Author: Nick Hammond

What do voice user interfaces mean for marketers & brands?

I recently attended an interesting WARC mini-conference on voice tech and machine learning. The stand out part was a joint session from Mindshare and JWT, highlighting their research in this area.

Here are some observations from this session regarding voice tech, beginning with some background before looking specifically at the commercial challenges and opportunities for brands. (Please also see my recent article, Why brands should be bothered about voice bots).

Article Mobile

Why digital out-of-home advertising is not really digital (yet)

Digital out-of-home advertising (DOOH) is predicted to hit 50% of all outdoor revenue by the end of 2017, while the number of digital screens in the UK has increased from 2,056 in 2009 to over 17,000 in 2017 thanks to investment of around £100m.

Article Influencer marketing

The changing face of consumer trust and the implications for marketers

I had the pleasure of hearing author Rachel Botsman speak at two events recently – NESTA and the Royal Society of Arts alongside Andy Haldane of the Bank of England.

Article Planning and buying

The myth of storytelling in marketing and why brands should encourage ‘story sharing’

The word ‘story’ is so compelling (and so heavily employed) in marketing, because it evokes emotional reactions rooted in our childhood. Many of the stories told us by our parents were in turn heard from their parents before that and so on.

It is this transferred passion and heritage that makes the word, and associations we have with it, so powerful.

Article Customer Experience

Why increasingly efficient UX might not always be a good thing

A recent leader in The Economist raised my interest in the little discussed area of ‘facile externality’.

The Economist summed up the concept as follows:

Article Omnichannel

Why brands should be bothered about (voice)bots

Let me start off with a disclaimer.

I am not a voice technology expert, conversational designer or even adept in the area of Alexa skills. This piece is written from a marketing perspective and will I hope, have relevance for marketeers wanting to know more about opportunities in this area.

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Article Process and Project Management

The importance of the blockchain: The second generation of the internet

Last week the high and rapidly changing price of bitcoin brought the digital currency to the top of the news, reaching an all-time trading high, at about $1,150 per coin.

It has since fluctuated considerably; the cause of this being statements and actions taken by the Chinese government. The clear majority of bitcoin trading (more than 95%) takes place in China, giving events there an enormous influence on the price.

Nick Hammond

About Nick Hammond