JP7695735B2 - Advertising System - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an advertising system that uses mobile terminals.

Stamp rallies are used as a sales promotion method. In a stamp rally, a company that sells a product or service usually acts as the rally organizer, setting up stamp sheets and stamps at checkpoints. Rally participants go around to each checkpoint in turn, stamping the designated sheets, and when they submit a sheet with a designated number of stamps to the rally organizer, the rally organizer offers them a prize or other item.

Stamp rallies that use mounts and stamps like this are expensive for the rally organizers, as they must place and manage the mounts and stamps at checkpoints, and they are inconvenient for rally participants, as they must carry around the designated mounts. For this reason, a method has been proposed for conducting stamp rallies using mobile devices.

For example, a method has been proposed in which a rally organizer requests a mobile phone company to distribute a campaign advertisement for the stamp rally that specifies the checkpoints in the stamp rally, the campaign advertisement is distributed to mobile phone users, and when the mobile phone user views the campaign advertisement and reaches a checkpoint, the mobile phone company sends to the mobile phone a stamp that has been digitally signed by the mobile phone company for the location information of the base station with which the mobile phone is communicating and the current time (Patent Document 1).

A method has also been proposed in which a reader/writer capable of contactless communication is installed at checkpoints, and mobile device users are prompted to download a specific application to their mobile devices; when the mobile device with the downloaded application reaches a checkpoint, a stamp is printed on the application through communication by the reader/writer (Patent Document 2). With this method, advertisements can be attached to the application used in the stamp rally, which is said to enable effective advertising distribution.

JP 2004-139193 A JP 2007-11520 A

However, with conventional sales promotion methods that involve holding stamp rallies using mobile devices, it is difficult to verify the advertising effectiveness of the stamp rally, and the types and number of advertisements that can be presented to mobile device users through the stamp rally are also limited.

In response to this, the present invention aims to provide an advertising system that can hold events such as stamp rallies, easily verify the direct advertising effects of the events, and also enable advertisers to present desired advertisements to users during the events.

The inventors discovered that when holding an event in which specific checkpoints are set for mobile device users to circulate, such as a stamp rally, and a reward is given to those who reach the checkpoints, advertisements with specific functions managed by an advertising management server are used as checkpoints, and when mobile device users reach the advertisements that serve as checkpoints and can obtain rewards by accessing the advertising management server, the users will actively search for the advertisements that serve as checkpoints due to the fun that the game nature of the rally brings and their desire to obtain rewards, thereby increasing the effectiveness of the advertisements, and that by tallying up accesses to the advertising management server at the checkpoints, the effectiveness of the event in which specific advertisements are circulated to mobile device users can be confirmed, leading to the invention.

That is, the present invention provides a system that includes an advertisement management server that manages an event in which a user of a mobile terminal is a participant, and an advertisement (hereinafter referred to as an event advertisement) that is registered in the advertisement management server as an advertisement subject to the event and has a display indicating that the advertisement is subject to the event (hereinafter referred to as an event subject display) and an information code,
An advertising system in which an information code of an event advertisement is read into a mobile terminal, and when the mobile terminal accesses an advertising management server, the advertising management server notifies the mobile terminal of a benefit for the access,
The event advertisement is placed at a plurality of predetermined locations, and an information code of the event advertisement includes a location code assigned to each of the placement locations, an advertisement code assigned to each of the event advertisements, and URL information of an advertisement management server;
the advertisement management server has a function of storing the location code and the corresponding information on the installation location, the advertisement code and the corresponding advertisement information, such as advertiser information, advertisement posting date information, advertisement fee information, event period, event benefits, and benefit granting rules;
A function of reading an information code of an event advertisement into a mobile terminal, and determining whether the access is valid or invalid when the mobile terminal accesses the advertisement management server;
A function that, if an access is determined to be valid, associates the access with a location code for each mobile device and registers the access as eligible for a reward;
A function for determining a reward for access registered as a reward grant target for each mobile device based on a reward grant rule;
A function of transmitting information about the determined benefit to the mobile terminal;
A function for excluding accesses related to the used benefit from the provision of the benefit when the advertisement management server is notified of the use of the benefit by the user of the mobile device, and a function for tallying up the number of accesses to the advertisement management server during the event period for each location code of the event advertisement and outputting the tally result;
The present invention provides an advertising system having the above configuration.

