Information processing system, information processing method, and program

Abstract

[Problem] To provide an information processing system or the like capable of effectively presenting an advertisement to a user. [Solution] One aspect of the present invention provides an information processing system. The information processing system comprises a control unit. The control unit is configured to perform the following steps. In a first reception step, a history indicating that a code indicated on a first medium has been read through a terminal operation by a user is received. In a second reception step, the user who has read the code is allowed to acquire one or more selected from the group consisting of a ticket related to a means of transportation, a right to use the means of transportation, and a coupon for the ticket or the right, and attribute information of the user is received. In a selection step, an advertisement that can be visually recognized by the user is selected on the basis of at least the attribute information of the user. In a display control step, a second medium is caused to display the selected advertisement in a manner visually recognizable by the user.

Description

Information processing system, information processing method and program

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing system, an information processing method, and a program.

[0002] Conventionally, systems for distributing advertisements and the like that are tailored to user demand have been developed. In this regard, Patent Literature 1 discloses a technology for determining content to be provided to a user based on the user's location and the user's means of transportation.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2019-3647

[0004] However, there is still room for improvement in advertising efficiency.

[0005] In view of the above circumstances, the present invention provides an information processing system and the like that can effectively present advertising materials to users.

[0006] According to one aspect of the present invention, an information processing system is provided. The information processing system includes a control unit. The control unit is configured to execute the following steps: a first reception step receives a history of a code displayed on a first medium being read by a user's terminal operation; a second reception step allows the user who reads the code to obtain one or more items selected from the group consisting of a ticket related to a means of transportation, a right to use the means of transportation, and a coupon for the ticket or right, and receives user attribute information; a selection step selects advertising material that is viewable by the user based on at least the user attribute information; and a display control step displays the selected advertising material on a second medium in a manner that is viewable by the user.

[0007] According to the above aspect, an information processing system and the like that can improve advertising efficiency are provided.

[0008] 1 is a configuration diagram showing an information processing system 100 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of a user terminal 2. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of a server 3. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of a display medium 4. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing functions realized by a control unit 33 and the like in the server 3. FIG. 6 is an activity diagram showing the flow of information processing according to the present embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining code related to a first reception step. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining attribute information received in a second reception step.

[0009] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Various features shown in the following embodiments can be combined with each other.

[0010] That is, the information processing system of this embodiment is as follows: An information processing system comprising a control unit, wherein the control unit is configured to execute the following steps: in a first reception step, receiving a history of a code displayed on a first medium being read by a user operating a terminal; in a second reception step, allowing the user who read the code to obtain one or more items selected from the group consisting of a ticket related to a means of transportation, a right to use the means of transportation, and a coupon for the ticket or the right, and receiving attribute information of the user; in a selection step, selecting advertising material viewable by the user based on at least the attribute information of the user; and in a display control step, displaying the selected advertising material on a second medium in a manner viewable by the user.

[0011] Incidentally, a program for realizing the software appearing in one embodiment may be provided as a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium, or may be provided so as to be downloadable from an external server, or may be provided so that the program is started on an external computer and its functions are realized on a client terminal (so-called cloud computing).

[0012] Furthermore, various information processing according to an embodiment may realize input and output corresponding to the input. Here, the form of information referenced in such information processing (hereinafter referred to as reference information) is not limited as long as an output is obtained as a result of the input. The reference information may be, for example, rule-based information such as a database, a lookup table, or a predetermined function (including a decision formula such as a regression formula constructed using a statistical method), a trained model that has previously trained the correlation between input and output, or a large-scale language model that can output a desired result by inputting a prompt.

[0013] In one embodiment, the term "unit" may include, for example, a combination of hardware resources implemented by a circuit in the broad sense and software information processing that can be specifically realized by these hardware resources. In one embodiment, various information is handled, and this information is represented, for example, by physical values ​​of signal values ​​representing voltage or current, high or low signal values ​​as a binary bit set consisting of 0 or 1, or quantum superposition (so-called quantum bits), and communication and calculations can be performed on the circuit in the broad sense.

[0014] Furthermore, a circuit in a broad sense is a circuit realized by at least an appropriate combination of a circuit, circuitry, a processor, a memory, etc. The processor may be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated circuit. That is, it includes application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logic devices (e.g., simple programmable logic devices (SPLDs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), and field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs)), etc.

[0015] 1. Hardware Configuration In this section, the hardware configuration of this embodiment will be described.

