Radiocentre’s Lucy Barrett becomes first president of World Radio Alliance

Alongside her current role at Radiocentre, Barrett (pictured) will represent the alliance in front of external stakeholders and steer the group’s activities.

Launching ahead of World Radio Day on 13 February, these associations have joined forces to raise the profile of radio to advertisers. The group will work together to promote the power and value of radio and audio with a unified voice by promoting and sharing best practice, research and compelling reasons for advertisers to use the medium. 

This cooperation across continents will underline the many strengths of radio, including its high reach: some 70% of the world’s population listen every day and those listeners spend an average of three hours with their favourite station. 

The group will also promote how audio has benefitted from many new innovations in ad tech and data and what the evolution of this multi-platform medium means for advertisers.

The alliance has been initiated by EGTA, the association that represents the interests of television and radio sales houses throughout Europe. It already coordinates a similar group for TV, the Global TV Group, of which Lindsey Clay, chief executive of Thinkbox, was its first president.

Caroline Gianias, president of Radio Connects in Canada, will work in tandem with Barrett as vice-president of the World Radio Alliance.

Laurent Bliaut, EGTA president and deputy general director, marketing, strategy & innovation at TF1 Pub, commented: “This unprecedented alliance of radio associations shows the willingness and need to put radio and audio in the spotlight. I’m proud that EGTA is one of the many trade bodies at the vanguard of this exciting initiative, highlighting the many strengths of our medium to advertisers, agencies and industry experts alike.”

Barrett added: “I am honoured to be the first president of the newly formed World Radio Alliance. The time is absolutely right to join forces and speak with a collective voice. Over the last decade we have seen the rise of more commercial audio formats, such as music streaming services and podcasts, yet commercial radio’s dominance in the sector remains pretty much intact.

“But, as is so often the case in the world of media, expectations and perceptions relating to the growth of the new formats are disconnected from this reality. As the world has become smaller, with media decisions often taken across whole regions and continents, it’s crucial we come together to tell the success story of radio in a consistent and unified manner.”