Your Voice is worth a Thousand pictures

Posted in Acting, Advertising, Author, Broadcasting, Business, Entertainment, Film, Fox, Humor, Internet, Mac, Marketing, Media, Movies, Music, Radio, TV, Television, Voice Acting, Voice Over, iPod with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 2, 2009 by bigbry

My Next Demo Logo

I have to say a friend of mine has come up with a very cool idea. My Next Demo is a down to business idea that’s time has come. This is the next logical step for Voice Actors, Website Owners, Authors, and the list could go on, to promote their wares. I’ve even got my “Character Voice Demo up there. They did a splendid job of presenting my voice in a new and exciting way. If you’re looking for something that you can promote your self on YouTube or what ever, you have to drop by MY NEXT DEMO and email Jason LeBlanc (very nice guy by the way)
Why send out a boring MP3 when you can send out a video?

Bryan Cox

Cox Marketing

Put “Personality” Back in Radio

Posted in Advertising, Broadcasting, Business, CBC, Entertainment, Fox, Fox News, Marketing, Media, Music, Radio, TV, Television, Voice Acting, Voice Over with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 16, 2009 by bigbry

Loved the days in radio…worked in the radio biz from 1971 till 1986. Rock formats Country formats what ever, those were fun days. Every time the mic went live you’re personality had to shine through in what you said. As an announcer you were more or less a local celebrity, which had it’s perks for sure. Women used to call you up while you were on the air and say the most incredible things. I’ll let you’re imagination take over here. Anything you can think of …you won’t be far off let me tell you. You met REAL celebs everytime they came to you city. Here’s a pic I dusted off. I’m proud that I met her, but look at that shirt…looks like I raped a couch, not to proud of that for sure. Those glasses are so big they doubled as serving dishes.
Dolly and Bryan 1978
Wolfman 1980
Ya it’s Bry and the Wolfman…let me tell you this was a THRILL
These were also the days of talking up to the vocal…we used to call it “Hitting the Fade”, in other markets they called it other things. The more creative you were, the cooler you were. Talking to the vocal was an art form, just between announcers though. The whole idea was Personality radio. Then in about 1980 things changed in radio. Automation came in, then computers and announcers were told to shut up and give the time, Temp and what was coming up. How many times have you heard…”Here’s 10 in a row ?” The writing was on the wall…Personality radio was DEAD.
Now we have announcers and stations that have no “personal” sound. They’re doing what the computer tells them to do. Ratings are slipping so far down, the curb looks like up. They say that in 2009 if you put 100 monkeys in front of a computer…one of them will become a radio announcer.
The only shows that seem to be doing ok are the morning shows…oh yes the only time slot where you’re allowed to show “Personality”. DUH!! All I’m saying is that for radio to be successful today they have to connect with the listener. Show that the person behind the mic is one of them and has all the same joys and worries. You don’t have to bring back “Personality Radio” but make it into “Person Radio.”

Just for fun have a listen to an announcer from back in the good old days ( 1970’s) and the way he “Hit the Fade” on a song. His name is Coyote McCloud for WQXI in Atlanta GA. This is nothing but FUN and TALENT.

Coyote McCloud WQXI

Bryan Cox
Have a listen to a few of my VOICE DEMOS at COX MARKETING

NBC’s O’Brien WRONG Choice

Posted in Acting, Advertising, Broadcasting, CBC, CNN, Comedy, Entertainment, Film, Fox, Fox News, Humor, Life, Marketing, Media, Movies, NBC, Radio, TV, Television, Voice Acting, Voice Over, World with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 11, 2009 by bigbry

Comedy Guy Bry
Conan O’Brien’s ratings are dropping faster than car sales. The premiere of the Tonight show with Conan scored a 7.1/17 share. The “Tonight’s” numbers since late last week, have been well below Leno’s overnight average during the first three months of this year (4.1 rating/10 share). Letterman’s numbers have even beat Conans on occasion.

