Ireland’s biggest social media stars and best friends, Shanice Griffin, Brandon Caulfield, and Daniel Devlin return for Season Two of their hit series, “The Socially Awkward Podcast” after a very successful Season One.

Sponsored by RTÉ Player, the gang’s new season started on Thursday 17th of October on Spotify, Apple Podcasts with full videos each week uploaded on YouTube. With an exciting lineup of guests, the gang spill the behind-the-scenes tea on their lives, share hilarious and cringe anecdotes, while navigating the ups and downs of being successful yet awkward Irish influencers in their early 20s. 

Produced by Urban Media / Wireless Ireland, The Socially Awkward Podcast has been a hit on the Irish Podcast charts, hitting the top ten downloads on Spotify for their podcast launch earlier this year. Previous guests on the show have included Irish influencers like Nasti, Kasey Campion, The Galaxy Boys, Darragh Flood and Nia Gallagher. 

Season Two of The Socially Awkward Podcast is proudly sponsored by RTÉ Player, the home of live TV and the biggest shows from home and abroad. From hit Irish dramas to documentaries, entertainment, comedy and live sport, RTÉ Player is the go-to platform for hours of entertainment, anytime, anywhere. The Socially Awkward Podcast returned on Thursday 17th October with new episodes available every Thursday. In the meantime, all previous episodes of Season One are now available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube. 

Aoife Byrne, Head of RTÉ Player has said she is delighted to be a sponsor of the podcast. 

“We are thrilled to be on-board as sponsors of The Socially Awkward podcast. It is so important as a Public Service Streamer that RTÉ Player connects with young Irish audiences and sponsoring a show with such great talent as Shanice — who starred in one of our RTÉ Player Original series last year— Brandon and Daniel, is a great way of us spreading the word about what RTÉ has to offer audiences of all ages. 

We have so much great content to discover, from nearly 5k hours of on-demand catalogue featuring 100s of premium drama boxsets and doc series, to unmissable and exclusive live sport and entertainment. And, unlike global streamers, we create and curate content for Irish audiences.” 

Listen to the podcast trailer here: 

https://open.spotify.com/episode/7KwQitNEBT31qotMv4Bkrp?si=5b0e8d8c408c4552 

Listen to all twelve of episodes of Series One of The Socially Awkward podcast here: 

https://open.spotify.com/show/4K0ICi9FgGTui3weOKKu1t?si=47596f35117f43ca 

https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/the-socially-awkward-pod/id1755175876 

Hosted by the energetic and lively Izzy on Cork’s 96FM, this is the show rebels tune into in the evening to give them the boost they need. Enjoy a perfect mix of music, entertainment and latest news on the Big Drive Home with Izzy Showbizzy

Izzy brings the perfect blend of personality and tunes to your drive home. Izzy covers its all from the hottest tracks to vital traffic updates, keeping the Rebel County entertained and informed during the week. Her infectious energy and quick wit make her the go to companion for Cork’s commuters making the drive home something to look forward to!

The Big Drive Home reaches thousands of listeners every week, offering brands a powerful way to connect with Cork’s vibrant community through a show that’s all about good music and energy. With a wide-ranging listenership and a strong local identity 96FM’s Big Drive Home gives brands a meaningful presence in the city and country communities.

The jam packed sponsorship package includes

• Live mentions – 3 per hour
• Pre-Recored Show Promos – 2 per day
• Total mentions per month – 296

For more information and to discuss potential partnership please contact your urbanmedia representative

What attracted you to the role of editor of TalkSPORT Ireland?

I have always been a huge fan of talkSPORT and the chance to be involved with the world’s largest sports radio station as they launch in Ireland, was an opportunity I couldn’t pass by

Why do you think sport plays such an important part in Irish lives?

Sports is an escape for many, whether it’s playing for your local team or watching your favourite team, nothing comes close to it. The fact that your weekend can be potentially ruined if your team loses the early Premier League kick off can be a thrill too.

What’s your favourite sporting moment?

Ronan O’Gara’s drop goal v Wales in 2009/ Liverpool’s comeback win over Barcelona in 2019.

What sort of content are you looking to create in the new role?

I want talkSPORT to become the new home for all sports content in Ireland. A mix of shows that can be listened to or watched, where you can get expert opinions and analysis in an entertaining manner.

With the success of the Irish Rugby Team and the recent Olympic successes is the future of Irish sport looking bright?

100%, I feel we will look back on Paris 2024 as the games that changed Team Ireland forever. Not only the men’s rugby team, but the women have just beaten the world champions, New Zealand, and with the Women’s World Cup next summer, it’s something to keep an eye on.

Who are your favourite sporting teams?

I’ve been a Liverpool fan since I was four after watching us beat AC Milan in the miracle of Istanbul. On the rugby front, it’s Leinster. Sadly for GAA, as a Wicklow man, there’s little to shout about.

Will GAA feature in TalkSPORT Ireland content?

GAA is going to play a huge role in talkSPORT Ireland content. With a host of some of our greatest ever GAA players recently retired, you can expect to hear the untold stories and secrets from them over the coming while.

