Voice Perception

Since my primary business is radio, I found this interesting. Hope you do too!

From MarketingCharts.com:

Forceful, Soothing or Persuasive Voice: Which to Pick For Ad?

According to a new Adweek Media/ Harris Poll by Harris Interactive, 48% of Americans believe a male voice is more forceful selling a product or service in an advertisement, while 46% believe a female voice is more soothing. But, almost half of U.S. adults also say it makes no difference to them and neither voice is more forceful or more soothing. Not an easy choice for a marketer, says the report.

If the advertisement is trying to persuade someone to do something, one in five Americans believes a female voice is more persuasive while 18% say they believe a male voice is more persuasive. Almost two-thirds say the voice's gender makes no difference in persuasion.

When it comes to actually selling a specific thing, two-thirds of Americans say it doesn't make a difference and neither voice is more likely to sell them a car or a computer. Among those who believe it makes a difference, over one-quarter believe a male voice is more likely to sell them a car and say a male voice is more likely to sell them a computer. Only 7% say a female voice is more likely to sell them either.

Effect Of A Voice In Commercial, (Base: All U.S. adults, % of Respondents)
	Type of Voice Preferred
Voice Effect	MaleVoice	FemaleVoice	Makes no difference
More forceful	48%	2%	49%
More soothing	8	46	46
More persuasive	18	19	64
More likely to sell me a car	28	7	66
More likely to sell me a computer	23	7	69
Source: Adweek Media/Harris Poll, March 2010

Men and women do think similarly on the tone of the two types of voices, with one major exception. Over half of men believe a female voice is more soothing, compared to 38% of women who say the same.

Effect Of Voice In Commercials, By Gender (Percent Saying "Female Voice," Base: All U.S. Adults)
	Rounded % Saying Female Voice
Effect of Voice	Total	Men	Women
More forceful	2%	2%	3%
More soothing	46	54	38
More persuasive	19	20	18
More likely to sell me a car	7	9	5
More likely to sell me a computer	7	10	5
Source: Adweek Media/Harris Poll, March 2010

One in ten women believes the tone of a male voice is more soothing while 5% of men say the same. The only other real difference between men and women is on the selling of a car. One-third of men (32%) say a male voice is more likely to sell them a car compared to 23% of women who say this.

Effect Of Voice In Commercials, By Gender (Percent Saying "Male Voice," Base: All U.S. adults)
	Rounded % Saying "Male Voice"
Effect of Voice	Total	Men	Women
More forceful	48%	51%	46%
More soothing	8	5	11
More persuasive	18	21	15
More likely to sell me a car	28	32	23
More likely to sell me a computer	23	24	23
Source: Adweek Media/Harris Poll, March 2010

The report concludes by noting that "... overall, the American consumer does not believe that, for most things, one type of voice is more or less likely to sell them a certain product or service... (though) male voices are more forceful while female voices are more soothing... when it comes to cars and computers... the tenor of the ad will matter more than the gender of the voice."

For additional information, please visit Harris Interactive here.

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