Information processing system, information processing method, and program

Abstract

[Problem] To provide an information processing system and the like capable of improving distribution of an advertisement to a user of a traffic service. [Solution] According to one aspect of the present invention, provided is an information processing system that comprises a control unit. The control unit is configured to execute each of the following steps: an acquisition step for acquiring from a plurality of terminals of users, advertisement result information and ticket identification information associated with the advertisement result information, the advertisement result information including information for determining an advertisement result related to an advertisement displayed in association with a ticket for each of the users to use a traffic service in the terminal of the user, and the ticket identification information including information for identifying which of a plurality of tickets is displayed in association with an advertisement in the terminal of the user; and a determination step for determining, on the basis of the acquired advertisement result information and the ticket identification information, a ticket contribution degree including a contribution degree of each of the plurality of the tickets to an advertisement result.

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] Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for realizing efficient information provision by performing information distribution that reflects the attributes of users who use transportation means. In Patent Document 1, an automatic ticket gate terminal 30 reads a ticket ID from a commuter pass presented by a passenger boarding or alighting a train at each station, and transmits the read ticket ID to an advertisement distribution server 10. The advertisement distribution server 10 acquires passenger attribute information based on the received ticket ID, aggregates the acquired attribute information for each transportation means, selects advertisement data for each train based on the aggregated attribute information, and distributes the selected advertisement data to an in-vehicle terminal 20. The in-vehicle terminal 20 reproduces the distributed advertisement data inside the train.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-157502

[0004] However, there is still room for improvement in the distribution of advertisements to users of transportation services.

[0005] The present invention aims to provide a technique for improving the distribution of advertisements to users of transportation services.

[0006] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing system including a control unit, the control unit being configured to execute the following steps. In an acquisition step, advertisement performance information and ticket identification information associated with the advertisement performance information are acquired from a plurality of user terminals. The advertisement performance information includes information for determining an advertisement performance regarding an advertisement displayed in association with a ticket for a user to use a transportation service in the user terminal. The ticket identification information includes information for identifying which of a plurality of tickets the ticket with which the advertisement is displayed is in the user terminal. In a determination step, a ticket contribution degree including respective contribution degrees of a plurality of tickets to the advertisement performance is determined based on the acquired advertisement performance information and ticket identification information.

[0007] In this manner, technology is provided that improves the delivery of advertisements to users of transportation services.

[0008] This is a configuration diagram showing the information processing system 100 according to this embodiment. This is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the user terminal 2. This is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the server 3. This is a block diagram showing the functions realized by the control unit 33 etc. in the server 3. This is an activity diagram showing the information processing flow of this embodiment. This is an example of a display screen shown on the user terminal 2. This is an example of a screen shown on the user terminal 2. This is an overview diagram of the management table T1. This is an overview diagram of the management tables T2 and T3.

[0009] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The various features shown in the embodiments below can be combined with each other.

[0010] Incidentally, the program for realizing the software appearing in one embodiment may be provided as a computer-readable non-transitor-readable medium, or it may be provided so that it can be downloaded from an external server, or it may be provided so that the program is launched on an external computer and its functions are realized on a client terminal (so-called cloud computing).

[0011] Furthermore, in various information processing according to one embodiment, an input and an output corresponding to the input can be realized. Here, as long as an output is obtained as a result of the input, the form of the information referenced in such information processing (hereinafter referred to as "reference information") is not limited. 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 equation constructed by a statistical method), or a pre-trained model that has learned the correlation between input and output in advance, or a large-scale language model that can output a desired result by inputting a prompt.

[0012] Furthermore, in one embodiment, "part" may include, for example, hardware resources implemented by a circuit in a broad sense, and the information processing of software that can be specifically realized by these hardware resources. Also, in one embodiment, various types of information are handled, and this information can be represented, for example, by the physical values ​​of signal values ​​representing voltage and current, the high or low values ​​of signal values ​​as a set of binary bits composed of 0s or 1s, or by quantum superposition (so-called qubits), and communication and calculations can be performed on a circuit in a broad sense.

[0013] Furthermore, a circuit in a broad sense is a circuit realized by combining at least an appropriate combination of circuits, circuits, processors, and memory. The processor may be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated circuit. In other words, this includes application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logic devices (for example, simple programmable logic devices (SPLDs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), and field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs)), etc.

[0014] 1. Hardware Configuration This section describes the hardware configuration of this embodiment.

[0015] 1.1 Information Processing System 100 Figure 1 is a configuration diagram showing the information processing system 100 according to this embodiment. The information processing system 100 comprises a user terminal 2 and a server (an example of an information processing system) 3, which are connected via a network 1. These components will be described further. Note that the system exemplified in the information processing system 100 consists of one or more devices or components. Therefore, even a server 3 alone can be considered an example of a system.

[0016] 1.2 User Terminal 2 User terminal 2 is a terminal owned by the user in this embodiment. For example, user terminal 2 may be a smartphone, tablet terminal, computer, etc., but its details are not limited. In Figure 1, user terminal 2 is described as a collection of individual smartphones (2-1, 2-2, ... 2-n), but in this specification, a single terminal may also be referred to as user terminal 2.

