JP2002304572A - On-line transaction supporting system for digital contents and its method and its computer program and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an on-line type advertisement transaction supporting system for efficiently conducting advertisement transaction, and for enlarging the chance and range of the transaction. SOLUTION: Contents management terminals BT arranged in a plurality of broadcasting stations for allowing advertisement contents to circulate through respective specific circulating media and orderer terminals MT arranged in advertisement agents are connected on-line. Advertisement materials being the basic data of the advertisement contents are preserved in a raw material master DB 22 or the like, and advertisement frames registered by the broadcasting stations are presented to orderer terminals RT, and when the ordering requests of the advertisement frames are issued from the orderer terminals based on the presentation, the preserved advertisement raw materials are encoded by an encode processing part 14 so as to be adapted to a data structure to be dealt by the broadcasting stations, and distributed to the contents management terminals BT of the broadcasting stations.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a digital content online transaction support system for supporting digital content transactions. The digital content is, for example, a broadcast program with an advertisement, digital image data (moving image / still image), text data, sound data, or a combination thereof. The present invention particularly relates to a mechanism for facilitating an online transaction form when these digital contents are distributed through a plurality of distribution media.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Advertising content is one type of content created for distribution to the public. 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, most advertising contents for the public are analog contents expressed by analog materials such as photographs, videos, and sounds. For analog content, for example, materials shot with a shooting device are generally processed and edited for advertisement purposes, and specific music, voice, and sound are created for advertisement.
Recently, digital broadcasting networks using satellite broadcasting (BS, CS) and terrestrial broadcasting, broadband Internet networks, next-generation mobile phone networks, car navigation systems, convenience stores, electronic newspapers, electronic magazines, digital billboards (outdoor advertising) Media), digital cinemas, theaters, and other digital content distribution networks have been developed, and advertising content has also been digitized. In addition, multi-channel digital broadcasting and infrastructure similar to broadcasting (broadband Internet, mobile, etc.) have also appeared, and the production and distribution forms of content have been diversified. In such an era, the diversification of advertising media
The problem of diversification of advertising expenses due to the increase in the number of channels becomes a problem.

[0003] The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and solves the following problems. (1) To provide a mechanism that can diversify the form of expression of digital content to be distributed, including advertising content, increase the efficiency of such content production, and expand opportunities for content transactions. (2) To provide a mechanism capable of reducing the production cost by eliminating the time and effort of content production according to the specifications of different types of infrastructure, data processing terminals, and communication terminals. (3) When delivering content to a content distribution organization, it is necessary to wait a certain time before distribution for preparation. For this reason, content distribution opportunities are limited.
In particular, in the case of contents composed of complex materials, storage after delivery and before distribution becomes troublesome. A mechanism that can avoid such annoyance is provided.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides an online transaction support system, method and computer program for digital contents as follows.
To solve the above problems.

[0005] The online transaction support system of the present invention comprises:
Connected via a communication path to a first communication terminal provided to a plurality of content distribution organizations that distribute digital content through respective unique distribution media and a second communication terminal provided to an ordering organization that requests distribution of digital content. Master storage means for storing a material master serving as basic data of digital content to be distributed, and a frame defining a frame of the digital content which can be distributed and obtained from any of the first communication terminals. Information to the second communication terminal and a second
A transaction management means for receiving an order request for frame information from the communication terminal and an order approval for the frame information from the first communication terminal; and a content master which is stored in the material storage means and which is provided with the order approval. The digital communication system includes encoding means for encoding digital content having a data structure suitable for a distribution medium handled by a distribution organization, and content distribution means for distributing the encoded digital content to the first communication terminal.

In the case where some of the first communication terminals are provided in a content distribution agency that distributes digital contents through different types of distribution media from other content distribution agencies, the content distribution means may use the first content distribution device. Each of the communication terminals is configured to be able to distribute digital content encoded in a data structure corresponding to the type of the distribution medium from one material master at the same time. When the second communication terminal has a display, the transaction management means displays a list of all of the plurality of slot information prepared for each time zone together with information indicating an attribute of each slot information on the display. At this time, the display form of the display is changed in real time according to the transaction status for each piece of frame information. The change in the display form is represented by, for example, a change in color.

For example, when the data structure of the content for distribution set by the ordering side of the digital content is different from the data structure of the material master, the encoding means performs processing without conversion of the data structure on the material master. After the processing, the data structure of the processed material master is encoded into the data structure of the content for distribution according to a predetermined format conversion procedure. Furthermore, the encoded content is packaged for each type of distribution medium handled by the content distribution organization. "Packaging" refers to collecting data or storing the collected data as one distribution unit.

[0008] Template holding means for holding one or a plurality of templates defining one or more usage procedures of the material master for adding value to digital contents to be distributed, and identification information of settable templates And a means for providing guidance in association with the frame information may constitute an online transaction support system.
As a result, high-performance digital contents can be targeted for transactions. In this case, by providing a means for simulating the added value based on the template on the ordering side, it is possible to give the ordering side a sense of security at the time of the transaction. From the viewpoint of more thorough convenience on the ordering side, a means for presenting the contents of the digital content with the added value to the orderer before distribution is further provided.

In order to provide reference information at the time of transaction to the ordering side, means for directly or indirectly obtaining information indicating the degree of attention to digital content to be distributed from an external terminal and presenting the information to the ordering side is provided. It may be further provided. By providing a means for issuing an invoice relating to online transactions of digital contents, it is possible to facilitate the ordering side in online transactions.

