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

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD [Detailed description of the invention]

【0001】

[Technical field to which the invention belongs]

The present invention relates to an online transaction support system for digital contents that supports transactions of digital contents. The digital content is, for example, a broadcast program accompanied by an advertisement, digital image data (video / 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 of the contents created for the purpose of distribution to the public. Conventionally, most of the advertising content for the public is analog content expressed by analog materials such as photographs, videos, and sounds. In analog content, for example, it is common to process and edit materials photographed by a photographing device for advertising purposes, or to create specific music, sound, and sound for advertising purposes. Recently, digital broadcasting networks using satellite broadcasting (BS, CS) and terrestrial broadcasting, broadband Internet networks, next-generation mobile phone networks, car navigation systems, convenience store terminals, electronic newspapers, electronic magazines, digital building boards (outdoor advertising) The distribution network of digital contents such as (medium), digital cinema, theater, etc. has been developed, and advertising contents are also being 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 contents are diversifying. In such an era, the diversification of advertising costs due to the diversification and multi-channelization of advertising media becomes a problem.

【0003】

In view of the above situation, the present invention solves the following problems. (1) We will provide a mechanism that can expand opportunities for content transactions by diversifying the expression forms of digital content to be distributed, including advertising content, and improving the efficiency of such content production. (2) Provide a mechanism that can reduce production costs by eliminating the trouble of creating content that matches 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 allow a certain amount of time before distribution for preparation. Therefore, opportunities for content distribution are limited. In particular, in the case of content composed of complicated materials, storage after delivery and before distribution becomes troublesome. Provide a mechanism that can avoid such annoyance.

【0004】

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention solves the above problems by providing the following digital content online transaction support system, method and computer program.

【0005】

The online transaction support system of the present invention is a first communication terminal deployed to a plurality of content distribution organizations that distribute digital contents through their own distribution media, and a second communication deployed to an ordering organization that requests distribution of digital contents. A system that is connected to each terminal via a communication path, and is a material master storage means that stores the material master that is the basic data of the digital content to be distributed, and can be distributed obtained from any of the first communication terminals. The frame information that defines the frame of the digital content is presented to the second communication terminal, the order request for the frame information from the second communication terminal based on the presentation, and the order approval for the frame information from the first communication terminal. Encoding means for encoding the material master stored in the material storage means into digital content having a data structure compatible with the distribution medium handled by the content distribution institution that has given the order approval. It is provided with a content distribution means for distributing digital content to the first communication terminal.

【0006】

When some of the first communication terminals are provided in a content distribution institution that distributes digital contents through different types of distribution media from other content distribution institutions, the content distribution means is the first communication terminal of these first communication terminals. Each is configured to be able to deliver digital content encoded in a data structure according to the type of distribution medium from one material master at the same time. When the second communication terminal is equipped with a display, the transaction management means causes the display to list all of the plurality of frame information prepared for each time zone together with information representing the attributes of each frame information. At that time, the display form of the display is changed for each frame information in real time according to the transaction status. The change in display form is represented by, for example, a change in color.

【0007】

The encoding means is, for example, when the data structure of the content for distribution set by the ordering side of the digital content and the data structure of the material master are different, the material master is processed without conversion of the data structure. , The data structure of the material master after processing is encoded into the data structure of the content for distribution according to a predetermined format conversion procedure. Further, the encoded content is configured to be packaged for each type of distribution medium handled by the content distribution organization. "Packaging" refers to collecting data as one distribution unit or storing the collected data.

【0008】

The template holding means that holds one or more templates that define the procedure for using one or more of the material masters for adding value to the digital contents to be distributed, and the template identification information that can be set are set in the frame. An online transaction support system may be configured by further providing means for providing guidance in association with information. This makes it possible to target high-performance digital content for transactions. In this case, by further providing a means for the ordering side to experience the added value based on the template in a simulated manner, it is possible to give the ordering side a sense of security at the time of transaction. From the viewpoint of further ensuring the convenience of the ordering side, the means for presenting the contents of the digital content to which the added value is added to the ordering side before distribution will be further provided.

【0009】

In order to give reference information at the time of transaction to the ordering side, it is further provided with a means to obtain information directly or indirectly indicating the degree of attention to the digital contents to be distributed from an external terminal and present it to the ordering side. You may do so. By providing a means for issuing invoices related to online transactions of digital contents, it is possible to provide convenience for the ordering side in the case of online transactions.

