Entries Tagged as ''

voxmarketising – the audio’connell podcast [episode 102]

voxmarketising - the audio’connell podcast logo/album art

[audio:http://audioconnell.com/clientuploads/mp3/voxmarketing_episode102_012708.mp3]
Click here to download the episode!

â–º (0:00) Show Open: (Voxmarketising Episode #102/ Show date: January 27, 2008)

â–º (1:00) Welcome

â–º (2:40) Oversight (Stuff You Might Have Missed):
– The Challenge of Rebranding the United Negro College Fund to the UNCF

– The fontastic movie “Helvetica

– UK Voice Talent Bernard Shaw on Core Talents that People Need to Possess as Voice Over Artists

– Lost Voices: Suzanne Pleshette and Allan Melvin

â–º (10:07) VMT Interview (On voiceover or marketing or advertising or all of the above):
– Podcamp Toronto 2008 Information

– Podcamp Toronto 2008 Promo

– Interview with Podcamp Toronto 2008 Sponsor Chair Eden Spodek

â–º (19:36) Brain Spanking (Funny, Weird, Annoying News of the Day But Stuff That Usually Makes You Think):
– How to Improve Your Image By Not Delivering

– Connect Ventures Video (Lip Dub)

– The idea of a sneaker reimagined by Freedom of Creation

â–º (22:14) Popular Demand (Voice Comments, Emails and Blogs Posts from Listeners):
– Comments by Greg Phelps and Drew Hadwal

â–º (23:30) Show Close:
Comment Line – +01 716-989-6151
Email – peter at audioconnell dot com
Blog – www.voxmarketising.com (Subscribe)
Add us to your Linked In or Facebook

MEDIA RELEASE – Peek’n Peak Resort and Spa Ad Campaign Secures audio’connell Voice Over Talent for Second Year

audio'connell Media Release

BUFFALO, New York, January 24, 2008 – – Enticing skiers from New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio to “Come and Get Good!”, Peek’n Peak Resort and Spa has completed production of their 2008 broadcast campaign with audio’connell Voice Over Talent providing audio production services.

Professional voice talent and audio’connell Voice Over Talent president Peter K. O’Connell has again provided the voice for the television and radio campaign, producing it with the resort’s popular jingle. O’Connell’s company had also voiced and produced the audio for Peek’n Peak’s 2007 campaign.

AUDIO SAMPLE
[audio:http://www.audioconnell.com/clientuploads/mp3/Media_Release_Audio_Samples/0801_audioconnell_pknpk_sample_copyright2008.mp3]

The Findley Lake, New York resort that attracts families and groups looking to enjoy the snow on and off the slopes in winter and golf in the summer (its acclaimed upper course has hosted the PGA’s Nationwide Tour) also offers a spa for hotel and condominium guests and groups to enjoy year round.

A professional voice over talent and audio producer for over 25 years, Peter O’Connell is president of audio’connell Voice Over Talent, a worldwide, English language-based voice talent company. He also operates International Voice Talents, featuring foreign language male and female voice actors.

Both organizations provide professional voice talent for commercials, animation, corporate narrations, documentaries, broadcast voice imaging, audio books, podcasts and messaging on-hold (MOH). Industries served by the two companies include advertising agencies, media and broadcast production companies as well as both large and small businesses around the world.

Mr. O’Connell also owns Voice Over Workshop, which provides professional voice over training to novice and experienced voice talent around the world.

The three businesses are all a part of O’Connell Companies.
– 30 –

NOTES TO EDITORS

Company Media Releases ON LINE:
http://www.audioconnell.com/media

Company Name Pronunciation:
au·dio·o’·con·nell (awe-de-oh-oh-kah-nel) or au·di-o’·con·nell (awe-de-oh-kah-nel)

Company Name Spelling:
Use lower case letters- audio’connell or audio’connell Voice Over Talent

Company Web:
http://www.audioconnell.com

Company Blog:
http://www.voxmarketising.com

O’Connell Voice-Over Resume:
See resume here

Twitter

YouTube

LinkedIn

Google+

a chat with joe and john

insideradio.com

Mike Kinosian who writes for Inside Radio wrote a wonderful article on the voice over careers of Joe Cipriano and John Leader (who was friends with my voiceover idol Ernie Anderson).

A great read. Thanks Mike!

tough blog love

blog_key

The blogosphere can be a tough place as my multi-lingual VO pal Liz de Nesera found out over the last week.

That troublemaking voice over blogger Bob Souer and some his commentators brow beat poor Liz into starting a blog. 😉

Well she couldn’t take the pressure and finally caved. You can read her blog here.

Fear not Liz, Bob and company have guided you into a wonderful tool of social media and creativity. We look forward to all your posts which are now linked to my blog.

kelly tilghman is not don imus

kelly_tilghman

It’s dicey issue time.

As I predicted, Don Imus found a radio job (I thought satellite but terrestrial is fine) following his public idiocy in the fall of 2007. Terrestrial radio needs to make money any way it can while not appearing to be way over the line.

When Imus went over the line he worked for CBS Radio and MSNBC, they had to fire him. Imus was not working for ABC Radio so the shadow of his remarks, in theory, wouldn’t taint this new network. While they had a successful morning team (Curtis and Kuby) on the company flagship station (WABC-AM), they felt they could make even more money with Imus. Imus promised to behave. We’ll see and until such time ABC is going sell the hell out of Imus. Terrestrial radio needs to make money any way it can.

The Golf Channel’s Kelly Tilghman was the first woman to serve as primary anchor of a network’s season long coverage. Last season was her first. Early in her sophomore outing, Tilghman made a very sophomoric mistake. She and her on-air partner Nick Faldo were discussing young players who could challenge Wood’s toward the end of Friday’s broadcast at Kapalua when Faldo suggested that “to take Tiger on, maybe they should just gang up for a while.”