[0010] The present invention also provides a first communication terminal provided to a plurality of content distribution organizations that distribute digital contents through a unique distribution medium, and a second communication terminal provided to an ordering organization that requests distribution of digital contents. A computer system that stores a material master that is the base data of digital content to be distributed is interposed between the terminal and the terminal, and the computer system allows the digital content frame obtained from one of the first communication terminals to be distributed. Presenting the frame information defining the above to the second communication terminal, receiving a frame information ordering request from the second communication terminal based on the presentation, and processing the ordered frame information and information on the ordering side. A process of notifying the first communication terminal to receive an order approval for the frame information; Executing a process of encoding into digital content having a data structure suitable for a distribution medium handled by a content distribution organization that has been granted, and a process of delivering the encoded digital content to the first communication terminal. And a method for supporting online trading of digital contents.

According to the present invention, a computer is provided in a first communication terminal provided in a plurality of content distribution organizations which distribute digital contents through a unique distribution medium, and an ordering organization which requests distribution of digital contents. In order to function as the above-described online transaction support system, which is connected to the second communication terminal via a communication path and supports online transaction of digital content performed between the first communication terminal and the second communication terminal. And a recording medium on which the computer program is recorded.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an advertisement transaction support system to which the present invention is applied. The advertisement transaction support system 1 is a computer having a function of communicating with an external communication terminal connected to the Internet IN, an exclusive communication line OL, and large-capacity digital lines DN1 and DN2, which are examples of a wide area network. Is achieved. This computer is a general-purpose computer having a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a storage device such as a semiconductor memory or a hard disk.
The PUs form various functions for online transaction support, which will be described later, by appropriately reading and executing the functions. The computer program may be recorded on a portable recording medium such as a CD-ROM and distributed, and downloaded directly from another program server to the storage device via the Internet IN or a LAN (not shown). It may be something. In short, it is only necessary that the data be recorded in the storage device in a computer-readable form when the CPU is in the operating state.

In this embodiment, as an external communication terminal,
A content management terminal BT provided for a content distributor (individual / corporate) that provides advertising content to the public by using a unique distribution medium, and a degree of attention to a broadcast program (hence, advertisement content) when the distribution medium is a broadcast medium Rating distribution terminal ST provided in a rating service center for providing rating information indicating the rating, orderer terminal RT provided in an advertisement orderer (individual / corporate) for ordering an advertisement,
An ad creator (individual /
Corporation: Production terminal provided for production)
Assume T. Persons (organizations) other than audience rating service centers
Are a plurality of persons (organizations).

In the following description, for convenience, the content distributor is a broadcasting station that performs digital broadcasting.
It is assumed that a broadcast program broadcasted together with M (commercial message) becomes an advertising space to be dealt with. The orderer is the advertising agency that the advertiser has requested,
An advertisement creator is a production production that produces an advertisement material at the request of an advertiser or an advertising agency. Assume that the advertiser or the advertising agency has previously carried out the processing of the ownership, copyright, and other rights of the advertising material and the examination of the advertising content.

[0015] The content management terminal BT is connected to the digital content distribution network DL. Digital content distribution network DL includes broadcasting stations (BS, CS, terrestrial use),
It is constructed by a collection of communication terminals provided in flat content suppliers such as cable television program supply organizations, broadband Internet broadcasting stations, mobile content suppliers, and electronic newspapers / electronic magazines / billboards / cinema theaters. Such a digital content distribution network D
Terminals of users using L include a BSCS shared tuner, STB with PVR function, digital television, CATV
A communication terminal having a function of processing and displaying digital contents, such as a digital STB for use, a personal computer, a mobile phone, and a car navigation system, is assumed.

The content management terminal BT is connected to the advertisement transaction support system 1 through two systems, a large-capacity digital line DL1 and the Internet IN. Large capacity digital line D
L1 is used for transmitting advertisement content from the advertisement transaction support system 1 to the content management terminal BT.
The Internet IN is used for communication between the advertisement transaction support system 1 and the content management terminal BT other than the transmission of large-capacity content.

The audience rating distribution terminal ST has a dedicated communication line OL.
The communication with the advertisement transaction support system 1 is performed via the. However, in implementing the present invention, it is not necessary that the dedicated communication line OL be used.

The orderer terminal RT is a large-capacity digital line D
N2 and Internet IN are connected to the advertisement transaction support system 1. Large-capacity digital line DN2
When registering the advertisement material in the advertising transaction support system 1 from the orderer terminal RT, or from the advertising transaction support system 1 to the orderer terminal R in order to confirm the advertising content to be broadcast.
Used when transmitting advertisement content to T. The creator terminal MT is used when communicating with another communication terminal or the advertisement transaction support system 1 via the Internet IN.

The advertisement transaction support system 1 is an Internet I / O system among the communication terminals BT, MT, RT, and ST.
N, a communication control unit 12 for controlling communication via the large-capacity digital lines DL1 and DL2, and a communication control unit for controlling communication via the dedicated line OL. And an encoding processing unit 1 for generating advertisement content to be broadcast.
4. An added value processing unit 15 for adding an added value to the advertisement content, and a DB management unit 20 that manages data recording and reading from various databases (hereinafter, abbreviated as “DB”) 21 to 27. And a main control unit 10 for controlling the operation in the system in a comprehensive manner.

