Mettler-Toledo SAS, the world's leading manufacturer of industrial, lab and retail scales, has partnered with Quividi, the out-of-home audience measurement specialist. This partnership has borne an innovative new medium: the UC3-hTT scale, which is equipped with with a 12ö screen facing the customers and with Quividi's VidiReports software. This new scale, on top of performing its primary weighing task, plays an advertising message and automatically measures the screen's audience; thanks to VidiReports, it can even target its advertising content to its current audience.

Ad campaigns for consumer goods with a rapid selling cycle almost always evolve according to three fundamental steps: first, TV spots are planned to create awareness within a large segment of the population; these are followed by outdoor or radio campaigns to increase recall; finally, consumer should be re-exposed to the message at the point of purchase, since 70% of purchase decisions are made in-store. The UC3-hTT scale targets this last step. As opposed to leaflets placed on carts, video messages are engaging and eye-catching and they are played right within the store. Quividi's software enhances the effectiveness of the approach thanks to both its content adaptation facilities and its accurate reporting features.

The advantage of Mettler Toledo's media support is triple: scales have their natural place within a store and it is not necessary to plan for extra installation space in an already crowded environment; scales are placed at strategic points where shoppers naturally pause and find themselves more receptive to messages; finally the convivial size of 12ö screens avoids the visual fatigue created by overwhelmingly big signs.

Large retailers can manage a pool of scales by connecting them to the internal network and controlling them with a secure server; playlists can programmed by the marketing department and can be played simultaneously or at will thereby maximizing the impact of the aggregate media.

Quividi's VidiReports software uses the video stream provided by a small embedded webcam to analyze the scale's audience within a 3 meter radius. VidiReports provides key audience metrics such as the number of passers-by and the number of effective viewers, together with their attention time, their dwell time, and their gender.

Thanks to Quividi's software, advertisers can now rely on accurate figures to assess the impact of their campaigns; access to the data is performed via VidiCenter, Quividi's secure backoffice or via the retailer's own datacenter. Optionally, audience measurement data can be certified by leading rating companies such as MediamTtrie in France.

Audience measurement data as provided by Quividi's software on the UC3-hTT scale has a resolution on the order of the second. The data can be therefore correlated to the specific content shown on the customers screen; advertisers will therefore be able to fine-tune their content as a function of the aggregate attention time before the campaign ends, thus optimizing the overall performance of the campaign itself.

VidiReports' data is available in real-time inside the scale; therefore, the player can choose its current content as a function of the current audience. For instance, a predominantly male audience will be presented with slightly different messages for the same product than a female audience would. Equivalently, a campaign primarily targeted at men will only play when a majority of men are watching the screen.

Another audience-driven messaging strategy involves displaying an interactive animation attracting people towards the scale when it appears that no one is watching. For instance, a 3D package or logo might react to people passing by and then morph into a more traditional message once their attention is captured.

Please note that no video recording is ever performed and no uniquely identifiable databases are ever created; the sole output is statistical, anonymous data and the solution fully respects data protection legislation.

METTLER TOLEDO IN A FEW WORDS

The Group

• World leader in weighing and analysis systems - Headquarters in Switzerland (Greifensee)
• Swiss company with American shareholders, created in 1945 by Erhard Mettler, inventor of the substitution principle with a single-pan balance.
• Global headcount: 8650 people, including 10% in R & D
• 2006 turnover: US$1.595 billion
• ISO-certified production sites in Europe, the USA and Asia.

The French Subsidiary

Laboratory: weighing and analysis solutions for R & D laboratories, Quality Assurance departments and education.
Trademarks: METTLER TOLEDO, RAININ (pipettes), LASENTEC and FLEXILAB

Industry: weighing and control applications for production, storage, packaging and transportation.
Trademarks : METTLER TOLEDO, CARGOSCAN

Retail: solutions in weight/price weighing, in weighing/labelling and food machines for hypermarkets, retailers, restaurants, catering and food-processing industries
Trademarks: METTLER TOLEDO, MATHIEU

• COFRAC-certified calibration laboratory for the calibration of weights under #2-1528
• COFRAC-certified calibration laboratory for the calibration of balances under n¦2-1575
• ISO 9001 certification
• SEVESO capacitation
• CEFRI certification

QUIVIDI IN A FEW WORDS

Quividi is a privately held company created in July 2006 in Paris, France. Quividi's vision is to develop affordable and effective audience measurement solution for out-of-home media. Relying on proprietary image processing technology, Quividi offers outstanding software solutions that can be installed on a wide range of platforms and, most notably, on standard digital signage players. Quividi actively collaborates with all the actors involved in retail marketing, from brands to screen network operators, from integrators to media agencies and research companies and boasts several leading networks and integrators amongst its customers.

Founded in 2006 by four real-time image processing specialists, winner of the 2007 Innovation Oscar from French magazine LSA, Quividi works with manufacturers, system integrators, communication agencies and research institutes. Its solutions are sold worldwide.