Opening Pandora's Box: GM Tracking Consumer Listening Behavior in Cars

General Motors has begun surveying how its drivers experience in-car multimedia, specifically the radio, as part of its new strategy to track customer habits and maximize the profitability of information. With 4G LTE WiFi connectivity now featured inside millions of GM vehicles, the automaker believes technology can be used to fine tune its future marketing strategies.

While an invaluable insight tool for advertisers, it’s also the perfect example of the kind of thing we’ve been complaining about for the last couple of years. General Motors is leaning into Big Data as hard as possible, meaning your personal information could soon be on the line — if it isn’t already.

Earlier this week, WARC reported that Saejin Park, director of global digital transformation at General Motors, discussed this subject at the Association of National Advertisers’ (ANA) 2018 Data & Measurement Conference. “The radio industry and the car industry have been existing side by side … But, really, there hasn’t been that much interaction between the two,” she told the audience.

Before you grow terrified that we’ve already entered into a Big Brother scenario, GM’s initial testing did require customer opt-in before their data was flung around country. But Park said the automaker still managed to collect radio listening data on roughly 90,000 vehicles from Los Angeles and Chicago between November 2017 through January 2018.

By matching audio feeds from AM and FM waves, as well as XM satellite radio, the Detroit-based automaker claims it can track a customer’s listening habits and align radio cues with specific consumer behaviors. “We can tell if they listened to it to the end. Or, in the middle of the commercial, did they change it to another station?” Park said, adding that even vehicle type influenced radio trends.

“[Someone in an Escalade] might be more likely to listen to 101.5. But someone else might be driving a GMC Yukon — same-sized vehicle, but a different brand — would be more likely to listen to 101.1,” Park said. “And you can start testing patterns.”

Basically, GM would pass the data to its marketing teams and they would assess how to best cater ads to customers. If no one who plans on buying a Cadillac is listening to one station, GM can buy ad space from one that does. It can also track consumer listening habits and sell that information to other companies. For example, imagine there is a soda commercial you absolutely hate that forces you to change the station. That might be the kind of thing the makers of said beverage might pay to know about.

However, Park said the potential applications of such technology reach much further than simply keeping tabs on what you’re listening to. “We’re looking for ways to use these kinds of datasets. It’s a complicated, complex problem and I don’t know what the answer is. But GM is really interested in finding out what the potential path could be,” she added.

You can use your imagination at this point, as General Motors almost certainly is. Theoretically, connected cars could transmit more information than just radio traffic. What, where, and how you’re driving are all up for grabs. If you’re near a store that’s partnered with Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, or Cadillac, then you might get a reminder on your dashboard to stock up on something — in fact, the company has already discussed this possibility. If you already stopped, GM might send that information along to the retailer. Hell, it might even if you don’t stop.

It’s a lot of power for one company to have, but it likely won’t be just one company. General Motors happens to be blazing this particular trail; there are other manufacturers directly behind it considering the exact same things. Frankly, there’s too much money to be made for them not to.

[Image: General Motors]