70% of marketers who have used voice will be increasing audio spends in 2023: Report

Audio and Voice technologies would continue to be an important area of innovation and experimentation for marketers in the coming years, as they offer new ways to engage with audiences.

Voice technologies are now becoming an integral part of our lives-be it gathering information through voice searches, streaming music, controlling smart home appliances, or making utility bill payments through voice commands. New-age technologies like Natural Language Understanding (NLU), conversational artificial intelligence (AI), and neural text-to-speech (TTS) have helped push voice tech to the next level. We have also seen brands leveraging various technologies to build better experiences for consumers across sectors like consumer-packaged goods,  healthcare, banking, automotive, media, and retail. 

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MMA and GroupM have come together to launch a playbook, with inputs from Amazon, on the Voice/Audio landscape in India titled ‘The Essential Guide to Voice and Audio marketing’.

This playbook covers :-

• The voice technology trends globally and in India.
• Deep dive into the profile of voice audiences.
• Marketer outlook on the potential of voice and
• Recommendations for brands on how to optimally leverage voice technologies to build superior experiences for consumers. The playbook aims at presenting the potential of voice technologies to brands across CX, and marketing/advertising use cases. 

The playbook is powered by a consumer study (sample size: 2600) that brings out the profile of voice audiences. The study focused on comparing the profiles of three cohorts :- 

• Non-audio internet users: Those who use the internet but don’t stream audio, don’t use voice assistants/speakers,  etc.  
• Online Audio users: Those who stream audio using the internet but do not use Smart devices/voice assistants etc.
• Connected audio users: Those who use smart speakers/smartphones/smart devices to stream audio/control  devices 

Key findings from the study include :- 

• Online audio users are more affluent than non-audio internet users based on NCCS A penetration (58% Vs 48%)
• Online audio users have relatively higher consumption propensity across products and services
• Online audio users are also likely to own/consume discretionary products and services like Air purifiers,  Dishwashers, etc. 
• Connected audio users (smart speakers/assistants) are an even more premium cohort than audio users 

This playbook also contains insights from a study conducted with 150+ Indian marketers/agency professionals to understand their outlook on audio marketing. Highlights from the study include :- 

• ~90% of digital industry professionals are aware of audio advertising, but only 40% have used it
• 90% of those who have used will be considering audio advertising for their 2023 media plans
• 70% of those who have used will be increasing their audio spends in 2023 

The playbook can be accessed here.

Moneka Khurana, Country Head and Board Member, MMA India said, “Indian brands have shown resilience in experimenting with voice technologies for building engaging experiences and looking to leverage connected audio solutions. Be it chatbots for gamification, leverage for Voice Synthesis for hyper-personalization or leverage of audio advertising for reaching audiences, the Indian marketing and agency community are leading the way. However, in general awareness of voice technologies and voice mediums for reaching consumers is low. The Essential Guide to Voice and Audio marketing will act as a toolkit to better understand the voice landscape and how it can be optimally leveraged by marketers to engage with 150 million+ monthly unique voice technology users In India - 70% of them being millennials and GenZ and high affluence levels which you just can’t ignore.” 

Niraj Ruparel, Head of Mobile & Emerging Tech - GroupM India said, “Voice technology is rapidly growing in popularity and has a wide range of applications across industries, from automotive to smart home and entertainment. GroupM is dedicated to leading the charge in innovative technology, leveraging emerging technologies such as Voice to help our clients stay ahead of the curve and discover new opportunities to enhance customer experience and drive business growth.  The integration of voice technology with IoT and AI is opening up exciting new possibilities, leading to advanced natural language processing, human-like speech synthesis, hands-free control of smart home devices, and context-aware voice assistants. With increased adoption of voice-enabled devices, voice technology is becoming increasingly integrated into  our daily lives and changing the way we interact with technology.”