Content placement processing system, content placement processing program, and content placement processing method

Abstract

Output content in a layout that is easily noticeable to users. [Solution] The content placement processing system 1 includes a printer 200 and an advertising server 100. The advertising server 100 acquires response information in S140 that indicates the degree of user response to printed advertisements that have been output from the printer 200. In S22, the advertising server 100 requests bids for unprinted advertisements that will be newly output from the printer 200. Based on the response information acquired in S140, the advertising server 100 determines the layout conditions on the printing paper for the advertisements corresponding to the bid results acquired in S7 in S120, S130, S150~S200. In S23, the advertising server 100 generates print data for outputting the unprinted advertisements laid out based on the layout conditions, and in S30, it sends the print data generated in S23 to the printer 200.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a content arrangement processing system, a content arrangement processing program, and a content arrangement processing method for arranging content on an output medium.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, as described in, for example, Patent Document 1, an image forming apparatus is known as an example of an output device that outputs content. In Patent Document 1, the image forming apparatus combines image information and advertisement information and outputs the combination onto a single recording medium.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of Invention

Problem to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] When outputting content, it is desirable to output the content in a layout that easily catches the user's eye. However, Patent Document 1 has not conducted sufficient studies from such a perspective.

[0005] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a content arrangement processing system, a content arrangement processing method, and a content arrangement processing program that can output content in a layout that easily catches the user's eye.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0006] To achieve the above object, the disclosure relates to the following technology. A content placement processing system including an output device, comprising: a reaction information acquisition unit that acquires reaction information indicating the degree of user response to output content that has been output from the output device; a determination unit that determines the layout conditions on the output medium for unoutput content that will become a new output target from the output device based on the reaction information acquired by the reaction information acquisition unit; a generation unit that generates output data for outputting the unoutput content laid out based on the layout conditions; and a transmission unit that transmits the output data generated by the generation unit to the output device.

[0007] In the present disclosure, the decision unit determines the layout conditions for unoutput content according to the user's response information acquired by the response information acquisition unit. The generation unit generates output data laid out based on the layout conditions, and the transmission unit transmits the generated output data to the output device. According to the present disclosure, it becomes possible to lay out unoutput content under layout conditions that elicit a high level of user response. Therefore, unoutput content can be output in a layout that is more likely to catch the user's eye. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to this disclosure, content can be output in a layout that is easily noticeable to users. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This block diagram shows an example of the overall configuration of a content placement processing system according to the embodiments of this disclosure. [Figure 2] This is a sequence diagram illustrating the collaborative process performed by the ad delivery server, ad management server, and printer. [Figure 3] This flowchart shows the detailed steps of the layout determination process performed by the ad delivery server. [Figure 4] This is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a method for identifying potential placement locations. [Figure 5]This is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a method for identifying potential placement locations. [Figure 6] This is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a database that records user responses to previously printed advertisements. [Figure 7] This is an explanatory diagram showing a table that maps content to genre. [Figure 8] This represents a state where the expected response rate for one candidate placement location has been determined through a search based on the search criteria. [Figure 9] This represents a state where the expected response rate for multiple candidate placement locations has been determined through a search based on the search criteria. [Figure 10] This is a sequence diagram showing the processes performed by the ad delivery server, ad management server, and printer. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] Embodiments of this disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. This embodiment relates to a content placement processing system that solicits bids through an auction and outputs content.

[0011] The following explanation uses printer 200 as an example of an output device to which content is distributed. Printer 200 outputs content by printing it. The output device may also be a display device that displays the content. The display screen of the display device is an example of an output medium. Furthermore, while the following explanation uses advertisements as an example of content, it is not limited to advertisements and may include other service content. Examples of service content include, for example, comics, novels, images from various articles, videos, thumbnail images from videos, etc.

[0012] <Overall configuration of the content placement processing system> FIG. 1 shows an example of the overall configuration of a content arrangement processing system 1 according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the content arrangement processing system 1 includes an advertisement providing server (SSP: Supply Side Platform) 100, a printer 200, and a terminal device 300. The content arrangement processing system 1 further includes an advertisement management server (DSP: Demand Side Platform) 500. The plurality of servers 100 and 500, the printer 200, and the terminal device 300 each include a communication interface, and can communicate with each other via a network NT. The communication interface is a network interface including a communication circuit for connecting to and communicating with the network NT. The network NT includes one or more of the Internet, a LAN (Local Area Network), and a WAN (Wide Area Network). The communication interface may include a plurality of types of communication circuits for connecting to the network NT. A device connected to the network NT may communicate with a plurality of other devices using different communication circuits. In the present embodiment, the collective term for the plurality of types of communication circuits is described as a communication interface.

[0013] <Advertisement Providing Server> The advertisement providing server 100 requests a bid for an advertisement to be allocated to one or a plurality of advertisement slots based on a predetermined bidding condition, and receives a bid in response to the request. The advertisement providing server 100 determines a layout pattern in which one or a plurality of advertisement slots are arranged, and a winning advertisement. The advertisement providing server 100 acquires an advertisement image corresponding to the determined winning advertisement, and allocates the advertisement image to the advertisement slot of the layout pattern. The advertisement providing server 100 generates a distribution image of the advertisement image, and transmits the generated distribution image to the printer 200. The advertisement is an example of content.

