Campaign execution program, campaign execution server, and campaign execution system

Abstract

To provide a program, server and system for allowing a plurality of participants to obtain sufficient convenience when executing a campaign in which the participants participate in collaboration with each other.SOLUTION: A campaign execution program includes: receiving, via a communication unit, an application for participation from each of multiple store terminals at a CPU of a campaign execution server for executing one common campaign in which multiple stores or companies can participate in collaboration with each other (S1); identifying the number of specific application transmissions related to multiple specific stores that have selected one kind of specific gift in common (S4); determining multiple winning transmissions in accordance with the number of prepared specific gifts, from among the specific application transmission (S5); identifying the specific stores related to the multiple winning transmission (S6); and acquiring transmission user information of the winning transmissions related to the identified specific stores (S7, S8).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 12

Description

Technical Field

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[0001] The present invention relates to a campaign execution program, a campaign execution server, and a campaign execution system that can provide a joint participation type campaign of a plurality of stores or companies (hereinafter, in the present specification, the stores or companies participating in the campaign are collectively referred to as "participants") using SNS or the like at a low cost.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, it is known to conduct a campaign using UGC (User Generated Content), that is, user posts, such as a word-of-mouth site, a blog, Twitter (registered trademark), and Instagram (registered trademark) (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In FIGS. 1 and 2 and paragraphs

[0071] to

[0075] of Patent Document 1, there is described a prize lottery device for giving an incentive according to the contribution degree of a user who makes a post with a predetermined hashtag on Twitter (registered trademark) or the like when applying for a campaign.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0006] To achieve the above objective, the present invention is a campaign execution program that causes the calculation unit of a server for executing a common campaign in which multiple participants can jointly participate, the server having a communication unit and a calculation unit that can be networked to multiple participant terminals provided in each of the multiple participants, to execute a participation acceptance procedure that receives applications to participate in the common campaign, including the selection of prizes that the corresponding participants will offer to customers in the common campaign, from each of the multiple participant terminals via the communication unit; a transmission identification procedure that identifies the number of specific application transmissions relating to multiple specific participants who have commonly selected the same specific prize, based on participant information corresponding to application transmissions to apply for the common campaign transmitted from the user terminals of the customers of each participant during the implementation period of the common campaign; a winning transmission determination procedure that determines multiple winning transmissions from all of the specific application transmissions that satisfy predetermined application requirements, according to a predetermined number of winners for the specific prize; and a participant identification procedure that identifies the specific participants relating to the multiple winning transmissions.

[0007] According to the campaign execution program of the present invention, in the participant identification procedure, among multiple participants who have a common prize, participants who have won, i.e., participants related to a specific transmission (specific participants), are identified. If there are any participants who have not won, such participants (other participants other than specific participants) can also be identified.

[0008] As a result, when acquiring user information for winning notifications related to a specific participant identified in the participant identification procedure, and acquiring user information for winning notifications (e.g., SNS accounts for sending direct messages), it is not necessary to acquire user information for application notifications to other participants. It is sufficient to acquire only user information for specific application notifications to specific participants. Therefore, in the information acquisition procedure, if a paid software tool that charges per participant is used to acquire user information, the number of participants subject to billing can be reduced. In this case, the campaign operator can reduce the total amount of charges required for operation and lower costs. Furthermore, even when acquiring user information using free software tools, the fewer participants whose information is to be acquired, the faster user information can be acquired even under API usage limits, reducing the burden on the operator's server and avoiding wasting resources necessary for processing.

[0009] Furthermore, by establishing a system where multiple participating entities participate in a single common campaign, as described above, the participating entities benefit in the following ways.

[0010] In other words, conducting a campaign independently incurs significant costs, which is particularly difficult for small groups to bear. However, by having multiple groups participate together in a campaign using a common mechanism, the cost burden can be reduced to a fraction of what it would otherwise be, making it much more affordable.

[0011] If the prizes are the same for multiple participants (even if each participant is aware of this commonality), a large total number of entries related to those prizes can be expected, allowing the prizes to be set to be more luxurious from the outset.

