Native Connected Car Services Now Coming to Dealerships
In past articles, I’ve touched on the many services that dealers can expect from Connected Car technology. Some of these have included vehicle location, lock/unlock, key management, theft notifications, diagnostics, inventory audits, loaner and demo administration, service reminders, and many more. Together, these services promise to increase dealership productivity and reduce costs, while improving customer satisfaction and retention.
Today, Connected Car services for dealers mostly rely on independent third parties, using aftermarket OBD2 plug-in devices for data collection. There are many capable providers offering these dealer-focused connected services. Some good examples of these include Spireon LoJack, Dealerware, and Geotab.
But, as I’ve also mentioned in past posts, vehicles increasingly come equipped by the OEM with built-in telematics systems that can provide the data and commands needed for dealer-focused connected services. And, some service providers are beginning to take advantage of these native connections for a limited range of services, particularly in the management of loaner fleets. Connexion Telematics and TSD Solutions are offering these connected services, with the support of select OEMs.
And finally, some OEMs are now beginning to offer limited dealer-focused connected services directly to dealers – mostly focused on post-sales & delivery as well as service-based customer retention. OnStar’s Dealer Maintenance Notification is one example, in which Dealers are notified when vehicle diagnostic codes indicate an upcoming need for service.
The choices for connected services available to dealers will continue to evolve rapidly as more of these OEM-provided connections become available, and as new dealer-focused connected services develop.
Fleet Industry Offers a Preview for Dealerships
For a window into the way that services are likely to develop in the next 18-36 months, dealers can look to the experiences of the Fleet industry. Fleets have been using telematics to manage vehicles and drivers for many years now, with obvious benefits in terms of additional uptime and increased driver productivity. These benefits have easily supported the development of several fleet telematics providers. As with dealer-focused connected services, Connected Fleet services were all originally delivered through third-party, aftermarket devices – but they are increasingly delivered through native OEM-provided connections.
Most fleets include vehicles from more than one manufacturer, so there is a natural inclination for fleets to use brand-independent fleet telematics providers. Companies like Geotab, Donlen, FleetComplete, Spireon, Samsara and others offer comprehensive fleet management solutions that were all originally powered by aftermarket plug-in devices. Increasingly however, OEMs have enabled native data connections to these providers in response to demands from their fleet customers. Ford Data Services, OnStar Business Solutions, and Toyota Data Solutions all offer connections for fleets through fleet telematics partners. Fleets can go to a provider of their choice and take advantage of OEM data connections when available, or use aftermarket connections for older vehicles or for OEM makes that are not yet capable of connecting to fleet applications.
To create further options for fleets, some OEMs have also begun to create their own proprietary fleet management systems. GM offers its OnStar Vehicle Insights service, which provides comprehensive fleet management services. And in a recent announcement, GM is making OnStar Vehicle Insights compatible with aftermarket devices. Ford has also announced a similar move.
Expect Similar Offerings, Options, and Interoperability for Dealerships
These trends in Connected Fleet services point to the kinds of options that dealers should expect in the next 18-36 months. Dealers are similar to Fleets, in that most represent more than one OEM brand, plus used vehicles of varying ages. Dealers should therefore expect choices for their Connected Services between:
Independent Service Providers using plug-in aftermarket devices
Independent Service Providers using both aftermarket devices and OEM data feeds
OEM-Designed Services using both OEM data feeds and aftermarket devices
As fleet owners do today, dealers will need to choose the service provider that provides the best-connected services for their particular situation. It is a good idea to get started with an independent dealer-focused provider to begin to experience the benefits of Connected Dealership Management. An independent provider can get dealers up and running quickly, using easily installed aftermarket hardware. As dealers learn how to use these services effectively, they can then consider some of the OEM-provided or hybrid options as they come to market.
by Greg Ross, Connected Vehicles Practice Lead, motormindz
Four Ways Dealers can drive their business forward with Connected Car
This article is the first in a four-part series exploring how Automotive Dealers can enhance their businesses and their customers’ experiences to drive revenue and loyalty.
It has never been easy to be a successful Auto Dealer. Dealerships are complex, evolving businesses, with large capital requirements, lots of regulations, a large number of employees to manage, and many other concerns from supply chain to customer experiences. But increasingly, dealers are faced with even more challenges from new and disruptive technologies like digital retailing, electrification, mobility services, and — somewhere on the horizon — autonomous vehicles. In addition to all these disruptors, dealers also need to be aware and prepared for the coming impact of vehicle connectivity, and how it will affect each and every component of their business — and their dealership’s top and bottom lines.
