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The Long and the Short of It

Narration can be right for a range of projects, from a crucial corporate presentation to a slide show created to celebrate a milestone birthday or anniversary. The longer duration of a narrated project compared to standard TV, radio or podcast commercials means finding the right voice is critical.

The search will probably take you longer than casting for shorter options. When you’re dealing with a more time it’s important to really get a sense of the voices available to you. This means listening to more voice demos – and doing so over and over.

This longer exposure to a voice will give you a better chance to pick up any ticks, quirks or unique characteristics, for better or worse. Anything you hear is likely to be present throughout the VO’s full delivery, so listen closely and be honest with your reactions. The right voice is out there – it’s just a matter of having the patience to not select the wrong one.

You Can’t Beat the…Blind Taste Test?

The importance of spending time auditioning voices is reflected in one of the most famous marketing campaigns of all: Pepsi vs Coke, and the famous blind taste test known as The Pepsi Challenge.

This long-standing corporate fight is a battle for hearts, minds, taste buds and wallets by two big, big corporations. Pepsi thought consumers would prefer their cola if they tried a blind sample and went head-to-head with their competition. As the challenger brand they had nothing to lose.

And they were right. The results they reported claimed Pepsi was the preferred cola of the two. Job done, point made, market disrupted…right?

Nope. Pepsi won the blind taste test, but still lagged behind Coca-Cola when it came to sales. In part, because the branding is so important – journalist and author Malcolm Gladwell made the point that no-one drinks cola blind – but also because it’s sweeter.

Which worked when consumers were sampling a mouthful. But over a can or a bottle? Consumers – whether they knew why or not – were still buying Coke.

Too Sweet Doesn’t Work

The same principle works when choosing a narrator for your project. While you might lean towards a voice for a short job, it may turn out you don’t actually like hearing that same voice talent over an extended duration. There’s no right or wrong here either, it’s your perception of what works best for your project.

So listen to a range of voices. Listen to them a lot, and make sure you’re OK with a big glass of the voice, even if you love your first, small taste.