[0012] Furthermore, multiple participating organizations will share the same management system, campaign website format, lottery method, and administrative office structure, allowing the campaign to be managed collectively as if it were one large campaign. This means that individual participating organizations will not have to handle planning, production, winner notification, prize delivery, etc., but can instead entrust all or most of the campaign-related tasks to the management company. As a result, even small businesses that previously lacked the know-how or were too busy to prepare and manage campaigns themselves can easily and inexpensively participate in campaigns. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] According to the campaign execution program, campaign execution server, and campaign execution system of the present invention, when executing a campaign in which multiple participants jointly participate, the participating parties can obtain sufficient convenience. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0014] [Figure 1] This is a conceptual diagram illustrating the mechanism of the campaign according to the embodiment. [Figure 2] This is a schematic system configuration diagram of the campaign execution system according to the embodiment. [Figure 3] This is a conceptual diagram illustrating the store-specific campaign websites generated by the campaign execution system and displayed on user terminals. [Figure 4] This is a conceptual diagram illustrating the prize selection screen within the campaign management screen displayed on the store terminal. [Figure 5] This is a conceptual diagram explaining the download screen for POP (point-of-purchase) displays used within the store, which is part of the same management screen. [Figure 6] This is a conceptual diagram explaining the download screens for shop cards and tabletop POP displays within the same management screen. [Figure 7] This is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a user submitting an entry to a campaign from their device. [Figure 8] This is a conceptual diagram showing an example of an analysis screen displayed on a store terminal. [Figure 9] This is a diagram for explaining the advantages for the participating store side. [Figure 10] This is a comparative example for explaining the advantages for the operator side. [Figure 11] This is a diagram for explaining the advantages for the operator side. [Figure 12] This is a flowchart of each process executed by the CPU. [Figure 13] This is a flowchart of each process executed by the CPU when determining the winning announcement based on the application number ratio.

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0015] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0016] <Mechanism of the Campaign> In order to promote the sale of products using SNS (Social Networking Service), there are more and more companies that want to increase the followers of the official accounts of SNS. One of the ways to increase followers is to carry out campaigns. As shown in FIG. 1, in the campaign of this embodiment, after a user visits a store and purchases, for example, a product or service, the user follows the official accounts of the store and the campaign operator on the SNS from the user terminal 50, and posts on the SNS site with a specified hash tag together with a photo of the product or service, thereby applying for the campaign. If the user wins the lottery, the user can obtain a prize. In addition to following and posting, performing reactions such as "retweet" and "like" to the posts of the store may also be used as application requirements. This campaign is a common campaign in which multiple stores can participate jointly, and the prizes are also common among multiple stores. The operator of the common campaign creates a list of target applicants from the posts of users on SNS and determines the winners by lottery. After that, the operator of the common campaign contacts the winners using the DM (Direct Message) function of SNS, obtains personal information such as the user's address and name, and then sends the prizes. <0******><0******><0******>Note that the stores according to this embodiment may be a plurality of different stores within the same company, or may be stores of different companies. Also, not only companies, but stores operated by any group, organization, individual, etc. are also acceptable. Stores include, for example, not only restaurants, grocery stores, and retail stores for electrical products, but also offices and facilities such as parks. These stores are an example of participating entities. Also, instead of participating as a store, it may be participating as a company. In this case, the company is an example of a participating entity. <0******><0******><0******><System Configuration><0******>The campaign execution system 1 is configured to execute the aforementioned common campaign. As shown in Figure 2, the campaign execution system 1 includes multiple store terminals (examples of participant terminals) 10A, 10B, 10C, etc., an SNS server 30, a tool provision server 40, a campaign execution server 20, and multiple user terminals 50A, 50B, 50C, etc. These can send and receive information from each other via a communication network 3, such as the Internet.

[0019] Store terminals 10A to 10C are provided in multiple stores participating in the aforementioned common campaign, and are terminals such as desktop or notebook type general-purpose personal computers, or tablet terminals or smartphones. Store terminals 10A to 10C are equipped with a display unit 11, a control unit 12, an operation unit 13, and a storage unit 14. The display unit 11 is, for example, a display. The control unit 12 is, for example, a CPU, which performs various information processing. The operation unit 13 is, for example, a keyboard, touch panel, buttons, etc. The storage unit 14 stores various data and programs. Hereafter, unless there is a need to distinguish between these store terminals 10A, 10B, and 10C, they will be collectively referred to simply as "store terminal 10".

[0020] The campaign execution server 20 is a server managed by the operator running the aforementioned common campaign, and is equipped with a communication unit 22, a CPU 21, and a storage unit 23. The communication unit 22 communicates with other servers, store terminals 10, user terminals 50, etc. via the communication network 3. The CPU 21 is an example of a calculation unit. The campaign execution program 24 is stored in the storage unit 23.

[0021] The SNS server 30 receives and manages applications sent to the SNS site from user terminals 50A, 50B, and 50C. The SNS server 30 is operated by the company that operates the SNS site.

