A Little More Conversation: Branding with Voice UI

UNDERSTAND TODAY. SHAPE TOMORROW.
BRANDING WITH
VOICE UI
A LITTLE MORE
CONVERSATION
REPORT TITLE // IMPLICATIONS.
1
the latest installment of our: Snapshot Series

ABOUT.
At LHBS, we believe in continuously observing and learning from
what’s happing in the market.
We’ve created our Snapshot Series to provide insights on platforms,
industries and companies. Using best practice examples, we explore,
analyze and share how businesses are adapting to new trends.
Moving from insightful data to best practices to inspiring thought
starters for brands, Snapshots can be a guide to bring meaningful
innovations to life in different areas of business.
This issue explores the rise of voice technology, how brands are
creating value with new customer experiences through employing
voice and future potential.
We hope you enjoy this deck and ﬁnd inspiration for your innovation
process.
UNDERSTAND TODAY. SHAPE TOMORROW. 2
Discover Deﬁne Develop Deliver
LHBS // VOICE TECH.

INTRODU
CTION.
How we use and interact with machines and software is changing.
Some assumed it was a fad, but we’re now seeing voice
technology infiltrating our businesses, mobiles, vehicles and now
our homes.
Brands are adopting the idea that voice is here to stay, which
brings with it a shift in user experience, and in turn, customer
expectations of usability.
LHBS is a marketing & innovation firm with offices in Berlin and
Copenhagen. We help clients to understand today's emerging
customer expectations and to shape their business offerings for
tomorrow.
http://www.lhbs.com
Kathleen McCaffrey
Marketing Strategist at LHBS
lhbs.com kmc@lhbs.com
INTRODUCTION
3
In this report we explore;
• What’s Happening - How is the voice tech market growing and
being used today?
• Best Practices - How are brands harnessing the rising demand
for voice tech by creating new user experiences?
• Future of Voice- Where will the potential of voice take brands
& business?
LHBS // VOICE TECH.

CONTENT.
How are brands harnessing the
rising demand for voice tech by
creating new user experiences?
BEST
PRACTICES
Where will the potential of
voice take brands, businesses
& consumer experiences?
FUTURE OF
VOICE
How is the voice tech market
growing and the technology
being used today?
WHAT’S
HAPPENING
CONTENT
4
LHBS // VOICE TECH.

1637
1971
1987
1987
2000
Machines may be physically
responsive, but will never meet the
communicative skills of a human
Assistant voice device for
engineers
Child’s doll with voice
recognition and response
First speech dictation
software for consumers
First application for online
ordering via voice
Prediction by René Descartes
Automatic Call Identiﬁcation
System by IBM
World of Wonders Julie Doll
Dragon Dictate
Netbytel
Breakthrough events in voice technology
LHBS // VOICE TECH. HISTORY

2017
2016
2014
2014
2008
Voice search app for
iPhone launched
A computer program passes the
Turing test (acting as 13 yr old)
Speech recognition
system reaches human
parity
Alexa’s speech
becomes protected by
1st amendment
Alexa launched
alongside Echo
Google
Computer: Eugene Goostman
Amazon
Microsoft
Breakthrough events in voice technology
LHBS // VOICE TECH. HISTORY

WHAT’S HAPPENING
CHAPTER
TITLE
From screen to voice is the biggest shift in user experience since
the move from phone and fax to email and web, and it’s picking up
speed. Primarily down to voice recognition technology becoming
sophisticated enough to begin changing consumer behavior, and
voice is such a natural behavior which simply makes adoption
easier.
Predictions place voice as becoming the most efﬁcient form of
computing input. Even with the introduction of communicating
using images, 90% of all human communication still happens
through voice. This isn’t about to change.
7
WHAT’S
HAPPENING
Source: VoiceLabs.co
We’re currently in the midst of a technology shift, with voice
development and adoption picking up speed. The rapid growth
and even overtaking of visual technologies suggests this isn’t
something to be ignored by brands.
LHBS // VOICE TECH. WHAT’S HAPPENING

We are in the “era of the image,” especially led by the younger generation as a result of
increasing use of smartphones for storytelling, messaging, sharing and creative expression.
There is still a great demand for voice technology, and we see it’s substantial growth
overtaking many visual technologies, even VR.
Source: MIDIA
ExpensiveUn-
established
Highly
accurate
Natural
behavior
Efﬁcient
Impractical
VR Technology Voice Recognition
VS.

