time or period limit is sent and transmitted by email.

[0004] The technology described in Patent Document 1 can prevent the scattering of flyers, disclose necessary information to residents of buildings and condominiums, and efficiently transmit information to flyer distribution companies.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] ​ Incidentally, the technology described in Patent Document 1 sends urgent real-time service information via email. Emails received at the recipient's email address are usually displayed in a list along with other emails using email viewing software. Therefore, with the technology described in Patent Document 1, there is a concern that advertising information may get buried among other emails, causing recipients to overlook urgent information.

[0007] Therefore, the technology described in Patent Document 1 has room for further improvement in that it assists posting companies in providing advertisements that encourage viewing, even when the advertisements provide substantially the same content in print media and online.

[0008] The object of the present invention is to provide a technical means to support posting companies in providing advertisements that encourage viewing, in advertisements that offer substantially the same content in print media and online. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The inventors of the present invention, after diligently studying to solve the above problems, have found that the above objectives can be achieved by specifying one or more delivery methods from a group including paper media delivery methods and online delivery methods based on the recipient information, providing advertisements in the specified methods, and granting benefits to the viewer's account when the advertisement page is viewed via a link to the advertisement page provided in the online delivery method. Thus, the inventors of the present invention have completed the present invention.

[0010] One aspect of the present invention provides an advertising support device comprising: a recipient information acquisition unit that acquires recipient information relating to an advertising recipient, including an SNS account and address; a manner designation unit that, based on the recipient information, designates one or more manners of provision from a group including a paper media provision manner and an online provision manner that provides an advertising recipient via the internet; a delivery command unit that instructs an advertising recipient for whom a paper media provision manner has been designated to deliver an advertisement in paper media to the address relating to the advertising recipient; a link distribution unit that distributes a link to an advertising page substantially identical in content to the paper media to the account relating to the advertising recipient for whom an online provision manner has been designated; and a reward granting unit that grants a reward to the viewer's account when the advertising page is viewed via the link.

[0011] In this type of support device, the mode designation unit selects one or more delivery modes from a group including paper media delivery modes and online delivery modes, based on the delivery information acquired by the delivery information acquisition unit. Then, the link distribution unit distributes a link to the advertisement page to the account of the advertisement delivery recipient for which the online delivery mode has been specified. On social networking services (SNS), received messages are displayed for each sender. Therefore, this type of support device prevents the link from being buried among other messages.

[0012] Furthermore, the delivery command center instructs the delivery of the advertisement in print to the address of the advertiser for which the print media delivery method has been specified. In the support device for this method, the advertisement page and the print media are substantially the same in content. Therefore, those who receive advertisements can freely choose their preferred delivery method from online delivery and print media delivery methods based on their own will, and regardless of the selected method, they can use advertisements that are substantially the same in content.

[0013] As a result, the support device of this type can provide advertisements in an appropriate manner that encourages viewing, even in advertisements that offer substantially the same content in print media and online. Furthermore, the support device of this type further encourages viewing of advertisements by having the reward granting unit grant rewards to the viewer's account when the advertisement page is viewed via a link.

[0014] Based on the above, this embodiment can provide technical means to support posting companies in providing advertisements that encourage viewing, even in advertisements that provide substantially the same content in print media and online.

[0015] Furthermore, the present invention can take various forms, exemplified by the following: recommending one or more delivery methods from a group including print media delivery methods and online delivery methods based on advertising attributes; estimating the characteristics of advertising content expected to have higher advertising performance using a machine learning model; estimating the layout characteristics of advertising content expected to have higher advertising performance using a machine learning model; and estimating the layout characteristics tailored to the attributes of the recipient using a machine learning model. These forms, each with its own unique configuration, contribute to supporting posting companies in providing advertisements that encourage viewing, even in advertisements that offer substantially the same content in print media and online. [Effects of the Invention]

[0016] Based on the above, the present invention can provide technical means to support posting companies in providing advertisements that encourage viewing, in advertisements that provide substantially the same content in print media and online. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0017] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware and software configuration of system S in this embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 2 shows an example of an advertising database 131. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is an example of the destination database 132. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is an example of the performance database 133. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a main flowchart showing an example of a preferred flow of the support process executed by the support device 1 of the present embodiment. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​In this text, the phrase "or" is used to mean a "non-exclusive" arrangement unless explicitly specified otherwise. For example, "item x is A or B" means either (1) item x is either A or B, or (2) item x is both A and B. In other words, the word "or" is not used to define an "exclusive" arrangement.

