The Effect of Voice Quality on Ad Efficacy

Abstract

Extensive research has examined how to make broadcast advertising as effective as possible. However, one area of advertising that has received little research is the effect of the announcer or spokesperson's voice on consumers’ reactions to the ad or the product being advertised. In this paper, we examine the effect of the announcer's voice quality, or an overall impression of his or her voice, on consumers’ purchasing intentions for a new service. We find that female listeners are most likely to purchase this service when they hear it advertised by a man who has a creaky voice, but least likely to purchase it when they hear it advertised by a woman with a creaky voice. Other voice qualities produce more moderate results. Men, in contrast, are relatively insensitive to the effect of voice quality.

Persuasion of voices: The effects of a speaker’s voice characteristics and gender on consumers’ responses

“…Conversely, the results show that speaker gender plays a minor, secondary role, although it is the most studied voice variable (Whipple and McManamon, 2002;Wiener and Chartrand, 2014). In fact, the perceptions of a voice's gender and masculinity are primarily induced by a voice's pitch and brightness (not its gender), which confirms prior research on voice gender categorization.…”

“…However, little research has actually managed to show that male listeners prefer feminine voice characteristics. For instance, voice creakiness has no effect on male listeners (Wiener and Chartrand, 2014). The review of prior research on voice persuasion having studied the effects of listener gender seems to indicate that listener gender moderates the intensity of the persuasive outcomes but not their direction (i.e.…”

“…Prior studies suggest that this sexual selection process might also apply to voice roughness. For instance, creaky male voices would induce the most favorable responses from female listeners (Wiener and Chartrand, 2014).…”

“…A speaker's voice can be a powerful persuasion tool that conveys rich emotions and imagery (Mehrabian and Wiener, 1967), influencing listeners' behavior in many contexts (e.g. marketing: Wiener and Chartrand, 2014;politics: Klofstad, 2016). Therefore, practitioners need to understand how to select the right voice or how to change an existing voice with a voice coach or a sound engineer.…”

Developing the Marketing Experience to Increase Shopping Time: The Moderating Effect of Visit Frequency

“…Zaltman and Puccinelli (2000); Wiener and Chartrand (2014) The sense of hearing is constantly active, making it an interesting point of attention for retailers who wish to apply sensory marketing to their store. It is not just about experiencing the sound, but trying to create, through music and the voice, a link with the consumer, facilitating the representation of the brand in the consumers' minds, and creating associations that activate emotions and experiences.…”