Point management system, server device, point management method, and point management program

Abstract

To provide a point management system, server device, point management method, and point management program that can guide a service user or a person related to the service user to a predetermined action.SOLUTION: A point granting unit 41 gives points generated by viewing an advertiser's site on a parent terminal 15 by a parent, to a school to which a child of the parent goes, when that parent completes a predetermined action associated with viewing the advertiser's site after viewing the advertiser's site. The point granting unit 41 associates the points granted to the school with a school ID of the school and stores them in a school management table 53 of a database unit 22.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a point management system, a server device, a point management method, and a point management program. [Background technology]

[0002] One example of a mechanism to alleviate the financial shortfall of service provider organizations is the Bellmark campaign, which can supplement the financial resources of schools that provide educational services (see Non-Patent Document 1).

[0003] The Bell Mark campaign involves students and other users of educational services at school purchasing products bearing the Bell Mark (registered trademark) to collect Bell Mark points, which can then be exchanged for goods. [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0004] [Non-Patent Document 1] Bellmark Educational Foundation, [online], [Retrieved December 25, 2019], Internet〈URL: https: / / www.bellmark.or.jp / 〉 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The Bell Mark campaign mentioned above can support the financial resources of the schools that provide the services by awarding points, but there was also a demand for technology that could guide service users or those related to service users to take specific actions such as purchasing products.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above, and aims to provide a points management system, server device, points management method, and points management program that can guide service users or related parties of service users to take specified actions. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a point management system comprising a memory unit and a point assigning unit that assigns points generated when a service user or a related person of the service user performs a first action to a service provider when the service user or a related person of the service user performs at least one second action associated with the first action after the first action, and stores the assigned points in the memory unit in association with information indicating the service provider.

[0008] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a points management system comprising a memory unit and a points assignment unit that assigns points generated when a service user or a person related to the service user performs a first action to a service provider before at least one second action associated with the first action is performed by the service user or a person related to the service user after the first action, and that stores the assigned points in the memory unit in association with information indicating the service provider.

[0009] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a points management system comprising: a terminal device of a service user or a related person of the service user; and a server device connectable to the terminal device via a network, wherein the server device comprises a memory unit; and a points assigning unit that assigns points generated when the terminal device recognizes a first action by the service user or a related person of the service user to a service provider when the terminal device recognizes at least one second action associated with the first action by the service user or a related person of the service user after the first action, and stores the assigned points in the memory unit in association with information indicating the service provider.

[0010] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a server device connectable to a terminal device of a service user or a related person of the service user via a network, characterized in that it comprises a memory unit and a point assigning unit that assigns points to a service provider when the terminal device recognizes a first action by the service user or a related person of the service user after the first action, and when the terminal device recognizes at least one second action associated with the first action by the service user or a related person of the service user, and stores the assigned points in the memory unit in association with information indicating the service provider.

[0011] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a point management system comprising a memory unit and a point assigning unit that assigns points to a service provider and stores the assigned points in the memory unit in association with information indicating the service provider, wherein the point assigning unit deletes at least a portion of the points assigned to the service provider in accordance with the rate of implementation if the rate of implementation of a specified action by a service user or a person related to the service user within a specified period after the points are assigned to the service provider is below a threshold.

[0012] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a point management system comprising: a terminal device of a service user or a related party of the service user; and a server device connectable to the terminal device via a network, the server device comprising a memory unit and a point assigning unit that assigns points to a service provider and stores the assigned points in the memory unit in association with information indicating the service provider, wherein the point assigning unit deletes at least a portion of the points assigned to the service provider in accordance with the implementation rate if the implementation rate of a specified action by the service user or a related party of the service user recognized by the terminal device within a specified period after the points are assigned to the service provider is less than a threshold value.

[0013] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a server device connectable via a network to a terminal device of a service user or a related person of the service user, the server device comprising: a memory unit; and a point assigning unit that assigns points to a service provider and stores the assigned points in the memory unit in association with information indicating the service provider, wherein the point assigning unit deletes at least a portion of the points assigned to the service provider in accordance with the implementation rate if, within a specified period after the points are assigned to the service provider, the rate at which a specified action is performed by the service user or a related person of the service user as recognized by the terminal device is less than a threshold value.

[0014] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a point management method comprising the steps of: awarding points generated when a service user or a person related to the service user performs a first action to a service provider when the service user or a person related to the service user performs at least one second action associated with the first action after the first action; and storing the points awarded to the service provider in a memory unit in association with information indicating the service provider.

[0015] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a point management method comprising the steps of: awarding points to a service provider; storing the points awarded to the service provider in a memory unit in association with information indicating the service provider; and, if the rate at which a specified action is performed by a service user or a person related to the service user within a specified period after the points are awarded to the service provider is less than a threshold, deleting at least a portion of the points awarded to the service provider in accordance with the rate of performance.

[0016] According to another aspect of the present invention, a point management program is provided for causing a point management system having a point assignment unit and a memory unit to execute the following steps: the point assignment unit assigns points generated when a service user or a related person of the service user performs a first action to a service provider when the service user or a related person of the service user performs at least one second action associated with the first action after the first action; and the point assignment unit stores the points assigned to the service provider in the memory unit in association with information indicating the service provider.

[0017] According to another aspect of the present invention, a point management program is provided for causing a point management system having a point assignment unit and a memory unit to execute the following steps: the point assignment unit assigning points to a service provider; the point assignment unit storing the points assigned to the service provider in the memory unit in association with information indicating the service provider; and the point assignment unit deleting at least a portion of the points assigned to the service provider in accordance with the implementation rate if the implementation rate of a specified action by a service user or a person related to the service user within a specified period after the points are assigned to the service provider is less than a threshold value. [Effects of the Invention]

[0018] According to the present invention, it is possible to induce a service user or a person related to the service user to take a predetermined action. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0019] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an outline of a business model realized in an embodiment. [Figure 2] 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a points management system according to an embodiment. [Figure 3] 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a server device of the point management system shown in FIG. 2. FIG. [Figure 4]FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an advertisement management table. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a region management table. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a school management table. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a class management table. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a child management table. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a parent / guardian management table. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a payment method table. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an action table. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a combination table. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a prepaid advertisement viewing history table. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an installment payment / deferred payment advertisement viewing history table. [Figure 15] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an action execution history table. [Figure 16] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an article table. [Figure 17] 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a parent / guardian terminal of the point management system shown in FIG. 2. FIG. [Figure 18] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a home screen of an application. [Figure 19] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a postpaid advertisement list screen. [Figure 20] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram for explaining the operation of the point management system when browsing an advertiser site for a postpaid advertisement. [Figure 21] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a screen displaying a message informing the user of the action to be taken after viewing the advertiser site of a postpaid advertisement. [Figure 22] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram for explaining the operation when an action associated with browsing an advertiser site for a postpaid advertisement is performed in the point management system. [Figure 23] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a screen for performing a deferred payment operation. [Figure 24] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a screen displaying the details of an action to be performed after browsing an advertiser site for a postpaid advertisement. [Figure 25] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a screen displaying a message notifying completion of an action performed after browsing an advertiser site for a postpaid advertisement. [Figure 26] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a screen displaying the number of points earned by completing an action performed after viewing an advertiser site for a postpaid advertisement. [Figure 27] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an installment payment advertisement list screen. [Figure 28] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operation of the point management system when browsing an advertiser site for an installment payment advertisement. [Figure 29] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a screen displaying the number of points to be earned by viewing an advertiser site for an installment payment advertisement, and a message informing the user of the action to be taken after viewing the advertiser site. [Figure 30] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an installment payment execution screen. [Figure 31] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a screen displaying the details of actions to be performed after viewing an advertiser site for an installment payment advertisement. [Figure 32] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a screen displaying a message notifying completion of an action taken after viewing an advertiser site for an installment payment advertisement. [Figure 33] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a screen displaying the number of points earned by completing an action performed after viewing an advertiser site for an installment payment advertisement. [Figure 34] 10 is a flowchart of a process for granting points to a prepaid school in the point management system. [Figure 35] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a prepaid advertisement list screen. [Figure 36] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a point usage page. [Figure 37] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram for explaining the operation when points are exchanged for goods in the point management system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0020] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the same or equivalent parts or components are designated by the same or equivalent reference numerals throughout the drawings, and their description will be omitted or simplified.

[0021] [Business model overview] An outline of a business model realized in an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

[0022] The service provider 1 shown in Figure 1 is an organization or group that provides a service. The service provided by the service provider 1 is not an internet service, but a public service in the real world. For example, the service provider 1 is a school that provides educational services, a hospital that provides medical services, etc. The service provider 1 is not limited to public institutions, but may also be a private school, hospital, etc.

[0023] The service user side 2 is a service user who uses the service provided by the service provider 1, or a related party thereof. The service user is a child or student at a school, a patient at a hospital, etc. The related party of the service user is the family member of the service user, etc.

