JP7539291B2 - Advertisement distribution method, information processing device, and program - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to an advertising delivery method, and in particular to an advertising delivery method for delivering advertisements on board an aircraft.

Conventionally, as an example of a means of providing information to passengers on an aircraft, an in-flight magazine is placed at each seat (Non-Patent Document 1). Information is also provided by playing content on screens and speakers on the aircraft.

"Peach renews in-flight magazine "PEACH LIVE" launched", [online], August 2, 2016, Kurogo Co., Ltd., [Retrieved August 26, 2020], Internet <https://flyteam.jp/news/article/66778>

In recent years, with the advancement of information and communication technology, content distribution has begun to take place on aircraft using content servers installed on board.

In content distribution, in addition to the content requested by the passenger, advertisements may also be distributed to the passenger. When advertisements are distributed, the effectiveness of the advertisements can be increased if advertisements suited to each passenger are distributed, such as advertisements for products that each passenger needs or will need in the future, or advertisements for products that each passenger may be interested in. In order to distribute advertisements suited to each passenger, it is useful for the content server to acquire the characteristics of each passenger. However, on an airplane, each passenger is seated in a fixed position, and there are often other passengers near each passenger. In such a situation, if each passenger is asked to input their characteristics, other passengers may see the characteristics, which is likely to result in a violation of privacy.

This disclosure was devised in light of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a technology for delivering advertisements appropriate to each passenger while taking into consideration the privacy of each passenger when delivering advertisements on an aircraft.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an advertisement delivery method executed by a computer installed on board an aircraft, the method comprising the steps of: acquiring passenger information from a passenger's information processing device, the passenger information being information written on the passenger's boarding pass and identifying the passenger; acquiring passenger characteristics associated with the acquired passenger information by accessing a storage device that associates the passenger information with passenger characteristics; identifying an advertisement associated with the acquired passenger characteristics by accessing a storage device that associates the characteristics with at least one advertisement among two or more advertisements; and transmitting the identified advertisement to the passenger's information processing device.

The passenger information may include at least one of a reservation number, a passenger name, and a seat number.

The characteristics may include at least one of attributes of the passenger and attributes related to the passenger's booking of the boarding pass.

Passenger attributes may include at least one of gender, age, nationality, language spoken, and airline membership type.

The attributes related to the boarding pass reservation may include at least one of the following: the seat type specified by the boarding pass, the fare type for the purchase of the boarding pass, and information specifying whether the boarding pass is a one-way or round-trip ticket.

The advertisement delivery method may further include a step of storing performance information, which is information associating the identified advertisement with the passenger's characteristics, in a computer memory in response to transmitting the identified advertisement to the passenger's information processing device, and a step of transmitting the performance information to a destination associated with the identified advertisement.

The advertisement delivery method may further include a step of acquiring a request for a product from the information processing device. The step of transmitting the advertisement may include transmitting the advertisement to the information processing device in response to the request for the product. The performance information may include attributes of the product on which the transmission of the advertisement to the information processing device is based.

The step of identifying the advertisement may include identifying the advertisement based on attributes of the requested product.

The advertisement delivery method may further include a step of registering the passenger's contact information in the performance information.

The step of transmitting the performance information may further include transmitting, to a destination associated with the identified advertisement, information for identifying the status of the aircraft at the time the advertisement was transmitted to the passenger.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a program is provided that, when executed by one or more processors of a computer, causes the computer to realize the above-described advertisement delivery method.

According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an information processing device comprising a memory for storing the above program and one or more processors for executing the program.

According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an advertisement delivery method executed by a first computer and a second computer installed on board an aircraft. The method includes the steps of: acquiring passenger information, which is information written on the passenger's boarding pass and identifies the passenger, from a passenger's information processing device executed by the second computer; acquiring passenger characteristics associated with the acquired passenger information by accessing a storage device that associates the passenger information with passenger characteristics; identifying an advertisement associated with the acquired passenger characteristics by accessing a storage device that associates the characteristics with at least one advertisement among two or more advertisements; transmitting the identified advertisement to the passenger's information processing device; storing performance information, which is information associating the identified advertisement with the passenger characteristics, in a memory of the first computer in response to transmitting the identified advertisement to the passenger's information processing device; and transmitting the performance information to the first computer, and further includes the steps of transmitting additional information corresponding to the advertisement to the passenger's contacts executed by the first computer.

According to the present disclosure, a computer installed on board an aircraft can acquire passenger information, which is information written on a boarding pass and identifies a passenger, from a passenger's information processing device, and can then acquire the passenger's characteristics associated with the passenger information, identify advertisements associated with the characteristics, and transmit the identified advertisements to the passenger's information processing device. This makes it possible to deliver advertisements to passengers that are in line with their characteristics, without requiring the passenger to input the characteristics into the information processing device while on the aircraft.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a content providing system. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the terminal 100 when reserving a flight. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a scene in which a user 900 is standing in front of a check-in machine 400 to print a boarding pass. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a scene in which a user 900 uses the terminal 100 on an airplane to order a product, etc. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic diagram of a scene in which an aircraft equipped with an in-flight server 300 lands at an airport. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a terminal 100. FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a hardware configuration of a reservation server 200. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an on-board server 300. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a check-in machine 400. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a data configuration of reservation information. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a data configuration of a passenger list. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a data configuration of food product information. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a data configuration of content product information. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of advertisement information. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of advertiser information. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of a delivery record. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a data configuration of flight information. 1 is a flowchart of a flight reservation process. 13 is a flowchart of a preparation process. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of an order screen displayed on the terminal 100. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing another example of the order screen displayed on the terminal 100. 13 is a flowchart of an in-flight sales process. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen requesting input of authentication information. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an advertisement display screen on the terminal 100. 13 is a flowchart of a report transmission process. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a modified example of the configuration of the content providing system.

Below, an embodiment of an information processing device that realizes an advertisement distribution method will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, identical parts and components are given the same reference numerals. Their names and functions are also the same. Therefore, their description will not be repeated.

[1. Overview of the content provision system]
The content providing system according to the present embodiment provides advertisements to passengers on board an aircraft. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the content providing system. As shown in Fig. 1, the content providing system includes a terminal 100, a reservation server 200, an in-flight server 300, a check-in machine 400, a product management server 600, a content server 700, and an advertisement server 800.

The terminal 100 is configured by a general-purpose information terminal such as a personal computer or a smartphone. In the content providing system, the terminal 100 is used by a user 900. The user 900 is a user of the terminal 100 and also a passenger on an airplane.

The reservation server 200 manages flights. The reservation server 200 may be operated by an airline or a travel agency. In FIG. 1, flight information for each passenger is shown as "reservation information."

The on-board server 300 is installed on board the aircraft and provides content and advertisements to the terminal 100. In the content provision system, the on-board server 300 provides content by transmitting content files to the terminal 100, and provides advertisements by transmitting advertisement files. The on-board server 300 can also perform payment-related processing.

The check-in machine 400 outputs a boarding pass based on the reservation information.
The product management server 600 manages product information. The content server 700 provides content data to the on-board server 300. The advertisement server 800 provides advertisement data to the on-board server 300. In this specification, "content data" may be simply referred to as "content," and "advertisement data" may be simply referred to as "advertisement."

