National advertisers on regional radio have increased activity on the medium to the tune of almost 9% in 2004. That’s well ahead of the forecast 6.8% predicted for radio this calendar year by PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
And, with a looming election, the interest in regional radio is set to continue, with 54% of marginal seats based in regional markets, where voters and independent politicians recognise the importance of these electorates.
CEO for the Regional Radio Bureau, Mary Martin, expects the momentum to continue: “Our key message is about the return on investment opportunity for advertisers. One commercial on breakfast radio in regional Australia delivers a larger audience than the Big Brother final across 5 capital cities. That is the sort of audience we give advertisers access to every day of the week”, she said.
According to Martin, “The Regional Radio Bureau has worked hard at developing initiatives with the advertising industry to make it easier to buy regional radio through one point of contact at the Bureau. This gives RRB a unique position in the market that has been embraced and is delivering returns for advertisers.”
Last week, PriceWaterhouseCoopers’ Radio Revenue performance figures for metropolitan advertising showed commercial radio continuing to “perform well” this year.
Advertising revenue figures for July are up by about 25% to around $45.7 million, compared to $36.5 million for the same month last year.
Commercial Radio Australia CEO, Joan Warner, says all states have experienced an increase in revenue in July, with the strongest growth recorded in Brisbane (44% to $6.8 million); Perth (37% to $4.5 million); Melbourne (31% to $12.2 million); Sydney (19% to $18.2 million); and Adelaide (6% to $3.9 million).
“This growth follows a very strong performance in the financial year ended in June, which showed a total increase of about 12% to $520 million, compared to the previous financial year… These figures highlight the effectiveness of the industry’s $40 million national advertising campaign, which promotes the benefits of advertising on radio.
“The July figure also sets a good launching pattern for an even stronger result this financial year for radio which is great news for the industry.”
Warner says commercial radio’s brand campaign has been well supported by the industry. It will continue for a further 12 months, with a new series of advertisements launched last month.
“The campaign over the past year has exceeded our expectations, in terms of generating awareness and altering the perceptions of radio, and now obviously has also helped deliver more dollars to the bottom line.”