VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

anthonyVO · 14th Avenue Joined: 09 Aug 2005 Posts: 1470 Location: NYC

Favorite part of the article?
"So there you have it. A bunch of people said stuff and you’re no smarter than you were 500 words ago. You’re welcome."

http://bit.ly/ci2c50

-Anthony

bobsouer · Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 8:33 am Post subject:

Anthony,

Thank you for that link. I needed to spend a few minutes faffing about just now.
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Donna · Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 8:58 am Post subject:

I just added it to my subscriptions, and I'm not at all sure why.

But thanks for the article!
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bobbinbeamo · Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 9:48 am Post subject:

Oh my!
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jsgilbert · Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 12:02 pm Post subject:

Yeah, I'm not really sure who the douche behind the article is, but I posted a comment up there and suddenly it's not there anymore.
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Bruce · Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 7:02 am Post subject:

J.S. your comment was just there a minute ago when I looked...and again you spoke well.

Logos and branding will always be critical for most products. When you're on a trip going down the freeway and you're hungry, you start scouting for logos (signs) that you recognize. Grocery shopping, for me anyway, is a big logo/color/shape hunt for items I want.

In individual enterprises like us voiceoverists, I'm not convinced that a logo or clever branding statement bring you a lot of business. It's your name, associated with work that satisfies, that gets you repeat business and referral business.

B
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Lizden · Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 7:29 am Post subject:

"I think more brands need talking animals.”

So THAT'S why Banksey has Jazz & Bess! Laugh

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Donna · Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 7:55 am Post subject:

Ah, Liz, I think you may have discovered his secret!

It couldn't have anything to do with talent and professionalism. Nah...
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Lizden · Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 8:11 am Post subject:

Oh...THAT! Rolls Eyes

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anthonyVO · 14th Avenue Joined: 09 Aug 2005 Posts: 1470 Location: NYC

Agency Spy is a very snarky and critical site/blog that takes shots at not only the actions of ad agencies, but consumerism as well. Over the top? Perhaps. But at least they're on one side of the fence.

What I enjoyed most, aside from JS's comments, is the fact that voiceover artists seem to spend a great amount of time "branding" themselves via a logo or slogan (guilty as charged) versus branding themselves by being themselves. Your work and the experience of working *with* you is where our focus should be. Unless, of course, we're going to sit on a shelf or window waiting for our buyer.

-Anthony

bobsouer · Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 1:09 pm Post subject:

jsgilbert · Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 1:26 pm Post subject:

Friggin bizarre. I have looked at this thing on 3 different computers, flushed caches and refreshed pages and I see 6 comments total and not a one of them is mine.

In any case, as a marketing creative, I tend to come from the school of the UEP, or Unique Emotional Proposition, which attempots to craft a message or promote a product or service by relating it to how the end-user will feel.

Yes, I certainly understandthe concept of branding and do believe in it as a viable method for some types of marketing. I personally see the aspect of marketing oneself as a "problem solver" as voice talent falling into the UEP.

A few years ago, I went in to do a session and I overheard the director say to someone "That's J.S. Gilbert, he's the guy that everyone hires when they have to replace talent that couldn't do the job."

Not a bad way to be thought of and certainly not a brand.

Whether the client feels good becuase I make their job easier, or they have seom sense of security that comes from my "being able to do the job" or whatever else, it's the unique emotional proposition that tends to work. I can name 3 or 4 women who are perfectly adequate voice talent, but rarely ever wind up on top when it comes to auditioning. They exude sexiness and tend to make sure that their photographs pop up frequently. Oddly enough, they tend to work quyite frequently and they work for some of the same people I do. While my sessions are most often done over the ISDN line, they are frequently flown in to do their sessions. I'd say that is a pretty big Unique Emotional Proposition, that tends to kick ass over most of the branding I've seen.

And no, I don't see anything wrong with it.

I think that when most producers read an actor's brand that says something like "Frank Skaninson, the right voice for you!", the intital reaction is "I'll be the judge of that".

There are many, many ways that voice talent may land a job, personally I think that branding isn't one of them.
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"today is the first day of the rest of the week"

Diane Havens · Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 2:21 pm Post subject:

I can see your comment on the site, J. S. (That's pretty eerie if you can't see it.)

And I concur with the sentiments you so succinctly stated.
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Lee Gordon · Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 11:53 pm Post subject:

What struck me about this article was that it is relevant only to those within the industry and not to the consumer. Case in point: the whole Gap logo kerfuffle. The only people who care -- or even noticed -- are ad people. None of it has any impact whatsoever on Gap customers, past, present or future.
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Donna · Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2010 7:36 am Post subject:

Lee, I couldn't agree more. And you used "kerfuffle"! Word of the Day!!!
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