The present invention also provides an advertising method using the above-mentioned advertising system,
The advertising manager who operates the advertising management server,
The location code and the corresponding information on the installation location, the advertisement code and the corresponding advertisement information, such as advertiser information, advertisement display date information, advertisement fee information, event period, event benefits, and benefit granting rules, are registered in the advertisement management server;
To provide an advertising method for reporting to an advertiser a total result of the number of accesses to an advertisement management server for each location where an event advertisement is placed, the total result being output from the advertisement management server after the opening of the event is announced, and for charging an advertisement fee.

According to the advertising system of the present invention, the system is equipped with an advertising management server and an event advertisement. When an information code contained in the event advertisement is read into a mobile terminal and the advertising management server is accessed, the advertising management server determines whether the access is valid or invalid based on the location code, and if valid, registers the access as eligible for a bonus. In accordance with predetermined specific bonus rules, the system determines a bonus for the access for each mobile terminal, and transmits information about the bonus to the mobile terminal.
Therefore, since mobile terminal users search for event advertisements placed in multiple locations in a manner similar to playing a stamp rally game, event advertisements bring about a greater advertising effect than advertisements that are simply placed in a location.

In particular, if event advertisements are placed within the advertiser's store or facility, the event can directly attract customers to the store or facility.

In addition, the advertising management server can determine whether a user's access is valid or invalid based on the location code, making it possible to tally up event advertisements by location, allowing advertisers to easily know the effectiveness of their events.

In addition, for the advertising manager who manages the advertising management server, once the location of the advertisement that will become the event advertisement and the advertiser's information are registered in the advertising management server, the manager can select an appropriate advertisement from the registered advertisements for each new event theme, plan the event, propose it to the advertiser, and hold the event, thereby carrying out efficient advertising activities.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an advertising system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of an advertising method using the present system.

The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
This system is used to implement events such as a stamp rally, in which rally participants collect stamps by traveling around checkpoints and receive rewards by collecting a specified number of stamps, in which a mobile device user searches for advertisements placed at multiple specified locations, reaches the advertisements, and accesses the advertisement management server, which records the access and allows the user to receive rewards based on the access.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an advertising system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
This advertising system includes an advertising management server 1 managed by an advertising manager who runs an advertising business, and an event advertisement 2.

<<Event Advertising>>
The event advertisement 2 is registered in the advertisement management server 1 as an advertisement for an event, and has an indication 3 indicating that it is an advertisement for an event, and an information code 4. The individual advertisement contents 5 published in the event advertisement 2 are appropriately determined by the advertiser of the event advertisement 2.

The indication 3 indicating that the event is the subject of the event can be any character string, mark, etc. that allows the event advertisement 2 to be visually distinguished from other advertisements. This indication 3 is determined as appropriate by the advertising manager. Furthermore, the type of characters, mark, etc. that this indication 3 will be made up of will be made clear in the event announcement that notifies the general public of the event's taking place.

The information code 4 includes a location code assigned to each installation location of the event advertisement 2, an advertisement code assigned to each event advertisement, and URL information of the advertisement management server. The information code 4 is issued by the advertisement manager.

The information code 4 is provided on the event advertisement 2 as a two-dimensional code, an RF tag, etc., and when read by the mobile terminal 10, enables the mobile terminal 10 to access the advertisement management server 1.

Specific examples of the two-dimensional code include when the event advertisement 2 is displayed on a signboard, poster, drawing, etc., the two-dimensional code may be displayed within the advertisement, or a printed matter displaying the two-dimensional code may be attached to the advertisement separately from the advertisement. When the event advertisement 2 is displayed as an image on a digital vision, the two-dimensional code may be displayed as part of the image while the advertisement image is displayed, or the two-dimensional code in the advertisement image may be displayed at all times while the advertisement image is displayed.

