More than 50 million U.S. adults are now using smart speakers and double that number are using voice assistants on smartphones. Smart speakers represent the fastest growing technology adoption cycle in history–even faster than smartphone uptake by consumers. This poses a nagging question for brands and agencies: “How should I incorporate voice into my marketing mix?”
Introducing Voice Landing Pages
XAPPmedia has helped companies ranging from E. & J. Gallo and National Geographic to Scripps and Westwood One establish their voice presence on Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. The use cases have involved a variety of strategies ranging from serving as an information resource and content distribution vehicle to a wellness advisor and product experience guide. Insights developed during these projects prompted XAPP to introduce an even simpler way for marketers to integrate voice into existing campaigns. A Voice Landing Page™ (VLP) is a voice app that augments an ad campaign by providing a voice experience that extends consumer engagement beyond the initial promotion into a conversational interaction.
Experienced marketers will recognize that voice landing pages can play a similar role to website landing pages designed to support digital campaigns. Landing pages are often referred to as lead capture pages, but can serve many purposes. The key element of landing pages is that they extend consumer engagement from an advertisement to a more immersive experience that carries the specific context of a campaign. VLPs make landing pages more convenient than ever before enabling marketers to connect directly with consumers through voice assistants and smart speakers and even execute lead capture calls-to-action (CTA).
Telling the Brand Story
Lagunitas Brewing Company has unique positioning in an increasingly crowded craft beer market. Company founder Tony Magee studied music composition at Northern Illinois University and early on music became the inspiration for new beer varieties. Lagunitas calls this “composing beer” in the VLP created by XAPPmedia for consumers using Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. That focus on music also comes through in the voice app with over 30 minutes of live musical performances from an NPR Tiny Desk series recorded in Lagunitas taprooms.
Then there is the logo inspired mission. Lagunitas’ iconic dog logo represents more than just good branding. Lagunitas is committed to animal welfare and talks about its support for animal fundraisers and adoption programs in the voice app. The story about music inspired beers and ales, musical performances and the “news-style” piece about the animal welfare mission all convey the brand’s essence in a way that a single ad cannot. The conversational interaction on Amazon Echo and Google Home enables consumers to explore the Lagunitas story while providing added fuel to the ad campaign. It converts awareness into consumer engagement.
NPR is a go-to source for news on smart speakers, and our sponsors want to engage that hard-to-reach audience. XAPP and Voice Landing Pages allow sponsors to deliver thoughtful and informative extensions of their sponsor messages. It is a turn-key way for sponsors to further engage the NPR audience and enhance their campaigns, in a unique and innovative manner. – Bryan Moffett, COO National Public Media
Becoming a Trusted Advisor and Driving Foot Traffic
Mattress Firm is one of the largest mattress sellers in the U.S. with over 3,300 store locations. However, the company does more than just sell mattresses. It has become an expert in sleep. How do you convey that expertise and build trust with consumers during a few 30 or 60-second ad spots? It’s a difficult proposition. That is where their voice landing page, or more specifically the voice app, shines.
The ad campaign promotes the availability of the Mattress Firm voice app (i.e., VLP) on Alexa and Google Assistant with a call-to-action to “tell your Alexa or Google Assistant device to launch Mattress FIRM Tips.” Consumers that try it out can ask for sleep tips and advice on how to buy a mattress. This information provides value to the consumer whether or not they choose to patronize a Mattress Firm store. However, by sharing its knowledge with consumers, Mattress Firm has a way to stand out among competitors as a trusted source of useful consumer information. And, the conversational capabilities of voice apps along with the rising adoption of smart speakers in homes makes it an ideal format for engaging consumers. They don’t have to click and search, they simply ask and get.
A bonus is that the voice app also offers another benefit to consumers. It provides up-to-date information on promotions and discounts at Mattress Firm stores. This is additional information a consumer can get while using the voice app. For Mattress Firm, it provides an opportunity to drive store foot traffic in addition to building trust through the expert tips feature.
Integrating Voice into Your Ad Campaigns
Voice Landing Pages are a simple and effective method for integrating voice into your ad campaigns and driving more consumer engagement. And, you can also incorporate conversion CTAs into your VLPs that kick off an email or SMS to facilitate lead capture. There are several VLP formats and features that XAPP can walk you through as you plan your next campaign. If you would like to learn more, click the button below and we will be happy to provide a demo and overview.
VLPs Complement Audio, Video, and Outdoor Campaigns
The Lagunitas and Mattress FIRM VLPs happened to be promoted through audio campaigns, but voice apps can be promoted equally well in video, digital advertising and outdoor campaigns. TV campaigns are particularly ripe for VLPs because consumers with intent can get instant gratification by engaging with a brand via Google Assistant or Alexa on a smart speaker in the same room. Likewise, billboards and other outdoor campaigns are suitable for VLPs for consumers on the go via Google Assistant and Alexa on mobile.
XAPPmedia has helped brands and media companies launch over 1,000 voice apps. This scale is enabled by XAPP’s One Voice AI platform that includes simultaneous publishing on Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, fast development cycles, ease of content management and post launch monitoring and analytics tools that ensure high availability, low latency and a measurable user experience. Voice landing pages are an example of how One Voice AI and XAPP’s unmatched experience with voice interactive media combine to create a brand new product to support ad campaigns, consumer engagement and lead capture.
Join Us at Advertising Week to Learn More
XAPPmedia will be hosting a session at Advertising Week next Monday in New York City titled “How Media and Brands are Using Voice AI to Connect with Consumers. This session will include panelist Q&A, a demonstration of voice SEO in action, how to integrate voice AI into ad campaigns and questions from the audience. We hope to see you there and let us know if you will be attending. We’d enjoy catching up while in town. Details below.
Day 1 Session // How Media and Brands are Using Voice AI to Connect with Consumers
Date & Time // October 1 @ 4:15 pm
Session Location // IBM Watson Marketing Stage
Address // AMC Loews Lincoln Square, NY, NY
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