I see...that my advert...errrr...train is late!
In order to know what kind of content fits, you need to know where people are (or where they are going), and when they are there. You can build your demographic profile, then you can complete the equation: Impression = Right Content + Right Place + Right Time. We continue to develop ways to know where people are so we know how to engage them; the moving target is the hardest part.
Last week (June 15th) Transport for London announced that it was releasing all the travel data about the city’s transport infrastructure – the tube, the buses, the river services – to allow web developers to create applications making it easier for passengers to track the transport system. Previously, this information was available but with restrictions on data usage for commercial gain (read: licensing!). Now, it’s an open API that anyone can use to develop apps for the internet, mobile devices, or anywhere people want to know if their bus is on time.
Yesterday saw the release of a real-time tracking application that pinpoints the locations of London’s underground trains. Using Transport for London’s API, Matthew Somerville created a tracking system in only a few hours. It’s not without bugs, as Somerville freely admits on the page, but it is a huge leap ahead. (He means the application has bugs, not that the underground has creepy crawlies.)
Bonus: We will know when the apocalypse is due to arrive.
This leads to the application of digital signage. We want to know where people are, and when they are there (wherever ‘there’ is). If we pair demographic profiling with these two factors, we can develop targeted and engaging content, generating incredible value for an impression.
No content has impact if no one is there to watch it. By tracking the traffic with arrival and departure times across several thousand points in a given city, we can better schedule content in the right place at the right time. Campaigns will have greater impact across geographic locations.
Advertisers should be all over this to make part of their current and future plans, as brands seek to find new ways to reach their audience.
The Picadilly Line to Cockfosters isn't due to leave for another 30 minutes. Another pint?
