SunKiss: Reimagining Radio

Radio is facing exciting challenges, while innovative technology is opening up new horizons. SunKiss is showing the way forward with a fresh approach and pioneering concepts. It's a contemporary listening experience for a modern lifestyle.

Photo by SunKiss

A New Way Of Listening

The future of radio is online! Now is the time to embrace this relatively young technology, and to explore exciting opportunities.

More and more listeners now connect via smart speakers or via Bluetooth to media players in the car or in the home. In fact, the typical listener rarely listens on an actual radio. The recent RAJAR figures in the UK (2023 Q3) revealed that over 70% of radio listeners tune in on a digital device, and 24% listen online and that percentage will grow and grow especially with the advent of 5G and exponential development in digital technology. Meanwhile traditional FM frequencies are becoming saturated and restrictive and even DAB does not offer the same longterm potential as online platforms.

SunKiss listeners can join us online anywhere at sunkiss.radio, on smartspeakers or Sonos using a radio player app, or in the car by downloading our app and connecting via Bluetooth or CarPlay.

Online broadcasting is a game-changer. Yet, what we've seen is just the start of the revolution. As technology improves exponentially, the accessibility and quality of online broadcasts will revolutionise listening habits, breaking down traditional boundaries and opening up infinite possibilities.

A community without boundaries

Connecting and strengthening communities - this is where radio is strongest and most relevant. Traditionally the community has been defined by the broadcast regions, but times are changing.

The SunKiss community is not restricted by geographical borders. Instead we connect a network of likeminded listeners with common interests and shared values. Our community shares an appreciation of the world around us and a wish to embrace life to the full while inspiring others to do the same.

Radio is a unique opportunity to reach out to the community, to strengthen the community and to serve the community.

Music with a human touch

Listeners no longer need radio to hear their favourite tunes. They have a personalised jukebox in their pocket and access to millions of songs via Spotify or other streaming services. Yet, radio can offer so much more than automated playlists. Radio can offer a human touch to the algorithms and a music variety they won't find elsewhere.

At SunKiss, we've created a ground-breaking concept, where listeners now have the freedom to choose their preferred music vibe at any time while continuing to enjoy our inspiring features and positive news bulletins throughout the day. On top of our flagship station, we're developing a network of specialist channels each with their own distinct vibe. Listeners can easily switch between these exciting stations using the SunKiss app.

Staying relevant in a connected world

Radio is the window to the outside world, but this generation of radio listeners have no need to rely on us for detailed news stories, weather reports, yesterday’s sports results or flight updates. They now have immediate access to the most relevant information directly at their fingertips. How can we compete with that?

SunKiss offers a different perspective on the news that you won't hear anywhere else. Good News from SunKiss focuses on those positive, uplifting news stories selected specifically for our target community. On-air we celebrate important successes, innovative initiatives, and significant discoveries to spread some much needed positive energy, while listeners will always have access to much more detailed information as and when they need it via our website and podcasts.

Uplifting features

Radio needs to offer a listening experience that can't be found elsewhere. As much as the music, the audio content and features will define our identity, and our relevance.

There's no need for radio to try and compete with audiobooks, podcasts and endless catch-up streams. Extended speech blocks have no place on modern music channels, especially when we promise that the music is never more than a few minutes away.

Instead, we offer short audio features to encourage and inspire our listeners and to invite them into our world. On-air speech is bite-sized – never any longer than 3 minutes. Content is punchy with fast-paced information, statistics, tips and interviews, while more detailed features are available permanently via our website or as a podcast.

A special connection

Rather than listening figures, it’s the listener experience that will define our success. For so many radio stations, the obsession with growing the audience has drained all emotions and lost the personal touch.

At SunKiss, it's about valuing every listener and understanding they have a choice. Connecting and engaging with real people is more important than building up industry statistics. Radio was the original social media network sharing information while bringing people together. Now is the time for radio to reinvent itself as a renewed, reenergised social platform with a personal authenticity that is lacking on many other channels.

SunKiss is about shared value where everyone benefits. It's not about selling to the listeners, but informing, inspiring, comforting, entertaining, and enriching them. The only statistic that counts is how many people we can touch by spreading joy and goodwill - the rest will surely follow!

An international personality

Technology allows us to imagine our resources differently. Rather than permanent local staff clocking in the same hours, we can now bring in so many different talents and create the perfect platform for them to shine to the full.

The SunKiss studios have become a focal point for on-air talent connecting from all over the world. There’s an international flavour to the voices who bring a mixture of pre-recorded features, voice-tracked programming and full-length shows.

