As the brand that stands for fresh-breath confidence, EXTRA Gum’s purpose was to prepare people for their “Time to Shine”. We discovered that one of the top concerns for the tech generation – a typically hard-to-reach audience, yet one that represented the biggest opportunity to grow the brand – was face-to-face conversation (Ref: Forbes Magazine).

With 68 percent of millennials actively avoiding face-to-face conversations (Ref: Men’s Health), we saw a unique opportunity to connect with a hard to reach market and prepare an entire generation for their time to shine.

Through intelligent, evolving and entertaining digital role play, our voice AI helped people practice the most commonly searched conversation topics. Everything from “How to ask for a raise” to “How to negotiate a bargain” to “How to say I love you”.

Pep Talks already recognises thousands of phrases and each time a human responds, they are helping to build the AI’s conversation skills. The result: almost infinite unique conversations between human and robot.

Each completed topic concluded with a voucher for EXTRA Gum for added confidence.

With the use of voice tech set to increase by 40% this year by our target, the platform utilised voice on mobile, smart speakers, and desktop browsers.

As the brand that stands for fresh-breath confidence, EXTRA Gum’s purpose was to prepare people for their “Time to Shine”. We discovered that one of the top concerns for the tech generation – an audience that represented the biggest opportunity to grow the brand – was face-to-face conversation (Ref: Forbes Magazine).

With the use of voice tech set to rise by 40% this year, we created a voice-led AI that engaged users with a customised interactive conversation experience designed to build confidence. Every conversation housed within the voice tech was inspired by commonly Googled topics - asking for a raise, asking someone on a date, breaking up with someone, negotiating a bargain and asking a flatmate to move out etc. The platform was able to recognize thousands of phrases and respond with appropriate contextualised dialogue. Every engagement built the AI’s conversational skills, ensuring dynamic, tailored experiences that challenged the user with wit, tough questions and unique responses.

While the millennial market represented the biggest opportunity for EXTRA Gum, it also presented the biggest challenge in terms reaching them. Extra Pep Talks used media native to millennials to launch the global EXTRA Gum “Time To Shine” platform that was relevant to New Zealanders. This allowed the brand to connect with an entire generation in a completely new way.