[0014] The advertisement providing server 100 includes a processor 110, a storage device 115, a communication circuit 140, and the like. The bus 105 connects the processor 110, the storage device 115, the communication circuit 140, and the like to be capable of transmitting and receiving information. The storage device 115 is, for example, a RAM, a ROM, an EEPROM, an HDD, or the like. The storage device 115 stores various programs 120 and various data 130. The various programs 120 include a content arrangement processing program executed by the advertisement providing server 100, which is illustrated by the flows of Figure 2, Figure 10, and Figure 3 described later. The various data 130 includes the printer ID of the printer 200, a user ID, advertisement images, and the like.

[0015] The processor 110 is a device that performs data processing, and is, for example, a CPU. The processor 110 executes the various programs stored in the storage device 115. The processor 110 performs various processes including data communication with the printer 200 connected to the network NT, the terminal device 300, and the advertisement management server 500. The communication circuit 140 includes hardware such as a NIC (Network Interface Card) for connecting to Ethernet. The communication circuit 140 is connected to the network NT, and communicates with the printer 200, the terminal device 300, and the advertisement management server 500. The processor 110 is an example of a computer.

[0016] <Advertisement Management Server> The advertisement management server 500 is, for example, a server managed and operated by an advertisement business operator. The advertisement management server 500 transmits advertisement images to be printed by the printer 200 to the advertisement providing server 100. The advertisement management server 500 includes a processor, a storage device, a communication circuit, and the like similar to those of the advertisement providing server 100, and receives a bid request from the advertisement providing server 100 via the communication circuit. The network NT connects the advertisement management server 500 to the terminal devices or servers of a plurality of advertisers. The advertising management server 500 pre-acquires information such as advertising images, bid prices indicating the desired purchase price for advertising space, and target users to whom the advertising images should be delivered from the terminal devices of multiple advertisers. The advertising management server 500 stores and manages the acquired information in its storage device. The advertising management server 500 conducts an advertising auction and solicits bids in response to a bid request from the advertising provision server 100. The advertising management server 500 obtains bids from advertisers who have responded to the bidding request, based on information obtained from advertisers' terminals that is pre-stored in the storage device. The advertising management server 500 transmits the obtained bids to the advertising provider server 100 as bidding results in response to the bidding request. The advertising management server 500 may transmit bids that meet the bidding conditions included in the bidding request as bidding results. The ad provider server 100 receives the bid results sent from the ad management server 500 and selects the most suitable bid from among those bids included in the bid results. For example, the ad provider server 100 selects the bid with the highest bid price. The ad provider server 100 retrieves the ad image of the bidder of the selected bid, i.e., the successful bidder advertiser, from among the multiple ad images managed by the ad management server 500. The ad provider server 100 sends a distribution image based on the retrieved ad image to the printer 200. The printer 200 prints the print data based on the received distribution image onto the print paper S.

[0017] <Printer> The printer 200 prints print data based on the distributed image obtained from the advertising server 100 onto the paper S. The printer 200 includes a processor 210, a storage device 215, a display device 240, an operating device 250, a communication circuit 260, a printing mechanism 270, etc. The bus 205 connects the processor 210, the storage device 215, the display device 240, the operating device 250, the communication circuit 260, and the printing mechanism 270 so that information can be transmitted and received. The printer 200 is an example of an output device, and the paper is an example of an output medium.

[0018] The storage device 215 is, for example, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, HDD, etc. The storage device 215 stores various programs 220 and various data 230. The various programs 220 include, for example, a program that causes the printer 200 to execute the processes shown in the flows in Figures 2, 10, and 3 described later. The various data 230 include the aforementioned printer ID, distributed images received from the advertising server 100, etc. The advertising server 100 may store some or all of the above various data in the storage device 115. Alternatively, one of the printer 200 and the advertising server 100 may store the original data of some or all of the various data, and the other of the printer 200 and the advertising server 100 may store a copy of that original data.

[0019] The processor 210 is a device that performs data processing, such as a CPU. The processor 210 executes various programs stored in the storage device 215. The display device 240 is, for example, a liquid crystal display, a touch panel, etc., and can display various information. The operating device 250 consists of, for example, a keyboard, buttons, a mouse, a touch panel, etc., and accepts user input. The user can input various instructions to the printer 200 by operating the operating device 250. The communication circuit 260 is connected to the network NT and can communicate with servers 100, 500 and terminal devices 300.

[0020] The printing mechanism 270 includes a carriage on which a print head is mounted, a motor and belts that drive the carriage, and a transport mechanism. The transport mechanism picks up the printing paper S on which the advertising image is printed from the paper tray and transports it. The printing mechanism 270 forms and prints an image using an inkjet method, ejecting ink from the print head towards the printing paper S transported by the transport mechanism. The printing mechanism 270 may also form the image using other methods. Other methods include a laser method that forms the image by electrostatic transfer using toner, a thermal method that forms the image by thermal transfer using a thermal head, and an LED method that forms the image by exposing a photosensitive drum with an LED head.

[0021] The printer 200 has multiple cartridge holders 280, each holding one cartridge 285. The cartridges 285 are cartridges containing multiple ink colors, such as cyan, magenta, yellow, and black.