[0016] 1.1 Information Processing System 100 Fig. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an information processing system 100 according to this embodiment. The information processing system 100 includes a user terminal 2, a server 3, and a display medium 4, which are connected via a network 1. These components will be further described. Note that a system exemplified as the information processing system 100 is made up of one or more devices or components. Therefore, even the server 3 alone is an example of a system.

[0017] 1.2 User Terminal 2 The user terminal 2 is a terminal carried by a user in this embodiment. For example, the user terminal 2 may be a smartphone, tablet terminal, computer, etc., but the details are not limited thereto. Note that in FIG. 1, the user terminal 2 is depicted as a collection of individual smartphones (2-1, 2-2, ... 2-n), but in this specification, an individual terminal may also be referred to as the user terminal 2.

[0018] 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the user terminal 2. The user terminal 2 has a communication unit 21, a storage unit 22, a control unit 23, a display unit 24, and an input unit 25, and these components are electrically connected via a communication bus 20 inside the user terminal 2. The description of the communication unit 21, the storage unit 22, and the control unit 23 will be omitted as they are substantially the same as the communication unit 31, the storage unit 32, and the control unit 33 in the server 3, which will be described later.

[0019] The display unit 24 may be, for example, included in the housing of the user terminal 2 or may be externally attached. The display unit 24 displays a graphical user interface (GUI) screen that can be operated by the user. This is preferably implemented by selectively using display devices such as a CRT display, a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, or a plasma display depending on the type of user terminal 2. Here, the display unit 24 will be described as being included in the housing of the user terminal 2.

[0020] The input unit 25 may be included in the housing of the user terminal 2, or may be externally attached. For example, the input unit 25 may be implemented as a touch panel integrated with the display unit 24. A touch panel allows the user to input tapping, swiping, and the like. Of course, a switch button, a mouse, a QWERTY keyboard, or the like may be used instead of a touch panel. That is, the input unit 25 accepts an operation input made by the user. The input is transferred as a command signal to the control unit 23 via the communication bus 20, and the control unit 23 can execute predetermined control or calculation as necessary.

[0021] The user terminal 2 may have a function for transmitting latitude and longitude information. Specifically, the user terminal 2 may have a function (positioning system) capable of transmitting signals such as a GPS (Global Positioning System). The user terminal 2 may also have a camera function for reading codes, for example, or a reader capable of reading various tags such as NFC (Near Field Communication) tags.

[0022] 3 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the server 3. The server 3 has a communication unit 31, a storage unit 32, and a control unit 33, and these components are electrically connected via a communication bus 30 inside the server 3. Each component will be further described.

[0023] The communication unit 31 is preferably a wired communication means such as USB, IEEE 1394, Thunderbolt (registered trademark), or wired LAN network communication, but may also include wireless LAN network communication, mobile communication such as 3G / LTE / 5G, Bluetooth (registered trademark), etc. as needed. In other words, it is more preferable to implement it as a collection of multiple communication means. That is, the server 3 communicates various information with the user terminal 2 and the display medium 4 via the communication unit 31 over the network 1.

[0024] The memory unit 32 stores various pieces of information defined above. This may be implemented, for example, as a storage device such as a solid state drive (SSD) that stores various programs and the like related to the server 3 executed by the control unit 33, or as a memory such as a random access memory (RAM) that stores temporarily required information (arguments, arrays, etc.) related to program calculations. Alternatively, a combination of these may be used. In particular, the memory unit 32 stores various programs and the like related to the server 3 executed by the control unit 33.

[0025] The control unit 33 processes and controls the overall operations related to the server 3. The control unit 33 is, for example, a central processing unit (CPU) (not shown). The control unit 33 realizes various functions related to the server 3 by reading out predetermined programs stored in the storage unit 32. In other words, information processing by software stored in the storage unit 32 is specifically realized by the control unit 33, which is an example of hardware, and can be executed as each functional unit included in the control unit 33. This will be described in more detail in Section 2. Note that the control unit 33 is not limited to being single, and multiple control units 33 may be provided for each function. A combination of these may also be used.

[0026] 1.4 Display Medium 4 The display medium 4 is a medium that can display a predetermined image or the like when the server 3 controls the display. The display medium 4 typically includes an image display device such as a display. Specific examples of this image display device include image display devices whose contrast, brightness, reflectance, transmittance, etc. change due to electromagnetic effects, such as EL elements, electron-emitting elements, liquid crystal elements, electronic ink, electrophoretic elements, grating light valves, plasma displays, digital micromirror devices, piezoelectric ceramic displays, and carbon nanotubes.