[0022] User terminals 50A to 50C are, for example, smartphones. Hereafter, unless there is a need to distinguish between these user terminals 50A, 50B, and 50C, they will be collectively referred to simply as "user terminal 50."

[0023] The tool provision server 40 is a server that provides a paid or free software tool that can extract and download data from a specified user on the SNS server 30 (for example, the sender's SNS account name, post content, and application actions such as following or liking). The tool provision server 40 provides the software tool, for example, installed on the cloud, via the communication network 3. The campaign execution server 20 accesses the SNS server 30 via the software tool provided on the tool provision server 40 and obtains the user's data. The software tool may also be downloaded from the tool provision server 40 and stored in the storage unit 23 of the campaign execution server 20. If the software tool is paid, the campaign execution server 20 obtains data from the SNS server 30 that sent posts related to a specific hashtag (including the applicant's SNS account and other information for notifying winners) by paying (charging) 150,000 yen per month for each specific hashtag via the tool provision server 40. If the aforementioned software tool is free of charge, the campaign execution server 20 will obtain the transmission data of senders who have made transmissions related to a specific hashtag free of charge via the tool provision server 40. When the software tool is free of charge, there may be limitations on the number of accesses to the SNS server 30 within a unit of time, or the content of the data that can be obtained. However, if only a small amount of data needs to be obtained, it may be possible to use the free software tool instead of the paid software tool. In addition, although this diagram illustrates an example of using the software tool provided by the tool provision server 40, the campaign execution server 20 may also use its own software tool and obtain user transmission data directly from the SNS server 30.

[0024] Figure 3 shows a conceptual diagram illustrating a store-specific campaign site that can be viewed on each store's terminal 10 after each store participates in the common campaign, and can also be viewed from the user terminals of each store's customers. The campaign site is created by the campaign operator. Each store can, for example, access the campaign execution server 20 from the store terminal 10 to apply to participate in the common campaign, pay the fee, log in to the campaign management screen, create a campaign site, and run the campaign. Each store can register information such as the store name, service details, image, image color, official SNS accounts, and store-specific hashtags on the campaign site, and select prizes, which automatically creates a campaign page for each store. It is also possible to use the same hashtag for multiple stores, and the prizes can be selected by the campaign operator. The store-specific campaign site can also be viewed from user terminals 50 using, for example, a QR code (registered trademark) or a search engine.

[0025] Figure 4 shows a conceptual diagram illustrating the prize selection screen within the campaign management screen displayed on the store terminal 10 after participating in the aforementioned common campaign. In this diagram, stores can select a prize for the next campaign from four options: a coffee maker, gift certificate, instant camera, and high-end hair dryer, by checking a checkbox. By selecting a prize, stores participate in the campaign jointly with other stores that have selected the same prize. Each prize displays classifications such as the gender and age group of the target users. For example, if a store finds it troublesome to select a prize each time, they can pre-select the gender and age of their target audience and have the campaign operator select the prize for them. In that case, the campaign page (prizes, etc.) on the dedicated campaign site will be automatically updated monthly by the operator without any operation from the store.

[0026] Figure 5 shows a conceptual diagram illustrating the download screen for promotional POP displays to be posted in stores. In this diagram, the image for the promotional POP displays includes an image, a store-specific hashtag (here, #abcカフェ), the store's official SNS account name, entry requirements (here, SNS posting and following the official account), prize information, and a QR code (registered trademark) linking to the store's campaign website. These are adjusted and displayed by the campaign execution server 20 to fit any print size, such as A4, based on the information initially registered by the store. Each store can announce the campaign simply by downloading the PDF file or image for the promotional POP from their dedicated management screen, printing it, and posting it in their store.

[0027] Figure 6(a) shows an example of the download screen for a shop card used to announce a campaign, and Figure 6(b) shows an example of the download screen for a tabletop POP display used to announce a campaign. The shop card is business card sized and can be placed, for example, next to the cash register in a store, while the tabletop POP display can be placed on a table. The content of these images is essentially the same as that in Figure 5, with only the print size and other details differing. Each store can print the shop card and tabletop POP display from this download screen, or they can request the campaign organizer to mail them pre-printed copies.

[0028] Figure 7 shows an example of a user terminal 50 submitting an entry to the common campaign. When a user visits a store, they log in to the SNS site from their user terminal 50, follow the store's official SNS account and the campaign operator's official account, take a photo of the product or service, and post it with the designated hashtag at the end of the post. In this figure, a user with the SNS account Usagi_77777 posts a photo of a drink ordered at the store, a review, and the designated hashtag at the end of the review (in this case, the store name abc cafe with the designated symbol # added to the beginning). This allows the user's campaign entry to be accepted on the SNS server 30. Examples of entry submissions include posting to the SNS site and using designated reaction functions (e.g., retweet, like, new follow of official account, etc.) to submit entries related to each store.

