Voice marketing: All talk?

Industry Contributor 8 Jul 2019 - 2 min read

Voice marketing: All talk?

By Paul McIntyre - Executive Editor

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Tags: voice marketing, amazon, alexa, e-commerce, WFA, Mastercard, The Information

Voice marketing was supposed to be the next big thing, but is not yet delivering for commerce (The Information).

Key points:

Alexa device sales top 100m, but mainly used for playing music, weather reports and other simple tasks
Uber reportedly only receives a few hundred ride requests per day through Alexa
Alexa for workplace reportedly underperforming, generated under $300,000 revenue in 2018, according to unnamed sources
The Information reported that in first half 2018, just 2% of Alexa device owners had used them to make purchases
An Amazon former retail manager, Melissa Burdick: “Nobody’s shopping.” She warns marketers: “You’re going to spend a ridiculous amount of money for a negative RoI”
Alexa vp Daniel Rausch remains confident: “we’re definitely still at the beginning of something we know will be big”

“Nobody’s shopping. You’re going to spend a ridiculous amount for a negative RoI,” is at odds with the World Federation of Advertisers, which thinks voice marketing is going to be the next big thing. Perhaps the biggest, according to CEO Stephan Loerke. “It’s going to be significantly changing the way people engage with brands, beyond anything we’ve seen so far.” More than half (55%) of WFA members think voice will be bigger than influencer marketing. Meanwhile a UK and US study undertaken for the WFA found 15% of Alexa owners have used it to make a purchase. If representative, that suggests voice commerce has increased over the least year versus The Information’s 2018 findings.

Mastercard has created a sonic identity and is investing in voice. Speaking alongside WFA’s Loerke at the launch of the Federation’s Voice Coalition last month, Mastercard chief marketer Raja Rajamannar said marketers that did not adapt to voice may not survive. “Given voice commerce goes well beyond marketing, it’s going to be of major strategic importance to companies going forward.”

So is voice commerce the next wave of disruption, or for now, all talk? Mi3 is keen to hear views from local marketers.