[0017] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of user terminal 2. 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 within user terminal 2 via a communication bus 20. The explanation of the communication unit 21, storage unit 22, and control unit 23 is omitted as they are substantially the same as the explanation of the communication unit 31, storage unit 32, and control unit 33 in server 3, which will be described later.

[0018] The display unit 24 may be, for example, included in the casing of the user terminal 2, or it may be an external component. The display unit 24 displays a graphical user interface (GUI) screen that can be operated by the user. This is preferably implemented by using a display device such as a CRT display, liquid crystal display, organic EL display, and plasma display, depending on the type of user terminal 2. Here, the display unit 24 will be described as being included in the casing of the user terminal 2.

[0019] The input unit 25 may be included in the casing of the user terminal 2, or it may be an external component. For example, the input unit 25 may be integrated with the display unit 24 and implemented as a touch panel. If it is a touch panel, the user can input tap operations, swipe operations, etc. Of course, instead of a touch panel, a switch button, mouse, QWERTY keyboard, etc., may be used. In other words, the input unit 25 receives operation input made by the user. This input is transmitted as a command signal to the control unit 23 via the communication bus 20, and the control unit 23 can execute predetermined controls and calculations as needed.

[0020] Furthermore, the user terminal 2 may be equipped with a function to transmit latitude and longitude information. Specifically, the user terminal 2 may be equipped with a function (positioning system) that can transmit signals such as GPS (Global Positioning System).

[0021] 1.3 Server 3 Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of Server 3. Server 3 has a communication unit 31, a storage unit 32, and a control unit 33, and these components are electrically connected within Server 3 via a communication bus 30. Each component will be described further.

[0022] The communication unit 31 preferably uses wired communication methods such as USB, IEEE 1394, Thunderbolt®, and wired LAN network communication, but may also include wireless LAN network communication, mobile communication such as 3G / LTE / 5G, and Bluetooth® communication as needed. In other words, it is more preferable to implement it as a collection of these multiple communication methods. Specifically, the server 3 communicates various information with the user terminal 2 via the network 1 through the communication unit 31.

[0023] The storage unit 32 stores various types of information as defined above. This can be implemented, for example, as a storage device such as a solid-state drive (SSD) that stores various programs related to the server 3 executed by the control unit 33, or as memory such as random access memory (RAM) that stores temporarily necessary information (arguments, arrays, etc.) related to program calculations. A combination of these may also be used. In particular, the storage unit 32 stores various programs related to the server 3 executed by the control unit 33.

[0024] The control unit 33 performs processing and control of the overall operation 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 predetermined programs stored in the memory unit 32. That is, information processing by software stored in the memory unit 32 is concretely 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. These will be described in more detail in Section 2. Note that the control unit 33 is not limited to being a single unit, and may be implemented with multiple control units 33 for each function, or a combination thereof.

[0025] 2. Functional Configuration This section describes the functional configuration of this embodiment. As described above, the information processing by the software stored in the memory 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.

[0026] Figure 4 is a block diagram showing the functions implemented by the control unit 33 and other components in the server 3. Specifically, the server 3, which is an example of the information processing system 100, includes an acquisition unit 331, a management unit 332, a selection unit 333, a distribution unit 334, an aggregation unit 335, a determination unit 336, and an output unit 337. The server 3 provides a platform for purchasing and using tickets for transportation services provided by various transportation operators. The server 3 also enables the purchase and use of tickets by allowing the user terminal 2 to access the platform by executing a predetermined application, and provides a function for distributing advertisements related to the tickets.

[0027] The acquisition unit 331 is configured to execute the acquisition step. In the acquisition step, the acquisition unit 331 acquires various information and data. The specific processing will be described in detail later.

[0028] The management unit 332 is configured to execute management steps. In the management steps, the management unit 332 manages various information and data in association with identification information that identifies the user of the user terminal 2. The specific processing will be described in detail later. The various information and data may be stored in the storage unit 32 of the server 3 or in the storage units of various devices such as the user terminal 2, or they may be stored in a predetermined storage area including an external storage device.

[0029] The selection unit 333 is configured to execute the selection step. In the selection step, the selection unit 333 selects advertisements that are visible to the user based on various information. The specific processing will be described in detail later.

[0030] The distribution unit 334 is configured to execute the distribution step. In the distribution step, the distribution unit 334 distributes the advertisement selected by the selection unit 333 to the user terminal 2. The specific processing will be described in detail later.

[0031] The aggregation unit 335 is configured to execute the aggregation step. In the aggregation step, the aggregation unit 335 aggregates the advertising performance related to the advertisements distributed by the distribution unit 334. The specific processing will be described in detail later.

[0032] The decision unit 336 is configured to execute the decision step. In the decision step, the decision unit 336 calculates various statistical information based on various information and data. The specific processing will be described in detail later.

[0033] The output unit 337 is configured to execute the output step. In the decision step, the output unit 337 outputs statistical information, benefits, etc., calculated by the decision unit 336, as well as information for displaying these on various terminals such as the user terminal 2. The specific processing will be described in detail later. 3. Information Processing Method

[0034] In this section, each step of the information processing method executed by the aforementioned information processing system 100 will be explained, with activity diagrams provided as appropriate.

