Abstract:
An advertisement distribution system executes a first step in which a server requests that a distributor client submit advertisements, a second step in which the advertisements submitted by the distributor client are provided to an advertiser client according to the request, a third step in which the advertisement that is employed from among the provided advertisements is received by the advertiser client, and the server is notified by the advertiser client, a fourth step in which a video is received from the distributor client by the server , and a fifth step in which the server distributes the video received from the distributor client, and provides the employed advertisement at a specific timing in the distribution of the video.

Description:
[0001]    The present application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. JP2015-042283, filed on Mar. 4, 2015, the content of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    1. Field 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to an advertisement distribution system. 
         [0004]    2. Related Art 
         [0005]    Technology has been disclosed that offers a platform for matching businesses that want to advertise on a social network service or the like with creators who want to undertake the work of creating advertisements, and that allows for the online ordering and distribution of banner images and other such advertising materials (Non-Patent Document 1). 
       PRIOR ART DOCUMENT 
     Non-Patent Document 
     Non-Patent Document 1 
       [0006]    http://www.excite.co.jp/News/column_g/20141201/Cobs_086615.html 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Problems to be Solved by the Invention 
       [0007]    Conventional advertising is distributed to unspecified persons, with no relation between the creator offering the advertising material and the distributor that distributes the advertising, so that advertising material that is of interest to the viewer who views the advertising cannot be properly distributed, and the effect of the advertising distribution is uncertain. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0008]    A mode of the present invention is an advertisement distribution system that executes: a first step in which a distribution server requests that a distributor client submit advertisements; a second step in which the advertisements submitted by the distributor client are provided to an advertiser client according to the request; a third step in which the advertisement that is employed from among the provided advertisements is received by the advertiser client, and the distribution server is notified by the advertiser client; a fourth step in which a video is received from the distributor client by the distribution server; and a fifth step in which the distribution server distributes the video received from the distributor client, and provides the employed advertisement at a specific timing in the distribution of the video. 
         [0009]    It is preferable here if there are a plurality of distributor clients. 
         [0010]    Also, in the fifth step, it is preferable that the employed advertisement is provided either before the distribution, during the distribution, or before the end of the distribution of the video. 
         [0011]    Also, in the fifth step, it is preferable that the distributor client receives an operation for providing an advertisement, and the distribution server provides the employed advertisement at the point of having received information indicating that said operation came from the distributor client. 
         [0012]    Also, in the fifth step, it is preferable that the distribution server receives a request to view an advertisement from the viewer of the video, and provides the employed advertisement in response to this request. 
         [0013]    Also, in the fifth step, it is preferable that the employed advertisement is provided before the end of distribution of the video, and said advertisement seeks to have the viewer access a particular website. 
         [0014]    Also, it is preferable if there is a sixth step in which an advertising fee is paid to the person who submitted the advertisement, according to the number of viewers who have viewed the advertisement provided in the fifth step. 
       Effect of the Invention 
       [0015]    With the present invention, advertising material that is of interest to the viewer who views the advertisement can be properly distributed. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0016]      FIG. 1  A diagram of the configuration of the advertisement distribution system in an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0017]      FIG. 2  A diagram of the configuration of the server in an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0018]      FIG. 3  A diagram of the configuration of the advertiser client in an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0019]      FIG. 4  A diagram of the configuration of the distributor client in an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0020]      FIG. 5  A diagram of the configuration of the viewer client in an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0021]      FIG. 6  A flowchart of the advertisement distribution processing in an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0022]      FIG. 7  A diagram of an example of the registration of an advertising item database in an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0023]      FIG. 8  A diagram of an example of the registration of a distributor database in an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0024]      FIG. 9  A diagram of an example of the registration of an advertising material database in an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0025]      FIG. 10  A diagram illustrating the timing at which advertising video is distributed in an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0026]      FIG. 11  A diagram of an example of the display of a video distribution site in an embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0027]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , the advertisement distribution system  100  in an embodiment of the present invention is made up of a server (distribution server)  102 , an advertiser client  104 , a distributor client  106 , and a viewer client  108 . The server  102 , the advertiser client  104 , the distributor client  106 , and the viewer client  108  are connected so as to be able to exchange information via the Internet or another such information communication network  110 . 
