Patent Publication Number: US-2022237651-A1

Title: Benefit distribution system, benefit distribution method, and benefit distribution program

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a benefit distribution system, a benefit distribution method, and a benefit distribution program. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     Services that allow content such as movies to be viewed on user terminals distribute advertising along with that content. The advertising is inserted before the start of the content and during the content, and users often can perform an operation to skip the advertising. However, there is a technology in use in which rewards are distributed to user terminals in the form of electronic coupons. A system is described in Patent Document 1 that presents electronic coupons to end users who can redeem these electronic coupons at retail locations. 
     PRIOR ART DOCUMENTS 
     Patent Documents 
     Patent Document 1: JP 2003-511797 A 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Problem to be Solved by the Invention 
     Users who wish to view certain content such as movies often do not want to take the time to view advertising that has been inserted into the content and often skip the advertising when allowed to do so. Users find viewing advertising and skipping advertising to be annoying. When users skip advertising, it is difficult for advertisers to obtain the benefits of placing advertising in the content. Also, when content providers insert advertising, they run the risk of users losing interest in viewing their content. 
     Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to distribute benefits that advertisers, content providers, and users all derive merit from. 
     Means for Solving the Problem 
     One aspect of the present disclosure is a benefit distribution system that distributes rewards related to products and services of a specific advertiser, the benefit distribution system comprising: a benefit awarding unit that allows a user who watches specific content to acquire a benefit, the benefit being associated with at least a real store or a virtual store in a network making the benefit available; a notification unit that notifies the user terminal of the user of proximity information indicating the proximity to a store when the user is within a predetermined proximity to a store at which the benefit is available in either real space or virtual space; and a presentation unit that presents to the user content information related to the content that triggered acquisition of the benefit when the user uses the benefit at the store. 
     Because benefits can be awarded to users regardless of whether or not the advertising has been viewed, users can be awarded benefits without the stress of actually having to view advertising. Also, because the user is notified when approaching a store where the benefit can be used, the user can be alerted to the opportunity to use the benefit and can be encouraged to enjoy an advertiser&#39;s product or service even when the user has not viewed the advertisement. Because the user is made aware of the content that enables the user to obtain a benefit, the user is motivated to view more content from the content provider. 
     Effect of the Invention 
     The present invention is able to distribute benefits that advertisers, content providers, and users all derive merit from. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a diagram showing an example of the device configuration of the benefit distribution system in an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration related to the benefit distribution system in the embodiment. 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the distribution server related to the embodiment. 
         FIG. 4  is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a user terminal related to the embodiment. 
         FIG. 5  is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a content database. 
         FIG. 6  is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an electronic coupon. 
         FIG. 7  is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of advertising fee management data. 
         FIG. 8  is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a user terminal that has displayed content information. 
         FIG. 9  is a flowchart showing an example of operations performed by the benefit distribution system in the embodiment. 
         FIG. 10  is a flowchart showing an example of operations performed by the user terminal in the embodiment. 
         FIG. 11 ( a )  is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the server program in the embodiment.  FIG. 11 ( b )  is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the terminal program in the embodiment. 
     
    
    
     MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION 
     An embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the appended drawings. In the description of the drawings, identical or similar elements are denoted by the same reference numbers and redundant description of these elements has been omitted. 
     In the present embodiment, the benefit distribution system in the disclosure is applied to a system that distributes content. The system that distributes content is a computer system that distributes content to users. This content is provided by a computer or a computer system and is information in a form that is recognizable to people. The electronic data indicating the content is referred to as content data. There are no particular restrictions on the form that this content takes. Content may take the form of video (still images, moving images, etc.), text, audio, music, or a combination of two or more of these forms. There are no particular restrictions on the purpose and venue of the content. The content can be used for a variety of purposes, including entertainment, news, education, medical information, games, chat, commerce, lectures, seminars, or training. Distribution refers to processing in which information is sent to users via a communication network or broadcasting network. In the present disclosure, distribution is a concept that may include broadcasting. 
     The system for distributing content distributes content to users by sending content data to user terminals. In this example, the content is provided by a distributor. A distributor is a person who wishes to convey information to users. In other words, the distributor is a content distributor. 
     In the present embodiment, the content is composed at least of video. This content may be moving images or still images. Content consisting of still images can take the form of a website&#39;s homepage that the user can scroll down using a scroll bar. Content consisting of still images can also take the form of a slide show containing a plurality of still images. 