[0035] Figure 5 is an activity diagram showing the information processing flow of this embodiment. As shown in Figure 5, in the information processing method of this embodiment, first, at a user terminal 2 where a predetermined application is running, the input unit 25 receives input from the user instructing them to purchase a ticket (Activity A101). When the server 3 receives the request from the user terminal 2 to purchase a ticket, the management unit 332 registers that the user has made the purchase payment for the ticket and stores the purchased tickets in the storage unit 32, associating each ticket with the user ID of the user who purchased it (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the first user ID or first identification information) (Activity A201). It is preferable for the management unit 332 to manage each ticket separately according to its type, such as a one-time ticket, a commuter pass, or a day pass that can be used repeatedly. The communication unit 31 transmits information about the purchased tickets to the user terminal 2 associated with the first user ID (Activity A202).

[0036] In the user terminal 2, the communication unit 21 receives information about the purchased ticket and stores it in the storage unit 22. The user terminal 2 displays a list of the information about the purchased ticket on the display unit 24 (Activity A102).

[0037] Figure 6 shows an example of a display screen shown on the user terminal 2. Display screen D1 is a screen for managing tickets usable on the aforementioned platform, and the tickets usable by the user are displayed categorized by type. In addition, buttons BT1 and BT2, labeled "Display Ticket," are displayed in association with each type of ticket item. These buttons BT1 and BT2 function as objects for displaying tickets that can be used by displaying the ticket face on the display unit 24, such as so-called visually inspected tickets or torn tickets. Note that if each type includes multiple tickets with different purposes, users, dates of use, etc., multiple buttons may be included for each item. The ticket may be configured to become usable by displaying and reading a code using the camera provided in the user terminal 2. The ticket may also be configured to be usable by passing through the ticket gate without displaying the ticket face on the display unit 24.

[0038] Furthermore, the transportation services that users can purchase tickets for are not limited to buses and trains (railways). In other words, the "transportation service" in this embodiment may be any type of transportation that allows boarding and alighting using a ticket, and is preferably a transportation service (public transportation service) that operates regularly along a predetermined route based on a timetable, such as a tram, subway, airplane, ship, ferry, sightseeing boat, water bus, cable car, or monorail. Furthermore, the "transportation service" may also be a demand-responsive transportation service (on-demand transportation service) operated by transportation services that operate according to user demand, and may include means of transportation such as taxis, cars (including rental cars and car sharing), bicycles (including rental bicycles and shared bicycles), electric scooters, drones, helicopters, and motorcycles. Furthermore, the ticket is not limited to a ticket for these transportation services, but may be any ticket that allows the exercise of related rights such as a discount coupon.

[0039] When button BT1 or button BT2 is operated on display screen D1, the input unit 25 accepts the user's selection of the ticket to be used (Activity A103). The communication unit 21 also transmits ticket identification information to the server 3 to identify the selected ticket (Activity A104). The control unit 23 controls the screen displayed on the display unit 24 to display the ticket face of the selected ticket (Activity A105).

[0040] On server 3, the selection unit 333 selects an advertisement to be displayed on the user terminal 2 based on the received ticket identification information (Activity A203). The distribution unit 334 distributes the content related to the selected advertisement to the user terminal 2 (Activity A204). The user terminal 2 receives the distributed advertisement and displays it on the display unit 24 (Activity A106).

[0041] Figure 7 shows an example of a screen displayed on the user terminal 2. The display screen D2 is shown to include a first area Rg1 where tickets are placed and a second area Rg2 where advertisements are displayed. A user accessing the display screen D2 can request that advertisements be displayed on the display unit 24 by tapping or pressing the button BT3 located in the second area Rg2. In other words, advertisements are displayed on the ticket display screen D2 on the user terminal 2 where tickets are displayed. The ticket display screen D2 becomes available on the user terminal 2 when the user acquires or uses a ticket.

[0042] Furthermore, it is preferable that the screen initially displayed when button BT1 or button BT2 is operated on display screen D1 includes only the first area Rg1 of display screen D2, and does not include the second area Rg2. For example, the screen may be configured so that the second area Rg2 is displayed when the screen is scrolled while only the first area Rg1 is displayed. This prevents tickets from being mistaken for advertisements when boarding or alighting from trains.

[0043] Server 3 may be configured to select an advertisement based on at least one of the transportation services used by the user and the tickets acquired or used by the user. That is, since the area where the user is active can be identified from the content of the transportation services and tickets, it may be configured to select an advertisement that is compatible with the area where the user is active. Also, server 3 may be configured to select an advertisement according to the attributes of the user. The attributes of this user may be various, but typically, the attributes of the user include information regarding one or more selected from the group consisting of the user's address, age, gender, occupation, financial strength, family composition, nationality, language used, past information browsing history, past product purchase history, past movement history, type of used terminal, and IP address. Note that the "movement history" may be a history based on the change of position information managed by a positioning system such as GPS or a history based on the purchase history of transportation tickets purchased by the user terminal 2 in the past.

[0044] The advertisement is content that can be perceived by the user through the five senses, such as a still image, a moving image, or audio related to the related service to be advertised, and may be configured to include a link to transition to a website or an application related to the related service. When the advertisement is a moving image or audio that lasts for a predetermined time, the moving image or audio is played when the user selects the thumbnail image displayed in the second area Rg2 of the display screen D2. When the advertisement includes a link, the screen displayed on the display unit 24 is transitioned to the link destination when the user selects the thumbnail image displayed in the second area Rg2. It is preferable that, for example, a flyer or the like at a store is provided at the link destination.