[0020] Furthermore, when the phrases "contain at least one" or "contain at least one of the following" are used in the text, they mean that the system or element contains one or more of the elements listed after the phrase. For example, if there are three types of elements, from element 1 to element 3, the phrases "contain at least one" or "contain at least one of the following" are interpreted as any of the following structural arrangements: a device containing element 1, a device containing element 2, a device containing element 3, a device containing element 1 and element 2, a device containing element 1 and element 3, a device containing element 2 and element 3, or a device containing element 1, element 2, and element 3.

[0021] The same interpretation is intended when the phrase "used in at least one of the following" is used in the text. Furthermore, "and / or" as used in the text is used as a linguistic conjunction to indicate that one or more of the listed elements or conditions are included or occur. For example, a device containing the first element, the second element, and / or the third element is interpreted as any of the following structural arrangements: a device containing the first element, a device containing the second element, a device containing the third element, a device containing the first and second elements, a device containing the first and third elements, a device containing the second and third elements, or a device containing the first, second, and third elements.

[0022] Furthermore, the use of the phrase "and / or" in this text signifies a "non-exclusive" arrangement, as stipulated in the Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS) "Format and Preparation Method of Standards Documents JIS Z 8301".

[0023] The following describes in detail an example of an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings.

[0024] <System S> Figure 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware and software configuration of System S in this embodiment. The advertising support system (System S) according to this embodiment is configured to include an advertising support device 1. The support device 1 is configured to communicate with the user's terminal T via the network N. Here, "user" refers to the recipient of the advertisement.

[0025] 〔advertisement〕 The advertisements according to this embodiment are advertisements that provide substantially the same content in one or more delivery methods designated from the group including paper media delivery methods and online delivery methods that provide advertisements via the internet. The advertisements according to this embodiment are not particularly limited as long as they convey information that the organization wishes to inform users of. Such advertisements include, for example, flyers that inform about the content and sales price of a product or service, and handouts that inform about the activities of the organization (such as a local government newsletter).

[0026] In this context, "substantially identical content" refers to content that is similar except for information specific to the design, layout, or form. Information specific to a form includes, for example, information that is difficult to express in a different form, or information relating to the procedure for requesting provision in a different form. Information that is difficult to express in a different form includes, for example, videos in print advertisements and watermarks in online advertisements. Information relating to the procedure for requesting provision in a different form is, for example, a two-dimensional code indicating a link to download a program that allows terminal T in this embodiment to cooperate with support device 1.

[0027] [Support device 1] The support device 1 comprises various hardware components such as a control unit 11, a storage unit 13, and a communication unit 14. The support device 1 performs a series of processes to assist posting companies in providing advertisements that encourage viewing, in advertisements that provide substantially the same content in print media and online. The type of support device 1 is not particularly limited and may be, for example, a server device, a cloud server, etc.

[0028] [Control Unit 11] The control unit 11 includes a Central Processing Unit (CPU), Random Access Memory (RAM), and Read Only Memory (ROM), among other things.

[0029] The control unit 11 cooperates with at least one of the storage unit 13 and the communication unit 14 as needed. The control unit 11 then implements the software components of the program of this embodiment executed by the support device 1, such as the advertising management unit 111, the recipient management unit 112, the recipient information acquisition unit 113, the performance management unit 114, the type designation unit 115, the type recommendation unit 116, the delivery command unit 117, the feature estimation unit 118, the layout unit 119, the link distribution unit 120, and the reward granting unit 121.

[0030] Details of the support processing implemented by the aforementioned software components will be explained later using Figures 5 to 9.

[0031] [Storage section 13] The storage unit 13 is a device on which data and / or files are stored, and has a storage unit that stores data non-temporarily using a hard disk, semiconductor memory, recording medium, and memory card, etc. The storage unit 13 stores programs executed by a microcomputer, an advertising database 131, a customer database 132, a performance database 133, etc.

[0032] (Advertisement Database 131) The advertising database 131 stores advertising data (advertising data) provided by the support device 1 of this embodiment. The advertising database 131 is managed by the advertising management unit 111. Although not mandatory, it is preferable that the advertising data is stored in association with information that identifies the data (e.g., advertising ID).

[0033] Advertising data includes, for example, data related to advertisers, information necessary for providing print media advertisements, information necessary for providing online advertisements, or various data related to benefits, etc. Information necessary for providing print media advertisements includes, for example, a number used by the posting company to identify the print advertisement, the distribution area, etc. Information necessary for providing online advertisements includes, for example, a link to an advertisement page that is substantially the same as the print advertisement. Links are represented, for example, by a Uniform Resource Locator (URL).

