Audience Measurement Will Transcend Digital Signage

Missing Piece to the Puzzle Allows Medium to Grow Up

The need for audience measurement within digital signage networks has been a hot topic. Trade show and conference panels have addressed everything from why a system needs to be in place to what emerging technology is on the horizon. The excitement and change the digital media and out-of-home (OOH) video marketplace has seen recently can leave newcomers in a tailspin. Providers are showcasing more and more forthcoming solutions that allow businesses to cater ads based on age, gender, ethnicity, and proximity.

The digital signage industry is gaining momentum exponentially- the worldwide market for digital signage displays is valued at an estimated $2.7 billion for 2007 by iSuppli Corp. However, historically the lack of real time audience measurement has limited the industry's ability to reach its full potential. At the provider level, metrics are needed to show that a particular solution is effective and meeting the clients' goals and objectives. Marketers and advertising agencies also lack the concrete ROI analyses to sell digital signage up the flagpole to executive management. And lastly, the industry needs to demonstrate that this medium is not only powerful, but clearly surpasses the effectiveness of other mediums that are less targeted and less customizable. Audience measurement and viewership reporting is the key element that will transcend what is fast becoming one of the most compelling mediums for targeted, narrowcast marketing.

Top global corporations like Procter & Gamble are now redefining ad spend to include in-store advertising. Many agile and flexible early adopters have been and will continue to be rewarded. Enterprises that have been able to navigate the implementation course effectively and deliver timely, impactful content are reaping the benefits. For other more scrupulous companies, the lack of bottom-line ROI metrics inhibits their ability to make decisions, leaving them paralyzed on a medium that's undeniably here to stay and clearly coercive.

The Charge for Metrics

Understandably, advertisers and end users want to know who is watching what ads when, and are requiring specific metrics to measure the effectiveness of their video-based advertising. Media researcher PQ Media approximates that spending on video advertising networks grew 28 percent- to $1.01 billion-in 2006. The sudden embrace from advertising agencies has fueled demand for hard ROI numbers analogous to other mediums. Furthermore, digital signage vendors are equally pressed about establishing metrics and realize that without performance benchmarks, they are not be able to "hawk their wares" as effectively and command larger portions of the ad spend budget.

Many industry suppliers are partnering up with vendors who specialize in audience tracking while others are developing audience measurement tools for integration into their own solutions. Digital advertising is one of the fastest growing categories in advertising, but as long as media buyers and end users are unable to measure effectiveness comparable to traditional measurement standards like online click-throughs and CPM, they will be hesitant to allocate additional spending to the space.

The Developing Technology

Some of the developing technology in this arena is laying groundwork for an interactive media marketing strategy unlike anything we've seen before. Developers in this segment are demonstrating solutions for digital displays that can determine the demographic makeup of viewers. Cameras are placed in or around digital screens that analyze facial characteristics and gather basic information about viewers such as how long the viewer looked at the screen (dwell time) and what content was playing. This intelligence can also trigger specific content directly relevant to the audience, and it can be stored for further reporting and cross-checking with POS data.

These technologies are sometimes referred to as facial recognition, passerby gaze tracking, and audience tracking. Having these kinds of tools built into digital media systems will open the doors to an entirely new way of tailoring messages to a particular audience and engaging viewers with content that is customized in advance based on their interests, needs, and shopping habits.

The industry needs performance metrics on several fronts, most notably proof of ad delivery, audience measurement, and the marketer's Holy Grail- sales uplift. But the idea behind this approach goes beyond providing accountability to media buyers. Measurement also assures that viewers are receiving relevant messages at opportune times. If done well, customized ads will ultimately save customers' time and bring added convenience to their shopping experience. The triple bull's-eye will be to finally have an accepted ROI calculation, provide evidence that content was played for the right audience at the right time, and offer consumers only the information that is specific to their needs and interests.

New interactive technologies such as touchscreens, SMS, and bluecasting take this a step further. Digital signage with interactive elements inherently have audience measurement capabilities in place, allowing for more tangible numbers on how many customers engaged with the technology and when. This technological convergence is paving the way for even more targeted advertising initiatives.

Challenges Lie Ahead

Without question, the digital signage industry is making steadfast progress. There are, however, still many challenges-some that are close to being resolved, some that are in the midst of debate, and some that have yet to come to fruition.

Cost is always an issue with developing technologies. Understandably, few dive right into such an investment. But the industry is reaching a point where the question will no longer be what will it cost if you incorporate audience measurement, but how will you validate your investment if you don't? Measurement capabilities may be on the cutting edge now, but end users and ad agencies aren't asking for this kind of technology, they're expecting it.

As an increasing amount of audience and behavior information becomes available, marketers and industry executives need to establish standards for determining the value of that information. Depending on what specific solutions are used, different sets of data can be collected and measured. Some argue that developing a one-size-fits-all standard will be difficult because the medium is so fragmented. Everyone is using different screens and different software in different environments for different purposes-and targeting different audiences.

Another concern is whether or not certain types of demographic profiling are invasive of consumer privacy. Most agree gaze tracking-tracking how many people walked by a display, how many stopped to look, for how long, and what content was playing-is within reasonable standards. And after all, most consumers are already being tracked by security systems.

With Metrics, Digital Signage Outgrows Its Name

If audience measurement is the missing link for this new marketing medium, then this final piece to the puzzle means digital signage should no longer be called "digital signage." The term intrinsically limits the capacity of the medium. By allowing it to be niched in this manner, the industry minimizes its power and undermines its potential. As stakeholders, industry executives need to expand beyond the narrow scope of what the term digital signage implies and into the realm of dynamic visual marketing and merchandising-a segment that suitably commands more mindshare and investment.

With metrics in place, the medium will be fully embraced and finally exceed the simplistic perception that it is merely a network of displays. It will become an integrated marketing and merchandising system that is more timely than any other medium, and interaction will progressively become the chief element to engage consumers and stimulate action. This transformation-mindset change-will lead the industry down a flourishing and continuous path of innovation, advancement and growth.

The industry's defining moment is imminent. During this evolution, the outcome is more than digital signage at its best, but something capable of much, much more!

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