Mumbai: 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.

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 (a) The voice technology trends  globally and in India (b) Deep dive into the profile of voice audiences (c) Marketer outlook on the potential of voice and  (d) 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 per cent Vs 48 per cent) • 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 per cent of digital industry professionals are aware of audio advertising, but only 40 per cent have used it • ~90 per cent of those who have used will be considering audio advertising for their 2023 media plans • 70 per cent of those who have used will be increasing their audio spends in 2023

The playbook can be accessed here

MMA India country head & board member Moneka Khurana 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 per cent  of them being millennials and GenZ and  high affluence levels which you just can’t ignore.”

GroupM India head of mobile & emerging tech India Niraj Ruparel 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.”