       FIG. 1  is a diagram showing an example of the device configuration of the benefit distribution system  1  in the present embodiment. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the benefit distribution system  1  in the present embodiment includes a distribution server  10 , a content database  19 , a user terminal  20 , a benefit managing server  30 , an advertising fee managing server  40 , and a store terminal  50 . The user terminal  20 , benefit managing server  30 , advertising fee managing server  40 , and store terminal  50  are able to communicate with each other via a network N. 
       FIG. 2  is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration related to the benefit distribution system  1  in the present embodiment.  FIG. 2  shows the server computer  100  functioning as the distribution server  10  and the user terminal computer  200  functioning as the user terminal  20 . Both the benefit managing server  30  and the advertising fee managing server  40  may be configured using a computer with the same configuration as the server computer  100 , and the distribution server  10 , the benefit managing server  30 , and the advertising fee managing server  40  may be configured as a single server computer  100 . In addition, the store terminal  50  may be configured using a computer with the same configuration as the terminal computer  200 . 
     In one example, the server computer  100  has a hardware configuration consisting of a processor  101 , a main memory unit  102 , an auxiliary memory unit  103 , and a communication unit  104 . 
     The processor  101  is an arithmetic unit that executes the operating system and application programs. There are no particular restrictions on the type of processor  101  that is used. Examples of processors include a central processing unit (CPU) and a graphics processing unit (GPU). The processor  101  may also be combined with sensors and dedicated circuits. The dedicated circuit may be a programmable circuit such as a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or may be some other type of circuit. 
     The main memory unit  102  is a device that stores the programs used to realize the distribution server  10 , the benefit managing server  30 , and the advertising fee managing server  40 , and that stores calculation results outputted by the processor  101 . The main memory unit  102  may be composed of, for example, at least one of a read-only memory (ROM) and random access memory (RAM). 
     The auxiliary memory unit  103  is usually a device that can store a larger amount of data than the main memory unit  102 . The auxiliary memory unit  103  may be composed of a non-volatile storage medium such as a hard disk or a flash memory. The auxiliary memory unit  103  stores the server programs P 1  and data used to make the server computer  100  function as the distribution server  10 , the benefit managing server  30 , or advertising fee managing server  40 . In the present embodiment, the benefit distribution program is implemented as a server program P 1 . 
     The communication unit  104  is a device used to exchange data with other computers via a communication network N. The communication unit  104  may consist of, for example, a network card or a wireless communication module. 
     The functional elements of the server are realized by reading the corresponding server programs P 1  from the processor  101  or main memory unit  102  and having the processor  101  execute the programs. The server programs P 1  contain code for implementing each functional element of the corresponding server. The processor  101  operates the communication unit  104  in accordance with a server program P 1  and writes and reads data to and from the main memory unit  102  or the auxiliary memory unit  103 . When this processing is performed, each functional element of the corresponding server is realized. 
     Each server can consist of one or more computers. When a single server uses a plurality of computers, the computers may be connected to each other via a communication network to logically constitute a single server. 
     In one example, the user terminal computer  200  has a hardware configuration consisting of a processor  201 , a main memory unit  202 , an auxiliary memory unit  203 , a communication unit  204 , an input interface  205 , and an output interface  206 . 
     The processor  201  is an arithmetic unit that executes the operating system and application programs. The processor  201  can be a CPU or a GPU, but there are no particular restrictions on the type of processor  201  that is used. 
     The main memory unit  202  is a device that stores programs for realizing the user terminal  20  or the store terminal  50 , and stores calculation results outputted by the processor  201 . The main memory unit  202  may be composed of, for example, at least one of a ROM and a RAM. 
     The auxiliary memory unit  203  is usually a device that can store a larger amount of data than the main memory unit  202 . The auxiliary memory unit  203  may be composed of a non-volatile storage medium such as a hard disk or a flash memory. The auxiliary memory unit  203  stores the terminal programs P 2  and data used to make the terminal computer  200  function as the user terminal  20  or the store terminal  50 . For example, the auxiliary memory unit  203  may store data relating to at least one of a virtual object, such as an avatar, and a virtual space. 
     The communication unit  204  is a device that exchanges data communication with other computers via the communication network N. The communication unit  204  may be composed of, for example, a network card or a wireless communication module. 