[0022] The printing mechanism 270 consists of, for example, an inkjet head, a carriage, and a motor and belt that drive the carriage. The printing mechanism 270 performs printing while consuming ink by ejecting ink from the cartridge 285 from the inkjet head onto the printing paper. The cartridge holder 280 is equipped with a reader / writer 290. The reader / writer 290 reads and writes cartridge information to an IC chip provided in the cartridge 285 housed in the cartridge holder 280. For example, the reader / writer 290 detects the type of cartridge 285 housed in the cartridge holder 280 by reading the cartridge information on the IC chip. The printer 200 may also obtain the amount of ink used or remaining ink stored in the IC chip in the cartridge 285 by reading it using the reader / writer 290.

[0023] <Terminal device> The terminal device 300 is, for example, a mobile terminal such as a smartphone owned by the user, and in this example connects to the network NT via wireless communication. The terminal device 300 can be any suitable terminal other than the printer 200. The terminal device 300 may be, for example, a tablet PC, a notebook PC, a desktop PC, etc. The terminal device 300 may be a portable terminal or a stationary terminal installed in karaoke boxes or various stores for song selection, menu selection, product browsing, etc. The terminal device 300 has a display device, a processor, an operating device, a storage device, a communication circuit, etc. (not shown). The storage device stores various programs. The processor executes the various programs stored in the storage device. The user can input various instructions to the terminal device 300 by operating the operating device.

[0024] Furthermore, a single "server" may constitute each of the above servers 100 and 500, or multiple "servers" may constitute each of the above servers 100 and 500. Alternatively, a single "server" may possess two or more functions of servers 100 and 500.

[0025] <Background of the Embodiment> As described above, in this embodiment, the ad provider server 100 requests bids for advertisements based on predetermined bidding conditions. The ad provider server 100 receives bids from advertisers in response to the request. Based on the received bid results, the ad provider server 100 determines the layout pattern and the winning advertisement.

[0026] Advertisers can only realize the effectiveness of their advertising when their winning bid ad is printed on printer 200 and seen by the printer 200's users. Therefore, for advertisers, it is crucial to make their advertisements stand out and capture the user's attention when they actually pick up the printed ad.

[0027] <Features of the Embodiment> A key feature of this embodiment is that, in response to the above, the printer 200 prints the advertisement as content in a layout that is easily noticeable to the user.

[0028] In this embodiment, user response rates to advertisements previously printed in various layouts on multiple printers 200 are acquired in advance using appropriate methods. This response information, including response rates, is recorded as records in a predetermined database. When deciding on the layout of the advertisement to be printed, the history of past printing and response rates is utilized. A printed advertisement is an example of output content whose output from the output device has been completed. An advertisement to be printed is an example of unoutput content that will become a new output target from the output device. One example of a method for calculating responsiveness is to calculate it based on the length of time from when the advertisement is printed by the printer 200 until the advertisement is actually picked up by the user. For example, the time is calculated from the moment when a suitable sensor detects that the printed paper S with the advertisement has been ejected into the output tray by the printer 200, until the moment when the advertisement is removed from the output tray and is no longer detected by the sensor. Then, a numerical value indicating responsiveness is calculated such that, for example, a short time indicates a high responsiveness, and a long time indicates a low responsiveness.

[0029] The details of the above method according to this embodiment will be explained below with reference to Figures 2 to 9, etc.

[0030] <Processing by the content placement system> Figures 2, 10, and Figure 3 (described later) are sequence diagrams and flowcharts representing the processing details of the content placement process in this embodiment. The content placement process in this embodiment is executed by the ad provision server 100, the ad management server 500, and the printer 200 based on the aforementioned content placement processing program, etc. In Figures 2 and 10, the entities that execute each process are the processor 110 of the ad provision server 100, the processor of the ad management server 500, and the processor 210 of the printer 200.

[0031] In Figure 2, at S1, the advertising server 100 obtains the bidding conditions. The bidding conditions are pre-stored in the storage unit 115. The bidding conditions include information on the size of the advertising space and the minimum bid price for the advertising space. The advertising space is an area on the printing paper S where an advertisement is allocated. The advertising space size information indicates the size of the advertising space that can be placed on the printing paper S on which the advertising image is printed. In this embodiment, the bidding conditions include advertising space size information for 1 / 8 size obtained by dividing A4 size printing paper S into 8 equal parts, 1 / 2 size obtained by arranging two 1 / 8 size spaces vertically and horizontally, and 1 / 2 size obtained by arranging four 1 / 8 size spaces horizontally.

[0032] In S5, the ad provider server 100 sends a bid request to the ad management server 500 that includes the bid conditions obtained in S1. That is, the ad provider server 100 requests bids for ads to be allocated to one or more ad slots based on the bid conditions obtained in S1. The processor 110 of the ad provider server 100 executing S5 is an example of a request unit.

[0033] The ad management server 500 conducts an ad auction and solicits bids in response to a bid request from the ad provider server 100.

[0034] In S7, the ad provider server 100 receives the bid results from the ad management server 500 for the bids solicited in the auction in response to the bid request sent in S5. The bid results include bids from bidders who meet the bid conditions requested in the bid request. Each bid includes an ID that identifies the bid, the size of the ad image corresponding to the bid, and the content name of the ad image corresponding to the bid. If there are no bids that meet the bid conditions requested in the bid request, the bid results include information indicating that fact.

[0035] In S100, the ad provider server 100 performs layout determination processing. That is, based on the bid results received in S7, the ad provider server 100 determines a layout pattern in which one or more ad slots are placed. The following describes an example where multiple bids are included in the bidding results, and the layout patterns for these multiple bids are determined.