         [0028]    In this embodiment, an advertisement is distributed as follows. A request for an advertisement is made from the advertiser client  104  to the server  102 , advertisements are solicited from the server  102  to the distributor client  106  according to this request, and advertising material authenticated by the advertiser client  104  from among the advertising materials provided by the distributor client  106  is distributed to the viewer client  108 . At this point, the provision of an advertisement is performed by using a video distribution site that provides non-advertising video from the distributor client  106 . Specifically, the distributor client  106  that has subscribed to advertising material coincides with the distributor client  106  that provides video and advertising. In  FIG. 1 , one of each of the advertiser client  104 , the distributor client  106 , and the viewer client  108  is mentioned, but two or more of each may be used instead. 
         [0029]    Also, in this embodiment, it is assumed that the advertising is provided by video, and the advertising material is described as advertising video. The applicable scope of the present invention, however, is not limited to advertising video, and may encompass still pictures, audio, text, or other such advertising material. 
         [0030]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , the server  102  includes a processor  10 , a memory  12 , an input module  14 , an output module  16 , and a communication module  18 . The server  102  comprises the basic elements of a computer. The processor  10  includes a means for performing computation processing, such as a CPU. The processor  10  performs the functions of a video distribution site in the server  102  by executing software (e.g., non-transitory computer readable medium having machine-executable instructions with which a computer having a storage and a hardware processor) stored in the memory  12 . The memory  12  includes a storage means such as a semiconductor memory or a hard disk. The memory  12  is accessibly connected to the processor  10 , and stores software, data and databases necessary for the processing of this software, and other such information. The input module  14  includes a means for inputting information to the server  102 . The input module  14  comprises, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, or the like that receives input from a server manager. The output module  16  includes a means for outputting the processing results of the server  102 , as well as a user interface screen (UI) or the like for receiving input information from the server manager. The output module  16  comprises a display that shows images to the server manager, for example. The communication module  18  includes an interface for exchanging information with other information communication devices over an information communication network  110 . Communication with the communication module  18  may be wired or wireless. 
         [0031]    As shown in  FIG. 3 , the advertiser client  104  includes a processor  20 , a memory  22 , an input module  24 , an output module  26 , and a communication module  28 . The advertiser client  104  comprises the basic elements of a computer. The processor  20  includes a means for performing computation processing, such as a CPU. The processor  20  performs the functions of advertisement requests, advertisement selection, and so forth in the advertiser client  104  by executing software stored in the memory  22 . The memory  22  includes a storage means such as a semiconductor memory or a hard disk. The memory  22  is accessibly connected to the processor  20 , and stores software, data and databases necessary for the processing of this software, and other such information. The input module  24  includes a means for inputting information to the advertiser client  104 . The input module  24  comprises, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, or the like that receives input from an advertiser. The output module  26  includes a means for outputting the processing results of the advertiser client  104 , as well as a user interface screen (UI) or the like for receiving input information from an advertiser. The output module  26  comprises a display that shows video or other such information to an advertiser, for example. The communication module  28  includes an interface for exchanging information with other information communication devices over the information communication network  110 . Communication with the communication module  28  may be wired or wireless. 
         [0032]    As shown in  FIG. 4 , the distributor client  106  includes a processor  30 , a memory  32 , an input module  34 , an output module  36 , and a communication module  38 . The distributor client  106  comprises the basic elements of a computer. The processor  30  includes a means for performing computation processing, such as a CPU. The processor  30  performs the functions of receiving solicitations for advertisements, submitting advertising video, distributing video, and so forth in the distributor client  106  by executing software (e.g., non-transitory computer readable medium having machine-executable instructions with which a computer having a storage and a hardware processor) stored in the memory  32 . The memory  32  includes a storage means such as a semiconductor memory or a hard disk. The memory  32  is accessibly connected to the processor  30 , and stores software, data and databases necessary for the processing of this software, and other such information. The input module  34  includes a means for inputting information to the distributor client  106 . The input module  34  comprises, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, or the like that receives input from a distributor. The output module  36  includes a means for outputting the processing results of the distributor client  106 , as well as a user interface screen (UI) or the like for receiving input information from a distributor. The output module  36  comprises a display that shows video or other such information to a distributor, for example. The communication module  38  includes an interface for exchanging information with other information communication devices over the information communication network  110 . Communication with the communication module  38  may be wired or wireless. 