[0024] The operations manager 3 is a business operator who operates and manages all activities under this business model. Specifically, the operations manager 3 grants points that can be exchanged for goods to the service provider 1, processes the exchange of points for goods, reviews advertisements from advertisers 5 (described later), manages advertising fees, etc.

[0025] The sponsoring company 4 is a company that delivers goods (sponsored goods) that can be exchanged for points to the service provider 1. The sponsoring company 4 is a company that supports the idea of ​​supporting the financial resources of the service provider 1 through this business model.

[0026] The advertiser 5 is a company that places advertisements in applications used on terminal devices such as smartphones of the service users 2. The advertiser 5 pays advertising fees to the operations manager 3. The advertising fees are used to pay for goods from the supporting companies 4 that are exchanged for points.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 1, in this business model, an advertisement from an advertiser 5 is placed in an application used in a terminal device of a service user 2 (step S1).

[0028] The service user 2 accesses an advertiser site such as the homepage of the company of the advertiser 5 from an advertisement posted in the application, browses the advertiser site, and then performs a predetermined action (step S2). As a result, the operations manager 3 grants points that can be exchanged for goods to the service provider 1 (step S3).

[0029] If the payment method for points is deferred payment, as described below, points will only be awarded once a predetermined action has been taken after viewing the advertiser's site. If the payment method for points is installment payment, some points will be awarded upon viewing the advertiser's site, and the remaining points will be awarded once a predetermined action has been taken after viewing the advertiser's site.

[0030] In addition, if the payment method for points is prepayment, the flow differs from the above-mentioned steps S2 and S3. As described below, points are first awarded, and if the viewing rate of the advertiser's site is below a threshold, at least a portion of the awarded points are deleted.

[0031] In order to exchange points for goods, the service provider 1 makes a request to the operations manager 3 to exchange the points for the desired goods (step S4). Upon receiving this request, the operations manager 3 orders the requested goods from the supporting company 4 (step S5). The operations manager 3 also pays the supporting company 4 for the goods. The supporting company 4 delivers the goods to the service provider 1 (step S6).

[0032] As described above, according to this business model, in the case of deferred payment, points are awarded when a predetermined action is completed after viewing the advertiser's site. In the case of installment payment, some points are awarded for viewing the advertiser's site, and the remaining points are awarded when a predetermined action is completed after viewing the advertiser's site. This allows service users 2 to be guided to perform a predetermined action after viewing the advertiser's site.

[0033] In the case of prepayment, points are first awarded, and if the view rate of the advertiser's site falls below a threshold, at least a portion of the awarded points is deleted. This can induce service users 2 to view the advertiser's site.

[0034] [Embodiment] Next, an embodiment for implementing the above-described business model will be described. In this embodiment, the service provider 1 in Fig. 1 is a school, which is an organization that provides educational services.

[0035] 2, the point management system 11 according to this embodiment includes a server device 12, an operations manager terminal 13, a school terminal 14, and a parent terminal (corresponding to a terminal device) 15. The operations manager terminal 13, the school terminal 14, and the parent terminal 15 are connectable to the server device 12 via a network 16 such as the Internet.

[0036] Here, the school terminal 14 is provided in a school 200. There may be one or more schools 200 provided with the school terminal 14. Furthermore, there may be one or more school terminals 14 provided in one school 200. The school 200 may be an elementary school, a junior high school, or the like, and may be public or private.

[0037] Furthermore, guardian terminal 15 is a terminal device such as a smartphone or tablet terminal owned by guardians (parents) of children or students who commute to school 200. There may be one or more guardian terminals 15 for each student. Children or students who commute to school 200 will be referred to simply as "children." Children are those who use the educational services provided by school 200, correspond to the service users described above, and are included in service user side 2 in FIG. 1. Furthermore, guardians (parents) of children correspond to related parties of the service users, and are included in service user side 2.

[0038] The server device 12 is a server that provides a point-granting service in which the operations manager 3 grants points that can be exchanged for goods to the school 200. The server device 12 is configured by a computer equipped with a CPU, ROM, RAM, a hard disk, etc. The server device 12 may also be a cloud server provided on a cloud.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 3, the server device 12 includes a control unit 21, a database unit (corresponding to a storage unit) 22, a program storage unit 23, and an external communication unit 24.

[0040] The control unit 21 controls the overall operation of the server device 12. The control unit 21 is configured to include a CPU and the like. The control unit 21 includes a user management unit 31, an advertisement management unit 32, an action management unit 33, and a point management unit 34. Each unit of the control unit 21 is configured by the CPU executing a program stored in the program storage unit 23.

[0041] The user management unit 31 performs processing for user registration for the point-granting service described above. Specifically, in the processing for user registration, the user management unit 31 associates a child ID, a grade ID, and a class ID, and stores them in a child management table 55 of the database unit 22, which will be described later. The user management unit 31 also associates a guardian ID, a guardian's generation, the guardian's relationship to the child, a terminal ID, a terminal name, a child ID, a grade ID, and a class ID, and stores them in a guardian management table 56 of the database unit 22, which will be described later.

[0042] Here, the guardian ID is information for uniquely identifying each guardian. The terminal ID is information for uniquely identifying each guardian terminal 15. The grade ID is information for uniquely identifying each grade in the school 200. The class ID is information for uniquely identifying each class in the grade. The child ID is information for uniquely identifying a child.

[0043] The user management unit 31 can register a plurality of parent terminals 15 (parent ID, terminal ID) in association with one child (child ID).

[0044] The advertisement management unit 32 performs administrative processing related to the management of advertisements of the advertiser 5 that are posted in a dedicated application used in the parent terminal 15. Specifically, the advertisement management unit 32 delivers advertisements to the parent terminal 15, etc.

[0045] The action management unit 33 performs management processing related to actions associated with browsing of an advertiser site for an advertisement with a deferred payment method for points and an advertisement with an installment payment method, which will be described later. Specifically, when an action associated with browsing of an advertiser site for an advertisement with a deferred payment method or an installment payment method is completed, the action management unit 33 performs processing such as updating the action execution history table 62 in the database unit 22, which will be described later.

[0046] An example of an action associated with browsing an advertiser site for a deferred payment advertisement or an installment payment advertisement is the action of answering a questionnaire about the advertised product or the like.

[0047] The point management unit 34 performs processing such as granting points to the school 200 in the point granting service. The point management unit 34 includes a point granting unit 41 and a point exchange unit 42. Each unit of the point management unit 34 is configured by the CPU executing a point management program stored in the program storage unit 23.

[0048] For advertisements where the payment method of points is deferred, the point granting section 41 grants points generated by a guardian browsing an advertiser site on a guardian terminal 15 to a school 200 attended by the guardian's child when the guardian performs a predetermined action associated with browsing the advertiser site after browsing the advertiser site.

[0049] For advertisements where the payment method for points is installment payments, the point allocating unit 41 allocates a portion of the points generated by browsing the advertiser site when the guardian browses the advertiser site on the guardian terminal 15 to the school 200 attended by the guardian's child. Then, when the guardian performs a predetermined action associated with browsing the advertiser site after browsing the advertiser site, the point allocating unit 41 deducts the points already allocated at the time of browsing the advertiser site from the points generated by browsing the advertiser site and allocates the remaining points to the school 200 attended by the guardian's child.

[0050] In the case of advertisements where the payment method for points is deferred payment or installment payment, viewing the advertiser's site corresponds to the first action, and the action associated with viewing the advertiser's site corresponds to the second action. Here, there may be multiple actions associated with viewing one advertiser's site.

[0051] For an advertisement in which points are paid in advance, the point granting unit 41 grants the points to the school 200 to which the advertisement is distributed at the start of the distribution period of the advertisement. The school 200 to which the prepaid advertisement is distributed is a school 200 in the distribution area of ​​the advertisement in which points are paid in advance. If the viewing rate of the advertiser site of the advertisement during the distribution period of the advertisement is less than a threshold, the point granting unit 41 deletes at least a part of the points granted to the school 200 in accordance with the viewing rate.

[0052] In the case of an advertisement where points are paid in advance, viewing the advertiser's website corresponds to the predetermined action. The advertisement distribution period corresponds to the predetermined period, and the rate at which the advertiser's website is viewed corresponds to the rate at which the predetermined action is performed.

[0053] The point granting unit 41 associates the points granted to the school 200 with the school ID of the school 200 and stores them in a school management table 53 of the database unit 22, which will be described later. Here, the school ID is information for uniquely identifying each school 200 that uses the point granting service. The school ID is issued by the operations manager 3 to each school 200 that uses the point granting service.

[0054] When the point exchange unit 42 receives a point exchange request from the school 200 to exchange points for a desired item, it performs point exchange processing and ordering processing. The point exchange processing is a process of subtracting points corresponding to the requested item from the number of points held by the school 200 in the school management table 53, which will be described later. The ordering processing is a process of ordering the item from the supporting company 4.