40 %
60 %
UNDERSTAND TODAY. SHAPE TOMORROW.Source:
We see the rise in voice interface use
correlating with the rapid increase in the
capacity and accuracy of the technology.
Voice has moved from 70% accuracy in 2010
to 90% in 2016, and only continues to rise.
9
Source: Technalysis Research

In the last year, the user base of voice
devices grew 129%
Source: eMarketer
e.g. Amazon Echo, Google Home

40 %
60 %
x35
Since 2008, voice-based
Google search queries
have increased
11

40 %
60 %
2bn
Siri currently handles
over 2 billion commands
each week
12

0
10
20
30
40
2016 2017 2018 2019
Millenials
Gen X
Baby boomers
Millennials - digital savvy and
now making up the largest sector
of the workforce -
they are the quickest to adopt
voice assistants, making them a
huge target audience for brands
exploring voice.
Source: eMarketer
(data in millions)

Consumers currently use their voice devices for:
Playing Music
& Audio Books
47%
Smart Home
Devices
29%
Games &
Entertainment
29%
News &
Podcasts
27%
Branded
Content
3%
Business
Services
1%
Key
Opportunity
Areas for
Brands

The recent accessibility of voice software to
third party companies has spurred the huge
adoption of voice by consumers.
The brands know their consumers, and now
they can apply the software to experiences of
value.
15
Source: TOA.life

Today, there are over
12,000 Alexa applications, or “skills”.
Amazon
Thanks to third party integration…
…at the beginning of 2016, there were around 130 Alexa
skills, by the end there were over 5,000.

“Tomorrow’s devices should be unobtrusive…
something so “you” that it dissolves into your life.”
- Thomas Gayno, Product Lead at Spotify
17
Source: TOA.life

CHAPTER TITLE
We’re beginning to see voice disrupting many other verticals as
brands begin experimenting with this new wave of technology to
fulﬁll shifting customer expectations.
There is a range of outside the box ideas and unique use cases of
voice services.
• Smart home control: Consumers can simply talk with their
voice-enabled devices and ask to be entertained.
• Education: They can use devices to acquire knowledge on
various matters and get how-to’s.
• E-commerce: The ability to purchase food and other
consumables and to shop online hands-free.
18
BEST
PRACTICES
By observing brands who have begun experimenting with the
applications of voice technology, we can begin to see where the
most value can be offered, and what consumers are willing to
adopt even at the stage of MVPs.
LHBS // VOICE TECH. BEST PRACTICES

Starbucks
Enabling Voice Ordering
Explore the Sign
Amazon Echo as well as other Alexa devices can now
reorder your favorite Starbucks coffee.
Customers ﬁrst have to set up a Starbucks Mobile
Order & Pay account. They can then place an order
and pay for it before entering their favorite local
coffee shop.
Reordering your usual coffee by simply telling
Alexa what you’d like reduces customer effort to
place an order at the store and waiting until their
coffee is ready.
19

Domino’s
Handsfree Ordering Anywhere
Explore the Sign
Fans of Domino’s can order their pizza handsfree
from almost anywhere. An Alexa integration enables
users to order food by talking to their Echo device,
Domino’s own app lets them order via talking to their
phone and the integration of the app in Ford cars
even provides a seamless way to order food while
driving.
On Alexa, users can also track their order progress
with speciﬁc voice commands.
The voice-controlled solution should lessen the
friction for consumers, which would ideally result
in a higher number of delivery orders being placed.
20

Laundrapp
Voice-Activated Laundry Service
Explore the Sign
The Laundrapp app is not only available on
smartphones but also for Amazon Echo. Users
can simply voice control the collection of their
laundry, hands-free.
The voice-activated laundry service enables
getting the dry cleaning done without leaving
the house.
21

