Information processing device

Abstract

To improve a technique relating to targeted advertisement.SOLUTION: An information processing device 20 includes a control unit 23. The control unit 23 acquires information indicating an action tendency of a user from a terminal device 10 of the user, and when it is determined that the base of the user has been changed based on the information, executes first change processing of changing advertisements due to a geographical change of the base, and determines whether to execute second change processing of changing advertisements related to a lifestyle of the user according to whether the change of the base satisfies a predetermined condition.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to an information processing apparatus.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, technologies related to targeted advertising are known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for estimating user behavior attributes based on the user's location information.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] When people's bases such as their homes or workplaces are changed due to various circumstances, their lifestyles may also change. At this time, new demands for goods or services are likely to arise, and it is easy to enhance the appeal effect of advertisements. However, in the prior art, in order to improve the estimation accuracy of the target's behavior, the location information of the user of the terminal device is acquired in real time. As a result, the data processing load of the entire system and the battery load of the terminal device increase. Therefore, in the prior art, it is difficult to easily detect changes in the user's base, and there is room for improvement.

[0005] In view of such circumstances, an object of the present disclosure is to improve technologies related to targeted advertising.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The information processing device relating to this disclosure is an information processing device comprising a control unit, wherein the control unit acquires information indicating the user's behavioral tendencies from the user's terminal device, and, based on the information, determines that the user's location has changed, executes a first change process to change advertisements due to the geographical change of the location, and determines whether or not to execute a second change process to change advertisements related to the user's lifestyle, depending on whether or not the change of location satisfies predetermined conditions. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to one embodiment of this disclosure, the technology relating to targeted advertising is improved. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This block diagram shows a schematic configuration of a system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] This is a block diagram showing the schematic configuration of the terminal device. [Figure 3] This is a block diagram illustrating the schematic configuration of an information processing device. [Figure 4] This figure shows an example of a user database. [Figure 5] This diagram shows an example of a database of potential base locations. [Figure 6] This is a flowchart showing the operation of an information processing device. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] The embodiments of this disclosure will be described below with reference to the figures.

[0010] <Overview of Embodiments> Referring to Figure 1, an overview of System 1 according to an embodiment of this disclosure will be described. System 1 comprises a terminal device 10 and an information processing device 20. The terminal device 10 and the information processing device 20 are communicated with a network 30, including, for example, the Internet and a mobile communication network.

[0011] The terminal device 10 is held by the user. The terminal device 10 is, for example, a mobile device such as a mobile phone, smartphone, or tablet, a PC (personal computer), or an in-vehicle device such as a car navigation system. The number of terminal devices 10 provided by System 1 can be arbitrarily determined. The user can operate the terminal device 10 to use various web services on the terminal device 10 via the network 30. The user can also operate the terminal device 10 to execute predetermined functions on any application program.

[0012] In this embodiment, the application program is an application program into which geographical information is input (hereinafter also referred to as the "geographic application"). The geographic application is not limited to this, but includes an application program used for route searching (hereinafter also referred to as the "route search application"). For example, a user can perform a route search from a departure point to a destination on the route search application and view the route search results. In this embodiment, the route search results include the departure point, destination, and departure and arrival times of the passenger vehicle. As described later, the information processing device 20 can obtain the route search results from the terminal device 10 and estimate when and where the user is likely to appear from the departure point, destination, and departure and arrival times of the passenger vehicle. The route search results are not limited to these and may include, for example, information on surrounding facilities such as shops along the route. A user can register any point on the route search application and set any of the registered points (hereinafter also referred to as "registered points") as the departure point, intermediate point, or destination when performing a route search. This saves the user the trouble of entering the same location each time they perform a route search. Registered locations are places that users frequently use when searching for routes, typically the user's home, school, or workplace, but are not limited to these. Users can register identification information for each registered location, typically a location name such as "home" or "workplace." Users can view route search results on the route search application. In addition to the departure and destination, route search results may include departure and arrival points (stations, stops, ports, etc.) for passenger vehicles (railways, buses, etc.) or micromobility (electric-assist bicycles, etc.) that the user usually uses. Hereinafter, these departure and arrival points will be collectively referred to as "stations used." However, the functions that can be executed on the route search application are not limited to these, and may include other arbitrary functions such as booking and purchasing transportation tickets (passenger vehicle tickets, sightseeing tickets, etc.). The application program may be installed on the terminal device 10, or it may be an ASP (application service provider) service that can be accessed via a web browser.