         [0033]    As shown in  FIG. 5 , the viewer client  108  includes a processor  40 , a memory  42 , an input module  44 , an output module  46 , and a communication module  48 . The viewer client  108  comprises the basic elements of a computer. The processor  40  includes a means for performing computation processing, such as a CPU. The processor  40  performs the functions of viewing video (advertisements), responding to video, and so forth in the viewer client  108  by executing software stored in the memory  42 . The memory  42  includes a storage means such as a semiconductor memory or a hard disk. The memory  42  is accessibly connected to the processor  40 , and stores software, data and databases necessary for the processing of this software, and other such information. The input module  44  includes a means for inputting information to the viewer client  108 . The input module  44  comprises, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, or the like that receives input from a viewer. The output module  46  includes a means for outputting the processing results of the viewer client  108 , as well as a user interface screen (UI) or the like for receiving input information from a viewer. The output module  46  comprises a display that shows video or other such information to a viewer, for example. The communication module  48  includes an interface for exchanging information with other information communication devices over the information communication network  110 . Communication with the communication module  48  may be wired or wireless. 
         [0034]    The advertising distribution processing in this embodiment will now be described through reference to the flowchart in  FIG. 6 . 
         [0035]    In step S 10 , an advertiser issues a request for an advertisement. The advertiser transmits a request asking for an advertisement to be placed, along with the information necessary to produce the advertisement, from the advertiser client  104  to the server  102 . The advertiser accesses a website used for requesting an advertisement from the advertiser client  104 , and a form for inputting information used to request a new advertising item is transmitted from the server  102  to the advertiser client  104 . The advertiser uses the input module  24  of the advertiser client  104  to input information for requesting a new advertising item. Consequently, information for requesting a new advertising item is transmitted from the advertiser client  104  to the server  102 . The server  102  stores the information transmitted from the advertiser client  104  in the memory  12  as an advertising item database. 
         [0036]    As shown in  FIG. 7 , information for requesting a new advertising item preferably includes identification information for specifying the item (item name, item number, or other information unique to the item), identification information for specifying the advertiser (client name, client number, or other information unique to the client), the merchandise or service to be advertised, the desired playing time for the advertising video, the desired range of the target audience (age group, sex, etc.), a bank account number for the payment of advertising fees, and other such information. 
         [0037]    In step S 12 , advertisements are solicited. The server  102  solicits an advertisement from the distributor client  106  upon receiving a request to produce an advertisement from the advertiser client  104 . The server  102  refers to the distributor database stored in the memory  12 , and transmits information indicating that there is a new advertisement request, as well as information necessary for producing the advertisement, to distributors already registered in the server  102 . As shown in  FIG. 8 , identifiers for identifying distributors (distributor name, distributor number, etc.), account information for the distributor&#39;s video submission site, bank account numbers of the distributors, and so forth are pre-registered in the distributor database. There may be just one, or two or more distributor clients  106  from which an advertisement is solicited. 
         [0038]    The information necessary for the production of the advertisement may include information inputted from the advertiser in step S 10 . For example, the information necessary for the production of the advertisement preferably includes identification information for specifying an item (item name, item number, or other information unique to the item), identification information for specifying the advertiser (client name, client number, or other information unique to the client), the merchandise or service to be advertised, the desired playing time for the advertising video, the desired range of the target audience (age group, sex, etc.), and other such information. Upon receiving a request for an advertisement and the information necessary for the production of the advertisement, the distributor client  106  provides this information to distributors who are users of the distributor client  106 . 
