The synergy between digital signs and smartphones is attractive to shoppers and marketers alike, but will recent headlines and privacy concerns diminish the prospects of this relationship?

Over the past few months, various commentators have discussed the synergy that can be created when digital communications between digital signs and cellphones is enabled -via a Bluetooth connection or other wireless means.

The concept makes perfect sense. Enabled with this capability, digital out-of-home signs add new value for viewers and communicators alike. For instance, in a store communications between digital signs and cellphones can be used to enhance the experience of a shopper by adding handheld interactivity, delivering custom promotional messages or imparting some other form of value to the customer. One often cited example is transmitting a digital coupon to a shopper within proximity of sign, such as a coupon for a particular deli item from a digital sign near the deli counter.

Another interesting possibility is allowing shoppers to interact with a digital sign set up with kiosk-like interactivity directly from their smartphones. This approach extends the interactive reach of a kiosk from the touchscreen interface of a digital sign into the palm of the hand of the shopper holding the smartphone.

A recent press release from a vendor offering a solution that ties mobile and digital signs together in this fashion quotes a recent ad forecast from Magna Global. The research firm found mobile and digital out-of-home advertising currently are the second and third fastest-growing advertising mediums of all possible ad vehicles. According to the findings, mobile ads are expected to grow 19.4 percent from 2011 to 2016. The forecast for DOOH ad growth during the period is 15.2 percent. It would seem that leveraging the two by combining them to deliver handheld interactivity, coupons and other promotional messaging would be a marriage made in heaven.

Not only does this arrangement benefit shoppers as they are making their purchasing decisions, but it also gives marketers unprecedented access to information about shoppers. For example, the vendor offering this solution says its product in effect conducts real-time market research while delivering targeted messaging to consumer smartphones. By tracking which messages shoppers respond to on their smartphones, marketers have a way to track instantly the effectiveness of various digital signage ad campaigns.

I was enthusiastic about the prospects of this marriage, until the other day when major media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, Guardian, The Associated Press and many others, began reporting on Apple iPhones' tracking the location of owners. That report was quickly followed by other stories reporting on Google's data collection efforts with Android Phones.

I'm certainly not a Luddite, and I see the real benefits of tapping into the synergies created when mobile phones and digital signs talk. But I am also not unaware of the potential of this iPhone and Android issue to impact the success of this smartphone-digital signage marriage. Already some countries in Europe are calling for investigations to determine if tracking and collecting data by Apple and Google violates any privacy laws.

While I understand the data collected by interaction between smartphones and digital signs doesn't have to be tied to any information stored on the phone, but rather simply anonymous tallies of interactions with signs, I wonder if the public will distinguish between the two. Or, will it simply lump them together as invasions of privacy?

I wonder if as sometimes happens in real nuptials if outside circumstances will turn the wedded bliss of smartphones and digital signs into an unholy union? Will the flap over iPhone and Android Phones collecting personal data sour the public on the idea of interacting with digital signs via their cellphones? Only time will tell, but I fear this promising marriage could ultimately be burdened with unfounded public suspicion that leads to a less than fulfilling lifetime partnership.

The latest figures from The Nielsen Company not only show remarkable growth in audience exposure in Q4 2010 versus the same quarter the previous year, but also that such networks deliver verifiable audiences.

The Nielsen Company, the organization most people know for measuring TV viewership, has some good news for the digital signage industry -and it's not trivial.

In the fourth quarter of 2010, a metric the company dubs the "average minute audience" of those 18 years old or older at a dozen measured "location-based networks" climbed almost 250 percent compared to the same metric measured at eight such networks in Q4 2009. Translating that into something a little more understandable, Nielsen says the metric means that for the quarter there were more than 500 million gross minute exposures per month.

The findings, part of "The Nielsen Company's Fourth Screen Network Audience Report," are significant, not simply because of the remarkable growth exhibited year over year, but also because the numbers exist at all.

Whether you call them "location-based networks," "digital place-based networks" or "digital signage networks," one thing essential for legitimacy has been missing for far too long -that is until The Nielsen Company applied its audience measurement expertise to the medium. That ingredient is verifiable audience metrics that media professionals at ad agencies and inside corporate marketing departments can use to make informed decisions about where to spend their ad dollars.

In a blog entry on the Nielsen website describing the findings, Mike DiFranza, president of Captivate and chairman of the Digital Place-based Advertising Association (DPAA) is quoted as saying "quality audience metrics are the foundation of every media investment." Together with consumer research the Nielsen audience metrics are "key elements" for digital place-based networks "to be planned alongside traditional media," he added.

It's hard to imagine any statement being more on-target when it comes to the significance of verifiable audience metrics for the continuing and future success of this emerging medium. I suspect many people reading this column may intellectually grasp the concept, but have little or no firsthand experience with media buyers.

As someone who has worked with ad agencies on and off throughout my career, let me attest to the pride ad professionals take in being able to read audited (that is, independently verified) circulation statements of print publications and examine ratings books of electronic media to identify vehicles that deliver their clients' identified target markets. Critical to this process is the media outlet actually delivering the audience it says it delivers. That's where ratings, circulation statements and now "fourth screen audience reports" become essential.

In its blog posting Nielsen does a nice job of highlighting some of the report's critical findings, so there's no need to rehash that data here. I recommend spending a moment reading the Nielsen blog posting to learn the specifics.

One final thought -for those considering rollout of new digital signage networks, examining the list of businesses and venues Nielsen measured for the performance of similar deployments might be valuable. Doing so should provide some insight on what might be possible. Nielsen gathered its audience metrics from digital place-based networks in a variety of venues, including: retail, airports, health clubs, gas stations, bars and restaurants, hotels, health clubs and stadiums. Specific companies measured, included: Best Buy, CNN Airport Network, Zoom Fitness, Outcast/Pump Top, TouchTunes Interactive Networks, indoorDIRECT, The Hotel Networks, TargetCast, RMG Fitness, Outcast: Health Club Media Network, AMI and Access-360 AMNTV.