By Andrew Chatterton
We’ve all seen the headlines that say the Government only want our fingerprints so they can track our every movement, and that biometrics is the worst idea since the FA decided to appoint Steve McClaren as England manager.
However, according to a recent study, the public aren’t at all fazed by the prospect, and are in fact in favour – as long as it means making their life easier.
TNS has undertaken a global study on the future of retailing, which says 60 percent of consumers across the globe believe that they will be able to pay for purchases using just their fingerprints by 2015. When compared against other innovations such as holographic sales assistants, interactive dressing room mirrors and Smart Trolleys (which calculate your shopping as you add items to the basket), consumers rated biometrics at the top of the list.
Indeed, despite claims that the UK public will rise up in defiance at any introduction of biometrics, the UK was one of the countries most in favour of this shopping solution – with 41 percent giving it the top vote.
So why the ongoing media furore about biometrics? Is it simply a case that, like any new technology, if you throw it out to the wolves without proper context, it is bound to cause suspicion?
We are not, generally, a population of early adopters – combine this with a potential threat to our identity plus the media’s love of a good Government conspiracy, and the story starts to write itself, however misleadingly...
However, the TNS study shows what can be done when technology is introduced in a more familiar context and in a language that can be easily understood. Showing how biometrics can be a safe, convenient and secure way of doing your weekly shop is something that the public can immediately visualise and weigh up.
So perhaps biometrics is not quite as scary as some might think, though I doubt the media will have much change of heart. There’s no denying that the technology is only now being adopted into the mainstream, and there’s still one or two bumps to iron out. But with the right message articulated in a context the target audience can relate to, its introduction should become a lot smoother.
After all, finding the right message and using it in context is exactly what we in the PR industry are here to do…
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