[0013] The information processing device 20 is, for example, a computer such as a server. The information processing device 20 can communicate with the terminal device 10 via the network 30.

[0014] First, an overview of this embodiment will be described, and details will be described later. The information processing device 20 acquires information indicating the user's behavioral tendencies from the user's terminal device 10. Based on this information, if the information processing device 20 determines that the user's location has changed, it executes a first change process to change the advertisement due to the geographical change of the location, and also decides whether or not to execute a second change process to change the advertisement related to the user's lifestyle, depending on whether or not the change of location meets predetermined conditions.

[0015] Thus, according to this embodiment, it is possible to detect changes in a user's location based on information indicating the user's behavioral trends, without having to acquire the user's location information in real time and comprehensively understand the user's behavior, as in the conventional method. When a change in a user's location is detected, a first change process is executed, and it is decided whether or not to execute a second change process depending on whether or not the change in location meets predetermined conditions. For example, if a change in location is detected, advertisements will be changed due to the geographical change of the location, but if no change in lifestyle is detected even if the location has changed, advertisements related to lifestyle will not be changed. Therefore, the technology related to targeted advertising is improved in that it is easier to detect changes in a user's location, identify the timing when advertisements are most effective, and present advertisements that match the user's lifestyle.

[0016] Next, we will describe each component of System 1 in detail.

[0017] <Terminal device configuration> As shown in Figure 2, the terminal device 10 includes a communication unit 11, a positioning unit 12, an input unit 13, an output unit 14, a storage unit 15, and a control unit 16.

[0018] The communication unit 11 includes one or more communication interfaces connected to the network 30. The communication interface corresponds to, for example, a mobile communication standard such as 4G (4th Generation) or 5G (5th Generation), but is not limited thereto. The terminal device 10 communicates with the information processing device 20 via the communication unit 11 and the network 30. In the present embodiment, the terminal device 10 transmits information (such as application information and usage history) stored in a user database or a base candidate database, which will be described later, to the information processing device 20.

[0019] The positioning unit 12 includes one or more devices that acquire the position information of the terminal device 10. Specifically, the positioning unit 12 includes, for example, a receiver corresponding to GPS (Global Positioning System), but is not limited thereto, and may include a receiver corresponding to any satellite positioning system.

[0020] The input unit 13 includes at least one input interface. The input interface is, for example, a physical key, a capacitive key, a pointing device, or a touch screen provided integrally with the display. The input unit 13 receives an operation for inputting data used for the operation of the terminal device 10. Instead of being provided in the terminal device 10, the input unit 13 may be connected to the terminal device 10 as an external input device. As the connection interface, for example, an interface corresponding to a standard such as USB (Universal Serial Bus), HDMI (registered trademark) (High-Definition Multimedia Interface), or Bluetooth (registered trademark) can be used.

[0021] The output unit 14 may include one or more output devices that output information to notify the user. These output devices are not limited to, but include, for example, a display that outputs information as an image or video, or a speaker that outputs information as sound. The display may be, for example, an LCD (liquid crystal display) or an organic EL (electroluminescence) display. The output unit 14 may also include an interface for connecting external output devices.

[0022] The storage unit 15 includes one or more memories. The memories are, for example, semiconductor memories, magnetic memories, or optical memories, but are not limited to these. Each memory included in the storage unit 15 may function as, for example, a main memory, an auxiliary memory, or a cache memory. The storage unit 15 stores any information used for the operation of the terminal device 10. For example, the storage unit 15 may store system programs, application programs, and embedded software. The information stored in the storage unit 15 may be updatable with information obtained from the network 30 via, for example, the communication unit 11. In this embodiment, the storage unit 15 can store any geographical application. The storage unit 15 can also store information that will be stored in a user database or a base candidate database, which will be described later.

[0023] The control unit 16 includes one or more processors, one or more programmable circuits, one or more dedicated circuits, or a combination thereof. The processor is a general-purpose processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or a dedicated processor specialized for a specific process, but is not limited to these. The programmable circuit is an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), but is not limited to this. The dedicated circuit is an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), but is not limited to this. The control unit 16 controls the operation of the entire terminal device 10.

