Tim Cowland Radio Expert

Stories galore abounding this RAJAR.

In London, listeners performed a Heart bypass, Kiss went 3rd, Magic stayed still and Capital remained loud and proud at number 1.

Smooth bounced back somewhat……XFM…..oh dear.

In the regions, we saw Jack FM start to pick up our much predicted momentum in the central south. We saw Heart Kent and KMFM battle for the South East with only KMFM East emerging with bragging rights.

East Anglia saw a surprisingly huge dip for Heart but Radio Norwich picked up some of that slack (so my cab driver in Norwich in February was right).

The Midlands saw BRMB’s finale deliver a comeback that will excite Orion’s Free Radio future and a lot of jostling took place as the area geared up for a much more telling RAJAR next time.

NE and NW saw a mixed bag with some Bauer gains and losses, Aire down in Leeds, Viking strong in Hull, Capitals staying steady, KCFM having a large one in Hull, Lincs FM going from strength to strength. Real Yorkshire had its best result in 6 years and Juice in Liverpool turned in outstanding metrics across the board (roll out the brand? Get swallowed up?). The major Manchester market battle saw Capital Manchester down 18% in hours (ouch) and licking its market share wounds. Yet Key 103 hours were slightly down but market share was up 2.5%. So it was BBC Radio Manchester that picked up much of the slack with market share up by nearly 30%.

XFM oh dear.

Scotland saw steady performances from all the usual suspects and Real Scotland just carried on growing and breaking new boundaries. Footnote for Original up in Aberdeen who moved up and on providing real competition there.

Nationally, Classic lost a little but was steady, Talksport stayed static too, Absolute had a big one – their brand extensions, independent attitude, content irreverence and internal drive to redefine radio is an inspiration to many (including us).

As an industry Radio held its nerve and continued to defy its oversimplistic digital detractors. Growth maintained, it lives, it breathes, it grooves, it moves – Radio’s got the staying power for sure.

Perhaps the biggest message of all was the up, up and everywhere stats for mobile listening. 17% of adults listening to radio on mobiles, 24% increase in that figure. Apps, smartphones, click thru – it all just shows how radio’s voice, intimacy, choice and emotion is an irrepressible force and instinct that will travel through and bubble up within – whatever media tech we throw at it.

For detailed analysis of regions, stations, issues and the analogue, online, digital, mobile and on demand stats – your Radio Experts are on hand to put you in the picture. Let’s chat.

Tim Cowland is a Founder Partner at Radio Experts, a London based specialist radio advertising agency. tim.cowland@radioexperts.co.uk. @timcradioexpert

Today sees the announcement that talkSPORT is to launch sports stations in key Asian markets such as Jakarta, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

Its all part of a growing trend to realise the brand equity and content distribution potential of Radio Brands as a whole.

Sports and Football clearly have an international appeal – but Talksport’s move is not the first such move nor is it at all likely to be the last.

As radio and audio moves away from the geographic limitations of pure analogue delivery methods – the online distribution channels open up a great big world of audience. Why not listen to Heart in Houston, Smooth in Sydney, Absolute in Antamanarivo, Magic in Maputo and Oak FM in Ougadougou (alright I’ll stop).

Recently we’ve also had Smooth FM simulcasting with Australia as well as the rise and rise of totally non-geographically limited services such as Spotify, Rdio and many others.

My prediction is that as we look at content which is globalising, so too we will see business metrics which measure ROI in ever globalising terms. Why not be happy with CPLs in Indonesia and Guangzhou every bit as much as CPLs in New York and London?

Consumer power is moving East, content is globalising and the full force of radio brand equity will reward those who have invested in it most.

Not since MTV in 1981 has the broadcast industry reached such a tipping point.

Let’s see which British Radio brands forge the furthest ahead the fastest…..and congrats to Talksport for raising their flag so early…

Tim Cowland is a Founder Partner at Radio Experts, a London based specialist radio advertising agency. tim.cowland@radioexperts.co.uk. @timcradioexpert

Lines are being drawn in the sand over Global’s acquisition of Atlantic FM and its re-branding to the national Heart fascia on the 7^th May. The MD of their still independent local rival Pirate FM MD had this to say:

“The fact that Heart will desert the county and broadcast programmes from Exeter and London,irrespective of the fact that it claims to be a local station, has raised a lot of concerns amongst listeners, local organisations and advertisers.

We do not intend to follow suit. We are based in Cornwall and proud to be so.

We employ dozens of local people, ensure that we invest in the local community and broadcast our programmes locally.

I wanted to reassure everyone in Cornwall that Pirate FM is their local station and is here to stay.

We have no plans to turn our back on the county and move our broadcasting operation to Exeter or London.”

