In-event reward distribution system

Abstract

When a questionnaire answer is accepted by a questionnaire answer acceptance unit, a second remaining point count recording unit records a new remaining point count in which a point count corresponding to the questionnaire answer is added to a current remaining point count associated with a receipt candidate participant from whom the questionnaire answer was accepted. Points equal to the point count accepted from the receipt candidate participant within a range from the remaining point count recorded in the second remaining point count recording unit is converted to remuneration at a second conversion rate, and remuneration corresponding to the accepted point count is distributed to the receipt candidate participant.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an in-event reward distribution system that distributes rewards to potential recipient participants according to the number of points the potential recipient participants have acquired in one or more events. [Background technology]

[0002] (Prior Art)

[0003] Patent document 1 (JP Patent Publication No. 2002-189836) describes an invention relating to a survey system for giving survey respondents incentives for answering a survey, in which a server sends a survey form to a member's terminal device via the Internet, obtains responses to the survey form, accumulates points that can be converted into electronic currency as a reward for answering the survey, and awards points to members who answer the survey.

[0004] Patent document 2 (JP Patent Publication No. 2002-24590) describes an invention relating to an online market system that utilizes a communications network, in which electronic exhibitor advertisers exhibit their products and display advertisements on an online market set up by an operator / manager, and product exchange points are awarded to electronic customers for purchasing the exhibited products, obtaining advertising information, participating in various events, etc. The operator / manager returns the exchange fee for the product exchange points used by the electronic customers to the electronic exhibitor / advertiser, and analyzes the evaluation of the exhibited products and the preferences of the electronic customers from various information and product exchange information obtained from the electronic customers. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-189836 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-24590 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] The present invention aims to reduce the workload associated with preparing and distributing rewards such as prepaid cards and novelties to be given to participants who answer a questionnaire.

[0007] Another object of the present invention is to encourage a large number of participants to participate in the event and increase revenue from participation fees.

[0008] Another object of the present invention is to reduce the participation fee burden on event participants. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] A first aspect is an in-event reward distribution system that distributes rewards to candidate recipient participants according to the number of points that the candidate recipient participants have acquired in one or more events, the system including a point issuing unit that converts currency received from the candidate recipient participants of one or more events into points at a first exchange rate and issues the number of points corresponding to the received currency to the candidate recipient participants, a survey response receiving unit that receives, in association with each candidate recipient participant, survey responses to a survey corresponding to each candidate recipient participant, and when points are issued by the point issuing unit, a new number of remaining points obtained by adding the issued points to the current number of remaining points corresponding to the candidate recipient participants for which the issuance of points was received is recorded, and when the survey response receiving unit receives the survey responses, The in-event reward distribution system includes a first remaining point number recording unit that records a new number of remaining points obtained by subtracting the number of points associated with the survey response from the current number of remaining points associated with the candidate recipient participant who has received the survey response; a second remaining point number recording unit that, when the survey response is received by the survey response receiving unit, records a new number of remaining points obtained by adding the number of points associated with the survey response to the current number of remaining points associated with the candidate recipient participant whose survey response was received; and a reward distribution unit that converts the number of points received from the candidate recipient participant within the range of the remaining points recorded in the second remaining point number recording unit into rewards at a second exchange rate, and distributes rewards corresponding to the number of points received to the candidate recipient participant.

[0010] The second aspect is an in-event reward distribution system that, in the first aspect, includes a refund unit that converts the number of points received from a potential donor participant within the range of the remaining points into currency at a third exchange rate and refunds to the potential donor participant the currency corresponding to the number of points received or one or a combination of two or more of digital points, prepaid cards, and goods having a value equivalent to the currency.

[0011] A third aspect is an in-event reward distribution system in which, in the first aspect, the first exchange rate is R1 = currency / points, the second exchange rate is R2 = currency / points, and the second exchange rate R2 is less than or equal to the first exchange rate R1.

[0012] The fourth aspect is an in-event reward distribution system in the first aspect, in which the reward distribution unit distributes rewards in the form of one or a combination of two or more of tangible currency, prepaid cards, digital points, digital currency, virtual currency, and novelties.

[0013] The fifth aspect is an in-event reward distribution system in the first aspect, in which the reward distributed by the reward distribution unit is one or a combination of two or more of tangible currency, prepaid cards, and novelties, and the reward distribution unit distributes a reward in an amount equal to the number of points received minus a transfer fee or / and a delivery fee or / and a transfer and delivery fee.

[0014] The sixth aspect is an in-event reward distribution system in which, in the first aspect, the reward distributed by the reward distribution unit is digital points or / and digital currency or / and virtual currency, and the reward distribution unit displays the right to receive the reward on the screen of the terminal of the potential recipient participant.

[0015] A seventh aspect is an in-event reward distribution system in which, in the second aspect, the first exchange rate is R1 = currency / point, the third exchange rate is R3 = currency / point, the first exchange rate R1 is higher than the third exchange rate R3, and the point issuing unit issues points that already include an issuance fee corresponding to the difference between the third exchange rate R3 and the first exchange rate R1.

[0016] The eighth aspect is an in-event reward distribution system in the second aspect, in which the refund unit refunds either the currency obtained by subtracting a refund fee from the number of points received, or a combination of one or more of digital points, prepaid cards, and goods having a value equivalent to the currency.

[0017] The ninth aspect is an in-event reward distribution system in the first aspect, which includes an action receiving unit that receives actions for event content associated with each of the candidate providing participants, in association with each of the candidate receiving participants, and a third remaining point number recording unit that records the number of remaining points in association with each of the candidate receiving participants, and the third remaining point number recording unit that adds the number of points associated with the actions received by the action receiving unit to the current number of remaining points.

[0018] The tenth aspect is an in-event reward distribution system in the first aspect, which includes a point type conversion receiving unit that receives a point type conversion from a potential recipient participant of points recorded in the third remaining point number recording unit to points to be recorded in the second remaining point number recording unit, and a point type conversion processing unit that, when a point type conversion is accepted by the point type conversion receiving unit, converts the points recorded in the third remaining point number recording unit to points to be recorded in the second remaining point number recording unit at a fourth exchange rate and adds the converted number of points to the current number of remaining points in the second remaining point number recording unit.

[0019] An eleventh aspect is an in-event reward distribution system according to the tenth aspect, wherein the second exchange rate is R2 = currency / points, the fourth exchange rate is R4 = currency / points, and the fourth exchange rate R4 is lower than the second exchange rate R2.

[0020] The 12th aspect is an in-event reward distribution system in which, in the first aspect, the second remaining point number recording unit records the number of points added in correspondence with the candidate participant who accepted the survey response each time the number of points associated with the survey response accepted by the survey response accepting unit is added to the current remaining point number.

[0021] The thirteenth aspect is an in-event reward distribution system in which, in the first aspect, the first remaining point number recording unit records the number of points subtracted from the current remaining point number, corresponding to the potential recipient participant for whom the survey response was accepted, each time the number of points corresponding to the survey response accepted by the survey response accepting unit is subtracted from the current remaining point number.

[0022] The 14th aspect is an in-event reward distribution system in which, in the 10th aspect, the second remaining point number recording unit records the time of addition of the conversion point number in correspondence with the conversion point number each time the conversion point number is added to the current remaining point number in the second remaining point number recording unit.

[0023] The 15th aspect is an in-event reward distribution system in the 10th aspect, wherein the point type conversion acceptance unit refuses to accept a point type exchange for a number of points exceeding an upper limit or / and a point type conversion when the exchange deadline has passed.

[0024] The 16th aspect is an in-event reward distribution system in which, in the 15th aspect, the point type conversion acceptance unit, when refusing to accept a point type exchange for a number of points exceeding the upper limit or / and a point type conversion for a time period beyond the exchange deadline, displays a warning to that effect on the screen of the terminal of the potential recipient participant.

[0025] The 17th aspect is an in-event reward distribution system in the first aspect, which includes a judgment unit that, when a questionnaire response is accepted by the questionnaire response acceptance unit, compares the number of remaining points recorded in the first remaining point number recording unit with the number of points associated with the questionnaire response to determine whether the number of points associated with the questionnaire response can be awarded to the candidate recipient participant, and, when the judgment unit determines that the number of points associated with the questionnaire response can be awarded to the candidate recipient participant, performs an addition / subtraction process to subtract the number of points associated with the questionnaire response from the current number of remaining points recorded in the first remaining point number recording unit and add it to the current number of remaining points recorded in the second remaining point number recording unit, and, when the judgment unit determines that the number of points associated with the questionnaire response cannot be awarded to the candidate recipient participant, performs a suspension process to suspend the addition / subtraction process.

[0026] The 18th aspect is an in-event reward distribution system in which, in the 17th aspect, an advance payment account registration unit registers an advance payment account in association with a candidate provider participant, and the point addition / subtraction processing unit, when the hold process is executed, executes an advance payment request process to debit currency equivalent to the number of points associated with the questionnaire response from the advance payment account associated with the candidate provider participant for whom the hold process was performed, and also executes the addition / subtraction process.

[0027] The 19th aspect is an in-event reward distribution system in the first aspect, which includes a survey submission count calculation unit that calculates the number of times a reward-bearing survey can be submitted by comparing the number of remaining points recorded in the first remaining point number recording unit with the number of points associated with the survey responses, and displays the number of times a reward-bearing survey can be submitted on the screen of the terminal of the potential recipient participant.

[0028] The 20th aspect is an in-event reward distribution system in the first aspect, which includes a survey submission count calculation unit that calculates the number of surveys that can be submitted with a reward by comparing the number of remaining points recorded in the first remaining point number recording unit with the number of points associated with the survey responses, and if the number of surveys that can be submitted with a reward is less than a predetermined number, a warning to that effect is displayed on the screen of the terminal of the potential recipient participant.

[0029] The 21st aspect is an in-event reward distribution system in the first aspect, which is equipped with a survey distribution count calculation unit that calculates the number of times a reward-bearing survey can be provided by comparing the number of remaining points recorded in the first remaining point number recording unit with the number of points associated with the survey responses, and if it is determined that a reward-bearing survey cannot be provided based on the calculation result of the survey distribution count calculation unit, a warning is displayed on the screen of the terminal of the potential recipient participant to the effect that the survey to be provided does not carry a reward.

[0030] A 22nd aspect is an in-event reward distribution system in which, in the first aspect, the remaining points recorded in the second remaining point number recording unit are exchangeable for goods or services provided by an event cooperation organization at a fifth exchange rate, the second exchange rate being R2 = currency / point, and the fifth exchange rate being R5 = currency / point, and the fifth exchange rate R5 being set higher than the second exchange rate R2.

[0031] The 23rd aspect is an in-event reward distribution system in which, in the first aspect, the first remaining point number recording unit records, in association with the point number, additional information indicating the time when the points will be awarded or / and the reward exchange deadline each time the point number is added to the current remaining point number of the first remaining point number recording unit, and, in association with the point number each time the point number is subtracted from the current remaining point number of the first remaining point number recording unit, information identifying the potential recipient participant to whom the points will be awarded and the potential provider participant from whom the points will be awarded and / or additional information indicating the time when the points will be awarded or / and the reward exchange deadline each time the points are subtracted from the current remaining point number of the first remaining point number recording unit.

[0032] The 24th aspect is an in-event reward distribution system in the 23rd aspect, which is equipped with a reward exchangeability determination unit that determines whether the number of points associated with the additional information can be exchanged for a reward based on the additional information.

[0033] The 25th aspect is an in-event reward distribution system in which, in the first aspect, the second remaining point number recording unit records, each time a point number is added to the current remaining point number in the second remaining point number recording unit, information identifying the candidate provider participant from whom the points are to be awarded and the candidate recipient participant to whom the points are to be awarded, and / or additional information indicating the time of award or / and the reward exchange deadline, in association with the point number.

[0034] The 26th aspect is an in-event reward distribution system in the 25th aspect, which is equipped with a reward exchangeability determination unit that determines whether the number of points associated with the additional information can be exchanged for a reward based on the additional information.

[0035] The 27th aspect is an in-event reward distribution system that, in the first aspect, is equipped with a point addition / subtraction processing unit that, when a questionnaire response is received from a potential recipient participant, performs an addition / subtraction process to subtract the number of points associated with the questionnaire response from the current number of remaining points recorded in the first remaining point number recording unit and add the number of points to the current number of remaining points recorded in the second remaining point number recording unit, subject to the approval of the potential provider participant.

[0036] The 28th aspect is an in-event reward distribution system in the 23rd or 25th aspect, which is equipped with a point addition / subtraction processing unit that, when a questionnaire response is received from a candidate recipient participant, determines whether or not the number of points associated with the questionnaire response should be awarded to the candidate recipient participant based on the additional information, and, if it is determined that the points should be awarded to the candidate recipient participant, performs an addition / subtraction process to subtract the number of points associated with the questionnaire response from the current number of remaining points recorded in the first remaining point number recording unit and add the number of points to the current number of remaining points recorded in the second remaining point number recording unit.

[0037] The 29th aspect is an in-event reward distribution system in which, in the first aspect, the reward distribution unit distributes a reward corresponding to the number of points received from the potential recipient participant, subject to approval from the potential provider participant who awarded the number of points corresponding to the questionnaire response to the potential recipient participant.

[0038] The 30th aspect is an in-event reward distribution system in which, in the 23rd or 25th aspect, when an exchange of points for a reward is accepted from a potential recipient participant, a determination is made based on the additional information as to whether or not a reward should be distributed to the potential recipient participant, and the reward distribution unit distributes a reward corresponding to the number of points accepted from the potential recipient participant, on the condition that it is determined that a reward should be granted to the potential recipient participant.

[0039] The 31st aspect is an in-event reward distribution system in which, in the first aspect, an upper limit is set on the number of reward-bearing survey responses per event and / or an upper limit is set on the number of survey responses that can be provided by a single potential participant, and the survey response acceptance unit refuses to accept survey responses that exceed the upper limit.

[0040] The 32nd aspect is an in-event reward distribution system in which, in the first aspect, an upper limit is set on the number of reward-bearing survey responses per event and / or an upper limit on the number of survey responses that can be provided by a single potential participant, and the reward distribution unit refuses to distribute rewards corresponding to survey responses that exceed the upper limit.

[0041] A thirty-third aspect is an in-event reward distribution system in which, in the first aspect, the server for managing the survey is provided in an event management system that manages the one or more events.

[0042] The 34th aspect is an in-event reward distribution system in the first aspect, which comprises an event management system equipped with a server for managing the one or more events, and a survey management system equipped with a server for managing the survey, the survey management system being linked to the event management system via an API (application programming interface) possessed by the survey management system, and when a request to display a survey is made on the terminal of the potential recipient participant, the API possessed by the survey management system is called and the survey is displayed on the screen of the terminal of the potential recipient participant.

[0043] The 35th aspect is an in-event reward distribution system in which, in the 22nd aspect, the remaining points recorded in the second remaining point number recording unit are recorded in association with additional information identifying the event to which the points were awarded, and the remaining points recorded in the second remaining point number recording unit can be converted into rewards at the second exchange rate within the event period or a designated period to which the points were awarded, and can also be exchanged for goods or services provided by the event cooperation organization at a fifth exchange rate within the event period or a designated period to which the points were awarded.

[0044] The 36th aspect is an in-event reward distribution system in which, in the first aspect, the remaining point number recorded in the second remaining point number recording unit is recorded in association with additional information identifying the event to which the point was awarded, and the remaining point number recorded in the second remaining point number recording unit can be converted into rewards at the second exchange rate within the event period to which the point was awarded or a designated period, and can be converted into rewards at the sixth exchange rate outside the event period to which the point was awarded and outside the designated period, wherein the second exchange rate is R2 = currency / point, and the sixth exchange rate is R6 = currency / point, and the sixth exchange rate R6 is set lower than the second exchange rate R2.

[0045] The 37th aspect is an in-event reward distribution system in the first aspect, which comprises an event management system having a server for managing internal points issued at the one or more events, and an external point management system having a server for managing external points issued at events other than the one or more events, and the internal points are convertible into the external points.

[0046] A 38th aspect is an in-event reward distribution system in which, in the 37th aspect, the exchange rate for converting the internal points into the external points is R10 = external points / internal points, and the exchange rate R10 is set to a value lower than 1.

[0047] The 39th aspect is an in-event reward distribution system in the first aspect, which comprises an event management system equipped with a server for managing internal points issued at the one or more events, and an external point management system equipped with a server for managing external points issued at events other than the one or more events, wherein the external points can be converted into the internal points, and the internal points converted from the external points are recorded in association with additional information identifying that they were issued at events other than the one or more events.

[0048] A fortieth aspect is an in-event reward distribution system in which, in the thirty-ninth aspect, the exchange rate for converting the external points into the internal points is R11 = internal points / external points, and the exchange rate R11 is set to a value lower than 1.