<<Advertisement management server>>
The advertisement management server 1 is composed of one or more computers, and has a storage function, a communication function, a determination function, a counting function, and the like.
<Memory function of advertising management server>
The memory unit of the advertising management server 1 stores (a) the location code and the corresponding installation location information, (b) the advertising code and the corresponding advertising information, (c) event-related information such as the event period, event benefits, and benefit awarding rules, and (d) other information as necessary.
These are registered in the advertisement management server by the advertisement manager.

Among these, (a) the information on the installation location includes the address of the fixed installation location such as the wall of a building, the wall of a vending machine, a utility pole, or a digital screen where the event advertisement is displayed.
The location of the event advertisement may be specified even if the advertisement is placed on a moving vehicle such as a train, bus, taxi, etc. In this case, the information on the location of the advertisement may include the route name, the area of operation, the operating hours, the operating company of the vehicle, etc.

In addition, the location of the event advertisement can be any site on the web that is accessible to the general public, and the information about the location can include information such as the URL of the site and the times when it can be viewed.

Information about the location may also include, in cases where the advertiser and the advertising location provider are different, information about the type of business in which advertisements can be placed at the advertising location, information (ID) about the advertising location provider, and the usage fee for the advertising location.

In the advertising system of the present invention, it is preferable to place the event advertisement 2 inside the advertiser's store or facility, since the store or facility can directly enjoy the benefits of attracting customers through the event.

(b) The advertising information includes (b-1) information on the advertiser, (b-2) information on the advertisement posting date, and (b-3) information on the advertising fee. It is preferable that the advertising information also includes (b-4) the type of advertisement and the content displayed in the advertisement.

Here, (b-1) advertiser information may include the advertiser's address, name, advertiser ID, advertiser URL, advertiser's industry, etc.

(b-2) Information regarding the advertisement posting dates may include the posting start date, posting end date, and advertisement posting period. The advertisement posting dates may be determined separately from the event period.

(b-3) The advertising fee information may include a basic advertising fee to be charged to the advertiser, and a unit price to be charged according to the number of accesses when the advertising management server is accessed from a mobile terminal using an information code attached to the advertisement.
In addition, as described below, when the advertising management server 1 transitions the mobile terminal 10 to an advertiser's homepage and displays the advertiser's advertising screen on the mobile terminal 10, a charging unit price according to the number of transitions to the homepage may be included.
Furthermore, the advertiser's homepage may be configured to charge a user of the mobile terminal 10 when the user completes an application for the advertiser's products or services, and may include a charging unit price according to the number of applications for the products or services in that case.

(b-4) Types of advertising may include types of advertising methods such as signs, posters, drawings, digital vision, and the web, as well as types of advertising content such as real estate advertising, job advertising, product advertising, service advertising, advertising for music or theater performances, and branding.
The display contents of the advertisement may include a reduced-size image of the appearance of the advertisement.

In order to introduce local advertising content such as real estate advertisements, recruitment advertisements, theater advertisements, and tourist attraction guides to local people or people visiting the area for sightseeing or other purposes using local advertising media, preferred types of advertising include placing signs on buildings, vending machines, utility poles, etc., sticking up notices, and displaying images on digital vision installed in designated locations.

(c) Event-Related Information Among the event-related information, information relating to the period during which the event is held can include the start date of the event, the end date of the event, and the period during which the event is held.
The event period may be set for a predetermined number of days each month or each season.

For example, the information on the benefits of an event can be determined by ranking the number of accesses within a certain period of time, and benefits can be determined according to the rank. Also, benefits that mobile terminal users can receive if they access the event even once can be determined regardless of the number of accesses.
More specifically, examples of the benefits include gifts of goods or services, discount coupons, specific locations where benefits can be obtained, etc. The advertising manager may request the advertiser to provide the benefit, and may allocate a part of the advertising fee charged to the advertiser by the advertising manager to the provision of the benefit.

The rules for granting rewards can be determined appropriately by the advertising manager. For example, the number of accesses within a given period can be ranked, and rewards can be granted according to the rank.
Even if the number of accesses is the same, the ranking may be changed depending on the day of the week or date.

It may be possible to provide a particularly high rank when access is based on event advertisements 2 at all installation locations. The rewards or reward ranks may be changed depending on the combination of installation locations accessed. For example, a high reward may be provided when a wide range of locations are accessed.

