Attention

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not represent our advertisers

Thursday, March 03, 2016

Advertising Company Will Use Its Billboards To Track Passing Cellphones

Clear Channel Outdoor — one of the largest outdoor advertising companies in the U.S. — is starting a new program called Radar that will use billboards to map real-world habits and behaviors from nearby consumers.

The technology is sure to help advertisers better target their ads. But privacy advocates argue that it's, well, a little creepy.

This is how Clear Channel Outdoor describes how the program works, in a video on its website:

"Using anonymous aggregated data from consumer cellular and mobile devices, RADAR measures consumer's real-world travel patterns and behaviors as they move through their day, analyzing data on direction of travel, billboard viewability, and visits to specific destinations. This movement is then mapped against Clear Channel's displays, allowing advertisers to plan and buy Out-Of-Home to reach specific behavioral audience segments."

More

7 comments:

Thornton Crowe said...

Would be interested to see the constitutionality if this tracking, considering it technically is a violation of privacy laws and not covered under the guise of the Patriot Act. While some might find this technology titiliating, it could easily morph into something far more expansive, thus, furthering the reach into our lives. Just saying.

Anonymous said...

Funny how Clear Channel can check someones cell phone with a billboard but the U.S. Government can't get into an iPhone? WTH!

Anonymous said...

Another way of tracking where you are and what you are doing on a daily basis. None of their business, we are tracked/photographed enough already.

lmclain said...

You cheered!
They responded.
The good news is, they decided that they have us under enough surveillance and monitoring and will cease to improve/invent new ways to continue such activities, since as they say, this IS America, with a Constitution and liberty.

Ok.
I made that last part up.
Keep cheering.

Anonymous said...

Cheap Channel trying to find another revenue stream to supplement their failing radio business industry!

Anonymous said...

Brilliant!

Anonymous said...

I'm thinking that someone with a little electronics knowledge could probably make a fortune in personalized RF jamming devices., or perhaps a software guru who has written an app to do the same thing.