The Basics
In 2021, well over 80% of all new vehicles sold in the US will come with the ability to connect to the internet through a built-in cellular modem. That percentage is rapidly growing toward 100% of all new vehicles sold, according to the announced product plans of all of the major OEM’s. This means that today, almost all new vehicles are able to easily communicate data about both the vehicle itself, as well as its driver, and that many vehicles are also capable of receiving over-the-air commands and software updates directly.
In order to maintain security and to honor customer privacy commitments, these vehicle connections and the data shared over them are all exclusively routed through each OEM’s data centers. Within these data centers, the vehicle and driver data and the vehicle commands are stored and managed by the OEM, according to its data policies and the terms of use. Many OEMs use this vehicle and driver data for internal improvement purposes, such as in-field vehicle performance analysis and over-the-air software updates.
OEMs are also beginning to seek “monetization” opportunities by providing data and command access to 3rd party applications, such as insurance companies, fleet management companies, and data aggregators. Still others are using these new data connections to create their own value-added services, such as GM’s OnStar vehicle assistance and concierge program
So, with all of this OEM activity, where does the Dealer fit in? As it turns out, the dealer is actually essential in both enabling and realizing the potential value from all of this connectivity for both the OEMs and themselves – and so dealers should insist on more OEM support for development of connected car services tailored to enhance, streamline, and benefit dealer operations.
There are dozens of opportunities across all the departments of a dealership. This article will be the first in a series, where we will focus on laying out these opportunities in Sales and F&I (Finance and Insurance). In future follow-ups, we’ll take a closer look at Service, Parts, and even Collision Repair. The common thread will be to begin understanding and planning for the very near future when all of the cars and trucks running through the dealership are fully connected — capable of both sharing data about the vehicle and the driver, and receiving both commands and software updates.
OEMs and dealers will also have to work closely together to activate the opportunities created by connected car technology. They will need to work together to resolve questions of data “ownership” and responsibility, and to resolve policy issues such as warranty repair compensation for over-the-air repairs. Investments will also be needed to integrate connected car data with DMS systems, scheduling systems, on-line shopping and ordering systems, and many others. The goal, however, is worth pursuing because it promises to deliver a much better customer experience and much more efficient dealer operations.
Part I: A Vision for the “Connected Sales Department”
1. Ordering and Inventory
New vehicles become connected from the moment they pass final assembly at the factory. At the first “ignition on,” a data file is uploaded to the manufacturer’s data center, showing that all diagnostic tests have been passed, and showing the state of the battery, fuel, tires, etc. For customer orders, the dealer can use this data to send the customer a “birth announcement,” showing that the ordered vehicle has been built and is on its way. For dealer orders, the dealer gets a report, showing when ordered vehicles have been built. Dealers can then track the location of vehicles as they move through the logistics chain. Dealers get notices as vehicles pass checkpoints along the way, up until vehicles arrive at the dealership. Dealers can use this information to manage expectations with customers and to prepare their lots for arrival of new inventory. If any incoming vehicles report diagnostic trouble codes, such as a low battery or under-inflated tires, these vehicles can be flagged and repaired before going into inventory.
Once vehicles are delivered into dealer inventory, dealers can use an application to check the precise location of any vehicle on the dealer’s lot at any time. The application can also notify the dealer if the vehicle moves, or if it has maintenance needs. Dealers can leave keys in each car without fear of theft, because all vehicles are “locked down” and unable to start without authorization by the dealer. Floorplan inventory audits are greatly simplified and can be completed in minutes. The finance company only needs to remotely check whether financed vehicles are on the appropriate site. These functions can save the dealer time spent tracking vehicles and managing keys. Time is also saved in locating and preparing vehicles for demonstration and sale, and it becomes easier to identify vehicles that have been in inventory too long.
2. Demonstration and Sale
Vehicles are placed in demonstration service based on up-to-date information from on-line shopping by customers in the dealer’s local area. Using this data, commonly searched vehicles are identified from dealer inventory and placed into demo service, equipped with commonly searched accessories. Each demo vehicle has a demonstration app downloaded to the head-unit of the vehicle with the dealer’s logo and a suggested route for a test-drive. The vehicle greets the test-drive customer by name, using information sent to the vehicle by the sales representative. The app is synched to the drive and provides audio comments to highlight key features.
