When you’re positioning a radio brand, you don’t always have to describe it in terms of its target demographic or music format.

Your brand position doesn’t have to be a line of copy you’d put in a sweeper.

Here’s BBC Radio 1′s new controller, Ben Cooper, quoted in the The Guardian this week:

Positioning is a space you own somewhere in the consumer’s mind, not a list of core artists, and Ben’s idea is just about as firm and distinctive a positioning statement you could wish for.

Just don’t expect to hear it in the jingles.

image: iStockPhoto

Left to right: Lou Nash, John Myers, Nik Goodman, Steve Martin, James Stodd, James Cridland and Jacob Rickard.

Direct from the heart of London’s Theatreland, some of the UK radio’s leading creative producers and commentators play their favourite promotional audio of the year and discuss why they love it so much.

Download the podcasts and you’ll hear sixteen pieces of great audio from stations like BBC Radio 1, URN, Capital FM, Choice FM and Classic FM, Norway’s P1 and Xfm. You’ll also hear the informed views, expertise and experience of James Cridland, John Myers, Nik Goodman, James Stodd, Lou Nash and Jacob Rickard.

Part one

Play here

Download audio file (ecr_festive2011_1.mp3)

Download part one (160kb/s mp3, 41.6M)

Part two

Play here

Download audio file (ecr_festive2011_2.mp3)

Download part two (160kb/s mp3, 27.5M)

Subscribe to the Earshot Creative Review via iTunes.

Credits

Recorded at London’s Novello Theatre by Steve Martin, imaging by Wizz FX, sponsorship by Hobsons, beds by Radiobeds.com and closing music by Efya, Eazzy, Tinny and Okyeame Kwame.

Views expressed are personal and not those of Global Radio, the BBC, URN, Media UK, the Radio Academy or Santa. The contributors acknowledge all rights held by the owners, creators and performers of the recorded works which are included solely for the purposes of education and review.

Left to right: Lou Nash, John Myers, Nik Goodman, Steve Martin, James Stodd, James Cridland and Jacob Rickard.

Direct from the heart of London’s Theatreland, some of the UK radio’s leading creative producers and commentators play their favourite promotional audio of the year and discuss why they love it so much.

Download the podcasts and you’ll hear sixteen pieces of great audio from stations like BBC Radio 1, URN, Capital FM, Choice FM and Classic FM, Norway’s P1 and Xfm. You’ll also hear the informed views, expertise and experience of James Cridland, John Myers, Nik Goodman, James Stodd, Lou Nash and Jacob Rickard.

Part one

Play here

Download audio file (ecr_festive2011_1.mp3)

Download part one (160kb/s mp3, 41.6M)

Part two

Play here

Download audio file (ecr_festive2011_2.mp3)

Download part two (160kb/s mp3, 27.5M)

Subscribe to the Earshot Creative Review via iTunes.

Credits

Recorded at London’s Novello Theatre by Steve Martin, imaging by Wizz FX, sponsorship by Hobsons, beds by Radiobeds.com and closing music by Efya, Eazzy, Tinny and Okyeame Kwame.

Views expressed are personal and not those of Global Radio, the BBC, URN, Media UK, the Radio Academy or Santa. The contributors acknowledge all rights held by the owners, creators and performers of the recorded works which are included solely for the purposes of education and review.

The event  is being penned as one of the BBC’s biggest ever free-ticketed live music event, and will take place on Hackney Marshes on 23 and 24 June 2012 for the opening weekend of the London 2012 Festival.The event was launched today on BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra with performances in Hackney Empire theatre and the Olympic park site.

Working in partnership with Hackney Council, BBC Radio 1′s Hackney Weekend 2012 will feature six BBC stages and 100,000 people will be able to attend – for free – across the weekend with the majority of the tickets being allocated to people living in Hackney and the surrounding boroughs.

The six stages will be  the Radio 1 Main Stage, the 1Xtra Arena, the In New Music We Trust Stage, the BBC Introducing Stage and two more TBC.

Radio 1 has secured four ambassadors to champion the event and be involved in the programme of outreach activity across the Boroughs of East and North London in the build up to the event. The ambassadors are: Leona Lewis, who grew up in Hackney; Radio 1/1Xtra DJ Trevor Nelson MBE;  and World and European Triple Jump Champion Phillips Idowu who were both born in Hackney;  together with East London’s award-winning artist and actor Plan B.

