1. Never forget

    Posted May 30, 2011 by Bob

    It’s Memorial Day. Let’s never forget the price paid for our freedom.

    Category: General | Comments (0)

  2. It’s not a straight line

    Posted May 29, 2011 by Bob

    A week ago I was in England for the weekend to visit with a number of voiceover people from the UK and to meet some of the other folks involved in voiceover work there at an event called VOX. It was great fun, but one of the things that stuck with me actually took place not during VOX, but on the way there and back. On my flight I had one of those little video displays attached to the back of the seat in front of me, which was rather nice. Since I knew I would sleep most of the way going to the UK (the flight is overnight and you arrive in the morning UK time) I set my display to the GPS setting, which showed a rotating set of images displaying where the plane was relative to both the airport we left (Philadelphia) and where we were going (Manchester, UK).

    The thing that stuck with me is this: the fastest and most efficient route from the USA to the UK is not a straight line. And in fact, on the display that showed things really zoomed in, it was clear that there were little corrections being made all the way across; so not only wasn’t it a straight line, it wasn’t even a smoothly curved line.

    My friend Pam Tierney has just written an excellent blog post that makes a similar point called Recalculating. Well worth a few minutes of your time.

    Your life in voiceover is just about never going to proceed in a smooth, single direction. There will be loads of adjustments and sometimes even U-turns. The key is to remain calm, stay focused and keep moving ahead. Getting annoyed won’t help. There is real power in optimism. You have to believe you will succeed.

    Category: Career Advice, General, People | Comments (2)

  3. Spotlight on Melissa

    Posted May 27, 2011 by Bob

    My friend Melissa Exelberth is one of the most lovely and talented people I know. She’s the voice of this breathtakingly beautiful video:

    And I hope you’ll click through for more information about the Shire Brave Awards.

    Category: General, People | Comments (2)

  4. Spotlight on Dave

    Posted May 26, 2011 by Bob

    My friend Dave White is featured on-camera is this Ford truck commercial.

    Mighty nice work, Dave!

    Category: General, People | Comments (2)

  5. Spotlight on Rowell

    Posted May 25, 2011 by Bob

    My friend Rowell Gormon is featured as the voice of this television commercial.

    Mighty nice work, Rowell. By the way, there’s a bit of extra information available about this spot on Rowell’s blog.

    Category: General, People | Comments (3)

  6. Quote for the day and maybe the decade

    Posted May 20, 2011 by Bob

    From my friend and manager, Stacey Stahl, in my inbox yesterday:


    “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”

    — Walt Disney

    Category: General | Comments (2)

  7. Spotlight on Doug

    Posted May 19, 2011 by Bob

    My friend Doug Medlock is the voice of this ripping good commercial.

    Powersharp TV spot from Doug Medlock on Vimeo.

    Mighty nice work, Doug!

    Category: General, People | Comments (0)

  8. Delighted to add to the blogroll

    Posted May 18, 2011 by Bob

    My friend Darren Eliker has launched a voiceover blog that I’m delighted to add to my blogroll today. I think his post from yesterday, Conservatories Need More Business Focus, is especially worth a few minutes of your time. As Darren points out, the voiceover business is just that, a business.

    Category: General, People | Comments (1)

  9. Play and work

    Posted May 17, 2011 by Bob

    Richard Horvitz is an amazing actor and an exceptionally good teacher. Right now Dan O’Day has an MP3 seminar that you can download instantly called “How to get as much voice over work as you can handle by learning how to play” featuring the insights of Richard Horvitz. I was there when this seminar was presented and I can say without reservation it was a superb presentation.

    Category: Career Advice, General | Comments (3)

  10. Your brand

    Posted by Bob

    My friend Blaine Parker writes a weekly screed he calls HOT POINTS. (You can sign up for his weekly screed at that link.) The focus is on advertising and marketing, but now and then he ends up writing about voiceover. Today’s edition is an example. He’s given me explicit permission to quote him, so here goes:

    HOT POINTS for The Week of May 16, 2011

    PEOPLE FREQUENTLY LABOR UNDER THE MISCONCEPTION THAT A BRAND IS A LOGO

     

    Or a brand is a font.

     

    Or a brand is a color or a slogan.

    As you probably know, a brand is none of the above.

    A brand, ultimately, is how you want people to feel about your business.

    Recently, I had the opportunity to again witness the power of a potent brand in action–a brand that has neither a logo nor a font, nor a color nor a slogan.    

    The brand is a man.

     

    This man has built an iconic, world-class brand following of devotees who will go to great lengths to buy what he is selling.

