The High-Stakes Business of Finding Your Brand Voice

You can be in possession of the most awesome of awesome audio ad scripts, but until the voice over talent breathes actual life into it, it’s no more than just ink on a page, or Calibri* on a screen.

*(I do love a bit of Calibri font…)

Selecting the right person to voice your radio ad campaign is where the magic really starts to come to together.

The perfect voice will resonate, captivate, and compel your audience to take the desired action.

The wrong voice will fall flat and fail to connect. And in the worst cases, irritate the listener to the point where they are turned off by your brand.

Crafting a compelling radio ad requires a unique set of skills that are different to those required for TV, cinema and video ads. Often, in these visual channels, the voice over is a compliment to the on-screen action. Whereas with audio ads, the voice has to do all of the heavy lifting.

So, with the stakes being so high when casting the voice over talent for your audio ad campaign, wouldn’t you want to do everything you can to make sure you nail it?

The voice over talent can make or break your radio ad campaign so getting it right is crucial. And ideally, you want to get it right first time so that you don’t incur the expense (both time and money) of having to cast again and re-record.

Here are a few things to bear in mind…

Some Questions Are Better Than Others

As someone once said, the only stupid question is one not asked. However, when it comes to the casting brief for a radio commercial, some questions are better than others.

Just like Sherlock Holmes (yes, I’ve been re-watching Elementary with Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu), you need to ask, and answer, questions that will lead to more exciting and impactful casting suggestions.

There are, of course, the obvious questions like ‘which regional accent do they have?’, ‘what emotions should the voice convey?’, ‘who is the target audience and what kind of voice are they likely to relate too?’.

There’s nothing wrong with these questions, in fact they’re pretty important, but to elevate your commercial from mediocre to outstanding you should also be asking questions that help you to visualise the character of the voice (or voices) in your radio ad. Deeper, and more revealing, questions like ‘what was the last holiday they went on?’ ‘where do they get their news from?’ ‘what does a great weekend look like for them?’ go a long way to paint a clearer and more vibrant picture of what your voice over should sound like and the type of character you’re trying to portray.

And to be able to answer these sorts of questions it helps to have a meaningful articulation of your brand personality and tone of voice (i.e. your brand’s character). Understanding this will provide you with the roadmap to finding the voice, or voices, who have the vocal qualities that align with your brand and the task at hand.

Knowing What to Listen Out For

Being clear on how your voice over should sound is just part of the casting job. Yes, they may sound good but can they deliver the goods?

Not every voice over artist, even if they have a voice that is lovely to listen to, is right for your campaign. Some discernment is required when listening through showreels and deciding who is the perfect fit.

If you’ve got a humorous script, for example, to realise its full potential you need voice talent that can deliver your lines in the way you want. That could be by utilising pauses in the right way or placing the emphasis in the right places. Yes, the studio director will guide the talent but it’s good to cast someone who gets it from the get go and is able to deliver the particular style of ‘funny’ that you’re after.

Humour can be a powerful tool in advertising but only if it’s done right (and casting, obviously, plays a massive part in that). Get it wrong and your brand can end up being laughed at for the wrong reasons.

Another thing to listen out for is a person’s speed of delivery. If your script is pretty packed – i.e. the airtime spots booked are 30” and the script is bang on 30” long – this will require someone who can deliver your messaging swiftly while still sounding natural and engaging.

Ensuring your ad has all of the info you want while at the same time being pleasurable to listen to is a delicate balance that needs to be struck.

The Celebrity Conundrum

Casting a celebrity voice for your audio campaign can be tempting. After all, who wouldn't want a famous voice associated with their brand?

There are undeniable benefits such as instant recognition (it could be argued that listeners are more likely to pay attention when they recognise the voice speaking to them), a built-in fan base and the additional element of fame that your brand might enjoy from having a celeb voice over.

But, and I know this sounds bleeding obvious, you need to be sure that there is enough of an overlap between the celeb’s audience and your target audience. As I said, it’s a pretty obvious thing to say, but quite often we see brands wanting to jump on the bandwagon of the latest hotshot without proper consideration as to whether it’s a smart strategic move.

So, make sure you interrogate the celeb idea to ensure it makes sense on all levels – not just the PR-able benefits.

Because if there isn’t genuine authenticity behind the collaboration it will be called out for being the cynical and gratuitous tactic that it is…and is likely to back-fire.

Also, you have to ask yourself, ‘is it worth it?’. Could the hefty price tag that comes with working with a celeb instead be used to secure more airtime (thereby increasing how often your ad is heard)? Or could that budget be allocated to the production of more commercials so that your campaign doesn’t ‘wear out’ – i.e. people getting bored of hearing the same commercial time and time again (which can still happen even if it’s voiced by the most loveable of loveable celebs).

The Cost of Getting It Wrong

Broadly speaking, there are two main parts to a successful radio ad campaign – the quality of the airtime bought, and the quality of the commercial itself. And the voice over artist(s), along with the calibre of the script, are of course, the main ingredients.

Yes, casting your campaign properly will take a bit more time and effort but it’s a worthwhile investment. Getting it wrong will either mean incurring the costs associated with having to cast again and pay for another voice over as well as the extra studio costs for the re-record.?

Or worse still, you don’t realise you’ve got it wrong until after you’ve broadcast commercials with a voice over that alienates your target audience.

When it comes to casting your voice, you’re not just selecting someone to read words on a page, you’re choosing someone to be an embodiment of your brand.

So making sure you get it right it pays dividends.