[0034] Figure 2 shows an example of an advertising database 131. This example contains advertising data identified by advertising IDs such as "A0001," "A0002," and "A0003."

[0035] The first advertising data identified by advertising ID "A0001" includes the advertiser "△△ Real Estate", the print media number "#2024-09-0001" as information necessary for providing the advertisement in print media, the URL "https: / / foo.bar / triangle_resident" as information necessary for providing the advertisement in online media, and data related to the reward "△△△△pt for adding as a friend".

[0036] The second advertising data identified by advertising ID "A0002" includes the advertiser "△△ Food Delivery", the print media number "#2024-09-0002" as information necessary for delivery in print media advertising, the URL "https: / / foo.bar / triangle_deliver" as information necessary for delivery in online advertising, and data related to the reward "Add as a friend to receive △△△△ points + a loaf of bread", etc.

[0037] The third advertising data identified by advertising ID "A0003" includes the advertiser "△△ Supermarket", the print media number "#2024-09-0003" as information necessary for providing the advertisement in print media, the URL "https: / / foo.bar / triangle_market" as information necessary for providing the advertisement in online media, and data related to the benefit "Get a coupon to exchange for one pack of eggs by adding us as a friend".

[0038] By storing this advertising data in the example, the posting company can deliver the appropriate print advertisement, identified by the print media number, to the advertising provider for whom the print media delivery method has been specified. Furthermore, the support device 1 can deliver a link (URL) to the advertising page to the account of the advertising provider for whom the online delivery method has been specified. In addition, the support device 1 can provide the benefits related to the conditions in the benefit data to the advertising provider for whom those conditions have been met.

[0039] (Source Database 132) The recipient database 132 stores data on advertisers (recipient data). The recipient database 132 is managed by the recipient management unit 112. Although not mandatory, it is preferable that the recipient data is stored in association with information that identifies the data (e.g., recipient ID).

[0040] The data provided includes accounts on social networking services (SNS) related to the advertisers and data related to the advertisers' addresses. The SNS is not particularly limited. However, it is preferable that the SNS be LINE®, due to its well-developed Application Programming Interface (API) and high penetration rate.

[0041] Furthermore, the recipient data preferably includes the names of the advertisers and data specifying the manner in which the advertisements are provided. The data specifying the manner preferably has a format that allows the manner to be specified for each category of advertisement.

[0042] Figure 3 shows an example of the recipient database 132. This example contains recipient data identified by advertising IDs such as "D0001" and "D0002".

[0043] The first recipient data identified by recipient ID "D0001" includes data relating to the advertiser, such as account name "@TanakaTriangle", full name "Tanaka △△", and address "Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture...". This data also includes data indicating the type of advertisement provided, such as "Retail stores: online provision, Restaurants / Gourmet: print media provision, Beauty / Health: online provision...".

[0044] The second recipient data identified by recipient ID "D0002" includes data relating to the advertiser, such as account name "@SatouSankaku", full name "Sato △△", and address "Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture...". This data also includes data indicating the type of advertisement provided, such as "Retail stores: online provision, Restaurants / Gourmet: online provision, Beauty / Health: print media provision".

[0045] By storing this recipient data in the example, the support device 1 can instruct the posting company to deliver based on the address, etc. Furthermore, the support device 1 can deliver links to advertising pages to accounts indicated by account names. In addition, by storing data related to the specification of the delivery method, the support device 1 can identify the delivery method by referring to this data.

[0046] (Achievements Database 133) The performance database 133 stores data related to advertising performance (performance data). Although not mandatory, it is preferable that the performance data be stored in association with information that identifies the data (e.g., performance ID).

[0047] The data included in the performance data is not particularly limited. Preferably, the data includes data that associates advertising performance and advertising characteristics for each delivery method, in order to enable recommendations of delivery methods based on advertising attributes.

[0048] In this case, it is preferable that the data is further correlated with the characteristics of the advertising content in order to estimate the characteristics of advertising content that are expected to perform better.

[0049] To enable the generation of layouts that are expected to yield higher advertising results, it is preferable that the data further correlates the layout characteristics of the advertising content.

[0050] In this case, it is preferable that the data is further associated with the attributes of the advertising provider in order to generate a layout that corresponds to the attributes of the provider.

[0051] Figure 4 shows an example of the performance database 133. This example stores customer data identified by performance ID "P0001," etc.

[0052] The first performance data identified by performance ID "P0001" includes data related to the performance of print media advertisements, online advertisements with the layout characteristics of print media-like layouts, and online advertisements with the layout characteristics of electronic advertisements, for advertisements with the advertising attribute "product list for food retailers".

