edge studio Blog Building a Global Voice Over Brand

Most of us have spent the past month sheltered in our homes, diligently watching the news to see how the Covid-19 pandemic will play out. In the headlines, leaders from around the world face an unprecedented challenge: how to safeguard their citizens' health without gutting their economies? This crisis has deeply affected all of us, but those of us working in voice over should be counting our blessings. Afterall, we've been running successful businesses from our homes for quite some time now. And, more importantly, we make our livings as communicators: a role that has become essential to global business.I'm an American citizen who has spent most of my life living abroad. A year-long foreign exchange program to Brazil during my senior year in high school opened my eyes to cultures outside the United States. In college and shortly thereafter, I aspired to venture further - embarking on extended excursions to Europe, Australia, and Africa. By my early 30s when I finally started to set down roots, I had come full circle, returning to South America where I met my wife, Simone Kliass. She worked as an on-air TV talent and she recorded voice over. I built a home studio for her work and she encouraged me to record as well. That's how, unwittingly, I started a job that would evolve into a career.What may come as a surprise to those reading this article is that, although I speak Portuguese fluently, I only record in my native English. What's more, I rarely record for clients in the United States or other English-speaking countries. In fact, the majority of my regular clients are production houses and ad agencies located right here in São Paulo. So why the demand for English-language voice overs in a city where people speak Portuguese? With over 21 million inhabitants in its greater metropolitan area, São Paulo is the biggest city in South America and the business hub of Brazil.read more