Figure 1 shows the flow of processing performed between elements in the order of steps (1) to (14). The flow of processing in the content provision system is explained in outline with reference to Figure 1.

(1) Flight Reservation A user 900 uses the terminal 100 to access the reservation server 200 and reserves a flight.

Figure 2 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the terminal 100 during flight booking. The screen 20 in Figure 2 is displayed on the display of the terminal 100, for example, by the processor of the terminal 100 executing a given application.

In the screen 20 of FIG. 2, a field 21 shows information such as the flight name. A field 22 shows information specifying the new seat. A software button 24 is operated to confirm the flight reservation information displayed on the screen 20. The confirmed reservation information is sent to the reservation server 200.

The reservation server 200 uses the reservation information received from the terminal 100 to complete the user 900's airline reservation (flight reservation).

(2) Sending Reservation Number When the flight reservation is completed, the reservation server 200 sends the reservation number to the terminal 100. The flow from (1) flight reservation to (2) sending the reservation number will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 18 as the flight reservation process.

(3) Download of extracted reservation information The in-flight server 300 downloads from the reservation server 200 the portion of the reservation information related to passengers of the flight on which the in-flight server 300 is installed. In one example, when the flight name of the flight on which the in-flight server 300 is installed is input to the in-flight server 300, the in-flight server 300 transmits the flight name to the reservation server 200. Instead of the flight name, the arrival place and/or the scheduled arrival time may be used. In response to this, the reservation server 200 extracts information on passengers of the corresponding flight from the reservation information. The in-flight server 300 downloads the extracted information as a passenger list.

(4A) Download of Product Information Information on products sold on board the aircraft is extracted from the product information registered in the product management server 600, and downloaded to the on-board server 300. The product information will be described later as food product information with reference to FIG. 11.

In one example, when the product management server 600 receives input of the flight name of the flight on which the in-flight server 300 is installed from the in-flight server 300, the product management server 600 extracts product information based on the flight name and transmits the extracted product information to the in-flight server 300. One example of a product is an in-flight meal.

Other examples of products are items such as towels and key chains. Yet another example is a seat change on board the aircraft. Yet another example is tickets for transportation, an event, or accommodation at the destination. There may be cases during the flight where the in-flight server 300 is unable to communicate with the product management server 600. For such cases, the above products may be those intended to be sold on board the aircraft on which the in-flight server 300 is installed, such as so-called "last minute" event tickets or accommodation services, and not intended to be sold outside the aircraft.

(4B) Download of Content Content to be provided on the aircraft is extracted from the contents registered in the content server 700, and downloaded to the on-aircraft server 300. An index of the downloaded content will be described later as content product information with reference to FIG. 13.

The content provided in-flight may be selected according to information about passengers on the flight on which the in-flight server 300 is installed (e.g., passenger attributes and/or reservation attributes, described below). For example, if the passengers on the flight include passengers whose preferred language is Japanese and passengers whose preferred language is English, the in-flight server 300 may download Japanese and English versions of content for a certain movie. If the passengers on the flight also include passengers whose preferred language is Korean, the in-flight server 300 may also download Korean versions of content for the above movie.

(4C) Advertisement Download Advertisements to be provided on board are extracted from advertisements registered in the advertisement server 800, and downloaded to the on-board server 300. An index of the downloaded advertisement will be described later as advertisement information with reference to FIG. 14.

Advertisements provided in-flight may be selected according to information about passengers on the flight on which the in-flight server 300 is installed (e.g., passenger attributes and/or reservation attributes, described below). For example, if the passengers on the flight include passengers whose preferred language is Japanese and passengers whose preferred language is English, a Japanese version of an advertisement and an English version of an advertisement for a certain product may be downloaded to the in-flight server 300. If the passengers on the flight also include passengers whose preferred language is Korean, a Korean version of an advertisement for the above-mentioned product may also be downloaded to the in-flight server 300.

The process from (3) downloading the extracted reservation information to (4C) downloading the advertisement is described in detail as the preparation process with reference to FIG. 19.

(5) Input of reservation number - (8) Output of boarding pass User 900 inputs a reservation number into check-in machine 400 (step (5)). Check-in machine 400 queries reservation server 200 for the input reservation number (step (6)). Reservation server 200 transmits reservation information corresponding to the requested reservation number to check-in machine 400 (step (7)). Check-in machine 400 outputs a boarding pass corresponding to the reservation number transmitted from reservation server 200 (step (8)).

Figure 3 shows an example of a scene in which a user 900 is standing in front of a check-in machine 400 to print a boarding pass. In Figure 3, an example of a boarding pass printed from the check-in machine 400 is shown enlarged to the left.

The check-in machine 400 includes a touch monitor 440, a boarding pass printer 432, and a two-dimensional code scanner 433. The touch monitor 440 includes a touch panel 441 and a display 442. The user 900 inputs a reservation number into the touch panel 441. The reservation number may be provided in the form of a graphic such as a barcode or a two-dimensional code, and the user 900 may input the reservation number into the two-dimensional code scanner 433. The check-in machine 400 outputs a boarding pass corresponding to the input reservation number from the boarding pass printer 432. When the reservation number is provided in the form of a two-dimensional code, the type of code employed is not limited to that described in FIG. 3, and may be another type such as a QR (registered trademark) code.

Boarding pass 30 contains various information related to user 900's reservation. On boarding pass 30, the two-dimensional code represents the reservation number and/or information related to the reservation number. Boarding pass 30 further contains the flight name, departure time, boarding gate, seat number, departure date, reservation number, and the name of the person who made the reservation.

Items on a boarding pass that can identify a passenger, such as reservation number, seat number, and name of the person making the reservation, are examples of passenger information.

The boarding pass 30 may include a section for displaying a message according to passenger information, such as a message such as "Happy Birthday!" to a passenger whose birthday matches one or more dates printed on the boarding pass. The boarding pass 30 may also include an advertising section. Advertisements displayed in the advertising section may be selected according to information about the passenger (e.g., passenger attributes and/or reservation attributes, described below).

(9) Order to (11) Payment Next, the flow after the user 900 boards the aircraft will be described. When the user 900 purchases a product or content on board the aircraft, the user 900 uses the terminal 100 to transmit necessary information to the on-board server 300 (steps (9) and (10)). The necessary information is the product order and an authentication request.

Figure 4 is a diagram showing an example of a situation in which a user 900 uses a terminal 100 to order a product on board an aircraft. As shown in Figure 4, the user 900 operates the terminal 100 at a seat on the aircraft. The terminal 100 communicates with the in-flight server 300 via a repeater 350.

In one implementation example, when access from the terminal 100 is accepted, a web page for purchasing a product is provided to the terminal 100. The user 900 inputs an order for a product to the terminal 100 on the web page. The order is transmitted to the in-flight server 300. Upon receiving the order, the in-flight server 300 requests the terminal 100 to input information for authenticating the passenger (authentication information). In response to the request, a message prompting the input of authentication information is displayed on the terminal 100.

In response to the above message, the user 900 uses the terminal 100 to request authentication from the on-board server 300 by sending authentication information to the on-board server 300. An example of the authentication information is a reservation number and an email address.