[0053] The data in question includes data showing that print media advertising is generally unpopular among young people (sample size △△△), data showing mixed opinions among middle-aged people (sample size △△△), and data showing that it is generally well-received among elderly people (sample size △△△).

[0054] The data in question includes data showing that the print-style layout is generally unpopular among young people (sample size △△△), data showing mixed opinions among middle-aged people (sample size △△△), and data showing that it is generally well-received among elderly people (sample size △△△).

[0055] The data in question includes data indicating that the electronic advertising layout was generally well-received among young people (sample size △△△), data indicating that it was generally well-received among middle-aged people (sample size △△△), and data indicating mixed reactions among elderly people (sample size △△△).

[0056] By storing this performance data in the example, the support device 1 can refer to the performance data to estimate the characteristics of advertising content that is expected to have higher advertising performance. In particular, the support device 1 can generate layout characteristics of advertising content that is expected to have higher advertising performance. At this time, the support device 1 can estimate and generate characteristics appropriate for each target group based on the attributes of the recipient (young people, middle-aged people, elderly people).

[0057] [Communications Section 14] The communication unit 14 is not particularly limited as long as it connects the support device 1 to the network N and enables communication. Examples of the communication unit 14 include a network card compatible with the Ethernet standard and a communication device compatible with wireless LAN.

[0058] [Network N] The type of network N is not particularly limited as long as it enables communication with the support device 1, etc. Examples of network N include the internet, a mobile phone network, a wireless LAN, etc.

[0059] [Terminal T] Terminal T is used by users who are recipients of advertisements. The type of terminal T is not particularly limited and may be various types of terminals, such as stationary terminals like personal computers or portable terminals like tablet devices. From the viewpoint of being usable without introducing expensive equipment such as personal computers or laptops, it is preferable that terminal T includes smartphones.

[0060] (program) In this embodiment, terminal T cooperates with support device 1 by executing the program of this embodiment (advertising distribution application) distributed from support device 1, etc. The program causes terminal T to execute processes such as transmitting data related to user input to support device 1 and performing various displays based on display-related commands received from support device 1.

[0061] [Main flowchart for support processing] Figure 5 is a main flowchart showing an example of a preferred flow of support processing performed by the support device 1 of this embodiment. Figure 6 is a continuation of Figure 5. Figure 7 is a continuation of Figure 6. Figure 8 is a continuation of Figure 7. Figure 9 is a continuation of Figure 8. The following is an example of a preferred flow of support processing performed by the support device 1 of this embodiment, using Figures 5 to 9.

[0062] [Step S1: Determine whether to display the registration screen] The control unit 11 works in cooperation with the storage unit 13 and the communication unit 14 to execute the recipient management unit 112. The control unit 11 then performs a process to determine whether to display the recipient information registration screen (registration screen display determination step) as determined by the recipient management unit 112. If the control unit 11 determines that it should display the screen, it moves the process to step S2; otherwise, it moves the process to step S5.

[0063] In the registration screen display determination step, the recipient management unit 112 determines, for example, to display the recipient data registration screen when it receives data requesting the display of the registration screen from terminal T.

[0064] [Step S2: Display the registration screen] The control unit 11 executes a process to display a registration screen for recipient information, as performed by the recipient management unit 112 (registration screen display step). The control unit 11 then moves the process to step S3. The registration screen is configured to register at least an account and an address.

[0065] If the data received by the support device 1 when displaying the registration screen includes information that identifies the user's account, the registration screen does not need to have a field for registering the account. For example, this could occur when the registration screen is displayed via a request through the API of a social networking service such as LINE.

[0066] [Step S3: Obtain recipient information] The control unit 11 executes a process to obtain the recipient information entered by the user via the recipient management unit 112 (recipient input acquisition step). The control unit 11 then moves the process to step S4. The recipient information includes at least the account and address.

[0067] If the data received by the support device 1 when displaying the registration screen includes information that identifies the user's account, the recipient management unit 112 may obtain the account-related data from the recipient information.

[0068] [Step S4: Update recipient information] The control unit 11 performs a process to update the recipient information stored in the recipient database 132 based on the data acquired in the recipient input acquisition step by the recipient management unit 112 (recipient information update step). The control unit 11 then moves the process to step S5.

[0069] [Step S5: Determine whether to offer advertising] The control unit 11 works in cooperation with the storage unit 13 and the communication unit 14 to perform a process to determine whether to provide an advertisement (advertisement provision determination step). If the control unit 11 determines to provide an advertisement, it moves the process to step S6; otherwise, it moves the process to step S20.

