Voiceover Blog

Whether it’s a corporate video, commercial, or on-hold message, do you want Just Another Voice? Or . . .

Are you looking for that one element which will compell the listener to ACT? A trained and professional voice talent can make those words in a script come alive. Excitement. Credibility.  Warmpth.  Real.

Yes, I can do the in-your-face car dealer spots, but rather than screaming at the listener, I have my own personal style - and it’s more believable than the the cliche-driven commercials yu hear everyday.

By the same token, I have also done presentations that were warm, intimate and conveys the meaning that the copy intended.

Just Another Voice does not sell. Understanding the message, telling the story, and getting the listener to trust you does.

–Thanks for reading.

Did you know that Ping Pong is a registered trademark?  Yep, it’s actually Ping Pong BRAND Table tennis.  It’s understandable that folks can get confused, kind of like asking for a soft drink, but using the “C” word.

It seems that some folks are also confused about the difference between sales and marketing.  Look in the classified ads, and you’ll see ads for “Marketing Reps”  when they actually mean to say “Salesmen”.  Unfortunately, those two terms are not interchangeable.

Marketing is the total of activities involved in the transfer of goods from the producer or seller to the consumer or buyer, including advertising, shipping, storing, and selling.

Selling is the exchange of goods or services for an amount of money or its equivalent.

In other words, marketing is getting someone to WANT your product or service.  Selling is actually closing the deal. There’s nothing wrong with being a salesman.  It is a noble profession.  But it is the salesman’s job to sell. Marketing is a whole ‘nother animal.

–Thanks for reading.

One of my favorite radio jingles is from KVIL in Dallas. It goes, “It’s a shame what’s happened to radio, ‘coz they can’t afford to do it anymore”.It was sung tongue-in-cheek back in the 70’s, but it’s true today.

If you’ve ever read BUILT TO LAST, one of the twelve myths of visionary companies is “the most successful companies exist first and foremost to maximize profits”.  But the history of visionary companies shows that isn’t the case.  Instead they pursue a number of goals, and making money is only one of them, not the primary one.

Radio is content, and if you look around, you’ll see that quality is heading south.  At a recent FCC localization hearing in Tampa, a professor of Journalism told the group, “The FCC rules now narrow the range of viewpoints, and we are overfed Anna Nicole Smith and starved for alternative perspectives on war and how can we become better citizens? We are asked not to think, but to consume.”.  He received the loudest applause.  Consolidation has been pushed to the brink.  In many cases there is no more local news.  The same goes for public affairs programming.  But they can’t afford to do it anymore.

Shame on them.

Thanks for reading.

Do you waste your time and advertising budget trying to sell your customers on a “product”? What are you really selling?

Recently, I had the opportunity to present an advertising concept to an insurance company. They spent a lot of time telling me about their “products”. I had to explain to them that they’re not selling a product

Take a look at the print or broadcast ads for fragrances. Is Chanel Number 5 selling a product? The product is what comes in the bottle. What they are selling is a promise – the promise that you will be attractive and alluring if you use what’s in the bottle.

Many advertisers make the mistake that if they tell customers how great their “products” are they will buy them. But that is the quickest way to waste your advertising dollars. You must first determine what it is the customer wants to accomplish, and find the benefit where your “product” will help the customer achieve that need.

–Thanks for reading.

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Almost anything you read about marketing to the 18-29 year old crowd will tell you that one thing is for sure: they detest hype. Now, it causes me to wonder - Is hype in the eye of the beholder?

One of the advertising buzzwords right now is viral marketing. Viral marketing is like starting a rumor. You judge your success by how much it spreads and how much excitement it causes. Viral marketing does not have a direct call to action. Several years ago, a group of independent film makers caused a stir with a website that purported to show a group of teens being chased and killed by an unknown entity. Turns out, it was pretty much the first viral marketing project, and it made The Blair Witch Project a lot of money.

Lately, with the increased interest in the MySpace and YouTube websites, a certain video journal has developed a following with folks now wondering - Is It Real? or Is It An Act? Could it be another viral marketing scheme, or a bright, creative someone who has discovered an attention-getting device beyond their wildest dreams? After all, there have already been a couple of YouTube videographers who have landed development deals with the networks.