Credit: SCS Software

Ever wonder if you spend too much time sitting behind a desk? A trucking company in the US asked players of the video game ‘American Truck Simulator’ the same thing when they started advertising for real Truck Driving careers inside the game.

Since video games first came on to the scene, companies have been curious about how to advertise to their customers through the expansive and ever-changing medium. Over the years there has been everything from straightforward product placement to full games made just for advertising a company/product. However, the ad we’re talking about today is a straight copy and paste of real-world advertising.

In 2023 the trucking industry was struggling to recruit new drivers, so one company turned to a popular but niche game, ‘American Truck Simulator’. The game simulates driving & parking a truck in excruciating detail, even penalising the player when they break any driving laws. The company, Schneider National, displayed their ads across virtual billboards on the virtual highway, calling on the virtual drivers to hit the real road.

This was an expertly crafted campaign that displays the amazing result of when user research and marketing creativity come together. Even gamers, a difficult group to please, reacted generally positively to the ad campaign, showing how well Schneider understood who they were marketing to.

Advertising is not just about the campaign itself; the medium can be just as important. When you truly understand your audience and you meet them on their terms, your ad can start to take a whole life of its own.

It kicked off in Galway in October, running a three week major station campaign. This powerful campaign spans across commercial spot and promotions, web, digital audio, video  and social showcasing Circle K’s commitment to local communities and giving back to grassroots football in a big way.

How it works

Week One & Two

Simply complete the competition form on the station website by entering your FAI Club Mark accredited football club and tell us why your club deserves to win. At the end of week two a shortlist of 10 teams will be selected

Week Three

Voting will be open for one week. The three clubs with the most votes will win kits for their club. 

Finally in May a draw will take place with all clubs entered for a chance to win the Grand Prize and meet their heroes.

The response has been amazing. We’ve had over 700 entries which brought hundreds of amazing stories highlighting the passion and dedication of clubs across Galway. Galway Bay FM then had the tough task of narrowing the list down to ten deserving finalists. As we moved into the voting phase, listeners all over the region eagerly submitted their votes to support their favourite clubs, with the winners to be revealed on Friday, October 25th. There was over 3000 votes across the partnership which is astonishing which highlights the level of interest this giveaway is generating locally. Three lucky teams (Tuam Celtic, Colga, and West Utd) won four sets of kit for their teams which will be personally delivered to the clubs by our street teams creating amazing video content to be shared out across our stations and Circle K’s social platforms.

This is just the start of this campaign with this competition rolling out across the main urban cities of Ireland, so do get involved!

Club Mark

The FAI Club Mark Programme is a three-tiered accreditation award based on best practice in the governance, management and administration of a football club. Clubs start their journey at Entry Level and can then progress to become a One Star and Two Star club. Each step challenges the club to implement policies and procedures in line with best practice.

Football is Ireland’s number one participation sport, playing a vital role in society at all levels. Circle K aims to build awareness, emphasise the importance of grassroots football and support the development of clubs nationwide. We also recognise the significant impact supporting local football clubs can have on communities across Ireland.

For more information on Club Mark click here.

Show presenters Jim-Jim, Crossy, and Zeinab then broadcasted in three of these locations across the city, and the listeners had to follow clues find them, with prize money up for grabs.

Virgin Media, the preferred choice of broadband for Dubliners, announced a new partnership with the capital’s most preferred choice for breakfast radio, ‘The Strawberry Alarm Clock’.

The sponsorship package includes Virgin Media as the main sponsor of the show with on-air promos and video & social branded content.

To celebrate the new sponsorship, Virgin Media and The Strawberry Alarm Clock invited listeners to vote for their #1 spots in Dublin, from their favourite coffee shop to swim spot.

Show presenters Jim-Jim, Crossy, and Zeinab then broadcast live in three of these locations across the city, and the listeners have to follow clues find them, with €2,500 up for grabs.

Fiona Mahon, Senior Marketing Manager for Virgin Media Ireland said: “As Dublin’s number one choice for Broadband, Virgin Media are delighted to be partnering with Dublin’s number one choice for breakfast radio  – The Strawberry Alarm Clock on FM104.  The show brings play across Dublin every weekday morning and at Virgin Media we’re all about bringing play into people’s lives with our products and services.  With this sponsorship It’s playtime every morning across Dublin with the Strawberry Alarm Clock and Virgin Media”.

Brian McCarthy, Commercial and Operations Director for Wireless Ireland said: “We’re thrilled to have Virgin Media on board as the new sponsor of Dublin’s FM104’s iconic breakfast show, The Strawberry Alarm Clock. This collaboration is a perfect match, combining Dublin’s leading broadband provider with Dublin’s most beloved breakfast show. This partnership is all about celebrating Dublin, and we are confident it will resonate with our listeners, making their morning even more enjoyable.”