[0070] In the ad provision determination step, the control unit 11 performs the above determination by, for example, determining whether to provide an ad when the provision timing specified for each ad has been reached.

[0071] [Step S6: Obtain recipient information] The control unit 11 works in cooperation with the storage unit 13 and the communication unit 14 to execute the destination information acquisition unit 113. Then, the control unit 11 executes the process of acquiring destination information using the destination information acquisition unit 113 (destination information acquisition step). The control unit 11 then moves the process to step S7.

[0072] In the recipient information acquisition step, the recipient information acquisition unit 113 acquires, for example, recipient information from the recipient database 132, which includes addresses corresponding to the distribution area associated with the advertisement.

[0073] [Step S7: Determine if there is an explicit specification by the user] The control unit 11 works in cooperation with the storage unit 13 and the communication unit 14 to execute the mode designation unit 115. The control unit 11 then performs a process to determine whether there is an explicit designation by the user based on the mode designation unit 115 (designation presence / absence determination step). If the control unit 11 determines that there is a designation, it moves the process to step S8; otherwise, it moves the process to step S9.

[0074] In the step of determining whether a designation exists, the designation unit 115 determines, for example, that a designation made by the user exists if it is stored in the storage unit 13. As explained in the section on the recipient database 132, if the data related to the designation of the design is stored in a format that allows the designation of the design for each advertisement classification, it is preferable for the designation unit 115 to determine whether or not there is a designation made by the user in the advertisement classification that has been determined to be provided in the advertisement provision determination step.

[0075] [Step S8: Specify the delivery method according to the user's specifications] The control unit 11 executes a process to specify the service provision method according to the user's specifications using the service provision specification unit 115 (first service provision specification step). The control unit 11 then moves the process to step S12.

[0076] The number of delivery methods specified in this step is not particularly limited. The following are examples of specifications in this step. If the user specifies that no delivery methods should be used, the delivery method specification unit 115 will not specify any delivery methods. If the user specifies either a paper delivery method or an online delivery method, the delivery method specification unit 115 will specify the specified delivery method. If the user specifies both a paper delivery method and an online delivery method, the delivery method specification unit 115 will specify both delivery methods.

[0077] [Step S9: Get ad attributes] The control unit 11 works in cooperation with the storage unit 13 and the communication unit 14 to execute the performance management unit 114. The control unit 11 then executes the process of acquiring the advertising attributes of the advertisement related to the above-mentioned advertisement by the performance management unit 114 (performance acquisition step). The control unit 11 then moves the process to step S10.

[0078] [Step S10: Recommend the delivery method] The control unit 11 works in cooperation with the storage unit 13 and the communication unit 14 to execute the mode recommendation unit 116. The control unit 11 then uses the mode recommendation unit 116 to perform a process of recommending one or more delivery modes from a group including paper media delivery modes and online delivery modes, based on the advertising attributes of the advertisement (mode recommendation step). The control unit 11 then moves the process to step S11.

[0079] In the provision recommendation step, the provision recommendation unit 116 recommends one or more provision modes by inputting the above-mentioned advertising attributes into a machine learning model that has been pre-trained using advertising performance data as training data, and outputting the expected advertising performance for each provision mode. This is expected to enable AI to recommend an appropriate provision mode.

[0080] [Step S11: Specify the delivery method according to the recommendation] The control unit 11 uses the mode designation unit 115 to perform a process to designate the mode of provision in accordance with the above recommendation (second mode designation step). The control unit 11 then moves the process to step S12.

[0081] [Step S12: Determine if a method of providing paper documents has been specified] The control unit 11 works in cooperation with the storage unit 13 and the communication unit 14 to perform a process to determine whether the paper media provision method has been specified in the above designation (paper media provision determination step). If the control unit 11 determines that it has been specified, it moves the process to step S13; otherwise, it moves the process to step S14.

[0082] [Step S13: Instruct the delivery of the advertisement in print.] The control unit 11 works in cooperation with the storage unit 13 and the communication unit 14 to execute the delivery command unit 117. The control unit 11 then executes a process instructing the delivery command unit 117 to deliver the advertisement in paper form to the address of the advertiser (delivery command step). The control unit 11 then moves the process to step S14.

[0083] In the delivery instruction step, the delivery instruction unit 117 implements the instruction by, for example, transmitting data related to the instruction to a terminal used by a posting company. The format of the data is not particularly limited. The format may be, for example, an email containing information identifying the print advertisement and a list of addresses to which the print advertisement will be delivered, or a document in Portable Document Format (PDF format).

