Almost 75% of the time an audio ad on the radio or digital audio platform has a male voiceover. Some speculate the empirical reason why is because ‘that’s how it’s always been done’ or ‘men’s voices are more credible.’ There is no data as to why male voiceovers dominate the airwaves, but there is evidence that people prefer female voiceovers.

I recently joined The Sonic Truth Podcast with Veritonic CEO Scott Simonelli, to share groundbreaking new data that proves if you’re not using female voices in your ad creative, then you’re leaving money on the table. Hear the episode HERE.

Consider this data:

• According to Nielsen, creative is the strongest driver of sales; it’s responsible for about 50% of sales lift.
• A recent IPG study found women impact 90% of purchases, for vacations, homes, food and grocery, and medication.
• Four separate studies found female voiced ads rated higher for favorability, brand recall, relevance, memorability, and engagement, more than the male-voiced creative.
• These studies also found that female voiced audio creative boosted unaided awareness and brand images.

The data is clear. Not using a female-voiced ad, especially for a product targeted to women, is just bad business. These studies offer evidence-based data on radio advertising gender-impact, and it’s even more proof of the importance of women’s voices in our world.

Female voices are powerful and we’re ready to be heard.

Westwood One Podcast Network launched The Empow(h)er Network this year to inspire the fast-growing female podcast audience. The network features original podcasts such as Suze Orman’s Women & Money, Straight Talk with Ross Mathews, Run Like a Girl, Women Want to Hear Women with Elaina Smith, Bad Mommas with Jayde, and more. Find out more about The Empow(h)er Network here.

Suzy Schultz is SVP of Corporate Marketing at CUMULUS MEDIA | Westwood One.

Contact the Insights team at CorpMarketing@westwoodone.com.