Rayo, Bauer Media UK
How should a funky new audio app speak? In a voice that connects with its audience of course. What if that audience is a mix of music lovers, from classical to hip-hop to heavy metal? That was one of the challenges we faced with Rayo, Bauer Media Audio's bold new digital proposition.
Say hello to Rayo
You might have come across Rayo if you’re an Absolute Radio listener. Or a Scala Radio fan. Or a Magic Radio muso. Greatest Hits Radio? Jazz FM? Kerrang? Whatever your music taste, you’ll find your station on Rayo.
Rayo is Bauer Media's ‘audio companion’, a phrase coined by its brand consultancy partners, venturethree. Rayo is also the global media business's torch bearer for ‘New Radio’, defined by the same agency as 'traditional radio reimagined for the digital on-demand era’.
Put simply, the Rayo app houses Bauer’s many UK radio acquisitions, and is leading the business’s digital transformation – a project organised and powered by strategic marketing leader and CRM expert, Matt Button.
On paper, our task seemed easy. Use venturethree’s strategic work to define a tone of voice for Rayo. One that expresses the brand's positioning, connects it with its audience, and helps Rayo deliver on strategic goals.
But of course brands don’t live on paper. Exploring the brief, we uncovered three challenges we'd face as we developed a verbal identity.
Possibly the biggest challenge was audience. Rayo would have more than one type. Loads, in fact. And all different. Listeners of classical, pop, rock, heavy metal, smooth and other genres. Oh and fans of podcasts. We needed to develop a voice that would speak to them all, and alienate none.
It meant finding, or creating, the common ground – a place in language where all listeners could connect. Rayo had to sound natural and relatable to every audience. Absolutely no radio clichés or cheese allowed.
The second is a challenge facing many brands who today live in our pockets: overwhelm. From audience research and calls with Bauer Media's leadership team, we picked up a shift in sentiment towards apps. Too many are too demanding. They ping, beep, vibrate. They light up, shimmer, flash. How could Rayo quieten rather than add to the noise?
Finally, it was clear from early meetings that there was excitement about Rayo across Bauer's UK and European businesses. But not yet consensus on how Rayo would relate to Bauer's many existing audio brands.
Rayo’s voice would need to bring everyone working in Bauer Media Audio together. A big ask. But the sort of pressure we love.
Understanding companionship
Back in the studio, we carried out a linguistic analysis, looking deep at language connected to Rayo. Strategy, audience insights, competitor comms, other brands that might inspire us.
We prepped observations ready for a workshop with the leadership team. But our focus wasn’t tone of voice. Or even brand. Inspired by the idea of an ‘audio companion’, we workshopped companionship – what it meant, at a personal level, to people in the room.
It was a sweet, humbling two hours. Heads of departments and representatives of brands became husbands and wives, partners and friends. They shared stories of relationships, togetherness, growth, love and loss. As they spoke, we listened and made notes.
We went on to explore the influence those closest, dearest companions have on our lives. And, finally, how they speak to us in many different moments. Colourful, moving conversation filled our notepads. There were tears.
In fact, it was one of the richest, most insightful sessions we’ve led. We left with an idea, one that would get us even closer to Rayo the companion.
Rayo's big day out
Brand language is creative. Too often people sit at their desks trying to craft it. But that’s not where the magic happens.
Sometimes you need to take brands for a walk. Get them among the people they want to connect with. On a summer’s day not long after the workshop, we spent the morning in London with Paperclip Rayo.
We had three questions in mind. Who and what are you drawn to? What do you want people to think about you? And what would you say if introducing yourself? Paperclip bent into Rayo logo shape (well, as close as we could), off we went as a language team around London's South Bank.
Later that day in the studio, we shared our individual responses and worked towards the common ground. Language emerged. Thoughts, ideas, ponderings. Some weird, some wonderful, all useful.
Following weeks of development, with plenty of conversations with Matt and his team, we went on to reach an exciting point in the project.
Rayo’s voice had appeared. Real, energising and a match for any mood.
Making language cultural
A first for us, and massively valuable for the project, we ran a half-day implementation workshop. Not only to train Bauer's writers in Rayo's tone of voice, but to guide teams live, as they drafted launch comms.
Everyone with a stake in Rayo's success gathered at venturethree’s HQ. Representatives from across Bauer Media Audio. Agency strategists and designers. And our own team of writers. After a New Radio presentation, we introduced Rayo’s verbal identity and briefed the room to get writing.
And wow did they write. And write. And edit. And share. Over just a few hours, Rayo came to life. Confidence built in Bauer’s writers. And a kind, supportive, celebratory culture emerged behind the new brand.
A month later, at the time of Rayo’s launch, Matt got in touch:
“Team, thank you. You brought the language of the brand to life for us at Rayo with your unique blend of insight and gentle expertise.
“Through your workshops and accompanying documents, you ensured we steered clear of the clichés of commercial radio and defined a tone of voice that is warm, inclusive and jargon-free.
"Your work has become a vital component of our launch: defining not just how we speak, but who we are. In short, you gave our brand a voice worth trusting."
So, how should a funky new audio app speak? In a voice that connects with its audience of course. Keeping it real, energising and a match for any mood. That’s Rayo – audio companion, voice of New Radio, and linchpin to Bauer Media Audio's growing brand portfolio.