EMAP’s Red tries masthead radio

EMAP is launching a masthead radio programme based on its women’s glossy magazine Red, to be broadcast on the company’s Magic radio network. Red’s November issue will carry a cover mount and a 48-page supplement called “Have the perfect Christmas”. Its contents will be promoted on the Magic stations using short editorial features giving tips on where to shop and what to buy for Christmas. The features will run for three weeks during November and December. Red, which EMAP launched in January, targets 30- to 50-year-old women. It has exceeded circulation expectations, selling 190,000 issues between January and June. The Magic network, which has eight stations, including Melody in London and Piccadilly in Manchester, is targeted at 35- to 45-year-olds, who are believed to be too young for EMAP’s traditional Gold stations. This is EMAP’s second foray into masthead programming. In May it announced plans to create a radio show based on its Empire magazine. The show is available to all EMAP stations which target 18- to 30-year-olds. In August it was revealed that Tim Schoonmaker, chief executive of EMAP Radio, would no longer report directly to EMAP chief executive Kevin Hand, but instead to Tom Moloney, who runs the company’s consumer magazines division. Jonathan Gillespie, head of radio at BMP Optimum, says: “Masthead programming means we can access listeners through lifestyle, rather than just in commodity terms.”