【0010】

The present invention also relates to a first communication terminal deployed to a plurality of content distribution institutions that distribute digital contents through their own distribution media and a second communication terminal deployed to an ordering organization that requests the distribution of digital contents. In between, a computer system that stores the material master that is the basic data of the digital content to be distributed is interposed, and the frame of the digital content that can be distributed obtained from any of the first communication terminals is defined in the computer system. The process of presenting the frame information to the second communication terminal, the process of accepting the order request for the frame information from the second communication terminal based on the presentation, and the first communication of the ordered frame information and the information on the ordering side. The process of notifying the terminal and accepting the order approval for the frame information, and the process of encoding the stored material master into digital content with a data structure compatible with the distribution medium handled by the content distribution institution that gave the order approval. Provided is an online transaction support method for digital contents, which comprises executing a process of delivering encoded digital contents to the first communication terminal.

【0011】

The present invention also presents a first communication terminal in which a computer is distributed to a plurality of content distribution institutions that distribute digital contents through unique distribution media, and a second communication that is deployed in an ordering organization that requests distribution of digital contents. A computer program that is connected to each terminal via a communication path and functions as the above-mentioned online transaction support system that supports online transactions of digital contents performed between the first communication terminal and the second communication terminal. And a recording medium on which this computer program is recorded.

【0012】

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an advertising transaction support system to which the present invention is applied. This advertising transaction support system 1 is provided by a computer having a function of communicating with an external communication terminal connected to an Internet IN, a dedicated communication line OL, a large-capacity digital line DN1, DN2, etc., which are examples of a wide area network. It will be realized. This computer is a general-purpose computer equipped with a CPU (central processing unit) and a storage device such as a semiconductor memory or a hard disk. The computer program loaded in the storage device is appropriately read and executed by the CPU, which will be described later. It forms various functions to support online transactions. The computer program may be recorded on a portable recording medium such as a CD-ROM and distributed, and may be directly downloaded from another program server to the above storage device via the Internet IN or a LAN (not shown). It may be a thing. In short, it suffices if the CPU is recorded in the above-mentioned storage device in a computer-readable form when the CPU is in operation.

【0013】

In the present embodiment, as an external communication terminal, a content management terminal BT provided by a content distributor (individual / corporate) who provides advertising content to the public using each unique distribution medium, and a case where the distribution medium is a broadcasting medium. Audience rate distribution terminal ST provided in the audience rate service center that provides information on the audience rate indicating the degree of attention to the broadcast program (and thus the advertisement content), and the orderer provided in the advertisement orderer (individual / corporate) who places the advertisement order. It is assumed that the terminal RT and the producer terminal MT provided by the advertisement creator (individual / corporation: production production) who produces the advertisement material based on the request. Persons (institutions) other than the audience rating service center are each of a plurality of persons (institutions).

【0014】

In the following description, for convenience, the content distributor is a broadcasting station that broadcasts digitally, and the broadcasting program that this broadcasting station broadcasts together with the CM (commercial message) is the advertising space to be traded. Further, it is assumed that the advertisement orderer is an advertising agency at the request of the advertiser, and the advertisement producer is a production production that produces the advertisement material at the request of the advertiser or the advertising agency. The ownership of the advertising material, the processing of copyrights, and the examination of the content of the advertisement shall be carried out in advance by the advertiser or the advertising agency.

【0015】

The content management terminal BT is connected to the digital content distribution network DL. Digital content distribution network DL becomes a flat content supplier such as broadcasting stations (BS, CS, terrestrial broadcasting), cable TV program supply organizations, broadband Internet broadcasting stations, mobile content suppliers, electronic newspapers / electronic magazines / billboards / cinema theaters, etc. It is constructed by a collection of communication terminals provided. As terminals of users who use such digital content distribution network DL, processing of digital contents such as BSCS shared tuner, STB with PVR function, digital TV, digital STB for CATV, personal computer, mobile phone, car navigation system, etc. And a communication terminal equipped with a display function is assumed.

【0016】

The content management terminal BT is connected to the advertising transaction support system 1 by two systems, a large-capacity digital line DL1 and an Internet IN. The large-capacity digital line DL1 is used to transmit advertising content from the advertising transaction support system 1 to the content management terminal BT. Internet IN is used for communication other than transmission of large-capacity content between the advertising transaction support system 1 and the content management terminal BT.

【0017】

The audience rating distribution terminal ST communicates with the advertisement transaction support system 1 via the dedicated communication line OL. However, in carrying out the present invention, it does not have to be a dedicated communication line OL.

【0018】

The orderer terminal RT is connected to the advertising transaction support system 1 by two systems, a large-capacity digital line DN2 and an Internet IN. The large-capacity digital line DN2 is used when registering advertising material from the ordering terminal RT to the advertising transaction support system 1, or from the advertising transaction support system 1 to the ordering terminal RT to confirm the advertising content to be broadcast. Used when transmitting. The creator terminal MT is used when communicating with another communication terminal or the advertising transaction support system 1 via the Internet IN.

