Connekt adds voice activation via Google Home to its TV ad engagement platform

Connekt Launches Voice Activation for Its TV Ad Engagement Platform via Google Home

SAN FRANCISCO — Connekt, the AI-driven technology company transforming TV advertising for the connected world, is preparing for remote-less future by adding voice capabilities to its linear TV ad engagement solution. Now, viewers with Google Home devices can interact with brands that are featured on TV and purchase goods using only their voices.

Voice-enabled products are taking over the home, as more people welcome the speed, efficiency and convenience of speaking to their devices, rather than typing on them. Five billion consumer devices supporting Google Assistant and Alexa will be in use this year, and nearly 3 billion more will be added by 2021, according to IHS Markit.

“Voice is the new UI, and it will change how we perform everyday household activities, including watching TV,” said Tripp Boyle, senior vice president for Connekt. “We’re getting out ahead of this shift by allowing viewers to interact with brands’ TV ads and content – including buying products featured in an enhanced ad using their voice-enabled Google Home devices.”

Connekt’s AI-driven product suite leverages ACR (automatic content recognition) technology and other real-time viewership data to identify what’s on screen at a precise moment and serve up an interactive brand experience to the viewer. Now, when a voice assistant is active in the home, brands can present users with a simple, on-screen message explaining how they can “talk back” to their Google Home device to receive more product information, open other branded content or even make a purchase – all from their television.

“Connekt’s vision of a remote-less TV experience is in lock step with where smart TV OEMs want to be within the next three years,” said Jason Smith, senior partner, managing director at Mindshare. “By adding voice technology to its linear TV ad-enhancement solution, Connekt is signaling its position in the marketplace by enabling consumers to engage with brands in a way that will soon be the norm.”

“Our research confirms that consumers have a strong appetite for buying products featured in TV ads or content in real time,” said Boyle. “By condensing thousands of remote-based keystrokes into a few phrases to drive a transaction on the television, we’re providing a frictionless path to meaningful engagement between consumers and brands on the biggest, most watched screen in the home.”