The kids are back in classrooms, the evenings are drawing in, and the summer rush is over. For many leisure and entertainment businesses, autumn can feel like the quiet before the festive storm, with emptier tables, fewer bookings, and slower midweek days.

A quieter season doesn’t have to mean quieter footfall. In fact, autumn and the back to school period is one of the smartest times of year to get your business in front of a fresh, engaged audience, and you can do it without spending a penny on airtime.

That is where Planet Offers, supported by radio advertising, comes in.

Why Autumn Is the Perfect Time to Advertise

As the summer holidays wrap up, consumer habits shift. Families settle back into routines, and people start looking for new ways to fill those cooler weekends and darker evenings with days out, meals, activities and experiences that beat staying in.

At the same time, this off-peak window offers a real opportunity for advertisers:

• Less clutter, more cut-through. With many brands pausing after their summer push, your message has more room to stand out and land with listeners.
• Value is front of mind. After a summer of spending, audiences are actively hunting for great deals, bundles and affordable days out, which is exactly what Planet Offers is built to promote.
• Fill your quiet days. Midweek slots, off-peak sessions and slower autumn weekends are the perfect thing to promote to an audience that is ready to buy.

Simply put, off-peak advertising is about buying efficiency and relevance, reaching the right people at the moment they are deciding what to do next.

An Audience That Is Ready to Buy

This is not just about reach. It is about reaching people who are actively looking to spend on exactly the kind of experiences you offer.

• 17.9 million Bauer Media listeners intend to purchase tickets for days out, experiences and events in the next 12 months. That is 89% of our audience, and they are 13% more likely than the national average to do so.
• 2.2 million listeners have responded to a radio promotion or offer in the last 12 months, making them 104% more likely than the national average to act on a deal.
  In other words, our audience does not just listen. They turn offers into bookings.

Source: TGI GB 2026 June. Listened in the last month. Surveyed vs national average.

How Planet Offers Works

Planet Offers connects your business with a large, engaged audience through irresistible offers and promotions, all without the cost of traditional advertising.

Here is how simple it is:

• You provide a special deal or exclusive offer for your venue, attraction, or activity.
• We promote it across Bauer Media’s trusted radio stations, including Hits Radio and Greatest Hits Radio, plus our digital platforms.
• Our listeners redeem your offer, bringing you new customers, extra revenue, and valuable repeat business.
• It is a genuine win-win. You get powerful on-air and online exposure, and our audience gets a great deal they cannot resist.

Perfect for the Back to School Season

Think about what your autumn offer could be:

• A half-price family day out to tempt parents looking for weekend activities now the holidays are over.
• A midweek meal deal to fill tables on your quieter nights.
• An off-peak activity or attraction bundle to drive footfall through those slower September and October weeks.
• Whatever your business, Planet Offers helps you fill seats, tables and time slots on the days you need it most, keeping you busy all year round.

Proven Results

Planet Offers has already delivered outstanding results for leisure and entertainment businesses across the UK, from theme parks boosting footfall by thousands of visitors, to restaurants filling tables year-round, to attractions seeing significant increases in bookings and upsell revenue.

Take Jump Warriors in Skegness. When footfall dipped in one of the leisure industry’s quietest months, they ran a six-week Planet Offers campaign on Hits Radio Lincolnshire with a half-price family pass. The result? They sold out their entire voucher allocation, saw a big uplift in footfall, and reported a “huge improvement in café sales.” All with zero upfront media spend. It is a perfect example of turning an off-peak month into a busy one.

And that café boost is no coincidence. Secondary spend on food, drink and merchandise is a major revenue stream for attractions, with UK venues reporting secondary spend increases of up to 24%. When a Planet Offers campaign drives more people through the door, the benefit extends well beyond the ticket price.

That is the real power of an offer-led campaign. It fills your quiet days, and every extra visitor is a fresh opportunity to earn from the coffees, snacks and extras that follow. Our partners keep coming back because Planet Offers works.

Source: Association for Cultural Enterprises.

Don’t Let Autumn Slow You Down

A change in season is a change in opportunity. With Planet Offers, you can build your brand, win new customers and drive revenue through the off-peak period, all without any financial risk.

Ready to make autumn work harder for your business? Get in touch with the Hits Radio Advertising team today.