[0049] A forty-first aspect is an in-event reward distribution system that distributes rewards to potential recipient participants according to the number of points the potential recipient participants have acquired in one or more events, the in-event reward distribution system comprising: an action recording unit that records actions taken by the potential recipient participants toward the potential provider participants, each associated with the potential recipient participant and the potential provider participant; a first remaining point number recording unit that, when the action for which a reward should be distributed is recorded in the action recording unit, records a new number of remaining points obtained by subtracting the number of points corresponding to the reward from the current number of remaining points associated with the potential provider participant who performed the action, and records information identifying the potential recipient participant to whom the points corresponding to the reward are to be granted and the potential provider participant from whom the points are to be granted, and / or additional information indicating the grant time or / and the reward exchange deadline, associated with the number of points corresponding to the reward; and a second remaining point number recording unit that, when the action for which a reward should be distributed is recorded in the action recording unit, records a new number of remaining points obtained by adding the number of points corresponding to the reward to the current number of remaining points associated with the potential recipient participant who performed the action.

[0050] The 42nd aspect is an in-event reward distribution system in the 41st aspect, which is equipped with a reward exchangeability determination unit that determines whether the number of points associated with the additional information can be exchanged for a reward based on the additional information.

[0051] A forty-third aspect is an in-event reward distribution system that distributes rewards to potential recipient participants according to the number of points the potential recipient participants have acquired in one or more events, the in-event reward distribution system comprising: an action recording unit that records actions taken by the potential recipient participants toward the potential donor participants, in association with each of the potential recipient participants and the potential donor participants; a first remaining point number recording unit that, when the action for which a reward should be distributed is recorded in the action recording unit, records a new number of remaining points obtained by subtracting the number of points corresponding to the reward from the current number of remaining points associated with the potential donor participant who took the action; and a second remaining point number recording unit that, when the action for which a reward should be distributed is recorded in the action recording unit, records a new number of remaining points obtained by adding the number of points corresponding to the reward to the current number of remaining points associated with the potential recipient participant who took the action, and records information identifying the potential donor participant who is the source of the points corresponding to the reward and the potential recipient participant to whom the points corresponding to the reward are to be granted and / or additional information indicating the time of granting or / and the reward exchange deadline, in association with the number of points corresponding to the reward.

[0052] The 44th aspect is an in-event reward distribution system in the 43rd aspect, which is equipped with a reward exchangeability determination unit that determines whether the number of points associated with the additional information can be exchanged for a reward based on the additional information.

[0053] The 45th aspect is an in-event reward distribution system in the 41st or 43rd aspect, which comprises an event management system having a server for managing internal points issued at the one or more events, and an external point management system having a server for managing external points issued at events other than the one or more events, and the internal points are convertible into the external points.

[0054] The 46th aspect is an in-event reward distribution system in the 41st or 43rd aspect, which comprises an event management system equipped with a server for managing internal points issued at the one or more events, and an external point management system equipped with a server for managing external points issued at events other than the one or more events, wherein the external points can be converted into the internal points, and the internal points converted from the external points are recorded in association with additional information identifying that they were issued at events other than the one or more events. [Effects of the Invention]

[0055] According to the first to forty-sixth aspects, compared to the prior art, it is possible to reduce the workload associated with preparing and distributing rewards such as prepaid cards and novelties to be given to participants who answer a questionnaire. Also, compared to the prior art, it is possible to encourage event participation and increase participation fee revenue. Also, compared to the prior art, it is possible to reduce the cost burden associated with participants' participation in an event. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0056] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an in-event reward distribution system according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the functional configuration of the in-event reward distribution system of the first embodiment. [Figure 4A] FIG. 4A is a diagram showing a points purchase screen. [Figure 4B] FIG. 4B is a diagram showing the points issuing screen. [Figure 5A] FIG. 5A is a diagram showing first remaining point number record data recorded in the first remaining point number recording section. [Figure 5B] FIG. 5B is a diagram showing first remaining point number record data recorded in the first remaining point number recording section. [Figure 6A]FIG. 6A is a diagram showing a questionnaire response reception screen. [Figure 6B] FIG. 6B is a diagram showing the questionnaire response acceptance screen. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing first remaining point number record data recorded in the first remaining point number recording section. [Figure 8A] FIG. 8A is a diagram showing second remaining point number record data recorded in the second remaining point number recording section. [Figure 8B] FIG. 8B is a diagram showing second remaining point number record data recorded in the second remaining point number recording section. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing second remaining point number record data recorded in the second remaining point number recording section. [Figure 10A] FIG. 10A shows a reward distribution screen. [Figure 10B] FIG. 10B shows the reward distribution screen. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the contents of the second remaining point number record data after the reward has been distributed. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the approval screen. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the approval screen. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the network configuration of the eighth embodiment. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the software-based cooperative relationship between the event management system and the questionnaire management system. [Figure 16] FIG. 16 is a diagram showing the network configuration of the tenth embodiment. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is a diagram showing the software-based cooperative relationship between the event management system and the external point management system. [Figure 18A] FIG. 18A is a diagram showing the point conversion acceptance screen. [Figure 18B] FIG. 18B is a diagram showing the point conversion completed screen. [Figure 19A]FIG. 19A is a diagram showing the point conversion acceptance screen. [Figure 19B] FIG. 19B is a diagram showing the point conversion completed screen. [Figure 20] FIG. 20 is a diagram showing the contents of the recorded data in the supplementary information recording section. [Figure 21] FIG. 21 is a diagram showing the contents of the recorded data in the supplementary information recording section. [Figure 22] FIG. 22 is a diagram showing the contents of the recorded data in the supplementary information recording section. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0057] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0058] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an in-event reward distribution system according to an embodiment.

[0059] Events covered by the embodiments include all events where rewards may be generated based on survey responses within the event, such as exhibitions, academic conferences, meetings, information exchange venues, lectures, and matchmaking events. Events covered by the embodiments may be either online or offline. Here, the concept of an online event includes hybrid events. Not all components of an event necessarily need to be online. For example, an event that combines a real event venue with online live streaming or a virtual room is also included in the concept of an online event.

[0060] The following description will be given assuming that the event system is carried out online.

[0061] The in-event reward distribution system is composed of a point issuing institution terminal 100A as the event management institution terminal 100, a reward distribution institution terminal 100B as the event management institution terminal 100, a reimbursement account institution terminal 110, a candidate provider participant terminal 120, a candidate recipient participant terminal 130, a server 200, and a network 300 connecting each of these terminals and the server 200 so that data can be sent and received between them. The point issuing institution terminal 100A and the reward distribution institution terminal 100B are collectively referred to as the event management institution terminal 100. An event management system 101 can be configured with the point issuing institution terminal 100A and the reward distribution institution terminal 100B as the event management institution terminal 100, and a management system including the server 200. For example, the point issuing institution terminal 100A and the reward distribution institution terminal 100B are installed in an event management institution, and the event management institution has the authority to access the database of the server 200. The event management system 101 manages one event A1 or multiple events A1 to A10.

[0062] The provider candidate participants are participants who can provide a questionnaire to the recipient candidate participants and offer the recipient candidate participants a reward for answering the questionnaire, and include exhibiting organizations. Exhibiting organizations include companies such as medical device manufacturers and manufacturing companies, as well as non-corporate public institutions, universities, etc., but in the embodiments, exhibiting organizations are described as exhibiting companies. In the embodiments, it is assumed that multiple companies exhibit booths as sponsoring companies when holding a matching event such as an academic conference, conference, symposium, study group, study group, networking event, seminar, or exhibition.

[0063] The potential recipient participants are participants who answer a questionnaire and can receive a reward from the potential recipient participants according to their answers, and include general participants, etc. The in-event reward distribution system distributes rewards to the potential recipient participants according to the number of points they have acquired in one or more events.

[0064] The point issuing organization is an organization that issues points to the potential provider participant in the number of points corresponding to the currency accepted from the potential provider participant, and can also serve as the event management organization.

[0065] The reward distribution agency distributes rewards to potential recipient participants in accordance with the number of points received from the potential recipient participants, and can also serve as the event management agency. The point issuing agency can also serve as the reward distribution agency and the refund agency.

[0066] When holding an event such as an academic conference, the person who manages the operation of the event is called the administrator. Presenters, general participants, and exhibiting institutions other than the administrator are collectively referred to as participants. Participants may be either individuals or corporations. Participants are broadly divided into potential provider participants and potential recipient participants, as described above.

[0067] The event management organization terminal 100, which includes the point issuing organization terminal 100A and the reward distribution organization terminal 100B, the provider candidate participant terminal 120, and the recipient candidate participant terminal 130, are information processing devices, such as personal computers and smartphones. The network 300 is comprised of the Internet, an intranet, or the like. The server 200 is comprised of a server device or a virtual server built on a cloud computing service.

[0068] Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of the point issuing institution side terminal 100A as the event management institution side terminal 100 in the embodiment, the reward distribution institution side terminal 100B, the provider candidate participant side terminal 120, the recipient candidate participant side terminal 130, and the server 200. As shown in Figure 2, the point issuing agency terminal 100A, the reward distribution agency terminal 100B, the provider candidate participant terminal 120, the recipient candidate participant terminal 130 and the server 200 are configured as computers, and a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13, a storage 14, an input device 16, a display device 17 and a communication I / F 18 are connected to each other so that they can communicate with each other via a system bus 15. The CPU 11 is a central processing unit that executes various programs and controls each device connected to the system bus 15. That is, the CPU 11 reads a program from the ROM 12 or the storage 14 and executes the program using the RAM 13 as a work area. The CPU 11 controls each device connected to the system bus 15 and performs various arithmetic processing in accordance with the program recorded in the ROM 12 or the storage 14. The ROM 12 or the storage 14 stores a BIOS (Basic Input / Output System) and an OS (Operating System), which are control programs executed by the CPU 11, as well as computer-readable and executable programs and various necessary data for realizing this embodiment.

[0069] The ROM 12 stores various control programs and various data. The RAM 13 functions as the main memory, work area, etc. of the CPU 11 and temporarily stores programs or data as a working area. The storage 14 is composed of an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or SSD (Solid State Drive) and stores various programs including the BIOS and OS, and various data.

[0070] The input device 16 includes a pointing device such as a mouse and a keyboard, and is used to make various inputs.

[0071] The display device 17 is, for example, a liquid crystal display, and displays various information. The display device 17 may function as the input device 16 by adopting a touch panel system.

[0072] On the display screen of the display device 17, various display screens 500 to 590, which will be described later, are displayed.

[0073] The communication interface 18 is an interface for communicating with other devices, and uses standards such as Ethernet (registered trademark), FDDI, Wi-Fi (registered trademark), etc. The communication interface 18 connects to a network 300 and controls the transmission and reception of data.

[0074] (First embodiment)

[0075] Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating the functional configuration of the in-event reward distribution system of the first embodiment. The functional configuration illustrated in Figure 3 includes a server 200, a point issuing institution terminal 100A, a reward distribution institution terminal 100B, a provider candidate participant terminal 120, and a recipient candidate participant terminal 130. The server 200 is managed by the event management institution.

[0076] The in-event reward distribution system is composed of a point issuing unit 1001, a survey response receiving unit 1002, a first remaining point number recording unit 1003, a second remaining point number recording unit 1004, a reward distribution unit 1005, a refund unit 1006, a behavior recording unit 1007, a third remaining point number recording unit 1008, a point type conversion receiving unit 1009, a point type conversion processing unit 1010, a judgment unit 1011, a point addition / subtraction processing unit 1012, an advance payment account registration unit 1013, a survey submission count calculation unit 1014, and a warning display unit 1015.

[0077] The point issuing unit 1001 converts the currency accepted from the offer candidate participants of one or more events into points at a first exchange rate, and issues the number of points corresponding to the accepted currency to the offer candidate participants.

[0078] Note that issuing points on the condition that they are exchanged for currency is just one example, and the point issuing unit 1001 may issue a predetermined number of points to a potential provider participant without exchanging them for currency.

[0079] The survey response receiving unit 1002 receives survey responses to the surveys associated with the respective provider candidate participants, in association with the respective recipient candidate participants.

[0080] The first remaining point number recording unit 1003 records the number of points issued by the point issuing unit 1001.

[0081] When this is done, a new number of remaining points obtained by adding the number of issued points to the current number of remaining points associated with the candidate provision participant for whom the point issuance has been accepted is recorded, and when a survey response is accepted by the survey response accepting unit 1002, a new number of remaining points obtained by subtracting the number of points associated with the survey response from the current number of remaining points associated with the candidate provision participant for whom the survey response has been accepted is recorded.

[0082] When a survey response is accepted by the survey response accepting unit 1002, the second remaining points recording unit 1004 records a new number of remaining points obtained by adding the number of points associated with the survey response to the current number of remaining points associated with the candidate recipient participant for whom the survey response was accepted.

[0083] The reward distribution unit 1005 converts the number of points received from the potential recipient participant within the range of the remaining points recorded in the second remaining point number recording unit 1004 into a reward at a second exchange rate, and distributes a reward corresponding to the number of received points to the potential recipient participant.

[0084] The refund unit 1006 converts the number of points received from the candidate provider participant within the range of the remaining points into currency at a third exchange rate, and refunds to the candidate provider participant the currency corresponding to the number of points received or one or a combination of two or more of digital points, prepaid cards, and goods having a value equivalent to this currency.

[0085] The behavior recording unit 1007 records the behavior of each provider candidate participant with respect to the event content associated with each provider candidate participant, in association with each recipient candidate participant.

[0086] The third remaining point number recording unit 1008 records the number of remaining points in association with each of the recipient candidate participants. In the third remaining point number recording unit 1008, the number of points associated with the action accepted by the action accepting unit 1007 is added to the current number of remaining points.

[0087] The point type conversion receiving unit 1009 receives a point type conversion from the recipient candidate participant to convert the points recorded in the third remaining point number recording unit 1008 into points to be recorded in the second remaining point number recording unit 1004.

[0088] When a point type conversion is accepted by the point type conversion accepting unit 1009, the point type conversion processing unit 1010 converts the points recorded in the third remaining point number recording unit 1008 into points to be recorded in the second remaining point number recording unit 1004 at a fourth exchange rate, and adds the converted number of points to the current number of remaining points in the second remaining point number recording unit 1004.

[0089] When a survey response is accepted by the survey response accepting unit 1002, the determining unit 1011 compares the number of remaining points recorded in the first remaining points recording unit 1003 with the number of points associated with the survey response, and determines whether the number of points associated with the survey response can be awarded to the potential recipient participant.

[0090] When the determination unit 1011 determines that the number of points associated with the questionnaire answers can be awarded to the candidate recipient participant, the point addition / subtraction processing unit 1012 performs an addition / subtraction process to subtract the number of points associated with the questionnaire answers from the current number of remaining points recorded in the first remaining point number recording unit 1003 and add the number of points to the current number of remaining points recorded in the second remaining point number recording unit 1004, and when the determination unit 1011 determines that the number of points associated with the questionnaire answers cannot be awarded to the candidate recipient participant, performs a reservation process to reserve the addition / subtraction process. The point addition / subtraction processing unit 1012 performs the addition / subtraction process when other predetermined conditions are met, and performs the reservation process when other predetermined conditions are not met.

[0091] The advance payment account registration unit 1013 registers the advance payment account in association with the provider candidate participant.

[0092] The survey provision count calculation unit 1014 compares the number of remaining points recorded in the first remaining point number recording unit 1003 with the number of points associated with the survey responses to calculate the number of surveys that can be provided with a reward.

[0093] If the number of times that reward-provided surveys can be submitted falls below a predetermined number, the warning display unit 1015 displays a warning to that effect on the screen of the terminal of the potential recipient participant.

[0094] The reward exchange possibility determination unit 1016 determines, based on the additional information, whether or not the number of points associated with the additional information can be exchanged for a reward.

[0095] (First Example)

[0096] (Points issued)

[0097] 4A shows a point purchase screen 501. The point purchase screen 501 is a display screen that can be accessed by the candidate participants of the event A1.

[0098] When event A1 is held, a potential recipient participant U21 who wishes to provide questionnaires to potential recipient participants at an exhibition booth or the like of event A1 can purchase points from the point issuing organization PB on the point purchase screen 501 in a number corresponding to the number of questionnaires provided.

[0099] By accessing the server 200 from the provider candidate participant terminal 120, a point purchase screen 501 is displayed on the display screen of the display device 17 of the provider candidate participant terminal 120.

[0100] A point purchase amount input section 501A and a point conversion confirmation button 501B are displayed on the point purchase screen 501. When the provider candidate participant U21 inputs currency C (for example, 1.5 million yen) into the point purchase amount input section 501A and presses the point conversion confirmation button 501B, the issuance of points is accepted.

