When Surrey County Council needed to drive awareness of its new STEP Surrey portal (a gateway to skills, employment, and bootcamp opportunities for local residents) it turned to Hits Radio Advertising to deliver a targeted, multi-layered public sector radio advertising campaign. The results speak for themselves: over 320,000 ad impressions served, 92,404 unique listeners reached, a 99.55% average listen-through rate, and KPIs exceeded by more than double.
About the Client
Surrey County Council is one of England’s largest local authorities, serving a population of over 1.2 million people across the county. Its Economy & Growth division is responsible for connecting residents with skills development and employment pathways, a mission that became the driving force behind the STEP Surrey campaign.
STEP Surrey is a dedicated portal designed to act as a gateway to employment support, skills bootcamps, and training opportunities for residents across Surrey. The challenge? Getting the right people, particularly those furthest from the job market, to know it existed.
About the Campaign
The campaign ran from November 2025 through February 2026 across two distinct channels: digital audio via the AudioXi platform and traditional airtime on Greatest Hits Radio (GHR) Surrey & East Hampshire delivered on FM and DAB. It was structured into two delivery bursts, with a planned pause over December, ensuring budget was focused on the most receptive periods of the year.
The Brief
Surrey County Council needed to raise awareness of the STEP Surrey portal among audiences who were most likely to benefit from its services but least likely to encounter it through organic search or social media alone.
The objectives were clear:
- Drive meaningful traffic and registrations to the STEP Surrey portal
- Reach under-employed and job-seeking residents across Surrey postcodes
- Target specific demographic and interest-based segments with relevant messaging
- Exceed pre-agreed KPIs for engagement and reach
The Message
The campaign used four distinct audio creatives, each tailored to speak directly to a different segment. Whether positioning STEP Surrey as a practical resource for those entering skilled trades, a modern digital platform for tech-savvy job seekers, or a forward-thinking gateway for residents aligned with green industries, the tone was always warm, locally relevant, and action-oriented.
All creatives directed listeners clearly to the STEP Surrey portal, with messaging that mirrored the lived experience of each audience segment. This is what effective public sector radio advertising looks like: not a single blanket message, but a portfolio of relevant conversations delivered at scale.
Take a listen to their campaign…
The Solution
A dual-channel strategy was implemented, combining the precision of AudioXi audio with the reach across connected devices such as smart speakers, and trust of traditional radio airtime on GHR Surrey & East Hampshire.
AudioXi
AudioXi enabled hyper-targeted delivery across Surrey postcodes (covering GU, KT, RH, SM, TW and CR areas), with audience segments defined by intent and interest, not just demographics. Segments targeted included:
- Job seekers
- C2DE adults
- Trade and construction workers
- Gamers and tech enthusiasts
- Sustainability-focused listeners
Campaigns ran across all Bauer brands and all device types, ensuring maximum exposure whether audiences were listening on a smart speaker at home, a mobile on the commute, or a desktop at work.
Airtime: Greatest Hits Radio, Surrey & East Hampshire
Running alongside the digital audio campaign, a scheduled airtime campaign on GHR Surrey & East Hampshire delivered consistent brand presence throughout the campaign window.
Success Measures
The campaign delivered outstanding results across every key metric:
- 320,026 total impressions delivered across all AudioXi campaigns
- 92,404 unique listeners reached via audioXi campaign alone
- 813 spots delivered on GHR Surrey & East Hampshire, 105% of target
- KPIs exceeded by more than double, as confirmed by the client
These are exceptional results for any public sector radio advertising campaign, but especially one targeting multiple hard-to-reach audience segments simultaneously.
Summary
Surrey County Council’s STEP Surrey campaign is a compelling demonstration of what targeted public sector radio advertising can achieve when strategy, creative, and technology work in harmony. By combining the data-driven precision of AudioXi with the broadcast reach and credibility of Greatest Hits Radio, Hits Radio Advertising helped the Council speak to the right people, in the right places, at the right time, with a message that genuinely resonated.
“Big thanks to the team at Bauer for supporting us with the launch of our new STEP Surrey gateway to skills and employment.
“The combination of established regional radio alongside the innovative AudioXI platform allowed us to target and refine a wide-ranging campaign to several key audience segments.
“The initial request was dealt with promptly, the creatives were bang on and the campaign delivered excellent listen through rates which, alongside other activity, helped us exceed our KPIs by more than double.”
Tim Ridgway, Strategic Stakeholder Engagement Manager at Surrey County Council
If your organisation is looking to reach specific audiences through public sector radio advertising — or any audio-led campaign — we’d love to show you what’s possible.