Presenters: Brian Moffett, COO, National Public Media Joel Sucherman, VP, New Platform Partnerships, NPR Tamar Charney, Managing Director for Personalization and Curation Leaders from NPR digital media, programming and corporate sponsorship offer practical tips on designing for a voice-activated world – sharing best practices in designing UX and content for an experience that’s not leading with a screen, and insight into learnings from NPR, The Smart Audio Report research and NPR’s work with sponsors.

1. Designing for a Voice-
Activated World
Joel Sucherman Tamar Charney Bryan Moffett

2. Major Shift in Computing Every 10 Years

3. Powered by
Alexa
Powered by
Google Assistant
Powered by
Siri

4. 18% of Americans
18+ own a Smart Speaker,
or around 43 million people
Google Home is a trademark of Google Inc. Source: 2018 Infinite Dial, Edison Research and Triton Digital.

5. Numbers That Matter
NPR Station Live Streaming via Voice Assistants

6. ● Make public radio content available
● Reinforce our position in the space by marketing that content
with the simplest, most consistent utterances possible
● Reinforce existing NPR brands
● Grow a new source of revenue
● Experiment with capabilities of the devices
● Become a market maker on voice assistants
Strategy

7. Where does the
editorial road go?
Photo by Tamar Charney

8. Conrad Poirier, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons

9. Photo by Tamar Charney

10. National Public Media has its own teams of project
managers, designers and developers who work
hand-in-hand with NPR as subject matter experts
and active participants in development.
Sponsorship is part of the design
We continually test and refine our approach
We take a user-first mentality
We focus on creating actual engagement
Sponsorship is a
key part of development

11. 43%
of Smart Speaker owners would be
interested in using skills from companies
or brands they follow on social media
The opportunity for brands.
Source: Alexa/Google Home NPR Newscast Listener Survey January 2018;
The Smart Audio Report, Fall/Winter and Summer 2017.
29%
used Smart Speakers to
research an item they might
want to purchase
45%
plan to purchase another
Smart Speaker

12. • Audio credits after 5-minute briefings from
NPR News Now, which gets 11 million
monthly streams
• Targeting capabilities by device offer an
innovative and seamless way to reach
audiences on Amazon and Google smart
speakers
• Brand messaging can range from launching
a brand’s skill to purchasing a product
Smart Speaker
Sponsorship
Source: Alexa/Google Home NPR Newscast Listener Survey January 2018;
The Smart Audio Report, Fall/Winter and Summer 2017.

13. Different
expectations,
different approach.
NPR’s audience has a higher standard than most.
Just-the-facts journalism and storytelling connect
with NPR listeners, and create a compelling
environment for brands to do the same.
52%
pay more attention to
sponsor messages in
NPR podcasts than
they do to ads in
other places2
Source: 1. Neuro-Insight, NPR Sponsorship Effectiveness Study, 2018 2.Podcast User Profile, Spring 2018
23%
NPR sponsor
messages are 23%
more memorable
than traditional
radio ads1

14. Photo by Tamar Charney

15. Photo by Tamar Charney

16. Stephen Voss/NPR

17. Run a test.
Process feedback.
CHECK
Our Approach

18. Moderator’s seat Laptop for running prototype and
broadcasting to remote observers
Smart speaker
(or hypothetical
device)
Participant’s seat

19. The 3 Sprints

20. Photo by Hugo Rojo

23. Photo by Tamar Charney

24. Photo by Tamar Charney

25. Experimenting
with Corporate
Sponsorship

26. Results for Sponsors:
Peppercorn Media
Case Study
Promos ran in Alexa-enabled devices from Dec. 16-17, 2017; Industry benchmark for digital banner CTRs is 0.1.
Objective
Peppercorn Media aimed to
increase user downloads of
their Amazon Alexa Skill,
“Word of the Day Quiz”
Solution
The brand worked with NPR
to promote their skill to Alexa
users listening to NPR’s Flash
Briefing (NPR News Now)
Results & Engagement*
10K+ users responded to the promo to
immediately play the quiz within the first
week – a 5.5% conversion rate. The
following week, the Skill saw an increase of
3K more users than the week prior.

27. Skill / Action
Promotion on
Alexa &
Google Home
NPR Copy in Smart Speakers
▪ Peppercorn Media…
• “…makers of the Amazon Alexa game, Price It Right, where today players can
compete to win a $100 Amazon gift card. To play, say “Alexa, enable Price It
Right.”
• “…makers of the Amazon Alexa game, Price It Right, where players compete to
guess the prices of real Amazon products. To play, say “Alexa, start Price It
Right.”
• “…with Word of the Day Quiz, an educational quiz on Amazon Alexa. Word of the
Day Quiz integrates with your Flash Briefing. To play Word of the Day Quiz, say
“Alexa, play Word of the Day Quiz.”
• “…encouraging you to expand your vocabulary by integrating Word of the Day
Quiz with your Flash Briefing. To include in your daily update, say “Alexa, play
Word of the Day Quiz.”
▪ Volley…
• “…makers of the Google Home game, Trivia Showdown. Host a family trivia
contest in your living room or compete with players from around the globe. To
play, say “Hey Google, play Trivia Showdown.”
Support for NPR and the following message come from…

28. Voice
Landing
Pages
How it Works
▪ Listener hears an audio spot with a call to action:
“…to hear today’s home improvement tip, ask your Alexa
device to Open Lowe’s Home Improvement Tips”
▪ Consumer says the call to action to their smart speaker
“Alexa, open Lowe’s Home Improvement Tips!”
▪ The Voice Landing Page responds with home improvement tips
Potential Use Cases
▪ Engaging, custom content
▪ Tips and quizzes
▪ Deals and promotions
▪ More information on a topic mentioned in the sponsorship spot

29. Voice Landing Page
Lagunitas Brewing Co.

30. Voice
Landing
Pages
Creative Process
DEPLOY
• Voice app is deployed in Amazon or Google app stores
• Sponsorship campaign runs on NPR smart speaker campaign
• Performance data is reviewed
DEVELOP
• Functional voice app is built
• Microsoft approves and signs off
DESIGN
• Initial voice app design, copy CTA for voice app is drafted
• Client reviews design & copy
• Client provides feedback on voice app design & copy
DEFINE
• Kick-off call (30 minutes)
• Client provides campaign copy points
TOTAL PROJECT TIMELINE: 4 WEEKS

31. Questions?