[0055] The database unit 22 stores an advertisement management table 51, a region management table 52, a school management table 53, a class management table 54, a child management table 55, a guardian management table 56, a payment method table 57, an action table 58, a combination table 59, a prepaid advertisement viewing history table 60, an installment / postpaid advertisement viewing history table 61, an action execution history table 62, and an item table 63. The database unit 22 is composed of a hard disk or the like.

[0056] As shown in FIG. 4, the advertisement management table 51 is a table that associates advertisement IDs, advertisement image data, advertisement titles, distribution areas, distribution periods, advertiser site information, point unit prices, and payment method IDs.

[0057] The advertisement ID is information for uniquely identifying each advertisement registered in the server device 12. One advertiser 5 may register multiple types of advertisements.

[0058] The advertisement image data is image data of an advertisement image. The advertisement image data includes advertisement image data to be displayed in a banner advertisement area 92 (to be described later) and advertisement image data to be displayed in an advertisement area 97 on any of a postpaid advertisement list screen 96, an installment payment advertisement list screen 116, and a prepaid advertisement list screen 131 (to be described later).

[0059] The advertisement title is the title given to the advertisement. The distribution area indicates the area where the advertisement will be distributed. The distribution period indicates the period during which the advertisement will be distributed. The advertiser site information is the URL of an external advertiser site, such as the homepage of the advertiser 5 company.

[0060] For ads with deferred payment and installment payment methods, the point unit price is the number of points earned by a single visit to the advertiser's site and the completion of an action associated with visiting the advertiser's site. As will be described later, for installment payment ads, a portion of the points in the point unit price are awarded by visiting the advertiser's site before the action associated with visiting the advertiser's site is performed. For prepaid ads, the point unit price is the number of points awarded to the school 200 to which the ad is delivered at the start of the delivery period of the ad.

[0061] The payment method ID is information for uniquely identifying the point payment method (prepayment, installment payment, or deferred payment). A point payment method is set for each advertisement.

[0062] The URL stored in the advertisement management table 51 as the advertiser site information may be the URL of a flyer image. Furthermore, the flyer image may be stored in the server device 12.

[0063] As shown in FIG. 5, the area management table 52 is a table that associates areas with the school IDs of the schools 200 located in each area.

[0064] The school management table 53 is a table that associates school IDs, school names, the number of points held, and payment method IDs, as shown in Fig. 6. The number of points held is the number of points currently held by each school 200.

[0065] The payment method ID associated with each school ID in the school management table 53 indicates the payment method set for each school 200. Advertisements set with the same payment method as the payment method of the school 200 are delivered to the parent terminals 15 of the parents of children at each school 200. For example, an advertisement in which the point payment method is set to prepayment is delivered to the parent terminals 15 of the parents of children at the school 200 in which prepayment is set.

[0066] The class management table 54 is a table that associates grade IDs, class IDs, class names, number of students, and school IDs, as shown in Fig. 7. The number of students is the number of students in each class.

[0067] As shown in FIG. 8, the child management table 55 is a table that associates a child ID, a grade ID, and a class ID.

[0068] 9, the guardian management table 56 is a table that associates guardian IDs, guardian age groups, relationship to children, terminal IDs, terminal names, child IDs, grade IDs, and class IDs. The guardian age groups and relationship to children are entered in the guardian terminal 15 when the guardian terminal 15 is registered in the server device 12. The terminal name of the guardian terminal 15 is acquired from the guardian terminal 15 when the guardian terminal 15 is registered in the server device 12. The terminal name can be information such as the model name held by the guardian terminal 15.

[0069] As shown in FIG. 10, the payment method table 57 is a table that associates payment method IDs with point payment methods (prepayment, installment payment, deferred payment).

[0070] As shown in FIG. 11, the action table 58 is a table that associates action IDs, action image data, action titles, and action contents.

[0071] The action ID is information for uniquely identifying an action performed after viewing an advertiser's site for ads where the point payment method is deferred payment or installment payment. The action image data is image data of an action image, which is an image showing an action. The action title is the title given to the action. The action content indicates the content of the action. For example, if the action is answering a questionnaire, the action content includes the questionnaire question and answer options.

[0072] As shown in FIG. 12, the combination table 59 is a table that associates a combination ID, a company ID, an advertisement ID, an action ID, and a payment method ID.

[0073] The combination ID is information for uniquely identifying the combination of an advertisement and an action taken after viewing the advertiser's site for an advertisement that allows deferred payment of points or an advertisement that allows installment payment. The company ID is information for uniquely identifying the company that is the advertiser 5.

[0074] The behavior ID associated with each advertisement ID in the combination table 59 indicates the behavior associated with the viewing of the advertiser site of the advertisement indicated by the advertisement ID. As mentioned above, there may be multiple behaviors associated with the viewing of one advertiser site.

[0075] The payment method ID associated with each advertisement ID in the combination table 59 is the same as the payment method ID associated with each advertisement ID in the advertisement management table 51 described above.

[0076] The prepaid advertisement viewing history table 60 is a table that registers the viewing history of advertiser sites for prepaid advertisements by the parent / guardian terminal 15. As shown in Fig. 13, the prepaid advertisement viewing history table 60 is a table that associates the viewing date and time when the advertiser site was viewed by the parent / guardian terminal 15, advertiser site information for the advertiser site, the terminal ID of the parent / guardian terminal 15 that viewed the advertiser site, the child ID associated with the terminal ID, and the school ID of the school 200 attended by the child with the child ID.

[0077] The installment payment / deferred payment advertisement viewing history table 61 is a table that registers the viewing history of advertiser sites for installment payment advertisements and deferred payment advertisements by the parent / guardian terminal 15. As shown in Fig. 14, the installment payment / deferred payment advertisement viewing history table 61 is a table that associates the viewing date and time when the advertiser site was viewed by the parent / guardian terminal 15, advertiser site information for the advertiser site, the terminal ID of the parent / guardian terminal 15 that viewed the advertiser site, the child ID associated with the terminal ID, the school ID of the school 200 attended by the child of the child ID, the number of times the advertiser site was viewed by the parent / guardian terminal 15, and the number of points earned by the parent / guardian terminal 15 viewing the advertiser site and completing an action.

[0078] Here, in the case of an installment payment advertisement, before the action after viewing the advertiser's site is completed, the points awarded for viewing the advertiser's site are stored in the installment payment / deferred payment advertisement viewing history table 61 as the number of earned points.

[0079] The action execution history table 62 is a table that registers the history of actions associated with browsing of advertiser sites for installment payment advertisements and deferred payment advertisements by the parent / guardian terminal 15. As shown in Fig. 15, the action execution history table 62 is a table that associates the execution date and time that the action was performed, the action ID of the performed action, the terminal ID of the parent / guardian terminal 15 on which the action was performed, the child ID associated with the terminal ID, and the school ID of the school 200 attended by the child of the child ID.

[0080] As shown in FIG. 16, the item table 63 is a table that associates item names, item image data, and required points.

[0081] The item name is the name of the item that can be exchanged for points in the point-granting service. The item image data is image data of a photo of each item. The required number of points is the number of points required to exchange each item for points. The required number of points for each item is set in advance according to the price of each item, etc.

[0082] The program storage unit 23 stores various programs executed by the CPU of the server device 12. The program storage unit 23 is configured by a hard disk or the like.

[0083] The database unit 22 and the program storage unit 23 may be configured by different storage media such as hard disks, or may be provided in the same storage medium.

[0084] The external communication unit 24 performs communication processing with external devices via the network 16 .

[0085] The operations manager terminal 13 is a terminal device used by the operations manager 3 to perform operations related to the point-granting service. The operations manager terminal 13 is configured by a computer equipped with a CPU, ROM, RAM, hard disk, a display unit consisting of an LCD panel, etc., and an input unit having a keyboard, mouse, etc. A browser for accessing the server device 12 is installed on the operations manager terminal 13.

[0086] The school terminal 14 is a terminal device used by teachers of the school 200 to perform operations related to the point-granting service. The school terminal 14 is configured by a computer similar to the operations manager terminal 13. A browser for accessing the server device 12 is installed on the school terminal 14.

[0087] The parent terminal 15 is a terminal device that allows a parent of a child to perform operations related to the point-granting service. As described above, the parent terminal 15 is a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or the like.

[0088] As shown in FIG. 17, the parent terminal 15 includes a control unit 71, a program storage unit 72, an application information storage unit 73, a display unit 74, an input unit 75, and an external communication unit .

[0089] The control unit 71 controls the overall operation of the parent / guardian terminal 15. The control unit 71 is configured to include a CPU and the like. The control unit 71 includes a display control unit 81, an advertisement processing unit 82, and an action processing unit 83. Each unit of the control unit 71 is configured by the CPU executing a dedicated application program for using the point-granting service, which is stored in the program storage unit 72.

[0090] The display control unit 81 controls the display unit 74 to display various screens of the advertiser site and the like.

