For immediate release
29 January 2020, New York, London – New York-based RAIN Agency and London-based Vixen Labs announced that they have formed a global partnership, creating the first global voice specialist agency network spanning North America, the UK, and continental Europe. While the two companies will remain independent, the partnership will enable each firm’s global clients to be serviced seamlessly across markets with expert, voice-specialized strategists, designers, and engineers.
RAIN and Vixen Labs were both among the earliest and most prolific voice agencies in their respective markets and have contributed significant thought leadership to the burgeoning industry through media and events.
Founded in 2006, RAIN built one of the first branded skills on Amazon Alexa five years ago and has since become a premier pure-play voice technology company. RAIN has partnered with dozens of global Fortune 500 companies to build voice initiatives, including Nike, Nestle, Blackrock, Dreamworks and Starbucks. Vixen Labs was founded in 2018 by James Poulter and Jennifer Heape and has quickly grown to work with global brands providing strategic voice consultancy and voice application development for the likes of Sony Music, Reckitt Benckiser, and Diageo. Vixen Labs was founded in the UK but has a presence in Germany and France, two of the fastest-growing markets for voice in Europe.
“The ubiquity of voice is more real today than ever before, and companies must have the capability to scale voice experiences with consistency and speed across global markets,” explained Nithya Thadani, CEO of RAIN. “As our roster of multinational clients grows, we’re thrilled to partner with Vixen Labs to further expand our global footprint. The Vixen team are experts, thought leaders, and now partners who share in our thinking, approach, and passion for voice.”
As of 2019, an estimated 3.25 billion digital voice assistants are being used in devices around the world. Forecasts suggest that by 2023 the number of digital voice assistants will reach around eight billion units–a number higher than the world’s population (Juniper Research, February 2019). As the voice market has matured, many companies have moved past the “test and learn” phase and are actively investing in voice agencies of record (AORs) to support efforts across business units, brands, and markets. The majority of large agencies and holding companies lack sufficient in-house voice expertise given the relative novelty and growing nuances of this nascent technology.
“The complexity of voice lends itself to specialization, and our clients routinely cite the benefits of working with pure-play voice consultancies compared to more generalist firms trying to figure out voice on the side,” said James Poulter, founder and CEO of Vixen Labs. “RAIN shares our all-in commitment to voice, and we couldn’t have a more capable or globally respected partner to expand our capabilities in North America.”
ABOUT RAIN
RAIN is a leading agency that specializes in voice and conversational AI. RAIN works with a wide range of world-class brands and tech companies to define voice strategies, design conversational experiences, and build voice technology software. RAIN has helped dozens of F500 companies launch their voice initiatives, including Nike, Nestle, Blackrock, Dreamworks and Starbucks. RAIN serves on the advisory councils for both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
ABOUT VIXEN LABS
Vixen Labs is Europe’s leading voice consultancy and design studio focused on helping enable brands and organisations connect with customers via voice assistant technologies. Vixen Labs is an Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant partner and serves as an advisor to the world’s largest voice industry event, VOICE Summit.
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