【0019】

Of the above communication terminals BT, MT, RT, and ST, the advertising transaction support system 1 has a communication control unit 11 that controls communication via the Internet IN and communication via the large-capacity digital lines DL1 and DL2. It includes a communication control unit 12 that controls and a communication control unit 13 that controls communication via a dedicated line OL, and further, an encoding processing unit 14 for generating advertisement content to be broadcast, and an advertisement content. Value-added processing unit 15 for adding value, DB management unit 20 for managing data recording and reading to various databases (hereinafter, database is abbreviated as "DB") 21-27, operation in the system It is equipped with a main control unit 10 that controls in a centralized manner.

【0020】

The encoding processing unit 14 supports content distribution media (for digital broadcasting, analog broadcasting, still images (JPEG / GIF / TIF, etc.), moving images (MPEG / MPEG2, etc.), and sound output (PCM, etc.). Auxiliary database 141 that holds the "material format conversion scenario" that defines the procedure for encoding the material for each medium type and holds the parameters for file format conversion and material element conversion is provided.

【0021】

The value-added processing unit 15 also includes an auxiliary database 151 that holds various parameters that determine the content of the added value.

【0022】

The DBs managed by the DB management server 20 include a user DB21, a material master DB22, a material attribute DB23, a template DB24, an advertising attribute DB25, an ad space DB26, and an ordering DB27.

【0023】

User DB21 registers profile information and other information of all users who use this system. For the advertising agency, the profile information is the advertising agency code, its attributes (name, address, etc.), the person in charge ID / password, and the attributes of the person in charge (name, affiliation, email address, etc.). The profile information of the production production is the production code, its attributes (name, address, etc.), the person in charge ID / password, and the attributes of the person in charge (name, affiliation, email address, etc.). The profile information of the broadcasting station is the broadcasting station code, its attributes (name, address, etc.), the person in charge ID / password, and the attributes of the person in charge (name, affiliation, email address, etc.). For other information, for example, in the case of a broadcasting station, information on the broadcast program (program title, broadcast time, etc.), material specifications for broadcasting (example: MPEG2), inventory code of the broadcast program, advertisement fee, available An identification code for a high-performance advertising application.

【0024】

In the material master DB22, a digital material master that is the basic data of the advertisement content is stored in a file format. These material masters can be appropriately copied and used, 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 production is entrusted and stored in the material master DB22.

【0025】

In the material attribute DB23, when the material master is registered in the material master DB22, the material attribute is registered for each material master (identifiable by the material code) in conjunction with it. The material attributes include, for example, the type of material master (still image / moving image / character data / sound source data / single / combination), quantity, orderer approval information, and the like. "Orderer approval information" is information required for registration and additional registration of a material master, etc., and is information that can be registered only by an advertiser or an advertising agency. Specifically, the approval ID / password, the identification code (production code) of the production production that allows registration, the production person ID, and the like correspond to the orderer approval information.

【0026】

In the advertisement transaction support system 1, it is possible to express as an option "high-performance advertisement" which is based on the stored material master and has enhanced functions. 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 advertising template". The high-performance advertisement represented by the high-performance advertisement template is as follows. -Advertisements in which multiple stored material masters are laid out in two dimensions (for example, a data broadcasting screen consisting of digital video and text data) -Advertisement in which multiple stored material masters are sequentially connected along the time axis (for example, CM composed by continuously connecting multiple material masters (abbreviation of commercial message, the same applies hereinafter)) -Advertisements with new information / functions added to the stored material master (for example, CM containing characters that link to the specified URL (homepage address) when clicked) Advertising that combines these Multiple types of such high-performance advertising templates are registered in the template DB24.

【0027】

Advertisement attributes (advertiser, product name to be advertised, etc.) are registered in the advertisement attribute DB25. The advertising space DB26 stores information about the advertising space identified by the above advertising space code, that is, the space of the broadcast program that the broadcasting station can provide together with the advertising content. The ordering DB27 stores all the information related to the advertising transaction.

【0028】

<Operation mode> Next, the procedure for online advertising of advertisements using the advertisement transaction support system 1 configured as described above will be described. Figure 2 shows an overview of the overall procedure. Normally, the advertising transaction support system 1 is involved in online transactions 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" to distinguish between the advertising attribute and the advertising content. When it is not necessary to do so, it is referred to as a "production advertisement" to distinguish it from the advertisement material.

