Voice search is on the rise with more and more brands adapting their marketing strategies to incorporate voice functionality across Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, Google Home and more.
With voice devices and services such as Google Home and Assistant, Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri skyrocketing in use across 2018, consumers are increasingly comfortable with voice-driven, two-way dialogue with brands at unplanned times, often away from a mobile or computer; It’s a different kind of brand engagement, with a starting point that is usually a question (think ‘how’, ‘what’, ‘where’, ‘when’ and ‘why’) and responses more instantaneous and organic than ever. ComScore predicts that, by 2020, 50% of all searches will be voice searches.
Voice search changes the nature of search, increasing the importance of questions and simplicity of responses. This, in turn, increases the need to ensure your brand is front of mind when the question is asked, and positioned as the top informer. It’s a creatively challenging format with potential for big results, especially for brands naturally attuned to answering the most-asked questions.
For example, many breakfast food brands are keen to position themselves as breakfast-time problem solvers. Should they not be vying to answer a likely voice-driven query of ‘How can I make breakfast more exciting?’
Ignoring the nascent new way of searching is a dangerous thing to do. Now is the time for brands to invest time and money into their voice search offering. This will involve many test and learn situations, a new breed of SEO specialist and a commitment to simplified UX, all in the name of further removing barriers to authentic audience connection.
Voice search is on the rise with more and more brands adapting their marketing strategies to incorporate voice functionality across Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, Google Home and more.
With voice devices and services such as Google Home and Assistant, Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri skyrocketing in use across 2018, consumers are increasingly comfortable with voice-driven, two-way dialogue with brands at unplanned times, often away from a mobile or computer; It’s a different kind of brand engagement, with a starting point that is usually a question (think ‘how’, ‘what’, ‘where’, ‘when’ and ‘why’) and responses more instantaneous and organic than ever. ComScore predicts that, by 2020, 50% of all searches will be voice searches.
Voice search changes the nature of search, increasing the importance of questions and simplicity of responses. This, in turn, increases the need to ensure your brand is front of mind when the question is asked, and positioned as the top informer. It’s a creatively challenging format with potential for big results, especially for brands naturally attuned to answering the most-asked questions.
For example, many breakfast food brands are keen to position themselves as breakfast-time problem solvers. Should they not be vying to answer a likely voice-driven query of ‘How can I make breakfast more exciting?’
Ignoring the nascent new way of searching is a dangerous thing to do. Now is the time for brands to invest time and money into their voice search offering. This will involve many test and learn situations, a new breed of SEO specialist and a commitment to simplified UX, all in the name of further removing barriers to authentic audience connection.
The world of artificial intelligence (AI) is evolving rapidly, fulled by tech giant investment and disruptive entrants. However, the risk, as with so many earlier technologies, is that companies will focus on what the machines are capable of rather than what customers want. To keep you informed, we will be curating regular AI updates from our proprietary Retail Revolution study, news sources and industry statistics.
#retailrevolutionfact
- 22% of Europeans surveyed are already using AI and another 41% would like to get an AI device or app[ctt_hbox link=”fRLdl” via=”no” ][/ctt_hbox]
- Half of Europeans have used a digital assistant. Although Amazon Echo is not the most used to date across our research panel, it is the most liked [ctt_hbox link=”vG6we” via=”no” ][/ctt_hbox]
- Those who are willing to share data are over 60% more likely to use mobile AI assistants including Google Home, Amazon Echo and Microsoft Cortana [ctt_hbox link=”1Ue_W” via=”no” ] https://ctt.ec/1Ue_W+[/ctt_hbox]
#inthenews
#ready
- According to McKinsey’s, tech giants spent an estimated $20 billion to $30 billion on AI in 2016 globally
- In 2015, messaging apps surpassed social networks as reported by Business Insider
- Gartner forecasts that by 2019 AI platform services will cannibalise revenues for 30% of marketing-leading companies
AI has the ability to drastically change the way brands can interact with people. The question for brands is how best to employ AI to create these experiences of the future. Embracing a consumer-focused planning approach ensures that you will consider the lives and routines of one or several of your target audiences, as well as the rights and role of the brand in these moments.
Want to explore the implications of AI for your brand’s business? Click here and get in touch
By Caroline Clancy and Virginia Alvarez
Most of us realise that the world of marketing is constantly changing. Unless we understand our customers’ shifting desires, our attempts to reach them will inevitably fall flat. Many times these changes are temporary, caused by short-term trends. However, over the last few years a fundamental, long-term shift has arisen in consumer behaviour that has wide-ranging implications.