     The input interface  205  is a device that receives data based on operations and user input. For example, the input interface  205  may be composed of at least one of a keyboard, buttons, a pointing device, a microphone, a sensor, and a camera. The keyboard and buttons may be displayed on a touch panel. As there are no particular restrictions on the input interface  205 , there are none on the data that is inputted either. For example, the input interface  205  may receive data inputted or selected using a keyboard, buttons, or a pointing device. Alternatively, the input interface  205  may receive voice data inputted using a microphone. Alternatively, the input interface  205  may receive image data (such as video data or still image data) captured using a camera. 
     The output interface  206  is a device that outputs data processed by the terminal computer  200 . For example, the output interface  206  may be composed of at least one of a monitor, a touch panel, an HMD, and a speaker. A display device such as a monitor, a touch panel, and an HMD displays processed data on a screen. A speaker outputs the audio indicated by processed audio data. 
     The functional elements of the user terminal  20  or store terminal  50  are realized by reading the corresponding terminal program P 2  from the processor  201  or main memory unit  202  and having the processor execute the programs. The server programs P 2  contain code for implementing each functional element of the user terminal  20  or the store terminal  50 . The processor  201  operates the communication unit  204 , the input interface  205 , or the output interface  206  in accordance with a terminal program P 2  and writes and reads data to and from the main memory unit  202  or the auxiliary memory unit  203 . When this processing is performed, each functional element of the user terminal  20  or the store terminal  50  is realized. 
     At least one of the server programs P 1  and the terminal programs P 2  may be recorded and provided on a tangible recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, or a semiconductor memory. Alternatively, at least one of these programs may be provided via a communication network as data signals superimposed on carrier waves. These programs may be provided separately or together. 
     Referring again to  FIG. 1 , the distribution server  10  is a computer that distributes content by a predetermined distributor. The distribution server  10  also distributes benefits related to the products and services of a predetermined advertiser. 
       FIG. 3  is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the distribution server  10 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , the distribution server  10  includes a content displaying unit  11 , a benefit awarding unit  12 , a reward assigning unit  13 , and a ratings information providing unit  14 . Each of functional units  11  to  14  is realized by loading a server program P 1  into the processor  101  and executing the program. Each of these functional units will be described later. 
     The user terminal  20  is a computer used by a user. The user terminal  20  has a function that receives and displays content distributed by the distribution server  10 . The user terminal  20  may also have the function of detecting its position using, for example, a GPS device (not shown). There are no particular restrictions on the type or configuration of the user terminal  20 . For example, the user terminal  20  may be a mobile terminal such as a high-performance mobile phone (smartphone), a tablet terminal, a wearable terminal (for example, a head-mounted display (HMD) or smart glasses), a laptop personal computer, or a mobile phone. Alternatively, the user terminal  20  may be a stationary terminal such as a desktop personal computer. 
       FIG. 4  is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the user terminal  20 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , the user terminal  20  includes a display unit  21 , a notification unit  22 , and a presentation unit  23 . Each of functional units  21  to  23  is realized by loading a terminal program P 2  into the processor  201  and executing the program. Each of these functional units will be described later. 
     The content database  19  is a non-temporary storage medium or storage device for storing content data. The distribution server  10  sends content data read from the content database  19  to the user terminal  20 .  FIG. 5  is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of content information in the content database  19 . The content database  19  stores the content identifier, names, distributor, and ratings information shown in  FIG. 5  associated with content data. 
     The content identifier is information used to identify unique content. The content name is the name of the content. The distributor can be, for example, the creator of the content. A distributor may distribute its own content to users via a content provider. Ratings information indicates a positive or negative rating of the content. For example, when a user has viewed inputted content and has pressed a button on the user terminal  20  indicating a positive rating, the information indicating the number of positive ratings is increased by 1 and stored as ratings information. 
     The benefit managing server  30  is a computer that manages coupons, which is a form that benefits can take in the present disclosure. The benefit managing server  30  includes a benefit management database  31 . The benefit management database  31  is a non-temporary storage medium or storage device that stores information related to coupons.  FIG. 6  is a diagram showing an example of coupon information stored in the benefit management database  31 . Coupon information includes a coupon ID, awarding conditions, benefit content, and store location information. 
     The coupon ID is the identifier used to identify each coupon. The awarding conditions indicate the conditions under which the benefit is awarded. Examples of awarding conditions include “the user has viewed specific content” and “the user has viewed all related content.” 
     Benefit content is information indicating the benefit that a user can enjoy with the coupon. For example, it can be information indicating that a predetermined product can be purchased at a predetermined store under advantageous conditions (such as a discount). 
