It is fantastic that you have contacted us to see how the ‘advertising’ part of what we do works! You aren’t the first and we know you won’t be the last, so we thought we’d put together a handy ‘how to’ guide which answers the questions, ‘can you advertise’ and also explains ‘what drives us’. Happy reading!

The short version is that UCB is non-commercial, so we don’t have paid-for advertising on our stations. However, we do have ‘advertising space’ and we use it to promote UCB’s ministry and are also able to donate a percentage of ‘time’ each hour to help promote other charities and organisations....so yes, there may be a way for this to work for you.

If we can place your advertising on-air, we’ll send you a statement showing you where the spots played and what the value of those spots were......it is then simply up to you to decide whether to donate to our costs.

Here’s a few general ‘rules’ to keep in mind;

  • Is your event/product of genuine national interest? Is it something (be honest now!) that a person in Belfast as much as a person in London, might be willing to pay to travel to?
  • Do you have a professional website, capable of handling a lot of enquiries if we were to send people to you?
  • Is your event/product ‘not for profit’?

So, for example, if you wanted to promote an event such as a large one-day conference that would be of a wide appeal to a lot of our listeners, then we might be able to help.

If your event is more localised, a regional church event that is likely to be of interest to people in your local community, then our Community Noticeboard is just what you need! It’s an online calendar on our website with details of events all across the UK and you can upload all the details yourself at www.ucbmedia.co.uk/noticeboard. It’s free and easy to use....and you can upload your events right now.

However, if you can answer ‘yes’ to the above questions, then feel free to get in touch. However, please also be aware that radio isn’t as ‘instant’ as many people think, so if your event is tomorrow or next week, we can’t help. For advertising to work effectively, it needs to be well planned and the event promoted many weeks in advance of the actual date. On top of that we need time to write, produce and schedule the spots.

Paula Cummings

In general, if you are hosting a week-long conference, we need at least 12 weeks’ notice before the event starts. Even one-off events, such as a day conference, require as much notice as you can give….6 weeks or more. Remember , we want it to work!

If you think your event/resource fits the bill, or you have any other questions, then feel free to email me at paula@ucbmedia.co.uk with all the information and we’ll be happy to look at it and see if there is a way we can help you!

Paula Cummings
UCB Publicist