Voice Experience agency Versa announces new skill-building capability for Amazon Alexa

Four months after its launch, Versa – an Australian enterprise-level Voice Experience (VX) agency – is leading the charge in the ‘Age of Ask’ with 10 new skills built for Australian brands.

Versa has been leading VX development, building bespoke voice solutions for clients across entertainment, travel, finance and FMCG sectors including Village Cinemas, Flight Centre and Domino’s Pizza.

Says Kath Blackham, managing director, Versa: “With Amazon Alexa launching today, the time is right for Australian brands to embrace VX. We have received a stellar reception from the local market and are thrilled to be partnering with leading brands across many different sectors.

“We have built a team with a unique skill-set, one that understands the complexity of VX at the enterprise level and working with partners such as Village Cinemas, Domino’s Pizza and Flight Centre has allowed us to truly define the human element. The opportunity is now.

“By 2020, voice and image based searches are going to make up at least 50-percent* of all searches globally, and within five years it is predicted more than half of all interactions with Australian brands will be conversational.”

Village Cinemas is one of the first brands ready for Amazon Alexa, with its new skill being launched with Alexa early next month.

The brand partnered with Versa to create a meaningful and engaging voice offering for its customers to enhance the cinema experience, said Mohit Bhargava, GM – sales and marketing at Village Cinemas.

Adds Bhargava: “We respond to millions of session time queries via our website and call centres each month, Voice offers a very natural channel to enhance the customer experience during this phase of our customer’s journey, we are truly excited and look forward to learning and developing on this capability further.”

Versa has also been exclusively engaged by Australia’s largest travel retailer, Flight Centre to pioneer the Australian travel experience and establish its voice offer.

As part of the engagement, Versa has used best-in-class technology to design an Alexa skill which brings users Flight Centre’s best flight prices with a simple verbal request. Acting as a qualified lead generation tool, the Alexa conversation is then passed on to Flight Centre to connect an agent directly with the customer, redefining the connection between voice, customer service and business utility.

Formed in partnership by digital frontrunners Deepend (Australia) and RAIN (USA) to offer a full suite of Voice Experience (VX), Australian brands have welcomed VERSA’s arrival in market, demonstrating a clear appetite for brands to establish their voice offering, ahead of the curve.

For more information, visit www.versa.agency.

(Pictured L-R: Tyler Hamilton, Aine McKay, Andrew Howlett, Kath Blackham, Guy Munro)