[0036] Figure 3 shows a flowchart illustrating the detailed procedure for the layout determination process of S100 performed by the ad delivery server 100. In Figure 3, first, in S110, the ad provider server 100 selects one of several bids included in the bidding results to be processed up to S200. The order of selection at this time is, for example, that the ad provider server 100 selects bids in order of priority, starting with the highest priority. That is, the ad provider server 100 selects the bid with the highest priority first and then processes it. In this example, the priority is the value of the bid price, and the ad provider server 100 selects bids in order of highest bid price and then processes them.

[0037] In S115, the ad provider server 100 determines whether there are any candidate placement locations on the print paper S where the ad image corresponding to the bid selected in S110 can be placed. Specifically, the ad provider server 100 compares the size information of the ad image included in the bid with the size of the candidate placement locations where the ad image will not yet be placed, and determines that there are candidate placement locations if these sizes match.

[0038] Figures 4 and 5 are explanatory diagrams illustrating examples of these candidate placement positions. These diagrams illustrate the layout when an A4-sized sheet of paper is placed in a so-called landscape orientation. The example in Figure 4 shows a layout pattern that includes an advertising frame measuring 1 / 8 of the size obtained by dividing an A4-sized sheet of paper into eight equal parts. As mentioned above, the bids included in the bidding results include the size of the advertising image. The example in Figure 4 shows an example where the size of advertising image A included in the bid selected in S110 is equivalent to one advertising frame that is 1 / 8 the size of an A4 sheet. There are eight possible placement locations for this advertising image A: "Frame 1", "Frame 2", ... "Frame 8". The example in Figure 5 shows an example where the size of advertising image B included in the bid selected in S110 is equivalent to four advertising frames that are 1 / 8 the size of an A4 sheet, arranged in a 1 / 8 vertical and 2 / 8 horizontal pattern. There are three possible placement locations for this advertising image B: "Frame 1 + Frame 2 + Frame 5 + Frame 6", "Frame 2 + Frame 3 + Frame 6 + Frame 7", and "Frame 3 + Frame 4 + Frame 7 + Frame 8".

[0039] If the ad provider server 100 determines that there are candidate placement locations, it determines S115 to Yes and proceeds to S120. If the ad provider server 100 determines that there are no candidate placement locations, it determines S115 to No and proceeds to S200.

[0040] In S120, the ad provider server 100 identifies one possible placement location for the ad image corresponding to the bid selected in S110 from among several possible placement locations on the print paper. The identified placement location becomes the target of processing up to S180. The example in Figure 4 shows the state where the candidate placement location for advertisement image A has been set to "frame 1". The example in Figure 5 shows the state where the candidate placement locations for the successful bid advertisement B have been decided as "frame 1 + frame 2 + frame 5 + frame 6". As described above, the ad delivery server 100 identifies candidate placement locations in S120 according to the size of the ad selected in S110.

[0041] Although the diagrams are omitted below, for example, if the size of the advertisement image is equivalent to four 1 / 8-size advertisement frames, each consisting of four 1 / 8-size A4 sheets placed side by side, then there are two possible placement locations for the advertisement image: "frame 1 + frame 2 + frame 3 + frame 4" and "frame 5 + frame 6 + frame 7 + frame 8". For example, if the winning bid advertisement is an ad space that is 1 / 8 the size of an A4 sheet and can be arranged in two vertical and two horizontal or four horizontally, then there are five possible placement locations: "frame 1 + frame 2 + frame 5 + frame 6", "frame 2 + frame 3 + frame 6 + frame 7", "frame 3 + frame 4 + frame 7 + frame 8", "frame 1 + frame 2 + frame 3 + frame 4", and "frame 5 + frame 6 + frame 7 + frame 8".

[0042] Returning to Figure 3, in S130, the ad provider server 100 determines one search condition. The search condition is used to search for records in the aforementioned database that relate to ad slots corresponding to the candidate placement locations identified in S120. The search condition may be determined by appropriate input from the administrator of the ad provider server 100, or by input via the terminal device 300 of the advertiser of the target successful bid ad. Alternatively, the search condition may be automatically determined by some predetermined rule. The candidate placement location is an example of a candidate layout location for unoutput content, and the ad slot corresponding to the candidate placement location is an example of a layout location for output content.

[0043] Search criteria are composed of, for example, a combination of multiple conditional elements. Examples of conditional elements include, in addition to the candidate placement locations mentioned above, content type including content genre, user information including specific user identification information or user attributes, device information related to printer 200, etc. Furthermore, information about content in adjacent frames, for example, whose placement location has already been determined, may also be included as a conditional element. This allows for searches that take into account factors such as the likelihood of users being distracted by advertisements in other frames that have already been laid out, and the visual impact.

[0044] Examples of search criteria: (a) Placement candidate location "Frame 1", specific user "User1", and content type "Genre 1" (b) Candidate placement location "Frame 1", user type "20s", and content type "Genre 1" (c) Candidate placement location "Frame 1", specific user "User1", and content type of adjacent frame "Genre 2" The genres corresponding to the content types mentioned above are examples of the second attribute of unoutputted content.

