Maxis Introduces World's First "Kid-Sourced" Voice Navigation On Waze
Safe Mode Kids is a first of its kind collaboration between Waze (http://www.waze.com) and Maxis. Inspired by a survey finding that 97% of Malaysian parents claiming they drive much safer when children are in the car, the Safe Mode Kids project “kid-sourced” voices of Malaysian children aged 3 to 12 to develop an innovative way of reminding parents to drive safer.
Different from other Waze special voice packs that usually feature a single celebrity voice, Maxis’ Safe Mode Kids invited different children to donate their voices for Waze directional prompts with charming reminders to drive safe. Instead of the standard Waze navigation prompts you will hear: ‘All set. Don’t forget your seatbelt’, ‘Re-routing. Eyes on the Road!’ and “Accident reported ahead. Please be careful, ok?”
Safe Mode Kids will be available to all of Waze’s more than 50 million users around the world.
“Let’s face it - parents DO drive safer when kids are in the car. So we worked with Waze to put kids in as many Malaysian cars as possible. With the festive season approaching and knowing that Malaysia ranks 17th in the world for ‘most dangerous roads’, we thought Safe Mode Kids could be a charming and effective way to remind our fellow Malaysians to drive safer. The latest news is that Maxis’ Safe Mode Kids will now be a global pack available to tens of millions of Waze users around the world. In the end, this would not be possible without the kids who generously donated their voices. They are the real stars here, and we would like to thank them and their parents for helping us launch this amazing product,” said Sulin Lau, Head of Marketing Services of Maxis.
Commenting on the partnership, Eleanne Hattis, Waze, Head of APAC said, “Safety is the utmost mission for any new feature or campaign Waze develops as we work together with citizens to improve their time in the car. We're proud to work with Maxis on this project, amplifying a common goal to use mobile technology to promote safer roadways. People generally drive safer with children in the car, and we believe this is an attention-grabbing feature that will assist in spreading the cause.”
The launch of Safe Mode Kids is also timely in view of the festive season which makes up the busiest travel periods of the year.
The ‘kid-sourcing’ phase started with 100 parents who volunteered their kids. A total of 60 children then auditioned and were given lines to record. 20 voices were finally selected for the voice pack. To see what the kids got up to, click here: https://youtu.be/5PmvJKgetH4.
Here’s how to get the Safe Mode Kids voice pack:
- Download/open Waze
- Select Settings
- Click on Sound
- Go to Voice Language
- Select “English (US) – Safe Mode with Kids” (powered by Maxis)
For more information, please visit www.maxis.com.my/safemode.
Sulin Lau, Maxis’ Head of Marketing Services (left), interviewing the kids on their voice recording experience during the Safe Mode Kids launch event held at Menara Maxis earlier today.
Sulin Lau, Maxis’ Head of Marketing Services (4th from right), together with the kids who ‘donated’ their voices for Maxis’ Safe Mode Kids, at the launch event earlier today.
The kids, together with their parents, were all smiles during the event.
