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.