The beginning

When IRS was launched along side our sister radio station, that shares some directors with our own board, we had 1 clear vision. ‘To help radio stations to optimise their operations, increase their market share & reach, and develop good sales techniques to ensure constant and climbing revenue’. A tough task in these days of recession

Why?

Many stations and media business in the UK have suffered dramatically due to lack of revenue, large overheads, unclear brand messaging, poor performance and cost heavy operational procedures. We draw our skills together to help stations and businesses through these issues. By successfully helping radio stations, we have build up a reputation and now offer our services to all types of businesses.

What we offer?

We offer a number of tools and marketing solutions as well as radio and marketing consultancy. Available to radio and non-radio businesses. All our products, (unless stated otherwise), are produced in house enabling your business to get the highest quality products for the best price.

Please see below for some case studies.

Our work with 3TR FM started with an analysis of their output. We identified day parts where we believed there were key opportunities to improve the targeting and local broadcasting. We suggested an investment in product and worked closely with their scheduling to improve the overall sound and style of the music output from the station.

The end result was a rise in average reach from 23% to 27%. Total hours followed from 159.8 to 193.3 and average hours also held the trend from 10.4 to 10.7

Midwest is our sister station and as well as sharing directors with their board, we also manage the marketing strategy and recently started implementing a major brand awareness campaign across the TSA’s. We are managing listener, client and local education databases allowing the station to conduct further market research on top of their rajar membership. We have also helped the station invest in its product and provide longer local hours across their 2 TSA’s

Midwest as Ivel FM and Vale FM found it very difficult to make a profit whilst being part of a larger business model that included over 20 radio stations. As an independent, the station is now in-profit and investing back into the product to ensure a steady climb out of the recession.

Our team were initially head hunted in 2006 to manage the then Quay Fm and BCR FM. The stations had just been moved to new ownership and we were asked to move the company into profitability and increase market share.

Our proposal to cross brand the 2 stations into QuayWest Radio, a name previously used by the smaller of the 2 licenses, was taken on board. We increased the sales operation, moved to network a percentage of the programming across the 2 licenses and invested in presentation.

In 3 months the station made a small profit and after commissioning private research, we saw that it had become market leader for its core audience within its TSA.

Later in 2009 / 2010 our team had the control of the programming at Quaywest where we moved create a stronger product that was more brand aware. We also invested in the week day line-up putting local at the heart of the brand. Following our management in 2010, Quaywest Radio reached a 10% market share against HEART (previously very successful Orchard FM) with 8.6%. This gap was also visible in the average hours with QW holding 13.7 and HEART with 9, and total hours where QW had 268.6 and HEART had 231.5  in the quarterly rajar figures.

Our team wrote the ‘Proof of Demand’ section of the original application to Ofcom for this newly licensed area and were then asked to launch the Monmouthshire side of the FM station with a minimal budget. We manned a local breakfast show for the county, separating the output from the Herefordshire side. and acted as Brand Manager for the station.

Sunshine was soon market leader for commercial radio across the county and developed excellent brand awareness and  listener interaction.

Fusions Dance Company came to us wanting a new look web site. As well as helping them achieve this we also provide them with vinyl banners for their events and branded clothing that they re-sell to their members. This becoming an important part of their business.