They have long since faded as an advertising method of choice in exchange for more technology-based ad platforms which can be changed in the blink of an eye. Billboards have been called eyesores, distractions safety hazards among some but do you know that there are now some startup firms in advertising research and marketing that have begun to utilize billboards for market research studies with the use of embedded cameras? Cameras that look at you, spots an interested individual and times the amount of time they had their eye on the ad for ad research purposes. The plans is to have tons of these traditional billboards and turn them into smart marketing tools much like the CCTV camera’s of London and Manhattan are doing for monitoring of terrorist and criminal activities. But instead of watching out for the bad guys, they focus on the amount of marketing particular ads get from passersby and which ads are getting the necessary attention.
The technology is criticized by privacy advocacy groups who see it a as another way of invading of personal privacy even with the ad firms saying they do not store facial images of their subjects (Uhuuum?). But rekindling the visions of the movie, “The Minority Report”, where advertising is personalized and based on your preferences which follows you around through retinal scans from billboard mounted scanners and camera’s. No public place would be safe from the prying eyes, for all the reasons in the world, advertising, security, terrorism and the many other reasons they try to justify the use of technology to monitor and survey the land for potential threats.
All this to earn the best possible amount of profit through the maximization of ad space for commercial use and marketing studies. These firms have only begun implementation yet there have already been so much criticism on the invasive technology. Only legislation may correct such unwarranted intrusions into our privacy which must satisfy both commercial and personal gains.
Posted by Nick at 10:32 am under Cameras, Features, Gadgets, General, Home & Garden
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