Whichever way the internet cookie crumbles, I have to wonder if that age group feels disillusioned when these online discoveries turn out to be hype for a movie, website, product or whatever. Is all hype still hype? Or are we as marketers and advertisers crying wolf ?

–Thanks for reading

I regularly get a list of the top ten national radio spots.  This week, I was surprised to see the HD Radio Alliance right there at the top.  That means that HD Radio spots and promos ran with more frequency than the golden arches, or even that gecko with the British accent. It’s a step in the right direction, but as Ricky Ricardo once said, “You have some ’splainin to do.”

Eighty percent of the population still does not know what HD radio IS, let alone its advantages.  The industry is stuck in a chicken and egg syndrome: they want to sell new HD radios, but they have not yet come up with any compelling content to program.  I’ll give Clear Channel an A for effort, as they are developing some niche formats, but it has yet to drive sales.

The HD Radio spots usually use “new stations between the stations” as a selling point.  However the variety has yet to emerge.  As has any local-oriented programming.  Radio execs, stuck in a too familiar business model, have not embraced any innovation with regards to new content.  Only then will those new HD Radios fly off the shelves.  The HD channels that are on the air are treated like stepchildren - with little quality control.

It is going to take a concerted effort to put those new receivers in the hands of a passionate audience.  It is going to take targeted promotion to physically place someone within listening distance of an HD radio, and say, “See what you’ve been missing?” But there also has to be something there first to listen to.

–Thanks for reading

eBAY is partnering with BID4SPOTS to launch a radio advertising auction service, the eBAY MEDIA MARKETPLACE FOR RADIO. The plan, similar to eBAY’s existing cable TV ad auction service includes ad time on 2,300 stations, including stations from all major radio station groups. The move puts eBAY in competition with GOOGLE’s radio ad sales efforts.

I don’t know if I like this or not.  Is there any content restriction? Will there be a dearth of work from home or male enhancement ads? Which dayparts are being sold?

I guess it’s just another way that the media landscape is changing.  Broadcast account executives have always felt they were immune to “automation”  Is this their version of “voicetracking”?  Are they going to take PayPal??

Let me know when they find a way to eliminate the equity group ownerships.  THAT will be news!

–Thanks for reading.

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The scene is 1997.  The FCC approves the creation of two national satellite radio services.  In their approval, the FCC specifically prohibits the two systems from ever merging. Nothing has changed in the past ten years: there is no competitor in the satellite radio market, and local radio stations do not have a nationwide reach. Moreover, the FCC also made a condition of the original approval that XM and Sirius were required to deliver designs for radios which would pick up both services.  Nothing like that has ever been made commercially available.

There are two different technologies, two different company philosophies.  A merger would not allow the consumer to have access to more channels of programming without buying another radio.  The channel frequencies cannot be expanded without losing audio quality. So there is absolutely no benefit to the consumer for a merger between XM and Sirius.

Both companies went into debt to launch their satellites. They’ve paid talent up to $100 million per year.  So who is left holding the bag if XM and Sirius merge, and there is no
competition?  All you have to do is look in the mirror.

–Thanks for reading

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Recruiter to applicant dressed in jeans: “Come and see us anytime.  Just make sure you dress properly.”

Recruiter #2: “Hi.  What are you looking for?”
Applicant (handing her his resume) ” You tell ME.”

Good Luck.

-Thanks for reading.

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This isn’t the first time it’s happened.  There are many clients like this, unfortunately.  However this particular client is in the advertising business; he should know better.

I was retained to write a maketing plan.

The product was right on target, the pricing was where it should have been, but no one knew of it’s existence.

“The first thing you need to do is advertise!”, I said.

“Advertising never works for us,” they replied.

“But that’s what you sell!”

“Yes, and we need to sell more of it. How can we do that?”

“Advertise!!”

“Maybe we’ll put it in the budget for next year.”

“At this rate, you won’t be here next year.”

– Thanks for reading.