Ad-spend figures for Q1 were healthy, with quarterly ad spend totalling £158.8m, up 6.7% year on year. The RadioCentre data, obtained exclusively by Media Week, showed national advertisers' spend was up 9.4% year on year to £95.6m. Sponsorship and promotion spend continued its upward trend, increasing by 11.4% year on year to £24.6m.
However, agencies and radio groups are warning that Q2 will not be as positive as the effects of the global credit crunch begin to take effect. Others are cautioning that ad spend in Q1 would have been much lower had it not been for the Easter holiday period falling earlier than usual.
Howard Bareham, head of radio at MindShare, warned: "April was terrible. May has been slightly better so far. Everyone is now holding out for the money to pour back into June, otherwise the quarter could end on a negative or on par [with Q1]."
Ross Nester, Mediaedge:cia broadcast account director, said: "The main two drivers for Q1's increased national ad spend are an early Easter and the fact that COI, radio's largest advertiser, spends most of its money during this period. However, the effects of the credit crunch will probably feature in next quarter's results."
Stuart Taylor, deputy chief executive, GMG Radio, warned that radio ad spend "is not immune" to the economic downturn. "April was difficult across the industry, but we were still up year on year," he said. "May is an improvement, but it's still sluggish."
Adam Bullock, sales director of TalkSport, said: "April was generally a tough month for the industry, but May seems to be slowly recovering."
An area that has continued to decline, based on the Q1 data, is the amount of money being spent by local advertisers, which dropped by 2.1% year on year to £38.6m.
Andrew Harrison, chief executive of the RadioCentre, said: "Some local advertisers are going more online and a lot of them are becoming more regional and national focused."
However, agencies and radio groups are warning that Q2 will not be as positive as the effects of the global credit crunch begin to take effect. Others are cautioning that ad spend in Q1 would have been much lower had it not been for the Easter holiday period falling earlier than usual.
Howard Bareham, head of radio at MindShare, warned: "April was terrible. May has been slightly better so far. Everyone is now holding out for the money to pour back into June, otherwise the quarter could end on a negative or on par [with Q1]."
Ross Nester, Mediaedge:cia broadcast account director, said: "The main two drivers for Q1's increased national ad spend are an early Easter and the fact that COI, radio's largest advertiser, spends most of its money during this period. However, the effects of the credit crunch will probably feature in next quarter's results."
Stuart Taylor, deputy chief executive, GMG Radio, warned that radio ad spend "is not immune" to the economic downturn. "April was difficult across the industry, but we were still up year on year," he said. "May is an improvement, but it's still sluggish."
Adam Bullock, sales director of TalkSport, said: "April was generally a tough month for the industry, but May seems to be slowly recovering."
An area that has continued to decline, based on the Q1 data, is the amount of money being spent by local advertisers, which dropped by 2.1% year on year to £38.6m.
Andrew Harrison, chief executive of the RadioCentre, said: "Some local advertisers are going more online and a lot of them are becoming more regional and national focused."
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