Acoustic and Perceptive Correlates of Brand Personality in Voice and Speaking Style

• Applicant: Dr. Anabell Hacker
• Subject Area: Applied Linguistics, Computational Linguistics
• Term: since 2026
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 581915800

„Dann geh‘ doch zu Netto!“, „Seitenbacher Müsli – das Müsli von Seitenbacher“, „20% auf alles – außer Tiernahrung. Praktiker, hier spricht der Preis“. If you are German, you cannot just read these slogans, you can hear them. In an advert, voice alone can create a distinct impression of a brand. A brand’s voice shapes its perceived personality just as much as its logo, product, or slogan. But what makes it possible for listeners to perceive a brand’s characteristics merely through its advertising voice? The aim of this study is to identify features of voice and speaking style that make a brand’s personality perceptible. Brand personality refers to a set of human traits that can be attributed to a brand. It is constructed through various brand characteristics such as logo, ambassadors, music, and the voices used in advertising. Although brand personality is a multimodal construct, the auditory impression is particularly decisive in radio advertising and voice-overs. Therefore, this project investigates whether the voice alone can convey brand personality and, if so, which vocal features make it audible.

• DFG Programme: Fellowship
• International Connection: Denmark
• Host: Dr. Oliver Niebuhr