[0091] The advertisement processing unit 82 performs processing such as transmitting an advertiser site information request to the server device 12 to request advertiser site information in order to view the advertiser site.

[0092] The behavior processing unit 83 performs processing such as determining whether or not the behavior associated with browsing the advertiser site for the deferred payment advertisement and the installment payment advertisement has been completed.

[0093] Here, the control unit 71 recognizes that an advertiser site is being viewed when an operation to view the advertiser site is performed on the parent / guardian terminal 15. In the control unit 71, the behavior processing unit 83 also recognizes that an action associated with viewing an advertiser site for a deferred payment advertisement and an installment payment advertisement has been performed when an operation is performed on the parent / guardian terminal 15. The control unit 71 functions as a recognition unit that recognizes the action of viewing an advertiser site and the actions associated with viewing an advertiser site.

[0094] The program storage unit 72 stores various programs such as a dedicated application program for using the point-granting service. The program storage unit 72 is configured with a flash memory or the like. The dedicated application program for using the point-granting service can be obtained, for example, from any app store server via the network 16.

[0095] The application information storage unit 73 stores the terminal ID of the parent / guardian terminal 15, the child ID of the child associated with the parent / guardian terminal 15, the school ID of the school 200 attended by the child, etc. The application information storage unit 73 is configured by a flash memory or the like.

[0096] The program storage unit 72 and the application information storage unit 73 may be configured by different storage media such as flash memories, or may be provided in the same storage medium.

[0097] The display unit 74 displays various screens and is configured with a liquid crystal display panel or the like.

[0098] The input unit 75 accepts various input operations by the operator of the parent / guardian terminal 15. The input unit 75 includes a touch panel (not shown). The touch panel is disposed over the display unit 74. The touch panel detects contact operations by the operator.

[0099] The external communication unit 76 performs communication processing with external devices via the network 16 .

[0100] Next, the operation of the point management system 11 when browsing an advertiser site for a postpaid advertisement will be described.

[0101] 18 is a diagram showing a home screen 91 of a dedicated application for using the point-granting service on the parent / guardian terminal 15. A banner advertisement area 92 is provided on the home screen 91. The banner advertisement area 92 is always provided on the display screen of the application, not just on the home screen 91.

[0102] The application on the parent / guardian terminal 15 can display a postpaid advertisement list screen 96 shown in Fig. 19. The postpaid advertisement list screen 96 is a screen for displaying a list of postpaid advertisements currently being distributed in the area where the school 200 is located, on the parent / guardian terminal 15 of a parent of a child attending the school 200 where the point payment method is postpaid.

[0103] The postpaid advertisement list screen 96 displays an advertisement area 97 and an action point button 98. The postpaid advertisement list screen 96 also has a viewed advertisement display field 99.

[0104] In the banner advertising area 92 and the advertising area 97, advertising images are displayed based on advertising image data distributed by the advertising management unit 32 of the server device 12. In addition, the postpaid advertising list screen 96 displays advertising titles corresponding to the advertising area 97. The advertising management unit 32 distributes the advertising title and advertising ID along with the advertising image data of each advertisement to the parent terminal 15. The advertising image in the banner advertising area 92 is changed every time the application display screen is changed. In the parent terminal 15 of a parent of a child attending a school 200 where points are paid by postpaid payment, the advertising image of the postpaid advertisement currently being distributed to the area where the school 200 is located is displayed in the banner advertising area 92.

[0105] The action point button 98 is a button for displaying the later-paid action execution screen 106. The viewed advertisement display field 99 is a section for displaying the advertisement area 97 of the advertisement of the advertiser site that has been viewed on the parent terminal 15 that is displaying the later-paid advertisement list screen 96.

[0106] 20, when an operation to view an advertisement is performed by pressing either the banner advertisement area 92 or the advertisement area 97 on the postpaid advertisement list screen 96, in step S12, the advertisement processing unit 82 of the parent terminal 15 transmits an advertiser site information request to the server device 12. The advertiser site information request includes the advertisement ID of the advertisement displayed in the pressed banner advertisement area 92 or advertisement area 97, and the terminal ID of the parent terminal 15.

[0107] When the server device 12 receives the advertiser site information request, in step S13, the advertising management unit 32 refers to the advertising management table 51 and the installment / post-payment advertisement viewing history table 61 to determine whether the number of times the requested advertiser site has been viewed by the parent terminal 15 that sent the advertiser site information request is greater than or equal to the upper limit for points to be earned.

[0108] The upper limit of points can be set in advance as the upper limit of the number of times points can be earned on one advertiser site from one parent terminal 15. The upper limit of points can be set to one or more times.

[0109] If it is determined that the number of times the page has been viewed is equal to or greater than the upper limit of the number of times points can be earned (step S13: YES), the advertisement management unit 32 transmits advertiser site information of the requested advertiser site to the parent terminal 15 in step S14.

[0110] When the parent terminal 15 receives the advertiser site information, in step S15, the display control unit 81 displays the advertiser site on the display unit 74 based on the advertiser site information, thereby completing the series of processes.

[0111] If the advertisement management unit 32 determines in step S13 that the number of views is less than the upper limit of points that can be earned (step S13: NO), in step S16 the point granting unit 41 updates the number of views of the requested advertiser site by the parent terminal 15 that sent the advertiser site information request. Specifically, the point granting unit 41 adds "1" to the number of views of the requested advertiser site by the parent terminal 15 that sent the advertiser site information request in the installment payment / deferred payment advertisement viewing history table 61.

[0112] Next, in step S17, the advertisement management unit 32 transmits to the parent terminal 15 advertiser site information of the requested advertiser site and performed action information including the action title of the action associated with the browsing of the advertiser site.

[0113] When the parent terminal 15 receives the advertiser site information and the action information, in step S18, the display control unit 81 displays a message on the display unit 74 via a pop-up screen 101, as shown in Figure 21, informing the user of the action that should be taken to earn points after viewing the advertiser site.

[0114] 21 is a diagram illustrating a case where an operation for viewing an advertisement is performed by pressing the banner advertisement area 92 on the home screen 91, and a pop-up screen 101 is displayed on the home screen 91. When an operation for viewing an advertisement is performed by pressing the banner advertisement area 92 or the advertisement area 97 on the deferred payment advertisement list screen 96, the pop-up screen 101 is displayed on the deferred payment advertisement list screen 96.

[0115] Returning to Fig. 20, in step S19, the display control unit 81 causes the advertiser site to be displayed on the display unit 74 based on the advertiser site information, thereby completing the series of processes.

[0116] Next, the operation of the point management system 11 when an action associated with browsing an advertiser site for a postpaid advertisement is performed will be described.

[0117] 22, when the action points button 98 on the postpaid advertisement list screen 96 is pressed as an operation to display an action associated with browsing an advertiser site for a postpaid advertisement, in step S22, the action processing unit 83 of the parent / guardian terminal 15 transmits an action information acquisition request to the server device 12. The action information acquisition request includes the terminal ID of the parent / guardian terminal 15.

[0118] When the server device 12 receives the request to acquire activity information, in step S23, the activity management unit 33 transmits the activity information to the parent / guardian terminal 15. The activity information includes the activity ID, activity title, activity image data, activity content of the activity associated with the browsing of the advertiser site that has been browsed on the parent / guardian terminal 15, and information indicating whether the activity has been performed (whether it has been registered in the activity performance history table 62).

[0119] When the parent terminal 15 receives the action information, in step S24, the display control unit 81 causes the display unit 74 to display the action associated with the viewing of the advertiser site of the postpaid advertisement that has been viewed on the parent terminal 15. Specifically, the display control unit 81 causes the display unit 74 to display a postpaid action execution screen 106 shown in FIG.

[0120] The postpaid action execution screen 106 displays an action image area 107. The postpaid action execution screen 106 also has a completed action display field 108.

[0121] The action image area 107 displays an action image based on the action image data. The postpaid action execution screen 106 also displays an action title corresponding to the action image area 107. The performed action display field 108 is a section that displays the action image area 107 of the performed action among the actions associated with the viewing of the postpaid advertiser site that has been viewed on the parent terminal 15.

[0122] When an operation of pressing the unperformed action image area 107 on the deferred payment action execution screen 106 is performed, the display control unit 81 displays the action content on a pop-up screen 109, as shown in Fig. 24. In the example of Fig. 24, a questionnaire question and options are displayed. Also, the pop-up screen 109 displays a send button 110 for sending the answers to the questionnaire.

[0123] Returning to Fig. 22, in step S25, the behavior processing unit 83 determines whether the behavior has been completed (performed). In the example of Fig. 24, when the operation of pressing the send button 110 is performed, the behavior processing unit 83 determines that the behavior has been completed. If it is determined that the behavior has not been completed (step S25: NO), the behavior processing unit 83 repeats step S25.

[0124] If it is determined that the action has been completed (step S25: YES), in step S26, the action processing unit 83 transmits an action completion notification to the server device 12. The action completion notification includes the action ID and terminal ID of the completed action.

