Alexa... share a Coke with me?

Most users tend to view Alexa as a digital secretary, but Coca Cola wants you to share a drink with it. A campaign conceptualised by Ogilvy Australia builds on the brand's 'Share a Coke' campaign and extends it to Amazon's smart home device. Australians will have the opportunity to get their own personalised Coke bottle by saying “Alexa, let’s share a Coke”, to any Alexa-enabled device. Users automatically receives a text message that allows them to get a free Coke bottle with their name on it delivered to their doorstep.

As a device, Alexa offers users a wide array of functionalities. There are quite a few ways in which brands have associated with the smart device, to allow for user interactions. Alexa has physical, real-time brand associations with brands like Wipro's smart devices - the assistant can control the device to perform functions like dimming a light or switching off a fan.

In association with multiple news publishers including NDTV, The Times of India, Aaj Tak and ABP News, Alexa offers users daily news briefings when asked 'What's on the news today?'. The smart home device also offers recipes via a skill by Tata Sampann and allows users to place an order from a KFC near them. Alexa can also help users book a cab via ride hailing services like Ola and Uber and check for movie and show timings via BookMyShow.

Jagran New Media, the digital wing of Dainik Jagran, has also launched two new Amazon Alexa Skills in Hindi - घरेलू उपचार (Gharelu Upchaar) and दैनिक जागरण हिंदी ख़बरें (Dainik Jagran Hindi Khabre). The new skills provide user solutions for common health problems and a 360-degree overview of the latest Alexa happenings across all genres of news in Hindi respectively by simply asking Alexa.

Another way that users can interact with Alexa is to ask it to book a handyman from UrbanClap (such as a plumber, electrician, etc.) Alexa also offers users an option to check cricket scores via an association with ESPN Cricinfo. Beyond information that users are accustomed to asking for and listening to, Alexa also offers an option to tune into All India Radio.

A recently published guest article on afaqs!, written by Vinod Bhat, co-founder, president and chief strategy officer, JioSaavn, also makes mention of digital home assistants. The topic of the article is 'Digital audio trends to listen for in 2020'. "At a time when users have become comfortable interacting with digital assistants on their phones and smart speakers, voice-enabled advertising takes consumer engagement to the next level. New voice ads will allow for more interaction, where users can ask for more product information or respond to the call-to-action. They will also give brands a more concrete idea of how many people have been listening to and taking action on their ads," he writes.