【0029】

Online advertising transactions are premised on the following registration of users, advertising materials, high-performance advertising templates, and advertising space. The process for registration is performed by the main control unit 10 in collaboration with the DB management unit 20 and other related function blocks. (1) User registration (all users) First, profile information about all persons involved in the operation of this system, that is, advertising agencies, production productions, and broadcasting stations, and communication terminals (orderer terminal RT, creator terminal MT, content management terminal BT) provided for each. ) Is associated with the terminal code and other information and registered in the user DB21. Registration is usually performed online through each communication terminal BT, RT, MT operated by the user, but batch processing may also be used. The system administrator will register the profile information of the audience rating service center (including the address of the audience rating distribution terminal ST).

【0030】

(2) Advertising material registration (production production, advertising agency) As mentioned above, the advertising material is registered by the advertising agency or the production production side. When registering advertising materials from an advertising agency, large-capacity material masters are accepted using the file transfer function via the large-capacity digital line DN2. The material master is registered in the material master DB22, and the material attribute is registered in the material attribute DB23 in association with the material code for identifying the material master.

【0031】

(3) High-performance advertisement template registration (system administrator) The system administrator can register the high-performance advertisement template in the template DB24, and the advertising agency or production production can view and select the contents of the high-performance advertisement template via the display of the orderer terminal RT and the producer terminal MT. I will do it. The contents of the registered high-performance advertisement template can be modified after the fact.

【0032】

(4) Advertising space registration (broadcasting station) Accept registration of advertising space that can be provided to advertising agencies from broadcasting stations. The advertising space to be registered includes, for example, the following types. (B) Time-dependent advertising space (for example, CM space during a broadcast program) In such an advertising space, advertising space conditions (scale time, etc.) such as a broadcast program title, broadcast time, and explanation of broadcast contents are subject to registration. (B) On-demand content insertion type ad space (for example, CM space inserted in video material) In such an ad space, ad space conditions such as content title, content type, and content content description are subject to registration. (C) Banner-type ad space (for example, banner ad space for web pages) In such an advertising space, the banner insertion medium name (website name, etc.), the position and size of the frame, etc. are the targets of registration. (D) Publishing-type advertising space (for example, paper advertising for newspapers and magazines) In such an ad space, the advertisement insertion page, the position and size of the frame, and the like are the targets of registration.

【0033】

In addition, as common registration items for these ad space, the number for identifying the ad space (unique key), ad fee, ad medium value (audience rating, sales, circulation, etc.), ad space conditions (scale) Time, format, etc.) are also subject to registration. When the above-mentioned search command for the high-performance advertisement template is associated with each ad space, a code for identifying the template is associated. If the audience rating for each ad space can be viewed, the access path to the audience rating distribution terminal ST is associated with the corresponding ad space.

【0034】

(5) Advertising space transactions (advertising agencies, broadcasting stations) After performing various registrations through the above steps (1) to (4), online advertising space transactions between the broadcasting station (content management terminal BT) and the advertising agency (ordering terminal RT) Becomes possible. Hereinafter, the processing procedure executed by the advertising transaction support system 1 (main control unit 10) in this case will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 6 to 16.

【0035】

Advertising space trading begins with the person in charge of the advertising agency operating the ordering terminal RT to access the advertising 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 entered in the specified area of this authentication screen by the person in charge and it is detected that "ENTER" in the figure is clicked, this data and the user authentication data set in the user DB21 are displayed. If it is valid, the search screen as shown in FIG. 7 is presented through the display of the ordering terminal RT to start accepting the search for the ad space (Fig. 3: Step S101). From the search screen shown in FIG. 7, it is possible to search by "broadcasting station code number", search by "advertiser code number", search by "advertising code number", and the like. In addition, the past transaction history of the advertising agency can also be searched. If you do not know or forget the "broadcasting station code number", "advertiser code number", or "advertising code number", you can check it by clicking the "help" key at the bottom. When the "GO" button on the right side of the screen is operated, the advertising transaction support system 1 (advertising transaction management unit 16) reads the data from the corresponding DB of the DB management server 20 and displays it on the display of the orderer terminal RT. Let me do it.

【0036】

FIG. 8 shows an example of a transaction screen in which the person in charge of the advertising agency browses the information registered in advance by the broadcasting station specified by the broadcasting station code number (ABCDEFG) on the search screen of FIG. Shown. In the "broadcast period" input field, enter the broadcast period for which you want to post an advertisement. The "price list guide" guides the price list for the advertising space, and the "media material" presents the concept and characteristics of the broadcasting station, the number of viewers, the viewer attributes, etc. "New news" presents hot information of the broadcasting station, and "Broadcast advertising material specifications" presents specifications of advertising materials in the broadcasting station.

