What is Corporate Narration?

“Corporate” aka “Corporate Narration” encompasses just about any non-broadcast, for-profit businesses including: website videos, B2B sales tools, explainers, how-tos, eLearning, employee communications, consumer-facing videos, event videos, and a lot more.

Direction and Tone in Corporate Narration

The directions given for the tone of these types of projects vary from real-person to authoritative but approachable, all depending upon the business’ brand personality and the message. Most recently, the tone for most of my corporate work has been anthemic, reassuring, friendly and authoritative.

Audience Definition Important for Corporate VO

The sound required for corporate narration VO work depends mainly on the project’s audience, where they will be consuming it, and the personality and culture of the brand or corporation.

For an insurance company, I once voiced a series of videos being used to explain benefits to corporate employees, human resources departments and small business owners. Each video, while imparting similar information, did so in a way appropriate to the audience of each, and all on-brand with the insurance company’s ethos.

For B2B projects, there’s almost a “we’ve all been there,” or “we all know” feel to the introductory segments to instill trust, authenticity and camaraderie with buyers.

Website videos are usually put out there for the company’s clients or brand’s consumers. The voice used is quite literally representing the company or brand itself. Just as how within a logo, corporate colors and certain fonts are used to represent a brand or corporation, a voice can also be an immediate trigger of recognition and consistency that leads to consumer trust.

Male vs. Female VO

Speaking of trust, numerous studies by Nielsen, Veritonic and others have found that a woman’s voice sounds more “trustworthy” and “authentic” than a man’s…I’m just sayin’.

eLearning

eLearning is really its own animal but needs mentioning when considering the broad scope of corporate narration. In general, eLearning is directed toward employees and saves the company time and money spent on in-person training. The tricky part is to sound engaging (no sleeping on the job), authoritative, yet also like one of their own without being condescending.

Speaking of employees, I’ve noticed an uptick in employee-recruitment corporate voice over. I’ve done videos for existing employees outlining the rewards for referring a new hire, presentations being made to university seniors, and projects living on human resources website pages for large corporations.

Other Corporate Voice Over Projects

Some videos are serious in tone like those that deal with ethics, legalities, bias, harassment, mental health, and discrimination. Others are celebratory like brand anthems, annual reports and incentive announcements for sales teams. As I said earlier, eLearning aims to keep employees attentive and engaged. Website videos usually seek to share a brand or company story.

For social media and YouTube projects, it’s like the Wild West. Corporate videos can provide a free sample of a company’s offering, a how-to-use explainer, testimonials, new offer or contest announcements, a public stand on a controversial issue, an anthem of beliefs, a look back to a business’ origins, and so much more.

DIY and How To Corporate Narrations

For years, I voiced how-to project videos for Stanley Black & Decker DIY series. Their in-house production team was a blast to work with, and I learned so many great home repair hacks from my work with them. Each video not only walked viewers through a wide range of repair, creative and home improvement projects, but they also included supply and tool lists. Those are not easy to read in a conversational, real-person style, but I made sure to sound like Tim the Tool-Man Taylor or Bob Villa, if Tim and Bob were female.

Unique Corporate Narration Projects

One of my favorite corporate projects was a video encouraging architects to use Sage Glass cutting edge windows in their high-rises. Yes, seriously, it was one of my favorites! Why? It’s one of only a handful of voice over projects I’ve done over all my years in business where I got to break the fourth wall. It’s included in the work samples below.

It’s always fun when my voice haunts me at stores highlighting a new product or an offer from the endcaps. Even better is when it haunts my friends and family who are going through an eLearning onboarding at a new job, or have to hear me tell them all about their new HSA plans for the enrollment period. Getting a text from a friend with the words, “Did you voice…” always makes my day.

For me, the best corporate narrations are those for brands and companies whose services or products I actually use. Then, it’s no longer a job, but an authentic testimonial highlighting the key selling points I personally enjoy.

Samples of Corporate VO:

When they told me the story behind this pitch video, I was all-in. The creative agency team were long-time clients, so it meant the world to me that they were trusting my voice for their pitch. They won the account.

For years, I’ve voiced for Franklin Templeton’s creative teams, and it’s always a blast. Financial topics a blast? Yes! With that crew, talking shop is always a fun time.