Radio boosts feedback to advertisers

Commercial radio stations will start issuing standard transmission certificates from May 1 to improve radio’s accountability to advertisers.

All members of the Association of Independent Radio Companies will provide certificates for every campaign.

By the summer, national sales points will provide agencies with post-campaign summaries. And all stations able to do so will provide electronic commercial logs according to AIRC-approved media expenditure systems.

“The issue of accountability has been under discussion since the birth of commercial radio more than 20 years ago,” says AIRC chairman Paul Brown. “This latest development shows radio has truly come of age.”

The new system has been devised by the commercial radio accountability committee, set up last August, which comprises representatives of local and national stations. It has been welcomed by advertisers and agencies.

Publication of the next Rajar audience research data is not expected until the first week of March – one month after it was due to be published (MW January 5).

The delay follows the decision to “remodel” light listening figures after the change in Rajar methodology resulted in lower figures than anticipated. The re-modelling, which can only start once the latest data is available next week, is likely to take four weeks.