【0037】

When the broadcast period is specified on the transaction screen of FIG. 8, the advertisement transaction management unit 16 displays a transaction screen that visually expresses the transaction status of the advertisement space (broadcast program frame) during that period on the display of the orderer terminal RT. Let me. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of this transaction screen. The transaction status of the ad space is, for example, red if the ad space is sold out and cannot be traded (purchased), yellow if the remaining number is less than 50%, blue if the remaining number is 50% or more, and so on. In addition, the display form is changed according to the color so that the person in charge of the advertising agency can intuitively grasp the transaction status of the advertising space. 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 inventory is clicked, detailed information and transaction information of that inventory can be viewed. This process is realized by reading the information stored in the ad space DB26 and the ordering DB27.

【0038】

In the transaction screen of FIG. 9, an example of the transaction screen when the advertising space of "Sunday night game" at the lower right of the figure is clicked is shown in FIG. From FIG. 10, it can be confirmed that the remaining number of the advertising space is 32%, the purchase is still possible, the detailed information of the program, the advertising fee, the provision conditions, and the format of the advertising material that can be posted. In addition, by clicking the "GO" key in the right column of "Detailed sales status", 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 DB27.

【0039】

When the "audience rating" key at the bottom of the screen is clicked on the screens of FIGS. 7 to 10, a list of audience ratings for each broadcast program is displayed. On the other hand, if the "GO" key in the right column of "Audience rating display" is clicked after the broadcast program which is the advertising space is decided as shown in FIG. 10, the audience rating data of the program (Sunday night game) is displayed. These are realized by accessing the audience rating distribution terminal ST and obtaining the corresponding data (Fig. 3: Steps S102: Yes, S103).

【0040】

The "Quotation" key in the lower middle of the screen of FIG. 10 is a process of issuing a quotation based on the operation contents up to the present time in which the advertiser's name is entered. The "contract" key is a key for shifting to the ordering screen based on the current operation content, and the "cancel" key is a key for shifting the display screen to the contract cancellation screen.

【0041】

Here, the processing when the "high-performance advertisement" key is clicked on the transaction screen of FIG. 10 (the same applies to the cases of FIGS. 7 to 9) will be described. When the main control unit 10 detects that the "high-performance advertisement" key has been clicked, it generates an introduction screen for the high-performance advertisement based on the information recorded in the template DB24 in advance, and displays the orderer terminal RT. Change the above screen as shown in Fig. 11. Figure 11 shows an introduction example of three types of high-performance advertisements. "AP title" represents the title of a high-performance advertising application that can be provided. In addition, the "BML / HTML" key in the AP title indicates the form of available material. If you click the "Available stations" key on the right side of the figure, a list of stations that can use the AP title will be displayed. If you click inside the "Summary" frame, detailed information or a concrete sample of the AP title will be introduced.

【0042】

For example, when the person in charge of the advertising agency operates the orderer terminal RT and clicks the outline frame of the AP title "Product detailed information providing service", the display of the orderer terminal RT is as shown in FIG. Introduction screen is displayed. When the "Sample" key at the bottom right of the figure is clicked, a sample image of the high-performance advertisement that is actually posted is displayed, and the person in charge is allowed to experience the position of the user who is watching the high-performance advertisement. Can be done. When the "Use this service" key at the bottom right of the figure is clicked, the screen displayed on the orderer terminal RT is switched to the service use screen of FIG.

【0043】

FIG. 13 shows that templates and photographs (still images) can be selected, and that the advertising agency can display arbitrary character input. 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 the preview of the production advertisement, and the "registration" is for performing the registration process to use this product detailed information providing service. When this "registration" key is clicked, the charge (additional charge) for using the high-performance advertisement is automatically calculated and displayed.

【0044】

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of an introduction screen when the outline frame of the No. 2 URL link service is clicked on the introduction screen of FIG. This "URL link service" can also be used in almost the same procedure as in the case of the No. 1 "service for providing detailed product information".

【0045】

The processing related to the high-performance advertisement as described above is realized by the main control unit 10 reading the high-performance advertisement template associated with these screens from the template DB24 and starting and executing the required application program (Fig.). 3: Step S104: Yes, S105).

【0046】

When the "contract" key is clicked on the screen of FIG. 10, the main control unit 10 starts the process related to the inventory ordering (step S106: Yes, S107). Specifically, it generates ordering information including the content of the production advertisement for which an order is desired and the information of the contracted advertising agency, automatically assigns a transaction number, and registers these in the ordering DB27. If the "Cancel" key is clicked on the screen shown in FIG. 10 or if it is instructed not to place an advertisement order by other means, the processing for the advertisement transaction is completed at this point (step S106: No). ).

