Published 05 Apr.2022 17:44(KST)
Updated 25 Jul.2022 12:35(KST)
Digital signage (outdoor advertising boards), commonly seen in subway stations, shopping centers, exhibition and performance venues, is expanding the realm of outdoor media. The popularization of smartphones has created a new trend of mobile-commerce integration. Food and beverage stores are utilizing digital signage not only to display menus but also to provide information about the products they sell. Unlike before, digital electronic menus show high-quality product images and information through videos. Promotions conducted on the same day at the site are also provided in real time, helping consumers make product selection decisions. Recently, in the free outdoor advertising display zone around COEX in Gangnam-gu, various entertainment experiences such as performance events linked with large digital signage are offered in 3D video, going beyond simple advertising purposes.
Advertising using outdoor media has indeed faced some difficulties in introducing scientific methods for measuring effectiveness compared to other media such as TV, newspapers, internet, and mobile. To measure the exposure effect of outdoor advertisements, there have been issues with the systematic measurement and data collection reliability regarding the amount of floating population (traffic volume), such as how many people or vehicles were present and moved in the space where the outdoor advertisement was installed. To measure this, it was necessary to directly count the number of people and vehicles at the location or estimate the total number of visitors by approximating the number of people per unit area.
This method is effective for a certain time or limited place but clearly has limitations when measuring an unspecified large audience exposed to outdoor media content. Environmental factors where outdoor media is installed also have an impact. For example, most pole advertisements or rooftop advertisements are installed near roads, making it difficult to accurately measure the floating population moving on foot or by vehicle.
Meanwhile, surrounding facilities such as traffic signs, street trees, and buildings can also interfere with attention to advertisements. Outdoor media must consider various surrounding environmental factors, and because it requires continuous data accumulation and tracking over many years, it faced the practical challenge that effective data could not be produced in a short period. However, recently, various studies using mobile big data to calculate floating populations have been conducted, and this method is being applied to measure the effectiveness of outdoor advertisements. To calculate the floating population around outdoor advertisements, which is the first step in measuring the effectiveness of outdoor advertisements, data collected by mobile carriers such as base station data or WiFi data can be used to estimate the floating population around a specific location. Additionally, by introducing eye-tracking techniques to track iris movement, it is possible to measure whether the exposed person actually saw the outdoor advertisement. Applying big data analysis techniques such as machine learning can also predict the degree of attention and focus on outdoor advertisements. These technologies have now reached a level applicable to actual outdoor advertisements, and various scientific approaches are being used to create standardized methods and indicators for measuring effectiveness. These efforts will ultimately accelerate the digital transformation and industrial scalability of the outdoor media industry.
Jeong Wonjun, Professor, Department of Media Communication, University of Suwon
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