Note that, with regard to the rules for awarding rewards, the order in which event advertisements are distributed may be specified, but since the main effect of this system is to reach mobile device users with event advertisements, it is preferable not to specify the order in which event advertisements are distributed.

(d) Others As other information to be stored in the advertisement management server 1, conditions for invalidating access to the advertisement management server 1 from the mobile terminal 10 can be registered. For example, access based on the second or subsequent reading of the information code 4 of an event advertisement 2 at the same installation location during the period when an event is being held can be invalidated.

<Communication function of advertising management server>
When the mobile terminal 10 has the information code 4 as a two-dimensional code or information written on an RF tag, the advertising management server 1 connects to the Internet based on that information and has a communication function that is used to announce the holding of an event online, provide the user of the mobile terminal 10 with information on special offers, and transmit the tally of the number of accesses to advertisers.
In addition, when the mobile terminal 10 has the information code 4 as information written in an RF tag, the advertisement management server 1 has a reader/writer function for non-contact communication with the RF tag.

<Advertising management server decision function, etc.>
The advertisement management server 1 has a function of reading the location code and advertisement code contained in the information code 4 from the mobile terminal 10 by the mobile terminal 10 accessing the advertisement management server 1, and referring to various information registered as advertisement information of the event advertisement 2 from the advertisement code. The advertisement management server 1 may be able to use information stored in the mobile terminal 10.
Then, the advertisement management server 1 performs the following based on the location code, advertisement code, and referenced information:
(i) a function for determining whether an access from the mobile terminal 10 to the advertisement management server 1 is valid or invalid, as described below, in particular, a function for determining whether the second or subsequent access is valid or invalid based on a predetermined rule when access based on the same event advertisement is repeatedly made from the same mobile terminal during one event period;
(ii) if the access is determined to be valid, a function for storing the access as a reward for each mobile device by associating the access with a location code;
(iii) a function of determining a reward for each access stored as a reward target for each mobile terminal 10 based on stored reward granting rules;
(iv) A function of the advertisement management server 1 transmitting to a user of a mobile terminal 10 privilege information based on access from the mobile terminal 10, and when the user of the mobile terminal 10 actually acquires a privilege based on the privilege information and the advertisement management server 1 is notified by the source of the privilege that the privilege has been acquired, excluding the access related to the privilege from the scope of future granting of the privilege;
(v) a function of tallying up the number of accesses to the advertisement management server 1 during the event period for each location where the event advertisement 2 is placed, and outputting the tally results;
has.

2 is a flow diagram of an advertising method using the advertising management system. The flow will be described below according to the reference numerals attached to FIG.
(1) When using this advertising management system, the advertising manager first plans to hold an event. In this planning, the theme of the event, the area where the event will be held, the time of the event, the benefits that will be provided to users of mobile terminals 10 as a result of the event, the rules for providing the benefits, etc. are determined.

(2) Next, the advertising manager solicits advertisers to place advertisements for the event. Multiple advertisers A to E whose advertising content matches the theme of the event can participate in the event at the same time. Event themes could include food, fashion, real estate, theater, etc. There are no particular restrictions on soliciting advertisers, and solicitation can be done via the Internet.

In addition, when an information code is registered in the advertising management server 1 as an advertisement placed in a specified location, and there is a registered advertisement managed by the advertising management server 1 that is unrelated to an event, the advertising manager may encourage the advertiser to turn the registered advertisement into an event advertisement. By coordinating an event with the registered advertisement, the ability of the registered advertisement to attract customers can be increased.

(3) The advertising manager places the event advertisement 2 in a number of predetermined locations and registers the above-mentioned items to be stored in the advertising management server 1 in the advertising management server 1. There are no particular restrictions on where the event advertisement may be placed, but it is preferable to place it within the advertiser's store or facility, since the event advertisement can directly attract customers to the store or facility.

(4) The advertising manager will announce the event.
For example, as shown in FIG. 1, in an event announcement, event advertisements 2 having specific event target displays 3 are placed in multiple locations in the event holding area, and when a user of a mobile terminal 10 finds the event advertisement 2 during the event period, reads the information code 4 of the event advertisement 2 into the mobile terminal 10, and accesses the mobile terminal 10 according to the screen displayed by the reading, it is widely announced to the public that a special benefit can be obtained based on the number of accesses.