【0047】

When the transaction number and the order information are registered in the ordering / ordering DB 27, the main control unit 10 automatically notifies the person in charge of the broadcasting station who registered the ad space by e-mail of the transaction number (step S108). The person in charge of the broadcasting station searches / browses the detailed contents of the corresponding ordering information from the ordering / receiving DB27 using the transaction number as a key. Then, after confirming the contents, an order mail containing the order information including the transaction number is sent to the advertisement transaction support system 1. The advertising transaction support system 1 (main control unit 10) registers this order information in the order receiving / ordering DB27 as information associated with the previous ordering information, and also registers the ordering transaction number and the ordering information of the advertising agency that placed the order. Automatically deliver to the person in charge by e-mail (step S109: Yes, S110).

【0048】

When there is a search request for transaction information from the advertising agency that placed the order or the broadcasting station that received the order, access the ordering DB27 and make the contents of the ordering available (steps S111: Yes, S112). After that, the process proceeds to the process of setting the production advertisement (step S113).

【0049】

(6) Production advertisement settings (advertising agency) When the order for the advertising space is accepted as described above, the person in charge of the advertising agency accesses the advertising transaction support system 1 via the ordering terminal RT and applies it to the advertising space as follows. Set the production advertisement to be to be produced, that is, select the advertising material and make various settings for application. First, the ad transaction support system 1 is requested to view the attributes of the ad space via the orderer terminal RT. The advertisement transaction support system 1 (main control unit 10) extracts the advertisement material applicable to the advertisement space from the advertisement space DB26 and displays it on the display of the orderer terminal RT. According to this displayed attribute, the person in charge inputs the setting contents related to the application of the advertising 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 DB25 are the identification number of the advertisement space, the material code, the format of the material, the display size, the display time, and the like. When the registration of the setting contents in the advertisement material DB25 is completed, the material master can be expressed based on the setting contents, so that the person in charge can see the preview of the set production advertisement.

【0050】

(7) High-performance advertising settings (advertising agency: option) If necessary, when the above-mentioned high-performance advertisement is added to the ordered inventory, the person in charge of the advertising agency sets the high-performance advertisement according to the following procedure. First, a search / viewing request for the attributes of high-performance advertisements that can be set for the ordered ad space is issued to the advertisement transaction support system 1 via the orderer terminal RT. Since the high-performance ad template that can be set in the ad space is associated with the ad space registered in the ad space DB26 by the template ID, the ad transaction support system 1 (main control unit 10) is the orderer terminal RT. The display displays both the information of the ad space and the information of the high-performance ad template set in the ad space. It also allows access to the material attribute DB23. The person in charge searches / selects the advertisement material that matches the attribute of the high-performance advertisement that can be set in the browsed ad space from the material attribute DB23, and assigns the allocation information of each material to the high-performance advertisement template to the advertisement transaction support system 1. Send out. The advertisement transaction support system 1 (main control unit 10) registers this allocation information in the advertisement attribute DB25. As a result, the person in charge can see the preview of the production advertisement including the actual material master read from the material master DB22 and the template DB24 and the high-performance advertisement based on the high-performance advertisement template.

【0051】

(8) Confirmation notification of production advertisement (advertising agency, broadcasting station) After setting the above-mentioned production advertisement and high-performance advertisement, the main control unit 10 displays the contract screen as shown in FIG. 15 on the display of the orderer terminal RT. FIG. 15 shows an example in which the condition that the 30-second advertisement is broadcast 13 times and the 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 fee" is the fee paid by the advertising agency at the time of 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 bottom 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 agrees with the contents, click the "Contract" key at the bottom left of the screen. As a result, it is possible for the advertising transaction support system 1 side to know that the confirmation of the contract details has been confirmed by the advertising agency. The main control unit 10 notifies the person in charge of the broadcasting station of the above contract information including the preview link of the production advertisement by e-mail. The person in charge of the broadcasting station confirms the contract information about the production advertisement, and if it approves, performs the approval process. This approval information is transmitted to the advertising transaction support system 1 and registered in the ordering DB27.

【0052】

(9) Distribution of production advertisements (advertising agencies, broadcasting stations) When the production advertisement and contract details have been confirmed by the person in charge of the advertising agency and the approval information from the broadcasting station is registered in the ordering DB27, the main control unit 10 has the encoding processing unit 14 and the value-added processing unit 15. Start and generate a production advertisement so that the content is the same as the one displayed in the preview. Then, the generated production advertisement is distributed online to the broadcasting station via the large-capacity digital line DN1. At the same time, the person in charge of the broadcasting station is notified of the delivery of the produced advertisement content by e-mail.

