Elements for the construction of a personal sound brand on the radio

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to detail the oral and content factors in a radio program that create greater engagement between the presenter and the listener. Why does the same information or commentary on current events, told one way or another, seduce more? Is storytelling a strategy for building audience loyalty? To answer these questions, a qualitative methodological tool has been developed based on a focus group and six semi-structured interviews with voice professionals. The group identifies the objective elements that can determine audience loyalty to one radio program or another. The interviews determine the keys to building a personal sound brand that guarantees this engagement with the audience. The results and conclusions show that the sound brand is based more on how it is said than on what is said. Listeners with a high degree of loyalty can anticipate and decode what their favourite presenter is going to say before he or she says it because they recognize that personal way of speaking. The originality of the article lies in the identification of subjective elements that, for listeners, are the attributes of the personal sound brand of their favourite radio presenters: Voiceovers that sound true, have rhythm, tell stories in a linear way, and convey credibility. According to voiceover professionals, the most appealing voices are clean, deep, and slow.