Radio Advertising in Melbourne
Radio and audio ads written, produced and bought by one team, across broadcast, streaming and podcasts, with the measurement set up before the first spot airs.
Who uses radio advertising in Melbourne
Radio is the channel businesses ask about when they need a local catchment to know their name. Usually one of three things is true:
You’re a trade, dealer or service business with a suburb or a region to own and a simple offer to make.
You’re launching something, a store, a site, a sale, and need to be heard fast by people in the car.
You’re already running Google and Meta and want something that drives the searches they catch.
Radio advertising means writing and producing a 15 or 30 second audio spot and buying airtime to run it. In Melbourne that airtime comes in two forms we buy together, direct from the networks: broadcast, the commercial FM and AM stations (Nova, Fox, Gold, KIIS, smooth, 3AW, Triple M) and the regional networks, bought by station and daypart; and the networks’ own streaming and podcasts (iHeart, LiSTNR, the station apps and their podcast catalogues), bought by audience. Spotify and audio bought through a programmatic platform sit under our programmatic service.
Commercial radio reaches 12.8 million Australians a week across the five metro markets, and the Melbourne breakfast and drive slots are among the most listened-to in the country. What’s changed is that the networks’ streaming and podcasts now let you buy audio by audience and postcode, with digital-style reporting, at budgets a local business can afford.
Where radio fails is the spot itself. Most radio ads are a phone number read twice over a jingle. Thirty seconds of nothing, bought at scale. The ad is the campaign. If it’s forgettable, the airtime is wasted, and it’s wasted twice if there’s nothing on Google and Meta to catch the people who go looking.
How we run radio
Radio is a creative-first channel, which is why we write and produce the spot ourselves rather than handing it to the station. The person who writes it is the person who decides where it runs.
One message, one action
The spot is written to be remembered and acted on. One idea, your name said properly, one clear thing to do. Tested in the mix before it goes to air.
Produced in-house
Scripted, voiced, mixed and mastered by our team. Several versions for testing and for different dayparts, so the breakfast spot and the drive spot aren’t the same ad.
Bought by audience
The networks’ streaming and podcasts first where targeting by postcode matters, broadcast where mass local reach is the point. Station and daypart chosen for who’s listening, not what the rep has spare.
Measured before launch
Two numbers, not one. GfK, the industry’s audience measurement, tells you the reach and frequency the buy delivered. The measurement we set before launch (a dedicated landing page, a unique URL or offer code, a call tracking number and a baseline on branded search) tells you whether it worked. Spot-level search tracking for broadcast.
Digital set to catch it
Google and Meta campaigns geo-matched to the station footprint, with retargeting for people who search after hearing it.
What’s included
Fit check: offer, catchment, budget and digital readiness, before you spend anything
Audience and station planning
Scriptwriting, with several versions for testing
Voice casting and audio production
Media negotiation and booking with the networks: ARN, Nova, SCA and Nine Radio, metro and regional
Measurement setup: landing page, tracking numbers, offer codes, search baseline
Digital campaign integration to catch the lift
Weekly flight monitoring
Post-campaign report with GfK reach and frequency, calls and leads, and the lift against baseline
What radio advertising costs in Melbourne
Radio pricing depends on station, daypart and how many spots you buy. A 30 second spot on a metro breakfast show can be $500 to $1,500. The same spot overnight can be under $50. Streaming and podcasts are bought per thousand listeners. Here’s how it works with us.
Production. From $1,500 for a 30 second spot, scripted, voiced and mixed. Includes the 15 second cut and alternate versions for testing.
Media: streaming and podcasts. From $5,000 for a four-week targeted Melbourne campaign on the networks’ apps and podcasts. Meaningful campaigns $8,000 to $25,000.
Media: broadcast. From $10,000 for a two-week metro burst on one station. Multi-station campaigns $20,000 to $60,000. Regional from $4,000.
Planning and buying. The networks pay us a standard 10 percent commission on what we book, so on campaigns of $25,000 or more in media you pay the rate card and nothing on top. Below $25,000 we charge a planning fee of $1,500, because the commission on a small buy doesn’t cover the planning.
Transparent buying. Media cost, commission, our fee and production are all shown separately on the plan. No hidden margin.
Minimum campaign. Around $15,000 all in. Below that you can’t buy enough frequency for people to remember you, and the money does more on Meta and Google.
What to expect back. GfK reach and frequency for the buy, plus calls, enquiries and the lift on branded search against the baseline we set. We’ll give you a realistic picture before you commit.
How it starts
1. Fit check
Offer, catchment, budget and digital readiness. If radio isn’t right, we’ll say so and suggest where the money does more.
2. Plan
Audience, stations or platforms, dayparts, flight dates and the measurement plan.
3. Write and produce
Two or three script directions, picked with you. Voiced, mixed and mastered in-house.
4. Buy
Airtime negotiated and booked, with every cost shown separately.
5. Launch
Tracking live before the first spot airs, digital campaigns matched to the footprint.
6. Measure and report
GfK reach and frequency, calls, leads, branded search lift and cost per lead against your digital channels.
Radio and digital, one campaign
A radio spot makes people look you up, usually from the car, usually on their phone at the next red light. Google catches the search. Meta reminds the ones who didn’t. When one team writes the spot, buys the airtime and runs the digital, the message matches, the suburbs match, and you can see in the numbers what the airtime actually did. Most production houses don’t buy media, and most media agencies don’t write.
See how we run Google Ads and Meta ads, and the results behind them.
Who you’ll work with
Two senior people and nobody in between. William runs creative. Brittany runs media. You’ll deal with both.
William
Creative. Writes and produces the spot, casts the voice and mixes the versions.
Brittany
Media. Plans the stations and dayparts, buys the airtime and sets the tracking up before the first ad airs.
What we plan and buy
Broadcast
Commercial FM and AM in Melbourne and regional Victoria, bought by station and daypart.
The networks’ streaming
iHeart, LiSTNR and the stations’ own apps, bought by audience and postcode, direct from the networks.
Podcasts
Host-read and inserted ads across the networks’ podcast catalogues, bought by show or by audience.
Spotify and audio bought through a programmatic platform sit under our programmatic service, and we plan them alongside the radio buy when they fit.
Who we work with
Trades and home services
Breakfast and drive on metro stations, geo-targeted streaming, with a suburb and a reason to call.
Car dealers and automotive
Weekend and drive-time broadcast, streaming to in-market audiences.
Gyms and fitness studios
January and winter campaigns, streaming to the catchment, podcast placements in health and fitness shows.
Retail, hospitality and events
Short-burst broadcast for launches and sales, streaming for younger audiences.
Professional services
Talk radio and news podcasts for credibility with older and business audiences.
What we don’t do
Let the station write your ad. The ad is the campaign, and the station’s writer has fifteen more to do today.
Book airtime without a measurement plan. If we can’t tell you what it did, we won’t book it.
Run radio for businesses without Google and Meta set up to catch it. The spot sends people to search; something has to be there when they do.
Call listeners the result. GfK tells you who was likely listening. Calls, enquiries and branded search tell you whether it worked. You get both.
Questions we get asked
How much does radio advertising cost in Melbourne?
How do you charge?
Does radio advertising still work?
Can you measure radio advertising?
Do you produce the ad?
How long should a radio campaign run?
What's the minimum budget?
Radio or podcast advertising?
Does radio work with digital advertising?
How long until the ad is on air?
Do you only work in Melbourne?
Related services
Book a planning call
We’ll tell you what the budget buys, whether it’s enough, and what you should expect back. If radio isn’t right for you, we’ll say so on the call.