[0045] In S140, the ad provider server 100 accesses the database and performs a search based on the conditions determined in S130, retrieving all records that match the conditions. As mentioned above, each record in the database contains various data related to past printed advertisements, as described above, and the user's response rate to that advertisement, all recorded in association with each other.

[0046] Figure 6 shows an example of a database and records. In the example shown, the database contains multiple records. The database also contains multiple fields: "Data Number," "Device Name," "User Name," "Content Name," "Ad Space," "Page Number," "Print Time," and "Response Rate." Each record contains values ​​and content corresponding to each field. In this example, the response rate is a value evaluated on a 10-point scale from 1 to 10, with a maximum value of 10. Furthermore, the "Content Name" data in the records shown in Figure 6 is mapped to the content genre according to the table shown in Figure 7. In the example shown, content1 is mapped to genre 1, and content2, 3, 6, 7, and 8 are mapped to genres 2, 2, 7, 3, and 4, respectively. These content genres are an example of the first attribute of the output content. Note that the contents of the table in Figure 7 may be integrated into the database shown in Figure 6.

[0047] Returning to Figure 2, S140 described above is an example of a reaction information acquisition step. The process executed by the advertising server 100 in S140 is an example of a reaction information acquisition process. The processor 110 of the advertising server 100 that executes S140 is an example of a reaction information acquisition unit.

[0048] In S150, the ad provider server 100 retrieves all of the above response rates included in all records obtained in S140, and determines a primary representative value from these total response rates to obtain the predicted response rate described later. The ad provider server 100 calculates the arithmetic mean of the response rates of all records as this primary representative value.

[0049] For example, in S130, if the search conditions are determined to be placement candidate position "frame 1" and content type "genre 1", and the database shown in Figure 6 is searched in S140, then two records will be found that match the search: data No. 1 and No. 4. The response rate of record data No. 1 is "2", and the response rate of record data No. 4 is "3". Therefore, in S150, the ad provider server 100 calculates the average of their response rates, "2.5", as the primary representative value.

[0050] After S150, the ad provider server 100 proceeds to S160. In S160, the ad provider server 100 determines whether there are any other search conditions. If there are any other conditions that have not yet been searched, S160 is determined to be Yes, and the ad provider server 100 returns to S130 until processing for all search conditions is complete. For example, in S130, the ad provider server 100 determines the search conditions to be placement candidate position "frame 1" and a specific user "User1". When it searches the database shown in Figure 6 in S140, the record that matches the search is one data no. 1. Therefore, in S150, the ad provider server 100 calculates "2" as the primary representative value.

[0051] In S160, once the processing in S130 to S150 is complete for all search conditions, S160 is judged as No, and the ad provider server 100 proceeds to S170. In S170, the ad provider server 100 determines a secondary representative value for all search conditions obtained through the repetition of steps S130 to S160 above, in order to obtain the predicted response rate described below. The ad provider server 100 determines this secondary representative value as the predicted response rate at the candidate placement location identified in S120. The ad provider server 100 calculates the arithmetic mean of the primary representative values ​​obtained for each of the search conditions as the predicted response rate.

[0052] For example, consider the case where S120 identifies a candidate placement location "frame 1," and only the following searches are performed: a search for a candidate placement location "frame 1" and content type "genre 1," and a search for a candidate placement location "frame 1" and a specific user "User 1." In this case, the ad provider server 100 calculates the expected response rate for the candidate placement location "frame 1" as "2.25," which is the average of the primary representative value "2" and the primary representative value "2.5." Figure 8 shows the state in frame 1 where the predicted response rate of 2.25 is calculated from the primary representative values ​​of 2.5 and 2 for the two search conditions mentioned above.

[0053] Returning to Figure 3, after S170, the ad provider server 100 proceeds to S180. In S180, the ad provider server 100 determines whether it has calculated the expected response rate for all placement candidate positions for the ad image corresponding to the bid selected in S110. If there are other placement candidate positions that have not yet been calculated, S180 is determined to be No. The ad provider server 100 then returns to S120 until the calculation of the expected response rate for all placement candidate positions is complete. Figure 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a state where the expected response rate has been calculated for all of the multiple placement candidate positions of the ad image corresponding to one bid selected in S110. In Figure 9, a predicted response rate of 2.25 is calculated for frame 1 from two primary representative values ​​of 2.5 and 2. Similarly, a predicted response rate of 2 is calculated for frame 2 from two primary representative values ​​of 2 and 2. Furthermore, a predicted response rate of 1.5 is calculated for frame 3 from two primary representative values ​​of 1 and 2.

[0054] In S180, once the processing in S120 to S170 is complete for all candidate placement positions, S180 is judged as Yes, and the ad provider server 100 proceeds to processing S190.

[0055] In S190, the ad provider server 100 determines the placement candidate position that has the highest value among all predicted response rates obtained by repeating steps S120 to S180. The ad provider server 100 then sets that placement candidate position as the placement position for the ad selected in S110. Following the example shown in Figure 9, the ad delivery server 100 determines that "Slot 1," which has the highest predicted response value of "2.225," is the placement location for the ad. This placement location is an example of the layout location on the output medium for unoutput content.