[0027] 4 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the display medium 4. The display medium 4 has a communication unit 41, a storage unit 42, a control unit 43, a display unit 44, and an input unit 45, and these components are electrically connected via a communication bus 40 inside the display medium 4. The explanation of the communication unit 41, the storage unit 42, and the control unit 43 will be omitted because they are substantially the same as the communication unit 31, the storage unit 32, and the control unit 33 in the server 3 described above.

[0028] Furthermore, the display unit 44 is typically an image display device as described above. The input unit 45 may be included in the housing of the display medium 4 or may be externally attached. For example, the input unit 45 may be implemented as a touch panel integrated with the display unit 44. A touch panel allows a user to input tapping, swiping, and the like. Of course, a switch button, a mouse, a QWERTY keyboard, or the like may be used instead of a touch panel. That is, the input unit 45 accepts an operation input made by a person handling the display medium 4. The input is transferred as a command signal to the control unit 43 via the communication bus 40, and the control unit 43 can execute predetermined control or calculation as necessary.

[0029] 2. Functional Configuration This section describes the functional configuration of this embodiment. As described above, information processing by software stored in the storage unit 32 is specifically realized by the control unit 33, which is an example of hardware, and can be executed as each functional unit included in the control unit 33.

[0030] Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing functions realized by the control unit 33 and the like in the server 3. Specifically, the server 3, which is an example of the information processing system 100, includes a reception unit 331, a selection unit 332, and a display control unit 333. Fig. 5 shows an aspect in which the functions provided in the server 3 include a payment registration unit 334 and a memory management unit 335.

[0031] The reception unit 331 is configured to execute a reception step. In the reception step, the reception unit 331 receives various information and data. In this embodiment, in a first reception step, the reception unit 331 receives a history of a code displayed on a first medium being read by a user through terminal operation. In addition, in a second reception step, the reception unit 331 allows the user who reads the code to acquire one or more items selected from the group consisting of a ticket related to a means of transportation, a right to use the means of transportation, and a coupon for the ticket or right, and also receives user attribute information. Specific processing for these items will be described later. Note that the above-described second reception step may allow the user to acquire (grant) a ticket or the like. In other words, the reception unit 331 may have a function (which may be referred to as an "granting unit" for convenience) that allows the user to acquire a predetermined electronic asset or the like.

[0032] The selection unit 332 is configured to be able to execute a selection step. In the selection step, the selection unit 332 selects advertising material that is viewable by the user based on at least the user's attribute information. The selection process will be described in further detail later.

[0033] The display control unit 333 is configured to be able to execute a display control step. In the display control step, the display control unit 333 is configured to generate various display information and control display content that is viewable by the user. Note that the display information may be information itself generated in a manner viewable by the user, such as a screen, an image, an icon, or text, or may be rendering information for displaying a screen, an image, an icon, or text on the user terminal 2 or the display medium 4, for example. In this embodiment, as the display control step, the display control unit 333 displays the selected advertising material on the second medium in a manner viewable by the user.

[0034] The payment registration unit 334 is configured to be able to execute a payment registration step. In the payment registration step, the payment registration unit 334 registers that the user has made payments for various expenses. The control unit 33 can control the content of this registration to be stored in the memory unit 32 in the server 3.

[0035] The memory management unit 335 is configured to be able to execute a memory management step. In the memory management step, the memory management unit 335 is configured to manage various pieces of information to be stored that are related to the information processing of this embodiment. Typically, the memory management unit 335 is configured to store information handled by the server 3 in a memory area. This memory area is exemplified by the memory unit 32 of the server 3 or the memory units of various devices and terminals, but this memory area does not necessarily have to be within the system shown in FIG. 1, and the memory management unit 335 can also manage various pieces of information to be stored in an external storage device or the like.

[0036] 3. Information Processing Method In this section, each step of the information processing method executed by the information processing system 100 described above will be explained, with appropriate reference to activity diagrams.

[0037] 6 is an activity diagram showing the flow of information processing according to this embodiment. As shown in Fig. 6, in the information processing method according to this embodiment, first, as a first reception step, the reception unit 331 receives a history of a code displayed on a first medium being read by a user through a terminal operation (activity A101).

