The Alexa Conference Names the 2019 Alexa Award Finalists

Winners to Be Revealed at The Alexa Conference, Jan. 15-17, at the Chattanooga Convention Center

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Jan. 8, 2019 /CNW/ -- The Alexa Conference, presented by podcast network VoiceFirst.FM, announced the finalists of the 2019 Alexa Awards. The winners will be announced during the upcoming conference, Jan. 15-17, in Chattanooga, Tenn. To learn more and to register for the event, visit https://www.voicefirst.fm/alexaconference.

"Congratulations to this year's Alexa Award finalists, all of whom demonstrate creativity and innovation, while showcasing how far voice technology has come in terms of impacting every business across every industry," said Bradley Metrock, executive producer of The Alexa Conference, host of This Week In Voice podcast by VoiceFirst.FM, and author of the new audiobook Perspectives on Gender in #VoiceFirst Technology.

The 2019 Alexa Award finalists include:

Alexa Skill of the Year

• Bloomberg
• Capital One
• Chompers
• Chop Chop
• Mayo Clinic First Aid
• Skyrim Very Special Edition
• Stephen King Library
• TuneIn Live
• Westworld: The Maze
• World Mathematics League

Alexa Developer of the Year

• Accenture
• Coupa
• Earplay
• Gimlet Media
• Invoked Apps
• Magic + Company
• RAIN Agency
• Sermo Labs
• Sony Pictures Television
• Volley
• Witlingo
• Xandra

Alexa Award - Executive of the Year

• Joan Palmiter Bajorek, Women In Voice
• Pete Erickson, Modev
• Ben Fisher, Magic + Company
• Zach Johnson, Xandra
• Shanthan Kesharaju, Sermo Labs
• Noelle LaCharite, Microsoft
• Jon Myers, Earplay
• Nick Schwab, Invoked Apps
• Nate Treloar, Orbita
• Gary Vaynerchuk, VaynerMedia
• Jess Williams, Opearlo

The VoiceFirst.FM Alexa Award for Commentator of the Year

• Melissa Campbell, Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood
• Teri Fisher, Alexa in Canada
• Matt Hartman, Hearing Voices
• Bret Kinsella, Voicebot.AI
• Mari Lescaille, VoiceFirst Weekly
• Sapna Maheshwari, The New York Times
• Ben Fox Rubin, CNET
• Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic

Alexa Skill of the Year – Business

• Business Radio Fourteen Forty
• Bloomberg
• Harvard Business Review: Management Tip
• Ten Things in Tech

Alexa Skill of the Year – Children

• Esme and Roy
• Kids Kitchen
• UNICEF Kid Power
• Chompers
• Kids Court

Alexa Skill of the Year – Cooking

• Chop Chop
• Meal Idea
• Ritz Recipes
• TASTE Daily Briefing

Alexa Skill of the Year – Consumer Marketing / Brand Extensions

• Tide - Stain Remover
• Good Housekeeping
• Chingy
• Fitbit

Alexa Skill of the Year – Educational

• Ted Talks
• Today's Teaching Tips
• State Capital Game
• World Mathematics League

The Voice of Banking Summit's Alexa Skill of the Year for Finance or Banking

• Capital One
• Thirty Second Money Tip with Nick True
• HerMoney Radio

Alexa Skill of the Year – Gaming

• Escape The Room
• Heads Up! (Ellen DeGeneres)
• The Magic Door
• Skyrim Very Special Edition
• Teen Jeopardy!

The Voice of Healthcare Summit's Alexa Skill of the Year for Healthcare

• Mayo Clinic First Aid Skill
• It's Your Wellness. Own It (Pfizer)
• WebMD

Alexa Skill of the Year – Local

• Wicked Local Medford
• ABC 6 News (Rochester, Minn.)
• Oakdale High School Sports Update

Alexa Skill of the Year - Music

• Apple Music
• Connect Control for Spotify
• SiriusXM

Alexa Skill of the Year - Navigation

• Your Eyes
• I'm Driving
• ParkWhiz

Alexa Skill of the Year - News

• FOX News
• NPR News Now
• The Daily from The New York Times
• TuneIn Live

Alexa Skill of the Year - Reference

• Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia (Unofficial)
• Klingon Dictionary
• This Day In History (A&E Television Network)

Alexa Skill of the Year - Religious

• In Touch Daily Devotion
• Holy Quraan
• Casting Crowns - God Of All My Days Daily Updates

Alexa Skill of the Year - Smart Home

• Ring
• SafeTrek
• SimpliSafe Home Control
• WiZ Smart Home Skill

Alexa Skill of the Year - Sports

• California Sports
• ESPN
• Game Lines
• Westwood One Sports

The Digital Book World Alexa Skill of the Year for Storytelling

• Storyflow
• Fake History
• Stephen King Library
• Westworld: The Maze

The Voice of Hospitality Summit's Alexa Skill of the Year for Travel

• TransportMe
• Travel Roulette
• Vacation Rental Concierge Service

Alexa Skill of the Year – Miscellaneous

• Ripley's Weird Minute
• Random Letter
• Good Vibes (Penguin Random House)

Best Third-Party Tools

• Bespoken
• Dashbot
• Effct
• Orbita Voice
• PullString

Best Monetization of an Alexa Skill

• 1-800-Flowers
• Escape The Room
• Sleep Sounds
• Yes Sire

Hack of the Year (Modification to Alexa-based Hardware)

• Amazon Alexa responds to deaf gestures
• Alexa-enabled Billy Bass Fish
• Furlexa: The Amazon Echo Furby
• Mistress Alexa

Alexa World Fair "Best of Show" – To Be Given During the 2019 Alexa Conference

• Alexa World Fair (Presented By VoiceFirst.FM) – Best In Show, Gold
• Alexa World Fair (Presented By VoiceFirst.FM) – Best In Show, Silver
• Alexa World Fair (Presented By VoiceFirst.FM) – Best In Show, Bronze

The Alexa Conference is produced by VoiceFirst.FM, which also hosts a portfolio of other voice-technology events for specific industries, including: The Voice of the Car Summit, The Voice of Hospitality Summit and The Voice of Healthcare Summit. To learn more, visit http://www.VoiceFirstEvents.com.

About VoiceFirst.FM
VoiceFirst.FM, organizer of The Alexa Conference and other voice technology events, is a podcast network devoted to voice-first technology. Shows such as This Week In Voice, The Alexa Podcast, The VoiceFirst Roundtable and more are enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of listeners across 54 countries worldwide. VoiceFirst.FM is owned and operated by Score Publishing, a new media publishing company based in Nashville, Tennessee.

SOURCE The Alexa Conference

Aaron Kiel, ak PR Group (for The Alexa Conference), 919-325-3358 - Office, 310-699-4805 - Cell, [email protected]