[0125] When the server device 12 receives the activity completion notification, in step S27, the activity management unit 33 updates the activity performance history table 62. Specifically, the activity management unit 33 associates the activity ID received in the activity completion notification, the date and time the activity was performed, the terminal ID received in the activity completion notification, the child ID associated with the terminal ID, and the school ID of the school 200 attended by the child with the child ID, and stores these in the activity performance history table 62.

[0126] Next, in step S28, the action management unit 33 determines whether or not the completion of this action has completed all actions associated with browsing of the advertiser site of the deferred payment advertisement that has been viewed on the parent / guardian terminal 15. The action management unit 33 can determine whether or not all actions have been completed by referring to the combination table 59, the installment payment / deferred payment advertisement viewing history table 61, and the action execution history table 62.

[0127] In addition, if there are multiple postpaid advertisements for which the advertiser's site has already been viewed on the parent / guardian terminal 15 and at least one of the actions associated with viewing the advertiser's site for the postpaid advertisement has not been completed, the action management unit 33 will determine in step S28 that all actions have been completed if there is a postpaid advertisement among those multiple postpaid advertisements for which all actions associated with viewing the advertiser's site have been completed by completing the current action.

[0128] If it is determined that all actions have not been completed (step S28: NO), the action management unit 33 transmits a notification that the conditions have not been met to the parent terminal 15 in step S29.

[0129] When the parent terminal 15 receives the notification that the condition has not been achieved, in step S30, the display control unit 81 displays a message notifying completion of the action on the display unit 74 by using a pop-up screen 111, as shown in Fig. 25. This completes the series of processes.

[0130] If it is determined in step S28 that all actions have been completed (step S28: YES), in step S31, the point assigning unit 41 assigns points to the school 200 attended by the child associated with the parent terminal 15 that sent the action completion notification.

[0131] Specifically, the point allocating unit 41 acquires the point unit price (number of points) for the deferred payment advertisement for which all actions associated with viewing the advertiser site have been completed with the completion of this action from the advertisement management table 51. Next, the point allocating unit 41 adds the number of points equivalent to the acquired point unit price to the number of points held in the school management table 53 corresponding to the school ID of the school 200 to which points are to be allocated.

[0132] Next, in step S32, the point allocating unit 41 updates the number of points acquired by browsing the advertiser site of the deferred payment advertisement and performing the action, now that all actions associated with browsing the advertiser site have been completed with the completion of this action. Specifically, the point allocating unit 41 adds the number of points awarded to the school 200 in the above-mentioned step S31 to the number of points acquired corresponding to the browsing of the advertiser site of the above-mentioned deferred payment advertisement in the installment payment / deferred payment advertisement viewing history table 61.

[0133] Next, in step S33, the point granting unit 41 transmits a point acquisition notification to the parent / guardian terminal 15. The point acquisition notification includes the number of points granted to the school 200 in the above-mentioned step S31 as the number of points acquired this time.

[0134] When the parent terminal 15 receives the point acquisition notification, in step S34, the display control unit 81 causes the display unit 74 to display a message notifying the completion of the action by using a pop-up screen 111, as shown in FIG. 25 described above.

[0135] Next, in step S35, the display control unit 81 displays the number of points acquired this time on the display unit 74 using a pop-up screen 112, as shown in Fig. 26. This completes the series of processes.

[0136] Next, the operation of the point management system 11 when browsing an advertiser site for an installment payment advertisement will be described.

[0137] 27 is a diagram showing an installment payment advertisement list screen 116, which is used on the parent terminal 15 of a parent of a child attending an installment payment school 200 to display a list of installment payment advertisements currently being distributed in the area where the school 200 is located. Similar to the deferred payment advertisement list screen 96 described above, the installment payment advertisement list screen 116 displays an advertisement area 97 and an action point button 98, and also has a viewed advertisement display column 99.

[0138] In step S41 of Figure 28, when an operation to view an advertisement is performed by pressing either the banner advertisement area 92 or the advertisement area 97 of the installment advertisement list screen 116, in step S42, the advertisement processing unit 82 of the parent terminal 15 sends a request for advertiser site information to the server device 12.

[0139] Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S43. The processes of steps S43 to S45 are the same as the processes of steps S13 to S15 in FIG.

[0140] In step S43, if the advertising management unit 32 determines that the number of views is less than the upper limit for points to be earned (step S43: NO), in step S46, the point allocating unit 41 allocates points to the school 200 attended by the child associated with the parent terminal 15 that sent the advertiser site information request.

[0141] Specifically, the point allocating unit 41 acquires the point unit price (number of points) of the installment payment advertisement for which the advertiser site information has been requested from the advertisement management table 51. Next, the point allocating unit 41 adds a part of the number of points equivalent to the acquired point unit price to the number of points held in the school management table 53 corresponding to the school ID of the school 200 to which points are to be allocated.

[0142] As a result, a portion of the point unit price of the installment payment advertisement is awarded as points for viewing the advertiser's site. For example, a preset percentage of the point unit price of the installment payment advertisement is awarded as points for viewing the advertiser's site.

[0143] Next, in step S47, the point allocating unit 41 updates the number of times the requested advertiser site has been viewed by the parent terminal 15 that sent the advertiser site information request, and the number of points earned corresponding to the parent terminal 15 viewing the advertiser site.

[0144] Specifically, the point allocating unit 41 adds "1" to the number of times the requested advertiser site has been viewed by the parent terminal 15 that sent the advertiser site information request in the installment payment / deferred payment advertisement viewing history table 61. The point allocating unit 41 also adds the number of points granted to the school 200 in step S46 described above to the number of earned points corresponding to the viewing of the advertiser site by the parent terminal 15.

[0145] Next, in step S48, the advertising management unit 32 transmits to the parent terminal 15 acquired point information indicating the number of acquired points, which is the number of points awarded to the school 200 in the above-mentioned step S46, advertiser site information, and implementation action information.

[0146] When the parent terminal 15 receives the earned point information, advertiser site information, and performed action information, in step S49, the display control unit 81 causes the display unit 74 to display a pop-up screen 117 showing the number of earned points and a message informing the user of the actions that should be performed to earn more points after viewing the advertiser site, as shown in FIG. 29.

[0147] 29 is a diagram showing a case where an operation of pressing banner advertisement area 92 on home screen 91 is performed as an operation of viewing an advertisement, and pop-up screen 117 is displayed on home screen 91. When an operation of pressing banner advertisement area 92 or advertisement area 97 on installment payment advertisement list screen 116 is performed as an operation of viewing an advertisement, pop-up screen 117 is displayed on installment payment advertisement list screen 116.

[0148] Returning to Fig. 28, in step S50, the display control unit 81 causes the advertiser site to be displayed on the display unit 74 based on the advertiser site information, thereby completing the series of processes.

[0149] Next, we will explain the operation of the point management system 11 when performing an action associated with viewing an advertiser site for an installment payment advertisement. As with the operation when performing an action associated with viewing an advertiser site for a deferred payment advertisement described above, we will explain this with reference to the sequence diagram in Fig. 22. We will omit or simplify the explanation of processes that are the same as or equivalent to those described in the explanation of the operation when performing an action associated with viewing an advertiser site for a deferred payment advertisement described above.

[0150] In step S21 of Figure 22, when the action points button 98 on the installment payment advertisement list screen 116 is pressed as an operation to display the action associated with viewing the advertiser site of the installment payment advertisement, in step S22, the action processing unit 83 of the parent terminal 15 sends a request to obtain action information to the server device 12.

[0151] When the server device 12 receives the activity information acquisition request, the activity management unit 33 transmits the activity information to the parent terminal 15 in step S23.

[0152] When the parent / guardian terminal 15 receives the action information, in step S24, the display control unit 81 causes the display unit 74 to display the action associated with the viewing of the advertiser site of the installment payment advertisement that has been viewed on the parent / guardian terminal 15. Specifically, the display control unit 81 causes the display unit 74 to display an installment payment action execution screen 121 shown in Fig. 30. The installment payment action execution screen 121 displays an action image area 107 and has a completed action display field 108, similar to the deferred payment action execution screen 106 described above.

[0153] When an operation of pressing the unperformed action image area 107 on the installment payment action execution screen 121 is performed, the display control unit 81 displays the action content on a pop-up screen 122, as shown in Fig. 31. In the example of Fig. 31, a questionnaire question and options are displayed. Also, the pop-up screen 122 displays a send button 123 for sending the answers to the questionnaire.

[0154] Returning to Fig. 22, in step S25, the behavior processing unit 83 determines whether the behavior has been completed (performed). In the example of Fig. 31, when the operation of pressing the send button 123 is performed, the behavior processing unit 83 determines that the behavior has been completed. If it is determined that the behavior has not been completed (step S25: NO), the behavior processing unit 83 repeats step S25.

