Facial Detection Technology: Why No Activation Is Complete Without It

By James Giglio On Dec 20, 2018

In 2018, brands are pushing the envelope and embracing new ways for consumers to interact with their brand, products, and services. Traditional advertising and marketing don’t cut it anymore as research continues to suggest that today’s consumer prefers to engage with an experience, rather than a thing. This is no secret to marketers, nor is the fact that determining ROI on an experience is no simple task. Enter, facial detection technology.

Generally speaking, facial detection technology uses a digital image, often captured by a birds-eye view camera, to collect facial information, which is then run through an algorithm to ascertain things like gender, age, and even mood of an individual. Facial detection is not to be confused with facial recognition, which focuses on verifying a particular person’s identity. Facial detection, on the other hand, does not identify an individual, but rather collects binary information that becomes part of a larger dataset.

Through using facial detection technology, brands, and experiential marketers can get a full picture of who interacts with an experiential campaign. For example, engagement of an activation can be broken down by gender and age groups, and better yet — how they each interact with its different components. For example, the total number of impressions can be tracked, but so can how long a user focuses their gaze or dwells on a viewing point. In effect, this data can be used to create a heat map that identifies the most effective areas within an exhibit space. This provides valuable insight into the success of the activation itself and creates feedback for the brand to gauge how different consumers are interacting with their messaging or products.

More advanced facial detection technology can even customize a users experience based on their facial behavior and mood. In these cases, targeted messaging can be deployed to ensure the user has the best possible experience on the front end. Of course, this kind of qualitative feedback is invaluable to brands as a resource beyond the interactive experience from a market
research standpoint.

Essentially, facial detection helps find data where it couldn’t be found before. Facial detection is an essential component of any successful activation because facial detection does just that — measures success. Without this data, neither clients nor marketers can fully assess the value of an experiential campaign, nor the impact that their work is having on consumers. Facial detection technology helps brands activate with purpose and measure ROI, which in turn, creates better results for the consumer, brand, and activation as a whole.