OK was it a good idea for NBC to replace Jay with Conan? When you start up a new radio station or TV show you will have good ratings. People want to try you out. Then they decide, very quickly, if you’re worth it and either stay with you or go back to what they had before. Jay was like a pair of comfy slippers. Letterman is like a new pair of comfy slippers, you know they’ll feel great after awhile. Now, NO Jay, so you can bet that David will start the uphill climb in the ratings. Conan on the other hand, seems like a Cartoon Character. That old saying keeps popping to mind whenever I see him on the Tonight Show…”Never hire a boy to do a mans job.”

NBC said that they look forward to Conan grabbing a younger audience. This may be true. But how young? I can see 12 – 20 year olds liking Conan but how many of them really watch TV at that time of night or watch TV for that matter? Given the fact that young people today are forced to “grow up” at lighting speed, was it a good choice to put Conan in that slot…NO.
Relating this to the big screen, NBC you’ve hired a Cartoon Character to try to fill an Academy Award role. NBC…”Hey, Get Off My Lawn”
Bryan Cox

Check out the NEW Voice Demos at Cox Marketing

Voice Actors get a BOOST !

Posted in Acting, Advertising, Broadcasting, Business, Entertainment, Marketing, Media, Radio, TV, Television, Voice Acting, Voice Over with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 10, 2009 by bigbry

Big Bry the Voice Guy It’s getting more and more crowded in the voice over industry. Yes, the competition is getting fierce. You can always tell if an industry is rocking by how many folks offer courses on how to be successful in that industry. In Voice Overs every time you turn around someone is shoving a course, a book a video your way to buy. I’m even included in that group…offering my “White Paper” for free or if you want to pay 10 bucks that’s cool too. I think that there’s almost the same amount of so called “teachers” as actual folks making money doing Voice Overs.

When someone pops up and is setting up a web site that’s going to help Voice Actors make money, I’m all over it. Keith Farrell from the Emerald Isle has set up Radio Voices 123. This is a huge idea and alot of work to put together but right now it’s ground floor stuff. Talents can sign up, but have to go through an audition process to get the green light to join. This will ensure that pure professional voices are on the roster. From what I understand, there will be a limited amount of voices. Clients looking for their next new voice for Commercials, Narration’s, Animations or what ever can search the exclusive database of Professional Voice Actors and hire right on the spot. When it comes to helping the Voice Over Artist and clients alike, Radio Voices 123 gets full marks. Here’s the clincher…right now on the ground floor…..IT’S FREE. Pop by and have a peek Radio Voices 123

Thanks for the Read
Bryan Cox
Hey Check out my New Web Site Cox Marketing got some cool Voice Demos up and running.

Vince (ShamWow Guy) Parody (Adult)

Posted in Acting, Advertising, Broadcasting, Business, CBC, CNN, Comedy, Crime, Entertainment, Film, Humor, Law, Lawyers, Life, Marketing, Media, News, Radio, TV, Television, Voice Acting, Voice Over with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 3, 2009 by bigbry

Comedy Guy Bry
As you might have heard back in march of this year Vince of Sham Wow fame, ended up getting arrested. He beat the crap out of a hooker for biting his tongue. I ran across this funny parody of what it might be like to see Vince in jail. I think these guys did a pretty darn good job. CAUTION FUNNY ADULT MATERIAL.

 

Comments always welcome

Bryan Cox

Cox Marketing have a visit

Have Faith Friday..you are GREAT

Posted in Acting, Advertising, Broadcasting, CBC, CNN, Comedy, Entertainment, Film, Fox, Fox News, Humor, Internet, Life, Marketing, Media, Movies, NBC, Radio, TV, Television, Voice Acting, Voice Over, World with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 29, 2009 by bigbry

Big Bry the Voice Guy
One of my favourite sayings is “People laugh at me cause I’m different, I laugh at them cause they are all the same”. I don’t know who said it but that saying rings true with advertising. Save much more, the lowest prices, massive discounts is what everyone is saying in their ads today and those words go in one ear and out the other of the consumer. The shopper today is much more savvy when it comes to empty promises in a commercial. You have to be abel to stretch your boundaries of advertising today and yes you might be labelled as weird. Breaking away from what everyone else is doing could lead to not just failure but Spectacular failure, but on the other hand it could lead to amazing riches. I thank Roy Williams for this, just to show what going out on a limb can bring.