     The store location information can be, for example, location information indicating the location of a store related to the benefit. When the benefit is related to the purchase of a product at a virtual store on a network, the store location information can be information indicating the location of a virtual store in network space, for example, a URL. In other words, a coupon is at least associated with a real store or a virtual store where the benefit associated with the coupon is available. 
     The advertising fee managing server  40  is a computer that manages advertising fee information related to rewards generated by content distributors. The advertising fee managing server  40  includes an advertising fee management database  41 . The advertising fee management database  41  is a non-temporary storage medium or storage device for storing advertising fee information. 
       FIG. 7  is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of advertising fee information. As shown in  FIG. 7 , the advertising fee information includes information such as distributors and advertising fees. Distributor indicates the distributor who is to receive an advertising fee as a reward. The advertising fee indicates the amount generated by the distributor. 
     The store terminal  50  is a computer provided in a real store. The store terminal  50  may be, for example, a register terminal in a physical store. The store terminal  50  in the present embodiment includes a presentation unit  51 . The presentation unit  51 , as described later, is a display means for presenting content information to a user when a coupon is used. 
     Referring again to  FIG. 3 , each functional unit in the distribution server  10  will now be described. The content displaying unit  11  is used to display content on a user terminal  20 . For example, the content displaying unit  11  displays content for a user by retrieving content from the content database  19  in response to a request from the user terminal  20  and sending the retrieved content to the user terminal  20 . 
     When ratings information that indicates positive ratings for the content has been associated with the content, the content displaying unit  11  sends the ratings information along with the content to the user terminal  20  so that ratings information is displayed on the user terminal  20  along with the content. 
     The benefit awarding unit  12  allows a user who has viewed specific content to acquire a benefit. Specifically, when a coupon has been associated with specific content and viewing the content has been set as a condition for receiving the coupon, the benefit awarding unit  12  sends coupon information to the user terminal  20  when the specific content has been viewed on the user terminal  20  by the user. 
     Generally, advertising is played before or during playback of the content, and the user can obtain a coupon that allows the user to enjoy a benefit from the advertiser at a store on condition that the advertising is viewed. However, in the present embodiment, the benefit is provided to the user regardless of whether or not the advertising is viewed, and the user can receive the benefit without the stress of having to view the advertising. 
     When the coupon information indicates that a condition for receiving the benefit is “viewing all related content,” the benefit awarding unit  12  sends the coupon information to a user terminal  20  when all of the related content has been viewed on the user terminal  20 . 
     When the content is viewed on the user terminal  20  using a specific application or browser for viewing the content, the application or browser has information that identifies the user such as an account. The benefit awarding unit  12  acquires the information identifying the user from the application or browser, and transmits the coupon information to the user. The user may be alerted to reception of coupon information on the user terminal  20  but does not have to be alerted to receipt of the coupon. 
     The present embodiment is configured so that the user acquires a coupon when coupon information is sent to a user terminal  20 . However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, when specific content has been viewed by a user on a user terminal  20 , the user may acquire a coupon by having the distribution server  10  or benefit managing server  30  generate and store information associating coupon information with the identifier for the user terminal  20 . 
     In order to simplify the description, the reward assigning unit  13  and the ratings information providing unit  14  will be described later. Here, the various functional units of the user terminal  20  will be described with reference to  FIG. 4 . 
     The display unit  21  displays content. Specifically, the display unit  21  displays content sent by the content displaying unit  11  to the distribution server  10  on a display means such as a display provided in the user terminal  20 . 
     When ratings information is associated with the content and the ratings information has been sent by the content displaying unit  11  along with the content as described later, the display unit  21  displays the ratings information along with the content on a display means such as a display. 
     The notification unit  22  notifies the user of proximity information indicating the proximity to a store where the coupon can be used when the user is within a predetermined proximity to the store in either real space or virtual space. 
     Specifically, when the coupon can be used at a store in real space, the notification unit  22  acquires position information indicating the current position of the user terminal from, for example, a GPS device (not shown) in the user terminal  20 . The notification unit  22  references location information on stores at which the coupon can be used in the coupon information, and notifies the user of proximity information indicating that a store where the coupon can be used is nearby when the current position of the user terminal  20  is within a predetermined distance of the position information on the store. The user may be notified by outputting an alarm or a voice message on the user terminal  20 , causing the user terminal  20  to vibrate, or displaying the message on the display. By notifying the user of proximity information, the user can be alerted of an opportunity to use the coupon. 