【0053】

(10) Issuance and billing of broadcast confirmation (advertising agency, broadcasting station) After broadcasting the delivered production advertisement, the broadcasting station notifies the advertisement transaction support system 1 to that effect. The main control unit 10 records the notified content in the ordering DB27, searches / browses the information about the advertisement broadcast by referring to the ad space DB26 and the ordering DB27, and confirms the broadcast as shown in FIG. Create invoices and invoices. Then, this is recorded in the ordering DB27 and delivered 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 between broadcasting stations and advertising agencies.

【0054】

<Encoding process> Next, the process in the above-mentioned encoding processing unit 14 will be described in detail. The encoding processing unit 14 according to the present embodiment is mainly characterized in that it processes an advertising material in a so-called one-source multi-use form in which one material master is encoded into a plurality of data structures according to an application. One-source multi-use is conceptually shown in Figure 4.

【0055】

That is, when the content of the above-mentioned production advertisement setting is confirmed, the encoding processing unit 14 determines the production advertisement attribute (advertiser, product name) from the advertisement attribute DB25 in order to form the production advertisement according to the medium handled by the broadcasting station. Etc.), the material master (file) to be used is read from the material master DB22, the attributes (still image, etc.) of the material master are read, and the processing is performed (step S201). At this stage, only processing that does not involve file format conversion of the material master, for example, partial cutting of the material master and change of the display size, is performed.

【0056】

If the data structure of the production advertisement at the time of completion and the data structure of the material master are different, the data structure of the processed material master is converted to that of the production advertisement (step S202). The conversion is processed by combining element decomposition of the material master (for example, decomposing video material into video and audio) and file format conversion (for example, conversion from AVI file to MPEG2). The combination method and element decomposition procedure (executable file name to be used, parameters, separate copy of the video part and audio part from the video file, etc.) are described in the material format conversion scenario previously held in the auxiliary DB 141 for each medium. Since it is defined, various conversion methods are automatically executed by reading and executing the contents of all material format conversion scenarios for the medium. If the additional function is set in the production advertisement, edit the additional function (step S203). When high-performance advertisements are set, processing using high-performance advertisement templates in collaboration with the value-added processing unit 15, for example, embedding link information in moving images, creating metafiles such as HTML and BML. I do. If necessary, the file format conversion process is also performed.

【0057】

Then, the production advertisement is packaged for the specified medium (step S204). The packaging referred to here is to add information that can uniquely identify the production advertisement in multiple transaction transactions such as transaction number and advertisement code, collect it, and temporarily store it in the storage area (memory, hard disk, etc.) of the system. Say that. The above processing step is repeated until the required number of advertising contents, that is, the number of media is reached.

【0058】

By encoding the material master in this way, it is possible to reduce the types of material masters for generating production advertisements, and it is possible to improve the efficiency of material management. In addition, multipurpose advertisement production becomes possible, and high-performance advertisement development according to media specifications, creation of new advertisement value, and management work at the time of complicated advertisement production are streamlined. Further, dynamic conversion according to the medium specifications, such as conversion from digital TV broadcasting to Internet broadcasting, can be easily realized by defining the procedure in the material format conversion scenario. This makes it possible to simultaneously send production advertisements in multiple media, so that so-called "media mix" is also possible, in which more areas and more carefully selected targets are viewed more times. In addition, for example, by separating and utilizing a track, which is one of the audio media, it becomes easy to change the language (Japanese, English, Chinese, etc.).

【0059】

The procedure for actually embodying the above concept of one-source / multi-use in the encoding processing unit 14 is as shown in FIG. That is, the advertisement attribute and the material attribute related to the production advertisement at the time of completion are acquired and compared with the copy of the material master to be used (step S301). If there is a partial use setting of the material master (for example, use only the first 5 minutes of the material playback time or partial setting of the display area) as an advertisement attribute, perform material trimming (step S302). Specifically, only the setting part of the material master is copied. At this time, the file format of the material master is not converted and the display size is not changed. Also, the material master is not subject to any changes. If the finished production ad or material is visually different in size, change it to the finished production ad size (steps S304: Yes, S305). The target of the change is the material copy file after processing when the material trim processing is executed, and the entire material copy file when the material trim processing is skipped. Even at this point, the file format of the material master is not converted.

