Audio Fingerprinting

  • We have a process to avoid devices from waking up at home due to advertising
  • We do this to prevent a negative customer experience at home, and negative brand impact for Alexa and your brand
  • In order to support you with this process, we need you to provide us with final audio (or video) files 12+ business days in advance of first live date (if TV), and need to know: the medium (broadcast TV, premium online video, radio, online), estimated total impressions for the campaign as well as estimated avg. weekly impressions while live, and schedule (release date, when broadcast airing starts/stops)
  • When building the content, please ensure that the 3 seconds immediately before and after the “Alexa” wake word have distinguishable audio content (no silence) at a volume similar to that of the "Alexa" wake word. This means media cannot start with “Alexa” right away or this process will not work reliably.
  • For advertising that will run on an Alexa device, we do not recommend using the “Alexa” wake word in advertising content as there is not a reliable way to prevent the device from waking itself up. Instead we recommend using more generic terms such as “just ask” or “tell your device” rather than saying the “Alexa” wake word directly.
    • If your content must contain a wakeword and will run on an Alexa device (e.g. audio advertising that plays on an Echo smart speaker with the “Alexa” wake word in it), there will be additional steps needed to attempt to prevent false wakes, though effectiveness cannot be guaranteed. Please work with your Amazon contact to work through the appropriate steps and submit your content 12+ business days prior to launch.

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Timeline

  • For broadcast TV: Submit your creative 12+ business days before release.
  • For advertising that will play on an Alexa device (e.g. audio advertising that plays on an Echo smart speaker with the "Alexa" wake word in it): Please reach out to your Amazon contact for additional guidance and ensure you have 12+ business days allocated during the production process.
  • For all other media (digital, social, help videos, etc.): Submit 4+ business day before release.

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Additional Resources
ECHO

Echo Brand Guidelines