     When the coupon can be used at a virtual store (e-commerce site) in network space, the notification unit  22  notifies the user of proximity information when the position accessed by the user terminal in the network space is to a certain extent close to the virtual store in the network. Specifically, the notification unit  22  notifies the user of proximity information when the user terminal  20  has accessed the site of a virtual store and the accessed URL matches the URL indicating the location of the virtual store in network space to a certain extent. 
     In the present embodiment, the store at which the coupon can be used is either a store in real space or a virtual store in network space, but the present invention is not limited to these examples. The store does not have to have a store-like appearance, and the concept here includes locations, organizations, and sites where products and services are provided. Also, the product or service provided by the store may be free. The product or service provided by the store includes the downloading of content from a site via a network. 
     When a user uses a coupon at a store, the presentation unit  23  presents to the user content information related to the content where the opportunity to obtain a coupon occurred. As mentioned above, when the notification unit  22  notifies the user of proximity information, the user becomes aware of an opportunity to use a coupon. The user can then use the coupon at a store in real space or a virtual store based on this notification. The use of the coupon at a store allows the user to enjoy the favorable conditions indicated by the coupon, for example, the purchase of a specific product on favorable conditions (such as a discount). 
     Because the conditions under which the coupon was awarded in the coupon information includes information related to the content where the opportunity to obtain the coupon occurred, the presentation unit  23  can reference the content database  19  to acquire content information such as the name, distributor, and provider of the content. Content information such as the name, distributor, and provider of the content is included in the coupon information and sent from the distribution server  10  to the user terminal  20 . In this way, the presentation unit  23  can acquire content information such as the name, distributor, and provider of the content from the coupon information. 
     The presentation unit  23  then presents content information including any of the name, distributor, and provider of the content to the user as those who provided the opportunity to use the coupon. Specifically, the presentation unit  23  displays the content information on the display of the user terminal  20 . 
       FIG. 8  is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a user terminal  20  that has displayed content information. As shown in  FIG. 8 , the presentation unit  23  displays content information d on the display in the user terminal  20  that is one form the output interface  206  can take. In the example shown in  FIG. 8 , the content information includes the message “The coupon that you are using was awarded to you at the NN video site. Distributor: M.” In the example shown in  FIG. 8 , the content information indicates that the distributor is M and that the content provider is the NN video site. By presenting content information in this way, the user can be reminded of the name, distributor, and provider of the content that afforded the user the opportunity to acquire the coupon. 
     The presentation unit  23  may display the content information on a display device installed at the real store and configured so as to be able to communicate with the benefit distribution system  1 . Specifically, the presentation unit  23  may display the content information on a presentation unit  51  in a store terminal  50 . Because the store terminal  50  can be a register terminal in a real store, the content information can be displayed on a presentation unit  51  when the coupon is used to remind the user of the name, distributor, and provider of the content that afforded the user the opportunity to acquire the coupon. 
     Description of the functional units in the distribution server  10  will now continue by referring again to  FIG. 3 . When a user uses a coupon at a store, the reward assigning unit  13  assigns a reward from the store to the distributor of the content, associates reward information on the issued reward with the distributor, and stores the associated information. In the present embodiment, the reward to distributors from stores is an advertising fee. 
     Specifically, when a user has used a coupon at a real or virtual store, this information is sent from the store terminal  50  or user terminal  20  to the distribution server  10 . When the reward assigning unit  13  has received information on the use of the coupon, it generates a preset advertising fee for use of the coupon and, as shown in  FIG. 7 , associates the generated advertising fee with the distributor of the content affording the opportunity for the coupon to be distributed, and stores the associated information in the advertising fee management database  41 . In this way, when a coupon related to a product or service from an advertiser is used at a store, a reward can be generated from the advertiser to the distributor in the form of an advertising fee, and advertising costs that provide no return on investment to advertisers can be avoided. 
     In the present embodiment, the reward assigning unit  13  generates a specific advertising fee and assigns this to the distributor of the content that afforded the user the opportunity to use the coupon at a real or virtual store. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. For example, the reward assigning unit  13  can generate a specific advertising fee and assigns this to the distributor of the content when a user terminal  20  is detected within a given proximity to a store in real space or a virtual store in network space or when notification of proximity information indicating proximity to the store has been given. 
