Global commercial chief Mike Gordon: Radio has ‘grown up and adapted’
The Media Leader Interview
Global’s chief commercial officer explains the strategy behind launching 12 stations in one day, how radio has grown as other broadcast channels have struggled and why he’s not worried about streaming platforms.
“It’s never been done before. Some people say there’s a reason why. It’s a bit like Spencer Matthews running 30 marathons in 30 days.”
Last month, Global launched 12 radio stations in one day — an “ambitious goal”, according to chief commercial officer Mike Gordon: “But we like ambitious goals.”
The stations comprise sub-brands for Heart (Musicals, Love and ’10s), Smooth (’80s, ’70s and Soul), Radio X (’00s, ’90s and Chilled), Classic FM (Movies and Calm) and Capital (Anthems).
Global had previously launched five stations within one week back in 2019.
Finding the gap
But why 12 and why launch them all on the same day?
“I suppose it could have been 10, it could have been 14,” says Gordon. “We look at the brands and the very clever people who work in our content and programming teams did a huge amount of research on where there is legitimately a gap [in the market].
“It could have been more, honestly. But we felt that was the right time and it’s a balance of what’s the investment, what’s the technical involvement, where’s the programming gap, where’s the window, where’s the market and where is it additive?”
Speaking to The Media Leader from Global’s London office, Gordon was jovial about what has been a positive year for the company’s audio business. The latest Q3 Rajar figures, released on the day of this interview, showed continued growth in listenership across Global’s brands.
On the whole, Global posted 11% year-on-year growth across its portfolio and now reaches 27.7m listeners. Its core brands Heart (+14.6%), Capital (+21.2%), and Smooth (+23.5%) all demonstrated strong growth in weekly reach.
While Global won’t know the full impact of its 12 new stations on audience listening until the next Rajar report, Gordon is excited about commercial radio’s performance this year regardless, especially compared to challenges faced by other traditional channels such as publishing and broadcast TV.
“That the traditional channel of radio has grown — this is something that genuinely blows my mind,” he says: “There are more people listening to Heart now; there’s more [listening] hours on Heart now than there were 15-17 years ago. More people are listening to radio now than 10-15 years ago.
“That, I just find, is staggering. And that’s just the radio channels, before you start adding Dax into it.”
Changing listening habits
According to Gordon, much of the success for Global — and commercial radio more generally — has occurred because of its ability to address changes in consumer habits.
Not only does Global benefit from being free to air, he says, but it has been able to capitalise on consumers’ shift to listening via digital devices, be they mobile phones, smart TVs or smart speakers. Smart speakers, in particular, have seen 22% year-on-year growth in share of radio listening.
Gordon stops short of commenting on Global’s competitors in the streaming market, such as Spotify or Apple Music. He opts to call himself “a promoter of audio” as a powerful medium for advertising and arguing that radio and streaming can be “symbiotic”.
Consumers “don’t build playlists” like they used to, Gordon explains, in part thanks to habits formed from using streaming services, which are known for recommending playlists and music discovery based on users’ prior listening habits. Instead, consumers now look more to “moods” or “styles” — something that works to the benefit of radio too, particularly for stations dedicated to moods or decades.
Indeed, Gordon thinks radio’s advantages lie in a style that’s familiar to listeners and the “advocacy” of presenters.
“It’s not just a Spotify playlist where you know what you’re going to get,” he says. “You’re getting a style of play, a style of entertainment — but it’s much more engaging because it’s things you might not expect that put a smile on your face or those water-cooler talkable pieces.
“That’s why radio has evolved and grown up and adapted to what’s going on. It’s giving the convenience of technology but still the entertainment that’s always been there that people feel comforted by.”
Moreover, the “recognition” and “simplicity” of established brands like Heart mean listeners “know what you’re going to get” when they access the new brand extensions.
A broadcast company with digital aims
Commercially, Gordon argues that Global’s various stations and their sub-brands offer AV planners and buyers “nuance” when looking to buy radio spots. For example, he describes Heart generally targeting listeners looking for a fun, family feel, but its sub-stations, like the new Heart ’10s, can be used to target a more direct subset, such as through takeovers.
Meanwhile, for programmatic buyers, Global’s Dax, founded in 2014, offers access to a wider range of inventory across its stations as well as streaming services like SoundCloud, podcasts and gaming.
Gordon argues that radio is noteworthy compared with other media channels in that it is continuing to deliver growing broadcast audiences at a time when, for example, broadcast TV has become “harder for clients to take advantage of”.
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Most client feedback he receives runs along the lines of: “I need to have broadcast capability as part of my media planning. It can’t just be Google and Facebook, it can’t just be targeting. I do want to have that broadcast reach as well.” This is how Global becomes an attractive offer.
“If I’m to look at where the money has come from, where it will continue to come from, I think there’s definitely growth in the broadcast marketplace,” Gordon says.
That could come from “augmented TV”, as he calls it, but Gordon notes that radio has always been useful in offering a multiplier effect for any TV campaign: “That has always been the case. That always works for clients.”
However, the “exciting bit” of growth for Global’s commercial business is in its digital offering, primarily through Dax, which Gordon says provides the business with “incremental growth”.
He estimates that while the UK radio market might be worth £780m annually, the outdoor market could be valued at £1.3bn and the TV market at £5bn, the programmatic and internet protocol-connected market is worth anything from £25m to £45m.
“That is a really exciting real growth for us in the future,” he stresses.
Next phase of Global
Should the audience expect even more new stations in the near future? A chuckling Gordon says: “We have the largest audio portfolio, we have the largest outdoor portfolio and the largest advanced digital audio data portfolio. So I think we’ve got enough. Certainly I would be saying to our programming team: I think we’re OK for the minute.”
Gordon remains optimistic for commercial radio as we head into the end of the year, admitting that the only things that worry him are macro factors outside his control, such as how the forthcoming government budget and regional conflicts could impact the economy and, thus, marketing budgets.
“I feel very lucky to be in a position where […] we don’t have to worry about an audience — because it’s the population,” says Gordon. He points to recent renewals of the Transport for London contract, Network Rail contract and BT Street Hub contract for Global’s OOH division as helping to ensure wide reach across its portfolio.
“The last three quarters, we’ve grown beyond we ever believed we could grow,” he continues. “So to now get to almost within touching distance of 30m within our audio business is phenomenal. Bearing in mind the other part of our business, outdoor, combined we’re getting 50-odd-million weekly reach and touching 95% of the UK population in broadcast capabilities.”
Gordon contrasts his confidence in maintaining reach with other broadcasters, such as those in linear TV, which he argues are having to worry more actively about retaining audiences amid the shift to streaming services.
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Still, there is much change taking place at Global over the next few months. CEO Stephen Miron is stepping down in March and move into the role of chairman, with his role being filled by STV CEO Simon Pitts. Meanwhile, Stuart Mays, Global’s long-standing director of commercial strategy, recently announced he will be departing after 16 years to launch a music startup.
“We’re very lucky because Stephen’s not leaving the business,” notes Gordon. “We have Stephen and we have Simon — it’s great to have somebody join the business with the experience that Simon’s got. No-one has a monopoly on a great idea.”
Gordon adds: “We’re very lucky it’s a privately held company. We can adapt and invest where we feel it’s necessary. There’s so much excitement and energy.
“I think this is the start of the next phase of what Global can be and look like.”