[0038] 7 is a diagram illustrating the code related to the first reception step. As shown in FIG. 7, the code CD1 is shown on a predetermined medium (first medium). Note that, although FIG. 7 shows the pages of a travel magazine MD1 as the first medium, the type of the first medium is not limited to this. That is, the first medium may be so-called mass media such as magazines, newspapers, television, etc.; search engines (including services such as Yahoo! (registered trademark) and Google (registered trademark)), social media (including various services such as SNS (Social Networking Services) represented by Facebook (registered trademark) and Instagram (registered trademark), messaging apps such as LINE (registered trademark) and WeChat (registered trademark); wallet apps such as PayPay (registered trademark), video distribution services (including services such as YouTube (registered trademark) and TikTok (registered trademark)), internet media related to e-commerce sites, travel booking sites, accommodation booking sites, airline ticket booking sites, etc.; sales promotion (SP) media such as POP, direct mail, posters, flyers, free papers, etc. In addition to these, outdoor advertising media such as electronic bulletin boards, utility pole advertisements, and billboard advertisements; various paper media including educational materials and distributed materials; transportation advertising media inside and outside trains, buses, taxis, cars (including rental cars and car sharing), ships, airplanes, etc., or at ancillary facilities such as bus stops; display screens in car navigation systems; media related to public transportation tickets (including digital tickets and paper tickets) (including screens displaying digital tickets, margins and backs of paper tickets, etc.); flying objects such as advertising balloons, and dynamic media such as athletes' uniforms can also be used as the first medium.

[0039] In the first reception step, a user who has come into contact with the first medium reads the code CD1 displayed on the first medium using their user terminal 2. While not limited to this, this step can be achieved, for example, by reading the code CD1 using a camera provided on the user terminal 2. While FIG. 7 shows a two-dimensional code such as a QR code (registered trademark) as the code CD1, the code used in this embodiment may be any code that can be read by the user terminal 2. In other words, the code in this embodiment may be a barcode or the like. Furthermore, when the user reads the code CD1 using the user terminal 2, the reception unit 331 receives a history of this reading.

[0040] After the first reception step is executed as described above, the reception unit 331 performs a second reception step in which the user who reads the code obtains one or more items selected from the group consisting of a ticket related to a means of transportation, a right to use the means of transportation, and a coupon for the ticket or right, and also receives the user's attribute information (activity A102).

[0041] 8 is a diagram illustrating the attribute information received in the second reception step. When the user reads the code CD1 using the user terminal 2, a display screen D1 for allowing the user to obtain a ticket related to a means of transportation is displayed on the user terminal 2.

[0042] The term "transportation" as used herein refers to a variety of means used to assist people in traveling, typically including trains, buses, trams, subways, airplanes, ships, ferries, pleasure boats, water buses, taxis, cars (including rental cars and car sharing), bicycles (rental cycles), electric kick scooters, cable cars, monorails, drones, helicopters, and motorcycles. The term "transportation" also encompasses, for example, transportation services provided by public transportation systems that operate regularly based on timetables, as well as on-demand transportation services provided by transportation systems that operate according to user demand. The aforementioned "transportation tickets" refer to tickets, whether paper or electronic, that allow the use of the various transportation methods described above. Furthermore, the aforementioned "coupons for tickets or rights" refer to coupons that offer discounts on the cost incurred when a user uses the transportation methods described above.

[0043] Display screen D1 in Figure 8 is a screen for purchasing bus tickets operating in a specific area called "Patent Plateau." While not necessarily limited to this, it is preferable that there be a certain relationship between the content displayed on the first medium and the means of transportation related to the tickets and rights the user is allowed to acquire. Display screen D1 also includes forms (forms F1-F7) for inputting the user's name, address, age, gender, occupation, date of use, and number of tickets to purchase bus tickets. That is, the user can acquire tickets by entering their own attribute information using the user terminal 2 and pressing button BT1 by clicking, tapping, or the like. In other words, the accepting unit 331 allows the user to acquire tickets and rights related to public transportation (means of transportation) while also accepting the user's attribute information.