[0045] In server 3, acquisition unit 331 acquires advertising performance information and ticket identification information associated with the advertising performance information from multiple user terminals (Activity A205). The advertising performance information includes information for determining the advertising performance of an advertisement displayed in conjunction with a ticket on user terminal 2. The ticket identification information includes information for identifying which of multiple tickets the ticket on user terminal 2 is associated with. Management unit 332 manages the acquired advertising performance information and ticket identification information in association with the first user ID. The advertising performance information is information for identifying that a predetermined advertisement has been viewed by a user, and may include information indicating that the predetermined advertisement was displayed on the display unit 24 of user terminal 2 at least once. The advertising performance information also includes information indicating that the user took action toward the product being advertised, starting from the predetermined advertisement. For example, it may include information indicating that the user purchased the product after viewing the advertisement, or visited a store where the product is sold.

[0046] In the user terminal 2, when the user uses a related service, service usage information regarding the related service is transmitted to the server 3 (Activity A107). The server 3 receives the transmitted service usage information as advertising performance information, and the management unit 332 stores the service usage information in the storage unit 32 in association with the first user ID (Activity A205). In the server 3, the aggregation unit 335 identifies the advertising performance (Activity A206). The determination unit 336 determines a ticket contribution degree including the contribution degree of each of a plurality of tickets to the advertising performance based on the acquired advertising performance information and ticket identification information (Activity A207). Note that the ticket contribution degree is information indicating the magnitude of the contribution to displaying an advertisement on the user terminal. For example, the ticket contribution degree is information indicating the frequency with which a ticket has become a lead for displaying an advertisement on the user terminal by being displayed along with the advertisement. In particular, when the advertisement displayed on the display unit 24 is determined based on at least one of the transportation service used by the user or the ticket acquired or used by the user, it can be said that the ticket displayed along with the displayed advertisement has greatly contributed to displaying the advertisement on the display unit 24. Therefore, it can be said that a ticket with a high frequency of being displayed along with an advertisement has a high contribution degree to the advertising performance.

[0047] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of the management table T1. The management table T1 is a lookup table showing advertising performance information, ticket identification information, and contribution degree values calculated based on the advertising performance information. For example, when the acquisition unit 331 acquires advertising performance information and ticket identification information from the user terminal 2 in Activity A205 of FIG. 5, a record of the management table T1 may be added.

[0048] For example, the management table T1 includes information such as "Data No.", "First User ID", "Date and Time", "Location Information", "Advertisement", "Display History", "Viewing History", "Service Usage Information", "Related Service", "Second User ID", "Ticket Identification Information", "Contribution Degree Value (Before Correction)", "Coefficient", and "Contribution Degree Value".

[0049] "Data No." is a sequential number used to distinguish each data item. "First User ID" is a unique identifier for the user, and is, for example, the primary identification information on a platform where tickets for transportation services are provided. "Date and Time" is information indicating the date and time when the advertising performance information was acquired from user terminal 2. "Location Information" is the latitude and longitude information of user terminal 2 at the time the advertising performance information was acquired from user terminal 2. Location information may be acquired continuously from user terminal 2, for example, if the user is located within a predetermined distance from the route of the transportation service used by the user.

[0050] "Advertisement" is information that identifies an advertisement selected by the selection unit 333 on server 3. "Display history" is information that identifies whether an advertisement delivered by the distribution unit 334 was actually displayed on the display unit 24 of user terminal 2. "Viewing history" is information that indicates that the user actually viewed an advertisement by selecting it displayed on user terminal 2. If the advertisement is a video of a predetermined length, a thumbnail image of the video is displayed in the second area Rg2 on display screen D2. When the user selects button BT3, the video is played and the display history and viewing history are acquired. On the other hand, if a selected advertisement is displayed in the second area Rg2 but is not played, the display history is acquired, but the viewing history is not.

[0051] "Service usage information" is information used to identify whether a user has used related services related to an advertisement. "Related services" is information used to identify the related services used by the user. "Second user ID" is second identification information that uniquely identifies a user and is associated with that user when related services are provided. By performing an operation to link the first user ID on the platform where the user provides tickets in advance with the second user ID of the related service, the management unit 332 manages the first user ID and the second user ID in association with the user.

[0052] Related services are, for example, services provided in conjunction with the sale of goods at a store, such as services that award various points linked to a second user ID based on purchase history. When a user purchases goods, they scan a code containing their second user ID at the register, and related services related to the advertisement are provided in association with the second user ID. For example, service usage information is information used to identify that a user has purchased a specific item at the store, and may include information such as the purchased item, amount, date and time, and location information.

[0053] The decision unit 336 may determine the ticket contribution based on the service usage information if the advertising performance information or ticket identification information satisfies predetermined conditions related to the ticket. The predetermined conditions are information indicating that the user has used the relevant service by using the ticket. The predetermined conditions include, for example, that the user used the ticket before the service usage information was acquired, that actual boarding or alighting at the station specified on the ticket was identified, and that the advertisement was viewed. In response to the fulfillment of the predetermined conditions, the decision unit 336 may refer to the service usage information.