[0056] After S190, the ad provider server 100 proceeds to S200. In S200, the ad provider server 100 determines whether all slots are filled or whether there are no unselected bids. All slots being filled means that slots 1 to 8 on the print paper have all been determined as placement positions for advertisements through the process in S190. No unselected bids means that there are no bids that were not selected in S110. If not all slots are filled and there are unselected bids, the ad provider server 100 determines S200 as No, and the ad provider server 100 returns to processing S110. The various layout-related decisions made by the advertising server 100 in the aforementioned S120, S130, S150-S200 are examples of layout conditions, and S120, S130, S150-S200 are examples of decision steps. The processes executed in S120, S130, S150-S200 are examples of decision processes, and the processor 110 of the advertising server 100 that executes S120, S130, S150-S200 is an example of a decision unit.

[0057] Once all slots are filled or there are no unselected bids, S200 is judged as Yes, and the layout determination process is completed. Then, returning to Figure 2, the ad provider server 100 proceeds to process S8.

[0058] In the above explanation, the ad provider server 100 first performs the S110-S190 process on the ad with the highest priority to determine the expected response rate, and then determines the ad's placement location to be the slot where the highest value is calculated. Subsequently, the ad provider server 100 selects one ad at a time in S110 in order of priority, performs the S120-S190 process on each ad to determine the expected response rate, and then determines the ad's placement location to be the slot where the highest value is calculated. However, the ad provider server 100 may perform processing S110 to S200 other than S190 for all bids, calculate the expected response rate of candidate placement positions for the ad images corresponding to each bid, and then determine the placement positions in S190 in order from the bid with the highest priority.

[0059] In S8 of Figure 2, the ad provider server 100 determines the bid whose placement position was determined in S190 as the winning ad. If there are multiple bids whose placement positions have been determined, the ad provider server 100 determines multiple winning ads.

[0060] In S10, the ad provider server 100 sends a "hold notification" to the ad management server 500. The "hold notification" is a notification to the advertiser who has submitted a bid that meets the bidding conditions, i.e., the successful bidder, informing them that processing of their bid will be temporarily suspended until the bid is accepted and an invoice notification is sent. The ad management server 500 sends the received hold notification to the successful bidder's terminal device, etc. If there are multiple bids that meet the bidding conditions, the ad provider server 100 sends multiple hold notifications.

[0061] In S15, the ad provider server 100 sends a "defeat notification" to the ad management server 500. The "defeat notification" is a notification to advertisers whose bids were not selected for placement in S190, i.e., non-winning bidders, informing them that their bids will not be accepted because there are other successful bidders. The ad management server 500 sends the received defeat notification to the terminal device of the non-winning bidder. If there are multiple bids that do not meet the winning conditions, the ad provider server 100 may send multiple defeat notifications.

[0062] In S17, the ad provider server 100 sends an ad image request to the ad management server 500 requesting the ad image of the successful bidder who sent a hold notification in S10. If there are multiple successful bidders, the ad provider server 100 may send multiple ad image requests. In response to the above ad image requests, the ad management server 500 sends the ad image of the successful bidder to the ad provider server 100 in S20.

[0063] In S22, the ad provider server 100 retrieves the winning bidder's ad image sent by the ad management server 500. The ad provider server 100 saves the retrieved ad image to a storage device 115, for example. S22 is an example of a content acquisition step, and the processing performed in S22 is an example of a content acquisition process.

[0064] In S23, the ad delivery server 100 generates a delivery image including the ad image by assigning the ad image acquired in S22 to the ad slot of the layout pattern determined in S100. Note that the distributed image is an example of output data, and S23 is an example of a generation step. Also, the processing performed by the ad delivery server 100 in S23 is an example of a generation process, and the processor 110 of the ad delivery server 100 that executes S23 is an example of a generation unit. Alternatively, instead of the ad provider server 100 generating the distribution images, the ad management server 500 may create the distribution images, and the ad provider server 100 may retrieve those distribution images. Furthermore, instead of the ad provider server 100 creating the distribution images, it may create them using various page description languages ​​for printing.

[0065] In S30, the advertising server 100 outputs a print command to the printer that includes the distribution image generated in S23. S30 is an example of a transmission step. The processing performed by the ad delivery server 100 in S30 is an example of a transmission process. The processor 110 of the ad delivery server 100 that executes S30 is an example of a transmission unit. In addition, in S30, the advertising server 100 may output the distributed image to the printer 200 via another relay device. Alternatively, instead of outputting the distributed image to the printer 200, the advertising server 100 may send the printer 200 a page description language for printing the distributed image, or a link to the distributed image.

[0066] In S35, the printer 200 receives the print instruction sent by the advertising server 100 in S30 and stores it in the storage device 215. The printer 200 prints the print data based on the distributed image included in the print instruction. Furthermore, when the advertising server 100 sends a link to the delivered image in S30, the printer 200 accesses that link in S35 to retrieve the delivered image and performs printing. The print data is an example of output data, and printing is an example of output.

[0067] Moving to Figure 10, in S50, the printer 200 sends a print success / failure notification to the advertising server 100 indicating whether the print performed in S35 was successful or unsuccessful.

[0068] In S55, the advertising server 100 determines whether the print success / failure notification received from the printer 200 is a notification indicating "printing successful". If the advertising server 100 determines that the print success / failure notification indicates "printing successful", it determines Yes and proceeds to S60.

[0069] In S60, the ad provider server 100 sends a billing notice to the ad management server 500. The billing notice is a notification to the advertiser, who is the successful bidder and provided the ad images included in the distributed images sent to the printer 200 in S30, to request payment for the advertising printouts.

