The Co-Listening Factor

‘Mom, check out The Shoop, a new dance move I learned at school today! Alexa, play Brass.’ Imagine this very-likely scene in a household after school. The family gathers, the music is set, the day is shared, and snacks are consumed before the debate over homework begins. It’s your typical weekday scenario. So, when families are centering activities around their connected devices, why are marketers not factoring the entire audience into their audio strategy?

The challenge lies with measurement. Unlike TV, where Nielsen is able to collect co-viewing data from their set-top boxes and include it in their ratings and media plans, co-listening is not being measured and included in digital audio plans. We see this as a huge missed opportunity for marketers, and that’s why Pandora partnered with Edison Research and Carat to better understand and quantify co-listening usage with audio. __For the first time ever, we now know the true impact and value of a streaming audio ad impression due to co-listening. __text in italic

Here's what we learned…

Gather Around The Smart Speaker

• Home is #1 for Co-listening

  • With over 74.2M smart speaker users anticipated in 2019 [1], and music the #1 motivator for purchasing, it comes as no surprise that the home is the #1 location for co-listening. In-home listening accounts for over half of all audio listening on Pandora with nearly half of listeners saying they listen with others in the home.

• Bringing Families Together

  • While co-listening activities and time-of-day may differ, families and friends are listening together to audio in a way they haven’t done since the 1940s. In fact, 42% of those living with family agree that the smart speaker has increased family time [3]. Audio is a constant companion and enhances daily activities in many ways. It spices things up when cooking with others, makes homework time tolerable for all members of a family and sets the mood for a date night at home or epic game of Fortnite!

• Different Audiences Listen Differently

  • Parents, like in the scenario above—are 140% more likely to be co-listening. Consider school pick-up/drop-off, meal prep during homework time or the constant curfew debate with their rebellious seventeen year old. What is bringing them together and quite frankly, getting them all through it? Music!
  • Hispanic households, which are larger in size in the U.S., are 151% more likely to listen with others throughout the entire day with 83% saying they co-listen on the weekends. We know that music is a huge part of their lives connecting them with their culture and heritage.
  • More than half of People 13-34 co-listen at home with 1 in 4 co-listening overnight. People are spending more time together with audio, and replacing other formats of home entertainment like TV or web. 31% of time people previously spent with TV is being replaced by time using their smart speaker [5].

In-Car: A Growing Media Channel for Co-Listening

• The #2 Location for Co-listening
  • 44% of co-listening is happening in the car making it the #2 location for co-listening. We often underestimate how much co-listening takes place in-car. From school pick-up and drop-off, commuter carpool, road trips and ride shares, in-car co-listening is not to be ignored. Hispanics co-listen 2.5x in-car than Caucasians and 6x more than African Americans.
• Connectivity Fuels Options and Growth
  • 71% of commuters say it is important for their next vehicle to have an in-dash system that is connected to the internet.[4] As these new cars equipped with built-in connectivity are driven off the lots, or as people connect their phone with auxiliary cables, the digital audio opportunities (music, podcasts, audio books) will continue to evolve affording a more personalized co-listening experience in-car.

“The Co-Listening Factor”

Co-listening means earning additional media value on your streaming audio plan. Shared experiences should matter to marketers—the numbers prove it. The Edison study quantified the earned audio impressions generated as a result of co-listening on Pandora. __For every 100 paid advertising impressions purchased, advertisers receive 37 additional impressions from co-listening. __

[Carat Quote]

Sound On! Turn Up Your Streaming Audio Strategy

• Audio is device-agnostic and can go where visuals can’t. As new advancements in connectivity come along, the speed and ease of accessing audio will continue to drive consumption across devices (mobile, in-car, connected home i.e. smart speakers). According to the study, Pandora listeners are spending on average 5hrs and 30mins listening to audio daily. That’s XXX compare to SOE . It’s time to evaluate your media mix. Consumer behaviors should be driving your mix. Are you allocating the right amount to Audio?
• Co-listening is not to be ignored and the +37% additional impressions should be factored into your media plan. Co-listening is extending your reach! They’re the teen who will influence the next family trip. The friend who will nominate a dinner spot or the mom who’s building the weekly grocery list.
• Streaming audio provides a more personalized and enjoyable co-listening experience. Listeners are delivered the music they want and love as opposed to terrestrial radio where they’re switching three times as often to avoid a commercial break or to hunt for that perfect song [4]. We use the same personalization engines to deliver the right messages at the right time to the right audience ensuring resonance.
• With streaming audio providing an audience impact beyond the original paid impressions due to co-listening factor, understanding context and messaging opportunities based on co-listening behaviors and the environment it is happening in is more important than ever for marketers. How will you address the entire family or a group of friends during moments that matter?

Source: eMarketer, Global Smart Speaker Users 2019 Pandora, Edison Research, Carat: Co-Listening Study 2018 Edison Research, Smart Speakers: Enhancing Family Life” 2018 Edison Research, Cracking the Commuter Code, July 2018 Edison, Omnicom, Pandora Smart Speaker Study (Fall 2018)