Neo-Traffic, which operates a digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising network in 58 shopping mall food courts across Canada, recently tested Intel’s Audience Impression Metrics (AIM) Suite to gain insight into its audience’s characteristics and viewing dynamics.

The collected data revealed some differences between two upscale malls located just a 15-minute drive from each other in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). In one, for example, men represented the majority of viewers, while in the other, most viewers were female.

AIM software was originally developed in Toronto by CognoVision Solutions, before Intel acquired the company in 2010. The software is deployed alongside digital signage to compile anonymous, objective video analytics.

Neo-Traffic’s high-definition (HD) video monitors are strategically positioned around the malls’ food courts, which it considers an ideal setting for DOOH advertising to reach and influence consumers when they are just steps away from shops and other services. Research has shown 90 per cent of Canadians visit malls within a given month.

For the analytics test, Neo-Traffic commissioned Planet-Tek Systems in Richmond Hill, Ont.—which had past experience deploying AIM for clients like Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada (see Sign Media Canada, September 2012, page 121)—to integrate the software with its ‘Food Court Live’ screens in the two chosen malls. Planet-Tek worked with Neo-Traffic’s operations team and set up the software to detect the number of people looking at the screens, their genders, age groups and dwell time, with regard to specific on-screen content.

Over the course of a three-month test program, featuring a targeted DOOH ad campaign for a healthy living brand, AIM tracked and analyzed the aggregated real-time data about how many impressions the brand generated and for how long.

In both malls, Food Court Live’s content was strongest with the ‘young adult’ and ‘adult’ age groups most desired by advertisers—they made up 53 per cent and 25 per cent of the total audience, respectively. Children represented 12 per cent and seniors 10 per cent.

“We have long had an understanding of the general characteristics of the huge numbers of people who visit shopping malls where our network operates, but AIM Suite offered a fast, fully anonymous means of really understanding the audience for our programming,” says Ronald Tapiero, president of Neo-Traffic. “This technology has afforded us fascinating insights into the dynamics and demographics of our viewers, which enables us to better align our advertising to their needs and preferences.”