Lots of ‘dumb’ and much ‘stupid’ in the press release from the latest wannabe [1] who is going to change the face of digital out of home advertising.
[2]If proof were ever needed that you see the world through your own eyes, Rob Smith, Pecabu [2] CEO and founder said “Digital outdoor advertising is mostly really stupid. There’s no feedback, no results, no targeting, no metrics” and obviously having done NO proper research in the sector, Mr Smith continued “Online ads are murdering DOOH because of online’s ability to target audiences and then have some idea of what works“.
Even without any basic research, the San Mateo, Calif.-based Pecabu managed a series A funding of USD 5.5 million and announced this week the beta launch of three new products that will (so they think) change how ads in the DOOH market are placed and priced…
- CineGraph, is a smart (their words, not ours) DOOH advertising platform that places targeted ads on outdoor electronic displays and detects viewers — even if they are whizzing by in their cars. It matches a real-time assessment of viewers with data about area demographics, weather, geolocated user data, and other information to determine what kind of ad would be most effective on that particular billboard or other outdoor electronic display, such as at a bus stop. CineGraph uses a camera mounted on the display to count passersby.
- Debo – an acronym of Demographics, Environment, Business, and Operations — is the AI analytics engine that powers CineGraph. The company announcement said “As you read this, Pecabu’s artificial intelligence-powered brain is scanning social media, crime, traffic, and weather databases across every address, zip, and postal code across the U.S. and Canada.” Rob Smith likened Debo’s speed to that of IBM’s powerhouse, Watson [3].
- Peca, is a rewards app for Android and iOS smartphones that incentivises users to anonymously share their smartphone’s geolocation data — which is used to feed Debo and, thus, CineGraph. A Peca user can collect up to USD 50 a year in cash or gift certificates.
Pecabu are also proposing a new DOOH billing model which will be based on views by passersby, such as USD10/thousand views, with the rate determined by the system’s assessment of how many viewers see the ads.
This is similar in some ways to Amscreen’s OptimEyes / Quividi powered Audience Assured Advertising and also infringes on Ayuda Media Systems’ Pay Per Look patent [4].
Debo is in beta now. CineGraph will launch at the South by Southwest Festival in Austin in March, and we look forward to seeing with our own eyes, Peca at #CES in January.