     When a user uses a coupon at a store, the ratings information providing unit  14  associates ratings information indicating positive ratings for the content with the content. This ratings information is information indicating positive or negative ratings for content. In a typical embodiment of the provision of ratings information, when a user who has viewed content presses a button on the user terminal  20  indicating a positive rating, the information indicating the number of positive ratings is increased by one and stored as the ratings information. Ratings information indicating the number of positive and/or negative ratings is then displayed along with the content on the screen while the content is being viewed. 
     In the present embodiment, when a user uses a coupon at a store, information indicating that the coupon has been used is sent from the user terminal  20  or a store terminal  50  to the distribution server  10 . When the ratings information providing unit  14  receives information that a coupon has been used, it increases the positive ratings for the content that afforded the user the opportunity to use the coupon by a predetermined number (for example, 1), assigns the increased rating information to the content, and stores this as the ratings information as shown in  FIG. 5 . When the content is being viewed, the content displaying unit  11  displays the ratings information associated with the content. By assigning and displaying ratings information in this way, an intangible reward can be provided to the distributor of the coupon related to a product or service from the advertiser. 
     In the present embodiment, the ratings information providing unit  14  associates ratings information indicating positive ratings for content with the content that afforded the opportunity for a coupon to be used at a real or virtual store. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. For example, the ratings information providing unit  14  can associate ratings information indicating positive ratings for content when a user terminal  20  is detected within a given proximity to a store in real space or a virtual store in network space or when notification of proximity information indicating proximity to the store has been given. 
     The operations performed by the benefit distribution system  1  in the present embodiment will now be explained with reference to  FIG. 9 .  FIG. 9  is a flowchart showing the steps performed by the benefit distribution system  1  when distributing a coupon. 
     In step S 1 , the user terminal  20  sends a content viewing request to the distribution server  10 . In step S 2 , the content displaying unit  11  in the distribution server  10  receives the content viewing request. 
     In step S 3 , the content displaying unit  11  responds to the viewing request from the user terminal  20  by retrieving the content from the content database  19  and distributing the retrieved content to the user terminal  20 . 
     In step S 4 , the display unit  21  in the user terminal  20  receives the content and plays back and displays the received content on a display means such as a display. 
     In step S 5 , the benefit awarding unit  12  in the distribution server  10  determines whether or not viewing of the content on the user terminal  20  in steps S 1  to S 4  meets the conditions for receiving a coupon. When the coupon receiving conditions have been met, the benefit awarding unit  12  sends a coupon to the user terminal  20  in step S 6 . 
     When the coupon receiving conditions have not been met, the process performed to distribute coupons is ended. 
     In step S 7 , the user terminal  20  receives the coupon sent by the benefit awarding unit  12 . Because a coupon is awarded to the user regardless of whether or not the advertising has been viewed, the user can be awarded a coupon without the stress of actually having to view the advertising. 
       FIG. 10  is a flowchart showing an example of processing performed in a benefit distribution method embodied by a benefit distribution system  1  using coupons. 
     In step S 11 , the notification unit  22  determines whether or not the user is near a store at which the coupon can be used. When it has been determined that the user is near a store at which the coupon can be used, the notification unit  22  sends proximity information to the user terminal  20  in step S 12  which indicates that the user is in the proximity to a store at which the coupon can be used. In this way, the user can be alerted to the opportunity to use the coupon and can be encouraged to enjoy a product or service from the advertiser at the store whether or not the advertising has been viewed by the user. 
     Next, in step S 13 , the presentation unit  23  determines whether or not the user has used the coupon at the target store. When it has been determined that the coupon has been used, the presentation unit  23  in step S 14  presents content information to the user which is related to the content that afforded the user the opportunity of receiving the coupon. Because the user is reminded of the content that enabled the coupon to be received, the user can be encouraged to view more content from the distributor of the content. 
     The benefit distributing programs used to get computers to function as a benefit distribution system  1 , including a server program and a terminal program, will now be explained with reference to  FIG. 11 . The server program P 1  shown in  FIG. 11 ( a )  is the program that gets a computer to function as the distribution server  10 , and this program includes a main module m 10 , a content display module m 11 , a benefit awarding module m 12 , a reward assigning module m 13 , and a ratings information providing module m 14 . 
     The main module m 10  is the portion that controls all of the benefit distribution processing in the distribution server  10 . When the content display module m 11 , benefit awarding module m 12 , reward assigning module m 13 , and ratings information providing module m 14  are executed by the processor, the functions of the content displaying unit  11 , the benefit awarding unit  12 , the reward assigning unit  13 , and the ratings information providing unit  14  are realized by the distribution server  10  in  FIG. 3 . 
