Our national experiment of over 15,000 respondents proved that in advertising, how you sound matters. The use of regional accents has a positive impact on radio campaigns and is very well received with the target audience, because as it turns out, we all like the sound of our own voice! And with marketing budgets tightening around the country, choosing to translate national campaigns into ones that work locally, can help you create a standout campaign that will leave you wondering why you haven’t done this before (especially since recording the ads is so cost-effective!).
But let’s start from the beginning. You might be wondering how our analysts found out that geographically targeted copy with a local accent voiceover outperforms the national accent.
The test research was conducted by FOE via YouTube using its “True View” format (ads you can skip), in a controlled study that took Nissan’s current Qashqai TV commercial featuring a neutral “national” voiceover and pitted it against the same ad but this time featuring a local accent recorded by IRS+ from its approved voice library.
These ran side by side for 2 weeks in four high population regions, featuring the national voice in four specific local accents (representing high population areas). These were: Kerry, Midlands (Laois, Offaly, Westmeath), Southeast (Wexford, Waterford, Carlow, Kilkenny) and Donegal. You can learn about this study here.
The results?
Local accent matters. This was especially the case in Donegal and Kerry in particular, where respective differences of 5.13% and 3.91% were reported. In the Midlands, local outstripped national by 2.26% and by a factor of .76% for the SouthEast. Critically, in terms of consumer engagement, 22 out of 24 age groups from 18-65+ also engaged more with the local accent version. Learn about the results here.
Our CEO, Peter Smyth, explained what the study, and its results, mean as follows: “This research proved the science of Local Accent Bias where we “Lean In” and become more engaged when we hear others speaking in the same way as ourselves. We have shown conclusively that there is a commercial advantage to running national and locally targeted executions – allowing brands to extract maximum value from each campaign and extend the length of activity by generating increased local engagement.”
This knowledge is particularly beneficial to brands selling products and services in hyper-competitive markets, as using local accent helps cut through and offers huge commercial gains. This cost-effective method will ensure you always catch the attention of your audience.
Interested? You’re in luck. It’s the business that IRS+ specialises in and our specialty is connecting national brands with local communities. And at IRS+, we not only respond to what’s on the page. Together with our strategic partners at FOE, we also like to think outside the box and respond to briefs with alternative perspectives that might take the conversations in a different direction. Our creativity, paired with the use of regional accents, will take your campaign to the next level.
Our “Spotlight” product is a ready to go radio package that offers local content production. Using its extensive local accent voicebank, national radio campaigns are simply and quickly re-recorded with a new local accent voiceover. On-air within days of a brief being received, commercials are broadcast on-air and digitally to its network of up to 15 independent local stations throughout Ireland.
Contact us today and together we can explore what creative local opportunities we can bring to your brand or your clients.
Contact us
086 084 1756 or 087 766 4918 | hello@irsplus.ie
