Don't you think radiko is just a regular radio app?

Envisioning the Future of Voice Business

A world where you can do what you want just by speaking is almost here. "Voice business" is attracting attention from companies across various fields worldwide, driving technological development and business expansion.

So, what initiatives is Dentsu Inc. currently undertaking in fields related to voice business? When it comes to voice, the first thing that comes to mind in Dentsu Inc.'s business is radio media. This feeling has only grown stronger since I personally took charge of promoting radiko.jp (hereafter, Radiko).

Radiko is a service that lets you listen to radio on PCs and smartphones. Furthermore, using its time-free feature allows you to listen to programs broadcast within the past week, and registering as a Radiko Premium member gives you unlimited access to radio stations nationwide.

In June 2018, we created a video to broaden Radiko's brand awareness. With the cooperation of all 92 commercial radio stations nationwide, we produced an original song by mashing up each station's jingle. Furthermore, it's an animated movie featuring a graphical world that highlights Radiko's logo, incorporating animations designed with each station's logo.

 

Around that time, I heard from Mr. Sakatani, Radiko's Business Promotion Manager, about launching a new targeted advertising format called "Radiko Audio Ads." "Radio ads, but targeted ads?" That question popped into my head. Yet, the more I learned about the evolution of radio advertising, the more fascinating it became, and I sensed its business potential.

Therefore, in this series, under the theme of "Radio's New Possibilities in Media Business," we will introduce new solutions in radio advertising. This time, we'd like to consider the future of radio advertising through Radiko Audio Ads.

Radio advertising that delivers your message precisely to the people you want to reach

 

Originally working at Dentsu Inc. radio station, I understand both radio's inherent appeal and the environment radio faces as an advertising business," says Mr. Sakatani.

He recounts that whenever he proposed radio advertising to clients, he was invariably asked, "Who actually listens to radio? Isn't there any data on that?"

Video Research Ltd. conducts radio listening rate surveys in the Tokyo metropolitan area only once every two months. Sakaya felt the hurdle was especially high to convince clients—particularly those who rarely listened to radio themselves—about the listening figures and the effectiveness of radio advertising.

 

Given this environment, Radiko launched a proof-of-concept experiment on July 24, 2018: "Radiko Audio Ads." It created a world within radio where, even while listening to the same program, the radio commercial you hear could be completely different from the one the person next to you hears. (Currently, Radiko Audio Ad slots are limited to stations' own programming, like promotional spots or station announcements, and only for live broadcasts. It's not yet available for "Time Free" streaming, which lets listeners catch up on programs from the past week.)

Using Radiko Audio Ad enables advertisers, who previously aired radio commercials on a per-station or per-program basis, to finely segment their ad content by target audience. They can now reliably deliver the exact message they want to the people they want to reach (and the results are clearly reflected in the data).

This was a major shock even for me, someone who has created radio ads.

For advertisers seeking to use their advertising budget as efficiently as possible and reliably reach their intended targets, this introduces a new advertising model to the radio industry that was previously impossible.

*Currently, replacements are not being made within client-provided commercial slots on terrestrial radio. Replacements are only being made within stations' own slots used for program promotions, station announcements, etc.

But then I wonder: How is this different from digital banner ads? Mr. Sakatani points out two major differences. First, these ads appear within high-quality program content produced by radio stations nationwide. Second, radio's inherent nature makes it difficult for listeners to constantly switch channels.

These two factors combined mean Radiko Audio Ads are very unlikely to be skipped, allowing the intended message to be delivered effectively. Indeed, I've never once thought about changing the station when a commercial came on the radio.

Delivering advertising messages more reliably to the target audience. That might be the greatest value of Radiko audio ads.

Smart speakers bring radio closer to home

Furthermore, as you all know, the advent of smart speakers should be a major catalyst for radio's return to the home. Looking back, until just a little while ago, living rooms were equipped with environments for listening to radio, like boomboxes or stereo systems. However, with the rise of music streaming, these devices became less common in living rooms. Over time, that environment has returned in the form of smart speakers.

 

Currently, Radiko usage on smart speakers peaks between 6:00 AM and 8:00 AM. Imagining the morning living room, this data makes perfect sense. Incidentally, in Amazon's Echo smart speaker Alexa Skill Rankings for the first half of 2018, Radiko reportedly took the top spot.

Considering this, once smart speakers become commonplace in every home, the value of radio itself could be significantly reevaluated.

Radiko audio ads bring a new form of radio advertising. This alone seems to hold new business opportunities for Dentsu Inc., but Radiko's true potential actually extends beyond that.

For example, if you have a favorite personality, you could simply say to your smart speaker, "Play the radio show featuring [Personality Name]," and instantly listen—transcending broadcasters and even airtime restrictions. Furthermore, as data accumulates on Radiko—including not just the personality but also guest information and the content of their conversations—the day may soon come when you can get voice-based updates not only on programs but also on an artist's noteworthy comments, new song releases, and live event information. Beyond that, I believe an era may arrive where you can even purchase tickets to those live events using just your voice.

And as voice technology becomes integrated into more places in daily life—not just smart speakers, but also in cars and elsewhere—the number of places where Radiko can be used will expand accordingly.

From being an application on PCs and smartphones for listening to radio, Radiko could evolve into an audio platform that aggregates information from the world, allowing diverse people to utilize that information using their voices. That might be the true form of the voice business Radiko is expanding into.