EFI unveiled last week their SmartSign Analytics (SSA) at the International Sign Expo in Las Vegas. It is a system that automatically captures and analyses signage viewership and engagement data. Conceived and shown as a technology demonstration by EFI's Online Print Solutions (OPS) unit, SSA will help signage providers and retail marketers better measure and understand the effectiveness of their efforts.
"Print can drive relevance, revenue and profit in the age of big data, and this technology demonstration can show how that will happen with signage," said Mark McGowan, director of EFI's OPS products. "SSA has the potential to provide unprecedented insights on the best strategies and execution to drive retail sales."
The eyes have it: a customer-focused view of retail signage
A single SSA unit includes a webcam attached to a sign, connected to a computer or tablet running a partner facial recognition software and EFI's proprietary SSA software for data organisation, analytics and reporting. In an actual retail implementation, most marketers will likely deploy multiple units to measure, compare and improve signage performance at different stores or at different in-store locations.
The SSA system's webcam and software combination detects the presence of people within viewing range and determines which of them are actually viewing a sign. Eye-tracking tools on the SSA system also allow it to calculate how much time is spent viewing signage.
Beyond those useful metrics, the advanced SSA technology provides even more-detailed demographic information. Using advanced, proprietary facial pattern algorithms, the SSA system assigns a gender and age range to each viewer, providing a wealth of market-segment information that businesses cannot quickly or easily collect by any other means.
An embedded, failsafe routine in the software ensures that the SSA system discards facial pattern data on the fly, with no actual images of faces stored during operation.
SSA will enter beta testing this quarter. Visitors to EFI's International Sign Expo booth can see an EFI SSA kiosk attached to a sign capturing and reporting live data.
EFI
www.efi.com