The on-board server 300 authenticates the user 900 by comparing the authentication information entered by the user 900 with the information in the passenger list in the on-board server 300.

If the authentication of the user 900 is successful, the in-flight server 300 settles for the order (step (11)). In one implementation example, the in-flight server 300 settles by subtracting points corresponding to the price of the product from the points separately registered for each passenger. In another implementation example, an instruction to the flight attendant to collect money corresponding to the price of the product from the user 900 is displayed on a terminal carried by the flight attendant and/or on a monitor for the flight attendant. The flight attendant then requests the user 900 who has purchased the product to pay the money corresponding to the price. The user 900 pays the money to the flight attendant.

(12) Preparation to (13) Provision The on-board server 300 executes preparation for providing the product to the user 900 (step (12)). Preparation for providing the product may be started on the condition that payment is completed.

When the product is a tangible item such as food (in-flight meals), in one implementation example, the in-flight server 300 displays instructions to the flight attendant to provide the product to the user 900 in preparation for providing the product. The instructions may include the seat number of the user 900. In one implementation example, the instructions are displayed on a terminal carried by the flight attendant and/or on a monitor for the flight attendant.

When the product is an intangible good (service) such as viewing of content, in one implementation example, the on-board server 300 executes processing to transmit the content specified by the user 900 to the terminal 100.

In preparing to provide a product, the on-board server 300 may identify advertisements to provide to the user 900. In one implementation, the on-board server 300 identifies advertisements to send to the user 900 based on characteristics of the user 900 (e.g., passenger attributes and/or reservation attributes, described below).

If the product is an intangible item such as viewing of content, the on-board server 300 provides the product to the user 900 (step (13)). More specifically, the on-board server 300 transmits the specified content to the terminal 100. At this time, the on-board server 300 further transmits the advertisement identified as described above to the terminal 100.

If the product is a tangible item such as food, the flight attendant provides the product to the user 900, and the in-flight server 300 provides an advertisement to the terminal 100 of the user 900. Note that the in-flight server 300 may provide the product to the user 900 by instructing the robot to deliver the product to the seat of the user 900.

(14) Report Transmission As described later with reference to Fig. 16, the on-board server 300 accumulates the results of on-board advertisement transmission. The on-board server 300 reports the results of advertisement transmission to passengers to the advertiser as a report transmission. When a request for additional information related to the advertisement has been received from a passenger who has transmitted the advertisement, the on-board server 300 may notify the advertiser that the request for the additional information has been received in the report transmission.

(14) The report transmission process is described in detail with reference to FIG.
2. Hardware Configuration
Hereinafter, the hardware configuration of the devices constituting the content providing system will be described with reference to FIGS.

(Terminal 100)
Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of the terminal 100. As shown in Fig. 6, the terminal 100 includes a processor 101, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 102, a storage device 103, a microphone (microphone) 104, a speaker 105, a display 106, an input device 107, a communication interface 108, a camera 109, and a short-range communication interface 110. The elements in the terminal 100 are connected to each other via an internal bus. The processor 101 is composed of at least one CPU (Central Processing Unit), at least one ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), at least one FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or a combination thereof.

RAM 102 functions as a working area when processor 101 is executing processes. Storage device 103 is realized, for example, by a flash memory, and non-temporarily stores programs (including application programs) executed by processor 101 and data used in executing the programs.

The microphone 104 outputs a signal corresponding to the input voice to the processor 101. The speaker 105 outputs voice according to the signal output from the processor 101. The display 106 displays an image showing the processing result of the program executed by the processor 101. The input device 107 accepts input operations to the terminal 100. The input device 107 is, for example, a hardware button and/or a touch sensor arranged on the display 106.

The communication interface 108 is realized by, for example, a network card. The processor 101 transmits and receives data to and from other devices via the communication interface 108. The camera 109 includes a CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor) image sensor or the like, captures images, and outputs the captured images to the processor 101. The short-range communication interface 110 allows the terminal 100 to communicate with other devices in accordance with a short-range communication standard such as Bluetooth (registered trademark).

(Reservation server 200)
Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of the reservation server 200. As shown in Fig. 7, the reservation server 200 includes a processor 201, a communication interface 203, and a storage device 205. The processor 201 transmits and receives information to and from other devices such as the in-flight server 300 using the communication interface 203. The processor 201 is realized, for example, by at least one CPU.

The storage device 205 is realized by, for example, a hard disk, an SSD (Solid State Drive), etc., but is not limited to these. The storage device 205 includes a program storage area 260 and a data storage area 270. The program storage area 260 non-temporarily stores the program executed by the processor 201. The program executed by the processor 201 may be stored in a recording medium that is detachable from or separate from the main body of the reservation server 200. The storage device 205 includes a RAM that functions as a working area for the processor 201 to execute the program. The data storage area 270 stores various data including reservation information.

(In-flight Server 300)
Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of the in-flight server 300. As shown in Fig. 8, the in-flight server 300 includes a processor 301, a communication interface 303, and a storage device 305. The processor 301 transmits and receives information to and from other devices such as the reservation server 200, the product management server 600, and the terminal 100 using the communication interface 303. The transmission and reception of information to and from other devices may be realized via a repeater (such as the repeater 350 in Fig. 4). The processor 301 is realized, for example, by at least one CPU.

The storage device 305 is realized by, for example, a hard disk, an SSD, etc., but is not limited to these. The storage device 305 includes a program storage area 360 and a data storage area 270. The program storage area 360 non-temporarily stores the program executed by the processor 301. The program executed by the processor 301 may be stored in a recording medium that is detachable from or separate from the main body of the in-flight server 300. The storage device 305 includes a RAM that functions as a working area for the processor 301 to execute the program. The data storage area 370 stores various data, such as a passenger list, which will be described later.

The in-flight server 300 may be configured to be detachable from the aircraft. For example, when some of the communications with the reservation server 200 and/or the product management server 600 are performed, the in-flight server 300 may be located outside the aircraft and connected to a telephone line by wire. In this sense, the in-flight server 300 may be equipped with a sensor for detecting whether or not it is attached to the aircraft.

(Check-in machine 400)
Fig. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of the check-in machine 400. As shown in Fig. 9, the check-in machine 400 includes a processor 401, a communication interface 403, and a storage device 405. The processor 401 transmits and receives information to and from other devices such as the reservation server 200 using the communication interface 403. The processor 401 is realized, for example, by at least one CPU.

The storage device 405 is realized, for example, by a hard disk, SSD, etc., but is not limited to these. The storage device 405 includes a program storage area 360 and a data storage area 270. The program storage area 360 non-temporarily stores the program executed by the processor 401. The program executed by the processor 401 may be stored in a recording medium that is detachable from or separate from the main body of the check-in machine 400.

As described with reference to FIG. 3, the check-in machine 400 includes a touch monitor 440, a boarding pass printer 432, and a two-dimensional code scanner 433. The touch monitor 440 includes a touch panel 441 and a display 442. The touch panel 441 can be realized by any touch sensor, such as a capacitive touch sensor. The display 442 is configured to be overlaid on the touch panel 441, and can be realized by any display, such as a liquid crystal display and/or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display.

The boarding pass printer 432 prints information on a recording sheet and outputs the recording sheet as a boarding pass. The two-dimensional code scanner 433 outputs the scanned image to the processor 401.

