Startup rolls out targeted billboard ads in Moscow

For the first time anywhere in the world, a billboard advertisement changes its message depending upon the car it spots on the road. The concept of targeted advertising, widely prevalent on the internet, has now made inroads into the physical world, courtesy a startup called Synaps Labs, which is using machine vision and machine learning to show specific ads to a specific set of the audience on Moscow highways.

This kind of advertising technology comprises high-speed cameras installed ahead of the billboard, notes MIT Technology Review. The captured images are automatically analyzed to figure out the make and model of the car, based on which bidding system flashes an appropriate ad on the billboard.

Explaining about the scope and effectiveness of such advertising, Synaps says the make and model of vehicles give a scientific insight into the estimate income, race, education level of a neighborhood’s residents and more, a data set which can be very helpful for advertisers to narrow down their target and customized their message, reports NeoGaf.