Commentary
Forceful, Soothing or Persuasive Voice: Which to Pick For Ad?
- by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, March 24, 2010
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.
Jack Loechner is the Editor of The Center for Media Research's daily Research Brief. You can reach him at jack@mediapost.com.
As a researcher, I usually don't criticize other research, but this study is ill-conceived. A survey is the wrong way to assess the influence of a voice. Self-reports regarding persuasion are meaningless because respondents don't necessarily KNOW what influences them, only what they prefer. So it's conceivable that someone prefers a soothing voice but is more persuaded by a forceful voice. If someone wants good data, they should run a controlled experiment (and leave surveys for public opinion). Sometimes asking people what they think gets in the way of uncovering what how they actually behave.
I agree with Mr. Ferguson. This is the type of question where people are totally unreliable in analyzing their own behavior. People believe gender doesn't matter because they like to believe they aren't affected by advertising at all.
What people believe and what they do are two different things. I want to see a correlation where a brand tries the different voices and then is able to show which sold more or less product.
One more note to go with Mr. Ferguson. What a ridiculous group of choices. Obviously there are a myriad of products and services and that will trump everything. The only deviation could be male vs female on something unisexual/asexual.
Maybe it's in the full report... It would be useful to understand if "Forceful, Persuasive, and Soothing" was considered "good" or "bad" by those responding to the survey.
Also, it would be helpful to ask a few different characterization questions like "Friendly", "Aggressive", "Argumentative", "Understanding", "Rushed", and "Comfortable". Style and tone, whether male or female, younger or more senior, often have as much of effect on a listener's decision to take an action (purchase) as anything else.
I recently observed two men from two different companies(one in his late thirties to early forties and the other in his mid to late fifties) presenting essentially the same services at open seminars.
The material- the data and facts- was basically the same. Their styles, however, were very different. And the audiences reacted differently.
Have you seen SNL's spoof of a male sports commentator selling a woman's product? Men will surely will buy, put a bow on it and give it for a special occasion. Get real.