UK Charities Macmillan Cancer Support, NSPCC and Crisis have partnered with Octave Audio and Say It Now to launch a new targeted digital audio campaign on Alexa-operated devices to make donating easier than ever.
The smart speaker technology invites listeners of Bauer Media stations such as Magic Radio and Greatest Hits Radio and News UK stations such as talkRADIO and Virgin Radio to send money instantly and securely through speech, reducing barriers and encouraging more people to donate.
Charities and smart speakers
The campaign follows recent research from Bauer which found that during the pandemic, 59% of audiences listened to more radio on their smart speakers than before, with 61% of them stating that they would continue this increased smart speaker listening now after restrictions have lifted.
A Radiocentre report also found that 72% of all audio entertainment time on Echo is spent listening to radio.
Furthermore, with a new study from Savanta finding that the not-for-profit sector has been more likely than the private sector to have been negatively impacted – with greater proportions of charities reporting adverse impacts such as a decline in income and decreased donations – the initiative will provide the vital support the charities need at this time.
Listeners of the ads will be instructed to respond to the creative, prompting Alexa to begin the donation process and ask the audience how much they want to give.
Once the listener has confirmed their amount, the donation will automatically be processed, with money being taken out directly through their Amazon Pay account.
In addition to making audience’s lives easier, the connected nature of the devices enables the direct effect of ad spend on user engagement to be measured, providing invaluable information for the charities too.
Anna-Lena Mikoteit, Product Strategy Lead, Octave Audio, said: “We’re delighted to be partnering with Say It Now to connect these incredible charities with targeted audiences across iconic Bauer and News UK brands.
“We believe this campaign will not only encourage new audience behaviours but also change the way brands work with voice activated technology via smart speakers going forward.
“It combines the opportunity around more consumers listening to radio digitally via smart speakers, Say It Now’s innovative tech, and our scaled reach together.
“We hope this campaign will increase donations and make a difference to those in need using the very best in digital innovation.”
Charlie Cadbury, CEO and Co-Founder of Say It Now, added: “Audio campaigns are now being engaged with ‘in the moment’ using the power of voice assistants.
“Having the unique response option on smart speaker devices opens new possibilities for lower funnel driven campaigns and showcases a brilliant option to utilise the power of audio on smart speaker devices.”
The campaign will last three months, with each charity’s creative airing for one month. Ads with Macmillan creative begins today.