Getting Personal: The Future of the Advertising Industry

Getting Personal: The Future of the Advertising Industry

A recently released report has suggested that the interactive, personalised and knowledgeable adverts of Minority Report may not be far off. Digital Out-Of-Home (DOOH) communications are transforming the environments in which they are located: transport hubs, shopping centres, retail outlets, supermarkets, theatres, restaurants, petrol stations, medical centres; even entire cityscapes are being illuminated in digital video cladding.  The report commissioned by 3MGTG and undertaken by the Centre for Future Studies even envisages a move towards adverts which are tailored to mood, enabled by emotional recognition software (ERS). They describe ‘Glad/sad- vertising’ as a case of when rather than if and gesture and touch are predicted to be the user interfaces of the future resulting in a more immersive and interactive experience .

The future is already here?

There are multiple examples, already operating across the world, of technologies which are facilitating these immersive and targeted forms of advertising :
• In Tokyo, an advertisement designed by NEC can work out your gender and make a guess at your age before serving an advert designed specifically for your demographic;
• Cisco is working on technology that takes your image in store and lets you browse a store by virtually ‘trying on’ clothes;
• Many brands such as Levi's are experimenting with 'Facebook Connect' - inviting customers to share personal information in return for a personalised shopping experience;
• QR-Codes have become a popular system to enable people with smart phones to scan a part of a poster (as seen recently at Digital 2011 ) and receive extras - such as a voucher -immediately to their mobile.

Trouble ahead?

Traditional advertising firms are facing market challenges as a result of the speed of technological change and the fragmentation of audiences across platforms. Their opportunity to withstand and capitalise on the changes will be determined by their ability to overcome particular areas of challenge:

• Tailoring rather mass market:
There is an inherent challenge for advertisers in terms of how to subtly personalise adverts to be sensitive to emotions and feelings. This is more akin to the function of a creative psychologist than     traditional mass advertising . 

• Privacy and security issues:
One key concern for the public will be how personal data is collected, and by whom. Recent regulations in the EU privacy directive are focused on browser controls and third party tools to protect the public (a self regulatory approach) and fail to see the wider issues such as apps, street level commercial surveillance (such as digital signage) and device tracking .

• The web is changing too:
The internet is beginning to suffer from the same pressures experienced in TV, press and traditional media where the marketing message needs to be more relevant. Consumers are increasingly able to be selective, such as using ad blocking software and spam blockers, so ability to create appropriate messages is crucial.

• Developing conversations rather than tailored messages:
This paradigm shift is also about creating these individualised, personalised connections between consumers and the brand and encouraging them to feedback which can in turn refine and improve product and service features .