The push for digital signage metrics

Achieving true metrics for digital signage has always been a bit of a white whale for those in the industry, but new technology has the wheels turning in the right direction.

 

The buzz for metrics and audience measurement for digital signage started in 2006, according to Haroon Mirza, director of business development for CognoVision.

 

"The number of people who are actually looking at the screens and definite ROI for the network had always been a question mark when it comes to digital signage," he said.

At that time, network operators began to consider methods for tracking their audiences under pressure from ad agencies who wanted specific numbers on impressions for the unmeasured medium. Mirza said that some advertisers even refused to run campaigns on digital signage because there was no way of judging the success of the campaign.

 

Traditionally, advertisers and media companies have been used to the Nielsen-like metrics provided by TV ads. Internet advertising refined the numbers even more by tracking clicks and providing advertisers with pay-per-click rates.

 

The same can, and eventually will, be applied to digital signage.

 

 

Audience measurement provides several solutions for digital signage and those that advertise on the networks.

 

For one, knowing who is looking at the screen in real time opens up the door for what Lyle Bunn, strategy architect, Bunn Co., calls "dynamic ad provisioning."

 

"Dynamic ad provisioning from facial recognition suggests an entirely new revenue model from better message targeting," Bunn said. "In this revenue model, content is developed for locations where targeted viewers are expected. The content is placed in storage on the media player at that location for playout when triggered (rather than simply placing the ad into a playloop)."

 

The Scala/TruMedia audience measurement demonstration at Screen Expo showing a male-generated ad.

In a demonstration at the Scala booth at Screen Expo 2008, TruMedia had its iCapture audience measurement system set up so that when a male approached the screen, an ad for Hugo Boss menswear would play. When a female stood in front of the screen, the system recognized the gender change and she was shown a perfume ad. Myra Cohen Doukhan of TruMedia said the iCapture could detect gender with 90 percent accuracy.

 

"Signs are no longer just spraying out ads," Mirza said. "The customer experience is being enhanced by sharing relevant content."

 

Second, the metrics provided by audience measurement tools also allow deployers to plan out more carefully the content they run on the screens. Deployers can cross-check POS data with audience reports from the tracking system. If sales to men are boosted while running the Hugo Boss ad, then retailers know it resonated with customers. These numbers help deployers creep ever closer to the elusive ROI calculation that everyone is after.

 

 

If the concept of audience measurement sounds interesting, the technology and hardware behind it is even better. TruMedia, a company formerly specializing in security, provides a slim black camera that sits atop the screen as part of its iCapture solution.

 

The video stream from the camera is sent to a computer with a face tracking engine that registers the number of viewers in front of the screen and can even determine whose eyes actually looked at it. As said earlier, new developments in TruMedia's software can also determine the gender, age and ethnicity of the viewers to a certain degree. All of that information can be compiled in several different ways to produce an audience report.

 

CognoVision's face detection software was on display at DSE 2008 as part of a partner booth with Capital Networks.

CognoVision's audience measurement solution, AIM View, is a web-enabled software program that reports the number of viewers, viewing time and anonymous demographics. Additionally, CognoVision's AIM Traffic solution reports total population counts, direction of traffic flow and dwell time data. 

 

Mirza said that CognoVision uses third party webcams instead of larger proprietary cameras to cut down on the cost of the system for customers.

 

CognoVision's solution has been used as part of a digital end-cap for grocery stores and retail outlets. At Globalshop in March, Artisan Complete released nCap, which brought together CognoVision and BroadSign software with 24-inch LG screens as part of an interactive digital signage display that is placed at the end of store aisles.

 

The industry has also seen audience measurement advancements from companies such as Quividi from France and Wututu from Spain at the 2008 digital signage tradeshows.

 

 

The idea of audience measurement sounds great, but is still in the early adoption phase. Members of the digital signage industry have mentioned several reasons why cameras haven't shown up on every screen.

 

Bill Gerba, president of Wirespring Technologies, says the No. 1 problem that must be solved for measurement is the value of the data that is being collected.

 

"There are lots of different things that we can measure, and lots of ways to measure them," Gerba writes in his blog. "But when push comes to shove, the value of the measurement is the critical factor in making the business decision to expend resources on the process."

 

He argues that companies are eager to get sales and ROI data from audience measurement devices, but they still need to figure out what that data is worth to them.

 

"If I were to randomly ask 1,000 readers of this article why measuring the reach or impact of digital signage is important, I'd probably get 10 or maybe 20 answers," he wrote. Now, what if I were to ask the same 1,000 people how much that was worth to them? Chances are I'd get close to 1,000 different answers."

 

 

Another reason companies are slow to adopt audience measurement along with their network deployments is the cost involved, something that has been an issue for digital signage in general.

 

"We face two major issues that stop us in our will to roll out [audience measurement systems]," said Christian Vaglio-Giors, Neo Advertising, Geneva, in an interview with DailyDOOH. "No one is willing to pay for it."

 

Vaglio-Giors said the second problem was with companies allowing the cameras because they believed it breached personal privacy. But audience measurement companies ensure that this technology is legal.

 

"Wherever there are cameras there will always be the concern that Big Brother is watching," said Catherine Moore, director of international sales for TruMedia, in a Cleverdis Special Report. "But no images are ever recorded and no uniquely identifiable data is extracted."