Arbitron Inc. has released the results of the first, full audit of the proof-of-play component of BroadSign’s digital signage software using its Portable People Meter (PPM) technology. BroadSign International is a leading worldwide provider of software for managing digital signage (digital out-of-home) networks, and like all digital signage content management software companies, it benefits by demonstrating the effectiveness of its playlist, scheduling, and delivery accuracy.
This initiative goes to the heart of one of the biggest issues in the retail digital signage market. In fact, the issue is not limited to digital signage — in traditional POS (point of sale) or in-store signage and promotional displays, there has historically been a problem knowing if the displays/signage was installed. Before the results of an in-store campaign — measured by sales lift, for example — can be measured, the first issue is determining whether particular signage was installed in-store in the first place. With digital signage, the same challenge arises: before determining the sales or promotional effect of a particular campaign in-store, the first task at hand is to determine if the content scheduled on the digital screens in fact played according to the playlist agenda.
The recent Arbitron audit of BroadSign’s digital signage software proof-of-play effectiveness determined an overall proofof- play accuracy rate of 99.64 percent. The results were obtained by processing over 210,000 commercial plays detected by PPM devices, which were placed for several weeks at locations operated by multiple BroadSign-powered digital signage networks in the U.S. and Canada.
Arbitron’s Portable People Meter (PPM) is a unique audience measurement system that tracks what consumers listen to on the radio and what consumers watch on broadcast, cable, and satellite TV. It works by detecting identification codes that can be embedded in the audio portion of any transmission. For digital signage applications, the devices are simply installed in the vicinity of the digital signage screens to detect what is being played, where and when.
For the purposes of the audit, Arbitron randomly selected a sample of screen locations with various configurations that included both “audio” and “no audio” programming and screen-level and player- level reporting.
The audit involved the following digital signage networks: Anuncio Digital Media (www.anunciodigitalmedia.com), Seen My Ad (www.seenmyad.com), Mediplay w(www.mediplay.com), and Neo Traffic (www.neo-traffic.com).
“There has been a lot of progress lately in developing audience metrics for digital signage. However, screen audience numbers mean little to advertisers if you cannot prove first that their ads played as scheduled,” says Brian Dusho, chief executive officer of BroadSign International. “By having Arbitron audit our proof-of-play reporting system, we are giving our client networks an added level of confidence in the accuracy of their campaign reports, which helps them justify ad rates and negotiate with advertisers.”
George Brady, vice president, Out of Home Services, Arbitron Inc. adds, “For this new medium, our Portable People Meter technology provides an auditable proof-of-play system that equips digital out-of-home networks with an independently verifiable means of ensuring that advertiser’s schedules are played as contracted.”
Arbitron’s survey marks the beginning of the series of annual audits to be conducted for BroadSign International. The PPM technology-based proof-of-play audit by Arbitron replaces manual monitoring of screens with advanced technology, making the task of verifying advertising compliance more affordable for digital signage networks.
BroadSign also provides cross-network campaign execution for DOOH media aggregators via its Open API platform.
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