You can see the quick rise of these devices over the last 8-10 months with the early adaptors. According to Edison Research's Smart Audio Report with NPR in late June 2017 around 7% of the households, own one of these 'smart speakers' The leaders are Amazon's Alexa and Google's Home and they are poised to be THE big deal this Christmas. While it will not be as life changing as the smart phone, released 10 years ago, it could have a big impact on Radio listening.
Right now these devices can control smart devices like the thermostat, light switches, and more as they develop them. They can also act like Siri on the phone and look things up on the web. But, the big deal for Radio and audio is - they can stream your audio with great sound into the house again. In fact, the Edison/NPR study reports that 90% of the smart speaker owners bought it to listen to music.
For years and years, we've seen radio become a very portable and mobile medium with the car becoming the spot where most listening happens. Now we have the chance to get back into the home with a new device. No wonder the sessions at the NAB Radio show in Austin on these devices were well attended. The only problem is we are competing with all the streaming channels (Spotify and Pandora) and every station in the world who is streaming through the big apps like I Heart and Tune In Radio. They already have a 'Skills' app section in the Alexa world for 'partners' to link up to Alexa so you can order up an Uber or a Domino's Pizza. Could there be a link for your station to have a skills app?
So how does your station take advantage of a new radio in the house? First, we need to educate the audience to command Alexa to tune us in and that will be tricky. Just saying 'Alexa I want to listen to Z100' might not bring the answer we expected. How many Z100s are there in the world of streaming? The key will lie in our call letters - but how many of us use our call letters all the time? The answer is very few of us. Does the audience even know our call letters?
We are going to have to start with a detailed campaign in our imaging and promos to explain to the audience how to order up our stations in Alexa land. First, buy an Alexa and see what works for your station in your market. Then craft your imaging campaign and make sure it's running enough to stand out. In the end, our call letters may be very important to more than just the legal ID we bury in a sea of spots in the :50 stop set.
Yes, only 7-10% of the audience has one now but, this will grow fast over the next year. If you wait to jump in the pool it could be pretty crowded.
Right now these devices can control smart devices like the thermostat, light switches, and more as they develop them. They can also act like Siri on the phone and look things up on the web. But, the big deal for Radio and audio is - they can stream your audio with great sound into the house again. In fact, the Edison/NPR study reports that 90% of the smart speaker owners bought it to listen to music.
For years and years, we've seen radio become a very portable and mobile medium with the car becoming the spot where most listening happens. Now we have the chance to get back into the home with a new device. No wonder the sessions at the NAB Radio show in Austin on these devices were well attended. The only problem is we are competing with all the streaming channels (Spotify and Pandora) and every station in the world who is streaming through the big apps like I Heart and Tune In Radio. They already have a 'Skills' app section in the Alexa world for 'partners' to link up to Alexa so you can order up an Uber or a Domino's Pizza. Could there be a link for your station to have a skills app?
So how does your station take advantage of a new radio in the house? First, we need to educate the audience to command Alexa to tune us in and that will be tricky. Just saying 'Alexa I want to listen to Z100' might not bring the answer we expected. How many Z100s are there in the world of streaming? The key will lie in our call letters - but how many of us use our call letters all the time? The answer is very few of us. Does the audience even know our call letters?
We are going to have to start with a detailed campaign in our imaging and promos to explain to the audience how to order up our stations in Alexa land. First, buy an Alexa and see what works for your station in your market. Then craft your imaging campaign and make sure it's running enough to stand out. In the end, our call letters may be very important to more than just the legal ID we bury in a sea of spots in the :50 stop set.
Yes, only 7-10% of the audience has one now but, this will grow fast over the next year. If you wait to jump in the pool it could be pretty crowded.
