It’s one thing to design a digital display but, as any CFO will tell you, it’s another thing to be able to measure – for certain – how many faces looked at that display, how long they looked, their relative age, and even if they were male or female.

Until recently, measuring this level of ROI automatically was unheard of, but innovative face detection technology does just that.

This technology is called anonymous impression metric, but we call it brilliant. As the technology becomes more widely known, the most common question clients ask is ‘What is it and how does it work?’

Face recognition software is to digital displays what analytics is to Google or Neilson to TV and there’s no need to get nervous - no images are recorded and all privacy laws are respected.

Different face recognition software packages have different specialties but they break down into two main areas: People counting and traffic analysis.

People counting software is capable of tracking both viewer counts and demographics.

For example, an advertiser could determine how many senior women vs. young adult women viewed their display and tweak their display accordingly to get the results they want. These metrics allow companies to increase both ad revenue and relevancy, and maximize ROI.

Traffic analysis capability is where it gets really interesting.

Face detection technology is the basis of software that measures people counts, queue length and even wait times. This information allows companies to schedule staff as needed, improve customer service, increase conversion rates, and ultimately, increase sales. This information can also be translated into traffic dispersion maps to help companies to improve store layouts and in-store marketing.

Face detection technology provides users with information on:

• Peak conversion hours and rate
• Percentage of shoppers who enter the store that make a purchase
• Average sale amount
• Optimum shopper-to-staff ratio
• Point of sale data
• Impact analysis of increased conversion

These new measurement systems leave nothing in your digital campaign to chance and are quickly turning digital marketing into an exact science. Our clients find that this level of feedback helps them run more strategic campaigns that deliver a better ROI than in the days of correlations alone.

In an era where the average shopper is inundated with images and has learned to tune out 90% of them, it’s necessary to add a little spice to ad campaigns.

Recent advances in rear projection film allows advertisers to project their content anywhere there’s a surface. With the projector sitting behind the display, it looks like magic.

And no longer must your projection be rectangle. At Gridcast, we’ve designed projections in every shape imaginable. From logos to perfume bottles, the possibilities are as big as your imagination.

Here’s what you need to know to get started.

When considering a projection project, we break it down into four key areas:

• Content Design
• Venue
• Technology
• Measurement

1. Content Design

The key to content design is knowing the ‘why’. Exactly what do you want your display to achieve and why?

Once you know the why, it’s not hard to figure out the how and design incredible content to reach your campaign objectives. Content design is more than having a creative spirit (although that helps!), it’s about knowing your both your target demographic and your technology inside out so you can decide what is appropriate, and what is technically possible.

This is when you decide if you want to add interactive components like gesture or trigger technology and how you plan to measure ROI.

This first step is the most important. The more time you spend working out the strategy, the less time you’ll spend on course corrections.

2. Venue

Once you’ve decided on some killer content for your digital display, it’s time to consider a venue. Don’t get stuck thinking that ‘venue’ refers only to a building (or window of a building). A venue is anywhere we can project onto: car windows, table tops, ceilings, even thin air with the help of a discrete suspension system.

Choosing a venue will often dictate the price of the project. To be perfect, the angle of your projection and the distance must be perfect. This is where venue can impact the price of your project: For example, if your goal is to project a massive display onto a building, then be prepared to rent space for the projector in the building across the street. If you want to project onto a car window, it’s possible, but may cost you a little more. Still, compared to a traditional advertising campaign, it’s a cost-effective option.

3. Technology

With rear projection, it’s impossible to project directly onto a surface. Projection surfaces are primed using an adhesive film that that displays the image brightly and from every angle. Think of the film as a movie screen and, like big screens in theatres, not all are created equal. The film that you choose will affect the brightness, visibility and ultimately the success of your display. Most important is that your display is vibrant even in a brightly lit environment and that it remains equally visible from every angle.

At Gridcast we use 3M Vikuiti film for a number of reasons: Not only is it the best in terms of brightness, but Vikuiti lets you trim the film to project any shape you wish. The finished product is inevitably stunning and the more unique the shape, the more it stops traffic. Check out perfume bottle projection we created for Guess.

Finally, when it comes to digital projection displays, you have to consider content management software. Let’s say you have ten displays in ten different locations across a city, or across ten cities. It makes no sense to treat each as a stand alone project when you can coordinate them from a single location. There’s a wide range of software and hosting companies available but you have to make sure that, whoever will be using it, knows the software. Most Gridcast clients prefer that we manage the displays for this reason. It’s less stress for the client and if something goes wrong, we’re already on it.

4. Measurement

John Wanamaker once said “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half.”

Studies show that digital displays of any kind, when placed near a point of purchase, increase sales for the featured item an average of 2.5%. The best way to measure the success of your display is to place it near a store entrance or window and correlate it with sales numbers. Another way to track metrics for your display to set up a camera to monitor activity. Although this tactic is less common, it’s highly effective.

To find out more about projection, check out Gridcast projection services.