[0084] Furthermore, the format may also be, for example, an email containing information identifying the print advertisement, a list of the delivery area for the print advertisement, and a list of addresses to which the print advertisement will not be delivered, or a PDF document containing such information.

[0085] [Step S14: Determine if an online delivery method has been specified] The control unit 11 works in cooperation with the storage unit 13 and the communication unit 14 to perform a process to determine whether an online provision method has been specified in the above designation (online provision determination step). If the control unit 11 determines that it has been specified, it moves the process to step S15; otherwise, it moves the process to step S20.

[0086] Although not mandatory, the support process preferably includes a series of processes that use a machine learning model to estimate the characteristics of advertising content that are expected to have higher advertising performance. Steps S15 to S18 are an example of such processes.

[0087] [Step S15: Determine whether to estimate features] The control unit 11 works in cooperation with the storage unit 13 and the communication unit 14 to perform a process to estimate or determine the characteristics of advertising content that are expected to have higher advertising performance (characteristic estimation and determination step). If the control unit 11 determines that estimation is to be performed, it moves the process to step S16; otherwise, it moves the process to step S19.

[0088] In the feature estimation and discrimination step, the control unit 11 performs the above-mentioned discrimination by, for example, a procedure for determining whether or not to perform estimation in accordance with a given specification by the administrator of the support device 1.

[0089] [Step S16: Estimate features] The control unit 11 works in cooperation with the storage unit 13 and the communication unit 14 to execute the feature estimation unit 118. Then, the control unit 11 performs a process to estimate the features of advertising content that are expected to have higher advertising performance (feature estimation step). The control unit 11 moves the process to step S17. In the feature estimation step, the feature estimation unit 118 estimates the features by a process that includes a procedure to input the above-mentioned advertising attributes into a machine learning model that has been pre-trained using the performance data stored in the performance database 133 as training data, and to output the above-mentioned features.

[0090] The features estimated in the feature estimation step are, for example, headline features, layout features, etc. In order to generate advertising content with layouts that are expected to have higher advertising performance, it is preferable that the feature estimation unit 118 is configured to estimate layout features. In this case, it is preferable that the support processing further includes a series of processes that generate laid-out advertising data in accordance with the estimated layout features. Steps S17 to S18 are an example of such processing.

[0091] [Step S17: Determine whether to generate pre-layout ad data] The control unit 11 works in cooperation with the storage unit 13 and the communication unit 14 to determine whether to generate laid-out advertisement data in which the content components included in the advertisement are arranged to have the specified layout characteristics (advertisement generation determination step). If the control unit 11 determines that it will generate the data, it moves the process to step S18; otherwise, it moves the process to step S19.

[0092] In the ad generation determination step, the control unit 11 performs the above determination by, for example, a procedure for determining whether or not to estimate according to a given specification by the administrator of the support device 1.

[0093] [Step S18: Generate pre-layout ad data] The control unit 11 works in cooperation with the storage unit 13 and the communication unit 14 to execute the layout unit 119. The control unit 11 then performs the process of generating laid-out advertisement data in which the content components included in the advertisement are arranged to have the specified layout characteristics (layout step). The control unit 11 then moves the process to step S19.

[0094] The procedure by which the layout unit 119 generates the laid-out advertisement data in the layout step is not particularly limited. This procedure can be implemented, for example, by assigning content components to templates for each feature.

[0095] [Step S19: Deliver the link to the ad page] The control unit 11 works in cooperation with the storage unit 13 and the communication unit 14 to execute the link distribution unit 120. The control unit 11 then uses the link distribution unit 120 to distribute a link to an advertising page that is substantially the same as the paper media to the account of the advertising provider (link distribution step). The control unit 11 then moves the process to step S20.

[0096] In the link distribution step, the link distribution unit 120 achieves the above-mentioned distribution by, for example, sending a message containing the above-mentioned link to the account via the SNS API related to the account.

[0097] [Step S20: Determine if the ad page was accessed] The control unit 11 works in cooperation with the storage unit 13 and the communication unit 14 to execute the reward granting unit 121. The control unit 11 then performs a process to determine whether the advertising page has been accessed (access determination step). If the control unit 11 determines that it has been accessed, it moves the process to step S21; otherwise, it moves the process to step S22. In the access determination step, the reward granting unit 121 achieves the above determination by, for example, determining that the advertising page has been accessed when it is viewed via the link described above.

[0098] If the feature estimation step is performed, the support process preferably includes a process for updating the actual results. Step S21 is an example of such a process.

