Google is coming to billboard near you
Google is expanding its advertising business from your browser to the billboard on the sidewalk in your street. Its new product Display & Video 360 is where “brands can combine the emotional power and captivating formats of traditional out-of-home advertising with the efficiency of other digital channels.”
The first thought to come to mind is: Will Google use information about me to provide me with highly contextual ads? I am glad you had that thought because Google could predict that. Its answer is that “Digital out-of-home ads placed through Display & Video 360 are not personalized, and we do not use individual identifiers or any user location data. Instead, advertisers can reach people based on contextual information of the screen location.” An example is provided where a billboard on a busy street will show an ad for a restaurant during lunch hour.
You have to have an IQ of a petunia to buy into that. Supposedly, Google is spending untold amounts of money to show digital ads which won't be targeted at people walking around.
Google already knows about your every movement. Anytime you use Google Maps, Google knows where you are, where you are going and which route you are taking. It even provides you with the most efficient route to get there. Now the most efficient route will be past the billboards which will show you the ads, which will help you to make the right purchasing decision.
Will the billboard use any cameras to recognize people walking by? That won't be necessary. Your phone is already supplying all the required information.
Check your phone for any WiFi network around you. Your phone is constantly checking for available wireless networks as you are moving around. I am sure your telco provider is offering you 'free' WiFi to connect to save on mobile data. Why would any telco provider ever want to save you money? Maybe in the movies from a parallel universe.
Before you know it, every billboard will become a convenient WiFi hotspot. The juggernauts of outdoor advertising (the industry term is Out-Of-Home Advertising), the likes of Clear Channel Outdoor, Intersection, JCDecaux, Lamar and Ströer will start retooling their billboards which will connect with the Google AdNetwork and the marketing blitz will commence.
As noted in the previous post about The Death of the Cookie, Google will emerge as the guardian of your privacy supported by government legislation. No one will have access to it but Google.
But not to worry. You are already comforted by the fact that you are surrounded by smartphones, Smart TV's and Smart (unbiased) AI. Now you can add the Smart Advertising to that list. As a long time observer of the recurrent patterns, you know that all this is done for your own good. You must be Smart to realize that.