The ‘Sound of the Nation’ redefined by ReelWorld

The sound of 2FM, the youth station from Ireland’s public broadcaster RTE, has been completely redefined by the team at ReelWorld.

The new radio imaging package is an integral part of a wide-ranging rebrand for the broadcaster which has also seen the launch of a new visual image, logo and website. The package consists of 12 core themes and a wide-reaching ID package for individual shows, all produced at ReelWorld’s European base at MediaCityUK near Manchester.

Paul Fernley is ReelWorld’s Client Relations Manager in Europe: “Authenticity was key with this package and that’s why we invested the time in finding the right voices. I think I’ve become the first member of the ReelWorld team to become a Simon Cowell style judge in live auditions across Ireland, and it was a lot of fun!”

The major project followed a competitive tender process in which ReelWorld proposed the new sound featuring a mix of authentic young voices from across Ireland promoting the station’s new strapline, ‘Sound of the Nation’.

Laura Beatty is Marketing Manager for RTÉ 2FM: “We’ve been working through a long process on 2FM towards a fully evolved programming and brand strategy, for this part of the project we worked in conjunction with Image Now in Ireland. Late last year we had reached a stage where the time was right for us to turn our attention to the aural brand, one that would match the newly evolving identity and visual language for the station. We worked on the imaging and audio brand with Reelword and our internal Audio Production Department which was a winning formula, ReelWord have a brought a world class and fresh sound to 2FM that fully matches our visual identity and I know we are all very excited about sharing it with our listeners”

To ensure the radio imaging truly reflected the station’s new ‘Sound of the Nation’ positioning, ReelWorld, working alongside the 2FM team, conducted an extensive vocal talent search to source 10 voices that all feature on the audio. The search included working with industry contacts at colleges in Ireland, searching through videos and audio streams online and live auditions in cities across Ireland. The voices provide a mix of traditional voiceover elements, ‘shouts’ and sings.

Lisa Dignam, Creative Audio Production, RTÉ 2FM: “We knew we needed some completely different radio imaging to reflect 2FM’s new visual brand. Ant and his team were with us every step of the way, from auditioning voice-overs and singers all over Ireland to creative brainstorms. What we created is, I feel, a brand new sound for Irish Radio.”

ReelWorld’s European Managing Director Anthony Gay said: “What an honour to get redefine the sound of 2FM! This new package sounds amazing on-air and has been great fun for the team to work on. It’s made the start to 2016 very special.”