Developing voice-based branding: insights from the Mercedes case Maria Vernuccio, Michela Patrizi and Alberto Pastore Department of Management, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy Abstract Purpose – By adopting a managerial perspective, this study aims to deepen how the strategic role of brand voice is conceived in the design of in-car name-brand voice assistants (NBVAs), how the brand experience based on NBVAs is designed and how the NBVA brand experience might influence customer brand engagement (CBE). The ultimate aim is to develop an interpretative theoretical framework for developing voice-based branding through NBVAs. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative research approach with the analysis of a single in-depth case study is followed: the NBVA developed in-house by Mercedes, which was the first NBVA launched in the automotive market. Findings – In the design of the NBVA, a key role was assigned to the brand voice in developing the brand’s anthropomorphic profile. Driving safety, consistency with the corporate identity, human-like interaction, dynamic personalisation and connectivity emerged as the strategic criteria for designing the NBVA brand experience, which was oriented towards the pursuit of multiple CBE dimensions. Research limitations/implications – Although the qualitative empirical contribution of this study differs from statistical generalisations, the research insights are analytically generalisable. The insights emerging from the study could guide future research on voice-based branding. Practical implications – The results may be a useful conceptual reference for managers involved in designing brand voice and brand experience based on NBVAs. Originality/value – This study is the first empirical contribution to the marketing literature about voice-based branding in an innovative experiential field, a topic that, thus, far has been poorly analysed. Keywords Brand experience, Customer brand engagement, Brand anthropomorphism, Brand voice, Name-brand voice assistant Paper type Case study 1. Introduction Voice assistants (VAs) are a virtual assistant category that “simulate intelligence through vocal interaction” (Fivesights Research, 2017, p. 5). According to recent studies, in the USA alone, these technologies are used by approximately 200 million people and the global market is expected to reach US $8bn by 2023 (Voicebot, 2019a). The main applications of VAs include smartphones, stand-alone smart speakers and in- car multimedia systems. In 2018, approximately 114 million users in the USA used a VA in their car at least once, while only 58 million have used a smart speaker (Voicebot, 2019a). In general, the car is becoming highly relevant as a context of the use of VAs and in particular, cars favour the development of so- called name-brand voice assistants (NBVAs), e.g. Mercedes’ Mercedes-Benz user experience (MBUX) and BMW’s intelligent personal assistant (IPA). NBVAs are developed in- house and are activated by saying the brand name (e.g. “Hey, Mercedes!”). These user interfaces have the peculiarity of speaking with the voice of the brand (e.g. Mercedes) instead of with the voice of the technology provider’s VA (e.g. Apple CarPlay) (Gollnhofer and Schüller, 2018). Marketing scholars have begun to study the role of technology providers’ VAs in advertising (Jones, 2018; Smith, 2020) and conversational commerce fields (Vassinen, 2018; Whang and Im, 2018). Moriuchi (2019) have focussed on VAs’ perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness, as well as their positive effects on engagement and loyalty. However, less attention has been paid to the branding implications related to the spread of VAs and, in particular, of NBVAs. In this regard, a first conceptual study was conducted by Vernuccio et al. (2019), who emphasise the role of the brand voice in the brand anthropomorphisation process and highlight the potential relationships in the NBVA experiential context amongst brand voice, brand personality formation and certain relevant cognitive, evaluative and relational branding outcomes (e.g. brand trust, brand loyalty, brand advocacy). Despite the growing popularity of in-car VAs and the resulting possibility for automotive brands to create an The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/1061-0421.htm Journal of Product & Brand Management © Emerald Publishing Limited [ISSN 1061-0421] [DOI 10.1108/JPBM-08-2019-2490] We would like to express our gratitude to the Editor, Prof. Cleopatra Veloutsou, and each of the Reviewers, whose comments encouraged us to improve the quality of our article. We would also like to extend a warm thanks to all the managers of Mercedes-Benz, CELI and the other technology partners, who supported us during the research. Received 2 August 2019 Revised 4 February 2020 12 June 2020 16 June 2020 Accepted 18 June 2020