How Coleraine BID Brought Festive Radio To The High Street - And Kept It Playing Year-Round

The Challenge: A Town Centre That Needed a Voice

When Triovia began working with Coleraine Business Improvement District in 2019, one thing was immediately clear - the town centre lacked a cohesive audio identity. Footfall during the Christmas period was strong, but traders and shoppers had no shared atmosphere beyond passing traffic. There was no soundtrack to the high street. No voice for the season.

This gap represented a significant opportunity, not just for ambience, but for genuine commercial benefit. Research consistently shows that curated in-store and in-street audio influences dwell time, spending behaviour, and overall perception of a place. Coleraine's town centre deserved better, and Triovia proposed something that had rarely been attempted at this scale in a Northern Irish market town.

The Idea: A 28-Day FM Licence for Christmas

Triovia initiated and proposed the introduction of a short-term FM broadcasting licence - specifically a 28-day seasonal licence - to bring live festive radio to Coleraine town centre during Christmas.

The concept was straightforward but ambitious: create a localised radio station that would broadcast a curated mix of seasonal music, trader promotions, community messages, and BID news directly to shoppers on the street and in local businesses. This wasn't a pre-recorded playlist. This was authentic, community-driven radio for Coleraine.

The proposal involved navigating UK broadcast regulations, securing the FM licence, setting up the transmission infrastructure, and creating a programme schedule that balanced entertainment with commercial utility for BID members. Triovia led this process from concept to execution.

What Happened: The Town Responded with Enthusiasm

The response exceeded expectations. Shoppers noticed. Traders loved it. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive - people appreciated the warmth and community feel that the radio station brought to their Christmas shopping experience in Coleraine.

Local businesses used the station to promote special offers and events in real time. The BID could communicate directly with thousands of people in the town centre simultaneously. It created a sense of occasion and belonging that no digital campaign could fully replicate.

The success of the seasonal FM experiment raised an important question: why should this only run at Christmas?

The Evolution: Year-Round Audio for Coleraine

Public enthusiasm directly informed the next phase. Following the success of the festive radio station, Triovia worked with Coleraine BID to develop a more permanent audio solution for the town centre's public speaker system.

The expanded solution included year-round streaming via the town's existing outdoor speaker infrastructure; integration with Amazon Alexa, enabling home listeners to tune in from outside the town centre; a web stream accessible from any device; and an easy-to-manage content management system that allows BID staff to update audio content and promotions without technical expertise.

This transformed Coleraine's audio environment from a seasonal gimmick into a genuine communication channel. Promotions, events, safety messages, and community news could all be pushed through the system throughout the year - creating a consistent audio brand for the town.

The Lasting Impact

What Triovia proposed and implemented for Coleraine BID represented a genuine innovation for Northern Irish town centres. The use of a short-term FM licence as a proof of concept - quickly evolving into a permanent infrastructure - is a model that other BIDs across the UK have since explored.

For Coleraine, the result was a town centre with its own voice: one that could speak to residents and visitors alike, promote local businesses, and reinforce Coleraine's identity as a vibrant, forward-thinking place to shop, visit, and invest.

Key Outcomes at a Glance

• Seasonal FM radio station successfully launched under 28-day licence
• Positive public and trader response led to permanent audio solution
• Year-round streaming integrated with outdoor speaker system
• Alexa and web stream accessibility for home listeners
• Self-service content management for BID staff
• Real-time promotion of BID member businesses

This project is a prime example of what Triovia brings to every partnership: ideas that begin as bold proposals and become lasting infrastructure. Coleraine BID had the vision to say yes - and the town's high street has been better for it ever since.