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Celia Siegel

Brand Brilliance

August 26, 2022 by Celia Siegel

Celia Siegel is the author of the popular book VoiceOverAchiever, and founder of Celia Siegel Management, widely recognized for developing strong personal brands for voice talent. As an experienced brand building pioneer, certified life and business coach, success strategist and former talent agent turned manager, Celia has advanced the careers of top VO talent for more than two decades. Celia’s multi-leveled expertise and extensive knowledge of the ever-changing voiceover industry has helped voice actors, across the globe, successfully brand and grow their VO businesses.

We caught up with her to ask her a few of our most pressing questions.

What motivated you to write VoiceOverAchiever?

I have always known I was going to write a book. From a pretty young age, I have been interested in success factors, positive psychology, and the concept of branding. So this book has been wanting to be written for a long time. Because I love connecting with people and building and branding their careers as artists and business people, I decided it was time. I made a commitment to doing it and set aside a bit of time each day. Et Voila, VoiceOverAchiever was born! It felt like the right thing to do — the best way to share my expertise with the whole VO community. What is a common question that people ask you about voiceover branding? A few questions come up again and again. Number one: I don’t think I have a brand — how do I figure out what my brand is? 

When I look at people I can see their brand immediately. It’s so obvious to me — like they are wearing a sticker on their forehead. But of course, it’s harder to see your own brand when you look in the mirror. Yes, you have a brand. It’s not something you create out of thin air. It’s about owning who you already are and what people already say about you. But oftentimes, people spend so much time trying to be what they think they should be, they lose sight of this. It takes some exploring to rediscover the essence of your brand.

 

Another one: What if my brand turns somebody away from me or makes them not use my voice? 

This is the most powerful of all the questions. Going through the branding process, you learn exactly who you are trying to attract and how to connect with the right people. When you find those automatic yeses, you will also find some automatics no’s. Great brands repel as many as they attract. To flip that idea: If your brand is so safe that everybody sort of likes it, nobody will really like it and actually choose you. I call that being a beige wall.

Branding is not bragging — it is simply explaining who you are to your clients. You are the product and it’s important that you can tell them what they are getting.

Another concern people have is that branding is bragging.  

Branding is not bragging — it is simply explaining who you are to your clients. You are the product and it’s important that you can tell them what they are getting. Sometimes I do grounded humble brands and sometimes I do really big bold show-offy brands. Muhammed Ali’s brand fit him like, well, a boxing glove. But that’s because he was being true to himself. When you go through my methodology, the brand you come up with will feel like your favorite pair of slippers and fit like a bespoke suit. It will be uniquely yours.

Filed Under: Blog, Blog Tagged With: Celia Siegel

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    Laura

    With a strong background in marketing in the membership sector as well as broadcast and media, Laura heads up our Marketing Team here at VON. Her hands have appeared in Hinterland, a Welsh Noir TV series, uncovering bones as an SA and she’s raved for several hours straight in a feature film also shot in Wales. Laura has a deep appreciation for the talent and creativity of voice acting so working at VON is the perfect place to be.

    Emma

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    Alan Shires

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    Having started in TV and theatre, Alan discovered voiceover in 2016 and quickly fell in love with the industry. Now he is an award-winning voiceover artist as well as a successful performance capture actor and entrepreneur.

    Alan is a British voiceover based in Leeds, UK, with a friendly, story-telling voice that is complemented with a hint of a northern English accent. Having delivered motivational talks and having established clients from all around the world, Alan is a big advocate for seeing everyone succeed and unlocking their potential.

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    Sara Cristy

    Technical Support / Web Development. Actress and Software Engineer

    Sara is an Actress for Film, TV, Voiceover and Mocap, and also a Software Engineer with years of experience in both backend and frontend development.

    With a background in Software Engineering, at the age of 24, she fully decided to fight her way through the arts as it has been her greatest passion ever since she was a teenager. She moved to London soon after her graduation, studied Strasberg’s Method and began her professional Acting career at the end of 2016, whilst keeping her Software Engineering career too.

    Rachael Naylor

    Founder and Owner

    As well as running The VoiceOver Network, Rachael is a busy voiceover artist, actress, writer, award-winning entrepreneur and a mother of two girls.

    Rachael’s love for acting started at a young age when she was inspired by her actor Grandfather and loved seeing him perform in the West End. She trained as an actress at Richmond Drama School and soon after graduating, discovered voiceovers and absolutely loved working in this area of the industry. Rachael has been a voiceover artist for over 20 years and during that time has worked with a huge range of top brands including Virgin Media (yes, she’s their telephone voice), CNN, Nestlé, Olay, Sure, Channel 5, The Travel Channel and many more. In addition, Rachael has worked with Derek Jacobi and Hayley Atwell in The Martian Chronicles radio drama and voiced three One Direction films.

    Her voiceover agent is Excellent Talent. As an actress, Rachael has worked in TV, film and theatre as well as on commercials for brands such as Persil. Her acting agent is Comedy Actors, London. Rachael is co-author of the Amazon best-selling book, ‘Shine: …it’s like glitter for your soul! ’, and contributing author of a second Amazon best-selling book, ‘Believe: … it’s like glitter for your soul! ’.