[0054] When service usage information is transmitted from the user terminal 2, the acquisition unit 331 acquires the service usage information associated with the first user ID and the second user ID. If the management unit 332 manages the first user ID and the second user ID in association, the acquisition unit 331 may acquire service usage information associated only with the second user ID from the server providing the related service.

[0055] "Ticket identification information" is an example of information used to identify which of several tickets the ticket displayed with the advertisement is on the user terminal 2. For example, ticket identification information is information that identifies the ticket displayed in the first area Rg1 together with the advertisement on display screen D2 in Figure 7. Alternatively, at least one of the tickets displayed on display screen D1 in Figure 6 may be acquired as ticket identification information. In other words, some or all of the valid tickets acquired or used by the user may be acquired as ticket identification information. Additionally, tickets that the user has acquired or used in the past but are no longer valid may be acquired as ticket identification information. In short, ticket identification information identifies at least one of the tickets acquired or used by the user as the ticket displayed with the advertisement.

[0056] The "Contribution Value (Before Correction)" is calculated based on advertising performance information. The determination unit 336 determines the contribution value (before correction) of the advertising performance information corresponding to the "Data No." based on the content of the advertising performance information. For example, points are individually assigned to "Display History," "Viewing History," "Service Usage Information," etc., included in the advertising performance information, and the "Contribution Value (Before Correction)" is calculated by applying the points to a predetermined calculation formula as each history is included in the advertising performance information.

[0057] The "Contribution Value" is calculated by applying a predetermined "Coefficient" to the calculated "Contribution Value (before correction)" or the above calculation formula. The "Coefficient" is set according to whether the information identified from advertising performance information, etc., satisfies predetermined setting conditions. For example, a numerical value is set to be added to or subtracted from the coefficient for each setting condition, so that the coefficient is set according to the content and number of setting conditions that are satisfied.

[0058] The setting conditions for determining the coefficient are as follows, for example: 1) The "location information" is included within the range set for the advertisement. 2) The user's actual boarding or alighting station meets the specified conditions. 3) Ad performance information has been repeatedly obtained from the same user within the specified period. 4) The ad performance information is for a specified type of ticket. 5) The user's ticket usage history (ticket usage frequency, ad display frequency, etc.) exceeds the threshold.

[0059] Regarding point 1), if the advertisement is for, for example, goods sold at a store, the setting condition would be, for example, that the "location information" is before passing the nearest station to the store. This is expected to encourage users who view the advertisement to get off the train and visit the store, and is therefore presumed to be highly effective. Tickets that contributed to displaying such advertisements can be said to have made a significant contribution.

[0060] 2) The setting conditions include, for example, that the user's actual boarding or alighting station is a station the user is using for the first time, a different station from the travel section identified by the commuter pass, or different from the first and last stations within the travel section identified by the commuter pass (stations the user normally uses). The user's actual "boarding station" and "alighting station" are identified, for example, based on location information. For example, the nearest station can be identified as the "boarding station" from the latitude and longitude when the ticket is displayed, and the nearest station can be identified as the "alighting station" from the latitude and longitude when the ticket is displayed again. In this case, the setting conditions may further include that the advertising performance information includes service usage information for related services at the store identified by the advertisement. As a result, it can be inferred that the user used a station they do not normally use by viewing the advertisement, and therefore tickets that contributed to displaying such advertisements can be said to have a high contribution.

[0061] Regarding point 3), the setting condition is that advertising performance information by the same user for the same or related tickets has been obtained. For example, this could be the same user repeatedly viewing an advertisement using the same commuter pass or day pass, or repeatedly viewing an advertisement by purchasing and using a ticket for the same route every week. Even if the number of times the same advertisement is viewed, if the same user views it multiple times, it is presumed that the advertisement is highly effective, and therefore tickets that contributed to displaying such advertisements can be said to have a large contribution. Accordingly, for example, the coefficient for advertising performance information from the second time onwards may be increased, or the coefficient may be increased as the number of times increases.

[0062] Regarding point 4), the setting conditions are, for example, that the ticket type can be used repeatedly within a specified period, and that advertising performance information by the same user for the same ticket is repeatedly obtained within that period. For example, the same user repeatedly viewed advertisements using the same season ticket or day ticket. This allows for a higher evaluation of the contribution of ticket types that encourage repeated viewing of advertisements by the same user.

[0063] On server 3, the aggregation unit 335 aggregates advertising performance data. Advertising performance data includes any indicators that can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of advertising, such as the number of times an ad was displayed on multiple user terminals 2, the number of times the displayed ad was selected (views), the ratio of views to impressions, the number of conversions (the number of times a user completed a target action such as visiting a store or purchasing goods after viewing an ad), the conversion rate (the ratio of conversions to ad views), the cost of ad delivery, the cost per ad selection, the cost per conversion, etc.

[0064] On server 3, the determination unit 336 determines the ticket contribution, which is the contribution of each of the multiple tickets to the advertising performance, based on the acquired advertising performance information and ticket identification information (Activity A207). The determination unit 336 determines the ticket contribution for each ticket by summing the contribution values ​​calculated based on each piece of advertising performance information for each ticket.