    HAVING A PARTY ON ISLAND TIME 
    I recently spent four days at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

    If you’ve never heard of Jazz Fest (sponsored in part by the iconic petroleum brand, Shell), it’s often recognized as the finest music festival in the nation.

     

    Held at the New Orleans racetrack over two long weekends, the festival totals 7 days, 8 hours a day, of 10 stages going full bore with some of the finest music anywhere–jazz, rock, funk, hip-hop, folk, zydeco, gospel and blues, as well as derivatives thereof. (For example, one of the acts that’s been playing for 20 years is a band offering a wild fusion of jazz, rock and klezmer music.)

    The festival’s main stage (brought to you by the iconic luxury automobile brand, Acura) features the biggest artists, and always offers a major, headlining act at the end of the day.

    The second Saturday’s headliner was Jimmy Buffett–a man who is the living embodiment of persona-based brand.

    On most days, early in the day, it’s fairly easy to move around the crowd in front of the Acura stage.

     

    But when Jimmy plays, it’s a different story.

     

     

    THE PARROTHEADS BEGIN CROWDING THE STAGE EARLY IN THE DAY

     

    Even though Jimmy doesn’t go on until 5:25pm, his tribe is already gathering by noon.

     

    By 4:25 pm, when the famed New Orleans pianist, songwriter and music producer Allen Toussaint is performing his set, it’s difficult to move through the crowd that is jamming the acreage in front of the stage.

     

    The Parrotheads are out in full tribal force, carrying their battle flags from places like Key West, the Bahamas, and the Virgin Islands. Rainbow streamers, windsocks and beach balls abound.

     

    While the crowd is not there to see Allen Toussaint per se, they have no problem with him–especially when he plays his song, “I Wanna Hang With Jimmy Buffett.”

     

    By the time Jimmy takes the stage an hour later, this end of the racetrack is a veritable Caribbean sea of humanity. Easily, there must be 30,000 people jammed into this section of the infield.

     

    When Jimmy finally comes to the stage, the noise is joyfully deafening.

     

     

    THE MAN ARRIVES IN FULL BRAND DRESS…

     

    For Jimmy, that means cargo shorts and a T-shirt, bare feet, a Saints cap in obeisance to the local gods of the Superdome, and a pair of aviator shades. (Note the aviator shades, please. These will surface again.)

     

    Jimmy, of course, plays his hits. And it is clearly evident why he named an album of his greatest hits, Songs You Know By Heart. A huge portion of the crowd is singing along. (In a live album from years ago, Jimmy jokingly admonishes a crowd in Atlanta, saying, “It’s not nice when you beat Jimmy to the words of his own song.”)

     

    But when the anthem comes, it’s truly something to see. 30,000-plus people standing on their feet, joyfully singing along to “Margaritaville.”

     

    And when the chorus comes along, after Jimmy sings the line, “Looking for my lost shaker of salt,” it’s crazy.

     

    A sea of people, none of whom have been instructed in any way to do this, points 30,000 index fingers into the air and yells, “Salt! Salt! Salt!”

     

    That’s not in the song, friends. It’s something these crowds simply began doing on their own.

     

    From the pit in front of the enormous stage to the line of porta-potties a football-field away at the back of the fairgrounds, to see 30,000 people in joy and synchronicity just spontaneously erupt in fun is quite a sight.

     

     

    ALL BECAUSE OF A WELL-CRAFTED BRAND THAT HAPPENED ALMOST BY ACCIDENT

     

    Jimmy used to play country music. A native of Mobile, he began his career in Nashville. Then he made a trip to Key West in the early ’70s. That changed things. The blend of island and country music he plays is often called “gulf & western.”

     

    Once upon a time, a friend of mine was going on at an open mic night in the south. Jimmy was coming off the stage. My friend says he told Jimmy, “You really have to stop playing all this island stuff. That’s not what people want to hear. They want Donovan.”

     

    Good thing Jimmy had confidence in his brand direction.

     

    Because the Donovan-free Jimmy Buffett brand now earns him an estimated $100 million per year.

     

    And yet, when you think of Jimmy Buffet, you don’t think of a logo, a font, a color or a slogan.

     

    The Jimmy Buffett brand is a kicked back island lifestyle.

     

    It’s a place in the sun where most people never get to go.

     

    It’s a momentary escape, especially for people who work in high-pressure jobs. (There is a high incidence of ER doctors and nurses in Jimmy’s following.)