    Rachael is passionate about sharing her knowledge and experience with others in the industry and in 2014, officially established The VoiceOver Network, which aims to bring the industry together. She won the Entrepreneurs Circle’s, ‘Entrepreneur of the Year for London and the South 2014’ award, not only for her work on her voiceover business, but also with The VoiceOver Network. Rachael was also a finalist at the 2014 National Entrepreneur Awards for ‘Best Business Enabler’ for her work with The VoiceOver Network. She finds business and marketing fascinating and enjoys the challenges of running her businesses.

    In her spare time, Rachael loves sport, is a keen snowboarder and scuba diver and likes to run to keep fit.

    Leisa Reid Fisicaro

    Business Operations Manager, Voiceover Artist

    A seasoned broadcast writer, producer and director, Leisa has spent more than seventeen years involved in creating and producing high quality Television and Media programmes for top American broadcasters; PBS, NBC and Discovery Channel. Award-Winning Producer with a FREDDIE, an International Health and Medical Media Award plus several nominations throughout her career.

    As a writer / producer she quickly learned the power of ‘voicing’ and in a twist of fate, she was asked to voice a scratch-track and that’s all it took for her to be enchanted by the magical world of voiceover. Leisa has trained with professional voice artists in voicing medical, children’s and lifestyle documentary narration.

    As a stage performer, Leisa studied Dance for over twenty years and has travelled throughout America competing and performing professionally.

    Lorraine Hodgson

    Social Media Manager, Voiceover Artist

    Lorraine is a UK based Actor and Voiceover Artist. Her passion for Acting started at an early age when she loved to watch classic black and white movies. She studied at Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London.

    After graduating Lorraine worked on the London Fringe, noted for her powerful performance in ‘Glass Hearts’ by the award-winning David Spencer. Television includes the role of Ann McIntyre in Coronation Street, and other wonderful roles in Eastenders, Holby City, Merseybeats, and The Bill. Lorraine is a versatile Actress with the qualities required to play hard-edged raw characters. She has the ability to bring a sense of vulnerability to her roles and a sense of realism to her performances. Many Directors have commented on her naturalistic style and her commitment to her work.

    Bernard John Dollison

    Graphics and Layout Designer

    Bernard is a creative designer who is self-motivated with a strong background in both print to digital media and with over 10 years of experience in the graphic design industry.

    Bernard has worked extensively in design agency, print and graphics producing high end business to business and consumer facing designs. Detail oriented and has a comprehensive understanding of Photoshop, Indesign, Illustrator, Adobe Muse, Sketchup and Cinema4d.

    Rubie Grace Malata

    Virtual Admin Assistant

    Rubie has a background in store management with over 5 years managing multiple teams. She is proficient in office administrator duties and provides key support to the team.

    Natalie Beran

    Assistant Editor, The Buzz Magazine, Accounts Coordinator, Voiceover Artist

    Natalie is a voiceover artist, actor, assistant director (TV/Film), theatre producer and radio announcer/producer. She works in commercials, animation, gaming, narration (corporate / audiobooks) and radio drama. Her clients include iHeart Radio, New Zealand Lotto, Blind Foundation, Les Mills, Vista/Veezi, McDonalds and Southern Comfort. Natalie works in a range of accents including New Zealand / Australian, various UK & US and Eastern European and has a great range of animation, character and gaming voices.

    Natalie has a radio career spanning over 15 years and has worked as a radio announcer/producer in New Zealand, Sweden, Canada and the USA. She holds a Bachelor of Communication Studies (Radio) from AUT and is a graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA New York). She was a finalist in the inaugural SOVAS – Voice Arts Awards for animation and was a recipient of the Shakespeare’s Globe International Actors’ Fellowship.

    She has worked in TV and theatre production including producer of the Auckland Outdoor Summer Shakespeare, 2nd Assistant Director for South Pacific Pictures (Shortland Street, The Bad Seed), as well as program manager for The Actors Program. She is a founding member of the International Actors Ensemble, performing as Antipholus of Syracuse in their Mexican tour of Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors and festival appearances in Auckland, Melbourne and the UK.

    Gabriel Porras

    Spanish Translator and Proof-Reader for The Buzz Magazine, Voiceover Artist

    Gabriel Porras is a world-record-holding presenter and voiceover professional with 25+ years of experience in advertising, news, live broadcasting, corporate, eLearning, gaming and animation roles (BBC, Microsoft, Netflix, Saatchi, Apple, BBM, Sauza, FedEx, McDonald’s, Sunset&Vine among others).

    International records for continuous daily radio presence (12+ years, BBC World Service) and weekly TV presence (24+ years, Gillette World Sport; 11+ years, Mobil 1 The Grid) as the main presenter of a series. Main IOC Presenter for the London 2012 Olympics. OVA international award nominations for Animation and Audiobook performances. Advanced studies in Art, Philosophy, Music, Classics, Theology, Islam and Atheism. Loves to cook (Mexican, Mediterranean, Asian Fusion) and travel (40 countries to date).