[0101] When the point issuance is accepted, the point issuing unit 1001 converts the currency C accepted from the provider candidate participant U21 into points P at a first exchange rate R1, and issues the number of points n1 corresponding to the accepted currency C to the provider candidate participant U21. That is, the display screen of the display device 17 of the provider candidate participant terminal 120 transitions to a point issuance screen 502 shown in FIG. 4B. The point issuance screen 502 displays the number of points n1 issued to the provider candidate participant U21 (e.g., 1 million points P) and the current remaining number of points N1 (e.g., 1 million points P). Here, the first exchange rate R1 is, for example, 1.5 yen / 1 point. By displaying this point issuance screen 502, the provider candidate participant U21 can confirm the number of points N1 (e.g., 1 million points P) of points P that he or she owns.

[0102] (First remaining points record according to point issuance)

[0103] 5A shows the first remaining point number record data D1 recorded in the first remaining point number recording unit 1003. The first remaining point number record data D1 is stored in a database of the server 200, for example.

[0104] The first remaining point number record data D1 includes the current remaining point number N1 associated with each of the offer candidate participants.

[0105] The provider candidate participant U21 is associated with a current remaining number of points N1. In the initial state, the current remaining number of points N1 is 0.

[0106] 4B, in response to the issuance of points P of point number n1 (e.g., 1 million points P), the issued points number n1 (e.g., 1 million points P) are added to the current remaining points number N1 (=0) associated with the provider candidate participant U21. As a result, the current remaining points number N1 (=0) associated with the provider candidate participant U21 is updated to the current remaining points number N1 (=1 million points P) to which n1 (=1 million P) has been added.

[0107] As shown in Figure 5B, the first remaining point number recording unit 1003 records the points (= 1 million points P) added this time, n1, in association with additional information CI, i.e., information identifying the point issuer, for example, the ID of the point issuing institution PB ("PB"), information identifying the point recipient, for example, the user ID of the potential provider participant ("U21"), the number of points to be added or subtracted (number of issued points, number of points to be added) n1, and the point addition or subtraction date "X0 year, Y0 month, Z0 day".

[0108] (Survey response acceptance)

[0109] 6A shows the survey response reception screen 503. The survey response reception screen 503 is a display screen that the recipient candidate participants of the event A1 have the authority to access.

[0110] The recipient candidate participant U11 who has participated in the event A1 can answer the questionnaire QA21 provided by the provider candidate participant U21 on the questionnaire answer reception screen 503.

[0111] By accessing the server 200 from the recipient candidate participant terminal 130, a survey response reception screen 503 is displayed on the display screen of the display device 17 of the recipient candidate participant terminal 130. For example, by performing a click operation to designate a specific provider candidate participant U21 (for example, the display location of "exhibitor company booth U21") on the screen of the display device 17 of the recipient candidate participant terminal 130, the survey response reception screen 503 associated with the provider candidate participant U21 is displayed.

[0112] The survey response reception screen 503 displays a survey response reception section 503A and a confirmation button 503B. The survey response reception section 503A displays questions and answer options, such as question Q1 regarding the purpose of participating in the matching event and answer options A11 ("Information Gathering") and A12 ("I Want to Contact a Medical Device Manufacturer / Distributor"), and question Q2 regarding product categories of interest and answer options A21 (select one of product categories X (Ultrasound Diagnostic Device), Y (X-ray Diagnostic Device), Z (MRI Device), W (X-ray CT Device), or S (Nuclear Medicine Diagnostic Device)). The potential recipient U11 answers survey QA21 by checking check boxes 503A1 and 503A2 associated with the answer options corresponding to questions Q1 and Q2, respectively. The format of the questions and answers can be set arbitrarily, and questions may be written in text boxes.

[0113] (Storage of survey responses)

[0114] When the answer confirmation button 503B is pressed, the survey response data D3 is stored in the database of the server 200 in association with the recipient candidate participant U11 whose survey response was accepted and the provider candidate participant U21 who provided the survey. The provider candidate participant U21 who provided the corresponding survey has the authority to access the survey response data D3. For example, by performing a click operation on the screen of the display device 17 of the provider candidate participant terminal 120 to instruct viewing of the survey response results, the survey response data D3 is displayed so that it can be viewed.

[0115] (Record of remaining points according to survey responses)

[0116] FIG. 7 shows the first remaining point number record data D1 recorded in the first remaining point number recording section 1003.

[0117] The provider candidate participant U21 is associated with a current remaining number of points N1. Before the survey responses are accepted, the current remaining number of points N1 is, for example, 1 million points P, as shown in FIG. 5B.

[0118] Here, the number of points n2 corresponding to the reward for answering the questionnaire QA21 is, for example, 1000 points P.

[0119] 7, in response to receipt of the survey response, the number of points n2 (e.g., 1,000 points P) corresponding to the reward for the survey response is subtracted from the current number of remaining points N1 (= 1,000,000 points P) associated with the candidate provider participant U21. As a result, the current number of remaining points N1 (= 1,000,000 points P) associated with the candidate provider participant U21 is updated to the current number of remaining points N1 (= 999,000 points P) with n2 (= 1,000 points P) subtracted from it.

[0120] Each time the first remaining points recording unit 1003 subtracts the number of points n2 (e.g., 1000 points P) associated with the survey response received by the survey response receiving unit 1002 from the current number of remaining points, it records the number of points n2 (e.g., 1000 points P) to be subtracted in association with the candidate recipient participant from whom the survey response was received (e.g., the user ID of the candidate recipient participant "U11").

[0121] That is, the first remaining points recording unit 1003 records the points subtracted this time, n2 (=1000 points P), in association with the additional information CI, i.e., information identifying the source of the points, for example, the user ID of the candidate providing participant ("U21"), information identifying the recipient, for example, the user ID of the candidate receiving participant ("U11"), the number of points to be added or subtracted n2 (for example, 1000 points P), and the point addition or subtraction date "X0 year Y0 month Z1 day".

[0122] (Second remaining points record according to survey answers)

[0123] 8A shows the second remaining point number record data D2 recorded in the second remaining point number recording unit 1004. The second remaining point number record data D2 is stored in a database of the server 200, for example.

[0124] The second remaining point number record data D2 is made up of the current remaining point number N2 and additional information CI associated with each recipient candidate participant.

[0125] The recipient candidate participant U11 is associated with a current remaining number of points N2. Before the questionnaire response is received, the current remaining number of points N2 is, for example, 0 points P.

[0126] 8B, in response to the receipt of the survey response, the number of points n2 (for example, 1000 points P) corresponding to the reward for the survey response is added to the current number of remaining points N2 (= 0 points P) associated with the candidate recipient participant U11. As a result, the current number of remaining points N2 (= 0 points P) associated with the candidate recipient participant U11 is updated to the current number of remaining points N2 (= 1000 points P) to which n2 (= 1000 points P) has been added.

[0127] The second remaining points recording unit 1004 records the number of points n2 (e.g., 1000 points P) associated with the survey response received by the survey response receiving unit 1002 to the current remaining points, each time the number of points n2 is added to the current remaining points, in association with the candidate provision participant (e.g., the user ID "U21" of the candidate provision participant) who received the survey response.

[0128] That is, as shown in FIG. 8B, the second remaining point number recording unit 1004 records the points n2 (=1000 points P) added this time in association with the additional information CI, i.e., information identifying the source of the points, for example, the user ID of the candidate providing participant ("U21"), information identifying the recipient, for example, the user ID of the candidate receiving participant ("U11"), the number of points to be added or subtracted n2 (for example, 1000 points P), and the point addition or subtraction date "X0 year Y0 month Z1 day".

[0129] When the survey responses are accepted, the display screen of the display device 17 of the candidate recipient participant terminal 130 transitions to a survey response acceptance screen 504 shown in FIG. 6B. Display areas 504A and 504B on the survey response acceptance screen 504 respectively display the number of points n2 (e.g., 1,000 points P) currently received by the candidate recipient participant U11 and the current number of remaining points N2 (e.g., 1,000 points P). The current remaining points N2 recorded in the second remaining points recording unit 1004 can be converted into a reward at a second exchange rate R2. The second exchange rate R2 is, for example, 1 yen / 1 point. The second exchange rate R2 (e.g., 1 yen / 1 point) can be set lower than the first exchange rate R1 (e.g., 1.5 yen / 1 point). This allows the point issuing organization PB, as the event management organization, to recover the operating costs of the event A1 and the transfer fee or delivery fee for the reward even after paying the reward.

[0130] By displaying the survey response acceptance screen 504, the recipient candidate U11 can confirm the number of points N2 (for example, 1000 points P) of points P that he or she owns.

[0131] Similarly, when the recipient candidate participant U11 answers questionnaires QA22 and QA23 for the same reward of 1,000 points P provided by the other provider candidate participants U22 and U23, as shown in Figure 9, the second remaining points recording unit 1004 records, in association with the recipient candidate participant U11, the current remaining points N2 (3,000 points P) and second remaining points recording data D2 consisting of additional information CI indicating that points n2 (1,000 points P) were received from the provider candidate participant U21 on Z1 of Y0 / X0, points n2 (1,000 points P) were received from the provider candidate participant U22 on Z2 of Y0 / X0, and points n2 (1,000 points P) were received from the provider candidate participant U23 on Z3 of Y0 / X0.

[0132] (Reward distribution)

[0133] 10A shows a reward distribution screen 505. The reward distribution screen 505 is a display screen that potential recipient participants of event A1 have permission to access.

[0134] The potential recipient participant U11 who participated in the event A1 can receive the reward on the reward distribution screen 505.

[0135] By accessing the server 200 from the recipient candidate participant terminal 130 , a reward distribution screen 505 is displayed on the display screen of the display device 17 of the recipient candidate participant terminal 130 .

[0136] A conversion point input field 505A and a reward conversion confirmation button 505B are displayed on the reward distribution screen 505. When the potential recipient participant U11 inputs the number of conversion points N3 (for example, 3000 points P) into the conversion point input field 505A and presses the reward conversion confirmation button 505B, the reward distribution is accepted.

[0137] When the reward distribution is accepted, the reward distribution unit 1005 converts the points P (e.g., 3,000 points P) of the number of points N3 accepted from the candidate recipient participant U11 within the range of the number of remaining points N2 recorded in the second remaining point number recording unit 1004 into a reward at the second exchange rate R2, and distributes the reward corresponding to the number of points N3 accepted to this candidate recipient participant U11.

[0138] That is, when the reward distribution is accepted, the display screen of the display device 17 of the recipient candidate participant terminal 130 transitions to a reward distribution completed screen 506 shown in Fig. 10B. Display sections 506A and 506B on the reward distribution completed screen 506 respectively display the reward amount C (e.g., 3,000 yen) distributed this time to the recipient candidate participant U11 and the current number of remaining points N2 (e.g., 0 points P). By displaying this reward distribution completed screen 506, the recipient candidate participant U11 can confirm the number of points N2 (e.g., 0 points P) of points P that he or she owns.

[0139] FIG. 11 shows the contents of the second remaining point number record data D2 after the reward has been distributed.

[0140] In response to the distribution of reward amount C (e.g., 3,000 yen) to candidate recipient participant U11, additional information CI is added to the second remaining point number recording unit 1004, indicating that candidate recipient participant U11 has granted reward distribution agency FB with number of points n3 (3,000 points P) on Z4, Y0, X0.

[0141] The type of reward distributed by the reward distribution unit 1005 can be set arbitrarily. Anything with a value equivalent to the reward amount C (e.g., 3,000 yen) can be used, and it can be any one or a combination of two or more of tangible currency, prepaid cards, digital points, digital currency, virtual currency, and novelty items.

[0142] The method for distributing the reward by the reward distribution unit 1005 can be set arbitrarily. If the reward is in the form of physical currency, it may be transferred to an account designated by the potential recipient participant (e.g., U11), or it may be delivered to a location designated by the potential recipient participant (e.g., U11) via a delivery company.

[0143] If the reward is a prepaid card or a novelty item, it may be delivered to a location designated by the potential recipient participant (for example, U11) via a delivery company.

[0144] If the reward is digital points, digital currency, or virtual currency, the right to receive the digital points, digital currency, or virtual currency may be granted to the potential recipient participant (e.g., U11) on the reward distribution screen 506. For example, a serial code or URL that identifies the right to receive the digital points, digital currency, or virtual currency may be displayed on the reward distribution screen 506.

[0145] If the reward is one or a combination of two or more of tangible currency, a prepaid card, and a novelty item, the reward distribution unit 1005 may distribute a reward of an amount (e.g., 2,500 yen) obtained by subtracting a transfer fee or / and a delivery fee or / and a transfer and delivery fee (e.g., 500 yen) from the received number of points N3 (e.g., 3,000 points P).

[0146] In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, the second remaining points recording unit 1004 records the additional information CI in association with the number of points added or subtracted this time.

[0147] However, this is just an example, and the incidental information CI may be recorded in association with the actions taken by the people involved in the event.

[0148] Those involved in the event include the point issuing agency PB, reward distribution agency FB, potential participants who provide the rewards, potential participants who receive the rewards, event collaborators, event management agencies, and external point management agencies.

[0149] For example, the attendant information CI may be recorded in association with the action taken by the recipient candidate participant toward the provider candidate participant.

[0150] In this embodiment, an additional information recording unit 1014, a reward exchange possibility determination unit 1015, and an expired point determination unit 1016 are added to the block diagram shown in FIG.

[0151] The additional information recording unit 1014 is provided independently of the first remaining point number recording unit 1003 and the second remaining point number recording unit 1004 .

[0152] FIG. 20 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 11, and shows the contents of the recorded data D14 in the supplementary information recording unit 1014.

[0153] Each time a person involved in the event takes an action, the additional information recording unit 1014 records additional information CI corresponding to the action, which indicates the number of points corresponding to the action, information identifying the recipient 1 and source of the points, the time of awarding the points, and the deadline for exchanging them for a reward.

[0154] For example, similar to Figure 7, each time the candidate provider participant U21 takes action (accepts point issuance) with the point issuing organization PB, the number of points corresponding to the action (1,000,000 points P), information identifying the candidate provider participant U21 to whom the points will be awarded and the point issuing organization PB from which the points were awarded, and additional information CI indicating the awarding date (year X0, month Y0, day Z0) and the exchange period for rewards (unlimited) are recorded in association with the action.

[0155] Also, similar to Figure 9, each time the potential recipient participant U11 takes an action toward the potential donor participants U21, U22, and U23 (answering questionnaires QA21, QA22, and QA23), the number of points corresponding to that action (1,000 points P) is recorded in association with that action, along with information identifying the potential recipient participant U11 to whom the points will be awarded and the potential donor participants U21, U22, and U23 from whom the points will be awarded, and additional information CI indicating the awarding period (Z1st day of Y0th month of X0, Z2nd day of Y0th month of X0, Z3rd day of Y0th month of X0) and the deadline for redemption with the reward (within one month after the end of event A1, within two months after the end of event A1, or within three months after the end of event A1).

[0156] Also, similar to Figure 11, each time the potential recipient participant U11 takes action (accepts point exchange) with the reward distribution agency FB, the number of points corresponding to the action (3,000 points P), information identifying the potential recipient participant U11 to whom the points will be awarded and the reward distribution agency FB from which the points were awarded, and additional information CI indicating the awarding date (Y0 / Z4 / X0) and the exchange deadline for the reward (end of exchange deadline) are recorded in association with the action.

[0157] The reward exchange possibility determination unit 1015 determines, based on the accompanying information CI, whether or not the remaining points (3000 points P) recorded in the second remaining points recording unit 1004 can be exchanged for a reward.

[0158] The reward distribution unit 1005 converts the number of points received from the candidate recipient participant, within the range of the remaining points recorded in the second remaining point number recording unit 1004 that are determined by the reward exchangeability determination unit 1015 to be exchangeable for a reward, into a reward at a predetermined exchange rate, and distributes a reward corresponding to the number of points received to the candidate recipient participant.

[0159] Here, the deadline for exchanging points for rewards set in the additional information CI when the points were issued was "unlimited," but the actions of answering questionnaires QA21, QA22, and QA23 are associated with additional information CI stating that the deadlines for exchanging points for rewards are "within one month after the end of event A1," "within two months after the end of event A1," and "within three months after the end of event A1," respectively.

[0160] If the reward exchange request is received within one month of the end of Event A1, the points of 1,000 P each associated with the action of answering questionnaires QA21, QA22, and QA23 are deemed eligible for reward exchange. Therefore, if an exchange of 3,000 P points is received, these 3,000 P will be exchanged for a reward.