The encoding processing unit 14 includes a content distribution medium (for digital broadcasting, analog broadcasting, still image (JPEG / GIF / TIF, etc.)) and moving image (MPEG /
“Material format conversion scenario” that defines the procedure for encoding the material for MPEG2) and sound output (PCM etc.) is stored for each medium type, and the parameters for file format conversion and material element conversion are stored. An auxiliary database 141 to be held is provided.

The supplementary database 1 that also holds various parameters that determine the content of the added value is provided in the added value processing unit 15.
51 are provided.

A DB managed by the DB management server 20
Are user DB21, material master DB22, material attribute DB23, template DB24, advertisement attribute DB2
5. There is an advertisement space DB 26 and an order receiving DB 27.

The user DB 21 registers profile information and other information of all users who use the system. Profile information includes, for an advertising agency, an advertising agency code, its attributes (name, address, etc.), a contact ID / password, and a contact attribute (name,
Affiliation, mail address, etc.). The profile information of the production is a production code, its attributes (name, address, etc.), the person in charge ID / password, and the attributes of the person in charge (name, affiliation, mail address, etc.). The broadcast station profile information includes the broadcast station code, its attributes (name, address, etc.), the person in charge ID / password, and the attributes of the person in charge (name, affiliation, mail address, etc.). Other information includes, for example, broadcast program information (program title, broadcast time, etc.) and broadcast material specifications (eg, MPE
G2), an advertisement space code of the broadcast program, an advertisement fee, an identification code of a usable high-performance advertisement application, and the like.

The material master DB 22 stores digital material masters serving as basic data of advertisement contents in a file format. These material masters can be copied and used as appropriate, and are composed of moving images, still images, character data, sound source data, or a combination thereof. The material master may be prepared on the system side, but in the present embodiment, the material master produced by the advertiser, the advertising agency or the production is entrusted and stored in the material master DB 22.

The material attribute DB 23 includes a material master DB 2
2 When the material master is registered, it is linked to the material master and the material attribute is set for each material master (can be identified by material code)
Has been registered. The material attributes include, for example, material master type (still image / moving image / character data / sound source data / single / combination), quantity, orderer approval information, and the like. The “orderer approval information” is information necessary for registration and additional registration of a material master or the like, and is information that can be registered only by an advertiser or an advertising agency. Specifically, an approval ID / password, an identification code (production code) of a production that permits registration, a production person ID, and the like correspond to the orderer approval information.

In the advertisement transaction support system 1, a "highly functional advertisement", which is based on a stored material master and is enhanced, can be expressed as an option.
The content of the "high-performance advertisement" is defined by a template file, and the content can be added, changed, or deleted as appropriate. Such a template file is called a “high-performance advertisement template”. The high-performance advertisement represented by the high-performance advertisement template is as follows. -An advertisement in which a plurality of stored material masters are laid out two-dimensionally (for example, a data broadcast screen composed of digital video and text data)-A plurality of stored material masters are sequentially connected along the time axis Combined advertisement (for example, a CM composed of a plurality of material masters continuously connected (abbreviation of commercial message, the same applies hereinafter))-An advertisement in which new information / function is added to the stored material master ( For example, a CM that includes a character or the like that links to a predetermined URL (homepage address) when clicked.) A plurality of such advanced advertisement templates are registered in the advertisement template DB 24 combining these. .

Advertisement attributes (advertiser, product name to be advertised, etc.) are registered in the advertisement attribute DB 25. Advertising space D
B26 stores information on the advertisement space identified by the above-described advertisement space code, that is, information on the frame of the broadcast program that can be provided by the broadcasting station together with the advertisement content. The order receiving DB 27 stores all information related to advertising transactions.

<Operation Form> Next, a description will be given of a procedure of an online advertisement transaction using the advertisement transaction support system 1 configured as described above. FIG. 2 shows an outline of the overall procedure. Usually, the advertisement transaction support system 1 is involved in online transactions performed between the parties in the order shown in (1) to (10) of FIG. In the following description, when it is not necessary to distinguish between the material master for generating the advertising content and the attribute of the material, these are collectively referred to as “advertising material”, and the advertising attribute and the advertising content are distinguished. If it is not necessary to do so, it is referred to as a "production advertisement" to distinguish it from advertising material.

The online trading of advertisements is as follows:
Prerequisites are registration of users, advertising materials, high-performance advertising templates, and advertising spaces. The processing for registration is performed by the main control unit 10
Is performed in cooperation with the DB management unit 20 and other related function blocks. (1) User registration (all users) First, profile information on all persons involved in the operation of this system, that is, advertising agencies, production and broadcasting stations, and communication terminals (orderer terminals) provided for each of them. RT, creator terminal MT, content management terminal B
The terminal code of T) and other information are registered in the user DB 21 in association with each other. Registration is usually performed online through each of the communication terminals BT, RT, and MT operated by the user, but may be a batch process. Profile information of the rating service center (viewing rate distribution terminal S
T (including the address of T) will be registered by the system administrator.

(2) Advertisement Material Registration (Production Production, Advertisement Agency) As described above, the advertisement material is registered on the advertisement agency or production production side. When registering an advertising material from an advertising agency, a large-capacity material master is accepted using a file transfer function via the large-capacity digital line DN2. The material master is registered in the material master DB 22, and the material attribute is registered in the material attribute DB 23 in association with a material code for identifying the material master.

(3) Registration of high-performance advertisement template (system administrator) The system administrator registers the high-performance advertisement template in the template DB 24, and the advertising agency or the production production manages the orderer terminal RT and the creator terminal MT. The contents of the high-performance advertisement template can be browsed and selected via the display. The contents of the registered high-performance advertisement template can be modified later.

