Activate Branding

Recently, Gary Vee gave a powerful talk (like he always does) about the significance of brand awareness and techonolgy’s increasing shift towards voice activation. As the world becomes more reliant on our robotic friends, Siri and Alexa, brands need to make sure their names are front of mind. Currently, most people use these voice activated services to look up a phone number or address; but as the technology advances, Vee and many others predict, we will start making regular purchases through this same technology.

Here’s a great example. You want to send a dozen muffins to your friend, Ann. You ask Alexa, “Hey, Alexa, have a dozen muffins delivered to my friend, Ann.” If you aren’t aware of a specific bakery, then Alexa will go ahead, find a bakery that delivers and complete the transaction for you.

This is where the need for strong brand awareness comes into play. You want that request to be, “Hey, Alexa, have XYZ Bakery deliver a dozen muffins to my friend, Ann.”

As society shifts to rely more and more on voice activated services, we are allowing those services to make purchasing decisions. Obviously, businesses can do a lot of work with their SEO and other analytics to make sure they are on top of Alexa’s search, but the most effective way to guarantee your bakery ends up with the sale is through a direct request.

This is a very forward-thinking concept but one we can all at least start imagining. It is reported that in 2019 roughly 25% of U.S. adults own at least one smart speaker in their home. Smart speakers were introduced to the market in 2014, so we have adopted this technology quickly which further drives dependence and acceptance.

Large tech companies are investing billions in artificial intelligence, and the world is starting to recognize AI as a common acronym. A voice activated life that once felt futuristic and is now becoming a reality. Business with strong name recognition and brand awareness will climb to the top in these scenarios. Planning now for ways to increase your exposure while also deepening consumer loyalty will pay off when the robots take over (just kidding…maybe).