‘Alexa, open the new Autumn collection’: why voice tech is the new frontier in shoppable TV

Connected TV is booming, with breakneck growth driving a new kind of ad experience. It’s not just about reach – 75% of UK households now own a smart TV – it’s also creating scope for richer interactivity and more engaging entertainment.

In an ad market set to double by 2028, brands have a chance to capitalize on a new set of consumer viewing habits. This is an audience that is drawn to both AVoD services, and innovative forms of ad delivery. They’re laying down the challenge for shoppable TV that feels personalized and fun.

Ads featuring voice commands are one way to meet this demand, driven by the emergence of smart TV voice navigation. This, along with the popularity of smart speakers in UK homes, opens up a new arena of frictionless experience – and one in which consumers are already primed to respond.

Here’s how to turn voice commands into actionable TV – and unlock deeper brand engagement:

1. Create a standout CTA

The ideal voice activation in CTV is tailored and playful, with a clear CTA. Viewers react intuitively to voice commands, but only with the right incentive in place to motivate them.

In a 2020 audio campaign with Spotify, for example, Estée Lauder used a voice prompt to unlock a free night cream sample. The same cue gave access to a customized playlist designed to help consumers unwind, based on their Spotify streaming history.

In the context of CTV, this type of voice command campaign could be tied in with live sports or concerts – events that are becoming a major ad opportunity on CTV. For instance, a food delivery brand could issue a voice command ad for a discount code on a half-time or interval snack. Equally, advertisers could use voice commands to unveil new-season previews or product features, or to invite viewers on an interactive, behind-scenes tour.

The more appealing the CTA is, the easier it is to get audiences to engage. The aim is to make the path to purchase as seamless as possible, while introducing an element of meaningful or fun interactivity.

2. Use eye-catching creatives

Any voice command – however compelling – can only work as well as its corresponding creative. And here, brands need to stretch a little, to ensure their CTV ads are contextually relevant and unique.

There’s a whole host of options to choose from. This year’s NewsFronts revealed a wide showcase of boundary-pushing formats, from virtual showrooms to gamified trivia and shoppable carousels. Today’s CTV playbook also includes entertainment-led ideas such as animations or quizzes.

In 2022, Focus Features ran a voice-activated ‘choose your own’ adventure campaign with Amazon Alexa, to promote the Downton Abbey film. The immersive experience – prompted by the words, “Alexa, launch the Downton Abbey experience” – led fans on an audio tour of the show, to test their knowledge, set showtime reminders and buy cinema tickets.

A dynamic and immersive creative concept like this captures audience attention from the outset – meaning voice commands are more likely to convert.

3. Understand contextual nuance

Voice-command CTV ads work best when powered by context and attention. The challenge for brands is to make every campaign feel relevant in the moment.

Which target content categories receive the most amount of attention – and at what times of day, or days of the week? And do attention levels vary according to other factors, e.g. locality, or type of device? This level of contextual and attention-based insight is accrued over thousands of hours of CTV viewing data.

Equally, voice command CTV ads perform best if they align with contextual nuances such as sentiment, tone and audience mindset. This may involve searching beyond the most obvious content categories (e.g. sports shows for an activewear brand) to adjacent inventory (e.g. adventure travel programs).

Since this kind of intelligence takes years to build, it makes sense to find a partner with strong CTV contextual data in the planning stages of a campaign.

4. Elevate the experience

On CTV, voice commands give advertisers a simple but powerful tool to elevate the ad experience. They bring shoppable TV to life by adding an easy, universal way for viewers to interact and choose.

And that’s the biggest draw. On a platform where convenience is key, voice tech makes the shopping experience as easy as possible. And it does so in a way that compels action from viewers, transforming a passive viewing moment into one of live interactivity. There is value, too, in the provision of real-time engagement data that comes from each response made.

The final test comes with how the voice prompt is packaged. Together with a clear CTA, a fun creative, and fine-tuned contextual relevance, this tool has all the makings of a stellar campaign: one designed to harness CTV’s rich attention economy.

Ultimately, in a world where attention is everything, voice turns the remote into a conversation – and every ad into an invitation to act.