Alfi study: Ad budgets rise along with concerns around ethical standards in DOOH

The Digital Out of Home (DOOH) market was estimated to be worth around $41.06 billion by the end of 2020, according to new research from Alfi, an AI enterprise SaaS advertising platform, however, nearly two out of three (65%) advertising executives predict value will rise to between $50 billion and $55 billion by 2026, while 30% think it will be bigger.

The study also found that 85% of advertising executives are worried about the level of ethical standards DOOH advertising companies are adhering to, with 47% stating they are “very concerned” about ethics around DOOH advertising in terms of the use of cookies, the storage of personal data, and facial images.

“The DOOH advertising market has not experienced a technological revolution in decades, so naturally it has work to do in order to address concerns with operations and scalability with modern technology,” said Paul Pereira, CEO, Alfi. “Privacy and respect are key factors that not only the industry should be aware of but also the leaders of the pack.”

Alfi’s next generation technology can detect behavior without collecting or storing personal data or facial images. It sets new standards by providing precise targeting information to advertisers by collecting information in non-intrusive ways that are compliant with GDPR, CCPA, and HIPAA. Since both GDPR and CCPA focus on the collection and storage of personal data, the fact that Alfi does not collect any personal identifiers or information makes it a compliant pioneer in the revolution of the OOH sector.

“As cookies slowly come to an end and consumers demand improved experiences, it is important for advertisers to first ensure that their DOOH partners have ethics and respect ingrained in their fabric and fully compliant with all GDPR, CCPA and HIPAA standards, before starting any campaign,” concluded Pereira.

Alfi’s proprietary platform utilizes perceptual details to detect a face and predict the age and gender of the person looking at the screen, and then serves content based on their emotions to the first set of ads. The company does not track or identify anyone, nor does it record or store facial images or videos. Alfi believes this type of anonymized, yet targeted advertising is the future of the industry, especially as the industry moves away from cookies and deep collection of consumers’ personal data and browsing history.