BUFFALO, New York, October 2, 2012 – – America’s Friendly, Neighborhood Voice-Over Talent, Peter K. O’Connell, was recently featured in a nation-wide television commercial campaign in India, a corporate media narration in Canada as well as an interactive trade show presentation in the United States.

Looking to continue its sales growth across India, the world’s largest privately held spirits company Bacardi created a new nationwide television advertising campaign for the country, selecting American Voice-Over Talent Peter K. O’Connell as the voice for the campaign. The TV commercial spots are titled “Beach” and “Dance”. The spots can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/audioconnell

O’Connell was also selected by Deloitte Canada to serve as narrator of the company’s new media presentations, introducing a document to address the Canadian productivity titled “The Future of Productivity – an eight-step game plan for Canada”. The action plan is part of Deloitte’s “Future of Canada” series.

Pitney Bowes Software Solutions, a subsidiary of Pitney-Bowes, recently created an interactive, educational tradeshow kiosk and secured voice-over talent O’Connell as a narrator. The project centered on a series of innovative direct mail solutions offered by Pitney Bowes Software Solutions that automate mailstream integrity for business communication.

About Peter K. O’Connell

In addition these most recent voice-over projects for Bacardi Rum, Deloitte Canada and Pitney-Bowes, Peter K. O’Connell’s professional voice-over credits include regional, national and international voice-over productions for companies such as PBS (Public Broadcasting Service), Shell Oil, U.S. Army, Starz Cable Channel, SunSetter Awnings, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Time Warner Cable, New Jersey Tourism, First Financial Bank, N.A., Cleveland Browns of the National Football League, Harlequin Enterprises, Darien Lake Theme Park, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and Pathmark Supermarkets.

O’Connell’s voice-over productions have been heard around the world in radio and TV commercials, medical narrations, television infomercials, political commercial voice-overs, TV network promos, e-learning narration projects (computer-based training, internet-based training and web-based training), PSA’s, message on-hold as well as other video and media productions.

Peter K. O’Connell owns audio’connell Voice-Over Talent and International Voice Talents, both divisions of O’Connell Communications, LLC.

– 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

Linked In

Google+

Tags: media releases // Comments Off on MEDIA RELEASE – Bacardi, Deloitte and Pitney-Bowes Choose O’Connell as Their Voice

TORONTO, Ontario, October 1, 2012 – – Voice-Over Talent Peter K. O’Connell was selected by Deloitte Canada to serve as narrator of the company’s newly produced media presentations in support of a Deloitte authored document addressing Canada’s national productivity problem. The document, titled “The Future of Productivity -an eight-step game plan for Canada”, is part of Deloitte’s “Future of Canada” series.

WATCH THE VIDEO

For many years, Canada productivity rate has grown less quickly than many other countries. To address this issue directly and help offer insight, Deloitte Canada conducted a study to investigate the major causes of the productivity gap. Deloitte Canada’s “Future of Productivity” plan is a tool for business, academia and government to help boost Canada’s performance.

About Peter K. O’Connell
In addition this most recent narration for the Deloitte Canada, Peter K. O’Connell’s professional voice-over credits include regional, national and international voice-over productions for companies such as PBS (Public Broadcasting Service), Shell Oil, Pitney Bowes, Bacardi Rum, U.S. Army, Starz Cable Channel, SunSetter Awnings, Time Warner Cable, New Jersey Tourism, First Financial Bank, N.A., J. Walter Thompson Advertising, Cleveland Browns of the National Football League, Harlequin Enterprises, Darien Lake Theme Park and Pathmark Supermarkets.

O’Connell’s voice-over productions have been heard around the world in radio and TV commercials, medical narrations, television infomercials, political commercial voice-overs, TV network promos, e-learning narration projects (computer-based training, internet-based training and web-based training), PSA’s, message on-hold as well as other video and media productions.

Peter K. O’Connell owns audio’connell Voice-Over Talent and International Voice Talents, both divisions of O’Connell Communications, LLC.

About Deloitte
Deloitte LLP, one of Canada’s leading professional services firms, provides audit, tax, consulting and financial advisory services to a wide range of Canadian and international clients. Deloitte LLP is the Canadian member firm of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, which is a network of member firms, each of which is a legally separate and independent entity.

