DISCUSSION

Do Brands Deserve to Know Who is Buying Their Products?

July 19, 2013Written by RetailWire Staff

How long ago were we told to "get over" the death of privacy?

Simon Sugar, son of the BBC's answer to Donald Trump, Lord Alan, was quoted in the Daily Telegraph saying, "It is time for a step-change in advertising — brands deserve to know not just an estimation of how many eyeballs are viewing their adverts, but who they are, too."

Really? Deserve?

Lord Sugar's company, Amscreen, has launched a new facial detection technology called OptimEyes that it says will "revolutionize the advertising industry."

The Daily Mail, citing the New York Times, makes the point that facial recognition technology is important for brick and mortar retailers that can't compete with online retailers who use cookies for easy tracking. Lord Sugar's "online campaign evaluation and optimisation platform," delivers "the type of insight that only online has previously been able to achieve."

Targeting individuals rather than groups, OptimEyes will be installed in doctors' offices, hospitals, banks, airports and train stations. Only selected retail outlets (convenience stores and gas stations) will have this tool designed to provide information so brands can plan better advertising.

According to a RetailWire piece last November, FTC guidelines specify consumers must opt-in if businesses want to use facial recognition technology. The article discussed how face recognition technologies appeared to be advancing far enough to finally offer "a real solution" for retailers.

Responding to that discussion, Adrian Weidmann, principal at StoreStream Metrics, highlighted the value of video analytics as a sales and marketing tool while deriding facial recognition.

After 30 years using technology for research, Joan Triestman of the Triestman Group maintained, "eye tracking is a strong component of research that determines what attracts consumer attention and gains purchase consideration. However, you must still apply verbal question and answer to get at the significance of the attention."

Eye tracking "allows for detailed refinement of an ad before money is spent on development and implementation, and can be used to measure how viewer perception and behavior evolve during the campaign period," according to specialist company Tobii.

OptimEyes raises important points about ROI and how information is used. Data gathered by brands can improve retail targeting. Maybe retailers and brands do deserve information, gathered whenever/wherever possible.

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