(4) Registration of Advertising Space (Broadcasting Station) Registration of an advertising space that can be provided to an advertising agency from a broadcasting station is received. The advertisement space to be registered includes, for example, the following types. (B) Time-dependent advertising space (for example, CM in a broadcast program)
Frame) In such advertising space, the broadcast program title, broadcast time,
Advertisement space conditions (e.g., time length) such as broadcast content descriptions are registered. (B) On-demand content insertion type advertisement frame (for example, a CM frame inserted into a video material) In such an advertisement frame, advertisement title conditions such as a content title, a content type, and a content description are subject to registration. Becomes (C) Banner type advertisement frame (for example, banner advertisement frame of Web page) In such an advertisement frame, a banner insertion medium name (Web site name or the like), a position and a size of the frame, and the like are registered. (D) Publication type advertising space (for example, newspaper or magazine space advertisement) In such an advertising space, an advertisement insertion page, a position and a size of the frame, and the like are to be registered.

As common items to be registered for these advertising spaces, a number (unique key) for identifying the advertising space, an advertising fee, an advertising medium value (audience rating, sales, number of copies issued, etc.), an advertising space, etc. Conditions (run time, format, etc.) are also subject to registration. When the search command of the high-performance advertisement template is associated with each advertisement frame, a code for identifying the template is associated. When the audience rating of each advertising space can be browsed, an access path to the audience rating distribution terminal ST is associated with the corresponding advertising space.

(5) Transaction of advertising space (advertising agency, broadcasting station) After performing various registrations through the above procedures (1) to (4), the broadcasting station (content management terminal BT) and the advertising agency Online trading of the advertising space with the store (the orderer terminal RT) becomes possible. Hereinafter, the processing procedure executed by the advertisement transaction support system 1 (main control unit 10) in this case is shown in FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIGS.

In the case of advertising space transactions, the person in charge of the advertising agency
The procedure starts by operating the orderer terminal RT to access the advertisement transaction support system 1. The main control unit 10 of the advertisement transaction support system 1 activates a predetermined screen display program from a program recording area (not shown) to display an authentication screen as shown in FIG. 6 on the display of the orderer terminal RT. When data is input to a predetermined area of the authentication screen by the person in charge and it is detected that "ENTER" in the figure is clicked, this data and the user DB
The authentication processing is performed by collating with the data for user authentication set in 21. If it is valid, a search screen as shown in FIG. The search reception is started (FIG. 3: step S101). From the search screen of FIG. 7, a search from the “broadcasting station code number”, a search from the “advertiser code number”, a search from the “advertisement code number”, and the like become possible. In addition, the past transaction history of the advertising agency can be searched. If the "broadcaster code number", "advertiser code number", and "advertisement code number" are unknown or forgotten, they can be confirmed by clicking the "help" key at the bottom. When the “GO” button on the right side of the screen is operated, respectively, the advertisement transaction support system 1 (the advertisement transaction management unit 16) reads data from the corresponding DB of the DB management server 20 and displays the data on the display of the orderer terminal RT. Let it do.

FIG. 8 shows a transaction screen in which the information specified in advance by the broadcast station specified by the broadcast station code number ("ABCDEFG") is viewed by the person in charge of the advertising agency on the search screen of FIG. Is shown. In the "Broadcast period" input field, a broadcast period for which an advertisement is desired to be posted is input. The “price table guidance” is for guiding a price table for the advertising space, and the “media material” is for presenting the concept and features of the broadcasting station, the number of viewers, the viewer attributes, and the like. The “news news” presents hot information of the broadcast station, and the “broadcast advertisement material specifications” presents the specifications of advertisement materials at the broadcast station.

When the broadcast period is specified on the transaction screen of FIG. 8, the advertisement transaction management unit 16 displays a transaction screen visually representing the transaction status of the advertising space (broadcast program frame) in that period on the orderer terminal RT. Display on the display.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of this transaction screen. The transaction status of the advertising space is, for example, red when the advertising space is sold out and cannot be traded (purchased), yellow when the remaining number is less than 50%, blue when the remaining number is 50% or more, and so on. To
The display form is changed depending on the color, so that the person in charge of the advertising agency can intuitively grasp the transaction status of the advertising space. It should be noted that not only the color change but also the message may be displayed at the same time, or the display form may be changed by means other than the color. When an individual advertisement space is clicked, detailed information and transaction information of the advertisement space can be viewed. This processing is realized by reading information stored in the advertisement space DB 26 and the order receiving / ordering DB 27.

FIG. 10 shows an example of the transaction screen when the advertisement frame of "Sunday Night" at the lower right of the transaction screen in FIG. 9 is clicked. From FIG. 10, it can be confirmed that the remaining number of the advertisement space is 32%, purchase is still possible, detailed information of the program, advertisement fee, provision conditions, and the format of the advertisement material that can be displayed. In addition, "Detailed sales status"
By clicking on the "GO" key in the right column of, the current sales status and advertiser information can be viewed. This process is realized by referring to the current order status stored in the order DB 27.

In the screens shown in FIGS. 7 to 10, when the "viewing rate" key at the bottom of the screen is clicked, a list of viewing rates for each broadcast program is displayed. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10, after the broadcast program serving as the advertisement space is determined, if the "GO" key in the right column of "viewing rate display" is clicked, the viewing rate data of the program (Sunday night) is displayed. These are realized by accessing the audience rating distribution terminal ST and obtaining the corresponding data (FIG. 3: Step S10).
2: Yes, S103).

