According to New Scientist magazine, Google have filed a patent for an Adsense-like take on billboard advertising. Yes, billboards, as in huge boards on the streets.
Stores buying advertising time on local electronic billboards are able to connect their stock-control computers to the network. The ads are displayed in rotation, but only until the stock-control computer reports the product as sold out. At that point, the ad is omitted from the cycle until the product is restocked.
Big time electronic retailers will probably shy away from this since the model would mean that they can’t lure people into their stores with a ridiculously low priced piece of hardware that’s been sold out forever. Tough luck.
Originally posted on January 15, 2007 @ 11:27 am