         [0039]    Also, the server  102  may provide tools for capturing and editing the advertising video to the distributors who are users of the distributor client  106 . For example, the server  102  may transmit to the distributor client  106  an application having the function of said tools, or may provide to the distributor client  106  a website having the function of said tools. Also, said tools may be provided with a part for using copyrighted music, video, images, and the like in the advertisement. 
         [0040]    In step S 14 , an advertising video is submitted from a distributor. The distributor transmits the advertising video that is to be submitted from the distributor client  106  to the server  102 , as well as information necessary for submission. Upon receiving the advertising video and the information necessary for submission, as shown in  FIG. 9 , the server  102  assigns a unique advertisement identification number, associates the advertising video and the information necessary for submission with said advertisement identification number, and registers the result in the advertising material database of the memory  12 . Advertising video submissions may be received from a plurality of distributors. 
         [0041]    The information necessary for submission includes identification information for specifying the item (item name, item number, or other information unique to the item), identification information for specifying the advertiser (client name, client number, or other information unique to the client), the period during which the advertisement is to be distributed, link information for accessing the video distribution site that distributes the advertising video (URL, images, etc.), an identifier for identifying the distributor (distributor name, distributor number, etc.), and the like. Evaluation points indicating the effect of the advertisement distribution are also registered in the advertising material database. These evaluation points will be discussed below. 
         [0042]    Also, instead of transmitting the advertising video directly to the server  102 , it may be uploaded to a particular website or to YouTube®. In this case, the URL of the website to which an advertising video has been uploaded or the YouTube® ID (youtube_id) is added to the information necessary for submission. In place of the advertising video, the added URL or ID is associated with the information necessary for submission and registered in the advertising material database. 
         [0043]    In step S 16 , the submitted advertising video is provided to the advertiser. The server  102  refers to the advertising material database and in step S 10  transmits to the advertiser client  104  of the advertiser the advertising video registered in association with the identification information for specifying an item for which a request was received in step S 10  (item name, item number, or other such information unique to the item), along with the advertisement identification number of said advertising video. The server  102  transmits all of the advertising videos (if there are more than one) registered in association with the item for which a request has been received in step S 10 . 
         [0044]    When information about an access destination, such as a website to which an advertising video has been uploaded, is registered in place of the data for an advertising video, information indicating this access destination may be transmitted to the advertiser client  104  of the advertiser in step S 10  along with the advertisement identification number of said advertising video. 
         [0045]    In step S 18 , the advertising video to be employed is selected. The advertiser views and checks the advertising video transmitted to the advertiser client  104  in step S 16 , and selects the advertising video to be employed. The advertiser client  104  transmits the advertisement identification number for the selected advertising video (hereinafter referred to as the employed advertisement identification number) to the server  102 . 
         [0046]    For example, the advertiser client  104  displays all of the advertising videos received in step S  16  as a list on the output module  26 , an advertising video selected from the list by the advertiser using the input module  24  is played and displayed on the output module  26 , and the content is checked by the advertiser. When the information is an access destination such as a website to which an advertising video has been uploaded, instead of the advertising video itself, the website or the like to which the selected advertising video has been uploaded is accessed, and the advertising video is played and displayed on the output module  26 . The input module  24  is then used to select from the list the advertising video believed to be the one the advertiser wants to employ. 
         [0047]    In step S 20 , the distributor who submitted the employed advertising video is notified that it has been employed. The server  102  refers to the advertising material database stored in the memory  12 , receives an employed advertisement identification number from the advertiser client  104  in step S 18 , and chooses a distributor registered in association with that employed advertisement identification number. The server  102  transmits to the distributor client  106  of the chosen distributor information indicating that the advertising video submitted by said distributor has been employed, along with the employed advertisement identification number. 
