How to choose voice talent for drawing videos

Have you ever noticed two companies with essentially the same videos? Same visual style, maybe even same characters and using the same voice talent? I've noticed it quite a bit, and it took the wow out of their video, it felt like a clone. Many video production companies streamline their process by using the same visual style and voice for all their videos. We feel that every message has different needs so we strive to offer original visual styles and the right voice for every project. Of course that makes the process a bit more work, but we have a system and criteria that makes the process quick and easy.

1 Whiteboard animation has a personal feel to it like someone is drawing it out specifically for you. To keep with this feeling we tend to avoid impersonal voices, and connect with the viewer through our choice of voice. This can be hard because most voice actors are trained to deliver in a somewhat impersonal “professional manner”. I find this very important though, because it plays to the strength of the medium.

2 Next I look at the brand, if the brand were a person what would they sound like? Is this the voice we want? If not then we balance brand personality with the needs of the specific message we are delivering.

3 We then ensure it works with the illustration style. When the visuals are fun and a little quirky, I wouldn't choose anyone overly serious for example. When the visuals are very clean and serious we may want to find professional and confident.

There are more criteria but I feel like they would be the same across the industry. The goal is to be true to the message and speak to the audience the way they would like to be spoken to.