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Target talks digital signage, using Big Data to deliver a personalized experience

How do you deliver dynamic digital signage, based on Big Data, without making customers feel uncomfortable? Target, along with industry experts, offers insight on how to use Big Data to drive customer experiences while respecting customer privacy.

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April 19, 2019 by Bradley Cooper — Editor, ATM Marketplace & Food Truck Operator

In the era of Big Data, retailers are in an arms race to deliver the best experience for customers based on customer data, especially with digital signage. Many companies are looking at using dynamic content, which responds directly to customers' needs. However, there is one big problem when creating dynamic content: how do you avoid creeping out the customer? No one wants to feel watched after all.

That was the topic of a session at the recent Digital Signage Expo, held in Las Vegas from March 26 to 29. The session was moderated by Richard Ventura, vice president of sales, NEC Display Solutions, and panelists included Joel Allard, senior business partner at Target, Len Dudis, CIO at Grupo Vidanta and Ian Dallimore, director of digital growth at Lamar Advertising.

What customers don't like

Allard told a story about the time he attended a retail lab where a guest walked into a store that was running low on an item the guest was searching for online. The lab used a display to say, "We still have this item in stock, we know you are here to get it."

"That experience wasn't loved by people who walked through it," Allard recalled.

Dallimore said advertisers, such as Lamar, are moving away from a one-to-many model of communication to a one-to-targeted model of communication, since customers respond to relevant information targeted to their wants and needs. However, making the message too targeted can have the opposite effect.

"I don't think anyone in this room would like your search bar to be displayed on digital signage," Dallimore said.

Another common mistake is to simply bombard the customer with so much information from apps, digital signage and other platforms that they simply tune it out.

"You never want to hear the words 'stop bugging me,'" Allard said. "To push constant deals on the customer gets to be too much."

What customers like

The key to using Big Data without creeping out customers is to offer good deals, according to the panelists.

"When you provide value for data, people will be okay with it," Dudis said.

This value can be something like a coupon or discount or a personalized experience.

"If we use data correctly, we deliver personalized experience or route customers to somewhere good for them," Dudis added.

One example is using facial detection technology that identifies a customer's gender, age or other details to deliver personalized advertisements, rather than facial recognition technology, which directly identifies them.

The panelists also said retailers shouldn't just gather data for the sake of gathering it. If retailers do this, they can either create massive liabilities for themselves or they can fall into the trap of too much segmentation.

Dallimore said many advertisers want to segment their audience to an incredibly granular degree such as 24-year-old Asian male who owns a cockatiel that wants to purchase Tide pods.

"When we segment data too much, we miss the point that 39-year-old white males also purchase Tide pods," Dallimore said.

The panelists recommended focusing on broader audiences when delivering digital signage experiences, which will lead to increased sales and brand awareness.

Keep your industry accountable

There are, unfortunately, always going to be companies that take advantage of data and invade customer's privacy. These companies degrade customer trust in advertising technology such as digital signage.

Companies need to be willing to identify these bad actors, according to the panelists.

"Call out bad people in the industry that use data unethically," Dallimore said.

The panelists also said retailers need to keep in mind digital signage and Big Data's true purpose. It's not about simply aggregating data, it's about the customer's journey.

"Remember it's a personal journey," Ventura said. "If it doesn't accomplish something, pull it out."

About Bradley Cooper

Bradley Cooper is the editor of ATM Marketplace and Food Truck Operator. He was previously the editor of Digital Signage Today. His background is in information technology, advertising, and writing.

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