Nationwide deploys voice tech to help house hunters
Nationwide Building Society is piloting a new new Amazon Alexa Skill and Google Assistant App to help change the way house hunters move to a new part of the country.
The “Nationwide Local Voices” feature is being piloted in Bristol and developed by its media agency, WPP’s Wavemaker.
Voiced by 20 Bristolians, the feature allows users to explore the 20 most popular neighbourhoods by simply using their voice and hear the stories behind the areas through short audio documentaries.
The aim of the content is to provide homebuyers and home-movers with useful insight into what life is really like and goes beyond what can be found on an initial Google search.
The Nationwide Local Voices feature is free to download and accessible via devices with Alexa, by asking “Alexa, open Nationwide Local Voices”, or Google Assistant by saying “Hey Google, talk to Nationwide Local Voices”.
Running alongside the pilot of the Nationwide Local Voices feature is a Bristol citywide ad campaign across print media (via advertorials in the Bristol Post and the Western Daily Press), as well as out-of-home kiosks.
Sarah Salter, Head of Innovation at Wavemaker, said: “Voice offered an opportunity for Nationwide Building Society to pioneer a new experience by connecting with its audience of prospective home movers both in car and on the move.
“After all, the use of voice search on smart devices continues to grow exponentially, and according to YouGov data sourced from Statista, 58% of smart speaker usage in the UK is to answer general questions.”
Wavemaker identified the opportunity to develop the Voice App and was responsible for the conversational design and scripting, visual development and production. Wavemaker is Nationwide’s media agency, VCCP is the creative agency, and voice production was by Veni Loqui.
Anna Bentham, Director of Marketing at Nationwide, added: “We wanted to help prospective house hunters make the most informed decisions when it comes to researching a new city or neighbourhood.
“And despite 36% asking estate agents for advice when buying their home, three in 10 admitted they wish they’d been able to speak to residents of the area they were moving to instead. With this in mind, we believed that the best way to do this was by speaking to those in the know – the residents who live and work there, who can give first-hand advice.”