With full connectivity in place on the lot, dealers can have all demonstration vehicles connected and managed through a booking application. The application keeps track of when vehicles are available, when they are out, which space they are parked in, how many miles have been accumulated, and whether any of the vehicles need fuel or maintenance. Location-tracking can even confirm whether a vehicle has been through the car wash prior to the next scheduled drive. If desired (and with proper customer notification and consent), dealers can also monitor whether vehicles are being abused — driving at high speeds, taking corners aggressively, hard braking and acceleration, or even a collision. If the vehicle does not return, it can be tracked and recovered.
With extensive connected and personalization services in place, the dealer may also consider implementing additional sales tools, such as self-managed or after-hours test drives. Customers could book these drives on-line and access the vehicle through a unique authorization code. Dealers could also deliver customized, personalized communications to customers after a test-drive, based on where the customer went, how the vehicle was driven, and which features were used — all data recorded and communicated by the demo vehicle.
In preparation for delivery, the customer is asked about preferences for infotainment settings, HVAC settings, and other personalization features. At delivery, these settings, plus the customer’s home, work, or other important addresses, are pre-loaded into the vehicle via a software update. Alternatively, returning customers can have preferences transferred from their prior vehicle to the new one. At delivery, the vehicle can greet the customer by name, and offer a tour and further demonstration of vehicle features from an app on the vehicle head unit. Customer use (or non-use) of key vehicle features can be reported to the dealer (with customer consent) to let the dealer know about features that might be causing confusion. The dealer can then address these questions in post-delivery customer satisfaction calls, or offer to send a focused tutorial to the customer’s head unit for playback at the customer’s convenience.
3. Delivery and Post-Sale
At Delivery, the dealer ensures that connected systems are activated, and that customer consents have been properly recorded. This is a vital step because, without it, connected services post-sale cannot happen! Critically, customers are encouraged to allow the dealer to be automatically notified whenever the vehicle needs maintenance or service so services can be scheduled at the right time. This can also be an opportunity for the dealer to offer customized, connected service plans, with the vehicle accurately notifying the dealer of issues that need to be addressed. The dealer can use information from the customer’s daily drive to schedule service at the most convenient time. If the customer needs alternative transportation, a loaner can be managed through a connected courtesy transportation application at the dealership. The application ensures that mileage, maintenance and usage of the courtesy vehicle are managed to minimize costs.
4. Finance and Insurance
In the F&I department, customers are given the opportunity to purchase financing and insurance products that automatically adjust to the actual use of the vehicle. In a connected lease, customers can earn incentives or rebates if they use significantly fewer miles than scheduled. Customers can also earn credits for particularly good care and maintenance practices, which increase the value of the lease vehicle upon return. If a customer shows a trend toward excess mileage, he or she might be offered an opportunity to pre-purchase additional miles at a rate which is lower than the “over-miles” rate in the lease contract. These kinds of customized offerings have the potential to increase dealer margins while also improving customer satisfaction.
A connected car can also mitigate costs in the event that a lease or financing contract goes past due. Reminder messages can be easily delivered directly to the vehicle. In the event that the vehicle needs to be recovered, it can be easily located and immobilized.
Customers might be provided an opportunity to “sub-lease” their vehicles to offset their lease costs — along the lines of an airbnb. These kinds of schemes could be more easily enabled by connected technologies, which could allow easy booking and tracking of vehicles by the vehicle owner. A company called Lynk & Co has already described an approach like this as part of their launch in Europe this year. Dealers might see additional revenues from these programs by providing vehicles for these short-term rental services, and by providing pre- and post-rental and maintenance services.
In the area of vehicle insurance, connected technology will allow customer’s rates to be adjusted based on actual miles driven and on demonstrated safe driving behavior. In addition to data that is currently in use by insurance companies, policies might be further adjusted by looking at data such as activation of lane-departure warnings, close-following alerts, or other indicators of higher risk driving. In the event of a collision, data from the car’s sensors will be used to quickly and automatically estimate the damage and begin the claims process. With knowledge of the customized insurance products available on new cars, dealers might take a greater role in sales of connected auto insurance products.