3. Data Structure
Next, examples of data configurations of information used in the content providing system will be described with reference to FIGS.

(Reservation Information)
10 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the reservation information. The reservation information is stored in the data storage area 270 of the reservation server 200, for example.

As shown in FIG. 10, the reservation information includes date, flight number, passenger information, passenger attributes, and reservation attributes. The date represents the date of the flight. The flight number represents the flight name.

Passenger information is information for identifying the passenger related to the reservation, and includes four items of data (name, reservation number, seat number, and email address). The seat number may not be set until the passenger checks in. In the example of Figure 10, a seat number has not yet been set for the passenger identified by the name "Hong GILDONG."

Passenger attributes are information that describes the characteristics of the passenger involved in the reservation, and include data on five items (age, gender, nationality, language spoken, and membership type). Each item of passenger attributes may be obtained at the time of reservation, or may be extracted from information registered in advance.

The language used indicates the language used by the user. In the example of FIG. 10, "JP" indicates Japanese, "EN" indicates English, and "KR" indicates Korean. In one implementation example, each user pre-registers the language used along with the email address with the airline. The processor 201 of the reservation server 200 may extract the language used associated with the email address included in the reservation information from the airline's server and register it in the reservation information. Instead of an email address, a membership number assigned to the user by the airline may be used.

The membership type represents the user's membership status with the airline. In the example of FIG. 10, three types of membership types are shown, each indicated by the letters "S", "A", and "B". In one implementation example, the airline's server stores the membership status assigned to each user along with the email address. The processor 201 of the reservation server 200 may extract the membership status associated with the email address included in the reservation information from the airline's server and register it as the membership type in the reservation information. Instead of an email address, a membership number assigned to the user by the airline may be used. In one implementation example, "S" is the highest status (the conditions for obtaining the status are strict), followed by "A", and "B" is the lowest. However, this is just one example.

Reservation attributes represent attributes related to a reservation and include data for three items (fare type, reservation class, and ticket type).

The fare type indicates the type of fare associated with booking an airline ticket. There may be multiple types of fares set for the same seat on the same flight, depending on differences in cancellation conditions, etc. The fare type indicates the type of such fares. In the example of Figure 10, two fare types are shown: "Simple" and "Value." In one implementation, "Simple" has stricter cancellation conditions than "Value," but corresponds to a cheaper fare. However, this is just one example.

The booking class represents the type of seat. In one implementation, the seat types include first class, business class, and economy class. In the example of FIG. 10, "B" represents business class and "E" represents economy class.

Ticket type indicates whether the ticket for the flight in question was purchased as a one-way or round-trip ticket.

(Passenger list)
11 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the passenger list. The passenger list is stored in the storage device 305 of the in-flight server 300, for example.

The passenger list includes data constituting the reservation information (Figure 10) that corresponds to the flight (specified, for example, by date and flight name) on which the in-flight server 300 is installed. That is, the portion of the reservation information that corresponds to the flight on which the in-flight server 300 is installed is extracted to generate the passenger list. Note that, compared to Figure 10, in Figure 11, seat number "8C" has been added for the passenger identified by the name "Taro YAMADA". This means that a seat number was assigned to this passenger after the boarding pass was reserved.

(Food product information)
12 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the food product information. The food product information is stored in the storage device 305 of the in-flight server 300, for example.

The food product information includes data for five items (product ID, product name, attributes, price, and remaining quantity). The product ID represents the ID assigned to each product. The product name represents the name of the product.

The attributes represent attributes of a product. In one implementation example, the following six types of attributes are assumed:
・Meal (main course)
・Meals (snacks)
・Meals (sweets)
・Drinks (cold)
・Drinks (hot)
・Drinks (alcohol)
Price represents the price of the item. Quantity remaining represents the quantity of the item available for sale.

In the example of FIG. 12, the product ID "00100" is associated with the product name "Mackerel Curry", the attribute "Meal (Main)", the price "800 yen", and the remaining quantity "20". The product ID "00200" is associated with the product name "Premium Black Tea", the attribute "Drink (Hot)", the price "200 yen", and the remaining quantity "100".

(Product information for content)
13 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the content product information. The content product information is stored in the storage device 305 of the in-flight server 300, for example.

Product information for content includes four items (product ID, title, attributes, and price). The product ID represents the ID assigned to each piece of content. The title represents the name of the content.

Attributes represent the attributes (genre) of the content. In one implementation, the following six types of attributes are assumed:

-Non-fiction -Suspense -Comedy -Romance -Travel -Other The price indicates the price to watch each content.

In the example of FIG. 13, product ID "10100" is associated with the title "Movie (1)", the attribute "Travel", and the price "200 yen". Product ID "10101" is associated with the title "Movie (2)", the attribute "Comedy", and the price "100 yen". Note that content may be distributed free of charge. Also, if all content is distributed free of charge, the product information for content does not need to include the item "Price".

(Advertising Information)
14 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the advertisement information. The advertisement information is stored in the storage device 305 of the on-board server 300, for example.

The advertisement information includes four items of data (advertisement ID, file name, advertiser, and target). The advertisement ID represents the ID assigned to each advertisement. The file name represents the name of the file (video file, audio file, etc.) that defines the advertisement. The file for each advertisement is stored, for example, in the storage device 305 of the on-board server 300. The advertiser represents the advertiser of the advertisement.

In the example of FIG. 14, the advertisement identified by advertisement ID "Advertisement A" is provided by playing the file name "AAA.mp4" and is associated with advertiser "Company X." The advertisement identified by advertisement ID "Advertisement B" is provided by playing the file name "BBB.mp4" and is associated with advertiser "Company Y."

Target represents the passenger characteristics (passenger attributes, booking attributes) and product attributes that each ad targets. The value "all" indicates that the ad is not restricted to items that have the value "all".

For example, the target of an advertisement identified by the advertisement ID "Ad A" is passengers whose age is between 20 and 49, whose gender is female, whose nationality is Japanese, and whose language of choice is Japanese (JP). Since the values of other items in the target (membership type, fare type, booking class, ticket type, and product attributes) are "all," "Ad A" can be provided to all passengers who meet the age, gender, and nationality conditions. "Ad A" is merely one example, but it could be an advertisement for cosmetics targeted at Japanese women, for example.

The target of the advertisement identified by advertisement ID "Ad B" is passengers who are 20 to 29 years old, male, Korean, Korean (KR) or English (EN) language used, membership type B, booking class E, one-way ticket type, and product attribute travel. "Ad B" is merely an example, but an example could be an advertisement written in Korean or English targeted at young people who are interested in traveling, promoting increased status within the airline through increased use of airline flights.

(Advertiser Information)
15 is a diagram showing an example of the data configuration of the advertiser information. The advertiser information is stored in the storage device 305 of the in-flight server 300, for example.

The advertiser information specifies the destination (email address) of the report for each advertiser. In the example of FIG. 15, the email address "x@ad.com" is specified as the destination for the report to Company X, and the email address "y@ad.co.jp" is specified as the destination for the report to Company Y.

(Distribution record)
16 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the delivery record. The delivery record is stored in the storage device 305 of the in-flight server 300, for example.

