October 2016 – Argus Insights, Inc.

October 2016

Smart Home Trending: Moving from the future to the present

Popular Smart Home Links Shared (Week of 16-22 October)

We had over 5.7K shares last week of the Smart Home genre and our theme is bringing the Smart Home into the present tense. Despite the fact that all four of the most highly shared conversations from last week were positive, only two were written from the perspective of a Smart Home world that has arrived. The other two talked about a “future” Smart Home world. For any technological advancement to reach mainstream, it must be part of the current conversation vs. promising a bright future. Read on to see what I mean…

I’ve got to hand it to Ecobee. They did an impressive job garnering the top shared news item (478 across multiple posts) with a whole series of product launch activities for their Ecobee3 Lite Thermostat. First, there is the product posted on their own web page. Second is a short (but positive) review in Tech Crunch and third is a much longer review in Engadget. To be honest, the best summary is Sean Cooper’s title from the Engadget article, stating that “the Ecobee3 Lite is a decent smart thermostat that costs less than most.” A phrase like that firmly positions the Ecobee3 Lite as a product that is ready for today’s market… not the future.

With 217 shares, Clare Trapasso’s Realtor.com article was next from last week. In it, she posts a link to a 36 page report from Houzz and offers commentary. The full report from Houzz is worth reading on two conditions. First, because it is quite “dense” with facts and figures, you have to be really engrossed in this market to get an ROI from reading it. Second, it is important to understand the inherent natural bias associated with survey-based studies commissioned by agencies that have a commercial interest in the outcome of the findings. To be clear, I’m not knocking CEDIA at all. They are a great organization who logically have their members’ best interests in mind. However, understanding the inevitable biases better enables the reader to process the report.

I will say that Ms. Trapasso does a great job summarizing the report in her Reator.com article. For most of us, her article has plenty of depth and covers the major points.The fact that Smart Home technology is part of the narrative in mainstream publications like Realtor.com and Houzz is significant. When connected thermostats and doorbells are mentioned along with bathroom remodeling and searching for a mortgage lender that signals a technology that has arrived.

The final two articles that saw significant traction last week were both product discussions. On the left is pictured the Amazon Echo, which was reviewed and then shared 176 times in a Telecoms.com article entitled “Beam me up Alexa” by Dr. Dean Anthony Gratton. The second is another review in Techcrunch. This time, it was for the Wink 2 hub, shared 173 times and called “A Smart Home Hub built for the future.”

I find it interesting that the tone of Ecobee’s launch and the Realtor.com article were both “current tense” whereas the two articles in technology magazines were selling us on the “future tense.” Perhaps that subtle difference in marketing positioning contributed to the strength of the first two articles and the subsequent greater reach in the marketplace. Given a choice of selling the future or the now… I would choose “the now.”

JD Dillon

Head of Marketing & Ops

Argus Insights

October ’16 Trend Smart Home Conversation Trend – The Struggle to make the home Smart AND Practical

Last week’s theme for the roughly 4,000 shares of Smart Home conversations is the struggle to make the Smart Home practical. On the downside, the most highly shared link was that of a Smart Home zealot and second was a cartoon lampooning security in the Smart Home. Contrasting the over-the-top nature of Simeon Tuitt’s house and the negativity of this cartoon were stories about a highly practical product for families and efforts by the insurance industry to push the Smart Home. It is this type of conversation that helps move the narrative forward towards a broader adoption.

Popular Smart Home Links Shared (Week of 9-15 October)

This quaint looking neighborhood home in the middle of the UK belongs to Simeon Tuitt. His website contains videos describing how the TV turns on when he walks in the house, how he can answer his doorbell with his watch and even turn on the washer with his phone. Those are a few of the more practical aspects of Simeon’s domicile. With over 170 shares, there is interest out there, but I question the practicality of this futuristic Smart Home.

ransomware-cartoon

I have to admit that this cartoon is pretty amusing. With 150 shares, it appears that I am not alone. This post from B2B Social Media consultant Evan Kirstel does a pretty good job turning security concerns into humor. I do wonder whether or not this type of posting subtly works against Smart Home adoption. Security is a very serious concern and by playing on that fear, I worry that the average consumer will needlessly worry. Perhaps I am reading too much into it because the comic is quite funny and I’m not sure my “smart broom” will be a security concern in the future.

nucleus

About a month ago, a small company by the name of Nucleus received over $5M of Series A funding, including an investment by Amazon. It is no surprise then that Amazon posted this very good discussion about the Nucleus Anywhere Intercom and it was shared 125 times. I encourage you to check out the wonderful video in that link. Imagine having an intercom at your parents’ house, the kids playroom, your office, and the kitchen. Now imagine it with Alexa voice control. In addition to being sold on Amazon, this product is being sold in Loews as an alternative to expensive “standard” intercoms. It is exactly this type of appeal – to the less technically savvy consumer – that will help to drive Smart Home into the mainstream. The marketing of this device (think about the name of the company alone) seems to be fantastic. We’ll have to watch the consumer reviews in the Argus Analyzer to see if the product lives up to the brand promise.

Sticking with the theme of making the Smart Home practical, this picture is a model home that insurer American Family uses to test out Smart Home products. In this highly informative article from MIT Technology Review, Stacey Higginbotham describes how both USAA and American Family have initiatives to drive Smart Home. I love the quotation from an assistance VP at USAA. According to Mr. Kowall, they are creating a “check engine light for the home.” Again, an example of the practical aspects of life that will push the Smart Home mainstream.