iHeartRadio's "Santa Skill" Brings Fresh Business Opportunities

quotWe39ve seen increased iHeartRadio user adoption of voiceenabled smart speakers and are always on the lookout for new and innovative ways for consumers to interact with usquot said iHeartRadio39s Chief Product Officer Chris Williams pictured below in a recent conversation with MediaVillage quotCustom skills such asamp160iHeartRadio39s Santa skill for Amazon39s Alexa are a great examplequotSince Amazon introduced its first Echo device in 2014 demand for voiceassisted technology and smart speakers has exploded amp160Currently industry estimates project that between 7 and 11 of Americans own a smart speaker and the devices are expected to be one of this season39s hottest holiday gifts amp160By 2020 Gartner research estimates that 75 of US homes will have a smart speaker standing on the kitchen counter or bedroom nightstand amp160Also with voicetechnology including Alexa increasingly integrated into car entertainment systems users will have even more opportunities to use voice commands to sample audio contentWith its voice integrations iHeartMedia is already a step ahead of many of its competitors amp160For instance voice skills for its 850 local radio stations come preloaded in many devices including Amazon products amp160All these users have to do is request their device play a favorite station or iHeartRadio amp160iHeart says its radio station skills as well as creative efforts like the new quotAsk Santaquot skill are helping to drive awareness for its brands and increase audio consumption on new platformsquotAs an early adopter of smart speaker technology we39ve seen incredible growth in the number of iHeartRadio listeners who use Alexaenabled devicesquot Williams said amp160quotEase of use is a major factor in user adoption and the main reason that voice assistants will be ubiquitous in the next decadequotAs content publishers including radio broadcasters digital audio services and TV networks have launched custom skills to deliver their content to smart speakers brands and marketers have also been eying ways to take advantage of voice technologyamp160 Some brands have created their own custom voice skills to promote their products while others are looking to integrate with publishers39 skills to promote their products and servicesamp160and gain access to an established audienceWhile iHeart is not attaching sponsors to its skills just yet Williams says he can envision opportunities to marry clients with voiceassisted contentamp160 quotWith the increase in smart speaker use there will be more and more opportunities to tie in our brand partners in a way that also benefits our listeners at homequot he saidFor now iHeart is focusing on growing its smart speaker user base and the company is leaning on its radio stations to help educate users promote discovery and convert many of its 250 million monthly radio listeners into smart speaker users further expanding its reach amp160quotWe have a huge opportunity to use our massive scale to help educate consumers on how to easily use voiceenabled devices to listen to their favorite broadcast radio stations ondemand music newstalk content and podcastsquot Williams explainedTo promote its new quotSantaquot skill iHeart is marshaling those onair and online assets amp160quotThroughout December we39re running onair digital and social promotions to drive awareness and engagement with iHeartRadio39s Santa Skillquot Williams noted amp160quotWe39ll also tap into our onair personality influencer network to spread the word by talking about the skill as a fun new way to interact with Santa Claus and hear great Christmas musicquotAs it promotes quotAsk Santaquot as well as future niche skills iHeart can build off some of its early experiences in the space amp160The company uses its 850 terrestrial radio outlets to promote its individual station skills such as reminding listeners they can command Alexa to stream their favorite station or turn on a station stream at a particular time creating an alarm clock or listening appointment amp160The strategy is similar to how the company built up the user base for its iHeartRadio streaming app amp160quotBroadcast radio is how we39ve grown iHeartRadio to more than 100 million registered users with over 90 brand awareness and it39s a natural extension to help educate listeners on using our voice skillsquot Williams saidOf course an oldfashioned prize giveaway is always a way to entice the audience to try something new amp160Taking a page from its radio promotions playbook this month iHeart stations are giving away Amazon Alexa Google Assistant and Cortana enabled devices amp160In a more contemporary styledamp160promotion iHeart and Google partnered to direct listeners to command their Google Assistant devices to voteamp160for their favorite artist in the quotMost Powerful Female Voicequot category for the 2017 iHeartRadio Music Awards amp160quotIt39s an example of how voiceenabled technology can elevate both publishers and brandsquot Williams notedWhile iHeart isn39t involving its advertising clients in its smart speaker efforts just yet they are already working to tie advertisers into original skills or as Williams further explained quotto develop custom skills and actions that are beneficial to our listeners then we39ll promote the skills and actions onair digitally and through social media to drive awareness and engagementquotClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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iHeartRadio's "Santa Skill" Brings Fresh Business Opportunities

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Alli Romano

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iHeartRadio's "Santa Skill" Brings Fresh Business Opportunities

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Alli Romano

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