Smart Speaker Ownership Nearly Doubled in Less Than Six Months

NuVoodoo Media Services, a data-driven media marketing, programming and content intelligence provider, announces that the latest NuVoodoo Ratings Prospects Study of 3,041 respondents, ages 14-54, across all PPM markets reveals a sharp rise in smart speaker ownership since the previous NuVoodoo Ratings Prospects Study in August 2017 and this new study fielded in late January 2018. Smart speaker ownership kicked into overdrive across this past holiday season. In this latest study, one-third of respondents now report they have a smart speaker at home – up from less than a quarter in the previous study. NuVoodoo further found that 48% of likely PPM participants now own a smart speaker.

The NuVoodoo Ratings Prospects Study is conducted twice a year to learn more about those who are most likely to say “yes” to the opportunity to wear a meter in order to provide NuVoodoo clients with competitive insights and advantages that they can exploit to capture higher ratings. This is the 11th Ratings Prospects Study that NuVoodoo has completed since 2011. The company shares the top-level findings of its studies with its radio broadcasting clients to develop winning next-generation marketing and programming strategies for stations of all formats in PPM markets.

Looked at through the lens of likely ratings participants, whether it’s the type of people who would accept a meter or those who would accept a diary, the news is even more enticing: among these important subsamples, nearly half report having a smart speaker today. The people who are most important to radio ratings are getting on board with smart speakers – and doing it quickly.

Carolyn Gilbert, President and Chief Executive Officer, NuVoodoo Media Services, said: “When we model through the research respondents most likely to say “yes” to a meter offer from Nielsen, we routinely see respondents who are more interested and more engaged with radio and other media. In this case, we see significantly higher smart speaker ownership among those likely to accept a meter or a diary – nearly half. As we see it, the numbers are too big to ignore. If radio stations don’t have a strategy for smart speakers, they risk being left out as people become habituated to what they ask their smart speakers to do for them.”

Leigh Jacobs, Executive Vice President, Research Analysis, NuVoodoo Media Services, noted: “These new speakers can connect people with all sorts of content, but it’s easiest when those publishing the content have an easy way to tell people exactly what to say to their smart speaker. If that sounds like an ideal situation for broadcast radio outlets, you’re right on the money.”

Jacobs added: “The kitchen radios our parents and grandparents had have been replaced by TV’s. It’s a rare person who still has a clock radio – and even more rare when you find a person who wakes up to a station playing on a clock radio. This is largely brand new TSL, brought about by a combination of the novelty of these new devices and being able to listen in rooms that may not have had a radio for a long time. This presents a significant opportunity for stations to bring radio back to bedrooms and kitchens every morning.”

Mike O’Connor, Executive Vice President, Marketing, NuVoodoo Media Services, commented: “It’s a good time to review what your station’s stream sounds like. With these new devices, if you’re not making the listener happy, she can ask Alexa to switch to Spotify, Pandora or Amazon. The fact that your commercial break will be longer than theirs isn’t good, but there’s no need to make it worse with commercial fill material ranging from useless PSA’s to announcements saying, “Your station is playing commercials.”

NuVoodoo Media Services will be presenting a deeper dive into these numbers, especially as they apply to talk shows, on Thursday, March 8th at Talk Show Boot Camp at the Joule Hotel in Dallas.