The service, called Impulse Live, will be launched on 3 April and will be operational in 500 stores within six months. Alphyra would not specify which stores will broadcast the radio service, but the most likely candidates are Spar outlets.

Immedia was founded by former BBC DJ Bruno Brooks, who is its chief executive. The Impulse service is transmitted via broadband to subscribing stores, and Immedia's major corporate clients in Britain include Ikea and the Dixons electronic chain.

The station operates 24 hours a day, and currently has a subscriber base of about 2,500 confectioners, newsagents, convenience stores and tobacconists in the UK. The service has been trialled in Ireland since September.

Alphyra, which is touted to relist on the stockmarket this year with a value in excess of 700m, hopes to extend the deal eventually to cover 3,000 Irish outlets, representing about 75% of the Irish convenience market.

It may also work with Immedia to expand the service within the UK and mainland Europe.

Subscribers must buy the equipment to receive the radio broadcast and also pay a licence fee. The payback is that they hope for an increase in sales, as do advertisers on the station.

Last year Nestle Rowntree signed a sixfigure deal through Mindshare to advertise for a year on Impulse Live, having previously bought airtime on the service.

Nestle Rowntree's marketing director said that there had already been an "impressive" uplift in sales for products advertised on Impulse.

Also last year, Immedia signed up GlaxoSmithKline, the maker of products including Lucozade.

Another customer, Dixons, said that it had seen sales rise by as much as 35% for some products advertised on the Dixons Live radio station operated by Immedia.

The new concept is being tested initially at all 370 Currys stores and at 200 Dixons outlets. Potential advertisers may include the BBC, Channel 4, PowerGen and Camelot, according to PH4.

BOI SPONSORS ULSTER TO THE TUNE OF /1.7M Bank of Ireland has inked a three-year, 1.7m deal to be the sole sponsor for Ulster Rugby, in what is the largest ever sporting sponsorship deal in Northern Ireland.

Bank of Ireland has sponsored the team for the past nine years. The team said the sponsorship would enable it to attract high calibre professional players.

ORANGE INTRODUCES ADVERTS TO ITS MOBILES It is the move the mobile industry has talked about for years. Could phone users be persuaded to watch adverts in return for free airtime? It seems the answer is finally, yes. Or yes, maybe.

Orange's Israeli 3G mobile operation is to introduce a pricing model that will allow its users to opt to watch personal, interactive advertisement programmes that will discount their bills either in part or completely. The amount of the discount will depend on how many adverts the subscriber watches.

Orange will initially combine the adverts with a game called Celltrix, which is available to its 3G customers.

They can either pay to download the game and enjoy it ad-free, or download it for free on the understanding that the switch to each game level will be preceded by advertising. Advertising will also feature while the game is loading.

Despite what may be the allure of free mobile phone usage, the concept is only likely to appeal to certain subscribers.

CHILDREN'S CHARITY LAUNCHES NEW LOGO Former Miss World Roseanna Davison was on hand last week to launch the new brand identity for children's charity Cradle.

The new logo was created free of charge by Dara Creative , which has also worked with the National Library of Ireland, Walsh Western and the Dublin Chamber of Commerce.