“Alexa is Amazon’s voice service and the brain behind tens of millions of devices like the Amazon Echo, Echo Dot, and Echo Show,” as the ecommerce company site explains. The voice service allows for branded functionalities or ‘skills.’ And there are over 25,000 such ‘skills’ (developed by well-known consumer-facing companies like Starbucks and Capital One) that have already been built in to the service.
To create those ‘skills’ brands use voice design tools that Amazon calls the Alexa Skills Kit or ASK. “ASK enables designers, developers, and brands to build engaging skills and reach customers through tens of millions of Alexa-enabled devices,” according to the site.
Digital conversation
The Eucerin skin care tool, launched last month, functions something like a chatbot or product-recommendation engine, asking questions to help consumers determine which product is best suited to address their skin care concerns.
Eucerin is a Beiersdorf USA brand (and that company is, of course, a subsidiary of Germany-based Beiersdorf AG). The company’s marketing angle on its new Amazon Alexa skill is all about helping consumers navigate a crowded marketplace: “The skincare landscape can be overwhelming at times, with numerous solutions and formulas available,” says Robert Ciaffaglione, team lead of shopper and customer marketing, in a media release.
He goes on: “Powered by 100 years of skin science, Eucerin offers formulas specifically designed to alleviate a multitude of skin concerns, from dry to very dry skin, to products formulated for eczema flare-ups to other skin conditions. By asking a few simple, key questions, the Eucerin skill for Alexa will direct consumers to the Eucerin product designed to help their individual needs.”
Consumers can then buy the recommended products via the Alexa voice service.