[0044] The user attribute information accepted by the accepting unit 331 may include various types of user attribute information. Typically, however, the user attribute information preferably includes one or more pieces of information selected from the group consisting of the user's address, age, gender, occupation, financial resources, family structure, nationality, preferred language, past information browsing history, past product purchase history, past travel history, type of device used, and IP address. The "family structure" may be inferred from the number of tickets purchased, for example. Although not shown in FIG. 8 , the display screen D1 may include a means for acquiring (inferring) the user's "financial resources" (e.g., a form for inputting a "travel budget"). Accepting the user's nationality and preferred language as user attribute information may be achieved by having the user input the relevant information, or by the server 3 acquiring the preferred language of the user terminal 2. Furthermore, accepting past information browsing history, past product purchase history, and past travel history as user attribute information may be achieved by having the user actually input information related to these, or by having the server 3 acquire the information processing history of the user terminal 2 (typically, the information processing history stored in the storage unit 22). Note that the "travel history" may be a history based on changes in location information managed by a positioning system such as GPS provided in the user terminal 2, or a history based on the purchase history of transportation tickets previously purchased by the user terminal 2. Furthermore, accepting the type of terminal used and the IP address as user attribute information may be achieved by having the user actually input information related to these, or by having the server 3 acquire the usage environment of the user terminal 2.

[0045] Furthermore, when a user acquires a ticket related to a means of transportation or the right to use that means of transportation, the presence or absence of a fee can be set as appropriate. The fee for acquiring a ticket or the like may be discounted as appropriate. When conducting such a transaction (buying and selling) of a ticket or the like, the payment registration unit 334 of the server 3 may store the transaction history in a predetermined memory area. Furthermore, if the ticket is an electronic ticket, the system may be operated so that the electronic ticket can be used on the user terminal 2. On the other hand, if the ticket is a paper ticket, the system may be operated so that the paper ticket is sent to the address accepted as form F2.

[0046] Furthermore, the server 3 (accepting unit 331) accepts user attribute information as described above. When the second accepting step is executed, the server 3 may be configured to associate and store the history accepted in the first accepting step with the user's attribute information. Furthermore, such storage may be performed by assigning an identifier to the user with whom the attribute information is associated. That is, by executing the second accepting step, the history of reading the code indicated on the first medium, the identifier of the user who read the code, and the user's attribute information may be stored in association with each other. Note that such a user identifier may be associated with a user ID for various services, such as an app that manages transportation tickets.

[0047] In this way, when the receiving unit 331 receives the user attribute information, the selecting unit 332 selects advertising material that is viewable by the user based on at least the user attribute information (activity A103) as a selection step. Furthermore, the display control unit 333 displays the selected advertising material on the second medium in a manner that is viewable by the user (activity A104) as a display control step.

[0048] That is, in the information processing of this embodiment, since the user attribute information is received in the second reception step, appropriate advertising materials can be selected based on this attribute information. For example, if the user attribute information received in the second reception step is "female in her 30s," it is possible to select advertising materials related to products and services that are in high demand among women in their 30s.

[0049] In this embodiment, the selection unit 332 can also select advertising materials based on location information related to the aforementioned means of transportation. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, if the means of transportation is a bus related to "Patent Plateau," advertising materials related to "Patent Plateau" can be selected. Specifically, the selection unit 332 can select appropriate advertising materials based on the attribute information "female in her 30s" and the location information "Patent Plateau." Examples of advertising materials based on such location information include, but are not limited to, spots and local specialties related to the location information (region). In other words, advertising materials can be selected after an appropriate selection process is performed according to market needs, etc.

[0050] The selection unit 332 can select advertising materials based on the attribute information of not only a single user but also multiple users. That is, the basis for the selection of advertising materials by the selection unit 332 may be the attribute information of multiple users. That is, the user attribute information accepted by the acceptance unit 331 may relate to the number of users belonging to a specific classification (category), such as "there are many women in their 30s" or "there are many people who live in the Kanto region." In this case, advertising materials related to a classification to which many users belong may typically be selected.

[0051] When the advertising material is selected in this manner, the selected advertising material is displayed in a manner that is visible to the user. Note that the display here is performed on the second medium, but since this information processing is controlled by the display control unit 333 of the server 3, the second medium is typically an electronically controllable medium (device).

[0052] As an example, the second medium may be a display screen provided on the user's terminal. That is, the selected advertising material may be displayed on the display unit 24 provided on the user terminal 2. The timing of displaying the advertising material may be arbitrary, but the advertising material may also be controlled to be displayed on the condition that a predetermined condition is satisfied.

