“Alexa, tell me how I can advertise with smart speakers.”
Though Alexa might not be able to directly answer that question, we can give you an idea. In the last few years, the rise of smart speakers, like Amazon’s Alexa and Google Home, has created a new platform for content distribution. Though smart speakers are typically used for news, music, and information, brands are also now testing out marketing techniques in a very clever way.
On Alexa, ads can only run during normal music, podcast, or news briefing playback, but Amazon is now allowing marketers to create “Skills” that can directly inform or persuade consumers to buy products or services. The catch: all the branding has to tie into Amazon’s guidelines, and must align with all Amazon branding.
So how will smart speaker marketing change the game in 2020? The options are still limited, but with new branded Skills, more and more businesses are going to be developing ways to catch attention. One example is Patron tequila. They created a Skill in which you ask Alexa for cocktail recipes. Alexa then lists off some recipes and even allows you to purchase Patron from one of Amazon’s authorized alcohol distributors. Sound silly? The Patron Skill has over 36,000 users and gets over 6,000 sessions every month!
This clever and futuristic way of marketing is sure to boom in the coming years, and why not? Smart speakers can turn on our lights, lock our doors, and sing us to sleep. It is inevitable that advertising will find its place among the latest technology. How exactly to use smart speaker marketing might still be in the early stages, but this is definitely a trend to keep an eye on.
