Cars Windshields to Become Next Frontier for Advertisers

The windshield of your car has been identified as the next frontier for advertisers. Automotive manufacturers, technology companies and glass manufacturers are working on innovations that could make windshields a space for showcasing navigation directions, advertisements and vehicle information just in a manner similar to the display of an iPhone. Connectivity in cars is becoming increasingly common and consumers will soon find that just like vehicle wrapping is currently being used as a means of advertising, their car windshields will become a new space for advertising.

McKinsey & Co has published a report stating that mobile and mobile driven data in vehicles will generate revenue to the tune of USD 1.5 trillion by 2030 and at least some of it would be utilizing the potential of this new advertising platform.

Bloomberg Intelligence analyst, John Butler said that the typical needs of any motorist when travelling are fuel, food and the location of rest stops. The exterior and internal space in an automobile offers plenty of potential for advertisers.

One example of the manner in which a smart windshield would be that a driver whose tank is near empty would find information about the nearest petrol pump as an alert on his windshield. The virtual assistant in the car would offer a number of choices, like one that would offer a free cup of coffee or another that has options which suit the driver’s preferences with regard to fuel. This information would be based on data regarding the motorist’s buying patterns which would be stored by the smart car of the future.
Panasonic Corp. demonstrated technology at the CES, that would allow consumers to order and pay for fast food through a heads-up display unit before turning up to collect the order. Tom Gebhardt, the head of Panasonic’s automotive business in North America, said that securing such payments made out of a vehicle is also a major concern and his team would focus on an integrated solution, that would merge the infotainment system, the instrument cluster and the heads-up display.

Corning is working in lighter Gorilla Glass that is durable, thin and strong and any image projected onto this glass is sharper than onto a typical windshield. Currently, the product is less than 10 inches wide, but the Corning team is working to expand it to a full windshield-size display and says this goal could be realized in less than two years.

Many participants in CES have announced deals and partnerships that use software, digital voice technology and cloud computing to handle aspects ranging from ordering fast food to scheduling a maintenance appointment when you detect a problem with your vehicle. Major car manufacturers are already like BMW AG, Hyundai Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. are already offering basic heads-up displays near the windshield in some models displaying parameters like the vehicle speed. Alphabet Inc.’s Waze navigation app, suggests restaurants and points of interest that are closeby as you are driving. Projecting these points of interest and the directions to get there is the logical next step with mapping and navigational data being superimposed onto the road in front of the driver, like Google Street View currently displays information about an area on a static image. As in the all such informational displays, ads will soon follow.