    Rich O’Donogue

    Resident Sound Engineer for The VoiceOver Network, producer, voiceover artist and DJ

    Rich’s knowledge of sound stems from a 20 year career as a DJ/Sound Engineer for clubs and bars around the UK and abroad as well as a 1st class honors degree in music production.

    From university Rich entered the world of radio production and secured a position as a commercial producer at UTV (now The Wireless Group) in which he won awards both locally and nationally for his production work.

    In 2016 Rich made the leap of faith and became freelance offering his services to production companies and voice overs whilst building the reputation of his company ‘io Audio’ from his own studio. Over the last 2 years io Audio has successfully produced showreels for many of the industries leading voices as well as offering studio recording facilities for TV and Radio most notably for Russell Howard’s Travelogue aired on Comedy Central and BBC Radio. As well as producing Rich also lectures at universities on radio production and the subject of how sound creates visualisations in our minds and how this can be used as a tool in radio production. Rich loves the art of directing voice overs, as well as mixing records on a saturday night and chilling with the family.

    Dian Perry

    Voiceover artist and voice coach

    Dian is a US voiceover artist, teacher and voiceover coach based in London. She’s worked as a professional voice actor since early 1998 and a character voice teacher and voiceover coach since 2006.

    She has worked on a huge amount of animations and cartoons including The Woodlies, Corneil and Bernie, Nelly Nut Live as well as many more. Video Games include Horizon: Zero Dawn, Pusuit Force and Sacred Underworld.

    Dian is one of the top voice coaches in the UK

    Randall Ryan

    Voiceover casting director and director

    Randall Ryan is a voiceover casting director and director.

    He is the Co-founder of Hamsterball Studios in Austin, Texas. His video game credits include: Small Town Terrors, Lord of the Rings Online, World of Warcraft, Dungeons & Dragons Online, Transformers: Optimus Prime, the Deer Hunter series, World Series of Poker, mobile gaming, children’s games, sports titles, shooters and so much more.

    Tom Keegan

    Performance capture director, audio director and casting director

    Tom Keegan is one of the most in demand performance capture directors, audio directors and casting directors in the world right now.

    He is a Director and Casting Director for Performance Capture, Video Games, Voice Over and Films. Games title credits include the Battlefield series, Wolfenstein 1, 2 and 3, Star Wars: Battlefront 2, Dead Rising 3 & 4, Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst, Call of Duty: Modern Warfair Remastered, The Amazing Spiderman 2 and many more.

    Adele Cutting

    BAFTA award-winning audio professional

    Adele Cutting is a BAFTA award-winning audio professional with 20+ years experience in audio direction, designing sound, music editing, casting and directing actors and covering all things audio across games, TV, installations, mobile and VR.

    Adele is the founder of audio production company, Soundcuts Ltd., before Soundcuts, Adele spent 15 years at EA, working her way up the ranks from Junior Sound Designer to Senior Audio Director, working on blockbuster titles such the Harry Potter franchise (on which she wore both Audio and Voice director hats), plus well known cult classics Populous the Beginning and Theme Park World.

    Recent titles Adele has worked on include Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (UK and Athens Voice Direction), The Room Old Sins (Sound Design), Pinky Malinky (Music Editing and co-ordination), Astrologaster (Voice Direction) and Elements – a James Bond cinematic installation in the alps.(Sound Design and Music Editing), Planet Zoo (Casting, Direction, Post Pro).

    Lori Alan

    American actor, writer, producer and coach

    Lori Alan is an American actor, writer, producer and coach.

    She stars on the Emmy Award winning, SpongeBob: Squarepants as Pearl Krabs, Diane Simmons on Family Guy, Sue Richards, The Invisible Woman, on Marvel Comics’ The Fantastic Four, and The Boss in the Metal Gear Solid video game trilogy.

    She’s proud to be a part of the Academy Award Winning Pixar Family. Voicing characters in Wall-e, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Monster’s University, as Mother’s Sadness in Inside Out, and Bonnie’s Mom in Pixar’s extraordinary, global franchise, Toy Story 3 and Toy Story 4. Other credits include Minnions, Friends, Dispicable Me 3, Greys Anatomy and Law and Order LA.

    Elley-Ray

    Voiceover artist, actor, voice director and writer

    Elley-Ray has traversed the stages, film sets, television and radio studios for over 40 years delighting audiences world-wide.

    Her compassion to share it is unparalleled.

    She’s is a Toronto-based voiceover artist, actor, voice director and writer. She has been working in the voiceover industry for over 37 years. She has worked extensively in animations, commercials, corporate, video games, promos, audiobooks and pretty much every area of our industry. Her credits include My Little Pony, Care Bears, Babar the movie, Z Baw (feature film), Cat in the Hat, My Big My Friend, Busy Town, Hotel Transylvania: The Series and many more.

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