Havas Media inks voice tech Canada deal with Say It Now

Say It Now, the UK adtech firm specialising in voice commerce, has agreed to an exclusive partnership with Havas Media Group to act as the agency group’s specialist partner in Canada.

The companies have entered an exclusive two-year partnership in which Havas Media will become the agent for actionable audio ads, while Say It Now will “grow the creative capacity” for Havas by working with its creative, media planning and media buying teams.

The companies said it chose Canada because it wants to build scale in voice ad tech and secure a leading position in a bilingual market. It came about due to an existing relationship in Canada between Havas Media and GetStarted, a North American voice tech platform founded by serial entrepreneur Norbert Horvath.

Say It Now acquired GetStarted last year and Horvath remains as chief technology officer.

The collaboration from Havas Media Group in Canada was led by Nick Cedar, director of investments, and Scott Nelson, VP, media investment.

Cedar said: “We were impressed by the vision and ambition of Say it Now’s response to the voice commerce challenge, and we understood instantly the significant opportunity that this represents for our clients. [We] are constantly searching for ways to further improve the media experience that we build for clients and connect them with their target audience in the most meaningful ways, wherever they are and through whatever content they consume.”

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