Dive Brief:
- Amazon is set to release The Grand Tour, a new original series from the company, and is giving Echo an opportunity to play a trivia game that unlocks additional video content according to a press release from the company.
- The game features the voices of the series stars giving participants new clues each Thursday on what to watch for in the upcoming episode.
- Trivia game players who get all three questions correct could win a $25 Amazon gift card and will also have access to additional content.
Dive Insight:
The effort is an interesting way for Amazon to synch up its original programming with its Echo hardware device. The entire promotion is also tied to special pricing for Amazon Prime, and The Grand Tour will run exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.
Although this effort involves Amazon leveraging multiple pieces of its business, the gamification of the video content offers brand marketers a blueprint on how home assistant devices like Echo and Google Home can be tapped for promotions or sponsorships.
Beyond developing branded skills, with are the mini app interfaces for completing a task on Echo, brands are also looking to Echo for more robust consumer engagement opportunities as adoption grows. For example, spirits brand Johnnie Walker recently introduced a mentorship program on Echo.
Echo paired with Amazon's digital assistant Alexa has a significant head start in building an at-home connected ecosystem, a space that is also being eyed by Google, Apple, Samsung and others.
