Getting Audio Right for Advertising
An ad brief arrives with a lot in it. A script, a visual direction, a tone of voice, a broadcast spec, a deadline, and usually a note somewhere about the music not being cleared yet. Audio is often the thing that gets assembled last, which is a shame, because it's what the audience experiences most viscerally.
You can close your eyes in a cinema. You can't close your ears.
The Specific Demands of Advertising Audio
Audio for advertising sits in a different space from audio post for long-form content. The timescales are tighter, the versions multiply quickly (30-second cut, 20-second cut, 6-second digital, radio edit), and delivery specs vary across broadcast, streaming, and social in ways that are easy to get wrong if you don't know them.
A mix that sounds great in the studio can be too loud for broadcast, or too quiet for a social platform where most people are watching without sound before they decide to tap the audio on. Getting levels and loudness right across formats isn't glamorous work, but it's the kind of thing that comes back to bite you when it's not done properly.
Voiceover, Music, and Sound Design Working Together
The best advertising audio is the product of three elements working in the same direction: the voiceover, the music bed, and the sound design. When any one of those pulls against the others, you feel it even if you can't name it. The voice gets lost. The music overwhelms the message. The sound effects are busy without being purposeful.
Getting those elements to sit well together is a mixing job, but it's also a creative one. It requires someone listening to the whole picture, not just checking that each component sounds fine in isolation.
At Red Facilities, we've worked on advertising audio across radio, TV, and digital, for campaigns of all sizes. The brief changes. The discipline doesn't.
Working With Agency Timelines
We know how agency post schedules work. We know the approved music sometimes arrives the day before the deadline. We know the client wants to hear a version before the session is technically finished. We know that "one more tweak" is rarely one more tweak.
We're set up to work with that reality rather than around it. Tight deadlines, multiple versions, last-minute changes: we'd rather know about them upfront and plan accordingly than be surprised by them at 4pm on a Thursday.
Ready to Book?
If you're working on a campaign and want to talk through the audio side, get in touch with the team. A conversation at brief stage is almost always more useful than a longer one at delivery.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does audio post-production for advertising actually include?
It covers everything from editing and mixing your voiceover to balancing music, adding sound design, and delivering the final files to broadcast or platform spec. For most campaigns that means working across multiple versions and formats, from a 30-second TV spot through to a 6-second pre-roll, all from the same session.
Do you work directly with agencies or with production companies?
Both. We work with advertising agencies handling their own post, production companies delivering finished assets to clients, and in-house creative teams who need a professional studio to bring their work over the line. Whatever the setup, the process is the same.
Can you handle multiple cutdowns from a single session?
Yes, and it's something we plan for from the start. If you're delivering a TV master, a radio edit, and several digital formats, we build that into the session rather than treating each version as a separate job. It's more efficient and keeps everything consistent across formats.
What loudness standards do you mix to?
We mix to the relevant broadcast and platform standards for your deliverables. For UK broadcast that's typically EBU R128 at -23 LUFS. For streaming and social platforms the targets vary, and we'll confirm the right spec for each deliverable before the session starts.
What if the music hasn't been cleared when we come to mix?
It happens more often than most agencies would like to admit. If you're working with a temp track while clearance is pending, we can mix to that and adjust when the final music arrives. It's worth flagging early so we can structure the session to accommodate it.
Can clients listen in remotely during the session?
Absolutely. We're set up for remote monitoring via Source Connect and Cleanfeed and video monitoring via Zoom and Teams, so clients or creative directors who can't be in the room can listen in and give feedback in real time. It works well and saves a lot of back-and-forth after the fact.
How far in advance do we need to book?
For a standard campaign mix we'd usually ask for a few days' notice, though we can often accommodate shorter timelines depending on availability. If you're working to a tight broadcast deadline, it's always worth calling us as early as possible so we can hold the time.
Written by Max Howarth
Max is a producer and director at Red Facilities with over 30 years of experience in audio post-production. Based in Edinburgh, he has worked across broadcast drama, feature film, documentary, and independent production throughout his career.