If you have been at NS railway stations recently, you have most likely looked at advertisements. However, recently a traveller found a camera in one of the advertisements. As it turns out, the are over 30 of such advertising pillars on NS railway stations alone (Sondermeijer, 2017) (Koot, 2017). Although it is questionable whether this is ethical, this is only the top of the iceberg when it comes to the development in eye-tracking technology.
For a long time eye-tracking technologies enabled researchers, amongst others, to determine where we look at when for example visiting a website. As a result advertisements could be adjusted in such a way that they get our (un)conscious attention. Eye tracking technologies have also already been incorporated in smartphones, such as the Samsung Galaxy S4. Despite the mixed reviews, the tech companies believe this is a long-term trend and thus invested heavily in the technology (Tso, 2013).
As a consequence, it won’t be long before eye tracking will be a new major data source. For example, Yahoo applied for a patent for a “smart” billboard that can collect data through cameras, amongst other sensors, to detect how many people look at the advertisement and what their personal characteristics are (Liffreing, 2016).Also, billboards next to high ways could determine how many cars pass by and even determine the socioeconomic status of the drivers, based on their car model and age. Perhaps in a rural area the audience is different from that of in an urban area. This of course means that advertisements can be more specified towards the audience, resulting in more effective ads. A next step would be to track who looks at the advertisement, what they focus on and for how long. The more characteristics or information the advertisement can acquire, the more specified the advertisement can be.
So far eye tracking has not yet played a big role in the advertising industry, despite the current usage. Also, eye tracking alone does not add so much value. However, once eye tracking data, GPS and personal data is combined by for example Google, Google knows who looks at which advertisement. This would mean that Google can adjust its billboard content according to what sort of people are walking in front of the billboard at that moment, or adjust it according to their response. Combine this with the use microphones and artificial intelligence that translates conversations into data, and the advertising company will know what people think (Tso, 2013). Again, the advertisement can be adjusted accordingly.
Development of eye tracking technology and the combination of this with all the data firms like Google already have has a major impact on the advertising industry. Digital public advertisements can adjust its content according to who is in front of the advertisement and who looks at it. As a result the advertisement delivers more value to both the potential customer and the advertising company. Soon, the advertisements will stare back at you and perhaps even greet you: Hi [name], didn’t have a good day at work? Check out this comfortable chair!
Bibliography
Koot, J. (2017, September 9). Het reclamebord houdt u in de gaten. Financieel Dagblad.
Liffreing, I. (2016, october 14). Yahoo’s “smart” billboard takes outdoor data-collection to the next level. Campaign US.
Sondermeijer, V. (2017, september 4). NS-stations, Reclamezuilen filmen reizigers op. NRC handelsblad.
Tso, R. (2013, July 19). How Eye-tracking Technologies Will Change the Advertising Game. Huffington Post.
Hi Floris,
Interesting read! I was wondering if you have thought about the privacy concerns and legality of these eye-tracking technology enabled advertisement billboards? The technology in the billboards is a way of processing personal data. Even the taking of the photos already constitutes as a personal data. Even when the data is anonymized, it still requires the process of personal data. (Sondermeijer (a) 2017)
From a legal perspective it is a complex issue because it all depends on the definitions of technical matters whether it falls within the law or goes against it.
After one traveler found out about the advertisement billboards at the NS railway stations, a lot of people started talking about. It even became a news item. The software within the billboards is called VidiReports and can distinguish several characteristics from the images such as gender and age category. It could even measure your mood. (Sondermeijer (b) 2017)
One week after this uproar, the NS switched off the cameras. Do you agree with the NS switching the cameras off? And would you consider the use of this software an invasion of privacy?
Sondermeijer (a), V. (2017). Reclamezuilen filmen reizigers op NS-stations. NRC. [online] Available at: https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2017/09/04/reclamezuilen-filmen-reizigers-op-ns-stations-a1572184 [Accessed 15 Oct. 2017].
Sondermeijer (b), V. (2017). Exploitant schakelt camera’s in reclamezuilen uit. NRC. [online] Available at: https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2017/09/11/exploitant-schakelt-cameras-in-reclamezuilen-uit-a1573012?utm_source=NRC&utm_medium=related&utm_campaign=related2 [Accessed 14 Oct. 2017].
Hi Wouter,
Thank you for this interesting and well written article. The example of the NS railway station, a known place for the vast majority of this blog’s readers, showcases how actual those videos sensors practices are. I’m curious about the future of digital marketing.
Eager to know more about how eye-tracking could be incorporated in the Galaxy S4 released in 2013, I find out that this smartphone has a feature called “smart screen”. This feature claims that you can control your phone’s screen with your eyes and for example pause a video by looking away from the screen. But in reality, it’s the detection of a head movement that gives that signal. If a costumer would just close his eyes or look away maintaining his head in the same position, the video will keep on playing. But I believe smartphones will eventually get to that point. Snapchat’s facial recognition technology behind its filter is already quite impressive.
The real time information processing of Yahoo or Google’s billboard could indeed personalize “live” the content of the ad and another dimension could be added: interaction. Video sensors could track for example the user’s hand to enable him/her to navigate through the billboard screen for more information. In addition, digital outdoor advertising will be more and more apt to capture the passer-by’s attention but will we really like to be called-out by ads everytime we walk by?