DS-IQ measures success of in-store ads

What: DS-IQ

What it does: The Bellevue company is launching a service this week that measures and analyzes the effectiveness of in-store digital ad campaigns.

Who: Tom Opdycke is the company's president and chief executive. Previously he worked at Microsoft in the Windows division.

History: Funded in 2003 by its founders, it has fewer than 20 employees.

Digital ads: Opdycke said Target, Wal-Mart and other major retailers have started to use digital signage — typically, networked plasma screens that play a loop of advertising.

"The prevalence of these networks has been growing dramatically over the last several years with the improved economics for digital signs," Opdycke said. For instance, the price of a 42-inch plasma has gone from $25,000 to $1,500, he said.

Measurement: But the effectiveness of the signs has been difficult to measure. Opdycke said studies can determine if sales increase, but the results aren't timely and are not specific enough.

The solution: DS-IQ builds a program that advertisers and stores can use in real-time to see if an ad is effective. To do so, the software pulls together information on what ads are being displayed with sales at the cash register.

Customers: Opdycke declined to say how many customers DS-IQ has, but noted it has worked with grocers, big-box stores and drugstores.

Real-time trial: He said during a grocery test, a 30-second commercial resulted in a 4.5 percent lift in sales. Because the product was shown for only 7 seconds, a banner with a tagline across the screen was added. That addition doubled the response rates.

Lot to learn: "This is about getting the fundamentals down to help the whole medium succeed."

— Tricia Duryee