[0161] The second remaining points recording unit 1004 records the new remaining points, i.e., 0 points, obtained by subtracting the current remaining points of 3000 P associated with the potential recipient participant U11 whose points have been converted into a reward, from the current remaining points of 3000 P.

[0162] However, if the reward exchange request is received within one to two months of the end of Event A1, the 1,000 points associated with the action of answering Questionnaire QA21 will be deemed ineligible for reward exchange. Therefore, the request to exchange 1,000 points out of the 3,000 points will be rejected.

[0163] In addition, the expired point determination unit 1016 determines the number of points that will expire from the remaining points recorded in the second remaining points recording unit 1004 based on the additional information CI, which indicates that the exchange deadline is "January after the end of event A1," "February after the end of event A1," or "March after the end of event A1."

[0164] For example, if time passes without any reward exchange, etc., and it exceeds "one month after the end of Event A1," the 1,000 points associated with the action of answering questionnaire QA21 will be deemed to have expired.

[0165] The second remaining points recording unit 1004 records the new remaining points, i.e., 2000 points, obtained by subtracting the number of points that will expire, 1000 P, from the current remaining points of 3000 P associated with the recipient candidate participant U11, whose points have been determined to expire by the expiration point determination unit 1016.

[0166] Furthermore, if the reward exchange is accepted "within two to three months after the end of Event A1," the 1000 points associated with the action of answering Questionnaire QA21 and the 1000 points associated with the action of answering Questionnaire QA22 will be determined to be ineligible for reward exchange. Therefore, the exchange of 2000 points out of the 3000 points will be rejected.

[0167] In addition, the expired point determination unit 1016 determines the number of points that will expire from the remaining points recorded in the second remaining points recording unit 1004 based on the additional information CI, which indicates that the exchange deadline is "January after the end of event A1," "February after the end of event A1," or "March after the end of event A1."

[0168] For example, if time passes without any reward exchange, etc., and it exceeds "two months after the end of Event A1," the 1,000 points associated with the action of answering questionnaire QA21, as well as the 1,000 points associated with the action of answering questionnaire QA22, will be deemed to have expired.

[0169] The second remaining points recording unit 1004 records the new remaining points, i.e., 1000 points, obtained by subtracting the additional 1000 points that will expire from the current remaining points of 2000 P associated with the recipient candidate participant U11, whose points have been determined to expire by the expiration point determination unit 1016.

[0170] Furthermore, if the reward exchange request is accepted "three months after the end of Event A1," the 1000 P points associated with the action of answering Questionnaire QA21, the 1000 P points associated with the action of answering Questionnaire QA22, and the 1000 P points associated with the action of answering Questionnaire QA23 will be determined to be ineligible for reward exchange. Therefore, the exchange of all 3000 P points will be rejected.

[0171] In addition, the expired point determination unit 1016 determines the number of points that will expire from the remaining points recorded in the second remaining points recording unit 1004 based on the additional information CI, which indicates that the exchange deadline is "January after the end of event A1," "February after the end of event A1," or "March after the end of event A1."

[0172] For example, if time passes without any reward exchange, etc., and it exceeds "three months after the end of Event A1," the 1000 points associated with the action of answering questionnaire QA21, the 1000 points associated with the action of answering questionnaire QA22, and the 1000 points associated with the action of answering questionnaire QA23 will be deemed to have expired.

[0173] The second remaining points recording unit 1004 records the new remaining points, i.e., 0 points, obtained by subtracting the additional 1000 points that will expire from the current remaining points of 1000 P associated with the recipient candidate participant U11 whose points have been determined to expire by the expiration point determination unit 1016.

[0174] The additional information CI may also be recorded in association with a change in the status of points acquired by a person involved in the event.

[0175] The additional information CI can include usage restriction information for the acquired points.

[0176] In this embodiment, an additional information recording unit 1014 and a point availability determination unit 1017 are added to the block diagram shown in FIG.

[0177] Point status changes include "points have been acquired," "points have been used," "points have expired," and, as described below, "a different type of point Pa has been acquired that is different from the points P that can be exchanged for rewards," and, as described below, "external points Pb that are different from the internal points P have been acquired."

[0178] The different points Pa are different types of points that are awarded for actions related to the event content, such as exchanging business cards at an exhibition booth or participating in a session, in addition to the points P that are awarded for answering a questionnaire.

[0179] External points Pb are points managed by an external point management system.

[0180] Points can be acquired by purchasing them with currency or by acquiring them based on actions. Points can be used by exchanging them for rewards, exchanging them for other types of points (e.g., external points Pb), or by receiving a refund.

[0181] The additional information CI includes usage restriction information for the acquired points.

[0182] Usage restriction information includes, for example, the deadline for exchanging points with rewards, the exchange rate with rewards, the deadline for exchanging points with other types of points Pa, the exchange rate with other types of points Pa, the deadline for exchanging points with external points Pb, the exchange rate with external points Pb, and restrictions on the use of points (such as being limited to providing surveys).

[0183] The additional information recording unit 1014 records additional information CI including point usage restriction information in association with the point state change.

[0184] The point availability determination unit 1017 determines whether or not points can be used based on the additional information CI.

[0185] FIG. 21 shows the contents of the recorded data D14 in the supplementary information recording unit 1014.

[0186] The additional information recording unit 1014 records additional information CI that corresponds to the changes in the status of points acquired by a person involved in the event (for example, a potential recipient participant U11) and indicates the actions taken by the person involved in the event, usage restriction information, information identifying the recipient and source of the points, the number of points added or subtracted, and the date on which the points were added or subtracted.

[0187] For example, as in Figure 9, in correspondence with the change in the status of points acquired by the potential recipient participant U11 (point acquisition), the following information is recorded: actions (answers to questionnaires QA21, QA22, and QA23), usage restriction information (exchange deadlines are within one month after the end of event A1, within two months after the end of event A1, and within three months after the end of event A1, respectively), information identifying the potential recipient participant U11 to whom the points will be awarded and the potential provider participants U21, U22, and U23 from whom the points will be awarded, the number of points to be added or subtracted (1,000 points P), and additional information CI indicating the time of point addition or subtraction (Z1st day of month Y0 of year X0, Z2nd day of month Y0 of year X0, Z3rd day of month Y0 of year X0).

[0188] Also, similar to Figure 11, in correspondence with the change in the status of the points acquired by the potential recipient participant U11 (point usage), the action (acceptance of exchange of 1000 points), usage restriction information (completion of exchange for 1000 points P (the 1000 points P used can no longer be used)), information identifying the reward distribution agency FB to which the points were awarded and the potential recipient participant U11 from whom they were awarded, the number of points added or subtracted (1000 points P), and additional information CI indicating the time of point addition or subtraction (X0, Y0, Z4).

[0189] The point availability determination unit 1017 determines whether or not points can be used based on the additional information CI.

[0190] If the point exchange acceptance period (Y0 / X0 / Z4) falls within the exchange deadline indicated in the usage restriction information for 1000 points (within one month after the end of Event A1, within two months after the end of Event A1, or within three months after the end of Event A1), it will be determined that the points can be used (exchanged for rewards).

[0191] The reward distribution unit 1005 converts the number of points (1000P) accepted within the range determined by the point usage determination unit 1017 as being usable from the remaining points recorded in the second remaining point number recording unit 1004 associated with the recipient candidate participant U11 into a reward at a predetermined exchange rate, and distributes a reward corresponding to the accepted number of points (1000P) to the recipient candidate participant U11.

[0192] In addition, the status change of the points acquired by the potential recipient participant U11 (points Pa different from the points P exchangeable for rewards were acquired) is correlated with the action (business card exchange)

[0193] ), usage restriction information (cannot be exchanged for rewards), information identifying the recipient candidate participant U11 to whom the points will be awarded and the provider candidate participant U21 from whom the points will be awarded, the number of points to be added or subtracted (1000 points Pa), and additional information CI indicating the time when the points will be added or subtracted (Y0 / Z5 / X0) are recorded.

[0194] The point availability determination unit 1017 determines whether or not points can be used based on the additional information CI.

[0195] For example, if time passes without any reward exchange, etc., and it exceeds "three months after the end of event A1," the remaining points recorded in the second remaining points recording unit 1004 associated with the potential recipient participant U11, i.e., all 2000 points that could have been exchanged for rewards, are determined to have expired. However, the remaining points recorded in the third remaining points recording unit 1008, i.e., a different type of 1000 points Pa that cannot be exchanged for rewards, are maintained as they are and do not expire.

[0196] The second remaining points recording unit 1004 records the new remaining points, i.e., 0 points P, obtained by subtracting the used points, 2000 P, from the current remaining points, 2000 P, associated with the recipient candidate participant U11, and also records 1000 points Pa for other types of points Pa that cannot be exchanged for rewards.

[0197] FIG. 22 shows the contents of the recorded data D14 in the supplementary information recording unit 1014.

[0198] The additional information recording unit 1014 records additional information CI that corresponds to the changes in the status of points acquired by a person involved in the event (for example, a potential provider participant U21) and indicates the actions taken by the person involved in the event, usage restriction information, information identifying the recipient and source of the points, the number of points added or subtracted, and the date on which the points were added or subtracted.

[0199] For example, as in Figure 7, in correspondence with the change in status (point acquisition) of points acquired by the candidate provider participant U21, the action (point issuance acceptance), usage restriction information (limited to providing surveys, unlimited exchange period), information identifying the candidate provider participant U21 to whom the points will be awarded and the point issuing institution PB from which the points were awarded, the number of points added or subtracted (1,000,000 points P), and additional information CI indicating the time of point addition or subtraction (year X0, month Y0, day Z0) are recorded.

[0200] Also, similar to Figure 9, in association with the change in the status (point usage) of the points acquired by the candidate provider participant U21, the action (provision of questionnaire QA21), usage restriction information (within one month after the end of event A1), information identifying the candidate recipient participants U11 and U12 to whom the points will be awarded and the candidate provider participant U21 from whom the points will be awarded, the number of points added or subtracted (1000 points P), and additional information CI indicating the time of point addition or subtraction (year X0, month Y0, day Z1) are recorded.

[0201] The point availability determination unit 1017 determines whether or not points can be used based on the additional information CI.

[0202] The potential donor participant U21 can request a refund from the refund agency.

[0203] The additional information CI includes usage restriction information that indicates unlimited usage. Therefore, if a refund is accepted on X0 / Y0 / Z7, it is determined that points can be used for a refund.

[0204] The refund unit 1016 converts the number of points (990,000 P) accepted within the range determined by the point usage determination unit 1017 as being usable from the number of remaining points recorded in the first remaining point number recording unit 1003 associated with the candidate provider participant U21 into a reward at a predetermined exchange rate, and refunds the currency corresponding to the number of points accepted (990,000 P) to the candidate provider participant U21.

[0205] In addition, in correspondence with the change in the status of the points acquired by the candidate provider participant U21 (point use), the action (refund accepted), usage restriction information (end (used points can no longer be used)), information identifying the refund institution to which the points were awarded and the candidate provider participant U21 who awarded them, the number of points added or subtracted (990,000P), and additional information CI indicating the time of point addition or subtraction (X0, Y0, Z7th) are recorded.

[0206] The first remaining points recording unit 1003 records the new remaining points obtained by subtracting the used points of 990,000 P from the current remaining points of 990,000 P associated with the provider candidate participant U21, that is, 0 points P.

[0207] (Second Example)

[0208] It is also possible to convert the remaining points into currency or the like and refund them to the potential provider participant.

[0209] The acceptance and receipt of the refund can be carried out on the screen of the display device 17 of the terminal 120 on the side of the provider candidate participant U21, in the same manner as in FIGS. 10A and 10B.

[0210] For example, if the remaining point number N1 associated with the provider candidate participant U21 is 500,000 points P, the refund unit 1006 can convert the number of points (e.g., 500,000 points P) received from the provider candidate participant U21 within the range of the remaining point number (500,000 points P) into currency at the third exchange rate R3 and refund the converted number of points. The refund institution can also serve as the reward distribution institution. The refund institution side terminal can also serve as the reward distribution institution side terminal 100B.

[0211] In addition to currency, refunds may be made in the form of digital points, prepaid cards, goods, or a combination of two or more of these, as long as the value of the received points is equivalent to that of the received points.

[0212] The refund method used by the refund unit 1006 can be set arbitrarily. If the refund is in tangible currency, the refund may be transferred to an account designated by the provider candidate participant U21, or may be delivered to a location designated by the provider candidate participant U21 via a delivery company.

[0213] If the refund is a prepaid card or an item, it may be delivered to a location designated by the potential donor participant U21 via a delivery company.

[0214] If the refund is in the form of digital points, a serial code or URL identifying the right to receive the digital points can be displayed on a refund screen (not shown) similar to the reward distribution screen 506 shown in Figure 10B.

[0215] It is also possible to issue points with the issuance fee included in advance.

[0216] In this case, the first exchange rate R1 (for example, 1.5 yen / 1 point) is set higher than the third exchange rate R3 (for example, 1 yen / 1 point). By having the point issuing unit 1001 issue points that include in advance an issuance fee according to the difference between the third exchange rate R3 and the first exchange rate R1, the point issuing institution PB and the refund institution RB, as the event management institutions, can recover the operating costs of the event A1 even if a refund is made.

[0217] In addition, if a transfer fee and a delivery fee are required for the refund, the refund unit 1006 may refund the amount (e.g., 499,000 yen) obtained by subtracting the transfer fee and / or delivery fee and / or transfer and delivery fee (e.g., 1,000 yen) from the number of points P received (e.g., 500,000 P).

[0218] (Third Example)

[0219] In addition to the points P awarded for answering a questionnaire, it is also possible to set another type of points Pa that are awarded for actions taken in relation to event content.

[0220] The behavior recording unit 1007 records the behavior of each provider candidate participant with respect to the event content associated with each provider candidate participant, in association with each recipient candidate participant.

[0221] Event content includes, for example, exhibits at the event, sessions held at the event, seminars, etc. Actions regarding event content include leaving business cards, exchanging business cards, making inquiries about exhibits, participating in sessions, participating in seminars, etc.

[0222] For example, if a potential recipient participant U11 takes the action of leaving a business card at the exhibition booth of a potential donor participant U21, it is recorded that the potential donor participant U21 has awarded the number of points Pa (1,000 points Pa) to the potential recipient participant U11 as a reward for the action of leaving the business card.

[0223] The third remaining point number recording unit 1008 records the current remaining point number Pa and the additional information CI in association with each recipient candidate participant U11, in the same manner as in FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 9.

[0224] For example, if candidate recipient participant U11 takes the action of leaving his / her business card at the exhibition booth of candidate donor participants U21, U22, and U23 on Y0 / Z1 / X0, similar to Figure 9, the third remaining points recording unit 1008 will record remaining points recording data corresponding to candidate recipient participant U11, including the current remaining points of 3,000 points Pa, and additional information CI indicating that 1,000 points Pa was received from candidate donor participant U21 on Y0 / Z1 / X0, 1,000 points Pa was received from candidate donor participant U22 on Y0 / Z1 / X0, and 1,000 points Pa was received from candidate donor participant U23 on Y0 / Z1 / X0.

[0225] The points Pa recorded in the third remaining point number recording unit 1008 are honorary points and cannot be exchanged for rewards, unlike the points P recorded in the second remaining point number recording unit 1004. However, it is also possible to convert the point type of the points Pa recorded in the third remaining point number recording unit 1008 to the points P recorded in the second remaining point number recording unit 1004 with restrictions.

[0226] The point type conversion receiving unit 1009 receives a request from the recipient candidate participant U11 to convert the points Pa recorded in the third remaining point number recording unit 1008 into points recorded in the second remaining point number recording unit 1004.

[0227] When a point type conversion is accepted by the point type conversion accepting unit 1009, the point type conversion processing unit 1010 converts the points Pa recorded in the third remaining point number recording unit 1008 into points P recorded in the second remaining point number recording unit 1004 at the fourth exchange rate R4, and adds the converted number of points to the current remaining point number N2 in the second remaining point number recording unit 1004.

[0228] The acceptance of the point type conversion and confirmation of the point type conversion can be performed on the screen of the display device 17 of the terminal 130 on the side of the potential recipient participant U11, in the same manner as in FIGS. 10A and 10B.

[0229] Here, the fourth exchange rate R4 can be set lower than the second exchange rate R2. For example, if the second exchange rate R2 is 1 yen / 1 point, the fourth exchange rate R4 can be set to 0.5 yen / 1 point. Therefore, if the number of points Pa recorded in the third remaining point number recording unit 1008 is 3000 points Pa, as a result of the point type conversion, the second remaining point number recording unit 1004 adds 1500 points P of converted points P to the current remaining point number N2.

