Despite two and a half million listeners tuning in every week to
Radio 3, there is a general lack of awareness of the fact that half the
output is live, with more than 600 events recorded or relayed from
around the UK each year. Research among concert goers indicated that 50
per cent did not listen to Radio 3 so the station’s sales promotion
agency Amadeus was charged with developing a below-the-line
brand-strengthening initiative.
Objective
To promote the Radio 3 brand to concert attendees and achieve a wider
awareness of the network’s live output.
Tactics
Amadeus was already working on direct mail and banners for Radio 3, but
some sort of PR gimmick was needed to reach a wider audience. The
concert hall is traditionally seen as a refuge from commercial
’assaults’ so a delicate balance had to be found between something that
had novelty value, but was also practical, non-intrusive, and compatible
with concert halls.
Cough sweets in branded ’non-rustling’ wrappers, although not a new
idea, emerged as the perfect solution. Strong, menthol-based cough
sweets were sourced and wrappers - imprinted with the logo and frequency
- and perspex ’help-yourself’ dispensers, branded with Radio 3’s logo
and the line ’Music sweet music’, went into production. The sweets were
trialled successfully in selected concert halls during the summer, and
officially launched at the start of the autumn season. Local PR was
initiated in Bristol around the first concert of the season in August
and the ’silent sweet’ angle was then picked up by the nationals.
Results
As well improving sound quality on live recordings the silent sweet
captured the media imagination. Along with generating local coverage
around venues, the story was picked up by national press such as the
Times, the Independent, the Guardian, the Daily Mail, the Express and
the Sundays and made the front page of the Daily Telegraph. Local and
national radio and Sky TV also did news pieces on the sweet, picking up
on the quirky angle.
As a result, Radio 3 has been inundated with demand for dispensers from
halls around the country, including those not featuring Radio 3
concerts.
Verdict
Although the trade title Classical Music commented that the free cough
sweet idea is ’as old as the hills’ in terms of novelty, its reworking
by Amadeus for Radio 3 certainly hit the spot. In terms of media
coverage the initiative has been phenomenally successful: ’Beyond our
wildest expectations,’ says Mark Butcher, managing director of
Amadeus.
While there are no statistics about the reduction in coughing levels,
the sweet, according to Butcher, ’definitely sorts you out’, and the
initiative has also been applauded by performers. Radio 3 says the
impact on the brand has been huge with virtually every article
mentioning the network’s live output.
Client: BBC Radio 3
PR Team: Amadeus
Campaign: ’Music sweet music’
Timescale: Spring 1997 - ongoing
Cost: Undisclosed