Tide
Stain Remover Tipps
Explore the Sign
The voice app by Tide on Alexa can talk users through
how to remove a speciﬁc stain from items of clothing.
Alexa users can ask the Tide skill how to remove a
stain from clothing, with the majority of common
stains included in their database (ink, coffee,
spaghetti stains etc.). It offers detailed instructions
that can be read out by Alexa, or can send the tips via
text message together with a link to the Amazon
store to buy the correct detergent.
The Tide skill adds value to the user’s brand
experience by offering a quick solution to each
stain-related problem.
22

SmartThings
Smart Home Control
Explore the Sign
By connecting the SmartThings hub to Alexa, users
are able to control devices around the home
including lighting, security, temperature and other
devices such as fans.
It is also possible to create controls for the activation
or deactivation of multiple devices with commands
such as “Alexa, turn on Good Morning” or “Alexa, turn
on Party Time,” for different moods.
Voice-activation for all rooms and devices in the
house is making switching the mood from one
occasion to the other easy.
23

German Autolabs
An AI-powered, in-car Digital Companion
Controlled with Voice
Explore the Sign
German Autolabs have created an AI-powered,
in-car digital assistant for communication,
entertainment and navigation via voice, dubbed
“Chris” or “Alexa of the automotive world.”
The greatest difference between “Chris” and
other devices such as Alexa, is that it can be
interacted with just with hand gestures as well as
voice. The artiﬁcial intelligence used also means
that speech recognition will improve over time
when one speciﬁc driver is using the assistant.
The potential for voice interaction is high in
vehicles, as it can help to limit distractions and
keep drivers focused on the road.
24

Yo Momma
An Alexa Application which Offers “Yo
Momma” Jokes on Command
Explore the Sign
A playful application or “skill” of Amazon’s Alexa,
“Yo Momma” tells jokes when the user says “Start
Mom Jokes.”
It offers many one liners of “Yo Momma” jokes,
although doesn’t yet offer restriction settings for
age suitability, which could be an issue for
younger children.
Jokes are just a short command away and offer
entertainment almost instantly.
25

Akinator
An Alexa Application for Users to Play the
Game of Twenty Questions
Explore the Sign
The popular guessing game “Akinator” has
already proven to be a favorite among mobile and
social media users. Now it can be accessed and
played simply by using voice with Amazon’s Alexa.
Saying “open/start Akinator” begins the game,
and involves the character asking a series of
questions to guess the person the user is thinking
of, who then answers “yes” or “no” to each query.
Alexa can guess correctly for each character the
user thinks of.
The Akinator brings creative guessing to echo
and offers simple entertainment for users.
26

Safeco
Safeco: Locating Independent Agents Nearby
Explore the Sign
Safeco created a voice-controlled app for Alexa to
enable people to search for an insurance agent
nearby for advice.
In order to differentiate themselves from other
insurance companies, Safeco made searching for a
nearby agent as simple as possible. Potential
customers can locate an agent nearby who were
related to the type of policy they were interested in
purchasing or just knowing more about.
This gives people a shortcut to getting their
insurance queries answered, instead of picking up
a phone or typing questions into Google.
27

Garanti Bank
Virtual Banking Assistant
Explore the Sign
Garanti bank integrated virtual assistant features
and more natural language understanding
technology their banking app, iGaranti. This enables
customers to enquire about their funds, make
transfers, get exchange rates among other functions
through conversational voice recognition with the
assistant.
It was designed with the Millennial consumer in
mind, and became the #1 free app in the iOS App
store on its release.
The app is allowing a seamless end-to-end speech
enabled banking experience for customers.
28

ili
Wearable Translators
Explore the Sign
ili is a device that translates languages while its
wearer is on the go.
It supports English to Spanish, Mandarin, or
Japanese as well as Mandarin to English or Japanese.
It does not require WiFi and can translate languages
instantly in 0.2 seconds.
ili cracks the language barrier and makes cross-
cultural communication - and traveling - a
seamless experience.
29