[0155] If it is determined that the action has been completed (step S25: YES), the action processing unit 83 transmits an action completion notification to the server device 12 in step S26.

[0156] When the server device 12 receives the action completion notification, the action management unit 33 updates the action execution history table 62 in step S27.

[0157] Next, in step S28, the action management unit 33 determines whether or not the completion of this action has completed all actions associated with the viewing of the advertiser site of the installment payment advertisement that has been viewed on the parent terminal 15.

[0158] If it is determined that all actions have not been completed (step S28: NO), the action management unit 33 transmits a notification that the conditions have not been met to the parent terminal 15 in step S29.

[0159] When the parent terminal 15 receives the notification that the condition has not been achieved, in step S30, the display control unit 81 displays a message notifying completion of the action on the display unit 74 by using a pop-up screen 126, as shown in Fig. 32. This completes the series of processes.

[0160] If it is determined in step S28 that all actions have been completed (step S28: YES), in step S31, the point assigning unit 41 assigns points to the school 200 attended by the child associated with the parent terminal 15 that sent the action completion notification.

[0161] Specifically, the point allocating unit 41 acquires the point unit price (number of points) for the installment payment advertisement for which all actions associated with viewing the advertiser site have been completed with the completion of this action from the advertisement management table 51. Next, the point allocating unit 41 adds the number of points obtained by subtracting the number of points already allocated when the advertiser site was viewed from the number of points for the acquired point unit price to the number of points held in the school management table 53 corresponding to the school ID of the school 200 to which points are to be allocated.

[0162] Next, in step S32, the point allocating unit 41 updates the number of points acquired by viewing the advertiser site of the installment payment advertisement and performing the action, for which all actions associated with the viewing of the advertiser site have been completed with the completion of this action. Specifically, the point allocating unit 41 adds the number of points awarded to the school 200 in the above-mentioned step S31 to the number of points acquired corresponding to the viewing of the advertiser site of the above-mentioned installment payment advertisement in the installment payment / deferred payment advertisement viewing history table 61.

[0163] Next, in step S33, the point giving unit 41 transmits a point acquisition notification to the parent terminal 15.

[0164] When the parent terminal 15 receives the point acquisition notification, in step S34, the display control unit 81 causes the display unit 74 to display a message notifying the completion of the action on the pop-up screen 126, as shown in FIG. 32 above.

[0165] Next, in step S35, the display control unit 81 displays the current number of acquired points on the display unit 74 using a pop-up screen 127, as shown in Fig. 33. This completes the series of processes.

[0166] Next, a description will be given of the process of giving points to a prepaid school 200 in the point management system 11. Here, the process for one advertisement in one school 200 will be described.

[0167] In step S61 of Figure 34, when the distribution of a prepaid advertisement begins with the start of the distribution period of the prepaid advertisement to be distributed to the area where a prepaid school 200 is located, in step S62, the point allocating unit 41 of the server device 12 awards points to the school 200.

[0168] Specifically, the point allocating unit 41 acquires the point unit price (number of points) of the above prepaid advertisement from the advertisement management table 51. Next, the point allocating unit 41 adds the number of points equivalent to the acquired point unit price to the number of points held in the school management table 53 corresponding to the school ID of the school 200 to which points are to be allocated.

[0169] Here, when an operation to display a list of advertisements is performed on the parent terminal 15 of a parent of a child attending the prepaid school 200, the advertisement management unit 32 of the server device 12 transmits advertisement information including the advertisement ID, advertisement title, advertisement image data, distribution period, etc. to the parent terminal 15.

[0170] When the parent terminal 15 receives the advertisement information, the display control unit 81 displays a prepaid advertisement list screen 131 shown in Fig. 35 on the display unit 74 based on the advertisement information. The prepaid advertisement list screen 131 is a screen that displays a list of prepaid advertisements currently being distributed in the area where the prepaid school 200 is located on the parent terminal 15 of the parent of a child attending the prepaid school 200.

[0171] The prepaid advertisement list screen 131 displays an advertisement area 97 and has a viewed advertisement display field 99, similar to the postpaid advertisement list screen 96 described above.

[0172] Additionally, the prepaid advertisement list screen 131 displays a message 132 urging parents to view unviewed advertisements by a deadline, and a deadline display field 133 that displays the deadline. The deadline displayed in the deadline display field 133 is the end date of the advertisement distribution period. The message 132 and the deadline display field 133 notify the parents that they need to view the advertiser site by the deadline.

[0173] When an operation to view a prepaid advertisement is performed by pressing either the banner advertisement area 92 or the advertisement area 97 on the prepaid advertisement list screen 131, the advertiser site of the prepaid advertisement displayed in the pressed banner advertisement area 92 or advertisement area 97 is displayed on the display unit 74. In addition, the browsing history of the advertiser site is registered in the prepaid advertisement browsing history table 60.

[0174] 34, in step S63, the point allocating unit 41 determines whether the distribution period of the above-mentioned prepaid advertisement has ended. If it is determined that the distribution period has not ended (step S63: NO), the point allocating unit 41 repeats step S63.

[0175] If it is determined that the distribution period has ended (step S63: YES), then in step S64, the point giving unit 41 determines whether the viewing rate of the prepaid advertisement is equal to or greater than a threshold value.

[0176] Here, the viewing rate of the prepaid advertisement is the percentage of parent terminals 15 on which parents have viewed the advertiser site of the prepaid advertisement among all parent terminals 15 associated with the school 200. The threshold value of the viewing rate of the prepaid advertisement may be set as a common value for all prepaid advertisements, or may be set for each prepaid advertisement.

[0177] If it is determined that the browsing rate is less than the threshold value (step S64: NO), then in step S65, the point giving unit 41 deletes points according to the browsing rate from the points given to the school 200 in step S61.

[0178] Specifically, the point allocating unit 41 subtracts the number of points to be deleted according to the browsing rate from the number of points held in the school management table 53 corresponding to the school ID of the school 200 to which points were allocated in step S61. This completes the series of processes. Here, the system is set so that the lower the browsing rate, the more points are deleted.

[0179] If the point giving unit 41 determines that the viewing rate is equal to or greater than the threshold (step S64: YES), the points are not deleted and the series of processes ends.

[0180] Next, the operation of the point management system 11 when exchanging points held by the school 200 for goods will be described.

[0181] When the school 200 uses points, the school terminal 14 accesses a point use page in the point giving service provided by the server device 12 via a browser in response to an operation by a teacher.

[0182] As a result, a point use page 141 such as that shown in Fig. 36 is displayed on the display unit of the school terminal 14. The point use page 141 lists photos, names, and the number of points required for at least some of the items stored in the item table 63 of the server device 12. From this point use page 141, teachers at the school 200 can select the items they wish to exchange points for.

[0183] When a desired item is selected and an operation is performed to exchange points for that item, in step S71 of Figure 37, the school terminal 14 sends a point exchange request to the server device 12 to exchange the points for the selected item.

[0184] Next, in step S72, upon receiving the point exchange request, the point exchange unit 42 of the server device 12 performs a point exchange process. Specifically, the point exchange unit 42 subtracts the points corresponding to the requested item from the number of points held by the school 200 that sent the point exchange request in the school management table 53.

[0185] Next, in step S73, the point exchange unit 42 performs an ordering process for the requested item from the supporting company 4 that is the provider of the item, thereby completing a series of operations.

[0186] After the point exchange unit 42 has processed the order, the supporting company 4 delivers the ordered items to the school 200.

[0187] The school 200 may contact the operations manager 3 by e-mail, telephone, or the like to request that the school 200 specify an item and exchange the points for the item.

[0188] In this case, in response to an operation by an employee of the operations manager 3 who has received a call from the school 200, the operations manager terminal 13 accesses the server device 12 and instructs the server device 12 to carry out the process of exchanging the points of the school 200, which has been instructed to exchange the points for goods, for the specified goods.

[0189] In response to this, the point exchange unit 42 subtracts the points corresponding to the specified item from the number of points held by the school 200 that has been instructed to exchange points for the item in the school management table 53.

[0190] In addition, the operations manager 3 places an order for the items specified by the school 200 with the supporting company 4 by email, telephone, etc. After this, the supporting company 4 delivers the ordered items to the school 200.

[0191] As described above, in the point management system 11, for postpaid advertisements, the point allocating unit 41 allocates points, which are generated when a parent views an advertiser site on the parent terminal 15, to the school 200 attended by the parent's child when the parent performs a predetermined action associated with viewing the advertiser site after viewing the advertiser site. The point allocating unit 41 then associates the points allocated to the school 200 with the school ID of the school 200 and stores them in the school management table 53 of the database unit 22. In this way, by allocating points for performing an action after viewing the advertiser site, it is possible to guide the parent to perform the predetermined action.

