Something that I strongly suggested that Trumedia do is work with the leading CMS, DS software providers and (better) integrate their audience measurement camera systems into various signage solutions.
The first of these integrations is going to be announced today I believe at the Scala 2007 EMEA Partner Conference in Amsterdam (many of you asked if we would meet there but ‘no’ unfotunately I did NOT get an invite).
PROM is Trumedia’s PROactive Merchandising feature – basically a set of APIs which enables realtime integration between the iCapture audience measurement system and (in today’s announcement) Scala’s InfoChannel 5 digital signage platform.
Why is this of use / interest?
Well, contrary to what the majority of the audience measurement (am) startups tell their investors even if the am camera solutions are cheap enough and easy enough to install, you will never get 100% coverage of a digital signage screen rollout just on the basis of being able to meaure an audience.
I have seen this in the real world. Take say a 500 venue screen network. You don’t need 500 cameras to measure the audience. Don’t even listen to the am salesman who says do 10% (this is an APF – see below).
The shopping and consumer behavour experts will tell you to look at all the venues; what bits are the same? what makes each one different? are their categories of venue – by location, by demographic, etc.
With one particular 500 strong network we found 3 different types of venue. It makes sense to test in 2 of each type, so the audience measurement requirement is 6 x am camera solutions NOT 500 or 50 or any number in between!
If you talk to the retail banks who have been watching their audience using NICE and Brickstream for years and years now, they will tell you that they pretty much know their audience – in rich parts of town, rich people go to the bank. At lunchtime, office workers pop in – in the mornings, housewifes with children and local shopkeepers etc.
Once you know an audience pattern you pretty much know it.
Anyway bottom line; PROM allows you to tailor content on what the am camera solution ‘sees’ – more women than men standing in front of a screen then show that advert in a way that appeals better to women rather than men.
Younger people standing in front of the screen – then don’t show that advert for SAGA holidays for older folks. etc.
We are years away of course from being able to persuade the media planners, buyers and ad agencies of how wonderful all of this could be but it’s an interesting start.
With something like PROM, the audience measurement folks should be able to persuade a few more people to look at their solutions.
APF – Air Plucked Figure