[0070] In S65, the advertising management server 500 sends a billing notice to the terminal device of the relevant successful bidder based on the billing notice received from the advertising provision server 100.

[0071] In S70, the advertising server 100 stores the success history related to the print data sent to the printer 200 in S30 in the storage device 115. The success history links the printer ID of the printer 200 with the user ID of the corresponding user, the current time information, and the bidding conditions when the advertising image included in the print data was successfully bid on. In S73, the ad provider server 100 records data in the database. The ad provider server 100 creates a new record in the database shown in Figure 6. The ad provider server 100 then records the "device name," "user name," "content name," "ad slot," "page number," and "print time" of the created record. The printer ID of printer 200 is recorded in "device name." The user ID of printer 200 is recorded in "user name." The content name of the printed advertisement is recorded in "content name." The slot name of the advertisement where the advertisement was printed is recorded in "ad slot." The page number on which the advertisement was printed is recorded in "page number." The current time information is recorded in "print time." Once S73 is complete, the process shown in this sequence diagram is finished.

[0072] On the other hand, in S55, if the advertisement server 100 receives a print success / failure notification in S50, it determines S55 as No and proceeds to S75.

[0073] In S75, the ad provider server 100 sends a bid cancellation notice to the ad management server 500, revoking the bid that was decided in S100. Based on the bid cancellation notice received from the ad provider server 100, the ad management server 500 notifies the advertiser, who was the successful bidder for the ad in question, of the cancellation of the bid.

[0074] In S80, the advertising server 100 stores the failure history for the print data for which the bid was canceled in S75 in the storage device 115. The failure history is a collection of linked historical information such as the bid conditions, failure reason information, and the date and time the failure was confirmed when the advertising images included in the print data were successfully bid on. Once S80 is complete, the process shown in this sequence diagram is finished.

[0075] After S50, in S210, the printer 200 determines whether it has sent a print success notification indicating "printing successful" to the advertising server 100. If the printer 200 has sent a print success notification indicating "printing successful" to the advertising server 100, it determines S210 as Yes and proceeds to S215.

[0076] In S215, the printer 200 determines, based on the sensor's detection result, whether or not the printed paper S on which the advertisement was printed has been removed from the output tray. If the printed paper S on which the advertisement was printed has not been removed from the output tray, the printer 200 determines S215 as No and repeats the process of S215. If the printed paper S on which the advertisement was printed has been removed from the output tray, the printer 200 determines S215 as Yes and proceeds to process S220.

[0077] In S220, the printer 200 sends an retrieval notification to the advertisement delivery server 100 indicating that the printed paper S containing the advertisement has been removed from the output tray. Upon receiving the retrieval notification, the advertisement delivery server 100 records the response rate in the database shown in Figure 6 in S225. As mentioned above, the response rate is a value calculated based on the time between the printing time and the retrieval time when the retrieval notification was received. Once S225 is complete, the process shown in this sequence diagram is finished.

[0078] <Effects of the Embodiment> As described above, in this embodiment, the advertising server 100 determines various layout conditions in S120, S130, S150 to S200 in response to the response information acquired in S140. The advertising server 100 generates print data laid out based on the determined layout conditions in S23, and sends the generated print data to the printer 200 in S30. According to this embodiment, it becomes possible to lay out advertisements using layout conditions that elicit a high level of user response, thus enabling the printing of advertisements in a layout that is more likely to catch the user's eye.

[0079] In this embodiment, the ad provider server 100 calculates the expected response rate in S170 for each of the multiple candidate placement locations where an advertisement would be placed. Based on the calculated expected response rate, the ad provider server 100 determines the placement location of the unprinted advertisement to be printed in S190. According to this embodiment, the placement of unprinted advertisements can be determined based on the user's response to advertisements that have already been printed in each advertising slot.

[0080] In this embodiment, the advertising server 100 determines candidate placement positions for unprinted advertisements in S120, and calculates the expected response rate at those candidate placement positions in S170. According to this embodiment, by determining candidate placement positions according to the output size of the unprinted advertisement, it is possible to calculate the expected response rate at candidate placement positions suitable for the output size.

[0081] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the record acquired in S140 includes the response rate associated with the genre of the printed advertisement. In S140, the ad provider server 100 acquires a record of a common genre corresponding to the genre of the unprinted advertisement. Generally, user response rates can vary depending on the content attributes. In this embodiment, appropriate response information is obtained in S140 according to the attributes of the unprinted advertisement. As a result, according to this embodiment, appropriate layout conditions can be determined according to the attributes of the advertisement.

[0082] Furthermore, in this embodiment in particular, the ad delivery server 100 can determine the placement location of the unprinted ad with the highest priority among a plurality of unprinted ads from among the candidate placement locations with the highest calculated expected response rate. According to this embodiment, the placement of the highest priority unprinted advertisement can be determined to be in the advertisement slot with the highest expected response rate.

[0083] In this embodiment, the ad provider server 100 obtains the ad bidding results in S7. The ad provider server 100 then determines the placement position of the ad with the highest bid amount in the auction from among the multiple unprinted ads, selecting from the candidate placement positions with the highest calculated expected response rate. According to this embodiment, the placement of the unprinted advertisement that received the highest bid in the auction can be determined to be in the advertising slot with the highest expected response rate.

[0084] <Variation> This disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are possible without departing from its spirit and technical concept.

