Local radio network Heart is gearing up to celebrate 15 years in Birmingham next month.
And the company has said the Birmingham station, which celebrates its birthday on September 6, serves as a model to be rolled out across its expanding national network.
Birmingham’s Heart 100.7 is part of the UK’s largest commercial radio network which reaches a total of 7.5?million listeners nationwide every week.
Luis Clark, Heart group programme director, said Birmingham was the “birthplace” of the network which now consists of 33 Heart stations throughout the country.
He said: “Heart was just a Birmingham radio station 15 years ago and it has gone from strength to strength and is now a huge force in the London marketplace and Birmingham should be proud of that.
“We have been so successful it’s now become a national brand.”
Mr Clark pointed to talent such as breakfast show presenters Ed and Rachel who have been instrumental in growing its market share and said he wanted to see more “Eds and Rachels” rolled out across the country.
“Birmingham is absolutely the model we look to roll out,” he said.
Heart came to Birmingham in 1994 and subsequently added stations in London and the East Midlands.
Last year parent group Global Radio transformed 30 local stations into the Heart brand.
Global Radio has also invested in three major marketing campaigns this year, including a TV campaign featuring Emma Bunton, its first network marketing campaign.
Recent industry radio listening figures saw Heart 100.7 add 38,000 more listeners year on year, beating all other stations in Birmingham including BBC Radio 1 and 2.
Earlier this year, Global Radio announced it was selling BRMB and a handful of other Midland stations to former Chrysalis Radio chief executive Phil Riley and his private equity backers Lloyds TSB Development Capital, operating under the Orion Media brand.