[0029] Figure 8 shows an example of the analysis screen displayed on the store terminal 10 after participating in the common campaign. Each store can analyze the number of followers of its official SNS account during the campaign period from a dedicated page on the campaign management screen. In this figure, for example, the number of followers increased each month can be seen in a bar graph, and the total number of followers each month can be seen in a line graph, allowing for analysis of trends in the total number of followers and which month's campaign was popular with users. The analysis screen is not limited to the example shown in this figure and has functions to analyze various other items (for example, the number of SNS posts including store-specific hashtags).

[0030] Figure 9 illustrates the benefits for participating stores in the aforementioned common campaign. In the case of the common campaign, since multiple stores participate jointly, the more stores that participate, the lower the campaign cost burden per store becomes. Here, if the costs of planning and production of the campaign (such as prize proposals and campaign website creation costs), paid software costs (fees for paid software tools), prize purchase costs, and administrative support costs are jointly borne by all participating companies, it becomes possible to participate in a common campaign that is held continuously every month for, for example, 30,000 yen per month. This makes it easy for even small stores to participate, and since the campaign operator automatically updates the campaign website and selects prizes, stores do not need to spend much time on the campaign. By simply posting campaign announcements in their stores, they can expect a continuous increase in followers on their official SNS account and increased customer traffic to their stores every month.

[0031] On the other hand, if each store were to conduct its own campaign, each campaign would incur costs totaling 1 million yen, for example, 500,000 yen for planning and production, 150,000 yen per month for paid software, 50,000 yen for prize purchases, and 300,000 yen for administrative support. Such high costs make it difficult for small stores to conduct campaigns, and even large stores would likely only be able to run campaigns once or twice a year, making monthly campaigns impractical.

[0032] Figure 10 shows a comparative example illustrating the benefits for the operator.

[0033] In Figure 10(a), Store A independently conducted an SNS campaign using the hashtag #aaa. The prize was 10 coffee makers for all applicants at Store A. 1000 applications were received, all posted with the hashtag #aaa. The campaign operator paid 150,000 yen for a paid software tool to retrieve 1000 pieces of post data (including the sender's SNS account name and post content) with the hashtag #aaa from the SNS server 30. Next, the campaign operator drew 10 winners from the 1000 retrieved posts, contacted the winners via their SNS accounts, and then shipped the prizes.

[0034] In Figure 10(b), Store B independently conducted an SNS campaign using the hashtag #bbb. The prize was one set of gift certificates for all applicants at Store B. Five entries were received that included the hashtag #bbb. The campaign operator paid 150,000 yen for a paid software tool to retrieve five pieces of data (including the sender's SNS account name and content) of posts tagged with #bbb from the SNS server 30. Next, the campaign operator drew one winner from the five retrieved posts, contacted the winner via their SNS account, and then shipped the prize.

[0035] In this comparative example, each store conducts its own campaign, and the prizes are different for each store. Therefore, the operator needs to charge 150,000 yen for a paid software tool for each hashtag set for each store.

[0036] Figure 11 shows a diagram illustrating the advantages for the operator in this embodiment.

[0037] In Figure 11, Store A and Store B are participating in the same campaign, and the prizes are the same. In this example, the prize for both Store A and Store B is 10 coffee makers. It was found that there were 1000 entries submitted to Store A with the hashtag #aaa, and 5 entries submitted to Store B with the hashtag #bbb. The campaign organizers selected 10 entries by lottery from the 1005 entries related to Stores A and B, which had the same prize (determination of winning entries). At this time, it was found that all 10 selected winning entries were entries submitted to Store A with the hashtag #aaa. In this case, the operator only needs to pay 150,000 yen for a paid software tool and retrieve 1,000 pieces of data from the SNS server 30 that have the hashtag #aaa attached (including the sender's SNS account name and the content of the post). There is no need to retrieve data that has the hashtag #bbb attached, as there is no possibility of any winners being among the applicants from store B (there are no winning posts with the hashtag #bbb). Therefore, the operator can reduce the cost of the paid software tool by 150,000 yen compared to the comparative example in Figure 10.

