Unilever and Amazon more than doubled radio investment in 2023

Radio revenues are back in growth with the first quarter of 2024 rising by 5.2% compared to the same period last year.

There was a strong performance for local advertising, up 13.8%, while national advertising increased by 3.9%, and branded content by 8.5%.

Several advertisers significantly boosted their investment in the medium over the past year, including Unilever who increased spend by 130% to £11.3 million and Amazon whose spend grew by 128% to £11.4 million in 2023.

Meanwhile, telecoms provider Three was up 116% compared to the previous year and supermarket brand Morrisons was up 106%.

The National Lottery, now operated by Allwyn, is radio’s biggest spender, investing £19.8 million in 2023, which is an 11% increase year on year.

The latest AA/WARC expenditure report which is also published today forecasts that this growth will be sustained, with radio currently expected to increase by 2.3% across 2024 as a whole.

Projections suggest healthy growth of 7.5% for online radio revenues as well, chiming with recent listening trends which have seen online audiences grow to new highs.

Following a challenging year for all media ad revenue, annual radio revenue for 2023 was reported to be £715 million compared to £740 million in 2022.

Radiocentre CEO Matt Payton said: “We’re pleased to see radio ad revenues start the year so positively, and that so many big brands continue to invest in the medium.

“With commercial audiences still at record levels, radio remains strong and offers advertisers huge reach and scale. While there is still a degree of economic uncertainty ahead for everyone, things are starting to look more encouraging for the ad market as a whole. These figures show us that advertisers recognise the power of radio in helping their brands stay in good shape while we navigate our way through.”

For more details, see radiocentre.org.