EMAP to sell Trafficlink’s radio airtime

EMAP Advertising is to take responsibility for the sale of advertising spots during information provider Trafficlink’s radio bulletins. This will be the first time that Trafficlink has appointed an external ad sales house.

Trafficlink provides traffic and travel updates to 133 national and local radio stations, including Virgin Radio, Capital FM and TalkSport, with a weekly reach of 13 million listeners (Rajar). Some stations pay for the service outright and some relinquish airtime in return for the service.

EMAP Advertising will sell the 40-second slots within bulletins as a network package.

The contract follows the formation of a syndicated sales department at EMAP Advertising, run by former head of agency sales Chris Maples. Trafficlink sales director Helen Robinson is now on secondment to EMAP Advertising as brand director, while some of her team have joined the media company full-time. It is not known if there have been any redundancies at Trafficlink.

Wins for Trafficlink this year include the Chrysalis radio group contract, including two Heart stations, which had used the AA’s bulletin for the past seven years. Trafficlink has also won contracts to provide travel information for Jazz FM and Scottish Radio Holdings.