Smart
By PERRY MICHAEL SIMON in LAS VEGAS: WEDNESDAY at CES 2018 is offering more talk about smart speakers, including a session that included representatives from GOOGLE and AMAZON and a look at the Smart Audio Report study conducted for NPR by EDISON RESEARCH on smart speaker adoption.
EDISON VP/Strategy TOM WEBSTER said that the first round of research found that the devices change users’ behavior, with a significant number saying that they would not want to return to life as it was beforehand; the follow-up study showed 128% growth from JANUARY 2017 to CHRISTMAS 2017 in ownership, with 16% of AMERICANS owning one of the devices. WEBSTER said that users reported that they got the devices to listen to audio, and indeed 71% said they listen to more audio since getting a smart speaker (and 28% of those said they are listening to more News-Talk content), but 30% said the device is replacing time spent with TV. Additionally, 61% said they are interested in getting the technology in their cars — good news for the car makers who have announced ALEXA and GOOGLE ASSISTANT capabilities in their vehicles. And the research, WEBSTER noted, showed people “gathering around” the devices the way families used to gather around the radio before television; 66% said they use the devices to entertain family and friends (the devices, WEBSTER said, are “removing the earbuds” that have been the primary way people listen to audio in recent generations).
NPR CMO MEG GOLDTHWAITE moderated a discussion of the findings with WEBSTER, AMAZON Dir. of Product Management MIRIAM DANIEL and GOOGLE Dir., Product Management — Home Hardware MICAH COLLINS. DANIEL said that the company has seen “incredible growth” and overwhelmingly positive reviews for the devices, and noted exponential growth in the number of skills available. “It’s Day One — there’s still a long way to go” to get people used to what the devices can do, DANIEL added.
Asked to predict future growth, WEBSTER offered that the initial growth for the devices is “pretty robust” and analogous to the early growth of smartphones and podcast listening. He also noted that the devices are being seen as “part of the family,” demonstrating “an element of trust,” and predicted that in the future, the assistants will no longer be seen as devices but will rather be incorporated everywhere, a thought echoed by GOLDTHWAITE when she referred to it as the “disembodiment” of the services from the devices.
Hey, Who Turned Out The Lights?
The convention’s main venue, the LAS VEGAS CONVENTION CENTER, was hit with a power outage late WEDNESDAY morning, plunging the entire Central Hall and a portion of the South Hall into darkness. Other areas experienced a momentary and partial outage while the Central Hall remained dark for about two hours before power was slowly restored at shortly after 1p (PT).
A statement released shortly after power was restored said, “Today at approximately 11:15 AM, the Central Hall and South Hall bridge meeting rooms at the LAS VEGAS CONVENTION CENTER lost power. Power in the South Hall was restored within minutes, and power has now been fully restored to all areas. A preliminary assessment indicates that condensation from heavy rainfall caused a flashover on one of the facility’s transformers. We are grateful to NV ENERGY for their swift assistance, to our customers and their clients for their patience and to the staff for ensuring the safety and security of all attendees and exhibitors.”
Content, Marketing, And More
Among the talks at C-Space at the ARIA was VERIZON’s OATH, the umbrella division for content companies AOL and YAHOO!, withOATH VP/GM, Sports GEOFF REISS and VERIZON Head of Content Strategy, Acquisition and Programming ERIN MCPHERSON discussing with moderator RYOT CEO BRYN MOOSER the changes in their business in creating native sports content for mobile. REISS said that “the part of the mobile market that we’re looking to attack are those maniacal mobile users who are on their phone not four, not five, not ten, but twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, sixty times a day. And there’s no such thing as an app that sits on your phone that you kinda like. There’s either an app that is just fundamental to your existence as a media consumer, or there’s something that you use every so often when you want to go to a movie or order flowers. What’s changed is that if you’re going to be top of mind constantly throughout the day, you’re starting to get super smart about creating that native experience that’s right for that particular daypart” and for the context of the device.
MCPHERSON, a former YAHOO! executive, said that VERIZON’s new deal with the NFL has turned a sponsorship into a “true media partnership” that shifts the company’s approach towards streaming games regardless of carrier; REISS noted that this weekend’s NFL playoff games will be the first time games will be available streaming to any mobile viewer on all carriers.
Mooser, Reiss, McPhersonGOOGLE’s C-Space panel focused on marketing, with GOOGLE’s ALLAN THYGESEN opening by saying his company’s approach to marketing is now encapsulated by the word “assistance.” Consumers, he said, are now “super-empowered” by technology, making them more demanding and impatient (“we research everything… we’ve seen mobile purchases for shower curtains double”) and wanting to buy things in a “frictionless and fast” manner. “We have ro be fast, we have to be personal, we have to be helpful,” he said. “In a word, we have to be ready to assist.” BEST BUY’s KEITH BRYAN and HYUNDAI’s DEAN EVANS joined THYGESEN to discuss the topic, with EVANS saying that his company faces the fact that car buying has not been frictionless and has implemented a “shoppers’ insurance” initiative that arose from research and includes transparent pricing, speed, “flexible test drives” at consumers’ homes, and a three-day money-back guarantee.
Thygesen, Evans, BryanDISNEY’s Consumer Products and Interactive Media division EVP Publishing and Digital Media ANDREW SUGERMAN and SVP Games and Interactive Experiences (“and Muppets”) KYLE LAUGHLIN were interviewed by CNET Senior Reporter JOAN SOLSMAN on how DISNEY creates new content for distribution through new platforms. SOLSMAN opened with the big question facing everyone at DISNEY right now, the acquisition of most of the entertainment assets of 21ST CENTURY FOX, and SUGERMAN parried the question by saying that ‘all I can really say is that we are excited about the opportunity that FOX could bring to (The) WALT DISNEY COMPANY… beyond that, there’s not much else to talk about yet.” That out of the way, the discussion turned to how DISNEY brings its characters and stories to new platforms, leading LAUGHLIN to relate how STAR WARS was adapted to augmented reality with “STAR WARS JEDI CHALLENGES,” a game that allows users to have lightsaber duels, and how the company adapts content to an immersive platform as opposed to a flat rectangular screen.
Solsman, Sugerman, LaughlinThis Article Was Originally Posted at www.allaccess.com