Red FM

The Client

Red FM, based in Cork, Ireland, stands as a vibrant and dynamic radio station that has been captivating audiences since its inception on January 16, 2002. Red FM is Ireland's first youth radio license recipient, Red FM has carved a niche for itself as a pulsating voice for the youth. With an unwavering commitment to catering to the energetic demographic of 15 to 35-year-olds in both Cork city and county, Red FM pulses with the beat of the local culture and resonates with the diverse interests of its audience.

Through its engaging programming and contemporary playlists, Red FM continues to be a cultural touchstone, connecting with the vibrant and ever-evolving youth community in the region, making it a significant and beloved fixture in Cork's media landscape.

The Challenge

The team from Red FM first approached us about our Publisher Plus platform, they were looking to do a refresh of their platform. The Red FM team were looking for a partner with specific experience and expertise in the publishing sector with proven results.

With a very tight deadline, they needed to be fully confident in the ability of their platform to deliver for their clients and users. Having had issues with site stability, page speed and advertising delivery in the past, they needed a platform and a team they could trust. They needed experts who knew about the common advertising problems they faced - viewability, effective targeting, reporting. They needed confidence that this project could be delivered at a critical time for their business, and give them the foundation to support their future growth plans.

The Strategy

As with all Publisher Plus projects, we began with a number of design and scoping sessions with various people from the Red FM team - working on wireframes, user flows and layouts. We then set about to rebuild the site using modern tooling. This rebuild effort meant that we could significantly reduce the size of pages being delivered, making the new site considerably faster.

Our approach to the new site was to take our existing resilient and fast API, and focus on squeezing out as much performance as we could from the front end.

Being a radio station, audio content is very much core to everything they create. Our approach to the new site was to put audio to the forefront. The fully integrated audio player allows the site visitor to listen to an uninterrupted live audio stream or playback a podcast while still browsing through the pages of the website.

The Outcome

Given the project's stringent timeline, effective communication was essential. We collaborated closely with the Red FM team, maintaining transparent project status updates for all stakeholders. This trust developed throughout the project empowered the Red FM team to readily embrace our recommendations for implementation and process enhancements.

The Impact

Since the launch of the redesigned Red FM website, there has been a remarkable transformation in site performance. Site stability is no longer a concern, even when their articles go viral, and page loading times have been reduced substantially.

Notable improvements in advertising delivery across the site have substantially enhanced targeting capabilities and greatly improved viewability metrics. This not only benefits their advertisers but also prioritises the consent and experience of site visitors. We are optimistic that these enhancements will further boost audience engagement and subsequently lead to increased advertising revenue for the Red FM team.