[0065] Figure 9 is an overview diagram of management tables T2 and T3. Management tables T2 and T3 are examples of lookup tables that manage the ticket contribution of each ticket. For example, management table T2 shown in (a) may include information such as "Type," "Ticket Identification Information," "Ticket Contribution," and "Benefits." Management table T3 shown in (b) may include information such as "Advertisement," "Ticket Identification Information," "Ticket Contribution," and "Benefits." "Type" is information that identifies the type of each ticket. Type is information that indicates the conditions under which the ticket can be used, for example, information that indicates at least one of the number of times and the period during which the ticket can be used repeatedly. Types include, for example, regular tickets that can be used only once, multi-use tickets with a set maximum number of times they can be used repeatedly, and free passes that can be used repeatedly without limit. Types also include, for example, special tickets where the period during which they can be used repeatedly is predetermined by the ticket provider, and commuter passes where the user can set the period during which they can be used repeatedly. Type may include information that indicates the purpose of the ticket, which may include tourism, commuting, school, etc. "Benefits" is information used to identify the benefits granted to each transportation provider or user based on their ticket contribution.

[0066] The "Ticket Contribution" in management table T2 is the sum of the contribution values ​​associated with the same ticket identification information, calculated in management table T1 in Figure 8, for each data No. By sorting in descending order of ticket contribution values, tickets with a high contribution to advertising performance are identified for each ticket type. In management table T2, the contribution values ​​are summed regardless of which advertisement the advertising performance information pertains to, so the ticket contribution of each ticket to the advertising performance of all advertisements is shown.

[0067] The "Ticket Contribution" in management table T3 is the sum of the contribution values ​​associated with the same advertisement and ticket-specific information, calculated in management table T1 in Figure 8, for each data number. Management table T3 shows the ticket contribution of each ticket to the advertising performance for each advertisement.

[0068] In this embodiment, transportation operators providing tickets with a high (or low) ticket contribution may be given predetermined benefits. In management table T2, benefits may be given according to the ticket contribution for each ticket type. In management table T3, benefits may be given according to the advertising performance and ticket contribution of each advertisement. In addition, benefits may be given to users who acquire or use the transportation ticket.

[0069] In server 3, the decision unit 336 determines the business operator's contribution (activity A208). The business operator's contribution is calculated by summing the ticket contribution for each ticket for each transportation company that provides the ticket. Alternatively, the "business operator's contribution" may be calculated by summing the contribution values ​​shown in management table T1 in Figure 8 for each transportation company identified based on ticket identification information. This makes it possible to identify transportation companies that have made a large contribution to advertising performance. Then, predetermined benefits may be granted to transportation companies with a large (or small) contribution.

[0070] The output unit 337 outputs information regarding the determined ticket contribution or business contribution to a terminal used by the ticket provider or to the user terminal 2 (Activity A209). For example, the output unit 337 transmits information to enable users to obtain benefits according to their ticket contribution or business contribution, and information to enable them to display these benefits on each terminal.

[0071] "Benefits" are not limited to monetary gifts or services directly granted to transportation operators or users, but may also include information used to distribute revenue to each transportation operator or user when revenue is generated from advertising performance. For example, the amount of the distribution can be calculated by applying the distribution rate defined by the "Benefits" to the advertising revenue from all advertisements that may be displayed on the display screen D2 of the user terminal 2, or to the advertising revenue from a specific advertisement, and the calculated distribution can then be distributed to each transportation operator. This can encourage each transportation operator to provide the platform with high value-added transportation tickets. The content of the benefits is optional and may be monetary or non-monetary, which may be beneficial to the transportation operator. For example, it may include promoting the transportation operator or tickets on the platform, selling tickets at a discounted price, or providing specific goods.

[0072] "Benefits" may be offered to users who have used tickets with a high ticket contribution or to users with a large cumulative contribution value. For example, benefits may include the right to purchase tickets at a discounted price, the right to use leisure facilities, or the provision of specific items.

[0073] 5. The following embodiments may also be adopted for the information processing system 100 according to this embodiment.

[0074] In this embodiment, the advertisement is exemplified as being displayed on display screen D2, which is a ticket display screen where the ticket shown in Figure 7 is displayed, but it is not limited to this. The advertisement may also be displayed on display screen D1, which is a display operation screen for displaying the ticket display screen on the user terminal 2. On display screen D1, the display operation screen becomes available on the user terminal when the user acquires or uses a ticket. Display screen D1 can also be said to be a screen that the user is expected to interact with immediately before boarding or alighting from a transportation service, as described above, and therefore the user can be encouraged to view the advertisement. Alternatively, the user may keep display screen D1 on the display unit 24 while traveling and then display display screen D2 immediately before boarding or alighting from a transportation service or going through a ticket gate. In this case, since display screen D1 is displayed on the display unit 24 for a longer period of time, the advertisement displayed on display screen D1 can be encouraged the user to view the advertisement. Furthermore, since display screen D1 can show tickets from multiple transportation companies, users are less likely to feel uncomfortable with advertisements that are related to any particular transportation company, or even those that are not related to any particular transportation company, and the variety of advertisements that can be displayed can be increased.

