Special Media Projects
We’re content creators and technical service providers to business, education, and influencers. Our mantra of “Special Media Projects” means we take on those challenges that others shy away from, we love the clever little things.
We create content. We manage and operate radio stations for broadcast, hospitality, and retail. We build in-store radio and background music services. We build sets for TV and Film. We design and install specialist concealed audio and special effects systems for theme parks, retail, and attractions. We do all this and more… If you have a project that requires media, or any form of technology, then we can help you.
Our solutions include audio and video automation for delivering Radio and TV shows over the air or via live streaming; we provide automated closed captioning and subtitles. We create bespoke audio and video packages, produce podcasts, and help businesses communicate their message and engage with customers.
Technical set design and build
Our credits include:
Alan Partridge Alpa Papa – (Baby Cow – StudioCanal – BBC Films)
Alan Partridge Mid-Morning Matters – (Baby Cow – Sky Atlantic)
Drifters – (Bwark Productions)
Hospital People – (BBC)
Mr Bates Vs The Post Office – (ITV)
Sex Education – (Netflix)
Hospitality, hotel, in-store radio and background music
Hospitality and Hotel Radio
Music is so often overlooked when it comes to designing the ‘guest experience’ the focus is often the provision of TV or interactive services but how often have you been in a hotel room or on a cruise and you just want to listen to great music.
Whether you’re dressing for dinner, relaxing with a glass of wine, or indulging yourself in a hotel room or cabin with a good book, music compliments the moment and enhances the experience.
We supply a range of solutions, from multi-channel streaming machines allowing guests to choose any given musical genre to dedicated, specially designed bespoke automated radio stations, branded and designed to enhance your products and services in a format that is both familiar and comfortable to the listener.
Curated, managed background music
Background music is as important to a venue, space or retail establishment as the colour of the walls and the fixtures and fittings. Background music is the audio representation of your brand and the subliminal ingratiation with your customer… getting it wrong could be disastrous.
You can choose to update the music yourself, or we also provide a managed solution, perfectly tailored to your brand and specification.
Retail radio and in-store
The obvious step up from a simple background music service, is a bespoke radio station. Customers are comfortable listening to radio as it feels familiar and it has some clear benefits for the retailer too.
With a retail radio station, you can advertise directly to the customer, even when they are browsing and not engaging with signage. You can promote events, offers and additional services, in short, you can engage with the customer at a much deeper level by implementing your own radio service.
Staff do not become bored with repetitive playlists, they’re able to engage with the music and enjoy the content. Its a proven fact that people work better, more effectively and more efficiently in a retail environment when they are listening to music.
Specialist audio and visual solutions
Disguising and camouflaging audio systems is a real art, not only to integrate the hardware into the given environment but to ensure that the hardware still performs acoustically, with any camouflaging techniques being transparent so as not to interfere with sound reproduction.
We integrate audio and visual systems into the retail or themed environments so the equipment used to relay sound is hidden from view, creating the illusion that the sound is part of the fabric of the building, part of the experience, set or given space. This creates a magical and integrated customer experience.
Camouflaging or disguising audio and visual systems is not just a technique for the theme park and leisure industry. There are many applications in which modern equipment needs to be integrated into the fabric of buildings and spaces. Listed buildings, churches and other historically sensitive spaces all require subtle and complementary treatments.
If required, we partner our camouflaged audio solutions with carefully designed playlists, made for each users individual and exacting needs, such as sound effects or even “audio masking” a technique where sound is artificially forced into the space to disguise other ambient noises.
Talk to our team today to discuss your hidden audio needs; we’re here to help with many years of heritage and building regulations experience.
Contact The Useful Media Company
Let's talk about your next project. Whether it's audio or visual installation, bespoke media production, website or wifi, sound or vision.
You can use the form here, or go old-skool and pick up the phone... yes, we actually talk to our customers