[0053] As an example, the display control step is executed when the user is located at a location associated with the transportation mode. If the transportation mode is a bus associated with the aforementioned "Patent Plateau," the advertising material may be presented to the user when the user is located at the "Patent Plateau." Note that the location associated with the transportation mode is not limited to the "Patent Plateau" itself. For example, it may also include a location along the user's path to the "Patent Plateau." Note that a positioning system such as a GPS provided in the user terminal 2 may be used to confirm the user's location. A wireless system may also be used to confirm the user's location. For example, a device capable of wireless transmission and reception may be installed at a location associated with the transportation mode, and the advertising material may be displayed on the user terminal 2 based on the user terminal 2 establishing a wireless connection with this device. The wireless connection may be achieved using a known communication method, such as a Wi-Fi (registered trademark) connection or Bluetooth (registered trademark) connection between the device located at the transportation mode and the user terminal 2.

[0054] On the other hand, the second medium may be a display medium installed at a location related to the means of transportation. That is, the display medium 4 shown in FIG. 1 may be installed at a location related to the means of transportation, and the advertising material selected by the selection unit 332 may be controlled to be displayed on the display medium 4. Note that the user attribute information used as the basis for selecting the advertising material may be attribute information of a single user or attribute information of multiple users. However, when advertising material is displayed on the display medium 4, the attribute information of multiple users is typically used as the basis for selecting the advertising material. That is, in a typical example of this embodiment, a large number of people can be attracted to a location related to the means of transportation based on the first medium. Because the display medium 4 is expected to be seen by such a large number of people, it is preferable that advertising material selected based on the attribute information of multiple users be displayed on the display medium 4.

[0055] In this embodiment, the system may be configured to acquire a history of advertisements being displayed on the second medium, a history of users interacting with the displayed advertisements, and the like, and store and manage these histories. As described above, the history of reading a code displayed on the first medium may be stored together with the identifier of the user who read the code. From this perspective, in this embodiment, it may be possible to store and manage whether a user identified by an identifier actually interacted with the advertisement. In a typical example, for each identified user, the presence or absence of a "history of a code displayed on the first medium being read" and the presence or absence of a "history of an advertisement being displayed on a second medium accessed by the user" may be associated and stored. This allows the advertising effectiveness and user behavior history for each of the first medium and the second medium to be evaluated. Furthermore, the presence or absence of a "history of a code displayed on the first medium being read" and the presence or absence of a "history of an advertisement being displayed on a second medium accessed by the user" may be applied as part of the "user attribute information" in this embodiment. In other words, these histories allow the server 3 to store the user's contact with the first medium and the second medium, and the selection unit 332 of the server 3 can select advertising material based on the user's history (past information viewing history).

[0056] Furthermore, a mechanism for visualizing the advertising effectiveness for a predetermined medium or the user's behavior history may be realized based on the presence or absence of the history for each user described above (a so-called "dashboard" showing the advertising effectiveness for a predetermined medium or the user's behavior history may be generated). That is, the server 3 may generate a display showing the advertising effectiveness or the user's behavior history based on at least the history in the first reception step and the history in the display control step. This display may typically be disclosed to various businesses such as advertising companies and transportation companies.

[0057] As described above, in the information processing method of this embodiment, the steps are appropriately combined, and therefore it can be said that advertising efficiency can be improved.

[0058] 4. Others The information processing system 100 according to this embodiment may employ the following aspects.

[0059] In the above embodiment, the configuration of the information processing system 100 has been described, but a program that causes a computer to execute each step of the information processing system 100 may be provided.

[0060] In the above embodiment, the selection unit 332 selects advertising materials based on user attribute information. However, the selection unit 332 may also be configured to select advertising materials by separately accepting input from an advertiser. That is, after user attribute information is accumulated in the storage unit 32 of the server 3, at least a portion of the user attribute information may be presented to the advertiser, allowing the advertiser to select the advertising materials he or she wishes to display. The information presented to the advertiser may also include information on the corresponding means of transportation along with the user attribute information. Although not shown, this selection is typically performed by input operations from a terminal owned by the advertiser. That is, the advertiser can select advertising materials for which display control is desired, taking into account the attribute information, information on the means of transportation, advertising efficiency, costs, and the like. In addition to selecting advertising materials, the operator of the information processing system 100 may also set the type and number of display media 4 for which display control is desired. Furthermore, when accepting input from the advertiser in this manner, the operator of the information processing system 100 may take measures such as increasing the advertising fees charged to the advertiser.

[0061] In the above embodiment, the user attribute information received by the reception unit 331 is used to select advertising materials, but some or all of the attribute information received by the reception unit 331 may be disclosed to the operator of the first medium (a publisher if the first medium is a magazine, a television station if the first medium is television, etc.).