The delivery record indicates the delivery record of each advertisement. The delivery record includes seven items (advertisement ID, transmission date and time, advertiser, passenger attributes, reservation attributes, related products, and detailed information request).

The advertisement ID identifies each advertisement. The transmission date and time indicates the date and time when each advertisement was transmitted to the terminal 100. The advertiser identifies the advertiser of each advertisement. The passenger information and reservation attributes indicate the characteristics of the passenger associated with the terminal 100 to which each advertisement was transmitted.

Related products indicate which product purchase each advertisement is associated with and sent to the terminal 100. Note that if an advertisement is sent to the terminal 100 without being associated with the purchase of a product, no value is registered in the related products column.

The detailed information request represents information related to a request from the terminal 100 for additional information related to the advertisement when the advertisement is provided. In one implementation example, the request from the terminal 100 includes the email address of the user (passenger) of the terminal 100, and the email address is registered as the detailed information request.

In the example of FIG. 16, advertisement A, whose advertiser is Company X, was sent to a passenger's terminal 100 at 8:01 on April 27, 2019. The passenger is a 22-year-old woman, of Japanese nationality, speaking Japanese (JP), and of membership type B. The passenger purchased a boarding pass for the flight in question as a round-trip ticket with the fare type "Simple." The reservation class of the boarding pass was E. The passenger was provided with advertisement A in response to the passenger's purchase of the product "Premium Black Tea." The passenger requested additional information about advertisement A and provided the in-flight server 300 with an email address "pp@pp.co.jp" as the destination to which the additional information should be sent.

(Flight information)
17 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of flight information. The flight information is stored in the storage device 305 of the in-flight server 300, for example.

The flight information associates events in a flight with the time at which the events occurred. The flight information may be generated by a flight attendant using a given input device to register the events and their time of occurrence in the on-board server 300, or may be generated by the on-board server 300 receiving information from a given information processing device.

The example in Figure 17 shows that for a flight on April 27, 2019, passengers began boarding at 6:45, the doors were closed (doors closed) at 7:00 when all passengers had boarded, the aircraft took off at 7:05, the aircraft landed at the destination airport at 9:10, the doors were opened at 9:20, and passengers began disembarking.

By providing flight information in addition to delivery history, advertisers can know the aircraft conditions when their advertisements are sent to passengers.

4. Processing Flow
Next, four processes in the content providing system ("flight reservation process", "preparation process", "in-flight sales process", and "report transmission process") will be described with reference to FIGS.

(Flight booking process)
Fig. 18 is a flowchart of a flight reservation process. The flight reservation process is a process related to (1) and (2) in Fig. 1. In one implementation example, the flight reservation process is realized by the processor 201 of the reservation server 200 executing a given program. The flight reservation process is a process for accepting information to be registered as reservation information.

In step S100, the reservation server 200 determines whether the information required to reserve a flight (e.g., passenger name, email address, date, and flight name) has been entered on the terminal 100. If the reservation server 200 determines that the information has not been entered (NO in step S100), it waits for a certain period of time and executes the process of step S100 again. If the reservation server 200 determines that the information has been entered (YES in step S100), it proceeds to step S102.

In step S102, the reservation server 200 registers the input information in the reservation information (Figure 10). The reservation server 200 refers to vacant seat information according to known technology, and registers the input information in the reservation information on the condition that a flight reservation corresponding to the input information is possible. The reservation server 200 may also register the input information in the reservation information on the condition that payment for the flight reservation has been confirmed.

In step S104, the reservation server 200 assigns a new reservation number to the reservation registered in accordance with the information received in step S102, registers the reservation number in the reservation information, and transmits the reservation information to the terminal 100. After that, the reservation server 200 ends the processing of FIG. 18.

The flight reservation process may be implemented as a process of a reservation application stored in the terminal 100. In this case, the terminal 100 transmits information required for reservation information to the reservation server 200 in step S102. In response, the reservation server 200 registers the information transmitted from the terminal 100 in the reservation information.

(Preparation process)
Fig. 19 is a flowchart of the preparation process. The preparation process is related to (3) to (4C) in Fig. 1. In one implementation example, the preparation process is realized by the processor 301 of the on-board server 300 executing a given program.

In step S200, the in-flight server 300 downloads from the reservation server 200 the reservation information corresponding to the flight on which the in-flight server 300 is installed. The in-flight server 300 stores the downloaded reservation information as a passenger list (Figure 11) in the storage device 305. The download of the reservation information, and the download of the product information, content, and advertisements described below may be performed by wireless communication or by wired communication.

In step S202, the on-board server 300 downloads product information from the product management server 600. The on-board server 300 stores the downloaded product information in the storage device 305 as food product information (FIG. 12). Note that the actual products sold on board are brought on board separately. Also, the products sold on board are not limited to food products, and instead of food product information, product information including information on all types of products may be downloaded and stored in the storage device 305.

In step S204, the on-board server 300 downloads the content from the content server 700. The on-board server 300 stores the downloaded content in the storage device 305. The on-board server 300 also generates content product information (FIG. 13) for the downloaded content and stores it in the storage device 305.

The in-flight server 300 may select the type of content to download from the content server 700 depending on the attributes of the passenger. For example, the in-flight server 300 may select content created in the language used by the passengers on the flight on which the in-flight server 300 is installed. Note that content downloading does not need to be performed for each flight.

In step S206, the on-board server 300 downloads the advertisement from the advertisement server 800. The on-board server 300 stores the downloaded advertisement in the storage device 305. The on-board server 300 also generates advertisement information (FIG. 14) for the downloaded advertisement and stores it in the storage device 305. The on-board server 300 then ends the process in FIG. 19.

The in-flight server 300 may select the type of advertisement to download from the advertisement server 800 depending on the attributes of the passengers, the types of products sold on board, and/or the type of content downloaded to the in-flight server 300. For example, the in-flight server 300 may select an advertisement written in the language used by passengers on the flight on which the in-flight server 300 is installed. The in-flight server 300 may also select an advertisement introducing a sequel to the content downloaded to the in-flight server 300. Note that the download of advertisements does not need to be performed for each flight.

(In-flight sales processing)
The in-flight sales process will be described with reference to FIGS.

Figure 20 is a diagram showing an example of an order screen displayed on the terminal 100. Figure 21 is a diagram showing another example of an order screen displayed on the terminal 100. Figure 22 is a flowchart of the in-flight sales process. The in-flight sales process is a process related to (9) to (13) in Figure 1. In one implementation example, the in-flight server 300 realizes the in-flight sales process by having the processor 301 execute a given program. In one implementation example, the in-flight sales process is started in response to receiving an indication of an intention to purchase a product from the terminal 100.

More specifically, when the user 900 accesses the in-flight server 300 using the terminal 100, the terminal 100 displays the in-flight homepage. When the user 900 selects to purchase a product on the in-flight homepage, the in-flight server 300 causes the terminal 100 to display an order screen.

The order screen 2000 in FIG. 20 is a screen for purchasing mackerel curry, which is an example of an in-flight meal. The order screen 2000 includes a field 2001 for displaying the product name, a field 2003 for displaying the quantity of the product, and a button 2005 for confirming the purchase of the product. The in-flight sales process may be started in response to information being sent from the terminal 100 to the in-flight server 300 indicating that the button 2005 has been operated.

