Media Perspective: GCap shows signs of living up to early merger promises

Fans of barley water and racquet sports wouldn't blame Tim Henman for being angry. Or, more likely, just a little bit cross. No sooner is he dumped out of Wimbledon by some rank outsider, than a young Scottish pretender is trying to steal his hill.

Andy Murray, another British loser at Wimbledon, did so well in reaching the third round that it led to a campaign for the renaming of Henman Hill, a place traditionally populated by a gaggle of Home Counties girls with a crush on Tiger Tim.

Real men should be more worried, however, about another potential rebranding.

For Heinz has just agreed to buy the sauce company HP Foods from its rival Danone. Now I'm lying in bed at night praying that HP (short for Houses of Parliament) sauce isn't rebranded by the mighty Heinz.

Heinz must act honourably as a market leader in the bottled-sauce world and preserve decades of history that has seen HP reign as the king of the brown condiments. Sausages just wouldn't taste the same without a dash of HP from a glass bottle.

But it's so easy for market leaders to neglect their audience. That's why there's so much pressure on ITV to behave responsibly after years of arrogance. And the radio company GCap Media will soon be under similar scrutiny.

GWR and Capital merged in May to form GCap but its newly created commercial operation officially springs into action on 4 July. Justifying a merger that brings one company control of around 40 per cent of the national radio advertising market rested on convincing advertisers that it would result in increased investment in content and a stronger challenge to the BBC. GCap now has to deliver on this.

It's early days but Linda Smith, GCap's commercial director, and her team are putting out some small positive signals. There has already been investment in the content of GWR's Planet Rock, including three hirings on the programming side. A review of investment in core brands is well underway and from 4 July, the national sales team, led by Duncan George, will begin to roll out its strategy. George is speaking to ISBA members on 27 July about its plans.

This can't come too soon for agencies concerned that they will be pushed into deals. And Smith recognises that GCap has a key role to play in increasing the buzz around radio. "The medium has lost a bit of fizz, excitement and innovation," she says. "Internet and outdoor are growing so we need to address the ways people readdress our products."

GCap needs to create more interest around its digital offering as well as analogue and to build on interactivity with its shows through texting and the internet. But agencies will be focusing on the trading issues.

Emap's Scottish Radio Holdings deal, making it the Murray to GCap's Henman, should put sufficient pressure on GCap to do things properly.

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