[0230] The second remaining point number recording unit 1004 records the time of addition of the converted point number (e.g., 1500 points P) in association with the converted point number (e.g., 1500 points P) each time the converted point number (e.g., 1500 points P) is added to the current remaining point number N2 in the second remaining point number recording unit 1004. For example, if the recipient candidate U11 exchanges 1500 points P for points P on X0 / Y0 / Z1, the second remaining point number recording unit 1004 records, in association with the recipient candidate U11, additional information CI indicating that the converted point number of 1500 points P was converted to a point type on X0 / Y0 / Z1.

[0231] Restrictions may be imposed on the upper limit of the number of points P that can be exchanged for a different type of point or on the exchange deadline. For example, the upper limit of the number of points P that can be exchanged for a different type of point can be limited to 10,000 points P. The deadline for the point type exchange can also be limited to a specific date, X0 year, Y0 month, Z5 day.

[0232] Therefore, the point type conversion acceptance unit 1009 can refuse to accept a point type exchange for a number of points exceeding the upper limit of 10,000 points P or / and a point type conversion for a period beyond the exchange deadline of X0 year, Y0 month, Z5 day.

[0233] When the point type conversion acceptance unit 1009 refuses to accept a point type exchange for a number of points exceeding the upper limit or / and a point type conversion for a time period beyond the exchange deadline, it may display a warning to that effect on the screen of the display device 17 of the terminal 130 of the potential recipient participant.

[0234] (Fourth Example)

[0235] The first remaining point number recording unit 1003 and the second remaining point number recording unit 1004 may perform an addition / subtraction process on the number of points n2 (e.g., 1,000 points P) for the reward for answering the questionnaire only when it is determined that the potential recipient participant can be awarded the number of points n2 (e.g., 1,000 points P).

[0236] When a survey response is accepted by the survey response accepting unit 1002, the judgment unit 1011 compares the number of remaining points N1 recorded in the first remaining points recording unit 1003 with the number of points n2 (e.g., 1000 points P) associated with the survey response, and determines whether the number of points n2 (e.g., 1000 points P) associated with the survey response can be awarded to the potential recipient participant U11.

[0237] When it is determined that the remaining points N1 associated with the provider candidate participant U21 is equal to or greater than the number of points n2 (e.g., 1000 points P) and that the number of points n2 (e.g., 1000 points P) associated with the questionnaire responses can be granted to the recipient candidate participant U11, the point addition / subtraction processing unit 1012 executes an addition / subtraction process to subtract the number of points n2 (e.g., 1000 points P) associated with the questionnaire responses from the current remaining points N1 recorded in the first remaining points recording unit 1003 and add the number of points n2 to the current remaining points N2 recorded in the second remaining points recording unit 1004. On the other hand, when it is determined that the remaining points N1 associated with the provider candidate participant U21 is less than the number of points n2 (e.g., 1000 points P) and that the number of points n2 (e.g., 1000 points P) associated with the questionnaire responses cannot be granted to the recipient candidate participant U11, the point addition / subtraction processing unit 1012 executes a suspension process to suspend the addition / subtraction process.

[0238] When the addition / subtraction process is suspended, currency (e.g., 1,500 yen) equivalent to the number of points n2 (e.g., 1,000 points P) may be withdrawn from a pre-registered advance account and used as a reward to be awarded to the potential recipient participant.

[0239] The advance payment account registration unit 1013 registers an advance payment account in association with the provider candidate participant U21. Registration of an advance payment account and depositing money into the account can be performed on the screen of the display device 17 of the terminal 120 on the provider candidate participant U21 side, as in Figures 10A and 10B. The advance payment account institution side terminal 110 manages the advance payment account.

[0240] When the reservation process is executed, the point addition / subtraction processing unit 1012 executes an advance request process to debit a currency (e.g., 1,500 yen) equivalent to the number of points n2 (e.g., 1,000 points P) associated with the questionnaire response from the advance account associated with the provider candidate participant U21 for whom the reservation process was executed, on the condition that a currency available for debit has been entered in the advance account. As a result, the currency (e.g., 1,500 yen) equivalent to the number of points n2 (e.g., 1,000 points P) is debited from the advance account and used as a reward (e.g., 1,000 points P) to be granted to the recipient candidate participant U11. At the same time, the point addition / subtraction processing unit 1012 executes an addition / subtraction process to subtract the number of points n2 (e.g., 1,000 points P) associated with the questionnaire response from the current number of remaining points N1 recorded in the first remaining points recording unit 1003, and add the number of points n2 to the current number of remaining points N2 recorded in the second remaining points recording unit 1004.

[0241] It is also possible to display a warning on the screen of the terminal 130 of the potential recipient participant according to the number of times that reward-bearing surveys can be submitted.

[0242] The survey provision count calculation unit 1014 calculates the number of times that reward-bearing surveys can be provided for each potential participant by comparing the remaining points N1 recorded in the first remaining points recording unit 1003 with the number of points n2 (e.g., 1,000 points P) associated with the survey responses.

[0243] The number of times that reward-provided surveys can be provided can be displayed, for example, on the reward distribution screen 505 shown in Fig. 10A. If the remaining points N1 associated with the candidate provision participant U21 is, for example, 10,500 points P, and the number of points n2 associated with the survey answers is, for example, 1,000 points P, a provision count display section stating "The number of times that candidate provision participant U21 can provide reward-provided surveys is 10 times" is displayed on the reward distribution screen 505 shown in Fig. 10A.

[0244] If the number of times that reward-providing surveys can be provided is a predetermined number, for example, three or less, the warning display unit 1015 displays a warning to that effect on the screen of the terminal 130 of the potential recipient participant. The warning can be displayed, for example, on the reward distribution screen 505 shown in FIG. 10A. If the remaining points N1 associated with the potential recipient participant U21 is, for example, 3,500 points P, and the number of points n2 associated with the survey responses is, for example, 1,000 points P, a warning display unit stating, "The number of times that the potential recipient participant U21 can provide reward-providing surveys is three remaining times," is displayed on the reward distribution screen 505 shown in FIG. 10A. The content of the warning can be notified to the potential recipient participant by flashing the warning display unit or by displaying it in a warning color different from the background color of the screen (for example, red).

[0245] If it becomes impossible to provide a survey with a reward, it is also possible to display a warning message indicating that the survey provided does not include a reward. If the remaining points N1 associated with the providing candidate participant U21 is, for example, 500 points P, and the number of points n2 associated with the survey responses is, for example, 1000 points P, a warning message stating "The survey provided by the providing candidate participant U21 does not include a reward" is displayed on the reward distribution screen 505 shown in FIG. 10A. The warning message can be made known to the receiving candidate participant by flashing the warning message or by displaying it in a warning color (e.g., red) that is different from the background color of the screen.

[0246] (Fifth Example)

[0247] It is also possible to make it possible to exchange points acquired in response to the questionnaire for products or services provided by the event cooperation organization instead of exchanging them for rewards.

[0248] The event cooperating organization may be, for example, a local industrial company that is a member of the chamber of commerce in the location where the event (academic conference) is held. The goods or services provided by the event cooperating organization may be, for example, local specialties.

[0249] Points earned in response to the questionnaire can be exchanged for products or services provided by the event cooperation organization on the screen of the display device 17 of the terminal 130 of the potential recipient participant U11, in the same manner as in Figures 10A and 10B.

[0250] When the exchange of points acquired in response to the questionnaire for goods or services provided by the event cooperation organization is accepted, points P (e.g., 3,000 points P) of the number of points N3 accepted from the potential recipient participant U11 within the range of the number of remaining points N2 recorded in the second remaining point number recording unit 1004 are exchanged for goods or services provided by the event cooperation organization at a fifth exchange rate R5, and the goods or services provided by the event cooperation organization are distributed to this potential recipient participant U11.

[0251] The fifth exchange rate R5 is, for example, 1.2 yen / 1 point. The fifth exchange rate R5 (for example, 1.2 yen / 1 point) can be set higher than the second exchange rate R2 (for example, 1 yen / 1 point). This increases the exchange rate for goods or services provided by event cooperating organizations, revitalizing the economy of the area where the event is held.

[0252] It is also possible to set a limit on the period during which points can be exchanged for products or services provided by the event cooperation organization. For example, exchange for products or services provided by the event cooperation organization can be limited to the period from X0 / Y0 / Z1 to X0 / Y0 / Z3 during the event A1, when the points to be exchanged are awarded.

[0253] 8A, 8B, and 9, the second remaining points recording unit 1004 records the current remaining points P and the additional information CI in association with each recipient candidate participant U11. However, the additional information CI is added with information indicating the time when the points can be exchanged for products or services provided by the event cooperation organization.

[0254] For example, when the potential recipient participant U11 answers a questionnaire provided by the potential donor participant U21 on Z1 / Y0 / X0, similar to FIG. 9, the second remaining points recording unit 1004 records, in association with the potential recipient participant U11, additional information CI indicating that 1,000 points P were received from the potential donor participant U21 on Z1 / Y0 / X0, and that these 1,000 points P can only be exchanged for products or services provided by the event cooperation organization until Z3 / Y0 / X0, the end date of event A1. Similarly, when the potential recipient participant U11 answers the questionnaire provided by the potential donor participant U22 on Z2, Y0, X0, the second remaining points recording unit 1004 records, in association with the potential recipient participant U11, additional information CI indicating that 1,000 points P were received from the potential donor participant U22 on Z2, Y0, X0, and that these 1,000 points P can only be exchanged for products or services provided by the event cooperation organization until Z3, Y0, X0, the end date of the event A1. Similarly, when the potential recipient participant U11 answers the questionnaire provided by the potential donor participant U23 on Z3, Y0, X0, the second remaining points recording unit 1004 records additional information CI in association with the potential recipient participant U11, stating that 1,000 points P were received from the potential donor participant U23 on Z3, Y0, X0, and that these 1,000 points P can only be exchanged for products or services provided by the event cooperation organization until the end of the event A1 on Z3, Y0, X0.

[0255] Note that a specified period may be used instead of the event period. For example, the exchange of points P acquired in response to a questionnaire for products or services provided by the event cooperation organization may be limited to a specific time (e.g., year X0, month Y0, day Z5) after the end of the event A1 for which the points P to be exchanged are granted.

[0256] This will increase the rate of exchange for goods or services provided by event cooperating organizations during the event period, revitalizing the economy of the area where the event is held.

[0257] The exchange of points P acquired in response to questionnaire responses for rewards distributed by the reward distribution unit 1005 may also be limited to the period during which the event A1 in which the points P to be exchanged were awarded (for example, from Z1st, Y0th month of X0 to Z3rd, Y0th month of X0) or to a specific time after the end of the event (for example, Z5th, Y0th month of X0).

[0258] (Sixth Example)

[0259] Time or number restrictions may be placed on the exchange of points for rewards. Also, if an attempt is made to acquire more points than the specified number or to acquire points fraudulently, the acceptance of the survey response or the exchange of points for rewards may be refused.

[0260] The first remaining points recording unit 1003 records the current remaining points P and the accompanying information CI in association with each of the provider candidate participants U21, U22, and U23, in the same manner as in FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 7.

[0261] That is, each time the number of points n1 is added to the current number of remaining points N1 in the first remaining point number recording unit 1003, the first remaining point number recording unit 1003 records, in association with the number of points n1, additional information CI indicating the time of awarding the number of points n1 or / and the reward exchange deadline.

[0262] For example, points P with a point count of n1 (e.g., 1 million points P) are recorded in association with additional information CI including the grant date of X0 year, Y0 month, Z0 day. Also, points P with a point count of n1 (e.g., 1 million points P) are recorded in association with additional information CI including the reward exchange deadline of X0 year, Y0 month, Z5 day. This additional information CI is carried over even when points P with a point count of n1 (e.g., 1 million points P) are granted to a potential recipient participant.

[0263] That is, each time the number of points n2 (e.g., 1000 points P) is subtracted from the current number of remaining points N1 in the first remaining point number recording unit 1003, the first remaining point number recording unit 1003 records, in association with the number of points n2 (e.g., 1000 points P), information identifying the recipient candidate participant (e.g., U11) to whom this number of points n2 (e.g., 1000 points P) will be awarded and the provider candidate participant (e.g., U21) from whom this number of points n2 (e.g., 1000 points P) will be awarded, and / or additional information CI indicating the awarding time (the awarding time by the point issuing institution PB is X0 / Y0 / Z0 and the awarding time by the provider candidate participant U21 is X0 / Y0 / 01) and / or the reward exchange deadline (X0 / Y0 / Z5).

[0264] Each time point number n2 (e.g., 1000 points P) is added to the current remaining point number N2 of the second remaining point number recording unit 1004, the second remaining point number recording unit 1004 records information identifying the candidate provider participant (e.g., U21) from which this point number n2 (e.g., 1000 points P) was granted and the candidate recipient participant (e.g., U11) to whom it was granted and / or additional information CI indicating the granting time (the granting time by the point issuing institution PB was X0 / Y0 / Z0 and the granting time by the candidate provider participant U21 was X0 / Y0 / 01) and / or the reward exchange deadline (X0 / Y0 / Z5), in association with this point number n2 (e.g., 1000 points P).

[0265] When a request for exchange of points for a reward is made by a potential recipient participant (e.g., U11), the reward exchange possibility determination unit 1016 determines, based on the accompanying information CI, whether the number of points P associated with this accompanying information CI can be exchanged for a reward C. For this reason, the deadline for exchanging points P for a reward C for which a request for exchange has been made can be limited to a predetermined period (e.g., 5 days) after the grant time (X0 / Y0 / Z0) indicated in the accompanying information CI (X0 / Y0 / Z5). In addition, the deadline for exchanging points P for a reward C for which a request for exchange has been made can be limited to the reward exchange deadline (X0 / Y0 / Z5) indicated in the accompanying information CI.

[0266] The reward distribution unit 1005 distributes a reward corresponding to the number of points accepted from the candidate recipient participant (e.g., U11) on the condition that it is determined that a reward should be awarded to the candidate recipient participant (e.g., U11). The reward distribution unit 1005 accepts and distributes reward C an exchange of points P (e.g., 3,000 points P) with reward C for a number of points N3 requested for acceptance by the time a predetermined period (e.g., five days) has elapsed since the award time X0 / Y0 / Z0 indicated in the accompanying information CI (e.g., X0 / Y0 / Z5), but rejects and does not distribute reward C for an exchange of points P for reward C requested after the time a predetermined period (e.g., five days) has elapsed since the award time X0 / Y0 / Z0 indicated in the accompanying information CI (e.g., X0 / Y0 / Z6).

[0267] Similarly, the reward distribution unit 1005 will accept and distribute reward C an exchange of points P (e.g., 3,000 points P) with reward C for a point number N3 requested by the reward exchange deadline X0 / Y0 / Z5 indicated in the additional information CI, but will reject and not distribute reward C an exchange of points P (e.g., 3,000 points P) with reward C for a request made after the reward exchange deadline X0 / Y0 / Z5 indicated in the additional information CI (e.g., X0 / Y0 / Z6).

[0268] A numerical limit may be set for reward exchange. It is also possible to reject reward exchanges for points that have been acquired in excess of a specified number or points that have been acquired fraudulently.

[0269] Some events may set an upper limit on the number of points (reward amount) that one potential recipient participant can acquire per event, or an upper limit on the number of times one potential donor participant can answer a reward-linked survey. In such cases, to avoid distribution of rewards exceeding the upper limit, points may be awarded to potential recipient participants according to their survey responses, subject to approval by the potential donor participant or the event management organization. Furthermore, the same potential recipient participant may fraudulently register multiple users and attempt to fraudulently acquire points exceeding the upper limit. In such cases, to avoid fraudulent acquisition of rewards, points may be awarded to potential recipient participants according to their survey responses, subject to approval by the potential donor participant or the event management organization.

[0270] When the recipient candidate participant U11 presses the answer confirmation button 503B on the survey answer acceptance screen 503 shown in Figure 6A to request acceptance of the survey answer, the approval screen 507 shown in Figure 12 is displayed on the screen of the display device 17 of the terminal 120 on the provider candidate participant U21's side.

[0271] The approval screen 507 displays a reception request display area 507A and an approval confirmation button 507B. The reception request display area 507A displays a message that a request for questionnaire response acceptance has been received from the recipient candidate participant U11. When the approval confirmation button 507B is pressed, the questionnaire response is accepted, the display screen of the display device 17 of the recipient candidate participant terminal 130 transitions to a questionnaire response acceptance screen 504 shown in FIG. 6B, and the recipient candidate participant U11 is awarded points P equal to the number n2 (for example, 1000 points P) corresponding to the questionnaire response.

[0272] The candidate provider participant U21 can check the first remaining point number record data D1 associated with his / her own candidate provider participant U21 or the second remaining point number record data D2 associated with the candidate recipient participant U11 who has applied to accept questionnaire responses on the screen of the display device 17 of the terminal 120 on his / her side.