“Lynch him in a back alley,” Tilghman replied.

Given the repulsive history of lynchings of blacks in America, this was an incredibly poor choice of words. She said a dumb thing. By the end of the broadcast, she realized what she had said about Woods and its implications and apologized. Tilghman also personally and directly apologize to Tiger.

Woods, who was directly referenced by the comment, did not take offense. He seems to have a friendly relationship with Tilghman, seems to know her as a person, not just a broadcaster and either dismissed the issue, accepted the apology or both.

The Golf Channel profusely apologized for the remark, (one assumes because it was stupid and because the network has a 15 year contract with the PGA Tour that it doesn’t want to lose) suspending Tilghman for two weeks as a result.

Kelly Tilghman made a mistake which I’m guessing upset her more because of her friendship with Tiger Woods rather than because it might cost her a job (although I’m guessing she really likes the job as well). I’m not sure what the HR policies are at the Golf Channel so a suspension may have been mandatory; whatever the case…time served and lets move on.

Sadly it’s not that simple as stupidity had to rear its ugly head in two forms.

First in the form of the comments of Rev. Al Sharpton who called for Tilghman’s bosses to fire her.

Second in the form of the cover of Golfweek magazine, approved by its editor Dave Seanor, depicting a rope in the form of a noose on the cover with the headline: “Caught in a Noose: Tilghman slips up, and Golf Channel can’t wriggle free,” pointing readers to a special report by the weekly magazine. Seanor has been fired for the cover.

First, my thoughts on the Sharpton comments: No. Firing Tilghman for making a stupid remark, no matter the historically tragic the implications that could be derived would be dumb. The lynching of blacks in America was another awful chapter in American history but the intent of the remark was outside the scope of that history. Fortunately there are others, including those in the African American Community, who share this opinion.

Broadcasters have an immense responsibility to be thoughtful about their words and actions on the air. She made a mistake by what she said, no question, yet there is not a professional broadcaster of any race or international origin (as we all are) who has done or said something stupid and/or thoughtless while performing live. We all have to one degree or another. Did we regret our thoughtlessness? Eternally.

Further, Tilghman hadn’t the reputation for on-air insensitivity that Imus and other broadcasters do, in fact, quite the opposite. When you’ve got that self-perpetuated “bad seed” reputation AND you say something really stupid on the air, grab your parachute and jump before they push you because either way you’re getting off the plane in mid-flight. That’s not Tilghman’s reputation so she’ll return a wiser but embarrassed broadcaster. Many have come back from far worse to enjoy a stellar career.

However, when you’re making an editorial decision for a print publication, like Golfweek, when you have more time to consider your options and solicit opinions, then, yes, you need to pack a parachute as well. There were so many other creative ways to graphically represent the Tilghman story in print while still providing an eye catching cover for readers that I really don’t disagree with Seanor’s dismissal. When I consider the type of magazine it is, the audience it serves, its editorial focus and the point of this cover worthy story, the cover was meant to inflame and titillate in my opinion and was unnecessary. Seanor will come back too as the publication under his watch was a good one. One hopes upon his return, he’ll be just as responsible as Tilghman will be.

Now I’m off to continue to make some more of my famous mistakes.

an unexpected voiceover marketing lesson

bulls_eye

Creating the Unofficial NBC Nightly News Voice Off was an epiphany for many reasons not the least of which was the power of the web.

1. Until the very moment I came up with the idea, I really hadn’t been searching for a breakthrough idea for the blog which would garner lots of attention. After the event’s successful completion, I’m still not. While the blog is an important web marketing tool, it remains for me a creative outlet that, while I hope others enjoy, laugh and learn from it, doesn’t need be anything else besides that outlet. I am however thrilled that the blog provided a useful channel through which the idea could blossom. For those two reasons, I really am happy I have the blog.

2. There are so many tremendous voice over talents that I “met” for the first time through this exercise. Many I had known of for years and some are even great friends but coming across so many heretofore unheard (by me) voices was a real treat.

3. Finally, the big epiphany: some voiceover talents (not naming any names nor does this part reflect upon the aforementioned names) are crappy marketers.

Well, there goes all the new professional goodwill I just engendered from the Voice Off. But I feel if I address the issue, folks can learn from it. And folks, I witnessed all this first hand.

Lesson 1 – If you do not have your own voice over web site, I consider you a voice over wanna-be. Ouch, harsh! “But I have a page on voices.com and voice 123,” you say. Good, that’s right, direct your prospective client to your page there and hope and pray they don’t start fishing around the other talent pages on those sites (some of whom will do a 10 minute narration for $5 and a cup of day old coffee, just to get experience). Bad odds. Spend the money, get your own web page (or full site) and create a brand. Stop whining about money and do it!

Lesson 2 – Telephone numbers are not optional. Maybe you have a studio in your home and you don’t want clients calling your house and having your 10 year old answering the phone and, while sounding cute, still sounding unprofessional and I get that. Get a cell phone number, make that your business line, plaster the phone number everywhere and always answer it professionally. But get a phone number. Here’s your slogan – “The Telephone – its how business gets done!”

Lesson 3 – An email signature block is mandatory. Typing “Joe” or whatever at the bottom of an email doesn’t cut it. Every email you send out is an electronic business card. People may have kept your email just to have your contact information…unless of course you DON’T have it on there and then your important email really becomes expendable. An email signature block, which you can set up on most software to go out with every email automatically (so you really have no excuse) should contain at minimum your name, your company name, your phone number and your web site where folks can find your demos.

There are only two people now who know of your errors, you and me. And as you can see, I’m not using any names in the crappy marketers section. So quietly go about fixing these changes and go make some money. Nobody else will know how you did it cause I’m not telling.