[0099] [Step S21: Achievements updated] The control unit 11 works in cooperation with the storage unit 13 and the communication unit 14 to execute the performance management unit 114. The control unit 11 then performs a process to update the performance data stored in the performance database 133 based on the access described above (performance update step). The control unit 11 then moves the process to step S22.

[0100] [Step S22: Determine whether to grant the reward] The control unit 11 performs a process to determine whether to grant a benefit using the benefit granting unit 121 (benefit granting determination step). If the control unit 11 determines that a benefit should be granted, it moves the process to step S23; otherwise, it returns the process to step S1 and repeats the process from step S1 to step S23.

[0101] In the reward granting determination step, the reward granting unit 121 achieves the above determination by, for example, determining whether to grant a reward to the viewer's account when the advertising page is viewed via the above link. Alternatively, the reward granting unit 121 may achieve the above determination by determining whether to grant a reward when a given condition associated with the advertisement is met.

[0102] The rewards awarded in the reward awarding determination step are, for example, points that can be converted into rewards usable with various electronic payment services. Digital gifts (held rewards) related to points and rewards are associated with the account. By having the support device 1 function as an advertising information distribution means and a point management means, the burden of receiving advertisements in paper format is reduced for users, and an incentive for viewing advertisements is created.

[0103] [Step S23: Granting the reward] The control unit 11 executes the process of granting benefits using the benefit granting unit 121 (benefit granting step). The control unit 11 returns the process to step S1 and repeats the processes from step S1 to step S23.

[0104] [Effects of support processing] The support device 1, which performs the above-described support processing, uses the recipient information acquisition unit 113 to acquire recipient information (step S6), and the manner designation unit 115 then designates one or more delivery manners from a group including paper media delivery manners and online delivery manners (step S8). If the person receiving the advertisement explicitly indicates a delivery manner from online delivery manners and paper media delivery manners, the support device 1 designates the indicated delivery manner (steps S7 to S8). Therefore, the recipient can freely designate their desired manner from online delivery manners or paper media delivery manners based on their own will and receive the advertisement. Then, the link distribution unit distributes a link to the advertisement page to the account of the advertisement recipient for which the online delivery manner has been designated (steps S14 to S19). In SNS, received messages are displayed for each sender. Therefore, the support device of this manner prevents the link from being buried among other messages.

[0105] Furthermore, the delivery command unit instructs the delivery of the advertisement in paper form to the address of the advertiser whose paper media delivery method has been specified (steps S12 to S13). In this support device 1, the advertisement page and the paper media are substantially the same in content. Therefore, those who are provided with advertisements can use advertisements that are substantially the same in content, regardless of the method of delivery.

[0106] As a result, the support device 1 can provide advertisements in an appropriate manner that encourages viewing, even in advertisements that offer substantially the same content in print media and online. Furthermore, the support device in this manner further encourages viewing of advertisements by having the reward granting unit grant a reward to the viewer's account when the advertisement page is viewed via a link (steps S22 to S23).

[0107] Based on the above, the support device 1 of this embodiment can provide technical means to support posting companies in providing advertisements that encourage viewing, in advertisements that provide substantially the same content in print media and online.

[0108] To enable delivery in an appropriate manner based on advertising attributes, the support process may be configured to perform a process (steps S9 to S11) that recommends one or more delivery methods from a group including print media delivery methods and online delivery methods based on advertising attributes. This allows the support device 1 to assist the posting company in delivering advertisements in a manner that encourages advertisement viewing.

[0109] To enable the provision of advertisements with features that are expected to yield higher advertising results, the support process may be configured to perform a process (steps S15 to S16) in which a machine learning model estimates the features of advertising content that are expected to yield higher advertising results. The performance data to be used as training data is collected in the process related to steps S20 to S21. In this way, the support device 1 can assist the posting company in providing advertisements in a manner that encourages advertisement viewing.

[0110] To enable the provision of advertisements with layout features that are expected to yield higher advertising results, the support process may be configured to perform a process (steps S15 to S16) in which a machine learning model is used to estimate the layout features of advertising content that are expected to yield higher advertising results. At this time, the support process may be configured to further perform a process (steps S17 to S18) in which a machine learning model is used to estimate the layout features that are tailored to the attributes of the recipient. In this way, the support device 1 can assist the posting company in providing advertisements in a manner that encourages advertisement viewing.

[0111] <Usage example> The following is an example of how to use the support device 1 of this embodiment.

[0112] [Registration via SNS] The user scans a QR code showing the address of support device 1 with terminal T and accesses that address. Terminal T adds the account related to support device 1 as a friend on social media. Support device 1 displays the registration screen on terminal T.

