Can Tesco facial recognition really “change the face of British retail”?

This week, Amscreen unveiled its facial recognition screens targeting Tesco customers. Reading coverage in the press, it’s clear that there are privacy concerns at least in customers’ minds. For advertisers, more important questions are how useful it really is and if this will actually help shape the future of advertising?

So, is this ‘invasive’ technology going one step too far? Looking at the technology itself, it’s hard not to feel somewhat sorry for the criticism Tesco has been getting. The cameras give a best guess at the age and sex of customers. The technology will not reveal a customer’s shopping habits to the world, or that ‘he’ is secretly a she under his clothes. In short, the technology will know nothing more about you than anyone who walks past you on the street.

Posters with the potential to target different ads to different sexes are however not new. In 2012, an interactive ad for Plan UK was launched at bus stops in London. The billboards were able to judge the gender of people who passed by and showed them appropriate content. Although this creates some interesting creative opportunities (and some excellent PR opportunities), outdoor advertising hardly lends itself to discreet one-to-one messaging. What happens if there are multiple people looking at the ad at the same time? Given the broadcast nature of outdoor advertising, it seems unlikely that the increased targeting possibilities will really justify the investment made. This is particularly true in Amscreen’s case as questions remain as to whether the screens locations are ideal for this kind of technology.

Where this move does show real value to advertisers is with the increased accountability. Accurate audience numbers for outdoor ads is something that the industry has invested in heavily. These new screens post a milestone in improving the accuracy of numbers reported and should be applauded for doing so.

At this stage, many brands are likely to wait and see how the technology performs before embracing it. Others may also wait and see what develops next. This month for example, will see the Xbox One launch with facial recognition software as standard. By bringing this technology to the living room through Kinect, Microsoft is opening up a wealth of targeting possibilities. Imagine a world where a travel company would only show their TV adverts for couple’s holidays when both partners were watching together. This would present a genuinely targeted opportunity for marketers.

Successful or not, Amscreen’s venture will definitely not be the last word on facial recognition.