[0075] In this case, it is preferable that the button BT3 for displaying advertisements is displayed in a manner that makes it easily distinguishable from the buttons BT1 and BT2 for displaying tickets. For example, button BT3 may be placed between each ticket item, but not between multiple buttons placed within each item. Alternatively, button BT3 may be placed at the very top or bottom of the display screen D1, which is an area where tickets are not displayed. Furthermore, button BT3 may be fixedly placed at the very top or bottom of the display unit 24 so that it does not move even when the display screen D1 is scrolled.

[0076] In this case, since the user has not yet selected any tickets, the "ticket identification information" may be configured to identify all tickets displayed on the display screen D1 (valid tickets acquired or used by the user at that time). The communication unit 31 transmits ticket information to the user terminal 2 (activity A202), and an advertisement is delivered to the user terminal 2 (activity A204), and the advertisement is displayed along with the ticket list (activities A102, 106). That is, in Figure 5, activity A104 may be omitted, and the system may be configured to accept ticket selection from the user after the advertisement is displayed (activities A103, 105). The server 3 stores the tickets associated with the user (activity A201), and can select and deliver advertisements without acquiring the ticket information selected by the user.

[0077] In this embodiment, the server 3's selection unit 333 selects advertisements (Activity A203), the distribution unit 334 distributes advertisements to the user terminal 2 (Activity A204), and the aggregation unit 335 aggregates advertising performance (Activity A206) ​​are illustrated as examples, but the system is not limited to this. For example, the information processing system 100 may include an advertising server operated by a third party separately from the server 3. This advertising server may include a selection unit 333 and a distribution unit 334, and perform advertisement selection and distribution by acquiring user information, ticket identification information, etc., from the user terminal 2. Alternatively, this advertising server may include an aggregation unit 335, and aggregate advertising performance by receiving advertising performance information, etc. The server 3 may acquire the advertising performance aggregated by the advertising server and be configured to determine ticket contribution and business contribution based on the advertising performance information and ticket identification information acquired from the user terminal 2.

[0078] In this embodiment, the determination unit 336 is shown as determining the ticket contribution based on the ticket type, while determining the operator contribution regardless of the operator's attributes. However, the system is not limited to this. The operator contribution may be determined based on the operator's attributes. For example, the operator contribution may be determined by applying a coefficient to the ticket contribution based on the region in which the transportation service is provided. For example, transportation operators providing transportation services in rural areas may be given a larger coefficient than transportation operators providing transportation services in urban areas, thereby making it easier to grant them benefits and supporting regional development. Furthermore, the coefficient may be set by referring to the date and time, such as by reducing the coefficient during certain periods when demand is high, such as tourist seasons or holidays.

[0079] Preferably, the control unit 33 further includes an artificial intelligence unit (not shown), which may have a trained model constructed by machine learning using the data stored in management tables T1 to T3 as training data. Alternatively, the artificial intelligence unit may have a general-purpose natural language processing learning model, such as a Large Language Model (LLM) that has learned from a vast amount of data. For example, it may have a trained model configured to take data for each item included in the advertising performance information shown in management table T1 as input and output information such as coefficients, contribution values, and benefits.

[0080] In the embodiments described above, the configuration of the information processing system 100 was explained, but a program may be provided that causes a computer to execute each step of the information processing system 100.

[0081] In the above embodiment, server 3 performed various storage and control functions, but multiple external devices may be used instead of server 3. That is, various information related to information processing may be distributed and stored on multiple external devices using blockchain technology or the like.

[0082] Furthermore, they may be provided in the following embodiments.

[0083] (1) An information processing system comprising a control unit, the control unit being configured to perform the following steps, wherein in the acquisition step, advertising performance information and ticket identification information associated with the advertising performance information are acquired from a plurality of user terminals, where the advertising performance information includes information for determining advertising performance related to advertisements displayed on the user terminal in conjunction with tickets for the use of transportation services, and the ticket identification information includes information for identifying on the user terminal which of the plurality of tickets the ticket on which the advertisement is displayed is, and in the determination step, the ticket contribution, including the contribution of each of the plurality of tickets to the advertising performance, is determined based on the acquired advertising performance information and ticket identification information.

[0084] In this configuration, the contribution of tickets to advertising performance can be evaluated, and various measures can be implemented based on this evaluation.

[0085] (2) In the information processing system described in (1) above, the advertisement is displayed on the user terminal on a ticket display screen where the ticket is displayed, or on a display operation screen for displaying the ticket display screen, wherein the ticket display screen or the display operation screen becomes displayable on the user terminal when the user acquires or uses the ticket.

[0086] In this configuration, the contribution of tickets to advertising performance can be appropriately evaluated based on advertising performance information and ticket identification information from users who actually acquired or used tickets.

[0087] (3) An information processing system as described in (2) above, wherein the advertisement is selected based on at least one of the tickets acquired or used by the user, and the ticket identification information identifies at least one of the tickets acquired or used by the user as the ticket on which the advertisement is displayed.

[0088] This approach allows for the proper evaluation of tickets that actually contributed to advertising performance.

[0089] (4) An information processing system described in any one of (1) to (3) above, wherein in the determination step, the system determines the business contribution, which is the business's contribution to the advertising performance, based on the ticket contribution and business information that identifies the business that provides the ticket.

