VOCALiD ANNOUNCES
VUI.AGENCY PARTNERSHIP

MICHELE J MARTIN

We are excited to start the new year by announcing our latest partnership — with VUI.Agency, a multidisciplinary agency based out of Germany with a laser focus on conversational AI.

They are experts in language, linguistics, rhetoric, and phonetics. VUI is the largest agency for conversational experiences in Europe for voice assistants and conversational AI and work with clients across multiple sectors, including automotive, retail, service, and telecom.

We are united by the same mission to create the highest quality voice-enabled content and intuitive voice experiences that are diverse, representative, and uplift society.​

VUI and VocaliD are fueled by the same passion for human speech and desire to connect people and brands through intuitive voice experiences. It is our shared vision that one day speaking devices and apps will reflect the true diversity and authenticity of voices that we hear in our everyday lives.

Through this partnership we can offer the most charismatic virtual assistants and voice experiences on the market. By combining our state-of-the-art AI voice technology, social good mission, and human speech expertise with VUI's multimodal voice experience, and sound branding specialty, we will be positioned to empower businesses to tap fully into the power of voice identity and customer engagement.

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Voicebot Podcast:
VocaliD - June 21, 2019

PODCAST:
Rupal Patel APPEARS on Voicebot Podcast

MICHELE J MARTIN

On June 21st, 2019 VocaliD's CEO, Rupal Patel, sat down with Bret Kinsella of Voicebot.ai for his popular Voicebot Podcast.

You can listen to this episode below:

This one hour in depth interview was a deep dive into VocaliD, as well as, the history and science of speech synthesis, providing the listener with a solid understanding of the hows and whys of modern voice AI.

During the podcast, Rupal and Bret delved into the future of computer-generated voice and how it relates to the surge in voice-first products we are seeing (and hearing). The technological advances in machine learning will undoubtedly offer numerous benefits from both a consumer and brand standpoint.

One of the many interesting take aways was the impact that today's advances in speech synthesis will have on inclusivity and allowing communities to feel less disenfranchised.

Rupal explained that if you look at the past - the prototypes for radio and television broadcasting were a very limited voice or face. There wasn't much diversity in the beginning, but now you are seeing, and hearing, a far more diverse range of communities in these two mediums. This hadn't yet caught on in the synthetic voice world however, and Rupal is eager for what will come now that VocaliD can offer unique high quality diverse voices.

"Our world is diverse. From age, gender, sexual orientation, and accents, and we don't hear much of that at all in the synthetic voices we hear around us."
-Rupal Patel, CEO of VocaliD

Wrapping up this educational podcast, Ms. Patel discussed the ethical responsibilities that technology companies must be aware that they hold when creating new technologies that may bring unintended consequences - and how it is important to consider ways in which to build safeguards into the design of your technology to mitigate these risks.

In summary, this is a can't miss podcast for all of you out there that are interested in voice technology, speech synthesis, voice-first design, inclusion through technology, and the ethics of technological advances.

We hope you enjoy it - it's a great listen while you fighting holiday traffic this upcoming July 4th!

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CUSTOM VOICES

The Flexibility of Synthetic Speech & Personalization of Human Talent

CUSTOM AI-BASED VOICES OFFER A DISTINCTIVE SOUND FOR PEOPLE AND BRANDS

Headshot of Rupal Patel

By Rupal Patel

Darwinian forces of natural selection favor uniqueness – from birds to people to corporations. Enterprises capture this uniqueness in their brand. A distinctive logo, a preferred font, a color palate, and now more than ever, a vocal identity. With over 2.5 billion voice-enabled devices globally and 8 billion voice assistants projected globally by 2023, the demand for unique voice is skyrocketing. Corporations want to be heard and listeners want variety.

"In the voice-first era, companies that compromise on unique voice, simply will not be heard over their competition, and that’s not good for business."

Want to read the entire article that was published on Voicebot.ai? READ MORE

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The New Role of Voice in Brand Storytelling

The New Role of Voice
in Brand Storytelling

MICHELE J MARTIN

Historically when the term voice has been used in business, we have talked about the overall tone and thread of messages across channels. Voice wasn’t literal, it was figurative. The voice-first explosion has changed that.

Until now, it was enough for a brand to consider their words and how they would be perceived and whether they seemed to complement and reflect who the company is. While storytelling is a buzzword that is often overused, when done well, it is a way of taking your audience on a journey with your brand. Each piece of copy and content was a paragraph or a chapter - coming together to make up the larger narrative of the brand story. Over time, with thanks to the advances in different converging technologies, storytelling left the page and went to video, went to music, and now… it has come to voice.

Voice AI is the application of state-of-the-art machine learning to speech blending algorithms to transform human voice recordings into the digital voices brands need today. VocaliD's digital, or ‘synthetic’ voices, have their roots in traditional text-to-speech, but Voice AI isn't yesterday's text-to-speech. Today's voices are expressive and diverse. No longer the robotic speech we’d come to associate with a synthesized voice.

The cutting-edge quality of today’s synthesized digital voices allows brands to extend their reach and be present and voice-consistent in every customer audio touch point... seamlessly.

"Voice AI is not a replacement of voice talent, in fact, it is a way to empower brands and talent to augment their current capabilities in order to meet the changing demands of the voice-first revolution and provide consumers with better Voice Experiences (VX)."

No matter where your brand is, you want your customer to associate positively with each touch point, whether that is written, visual, or auditory. If the digital voice you are using across voice-first devices, in your automated call centers, or in your marketing campaigns doesn’t denote unity, if it creates cognitive dissonance in your audience, you risk losing the attention of your consumer at a vital time in their customer journey.

Many brands today have their spokesperson - Flo, Mayhem, “Do you hear me now?”, and even Poo-Pouri… these brands have all incorporated very specific talent personas for their brands. Voice AI is not a replacement of this talent, in fact, it is a way to empower brands and talent to augment their current capabilities in order to meet the changing demands of the voice-first revolution and provide consumers with better Voice Experiences (VX).

The Possibilities of Voice AI

Imagine having Mayhem deliver real-time dynamic messaging to Allstate customers? Predicting every short script that the actor portraying Mayhem would need to record would be challenging and the delays in recording and delivery of the files would eliminate the ability to make on-the-fly changes. With licensing and royalty agreements in place, brands could now ensure that their spokesperson was available both in human and digital form, ensuring full omni-channel residency and voice consistency.

These technological advances and new products and applications have created both challenges and amazing opportunities for brands today. New roles are being created - Voice Experience Designers and Voice Strategists are two that we’ve seen emerge in the last year. More and more CMOs and other executives are talking about the need for their brand to develop an extensive Voice Strategy. The brands that choose to take control now and design their Vocal Personas to complement their overall story will rise above, their message amplified above the noise as others quickly get in line to join the voice-first movement.

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