[0192] Furthermore, for installment payment advertisements, when a guardian views the advertiser site on the guardian terminal 15, the point allocating unit 41 allocates a portion of the points generated by viewing the advertiser site to the school 200 attended by the guardian's child. Then, when the guardian performs a predetermined action associated with viewing the advertiser site after viewing the advertiser site, the point allocating unit 41 deducts the points already allocated at the time of viewing the advertiser site from the points generated by viewing the advertiser site and allocates the remaining points to the school 200 attended by the guardian's child. As a result, points are allocated for viewing the advertiser site, which can strengthen the motivation to view the advertiser site.

[0193] Furthermore, for prepaid advertisements, the point allocating unit 41 allocates points to the school 200 to which the advertisement is distributed at the start of the advertisement distribution period. The point allocating unit 41 then associates the points allocated to the school 200 with the school ID of the school 200 and stores them in the school management table 53 of the database unit 22. Furthermore, if the view rate of the advertiser site for the advertisement during the advertisement distribution period is less than a threshold, the point allocating unit 41 deletes at least a portion of the points allocated to the school 200 in accordance with the view rate. This requires the school 200 to view the advertiser site in order to prevent the points from decreasing, thereby encouraging parents to view the advertiser site. Furthermore, since points are paid in advance at the start of the advertisement distribution period, it is possible to meet the needs of the school 200 who want to use the points quickly.

[0194] Furthermore, in the point management system 11, points can be exchanged for goods, so the school 200 can use the points to purchase equipment. Therefore, the point management system 11 can support the financial resources of the school 200.

[0195] [Other embodiments] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the descriptions and drawings that form part of this disclosure should not be understood to limit the present invention. From this disclosure, various alternative embodiments, examples, and operating techniques will become apparent to those skilled in the art.

[0196] In the above-described embodiment, the service provider 1 is a school. However, the service provider 1 is not limited to this, and may be, for example, a hospital that provides medical services, a nursing care facility that provides nursing care services, a nursery school, a kindergarten, a company, a department within a company, a public fire station, a mutual aid organization such as a fire brigade, a health center, etc. Furthermore, schools that serve as the service provider 1 include elementary schools, junior high schools, high schools, universities, etc. The present invention is also applicable to cases where the service provider 1 is a variety of organizations that provide services.

[0197] In the above-described embodiment, the service provider 1 is a school and the service user 2 is a parent or guardian, but this is not limited to this, and the service user 2 may also be the school's children or students, graduates, or their families.

[0198] Furthermore, if the service provider 1 is a nursery school or kindergarten, the service users 2 may be children or their parents, graduates or their parents, or their families. If the service provider 1 is a hospital, the service users 2 may be patients, their caregivers, caregivers, those who have completed treatment, or their families. If the service provider 1 is a company or a department within a company, the service users 2 may include employees, full-time employees, temporary employees, shareholders, retirees, alumni, and their families. If the service provider 1 is a local government or other organization rooted in the community, such as a public fire station, health center, or mutual aid organization like a fire brigade, the service users 2 may be local residents, visitors, or their families.

[0199] In the above-described embodiment, answering a questionnaire is shown as an example of an action associated with viewing an advertiser site for a deferred payment advertisement or an installment payment advertisement. However, the action is not limited to this, and may also be a purchase of an advertised product, participation in a volunteer activity associated with a volunteer advertisement, etc.

[0200] In the above-described embodiment, when there are multiple actions associated with viewing an advertiser site for a deferred payment advertisement, points are awarded when all of those actions are completed. Furthermore, when there are multiple actions associated with viewing an advertiser site for an installment payment advertisement, when all of those actions are completed, the remaining points are awarded after deducting the points already awarded when viewing the advertiser site. However, points may be awarded when some of the multiple actions associated with viewing an advertiser site for a deferred payment advertisement are performed. That is, points may be awarded when at least one action associated with viewing an advertiser site for a deferred payment advertisement is performed. Furthermore, when some of the multiple actions associated with viewing an advertiser site for an installment payment advertisement are performed, the remaining points are awarded after deducting the points already awarded when viewing the advertiser site. That is, when at least one action associated with viewing an advertiser site for an installment payment advertisement is performed, the remaining points are awarded after deducting the points already awarded when viewing the advertiser site.

[0201] In the above-described embodiment, an example was shown in which points are awarded for a guardian's viewing of an advertiser's website (first action) and an action associated therewith (second action) when the point payment method is deferred payment or installment payment. However, this is not limited to this, and points may also be awarded for an action other than viewing an advertiser's website (first action) and an action associated therewith (second action). Furthermore, the actions (first action and second action) are not limited to being performed by a guardian, but may be performed by a service user or a person related to the service user.

[0202] When the point payment method is deferred payment or installment payment, points may not be generated when the first action is performed, but only the fact that the first action has been performed may be stored, and points may be generated and awarded when the second action is performed.

[0203] When the point payment method is deferred payment or installment payment, points may be awarded to the service provider when the first action is performed before the second action is performed. Even in this case, points are awarded by performing the first action associated with the second action, so it is possible to guide the service user or a person related to the service user to a predetermined action (second action).

[0204] In the above-described embodiment, an example was shown in which, in a case where the point payment method is prepayment, if the viewing rate of the advertiser site of the advertisement by guardians during the advertisement distribution period is below a threshold, at least a portion of the points granted to the school 200 is deleted in accordance with the viewing rate. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is sufficient if, in a case where the performance rate of a predetermined action by a service user or a person related to the service user within a predetermined period after points are granted to the service provider is below a threshold, at least a portion of the points granted to the service provider is deleted in accordance with the performance rate.

[0205] In the above-described embodiment, points are awarded to the service provider 1, but what is awarded is not limited to points, and may also be electronic money, crypto assets (virtual currency), goods, services, points in other point services, or predetermined rewards, etc., but is not limited to these.

[0206] In the above-described embodiment, points can be exchanged for goods, but this is not limiting, and points may be exchanged for services or points in other point services, which can increase the convenience of points.

[0207] As such, the present invention naturally includes various embodiments not described herein. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention is defined only by the invention-specifying matters according to the scope of the claims that are appropriate from the above description.

[0208] [Note] The present application discloses the following inventions.

[0209] (Appendix 1) A memory unit; a point granting unit that grants points generated when a service user or a person related to the service user performs a first action to a service provider when the service user or a person related to the service user performs at least one second action associated with the first action after the first action, and stores the granted points in the storage unit in association with information indicating the service provider; A point management system comprising:

[0210] (Appendix 2) The point management system described in Appendix 1 is characterized in that the point assignment unit assigns a portion of the points to the service provider in response to the first action being performed, and stores the assigned portion of the points in the memory unit in association with information indicating the service provider.

[0211] (Appendix 3) A memory unit; a point granting unit that grants points generated when a service user or a person related to the service user performs a first action to a service provider before at least one second action associated with the first action is performed by the service user or a person related to the service user after the first action, and that stores the granted points in the storage unit in association with information indicating the service provider; A point management system comprising:

[0212] (Appendix 4) The system includes a terminal device of a service user or a person related to the service user, and a server device connectable to the terminal device via a network, The server device A memory unit; a point granting unit that grants points generated by the terminal device recognizing a first action by the service user or a person related to the service user to a service provider when the terminal device recognizes at least one second action associated with the first action by the service user or a person related to the service user after the first action, and stores the granted points in the storage unit in association with information indicating the service provider; A point management system comprising:

[0213] (Appendix 5) The point management system described in Appendix 4 is characterized in that the point assignment unit assigns a portion of the points to the service provider when the terminal device recognizes the first action, and stores the assigned portion of the points in the memory unit in association with information indicating the service provider.

[0214] (Appendix 6) A server device that can be connected to a terminal device of a service user or a person related to the service user via a network, A memory unit; a point granting unit that grants points generated by the terminal device recognizing a first action by the service user or a person related to the service user to a service provider when the terminal device recognizes at least one second action associated with the first action by the service user or a person related to the service user after the first action, and stores the granted points in the storage unit in association with information indicating the service provider; A server device comprising:

[0215] (Appendix 7) The server device described in Appendix 6 is characterized in that the point assignment unit assigns a portion of the points to the service provider when the terminal device recognizes the first action, and stores the assigned portion of the points in the memory unit in association with information indicating the service provider.

[0216] (Appendix 8) A memory unit; a point granting unit that grants points to a service provider and stores the granted points in the storage unit in association with information indicating the service provider; A point management system characterized in that the point allocating unit deletes at least a portion of the points allocated to the service provider in accordance with the rate of implementation of a specified action by a service user or a person related to the service user within a specified period after the points are allocated to the service provider, if the rate of implementation is below a threshold.

[0217] (Appendix 9) The system includes a terminal device of a service user or a person related to the service user, and a server device connectable to the terminal device via a network, The server device A memory unit; a point granting unit that grants points to a service provider and stores the granted points in the storage unit in association with information indicating the service provider; A point management system characterized in that the point allocating unit deletes at least a portion of the points allocated to the service provider in accordance with the rate of implementation of a specified action by the service user or a person related to the service user recognized by the terminal device within a specified period after the points are allocated to the service provider, if the rate of implementation is below a threshold.

