Super Team G - Facial Recognition Technology

"The New Face of Advertisement"

Walking through a subway station in downtown London, you pass a large, interactive video screen. Surprisingly, as you glance at it, it transitions into an ad for a premiere clothing boutique down the street. After noting that you should stop there after work, you continue to the subway platform. Out of the corner of your eye, you notice a rushed businessman stop and admire the new sports car now displayed on the same screen. A neat coincidence, you think – but is it really?

What is facial recognition technology and how is it used in the advertisement industry?

Companies such as TruMedia are pioneering technology that allows them to tailor the message displayed on advertising screens to the gender of the viewer – a clothing ad for a female, say, or a sports car ad for a male. Using computer-powered scanners and HD cameras embedded into the screen, the equipment maps the face of the closest viewer: based on the structure of the cheeks, space between the eyes, width of the nose, and jaw length, it makes an educated guess as to their gender with around 90% accuracy (1, 2). Expanding on this application, TruMedia also offers the opportunity to measure number of viewers and length of attention time for each passerby (4) – key market information for the businesses involved.

TruMedia offers a variety of products to tailor to each venue and purchaser, from kiosks, to billboards, to in-store retail advertising. Each varies in technological requirements – while some just need to be plugged in and oriented, others require a USB connection and installation of specialized software (5). The products feature a range of screen sizes for different applications: smaller screens for mid-aisle, product-specific advertisements all the way up to large-screen broadcast billboards in public spaces. Prices fluctuate based upon the size of the hardware and the specific technological capabilities it contains, but easily run into the tens of thousands of dollars. Currently, the use of this technology around the globe is limited; however, some specific applications of facial recognition in advertising and marketing initiatives are starting to surface.

Where can this technology be seen today?

Located at a busy bus stop on London’s Oxford Street, a $60,000 facial-recognition-based advertising campaign has been implemented by Plan UK. With the intention of highlighting the plight of the poorest females around the world, it relays a different message to each segmented gender. In this controversial application of facial recognition technology, females are able to view the full 40-second video; a man trying to view the same advertisement, however, will only be shown the website address of the charity (1). This is just one example of the use of a technology that will spearhead the innovation in the marketing industry.

Plan UK's advertisement in London, England

Plan UK's campaign manager discussing the new London advertisement

What does the future hold for this technology?

“Plan UK’s advert represents the continuation of the digital revolution in advertising, where brands forge closer connections with consumers,” says Tim Hipperson, CEO of marketing agency G2 (1). With the expiration of key patents on facial recognition technology, a worldwide rush has begun, with businesses trying to capitalize on this growing industry. While innovations in the security sector are commonly highlighted, more significant are the seemingly endless applications in marketing and advertising. New uses of facial recognition in advertising include incorporating intelligent ads into public spaces, anywhere from shopping centers to downtown train stops.

Employing these scanning tools into their on-screen ads gives businesses the ability to effortlessly segment their audience, ensuring that the message received by the viewer is targeted. Essentially, this technology allows the company to put their marketing dollar to better use. Ad conversion rates are certainly likely to be higher as specific audiences are shown advertisements that relate more closely to their lifestyle and interests, peaking attention in a greater majority of viewers. Some products – such as those of TruMedia – also offer the ability to track the number of identified viewers in each location, the gender composition of the group, and the length of time that each watched the ad. Using this market research generated during a specified period, businesses would be able to adjust and improve their advertising efforts further, seeing which ads were a success, which gender was more interested, and which locations offered highest composition of their target audience.

CNN's Brian Todd reports on a facial recognition camera that is newly entering the market

Are there any risks or issues involved with the use of facial recognition technology?

As facial recognition technology increasingly becomes more mainstream in marketing applications, computers could begin to make accurate judgement about age, race, or body type of viewers. This form of profiling and gathering consumer data is highly effective in its ability to show appropriate advertisements to targeted customers; however, it does raise ethical concerns. Risks of racism, ageism, and sexism criticisms represent significant cons for interested businesses. Yet it seems that facial recognition technology will indeed be the future of advertising, and it is assumed that completely personalized digital displays and billboards are only years away.

Incorporating these intelligent ads into public spaces such as transportation and shopping centres has the potential to capture much more attention than typical static advertisements.

Conclusions

The extent to which this technology is prevalent in the future depends in part on the acceptance of society, but the potential advantages to advertising firms are limitless. Clear Channel UK and 3D Exposure, responsible for developing the equipment employed in the Plan UK campaign, state that their technological prospects for the future “may soon surpass what we’ve seen at the cinema” (1). Time will only tell what is to come for this exciting technology.

Want more information on facial recognition technology? Check out Super Team G's podcast

Blog Bibliography

1.Face-Scanning for Targeted Advertising Rolled Out In London. http://www.globalresearch.ca/face-scanning-for-targeted-advertising-rolled-out-in-london/29419 (accessed March 2, 2013).

2.Marketing Bureau, The. http://themarketbureauwebsite.businesscatalyst.com/_blog/Stories/post/Facial_Recognition_Ad_Campaigns/ (accessed March 2, 2013).

3.Minority Report facial recognition advertising has arrived. http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/94116-minority-report-facial-recognition-advertising-has-arrived (accessed March 2, 2013).

4.Tru Media, “About, 2010: About Tru Media.” http://www.tru-media.com/about-trumedia-0 (accessed February 28th, 2013)

5.Tru Media, “Products, 2010: Digital Signage.” http://www.tru-media.com/digital-signage (accessed February 28th, 2013)

Images

Face-Scanning for Targeted Advertising Rolled Out In London. http://www.globalresearch.ca/face-scanning-for-targeted-advertising-rolled-out-in-london/29419 (accessed March 2, 2013).

Marketing Bureau, The. http://themarketbureauwebsite.businesscatalyst.com/_blog/Stories/post/Facial_Recognition_Ad_Campaigns/ (accessed March 2, 2013).

Podcast Bibliography

AIM Suite @ Work, The. https://aimsuite.intel.com/aim-suite-work (accessed March 2, 2013).

Cloudy Future of Facial Recognition In Stores, The. http://readwrite.com/2013/01/29/the-cloudy-future-of-facial-recognition-in-stores (accessed March 2, 2013).

Face-Scanning for Targeted Advertising Rolled Out In London. http://www.globalresearch.ca/face-scanning-for-targeted-advertising-rolled-out-in-london/29419 (accessed March 2, 2013).

Marketing Bureau, The. http://themarketbureauwebsite.businesscatalyst.com/_blog/Stories/post/Facial_Recognition_Ad_Campaigns/ (accessed March 2, 2013).

Minority Report facial recognition advertising has arrived. http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/94116-minority-report-facial-recognition-advertising-has-arrived (accessed March 2, 2013).

TRUMEDIA, The. http://www.tru-media.com/digital-signage (accessed March 2, 2013).