The "estimate" key in the lower half of the screen in FIG. 10 is a process for issuing an estimate based on the operation contents up to the present time including the advertiser name. The "contract" key is used to switch to the ordering screen based on the current operation content,
The "cancel" key is a key for shifting the display screen to the contract cancellation screen.

Here, a description will be given of the processing when the "high-performance advertisement" key is clicked on the transaction screen of FIG. 10 (the same applies to FIGS. 7 to 9). Main control unit 10
Detects that the "high-performance advertisement" key is clicked, generates an introduction screen of the high-performance advertisement based on the information recorded in the template DB 24 in advance, and
The screen on the display of T is changed as shown in FIG. FIG. 11 shows an introduction example of three types of high-performance advertisements. The “AP title” indicates a title of a high-performance advertising application that can be provided. The “BML / HTML” key in the AP title indicates a form of usable material. Clicking the “Available Broadcasting Station” key on the right side of the figure displays a list of broadcasting stations that can use the AP title. Clicking on the “Summary” box introduces detailed information or a specific sample of the AP title.

For example, when the person in charge of the advertising agency operates the orderer terminal RT and clicks on the outline frame of the “product detailed information providing service” with the AP title, the orderer terminal R
An introduction screen as shown in FIG. 12 is displayed on the display of T. When the "Sample" key in the lower right of the figure is clicked, a sample image of a high-performance advertisement that is actually posted is displayed by the sample image, and the person in charge simulates the position of the user watching the high-performance advertisement. Can be. When the "use this service" key at the lower right of the figure is clicked, the screen displayed on the orderer terminal RT is switched to the service use screen of FIG.

FIG. 13 shows templates and photographs (still images).
Can be selected, and any character input can be displayed on the advertising agency side. The advertisement code number and the like in the middle of FIG. 13 are automatically extracted and displayed based on the information at the time of access. The "Preview" key is for displaying a preview of the production advertisement, and the "Register"
Is for performing registration processing to use the product detailed information providing service. When the "registration" key is clicked, a charge (additional charge) for using the high-performance advertisement is automatically calculated and displayed.

FIG. 14 shows an example of the introduction screen shown in FIG.
It is the figure which showed the example of the introduction screen at the time of clicking the outline frame of "URL link service" of O.2. This "URL
The "link service" can be used in substantially the same procedure as in the case of the "product detailed information provision service" of No. 1.

The processing relating to the high-performance advertisement as described above is as follows.
The main control unit 10 is realized by reading a high-performance advertisement template associated with these screens from the template DB 24 and activating and executing a required application program (FIG. 3: step S10).
4: Yes, S105).

When the "contract" key is clicked on the screen shown in FIG. 10, the main control unit 10 starts a process for ordering an advertisement space (step S106: Yes, S10).
7). Specifically, it generates order information including the contents of the production advertisement desired to be ordered and the information of the advertising agency that has contracted, and automatically assigns transaction numbers, and receives these from the ordering DB 27.
Register with. If the "cancel" key is clicked on the screen of FIG. 10 or if it is instructed not to place an advertisement order by other means, the processing for the advertisement transaction is ended at this point (step S106: N).
o).

When the transaction number and the order information are registered in the order receiving / ordering DB 27, the main control unit 10 automatically notifies the person in charge of the broadcasting station that has registered the advertisement space of the transaction number by e-mail (step S1). S108). The person in charge of the broadcasting station searches / browses the detailed contents of the corresponding order information from the order DB 27 using the transaction number as a key. Then, after confirming the contents, an order mail containing order information including the transaction number is transmitted to the advertisement transaction support system 1. The advertisement transaction support system 1 (main control unit 10) uses the order information as information related to the order information,
At the same time as registering in B27, the order transaction number and the order information are automatically distributed by e-mail to the person in charge of the ordering advertising agency (step S109: Yes, S11).
0).

When there is a search request for transaction information from the ordering advertising agency or the receiving broadcasting station, the ordering DB
27, and the contents of the order can be viewed (step S111: Yes, S112). Thereafter, the process proceeds to the process of setting the production advertisement (step S113).

(6) Setting of Production Advertising (Advertising Agency) When an order for an advertising space is accepted as described above,
The person in charge of the advertisement agency accesses the advertisement transaction support system 1 via the orderer terminal RT, and sets the production advertisement to be applied to the advertisement space, that is, selects and applies the advertisement material as follows. Make various settings. First, a request to browse the attributes of the advertising space is made to the advertising transaction support system 1 via the orderer terminal RT. The advertisement transaction support system 1 (main control unit 10) converts the advertisement material applicable to the advertisement space into the advertisement space D.
Extracted from B26 and displayed on the display of the orderer terminal RT. In accordance with the displayed attributes, the person in charge inputs the settings for the application of the advertisement material. The advertisement transaction support system 1 (main control unit 10) registers the setting contents in the advertisement material DB 25 through the DB management unit 20. The contents registered in the advertisement attribute DB 25 include an identification number of an advertisement frame, a material code, a material format, a display size, a display time, and the like. When the registration of the setting contents in the advertisement material DB 25 is completed, the expression of the material master based on the setting contents becomes possible, so that the person in charge can watch the preview of the set production advertisement.