[0024] <Configuration of the information processing device> As shown in Figure 3, the information processing device 20 comprises a communication unit 21, a storage unit 22, and a control unit 23.

[0025] The communication unit 21 includes one or more communication interfaces connected to the network 30. These communication interfaces may, for example, support mobile communication standards, wired LAN (Local Area Network) standards, or wireless LAN standards, but are not limited to these, and may support any communication standard. The information processing device 20 communicates with the terminal device 10 via the communication unit 21 and the network 30. In this embodiment, the information processing device 20 receives information stored in a user database or a candidate location database, described later, from the user's terminal device 10.

[0026] The storage unit 22 includes one or more memories. Each memory included in the storage unit 22 may function as, for example, a main memory, an auxiliary memory, or a cache memory. The storage unit 22 stores any information used in the operation of the information processing device 20. For example, the storage unit 22 may store system programs, application programs, and databases. The information stored in the storage unit 22 may be updatable with information obtained from the network 30 via, for example, the communication unit 21.

[0027] In this embodiment, the storage unit 22 stores a user database as shown in Figure 4 and a candidate site database as shown in Figure 5.

[0028] As shown in Figure 4, the user database contains user data for each user of the terminal device 10, including "account information," "application information," and "usage history."

[0029] "Account information" includes any information relating to the user of terminal device 10. For example, account information may include, but is not limited to, login IDs and passwords for logging into various application programs or web services, user IDs, usernames, user ages, and genders. "ID" is an abbreviation for identifier.

[0030] "Application information" includes arbitrary information that identifies an application program used by the user's terminal device 10. In this embodiment, the application program includes any geographical application.

[0031] The "usage history" includes information such as the startup time, usage time, registration information, and execution results for each application program identified in the application information. In this embodiment, the usage history includes information that can serve as a clue to determine whether or not the user's location on the terminal device 10 has changed. Details regarding the user's location will be described later.

[0032] The base candidate database includes data on base candidates having "spot information" and "attribute information," as shown in Figure 5. A "base candidate" is any location that could potentially be a base in this embodiment. In this embodiment, such a location is also referred to as a spot.

[0033] "Spot information" includes arbitrary information indicating each spot registered by the user of terminal device 10 on a geographic application, which is an application program identified in the application information of the user database. A geographic application may be distinguished from an application program in which geographic information is not entered, for example, by using data such as a flag. Spot information may include the location (two-dimensional coordinate data including longitude and latitude, etc.) of each spot, such as home, school, workplace, or station used, which is registered by the user on a route search application. In this case, spot information may also include identification information for each spot, associated with the location of each spot. This identification information is typically a place name such as "home" or "workplace," which is arbitrarily set by the user. Each spot indicated by the spot information can be a candidate for a base in this embodiment, as will be described later.

[0034] "Attribute information" includes any information that indicates the characteristics of each spot indicated by the spot information. For example, attribute information may include information that indicates the household ratio by age group for each region that includes multiple spots (hereinafter also referred to as "household ratio information"). Attribute information may also include multiple area types that are set based on the household ratio information. "Area type" is information that indicates the characteristics of each region that includes multiple spots, and specifically includes information that categorizes the characteristics of the residents of each region using any method. For example, area types can be set based on information that analyzes the characteristics of purchasers based on purchase information of goods or services (hereinafter also referred to as "goods, etc."), categorizes purchaser types for each good, etc., and categorizes the characteristics of the residents of each region based on the purchase area of ​​the goods, etc. Any type can be set as an area type. For example, a first area type, a second area type, and a third area type can be set as area types. "First area type" indicates an area where many single-person households reside (typically a commercial district). "Area Type 2" refers to areas where many families reside (typically residential areas with a child-friendly environment). "Area Type 3" refers to office districts (areas where office buildings are concentrated, etc.). Further categories of area types may also be established.

[0035] The control unit 23 includes one or more processors, one or more programmable circuits, one or more dedicated circuits, or a combination thereof. The control unit 23 controls the operation of the entire information processing device 20.

