propmark visited the site, in the south of So Paulo, which provokes reflection on technology and accessibility
With a luxury home in So Paulo, equipped with more than 100 Alexa devices, Amazon launches its Casa Alexa project, which seeks to be able to create an environment for reflection and put issues such as technology and accessibility on the agenda.
The House, which is not open to the public, began its activities on May 17th and will be attended by journalists and influencers until June 19th. Among the actions offered by the brand at the house are: debates on accessibility, discussions on literature, cooking, activities with children, a sunset party and much more.
Accessibility
Marina Zveibil, Americas communication leader for Amazon and Alexa devices says that in order to equip the house with really useful and accessible functions, she talked to people who experienced this in their daily lives. We even brought people with disabilities to first help us really adapt the house, then to participate in panels to participate as guests, because we also think about inclusion. It’s no use just talking about accessibility, you have to include people in practice, she says.
The communication leader also explains that the idea is to include everyone in the guidelines naturally, without it being a hindrance. Thus, the House received many positive feedbacks and was the scene of important debates.
Alexa’s success in Brazil
With its arrival in the country in 2019, the Amazon device was a huge success. For Marina, the big key – even in the face of a pandemic the following year – was to give Alexa’s lines a Brazilian touch.
“We added touches of Brazilian personality to Alexa, she is not like the rest of the world. She tells jokes, she sings the classic ‘Evidências’, she knows the anthem of the main teams in the country and is updated”, says Mariana Zveibil.
In addition, Alexa has already partnered with beloved personalities, such as Anitta, Supla, Pabllo Vittar and others. Listening to the public was also a differentiator, using Amazon’s own assessment tool, the team was able to gain insights into which improvements to apply to the devices and which ones were working as expected.
Casa Alexa partner brands
Seeking to provide infinite possibilities for automation with Alexa at Casa, the communication team ran after some partners to get the plan off the ground. Marina comments that all the brands accepted the partnership quickly and that she even managed to bring together competing brands in the project.
At Casa Alexa, the brands Geonav, i2Go, Intelbras, Positivo Casa Inteligente, Samsung , Zetaflex and Claro Vdeo Sound Box complete the solutions created for the smart home. In addition, the House has furniture and decorations from Small and Medium Businesses that sell through Amazon.
Influence who influences
To publicize everything that is happening at the Casa, the communication team worked on a strategy: influence those who influence. “It’s not an event space, we want it to be welcoming, that’s why we have limited experiences, so that we can have the opportunity to invite people with different interests, with different personalities and with very different possibilities for content”, explains Marina.
Marina concludes by saying that Casa Alexa is not a marketing event, it is a communication event. With the strategy (of only inviting journalists and influencers), they convey the message without the need to promote the event to thousands of people.
