Radio Hack Europe is an innovation workshop, taking place over the weekend before Radiodays Europe. The two winning ideas from this years’ workshop, selected by the Radio Hack Jury, were presented to delegates by the teams behind them. Both winning ideas were based around Amazon Echo.
Firstly, “Voice Sales” shared a complaint they regularly get from radio stations: “You cannot make money with Alexa radio skills”. The team demonstrated a type of skill that would enable stations to further monetise their commercials through an Amazon Echo device. Traditionally, radio commercials encourage listeners to go online to find out more about a particular offer. However, with many now listening to a radio station stream on a smart device, a commercial could say to “ask Alexa to claim that offer” and this function be built into a radio station’s Alexa skill. This is easier to use, faster, doesn’t require another device, and allows advertisers and stations to measure the success of commercials.
Next, “Divvy” highlighted the issue of trying to share an audio clip with a friend. Currently, this might be through a URL which then links to an app in a store you need to download. As an Amazon Echo is an audio-first device, then this allows for greater opportunities for audio sharing. Divvy allows you to create shareable audio by asking Alexa to clip a period of time from a radio or podcast stream and to then share it with a specific person, who might receive the clip as a generated YouTube video. This tool can be integrated into existing skills by publishers, creating a common way for users to share audio with others.
The Radio Hack is now in its second year – I wonder what the future will be for our winning ideas?
