• by Ray Schultz , September 18, 2019

Direct mail agency Gunderson Direct has developed a voice-activated call to action that allows users to access direct mail offers via Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant.

The new tool, Respond Fast, utilizes a unique phrase or code printed on direct mail pieces. Recipients can respond to a campaign by reciting the phrase or code the company says.

From there, the smart speaker can fulfill customer requests and gather information needed to follow up by email, text, website or phone, the firm says.

Respond Fast leverages smart speaker-based voice activated call-to-action (VACTA) technology.

Attribution, usually a challenge in direct mail, is easy because of the direct link to the call to action, the firm claims.  

“Now, a prospect can be reading a piece of mail in their kitchen or living room and take advantage of an offer by simply speaking to their smart speaker,” states Alexa Sundberg, vice president of data for Gunderson Direct.

Sundberg adds that this “removes the barrier of searching for a URL, typing in a code, or dialing the phone.

“With 43 million Americans owning a smart speaker,” adds Mike Gunderson, Founder and CEO of Gunderson Direct, “VACTA technology is a natural and exciting next step in direct mail marketing call to action.”