[0090] This approach allows for the evaluation of each business's contribution to advertising performance and enables the implementation of various measures for each business based on this evaluation.

[0091] (5) An information processing system as described in (4) above, wherein in the management step, tickets are managed according to type, and in the decision step, the ticket contribution is determined based on the type, while the business operator contribution is determined regardless of the attributes of the business operator.

[0092] This approach allows for an appropriate determination of each business's contribution to advertising performance.

[0093] (6) An information processing system according to any one of (1) to (5) above, wherein in the management step, first identification information and second identification information are managed in association with the user, where the ticket is managed in association with the first identification information, related services related to the advertisement are provided in association with the second identification information, the advertisement performance information includes service usage information that identifies the usage status of the related services associated with the second identification information, and in the determination step, the ticket contribution is determined based on the service usage information when the advertisement performance information or the ticket identification information satisfies predetermined conditions related to the ticket.

[0094] This approach allows for an appropriate determination of the contribution of tickets that led to the use of related services.

[0095] (7) An information processing system according to any one of (1) to (6) above, wherein in the management step, first identification information is managed in association with the user, the advertising performance information and the tickets are managed in association with the first identification information, and in the determination step, the contribution of the tickets to the advertising performance is determined based on the fact that the advertising performance information associated with the same first identification information for the same or related tickets has been repeatedly obtained.

[0096] This approach allows for the appropriate determination of the contribution of tickets that led to the acquisition of repeated advertising performance.

[0097] (8) An information processing system as described in (7) above, wherein the ticket can be used repeatedly within a predetermined period, and in the determination step, the information processing system determines the contribution of the ticket to the advertising performance based on the fact that the same advertising performance information associated with the same first identification information has been repeatedly obtained for the same ticket within the period.

[0098] This approach allows for the appropriate determination of the contribution of specific types of tickets that repeatedly lead to the acquisition of advertising performance.

[0099] (9) An information processing method comprising each step of the information processing system described in any one of (1) to (8) above.

[0100] (10) A program that causes a computer to perform each step of the information processing system described in any one of (1) to (8) above. Of course, this is not limited to this.

[0101] Finally, various embodiments of the present invention have been described, but these are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in a variety of other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their variations are included in the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as in the claims and their equivalents.

[0102] 1: Network, 100: Information processing system, 2: User terminal, 3: Server, 331: Acquisition unit, 332: Management unit, 333: Selection unit, 334: Distribution unit, 335: Aggregation unit, 336: Decision unit, 337: Output unit, BT1: Button, BT2: Button, BT3: Button, D1: Display screen, D2: Display screen, Rg1: First area, Rg2: Second area, T1: Management table, T2: Management table, T3: Management table

Claims

1. An information processing system comprising a control unit, wherein the control unit is configured to perform the following steps: an acquisition step, which acquires advertising performance information and ticket identification information associated with the advertising performance information from a plurality of user terminals, wherein the advertising performance information includes information for determining advertising performance related to an advertisement displayed on a ticket for a user to use a transportation service at the user terminal, and the ticket identification information includes information for identifying which of a plurality of tickets the ticket on which the advertisement was displayed is at the user terminal; and a determination step, which determines a ticket contribution, including the contribution of each of the plurality of tickets to the advertising performance, based on the acquired advertising performance information and ticket identification information.

2. An information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the advertisement is displayed on the user terminal on a ticket display screen where the ticket is displayed, or on a display operation screen for displaying the ticket display screen, wherein the ticket display screen or the display operation screen becomes displayable on the user terminal when the user acquires or uses the ticket.

3. An information processing system according to claim 2, wherein the advertisement is selected based on at least one of the tickets acquired or used by the user, and the ticket identification information identifies at least one of the tickets acquired or used by the user as the ticket on which the advertisement is displayed.

4. An information processing system according to claim 1, wherein in the determination step, the system determines a business contribution, which is the business's contribution to the advertising performance, based on the ticket contribution and business information that identifies the business that provides the ticket.

5. An information processing system according to claim 4, wherein in the management step, tickets are managed according to type, and in the determination step, the ticket contribution is determined based on the type, while the business operator contribution is determined regardless of the attributes of the business operator.

6. An information processing system according to claim 1, wherein in the management step, first identification information and second identification information are managed in association with the user, where the ticket is managed in association with the first identification information, related services related to the advertisement are provided in association with the second identification information, the advertisement performance information includes service usage information that identifies the usage status of the related services associated with the second identification information, and in the determination step, the ticket contribution is determined based on the service usage information when the advertisement performance information or the ticket identification information satisfies predetermined conditions related to the ticket.

7. An information processing system according to claim 1, wherein in the management step, first identification information is managed in association with the user; the advertising performance information and the tickets are managed in association with the first identification information; and in the determination step, the contribution of the tickets to the advertising performance is determined based on the fact that the advertising performance information associated with the same first identification information for the same or related tickets has been repeatedly obtained.

8. An information processing system according to claim 7, wherein the ticket can be used repeatedly within a predetermined period, and in the determination step, the system determines the contribution of the ticket to the advertising performance based on the fact that the same advertising performance information associated with the same first identification information has been repeatedly obtained for the same ticket within the period.

9. An information processing method comprising each step of the information processing system described in any one of claims 1 to 8.

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

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