[0038] The organizers obtain 1000 message data entries from SNS server 30 for store A, then randomly select 10 entries from the 1000, contact the selected winners' accounts, and send out the prizes. In other words, at the stage when the winners are decided, specific winner account information is not assigned to each of the 10 winning messages. After obtaining all the message data from the store where the winners are located, the specific winner accounts are determined again by random selection. However, the specific winner accounts are not limited to this method; the campaign organizers can determine the winners' accounts at an appropriate time and using an appropriate method.

[0039] Although this diagram uses paid software tools as an example, even when using free software tools, the type and amount of data to be collected can be reduced by determining the winner notification for stores that have selected a common prize. This reduces the load on the campaign execution server 20, lowers server management costs, and allows for faster processing and savings on labor costs due to fewer accesses to the SNS server.

[0040] The above explanation describes the method of determining the number of winners for each store by lottery, but the method is not limited to this. For example, the ratio of entries per store to the total number of campaign entries per month could be estimated from the increase in the number of posts with the store's unique hashtag or the increase in new followers of the official account for each store, and an appropriate number of winners could be allocated to each store. Then, only the post data for the hashtag #aaa from store A, where the winner announcement occurred, could be obtained using paid software tools, and 10 winners could be selected by lottery based on their SNS accounts. Alternatively, as in a photo contest, each store or campaign operator could select winners from their respective store's applicants based on some judging criteria, such as the quality of the submitted photos or content.

[0041] That is, in the example of FIG. 11, the application number ratio of store A is 1000 / 1005 = 99.5%, and the application ratio of store B is 5 / 1005 = 0.5%. Multiplying these by the number of winners, which is 10, for the common prize, 9.95 winners will be allocated to store A and 10×0.05 = 0.05 winners will be allocated to store B. Here, the allocated number of winners is converted to an integer winner notification. For example, a store with a number of winners less than a predetermined threshold (e.g., 1 person) is determined to be a store with 0 winner notifications. If the winner notification for store B is set to 0, the winner notification for store A is determined to be the remaining 10. Through such processing, even if there are further stores such as store C, store D, store E, etc., it is possible to determine for each store how many winners are allocated and how many winner notifications are generated. These calculations are executed by the CPU 21 based on calculation formulas stored in advance in the campaign execution program 24 of the campaign execution server 20, for example.

[0042] <{0000175}>Also, regarding the number of each prize and the number of winners for each prize, a calculation formula based on at least one of the number of participating stores at the start of the campaign, the number of stores that selected each prize, and the price of the prize is stored in advance in the campaign execution program 24 of the campaign execution server 20. Based on this calculation formula, the CPU 21 can automatically calculate the number of prizes for the monthly campaign and the number of winners for each prize every month and automatically display them on the campaign site shown in FIG. 3. Note that the calculation is to be performed within a scope that does not conflict with the prize display method. By performing such processing, the work related to the operation of the campaign is automated as much as possible, and the labor costs, etc. on the operator side of the campaign can be reduced.

[0043] <Processing by CPU 21> FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing each process executed by the CPU 21 of the campaign execution server 20. The following processes are started when the campaign execution program 24 is executed in the campaign execution server 20.

[0044] First, in S1, the CPU 21 receives applications from multiple store terminals 10 to participate in the common campaign and to select prizes to be offered to customers upon winning the campaign, via the communication unit 22. S1 is an example of a participation acceptance procedure. The processing performed by the CPU 21 in S1 is an example of a participation acceptance process. The CPU 21 that executes S1 functions as an example of a participation acceptance unit.

[0045] In S2, CPU21 determines whether the application period for the common campaign has started. If the application period has not started, it determines No and returns to the start of the flowchart; if the application period has started, it determines Yes and proceeds to S3.

[0046] From the start to the end of the application period for the aforementioned common campaign, the SNS server 30 accepts application submissions for the aforementioned common campaign sent from the user terminal 50.

[0047] In S3, CPU21 determines whether the application period for the common campaign has ended. If the application period has not ended, it is determined as No and returns to S3; if the application period has ended, it is determined as Yes and proceeds to S4.

[0048] In S4, the CPU 21 identifies the number of specific application transmissions related to multiple specific stores (an example of specific participants) that have commonly selected the same specific prize, based on store information (an example of participant information) corresponding to application transmissions sent from the user terminals 50 of customers at each store during the implementation period of the common campaign. The store information is, for example, a hashtag which is a string unique to each store, and the CPU 21 obtains the number of specific application transmissions from the SNS server 30 based on the hashtag and identifies how many specific application transmissions there were for each store. At this time, it is sufficient to identify how many applications there were for each store (for each hashtag), and it is not necessarily required to identify which user made the application. S4 is an example of a transmission identification procedure. The processing executed by the CPU 21 in S4 is an example of a transmission identification process. The CPU 21 executing S4 functions as an example of a transmission identification unit.