[0036] <Operation Flow of Information Processing Device> Referring to Figure 6, the operation of the information processing device 20 according to this embodiment will be described. The operation in Figure 6 corresponds to the method according to this embodiment. This operation is performed repeatedly at a predetermined cycle. The predetermined cycle can be arbitrarily determined considering the data processing load of the entire system 1 and the battery load of the terminal device 10. In this embodiment, this operation is performed once a day at a predetermined time. The predetermined time can be set arbitrarily. For example, by setting the predetermined time to 0:00 AM, the content of the advertisement presented to the user on that day may be adjusted based on the behavioral trend information of the previous day. The predetermined cycle is not limited to this, and may be set several times a day, for example.

[0037] Step S100: The control unit 23 of the information processing device 20 acquires information indicating the user's behavioral tendencies (hereinafter also referred to as "behavioral tendency information") from the user's terminal device 10.

[0038] Specifically, the control unit 23 receives behavioral trend information from the communication unit 11 of the terminal device 10 via the network 30 and the communication unit 21, in association with the user account information of the terminal device 10. The control unit 23 can acquire behavioral trend information by receiving behavioral trend information from the user's terminal device 10 each time it performs the operation shown in Figure 6.

[0039] Behavioral trend information is arbitrary information that indicates the behavioral trends of the user of terminal device 10. In this embodiment, behavioral trend information may include location information of terminal device 10, usage history of application programs (geographic applications) into which geographical information is input, or both. Since geographical information is input by the user on the geographic application, using the usage history of the geographic application makes it easier to identify the user's location, as described in step S101. For example, the geographic application may be a route search application. In the case of a route search application, the usage history may include registered information of stations used, route search results, or both. This information may include not only current information but also past history. It is desirable to acquire information that has been newly accumulated or updated since the last acquisition. The usage history is not limited to these and may include other arbitrary information, such as registered information of the user's home, school, or workplace, or payment information. Payment information may include information such as payment methods used by the user of terminal device 10 (type of payment method, etc.), stores used, or purchased goods (e.g., purchase of transportation tickets). The usage history includes information that can serve as a clue to determine whether or not the user's location has changed in step S101, which will be described later.

[0040] As described above, in this embodiment, the frequency of acquiring behavioral trend information is once a day. Therefore, compared to, for example, the case where the user's location information of the terminal device 10 is acquired in real time (i.e., constantly monitored) as in the conventional method, the data processing load of the entire system 1 and the battery load of the terminal device 10 can be significantly reduced. The same can be said when the predetermined cycle described above is several times a day. In addition to the usage history of geographical applications, the location information of the user's terminal device 10 may also be acquired as behavioral trend information. The reason for this will be explained in the second example below.

[0041] Step S101: The control unit 23 determines whether the user's location has changed based on the behavioral trend information acquired in step S100. If the control unit 23 determines that the user's location has changed (step S101-Yes), the process proceeds to step S102. On the other hand, if the control unit 23 determines that the user's location has not changed (step S101-No), the process terminates.

[0042] A "user's base" refers to a location where the user of terminal device 10 appears more frequently than in other locations. "A user's base has changed" means that the location where the user appears most frequently has changed.

[0043] The control unit 23 extracts locations where the user of the terminal device 10 frequently appears based on behavioral trend information, and identifies the extracted locations as the user's base. Specifically, the control unit 23 compares the behavioral trend information acquired previously (for example, at 0:00 AM the previous day) with the behavioral trend information acquired this time (for example, at 0:00 AM on the current day). If either of the bases indicated by the behavioral trend information acquired each time is different, the control unit 23 determines that the user's base has changed. In this embodiment, the control unit 23 identifies the base indicated by the behavioral trend information acquired previously as the "base before change," and identifies the base indicated by the behavioral trend information acquired this time as the "base after change."

[0044] Any method can be used to extract locations where users frequently appear, but the following are three specific examples.

[0045] The first example is a route search application that provides a function (hereinafter also referred to as the "spot registration function") that allows the user to register any spot corresponding to a base in this embodiment, and where the user updates the registered information. In this case, the control unit 23 can refer to the usage history of the route search application and extract the spots registered by the user as places frequently visited by the user. Typically, the user also registers identification information for each spot, such as the place name, such as "home," "workplace," and "station used." In this case, the control unit 23 can estimate each spot registered with a place name as a spot frequently visited by the user and identify it as a base. In this example, each spot registered with a place name is updated by the user, so it matches the spots frequently visited by the user. For this reason, in this example, the need to acquire location information is lower than in the second example described later.