Nokia
Nokia's Digital Assistant For Engineers & Fast
Customer Service
Explore the Sign
Nokia have announced their new, intelligent voice
assistant created for engineers and telecom
operators, named MIKA. It is powered by Nokia’s
AVA cognitive services platform and provides voice-
activated access to information for telco operators
and engineers. The assistant uses augmented
intelligence combined with automated learning to
supply best practice solutions for problems instantly,
also drawing on experiences from other networks.
MIKA enables engineers and customer service
agents to give better and faster solutions to
inquiries.
30

Fitbit
Voice to Get Your Fitness Stats
Explore the Sign
Fitbit users can now use their voice to access
personal stats on Alexa.
With almost instant stat updates on Alexa from the
user’s Fitbit app, personal ﬁtness information can be
accessed easily using only voice, including weight,
steps taken, goals met, sleep tracking, among others.
One drawback right now is the limitation of only one
Fitbit account being able to connect with Alexa.
But the attraction of accessibility to personal data
- especially for people on the go - is likely to
override these small imperfections.
31

Campbell
Distributing Content to Consumers
Explore the Sign
Campbell’s skill on Amazon’s Echo allows users to ask
for recipe suggestions on their portal for cooking-
related content, “Campbell’s Kitchen.”
Campbell was one of the first food brands on Echo.
Users can simply ask for recipe suggestions and hear
the step by step instructions read out to them. The
suggestions are tailored to suit the weather and
seasons, to incorporate trending flavors and
ingredients as well as user profiles, such as what they
have cooked before and ingredients used most often.
The skill makes cooking with a recipe easier by
giving the user hands-free instructions.
32

CogniToys
Children's Toys Respond Intelligently
Explore the Sign
Toys that listen and respond intelligently are the next
innovation in children's entertainment.
CogniToys Dino taps into IBM's Watson machine-
learning service, responding to a child's vocabulary
and interests and evolving as the child grows. It
adapts its responses depending on the language a
child uses. Therefore, it grows with the children.
The smart toy is longer lasting than other toys, as
it “grows” with the child playing with the Dino.
33

Johnnie Walker
Voice Bartenders
Explore the Sign
Johnnie Walker launches mentorship program that
brings consumers into the world of whisky with the
help of a tablet, a mobile device or Amazon Echo
devices.
It brings to life Johnnie Walker’s history, products
and heritage through a live chat with the Johnnie
Walker messenger bot and a series of digital videos
featuring mixologist Jeff Bell.
Echo enables the brand to showcase its versatility
and to have a conversation with its fans in the
most natural way: voice.
34

Alberto
Alexa in Retail
Explore the Sign
In Germany, pants label Alberto is testing Alexa in its
concept store to talk with customers. Since Amazon’s
Echo is available in Germany, its voice assistant Alexa
is “employed” in a concept store in Germany.
Programmed for “smart conversations”, Alexa is
answering questions about the current collection,
styles, and the company’s history.
Alexa is not replacing the human personnel, it is
used to underline clothing brand Alberto’s
innovative mindset.
35

Marriott
Voice-Activated Hotel Rooms
Explore the Sign - Marriott
Marriott hotels offer voice activated systems in some
of their rooms.
Marriott hotels are evaluating if and how they can
integrate Amazon’s Alexa or Apple’s Siri voice
assistants to let guests control the lights, curtains, TV
and in-room temperature.
Voice assistants could complement the already
highly customer-centric model, giving their
customers more ﬂexibility in how they experience
and use their time at the hotel.
36

WHAT’S HAPPENING
CHAPTER
TITLE
Voice is experiencing extreme growth thanks to the continuous
advancements being made improving the overall user experience.
Voice is still very much an emerging technology, we can’t really
have a fully fledged conversation with Alexa or Google Home but
we can definitely command them to complete “micro-tasks” or
fulfill a “micro-moment”.
With advances in machine-learning, voice will become
conversational and more and more human with the potential to
create personalized voice-based services. Consumers will have
the possibility to interact with brands in a free, frictionless and fun
way.
Investing in designers with a deep understanding of human-
psychology will give brands the ability to map these emerging
conversational abilities, ensuring your tone of voice and core
aims will be personalized to, and affect your customer.
37
THE
FUTURE
Voice is here to stay but there are few technical things that will
amplify its impact on consumers and business over the next few
years. In this chapter we look at some what’s to come and how
your brand should start working with voice.
LHBS // VOICE TECH. THE FUTURE

