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VOICE OVER MARKETING / PART 1 Is Kelley Crazy To Think Her Marketing Campaign To Jeep Will Get Her Hired? March 25, 2016  Note:
Ever energetic and marketing-minded voice talent Kelley Buttrick
developed a unique full-scale campaign targeted at a huge potential
client. She produced a series of videos and snail mail flyers directed
at top marketing executives of her favorite brand, Jeep! Recently, she
took her efforts public. Did Kelley get hired? Well, the story
continues. Here's Part 1 of a series and a link to her campaign story
...By Kelley Buttrick Voice Actor My colleagues think I’m a little crazy. AdWeek agrees, but according to their article, they think maybe what I’m doing is crazy enough to work. Here's why this shouldn't work - and why it might yet put me in the driver's seat. 1. Voice Over Talents Are Not Creative Okay, I can hear the collective gasp from our industry now at that statement, but let’s get real. In the genre where I specialize, broadcast advertising and short-form narration, it’s the copywriters, designers, producers and account managers at the ad agencies who are creative. Our job boils down to responding to their direction during a session in order to sound like the voice in their heads. Do I bring creativity to my delivery? Absolutely, but it’s the ad agency team bringing the main course of creativity to the table. I’m merely an ingredient from their spice rack. This is why I hired incredibly creative people to help me with campaign content. 2. VOs Don't Make Pitches. We Voice Them In the voice over industry, work is mainly generated through agents, casting entities and individual marketing efforts like emailing demos, sending branded chotskies and making nice on social media with people who have the power to hire us. Sometimes we get hired to perform spec reads for ad agency pitches, but our job is to give them a voice, not create them. Before spending my days alone in a 4x5 soundproof box, I did PR, fundraising and promotions. My degree is in journalism. While I may not be tossing around beach balls while brainstorming with clients in a conference room, taking major donors to dinner and tugging heartstrings with success stories or coming up with stunts to drive listenership, my mind is always spinning with marketing ideas. You can take the pitcher out of the ballpark, but my mind is always on the mound. 3. People Don't Like To Be Told What They Want Don’t you hate it when someone puts words in your mouth? Seriously, they have no idea what you were about to say, but some people feel compelled to complete your sentence for you anyway. Ad agency creatives have their own ideas about what voices should be telling their clients’ brand stories. Many times, while they’d never in a millions years say it, those same creatives don’t want their clients telling them how that voice in their heads should sound. So this was a tricky challenge for me. The brand I pitched has a pretty specific main target demographic, and I’m not it. Stumping for their consideration, much of my campaign was designed to get the brand’s executives and affiliated ad agencies at the time to be open as to how my voice could resonate with their consumers across their multiple products’ various target demographics - including their main marketing avatar’s gender - male - despite the fact that I’m a woman. 4. I Aimed Too High Well, yes, the brand I targeted is a big one - a really big one. Early last year, like most business people, I was thinking about where I wanted my business to go. What did the ideal future look like for KB Voiceovers, LLC? If I had a magic wand, I would have contracts with three to five major brands that I had an affinity to personally. These contracts would have me voicing just about everything for those brands - from ad campaigns to apps and in-store announcements to Internet videos telling the brand’s story. Immediately, the brand I knew I wanted to voice for was Jeep. The automotive icon has been a part of my family’s history for generations, and their brand’s themes of adventure, fun, freedom, capability, history and daring to do-it-their-way resonate deeply in my heart. TOO CRAZY TO WORK?  Was this campaign of mine too crazy to work? Or was I successful in counteracting the crazy?Well, the end of the story has yet to be told, as we are only in the 7th inning. The target brand is at bat and my pitching arm feels great. Please hop in and join me for a ride on my campaign trail ... Kelley Buttrick: A Voice For Any Terrain. Next: Part 2 - How To Go Off-Road With Your VO Marketing ------------------------ ABOUT KELLEY Kelley Buttrick is a versatile voice over talent known for matching her voice to the message, be it the sound of a soccer mom, corporate executive, flirty date or snarky BFF. Her pre-VO work experience in marketing and media gives her a unique big-picture perspective for each project. And while she enjoys the smooth ride of great agents, the nicest repeat clients and national bookings, she kicked it in gear with the Jeep marketing campaign and appreciates tweets, shares, likes, etc., especially when tagged with #MyJeepStory and #KB4Jeep. Web: www.kbvoiceovers.com Email: kb@kbvoiceovers.com Jeep Campaign: www.kbvoiceovers.com/KB4Jeep |
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#KB4Jeep is pioneering, inspiring and yes, a little crazy...and we are supporting you on that crazy train all the way! Go get'em.
I love your work, your passion, your energy, your chutzpah!!
All the best, from a fellow VO talent down under.
Marion Just
There have certainly been some ups and downs on this crazy ride, but one of the best ups has been the incredible support from industry colleagues like you. Of all the industries I've worked in, VO is the most definitely full of the kindest people.
Jay, thanks so much for the heads up on the visible license plate. I thought about it in the stills but not the video. Yikes! I'll ask my video team to see what they can do. Thank you for your eagle eyes!
Love your bravery and initiative...hope it works for you. No reason why it shouldn't. You & your enthusiasm would be good for it!
But I'm worried for you...The scene with your license plate clearly shown? Need to nix that! Do you know how
many wackos there are out there!? Fuzz it out or something. Or, maybe it's just me. =)
I know, as she does, what she's up against. I also know that the Ford F-150 buyer base was expanded after the redesign (by a woman leading Ford's design team) and it worked. Creating a new design that was appealing to more women without turning off the mainly male buying base. Not an easy feat! Could happen with Jeep as well! I see plenty of lady Jeepers where I live (near Nashville in the country) that would love to see and hear Kelly at the wheel of a new campaign.
Does anyone remember Terry Clark's country music video where she raced around the desert in a Jeep? That video began her career! As Kelly says, what she's REALLY up against is the "creatives" at Jeep's ad agency being afraid to step up to the plate and get involved in an ad campaign that they didn't create! But let's see how it goes. I hope Kelly continues her crusade... 'cause she just might ring the right bell with those ad people!