Radio Advertising

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