Sponsorship And Promotions Boost Commercial Radio In Q3

Sponsorship and promotions continues to be a key area of growth for commercial radio, which saw revenue increase by 3.2% year on year during the third quarter of 2002 to £140 million.

According to the latest figures from the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB), revenue from sponsorship and promotions grew by 17.6% year on year between July and September and by 14.3% for the moving annual total.

The sponsorship and promotions sector’s £70m spend now accounts for a 12.5% share of commercial radio’s annual £556.9 million advertising revenue.

New investment from national advertisers including News International, Tesco and Matalan has boosted commercial radio over the last few months and an increasing number of brands continue to turn to the sector in the face of the ongoing advertising downturn.

Commenting on the figures, Michael O’Brien, director of marketing operations at the RAB, said: “We are delighted that significant new investment from a number of national and global brands has helped commercial radio to a third consecutive quarter of year on year growth.”

He added: “Furthermore, advertiser interest in the power of sponsorship and promotions to contact with their own consumers continues to grow.”

The figures from the RAB show commercial radio outperforming forecasts from analysts at Merrill Lynch, which suggested that total commercial radio revenue would be down by 5% year on year during the third quarter of 2002 (see Radio Trading Remains Weak Into Q4 Says Merrill Lynch).

RAB: 020 7306 2500 www.rab.co.uk

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