CalmaZampa
Client Alexa & ENPA
Agency Amazon Brand Innovation Lab
Role Creative Director
The brief
The majority of dogs freak out when bad weather hits - and 30% of them develop serious storm phobias which makes life miserable. And with 80% of dog owners feeling guilty about having to leave their pets at home alone, it’s a big source of stress for parents too.
So when summer storm season hits Italy, it’s bad times for dogs. So we asked ourselves “How can we innovate with Alexa to help dog owners keep their pups calm during rain, thunder and lightning, even when they’re not at home to soothe them?”
We had to get creative with tech to deliver for the dogs. In a first-of-its-kind innovation, we used Alexa’s weather API to track the movement of pressure fronts and storm systems across Italy to activate content in real time within a skill.
And we went the extra mile to make the music as calming as possible, too. We created three playlists designed to cover different intensities of weather, from light atmospheric changes to full-on thunder storms - these played in response to the weather conditions identified by the API. Each track was specially tuned using our new, bespoke AI model to boost the relaxing 432hz range.
And to make customers could trust CalmaZampa to keep their dogs chilled, we partnered with ENPA, Italy’s biggest animal NGO, to validate the science and launch the skill.
The response
My role
Defining the creative problem and getting buy-in from the Alexa IT team to create a bespoke skill to solve it.
Creative directing all aspects of the campaign, from Alexa experience to PR and social assets.
Collaborating with Design Technologists to develop the weather API tracking and adaptive AI model.
Working with BIL IT creatives to engage ENPA as an in-market partner.
Voice of customer
Alexa's technology serves pet's well-being, becoming a useful and discreet ally to improve the life's quality of the animals and of the families who welcome them."
Chiara Rubagotti, Product Manager of Amazon Alexa
"We are sincerely grateful to Alexa for putting technology at the service of animal protection: initiatives like this show us that, together, we can make a difference."
Carla Rocchi, National President ENPA
Awards
Silver, Health and Pharmacy Innovation
Art Directors Club Italy Awards