     The terminal program P 2  shown in  FIG. 11 ( b )  is the program that gets a computer to function as the user terminal  20 , and this program includes a main module m 20 , a display module m 21 , a notification module m 22 , and a presentation module m 23 . 
     The main module m 20  is the portion that controls all of the benefit distribution processing in the user terminal  20 . When the display module m 21 , the notification module m 22 , and the presentation module m 23  are executed by the processor, the functions of the display unit  21 , the notification unit  22 , and the presentation unit  23  are realized by the user terminal  20  in  FIG. 4 . 
     The server program P 1  and the terminal program P 2  can be provided on storage media M 1 , M 2  such as a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, or a semiconductor memory. The server program P 1  can alternatively be provided over a communication network as computer data signals superimposed on carrier waves. 
     Because benefits can be awarded to users by the benefit distribution system  1 , benefit distribution method, and benefit distributing programs P 1 , P 2  in the embodiments described above regardless of whether or not the advertising has been viewed, users can receive benefits without the stress of actually having to view advertising. Because user terminals can be notified when a store at which the coupon can be used is nearby, users can be reminded of the opportunity to use the coupon and can be encouraged to enjoy a product or service from the advertiser whether or not the user has viewed the advertising. Also, because the user can be reminded of the content that afforded the user the opportunity to receive a benefit, the user can be motivated to view more content from the content provider. 
     One aspect of the present disclosure is a benefit distribution method executed by a benefit distribution method that distributes benefits related to products and services of a specific advertiser, the benefit distribution method comprising: a benefit awarding step of allowing a user who watches specific content to acquire a benefit, the benefit being associated with at least a real store or a virtual store in a network making the benefit available; a notification step of notifying the user terminal of the user of proximity information indicating the proximity to a store when the user is within a predetermined proximity to a store at which the benefit is available in either real space or virtual space; and a presentation step of presenting to the user content information related to the content that triggered acquisition of the benefit when the user uses the benefit at the store. 
     Another aspect of the present disclosure is a benefit distribution program causing a computer to function as a benefit distribution system that distributes benefits related to products and services of a specific advertiser, the benefit distribution program causing the computer to realize: a benefit awarding function of allowing a user who watches specific content to acquire a benefit, the benefit being associated with at least a real store or a virtual store in a network making the benefit available; a notification function of notifying the user terminal of the user of proximity information indicating the proximity to a store when the user is within a predetermined proximity to a store at which the benefit is available in either real space or virtual space; and a presentation function of presenting to the user content information related to the content that triggered acquisition of the benefit when the user uses the benefit at the store. 
     Because benefits can be awarded to users by these aspects of the present disclosure regardless of whether or not the advertising has been viewed, users can receive benefits without the stress of actually having to view advertising. Because user terminals can be notified when a store at which the coupon can be used is nearby, users can be reminded of the opportunity to use the coupon and can be encouraged to enjoy a product or service from the advertiser whether or not the user has viewed the advertising. Also, because the user can be reminded of the content that afforded the user the opportunity to receive a benefit, the user can be motivated to view more content from the content provider. 
     In a benefit distribution system according to another aspect of the present disclosure, the benefit can be used at a real store, and the notification unit sends the proximity information when the position of the user terminal is within a predetermined distance of the store. 
     Because the user is notified in this aspect of the present disclosure when approaching a store where the benefit can be used, the user can be encouraged to use the benefit. 
     In a benefit distribution system according to another aspect of the present disclosure, the presentation unit displays the content information on a display device installed at the real store and configured so as to be able to communicate with the benefit distribution system. 
     Because content information is displayed on a display terminal at a real store in this aspect of the present disclosure, the user can be reminded of the content and distributor that afforded the user the opportunity to receive the benefit. 
     In a benefit distribution system according to another aspect of the present disclosure, the benefit can be used at a virtual store in network space, and the notification unit sends the proximity information when the position accessed by the user terminal in the network space is close to the store in the network to a certain extent. 
     Because the user can be notified in this aspect of the present disclosure while, for example, browsing the web, that a virtual store such as an e-commerce site at which the benefit can be used is nearby, the user can be encouraged to use the benefit. 
     In a benefit distribution system according to another aspect of the present disclosure, the presentation unit displays the content information on the user terminal. 
     Because content information is displayed on the user terminal in this aspect of the present disclosure, the user can be reminded of the content and distributor that afforded the user the opportunity to receive the benefit. 
     In a benefit distribution system according to another aspect of the present disclosure, the benefit awarding unit awards the benefit to the user when the user has viewed all related content. 