(7) Setting of high-performance advertisement (advertising agency: optional) If necessary, when adding the high-performance advertisement to the ad space for which an order has been received, the person in charge of the advertising agency performs the following procedure. To set the advanced ads. First, a search / browsing request for the attribute of a high-performance advertisement that can be set for an ad space for which an order has been received is issued to the advertisement transaction support system 1 via the orderer terminal RT. The advertisement transaction registered in the advertisement frame DB 26 is associated with a high-performance advertisement template that can be set for the advertisement frame by the template ID, so that the advertisement transaction support system 1 (main control unit 10) The display displays both the information on the advertisement space and the information on the high-performance advertisement template set in the advertisement space.
Also, access to the material attribute DB 23 is permitted. The person in charge searches / selects, from the material attribute DB 23, an advertisement material that matches the attribute of the high-performance advertisement that can be set for the browsed advertisement space,
The allocation information of each material to the high-performance advertisement template is transmitted to the advertisement transaction support system 1. The advertisement transaction support system 1 (main control unit 10) stores the allocation information in the advertisement attribute DB 2
Register to 5. In this way, the person in charge can use the material master D
B22 and the preview of the production advertisement including the high-performance advertisement based on the high-performance advertisement template read from the template DB24 and the actual material master can be viewed.

(8) Notification of confirmation of production advertisement (advertising agency,
Broadcasting station) After setting the production advertisement and the high-performance advertisement, the main control unit 10
Displays a contract screen as shown in FIG. 15 on the display of the orderer terminal RT. FIG. 15 shows an example of a case where a condition that 30-second advertisements are broadcast 13 times and a high-performance advertisement is used each time is input on the transaction screen of FIG. The “advertising fee” is the amount paid to the broadcasting station, the “sales commission” is the commission paid by the advertising agency during the advertising transaction (sales), and the “system usage fee” is the usage fee of the advertising transaction support system 1. The person in charge of the advertising agency can check the final preview of the advertising material based on the above conditions by clicking the “advertising material preview” key at the lower right of the screen. Click the "Display Contract Terms" key at the bottom center of the screen to display the contract terms. If the person in charge accepts the contents, he or she clicks the "Contract" key in the lower left of the screen. Thereby, the advertisement transaction support system 1 can grasp that the confirmation of the contract content has been confirmed by the advertising agency. The main control unit 10 notifies the information of the contract including the preview link of the production advertisement to the person in charge of the broadcasting station by e-mail. The person in charge of the broadcast station checks the information on the contract for the production advertisement and, if approved, performs an approval process. This approval information is transmitted to the advertisement transaction support system 1 and registered in the order receiving / ordering DB 27.

(9) Distribution of Production Advertising (Advertising Agency, Broadcasting Station) The production advertising and contract contents have been confirmed by the person in charge of the advertising agency, and information of approval from the broadcasting station is registered in the ordering DB 27. Then, the main control unit 10 activates the encoding processing unit 14 and the value-added processing unit 15 to generate a production advertisement so as to have the same content as that displayed in the preview. Then, the generated production advertisement is transmitted to the large-capacity digital line DN.
1 for online distribution to a broadcasting station. At the same time, it notifies the person in charge of the broadcasting station of the distribution of the produced advertisement content using an electronic mail.

(10) Issuing and requesting a broadcast confirmation (advertising agency, broadcasting station) After broadcasting the produced advertisement, the broadcasting station notifies the advertisement transaction support system 1 of the fact. Main control unit 10
Records the notified contents in the order receiving / ordering DB 27, searches / browses information on the broadcasted advertisement with reference to the advertisement space DB 26 and the order receiving / ordering DB 27, and displays a broadcast confirmation and a bill as shown in FIG. Create Then, this is recorded in the order receiving / ordering DB 27 and is distributed by e-mail to the person in charge of the advertising agency. In this way, the advertising transaction support system 1 supports online advertising transactions performed between the broadcasting station and the advertising agency.

<Encoding Processing> Next, the processing in the encoding processing section 14 will be described in detail. The encoding processing unit 14 according to the present embodiment has a main feature in that an advertisement material is processed in a so-called one-source multi-use form, in which one material master is encoded into a plurality of data structures according to applications. One source
Multi-use is conceptually shown in FIG.

That is, when the content of the setting of the production advertisement is determined, the encoding processing unit 14 sets the advertisement attribute DB2 in order to form the production advertisement corresponding to the medium handled by the broadcasting station.
5. Read the attributes (advertiser, product name, etc.) of the production advertisement from 5 and store the material master (file) to be used in the material master DB.
22 and read the attribute (still image or the like) of the material master and perform the processing (step S2).
01). In this stage, processing without file format conversion of the material master, for example, only partial cutout of the material master and change of the display size are performed.

If the data structure of the production advertisement at the time of completion is different from the data structure of the material master, the data structure of the processed material master is converted into that of the production advertisement (step S202). The conversion is performed by decomposing the material master (for example,
Processing is performed by combining a video material into video and audio) and file format conversion (for example, conversion from an AVI file to MPEG2). Combination method and element decomposition procedure (executable file name to be used, parameters,
Since the moving image portion and the audio portion are separated and copied from the video file, etc.) are defined in the material format conversion scenario held for each medium in the auxiliary DB 141 in advance, all the material format conversion scenarios for the medium are defined. Various conversion methods are automatically executed by reading and executing the contents. When the additional function is set in the production advertisement, the additional function is edited (Step S)
203). If a high-performance advertisement is set, processing using a high-performance advertisement template in cooperation with the added value processing unit 15, for example, embedding of link information in a moving image, HT
A process for creating a metafile such as ML or BML is performed. File format conversion is also performed as necessary.