HAVAS MEDIA
60%13 %
87 %
82%
of interfaces in 2020
will be speech-
recognition based
TRATICA RESEARCH

HAVAS MEDIA
60%
70 %
30 %
30%
of web searches
will be screen-less by
2020
GARTNER

PERSONALIZATION & CUSTOMIZATION
Voice will be able to
personalize services.
Using biometric voice recognition, it will be able to recognize and customize the user experience.
Takeaway for brands: Tailor your voice interfaces to the interests, needs, wants and desires
of your customers.
40
LHBS // VOICE TECH. THE FUTURE / IMPLICATIONS

EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCE
Voice will react to emotions.
The development of emotional intelligence, will help voice interfaces identify emotion in their
users’ tone of voice.
Takeaway for brands: Harness empathetic and emotional utterances to create
interactions that truly affect your customers.
41

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Voice will revolutionize how
we experience things.
With future advancements in AI, voice interfaces will lead the way in “frictionless“ user
experiences. This AI revolution will be as transformative as mobility.
Takeaway for brands: Start investing in device-less experiences, focusing on how to
create a seamless, ﬂuid brand moment using contactless interactions.
42

LEARNING & MEMORY
Voice will learn to be more
human.
Machine-learning technologies will enable voice interfaces to recognize, learn and remember
the natural patterns of language.
Takeaway for brands: Give users the chance to converse with their voice services in a
natural, real way. Curate and push relevant content to your customers.
43

BRAND PERSONALIZATION
Voice will convey the
personality of a brand.
As voice advances, it is possible for brands to create a very real brand voice, conveying
personality and immediately fostering a more human-like engagement with consumers.
Takeaway for brands: Begin experimenting now with how voice could be your brand with
a distinct sound, such as real person recordings, accents and inﬂections.
44

Very soon ‘brand tone of voice’ will
take on a whole new meaning, so begin
thinking about who you want your
brand to be.

Discover
ABOUT.
Define Develop Deliver
LHBS is a marketing & innovation firm with offices in Berlin &
Copenhagen. We work with legacy organisations to adapt their
customer value proposition to meet emerging customer
expectations. Together with our clients we discover business
opportunities and deliver integrated customer offers for products,
services, experiences and communication.
http://www.lhbs.com
ABOUT
DISCOVER DEFINE DEVELOP DELIVER
LHBS // VOICE TECH.

LHBS Put the Title of the Report here
HUB.
This case study has been created with the help of signmesh.
signmesh innovation hub is a tailored dashboard of curated insights and
business cases to keep your company ahead of the learning curve and
inspire ongoing innovation.
signmesh.com
SIGNMESH
47
REQUEST
A DEMO.
LHBS // DOMINO’S STRATEGY: FROM PIZZA TO TECH GIANT

Die in dieser Präsentation dokumentierten Gedanken und Vorschläge sind geistiges Eigentum der  
LHBS Consulting Berlin GmbH und unterliegen den geltenden Urhebergesetzen. Die unauthorisierte Nutzung,  
die ganze oder teilweise Vervielfältigung sowie jede Weitergabe an Dritte ist nicht gestattet.
LHBS Consulting Berlin GmbH
Köpenicker Straße 154
10997 Berlin Germany
IMPRINT
www.lhbs.com
THANK YOU
48
LHBS // VOICE TECH.

A Little More Conversation: Branding with Voice UI

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Similar to A Little More Conversation: Branding with Voice UI

Similar to A Little More Conversation: Branding with Voice UI (20)

More from LHBS

More from LHBS (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

A Little More Conversation: Branding with Voice UI