     In this aspect of the present disclosure, when the benefit is used by the user, the user can be reminded that the benefit was obtained because all of the related content was viewed. Therefore, the user can be motivated to view all related content distributed by the distributor of certain content. 
     In a benefit distribution system according to another aspect of the present disclosure, the benefit awarding unit awards the benefit to the user by sending the benefit to the user terminal. 
     In this aspect of the present disclosure, the user can make sure the benefit has been received and information related to the benefit can be referenced on the user terminal. 
     A benefit distribution system according to another aspect of the present disclosure further comprises a reward assigning unit that issues a reward from the store to the distributor of the content when the user has used the benefit at the store, associates reward information on the issued reward with the distributor, and stores the associated information. 
     In this aspect of the present disclosure, when a coupon related to a product or service from an advertiser is used at a store, a reward can be generated from the advertiser to the distributor in the form of an advertising fee, and advertising costs that provide no return on investment to advertisers can be avoided. 
     A benefit distribution system according to another aspect of the present disclosure further comprises a ratings information providing unit that associates ratings information indicating a positive rating of the content with the content when the user uses the benefit at the store, and a content displaying unit that displays the ratings information along with the content when the content is viewed. 
     In this aspect of the present disclosure, ratings information indicating positive ratings is associated with the content and the ratings information is provided to users when the content is being viewed. By assigning and displaying ratings information in this way, an intangible reward can be provided to the distributor of the coupon related to a product or service from the advertiser. 
     In a benefit distribution system according to another aspect of the present disclosure, the content information includes at least one of the name of the content, the distributor who is the creator of the content, and the content provider who is the business provider of the content. 
     In this aspect of the present disclosure, the user can be reminded of at least one of the name of the content, the distributor who is the creator of the content, and the content who is the business provider of the content who afforded the user the opportunity to receive a benefit. 
     The present invention was described in detail above with reference to embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. Numerous modifications are possible without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. 
     The configurations of the internal components of the benefit distribution system are not limited to those in the embodiments, and may be designed according to any policy. For example, the benefit distribution system may be realized using a single server having the functions of the distribution server  10 , the content database  19 , the benefit managing server  30 , and the advertising fee managing server  40 . Alternatively, the benefit distribution system may be configured to include many different types of servers. There are no restrictions on where each of the databases is installed. For example, the content database  19  may be installed in a computer system separate from the benefit distribution system  1 . 
     Also, the devices composed of functional units  11  to  14  and functional units  21  to  22  (server and terminal) are not limited to the examples in the embodiment. The functional units constituted by the distribution server  10  in the embodiment may be constituted by the user terminal  20 , and the functional units constituted by the user terminal  20  may be constituted by the distribution server  10 . 
     In the disclosure, the expression “at least one processor performs the first step, the second step, . . . the nth step” and all corresponding expressions include situations in which the executing object (that is, the processor) of n steps from the first step to the nth step changes in the middle of the processing operation. In other words, this expression includes situations in which all n steps are performed by the same processor and situations in which the processor is changed at any time during execution of the n steps. 
     The order in which the steps are executed by at least one processor is not limited to the example in the embodiment. For example, some of the steps (processes) may be eliminated and each step may be executed in a different order. Also, two or more of the steps may be combined, and some of the steps may be modified or deleted. Other steps may be executed in addition to each of these steps as well. 
     KEY TO THE DRAWINGS 
     
         
           1 : Benefit distribution system 
           10 : Distribution server 
           11 : Content displaying unit 
           12 : Benefit awarding unit 
           13 : Reward assigning unit 
           14 : Ratings information providing unit 
           19 : Content database 
           20 : User terminal 
           21 : Display unit 
           22 : Notification unit 
           23 : Presentation unit 
           30 : Benefit managing server 
           31 : Benefit management database 
           40 : Advertising fee managing server 
           41 : Advertising fee management database 
           50 : Store terminal 
           51 : Presentation unit 
         d: Content information 
         M 1 , M 2 : Storage medium 
         m 10 : Main module 
         m 11 : Content display module 
         m 12 : Benefit awarding module 
         m 13 : Reward assigning module 
         m 14 : Ratings information assigning module 
         m 20 : Main module 
         m 21 : Display module 
         m 22 : Notification module 
         m 23 : Presentation module 
         N: Network 
         P 1 : Server program (benefit distribution program) 
         P 2 : Terminal program (benefit distribution program)