“Very funny!” wrote Andy Hedberg.
Andy was a judge at the 2016 MARCE Awards, the On Hold Messaging Association’s annual celebration of the industry’s best work.
He was describing “Interviews,” a humorous On Hold Marketing production our BusinessVoice team created for Binkelman Corp.
“Really well written, and the voice actors were spot on,” his notes continued. “I laughed several times.”
That’s not the type of reaction most callers expect to have after they’ve been placed on hold.
But it’s a response we often elicit after creating Humor On Hold - a marriage of comedy and marketing. It’s humor that sells, says Scott Greggory.
“More than two decades ago, we started using the on hold channel to present our clients’ messages in a way that would encourage the audience to listen actively,” said Greggory, MadAveGroup’s Chief Creative Officer.
“Humor On Hold represents a choice we made to turn the ‘nothing moment’ of holding into a fun and memorable experience. It usually includes working the client’s marketing messages into the mix in a very palatable way.”
The experience BusinessVoice created in “Interviews” was fun enough to earn the Judge’s Choice trophy. It’s the sixth time BusinessVoice has received that particular honor over the MARCE Award's 12-year history.
Listen to the winning production in the video above.
Judge Rachel McGrath noted that the work featured "great voice acting by the men, creative writing, and great use of sound effects."
"I really had to put some thought into finding something to criticize," wrote judge Emmett Andrews. "There's nothing perfect and there's always something that could be better, but in this case, it's a challenge to find."
