Digital Signage Research Guidelines Published

In the US, the Digital Signage Group (DSG) has published what it describes as the industry's first code of conduct for the use and deployment of consumer tracking research and technology.

DSG is the advocacy arm of not-for-profit Point of Purchase Advertising International (POPAI), which serves the interests of all those involved in retail marketing. Last year, POPAI launched a syndicated qual study on shopper engagement called MARI, which determines what displays, marketing materials and shelf layouts work best, along with why and how they convert shoppers into buyers.

Its digital signage arm provides industry information, profiles of proven solutions, market research and education to demonstrate the ability of digital signage solutions to inform, educate and influence.

The DSG's new 'Best Practices: Recommended Code of Conduct for Consumer Tracking Research' offers recommendations to help marketers maintain ethical boundaries with consumer data, and suggests how consumer observations and marketing insights should be collected and used.

Members of the DSG committee drew up the Code of Conduct, with support from consumer privacy legal experts and advocates.

While POPAI says that the digital signage industry's present level of privacy infringement is not especially high because only a small percentage of digital signage units have audience measurement, identification or interactive capabilities, it cautions that the privacy issue is real.

'As digital out-of-home (DOOH) media continues to trend toward greater identification and surveillance capability, it is important that our industry regulates itself,' said Bill Gerba, POPAI DSG Advocacy Chair, and CEO of WireSpring Technologies. 'It is very likely that DOOH media will one day regularly identify individual consumers, and these guidelines serve everybody's best interests, including the consumer's, by establishing credible and transparent standards before the problem hits center-stage.'

The code can be downloaded here: www.popai.com/pdf/2010dscc.pdf .

Web site: www.popai.com .