[0049] In S5, the CPU 21 selects multiple winning entries from among the specified entry entries that meet predetermined entry requirements (for example, entry posts that include hashtags, which are string information unique to each store), according to the number of winners of the specified prizes that have been prepared in advance. S5 is an example of a winning entry selection procedure. The processing performed by the CPU 21 in S5 is an example of a winning entry selection process. The CPU 21 that executes S5 functions as an example of a winning entry selection unit.

[0050] One example of a method for determining the winners is to randomly select 10 entries from 1005 specific entry submissions, each assigned an arbitrary serial number from 0001 to 1005, as explained in Figure 11. The winners only need to include the aforementioned store information; they do not need to include user account information, posting data, entry behavior data, etc. The number of winners for each specific prize at each store is determined by the store information attached to the winners.

[0051] In S6, the CPU 21 identifies stores that have sent out winning notifications (stores with one or more winners) based on the hashtags attached to the winning notifications, and also determines whether there are any stores that have not sent out winning notifications (stores with zero winners). If there are no stores without winning notifications, the result is No, and the process moves to S8. If there are stores without winning notifications, the result is Yes, and the process moves to S7. This S6 is an example of a participant identification procedure. The processing performed by the CPU 21 in S6 is an example of participant identification processing. The CPU 21 that executes S6 functions as an example of a participant identification unit.

[0052] In S7, CPU21 uses the hashtags of stores other than those that did not send out winning notifications (stores that did send out winning notifications) as keys to obtain all specific application data related to the aforementioned specific store from SNS server30 via a paid tool (paid software tool) installed on tool provision server40.

[0053] In S8, CPU21 uses the hashtags of all stores that have sent out specific applications as keys to obtain all specific application data related to all stores from SNS server30 via a paid tool (paid software tool) installed on tool provision server40.

[0054] Steps S7 and S8 described above are examples of information acquisition procedures. The processes executed by the CPU 21 in steps S7 and S8 are examples of information acquisition processes. The CPU 21 that executes steps S7 and S8 functions as an example of an information acquisition unit.

[0055] In the common campaign of this embodiment, although there is a non-zero possibility of a "No" result in S6, if a large number of stores participate in the common campaign and select the same specific prize, the probability of a "Yes" result (at least one store that has not sent a winning notification) increases.

[0056] In S9, CPU21 obtains user account information (SNS account name) to be assigned to winning notifications from the specific application notification data acquired in S7 or S8. That is, at this stage, a lottery is held from the specific application notification data acquired in S7 or S8, and user accounts are determined according to the number of winning notifications determined for each store. The user accounts determined here become the user account information to be assigned to winning notifications.

[0057] In S10, the CPU 21 sends a winning notification to the user terminal of the corresponding user via a direct message function or the like, based on the user account information assigned to the winning notification. At this time, the CPU 21 obtains the user's personal information, for example, by notifying them of a link to a page such as an input form where they can enter personal information such as their address and name. S10 is an example of a winning notification procedure.

[0058] In S11, CPU21 ships the prize to the user's address obtained in S10.

[0059] Note that the processes from S7 to S11 described above may be outsourced to an external vendor instead of being performed on the campaign execution server 20.

[0060] <When determining winner notifications based on the ratio of applicants> Figure 13 is a flowchart showing the process that CPU 21 executes when determining the winners based on the ratio of applicants in the winner notification procedure.

[0061] In S5, the procedure for determining the winners begins, and when the process moves to S12, the CPU 21 identifies the increase in the number of specific application submissions for each store during a predetermined period. For example, this includes identifying the number of application posts during the predetermined period, identifying the increase in followers of the store's official account, and identifying the number of "likes" on posts made by the store's official account.

[0062] Next, in step S13, the CPU21 calculates the ratio of the number of applications per store to the total number of campaign applications during the predetermined period.

[0063] Next, when the program moves to S14, CPU21 allocates the number of winners to each store according to the ratio of applications.

[0064] Next, when the process moves to S15, CPU21 determines whether there are any stores with fewer than one winner. If there are, it moves to S16; otherwise, it moves to S17. In this case, "one person" is an example of the predetermined threshold mentioned earlier.

[0065] In S16, CPU21 determines that stores with fewer than one winner are stores with zero winner announcements.

[0066] In S17, CPU21 determines the number of winning notifications to be sent to each store based on the allocated number of winners, using a predetermined calculation method, and then proceeds to S6.

