“Conversation experience management software” that combines voice optimized content management, cross-platform deployment, and voice-specific customer insights.
Who knew that such a technological advancement would be important to an audio content and distributor with podcasting and radio stations at the core of its business?
J.D. Crowley and the C-Suite team at Audacy did.
That explains why the company formerly known as Entercom has reached a multi-year partnership with Voicify.
As part of the partnership, Audacy says it will “leverage Voicify’s services to drive interactive voice capabilities across the Audacy platform and make station-branded skills more easily accessible for listeners via any voice assistant-enabled device.”
Audacy will also license Voicify’s patented “Conversation Experience Platform” to create and deliver “innovative, interactive voice ads and voice commerce experiences” through digital audio content for advertisers.
The platform is designed to allow marketers to connect with their customers “by creating highly engaging and personalized voice experiences that are automatically deployed to a broad array of voice platforms, including smart speakers,” Voicify adds.
“As we continue to expand and enhance the Audacy direct-to-consumer platform, adding new interactive voice capabilities and enabling voice commerce experiences across a wide range of devices is an important area of future growth, especially in an age where flexibility and speed to market are a must have for our advertising partners,” said J.D. Crowley, the Chief Digital Officer at Audacy.
Serving as Voicify’s CEO is Jeff McMahon. He adds, “We have been working closely with Audacy to support their continued innovation and leadership when it comes to the delivery of highly engaging interactive voice experiences within the audio space. We are excited to expand our relationship and continue to partner with Audacy to create best-in-class interactive experiences for their listeners and compelling interactive ads and voice commerce opportunities for their clients.”
According to Emarketer, one-third of the United States population, or roughly 111.8 million people, are using voice to conduct searches, with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) noting 71% of consumers prefer to perform search queries by voice instead of typing. PwC data also finds that 40% of consumers use voice to order or buy something every month. The usage of smart speakers is expected to continue to rise in 2022, as Juniper Research predicts that 55% of households will use smart speakers by 2022, up from 13% of households in 2018.
Audacy and Voicify will kick off their partnership with “high-profile campaigns for several marquee brands” in the coming months.
