广告产业的未来

现代社会中，广告信息随处可见，这一产业的未来会有哪些改变？我们是否会迎来这样的一天：当人们走在城市的街道上时，一抬头就能看到映射在天空中高达200米的广告影像？

 

Imagine a future where our streets are filled with ads 200m tall; where billboards² change before our eyes to give us personalised messages; and where companies track our every move as we walk through a city, pinging our phones with special offers as we near their shops.

 

In fact, all of these forms of advertising³ are already being tested. Let's take the first of these ideas. Back in 1982, science fiction movie Blade Runner envisaged⁴ a futuristic cityscape where giant adverts⁵ stretched the full height of skyscrapers⁶. And UK company Lightvert are now doing something very similar; with one crucial difference.

 

Instead of making immense physical adverts, their commercials are beamed straight into consumers' eyes. They do this by attaching a strip of reflective material onto a building and projecting an image onto it. This image then 'bounces' out into the world. When you pass directly in front of the image, you see it. It appears to be huge and suspended in mid-air, but others can't see it – it's only visible from one location. Lightvert claims this form of advertising is unobstrusive and can "unlock" large amounts of "high-value advertising real-estate".

 

But not everyone is sold on the idea of living in a world of endless ads. In Moscow, for example, a new form of advertising targeting motorists has split opinion. Drivers approaching a particular digital billboard¹ in the city are shown adverts for a new kind of Jaguar⁷ car, but only if you are driving a different make of vehicle. Sensors⁸ in the billboard detect what kind of car you are driving, and send you an ad based on that information.

 

While this may seem invasive, it's actually the saftey aspect that has concerned some observers. Researchers in Sweden have shown that digital billboards attract our eyes for longer than other kinds. In fact, they distract us for over two seconds, a length of time which studies have proved to be dangerous on the roads.

 

Finally, we have "proximity⁹ marketing¹⁰", where shops detect where you are on the high street and send tailored adverts to your phone. Devicescape is one company trialling the use of Wi-Fi as a means of tracking customers. Their technology could work anywhere, whether in "a supermarket, a concert hall, or a bus," says Owen Geddes from their marketing team. What would customers see? "It could be a discount offer to use in the shop the person is visiting, or a piece of content such as a movie trailer," says Mr Geddes. 

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