Commercial radio enjoyed a positive start to 2005, with figures from the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) showing first quarter revenue to be up 2.8% year on year, reaching £162 million.
National advertising revenue for radio across the first three months of 2005 rose by 3.5% year on year, to £95.9 million, while Sponsorship & Promotions remained the fastest area of growth, with revenue up 11.3% to £21.9 million (see
Commercial Radio Continues Upward Trend).
Q1 2005 saw heavy investment in radio from the motoring sector, worth £21 million in total, with Ford, Vauxhall and Renault all securing places within the advertiser top 10 during the quarter.
The biggest campaigns of the quarter came from COI Communications, while FMCG advertisers Unilever, Nestle and Proctor & Gamble each increased their advertising expenditure in quarter one.
Commenting on the figures, Lynne Springett, Marketplace and PR manager at the RAB said: “Today’s figures for Q1 2005 reveal a positive start to the year for Commercial Radio.”
She added: “In a tough marketplace, we’re pleased to see some of the UK’s biggest advertisers continue to increase their investment in the medium during the first quarter, utilising radio to maximise multi-media effectiveness.”
The success of the medium is set to continue from last year, which saw total commercial radio revenue in 2004 enjoy an increase of 5.6%, reaching £637.6 million (see Valentines Send 92 Million Text Messages).
The latest forecast from the Advertising Association (AA) predicts radio advertising expenditure in 2005 to be up by 3.4%, compared to 2004 (see UK Adspend Forecast To Rise By 4.3% In 2005).
The RAB and Outdoor Advertising Association (OAA) have recently joined forces, commissioning research to explore the area of multi-media effects and advance understanding of the media combination of radio and outdoor (see OAA And RAB Join Forces To Research Radio And Outdoor Advertising).
Mark Barber, planning director of RAB explained: “There is a lot of belief in the media that radio and outdoor would make a highly effective combination. We are delighted to be collaborating with the OAA in furthering knowledge of what the two media offer when combined, beyond just the complementary functional media attributes.”
Commercial radio slipped further away from the BBC at the beginning of 2005, with the Corporation outperforming its rivals in terms of share of listening, weekly reach and average hours per listener, according to the latest RAJAR figures. Commercial radio now accounts for 43.8% of all listening, while the BBC represents 54.2%.
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