[0113] Figure 10 shows an example of the display on terminal T. In this example, terminal T displays fields for entering account name, full name, and address (postal code, prefecture, city / ward / town / village, street number), checkboxes for each advertisement category to indicate whether or not the user wishes to receive flyers in paper format, and a button to execute registration. The advertisement categories displayed in this example are retail stores, restaurants / gourmet, beauty / health, education / schools, cars and travel, housing, finance / weddings / funerals, coupons / special offers, job postings, announcements from local governments, and others (11 types in total).

[0114] The user checks the boxes for three categories—restaurants / gourmet, cars and travel, and housing—to specify how they want to receive the information in print format, and then touches the register button. Terminal T transmits the entered name and address data, along with the account used for friend registration, to support device 1. Support device 1 registers the account and address, etc.

[0115] [Provision of print media advertising] Support device 1 provides the posting company with data indicating the address to which each print advertisement is to be delivered, by the time of distribution of each print advertisement. The posting company delivers the print advertisement based on this data.

[0116] [Providing online advertising] Support device 1 provides a link to an advertising page to the SNS account. Users view the advertising page using this link and are granted benefits.

[0117] [Automatic Layout] Support device 1 estimates an appropriate layout based on the advertisement attributes and recipient attributes, and lays out the content components according to the estimation results. Then, support device 1 delivers the laid-out advertisement data to terminal T.

[0118] Within the scope of the concept of this invention, those skilled in the art can conceive of various modifications and alterations. Therefore, such modifications and alterations are understood to fall within the scope of this invention. For example, any addition, deletion, or design change of components, or addition, omission, or modification of processes, made by a person skilled in the art to the above-described embodiments, is also included within the scope of this invention, as long as it retains the essence of this invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0119] S System 1 Support equipment 11 Control Unit 111 Advertising Management Department 112 Supplier Management Department 113 Destination Information Acquisition Department 114 Performance Management Department 115 Designation section 116. Recommendation Section 117 Delivery Command Center 118 Feature Estimation Unit 119 Layout Section 120 Link Distribution Department 121 Special Offer Section 13 Storage section 131 Advertising Database 132 Provider Databases 133 Achievements Database 14 Communications Department N Network T terminal

Claims

1. A recipient information acquisition unit acquires recipient information related to the advertiser, including SNS accounts and addresses. A manner designation unit that designates one or more manners of provision from a group including paper media provision manners, which provide advertisements via paper media, and online provision manners, which provide advertisements via the internet, based on the aforementioned recipient information, A delivery command unit that issues instructions to deliver advertisements in paper format to the address of advertisers for whom the method of providing paper media has been specified, A link distribution unit delivers links to advertising pages that are substantially the same as the print media to the accounts of advertising providers for whom online delivery methods have been specified, A reward granting unit grants a reward to the viewer's account when the advertising page is viewed via the aforementioned link, Equipped with, A support device for providing advertisements.

2. The Performance Management Department manages performance data that links advertising performance and advertising characteristics for each delivery method, A recommendation unit recommends one or more delivery methods from a group including print media delivery methods and online delivery methods, based on the advertising attributes of the aforementioned advertisement. Furthermore, The aforementioned provision recommendation unit recommends one or more provision methods by a process that includes a procedure to input the advertising attributes into a machine learning model that has been pre-trained using the performance data as training data, and output the expected advertising performance for each provision method. The aforementioned mode designation unit, in the event that the user does not explicitly specify a mode, will designate the mode of provision recommended by the aforementioned mode recommendation unit. The support device according to claim 1.

3. The system further includes a feature estimation unit that estimates the characteristics of advertising content that are expected to perform better based on the aforementioned advertising attributes. The aforementioned performance management department is configured to manage performance data that further associates the characteristics of advertising content. The feature estimation unit estimates the features by a process that includes a procedure for inputting the advertising attributes into a machine learning model that has been pre-trained using the performance data as training data, and outputting the features. The support device according to claim 2.

4. The layout unit further comprises a layout unit that generates layout-based ad data in which the content components included in the ad are arranged to have specified layout characteristics, The aforementioned performance management department is configured to manage performance data that further associates the layout characteristics of advertising content. The feature estimation unit is configured to estimate features on the layout. The support device according to claim 3.

5. The aforementioned performance management department is configured to manage performance data that further associates the attributes of the advertising recipients. The feature estimation unit estimates the features on the layout by a process that includes a procedure for inputting the advertisement attributes and the provider attributes into the machine learning model and outputting the features on the layout. The support device according to claim 4.

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