         [0048]    In step S 22 , final permission and settings for the distribution of the advertisement from the distributor are performed. In step S 20 , a distributor having confirmed information indicating that the advertising video transmitted to the distributor client  106  has been employed uses the input module  34  of the distributor client  106  to permit the use of said advertising video. Upon receiving the input of permission from the distributor, the distributor client  106  transmits to the server  102  information indicating that distribution of said advertising video is permitted, along with an identifier for identifying the distributor (distributor name, distributor number, etc.; hereinafter referred to as the employed distributor identifier) and the employed advertisement identification number. 
         [0049]    In step S 24 , distribution of the advertising video is performed. The server  102  refers to the distributor database stored in the memory  12 , and reads account information for the distributor&#39;s video submission site associated with the employed distributor identifier received in step S 22 . Also, the server  102  refers to the advertising material database stored in the memory  12 , and reads the advertising video associated with the employed advertisement identification number received in step S 22 . Then, the server  102  performs distribution processing on the advertising video that was read at the video distribution site specified by the account information for the distributor&#39;s video submission site that was read. 
         [0050]    Here, the advertising video is preferably distributed along with a non-advertising video provided by the distributor at the distributor&#39;s video submission site. For instance, it is preferably distributed along with a real-time video provided by the distributor at the video submission site. The server  102  receives the uploading of a non-advertising video from the distributor specified by the employed distributor identifier, and distributes the non-advertising video uploaded at the distributor&#39;s video submission site. Along with this, advertising video is distributed before the distribution (at the start of distribution), during distribution, and/or after the end of distribution of the non-advertising video provided by the distributor. 
         [0051]    For example, as shown in the time chart of  FIG. 10 a   , the advertising video set in step S 22  is distributed before the start of distribution of the non-advertising video distributed at the distributor&#39;s own video submission site. Also, as shown in the time chart of  FIG. 10 b   , the advertising video set in step S 22  is distributed during the distribution of the non-advertising video distributed at the distributor&#39;s own video submission site. Also, as shown in the time chart of  FIG. 10 c   , the advertising video set in step S 22  is distributed after the end of the distribution of the non-advertising video distributed at the distributor&#39;s own video submission site. The timing at which the advertising video is to be distributed may be set according to instructions from the advertiser, or may be set by the distributor, or may be set automatically. 
         [0052]    The period in which the distributor distributes non-advertising video is a period designated as the period for distributing the advertisement by the distributor in step S 14 . The server  102  refers to the advertising material database stored in the memory  12 , reads the period for distributing the advertisement associated with the employed advertisement identification number and the employed distributor identifier, and may distribute the advertising video before, during, and/or after this period (the non-advertising video distribution period). 
         [0053]    The viewer can view an advertising video or a non-advertising video distributed by the distributor by accessing this video submission site from the viewer client  108 .  FIG. 11  shows an example of the display of a video distribution site. 
         [0054]    Non-advertising video distributed by the distributor is uploaded to a video display region  50  of a page  200  of the video submission site, with the advertising video being inserted and displayed before the distribution, during the distribution, and/or after the end of the distribution of this video. 
         [0055]    An alert region  52  for displaying information indicating that the video being distributed is an advertisement is provided on the page  200  of the video submission site, and during the period while the advertising video is being distributed, it is preferable to display “Advertisement” or other such information indicating that the video being distributed is an advertisement. Consequently, the viewer can easily and clearly ascertain whether a video currently being displayed in the video display region  50  is an advertisement. 
         [0056]    Also, a time display region  54  for displaying how long until the next advertisement will be distributed may be provided on the page  200  of the video submission site, and a time showing how long it will be until the next advertisement is distributed may be displayed there. The server  102  transmits the clock time at which the next advertisement will be distributed to the viewer client  108  that is viewing the video submission site. The time until an advertisement will be distributed can be calculated on the basis of the relation between the timing at which the advertising video is distributed and the period in which the advertisement is distributed (the non-advertising video distribution period). Upon receiving the clock time at which the next advertisement will be distributed from the server  102 , the viewer client  108  displays “xx seconds until advertisement” or other such information in the time display region  54 , using the difference from the current time as the remaining time. Consequently, the viewer can easily ascertain how long until the next advertising video will be displayed in the video display region  50 . 