[0046] The second example involves a route search application that provides a spot registration function, but the user does not update the registered information such as "home" or "workplace." Similar to the first example, the control unit 23 can refer to the usage history of the route search application and extract spots registered by the user as places frequently visited by the user. However, in this example, unlike the first example, spots registered with place names are not updated by the user, so they may not match the user's actual frequently visited locations. Therefore, to prepare for such cases, it is desirable that the behavioral trend information also includes the location information of the user's terminal device 10. By acquiring location information as behavioral trend information, it becomes possible to identify or detect changes in the user's base of operations even when the registered information on the geographical application is not updated, as in this example, or when it is difficult to identify the user's base from the behavioral trend information, as in the third example described later. In other words, it becomes possible to identify spots frequently visited by the user without relying on the registered information on the geographical application. In this case, the control unit 23 can identify spots frequently visited by the user's actual frequency of visits by analyzing the location information shown in the behavioral trend information accumulated within a predetermined period, and identify those spots as bases. Furthermore, since the frequency of acquiring behavioral trend information is low in this embodiment, even if the location information of the terminal device 10 is acquired, there is no risk of a significant increase in the data processing load of the entire system 1 and the battery load of the terminal device 10.

[0047] A third example is when a route search application does not provide a spot registration function. In this case, the control unit 23 may refer to the route search results shown in the usage history and select two or three locations that have been set as the starting point or destination during route searches within a predetermined period. Alternatively, the control unit 23 may identify spots that have been set more than a predetermined number of times. The control unit 23 can extract these selected or identified spots as locations frequently visited by the user and identify them as bases.

[0048] The control unit 23 compares the locations (longitude, latitude, etc.) indicated in the behavioral trend information for each instance, which are identified in this way, and if there are locations that do not match, it may determine that the user's location has changed. The locations do not necessarily have to match exactly, and an acceptable predetermined error range may be set. In the second example described above, the control unit 23 identifies spots where the user frequently appears, which are identified by analyzing the location information included in the behavioral trend information, as locations, and compares these locations. If there are locations that do not match, it may determine that the user's location has changed.

[0049] Step S102: If the control unit 23 determines that the user's location has changed (Step S101-Yes), the control unit 23 executes a first change process to modify the advertisement due to the geographical change of the location.

[0050] Specifically, the control unit 23 can perform the first modification process by deciding to present advertisements from advertisers in the vicinity of the modified location to the user, instead of advertisements from those providing goods, services, etc. in the vicinity of the original location (hereinafter also referred to as "advertisers"). This makes it possible to deliver advertisements targeting users with a high probability of visiting the modified location to advertisers in the vicinity of the modified location.

[0051] There are various ways in which a user's location may change, but the fourth and fifth examples are shown below as specific examples.

[0052] The fourth example is when a user's workplace changes due to a job change during the period between the acquisition of the previous behavioral trend information and the acquisition of the current behavioral trend information (hereinafter also referred to as the "intermediate period"). In this example, the user may change the registered information of "workplace," "station used," or both on the route search application. In this case, the control unit 23 may decide to present advertisements from advertisers around the changed "workplace" or "station used" as advertisements to the user, instead of advertisements from advertisers around the previous "workplace" or "station used."

[0053] The fifth example is when the user's home, which is their primary residence, changes due to moving during the intermediate period. In this example, the user may change the registered information for "home," "station used," or both, on the route search application. In this case, the control unit 23 may decide to present advertisements from advertisers around the changed "home" or "station used" as advertisements to the user, instead of advertisements from advertisers around the previous "home" or "station used." Furthermore, since the user's "home," which is their primary residence, has changed in this example, unlike the fourth example, there is a possibility that not only the geographical location of the user's base but also the user's lifestyle has changed. Therefore, in addition to adjusting the advertisement content according to the geographical change of the base (this step), it is desirable to also adjust the advertisement content according to whether or not there has been a change in lifestyle. This makes it easier to present advertisements that are tailored to the user's lifestyle. The determination of a change in lifestyle will be described later in step S103.