[0273] Here, the upper limit of the number of survey responses that can be made by one offer candidate participant is set to one. Note that the upper limit of the number of responses can be set arbitrarily depending on the type of event, etc.

[0274] Assume that, at the time of the request for questionnaire response acceptance from the recipient candidate participant U11, the first remaining point number record data D1 associated with the recipient candidate participant U21 is in the state shown in FIG. 5A or the second remaining point number record data D2 associated with the recipient candidate participant U11 is in the state shown in FIG. 8A. In this case, it can be determined that the number of questionnaire responses associated with the recipient candidate participant U21 and the recipient candidate participant U11 is 0, and the upper limit of the number of responses (1) has not been reached. Therefore, the recipient candidate participant U21 can determine that the request for questionnaire response acceptance may be approved. When the approval confirmation button 507B is pressed, the questionnaire response acceptance unit 1002 allows the acceptance of the questionnaire response. As a result, the display screen of the display device 17 of the terminal 130 of the recipient candidate participant U11 transitions to the questionnaire response acceptance screen 504 shown in FIG. 6B, and the recipient candidate participant U11 is awarded points P of n2 (e.g., 1,000 points P) corresponding to the questionnaire response.

[0275] The point addition / subtraction processing unit 1012 performs an addition / subtraction process to subtract the number of points n2 (e.g., 1,000 points P) associated with the questionnaire response from the current number of remaining points N1 recorded in the first remaining point number recording unit 1003 and associated with the candidate providing participant U21, and to add it to the current number of remaining points N2 recorded in the second remaining point number recording unit 1004 and associated with the candidate receiving participant U11.

[0276] On the other hand, when the recipient candidate participant U11 requests to receive a questionnaire response, the first remaining point number record data D1 associated with the recipient candidate participant U21 is in the state shown in FIG. 5B, or the second remaining point number record data D2 associated with the recipient candidate participant U11 is in the state shown in FIG. 8B. In this case, the number of questionnaire responses associated with the recipient candidate participant U21 and the recipient candidate participant U11 is one, and it can be determined that the upper limit (one response) has already been reached. Therefore, the recipient candidate participant U21 can determine not to approve the request to receive a questionnaire response. The approval confirmation button 507B is not pressed, and the questionnaire response acceptance unit 1002 rejects the acceptance of the questionnaire response. As a result, the display screen of the display device 17 of the terminal 130 of the recipient candidate participant U11 does not transition to the questionnaire response acceptance screen 504 shown in FIG. 6B, and the recipient candidate participant U11 is not newly awarded the number of points n2 (e.g., 1,000 points P) corresponding to the questionnaire response.

[0277] In this example, an upper limit is set on the number of times a reward-bearing questionnaire can be answered by one potential provider participant, but this can also be applied in the same way when one potential provider participant provides multiple types of questionnaires and an upper limit is set on the number of questionnaires that a potential recipient participant can answer.

[0278] Similarly, in cases where the same potential recipient participant fraudulently registers multiple times and attempts to obtain points fraudulently, it is also possible to refuse to accept the request to accept survey responses and to refuse to accept the survey responses.

[0279] On the screen of the display device 17 of the terminal 120 on the provider candidate participant U21's side, the provider candidate participant U21 can refer to the registration information of the recipient candidate participant U19 (user registration ID is U19) who has requested to receive questionnaire responses this time, and the registration information of the recipient candidate participant U11 (user registration ID is U11) who has responded to a questionnaire provided by the provider candidate participant U21 in the past. By comparing the contents of the registration information here, it can be determined that the recipient candidate participant U19 who has requested to receive questionnaire responses is the same person as the recipient candidate participant U11 who responded to a questionnaire in the past. As a result, the provider candidate participant U21 can determine not to approve the request to receive questionnaire responses from the recipient candidate participant U19. The operation of pressing the approval confirmation button 507B is not performed, and the questionnaire response acceptance unit 1002 rejects the acceptance of the questionnaire responses. As a result, the display screen of the display device 17 of the terminal 130 on the side of the potential recipient participant U19 will not transition from the survey response acceptance screen 503 shown in Figure 6A to the survey response acceptance screen 504 shown in Figure 6B, and the duplicately registered potential recipient participant U19 will no longer be awarded points P of n2 (e.g., 1,000 points P) in accordance with the survey response.

[0280] It is also possible to automatically determine whether the number of survey responses from a recipient candidate participant who has applied to receive survey responses has reached the upper limit of the number of survey responses that can be provided by one provider candidate participant. For example, when a request to receive survey responses is received from the recipient candidate participant U11, the first remaining point number record data D1 or the second remaining point number record data D2 is read from the database, and the number of past survey responses from the recipient candidate participant U11 is referenced. This determines whether the number of past survey responses from the recipient candidate participant U11 is below or exceeds the upper limit of the number of responses, and executes a process to accept or reject the current survey response from the recipient candidate participant U11. If it is determined that the number of past survey responses from the recipient candidate participant U11 has reached the upper limit of the number of responses, the survey response acceptance unit 1002 executes a process to reject the acceptance of the survey response.

[0281] Similarly, when a request for receipt of questionnaire responses is made by the recipient candidate participant U19, the user registration information of the recipient candidate participant U19 and the registration information of a recipient candidate participant who has previously responded to a questionnaire (for example, recipient candidate participant U11) are read from the database, and the contents of the registration information are compared. This determines whether the same person is attempting to respond to the questionnaire multiple times, and a process is performed to reject or accept the receipt of the questionnaire responses from the recipient candidate participant U19. If it is determined that the requests for receipt of questionnaire responses from the recipient candidate participant U19 are duplicate requests from the same person, the questionnaire response acceptance unit 1002 executes a process to reject the receipt of the questionnaire responses.

[0282] Depending on the event, an upper limit may be set on the number of survey responses (reward amount) that one potential recipient participant can complete per event. For example, the upper limit on the number of surveys that one potential recipient participant can complete may be set to 100. The upper limit on the number of responses may be set arbitrarily depending on the type of event, etc. In this case, it is also possible to reject or accept survey responses by determining whether the upper limit on the number of responses has been reached.

[0283] Whether the number of survey responses (reward amount) that one potential recipient participant can provide per event has already reached the upper limit can be determined by, for example, referring to the first remaining points record data D1 or the second remaining points record data D2 on the screen of the point issuing institution terminal 100A or the reward distribution institution terminal 100B, which are terminals on the event organizer side. If it is determined that the number of survey responses (reward amount) that one potential recipient participant can provide per event has reached the upper limit, the survey response receiving unit 1002 executes a process to refuse to accept the survey responses.

[0284] It is also possible to automatically determine whether the number of survey responses from a recipient candidate participant who has applied to receive survey responses has reached the upper limit of the number of survey responses that one recipient candidate participant can provide per event. For example, when a request to receive survey responses is received from the recipient candidate participant U11, the first remaining point number record data D1 or the second remaining point number record data D2 is read from the database, and the number of past survey responses from the recipient candidate participant U11 is referenced. This determines whether the number of past survey responses from the recipient candidate participant U11 is below or exceeds the upper limit of the number of responses, and executes a process to accept or reject the current survey response from the recipient candidate participant U11. If it is determined that the number of past survey responses from the recipient candidate participant U11 has reached the upper limit of the number of responses, the survey response acceptance unit 1002 executes a process to reject the acceptance of the survey response.

[0285] Similarly, when a potential recipient participant U11 applies to receive a reward, it may be determined whether the upper limit of the number of reward-bearing survey responses per event and / or the upper limit of the number of survey responses that can be provided by a potential provider participant has been reached.

[0286] When the potential recipient participant U11 presses the reward conversion confirmation button 505B on the reward distribution screen 505 shown in Figure 10A and requests acceptance of reward distribution, the approval screen 508 shown in Figure 13 is displayed on the screen of the point issuing institution terminal 100A or the reward distribution institution terminal 100B, which is the terminal on the event organizer's side.

[0287] The approval screen 508 displays a reception request display area 508A and an approval confirmation button 508B. The reception request display area 508A displays a message that a request for reward distribution acceptance has been received from the recipient candidate participant U11. When the approval confirmation button 508B is pressed, the reward distribution is accepted, and the display screen of the display device 17 of the recipient candidate participant terminal 130 transitions to the reward distribution completion screen 506 shown in FIG. 10B, and the recipient candidate participant U11 is distributed a distribution reward amount C (e.g., 3,000 yen) corresponding to the number of conversion points N3 (e.g., 3,000 points P).

[0288] The event organizer can check the first remaining point number record data D1 or the second remaining point number record data D2 associated with the recipient candidate U11 who has requested to receive questionnaire responses on the screen of the display device 17 of the point issuing institution terminal 100A or the reward distribution institution terminal 100B. If the event organizer determines that the upper limit for the number of responses has not been reached by referring to the first remaining point number record data D1 or the second remaining point number record data D2 associated with the recipient candidate U11 who has requested to receive questionnaire responses, the event organizer presses the approval confirmation button 508B. This causes the reward distribution unit 1005 to execute a process to accept the reward distribution. The display screen of the display device 17 of the terminal 130 of the recipient candidate U11 transitions to the reward distribution completion screen 506 shown in FIG. 10B, and the recipient candidate U11 is given a distribution reward amount C (e.g., 3,000 yen) corresponding to the conversion point number N3 (e.g., 3,000 points P).

[0289] On the other hand, if it is determined that the upper limit of the number of responses has been reached by referring to the first remaining point number record data D1 or the second remaining point number record data D2 associated with the candidate recipient U11 who has applied to accept the questionnaire responses, the operation of pressing the confirmation approval button 508B is not performed. The reward distribution unit 1005 refuses to distribute the reward corresponding to the questionnaire responses that exceed the upper limit of the number of responses. As a result, the display screen of the display device 17 of the terminal 130 on the candidate recipient U11's side does not transition to the reward distribution completed screen 506 shown in FIG. 10B, and the distribution reward amount C (e.g., 3,000 yen) corresponding to the number of conversion points N3 (e.g., 3,000 points P) will not be distributed to the candidate recipient U11.

[0290] Similarly, in cases where the same potential recipient participant attempts to obtain points fraudulently, such as when they fraudulently register multiple users, it is also possible to refuse to accept the request for reward distribution and to refuse the reward distribution.

[0291] The event organizer can view the registration information of the potential recipient participant U19 (user registration ID: U19) who has applied to receive a reward this time and the registration information of the potential recipient participant U11 (user registration ID: U11) who previously completed a questionnaire on the display device 17 of the point issuing institution terminal 100A or the reward distribution institution terminal 100B. If the two are the same person, the event organizer can determine not to approve the request for reward distribution from the potential recipient participant U19. The approval confirmation button 508B is not pressed, and the reward distribution unit 1005 rejects the request for reward distribution. As a result, the display screen of the display device 17 of the terminal 130 of the potential recipient participant U19 does not transition from the reward distribution screen 505 shown in FIG. 10A to the reward distribution completed screen 506 shown in FIG. 10B. Therefore, the distribution reward amount C (e.g., 3,000 yen) corresponding to the conversion point number N3 (e.g., 3,000 points P) will not be distributed to the duplicately registered potential recipient participant U19.

[0292] It is also possible to automatically determine whether the upper limit of the number of responses has been reached. For example, when a request for reward distribution is made by the recipient candidate participant U11, the first remaining point number record data D1 or the second remaining point number record data D2 is read from the database, and the number of past survey responses by the recipient candidate participant U11 is referenced. This determines whether the number of past survey responses by the recipient candidate participant U11 is below or exceeds the upper limit of the number of responses, and executes a process to accept or reject the current reward distribution from the recipient candidate participant U11. If it is determined that the number of past survey responses by the recipient candidate participant U11 has reached the upper limit of the number of responses, the reward distribution unit 1005 executes a process to reject the reward distribution.

[0293] Similarly, when a request for reward distribution is made by a candidate recipient participant U19, the user registration information of the candidate recipient participant U19 and the registration information of a candidate recipient participant who has previously answered a questionnaire (for example, candidate recipient participant U11) are read from the database, and the contents of the registration information are compared. This determines whether the same person is attempting to answer the questionnaire multiple times and obtain a reward, and a process is performed to reject or accept the request for reward distribution from the candidate recipient participant U19. If it is determined that the requests for reward distribution from the candidate recipient participant U19 are multiple requests from the same person, the reward distribution unit 1005 rejects the request for reward distribution.

[0294] (Seventh Example)

[0295] The questionnaire at the event may be administered by the event organizing organization or by a separate organization.

[0296] When the questionnaires for an event are managed by an event management organization, as shown in FIG. 1, a server 200 for managing the questionnaires is provided in an event management system 101 that manages one event A1 or multiple events A1 to A10.

[0297] The database of the server 200 of the event management system 101 stores questionnaires QA21, QA22, and QA23 associated with each of the provider candidate participants U21, U22, and U23 so that they can be displayed as a questionnaire response acceptance screen 503 on the screen of the display device 17 of the recipient candidate participant terminal 130. The display of the questionnaires QA21, QA22, and QA23 on the screen and the acceptance of the questionnaire responses are performed in the manner shown in FIG. 6A. The questionnaire response data D3 is stored in the database of the server 200 in association with the recipient candidate participant (e.g., U11) whose questionnaire response was accepted and the provider candidate participants U21, U22, and U23 who provided the questionnaires QA21, QA22, and QA23 so that it can be displayed on the screen of the display device 17 of the terminal 120 of the provider candidate participants U21, U22, and U23 who provided the questionnaires.

[0298] (Eighth Example)

[0299] The questionnaire at the event may be managed by an organization other than the event organizer, such as a questionnaire production organization.

[0300] Fig. 14 shows a network configuration diagram of Example 8. Fig. 14 corresponds to Fig. 1, and a questionnaire management system 401 is added to the network configuration shown in Fig. 1.

[0301] As shown in Figure 14, the in-event reward distribution system is composed of an event management organization terminal 100, which includes a point issuing organization terminal 100A and a reward distribution organization terminal 100B, a provider candidate participant terminal 120, a recipient candidate participant terminal 130, a server 200, a questionnaire production organization terminal 410, a questionnaire production organization server 420, and a network 300 that connects each terminal, server 200, and questionnaire production organization server 420 so that data can be sent and received between each of these terminals, server 200, and questionnaire production organization server 420.

[0302] A management system including the questionnaire production agency terminal 410 and the questionnaire production agency server 420 is called a questionnaire management system 401. For example, a questionnaire production agency that is separate from the event management agency has the questionnaire production agency terminal 410 and the questionnaire production agency server 420 installed. The questionnaire production agency has the right to access the database of the questionnaire production agency server 420.

[0303] The hardware of the questionnaire production organization terminal 410 and the questionnaire production organization server 420 is configured in the same manner as the block diagram shown in FIG. FIG. 15 shows the software-based cooperative relationship between the event management system 101 and the questionnaire management system 401.

[0304] The event management system 101 and the questionnaire management system 401 are separate systems, and are operated by different entities (management entities). The event management system 101 is managed by an event management organization, and the questionnaire management system 401 is managed by a questionnaire production organization.

[0305] The survey management system 401 is linked to the event management system 101 via an API (Application Programming Interface), and in response to a request from the event management system 101, the API is read and a specific operation is executed.

[0306] The questionnaire management system 401 has an API 1100 according to the system configuration of the questionnaire management system 401 .

[0307] When the API 1100 is called from the event management system 101 via the network 300, the questionnaire management system 401 provides the event management system 101 with specific processing operation functions, such as displaying a questionnaire response reception screen 503 to receive questionnaire responses and displaying questionnaire response data D3. The data of questionnaires QA21, QA22, and QA23 and the questionnaire response data D3 associated with each of the candidate participants U21, U22, and U23 are stored in a database in the questionnaire production organization's server 420 and managed by the questionnaire management system 401.

[0308] For example, by performing a click operation on the screen of the display device 17 of the recipient candidate participant terminal 130 to indicate a specific provider candidate participant U21 (for example, the display area for "exhibitor company booth U21"), the API 1100 possessed by the survey management system 401 is called.

[0309] This causes the display information data for the questionnaire QA21 associated with the candidate provider participant U21 to be read from the database of the questionnaire production organization's server 420, and the questionnaire response acceptance screen 503 for the questionnaire QA21 associated with the candidate provider participant U21 is displayed on the screen of the display device 17 of the candidate recipient participant's terminal 130, as shown in Figure 6A.

[0310] Additionally, by performing a click operation to instruct viewing of the questionnaire response results on the screen of the display device 17 of the candidate provision participant terminal 120, the API 1100 of the questionnaire management system 401 is called. As a result, display information data for the questionnaire response data D3 is read from the database of the questionnaire production organization server 420, and the questionnaire response data D3 is displayed on the screen of the display device 17 of the candidate provision participant terminal 120 so that it can be viewed.

