How does radio PR work?

Who decides what goes on air

Three roles matter most. None of them can be paid to run your story, which is exactly why radio coverage carries weight.

• Producers build each programme. They book guests and decide what the breakfast show or drive-time slot will cover.
• News editors run the newsroom and choose what goes into the hourly bulletins.
• Presenters front the show. They ask the questions and often have a say in which guests they want.

What a news hook is

A news hook is the reason to cover something today rather than any other day. Without one, even a good story waits in the inbox.

Hooks include new research, fresh data, a seasonal moment, a change in the law or an awareness day.

Everypaw used its own claims data as a hook for Easter 2025. Chocolate ingestion claims rose 75% compared with the quietest months.

A vet then gave pet safety advice on BBC Radio Essex, BBC Radio Norfolk and other stations. The campaign delivered 18 items and a 26:1 return.

The role of awareness days

Producers plan around awareness days and seasonal moments well in advance. World Heart Day, Blue Monday, Small Business Advice Week and Christmas all fill programme diaries.

An awareness day gives your story a ready-made hook and a date producers are already thinking about. That makes the sell-in much easier.

Riviera Travel used Blue Monday 2025, when 27% of adults feel lonely, to talk about winter wellness. A water travel expert spoke on BBC Radio Hereford and Worcester and BBC Radio Shropshire, returning 20:1.

What a radio day is

A radio day is the main way a brand gets interviewed on radio. Your spokesperson does back-to-back interviews with BBC local, commercial and national stations and news networks, live and pre-recorded.

It all happens remotely. Your spokesperson stays at home or in the office and talks over a studio-quality link.

Behind the scenes, we work through IMN, our in-house newsroom, which already supplies content to UK radio. That is why producers take our calls.

How results are measured

Radio coverage is measured in airtime, not column inches. Every campaign ends with a coverage report covering five things.

• Items of coverage: each interview, bulletin or feature that aired.
• Combined audience reach: the total audience of the stations that carried it.
• Time on air.
• Highlights, with clips of the best interviews.
• The value of the coverage.

How long it takes

Allow a few weeks from brief to broadcast. That gives time to shape the angle, write the material, sell it in and brief your spokesperson.

Awareness day campaigns need planning further ahead, because producers fill those dates early. Research adds time at the start too.

We work on payment by results throughout. You agree a capped coverage budget and pay only for coverage that airs.