TwinStrand Biosciences
Scaling a vertical sheet of ice while climbing in Canada seven years ago, Jesse Salk ’04 came up with an idea for transforming cancer treatment. It seemed so simple he assumed it had either been done or could never work. “I spent a long time trying to figure out what was wrong with it,” he says, “but I couldn’t.”
Satisfied he was really onto something, Salk founded Twin Strand Biosciences in Seattle to commercialize his brainstorm. The 2-year-old company, which has grown rapidly, now has 14 employees.
TwinStrand’s technology, called Duplex Sequencing, identifies genetic mutations with a precision that the company says is 100,000 times more accurate than other tools on the market. Salk says it may soon be used for early detection of ovarian cancer, which kills 14,000 Americans every year but if caught soon enough is highly treatable.
It could also be used to determine if someone’s cancer is truly cured. Right now, lingering cancer cells can hide among millions of healthy ones. They possess minute errors in their genetic coding, which can make them nearly impossible to detect. Salk believes Duplex Sequencing is powerful enough to find them. “It’s capable of finding a very rare needle in a genetic haystack,” he says.
Salk’s idea is based on the approach our cells use to find and fix errors in our genetic code. Scientists have long known about this process; that’s why he figured someone must already have tried to use it for cancer diagnosis.
Attending Brandeis on a Justice Brandeis Scholarship, Salk studied with biology professor Larry Wangh, who was working to spin off his own research into a business. Wangh taught him about filing patents and working with investors.
“The lab did basic science, but there was always an emphasis on making something that would have a global impact beyond academia,” Salk says.
Salk has some big shoes to fill. His grandfather was Jonas Salk, the American physician who developed the first vaccine for polio, one of the most important medical breakthroughs of the 20th century. “That sets the bar pretty high,” Jesse says.
Competitive advantage: Three cancer diagnostic products in late-stage development; $10 million in funding; and research partnerships with Harvard, the National Institutes of Health and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Unbeatable lineage.
Marketers across industries have heard the rumors: Voice software applications that enable consumers to interact with the internet through speech as an alternative to keyboards, touchscreens or a mouse are going to transform consumer behavior. But is that true? And if it is, how quickly will voice change the ways we learn, shop and communicate?
What is voice technology?
Before we answer the questions above, let’s start with the basics — what exactly is voice technology? Simply put, voice technology allows consumers to communicate with the internet for a variety of purposes. For example, while you can search the internet by typing or purchase something with a click of your mouse, voice technology enables you to do both.
From a marketer’s perspective, voice technology opens up a new world of marketing channels that enable you to reach your customers through a range of voice-enabled digital devices, such as smartphones, smart speakers, smart televisions and cars.
Contrary to popular belief, voice technology wasn’t pioneered by the advent of Amazon’s Alexa or even Apple’s Siri. It was pioneered by IBM in 1961, with the introduction of the IBM Shoebox, an old-school speech recognition tool that recognized only 16 words and nine digits. But with the IBM Shoebox, a revolution was born.
Is the voice revolution gaining momentum?
Adobe’s 2019 State of Voice Assistants report indicates that 36% of consumers own a smart speaker, and 75% of speaker owners cite daily usage of the device. In fact, according to 2019 Voicebot.Ai research, 66.4 million adults across the U.S. — about one in 4 — had a smart speaker-based voice assistant as of the beginning of 2019. Usage of voice is on the rise due to comfort with the technology, convenience and improvements in the customer experience with voice assistants.
And according to Adobe, consumers are using voice technology for all kinds of activities, including playing music, checking weather forecasts, setting alarms and reminders and seeking bite-sized information (e.G., asking fun questions or for directions).
But it’s the additional use cases and consumers’ openness to hearing ads on smart speakers that marketers should be cognizant of. Specifically, according to Adobe, shopping and smart home commands are new, growing use cases for voice. Additionally, 40% of consumers agree that voice ads on smart devices are both less intrusive and more engaging than TV, print or online ads.
What does this mean for marketers?
Now that we know that voice technology is picking up steam and impacting consumer behavior, how do we, as marketers, begin to integrate this new technology into our marketing plans? Here are four simple steps:
1. Understand how voice fits into the customer journey.
Let your customers’ journey drive the inclusion of voice in your marketing plan by understanding where the biggest roadblocks are. Are they in the awareness phase because your product is in a cluttered market with lots of options? Are they in the consideration phase because consumers spend a great deal of time consuming content and evaluating options? Or are they in the conversion phase because your product is a simple consumer product where repeat purchases are often made?
Integrating voice into the customer journey at the awareness, consideration or conversion phases to resolve any stumbling blocks should drive how you choose to use voice technology.
2. Develop a test plan.
To justify the investment in voice marketing, develop a test plan that enables you to understand the incrementality of the channel.
First, lay out exactly what you’re evaluating. Are you measuring a lift in awareness? In consideration or conversion? Then, create a test design (e.G., a geographic test design, an A/B test or another test design) that will enable you to compare the lift of having voice communications in marketing over not doing so.
Setting measurable objectives and a plan for how to determine incrementality will enable you to maximize your investment and make smart decisions to scale it after your test is complete.
3. Develop voice-first content.
Like any creative content, you cannot take a one-size-fits-all approach. Voice content is no different, and your team should explore developing content specifically for the channel — not simply repurposing existing creative assets. In doing so, you’ll give your test the best chance of success.
4. Be open to your findings.
Since you’ve done the work to set up a rigorous test design, be open-minded about how to use the results. Your test may not yield the results you’re seeking at first glance, but innovation takes time. Respect the result of the test, document learnings and determine how to adapt your strategy for future tests.