         [0057]    Also, an advertisement timing designation region  56  may be provided on the page  200  of the video submission site, and used to accept viewer input indicating a desire for an advertisement to be provided. When the advertisement timing designation region  56  is selected (clicked) by the viewer using the input module  44 , the viewer client  108  transmits to the server  102  information indicating that an operation for providing an advertisement has been performed. Upon receiving information indicating that an operation for providing an advertisement has been performed, the server  102  transmits an advertising video to the viewer client  108  that transmitted said information. Consequently, the advertising video is distributed and displayed at the desired timing selected by the viewer to the viewer client  108  who transmitted the information. 
         [0058]    Also, a link display region  58  may be provided on the page  200  of the video submission site, to display link information for accessing video or sites related to the distributed advertising video. The server  102  refers to the advertising material database stored in the memory  12 , reads link information (URL, images, etc.) that allows access from the video distribution site associated with the employed advertisement identification number and the employed distributor identifier, and transmits video to the viewer client  108  currently viewing. Upon receiving the link information, the viewer client  108  displays the link information in the link display region  58 . Consequently, the viewer can select the link information displayed in the link display region  58  if he watches the distributed advertising video while viewing a video submission site and is interested in the merchandise being advertised, making it easy to access information such as images or sites (sales sites) related to that merchandise. 
         [0059]    There are no particular restrictions on the display period of the link information, which may be simultaneous with the display of the advertising video, before the distribution of non-advertising video, during this distribution, after this distribution, during the distribution of the advertising video, or any other period. Also, the link information may be displayed in the video display region  50  before the video distribution starts or after it ends. 
         [0060]    In step S 26 , the effect of advertisement distribution is measured. Examples of the effect of advertisement distribution include the number of times an advertising video has been accessed (total number of viewers, number of unique viewers), the number of times an advertising video has been viewed, the viewing time of an advertising video, the number of times link information has been accessed, and evaluation points from viewers. As shown in  FIG. 9 , these effects of advertisement distribution are registered in the advertising material database stored in the memory  12  in association with the employed advertisement identification number and the employed distributor identifier. 
         [0061]    The total number of viewers who have accessed an advertising video is the total number of viewer clients  108  that have accessed the video distribution site provided in step S 24  via the server  102 . The server  102  counts how many times a video distribution site is accessed in step S 24 , and registers this, in association with the employed advertisement identification number and the employed distributor identifier, in the advertising material database stored in the memory  12 . 
         [0062]    The number of unique viewers is the number of viewer clients  108  that have accessed the video distribution site provided in step S 24  via the server  102 . Viewers who have viewed the site more than once are not counted again. The server  102  counts how many times a new viewer has accessed the video distribution site in step S 24 , and registers this, in association with the employed advertisement identification number and the employed distributor identifier, in the advertising material database stored in the memory  12 . 
         [0063]    The number of times an advertising video has been viewed is the total number of times an advertising video has been distributed at the video distribution site provided in step S 24  via the server  102 . The server  102  sends a request for a response to the viewer clients  108  that are the object of distribution every time an advertising video is distributed at the video distribution site in step S 24 , counts how many times a response is sent from a viewer client  108  to the server  102 , and registers this, in association with the employed advertisement identification number and the employed distributor identifier, in the advertising material database stored in the memory  12 . 
         [0064]    The viewing time of an advertising video is the total time during which an advertising video has been distributed at the video distribution site provided in step S 24  via the server  102 . The server  102  adds up the time whenever an advertising video is distributed at the video distribution site in step S 24 , and registers this, in association with the employed advertisement identification number and the employed distributor identifier, in the advertising material database stored in the memory  12 . 
         [0065]    The number of times link information has been accessed is the total number of times link information displayed in the link display region  58  has been accessed when this region is available at the video distribution site provided in step S 24 . The server  102  adds up the number of times the link information is accessed at the video distribution site in step S 24 , and registers this, in association with the employed advertisement identification number and the employed distributor identifier, in the advertising material database stored in the memory  12 . 