Thereafter, the production advertisement is packaged for a designated medium (step S204). Here, packaging refers to a system number (such as a memory,
Hard disk). The above processing steps are repeated until the required number of advertisement contents, that is, the number of media is reached.

By encoding the material master in this way, the number of types of material masters for generating a production advertisement can be reduced, and the efficiency of material management can be improved. In addition, versatile advertisement production becomes possible, high-performance advertisement development according to media specifications, creation of new advertising value,
Efficient management work when creating complex advertisements. Also,
For example, dynamic conversion according to media specifications, such as conversion from digital TV broadcast to Internet broadcast, can be easily realized by defining the procedure in a material format conversion scenario. This makes it possible to simultaneously transmit production advertisements using a plurality of media, so that a so-called “media mix” in which more areas and more carefully selected targets are watched more times is also possible. Further, for example, by separating and utilizing a track, which is one of the audio media, it is easy to change the language (Japanese, English, Chinese, etc.).

FIG. 5 shows a procedure for actually embodying the concept of one-source multi-use in the encoding unit 14. That is, an advertisement attribute and a material attribute related to a production advertisement at the time of completion are acquired, and compared with a copy of a material master to be used (step S301). If there is a partial use setting of the material master as the advertisement attribute (for example, the use of only the first 5 minutes of the material reproduction time or a partial setting of the display area), the material is trimmed (step S3).
02). Specifically, only the set portion of the material master is copied. At this time, the conversion of the file format of the material master and the change of the display size are not performed. Also, the material master does not receive any changes. If the production advertisement or the material at the time of completion is visually different in size, the size is changed to the size of the production advertisement at the time of completion (Step S304: Yes,
S305). The target of the change is the material copy file after the processing when the material trim processing is executed, and the entire material copy file when the processing of the material trim is skipped. At this point, the file format of the material master is not converted.

If the advertisement attribute and material attribute of the production advertisement read in step S301 (that is, the image of the production advertisement at the time of completion) are different from the file format of the material master, it is designated as unique information of the production advertisement at the time of completion. It searches for a material format conversion scenario in which a procedure for converting to a file format is described, reads it, and determines its contents (step S306). For example, from MPEG1 video (moving picture: MPEG1, sound: PCM), MPE
The conversion procedure to G2 (moving image: MPEG2, audio: AAC) is determined. Then, the format conversion processing of the material master (copy file) is executed according to the defined contents of the determined material format conversion scenario.

Steps S306 and S30
7 is repeated for the number of material format conversion scenarios (step S308). This is because a plurality of conversion processes are required for a production advertisement composed of a plurality of material masters. If there is an additional function setting, the additional function is edited as described above (step S309: Yes, S
310), packaging the production advertisement for the specified medium (step S311). When packaging a production advertisement for another medium, the processing after step S301 is repeated (step S312: No). in this way,
Since the material master itself has not been changed at all, one source multi-use is realized by repeating the above processing.

<Advantages of the Advertisement Trading Support System of the Present Embodiment> In this embodiment, a place for online trading of advertising space is provided in a network space that can be freely accessed by each of the advertising agency and the broadcasting station. In this way, real-time advertising transactions that have been impossible in the past can be performed. In particular, by constructing a digital distribution network for advertisements, opportunities for advertisement transactions can be given until immediately before broadcasting, and it is possible to realize a convenient transaction form for both the ordering side and the advertisement distribution side.

Further, since the digital material master is handled, the database of the advertisement material can be easily created, and the efficiency of the advertisement management can be improved. Further, since the use range of the multimedia function is expanded, anyone can easily use the high-performance advertisement, and the advertisement field can be activated. Further, in combination with the viewer DB, it is possible to perform “advertisement by attribute” with high functionality according to customer attributes. For example, it is possible to change an advertisement message for each new customer, dormant customer, or heavy user, and to switch an advertisement display for each area (replacement of a notice of a store). Since production advertisements are generated using digital material masters, they can be used not only for moving images, but also for plane advertisements (electronic newspapers, electronic magazines, etc.), and develop a wider range of advertisements (media mix, target segmentation, etc.) Becomes possible. In addition, a trading system that supports the entire advertising business from end to end becomes possible. This system can be used for many digital content related transactions. For example, buying a program from a broadcasting station
Sales, sales of movies and music, and sales of various rights such as sports broadcasting rights and character MD rights are also possible.

[0064]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a mechanism capable of increasing the efficiency of the transaction of digital content between parties and expanding the opportunity or range of the transaction. Can be.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an advertisement transaction support system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the overall procedure of advertising online transaction.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a procedure for advertising space transaction.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram of one-source multi-use adopted in the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a procedure for realizing one-source multi-use.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of an initial screen displayed on a user's communication terminal during online transaction.

FIG. 7 is a view showing an example of a screen for prompting the user to input a broadcast period.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a screen when searching for an advertisement space.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a screen when an advertisement space is presented.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen when introducing detailed contents of an advertising space.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for selecting a high-performance advertisement.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a screen when introducing detailed contents of a high-performance advertisement.

