26 September 2025
How Manchester Built a Modern Media Brand: Hits Radio’s 360-Degree Strategy
At this year’s Future of Media Manchester, the 500 strong crowd heard about Bauer Media’s Hits Radio – and how it has built its reputation as one of the UK’s most dynamic media brands. The panel, hosted by Bauer Media’s Head of Commercial Marketing George Butler, brought together Hits Radio presenter Gemma Atkinson, Hits Radio Content Director Paul Gerrard and Bauer Media’s Sandra Knowles. Together they discussed the unique Hits Radio proposition, its roots in Manchester and its ambition to be everywhere its audience is.
With a weekly reach of 7 million people, Hits is one of the UK’s biggest audio networks. However Paul explained, the brand is about more than numbers, “for us the music is right in the centre of it, playing the hits, playing the throwbacks and all those emotions you get when you hear that song that you first fell in love to or that reminds you of that mad holiday in Ibiza 10 or 15 years ago.”
Beyond the music, what happens between the songs is just as important, “I’m blessed to be surrounded by such incredible talent that you can hear on the station…we go on air and just talk about stuff in the most real, relatable way, and have a laugh,” he continued. “Fundamentally, radio’s superpower is about that connection and cheering people up, we don’t take ourselves too seriously.”
That sense of connection is something Gemma recognises every time she’s behind the mic, “the beauty of being in the studio is that it’s so secluded and it’s so intimate – but you’re telling a story that’s so relatable to millions.” For her, it’s about turning everyday life into shared experience, “the amount of times we talk about a topic on air which could be so mundane and so normal, but we’ll have so many people contact us saying, ‘this happened to me today’, ‘it happened to me other week’, or ‘thank you for being normal about that, because I thought I was the only one struggling with it’.”
That relatability also extends to Hits’ location. Unlike many national radio networks, Hits Radio is rooted in Manchester, something the panellists agreed is a great USP for the brand. Gemma quipped, “my commute’s under half an hour! But really, for us to broadcasting one of the biggest, most popular stations from our home city – it’s brilliant!” Paul added, “there’s something really special about having a network which reflects the entire UK – how it sounds, how it looks, how it feels, it’s incredible.”
Paul continued, “I think it definitely gives us a USP, and I think the truth is people love personalities from all over the country, people just love people who are authentic.”
The conversation then moved to the 360-degree nature that the station has adopted. Paul said, “now you can hear radio in so many different places, whether that’s in your car, through the radio app or digitally, and now everything we make is visualised as well. Gemma will go on air and tell a funny story about her life and before you know it, there’s millions of views on TikTok and on Instagram.”
Live events also play a big role in the mix, with Hits’ partnership with Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena cited as a standout. “Co op Live matched our energy and our mission about how we want to put Manchester on the map,” said Paul.
Gemma recalled broadcasting backstage there at last year’s Hits Radio Live Manchester: “You feel like you’re bringing the audience into the radio for that night to be a part of it…they’ll message us after the show and talk about their experience, it’s something that our listeners look forward to each year.”
For Sandra, the multi-faceted approach is just as valuable for advertisers. “I think having that 360-strategy is really important because it helps you connect to more of the customers…having a consistent message as well, it’s just about building that trust with the customer.”
The session also revealed new developments beyond the airwaves, with Gemma exclusively announcing her new podcast ‘Lost In Translation’ with her partner Gorka Márquez. “It’s a new podcast with myself and Gorka produced by Bauer…the first episode is the 22nd of October and it’s all about dealing with everyday life with a Spaniard and a Mancunian!”
To close, each panellist shared creative campaigns that stood out for them. For Sandra a Jet2 campaign involving Sam Thompson and Pete Wicks “was just amazing because the client and the talent got together and they let them them be who they were.”
Paul highlighted a Universal partnership in which “Sam Thompson went into hiding somewhere in the UK and chased Joe Swash and a load of minions…and it worked fantastically even on the radio!”
Meanwhile, Gemma said, “every year we work with B&M for (Bauer Media’s charity) Cash For Kids and I get to do a trolley dash, so that’s always brill!…But on another note with Tesco, we asked them if they would sponsor the throwback shuffle which they did and it did really, really well – and then it went on to be the Tesco Pet insurance sponsorship and I got to speak about dogs every morning!”
What emerged from the discussion was a picture of Hits Radio as more than just a broadcaster, but as a brand built on authenticity resonating with audiences across the UK.
