The on-air and retail campaign begins next Tuesday (31 May) and will aim to raise awareness of digital radio stations and the different genres available, among people listening to radio stations on an analogue platform.
As part of the campaign, retailers, including Amazon, Co-op, Currys, John Lewis, M&S and Tesco, are set to write to their customers about the stations available on digital radio and display point-of-sale material.
The on-air campaign aims to bring to life the genres available on digital radio, including sport, rock, jazz, dance and RnB, and news and drama, and will be narrated by sixties singer Lulu.
The Digital Radio UK campaign is timed to coincide with ads for BBC Radio 4 Extra that will run on BBC TV and radio.
Jane Ostler, communications director of Digital Radio UK, said: "This year has seen an unprecedented expansion in the range of stations available nationally and locally on digital radio, so this is an excellent time to let people know about the choice available."
This morning (25 May), research published by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport showed that people who listen to fewer radio stations and people who think digital radio is too expensive, are less likely to buy a digital radio.
According to the report, people who own a digital radio and people who do not own a digital radio are likely to agree on the benefits, such as more stations of interest, clear sound, ease of tuning, useful functions, and smaller proportions.
However, people who do not own a digital radio are more likely to believe that it is too expensive at present, while a smaller proportion of people with a digital radio think it is too expensive, according to the research.
The report also highlighted four groups of people unwilling to switch to digital radio: people aged 18 to 29; people aged 60 and over; people in the working class socio-economic group; and people from urban areas.
To be classified as "unwilling to switch to digital radio" the group had to be less likely to buy a digital radio in the next 12 months than the survey sample as a whole, and also be prepared to pay less than the survey sample as a whole.
According to the latest Rajar figures digital radio’s share of all radio listening has risen from 25% in the last quarter of 2010 to 26.5% in the first quarter of 2011. DAB's share of listening reached a new high of 16.7%, up from 15.8% in the previous quarter.
However, the roadmap to a digital future for radio is unclear as the radio industry is currently in discussions with the Government about the rollout of local DAB, after the BBC committed only to paying for a national service.
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