[0085] (1) When performing a search that includes user attributes In the above embodiment, the content genre was used as an example to describe the first attribute of output content and the second attribute of unoutput content in the explanation using Figures 6 and 7. As shown in Figure 7, the content genre is associated with the "Content Name" data included in each record in Figure 6. In the search at S140, the advertising server 100 performed a search including the content genre, as described in the search conditions (a) to (c) above, and obtained response information for the corresponding records. However, this is not limited to this, and attributes such as the user's gender and age may be associated with the "username" data contained in each record in Figure 6. These associated user attributes are an example of the third attribute. In this case, the ad provider server 100 may perform a search in S140 using search conditions that include the user attributes corresponding to the above, and obtain response information for the corresponding records. The user attributes included in these search conditions are an example of the fourth attribute.

[0086] Generally, the level of response from users receiving printed advertisements can vary depending on their attributes. In this modified version, each record in the database includes a response score associated with the attributes of the user who received the printed advertisement. In S140, the advertisement delivery server 100 retrieves a record containing user attributes common to the user attributes of the printer 200 that will print the advertisement. As a result, according to this modified version, appropriate layout conditions can be determined according to the user attributes of the printer 200.

[0087] (2) Others In the above embodiment, printing was given as an example of output, but as mentioned above, it is not limited to printing; it may also be a display. Also, while printing paper was given as an example of a sheet, any sheet-like printing medium such as cloth may be used.

[0088] Furthermore, although the advertising server 100 was configured as a single device in the above embodiment, multiple devices may work together to perform the function of the advertising server 100.

[0089] Furthermore, the sequence diagrams and flows shown in Figures 2, 3, and 10 in the above embodiments do not limit this disclosure to the procedures shown therein. Therefore, procedures may be added, deleted, or their order changed, etc., within the scope that does not deviate from the spirit and technical concept of the disclosure.

[0090] In addition to what has already been described above, the methods described in the above embodiments and their variations may be used in appropriate combinations.

[0091] In addition, although not to be exemplified hereby, this disclosure may be implemented with various modifications, provided that it does not deviate from its intended purpose. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0092] 1. Content Placement Processing System 100 Ad Provider Servers 110 Processors (an example of a computer) 200 Printers (an example of an output device) 210 processors S Printing paper (an example of output medium)

Claims

1. A content placement processing system including an output device, A reaction information acquisition unit acquires reaction information indicating the degree of user response to output content that has been output from the output device, Based on the reaction information acquired by the reaction information acquisition unit, a determination unit determines the layout conditions on the output medium for the unoutput content that will be newly output from the output device, A generation unit that generates output data for outputting the unoutput content laid out based on the aforementioned layout conditions, A transmission unit that transmits the output data generated by the generation unit to the output device, A content placement processing system equipped with the following features.

2. The aforementioned reaction information is, The response rate includes the response rate associated with the layout position of the outputted content on the output medium, The aforementioned determination unit, Based on the response information, the expected response rate at each of the multiple layout candidate positions of the unoutput content is calculated. The content placement processing system according to claim 1, which determines the layout conditions by determining the layout position of the unoutput content on the output medium from among the multiple layout candidate positions based on the expected response rate at each of the multiple layout candidate positions calculated.

3. The aforementioned determination unit, Determine the candidate layout position according to the output size of the unoutputted content. The content placement processing system according to claim 2, which calculates the expected response rate for the determined layout candidate positions.

4. The response information includes the response degree associated with the first attribute of the output content, The reaction information acquisition unit is, The content placement processing system according to claim 1, which acquires the response information that matches the first attribute and corresponds to the second attribute of the unoutputted content.

5. The response information includes the response level associated with the third attribute of the user who received the output content, The reaction information acquisition unit is, The content placement processing system according to claim 1, which acquires the response information that matches the third attribute, corresponding to the fourth attribute of the user of the output device that outputs the unoutput content.

6. The aforementioned determination unit, The content placement processing system according to claim 3, wherein the layout position of the non-output content with the highest priority among a plurality of non-output content is determined from among the layout candidate positions with the highest calculated predicted response rate.

7. The system further includes a request section that requests bids for the aforementioned unoutput content, The aforementioned determination unit, The content placement processing system according to claim 6, wherein, among the plurality of unoutputted content items, the layout position of the unoutputted content item with the highest bid amount submitted in response to the request unit is determined from among the layout candidate positions with the highest calculated expected response rate.

8. For computers, A reaction information acquisition process that acquires reaction information indicating the degree of user response to output content that has been output from the output device, Based on the reaction information acquired in the reaction information acquisition process, a determination process is performed to determine the layout conditions on the output medium for the unoutput content that will be newly output from the output device. A generation process that generates output data for outputting the unoutput content laid out based on the aforementioned layout conditions, A transmission process that transmits the output data generated in the generation process to the output device, A content placement processing program for executing the following.

9. A content placement processing method performed by a content placement processing system including an output device, A reaction information acquisition step involves acquiring reaction information that indicates the degree of user response to output content that has been output from the output device, Based on the reaction information acquired in the reaction information acquisition step, a determination step is made to determine the layout conditions on the output medium for the unoutput content that will be the new output target from the output device. A generation step of generating output data for outputting the unoutput content laid out based on the layout conditions, A transmission step which transmits the output data generated in the generation step to the output device, A content placement processing method having the following characteristics.

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