[0054] Step S103: The control unit 23 determines whether the change of location meets predetermined conditions. If the control unit 23 determines that the predetermined conditions are met (Step S103-Yes), the control unit 23 estimates that the user's lifestyle has changed and decides to execute the second change process described later. The process proceeds to step S104. On the other hand, if the control unit 23 determines that the predetermined conditions are not met (Step S103-No), the control unit 23 estimates that the user's lifestyle has not changed and decides not to execute the second change process described later. The process proceeds to step S105.

[0055] The predetermined conditions can be arbitrarily defined. For example, the predetermined conditions could be that the location where a change was detected in step S101 is the user's home, and that the area type indicating the characteristics of the home's region before and after the change has changed (hereinafter also referred to as the "first condition"). Since the home is the user's base of life, if the home is changed, there is a higher probability that the user's lifestyle will also change compared to when other locations are changed. This probability is especially high if the move is due to childbirth. For example, in the fourth example described above, if the user moves from City A (a bustling commercial area) to City B (a residential area popular with families), there is a high probability that the move was due to childbirth. Therefore, if the first condition is met, the control unit 23 may estimate that the user's lifestyle has changed and decide to execute the second change process described later.

[0056] Specifically, if the user's home is included in the base where a change was detected in step S101, the control unit 23 can refer to the spot information in the base candidate database to identify the area type of the home before and after the change. If the area type does not change before and after the base change, it can be said that the characteristics of the residents in the area including the base before and after the change are similar to each other. Therefore, if the area type does not change before and after the base change, the control unit 23 can determine that the user's lifestyle has not changed. On the other hand, if the area type changes before and after the base change, it can be said that the characteristics of the residents in the area including the base before and after the change are different to each other. Therefore, if the area type changes before and after the base change, the control unit 23 can determine that the first condition is met and estimate that the user's lifestyle has changed. To improve the accuracy of estimating lifestyle changes, the control unit 23 may, for example, obtain information indicating the user's age stored in the user database.

[0057] For example, the predetermined condition may be the detection of a predetermined route search pattern (hereinafter also referred to as the "second condition"). The predetermined route search pattern can be arbitrarily defined. For example, the predetermined route search pattern may be that the average number of route searches during the first period (hereinafter also referred to as the "first average value") increased or decreased by a predetermined threshold compared to the average number of route searches during the second period prior to the first period (hereinafter also referred to as the "second average value"). The first period, the second period, and the predetermined threshold can be arbitrarily defined. The first average value and the second average value can be calculated, for example, by the control unit 23 analyzing the usage history of behavioral trend information. For example, if it is detected that the first average value decreased by a predetermined threshold compared to the second average value during a certain first period, it is possible that some change has occurred in the user's life. If the user is an office worker, their work style may have changed (e.g., switching from working in the office to working from home). Therefore, if the second condition is met, the control unit 23 may estimate that the user's lifestyle has changed and decide to execute the second change process described later. In this example, it is possible to detect changes in a user's lifestyle without relying on registration information on the geographical application, which is useful when a user does not update their registration information such as "home" or "workplace," as in the second example above.

[0058] Specifically, the control unit 23 can identify the user's route search pattern by analyzing behavioral trend information, including the location information of the terminal device 10, the usage history of geographical applications, or both. For example, suppose the control unit 23, after analyzing the usage history, estimates that the user has a daily routine of performing route searches during the time they return home on each workday. In this case, the first period may be set to the five weekdays prior to the day the operation was performed in Figure 6, the second period to the five weekdays immediately preceding the first period, and a predetermined threshold may be set to 3. Suppose that in a certain first period, it is detected that the first average value has decreased by a predetermined threshold (in this case, 3) or more compared to the second average value. This may suggest that the number of weekdays the user works has decreased due to a change in work style. The more consecutively such decreases in the average number of route searches are detected, the higher this possibility becomes. Therefore, if the control unit 23 detects a predetermined route search pattern, it can determine that the second condition is met and estimate that the user's lifestyle has changed.