[0311] (Ninth Example)

[0312] Points awarded to potential recipients in response to their questionnaire responses can be exchanged for rewards at a predetermined exchange rate during the event period for which the points were awarded or during a specified period, and at other times, exchange can be limited to an exchange rate lower than the predetermined exchange rate.

[0313] The second remaining points recording unit 1004 records the current remaining points P and the additional information CI in association with each recipient candidate participant U11, similar to Fig. 9. However, the additional information CI includes information specifying the event A1 to which the points P were awarded.

[0314] For example, when the recipient candidate participant U11 answers a questionnaire provided by the provider candidate participant U21 on Y0 / Z1 / X0, similar to Fig. 9, the second remaining point number recording unit 1004 records, in association with the recipient candidate participant U11, the additional information CI indicating that 1000 points P were received from the provider candidate participant U21 on Y0 / Z1 / X0, and that these 1000 points P were granted around the time of the event A1. Similarly, when the recipient candidate participant U11 answers a questionnaire provided by the provider candidate participant U22 on Y0 / Z2 / X0, the second remaining point number recording unit 1004 records, in association with the recipient candidate participant U11, the additional information CI indicating that 1000 points P were received from the provider candidate participant U22 on Y0 / Z2 / X0, and that these 1000 points P were granted around the time of the event A1. Similarly, when the potential recipient participant U11 answers the questionnaire provided by the potential donor participant U23 on Z3, Y0, X0, the second remaining points recording unit 1004 records, in association with the potential recipient participant U11, additional information CI indicating that 1,000 points P were received from the potential donor participant U23 on Z3, Y0, X0, and that these 1,000 points P were awarded at the time of event A1.

[0315] The points P acquired in response to the questionnaire answers can be exchanged for the reward C on the screen of the display device 17 of the terminal 130 of the potential recipient participant U11, in the same manner as in FIGS. 10A and 10B.

[0316] The exchange rate for exchanging points P acquired in response to the questionnaire for reward C is determined by information specifying event A1 indicated in the accompanying information CI.

[0317] The information identifying event A1 is associated with information on the event A1's holding period (e.g., X0 / Y0 / Z1 to X0 / Y0 / Z3) or designated period (e.g., X0 / Y0 / Z1 to X0 / Y0 / Z5), the second exchange rate R2 (e.g., 1 yen / 1 point) which is the exchange rate during the event period or designated period, and the sixth exchange rate R6 (e.g., 0.5 yen / 1 point) which is the exchange rate outside the event period and outside the designated period.

[0318] Points P with a remaining point number N2 recorded in the second remaining point number recording unit 1004 can be converted into reward C at a second exchange rate R2 (e.g., 1 yen / 1 point) if the points P are accepted for reward exchange during the event A1 period in which the event A1 was awarded (e.g., X0 / Y0 / Z1 to X0 / Y0 / Z3) or during a specified period (e.g., X0 / Y0 / Z1 to X0 / Y0 / Z5). However, if points P with the remaining point number N2 recorded in the second remaining point number recording unit 1004 are accepted for reward exchange outside the event A1 period (e.g., X0 / Y0 / Z1 to X0 / Y0 / Z3) in which these points P were awarded and outside the designated period (e.g., X0 / Y0 / Z1 to X0 / Y0 / Z5), they can only be converted into reward C at a sixth exchange rate R6 (e.g., 0.5 yen / 1 point), which is lower than the second exchange rate R2 (e.g., 1 yen / 1 point). This allows the exchange rate to be increased during the event period or the designated period.

[0319] (Tenth Example)

[0320] It is also possible to make it possible to exchange points issued by the event management system (hereinafter referred to as internal points in the tenth embodiment) with external points handled by an external point management system outside the event management system.

[0321] Fig. 16 shows a network configuration diagram of Example 10. Fig. 16 corresponds to Fig. 1, and an external point management system 601 is added to the network configuration shown in Fig. 1.

[0322] As shown in Figure 16, the in-event reward distribution system is composed of an event management agency terminal 100, which includes a point issuing agency terminal 100A and a reward distribution agency terminal 100B, a provider candidate participant terminal 120, a recipient candidate participant terminal 130, a server 200, an external point management agency terminal 610, an external point management agency server 620, and a network 300 that connects each terminal, server 200, and external point management agency server 620 so that data can be sent and received between each of these terminals, server 200, and external point management agency server 620.

[0323] A management system including an external point management institution terminal 610 and an external point management institution server 620 is referred to as an external point management system 601. For example, the external point management institution terminal 610 and the external point management institution server 620 are provided at an external point management institution that is separate from the event management institution. The external point management institution has access rights to the database of the external point management institution server 620. The external point management institution server 620 is a server for managing external points Pb issued by the external point management system 601, separate from the points P issued at one event A1 or multiple events A1 to A10 managed by the event management system 101. The external points Pb can be issued and used, for example, at one event B1 or multiple events B1 to B10 that are different from the one event A1 or multiple events A1 to A10. The external points Pb can be used, for example, at a store on a website.

[0324] The hardware of the external point management institution side terminal 610 and the external point management institution side server 620 is configured in the same manner as the block diagram shown in FIG. FIG. 17 shows the software-based cooperative relationship between the event management system 101 and the external point management system 601.

[0325] The event management system 101 and the external point management system 601 are separate systems, and are operated by different entities (management entities). The management entity of the event management system 101 is an event management organization, and the management entity of the external point management system 601 is an external point management organization.

[0326] The external point management system 601 is linked to the event management system 101 via an API (Application Programming Interface), and in response to a request from the event management system 101, the API is read and a specific operation is performed.

[0327] The external point management system 601 has an API 1201 according to the system configuration of the external point management system 601 .

[0328] When the API 1201 is called from the event management system 101 via the network 300, the external point management system 601 provides the event management system 101 with specific processing operation functions, such as displaying a point conversion acceptance screen 509, which will be described later. The conversion record data D4 of the external points Pb is stored in a database of the external point management institution's server 620 and is managed by the external point management system 601.

[0329] For example, when an operation to instruct conversion from internal points P to external points Pb is performed on the screen of the display device 17 of the recipient candidate participant terminal 130, the API 1201 of the external point management system 601 is called.

[0330] This causes the display information data for the point conversion acceptance screen 509 to be read from the database of the external point management agency's server 620, and the point conversion acceptance screen 509 is displayed on the screen of the display device 17 of the recipient candidate participant's terminal 130, as shown in Figure 18A.

[0331] The point conversion acceptance screen 509 is a screen for accepting the conversion of internal points P to external points Pb.

[0332] A conversion point input field 509A and a conversion confirmation button 509B are displayed on the point conversion acceptance screen 509. The conversion point input field 509A allows input of a number of points within the range of the remaining number of points N2 (for example, 3000 points P) currently held by the recipient candidate participant U11. When the recipient candidate participant U11 inputs the number of internal points P N4 (for example, 3000 points P) in the conversion point input field 509A and presses the conversion confirmation button 509B, the point conversion is accepted.

[0333] When the point conversion is accepted, the screen of the display device 17 of the recipient candidate participant terminal 130 transitions to a point conversion completed screen 510, as shown in FIG. 18B. The external point management institution server 620 converts the internal points P of point number N4 (e.g., 3000 points P) into external points Pb of point number N5 (e.g., 1500 points Pb) at an exchange rate R10 (external points Pb / internal points P) and distributes them to the recipient candidate participant U11. The external point management institution server 620 stores data indicating that external points Pb of point number N5 (e.g., 1500 points Pb) have been newly granted to the recipient candidate participant U11. The exchange rate R10 is set to a value lower than 1, for example, 0.5.

[0334] When the point conversion is performed, for example, additional information CI indicating that the number of points N4 (3000 points P) was granted by the potential recipient participant U11 to the external point management organization on Z6, Y0, X0 is added to the second remaining points recording unit 1004. Note that the number of remaining points N2 (3000 points P) before the point conversion is updated to the number of remaining points N2 (0 points P) after the point conversion, minus the number of converted points N4 (3000 points P).

[0335] On the other hand, for example, when an operation to instruct conversion from external points Pb to internal points P is performed on the screen of the display device 17 of the recipient candidate participant terminal 130, the API 1201 of the external point management system 601 is called.

[0336] This causes the display information data for the point conversion acceptance screen 511 to be read from the database of the external point management agency's server 620, and the point conversion acceptance screen 511 is displayed on the screen of the display device 17 of the potential recipient participant's terminal 130, as shown in Figure 19A.

[0337] The point conversion acceptance screen 511 is a screen for accepting the conversion of external points Pb into internal points P.

[0338] A conversion point input section 511A and a conversion confirmation button 511B are displayed on the point conversion reception screen 511. The conversion point input section 511A allows input of the number of points within the range of the number of external points Pb currently held by the recipient candidate participant U11 (for example, 1500 points Pb).

[0339] When the recipient candidate participant U11 inputs the number of points N5 (for example, 1500 points P) of the external points Pb into the conversion point input section 510A and presses the conversion confirmation button 511B, the point conversion is accepted.

[0340] When the point conversion is accepted, the screen of the display device 17 of the recipient candidate participant terminal 130 transitions to a point conversion completed screen 512, as shown in FIG. 19B. The external point management institution server 620 converts the external points Pb of point number N5 (e.g., 1500 points Pb) into internal points P of point number N6 (e.g., 750 points P) at an exchange rate R11 (internal points P / external points Pb) and distributes them to the recipient candidate participant U11. The external point management institution server 620 stores data indicating that the recipient candidate participant U11 has newly used external points Pb of point number N5 (e.g., 1500 points Pb). The exchange rate R11 is set to a value lower than 1, for example, 0.5.

[0341] When the point conversion is performed, for example, the external point management organization issues the number of points N6 (750 points P) on the 7th day of the month Y0 of the year X0, and the second remaining point number recording unit 1004 is appended with additional information CI indicating that the number of points N6 (750 points P) has been granted to the potential recipient participant U11 by the external point management organization. Note that the number of remaining points N2 (0 points P) before the point conversion is updated to the number of remaining points N2 (750 points P) after the point conversion by adding the number of converted points N6 (750 points P).

[0342] (Second embodiment)

[0343] In the first embodiment, a reward is given for answering a questionnaire, but it is also possible to give a reward for an action taken by a recipient candidate participant toward a provider candidate participant.

[0344] The behavior recording unit 1007 records the behaviors that the recipient candidate participants have taken toward the providing candidate participants in association with the recipient candidate participants and the providing candidate participants.

[0345] When an action for which a reward should be distributed is recorded in the action recording unit 1007, points P corresponding to the action are awarded. Actions for which a reward should be distributed include, for example, actions that contribute to the provider candidate participant, such as leaving a business card at a company booth exhibited by the provider candidate participant, exchanging business cards with the provider candidate participant, making an inquiry about an exhibit of the provider candidate participant, participating in a session hosted or advertised by the provider candidate participant, and participating in a seminar hosted or advertised by the provider candidate participant.

[0346] For example, if a potential recipient participant U11 takes the action of leaving a business card at the exhibition booth of a potential donor participant U21, it is recorded that the potential donor participant U21 has awarded the potential recipient participant U11 100 points P as a reward for the action of leaving the business card.

[0347] When the action recording unit 1007 records an action for which a reward should be distributed (for example, leaving a business card at the exhibition booth of a candidate providing participant U21), the first remaining points recording unit 1003 records a new remaining points number N1 obtained by subtracting the number of points corresponding to the reward (for example, 100 points P) from the current remaining points number N1 associated with the candidate providing participant (for example, candidate providing participant U21) who performed this action, and also records the accompanying information CI in association with the number of points corresponding to the reward (100 points P).

[0348] When the action recording unit 1007 records an action for which a reward should be distributed (for example, leaving a business card at the exhibition booth of a potential providing participant U21), the second remaining points recording unit 1004 records a new remaining points number N2 obtained by adding the number of points corresponding to the reward (for example, 100 points P) to the current remaining points number N2 associated with the potential receiving participant (for example, potential receiving participant U11) who performed this action, and also records the additional information CI in association with the number of points corresponding to the reward (100 points P).

[0349] As in the first to tenth embodiments, the additional information CI includes information identifying the potential recipient participant (e.g., potential recipient participant U11) to whom the number of points corresponding to the reward (e.g., 100 points P) will be awarded and the potential provider participant (e.g., potential provider participant U21) from whom the points will be awarded, and / or information such as the awarding time and / or reward exchange deadline.

[0350] The processes of issuing points, distributing rewards, refunding, and converting to external points are carried out in the same manner as in the first to tenth embodiments.

[0351] The disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-011177, filed on January 27, 2023, is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. [Explanation of symbols]

[0352] 101 Event Management System 401 Survey Management System 601 External Points Management System 1001 Points Issuance Department 1002 Questionnaire Response Reception Department 1003 First remaining points recording section 1004 Second remaining points recording section 1005 Reward Distribution Department 1006 Refund Department 1007 Behavioral Recording Department 1008 Third remaining points recorder 1009 Point type conversion reception unit 1010 Point type conversion processing unit 1011 Judgment section 1012 Point addition / subtraction processing unit 1013 Advance Account Registration Department 1014 Survey submission count calculation unit

Claims

1. An in-event reward distribution system that distributes rewards to potential recipient participants according to the number of points acquired by the potential recipient participants in one or more events, a point issuing unit that converts currency received from one or more event candidate participants into points at a first exchange rate and issues points to the candidate participants in the number of points corresponding to the received currency; a questionnaire response receiving unit that receives questionnaire responses to the questionnaires associated with each of the provision candidate participants, in association with each of the recipient candidate participants; a first remaining point number recording unit that, when points are issued from the point issuing unit, records a new remaining point number obtained by adding the issued points to the current remaining point number associated with the provision candidate participant for whom the point issuance has been accepted, and, when a survey response is accepted by the survey response accepting unit, records a new remaining point number obtained by subtracting the points associated with the survey response from the current remaining point number associated with the provision candidate participant for whom the survey response has been accepted; a second remaining points recording unit that, when the survey response receiving unit receives a survey response, records a new remaining points number obtained by adding the number of points associated with the survey response to the current remaining points associated with the candidate recipient for whom the survey response was received; a reward distribution unit that converts the number of points received from the recipient candidate participants within the range of the number of remaining points recorded in the second remaining point number recording unit into rewards at a second exchange rate and distributes rewards corresponding to the number of received points to the recipient candidate participants; An in-event reward distribution system with

2. a refund unit that converts the number of points received from the candidate provider participant within the range of the remaining number of points into currency at a third exchange rate, and refunds to the candidate provider participant the currency corresponding to the received number of points or any one or a combination of two or more of digital points, prepaid cards, and goods having a value equivalent to the currency; The in-event reward distribution system of claim 1 , comprising:

3. The first exchange rate is R1=currency / point, and the second exchange rate is R2=currency / point; The second exchange rate R2 is less than or equal to the first exchange rate R1. The in-event reward distribution system of claim 1 .

4. The reward distribution unit distributes the reward in one or a combination of two or more of tangible currency, prepaid cards, digital points, digital currency, virtual currency, and novelty items. The in-event reward distribution system of claim 1 .

5. The reward distributed by the reward distribution unit is any one or a combination of two or more of tangible currency, a prepaid card, and a novelty item; The reward distribution unit distributes a reward in an amount equal to the received points minus a transfer fee or / and a delivery fee or / and a transfer and delivery fee. The in-event reward distribution system of claim 1 .

6. The reward distributed by the reward distribution unit is digital points or / and digital currency or / and virtual currency, The reward distribution unit displays the right to receive the reward on the screen of the terminal of the potential recipient participant. The in-event reward distribution system of claim 1 .

7. The first exchange rate is R1=currency / point, and the third exchange rate is R3=currency / point; The first exchange rate R1 is higher than the third exchange rate R3; The point issuing unit issues points including in advance an issuing fee according to the difference between the third exchange rate R3 and the first exchange rate R1. The in-event reward distribution system of claim 2 .

8. the refund unit refunds the amount of currency obtained by subtracting a refund fee from the number of accepted points, or any one or a combination of two or more of digital points, prepaid cards, and goods having a value equivalent to the currency; The in-event reward distribution system of claim 2 .