The New York Times tells us, “She embarked on a show-business career at 15 by going to Manhattan and enrolling in John Murray Anderson’s dramatic school. From the first, she was repeatedly told she had no talent and should return home. She tried and failed to get into four Broadway chorus lines, so she became a model for commercial photographers. She won national attention as the Chesterfield Cigarette Girl in 1933. This got her to Hollywood as a Goldwyn chorus girl. For the next two years she played unbilled, bit roles in two dozen movies. She then spent seven years at RKO, where she got leading roles in low-budget movies. But she was wrongly cast and mostly wasted in films.”

In all, Lucille Ball appeared in 72 B-movies before she became too old to be credible as a female love-interest. Her lackluster career on the silver screen ended without fanfare in 1948. So at the age of 37, Lucy left the movies, swallowed her pride and became Liz Cooper on the live radio show, My Favorite Husband.

Jess Oppenheimer, her director, tells the story. “I remember telling Lucy, ‘Let go. Act it out. Take your time.’ But she was simply afraid to try. So one day, at rehearsal, I handed Lucy a couple of Jack Benny tickets. She looked at me blankly. ‘What are these for?’

‘I want you to go to school,’ I told her.

It did the trick. When Lucy came into the studio for the next rehearsal, I could see she was excited. ‘Oh my God, Jess,’ she gushed, ‘I didn’t realize!’

She just couldn’t wait to get started trying out the new, emancipated attitude she had discovered. On that week’s show Lucy really hammed it up, playing it much broader than she ever had before. She coupled this with her newfound freedom of movement, and there were times I thought we’d have to catch her with a butterfly net to get her back to the microphone. The audience roared their approval, and Lucy loved it. So did I.”

Released from her fear, Lucy Ricardo had been born.

You see, you can be creative it’s all waiting for you just outside the box.

Thanks for the read and comments are welcome
Bryan Cox
You can visit my new web presence at Cox Marketing

New Website for Cox Marketing

Posted in Advertising, Broadcasting, Business, Comedy, Film, Life, Mac, Marketing, Media, Radio, TV, Television, Voice Acting, Voice Over, World with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 26, 2009 by bigbry

photofunia-bc0b6The VO White Paper was a huge success. I sent out over 300 to folks all over the World. Thank you all so much for your interest and I hope it helps you out with your career.
In other news, I finally got a web site up an running. Please drop by Cox Marketing. You’ll find an audio snippet and information on the Audio Book which I wrote, voiced and produced. Some of my voice demos are up, along with a new and exciting way to present voice demos. There’s a lot more to peek at too, Cox Marketing, so drop by and have a look see. That’s it for shameless self promotion. Thanks for your time and the read.
Bryan Cox
Cox Marketing

To the ATTENTION Getters

Posted in Acting, Advertising, Broadcasting, Business, Comedy, Entertainment, Film, Humor, Internet, Life, Marketing, Media, Radio, TV, Television, Voice Acting, Voice Over, World with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 15, 2009 by bigbry

Big Bry the Voice GuyI,m in awe of the creativity that there is out there. You can see and hear it everyday on your TV and Radio. What I’m talking about, are the mini blasts of creative thinking that we skip through on TV and turn down on the Radio. Advertising. In my job, voicing it is one thing, but the agencies that come up with this stuff are truly amazing. Given the task to grab peoples attention, keep it and tell the story in 15, 30 or 60 sec.
Out to Launch is a great site that pays homage to the newest in advertising and more. Here are few examples of new ad’s that grab your imagination, from folks that have a great imagination.
Magners is from Euro RSCG
Intel is from Venables Bell and Partners San Francisco
Salvation Army is from Via Group (pro bono by the way)

Thanks to Amy Corr and thanks for the read…you comments are very welcome.