You’ll also notice a deliberate absence of cheesy jingles or off-the-shelf backing tracks. We do not want to sound like a dated commercial station. Instead, our music beds and imaging have been created especially for us by talented musicians from the USA. It's radio with an authentic soul and an international personality.

Dynamic Voice-Tracking

At SunKiss, we pride ourselves at being at the forefront of cutting-edge technology which is opening up a whole new dimension to the radio industry. Recently, we’ve been experimenting with a new concept of "dynamic voice-tracking". This is allowing us to be more creative with our voice artists, which in turn helps our stations sound fresh and relevant, creating a more enjoyable listening experience. It also helps add personality to the presenters, making them sound more friendly, interesting, and knowledgeable.

Dynamic voice tracking uses AI technology to personalise each link to reflect the content of the moment. For example, to introduce a specific artist, to give some interesting trivia about the song, or to give a time-check or weather bulletin in real time.

AI is here to stay and there's no doubt it will change the media landscape. The key is to use it creatively and ethically. There are already some incredible tools serving the radio industry. Take a listen to our news bulletins or lifestyle features to hear how these can expand horizons while improving the listener experience.

Creative revenue sources

The 30 second advertising slot is outdated and has no place on SunKiss. The future is sponsored programming, commissioned features and creative revenue sources.

Businesses have an opportunity to embrace our brand, with brief messages read out naturally by presenters providing they are relevant to our community. This is on a monthly subscription basis entirely managed online.

Sponsors can support any of our programming features or commission features of their own, again providing there is a significant value to our listeners. The most adventurous sponsors can create their own specialist channel or even a dedicated radio station in their own image developed and managed entirely by the SunKiss team.

In 2025, we'll be launching an innovative cross-promotion creating personalised radio stations at luxury sun-kissed resorts all over the world. Each station will deliver tailored content and music that enhances the resort atmosphere, broadcasts local events, and offers exclusive promotions to a worldwide audience. This innovative approach not only enriches guest experiences but also promotes powerful promotional opportunities across the SunKiss network.

It’s not all about sponsors. Radio stations are creators of content, so shouldn’t this be the main focus of revenue streams? SunKiss radio is merely the window to greater opportunities. Through sunkiss.audio, we’ll be showcasing important messages, offering premium access to in-depth audio content previewed on-air, and creating original shows for other radio stations or audio platforms.

And the potential stretches way beyond the studio. Sunkiss events, in partnership with Riviera Organisation, a leading events company on the French Riviera, is about sharing the values of the SunKiss Life through authentic live experiences. The on-air experience is now just the focal point. Radio has become multi-dimensional: on-air, online and at events!

Rewards that make a difference

By simply signing in and joining our community, listeners are awarded loyalty rewards called SunKiss Seeds. These can be grown and eventually exchanged for exciting experiences, special offers from our partners or something so much more important!

The modern day listener is not motivated by throwaway giveaways. They do not need a pointless piece of merchandising that ends up in a landfill. Instead what about rewarding them with a prize that will make a difference to the world?

By taking part in our on-air challenges, we reward listeners further by planting a tree, or making a donation on their behalf. In our first promotion, we supported the nearby Tour du Valat nature reserve and raised enough money from sponsor donations to adopt a flamingo for life. It's radio with a purpose for listeners who care.

Goodbye traditional studios

Incredibly, it is no longer essential to have a central physical location, where presenters come in every day to host their shows "live from the studio". SunKiss operates on cutting- edge cloud technology, enabling the broadcast of multiple stations to a global audience, with seamless connections for presenters and contributors from anywhere in the world.

On SunKiss, as well as voices from the UK and France, we bring in talent from the USA, Spain, Sweden, Italy... and even St Lucia. Each presenter connects from their own remote studio, ready to infuse their unique style into our programming. What better way to cater for an international audience?

A media for a changing world

Radio is facing renewed challenges from multiple new sources of media as its target audience’s lifestyle habits change. Many stations are in danger of becoming irrelevant or drowned in a myriad of choice. By rising to the challenge, the most forward-thinking ones can benefit from the opportunities to be more relevant and more successful in the future.

SunKiss is challenging some industry paradigms to create a new listener experience in line with the modern world. It is so much more than a radio station. It's a lifestyle choice that makes a real difference. The SunKiss project is an ambitious vision to create a legacy that stretches far beyond each broadcast to improve well-being and strengthen communities ultimately to the benefit of the whole planet. Now that's the true power of reimagining radio!