radio and the world today

in the beginning the naysayers said that the internet would kill radio... but they were wrong.
quite the opposite; the internet has propelled radio into a new era, boosting listening on alternative platforms by enabling listeners to tune in wherever they are, thanks to tablets and smartphones.

radio's enduring appeal

No medium is more evolutionary than radio. From it's origins in Hertzian waves used for "narrowcasting" maritime communications to the experimental "broadcasting" on AM we saw radio move from a functional communication channel towards the entertainment role it is known for today. The birth of FM brought listeners a dramatically improved listening experience and here in the UK, via battles between the BBC and offshore pirate radio stations, commercial radio flourished. Since then, and with the rise of DAB, the spectrum has expanded to cater to all tastes and with it all advertiser needs. Constant evolution under-pins radio's enduring appeal; embracing the advantages that the internet has enabled is very much in the medium's DNA.

27%

of adults claim to listen via a mobile phone or tablet at least once per month. 32% of people also claim to own a smart speaker and 18% claim to use it every day to listen to radio.

how are we listening?

Radio is in rude health. Match-fit for a new generation of time-poor listeners. Advertisers are seeking ways to reach, to influence and to interact with their consumers. That place is on radio.

the power of sound

So as we've established, radio offers a connected, interactive, relevant experience. But it's true value to brands lies in the influence it exerts over listeners...

We know that radio is proven to be one of the most powerful drivers of traffic online. We live in a real-time world; when people hear something that piques their interest on radio, they want to go online to buy or in search of more information, and they want to do so in a split second.

At radio experts over 98% of the ads we produced last year contained a web address, and we plot correlations between spot times, activity type and geography of broadcast to measure and refine campaign effectiveness for our advertisers.

The results are there, you just need experts to know where and how to look.

what radio
influences listeners
to do in the real world
and online

radio, what's next?

With all of these developments radio advertising is moving away from traditional "media buying" and towards "audience buying" as we target the right consumers, irrespective of their listening platform.

Clichéd as it may be, the power of sound is as old as speech itself. However the pace of technological change has never been faster and that manifests itself through the ever-changing face of the radio industry.

Over the coming years you can expect us to increasingly present you with aggregated pots of audio inventory as the larger station groups such as Global Radio and Bauer collaborate with audio technology companies such as Spotify, Apple and Acast to bring scale, diversity and measurability to the market.

We are here to help you navigate the sometimes complex choices, to develop the right audio strategy for your brand, and to capture meaningful measurement.

At radio experts we live and breathe this marketplace, we know its strengths and - equally importantly - we know its weaknesses. But we also understand how audio is evolving within this wider media landscape, and how to harness the valuable audiences it has to offer brands.

make sure you put your brand
in the hands of the experts.