Nick Hammond

About 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).

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. 

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.

1

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.