Strong words indeed. And so, it seems the bipartisan battle is on for what could be an increasingly polarised audience.

It’s Giant Haystacks Local station in one corner versus Big Daddy National in the other. Ding Ding!

The re-brand will help to bring Cornwall in line with the rest of the country in terms of the Heart roll-out, which will give more national advertisers easier access to the Cornish advertising space.

Pirate FM’s localness plus its independent and Cornish programming will further cement its position within the local marketplace and its relationship with local advertisers and the Cornish audience as a whole.

As a national advertiser, there will be times when you want the ease and brand fit of national solutions – and there will be times when you want the added dialogue and dialect of communicating locally.

Ultimately, a market thrives on having both options available. So in some ways, Heart Cornwall gives the marketplace something it didn’t really have before.

A shame to see Atlantic go though – and only time will tell if the people of Cornwall truly embrace the Heart brand.

So where should your radio pounds go in Cornwall?  Well it depends on how you take your butter, jam and cream with your scones so to speak…..but our team will delve beneath the surface and make sure we give you the right option every time.  For more advice on radio advertising, and an insight into how you radio budget can be most efficiently spent in the local and national marketplaces call us now or email.

Tim Cowland is a Founder Partner at Radio Experts, a London based specialist radio advertising agency. tim.cowland@radioexperts.co.uk. @timcradioexpert

OK, pub quiz:

What do Ed Vazey, Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries,
Dame Kelly Homes – super golden runner quick person
and broadcaster funny man football nut Colin Murray all have in common?

Answer: They were all to be found up the BT Tower earlier today switching on a boosted digital radio signal within the M25 zone of Greater London. According to industry figures this will mean 99% of the London road network within the M25 will have DAB coverage ready for this summer’s Olympic Games.

And as Ed, Kelly and Colin flicked the switch – we know they will have peered across admiringly at our nearby Kings Cross rooftop to see the Radio Experts also doing their bit to boost Digital Radio.

Radio Experts are at the forefront of all things analogue, On Demand and Digital (DAB). So a boosted signal just adds a bit more oomph to the solutions we put in front of our clients every day.

For more information on advertising on any of the digital radio platforms or indeed the vast number of radio on demand platforms out there call us or email us now. If we don’t answer, its because we’re all on the roof dancing and waving at all the celebs in the BT Tower…

Tim Cowland is a Founder Partner at Radio Experts, a London based specialist radio advertising agency. tim.cowland@radioexperts.co.uk. @timcradioexpert

Spotify today announces the release of its ‘Play’ button for website owners. Named the Spotify Play button this a widget for website developers to use across their sites to enable people to listen to music directly from their site (with the help of a Spotify account).

Adding this Spotify widget will have a dual effect at least initially, driving new registrations to Spotify but also opening up a new arena of how music resources is referenced online. For example, if a journalist is discussing a track in a review – he/she can provide the Spotify widget link to the track right there. Likewise, if we at Radio Experts are giving customers a sense of what track might be a good style guide for some radio creative concepts we can display this for them via a Spotify widget on a public page. One of the most interesting aspects here is how ‘easy access’ to the right tracks will drive newsworthiness and make musical comment a lower hanging option for the content hungry news marketplace

No wonder Spotify have already announced that blogging platform tumblr, The Guardian, Time Out Group, The Huffington Post, The Independent, NME, Rolling Stone and MSN UK are partnering up with them.

Watching the music industry’s digital reinvention has been fascinating so far…this promises to be yet another page turning chapter. We make sure our advertisers are well versed in what Spotify and other Radio On Demand platforms can do for them and their click through ratios – these changes open up more and more possibilities for us to recommend skilful  audio placement to the marketplace.

To find out more about Radio On Demand and how we can help your Spotify advertising call us on 0207 841 8744 or drop us an email. Find out more at UKRadioExperts…

Tim Cowland is a Founder Partner at Radio Experts, a London based specialist radio advertising agency. tim.cowland@radioexperts.co.uk. @timcradioexpert

Fanfares steady, festering running shoes at the ready, go go go Johnny Vaughan on Absolute Radio!

This morning Absolute Radio announced live on air that  Johnny Vaughan is joining their presenting team for their radio coverage of the Olympics this summer.

Obviously the rumours that Johnny was moving on to daytime TV have been put on hold for now. The new Absolute Radio show will broadcast throughout the Olympics from 5 – 7pm and repeated across the whole Absolute network later on (on Absolute 80s, 90s, 00s).

We are very excited about the Olympics here at Radio Experts and eager to tune-in the Roberts digital radio to Absolute 80s ready to catch the after Olympics coverage over the summer.

For more information on radio advertising over the summer please call us or drop us an email.