– 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+

Tags: media releases // Comments Off on MEDIA RELEASE – Deloitte Canada Selects Peter K. O’Connell for Voice-Over Narration

Pinterest had been confusing me for a while. I couldn’t see the point in it. It seemed like a kind of electronic scrapbook that didn’t have any business application.

But being a social media lemming, I started an account anyway.

The more I started to think about this strangely popular new media tool, the more I kinda understood how it might be of benefit to my business. Again, I don’t know if there will be a direct ROI, but I think from an awareness level, Pinterest may help build my brand. I’m willing to give it a shot, anyway.

It’s a work in progress for me but here’s what I’ve learned from reading, asking questions and experimenting:

1. What’s your business purpose for being on Pintrest?
If you just want to scrapbook that’s fine but my guess is if you are a business, you’re trying to impress and get the attention (or interest) of a prospect or more specifically a type or category of prospects. This leads to the next question….

2. Have you thought about the prospects you want to attract?
Think about it…and be as specific as possible. First, look at the your most beloved (highest billing) clients. Do they have any similarities….interests, topics, images, some kind of information that these prospects would find so interesting that they’d spend time on your Pinterest site and possibly connect with you. Then think about subsets of other clients and maybe create some boards on Pinterest that they would find interesting.

For example, two audiences I want to attract are other voiceover talents (who might want to participate in my Voice Over Workshop) and advertising agency creative directors.

3. Let your Pinterest page become a resource for your prospects
So you know WHO you want to attract and WHAT they would find interesting so now you have to go about finding the stuff. The stuff these folks are looking for likely isn’t all about you and your business so making your whole Pinterest site a commercial for your business won’t be of interest to them. Instead, look at it like you are trying to help solve a problem for them or giving them interesting ideas that will help their business. They theory being that if you can help them via social media, you could probably help them in real life via your business.

So back to the examples – for the voice-over talents, I have pictures on my Pinterest page from the many voice-over meet-ups I have had over the years. I know from my blogging that these pictures (and accompanying posts are some of the most read on my blog). For my advertising prospects, they might find my logo collection interesting.

Like I said earlier, for me this is all a work in process and my Pinterest page is still evolving, but it’s a start.

So organize your thoughts on your prospects and then do some searching. You’ll not only find things that interest your clients, your research may help you better understand your clients a little better. That kind of knowledge goes a lot further than just a social media page.

I hope this helps.

If you have an interesting take on how you’re making Pintrest work for your business, please let me know below in the comments section. And of course, feel free to connect with me on any social media channel!

Tags: commentary, pinterest, social media // Comments Off on want pinterest to help your business?

I am quite literally stunned to realize that in two weeks I will be in Charlotte, NC with 100 fellow voice-over professionals attending FaffCon 5.

Five?!

Except for the first FaffCon, which I couldn’t attend without upsetting the then pregnant Mrs. audio’connell, I have attended every FaffCon (in Atlanta, Georgia, Hershey, Pennsylvania, Ventura Beach, California and now Charlotte, NC). The people I’ve met and the things I have learned have allowed me to grow my business and advance my way of thinking about voice over. I want to focus on that last part for a second.

The voice-over business is a very solitary business with most folks working in their home studios with occasional breaks to actually talk to clients on the phone (vs. only e-mailing each other, which happens too often for my liking) or the blessed trips to a local studio where somebody else does the work and you can focus on your performance (such bliss!)

But in that kind of insular environment, we as professional voice talents sometimes found ourselves with few peers through which we could share our business, performance or technological ideas. On a lot of our business stuff we were all making it up as we went along.

With the advent of chat rooms or in my case bulletin boards (like the infamous and invaluable VO-BB) new networks of professional voice talents were formed, initial emails were exchanged and in my case, meetings were scheduled between voice-over talents who could share, learn and develop all phases of their businesses together.

