Radio is in “rude health” with record revenues
The Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) launched two initiatives – a LoveRadioAds app and online tool RadioGAUGE Predict – at an event in London yesterday to celebrate its 20th anniversary.
Linda Smith, executive chair at the RAB, who chaired the event, described the radio industry as being in “rude health” with record revenues.
RadioGAUGE Predict is a free online planning tool, which makes four years worth of data on the performance and effectiveness of radio ads publicly available for the first time. The free LoveRadioAds app, which is available on iPhone and Android, features what the RAB considers the top 10 ads each week.
The two tools have been introduced in “response to the creative industry’s desire for instant, sector intelligence backed by examples of good, creative content”.
Howard Bareham, head of radio at Mindshare, said it was a “fantastic event”, which shows just how much the RAB has evolved and adapted over time.
He was positive about both new initiatives, calling the RadioGAUGE Predict “superb” – adding that it gives agencies “more armour” when it comes to proving how well radio ads are doing.
Bareham said the new app is a great product, which is user-friendly, up to date and widely available. He praised the RAB for “pursuing the right strategy” and said the industry is embracing new platforms and social media – and the more evidence of that, the better.
Speaking at the event, David Mellor, LBC 97.3 and Classic FM presenter, and the former culture minister responsible for radio in the early 90s, told delegates that the 1990 broadcasting act got it “absolutely right” with regards to the national commercial licences.
“Radio has done surprisingly well given so many people thought new media would crush radio,” Mellor said, adding that radio is “strikingly resilient”. However, he did make one plea for ads to better reflect the stations they are playing on.
Tim Davie, director of audio and music at the BBC, was positive about the impact radio will have this summer during the Olympics and Diamond Jubilee. “Many people will hear big Olympic moments on the radio,” he said. According to Davie, radio is “holding up well” because it allows people to connect in a way that no other media can. In terms of share of ear, Davie claims that 80% of all audio is radio – and even among the younger demographic this figure is over 60%.
Meanwhile, Andrew Harrison, chief executive of the RadioCentre, took a retrospective look at the legacy that the Radio Centre has already created in the last 20 years, including the formation of JICRIT and the development of the industry’s trading system J-ET.
He also talked about the importance of national commercial brands alongside the strength of local commercial radio. Since 2006, 90% of radio revenue has changed ownership. Harrison said radio is now extending listener engagement beyond the airwaves.
According to RAB/Ofcom data, revenue was £532.5 million in 2011, up on the £523 million spent in 2010 but still short of the £598.2 million invested in 2007.
In this month’s RAJAR release (Q1 2012), All Commercial Radio enjoyed a 1.2% QoQ increase, which takes its total reach up to 33.2 million listeners. However, All Radio’s weekly reach remained static QoQ and dipped -1.2% compared with Q1 2011.