Corporate Voiceover: Dancing to a New Tune in the World of Communication

STEPPING UP THE GAME: EMBRACING ANIMATION, VIDEO GAMES, AND COMMERCIAL FLAIR IN CORPORATE VOICEOVERS!

If voiceover genres were a family of sisters, then ‘Corporate’ would be the sensible one with the flat, frumpy shoes…or rather, she used to be. Corporate has been dancing to a new tune for a while. She’s been stepping up and taking lessons from her cooler sisters like Animation, Video Games and Commercial, and adding those new routines into corporate scripts!

Corporate has been dancing to a new tune for a while. She’s been stepping up and taking lessons from her cooler sisters like Animation, Video Games and Commercial, and adding those new routines into corporate scripts!

We know that corporate voiceover is used by companies to share a company message, impart company information or promote new products and services. Their target audience will be their existing client base, potential new consumers, shareholders or employees.

online and on social media, internal videos for employees, e-Learning and much more.

That’s a lot of voiceovers! Which means lots of potential work – hooray! It may be that many of us record corporate voiceover as a mainstay of our careers. It often gets labelled as the ‘bread and butter’ of the VO world, presumably because the tasty ‘filling’ is that elusive animation series, dramatic video games character or fun commercial.

There are now dialogues and scenes between multiple characters to help the audience understand the product better.

Now, it has to be said that I enjoy a bite of that tasty filling as much as the next VO, but I also happen to love the bread and butter and here’s why.

Nearly every company in every industry sector (and the sub-categories within those sectors) needs to promote themselves and their products and they’re likely to use some form of voiceover to help with that. They may use video explainers, mission videos on their websites, short films for events and presentations, audio marketing via telephone systems, campaigns

Corporate VO is not the staid, stuffy, straitlaced read from years gone by. It’s now more friendly, relaxed and connected. It has introduced natural, conversational reads, more aligned to those we hear in commercials for instance. It’s taken on board elements from animation and video games, introducing animated characters to impart a company’s message in fun and creative ways. There are now dialogues and scenes between multiple characters to help the audience understand the product better. VR is being used successfully in e-learning and even comedy has been allowed in, to connect on a ‘real person’ level and keep the listener entertained.

A corporate script is always about the company and its message. Its whole purpose is to keep its audience engaged so they leave knowing what the company is promoting. As VOs, it’s our job to make sure that happens by using our wide range of skills to create engaging and memorable corporate reads.

A lot of corporate scripts serve up a pressing problem, then the potential catastrophic results of that problem, and finish with a triumphant solution in the form of their new product or service. (Tada!)

We need to know how to be able to find the voice which reflects the company’s brand and image.

We need to understand who the target audience is and tailor our delivery to them.

We need to be good storytellers, understanding the rhythm of the story, the parts that need emphasis, and having the confidence to decide if and where the story needs drama, humour, excitement, anticipation, fear or hope to ensure the audience recognises the new product as the solution.

We need to know how hard (or not) to ‘sell’; whether the read works best as conversational, authoritative, empathetic, instructional, dramatic, serious, trustworthy… or a blend of them all.

We need to draw upon our acting skills to bring dialogue and characters to life and flex our funny bone to bring just the right amount of humour to a script.

Corporate voiceover is a genre that gives me the opportunity to use lots of different skill sets. It can be challenging and creative as well as serious and straightforward. It can also provide years of repeat VO business as, once a company is confident your voice fits their brand, it benefits them to come back to someone they trust. I love the variety of industries that I get to record for and that on any given day I can be recording projects for a utility company, a luxury spa, a financial institution, a hotel group, a retail group, a global communications company, a life-changing charity, a lifesaving medical treatment, a scientific breakthrough, sports equipment, an art gallery, a global drinks manufacturer or a local start-up…the list is probably endless.

Yep, I can honestly say, I think bread and butter tastes pretty good!