[0062] In the above embodiment, the server 3 performs various storage and control operations, but multiple external devices may be used instead of the server 3. That is, various pieces of information related to information processing may be distributed and stored in multiple external devices using blockchain technology or the like.

[0063] Furthermore, it may be provided in the following aspects.

[0064] (1) An information processing system comprising a control unit configured to execute the following steps: a first reception step receives a history of a code displayed on a first medium being read by a user operating a terminal; a second reception step allows the user who reads the code to obtain one or more items selected from the group consisting of a ticket for a means of transportation, a right to use the means of transportation, and a coupon for the ticket or the right, and also receives attribute information of the user; a selection step selects advertising material that is viewable by the user based on at least the attribute information of the user; and a display control step displays the selected advertising material on a second medium in a manner that is viewable by the user.

[0065] (2) In the information processing system described in (1) above, the selection step further selects the advertising material based on location information related to the means of transportation.

[0066] (3) In the information processing system described in (1) or (2) above, the second medium is a display screen provided on the user's terminal.

[0067] (4) In the information processing system described in (3) above, the display control step is executed when the user is present at a location related to the means of transportation.

[0068] (5) In the information processing system described in (1) or (2) above, the second medium is a display medium installed at a position related to the means of transportation.

[0069] (6) In the information processing system described in (5) above, the selection step selects the advertising material based on attribute information of a plurality of users.

[0070] (7) In the information processing system described in any one of (1) to (6) above, in the second reception step, the user is allowed to obtain a ticket for public transportation and attribute information of the user is received.

[0071] (8) In the information processing system described in any one of (1) to (7) above, the user attribute information includes information regarding one or more of the user's address, age, gender, occupation, financial resources, family composition, nationality, language used, past information browsing history, past product purchase history, past travel history, type of terminal used, and IP address used.

[0072] (9) An information processing method executed by an information processing system, the method comprising each step of the information processing system described in any one of (1) to (8) above.

[0073] (10) A program that causes a computer to execute each step of the information processing system described in any one of (1) to (8) above. Of course, this is not a limitation.

[0074] Finally, while various embodiments of the present invention have been described, they are presented by way of example only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The novel embodiments may be embodied in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Such embodiments and modifications are intended to be included within the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as within the scope of the claims and their equivalents.

[0075] 1: Network 2: User terminal 3: Server 4: Display medium 20: Communication bus 21: Communication unit 22: Memory unit 23: Control unit 24: Display unit 25: Input unit 30: Communication bus 31: Communication unit 32: Memory unit 33: Control unit 40: Communication bus 41: Communication unit 42: Memory unit 43: Control unit 44: Display unit 45: Input unit 100: Information processing system 331: Reception unit 332: Selection unit 333: Display control unit 334: Payment registration unit 335: Memory management unit BT1: Button CD1: Code D1: Display screen F1-F7: Form MD1: Travel magazine

Claims

1. An information processing system comprising a control unit, the control unit configured to execute the following steps: in a first reception step, receiving a history of a code displayed on a first medium being read by a user operating a terminal; in a second reception step, allowing the user who read the code to obtain one or more items selected from the group consisting of a ticket related to a means of transportation, a right to use the means of transportation, and a coupon for the ticket or the right, and receiving attribute information of the user; in a selection step, selecting advertising material that is viewable by the user based on at least the attribute information of the user; and in a display control step, displaying the selected advertising material on a second medium in a manner that is viewable by the user.

2. An information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the selection step further selects the advertising material based on location information related to the means of transportation.

3. An information processing system according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the second medium is a display screen provided on the user's terminal.

4. An information processing system according to claim 3, wherein the display control step is executed when the user is present at a location related to the means of transportation.

5. An information processing system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the second medium is a display medium installed at a position related to the means of transportation.

6. An information processing system according to claim 5, wherein the selection step selects the advertising material based on attribute information of a plurality of users.

7. An information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the second reception step allows the user to obtain a ticket for public transportation and receives attribute information of the user.

8. An information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the user attribute information includes information on one or more items selected from the group consisting of the user's address, age, sex, occupation, financial resources, family structure, nationality, language used, past information browsing history, past product purchase history, past travel history, type of device used, and IP address used.

9. An information processing method executed by an information processing system, comprising the steps of the information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. A program that causes a computer to execute each step of the information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

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