Effectiveness of radio spokesperson's gender, vocal pitch and accent and the use of music in radio advertising

Abstract

The aim of this study is to analyze how certain voice features of radio spokespersons and background music influence the advertising effectiveness of a radio spot from the cognitive, affective and conative perspectives. We used a 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 experimental design in 16 different radio programs in which an ad hoc radio spot was inserted during advertising block. This ad changed according to combinations of spokesperson's gender (male–female), vocal pitch (low–high) and accent (local–standard). In addition to these independent factors, the effect of background music in advertisements was also tested and compared with those that only had words. 987 regular radio listeners comprised the sample that was exposed to the radio program we created. Based on the differences in the levels of effectiveness in the tested voice features, our results suggest that the choice of the voice in radio advertising is one of the most important decisions an advertiser faces. Furthermore, the findings show that the inclusion of music does not always imply greater effectiveness.

Want to make me emotional? The influence of emotional advertisements on women’s consumption behavior

“…The presentation of appeal drivers in the advertisement may draw consumers' attention towards advertisement, which may ultimately impact their consumption patterns (Zeitlin and Westwood, 1986). The impact of advertising music, message, picture quality, and color appeal drivers on women's responses has been researched by academic scholars in various fields (Park and Young, 1986;Martin-Santana et al, 2015;Stoeckel et al, 2007;Lichtlé, 2007). The majority of such research shows the positive response of women towards those adverts which incorporate emotional appeal drivers while developing the advertisements.…”

Neural correlates of gender congruence in audiovisual commercials for gender‐targeted products: An fMRI study

“…Phonetics and social psychology studies explain these findings through biological differences in terms of pitch and factors like noise or perceived sensuality (Pennock‐Speck & del Saz Rubio, ). However, Martín‐Santana, Muela‐Molina, Reinares‐Lara, and Rodríguez‐Guerra () find no evidence for effectiveness differences related to the gender of the voice. Certain authors suggest that the higher level of confidence associated with the MV is based more on traditional stereotypes (Rodero et al, ; Whipple & McManamon, ).…”

Neural correlates of voice gender and message framing in advertising: A functional MRI study.

“…Phonetics and social psychology studies justify this fact by biological differences between voices along parameters such as fundamental frequency (F0, pitch) or format frequencies (Gélinas-Chebat, Chebat, & Vaninski, 1996). Researchers in advertising have carried out empirical comparisons of MV and FV and generally concluded that the MV may generate higher credibility, confidence, and expertise power and is therefore more persuasive than the FV (Martín-Santana, Muela-Molina, Reinares-Lara, & Rodríguez-Guerra, 2015). The work of Dolliver (2010), on the other hand, did not identify any differences in the persuasiveness of the gender.…”