Tim Cowland is a Founder Partner at Radio Experts, a London based specialist radio advertising agency. tim.cowland@radioexperts.co.uk. @timcradioexpert

March 26^th, a day that will live long in Midlands commercial radio history.

Tonight from 7pm, Free Radio takes over as the named on air brand for what was BRMB, Mercia, Wyvern and Beacon. And whilst there may be some soggy bran flakes tomorrow morning as listeners adjust to the changes, we’re confident that by tomorrow afternoon it’ll be fist pumping dance-your-toast-off tea time as Free Radio energises the Midlands marketplace.

Just like Signal 107, Free Radio is an exciting move that takes radio brands wider and further – pushing the content over the geography, the entertainment over the locality.

For our bank of gorgeous advertisers it is exactly these kind of changes that work so well. Changes that define audience, simplify coverage and empower greater numbers will always be welcome. Free Radio – welcome to the party.

Born Free – A new Midlands Radio Superpower starts gasping the Oxygen and grasping the airwaves tonight from 7pm.

To listen to last few hours of BRMB and the first few hours of Free Radio tune in here on Radio Player… http://brmb.orionplayer.co.uk/

Good luck Free Radio!

Tim Cowland is a Founder Partner at Radio Experts, a London based specialist radio advertising agency. tim.cowland@radioexperts.co.uk. @timcradioexpert

So apps in cars are not anything new, ever since the release of the iphone and the in-car handsfree kit, it has been clear that the car dashboard is crying out for a set of car related apps. This year sees the US launch of the first car with internet connected apps as standard. OK so it’ll be a while until we can all afford a Lexus GS Sport Saloon, but these innovations will eventually filter down into all cars.

What’s important about this car is that it has access to Pandora Radio direct from the car’s dashboard (something which could have been done since 2010 with a good Pioneer stereo and an iPhone but never directly from the car’s entertainment system).

Radio On Demand listening and the idea that audio doesn’t have to come from a traditional radio broadcast is increasingly changing the way in which people listen to radio/broadcast audio/podcasts/music/talkshows. But the important thing is they’re still listening…

Plus with the power of internet connected devices and web signup (required for services such as Pandora/Spotify/Absolute In Stream, We7 etc) there’s audience data galore. And audience data means lots of juicy pinpoint targeting opportunities for advertisers. So….yes…..that means if a certain astrologically named chocolate bar brand (starts with m and rhymes with cars), wants to target men aged 20-40 who are driving in their white vans listening to their favourite Shanks and Bigfoot track.……we can connect the advertiser to the vehicle to the driver and everybody gets their sweet as chocolate moment.

The Radio Experts’ On Demand service is here to guide you through the maze of an exciting and changing audio advertising marketplace. you can follow us on twitter @ukradioexperts to find out more, or drop us an email even call on 0207 841 8744.

Tim Cowland is a Founder Partner at Radio Experts, a London based specialist radio advertising agency. tim.cowland@radioexperts.co.uk. @timcradioexpert

All the middle-aged women scream at once…..singing sensation and dancing with the stars ‘star’ Donny Osmond returns to UK radio, with his four hour lifestyle show every Sunday evening broadcast from his Las Vegas studio onto the Smooth Radio Network.

Donny Osmond has delved into UK radio before with a syndicated version of his show airing on UK stations such as the The Breeze in the South and The Revolution in Manchester. But his Smooth move is a definite step up for the little man with the big voice from Utah. Osmond’s dulcet tones will be filling the airwaves from April the 8th.

So if you’re ever lonesome tonight (on a Sunday night specifically). Donny Osmond will be there to hit you with some of that sweet smooth puppy love.

If you want to know more about the changes happening daily across the radio industry stay tuned to @UKRadioExperts on twitter or drop by/email us for a chat.

Tim Cowland is a Founder Partner at Radio Experts, a London based specialist radio advertising agency. tim.cowland@radioexperts.co.uk. @timcradioexpert

The 31st March marks the one year anniversary of the brilliant RadioPlayer, the non-for-profit industry online radio player part funded by the BBC and commercial radio industry. Boasting some impressive first year listening figures (7 million visitors and counting…).

With news that they are developing mobile apps in time for the summer and the announcement yesterday that Virgin Media will be providing free wi-fi on the London Underground. Also combine this with the world’s media descending on the capital all using London underground during the summer’s Olympic games, festooned with the latest smart phones from around the world, paves the way for a very strong summer for commercial radio and RadioPlayer/digital listening.

At Radio Experts we don’t really need a second invitation to listen to radio but the chance to sit and listen whilst we watch the world go by on Kings Cross, Victoria Line platform 3, might come in handy once or twice during the Olympic Crush!

Tim Cowland is a Founder Partner at Radio Experts, a London based specialist radio advertising agency. tim.cowland@radioexperts.co.uk. @timcradioexpert