The Demand for Voice is Growing

Voice has greater value in our society and culture than most people acknowledge. And because of this value, there is, of course, a clear demand for even more vocal experiences and assistance. But don’t take my word for it; check out the numbers below, as reported in the recent Wired article, “The Veni, Vidi, Vici of Voice”:

• In the United States alone, more people listen to podcasts every month (around 70 million and counting) than use Twitter regularly.
• Total advertising revenue from podcasts ($220 million in 2017) is doubling every year.
• Ad networks claim episode completion rates are around 90%, which means that most ads are being heard by listeners.
• The market is paying $30 CPMs for some of these podcast slots, which is around five times Facebook’s average CPMs.

And these impressive numbers are only in regards to podcasts, which is only one industry in which voice is popular. Check out some of the numbers regarding smart speakers below, provided by tech consultancy Parks Associates and covered in GeoMarketing’s article, “Consumers’ Adoption Of Voice Assistants Doubled In Q1 – Here’s Why”:

• 12 percent of consumers surveyed said that they used smart speakers with voice assistants during Q1 of 2017 - more than twice what that adoption rate was the previous year.
• The adoption rate of smart speakers with voice assistants grew from 5 percent of U.S. broadband households in Q4 2015 to 12 percent in Q4 2016.

In just these two markets, the demand for voice has risen at an enormous rate in just the past couple of years, with even more growth expected in the next several years and beyond.

So what does this really mean?

As you can tell, voice as a content and commerce platform is more than just a passing trend, but rather a legitimate movement. And do you know what’s great about this? It’s a sustainable model. Sure, the technology we use to record and distribute voice will certainly change, but the human voice itself, in all of its complex yet relatable glory, will remain the same. And in the digital age, when everything is constantly shifting to accommodate a changing population, anything that serves as an emotional anchor, whether it’s your favorite song on the radio, a heated political debate on a podcast, or the sound of your loved one wishing you a happy birthday, is welcome. Mic drop.

As for TeddyMozart, today a bear, tomorrow a........Only time will tell.

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