FIG. 13 is a view showing an example of a screen when introducing detailed contents of a high-performance advertisement.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a screen when introducing detailed contents of a high-performance advertisement.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a screen when presenting contract contents at the time of an advertisement transaction.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a bill and a broadcast confirmation attached thereto.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Advertisement transaction support system 10 Main control part 11, 12, 13 Communication control part 14 Encoding processing part 141 Auxiliary DB of an encoding processing part 15 Value added processing part 151 Auxiliary DB of a value added processing part 20 DB management part 21 User DB 22 Material master DB 23 Material attribute DB 24 Template DB 25 Advertising attribute DB 26 Advertising space DB 27 Ordering / receiving DB ST Audience rating terminal RT Orderer terminal MT Creator terminal BT Content management terminal DL Digital distribution network OL Private line DN1, DN2 Large Capacity digital line IN Internet

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Kyoichi Igarashi 10th Ichibancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Star Colla Volation Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Riki Igarashi 10th Ichibancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Star Colla Boration Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 5C064 BA07 BB10 BC01 BC18 BC23 BD02 BD07

Claims (17)

[Claims] 1. Communication with a first communication terminal provided at a plurality of content distributors for distributing digital content through a unique distribution medium and a second communication terminal provided at an ordering agency requesting distribution of digital content, respectively. A material master storage means for storing a material master serving as basic data of digital content to be distributed, and a digital content obtained by any one of the first communication terminals. Transaction management that presents frame information defining a frame to the second communication terminal and receives an order request for frame information from the second communication terminal based on the presentation and an order approval for the frame information from the first communication terminal. Means, and a distribution medium for handling the material master stored in the material storage means by the content distribution organization that has given the order approval. An online transaction support for digital content, comprising: encoding means for encoding digital content having a data structure suitable for the body; and content distribution means for distributing the encoded digital content to the first communication terminal. system. 2. A method according to claim 1, wherein said first communication terminal is provided in a content distribution agency that distributes said digital content through a different type of distribution medium from another content distribution agency. The digital content encoded in a data structure corresponding to the type of the distribution medium from one material master to each of some first communication terminals is configured to be distributed at the same time. Online trading support system. 3. The digital content to be transacted is advertising content, the frame information is an advertising frame registered by the plurality of content distribution agencies, and the encoding means distributes the advertising content using the advertising frame. 2. The online transaction support system according to claim 1, wherein the online transaction support system converts the data structure into a data structure suitable for a type of a distribution medium. 4. The advertising space includes one of a time-dependent advertising space, an on-demand content insertion advertising space, a banner advertising space, and a publishing advertising space. 4. The online transaction support system according to claim 3, wherein the advertisement content encoded from the material master is transmitted at the same time. 5. The transaction management means, wherein the second communication terminal comprises a display, and the transaction management means stores all of the plurality of slot information prepared for each time zone together with information indicating an attribute of each slot information. 2
The online transaction support system according to claim 1, wherein a list is displayed on a display of the communication terminal. 6. The online transaction support system according to claim 5, wherein the display form of the display changes in real time according to the transaction status for each frame information. 7. The online transaction support system according to claim 6, wherein the change in the display form is represented by a change in color. 8. When the data structure of the content for distribution set by the ordering side is different from the data structure of the material master, the encoding means performs processing without conversion of the data structure on the material master. 2. The online transaction support system according to claim 1, wherein the data structure of the processed material master is encoded into the data structure of the content for distribution in accordance with a predetermined format conversion procedure. 9. The online transaction support system according to claim 8, wherein said encoding means packages the encoded content for each type of distribution medium handled by said content distribution organization. 10. A template holding means for holding one or a plurality of templates defining one or more usage procedures of the material master for adding value to digital contents to be distributed, and a configurable template. The online transaction support system according to claim 1, further comprising: means for guiding identification information in association with the frame information. 11. The online transaction support system according to claim 10, further comprising means for causing the ordering side to simulate an added value based on the template. 12. The online transaction support system according to claim 10, further comprising means for presenting the contents of the added digital content to the orderer before distribution. 13. The online transaction according to claim 1, further comprising means for acquiring information directly or indirectly indicating the degree of attention to the digital content to be distributed from an external terminal and presenting the information to the orderer. Support system. 14. The online transaction support system according to claim 1, further comprising means for issuing an invoice for online transaction of digital content. 15. Between a first communication terminal provided to a plurality of content distribution organizations that distribute digital content through a unique distribution medium and a second communication terminal provided to an ordering organization that requests distribution of digital content. To
A computer system that stores a material master serving as basic data of digital content to be distributed is interposed, and in the computer system, frame information defining a frame of the digital content that can be distributed and obtained from any of the first communication terminals Processing for presenting to the second communication terminal; processing for accepting an order request for frame information from the second communication terminal based on the presentation; notification of the ordered frame information and information on the ordering side to the first communication terminal. Receiving the order approval for the frame information, and encoding the stored material master into digital content having a data structure compatible with a distribution medium handled by the content distribution organization that has given the order approval. And delivering the digital content to the first communication terminal. Online transaction support method of barrel content. 16. A first communication terminal provided to a plurality of content distribution organizations that distribute digital contents through respective unique distribution media, and a second communication terminal provided to an ordering organization that requests distribution of digital content. And a computer program for functioning as an online transaction support system for supporting online transactions of digital contents performed between the first communication terminal and the second communication terminal, each being connected via a communication path. The online transaction support system defines material master storage means for storing a material master serving as basic data of digital content to be distributed, and a frame of the distributable digital content obtained from any of the first communication terminals. The frame information is presented to the second communication terminal, and based on the presentation. Transaction management means for accepting an order request for frame information from the second communication terminal and an order approval for the frame information from the first communication terminal, based on the material master stored in the material storage means. Encoding means for encoding digital content having a data structure suitable for a distribution medium handled by a given content distribution organization; and content distribution means for distributing the encoded digital content to the first communication terminal. Computer program. 17. A computer-readable recording medium on which the computer program according to claim 16 is recorded.