Conclusion
These illustrations are only a quick view of the kinds of things that the Dealer should soon come to expect from Connected Car technology. And we have only touched on Sales and F&I! We will return in future posts to talk about the rich opportunities for Connected Parts and Service.
by Greg Ross, Connected Vehicles Practice Lead, motormindz
Monetizing the Connected Car, Part 1
The Search for Data Monetization Begins at Home
Ever since McKinsey and Company published its study, titled “Monetizing Car Data” in September of 2016, automotive OEM’s have been working to develop monetization opportunities from connected cars. Back then, McKinsey estimated that car-generated data could represent a new market worth between $450 and $750 Billion by 2030. Studies like this one helped convince most OEM’s to install both hardware and software for built-in connectivity in nearly all new vehicles, and most have then gone in search of new revenues to help offset the investment. For many, the first place to look has been externally, targeting insurance companies, fleet managers, fuel merchants, tolling providers, and consumers of parking and traffic data. Many of these initiatives are growing steadily, and beginning to produce revenues as the volume of connected cars grows. But while the ecosystem of third party data consumers grows, OEM’s should look closer to home for a return on their connected car investments. For a typical high-volume OEM, there are millions of dollars of opportunity in using connected cars for internal cost savings, quality improvements, and efficiencies.
OEM’s are Large Fleet Operators
A typical OEM is also the owner and operator of large fleets of vehicles. At any one time, there are thousands of vehicles moving through the logistics chain from factories or port facilities through rail lines and marshaling yards and ultimately to dealership inventories. With all of those vehicles connected, there are huge opportunities for operational improvements. Vehicles can be tracked for more precise planning of deliveries, as illustrated in a recent announcement by GM Fleet and a startup called Motorq. Fleets gain efficiency by reducing the time waiting for new vehicles to come on line. The OEM that provides these efficiencies can see “monetization” by becoming a more preferred vehicle provider. Dealers can similarly benefit from more precise tracking of incoming deliveries. An OEM’s finance arm can largely eliminate physical “floor plan” audits of dealer inventories by remotely validating that a vehicle is located where it should be. Theft of vehicles in the logistics chain or in dealer inventories can be easily tracked or even eliminated through remote vehicle disablement. Diagnostics of vehicles in inventory can be pulled remotely, and addressed as needed. As OEM’s continue to expand their ability to deliver software Over-The-Air, new software “fixes” can be delivered remotely to vehicles while they are still in the logistics chain and before they reach customers.
OEM’s also control large numbers of vehicles used in product development, by employees in company vehicle programs, and by retail customers in service loaner fleets. Connected car capabilities can bring fleet management efficiencies to all three use cases and deliver savings to the OEM’s bottom line. Sources of value include optimization of the number of vehicles deployed for each use case, management of vehicle diagnostics, mileage and maintenance, and coaching and improvements in driver behavior. The scale of the auto business can make savings add up quickly. If enhanced efficiency can eliminate the need for one vehicle in each dealer’s loaner fleet, for example, this could mean a reduction of hundreds of vehicles across the fleet – and savings in the tens of millions.
Connected Cars can be Superior Sources of Data
Connected cars can also provide direct information on how vehicles are performing and how they are being used in the field. This data can be superior to traditional sources like customer surveys, social media posts, or warranty claims. Better data means faster responses and a superior understanding of the customer. In the area of product quality, connected cars can deliver real-time diagnostic codes for analysis by the OEM long before trends are noticed from warranty repair data. This connection creates the potential for proactive diagnostics, or “prognostics,” where Artificial Intelligence is applied to large data sets to identify and predict component failures before they happen. Customers benefit by having “predictive maintenance” done before a failure causes a breakdown. OEM’s benefit from greater customer satisfaction and from insights that can be used to eliminate future failures and warranty costs. And as more OEM’s develop capabilities to deliver Over-the-Air software updates, more can deliver software repairs without requiring a service visit. Through these technologies, customers will increasingly come to expect that their vehicles will never let them down, thanks to tight communication and coordination with the manufacturer and the dealer.
