Voiceover is an integral part of most commercial and advertising strategies. A lot of thought and consideration goes into every aspect of marketing, and choosing a voiceover artist is no different. The goal of a commercial voiceover artist is to sell and promote a product, service, concept, and brand. We make the boring entertaining, the unrelatable relatable, and subtly sell. The goal of commercial voiceover is not to compete with visuals or messaging. It’s there to complement and showcase. Television, radio, internet adverts, or in-store commercials, the goals of voiceover change. It’s not simple, which is what makes it so fascinating.
I love commercial voiceover because it’s always different. It’s creative, humourous, nostalgic, or a mix of everything. It can be about the brand, product, or people. A voiceover artist is always selling on behalf of a client, but we aren’t always selling a product. Sometimes we’re selling an idea, sometimes a connection, a principle, a promise, even a feeling. Commercial voiceover can be educational, innovative, and heart-warming. When everything goes right, we leave stomachs rumbling, inspire new ideas, motivate and encourage. We get the customer thinking.
Commercial Voiceover Establishes and Builds Trust With Your Audience
To build trust between your brand and your consumer, a marketing team and its creatives have a few hurdles to get past. Viewers have a long and varied history with advertising, so advertisers and brands have to get past a healthy dose of skepticism. A professional voiceover artist conveys your message, provides information, and establishes a relationship with your customer.
Every element of a commercial is subject to conscious and unconscious scrutinization. Viewers and customers sometimes don’t even know why they like something. They just do. And we can’t even ask why because they change their minds if they have to rationalize the choice. The quality of your voiceover artist is an enormous, foundational element of building a solid base with your customers. To establish brand loyalty, satisfaction, and even love, all the pieces need to come together in an almost intangible way. Everything becomes more streamlined when there is trust between a brand and a customer. Loyal customers are more likely to let bad moments slip by, and they are more likely to forgive, support, and even defend your brand.
One Goal of Commercial Voiceover: Convey Complex Ideas and Brand Values
There has been a big trend towards selling a brand rather than a product in recent years, which often has almost nothing to do with the product. When customers believe your goals align with theirs, they are more likely to buy all your products and become loyal to that brand.
The saying goes, “a picture’s worth a thousand words,” but that’s not always true for commercial advertising. The thing is, people are more likely to believe something if it’s told or demonstrated to them directly rather than implied. A commercial that simply shows a video of people cleaning up the ocean to an uplifting soundtrack is all very well and good, but how does that connect to the brand? Where’s the brand promise? Where’s the action? A sincere, believable, and relatable voiceover making a brand promise is worth a thousand pictures. The goal of a voiceover artist is often to deliver brand values, principles, and ideologies clearly and believably. Be the voice behind the concept, authentic and genuine, and bolster a brand image that connects with the customer.
Sell, Sell, Sell!
Imagine trying to sell something, your car, your brand, anything. Now imagine trying to do that without words. It’s not going to go well. It’s going to take a lot of effort, and if you are very unlucky, you might sell someone else’s car and someone else’s brand. Voiceover is proven to help with sales. If your core goal is sales (and contrary to popular belief, it isn’t always), then a professional voiceover artist is non-negotiable. The style and type of voiceover artist will depend on:
- Your target audience
- Long term marketing strategy
- The product, service, concept, or brand
- The tone you are looking to achieve
- Budget (higher quality comes at a higher cost)
- Visual content
- The core concept and idea
Voiceover Connects Directly With Your Target Audience
The golden rule is ‘know your audience.’ Know who is going to show interest in, and buy your product. A quick way to connect with your target audience is through a voiceover that embodies that demographic. If your target audience is mothers over thirty who speak English as a first language, then it’s easy to tell what your sound should be. A warm, cool, slightly harassed female voiceover who can convey the script with a sense of compassion and care will answer nicely. It’s not the only way, though.
Your voiceover artist can embody your brand vision. We can be the answer to your customer’s questions and problems. A voiceover artist can be aspirational, representing someone the 30 something mother aspires to. It can be the voice of your customer’s best and most trusted friends. Or an authority that is honest and authentic. Maybe the best way to connect with your demographic is through the voice of someone they might like and admire. The point is to communicate with your audience, and one of the surest ways of creating a bond is through skilled voiceover. The right voice can be aspirational, encouraging, and empowering.
Commercial Voiceover Gets Your Audience’s Attention and Keeps It
One of the goals of a commercial voiceover artist is to get the audience’s attention and keep it. Conveying important information about the product or service. Ideally, this is done in an entertaining and engaging way. Multimillion-dollar blockbusters often need narration to tie everything together. To help the story make sense and keep the audience’s attention. No voiceover, or potentially even worst, bad voiceover, can lead to misunderstandings between yourself and your audience. A commercial can fail to capture the imagination, or it can fail to convey your ideas and value effectively and convincingly. Professional voiceover will add value and deliver on your goals successfully. In the end, the ultimate goal of commercial voiceover is to successfully carry your message, sell your product, and attract your target audience.