Radio advertising in Malta : a study of how the industry has grown after the 1991 Broadcasting Act

Abstract

This dissertation seeks to assess the industry of radio advertising in Malta. I chose this particular subject since this industry has flourished greatly after the Broadcasting Act was approved in 1991. It led to the establishing of seven new radio stations which added to the already existing two National radio stations. Naturally this gigantic leap in radio advertising in Malta bred fierce competition within different radio stations who strived to create the best programme schedules and commercial rates for their advertisers. But, is this competition causing a deterioration in standard and quality in the production of radio commercials? Are important elements like imagination and creativity being sacrificed to make good to the obtaining of as many commercials as possible? What is the Broadcasting Authority's position in the monitoring of Radio Advertising? What is the part played by advertising agencies in Radio Advertising? I shall attempt to find answers for these and other questions in this dissertation. Chapter 1 examines the meaning of advertising as a means of communication: this is seen on the individual, interpersonal and mass level of communication. Then, an introduction to radio advertising is given. The chapter's final part gives an insight into the origin of radio, the beginning of radio advertising abroad and also a general outlook of the history of radio broadcasting in Malta. Chapter 2 deals with two major aspects. On one hand, a comprehensive study of literature on radio advertising is laid out throughout which the following points are seen: Types of radio stations and program formats; When to use radio as a advertising medium; Types of commercials; Terminology and concepts used in radio; Audience measurements and trends. On the other hand, after every section, a review of the local situation is then given. 福利在线免费 has been obtained from an interview done with the advertising/station manager of every radio station. The radio stations included in this study are Radio Super 1, Radio Malta 1 & 2, Radio One Live, Radio 101, Island Sound Radio, Bar Radio, RTK and Smash Radio. Radio stations left out were Radio Rona, s community radio covering Naxxar, still on test transmissions, and the proposed UniRadio and Radio Calypso. The final part of Chapter 2 investigates the advertising agencies' part in radio advertising. A mail-shot was sent to fourteen top advertising agencies. Following the theoretical expositions of the first two chapters, the scope of Chapter 3 is to analyse a number of randomly selected radio commercials aired on different radio stations. This is done in the light of literature reviews on 'How to create effective radio commercials', 'Ways to capture and hold attention for radio commercials' and 'Ways to evaluate effective radio commercials'. The radio commercials chosen cannot be taken as representative of the full range of radio advertisements in Malta. Finally, in Chapter 4, I put forward my concluding comments and observations, together with the limitations and recommendations of the study.