     

     

    GRANTED, THE BRAND HAS EXPANDED SOME

     

    There are now some more traditionally packaged aspects to the brand.

     

    The chain of Margaritaville restaurants and the Anheuser-Busch-brewed Land Shark Lager are examples of more traditionally branded efforts as brand is commonly understood.

     

    And recently, Jimmy launched a line of Margaritaville sunglasses. (Remember those aviator shades from earlier?)

     

    If you aspire to the Jimmy Buffett lifestyle, you may not be able to pilot your own Grumman Albatross from St. Bart’s to St. Kitts, but you can plunk down a 140 bucks for the same pilot’s sunglasses that Jimmy wears in his show.

     

    But long before the beer and the restaurants and the sunglasses, there was just Jimmy–a businessman who understood his brand, wasn’t afraid to commit, wasn’t afraid his brand wasn’t for everyone, wasn’t afraid he wouldn’t win the Donovan fans.

     

     

    KNOW THYSELF, KNOW THINE BRAND

     

    As a footnote to all this, consider my friend who told Jimmy to stop singing “all this island stuff.”

     

    He happened to be singing at the time himself. He did not continue his career as a singer. He is now a character actor in Hollywood.

     

    And he’s quite happy to be a Hollywood brand.

     

    He’s a big, dangerous looking guy who’s been shot, stabbed, killed, incarcerated, and performed all manner of evil deeds in front of the camera.

     

    He is a go-to guy when you need a villain.

     

    He will likely retire on his network TV residuals. He did a stint as a villain in one of the biggest hour-long drama sensations in recent history

     

    Yet he has neither a logo, a color, a font or a slogan.Nor is he afraid he won’t get the romantic lead.  

     

    He is just a man who enjoys his pigeon hole.

     

    Folks, don’t have a brand.

     

    BE your brand.

     

    And don’t worry about the Donovan fans.  
    As always,

    Blaine Parker
    Your Lean, Mean Creative Director in
    Park City

    www.slowburnmarketing.com
    www.spotsbeforeyoureyes.net
    Follow on Twitter @blaineparker

    Category: Career Advice, General, People | Comments (0)

  11. Spotlight on Donovan

    Posted May 16, 2011 by Bob

    My friend Donovan Corneetz voices this ad for Illinois.

    Mighty nice work, Donovan!

    Category: General | Comments (0)

  12. Spotlight on Pam

    Posted May 12, 2011 by Bob

    My friend Pam Tierney is the lady in this delightful spot:

    Wonderful work, Pam!

    Category: General, People | Comments (5)

  13. Voiceover is a wonderful way to make a living

    Posted May 11, 2011 by Bob

    It is a wonderful way to make a living. I deeply and profoundly love telling people’s stories for them, no matter how short or long the story is. And right now there are a lot of folks who are interested in “breaking into” voiceover work. More than ever, it would seem. But here’s something most people won’t tell you. While it’s a great way to make a living, it’s a terrible way to make a living quickly.

    If you’re recently unemployed, no matter how much you want to start doing voiceovers full-time, unless you’ve all ready been making decent money doing voiceovers for a while, this is not the time to make that move. It took me 26 years of steady voiceover work to finally move into doing only voiceover work. No, I’m not kidding. 26 years. From 1983 to 2009. Now, it doesn’t have to take everyone that long. I had a family to support and I was very cautious, maybe too cautious; but I’m not looking back on the decisions I made along the way with regret. I’m just saying, it’s not going to happen overnight.

    Are you serious about doing voiceover work full-time? Then stick with it. Get the training you need. Practice. Keep pushing yourself to make at least a little progress every day. You’ll get there. But in the meantime, make sure you have shelter, food, clothing and the other essentials of life. Don’t rush. When you get there, it will be all the sweeter.

    Category: General, Getting started in Voiceover | Comments (10)

  14. Popularity isn’t the only thing

    Posted May 5, 2011 by Bob

    Back in high school, which for some of us was longer ago than for others, I remember wishing that I was more popular. You might have had the same experience. In that case, you’ll want to read Seth Godin’s blog post from yesterday, What’s the point of popular?. Turns out, maybe being popular isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. (My thanks to my friend and manager, Stacey Stahl, for pointing Seth’s post out to me.)

    Category: Career Advice, General | Comments (1)

  15. Spotlight on Allen

    Posted May 2, 2011 by Bob

    Allen Farmer does a superb job narrating The Real King’s Speech, a documentary on Discovery.

    My thanks to Nancy Wolfson for posting the link to this video on Facebook.

    Category: General, People | Comments (0)

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