Digital Billboards With Cameras Take Centre Stage

Tracking interest in LED message signs from consumers can be tricky – but it is important if you’re to try and measure return on investment where your advertising is concerned. If you’re wondering how best to go about monitoring how often and how long people look at your billboards, you could take a leaf out of the Netherlands’ book and use cameras and software in conjunction with your boards to really track consumer interest.

According to I Am Expat, train stations in the country now have billboards in place that use cameras to record passersby and see how long they spend in front of boards and whether or not they look at them at all. The software that’s used alongside is even able to tell whether someone is male or female, as well as determining their age – all of which could prove especially useful for advertisers.

However, questions have been raised as to the legalities of the use of these cameras. The data that these billboards collects doesn’t allow for people to be recognised and the pictures aren’t stored, so ad firm Exterion says that the boards are legally compliant in their entirety.

And some groups like The Society for Better Public Transprot have issued a call for the stations to stop recording passengers, while Bits of Freedom says the move should be readdressed because people aren’t able to opt out of being filmed.

If the use of cameras doesn’t appeal and you still want to measure your return on investment for outdoor advertising, you could consider developing a good digital trail to show how effective your ads are. You could, for example, use a promo code for a special offer or discount and ask people to use a keyword when putting their order in. You can then track this to see how effective the boards are.

Another option would be to set yourself up with a landing page that has a strong call to action on it that relates to your advert. You can then monitor leads, page visits and conversions. However, bear in mind that because your boards are outside and people will be passing – or driving – by they may not have a chance to jot the web address down so it’s vital you make it easy to remember.

Alternatively, you could forego the use of cameras and instead use the Internet of Things to help you keep an eye on consumers and provide detailed measurements of your ads. Interactive touchscreens can work wonders because they encourage strong engagement from people, or you could use electronic foot sensors to help you measure foot traffic.

While it might be harder to track the effectiveness of outdoor advertising campaigns, it is important you do so in order to make useful changes to your campaigns later down the line. For further help or information, get in touch with us here at LED Synergy today.