Using a Voice as a Jingle

"Winston tastes good like a..."
"You deserve a break today..."
"My baloney has a first name, it's..."

Jingles have been an important part of successful advertising marketing strategies for a long time; and for good reason. A jingle immediately identifies the product in the listener's (viewer's) mind. Jingles repeated for a period of time become synonymous with the product, and once that has been achieved, one cannot help but automatically identify the product in the first few measures of an internalized jingle.

This is an advertiser's dream. Even if the message recipient does not consciously hear the copy, the product has been elevated to top of mind awareness in a few short measures of music.

A well selected and utilized voiceover artist can achieve much the same result for an advertiser. Think of the voice of Kraft Foods for so many years (OK, I remember his first name was Ed...can't recall the last name [Herlehy?], and it has nothing to do with age,...email me if you remember). When we heard his voice, we knew the product...or, at least, the product line.
Used correctly, a voice used as a jingle forms a relationship with the audience. It’s an interesting phenomena I have come to call auditory intimacy. The listeners feel they know the voice, like an old and trusted friend.

Another advantage of using a voice as your jingle is the cost savings realized; musicians and studio time are expensive. Further, a jingle requires it’s own time...time for which you are paying...that cannot be used to provide your audience with important information.
A voice intimately connected to your product/service, however, can use every second of air time for your message while still achieving the top of mind awareness a jingle provides.

What kind of voice?

Much as discussed in other articles on my website (www.smooth-male-voiceover-talent.com), the kind of voice you choose to be your jingle is dependent upon many factors. Target audience demographics, product, and many considerations enter into the choice. But there are some basics to consider.

A distinctive voice:

The voice needs to be distinctive. Using local radio/tv talent, your commercial is likely to be lost among all the other commercials voiced by the same talent. The audience does not associate the voice with your product because the same voice was just touting another advertiser, maybe even a competitor. This is when a service such as smooth-male-voiceover-talent pays off. Your message stands out with a different sound than all the rest.

Cost:

While the station from which you buy time will not charge you for voiceover, thanks to the internet your distinctive voice/jingle can arrive at the station within hours of copy being approved for much less than you would expect, usually far less than the cost of a single spot in your buy. And the benefits far outweigh the additional cost.

Consistency:

You must be committed to your voice/jingle. The quickest way to waste your money is to hire a voice for a spot, then use local talent (or yourself) for the next two, then back to the hired voice, and so on. The effective jingles we remember were used over and over and over again. Your new voice must be used exclusively over an extended period of time before the results can be accurately weighed.

Smooth-male-voiceover-talent is a perfect voice for a wide range of products and services, but certainly not all. That is why we keep a catalog of other artists to whom we may refer clients when a job arrives not best served by yours truly (I don’t do screamers!). Our goal is a long lasting relationship with our clients, and that is best achieved by providing the most effective voice/jingle for each.

For an advertiser wishing to capture the top of mind awareness of a jingle without the expense, consider a voice.
Bill