The order screen 2100 in FIG. 21 is a screen for purchasing content with the title "Movie (1)", which is an example of content. The order screen 2100 includes a button 2101 for confirming the purchase of the content. The in-flight sales process may be started in response to information being sent from the terminal 100 to the in-flight server 300 indicating that the button 2101 has been operated.

Referring to FIG. 22, in step S300, the on-board server 300 obtains the order corresponding to the button 2005 or the button 2101 from the terminal 100. The order corresponding to the button 2005 means an order for the product displayed on the screen 2000, and the order corresponding to the button 2101 means an order for the content displayed on the screen 2100.

In step S302, the on-board server 300 requests authentication information from the terminal 100. In response to the request, the terminal 100 displays a screen requesting the user 900 to input authentication information.

Figure 23 is a diagram showing an example of a screen that requests the input of authentication information. Screen 2300 in Figure 23 includes areas 2301 and 2302. Area 2301 accepts the input of authentication information. The authentication information includes a reservation number and an email address. Since the reservation number is printed on the boarding pass, user 900 can input the reservation number in area 2301 by referring to the boarding pass. Area 2303 displays the product name and price of the product to be purchased. In the example of Figure 23, screen 2300 displays the product name and price of the product ordered by screen 2000. When content is purchased, the title and price of the content to be ordered are displayed.

The type of information input into area 2301 as authentication information is not limited to the above. Any information that identifies a passenger may be the passenger's name and/or seat number.

The screen 2300 includes a send button 2305. In response to touching the send button 2305, the terminal 100 transmits authentication information in the area 1601 to the on-board server 300.

If the authentication information is printed on the boarding pass as a code such as a QR code, the terminal 100 can obtain the information to be entered in area 2301 by analyzing an image of the code. In this case, instead of entering the authentication information in area 2301 of the screen 2300, the user can simply photograph the code with the camera 109 of the terminal 100.

Returning to FIG. 22, in step S304, the processor 301 acquires authentication information sent from the terminal 100.

In step S306, the on-board server 300 determines whether the authentication information acquired in step S220 is correct. In one implementation example, the on-board server 300 determines that the authentication information acquired in step S304 (combination of reservation number and email address) is correct if it matches the information registered in the passenger information, and determines that it is incorrect if it does not match. If the processor 301 determines that the authentication information acquired in step S304 is correct, it proceeds to step S306 (YES in step S304); otherwise, it proceeds to step S312 (NO in step S304).

If the order is for food, in step S308, the on-board server 300 updates the information for that food in the food product information. For example, when one quantity of the product "mackerel curry" is purchased, the remaining quantity of the product "mackerel curry" in the food product information (Figure 12) is updated by subtracting one. If the order is for content, the control of step S308 may be omitted.

The in-flight server 300 may also perform control to provide the product to the passenger in addition to updating the food product information in step S308. One example of this control is displaying information on a display visible to the flight attendant instructing the passenger to provide the product. In one implementation example, the display includes the message "Please provide quantity '1' of the product 'Mackerel Curry' to the passenger in seat number '23F'." In step S308, the in-flight server 300 may further execute payment for the product.

In step S312, the in-flight server 300 outputs an error message to the terminal 100 and terminates the in-flight sales process of FIG. 22. For example, the terminal 100 displays a message such as "The authentication information you entered is incorrect. We apologize for the inconvenience, but please try again from the beginning."

In step S314, the on-board server 300 identifies an advertisement to be sent to the passenger who purchased the product. The method of identifying the advertisement will be described later.

If the purchased item is content, in step S316, the on-board server 300 transmits the content to the passenger's terminal 100. If the transmitted content is chargeable, the on-board server 300 may further execute payment for the transmitted content. If the purchased item is a tangible item such as food, the control of step S316 may be omitted.

In step S318, the on-board server 300 transmits the advertisement identified in step S314 to the terminal 100.

Figure 24 is a diagram showing an example of an advertisement display screen on the terminal 100. Screen 2400 in Figure 24 includes display fields 2401 and 2403 and button 2405. Display field 2401 displays the image portion of the advertisement, and display field 2403 displays the text portion of the advertisement. The advertisement may include audio. Button 2405 is operated to request additional information regarding the content of the advertisement. When button 2405 is operated, the terminal 100 transmits a request for additional information to the on-board server 300.

The timing at which the advertisement is played on the terminal 100 may be set as appropriate. For example, if the purchased product is food, the advertisement may be played on the payment completion notification screen or after the payment completion notification screen is displayed in response to the completion of the payment. The timing at which the advertisement is played may also be determined according to the characteristics of the passenger. For example, although it is only one example, the in-flight server 300 may play the advertisement before the playback of the purchased content (or in the pre-roll) if the passenger's age is less than 30 years old, during the playback of the purchased content (or in the mid-roll) if the passenger's age is between 30 and 50 years old, and after the playback of the purchased content (or in the end roll) if the passenger's age is 50 years old or older. Also, the advertisement may be played in response to the authentication information being determined to be correct in step S306. If the purchased product is content, the advertisement may be played after or simultaneously with the display of the payment completion notification screen, or after the playback of the purchased content.

Returning to FIG. 22, in step S320, the on-board server 300 updates the delivery history (FIG. 16) based on the advertisement transmission in step S318.

In step S322, the on-board server 300 determines whether a request for additional information has been received from the terminal 100. The terminal 100 transmits a request for additional information to the on-board server 300 in response to, for example, the operation of button 2405 in FIG. 24.

If the on-board server 300 determines that a request for additional information has been received, it proceeds to step S324 (YES in step S322); otherwise, it terminates the processing of FIG. 22 (NO in step S322).

In step S324, the on-board server 300 registers the contact information of the passenger corresponding to the terminal 100 to which the advertisement was sent (for example, the email address in the passenger list (FIG. 11)) in the additional information request column for the sent advertisement in the distribution history (FIG. 16). The on-board server 300 then ends the processing of FIG. 22. The contact information is not limited to an email address, so long as it provides a communication means for sending information to the passenger (user) individually. It may be the passenger's phone number, or the passenger's account on a social networking service (SNS).

Here, a method for identifying an advertisement in step S314 will be described.
Advertisements are identified based on the characteristics (passenger attributes and/or reservation attributes) of the passenger who purchased the product. In one implementation, the on-board server 300 references the advertisement information (FIG. 14) to identify advertisements to be sent to the passenger that are targeted to the characteristics of the passenger who purchased the product. In this way, the passenger is provided with advertisements according to the passenger's age, gender, nationality, language spoken, and/or membership type, and/or the fare type, booking class, and/or ticket type for which the passenger has reserved (purchased) the boarding pass.

For example, advertisements may be sent in the passenger's language, which will ensure that the passenger can understand the content of the advertisement.

If a passenger has a high membership status with an airline, it is presumed that the passenger has an attachment to the airline. Therefore, in such a case, the passenger may be provided with an advertisement for a novelty product of the airline. On the other hand, if the passenger has a low membership status, the passenger may be provided with an advertisement for a product other than the novelty product of the airline. In addition, an advertisement for a product derived based on the fare type for which the passenger has purchased a boarding pass may be provided. More specifically, when information indicating a user's product purchasing tendency for each fare type for which a boarding pass has been purchased is prepared, the product server 300 may derive a product that the passenger is likely to purchase based on the information and the fare type for which the passenger has purchased a boarding pass, and provide an advertisement for the product to the passenger.

