Say It Now and Specsavers Launch First Ever Actionable Audio Ad

Say It Now, the London voice assistant adtech firm, has partnered with Specsavers to enable customers to book their hearing tests online via their Alexa smart speaker.

Smart speaker listeners who hear the Specsavers advert on digital radio stations will be able to say ‘Alexa, open Specsavers Hearing’, with customers then able to have a booking link sent to their mobile phone immediately. Customers are then just one click away from filling out the appointment form on the Specsavers website.

Specsavers wanted to investigate different ways of encouraging customers to book appointments for hearing tests. Traditionally, they would use radio to drive people online to book their appointment, but this time decided to use actionable audio adverts to help bridge the gap between audio and booking.

Specsavers’ expert audiologists are trained to not only conduct hearing tests but also to provide people with all the information they need to take care of their overall hearing health. What’s more, a hearing test at Specsavers is completely free.

Specsavers’ actionable audio advertising campaign aims to reach millions of listeners via smart speaker devices. Research shows that 39% of UK Adults have access to a smart speaker at home, and analysts predict that the growing use of voice assistants will drive the value of smart home payments to $164 billion in 2025. Leading brands as well as global media agencies are looking to harness the potential of the emerging marketing channel, and Say It Now was recently selected as the voice partner of choice for Group M, the world’s leading media investment company, who is responsible for more than $50bn in annual media investment through WPP agencies such as Mindshare, MediaCom, Wavemaker, Essence and m/SIX.

Maria Cadbury, director of strategic partnerships, Say It Now, says: “Say It Now’s actionable audio adverts bridge the gap between radio and digital so that customers can more easily complete the call to action. Our technology focuses on accessibility and convenience and means that people – in the hustle and bustle of everyday life – are still able to do the small but important things, such as book a hearing test. We are delighted to partner with Specsavers on an actionable audio advert that raises awareness of hearing health and encourages people to get a hearing test.”

Gordon Harrison, chief audiologist, Specsavers, says: “Hearing health is massively important and can influence peoples’ quality of life. We want to make sure that it is front of mind for people across the country, and that’s why we decided to partner with Say It Now – to launch our first ever actionable audio advert – so that we can make it as easy as possible for people to book a hearing test. We pride ourselves on being an innovative brand and hope to roll out this technology for our other products and services in the future.”

Last year Say It Now partnered with Mediacom and Bayer for an industry first interactive smart speaker campaign where listeners to Global’s radio stations were able to order a Berocca Boost by talking to their Amazon device during the commercial breaks. Say It Now has also created Diageo’s ‘Talisker Tasting Experience’ – one of their six ‘Taste of the Future’ innovations in 2021 and available in multilingual variants.

In December 2021 Say It Now announced the acquisition of North American voice tech platform GetStarted, a move that consolidates Say It Now’s market leading position by significantly increasing the capabilities of its technology, reducing operational costs, increasing speed of delivery and opening new markets and revenue streams. The acquisition builds on an impressive record of organic growth for Say It Now since its inception in 2018; the scale-up secured Diageo as a cornerstone client, established media partnerships with DAX from Global and Octave Audio, strategic relationships with A Million Ads and Hawk, and was selected by the Havas Start-up Program 2021.