Publicis Dublin scooped the grand prix at the Irish Audio Awards held in Smock Alley Theatre for their work with Virgin Media. The agency also won in the consumer and casting categories. Other winners on the night included OneCore Media, Boys+Girls, The Public House, Raygun, Event Junkies, Symphonic, WLR FM and Bauer Media Audio Ireland.
The awards are organised by Radiocentre Ireland.
The event took the form of a radio show with Newstalk presenter Sean Moncrieff interviewing journalist Paul Howard (aka Ross O’Carroll Kelly), Deirdre Waldron, TBWA, Rory Hamilton, Boys+Girls and Alex Ingarfield from Droga5. Judge Sandra Bold from Wunderman Thompson said she witnessed great work both in terms of copy and innovative use of radio.
Pearse McCaughey, chair of the judging panel, said that the consensus among the judges was that the average mean standard of entry was very high. “The overall attention to detail in production has improved immensely,” McCaughey said. “More care and thought seems to be going into casting the right voices, choosing the right music and sound effects.”
The former agency creative boss added that it was obvious that the writing, vocal and production talent exists here in Ireland, yet it is clear that the industry still has to realise the full creative potential of audio to emotionally engage consumers. “There’s a need for more experimentation at the juncture between creativity and technology,” McCaughey added.
Radiocentre Ireland was established by RTE and Independent Broadcasters of Ireland (IBI). It is managed by a board comprising three representatives of RTE and three from IBI, the body which represents Ireland’s 34 independent radio stations. John Purcell is chairperson and RTE is represented by Geraldine O’Leary, Dan Healy and Debbie Kennedy.
Representing the IBI are Sean Barry, Simon Myciunka and Fionnuala Rabbitt.
Former Carat boss Ciarán Cunningham is CEO of Radiocentre Ireland.
