Patent Application
20100095318
Electronic billboards, light box posters, electronic signs, and video window displays are rapidly growing areas of marketing investment. However, one challenge facing the signage industry, and point of sale marketing in general, is the lack of the ability to measure a clear return on the investment required to post and maintain the signage. Advertisers may maximize their advertising dollars by analyzing information on which advertisements are most effective in influencing customers to make a purchase. Also given information on which placements of advertisements are most effective, owners of signage structures and equipment can maximize return on their investment dollars selling prime advertisement space for higher prices.
Commercial systems for monitoring advertising or display effectiveness often rely on surveys, active monitoring and recording by a human located near the display or video recording for later review and analysis. Each of these methods involves human participation and creates a time lag between the viewing event and the availability of any data about the audience.
Digital signage networks often comprise an array of displays installed throughout a large area. Each of these displays within the network represents a significant financial and infrastructure investment on the part of the venue. Presently it can be difficult to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the network to increase sales or otherwise to accrue benefit to the investor.
In describing embodiments of the present invention, the following terminology will be used.
The singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “a device” includes reference to one or more of such devices.
Reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments illustrated, and specific language will be used herein to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended.
Recording continuous sign surveillance video from multiple cameras and signs is a bandwidth transmission and memory cost issue. Where large numbers of cameras are run twenty four hours a day, seven days a week in public forums such as in airports and shopping centers, recording and transmitting video can present difficult technical problems. Transmission and memory issues may be solved by generating analytics at the camera and discarding the preliminary data and video feed.
In addition, it is impractical to employ workstations and personal computers at retail displays or wall mounted signage for processing statistical information due to space and cost constraints. Rather, an integrated solution having a small form factor may be deployed in large numbers at multiple retail locations or advertising locations over a network.
An electronic video stream may be obtained by a video camera at a display, as in operation 110. Audience response to the display may be measured, as in operation 120. The video stream can be tagged based on changes in audience response measured at the display, as in operation 130. Measuring changes in the audience, response may include counting the number of people in the audience at a given time, measuring a change in the audience size, counting the number of gazes to the display from each person in the audience, and determining the duration of each gaze to the display from each person in the audience. A change in audience response measured at the display for tagging the video stream may also include a physical interaction of the display such as at a touch screen or a card reader.
The tagged video stream can be converted into quantized audience response data at the display as in operation 140. The quantized audience response data is further processed into audience response analytics through statistical analysis at the display as in operation 150. These response analytics can include statistical analysis and data mining, but may also be based on audience modeling involving extensive computation. The analytics can also comprise software that analyzes data about an audience's response to advertising and presents the analyzed data so that better and quicker business decisions can be made. Generated analytics may further include classifying audience demographics and determining emotional reaction to the display.
Furthermore, the analytics may be sent across a network to an external device for further processing.
The steps of tagging, converting, and processing may be performed on a frame by frame basis or over defined time segments on the electronic video stream at the display. Audience response analytics may be stored at the display and retrieved by remote systems over a network. The quantized audience response data and the tagged media stream or raw video stream may be discarded (i.e., deleted) and therefore does not consume transmission bandwidth nor memory space when transmitted over a network to an external device. Distributed processing enables very large arrays of audience response monitoring devices to capture and process audience responses on a twenty-four hour, seven day a week basis.
A quantizing module 330 may convert the tagged media stream into quantized audience response data at the display. A processing module 340 generates audience response analytics at the display from the quantized data. Data, control signals and power may be distributed by a bus or network connection between all the modules in the audience response monitoring device. The processing module may also be used for communication between the device and external devices. Additionally a database may be in communication with the processing module configured to store the audience response analytics at the display. A communications module may be coupled to the processing module and coupled to the database and be configured to deliver the audience response analytics to an external device.
The modules discussed herein, such as the tagging module, quantizing module and processing module, may be embodied in hardware or software. For example, all of the modules may be contained on a single custom hardware chip or field programmable gate array (FPGA). In contrast, each module might be contained within its own hardware chip. Alternatively, these modules may be embodied in software that is executed by a general purpose processing system.
Embedded placement in the frame or perimeter of a display 440 is depicted by placement 450. Embedded placement in an electronic display screen 460 represent placements of the device where only the camera lens or a portion thereof may be adjacent the display facade. Placements of a camera standing alone adjacent a display 470, and standing alone bordering the display 480 depict the entire audience response measuring (ARM) device including camera lens in accordance with an embodiment. ARM devices may also be placed in or on existing structures near displays such as posts and walls.
It is to be understood that the above-referenced arrangements are only illustrative of the application for the principles of the present invention. Numerous modifications and alternative arrangements can be devised without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. While the present invention has been shown in the drawings and fully described above with particularity and detail in connection with what is presently deemed to be the most practical and preferred embodiment(s) of the invention, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that numerous modifications can be made without departing from the principles and concepts of the invention as set forth herein.
