Can GM make radio great again?

18

October

2018

5/5 (2)

Data is expected to radically change the way we live and do business in the future. In these days we use the data in our technology devices, for many decisions in our lives. Not only how to drive from A to B and avoid traffic-jams, but also to get recommendations while streaming music (Veld 2018). Previously people thought that data was only extracted by technological devices, such as mobile phones, until The Detroit Free Press reported on General Motors’ radio-tracking program a few days ago (LaReau 2018). This plan monitored the listening habits of almost a ton drivers in the Los Angeles and Chicago areas for three months in the end of 2017. It became clear that the future of targeted advertising in cars is already here (Hawkins 2018). So, the next data minefield is your car. But can this listening data cause the radio wins back its territory against digital streaming services?

General Motors captured numerous detailed information about the driver, such as volume level, radio station selection, and a specific code for a vehicle owner. The system then used the car’s built-in Wi-Fi signal to upload the data to its servers. The main purpose of this test was to determine the relationship between what vehicle owners listen to and what they buy and then turn around and sell this data to radio operators and advertiser (Hawkins 2018).

Today, radio advertising is based on a system that assigns listenership to specific radio channels. However, expert say this system is inaccurate and error prone (Hawkins 2018). These errors lead to ineffective advertisements and inaccurate prices (Kobliski 2005).

But in the future, with data collected by GM and presumably more car manufacturers, in-car advertising can be more targeted and based on specific consumer habits (Hawkins 2018). Another possible way to use this data is to create accurate predictions for listeners based on music preferences, like Spotify does (Groeneveld 2018). Based on these predictions, the car can provide a recommendation of a radio station for a specific driver.

To conclude, cars become more connected, more technology-focused, and more autonomous, it was only a matter of time before they become more branded. This transition can turn out very well for radio stations, as they can take advantages from the data created by the cars. In this way, I believe the radio can win back its territory.

References:
Groeneveld, F. (2018). Hi Spotify, what’s my favourite music? https://digitalstrategy.rsm.nl//2018/10/14/hi-spotify-whats-my-favourite-music/ [Accessed 17 October 2018]
Hawkins, A.J., 2018. GM’s data mining is just the beginning of the in-car advertising blitz. Available at: https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/17/17990052/gm-radio-listen-tracking-habits-advertising-future [Accessed 17 October 2018]
Kobliski, K.J., (2005). How Radio Ads Are Produced. Available at: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/76824 [Accessed 17 October 2018]
LaReau, J.L., 2018. GM tracked radio listening habits for 3 months: Here’s why. Available at: https://eu.freep.com/story/money/cars/general-motors/2018/10/01/gm-radio-listening-habits-advertising/1424294002/ [Accessed 17 October 2018]
Veld, M.A.P. op het, 2018. The future of data analytics. Available at: https://www.compact.nl/articles/the-future-of-data-analytics/ [Accessed 17 October 2018]

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Digitization? I see less digital devices…

7

October

2018

5/5 (2)

In the beginning of this century, the average household had a phone in every room and when you were not at home, the answering machine could take the message. Back in these days the more devices you had, the more you went along in the digital age. However, this rule is not applicable anymore. Nowadays consumers are craving centralization— the consolidation of technology resources (Wubben, et al 2014)—and, for example, smartphones made the need for telephones in every room and answering machine unnecessary. However, a lot more is possible to look after the desire of centralization and technology is answering that call (Ross 2018).

Over the past decade, many different types of services has debuted, including tablets, smart TVs, and other smart appliances. Also the dependency of individual apps in our daily lives has increased, including those for navigation to even changing the temperature of our house. A next step in this transformation of technology is going to be the smart speaker (DeMers 2017).

Smart speakers can be seen as an a convenient way to manage daily tasks from as few devices as possible. Nowadays more people have started to embrace centralized in-home digital assistants, such as Siri, Sonos, Google Home, Alexa, which can get weather updates, set alarms, play music, etc. The most smart speakers can also synchronize with other applications and devices (Ross 2018).

Therefore the future of the smart speaker can be seen as the start of the next generation of smart homes (Ross 2018). There are many experiments for smart cooking, for example. Ultimately, the goal of kitchen technology won’t be to do the cooking for you. It will just make you a better cook. Smart ovens will be outfitted with digital thermometers and  cameras, so it can help you monitor your food. Thereafter, the smart speaker will tell you when you have to take your food out of the oven.

To conclude, the smart speakers is just in its infancy, but the technology is capable of creating our next generation digital homes.

 

References:

DeMers, J., 2017. 7 Technology Trends That Will Dominate 2018. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2017/12/30/7-technology-trends-that-will-dominate-2018/#7a70ce1a57d7 [Accessed 29 September 2018].

 

Paley, R.T., 2018. This Is the Smart Home of the Future. Available at: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-02-16/this-is-the-smart-home-of-the-future [Accessed 07 october 2018].

 

Ross, A., 2018. Where did all the tech go? How Digital Centralization has changed your life. Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/where-did-all-tech-go-how-digital-centralization-has-changed-ross/ [Accessed 28 September 2018].

 

Wubben, D., Rost, P., Bartelt, J. S., Lalam, M., Savin, V., Gorgoglione, M. & Fettweis, G., 2014. Benefits and impact of cloud computing on 5G signal processing: Flexible centralization through cloud-RAN. IEEE signal processing magazine, 31(6), 35-44.

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