Tim Kridel speaks with Mike Neel, global head of marketing and sales at AdMobilize, about how AI can be applied in digital signage.
TK: For retailers and other businesses that use digital signage, one longstanding challenging is quantifying the reach and effectiveness of both the screens (e.g., locations) and the content on them. How does AI enable them to get deeper, actionable insights that wouldn’t be possible without AI?
MN: Addressing this challenge is the reason why AdMobilize was created. Utilising real-time data, businesses can understand how a specific audience interacts with content displayed on their digital signage.
For example, we are able to provide analytics down to the exact piece of content that was played at any given point in time. This allows marketers to better meet their digital signage objectives by curating messaging that reaches the right audience at the right time.
TK: The press release on the Signagelive blog mentions that you have some case studies in the works. What are some across-the-board lessons learned so far? For example, what have you and/or your partners learned about what makes for compelling content, or ideal signage locations or other things? Any old rules/strategies/best practices that no longer appear to make sense?
MN: One thing we tell all of our partners is to initially correlate the data to the brief or RFP that will drive the investment in digital signage in the first place. We often find that the data that can be provided greatly improves the KPIs associated with the investment in digital signage. Compelling content is by in large dictated by the old adage “right place, right time” and real-time data helps to facilitate that.
TK: AI keeps getting more sophisticated because of advances in processing power, algorithms, etc. Regarding your answer to question one, what additional types of analytics might be possible in, say, five or 10 years?
MN: In technology, there is always balance between the possible and the practical. Technology such as what we are discussing here has already been available for a long time. The combination of advances in processing power and usability are leading to wider adoption, which we think will continue to grow. We foresee advanced applications in gesture, voice and other interactive tech becoming more popular within digital signage to continue to engage with audiences at scale, as well.
A detailed article on AI and AV that appeared in the JanFeb 2018 edition of InAVate EMEA magazine. Read now.