What a radio advertising team roles map means for data sources

What to take away

Why the roles map changed

Two shifts pushed this list into the open. The Information Commissioner's Office updated its step-by-step direct marketing guidance for small organisations in May 2023. The update sets out a step order for lawful basis, consent, objection handling and suppression, and it applies to audio campaigns as much as email.

Second, the Advertising Standards Authority and the Committee of Advertising Practice continue to publish research on what audiences notice and how complaints arise. One dated change is the CAP Code gambling advertising rules that took effect on 1 October 2022. Those rules restrict content that appeals to under-18s and apply to radio ads.

This shapes how teams document creative claims. That means a radio advertising team roles map is now a data map. Each role owns a source, and each source carries a duty. If nobody owns the source, nobody owns the duty.

How to apply the inclusion criteria

Include a role only if it meets at least one test: it signs off spend, it handles personal data, it approves on-air claims, or it reports results to a client or finance team. Exclude anyone whose work never touches those four areas, however senior.

Apply the geography test too. For a UK-wide buy, the same roles apply in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, because the relevant rules come from UK-wide regulators. For a single England station buy, the duties are identical; only the scale of the data set changes.

The roles and the sources they own

Campaign owner. Owns the brief, the budget line and the post-campaign report. Sources: internal spend records, station rate cards, the AA/WARC Expenditure Report and Nielsen Ad Intel for market and competitor spend. Duty: reconciling booked airtime against invoices.

Source notes: Internal spend records hold purchase orders and invoices, accessed through finance. Station rate cards hold spot prices and package rates, accessed from station sales. The AA/WARC Expenditure Report holds quarterly UK ad spend by media; headlines are free, full tables are subscription. Nielsen Ad Intel holds cross-media ad spend; access is by subscription.

Media planner. Owns audience sizing and station selection. Sources: RAJAR quarterly audience data, Ofcom's Media Nations report, and IPA TouchPoints.

Source notes: RAJAR holds station reach, share and listening hours by demographic and region; headlines are free, full data is subscription. Ofcom Media Nations holds annual UK media consumption and industry trends; the PDF is free on Ofcom's site. IPA TouchPoints holds media diary and consumer data; access is by subscription through the IPA.

The GOV.UK research and statistics collection is the starting point for market sizing. Official statistics relevant to media and advertising market sizing are published on GOV.UK research and statistics. The collection holds official statistics releases and datasets; access is free on GOV.UK.

Data protection lead. Owns consent records, suppression lists and privacy notices. Sources: ICO guidance, plus a consent management platform such as Cookiebot or OneTrust.

The ICO's step-by-step guide to direct marketing for your small business covers lawful audio and digital marketing, including how to record consent and handle objections. The guide is free on the ICO site and holds steps and examples.

Cookiebot and OneTrust provide consent banners and consent records; access is by paid subscription, typically from around £10 to £50 per month for small sites, rising to enterprise contracts.

Creative compliance reviewer. Owns claim substantiation and code checks. Sources: ASA and CAP advice and research, plus the Radio Advertising Clearance Centre (RACC).

The ASA's research at the ASA and CAP is useful when a claim needs evidence before it goes to air. The advice pages hold rulings, guidance and research, and access is free on the ASA site. RACC, part of Radiocentre, clears most commercial radio ads before broadcast. Clearance notes and copy advice are available through Radiocentre.

Traffic and scheduling coordinator. Owns copy deadlines and station correspondence. Sources: station traffic instructions, booking confirmations, and Radiocentre copy deadline guidance. Duty: getting finished audio to stations on time. Stations typically need final audio 48 to 72 hours before first broadcast, though each station sets its own cut-off.

Source notes: Station traffic instructions hold delivery specs, file formats and cut-off times; access is from the station traffic team. Booking confirmations hold booked slots and copy instructions; access is from the station or sales house. Radiocentre copy deadline guidance holds sector deadlines; access is free on the Radiocentre site.

Measurement analyst. Owns response data, call tracking and attribution notes. Sources: Google Analytics 4, Looker Studio dashboards, and client CRM exports from Salesforce or HubSpot.

Source notes: Google Analytics 4 holds web and app event data; access is free with a Google account. Looker Studio holds dashboards built on connected sources; access is free at standard limits. Salesforce and HubSpot hold CRM contact and response records; access is by subscription, with a free HubSpot tier.

Role and source comparison

Worked example: mapping an £18,000 campaign

This example uses an £18,000 campaign with an illustrative split of £15,000 airtime, £1,800 production and £1,200 measurement. The amounts are planning figures for this example, not market rates.

The map is complete when each line has a named owner and a source record. Add the access date beside each source before the campaign goes live.

Where the handoffs break

The most common failure is a handoff with no named owner. A planner buys a station, the creative team writes a claim, and nobody records where the audience data came from. When a complaint or a subject access request lands, the trail is cold.

For example, a planner uses a RAJAR reach figure in the client report but saves the RAJAR export on a personal drive. The measurement analyst cannot trace the reach claim. If an ASA complaint asks for evidence, the source and the date accessed are missing.

Fix it by writing the owner's name beside each source in the campaign file. Our guide to the radio advertising operating workflow in England shows how that file moves from brief to invoice without losing the trail.

How to trace the numbers to a named source

For an £18,000 airtime campaign, the measurement analyst should trace each reported figure back to a source. If a figure cannot be traced, it should not appear in the client report.

Trace work has three checks. First, each number in the report names the source record, such as a RAJAR export or a GA4 event report. Second, the report names the person who owns that source. Third, the report records the date the source was accessed.

If a number fails any check, the analyst marks it as unverified and removes it from the client-facing version. That rule keeps the map honest without adding a new reporting layer.

The broader radio advertising operations and delivery guide for 2027 sets out how these roles fit the wider delivery cycle, which is worth reading before you rewrite your own role map.

Keeping the map current

Set a review date for the map. Check the ICO direct marketing guidance page and the ASA and CAP advice pages each quarter. When either changes, update the source column, owner and access date in the campaign file.

Record the date of the change that triggered the update. If a station changes its traffic instructions or copy deadline, update that row at the same time.

Common questions

Does every radio advertising team need a dedicated data protection lead?

No. A small team can assign the duty to one named person alongside another role, provided the consent records and suppression lists are maintained and someone can answer an ICO query.

Do these roles differ in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland?

The core duties do not differ, because the advertising codes and data protection law apply across the UK. Only the station contacts and audience data sets change.

Which source should a planner check first?

Start with official statistics for market context, then use RAJAR and station-published audience data for the specific buy. Keep both in the campaign file with the date you accessed them.

Can one person hold two roles on this list?

Yes, but avoid combining the compliance reviewer and the campaign owner, because that removes the independent check on claims before airtime.