Radio: Background Noise or Consumer Whisperer?

For something so often overlooked in media plans, radio still manages to sneak into more British workplaces, cars and kitchens than most digital channels combined.

According to RAJAR (Q2 2025), commercial radio now reaches 39.5 million UK adults every week - that’s nearly two-thirds of the population, quietly absorbing ads while stuck on the M25 or burning toast.

Commercial radio’s share of total listening is now a record 55.7%, surpassing the BBC’s 42.1%.

So, while teams obsess over reach on social, radio is quietly and cost-effectively sending your competitor’s voice straight into millions of homes, every week, every day. And without a skip button in sight.

So what’s the catch?

You have to write for radio properly.

You can’t recycle your video script, strip out the visuals, and hope for the best. Radio demands precision.

Instead think about how sound effects, music, pacing and voice tone can build atmosphere and support the message.

3 top tips

Start late, finish early

You’ve got 30 seconds. Impact comes from substance, not volume. Get straight to the hook.

Write for distracted ears

Assume they’re only half listening. Then write something they can’t help but hear anyway. Rhythm, repetition and clarity beat cleverness every time.

Cast for tone, not just voice

A good VO artist doesn’t just ‘sound nice’. Their voice needs to reflect your brand’s personality.

Stay tuned

Radio’s value isn’t in interruption, it’s in intimacy. It’s the ad that’s there while the listener commutes to work, waits for the kettle to boil, or paints the shed. It doesn’t demand a like, a share, or a follow. It just needs to be heard - once, maybe twice - to stick.

That’s its superpower: subtlety.

Radio whispers, and people lean in.