         [0066]    Evaluation points from viewers are points awarded when the viewers themselves evaluate the advertising video. For example, an evaluation point awarding region  60  may be provided on the page  200  of the video submission site, and evaluation points awarded every time the evaluation point awarding region  60  is selected (clicked). When the viewer client  108  selects (clicks) the evaluation point awarding region  60 , information indicating that evaluation points have been awarded is transmitted to the server  102 . Upon receiving information indicating that evaluation points have been awarded, the server  102  adds up the evaluation points, and registers this, in association with the employed advertisement identification number and the employed distributor identifier, in the advertising material database stored in the memory  12 . 
         [0067]    This is not the only method for awarding evaluation points, and a variety of methods can be employed. For instance, a viewer can specify the evaluation points that can be awarded in a single operation. Also, viewers who have awarded evaluation points may be billed according to the evaluation points they have given. 
         [0068]    The evaluation points should be awarded on the basis of one or more of the number of times an advertising video has been accessed (total number of viewers, number of unique viewers), the number of times an advertising video has been viewed, the viewing time of an advertising video, the number of times link information has been accessed, and evaluation points from viewers. When a plurality of parameters are combined, a suitable evaluation method may be employed, such as adding weighting as needed to the various parameters. 
         [0069]    In step S 28 , the payment of advertising fees is carried out according to the effect of the advertising distribution. The server  102  performs processing for payment of advertising fees to the distributor that provided the advertising video, according to the effect of the advertising distribution measured in step S 26 . The server  102  refers to the advertising material database stored in the memory  12 , and reads evaluation points for the effect of advertising distribution registered in association with the employed advertisement identification number and the employed distributor identifier. The server  102  also refers to the distributor database stored in the memory  12 , reads the bank account number of the distributor registered in association with the employed distributor identifier, and performs processing to transfer an advertising fee corresponding to the evaluation points that were read into the bank account specified by this bank account number. 
         [0070]    Also, processing may be performed to collect paid advertising fees from the advertiser. The server  102  refers to the advertising item database stored in the memory  12 , and reads the bank account number used for payment of an advertising fee of the advertiser associated with the employed advertisement identifier (e.g., employed advertisement identification number). The server  102  then collects an amount corresponding to the advertising fee paid according to the evaluation points, from the bank account specified by the bank account number. 
         [0071]    If there is no need to approve distribution by the distributor providing the employed advertising video when an advertising video is employed, the processing of steps S 20  and S 22  may be skipped. 
         [0072]    As discussed above, with the advertisement distribution system  100  in this embodiment, an advertising video provided by a distributor that is distributing video at a video distribution site can be distributed at this distributor&#39;s own video distribution site. In general, a viewer who views a video usually views the video at the video distribution site of the distributor that provides videos matching the viewer&#39;s preferences, and it is very likely that the advertising videos produced or provided by said distributor at that video distribution site will be to the viewer&#39;s liking. Therefore, advertising materials that are attractive to viewers that view the advertising can be properly distributed, which makes the advertising distribution more effective. 
         [0073]    Also, the advertising video distributor can earn advertising income according to the effect of distributing advertising videos, and will have incentive to distribute advertising videos and other videos at his own video distribution site. 
       DESCRIPTION OF THE REFERENCE NUMERALS 
       [0000]    
       
           10  Processor 
           12  Memory 
           14  Input module 
           16  Output module 
           18  Communication module 
           20  Processor 
           22  Memory 
           24  Input module 
           26  Output module 
           28  Communication module 
           30  Processor 
           32  Memory 
           34  Input module 
           36  Output module 
           38  Communication module 
           40  Processor 
           42  Memory 
           44  Input module 
           46  Output module 
           48  Communication module 
           50  Video display region 
           52  Alert region 
           54  Time display region 
           56  Advertisement timing designation region 
           58  Link display region 
           60  Evaluation point awarding region 
           100  Advertisement distribution system 
           102  Server 
           104  Advertiser client 
           106  Distributor client 
           108  Viewer client 
           110  Information communication network 
           200  Page