DailyDOOH

Gail Chiasson, North American Editor

Last Sunday, New York Sen. Charles Schumer, generally known for timing his comments when he can garner the most publicity, called Clear Channel Outdoor Americas’ RADAR program ‘spying billboards’, and said that the service may violate privacy rights by tracking people’s cell phone data via the ad space.

Our readers might remember that, when the RADAR platform was launched, we wrote: “Using aggregate and anonymous mobile consumer information, initially from AT&T Data Patterns, Placed and PlaceIQ, Clear Channel Outdoor RADAR overlays this data against the company’s U.S. inventory to create a comprehensive map of how specific audience segments are most effectively and efficiently reached via CCOA’s advertising. RADAR helps advertisers better navigate CCOA’s inventory and guides them to the locations and media-types that most efficiently deliver their specific audience target.”

Basically, RADAR measures consumers’ real-world travel patterns and behaviors as they move through their day, analyzing data on the direction of their travel, billboard viewability, and visits to specific destinations.

CCOA said from the beginning that it only uses anonymous data collected by other companies, and does not receive or collect personally identifiable information about consumers for use in Radar.

However, with Schumer making a noise and garnering a lot of attention in the media, we asked some key people in the Digital Out-of-Home industry their thoughts on the senator’s comments.

Nancy Fletcher, president and CEO of the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, said, “Mobile phone and digital technology bring valuable benefits to consumers seeking information, directions, entertainment, and connection to others. Increasingly, mobile-social-and-online media are connected to out of home advertising.

“At OAAA, we welcome the dialogue on balancing new technology and privacy. OAAA and its members are committed to responsible data practices, including transparency and control for consumers.”

Ron Camhi, a lawyer with Michelson & Robinson, a firm that deals a lot with the advertising industry and is a member of the Digital Place-Based Advertising Association, “It seems that Schumer was really just attempting to push regulations at the Federal Trade Commission. What’s the point of the FTC taking a look now? Clear Channel Outdoor took this all very seriously when it devised the Radar platform. I expect that it was vetted to comply with the all the rules, laws and best practices.

“You can’t discount the way this was done. It looks like an attempt by the senator to get a sound bite.”

Randy Dearborn, chairman of the Digital Signage Federation and vice-president, multimedia technologies, MGM Resorts International, said, “The issue of privacy has been a ongoing discussion that seems to have no resolution, much like a rhetorical question. I find it hard to believe that a society that continually broadcasts the most minute details of their personal life through their favorite flavour of social media on a daily basis might fear, or be offended, that advertisers are attempting to sell them a product geared specifically towards them. If you’re not already aware that the privacy horse left the barn a long, long time ago, then I’m sorry to also inform you that the Easter bunny does not lay eggs.

“I personally am ready to give up my keys, wallet, the currency in my pocket, for the convenience and simplicity of only having to worry where I left one thing laying around my house: where did I leave my phone again? Oh that’s right: I can find it by using ‘Find Phone’ on your phone.“

And from Scott Wells, CEO of CCOA that launched RADAR, “Our RADAR suite of campaign measurement solutions is a partnership with privacy-compliant third party data providers who are already collecting mobile data and have represented that they adhere to consumer friendly business practices that include options for consumers to opt-in or opt-out. Our third party partners will only be providing aggregated and anonymized statistical reports to us that do not include any personally identifiable information.

“Moreover, contrary to what some have reported, our boards are not equipped with any personally identifiable information technology.

As you know, this type of campaign planning, attribution and measurement has existed for years in other media and is now being applied to out-of-home media.”

This entry was posted on Friday, May 6th, 2016 at 07:00 @334 and is filed under DailyDOOH Update. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.