SCA partners with Alkira on smart speaker media first
Southern Cross Austereo’s The Studio has partnered with Alkira to deliver an industry first for Queensland Eye Institute Foundation.
The announcement:
Art that speaks: The Studio at Southern Cross Austereo partners with Alkira to deliver smart speaker media first for Queensland Eye Institute Foundation
In a media first, The Studio at SCA, Southern Cross Austereo’s commercial creative services team, has partnered with voice software experts Alkira to support Queensland Eye Institute Foundation’s (QEIF) fundraising and awareness campaign ‘Last Seen’.
Last Seen pairs nine visually impaired Australians with influential artists to create paintings of their last significant memory before they experienced vision loss. The paintings were then auctioned off at the launch of Last Seen in Brisbane on 13 November.
Creative agency Publicis engaged The Studio at SCA to help promote the exhibition, however the team at SCA took the idea further, creating soundscapes for many of the paintings to enhance the viewing experience. Those soundscapes re-created the last thing subjects heard before losing their vision, bringing the paintings to life in sound.
Head of The Studio at SCA Brisbane, Jeanna Manifold, said: “The creative concept developed by Publicis immediately brought to mind audio’s ability to create an intimate and immersive experience which could truly honour the stories behind each painting. It’s been a pleasure to work with QEIF and the team at Publicis to create a unique campaign and a suite of assets which sits across all of SCA’s audio platforms.”
The subjects’ stories and accompanying soundscapes were launched via SoundCloud and converted into an interactive smart speaker voice app (skill) with help from voice software experts Alkira.
On the night, potential bidders were able to immerse themselves in the stories behind the paintings in a one-of-a-kind interactive experience.
Alkira Head of Partnerships and Integration, Paige Harkness, said: “When we were approached by QEIF the concept immediately struck a chord with the team at Alkira. Our voice engine was initially developed to help people with low or no vision complete day-to-day tasks like grocery shopping or booking flights online. The opportunity to work with SCA to develop a first of its kind interactive audio experience for the Last Seen exhibition was a fantastic use of our tech and we are thrilled with how it’s come together.”
The Studio at SCA National Head of Creativity, Matt Dickson, said: “As humankind’s oldest form of communication, voice is such an intuitive and immersive way to tell stories. It’s been great to pair this with new tech in the form of a smart speaker skill. For brands, voice is the next frontier and it’s been fantastic to work with QEIF and Alkira to create a groundbreaking, audio experience.”
Last Seen is now exhibiting at Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) until Sunday 1 December 2019 providing free access to the general public to view the beautiful and emotive artworks with a full sensory experience, or via the campaign’s website at lastseen.com.au
To hear the skill in action, just say: “Ok Google, talk to Last Seen Exhibition” on any Google Assistant-enabled device.
Source: SCA media release