[0218] (Appendix 10) The point management system according to any one of appendices 1 to 5, 8, and 9, wherein the points can be exchanged for goods.

[0219] (Appendix 11) A server device that can be connected to a terminal device of a service user or a person related to the service user via a network, A memory unit; a point granting unit that grants points to a service provider and stores the granted points in the storage unit in association with information indicating the service provider; The server device is characterized in that the point allocating unit deletes at least a portion of the points allocated to the service provider in accordance with the rate of implementation of a specified action by the service user or a person related to the service user recognized by the terminal device within a specified period after the points are allocated to the service provider, if the rate of implementation is less than a threshold.

[0220] (Appendix 12) A step of granting points generated by a service user or a person related to the service user performing a first action to a service provider when the service user or a person related to the service user performs at least one second action associated with the first action after the first action; a step of storing the points given to the service provider in a storage unit in association with information indicating the service provider; A point management method comprising:

[0221] (Appendix 13) The point management method described in Appendix 12, further comprising a step of granting a portion of the points to the service provider as a result of the first action being performed, and storing the portion of the points granted in the memory unit in association with information indicating the service provider.

[0222] (Appendix 14) A step of awarding points to the service provider; storing the points granted to the service provider in a storage unit in association with information indicating the service provider; If the rate at which a predetermined action is performed by a service user or a person related to the service user within a predetermined period after the points are given to the service provider is less than a threshold, deleting at least a part of the points given to the service provider in accordance with the rate of performance; A point management method comprising:

[0223] (Appendix 15) A point management system including a point granting unit and a storage unit, a step in which the point granting unit grants points generated when a service user or a person related to the service user performs a first action to a service provider when the service user or a person related to the service user performs at least one second action associated with the first action after the first action; a step in which the point granting unit stores the points granted to the service provider in the storage unit in association with information indicating the service provider; A point management program for executing the above.

[0224] (Appendix 16) The point management system includes: A point management program as described in Appendix 15, which further causes the point granting unit to execute a step of granting a portion of the points to the service provider in response to the first action being performed, and storing the portion of the points granted in the memory unit in association with information indicating the service provider.

[0225] (Appendix 17) A point management system including a point granting unit and a storage unit, the point granting unit granting points to the service provider; a step in which the point granting unit causes the points granted to the service provider to be stored in the storage unit in association with information indicating the service provider; a step in which the point allocating unit deletes at least a part of the points allocated to the service provider in accordance with the implementation rate of a predetermined action by the service user or a person related to the service user within a predetermined period after the points are allocated to the service provider, when the implementation rate of the predetermined action by the service user or a person related to the service user is less than a threshold value; A point management program for executing the above. [Explanation of symbols]

[0226] 1. Service Provider 2. Service users 3 Operations manager 4. Sponsoring companies 5. Advertisers 11. Point Management System 12 Server equipment 13. Operation manager terminal 14 School terminals 15 Parental Device 21 Control section 22 Database Department 23 Program memory section 24 External Communications Department 31 User Management Department 32 Advertising Management Department 33 Conduct Management Department 34 Points Management Department 41 Points Awarding Department 42 Points Exchange Department 51 Advertising Management Table 52 Region Management Table 53 School Management Table 54 Class Management Table 55 Child Management Table 56 Parent Management Table 57 Payment Method Table 58 Action Table 59 Combination Table 60 Prepaid Ad Viewing History Table 61 Installment / Deferred Payment Ad Viewing History Table 62 Action Execution History Table 63 Item Table 71 Control Unit 72 Program memory section 73 Application information storage unit 74 Display section 75 Input section 76 External Communications Department 81 Display control unit 82 Advertising Processing Unit 83 Behavior Processing Department 91 Home screen 96 Postpaid Advertisement List Screen 106 Deferred payment execution screen 116 Installment payment advertisement list screen 121 Installment payment execution screen 131 Prepaid Advertisement List Screen 200 schools

Claims

1. A memory unit; a point granting unit that grants points generated when a service user or a person related to the service user performs a first action to a service provider when the service user or a person related to the service user performs at least one second action associated with the first action after the first action, and stores the granted points in the storage unit in association with information indicating the service provider; A point management system comprising:

2. The point management system described in claim 1, characterized in that the point assignment unit assigns a portion of the points to the service provider in response to the first action being performed, and stores the assigned portion of the points in the memory unit in association with information indicating the service provider.

3. The system includes a terminal device of a service user or a person related to the service user, and a server device connectable to the terminal device via a network, The server device A memory unit; a point granting unit that grants points generated by the terminal device recognizing a first action by the service user or a person related to the service user to a service provider when the terminal device recognizes at least one second action associated with the first action by the service user or a person related to the service user after the first action, and stores the granted points in the storage unit in association with information indicating the service provider; A point management system comprising:

4. The point management system described in claim 3, characterized in that the point assignment unit assigns a portion of the points to the service provider when the terminal device recognizes the first action, and stores the assigned portion of the points in the memory unit in association with information indicating the service provider.

5. A server device that can be connected to a terminal device of a service user or a person related to the service user via a network, A memory unit; a point granting unit that grants points generated by the terminal device recognizing a first action by the service user or a person related to the service user to a service provider when the terminal device recognizes at least one second action associated with the first action by the service user or a person related to the service user after the first action, and stores the granted points in the storage unit in association with information indicating the service provider; A server device comprising:

6. The server device described in claim 5, characterized in that the point assignment unit assigns a portion of the points to the service provider when the terminal device recognizes the first action, and stores the assigned portion of the points in the memory unit in association with information indicating the service provider.

7. A memory unit; a point granting unit that grants points to a service provider and stores the granted points in the storage unit in association with information indicating the service provider; A point management system characterized in that the point allocating unit deletes at least a portion of the points allocated to the service provider in accordance with the rate of implementation of a specified action by a service user or a person related to the service user within a specified period after the points are allocated to the service provider, if the rate of implementation is below a threshold.

8. The system includes a terminal device of a service user or a person related to the service user, and a server device connectable to the terminal device via a network, The server device A memory unit; a point granting unit that grants points to a service provider and stores the granted points in the storage unit in association with information indicating the service provider; A point management system characterized in that the point allocating unit deletes at least a portion of the points allocated to the service provider in accordance with the rate of implementation of a specified action by the service user or a person related to the service user recognized by the terminal device within a specified period after the points are allocated to the service provider, if the rate of implementation is below a threshold.

9. 9. The points management system according to claim 1, wherein the points are exchangeable for goods.

10. A server device that can be connected to a terminal device of a service user or a person related to the service user via a network, A memory unit; a point granting unit that grants points to a service provider and stores the granted points in the storage unit in association with information indicating the service provider; The server device is characterized in that the point allocating unit deletes at least a portion of the points allocated to the service provider in accordance with the rate of implementation of a specified action by the service user or a person related to the service user recognized by the terminal device within a specified period after the points are allocated to the service provider, if the rate of implementation is less than a threshold.

11. A point management method executed by a computer, comprising: A step of granting points generated by a service user or a person related to the service user performing a first action to a service provider when the service user or a person related to the service user performs at least one second action associated with the first action after the first action; a step of storing the points given to the service provider in a storage unit in association with information indicating the service provider; A point management method comprising:

12. The point management method described in claim 11, further comprising a step of granting a portion of the points to the service provider as a result of the first action being performed, and storing the portion of the points granted in the memory unit in association with information indicating the service provider.

13. A point management method executed by a computer, comprising: A step of awarding points to the service provider; storing the points granted to the service provider in a storage unit in association with information indicating the service provider; If the rate at which a predetermined action is performed by a service user or a person related to the service user within a predetermined period after the points are given to the service provider is less than a threshold, deleting at least a part of the points given to the service provider in accordance with the rate of performance; A point management method comprising:

14. A point management system including a point granting unit and a storage unit, a step in which the point granting unit grants points generated when a service user or a person related to the service user performs a first action to a service provider when the service user or a person related to the service user performs at least one second action associated with the first action after the first action; a step in which the point granting unit stores the points granted to the service provider in the storage unit in association with information indicating the service provider; A point management program for executing the above.

15. The point management system includes: A point management program as described in claim 14, further causing the point assignment unit to execute a step of assigning a portion of the points to the service provider in response to the first action being performed, and storing the portion of the assigned points in the memory unit in association with information indicating the service provider.

16. A point management system including a point granting unit and a storage unit, the point granting unit granting points to the service provider; a step in which the point granting unit causes the points granted to the service provider to be stored in the storage unit in association with information indicating the service provider; a step in which the point allocating unit deletes at least a part of the points allocated to the service provider in accordance with the implementation rate of a predetermined action by the service user or a person related to the service user within a predetermined period after the points are allocated to the service provider, when the implementation rate of the predetermined action by the service user or a person related to the service user is less than a threshold value; A point management program for executing the above.

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