[0059] In this case, the location information of the user's terminal device 10 may be acquired as behavioral trend information and stored as historical data showing the location history of the terminal device 10. In this example, the registered information on the route search application may not be changed. However, in reality, the location where the user frequently appears has changed from the workplace to home. For this reason, in the case of a user who has transitioned to full-time teleworking, the location registered as "workplace" on the route search application may no longer be the location where the user frequently appears (i.e., their base). To prepare for such cases, it is desirable that the behavioral trend information also includes the location information of the user's terminal device 10 in the early morning, daytime, and evening on weekdays (for example, 6am, 11am, 4pm, and 9pm). For example, if typical working hours are set as the standard, the location where the user frequently appears in the early morning and evening may be estimated to be home, and the location where the user frequently appears in the daytime may be estimated to be the workplace. If the control unit 23 analyzes the historical data and finds that the frequency of the estimated workplace location and the estimated home location matching has been increasing since a certain day, this may suggest that the user's work style has changed (e.g., switching from working in the office to working from home). In this case, the control unit 23 can determine, based on the historical data, that the user's frequently occurring location (i.e., base) has changed (step S101-Yes), and that the change in the user's base satisfies a predetermined condition (second condition) (step S103-Yes), and thus infer that the user's lifestyle has changed.

[0060] Step S104: If the control unit 23 determines that a predetermined condition is met (Step S103-Yes), the control unit 23 executes a second modification process to change advertisements related to the user's lifestyle.

[0061] The second modification process can be performed using any method. For example, a user who has moved due to childbirth will likely show a strong interest in certain products (typically baby products). Also, someone who has just moved from City A (a bustling commercial area) to City B is less likely to own certain products (typically family cars) than someone who has lived in City B (a popular residential area for families) for many years. Furthermore, a user who has transitioned to working from home is expected to change their interest in certain products (such as food and beverage services) as their most frequent locations shift from around the workplace to around their home. Thus, the period when certain conditions are met for a user whose base of operations has changed can be considered a period of high advertising effectiveness. Therefore, the control unit 23 can interpret the meeting of certain conditions (in this case, a change of residence) as a change in lifestyle and execute the second modification process by deciding to present advertisements to the user for certain products that have not been presented before, or advertisements for certain products with appropriately changed advertisers or locations. This makes it easier to present advertisements tailored to the user's lifestyle without missing periods of high advertising effectiveness.

[0062] Step S105: The control unit 23 presents the advertisement determined by executing the first modification process and / or the second modification process to the user. The process then terminates.

[0063] Specifically, the control unit 23 can present the advertisement to the user by transmitting and outputting the advertisement determined by executing the first modification process and / or the second modification process to the user's terminal device 10 via the communication unit 21 and the network 30.

[0064] After steps S101 to S105, if the control unit 23 determines, based on behavioral trend information, that the user's location has changed, it executes a first change process and may decide whether or not to execute a second change process depending on whether the change of location meets predetermined conditions. If it is determined in step S101 that the user's location has changed and the change of location meets predetermined conditions, the control unit 23 estimates that the user's lifestyle has changed and executes both the first and second change processes. On the other hand, even if it is determined that the user's location has changed, if the change of location does not meet predetermined conditions, the control unit 23 estimates that the user's lifestyle has not changed and does not execute the second change process.

[0065] As described above, the information processing device 20 according to this embodiment acquires information indicating the user's behavioral tendencies from the user's terminal device 10. Based on this information, if the information processing device 20 determines that the user's location has changed, it executes a first change process to change the advertisement due to the geographical change of the location, and also decides whether or not to execute a second change process to change the advertisement related to the user's lifestyle, depending on whether or not the change of location meets predetermined conditions.

[0066] With this configuration, for example, if a change in location is detected, the advertisement will be changed to reflect the change in location's geographical location. However, if a change in location is not detected but no change in lifestyle is detected, the advertisement related to lifestyle will not be changed. Therefore, this improves targeted advertising technology by making it easier to detect changes in a user's location, identify the timing when advertisements are most effective, and present advertisements tailored to the user's lifestyle.

[0067] While this disclosure has been described based on the drawings and embodiments, it should be noted that those skilled in the art may make various modifications and alterations based on this disclosure. Therefore, it should be noted that these modifications and alterations are within the scope of this disclosure. For example, the functions, etc., included in each component or step, etc., can be rearranged in a logically consistent manner, and multiple components or steps, etc., can be combined into one or divided.

