If you need a promotional voiceover, follow these tips to achieve maximal results!
The phrase “promotional voiceover” is used in many different ways. In this article, it is used specifically to refer to voiceovers used in promotional videos.
A promotional video showcases a company and/or its products, for the purpose of creating a certain image and increasing sales. It is the “face” of your business/product, and you will therefore want to ensure that its content, look, and sound are just right.
Promotional videos are used in practically every area, from Beauty & Health, to Real Estate, to Travel & Leisure, to Hi-Tech, to Medical, and more.
Unlike commercials, promotional videos are not shown on television, but rather online, at visitor centers, at trade fairs, etc. Further distinguishing them from commercials, promotional videos are not limited in time to :15, :30, or :60 seconds as are commercials. They usually range from :30 seconds to as long as 10 minutes, with the average promotional video lasting between 2-3 minutes.
Ideally, a promotional video’s voiceover script will be written by a professional copywriter, to ensure that it coveys an effective marketing message. However, unlike some other types of copy, the script for a promotional voiceover often includes information well beyond the simple text.
Since the promotional video is a crucial marketing tool, it is likely that you will want certain words and phrases emphasized or said “just so”. To this end, the promotional voiceover script should include direction, specifying the desired emphasis, tone, and any pauses. There are many ways to indicate direction in a script, from italicizing words, to including instructions in brackets, to simply writing instructions in a separate column. For example:
[Serious, but with a smile] Acme Technologies provides the most comprehensive solutions to your problems. Over the past five years, one thousand valued customers have placed their trust in Acme Technologies, [pause] and we have not let them down.
For more details on indicating direction in a script, see how to prepare a script for voiceover.
Note that if you will be attending the recording session, whether in person or via phone patch or some other technology, it is not mandatory to include direction in the script, as you can provide it to the voice actor in real time. However, it is still recommended to write the necessary instructions in the script, since doing so gives you a chance to think about, discuss, and settle on the desired direction with other relevant parties at your company, before the actual recording session. Discussing direction with your coworkers at the recording session consumes studio time that could be spent recording, and if you have the script recorded without consulting your coworkers about the desired direction beforehand, you may find that you have to schedule another session to re-record the voiceover in a different style entirely...
The type of delivery used depends entirely on the script’s concept and content. Conversational voiceovers are in vogue nowadays, but other styles, such as formal, professional, and even marketing-oriented are still used, and quite often at that.
Promotional voiceovers dealing with beauty & health often employ a soft, glamorous, feminine, or even sexy tone. Listen to examples of voiceovers for the health & beauty industry.
Voiceovers in the travel & leisure realm often require a relaxed and pampered tone. Alternatively, they may convey a sense of excitement and freedom. Listen to examples of voiceovers for the leisure & travel industry.
Those dealing with real estate reflect the feel of the project—high-quality, upscale, exciting, exotic, posh, etc—as you can hear in these voiceovers for the real estate industry.
You can listen to promotional voiceovers for a wide variety of products and companies.
Background music almost always used in promotional voiceovers, and it is usually added in by the video person. As with the voiceover delivery, the music’s style depends entirely on the script.
Relevant file formats include WAV, MP3, AIF, OGG, etc. No special bit rate or sampling rate is required, unless requested by the video person.
Article by Victoria Feinerman
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