Tesco hold open auditions for voice of the checkout – on TikTok
#Tescovoiceofcheckout is going viral
Brand voice has historically referred to how a brand portrays its personality in its written communications. However, brand voice, meaning not only a written tone of voice but also the literal voice of a brand, is a vital tool that can help talk directly to your audience, create a stronger identity and ultimately develop consumer trust.
Recognising the self-checkout voice in this way shows Tesco understand the power of voice and audio to drive recognition and fame.
So what happens when a brand invites its audience to become the brand voice? Well, that’s exactly what Tesco just did…
In their latest campaign, the supermarket launched a competition searching for the next ‘voice of checkout’. Turning to TikTok, Tesco put a callout for users to submit their voices to be part of the self-service checkouts in store by duetting a prompt video. The winner will also receive up to 10,000 Tesco Clubcard Points, (equivalent to £100 in store credit).
The competition is proving a hit on TikTok, with more than 31.1M views on the hashtag #Tescovoiceofcheckout in its first week. Not only is this campaign proving a huge success for brand visibility, but putting Tesco in direct dialogue with its audience.
There are some out-of-the-box entries, such as @IzzyIzTrash’s audition with an operatic spin as she aims to ‘bring opera to the masses’, even applauding Tesco’s Marketing team in the comments.
Taking the win for brand responses however, is Aldi, with their duet reaching a huge 1.8M views and demonstrating their cheeky personality.
The human voice is a massively powerful tool and can elicit up to 27 emotions without even using words. Recognising that the self-checkout voice is this major shows us that Tesco understand the power of voice and audio to drive recognition and fame.
Aldi’s witty TikTok, which ‘duets’ the original, pokes fun at the Tesco Clubcard. In response to the original video prompt, “how would you say “Clubcard accepted””, Aldi answered, “Don’t need a Clubcard when your prices are already low!”, much to the amusement of viewers.
“In the current climate of financial hardship, this competition is both ethically and morally inappropriate.”
CEO of The VoiceOver Network
It is fair to say that their contest has not come without some criticism. Much like Virgin Trains’ 2019 campaign that called for the public to apply to become the voice of their on-board toilets, Tesco are receiving backlash from the acting community, with the CEO of The VoiceOver Network exclaiming: “In the current climate of financial hardship, this competition is both ethically and morally inappropriate.”
