Commercial radio continues to win new brands – from lemon juice to hair colouring – as latest data confirms the medium’s growing strengths

The present marketing campaign for commercial radio is working well, say agencies trying to persuade their clients to spend on the medium. Zenith Media strategic planning director Rosemary Gorman, who has just brought Clairol Glints onto radio for the first time, says the high profile, and hype are making clients think more about switching their budgets to radio.

The campaign for Glints is aimed at the younger female and has moved away from TV – because of costs – for the first time. “We also managed to crack the creative problem – through Grey London – and that is a vital part of the equation,” Gorman says.

Zenith is producing a case history on the campaign, which also features posters and women’s magazines. “Mike Harrison, the product manager, is getting very positive feedback from friends and associates in the business. All we need to do now is look at how the sales are going.”

The solus Atlantic 252 campaign for Jif Lemon, timed to coincide with Pancake Day, was a new departure for the brand. TMD group head Simon Redicam says that the big factors in switching to radio were the ability to build frequency and to take the message to a new and younger audience.

“We also knew that we could build a `fun’ element which would again extend the advertising message for the client,” Redicam says. “The expectation is that we will go more heavily on radio next year.”

Worldwide Radio, an independent radio sponsorship and promotions agency, spent a year working with McCann-Erickson in London to turn NescaféGold Blend’s “couples” proposition into an airtime promotion. Worldwide Radio marketing and sponsorship executive Mark Baggett says the eventual concept involved linking the Love Over Gold CD from Gold Blend with a Valentine’s Day promotion centred on the Lanesborough Hotel in London. “Clients and agencies are starting to get very excited about stepping beyond the normal boundaries of spot advertising and looking at something that combines airtime with a promotion and the associated spin-off of a link with programming,” Baggett says.

“We started with a very long list of stations, with this effectively being a test. We ended up using Atlantic 252, Radio City, Heart FM and jfm in London and Manchester. Many stations run special love song segues and we were able to build the promotion around them,” Baggett says.

“Early indications from the stations are excellent. To our mind, it was a highly cost-effective way of using radio, and built on the TV branding over the years. I have a feeling that radio is now very firmly on the schedule,” he says.

Register-MEAL data on radio spending in 1994 shows McDonald’s holding top slot for the third year, with a spend of £3.6m, followed by Star Direct (£1.99m) and Kimberly Clark (£1.99m).

The top three buying points were Zenith Media (£8.95m), The Media Centre (£4.85m) and Leo Burnett (£4.79m).

The top three buying points were Zenith Media (£8.95m), The Media Centre (£4.85m) and Leo Burnett (£4.79m).