Amazon's Alexa Gets Visual With Echo Show: What Does It Mean For Brands?

Just as the Amazon Echo appears poised to maintain its dominance of the voice-activated connected intelligence device category, it's now ready to make another leap in that space by adding a screen to the mix. Pre-orders for the $299 Echo Show began less than a week ago, but it already is a top-selling electronics device (on Amazon, naturally). Promising consumers "everything you love about Alexa," Amazon says "now she can show you things: Watch video flash briefings and YouTube, see music lyrics, security cameras, photos, weather forecasts, to-do and shopping lists, and more. The influence of voice-activation and connected intelligence is already threatening to up-end traditional advertising and even calls into question the value of a website, as Birchbox CEO Katia Beauchamp has opined. Does Amazon Echo Show's video and touchscreen device further alter expectations among consumers and brands?