Voice Actors make 1000+

Posted in Acting, Advertising, Broadcasting, Business, Marketing, Media, News, Radio, TV, Television, Voice Acting, Voice Over with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 12, 2009 by bigbry

Big Bry the Voice Guy

 

 

 

 

 

There are literally thousands of people out there that’ll sell the VO person a book, a course and training of some kind. Those are great tools for you. What happens after all those courses…what do you do to build up a client list and get money flowing in?  Now available through my website www.coxmarketing.ca. I’ll email you my “white paper” on how you can make 1000+ per month, year in and year out. All in your local market. This is 7 page report, that’s a fact based no bull approach to making local money in VO. If you’ve been in VO for a while and those auditions aren’t coming in quite as fast as they used to or maybe you’ve been laid off for you’re Radio job, you’ve got to read this. You’ll learn…

  • –Why people tune out commercials, but WILL hear yours.
  • –Who will buy your commercial
  • –What you have to have to make a radio commercial
  • –What Radio stations won’t tell you, or the client for that matter
  • –How you can land a client.
  • –What will sell your commercial and keep the client happy.
  • –How to sell and how much to sell you’re work for.

What some have said about the “Voice Over White Paper”

“It all makes sense. As a matter of fact, it gave me some more inspiration to get going.”- Rick Arseneault, Voice Actor/Radio Host

“Bry, I wish I had a booklet like yours in my back pocket back in 1997 when I first started making money with my voice.  It would have helped me out tremendously in the very beginnings of my career”~ Roy Bunales Voice Actor/Radio Talent

Here’s a couple of snippets from “The Voice Over White Paper”….

“You are a professional at what you do. You Voice those big National ads for Restaurant Chains, Car Companies, Movie Trailers and of course have an agent that gets you that work. If that’s the case, you don’t need this, and you’ve just wasted your time…………..”

“Here’s what happens at a radio station. The radio sales guy goes out to Bob’s Burger and sells him a package that consists of, let’s say, 40 commercials. Now Bob, wonders what time of day those commercials will be played. The radio guy tells him 10 spots during the morning show (most listeners) 10 spots in the drive home slot (second most listeners) and 20 in the overnight slot (almost no listeners). Bob gets the commercials play spread out over 7 days. So his commercials are played on a very sparse rotation, thus missing alot of listeners. If Bob only has one spot produced. People are hearing his spot, but after the first to third time they hear it…they don’t really *hear* his message. This is called “Listener Fatigue”. Commercials are not like songs…the more people hear a commercial…the more it goes in one ear and out the other…unless you’re Van Gogh. Plus every commercial sounds just like the next.

Voice Actors have to be creative these days with their marketing. No longer can you sit on your butt and wait for the phone to ring. You have to put the word “Pro” into “Pro-Active”. If you think it’s hard on you to find work, you’re agent (if you have one) is also having a very hard time too. So it’s time to strike out.”

I’ll send you The VO White Paper (pdf) today through my website www.coxmarketing.ca
bigbry@sasktel.net
Thanks for the read
Bryan Cox

FEEL GOOD FRIDAY !!

Posted in Acting, Advertising, Broadcasting, Business, CBC, CNN, Canada, Comedy, Entertainment, Fashion, Film, Fox, Fox News, Government, Health, Humor, Internet, Law, Lawyers, Life, Marketing, Media, Movies, Music, NBC, News, Politician, Politics, Radio, TV, Television, Voice Acting, Voice Over, World with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 8, 2009 by bigbry

You might have been laid off, fired or quite you’re job. You’re wondering what path to take next. Striking out on your own can be scary. Here’s a little video, and thanks to Peter Shankman for pointing me the direction to this, that will make anyone feel better about themselves. CHEERS and Have a Great Weekend. PLEASE …Comments always welcome.
Bryan Cox
Hey Here are my Voice Demos.. Coxy’s Soundboard