BRAND RADIO

Definition

A brand radio is a radio that broadcasts music and possibly messages during the opening hours of a brand's points of sale, also known as "brand radio" or more frequently "in-store radio".

Which music to play on your in-store radio?

A brand that addresses an audience with limited resources in peri-urban areas - will probably have a musical style that is very different from a brand located on a busy avenue in the beautiful districts of a large city.

The definition of what type of music to broadcast is made after a study of the brand's positioning, or according to a brief provided by the brand, in which case sound marketing specialists develop brand radio proposals, which are then validated by the customer.

It is an important process, but unfortunately it is very often overlooked or dealt with a little quickly, based for example on the personal preferences of the network or the store's founder. Personal preferences should not play a role in the creation of brand radio: it is a matter of playing music that will correspond to the brand, not music that you will listen to at home.

What is the purpose of a brand radio?

The purpose of a brand radio is multiple: it may be to encourage customers to buy, but it may also be to provide a musical atmosphere that contributes to the construction of the brand's image. It may be that the final goal is to encourage purchases, but this involves intermediate phases that can be quite long, so it is important not to focus too much on triggering the purchase alone, but to think about the consumer's journey through the point of sale, and to coordinate the brand's web presence with the brand radio in the physical store.

The musical program may vary

Brand radio can broadcast a varied musical programme depending on the time of day, for example a lively and dynamic rhythm in the morning, a more relaxed rhythm at the end of the day when fatigue is felt and the customers' ears are less attentive.

It is also possible to adapt the musical programming according to the type of customers: when we know that the customers who come in the early afternoon are older than those who come at the end of the day, we are able to play music that is more adapted to each target group.

A brand radio has to meet several objectives

A brand radio should not only be directed at customers, as it also directly addresses the sales force. 8 or more hours a day in a store is long: it is important that the music played is pleasant and encourages you to do your job as a salesperson properly. 

A few years ago, retailers used fixed playlists broadcast on CDs (then USB sticks) that were repeated from one day to the next, causing a certain fatigue among employees.

A radio that also plays for employees

Note that brand radio can also play outside business hours, before or after the store opens to the public or during inventories... In this case, radio can also broadcast audio messages to employees, either to inform them of new products, new implementation procedures, to remind them of the brand's philosophy, the arrival of an employee, or any other important elements related to traffic, shelving and merchandising... In this case, a system must be chosen that allows easy updating

Promotional campaigns

Of course, audio messages can also be broadcast to customers, in order to evoke specific products or promotions.  Depending on the promotional campaign, some messages must be broadcast in some points of sale in the network and not in others, for example according to the available stock or the location of the stores.  Promotions must therefore be distributed in a skillfully orchestrated manner.

Who can use brand radios?

Most points of sale, stores and places open to the public can use a brand radio, whether it is; 

• single stores
• large stores
• distributors
• service businesses

Bakeries, car dealerships, fashion stores, DIY or home furnishings stores, there is hardly any point of sale that can do without a brand radio, while other professions can also enjoy a suitable musical atmosphere: veterinary clinics, gyms, sports coaches, and even reception halls and canteens.

Why use a professional brand radio solution?

In addition to the sound marketing and brand territory aspects mentioned above, it is important to use a dedicated service for legality reasons: consumer systems such as Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Play, Apple Music make it clear that their use is for family use only, and it is illegal to use any of these solutions or a consumer web radio at the point of sale.

Finally, the technical support of professional solutions is beyond comparison: if you have to delete a message that should not be transmitted, or make changes quickly on a problematic sign radio, it must be possible to resolve it very quickly.

Find out more about examples of audio marketing and brand radios on the musicadmix.com website.