Peoplecount Launches Placescount: Real-Time Wi-Fi Analytics For OOH Media Measurement
Gail Chiasson, North American Editor
For out-of-home media, measuring real-time foot traffic, dwell time, return trips and pathways just got easier and less expensive.
Peoplecount, Toronto, recently compared mobile data analytics, including cell data, Wi-Fi and beacons, as tools for place-based media measurement, selecting Wi-Fi analytics for a two-month pilot test – Peoplecount is the Toronto-based research supplier responsible for developing many out-of-home advertising measurement models including the Traffic Audit Bureau’s transit and pedestrian metrics which has been used throughout the US, Ed.
Cell phone/Wi-Fi was chosen for the pilot test for many reasons, including the fact that it was passive and anonymous as well as affordable. Installing a network of 13 Wi-Fi routers in common areas of a suburban shopping mall (not in stores), Peoplecount tracked Wi-Fi pings every five seconds for two months. Foot traffic was verified with manual and door counting equipment.
“We were excited to learn that for individual points, the accuracy was 91% and across the venue as a whole, 99.5%,” says Kelly McGillivray, Peoplecount’s president and chief methodologist, acknowledging that it took some time to learn how to filter and expand the data to get meaningful results.
Besides location-specific foot traffic, the technology, which passively detects Wi-Fi-enabled Smartphones, yields reliable, real-time metrics on dwell time, return trips and footpath analytics. By geo-fencing the data, it is possible to track people inside and outside a store or in different parts of a venue, which can range in size from a small store to an international convention center or airport terminal.
“This is an economical, accessible and secure approach to location-based analytics,” says McGillivray. “This technology works almost anywhere in the developed world.”
Peoplecount is now offering this turnkey service, named Placescount, to out-of-home and place-based media operators. It is ideal for dynamic digital signage providers, as the power and Internet connections are already established. Placescount can measure media audiences in airports, malls, transit stations, stadiums, casinos, convention centers and other large venues. Next steps include examining the logistics for outdoor use in the wake of the growing incidence of Wi-Fi-enabled out-of-home advertising.
The company also sees its potential use for retail analytics; for leasing and real estate management; and for offering free Wi-Fi as an audience or customer amenity.
With a history of innovation over its 20 years of operation, Peoplecount is a highly respected and innovative supplier of audience measurement and advertising effectiveness research for digital and static outdoor advertising, place-based media and in-retail networks. The Toronto-based research company is staffed with professional engineers, geographic information specialists, and data analysts, with clients including the Traffic Audit Bureau, advertising agencies, out-of-home advertising and place-based media operators, and recreational and retail companies.
Follow DailyDOOH