Classic FM Invests £1 Million In Cross-Media Campaign
GWR is investing £1 million in a cross-media advertising campaign to promote Classic FM after the latest RAJAR figures revealed that more than 6.5 million people now tune in to the station each week.
The campaign, which is the first of its kind in the station’s history, will target around 10 million people with a range of print, television and radio advertising, as well as extensive database marketing.
Classic FM has developed a number of new programmes designed to introduce classical music and the great composers to a new audience. The first of these, Composer’s Notes, marks the station’s first foray into advertiser-funded programming with a series of specially created, hour-long shows backed by insurance company Prudential (see Classic FM Moves Into Advertiser-Funded Programming).
This will be accompanied by the Classic FM Guide To The Orchestra, which will see violinist Nicole Wilson explain the workings of the modern orchestra. Meanwhile, Backstage UK will see Anne-Marie Minhal give her insight into some of the UK’s much-loved arts organisations.
Classic FM is also working with organisations such as the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, to develop a series of initiatives which seek to engage new audiences with the live classical music experience.
Commenting on the campaign, Roger Lewis, managing director and programme controller of Classic FM said: “We believe in classical music. We have shown that it can be part of everyone’s lives. It’s time to shout about it.”
The latest RAJAR figures for the first quarter of this year show that Classic FM saw its weekly reach dip by 4.8% year on year to 6,544,000. However, this blip appears to have been corrected with period on period analysis revealing a healthy 5.4% increase (see RAJAR Results Q1 2004: BBC Radio One Stuck In Slump).
Last year, GWR’s sales house Opus revealed the findings of a study which claims that listeners to Classic FM respond better to advertising than their pop music counterparts. The results showed that consumers relax when listening to classical music and therefore ads played on Classic FM have a greater impact than those played in a pop music environment (see Classic FM Listeners Respond Better To Ads).
Opus: 020 7518 2642 www.opusonline.co.uk
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