February Newsletter
Great Thunder!
Chris Hemsworth is the latest ambassador for our favourite AI assistant.
From the launch of Alexa.com last month, to the rollout of Alexa+ and now the SuperBowl Ad, it feels Amazon has well and truly shifted gears.
Alexa+ is being positioned as ‘The Home Operating System’, promising the kind of engagement that ChatGPT and Gemini cannot deliver. Amazon is claiming that 76% of Alexa+ engagements cannot be completed by any other assistant.
Forward-thinking brands are moving quickly, keen to shape conversations at the heart of the home.
In other news: Welcome back Tesco. They have launched the Tesco Kitchen YouTube channel, supported by audio to drive awareness, and Actionable Audio Ads that let listeners subscribe in seconds. The result is stronger cross channel measurement from awareness through to action.
This weekend also saw the launch of the first ‘Actionable Audio Ad’ campaign from Ocado, raising awareness for and allowing listeners to directly order or download the app.
Lots more news coming in the next few days, follow us on LinkedIn to find out first what’s happening, an exclusive event invite dropping very soon.
Love and thunder,
Chris Hemsworth front and centre for Alexa+
Amazon’s Superbowl ad this weekend put Alexa+ front and centre with Chris Hemsworth at home with his wife Elsa Pataky.
Why is this interesting? It was aired alongside ads from Anthropic’s Claude, OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini. Amazon are putting their weight behind Alexa+ as the new interface for Amazon.com.
As consumers shift their behaviour from browser first to AI/Assistant first there is an arms race from the large tech players to ensure each consumer chooses theirs.
Amazon have massively increased the footprint of Alexa from 600m SmartSpeakers to anyone with a browser with the launch of Alexa.com going head to head with ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude.
Their point of difference? Positioning as ‘The Household Operating System’. Read our full article on this here
Alexa+ The Household Operating System
“Alexa, launch Tesco Kitchen”
Tesco has launched a cooking content series on YouTube, hosted by broadcaster Greg James and chef Seema Pankhania.
“Tesco Kitchen”, is intended to inspire viewers to try new recipes, with each episode featuring a guest choosing a dish that is meaningful to them.
Listeners who engage receive a link to subscribe to the channel and subsequently reminder whenever a new episode is posted.
Listen to the creative and find out more about the campaign here.
“Alexa, launch Ocado”
Ocado have recently launched their first ‘Actionable Audio Ad’ campaign voiced by comedian Rob Beckett.
Their are several creatives playing in rotation raising awareness for the latest Ocado offers and encouraging listeners to engage by saying “Alexa, launch Ocado” to their smart speaker.
Listeners who engage can hear more about the offer and get a link sent to their phone to order or download the Ocado app.
There is a huge amount of data that can be used to gather enriched insights about how consumers are engaging with audio campaigns, find out more about the Say It Now data studio here
Read more and hear the audio creative here.
Alexa+ expands to to the web
At last month’s CES event in Las Vegas, Amazon announced Alexa.com. This gives users access to Alexa+ through any browser, extending the surface to engage with Alexa from 600m smart speakers to anyone with a browser.
The message here is that Alexa+ is going head to head with ohter AI assistants like ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude. However, Alexa+ has a very large point of difference instead of positioning as a general assistant, it has launched as ‘The Home Operating System’.
Accelerating roll-out, last week Amazon announced Alexa+ is now available to everyone in the US.
With an unparalleled understanding of consumer mindset and smart home infrastructure Amazon stand a good chance of cementing their lead in home AI assistants.
There has never been a better time for brands to invest in the Alexa+ platform.
Smart Speaker listening up 18% YoY
Commercial radio listening on Smart Speakers has risen 18.1% YoY Q4 2024 to Q4 2025 according to RAJAR results just in. If you are running audio campaigns more and more people are listening on devices where they can engage. If those campaigns are not voice enabled ‘Actionable Audio Ads’ it’s like running display ads you cannot click. Full RAJAR breakdown from Radiocentre here.
Say It Now’s Data Studio
What if you could optimise your voice campaign mid flight, and see goal conversion climb the following week?
That’s exactly what clients are doing inside the Say It Now Data Studio.
Our dashboard gives brands, agencies, and partners a direct line into what’s actually happening with their campaign, making real time adjustments based on live performance data. This agility is translating directly to tangible outcomes.
📊 Metrics that matter:
- Voice Through Rate (VTR)
- Sessions vs Impressions
- Goal Completions + Goal Conversion Rate
- Utility Activation (reminders set, links sent, add to basket, API triggers)
We wrote a full article all about it!
Or get in touch to find out more, we do love a great conversation!