PadSquad, a digital media company that develops high-impact advertising experiences, launched ColorSay,  a voice-enabled rich media ad format that allows consumers to interact based on the words they say.

ColorSay moves beyond touch and into the world of voice to create deeper connections with consumers. The ColorSay format is the first of many voice-enabled ad formats to come from PadSquad. To start, brands will be able to build experiences that enable their audiences to change the color of a product with just their voice.

The adoption of voice-enabled technology has been prolific over the past decade. This year, 123.5 million U.S. adults will use voice assistants at least once per month, according to eMarketer. In the coming years, consumers are expected to use this tech beyond basic tasks and expand into connected cars, healthcare, the metaverse, and more. As smartphones revolutionized touch technology, voice assistants are now changing the way consumers interact with the world around them through their voice. Technology and Innovation has advanced from talk, text, touch, and now to voice.

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PadSquad leverages sight, sound, motion, touch, and interactivity within its advertising development to stimulate the senses and connect with humans on an emotional level. Their hypothesis is that voice will be the next generation method of interaction and can bring a new dimension to advertising to enable deeper experiences.

To test its hypothesis, PadSquad partnered with Echelon Insights to conduct a research study on the market for voice-enabled advertising. Echelon used its Creative Optimizer ad testing tool, which uses randomized control trials to gain a statistically significant understanding of an ad’s impact on key bottom line measures, and to discover deeper learning about key consumer audiences. The study found:

• Sixty-four percent of the general population is extremely to very comfortable with new technology.
• Two-thirds of them have 1-5 smart devices in their homes, and almost half of them interact with voice assistants regularly.
• When provided with a short description of a voice-enabled ad, 67 percent of respondents said they would be likely to speak directly to an ad if they came across one.
• Respondents under the age of 40 were even more open to the concept, with 77 percent saying they’d interact with a voice-enabled ad.

“PadSquad’s latest product innovation has been engineered using a complex understanding of voice. Tone, pitch, frequency, and accents clearly distinguish one voice from another. Even a color’s name can sound unique from one person to the next, so our voice-enabled ad formats leverage natural language processing powered by Artificial Intelligence to make interpreting each voice possible,” said Jennifer Gavin, PadSquad’s VP of Creative and Ad Innovations.

PadSquad and Echelon showed a ColorSay demo for an auto brand with a panel of adults in the market for a new car. The panel was able to change the exterior color of the car by saying the name of the color into the microphone. The response was strong: a 12-point lift was seen on their likelihood to consider purchasing a car made by the auto brand. In general, the audience felt voice ads are more engaging and memorable when compared to traditional ads.

Color brings a whole host of ways to engage an audience through voice interactions. The use of voice-enabled color, like in the auto demo above, can be used to show the different options available for a new car, or highlight the latest summer fashions, and even see how paint can dramatically change the feel of your room. The opportunities for creative innovation are endless.

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