Will autonomous vehicles provide the next screens for publishers and advertisers?

If and when autonomous vehicles arrive, it’s difficult to envision anything more frightening than a massive tractor-trailer truck hurtling down the highway with no one at the wheel.

But, from a marketer’s point of view, the good news is that all those self-driving vehicles — including trucks — will essentially become moving living rooms. And that means a new universe of publishing and advertising opportunities.

“Get ready for your car to become yet another ‘screen’ where publishers and advertisers compete for your attention,” says a new report from Forrester, “Autonomous Vehicles Will Reshape the Global Economy.”

“Don’t be surprised,” the report warns, “when you start to see big brands sponsoring your rides: ‘This trip is brought to you by the champagne of beers — Miller High Life.’”

Of course, an alcoholic beverage paying for the trip to pick up your five-year-old from kindergarten may seem incongruous. But report co-author and Forrester VP/Group Director Carl Doty told me that ads are only the beginning of marketing opportunities in the upcoming world of driverless vehicles.

For instance, the report speculates, brands may want to create enveloping experiences on the way to your destination.

A family trip via autonomous car to Florida’s Disney World could begin with Disney-provided entertainment displayed on screens in the car’s interior that turn it into a “pirate ship.”

[Read the full article on MarTech Today.]

About The Author

Barry Levine

Barry Levine covers marketing technology for Third Door Media. Previously, he covered this space as a Senior Writer for VentureBeat, and he has written about these and other tech subjects for such publications as CMSWire and NewsFactor. He founded and led the web site/unit at PBS station Thirteen/WNET; worked as an online Senior Producer/writer for Viacom; created a successful interactive game, PLAY IT BY EAR: The First CD Game; founded and led an independent film showcase, CENTER SCREEN, based at Harvard and M.I.T.; and served over five years as a consultant to the M.I.T. Media Lab. You can find him at LinkedIn, and on Twitter at xBarryLevine.