Do Consumers Want to Hear Ads from Alexa and Google Assistants?

Marketiu
Marketiu
Sep 5, 2018 · 6 min read

Written by Roland Gavrilescu and Andrei Tiu — September 2018

As Voice technology and adoption are progressing at a very high pace, marketers are increasingly exploring opportunities to drive brand engagement and awareness through voice assistants like Alexa and Siri. However, as this is a new communications channel which has already had a degree of controversy surrounding its very fast growth and home penetration, are people already prepared to be exposed to data-driven advertising through Voice Devices?

Giving a bit more context — History and experiments…

Back in March 2017, an experiment was conducted by Google with their Home devices. A short ad for the recently released “Beauty and the Beast” movie appeared as part of the “My Day” briefing, a feature where the digital assistant provided an update with calendar events and news bulletins. After listing the time, weather and travel updates, the assistant surprised its users with the following line: “By the way, Disney’s live action Beauty and the Beast opens today,” followed by the synopsis of the movie. Many people didn’t take it kindly and started tweeting about it. Google were quick to respond, saying that it wasn’t intended to be an ad, but “timed content”, followed by the removal of it.

More than a year has passed since then. Although discussions have been reported on the topic, we haven’t seen any attempts of introducing ads on the platform yet. Nevertheless, the question remains: are consumers interested in hearing voice ads on their assistants?

State of ads on Voice Platforms

Earlier last year, Amazon invited Alexa partner agencies to learn more about the product’s road map. The major topics of discussion were how Amazon could direct individuals to discover and further use its skills through the conversational interface; and what a paid model for skills promotion should be.

Although looking to earn revenue from Alexa users through advertising has been debated for a long time, the e-commerce giant hasn’t yet figured out how to inject advertising into a voice environment without compromising the user experience.

“It’s hard to make paid voice-based search work because unlike a website page that lists many search results, a voice assistant like Alexa only presents one result at a time” Nicholas, Product Manager in the Alexa team, claimed. “For instance, if an individual asks, ‘Alexa, how do I cook steak?’ If Alexa only surfaces a paid option, it may come across like a hard sell. If Alexa recommends a mix of paid and unpaid yet relevant options concurrently, it would be too cumbersome for users. Either way, it will impair the Alexa user experience.”

Thomas Stelter, VP of emerging solutions for the agency Possible, echoed that sentiment.

“There’s a strong [ad] demand, while consumers don’t want marketers to interrupt their experience.”

It may be too early for Amazon to introduce ad products on Echo, but Amazon has focused on and will put more effort into skills discoverability this year, according to agency executives. There are tens of thousands of Alexa skills, but there’s no way for brands to advertise their skills on Echo or the Alexa app and further direct people to install their skills.

“The value proposition of Alexa is not an advertising platform — it is a voice assistant that provides utility on how brands engage with consumers.” said Gela Fridman, managing director of technology for Huge.

However, at the beginning of this year, CNBC reported that Amazon was in talks with companies like Procter & Gamble and Clorox to advertise on Echo devices, potentially suggesting their products when you ask your Echo to buy something.

Some of the talks were said to be about search placement and whether brands can get mentioned over others. Taking voice e-commerce as an example, Alexa might be able to suggest related products from a sponsored brand, whether you are shopping or just looking for a solution on the internet. “So if you ask Alexa to help clean up a spill, it could suggest you use a certain brand of cleaner” CNBC says.

Despite the numerous talks on this topic, the company is stating that there are no plans of adding advertising to Alexa at this moment.

Are the users ready?

Compared to their older brothers, Google Search or Amazon.com, the voice platforms can only present 2 or 3 relevant products to the user. Therefore, knowing your preferences and intentions is crucial for delivering the best possible experience.

Turns out, users might not really mind hearing suggested content from their assistants — as long the sponsored content or product suggestions are relevant to what they are looking for. Currently, voice platforms are predominantly used as a research platform, so AI-powered suggestions and results could be actually preferred.

In fact, many US voice assistant users surveyed by NetElixir in February 2018 said they would welcome this form of advertising throughout their voice search journey, whether that’s when they’re researching products or looking to get advice on them.

Interestingly enough, 16.5% of respondents said they wouldn’t mind getting an advertised product suggestion when they ask either Alexa or Siri to make a purchase, which likely signals they’re on the lookout for a deal or offer. This can potentially prove a great channel in the near future for brands, as, opposed — let’s say — to Social Media, and more similar to traditional Web or Mobile Search, users present a higher intent of purchase which can result in a higher conversion rate through Voice Assistants.

In all, very few respondents (10.8%) said they wouldn’t want to hear about any sponsored content or product suggestions, while less than 1% said they’re tired of seeing or hearing ads — that there are enough of them out there.

Wrapping it up…

Looking at the customer interviews and research, it can be concluded there is certainly a great opportunity for brands to capitalise in the Voice space and become advertising pioneers — while reaping the benefits that come with early adoption: Great pricing, high engagement and industry leader positioning . While Amazon doesn’t offer brands paid voice search just yet, its smart speakers might not be the most impartial shopping tool. Voice SEO is already playing a huge role in product discoverability (check out our article here) while big brands are already entering negotiations for early adoption and development on this channel. Nevertheless, we are ready to support your growth if you decide to explore this new Advertising and engagement channel further, and will be happy to offer you a free 30-minute consultancy session, to find out about your objectives, brand, and if this can be a good option for you. Just write us at hello@marketiu.com!

About us…

At Marketiu, we help you get to the edge and maximise your Digital Marketing returns as well as exponentially grow your business by combining latest Strategic Industry Know-how with intelligent Marketing Execution, Automation & Personalisation tools & Tactics on all required channels.

We have obtained continuous success through Marketing channels integration and optimisation, great scheduling and on-spot control. We offer top-class tailored Marketing Consultancy, Social Media & Cross-channel Digital Advertising Services as well as All-round Digital Production, and have worked with brands ranging from Luxury International Cosmetics, Financial Services and Entertainment supporting their growth. We’d be happy to answer any questions you might have too!

Think we can help further? Get in touch @ hello@marketiu.com for a free Marketing Audit and Consultancy session, and let’s prepare the ground for setting your business on a rising Profit Curve!

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