Sonair has been appointed by Motorpoint, the UK’s largest car supermarket, to deliver its
in-store radio service across the retailer’s entire store network, replacing the legacy
background music system that had been running in its sites. The roll-out covers all 22
Motorpoint stores across England, Scotland and Wales, including the recently opened
Leeds site, and follows a pilot at Motorpoint Widnes during June and July.
Motorpoint approached Sonair towards the end of last year, and the conversation started
with the music. The system already in place did what background music systems tend to do,
which is fill the silence. What Motorpoint wanted was a soundtrack people would actually
enjoy hearing: music chosen for its showrooms and its customers, produced to a standard
that stands up to being listened to all day.
That meant three things. The first was the music itself. Buying a car is a considered
purchase and often a long visit, so the sound has to hold up across a browse, a test drive
discussion and a handover, keeping a showroom feeling alive without ever getting in the
way of a conversation. Sonair built the sound after researching the business, its customers
and the environment they buy in, rather than reaching for a generic retail playlist.
The second was a station rather than a playlist. The result is a listening experience branded
end to end as Motorpoint Radio, carrying the retailer’s own idents and its own messaging.
Branded idents run between songs, so the sound identifies itself the way a familiar radio
brand does, and everything is mixed, imaged and processed to the standard of professional
radio production. That craft is what separates a considered audio experience from a
shuffled playlist, and it is audible from the first song onwards.
The third was messaging worth listening to. Sonair scripts and produces the retailer’s audio
advertising and marketing messages in house, from national campaign work down to
messaging aimed at a single store, so a promotion, an event or a stock update relevant to
one showroom can be written and produced for that showroom. Store level messaging
comes as standard rather than as an upgrade, and it is made with the same care as the rest
of the output, so the commercial content sounds like part of the station instead of an
interruption to it.
To deliver it, Sonair installed its Radio Hubs at every Motorpoint site. The hubs deliver
audio locally, which keeps playback stable and allows store level targeting to be managed
centrally through the Sonair platform, with reporting on what each location is playing and
for how long. Behind that sits direct access to the Sonair team who know the account, so the
station keeps evolving as the business does.
Feedback from the estate has been strong since the switch. Store teams have reported a
more varied and enjoyable soundtrack, and several have noted that the music clearly
reflects an understanding of the business rather than a stock retail selection. Uptime across
the network has been excellent since roll-out began.
To talk about in-store radio for your business, get in touch with the Sonair team.