If a passenger purchases a one-way ticket, advertisements for facilities that are closely related to daily life at the destination (such as supermarkets) may be provided. On the other hand, if a passenger purchases a round-trip ticket, advertisements for facilities related to tourism at the destination (such as amusement parks and aquariums) may be provided.

Advertisements may be identified based on attributes of the product purchased. For example, if an attribute of the product purchased is hot drinks, an advertisement for a new hot drink such as coffee and/or tea may be served.

In the advertising information of FIG. 14, the target includes passenger characteristics (passenger attributes, reservation attributes) and product attributes, but the selection of the advertisement only needs to include at least the passenger characteristics. Also, the selection of the advertisement does not need to use all items of the passenger characteristics (age, gender, nationality, language used, membership type, fare type, reservation class, and ticket type), but it is sufficient to use at least one item.

(Report sending process)
Fig. 25 is a flowchart of the report transmission process. The report transmission process is a process related to (14) in Fig. 1. In one implementation example, the report transmission process is realized by the processor 301 of the on-board server 300 executing a given program.

In step S500, the on-board server 300 extracts information registered in the delivery history (Figure 16) for each advertiser.

In step S502, the on-board server 300 transmits the information extracted in step S500 (delivery performance for each advertiser) to each advertiser, and ends the processing of FIG. 25.

The in-flight server 300 may generate flight information (FIG. 17) for the target flight, and in step S502, may transmit the flight information together with the delivery record to each advertiser. In the delivery record, each time an advertisement is transmitted to the terminal 100, the time is registered as the transmission date and time. From the flight information, the status of the aircraft corresponding to the time when the advertisement was transmitted can be identified. Therefore, the flight information is an example of information for identifying the status of the aircraft at the time when the advertisement was transmitted to the passenger. Note that, instead of or in addition to registering the transmission date and time, in the delivery record, the status of the aircraft at the time when the advertisement was transmitted (after boarding begins and before the doors are closed, after the doors are closed and before takeoff, in flight, after landing and before the doors are opened, etc.) may be registered. The information registered in this manner is another example of information for identifying the status of the aircraft at the time when the advertisement was transmitted to the passenger.

According to the process of FIG. 25, advertisers can obtain information indicating to which users (passengers) their advertisements were sent.

The delivery history may include the contact information of the user to whom the advertisement was sent as an additional information request. In such a case, the advertiser can send additional information about the advertisement to the user's contact information. When the in-flight server 300 sends an advertisement to a certain user's terminal 100, the in-flight server 300 may register the passenger's contact information for that advertisement in the delivery history without a specific request from the user. In other words, registering the passenger's contact information in the additional information request field in step S324 does not require a YES judgment in step S322. This allows the advertiser to obtain the contact information of the user to whom the advertiser's advertisement was sent, even if the user does not operate button 2405 (screen 2400).

Here, in order to register the passenger's contact information without a specific request from the passenger, the in-flight server 300 may be required to obtain consent from the passenger in advance. Consent may require a dedicated action from the passenger. An example of the dedicated action is clicking an OK button on a screen displayed on the terminal 100 confirming consent. Consent may be established by the passenger performing another specific action without requiring a dedicated action. An example of the other specific action is clicking a link to a page for purchasing products or a page for viewing content after a message of consent is displayed on the in-flight homepage.

Since the delivery history includes the time when the advertisement was sent, when flight information is acquired along with the delivery history, the advertiser can obtain information indicating the state of the aircraft and to what kind of users the company's advertisement was sent. For example, the advertiser can obtain information about the state of the aircraft when a certain advertisement is most likely to be viewed (e.g., between the time the doors are closed and the time of takeoff, etc.).

In the present embodiment described above, if the purchased product is content, the advertisement sent in conjunction with the purchase of the product may be an advertisement for the sequel content of that content. That is, advertisement A may be an advertisement for the sequel content of drama (X), and information specifying drama (X) may be registered as a product attribute of advertisement A in the advertisement information (FIG. 14). In this way, an advertiser who has acquired a request for additional information may send an advertisement for the sequel content of drama (X) as additional information to the user's contact information. The user will receive further advertisements for the sequel content of the drama they watched on the plane even after disembarking from the plane.

If the purchased product is content, the advertisement sent with the purchase of the product may be an advertisement for the content itself. That is, if the purchased content is drama (X), advertisement A may be an advertisement for the content of drama (X), and information specifying drama (X) as a product attribute of advertisement A may be registered in the advertisement information (FIG. 14). In this way, an advertiser who obtains a request for additional information may send an advertisement for drama (X) as additional information to the user's contact information. The user will receive further advertisements for drama (X) that he or she watched on the plane even after disembarking from the plane, which may encourage the user to watch the rest of the part that he or she watched on the plane after disembarking.

The content viewed on board the aircraft may be free of charge. When a user views a page related to cycling on the in-flight homepage, the in-flight server 300 may transmit a cycling-related advertisement to the user's terminal 100 on board the aircraft, and may further provide the advertiser of the advertisement with the user's contact information as a delivery record. This allows the advertiser to transmit additional information, such as coupons for cycling facilities, to the user. In this case, the advertisement information (FIG. 14) associates the cycling-related advertisement with a cycling-related site.

The on-board server 300 may send further advertisements as additional information to the user after disembarking. In one implementation example, the on-board server 300 may send advertisements to a web browser running on the terminal 100 while on the aircraft (during the flight), and after the user disembarks (on the ground), send the additional information to the user's contact information (email address, SNS account, etc.) on the terminal 100. In other words, the on-board server 300 may be the entity that sends the additional information to the user after disembarking. In this way, the on-board server 300 may provide the additional information to the user after disembarking without sending delivery records (including the user's contact information) to the advertiser.

The on-board server 300 may also transmit the delivery record to another information processing device, which may then transmit further advertisements as additional information to the user after disembarking. FIG. 26 is a diagram showing a modified configuration of the content providing system. In FIG. 26, the other information processing device is shown as a support server 390. The support server 390 is realized, for example, by a general-purpose computer. In the example of FIG. 26, the on-board server 300 is described as transmitting the delivery record only to the support server 390 as "(14) Report transmission", but the on-board server 300 may transmit the delivery record to both the support server 390 and the advertisement server 800.

If both the in-flight server 300 and the support server 390 are managed by the airline, the airline may provide additional information to the user after disembarking without transmitting delivery records to the advertiser. In this case, a content provision system is realized by the support server 390 and the in-flight server 300. The support server 390 is an example of a first computer, and the in-flight server 300 is an example of a second computer.

The on-board server 300 transmits advertisements to the terminal 100, for example, by sending the advertisements to a web browser running on the terminal 100. Such transmission of advertisements is possible even in a situation where the on-board server 300 cannot communicate with an external server such as a mail server, and is also possible inside the aircraft.

The support server 390 sends additional information to the passenger's contacts, for example by sending further advertisements to the passenger's email address and/or social media account. The support server 390 sends additional information to the passenger's contacts by communicating with an external server, such as a mail server.