The natural evolution from these types of groups was a convention, which was first put together by my friend and fellow voice talent Frank Frederick…it was called VOICE and it took place in a hotel in Las Vegas I think in 2005, maybe 2006. The first (and only) VOICE I attended was in 2010. It was a nice networking event but I didn’t feel my professional education was significantly enhanced by it. I felt a lot of what was taught (with some exceptions) was very rudimentary (and I was one of the presenters so take that into account).

But I remember seeing my friend Amy Snively at that conference as well. This particular time we were on the trade show floor by a microphone display. She shared with me her disappointment about the content of the show as well. I can’t say I knew what she was thinking at the time but sometime after that on the VO-BB a discussion was held about a different kind of conference.

In that thread, FaffCon was born. Now we are five.

Monday night I had dinner in Toronto with voice talent Jodi Krangle, a FaffCon veteran. Thursday night I had dinner with Kelly Klemolin in Green Bay, who will be attending her first FaffCon in Charlotte.

They will be roommates during FaffCon 5. Knowing both Kelly and Jodi as long as I have, I am certain their professional connection will last a long time and their likely friendship even longer.

And they have two people to thank – D.B. Cooper and her idea for the VO-BB, giving us voice talents a safe place to gather and share ideas; and Amy Snively, who’s idea for FaffCon shared on the VO-BB has built an event unlike any in our industry.

For five, I think “we” are a pretty amazing kid.

Tags: commentary, faffcon, voice over training, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover advice, voiceover meet-ups // Comments Off on only two weeks?!

Less than 30 days remain before FaffCon 5 in Charlotte, NC.

This year, I have been working with my friends Natalie Stanfield Thomas and Pam Tierney on selling sponsorships for FaffCon 5. They have been great to work with and I am very lucky to be on their team.

Last year when I worked on selling sponsorships for FaffCon 4 I was amazed how many voice-over talents bought sponsorships. This year, even more voice talents are sponsoring FaffCon 5– quite selflessly too because they don’t have much to sell to their peers, they just know that an event like FaffCon does not happen without financial support. Thanks to each of you.

We have many corporate sponsors too and we are SO grateful for them (thank you all).

If you are a voice-over talent or corporation who wants to support FaffCon 5 or get your message in front of business owners and leaders in the VO industry, please email me via my super-secret, double agent with a decoder ring code name- sponsorship at sign faffcon dot com.

There truly is NOT much time left, with art deadlines etc., looming. You can also reach me at 716-572-1800.

Thanks!

Tags: commentary, faffcon // Comments Off on sponsoring faffcon 5 – all the cool kids are doing it!

So back in June my friend and fellow voice talent Doug Turkel pinged me about Twitter’s new logo. It’s nice, simple and, I thought to myself given all the different feed services and mobile devices we all use now, maybe a tad irrelevant.

Think about it.

With no scientific data to back this up (because that requires work and this is Sunday etc.) I’ll offer my “expert” (ha!) opinion: I feel with services like HootSuite and others, most of us don’t directly and visually interact with Twitter alot. So I don’t know that we’ll see the new logo too terribly much.

That got me to thinking about MY Twitter home page. As you may or may not know, Twitter allows you to customize your home page with some branding. (Here’s a link to a video if you want to see how it’s done otherwise your graphic designer can probably help you too).

Does my (or yours or anyone’s) home page on Twitter matter any more in our world of feeds or aggregators? Well, I kinda think it does for two reasons…again my “expert” (ha!) opinion.

1. When you’re a business, people expect a certain professionalism to your work. Your design not only conveys what your business does but also it’s attitude and personality. Should someone come across your Twitter page, an impression will be formed. Do you want to risk a bad impression? Probably not but if you really don’t care, I’d also ask why you’d really want a business presence on any Social Media channel.

2. It’s a free, colorful and fun way to convey your business message. It’s so simple that even if only 10 people see it a year, to me it’s money well spent.

Oh, and just in case you are completely clueless (it will be our secret) one of Twitter’s default backgrounds on your Twitter home page is the fastest way ever to publicly communicate that in your personal life you also wear plaid shirts with checked pants.

Dress nicely if you go out in public. 😉

I would love to know your thoughts on the matter.

Tags: advertising, branding, commentary, logo design, marketing, twitter // Comments Off on dress nicely if you go out in public