Event announcements may include a map of the area showing where event ads will be placed and hints on how to find them.

As shown in FIG. 1, event announcements can be made on street vision 11, on wall advertisements 12 on the sides of vending machines, or on the homepage of an advertising manager on the Internet 13. The event announcement may also include hints on how to find the event advertisements 2 that are placed in specific locations.

By notifying users of the event, they are motivated by the fun of playing a game like a stamp rally and the desire to win rewards, so they actively participate in the event and seek out the event advertisement 2.

(5) Reaching of the event advertisement 2 on the mobile device 10 The user of the mobile device 10 uses the event target display 3 learned about in the event announcement as a landmark and the map obtained in the event announcement as a clue to locate the event advertisement 2 and reach the event advertisement 2.

(6) Reading of information code 4 by mobile terminal 10 If the event advertisement 2 has the information code 4 as a two-dimensional code, a user who reaches the event advertisement 2 performs a reading operation of the two-dimensional code with the mobile terminal 10. Also, if the event advertisement 2 has the information code 4 as an RF tag and the mobile terminal has a reader/writer function, the information code 4 is read into the mobile terminal 10 by holding the mobile terminal 10 over the information code 4.

(7) Access to the advertising management server 1 Since the information code 4 contains the URL information of the advertising management server, when the information code 4 is read into the mobile terminal 10, a question is displayed on the screen of the mobile terminal 10 as to whether or not access to the advertising management server 1 is permitted, and if the user of the mobile terminal permits the access, the advertising management server 1 is accessed by the mobile terminal 10. Depending on the settings of the mobile terminal 10, the advertising management server 1 is accessed by reading the information code 4 into the mobile terminal 10 even if the user does not operate to permit access. Alternatively, if an application that automatically accesses the advertising management server 1 by the mobile terminal 10 when the information code 4 is read into the mobile terminal 10 is installed in advance in the mobile terminal 10, the advertising management server 1 is immediately accessed by the mobile terminal 10 when the information code 4 is read into the mobile terminal 10.

(8) Determination of Validity of Access When the mobile terminal 10 accesses the advertisement management server 1, the advertisement management server 1 acquires the location code and advertisement code contained in the information code 4 from the mobile terminal 10 and determines whether the access is valid or invalid.
In this case, first, a judgment is made as to whether the access is based on the location code. That is, if the location code is not managed by the advertisement management server 1, the access is invalidated, and if it is included in the management, a judgment is made based on the advertisement code. Then, if the advertisement code is not managed, the access is invalidated, and if the advertisement code is included in the management, the event period is referenced from the advertisement code, and if the access is outside the event period, the access is invalidated, and if it is within the event period, the access is valid, and the date and time of the access, the location code of the access, and the advertisement code are stored in the advertisement management server.

If the invalid access is due to a time-related reason, such as outside the event period, the advertising management server 1 can send a message to the mobile terminal 10 urging the user to access again.

Even if access is determined to be valid based on the event period, it is possible to determine whether the access is based on a second or subsequent reading of the information code of the same event advertisement, and to invalidate the second or subsequent access. This makes it possible to direct mobile device users to as many event advertisements as possible that are placed in multiple locations. On the other hand, if the event advertisement contains content that invites the same mobile device user to repeatedly visit the location where the event advertisement is placed, or if the event advertisement contains multiple quizzes or questionnaires that the mobile device user answers one by one, and it is expected that the advertising management server 1 will be accessed multiple times depending on the content of the event advertisement, etc., the second or subsequent access can be made valid.

Access based on the second or subsequent reading of the information code of the same event advertisement may be considered valid if the access occurs on different days. If the event advertisement is placed inside an advertiser's store or facility, repeated visits by mobile terminal users on different days is itself a result of the event, so it is preferable to consider the access valid and allow the user to receive a special benefit.

In addition, for access based on the second or subsequent reading of the information code of the same event advertisement, the access itself may be valid, but the quantity or quality of benefits that the mobile device user can enjoy may be reduced for access based on the reading of the information code of a different event advertisement.

