RESEARCH Left: Nick Richardson, ceo and founder, The Insights Family.
AUDIO BOOM IN THE FAMILY SPACE
Latest trend data from The Insights Family is showing a healthy growth in making/listening to music increasing as a family hobby.
T
he kids and parents’ entertainment ecosystem is going through an audio boom, creating exciting opportunities for your marketing, content and product development. Music was already a huge part of children’s lives, with 90% of UK children aged three to five often listening to music and audio with their parents, spending just over five hours per week on average. Since January 2021, there has also been a +21% increase in making/listening to music as a family hobby. The increased ownership of smart speakers is driving the trend further. Our data also shows that these devices are now in over four in 10 homes in the UK (44%). The UK has the second highest rate of smart speaker ownership globally, behind China, at +73% more than the average global rate of smart speaker ownership. The easy to use nature of voice-controlled devices gives them universal appeal but affords them popularity with preschoolers who are new to using devices. There is no need to be able to read or write with smart speakers, which makes them a simple introduction to technology for both parents and preschoolers. With more kids having access to a smart speaker device, we have also seen a 57% increase in the proportion of kids aged three-five using smart speakers
to listen to music. This makes listening to music the number one use of the device. Not only do smart speakers provide kids with an extended, more active, form of entertainment, but busy parents, too. AI-powered smart speakers can enable parents to quickly access content, news or even shop all hands-free. The abundance of smart speakers is also providing brands with an opportunity to engage with an audience in a dynamic, non-traditional way. Between April and June, BBC Sounds reported a weekly audience of 3.7 million users across its app, website and voice-activated devices. These figures are in line with our Parents Insights UK data, demonstrating that +69% more parents have listened to podcasts every day since the beginning of the year, as well as +14% more who have listened to radio stations once a day. With regards to advertising, +17%
more parents have reported trusting adverts they hear on the radio since March, making this the second most trusted location for advertising for parents. WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU… The integration of smart speakers into the daily lives of kids and parents establishes a range of opportunities for brands within the audio content space, from creating new types of audio content to incorporating audio channels in media spend this year. The Insights Family recently announced the latest evolution of its media planning tool - the Media Mix Compass. The tool is the only real-time solution available which compares 11 media types – including audio – and up to 30,000 media channels globally. The tool enables decision makers to not just compare types of mediums such as YouTube and Radio, but to delve even deeper and compare specific channels such as KSI as a YouTube channel versus Capital. The Insights Family Media Planning Playbook is also now available. The first report of its kind, the Playbook was designed to provide brands and agencies with an update of the key trends, an understanding of the end-to-end campaign process, and the role that insights have to play in maximising ROI this Christmas. It’s available now at get. theinsightsfamily.com/mediamix
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