Andy Parfitt, Controller of BBC Radio 1 says: “This is the most ambitious event in the station’s 44 year history. We aim to enhance the overall London 2012 summer with a celebratory event aimed specifically at the thousands of young people who live in the boroughs directly surrounding the Olympic Park – we have the support of the music industry and, in particular, Hackney leaders, so it promises to be a very special weekend.”

Leona Lewis at Hackney Empire, 2009

Leona said: “To be a part of this event is so important to me. I’m so excited about the opportunities and the excitement that it will bring to the area. Radio 1 are going to put on the biggest show in their history and it’s happening in East London – I couldn’t be happier!’

After the success of the Radio 1′s Big Weekend in Carlisle, in which 793,000 people applied for tickets – you can be assured that the 2011 Big Weekend event is going to be an Olympic spectacle.  BBC Radio 1′s Hackney Weekend 2012 is in partnership with Hackney Council, and will be the highlight of the London 2012 Festival, the UK wide cultural celebration from 21 June – 9 September 2012 which is the finale of the Cultural Olympiad.

Disclaimer – All posts and views are my own, and are not endorsed or representative of any current or previous employer.

Source: BBC / Leona Lewis Music

Radio 1 is no stranger to hosting live music events with the ‘BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend’ becoming a stable in the music festival calendar – where two days of UK and international artists, bands and DJs take over small towns and cities across the UK. Last years event took place in Bangor, North Wales and Sunderland, Dundee, Preston, Maidstone and Swindon have also hosted Europes biggest free ticketed event.

The Big Weekend was a development of the One Big Weekend and One Big Sundays, which started each and every Sunday during July and August from 1999. The Live Lounge, BBC Electric Proms, 1Xtra Live, New Years Eve, Radio 1 Presents, Chris Moyles Rallyoke, Notting Hill and Leeds carnivals, the Student Tour and coverage of summer music festivals have also appeared in the Radio 1 and 1 Xtra events portfolio within recent years, as the BBC continue to bring the concerts, sessions and artists to their audiences.

The London Festival 2012 is a new event described as “chance for everyone to celebrate London 2012 through dance, music, theatre, the visual arts, film and digital innovation and leave a lasting legacy for the arts in the UK.” Radio 1 2012, as part of the festival, will see a two day music festival held within the East London Olympic site.

It is believed that Absolute Radio and Global Radio (as a collective of their radio brands) had also put in requests/bids with LOCOG (The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games) – to host music events as part of the festival. However, the BBC has received the opportunity.

The event will be lead by Jason Carter, who has recently been appointed as Event Director: London 2012. Jason current is editor of BBC Radio 1 and 1XTra’s Live music events – as well as heading up BBC Introducing, which he will continue to do alongside his new role. Neil Wyatt, the current Executive Producer of the networks Live Music events will step up to Editor. Neil has previously had senior positions with GCap Media and Metropolis Music. Neil and Jason will take up their new roles from next month.

Andy Parfitt, Controller, BBC Radio 1 & Popular Music described the event as ‘ambitious’ and ‘special’. He adds “Radio 1′s music event for London Festival 2012 is going to be our biggest and most ambitious event and Jason will bring all his vast experience and knowledge to delivering something extremely special to the young audiences that live in the boroughs surrounding the Olympic site”.

Planning is already in progress for an extensive programme of activity across East London with the major flagship concert across two days.

“This will be the biggest and most ambitious popular music large scale show that the BBC will have ever put on. Content will be broadcast across BBC platforms and we will hope to deliver some very special artist moments at the main event, to be broadcast on other networks including Radio 2.”

More details about the event will be announced in the coming months.

Images: BBC / LOCOG / Robert Parry Jones

Disclaimer – All posts and views are my own, and are not endorsed or representative of any current or previous employer.

Comments

• Saturday 22 January, 2011, Absolute and Cranberry – Jan 22,2011 | stlouispublicradio.net writes: [...] Radio 1 holds event of Olympic proportions « Radio And Marketing Blog [...]
• Saturday 22 January, 2011, Do not worryong about Slip down with Christian Louboutin | Share The Christian Louboutin Shoes writes: [...] Radio 1 holds event of Olympic proportions « Radio And Marketing Blog [...]
• Monday 23 May, 2011, Radio 1 to stage its biggest ever live music evet « Radio And Marketing Blog writes: [...] the start of 2011 – RadioandMarketing.com announced that Radio1 were to hold a major music event for  young people across London to tie in with the 2011 Olympics. Today, [...]