Tuning In 2025 proves how audio amplifies advertising
Radiocentre’s Tuning In 2025 conference took place in London’s Kings Place last week under the theme ‘Advertising Amplified’.
It showcased audio’s ongoing ability to deliver reach, resonance and results to an audience of over 500 radio, media and advertising professionals in person and online.
The event not only boasted a stellar line-up of speakers, it also made news headlines with the revelation live on stage that Magic Radio has offered Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, her own radio show.
Alongside sessions exploring how brands can amplify their advertising by using audio, the conference discussed the positive outlook for UK commercial radio this year and revealed brand new research into audio’s superior power to drive ROI.
Radiocentre chief executive Matt Payton introduced the day and highlighted the momentous news that Heart has overtaken Radio 2 to become the UK’s most popular radio brand for the first time. Matt called this “a real landmark moment for the whole industry.”
Before introducing KISS drivetime presenter Tyler West as host, Matt presented radio’s strong recent performance, highlighting that ad funded audio is up 23% since 2019, according to RAJAR Midas data, and that revenues have also seen significant growth over the past 10 years, with 2025 seeing commercial radio continuing to hold its own in a tough market.
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In a hugely entertaining session, presenter and comedian Matt Forde treated the audience to some hilarious impersonations of Donald Trump, Keir Starmer, Prince Charles and Nigel Farage as he lampooned the political events of our times.
Focusing on the effectiveness of radio advertising in boosting web visits, Radiocentre head of insight Donna Burns presented new data for Radiocentre’s ongoing Performance Multiplier research programme, showing that typical attribution measurements carried out immediately after an ad is broadcast, miss out on 92% of radio’s delayed effect. “Radio advertising does take time to deliver its impact,” Burns said, but she stressed that it was more effective than other media, second only to TV. She said that over the eight radio campaigns analysed for this update on the research, “radio was delivering web sessions over twice as cost efficiently as other media.”
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Donna was joined by Tyler West and Arafa Heneghan, director of brand for AO for a discussion about the findings. The online electrical retailer is a prolific user of radio advertising, leveraging its sonic logo “AO let’s go” adapted from a Ramones song. “Reach and effectiveness from radio is just so cost effective and it works really well for us” Arafa told the audience.
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Heart Breakfast hosts Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden discussed how the station has achieved the historic feat of overtaking Radio 2 to become the UK’s most popular radio brand. Heart presenter Matt Wilkinson asked Jamie what he felt had changed in his 22 years at the station. Jamie replied: “In many ways, it hasn’t changed a lot and I think that may be part of its success.” Listeners like a set routine and a sense of familiarity, he added. But he said that brand partnerships had changed significantly. “It has allowed us to do bigger things, bigger competitions, with more people at more scale, which is fantastic,” he said.
Amanda said that Covid had been a game-changer for radio and for Heart, as people were feeling isolated and turned to radio for companionship. And she added: “What’s changed for radio is that it is everywhere these days, we go viral, radio is not just about hearing people anymore – it’s about seeing people (via video) as well.” She told the audience of advertisers: “It’s a game changer for you guys as well, because everything that you want to try and sell, you can sell visually as well.”
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Radiocentre’s “Advertising Amplified” campaign was the subject of a session about creativity and the power of voice featuring actress Diane Morgan, who voiced the campaign, and Sean Carnegie, managing director of Radioville which created the audio element of the campaign.
Diane, who plays clueless historian Philomena Cunk and Liz in sitcom Motherland, expressed the importance of being authentic when working with brands. She added that she had heard an AI version of her voice but thought that it was a poor-quality impersonation. Sean emphasised that while AI is improving, it just can’t deliver the same performance as a real human.
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Looking to the future, Simon Kilby, managing director of Bauer Media Group Advertising, gave his views on what’s in store for audio advertising up to 2030. “It has been a great time to be in audio, and we should be optimistic and feel positive about the future,” he said. By leveraging first party data, audio brands and radio stations would be able to offer highly personalised services to listeners. But he warned that the prevalence of social media presents a real risk of disinformation and could put the mental health of the nation at risk. “If investment is removed from trusted news platforms, then the impact on our industry and wider society will be widely felt,” he said.
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Yann Legarson, CEO of Radioplayer Worldwide, talked about the future of radio in the car and stressed how radio in still the number one audio choice for most car drivers around the world. But radio now lives on a screen, and the in-car player is hybrid radio – the best of broadcast and internet. It also has the ability to access data about drivers and their passengers which will be crucial for advertisers.
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The penultimate session focused on Magic Radio’s relaunch with a refreshed schedule and presenters. Gaby Roslin and Nicki Chapman were joined by Bauer Media content director Paul Sylvester. They talked about the revamp and the essential values of Magic that makes it popular with women over-35. Under questioning from Tuning In host Tyler West, Sylvester revealed that the station had offered Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, her own show after she had said that Magic Radio was one of the things she missed most about the UK.
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In the final session, ground-breaking new research analysis, High Gain Audio, which looks at using multiplatform audio to amplify overall campaign ROI, was unveiled. The session was presented by Radiocentre planning director Mark Barber and WPP Media data specialist Jane Christian. The study demonstrates how audio is currently underinvested by advertisers, with the medium among the most-profitable media delivering notably higher profit-ROI than the all-media average, both short-term and full-term.
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Tuning In 2025 unpacked audio’s influential role in amplifying advertising campaigns and demonstrated the unique ability of radio to connect brands with their audiences nationally.
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