\t\t\t\t\t \tPerth community broadcaster Sonshine recently held an event at the Claremont Hotel, inviting local media and marketing agencies to meet its team, and challenge long-held industry perceptions around community radio. The event came as the station works to better showcase the its audience strength, engagement and value for businesses seeking meaningful audience connection.<\/p>\n
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Broadcasting since 1988, Sonshine reaches 351,000 monthly listeners according to independent McNair yellowSquares research, ranking #8 overall in Perth radio audiences. Excluding ABC stations, which do not carry sponsorship, Sonshine effectively ranks #5 among stations available to businesses for on-air promotion.<\/p>\n
Despite this, Sonshine says community radio is often overlooked because it is not included in the commercial GfK radio surveys commonly used by agencies and media planners. Former 303 Perth Managing Director Ren\u00e9 Migliore is now consulting with Sonshine to help challenge some of those perceptions within the industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat stood out to me very quickly is that Sonshine is not just a radio station \u2013 it\u2019s an ecosystem built around trust, community and engagement,\u201d said Migliore. \u201cIn a time where trust in media is declining and audiences are becoming harder to connect with, Sonshine offers something very different to commercial radio. It has a highly engaged, loyal and values-driven audience that actively supports the station because they believe in what it stands for. That creates a strong environment for businesses wanting genuine connection and positive brand association.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sonshine broadcasts 24 hours a day across FM, DAB+, web and app platforms, with live and local programming from 6am\u20136pm weekdays, more than 24,000 podcast downloads, and a nightly simulcast of Nine News from 6pm\u20137pm.<\/p>\n
The station has also invested heavily in mainstream brand awareness campaigns in recent years, including television campaigns across Seven West Media and Nine Entertainment platforms, supported by a strong and highly engaged social media presence.<\/p>\n
Busting the Myths<\/p>\n
Myth: \u201cSonshine is only for Christians\u201d
While Sonshine is founded on Christian values, its audience extends well beyond church communities.
\u2022 45% of listeners identify as having no religion or another religion
\u2022 55% identify as Christian
\u2022 Programming features approximately 70% mainstream music and 30% contemporary Christian music
\u2022 67% of listeners have children
\u2022 Content focuses on positivity, family, encouragement and values-led conversations<\/p>\n
\u201cAt our core, we exist to make Perth a better place,\u201d said Sonshine CEO Michael Pailthorpe. \u201cThat means creating media that offers hope, encouragement and a break from the negativity that can often dominate news and social media.\u201d<\/p>\n
Myth: \u201cCommunity radio audiences are small or niche\u201d
Sonshine\u2019s audience has grown significantly in recent years, increasing from 225,000 monthly listeners in November 2022 to 351,000 monthly listeners by November 2025.<\/p>\n
The audience is also younger and more family-focused than many in the industry assume, with:
\u2022 17% aged 15\u201324
\u2022 32% aged 25\u201339
\u2022 28% aged 40\u201354<\/p>\n
\u201cWith 67% of listeners having children, these are active households making purchasing decisions every day,\u201d said Sonshine Media Marketing Consultant Sean Phillips. \u201cThere\u2019s a misconception that community radio audiences are older or disconnected from mainstream consumer behaviour, but the data tells a very different story.\u201d<\/p>\n
Myth: \u201cAll radio audiences are the same\u201d
Sonshine says its greatest point of difference is audience trust and engagement. The station is fully funded through listener donations and business sponsorship, with listeners contributing approximately $2 million annually to keep the station on air.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat creates a very different relationship between broadcaster and audience,\u201d said Pailthorpe. \u201cOur listeners actively invest in the station because they genuinely value what we do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sonshine\u2019s community engagement extends well beyond broadcasting. Through initiatives such as Heart For The Homeless, listeners donated more than 12,000 items last year to support Perth people experiencing homelessness. The station has also raised well over $400,000 over five years for Water For Africa, including $170,000 in a single day during last year\u2019s Watering Day appeal.<\/p>\n
Myth: \u201cBusiness promotion doesn\u2019t work on community radio\u201d
Sonshine says its sponsorship partners consistently report strong outcomes and high-quality customer engagement. Current and recent sponsors include SKG Radiology, Celebration Homes, Granny Flats WA, Lux Traffic, Helium Marketing and RAC Insurance.<\/p>\n
Under community broadcasting licence conditions, Sonshine carries only around five minutes of sponsorship messages per hour \u2013 significantly less clutter than commercial radio.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat means sponsor messages stand out and are actually heard,\u201d said Media Marketing Consultant Mark Payne. \u201cBusinesses are increasingly looking for trusted environments and authentic audience connection. Sonshine delivers both, alongside strong audience reach and engagement.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sonshine is now actively engaging with Perth agencies and businesses to better showcase the station\u2019s audience insights, effectiveness and unique position within the Perth media landscape.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Perth community broadcaster Sonshine recently held an event at the Claremont Hotel, inviting local media and marketing agencies…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":472407,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[146,85,46,409],"class_list":["post-472406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=472406"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472406\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/472407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=472406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=472406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=472406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}