9. an action receiving unit that receives an action for the event content associated with each of the providing candidate participants, in association with each of the receiving candidate participants; a third remaining points number recording unit that records the number of remaining points in association with each recipient candidate participant, and the number of points associated with the action accepted by the action accepting unit is added to the current number of remaining points; The in-event reward distribution system of claim 1 , comprising:

10. a point type conversion receiving unit that receives a point type conversion of the points recorded in the third remaining point number recording unit from the recipient candidate participant into points recorded in the second remaining point number recording unit; a point type conversion processing unit that, when a point type conversion is accepted by the point type conversion accepting unit, converts the points recorded in the third remaining point number recording unit into points to be recorded in the second remaining point number recording unit at a fourth exchange rate, and adds the converted number of points to the current number of remaining points in the second remaining point number recording unit; The in-event reward distribution system of claim 9 , comprising:

11. The second exchange rate is R2=currency / point, and the fourth exchange rate is R4=currency / point; The fourth exchange rate R4 is lower than the second exchange rate R2. The in-event reward distribution system of claim 10.

12. the second remaining point number recording unit, every time the number of points associated with the survey response received by the survey response receiving unit is added to the current number of remaining points, records the added number of points in association with the provision candidate participant who received the survey response; The in-event reward distribution system of claim 1 .

13. the first remaining points recording unit, each time it subtracts the number of points associated with the survey response received by the survey response receiving unit from the current number of remaining points, records the number of points to be subtracted in association with the candidate recipient participant from whom the survey response was received; The in-event reward distribution system of claim 1 .

14. the second remaining point number recording unit records the time of addition of the converted point number in association with the converted point number every time the converted point number is added to the current remaining point number in the second remaining point number recording unit; The in-event reward distribution system of claim 10.

15. the point type conversion acceptance unit rejects acceptance of a point type exchange for the number of points exceeding the upper limit value or / and a point type conversion for a time period beyond the exchange deadline; The in-event reward distribution system of claim 10.

16. When the point type conversion acceptance unit rejects the acceptance of a point type exchange for the number of points exceeding the upper limit or / and a point type conversion for a time period beyond the exchange deadline, it displays a warning to that effect on the screen of the terminal of the potential recipient participant.

16. The in-event reward distribution system of claim 15.

17. a determination unit that, when the survey response receiving unit receives a survey response, compares the number of remaining points recorded in the first remaining points recording unit with the number of points associated with the survey response, and determines whether the number of points associated with the survey response can be granted to the potential recipient participant; When the determination unit determines that the number of points associated with the questionnaire answers can be granted to the recipient candidate participant, an addition / subtraction process is performed to subtract the number of points associated with the questionnaire answers from the current number of remaining points recorded in the first remaining point number recording unit and to add the number of points to the current number of remaining points recorded in the second remaining point number recording unit; a point addition / subtraction processing unit that executes a suspension process to suspend the addition / subtraction process when the determination unit determines that the number of points associated with the questionnaire answer cannot be granted to the recipient candidate participant; The in-event reward distribution system of claim 1 , comprising:

18. an advance payment account registration unit that registers an advance payment account in association with a provider candidate participant; When the reservation process is executed, the point addition / subtraction processing unit executes an advance payment request process for withdrawing a currency equivalent to the number of points associated with the questionnaire response from the advance payment account associated with the provider candidate participant for whom the reservation process is executed, and also executes the addition / subtraction process.

20. The in-event reward distribution system of claim 17.

19. a survey provision count calculation unit that compares the number of remaining points recorded in the first remaining point number recording unit with the number of points associated with the survey responses to calculate the number of surveys that can be provided with a reward, Display the number of surveys available for reward on the screen of the potential recipient's device. The in-event reward distribution system of claim 1 .

20. a survey provision count calculation unit that compares the number of remaining points recorded in the first remaining point number recording unit with the number of points associated with the survey responses to calculate the number of surveys that can be provided with a reward, If the number of times that rewarded surveys can be provided is less than a predetermined number, a warning to that effect is displayed on the screen of the terminal of the potential recipient participant. The in-event reward distribution system of claim 1 .

21. a survey provision count calculation unit that compares the number of remaining points recorded in the first remaining point number recording unit with the number of points associated with the survey responses to calculate the number of surveys that can be provided with a reward, If it is determined that it is impossible to provide a reward-bearing survey based on the calculation result of the survey provision count calculation unit, a warning message is displayed on the screen of the terminal of the potential recipient participant to the effect that the survey to be provided will not be reward-bearing. The in-event reward distribution system of claim 1 .

22. The remaining points recorded in the second remaining point number recording unit can be exchanged for products or services provided by an event cooperation organization at a fifth exchange rate, The second exchange rate is R2=currency / point, and the fifth exchange rate is R5=currency / point; The fifth exchange rate R5 is set higher than the second exchange rate R2. The in-event reward distribution system of claim 1 .

23. The first remaining point number recording unit records, in association with the number of points, additional information indicating the time when the points will be awarded and / or the reward exchange deadline each time the number of points is added to the current number of remaining points in the first remaining point number recording unit, and, in association with the number of points, records, in association with the number of points, information identifying the recipient candidate participant to whom the points will be awarded and the provider candidate participant from whom the points will be awarded and / or additional information indicating the time when the points will be awarded and / or the reward exchange deadline each time the points are subtracted from the current number of remaining points in the first remaining point number recording unit. The in-event reward distribution system of claim 1 .

24. a reward exchange possibility determination unit that determines whether or not the number of points associated with the additional information can be exchanged for a reward based on the additional information; 24. The in-event reward distribution system of claim 23, comprising:

25. The second remaining point number recording unit records, each time a number of points is added to the current number of remaining points in the second remaining point number recording unit, information identifying the providing candidate participant who is the point grant source and the receiving candidate participant who is the point grant destination, and / or additional information indicating the grant time and / or reward exchange deadline, in association with the number of points. The in-event reward distribution system of claim 1 .

26. a reward exchange possibility determination unit that determines whether or not the number of points associated with the additional information can be exchanged for a reward based on the additional information; 26. The in-event reward distribution system of claim 25, comprising:

27. a point addition / subtraction processing unit that, when a survey response is received from a candidate recipient participant, executes an addition / subtraction process to subtract the number of points associated with the survey response from the current number of remaining points recorded in the first remaining point number recording unit and add the number of points to the current number of remaining points recorded in the second remaining point number recording unit, subject to approval by the candidate provider participant; The in-event reward distribution system of claim 1 , comprising:

28. a point addition / subtraction processing unit that, when a survey response is received from a candidate recipient participant, determines whether or not the number of points associated with the survey response should be awarded to the candidate recipient participant based on the additional information, and, on the condition that it is determined that the points should be awarded to the candidate recipient participant, executes an addition / subtraction processing to subtract the number of points associated with the survey response from the current number of remaining points recorded in the first remaining point number recording unit and add the number of points to the current number of remaining points recorded in the second remaining point number recording unit; 26. The in-event reward distribution system of claim 23 or 25, comprising:

29. the reward distribution unit distributes a reward corresponding to the number of points received from the recipient candidate participant, on the condition of approval of the provider candidate participant who granted the recipient candidate participant the number of points associated with the questionnaire answer; The in-event reward distribution system of claim 1 .

30. When an exchange of points for a reward is accepted from a recipient candidate participant, the reward distribution unit determines whether or not a reward should be distributed to the recipient candidate participant based on the accompanying information, and distributes a reward corresponding to the number of points accepted from the recipient candidate participant on the condition that it is determined that a reward should be granted to the recipient candidate participant.

26. The in-event reward distribution system of claim 23 or 25.

31. An upper limit on the number of rewarded survey responses per event or / and an upper limit on the number of survey responses that can be answered by one offer candidate participant is set, the survey response receiving unit rejects the acceptance of survey responses that exceed the upper limit value. The in-event reward distribution system of claim 1 .

32. An upper limit on the number of rewarded survey responses per event or / and an upper limit on the number of survey responses that can be answered by one offer candidate participant is set, the reward distribution unit refuses to distribute rewards corresponding to survey responses exceeding the upper limit. The in-event reward distribution system of claim 1 .

33. the server for managing the questionnaire is provided in an event management system for managing the one or more events; The in-event reward distribution system of claim 1 .

34. an event management system including a server for managing the one or more events; a survey management system including a server for managing the surveys, the survey management system being linked to the event management system via an API (application programming interface) of the survey management system; When a request to display a questionnaire is made on the terminal of the potential recipient, the API of the questionnaire management system is called, and the questionnaire is displayed on the screen of the terminal of the potential recipient. The in-event reward distribution system of claim 1 .

35. The remaining points recorded in the second remaining points recording unit are recorded in association with additional information specifying an event for which the points were awarded, The remaining points recorded in the second remaining point number recording unit can be converted into rewards at the second exchange rate during the event period or a designated period for which the points were awarded, and can also be exchanged for products or services provided by the event cooperation organization at a fifth exchange rate during the event period or a designated period for which the points were awarded.

23. The in-event reward distribution system of claim 22.

36. The remaining points recorded in the second remaining points recording unit are recorded in association with additional information specifying an event for which the points were awarded, The remaining points recorded in the second remaining point number recording unit can be converted into a reward at the second exchange rate during the event period in which the points were awarded or during a designated period, and can be converted into a reward at a sixth exchange rate outside the event period in which the points were awarded or during a designated period, the second exchange rate is R2=currency / point, and the sixth exchange rate is R6=currency / point; The sixth exchange rate R6 is set lower than the second exchange rate R2. The in-event reward distribution system of claim 1 .

37. an event management system including a server for managing internal points issued in the one or more events; an external point management system including a server for managing external points issued outside of the one or more events; Equipped with The interior points are translatable to the exterior points. The in-event reward distribution system of claim 1 .

38. The exchange rate for converting the internal points to the external points is: R10 = exterior points / interior points, The exchange rate R10 is set to a value lower than 1.

38. The in-event reward distribution system of claim 37.

39. an event management system including a server for managing internal points issued in the one or more events; an external point management system including a server for managing external points issued outside of the one or more events; Equipped with The exterior points are convertible to the interior points; The internal point converted from the external point is recorded in association with additional information specifying that the internal point was issued by a method other than the one or more events. The in-event reward distribution system of claim 1 .

40. The exchange rate for converting the external points into the internal points is: R11 = interior points / exterior points, The exchange rate R11 is set to a value lower than 1.

40. The in-event reward distribution system of claim 39.

41. An in-event reward distribution system that distributes rewards to potential recipient participants according to the number of points acquired by the potential recipient participants in one or more events, an action receiving unit that receives an action for which a reward should be distributed, which has been taken by a recipient candidate participant toward a provider candidate participant, in association with each of the recipient candidate participant and the provider candidate participant; a first remaining points recording unit that, when an action for which a reward should be distributed is received by the action receiving unit, records a new remaining points number obtained by subtracting the number of points corresponding to the reward from the current remaining points number associated with the provider candidate participant who performed the action, and records additional information identifying the recipient candidate participant to whom the points corresponding to the reward are to be granted and the provider candidate participant from whom the points are to be granted, in association with the number of points corresponding to the reward; a second remaining point number recording unit that, when the action receiving unit receives an action for which a reward should be distributed, records a new remaining point number obtained by adding a number of points corresponding to the reward to the current remaining point number associated with the candidate recipient participant who performed the action; a reward distribution unit that converts the number of points received from the recipient candidate participants within the range of the number of remaining points recorded in the second remaining point number recording unit into a reward and distributes the reward corresponding to the number of received points to the recipient candidate participants; Equipped with An upper limit is set for the number of actions for which a reward should be distributed per event, or / and an upper limit is set for the number of actions for which a reward should be distributed to one offer candidate participant; The action acceptance unit rejects acceptance of an action for which a reward exceeding the upper limit should be distributed based on the accompanying information, and / or The in-event reward distribution system, wherein the reward distribution unit refuses to distribute a reward corresponding to an action that should distribute a reward exceeding the upper limit based on the additional information.

42. a reward exchange possibility determination unit that determines whether or not the number of points associated with the additional information can be exchanged for a reward based on the additional information; 42. The in-event reward distribution system of claim 41, comprising:

43. An in-event reward distribution system that distributes rewards to potential recipient participants according to the number of points acquired by the potential recipient participants in one or more events, an action receiving unit that receives an action for which a reward should be distributed, which has been taken by a recipient candidate participant toward a provider candidate participant, in association with each of the recipient candidate participant and the provider candidate participant; a first remaining point number recording unit that, when the action receiving unit receives an action for which a reward should be distributed, records a new remaining point number obtained by subtracting a number of points corresponding to the reward from the current remaining point number associated with the candidate participant who has taken the action; a second remaining points recording unit that, when the action receiving unit receives an action for which a reward should be distributed, records a new number of remaining points obtained by adding the number of points corresponding to the reward to the current number of remaining points associated with the recipient candidate participant who performed the action, and records additional information identifying the providing candidate participant who is the source of the points corresponding to the reward and the recipient candidate participant to whom the points corresponding to the reward are to be distributed, in association with the number of points corresponding to the reward; a reward distribution unit that converts the number of points received from the recipient candidate participants within the range of the number of remaining points recorded in the second remaining point number recording unit into a reward and distributes the reward corresponding to the number of received points to the recipient candidate participants; Equipped with An upper limit is set for the number of actions for which a reward should be distributed per event, or / and an upper limit is set for the number of actions for which a reward should be distributed to one offer candidate participant; The action acceptance unit rejects acceptance of an action for which a reward exceeding the upper limit should be distributed based on the accompanying information, and / or The in-event reward distribution system, wherein the reward distribution unit refuses to distribute a reward corresponding to an action that should distribute a reward exceeding the upper limit based on the additional information.

44. a reward exchange possibility determination unit that determines whether or not the number of points associated with the additional information can be exchanged for a reward based on the additional information; 44. The in-event reward distribution system of claim 43, comprising:

45. an event management system including a server for managing internal points issued in the one or more events; an external point management system including a server for managing external points issued outside of the one or more events; Equipped with The interior points are translatable to the exterior points.

44. The in-event reward distribution system of claim 41 or 43.

46. an event management system including a server for managing internal points issued in the one or more events; an external point management system including a server for managing external points issued outside of the one or more events; Equipped with The exterior points are convertible to the interior points; The internal point converted from the external point is recorded in association with additional information specifying that the internal point was issued by a method other than the one or more events.

44. The in-event reward distribution system of claim 41 or 43.

47. An in-event reward distribution system that distributes rewards to potential recipient participants according to the number of points acquired by the potential recipient participants in one or more events, an action receiving unit that receives an action for which a reward should be distributed, which has been taken by a recipient candidate participant toward a provider candidate participant, in association with each of the recipient candidate participant and the provider candidate participant; a first remaining points recording unit that, when the action receiving unit receives an action for which a reward should be distributed, records a new remaining points number obtained by subtracting the number of points corresponding to the action from the current remaining points number associated with the candidate participant who performed the action; an additional information recording unit that records, each time a recipient candidate participant takes an action that should result in a reward being distributed to a provider candidate participant, the number of points corresponding to the action, and additional information that identifies the recipient candidate participant to whom the points are to be awarded and the provider candidate participant from whom the points are to be awarded, in association with the action; a second remaining points recording unit that, when the action receiving unit receives an action for which a reward should be distributed, records a new remaining points number obtained by adding the number of points corresponding to the action to the current remaining points number associated with the candidate recipient participant who performed the action; a reward distribution unit that converts the number of points received from the recipient candidate participants within the range of the number of remaining points recorded in the second remaining point number recording unit into a reward and distributes the reward corresponding to the number of received points to the recipient candidate participants; Equipped with An upper limit is set for the number of actions for which a reward should be distributed per event, or / and an upper limit is set for the number of actions for which a reward should be distributed to one offer candidate participant; The action acceptance unit rejects acceptance of an action for which a reward exceeding the upper limit should be distributed based on the accompanying information, and / or The in-event reward distribution system, wherein the reward distribution unit refuses to distribute a reward corresponding to an action that should distribute a reward exceeding the upper limit based on the additional information.

48. a reward exchange possibility determination unit that determines whether the remaining points recorded in the second remaining points recording unit can be exchanged for a reward based on the accompanying information; a reward distribution unit that converts the number of points received from the candidate recipient participants within the range determined by the reward exchange determination unit as being exchangeable for a reward from the number of remaining points recorded in the second remaining point number recording unit into rewards at a predetermined exchange rate, and distributes rewards corresponding to the number of received points to the candidate recipient participants; Equipped with The second remaining point number recording unit Recording a new number of remaining points obtained by subtracting the number of points converted into rewards from the current number of remaining points associated with the potential recipient participant whose points have been converted into rewards; 48. The in-event reward distribution system of claim 47.

49. an expired point determination unit that determines, based on the supplementary information, the number of points that will expire from the remaining points recorded in the second remaining point number recording unit; Equipped with The second remaining point number recording unit and recording a new number of remaining points obtained by subtracting the number of points to be expired from the current number of remaining points associated with the candidate recipient participant whose points have been determined to be expired by the expired point determination unit.

48. The in-event reward distribution system of claim 47.

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