Turn the volume up!

For anyone new to it, how would you explain what you do and why sound advertising is such a powerful way to connect with people?

At its core, my job is about helping brands become familiar. I work with businesses across Norfolk to turn their goals, whether that’s footfall, enquiries, or long-term brand growth, into audio campaigns people remember and want to engage with.

Sound advertising works because it fits naturally into everyday life. People don’t stop what they’re doing to listen, they’re driving, making coffee, walking the dog or working, and audio joins them there. Unlike visual media, you can’t scroll past it. You absorb it. When it’s done well, it feels less like advertising and more like a voice you recognise and trust.

Campaigns don't need to shout out features. They can focus on tone, confidence and positioning, helping brands sound premium, progressive and approachable all at once.

There are some eye-opening stats about how effective audio advertising can be. Which ones tend to stop people in their tracks?

The biggest surprise is how strongly audio drives action, not just awareness. Listeners often move quickly from hearing an ad to searching online, visiting a website or stepping into a showroom.

We can use tracking tools such as our pixel and interactive “Shake Me” feature. Campaigns using this often see great results in conversion from digital audio targeting postcodes around Norwich.

Audio has evolved into a fully trackable medium, offering impression-based buying and clear conversion data, much like PPC or paid social.

Brand recall is another real pause moment. Consistent voices, sound cues, and messaging build memory quickly, and it lasts. That’s what makes audio such a powerful multiplier rather than a background channel.

Are there particular industries where audio consistently outperforms expectations? Do you see this in Norfolk?

Automotive, retail, property, leisure, and professional services all perform exceptionally well, particularly where trust matters. In Norfolk, that local connection is everything – people want to know who they’re dealing with. And the strongest brands keep things simple. They sound human, speak clearly, and stay consistent. They know their audience and talk to them, not at them.

Radio places your message directly in front of a local audience, and digital audio takes that further. Advertisers can target postcode areas, demographics, lifestyles, and even recent online behaviour. If someone’s listening on their phone, they can be prompted to interact instantly. Turning awareness into action in real time.

What do the numbers tell us about how people actually listen, and how should that shape creativity?

People listen in moments, not isolation. That means messaging needs to be instantly clear and emotionally engaging. You’ve got around 30 seconds. But when you use them well, you’ve got someone’s full attention. In my experience strong audio creative focuses on:

• A confident opening
• Simple, repeatable messaging
• A clear reason to care
• If a brand sounds like it knows who it is, listeners believe it.
  
  

With targeting now so precise, how do you keep ads personal rather than intrusive?

Relevance always beats hyper-personalisation. For local audiences, it’s about recognition; familiar places, a relatable tone and voices that feel like they belong. When brands respect both the listener and the community, ads feel helpful and informative rather than interruptive.

How does sonic branding work alongside visual identity? Can sound stand on its own?

Absolutely. Sound can do the heavy lifting, especially for brands built on reputation, recommendation and loyalty. A consistent sonic identity strengthens visual branding, but it can also stand alone. A recognisable voice, phrase or sound cue builds familiarity fast. Over time, people don’t just recognise the brand. They feel it.  How many time do you sing or hum an advert?

If I said, “Did somebody say…” chances are you’ve already finished the line with Just Eat. That’s the power of sonic branding, it stays with you. For regional businesses, a strong sonic identity can be just as important as a logo. Never underestimate the power of sound.  It stays with you for a long time.

If there was one stat every small business owner should know before dismissing radio, what would it be?

Radio reaches over 86% of UK adults every week, around 50 million people. Making it one of the most powerful ways to reach large local audiences.*

^{(Source: RAJAR, Q3 2025)}