VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Diane Maggipinto · Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2009 11:27 am Post subject:

Ah ... I thought it was ZAH-bo. I should talk, eh?
Madge-uh-PINN-toe
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audio'connell · Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 8:32 am Post subject:

Szabo VO (Szah-bow-vee-oh) was what I first thought of until I saw Bruce's Whitney B. Goode which I thought worked pretty well too.

"Szamazing Voice Overs" as a tag?

There are a plethora of one image voice over sites out there at the moment...there are a couple of voice coaches that are pushing that branding direction and one web site company that they push the work too, I believe. Some work some don't in my opinion (and if you're thinking "the hell with him" you're not wrong either).

There is also a school of thought that an icon or an image really doesn't have that much to do with your success. There is a Bankable, oft unshaven voice talent that leads that charge. I see the point as its all about focusing on the voice (yup) as the brand but there does need to be a bit more sizzle I think.

Ultimately, asking a bunch of voice talents matters very little because we are all jaded by our depth of vo marketing experience. And most importantly, we ain't the target market.

Who are they? Well they are likely ad agency CDs, video producers, educators and small business owners (among others) who all have their own take on branding and more importantly will each have their individual, internal responses to what ever branding you put out there - it will likely be equally loved and loathed...welcome to the big leagues.

So after you perfect your voice demos to the point where you hardly need any other branding (and yeah, they do need to be that good), then I would take 3 different branding images (and Dan's suggestions as how to get there aren't bad ones) and start having some meetings with some ad agency types, a video producer or two and some small business owners. (A great non-salesy introduction for you, if you ask me).

Explain to them what you are trying to accomplish and ask them for their opinions of what you are showing them. Then be quiet. Don't lead them, don't cajole them and don't criticize them if their favorite isn't yours. Listen very closely. People love it when others ask their opinion...i.e. this forum.

After all the research is accumulated...it will tell you something.

Then listen to what you're gut tells you because YOU will live with your branding longer than anyone else. You need to be your brand's leader. You need to be able to share it with complete sincerity. If you don't believe in your own branding message, why should anyone else?

I hope this helped. Good luck.
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audioconnell Voice Over Talent
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