[0068] For example, as a first modification of the above-described embodiment, the control unit 23 may estimate the user's activity time from behavioral trend information and adjust the timing of presenting the determined advertisement to the user. In this case, in order to estimate the user's activity time, the behavioral trend information may include information showing the purchase history or usage record of transportation tickets as the usage history of the route search application. This makes it possible to present advertisements to the user in a more timely manner. Here, "timely" does not mean immediate delivery such as constantly monitoring the user's location information and presenting an advertisement immediately after entering a store, but rather presenting an advertisement to the user "at a timing appropriate to the user's activity time." In other words, immediate delivery of advertisements may give users a strong sense of being monitored and cause discomfort, making it difficult to enhance the appeal of the advertisement. In contrast, in this embodiment, by using behavioral trend information to capture changes in the user's lifestyle, it becomes easier to present advertisements at an appropriate time without causing discomfort to the user. For example, suppose the control unit 23 analyzes the purchase history and usage record of transportation tickets and finds that the user's activity time is during the daytime, including lunchtime. In this case, the route search results can be used to identify the user's departure and destination (in this case, the boarding and alighting stations for passenger vehicles) as well as the departure and arrival times of passenger vehicles. During lunchtime, advertisements for restaurants near the destination (alighting station) can then be displayed to the user of the terminal device 10.

[0069] Furthermore, as a second modification of the above-described embodiment, the geographical application may be an application program that displays map information (hereinafter also referred to as the "map application"). In this case, the user can, for example, select a starting point and a destination on the map of the map application, perform a route search, and view the route search results. Information such as the starting point and destination selected by the user and the viewed route search results can be stored in the user database as usage history.

[0070] Furthermore, for example, in the above-described embodiment, it is also possible to distribute the configuration and operation of the information processing device 20 across multiple computers that can communicate with each other. For example, in the above-described embodiment, it is also possible to distribute the components of the information processing device 20 across a first server managed by the operator of the geographical application and a second server managed by the advertiser. Furthermore, for example, it is also possible to provide some or all of the components of the information processing device 20 in the terminal device 10.

[0071] Furthermore, it is also possible to implement an embodiment in which a general-purpose computer functions as the information processing device 20 according to the above embodiment. Specifically, a program describing the processing content that realizes each function of the information processing device 20 according to the above embodiment is stored in the memory of the general-purpose computer, and the processor reads and executes the program. Therefore, this disclosure can also be implemented as a program that can be executed by a processor, or as a non-temporary computer-readable medium that stores said program. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0072] 1 System 10 Terminal devices 11 Communications Department 12 Positioning Unit 13 Input section 14 Output section 15 Storage section 16 Control Unit 20 Information Processing Devices 21 Communications Department 22 Memory section 23 Control Unit 30 Networks

Claims

1. An information processing device comprising a control unit, The control unit, Information indicating the user's behavioral tendencies is obtained from the location information or usage history of the user's terminal device. An information processing device that identifies the user's location based on the aforementioned information, compares the previously acquired location with the newly acquired location, and if it is determined that the user's location has changed, performs a first change process to change the advertisement due to the geographical change of the location, and further determines whether to perform a second change process to change the advertisement related to the user's lifestyle depending on whether the changed location meets predetermined conditions.

2. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, The aforementioned predetermined conditions are that the location where the change was detected is the user's home, and that the area type indicating the characteristics of the home's region before and after the change has changed. The control unit, when the predetermined conditions are met, estimates that the user's lifestyle has changed and executes the second change process; if the predetermined conditions are not met, does not execute the second change process and presents the user with an advertisement based on the execution of the first change process.

3. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, The predetermined condition is that a change in the route search pattern by the user in the geographic application of the terminal device has been detected. The control unit is an information processing device that, when the predetermined conditions are met, estimates that the user's lifestyle has changed and executes the second change process.

4. An information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, The information processing device includes location information of the terminal device, usage history of an application program into which geographical information is input, or both.

5. An information processing apparatus according to claim 4, The application program into which the aforementioned geographical information is input is an application program used for route searching. The aforementioned information includes registered station information, route search results, or both, and is an information processing device.

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