Connected cars can also collect data on how vehicles are actually used, rather than relying exclusively on customer surveys or sample observations. For example, it is possible to see how often seat belts are actually being used. This could be used for worried parents to coach new teenage drivers, or it could be used by fleets to coach its drivers and reduce their risk of injury on the job. Product planners can see how often ABS braking, Traction Control, Lane Departure, Blind Spot Detection, Automatic Braking, or other systems are deployed, and under what conditions. Engineers can use this information to fine-tune these features and improve their performance. And it is also possible for an OEM to take these unique insights to create new services. Last week, GM announced that it would apply its unique data and insights to create better, lower-cost car insurance. Planners can also look at how often various settings and features in the HVAC or Infotainment systems are being used. This information can be used to optimize the performance of these systems and design vehicles to meet customer needs and real-world usage. The “monetization” in this case comes from having better insights into customer usage and needs, and translating that into better vehicles and greater customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Internal Uses Builds Skills Needed for External Monetization
In order to turn external parties into paying data customers, OEM’s will need to build an infrastructure to securely collect and store data, and then make it available in an easily consumable form. Third-party data customers will also have expectations for system reliability and data quality. Fortunately, the systems that OEM’s develop to serve their internal efforts build much of the same infrastructure needed to serve external customers at scale. So an OEM’s internal savings effort can provide both immediate cost savings and efficiencies and build a platform and skills needed for future growth.
The global OEM’s are enormous, complex enterprises. Each one owns, operates, or indirectly manages vehicles worth hundreds of millions of dollars. And each one spends hundreds of millions to billions on product development and warranty expenses. The path toward “monetization” of connected car investments runs through a robust program of internal benefits and uses.
motormindz’ Connected Vehicles Practice provides unique, proprietary leverage to help you successfully monetize your connected data & technologies at scale. Our subject matter experts have directly led large operational teams at the major OEs to widespread success in doing exactly this. If you’re interested in harnessing the power of Connected to grow and scale your business, reach out to us, or join one of our programs. Connect quickly, as space continues to be limited.
by Greg Ross, Connected Vehicles Practice Lead, motormindz
Voters showed strong support for Question 1, indicating high levels of interest in access to telematics data and open data standards.
Among all of the important decisions made on November 3, there was one in Massachusetts that may significantly affect auto dealers, manufacturers, independent repair shops and auto owners. Question 1 on this year’s Massachusetts ballot expands existing “Right to Repair” laws in the Commonwealth to require auto OEM’s to make data from telematics systems available to independent repair shops. The law, which appears to have been approved by a wide margin, will require all auto OEM’s to place telematics data on an independently-operated data platform. The data on the platform will then be available, upon customer consent, to any independent repair shop. The law requires this data platform to be in place in Massachusetts beginning with the 2022 model year.
New Business for Platform Providers
The first opportunity will be for one or more platform providers to build the “independent” platform that the law requires. There will be significant work to be done to take data in from all telematics-equipped OEM’s and prepare it for distribution to hundreds of repair shops and potentially other end-users. This will not be a simple task, since most OEM’s are just at the beginning of their telematics implementations. There is no common data standard. Different OEM telematics systems have access to different kinds of data, with different reporting frequencies, and widely different reliability. The platform will also have to be highly secure, in order to honor customer expectations for privacy and control over which parties should have access to data. And finally, the platform will need to enable billing, as there will presumably be a charge to cover the cost of data collection and processing.
New Opportunities for Service Providers
Question 1 was strongly supported by independent auto repair shops and auto parts and repair chain operators in Massachusetts. Their coalition successfully framed the question as one of “closing a loophole” in the current Right to Repair laws. They said that repair shops need data from telematics systems in order to repair vehicles. As their opponents — led by auto manufacturers — pointed out, this is misleading. Independent repair shops can already get the data they need to perform diagnostic and repair services. Once a vehicle is in their shop, independents already have an ability to use the same diagnostic tools available to franchised dealers. What the independents really hope to gain however, is a direct connection to the customer. My own Chevy Colorado can serve as an example. Today, when the diagnostic systems on my truck indicate the need for an oil change, Chevrolet is authorized to use the built-in telematics system to notify my Chevrolet dealer. Whenever my oil life gets down to about 20%, I get a call and a text from my dealer to schedule an appointment. Question 1 will make it possible for customers like me to give the quick lube shop down the street the same connection. The tire shop could be notified when tire pressures are low. A fuel provider could be notified when a fill-up is needed. CarFax may ask for permission to keep track of diagnostic, maintenance and mileage activity to help owners prove the value their used vehicles down the road. And so on.
Implications for Dealers
The Independent shops in Massachusetts clearly hope to use this new initiative to gain business from franchised dealers (or prevent current business from being lost to Dealers). In order to maintain and grow the dealers’ share of non-warranty repair and maintenance business, dealers will have to make excellent use of the telematics systems installed by their manufacturers. Dealers start with a key advantage, which is the opportunity to start a connected service relationship with the customer from the moment the new or used vehicle is delivered. Dealers must be sure to activate systems and secure customer consent to share service and maintenance data with the dealer. Dealers then have to do a great job of managing data notifications to quickly schedule customers for any needed service work. Dealers will have a very brief head start to fine tune their use of connected car service notifications, and they will need to take full advantage.