The delivery record sent to the support server 390 may include information that identifies the passenger (email address, reservation number, airline membership number, etc.) instead of the passenger's contact information. The support server 390 may obtain the contact information corresponding to the information by referencing the reservation information or the passenger list.

The advertisement may be an advertisement for content that can be provided by the in-flight server 300. For example, the in-flight server 300 may transmit an advertisement for drama (Z) to a user who has viewed the content of drama (Y). After finishing viewing the content of drama (Y) on the aircraft, the user may view the content of drama (Z) by obtaining the advertisement for drama (Z).

In this embodiment, the transmission of the advertisement to the terminal 100 is performed in association with the purchase of a product, but the purchase of a product is not a prerequisite for the transmission of the advertisement. For example, the in-flight server 300 may request authentication information (an example of information for identifying a passenger; see area 2301 in FIG. 23) when the terminal 100 accesses the in-flight homepage. When the in-flight server 300 receives the authentication information from the terminal 100, the in-flight server 300 may access the passenger list (FIG. 11) to identify the passenger characteristics (passenger attributes and/or reservation attributes) associated with the authentication information. The in-flight server 300 then accesses the advertisement information (FIG. 14) to identify the advertisement associated with the identified passenger characteristics as the advertisement to be transmitted to the terminal 100. The in-flight server 300 then transmits the identified advertisement to the terminal 100.

The "boarding pass" in this embodiment does not have to be printed on paper. The "boarding pass" may be issued electronically. The boarding pass may be displayed on the terminal 100, for example, by an application program dedicated to the airline company.

The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered to be illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is indicated by the claims, not by the above description, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims. Furthermore, the inventions described in the embodiments and each modified example are intended to be implemented, as far as possible, either alone or in combination.

30 boarding pass, 100 terminal, 300 in-flight server, 350 repeater, 400 check-in machine, 600 product management server, 700 content server, 800 advertising server, 900 user, 1000 aircraft, 2000, 2100 order screen.

Claims (15)

1. A method implemented by a computer located on board an aircraft, comprising:
acquiring passenger information from an information processing device of the passenger, the passenger information being information written on the boarding pass of the passenger and identifying the passenger;
obtaining passenger characteristics associated with the obtained passenger information by accessing a storage device that associates passenger information with passenger characteristics;
identifying an advertisement associated with the obtained passenger characteristics by accessing a storage device that associates the characteristics with at least one advertisement among two or more advertisements;
and transmitting the identified advertisement to an information processing device of the passenger .
The passenger information includes a reservation number . 1. A method implemented by a computer located on board an aircraft, comprising:
acquiring passenger information from an information processing device of the passenger, the passenger information being information written on the boarding pass of the passenger and identifying the passenger;
obtaining passenger characteristics associated with the obtained passenger information by accessing a storage device that associates passenger information with passenger characteristics;
identifying an advertisement associated with the obtained passenger characteristics by accessing a storage device associating the characteristics with at least one advertisement among two or more advertisements;
and transmitting the identified advertisement to an information processing device of the passenger.
storing performance information in a memory of the computer in response to transmitting the identified advertisement to an information processing device of the passenger, the performance information being information relating the identified advertisement to the characteristics of the passenger;
and transmitting the performance information to a destination associated with the identified advertisement.
The advertising distribution method, wherein the step of transmitting the performance information further includes transmitting, to a destination associated with the identified advertisement, information for identifying the status of the aircraft at the time the advertisement was transmitted to the passenger. The advertisement delivery method according to claim 2 , wherein the passenger information includes at least one of a reservation number, a passenger name, and a seat number. The advertisement distribution method according to claim 1 , wherein the characteristics include at least one of an attribute of the passenger and an attribute related to the reservation of the boarding pass by the passenger. The advertisement distribution method according to claim 4 , wherein the passenger attributes include at least one of gender, age, nationality, language used, and airline membership type. 6. The advertising distribution method according to claim 4 or claim 5, wherein the attributes related to the boarding pass reservation include at least one of a seat type specified by the boarding pass, a fare type for the purchase of the boarding pass, and information specifying whether the boarding pass is one - way or round - trip. storing performance information in a memory of the computer in response to transmitting the identified advertisement to an information processing device of the passenger, the performance information being information relating the identified advertisement to the characteristics of the passenger;
The advertisement delivery method according to claim 1 , further comprising: transmitting the performance information to a destination associated with the identified advertisement. The method further includes the step of acquiring a request for a product from the information processing device,
the step of transmitting the advertisement includes transmitting the advertisement to the information processing device in response to a request for the product;
The advertisement delivery method according to claim 7 , wherein the performance information includes attributes of a product on which the advertisement is transmitted to the information processing device. The method of claim 8 , wherein identifying the advertisement comprises identifying an advertisement based on attributes of the requested product. The advertisement delivery method according to any one of claims 7 to 9 , further comprising a step of registering contact information of the passenger in the performance information. The advertisement delivery method according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein the step of transmitting the performance information further comprises transmitting, to a destination associated with the identified advertisement, information for identifying a state of the aircraft at a time when the advertisement was transmitted to the passenger. A program that, when executed by one or more processors of a computer, causes the computer to realize the advertisement delivery method according to any one of claims 1 to 11 . A memory for storing the program according to claim 12 ;
and one or more processors for executing the program. 1. A method executed by a first computer and a second computer located on board an aircraft, comprising:
Executed by the second computer,
acquiring passenger information from an information processing device of the passenger, the passenger information being information written on the boarding pass of the passenger and identifying the passenger;
obtaining passenger characteristics associated with the obtained passenger information by accessing a storage device that associates passenger information with passenger characteristics;
identifying an advertisement associated with the obtained passenger characteristics by accessing a storage device that associates the characteristics with at least one advertisement among two or more advertisements;
transmitting the identified advertisement to an information processing device of the passenger;
storing performance information, which is information relating the identified advertisement to the passenger's characteristics, in a memory of the second computer in response to transmitting the identified advertisement to the passenger's information processing device;
transmitting the performance information to the first computer;
Executed by the first computer,
sending additional information corresponding to the advertisement to the passenger's contacts ;
The passenger information includes reservation information . 1. A method executed by a first computer and a second computer located on board an aircraft, comprising:
Executed by the second computer,
acquiring passenger information from an information processing device of the passenger, the passenger information being information written on the boarding pass of the passenger and identifying the passenger;
obtaining passenger characteristics associated with the obtained passenger information by accessing a storage device that associates passenger information with passenger characteristics;
identifying an advertisement associated with the obtained passenger characteristics by accessing a storage device associating the characteristics with at least one advertisement among two or more advertisements;
transmitting the identified advertisement to an information processing device of the passenger;
storing performance information, which is information relating the identified advertisement to the passenger's characteristics, in a memory of the second computer in response to transmitting the identified advertisement to the passenger's information processing device;
transmitting the performance information to the first computer;
the step of transmitting performance information further includes transmitting, to a destination associated with the identified advertisement, information for identifying a state of the aircraft at a time when the advertisement was transmitted to the passenger;
Executed by the first computer,
The method of delivering an advertisement further comprises sending, to the passenger's contacts, additional information corresponding to the advertisement.

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