Interactive smart speaker ads trigger ‘stronger brain activity’

Interactive smart speaker audio ads lead to a 25% increase in overall brain activity compared to standard audio ads, new research has found.

Neuro-Insight, the neuromarketing and neuroanalytics company, conducted research with Say It Now, Octave Audio and Xaxis into the impact of audio advertising when consumers engage in a 30- 60 seconds conversation with a voice assistant compared to traditional broadcast radio ads.

It found these actionable audio ads trigger a 23% stronger brain response, compared to 4% during standard ads, and left-brain memory, approach and engagement were 8%, 21% and 14% stronger respectively.

The study also found when consumers interacted with smart speaker audio ads there were uplifts of 32% in approach, 26% in general attention, 17% in intensity of emotional responses, 11% in memory-based responses and 3% higher engagement levels.

Research by Statista found the share of respondents aged older than 16 years old who own a smart speaker in the UK increased from 20% in 2019 to 50% in 2021.

According to Juniper Research, smart home devices in 19 countries will bring in $164bn in transactions in 2025, up 630% from the $22bn expected this year.

Best-practice recommendations included combining first-party listener data from media owners with an advertiser’s own first-party audience and performance data to better identify audiences and behaviours, while encouraging consumers to say a brand name as part of the interaction with an ad.

Engagement peaked at 30% uplift when consumers said the brand name during the interactive component of actionable audio ads.

Shazia Ginai, CEO, Neuro-Insight, said: “The recent project conducted in partnership with Say It Now and Octave proved that beyond just the power of audio, there is incremental value in interactivity. The human brain seeks connection and enjoys interaction. Capturing attention is only part of the battle, sustaining it, and driving meaningful impact is also essential for brands. This is where interaction comes into play.”