For more information on Virgin Media’s superfast broadband, please go to www.virginmedia.ie

What the package includes

• Extensive branding on the unit for a period of 2 years (open to negotiation)
• On-air credit every time then unit is mentioned in promos, links, presenter live mentions
• 3 x Outside Broadcasts per year, FREE for the title sponsor
• Branding on the WLR EV’s – our EV’s operate as part of the OB team, and travel to all Outside Broadcast. They are also used on a daily basis for other promotional activity, sales, news and sports teams as station vehicles
• Facility for sponsor to run 4 on air campaigns, FREE per annum 
• Backlink to sponsor website from WLRFM website (over 1.4m visitors per month)

For more information and to discuss potential partnership please contact your urbanmedia representative.

The on-air portion of the campaign features six lively, custom-made commercials, airing daily between 1 pm and 2 pm to effectively target the lunchtime audience. Given Tayto’s frequent new partnerships and product launches, this flexible campaign allows us to rotate in fresh stings, spotlighting new flavours or launches for a specific period of time.

In addition to the on-air stings, all eight stations participate in bi-monthly product sampling of various Tayto crisps and snacks. These lunchtime activations take our local promotion teams to a wide range of events, from celebrating the gold medal homecoming for our Olympic rowers in Skibbereen to activations in bustling commercial areas and family-friendly events across the country. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, with Tayto products flying out and bringing smiles to faces wherever they go.

To further enhance the campaign’s reach, we’ve maintained a vibrant social media presence across Instagram and TikTok, leveraging the platforms of all eight stations. As part of the partnership, we’re running four competitions and releasing nine additional reels that capture the energy of Mr. Tayto and the overall campaign. These organic social media efforts have already reached 160,622 users.

@dublinsfm104 Us trying to sneak into the canteen to grab another packet of Tayto during lunchtime.. What’s your favourite Tayto flavour to have with your sambo? #addsomecrunchtoyourlunch @mrtaytoireland ♬ original sound – dublinsfm104

“It’s been a great experience to work alongside Tayto and Urban Media for the #AddSomeCrunchtoYourLunch campaign. The partnership offers the ideal touchpoints for Tayto to access their audience at the important lunchtime snacking hours. This is seen via our adaptable radio stings, social media competitions and on-street sampling – providing a strong always-on feel to the campaign. The response so far has been fantastic” – Chiara Locatelli, Media Sponsorship Associate, Core Media

Everyone loves a sing along but if you are like me you probably get the odd lyric wrong, or maybe a few more than that…and it’s normally hilarious.

People avoid getting hearing tests as it makes them old but mishearing can be funny. 

Specsavers wanted to create a hearing test that people wanted to listen too.

Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” is one such iconic song that people mishear all the time with people making up their own lyrics. So they got Rick to record the classic hit with a misheard lyric version.

 It was released to the UK market with no explanation over the airwaves and social media exploded and started a national conversation on hearing loss. It was such a clever concept and it drove Specsavers hearing test bookings by over 1200% on target. Now that’s a campaign that’s never gonna let you down.

Hear it from the man himself.

The result

The teaser tweet on Astley’s own social channels became his most-viewed tweet of all time. The campaign also earned push media on This Morning, The Times, Sky, Mail Online and drove a Google Trends spike. 

According to the agency, hearing test bookings increased by 1,220% above the initial target, with Specsavers reporting a 66% year-on-year increase in bookings during launch week versus the target of 5%. The song was played over 20 million times in the first eight hours of the campaign, driving a 138% increase in hearing loss searches and making hearing the UK’s number one trending topic. 

The campaign garnered 400 pieces of coverage, more than 100 million reach. Earned coverage also directly drove business impact: Lorraine TV coverage resulted in +19% on forecast (call centre volume), and This Morning coverage drove +15%.

At the 2024 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, it won a Grand Prix and a Gold in the Radio & Audio category, and the Grand Prix in PR.

We had a great night at the Irish Sponsorship awards where Pride Vibes won Best Radio Broadcast Sponsorship Award.

Launched in 2022, Pride Vibes returned to the airwaves this summer for the third year running with a lineup of presenters including Sean Munsanje, Shivani Dave, Crossy, Stephen Byrne and Vicki Blight. We’re really proud of the work we’ve done on Pride Vibes in UrbanMedia and we’re dedicated to ensuring it goes from strength to strength. The station’s mission is to shine a light on Irish life by celebrating the successes of the LGBTQIA+ community and initiating conversations around the issues that matter. 

Commenting on the win Brian McCarthy, Group Commercial and Operations Director for Wireless Ireland said:

“Pride Vibes is such a passion project for everyone involved in it. I’m so happy for the wide range of talent in our group who have contributed to the station and it makes me so happy to see Gra, who has been a constant driver of the project from day one receive this award.

The project is built on a desire to strive for equality and to give an audio voice to the LGBTQIA+ community in Ireland. We’re so happy to see our station recognised at such a prestigious event at the Irish Sponsorship Awards, especially when you consider the calibre of the other winners on the night.

“When we launched it would have been beyond our wildest dreams to believe we’d be celebrating winning two marquee awards in 2024. This “Best Radio Broadcast Sponsorship” award follows on from winning the “Audio for Change” Award at the Irish Audio Awards earlier this year and is brilliant recognition for the amazing cross department work that is done to create Pride Vibes. A huge thank you to our brilliant team and also to our commercial partners, Core, Dalata Hotels and An Post without whom none of this could happen.”