[0067] In this case, during the participant identification procedure in S6, the CPU 21 identifies a specific store (an example of a specific participant) involved in the winner notification, which is determined based on the allocated number of winners.

[0068] <Effects of the Embodiment> In the participant identification procedure, by identifying stores with winners (=specified stores; an example of a specified participant) among multiple stores that have selected a common specific prize, it is also possible to identify any stores without winners (other stores other than the specified stores).

[0069] As a result, when acquiring user information related to winner notifications (e.g., SNS accounts for sending direct mail) in the information acquisition procedure, it is not necessary to acquire user information for other store applications; it is sufficient to acquire only user information for specific applications to specific stores. Therefore, in the information acquisition procedure described above, if a paid software tool that charges per store is used to acquire user information, the number of stores subject to billing can be reduced. This allows the campaign operator to reduce the total amount of charges required for operation and lower costs. Furthermore, if the number of accesses to the SNS server can be significantly reduced in this way, it may be possible to acquire information using free software tools instead of necessarily using paid software tools. Even when using free software tools, the amount of data information acquired per hashtag can be reduced, thus reducing the burden on the server, lowering management costs and other expenses, as well as preventing the waste of unnecessary human or material resources.

[0070] Furthermore, by creating a system where multiple stores participate in a single common campaign as described above, participating stores can enjoy the following benefits:

[0071] In other words, running a campaign independently at one store incurs significant costs, which is particularly difficult for small businesses to bear. However, by participating in a campaign using a common system jointly by multiple stores, the cost burden can be reduced to a fraction of what it would otherwise be, making it much more affordable.

[0072] If the same prize is offered at multiple stores (even if each store is aware of the commonality), a large total number of entries related to that prize can be expected. Therefore, the prizes and the number of winners can be set in advance to be more luxurious or to have a larger number of winners.

[0073] Since the operators automatically handle everything from creating the campaign website and producing downloadable screens for POP printing to selecting prizes each month, stores only need to input minimal information through the campaign management screen. This allows them to increase the number of user-generated content (UGC) posts related to their store, the number of retweets and "likes" on posts from official accounts, and the number of followers on their official social media accounts with minimal effort.

[0074] Furthermore, in this embodiment, when acquiring outgoing user information using a paid software tool that charges per store, the number of stores subject to billing can be reduced, thereby lowering the operating costs for the operator.

[0075] Furthermore, in this embodiment, when acquiring sender identification information using a paid software tool that charges per unit of string information unique to each store, such as hashtags, it is possible to reduce the number of string information items subject to charge and thereby reduce the operating costs for the operator.

[0076] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the winner notification procedure ensures that the winner is reliably notified of their win, and the purchase and delivery of the prize can be handled on their behalf.

[0077] In addition to what has already been described above, the methods described in the above embodiments and their respective modifications may be used in appropriate combinations.

[0078] Furthermore, although not to be exemplified individually, the present invention may be implemented with various modifications without departing from its spirit. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0079] 1. Campaign Execution System 10 Store terminals (an example of a participating terminal) 11 Display section 12 Control Unit 13 Control section 20 Campaign Execution Servers 21. CPU (an example of a processing unit) 22 Communications Department 23 Memory section 24 Campaign Execution Program 30 SNS servers 40 Tool-providing servers 50 User Terminals

Claims

1. A server for executing a common campaign in which multiple participants can jointly participate, the server having a communication unit and a computing unit that can network connect to multiple participant terminals provided by each of the multiple participants, the computing unit of the server, A participation registration procedure that accepts applications from each of the multiple participant terminals to participate in the common campaign, including the selection of prizes that the corresponding participant will provide to customers in the common campaign, via the communication unit, A transmission identification procedure that identifies the number of specific application transmissions related to multiple specific participants who have commonly selected the same specific prize, based on participant information corresponding to each application transmission sent from the user terminal of each participant's customer during the implementation period of the aforementioned common campaign, A procedure for determining winning entries, which determines multiple winning entries from all of the aforementioned specific entry entries that meet the prescribed entry requirements, according to the predetermined number of winners for the aforementioned specific prizes, A determination procedure for identifying specific participants involved in the multiple winning notifications and participants other than the specific participants who are not involved in the multiple winning notifications, and for determining whether there are participants other than the specific participants, If the determination procedure determines that there are participants other than the specified participant, the information acquisition procedure involves obtaining the sender information of the winning notification relating to the specified participant identified in the determination procedure using a paid software tool that is charged per participant, and if the determination procedure determines that there are no participants other than the specified participant, the information acquisition procedure involves obtaining the sender information of the winning notification relating to all of the multiple participants using the paid software tool. A campaign execution program to carry out the campaign.

