IoE Takes to the Highway (and not how you think!) to Transform Marketing

You’ve heard us talk a lot about the major value at stake – or increased revenue and reduced business costs – around the Internet of Everything (IoE) for the public sector and various industries including retail, healthcare and manufacturing. But what about the one nearest and dearest to my heart — the marketing and advertising industry?

Cisco has identified a $1.95T value at stake for advertising and marketing organizations that harness the potential of the IoE.  Companies will realize this value by becoming more connected with their customers and delivering individually targeted messages and offers to them on any device, at any time and at any location.

And today Cisco is becoming more connected with its customers and showcasing IoE in a way we never have before by launching our first ever billboard…connected to the Internet.

Cisco’s connected billboard responds to real time traffic by displaying content that changes based on traffic conditions.  When the freeway is wide open – think evenings and weekends – the billboard will deliver a short message about the Internet of Everything.  As traffic slows – think commute hours – the billboard will reveal that it is responding to real time traffic, and drivers will receive a longer message depending on how slow they are going.

The billboard – located on highway 101 just south of Whipple Avenue in Redwood City, CA – replaces one that was digital, but had no interactive capabilities.  With Cisco’s help and access to road sensor API traffic data, this billboard has woken up and joined the Internet of Everything.

This new billboard is truly an example of “connecting the previously unconnected” and it’s one that will disrupt the advertising space and help brands respond to and tailor marketing messages to audiences in real time.

If something as simple as a highway billboard can be reinvented through simply connecting it to the Internet, imagine what else is possible with the Internet of Everything.