Questions Yet to be Answered
Now that Question appears to have passed, this is only be the beginning. Given that state of readiness of most OEM’s, a model year 2022 deadline will be very difficult to hit. The Commonwealth will still need to answer many questions about the kinds of data that must be provided and the types of consent that must be obtained. A platform provider will need to be sourced, and there will be many questions about how a provider should be selected, who should pay to create the platform, and how its operating costs should be covered. There will also be questions about who qualifies as a “repair shop” and represents a legitimate user of the telematics data stored on the independent platform. Question 1 also says that the platform should not only collect data from telematics systems, but also deliver “commands” to connected vehicles to enable diagnosis and repair. It is unclear whether this is intended to mean that independent repair shops should be able to deliver Over-the-air, or OTA software “patches,” or “updates.” Though Tesla has demonstrated this OTA capability extensively, most OEM’s will not be ready to support widespread OTA delivery of software updates by model year 2022.
As with so many other issues on the ballot this year, the most interesting thing will be to see what happens now that the election is over.
by Greg Ross, Connected Vehicles Practice Lead, motormindz
New connected car technologies are revitalizing older in-vehicle tech.
According to a recent Forbes article, GM and Taco Bell demonstrated that it is possible to bring the same kind of measurement to old-school broadcast radio that has become an expected part of advertising in the digital age. In a recent test, GM paired anonymized in-car listening data with Taco Bell’s radio advertising data to determine what kinds of ads were most effective in driving traffic to Taco Bell stores. This is another great demonstration of the capabilities of a Connected Car. It is relevant, too, because the “Share of Ear” study for Q2 of 2020 points out that the great majority of in-car listening is still devoted to AM/FM Radio. With this news, it is interesting to think about what will likely come next.
Not just a “GM Thing”
GM certainly has a lead in the installation of Connected Car capabilities, beginning with the launch of OnStar all the way back in 1996. But nearly every other OEM is now in the process of launching their own built-in Telematics capabilities. So even if GM represents 50% of all 4G LTE capable vehicles on the road, as the article says, GM only has about 17% US market share. As other OEM’s roll out their Telematics capabilities, it will make more and more sense to develop a platform for radio-listening data for all makes. Advertisers and broadcasters will want to know about listening behavior regardless of the kind of car the listener is driving. It could be that GM is hoping to build a data-sharing platform in cooperation with other OEM’s. More likely, one of the emerging data aggregation platforms, such as Wejo or Otonomo (or both) will develop this as part of their platforms. DriveTime Metrics is a start-up that has demonstrated the potential for this kind of measurement for both advertisers and broadcasters.
Never Mind Taco Bell, What About Dealers?
Taco Bell was a logical test case for this technology. There are a lot of stores, and changes in the number of visits can be measured relatively easily. But Car Dealers should be asking when this tech will be used to measure and improve the effectiveness of their radio advertising? According to InsideRadio, local Dealers represented the number one category of radio advertisers in 2019, even after significant increases in spending by Insurance companies and others. Car Dealers, whether through their Dealer Councils, NADA, or individually, should be aware of the increasing availability of data from Connected Cars at all of the OEM’s. The data can be used to measure and improve radio ad effectiveness on New and Used Sales, Service, and Parts. It can also be used to help manage dealer inventories, track loaner fleets, improve customer retention, and to create value-added services. This announcement by GM is one more indication that the time is right for Dealers to become aware of the capabilities of ConnectedCars, and articulate a POV on the data and services they expect from their OEMs.
Targeted Radio?
This pilot test is really only an initial step toward making broadcast radio measurable and more targeted. With this demonstration, broadcasters and their advertisers can know that anonymous drivers of certain types of cars and trucks are listening, when they are listening, and approximately where they are listening. In order to know even more precisely who is listening and where, driver consent will be required — the equivalent of accepting “cookies” to enable tracking on websites. If web advertising is a guide, we can expect that OEM’s, Broadcasters, and their Advertisers will be working to develop incentives for drivers to accept individualized tracking. We may eventually see the ability to deliver more individualized radio content, based on the identity of the listener. I am sure that the National Association of Broadcasters, or NAB is busy imagining the possibilities.