2. In the campaign execution program according to Claim 1, The aforementioned application requirements are: The aforementioned application submission is an application post containing string information unique to each participant, or an application action related to each participant using a predetermined reaction function. In the aforementioned information acquisition procedure, The user information of the winning notification relating to the specified participating entity is obtained using the paid software tool, which is charged per application notification. A campaign execution program characterized by the following features.

3. In the campaign execution program described in Claim 2, Furthermore, to the aforementioned calculation unit, The procedure for sending a winning notification is executed to send a winning notification to the user terminal corresponding to the user information obtained in the information acquisition procedure. A campaign execution program characterized by the following features.

4. In the campaign execution program according to claim 2 or claim 3, Furthermore, to the aforementioned calculation unit, Further, a procedure is performed to determine the number of winners for each prize, based on calculations using at least one of the following: the number of participants at the start of the campaign, the number of participants who selected each prize, the estimated number of entries based on measurement data related to the participants, the price of the prize, and the provisions of the Premiums and Representations Act. In the aforementioned procedure for determining the winner, From all of the specified application submissions that meet the aforementioned application requirements, multiple winning submissions will be determined according to the number of winners of the specified prize determined in the aforementioned procedure for determining the number of winners. A campaign execution program characterized by the following features.

5. In the campaign execution program according to any one of claims 1 to 4, In the aforementioned procedure for determining the winner, From the increase in the number of specific application transmissions by each participant during the predetermined period, the ratio of applications per participant to the total number of campaign applications during the predetermined period is calculated, and based on the number of winners allocated to each participant according to that application ratio, the multiple winning transmissions are determined. In the above determination procedure, Based on the number of winners allocated, the specific participants involved in the multiple winner notifications are identified in the winner notification determination procedure. A campaign execution program characterized by the following features.

6. A campaign execution server configured to run a single common campaign in which multiple participants can participate jointly, having a communication unit and a control unit that can connect to a network to multiple participant terminals provided on each of the multiple participants, The control unit, A participation acceptance process that accepts applications for participation in the common campaign, including the selection of prizes that the corresponding participant will provide to customers in the common campaign, from each of the multiple participant terminals via the communication unit, A transmission identification process identifies the number of specific application transmissions related to multiple specific participants who have commonly selected the same specific prize, based on participant information corresponding to each application transmission sent from the user terminal of each participant's customer during the implementation period of the aforementioned common campaign. A winner notification determination process determines multiple winner notifications from among all specified entry notifications that meet the prescribed entry requirements, according to the predetermined number of winners for the specified prizes. A determination process that identifies specific participants involved in the multiple winning notifications and participants other than the specific participants who are not involved in the multiple winning notifications, and determines whether there are participants other than the specific participants, If the determination process determines that there are participants other than the specified participant, the information acquisition process acquires the sender information of the winning notification relating to the specified participant identified in the determination process using a paid software tool that is charged per participant. If the determination process determines that there are no participants other than the specified participant, the information acquisition process acquires the sender information of the winning notification relating to all of the multiple participants using the paid software tool. A campaign execution server characterized by its ability to perform the following actions.

7. A campaign execution system configured to enable the execution of a single common campaign in which multiple participants can jointly participate, A participation reception unit that receives applications from each of the multiple participant terminals provided in each of the multiple participants, for participation in the common campaign, including the selection of prizes that the corresponding participant will offer to customers in the common campaign, A transmission identification unit identifies the number of specific application transmissions related to multiple specific participants who have commonly selected the same specific prize, based on participant information corresponding to each application transmission sent from the user terminal of each participant's customer during the implementation period of the aforementioned common campaign. A winner notification unit determines multiple winner notifications from among all specified entry notifications that meet the prescribed entry requirements, according to the predetermined number of winners for the specified prizes, A determination unit that identifies specific participants involved in the multiple winning notifications and participants other than the specific participants who are not involved in the multiple winning notifications, and determines whether there are participants other than the specific participants, If the determination unit determines that there are participants other than the specified participants, the information acquisition unit acquires the sender information of the winning notification relating to the specified participants identified by the determination unit using a paid software tool that is charged per participant, and if the determination unit determines that there are no participants other than the specified participants, the information acquisition unit acquires the sender information of the winning notification relating to all of the multiple participants using the paid software tool. A campaign execution system characterized by having the following features.

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