Due to recessions and economic uncertainty, people are reassessing their priorities and asking themselves what they truly value. As a result, we are moving towards a new economy that values experience over possessions. In recent research: [ctt template=”1″ link=”Tv647″ via=”yes” ]3 in 4 millennial’s chose to spend money on an experience or event, rather than purchasing a desired object @HarrisCorp @OMD_EMEA[/ctt] [ctt template=”1″ link=”jzCVA” via=”yes” ]Consumer spending on recreational & cultural services has risen 85% in Western & Eastern Europe over the last 5 years @Euromonitor @OMD_EMEA[/ctt]
This shift is impacting a multitude of industries and has the power to transform even the most established markets.
In fact, Airbnb’s co-founder, Brian Chesky, has observed:
“No longer do consumers want to show off, on Instagram or Snapchat, the wheels of their car or the clothes they wear. But they want to show off the experiences that they’re having. I think, more and more, we’re living in an experience-based economy”.
Material possessions are no longer enough
As a society, we are spending more money to do things, rather than to have things. We then share these lived experiences via social media, in effect, elevating them to the position of status symbols. Whereas once the designer handbag was a sign of success, now a memory from a faraway land is the marker of a good life. We aspire to turn our leisure time into social capital spent on moments that are unique, fleeting and personal.
At Live Nation, the world’s largest event company, two in five (40%) attendees share content on social media directly from their venues and three in five (59%) upload pictures afterwards (Source: WARC Consumers value brand experiences – 13 May 2013).
Plenty of research has shown that experiences bring more happiness than possessions. In fact, even the moments preceding and following an experience are more positively charged than those surrounding the purchase of a product. Experiments have shown that participants elicit more happiness and excitement when anticipating experiences. Whereas, waiting times for possessions are often fraught with impatience. Further research indicates that people also tend to talk more about experiences than they do products and derive more value from doing so.
This has led renowned psychologist Thomas Gilovich to conclude that “spending money on experiences provides more enduring happiness.”
Using this insight, OMD created an immersive theatre experience to launch HTC VIVE. We partnered with Noma Labs to host a once in a lifetime apocalypse event, HTC Virtually Dead, targeted to Millennials in both London and Paris. Tickets sold out in just over a week after showing the first teaser video in London. To meet demand, we extended the time period and put on more shows. Overall there were 900 shows over three weeks bringing in £300,000 worth of tickets, which is equivalent to a popular West End show running for over two years.
How can classic brands survive?
We need to refocus our strategies away from short-term demand and towards long-term desire. Brand experiences can help us drive this change, with luxury labels leading the way.
According to PWC, the annual sales growth of luxury experiences grew by 14% compared with 11% for luxury goods. Moreover, in 2014 The Boston Consulting Group found that experiences which include travel, gourmet dining and art auctions accounted for 55% of the global luxury spending. By creating enhanced sensory experiences for shoppers, luxury retailers have evolved a simple transaction into something more.
A great example of this is The Bentley Inspirator. The experience starts on an iPad in dealerships. You watch a beautiful video full of lifestyle images, off-piste skiing, yachts sailing through the ocean. Meanwhile, in real-time, facial recognition software is measuring your preferences. By the end of the video, a personalised Bentley configuration is created based on your preferences. A playful piece of technology which creates a magical experience by unlocking new information about the customer.
Is technology killing anticipation?
Technology has allowed us to engage with customers in ways we never thought possible. But, it has also fuelled new expectations, resulting in less patience and a rising demand for frictionless experiences. Amazon has calculated that even a one-second delay in page downloads could cost them $1.6 billion each year in lost revenue.
Modern technologies (e.g. Uber and drone delivery systems) are built on our desire for instant gratification. These technologies cure pain points in our lives. However, science has shown that anticipation can be far more gratifying than the reward itself. Bizarre as it may sound, there is an argument for designing in a little friction into the service process. Designed friction allows experiences to be anticipated, valued and remembered.
Create your experience and people will follow
We have the ability to design amazing experiences, but we need to be mindful about why and how we design them. From our research, we have seen how it is possible to design experiences that create emotional connections, drive memory creation and kindle the desire to share those experiences with others. Our deepest desires as human beings are to learn and grow. Brands have the opportunity to design in these experiences across their consumer touchpoints.
We must embrace this opportunity to move beyond simply creating consumer interactions which are frictionless, invisible and instead craft experiences with enough tension that they are shareable, memorable and teach us something about ourselves that we didn’t know before.
Interested in more information, contact us at [email protected].