The 2002 film
Minority Report was remarkably prescient in many ways, from gesture-based computing to curved screens and voice-operated homes. Now a very early version of the
advertising screens that called out to Tom Cruise by name in the famous mall scene has arrived at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda.
New 75"
digital screens that were installed a few weeks ago have finally gone live at the mall. They appear to be promoting mall tenants and Westfield gift cards. What you don't know, is that you are telling these screens more about you than they're telling you about the mall.
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Screen delivers an ad
targeting male customers |
Each of the screens is scanning mall patrons who pass by, or stand in front of them to watch the messages. They are able to detect the demographics of those individuals, and serve up an ad appropriate to them. For example, using its camera, the screen can detect if you are wearing glasses, and deliver an ad for an eyewear business at the mall. The cameras are also are collecting demographic data, to help Westfield understand more about who their existing customers are (and aren't) - and how to better target their marketing and offerings at each property.
The screens appear to still be somewhat in a beta phase, as the number of messages is limited to about five:
Montgomery in Bloom, Westfield gift cards, Sephora, and male and female-targeted ads for Macy's.
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One of the new screens in the
Dining Terrace at Westfield
Montgomery Mall |
I tested two of the screens this past weekend, and got mixed results. While I don't know the precise number of feet the camera finds ideal to serve up the targeted ads, neither of the screens I tested was able to accurately detect the gender of myself or my other volunteers 100% of the time. Whether that is an accuracy problem, or simply because the screen doesn't have many messages to show at the moment, is unclear.
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| Westfield Retail Solutions graphic |
What is clear, is that the future of high-tech mall marketing is here. Westfield even has its own technology division for this field, called Westfield Retail Solutions, designed to lead the charge against the threat of online retailers. They've already compiled some remarkable data that detail some of the competitive strengths of their indoor malls. For example, Westfield has determined that 70% of the products sold in its malls are not available for purchase on Amazon.com.
Westfield plans to install hundreds of these screens in total at Montgomery Mall and 16 other properties.
8 comments:
Well, USA finally caught up. This has been around many, many years. Lord Sugar and his son in UK http://www.amscreen.eu/
Robert, are you a brave new world guy or a 1984 guy???
All of that nice technology is going to be for s**t when Sears and Macys close.
@ 6:13 AM
Gotta go with Brave New World.
@ 6:13 AM
Dems think we are Oceania v Eurasia, so 1984 has arrived.
Robert Dyer thinks Hans Riemer is Emmanuel Goldstein.
Mr. Dyer has been following this Rock Spring development from the beginning, and I applaud him for it, as development news like this would be going unreported but for Dyer since the demise of the Gazette.
These commenters are doing a disservice to the public by trolling and characterizing the neighbors as unjustified when there are a lot of real issues here. Over 300 homes are going in to a space that is hemmed in by the beltway. There is only 1 way out (two streets that both travel the same direction). There are no services of any kind that one can reach from this proposed development without getting in the car and driving. There will be hundreds of additional trips through the neighborhood and onto the very congested Fernwood Rd. I think the neighbors are right to cry "bloody murder" on this one. The ONLY thing the developer has really been proactive on with respect to resident concerns is a school reservation. They have set aside 4.3 acres for a school site. This is much needed in the WJ cluster. However, Toll Bros seems to think that its obligations to the community (as opposed to County regulations) stops there, and they have not adequately addressed any other community concerns. There is a need for community open space in the project. It would make sense for Parks and Planning to insist on parkland adjacent to the school site. It's a strategy that has worked well in several other locations in the county, allowing the school to leverage the park space and providing benefit to the community.
@ 8:16 AM
What does the Rock Spring development have to do with Westfield Mall???
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