(9) Registration of Valid Accesses Accesses that are determined to be valid are associated with a location code for each mobile terminal and registered in the advertisement management server as an object for which a special benefit is to be given.

(10) Transition to Advertiser's Homepage When the access of the mobile terminal 10 to the advertisement management server 1 is valid, the advertisement management server 1 may transition the screen of the mobile terminal 10 to the advertiser's home page. This allows the advertiser to use the event advertisement 2 as an opportunity to further introduce its own products and services to the user of the mobile terminal 10. It also becomes possible to respond to orders from users on the advertiser's home page to which the transition has been made.

(11) Determination of Benefit The advertisement management server 1 determines a benefit for an access registered as a valid access based on the benefit giving rules stored in the advertisement management server.

(12) Transmission of Benefit Information to the Mobile Terminal The determined benefit information is transmitted from the advertisement management server 1 to the mobile terminal 10.

(13) Use of Benefit The user of the mobile terminal 10 who has obtained the benefit information uses the benefit. As a specific method of using the benefit, for example, when the benefit is a discount on a product or service sold at a store of an advertiser participating in the event, the user presents the benefit information transmitted from the advertisement management server 1 at the store of the advertiser participating in the event and purchases the product or service at the discounted price.

(14) Transmission of Benefit Usage Status The store where the benefit is used transmits information about the mobile device related to the benefit usage and the benefit usage status to the advertisement management server.

(15) Removal of access related to used privilege from the privilege grant target The advertisement management server 1 removes the access related to the used privilege from the privilege grant target in the future. For example, the removal method is to delete the access from the access registered as the privilege grant target.

(16) Notification of current status to mobile terminal In response to a request from a mobile terminal 10, the advertisement management server 1 preferably notifies the mobile terminal of event advertisements for which benefits are currently being awarded if accessed, event advertisements for which benefits may be awarded if accessed in the future, and event advertisements related to benefits that have already been acquired. This notification may be, for example, a map attached to the event announcement, with information such as the user's access achievement status written therein.
This allows the user of the mobile terminal 10 to check the results of the event at any time, and encourages more active participation in the event.

(17) Access Counting The advertisement management server 1 preferably counts the number of accesses to the advertisement management server 1 during the event period for each location code of the event advertisement 2 and outputs the counting result. The advertisement manager can report this output result to the advertiser and charge the advertisement fee, so that the advertiser can pay the advertisement fee with satisfaction.

(18) Transmission of Count Results It is preferable that the access count results be transmitted to the advertiser at any time upon request from the advertiser. This allows the advertiser to change the event advertisement 2 or its surrounding circumstances to improve the performance of the advertisement.

1 Advertising management server 2 Event advertisement 3 Indication of event subject 4 Information code 5 Advertising content 10 Mobile terminal 11 Street vision 12 Wall advertisement 13 Internet

Claims (1)

An advertising method carried out in an advertising system having an advertising management server that manages an event in which a mobile terminal user is a participant, comprising:
The advertisement management server registers an information code of an advertisement (hereinafter referred to as an event advertisement) displayed at a plurality of predetermined locations together with a notice indicating that the event is the subject of the event, information of the display location of the event advertisement corresponding to the information code, advertisement information including information of the advertisement to be displayed on the mobile terminal, the event period, conditions for disabling access from the mobile terminal, benefits for the event, and rules for granting benefits,
The event advertisements are displayed both on the web site and at locations on land,
The information code of the event advertisement includes the URL information of the advertisement management server,
The advertisement management server determines whether the access is valid or invalid when the access is made by the mobile terminal based on the URL information of the advertisement management server included in the information code of the ground event advertisement,
When the advertisement management server determines that the access is valid, the access is associated with a display location of the event advertisement on the ground for each mobile terminal, and the mobile terminal screen is transitioned to a homepage of an advertiser of the event advertisement, and the access is registered as an object for which a special benefit is to be given;
Determine rewards for accesses registered as reward recipients for each mobile device based on reward granting rules;
Send the determined benefit information to the mobile device,
The advertising method includes tallying and outputting the number of accesses to an advertising management server during an event for each location on the ground where an event advertisement is displayed.