【0060】

If the ad attributes and material attributes of the production ad loaded in step S301 (that is, the image of the production ad at the time of completion) and the file format of the material master are different, the file format specified as the unique information of the production ad at the time of completion. Search for a material format conversion scenario that describes the procedure for converting to, read it, and determine its content (step S306). For example, the conversion procedure from MPEG1 video (video: MPEG1, audio: PCM) to MPEG2 (video: MPEG2, audio: AAC) is determined. Then, the format conversion process of the material master (copy file) is executed according to the defined contents of the determined material format conversion scenario.

【0061】

The processing of steps S306 and S307 is repeated for the number of minutes of the material format conversion scenario (step S308). This is because a plurality of conversion processes are required in the case of a production advertisement consisting of a plurality of material masters. If there is an additional function setting, after editing the additional function as described above (step S309: Yes, S310), the production advertisement is packaged for the specified medium (step S311). When packaging a production advertisement for other media, 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 can be realized by repeating the above processing.

【0062】

<Advantages of the Advertising Transaction Support System of the Present Embodiment> In the present embodiment, since the online trading place of the advertising space is provided in the network space that each of the advertising agency and the broadcasting station can freely access, conventionally. It enables real-time advertising trading, which was not possible. In particular, by constructing a digital distribution network for advertisements, opportunities for advertisement transactions will be given until just before broadcasting, and it will be possible to realize a convenient transaction form for both the advertisement ordering side and the advertisement distribution side.

【0063】

In addition, since the digital material master is handled, it becomes easy to create a database of advertising materials, and it becomes possible to improve the efficiency of advertising management. Furthermore, since the range of utilization of multimedia functions will be expanded, anyone can easily use high-performance advertisements, and the advertising field can be activated. Furthermore, by combining with the viewer DB, it is possible to develop highly functional "advertisement by attribute" according to customer attributes. For example, new customers, dormant customers, heavy user-specific advertisement messages can be changed, and area-specific advertisement display can be switched (replacement of store announcements). Since production advertisements are generated using a digital material master, they can be used not only for moving images but also for flat advertisements (electronic newspapers, electronic magazines, etc.), and a wider range of advertisement development (media mix, target segmentation, etc.) Becomes possible. Furthermore, a trading system that supports the entire advertising business from end to end will be possible. This system can also be used for many digital content-related transactions. For example, it will be possible to purchase and sell programs from broadcasting stations, sell movies and music, and sell various rights such as sports broadcasting rights and character MD rights.

【0064】

[Effect of the invention]

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a mechanism capable of streamlining the transaction of digital contents between the parties and expanding the opportunity or scope of the transaction.

[Simple explanation of drawings]

[Figure 1]

The overall block diagram of the advertisement transaction support system which becomes one Embodiment of this invention.

[Figure 2]

Schematic diagram of the overall procedure for advertising online trading.

[Fig. 3]

An explanatory diagram of the procedure for advertising space trading.

[Fig. 4]

Conceptual diagram of one-source multi-use adopted in this embodiment.

[Fig. 5]

Procedure explanatory diagram when embodying one-source multi-use.

[Fig. 6]

The figure which showed the example of the initial screen displayed on the communication terminal of a user at the time of an online transaction.

[Fig. 7]

The figure which showed the screen example for prompting the input of the broadcast period.

[Fig. 8]

The figure which showed the screen example when searching the advertising space.

[Fig. 9]

The figure which showed the screen example at the time of presenting an advertising space.

[Fig. 10]

The figure which showed the screen example at the time of introducing the detailed content of the advertising space.

[Fig. 11]

The figure which showed the example of the screen for selection of a high-performance advertisement.

[Fig. 12]

The figure which showed the screen example when introducing the detailed content of a high-performance advertisement.

[Fig. 13]

The figure which showed the screen example when introducing the detailed content of a high-performance advertisement.

[Fig. 14]

The figure which showed the screen example when introducing the detailed content of a high-performance advertisement.

[Fig. 15]

The figure which showed the screen example at the time of presenting the contract contents at the time of an advertisement transaction.

[Fig. 16]

The figure which showed the example of the invoice and the broadcast confirmation attached to it.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Advertising transaction support system 10 Main control unit 11,12,13 Communication control unit 14 Encoding processing unit 141 Auxiliary DB of encoding processing unit 15 Value-added processing department 151 Auxiliary DB of Value Added Processing Department 20 DB Management Department 21 User DB 22 Material master DB 23 Material attribute DB 24 Template DB 25 Advertising attribute DB 26 Inventory DB 27 Ordering DB ST audience rating distribution terminal RT orderer terminal MT creator terminal BT content management terminal DL digital distribution network OL leased line DN1, DN2 Large-capacity digital line IN internet