BBC Radio 3

31 January 2011

Noel Coward apparently compared the experience of listening to Mozart to “piddling on a flannel” (a bit of an acquired taste then?) so it was quite a bold move when BBC Radio 3 embarked on its 12-day Mozart odyssey in early January, but it’s adventurous programming like this that sets Radio 3 apart from its competitors and, most importantly, attracts new listeners. D8, on the BBC’s design marketing and communications roster, developed The Genius of Mozart campaign identity, which was brought to life at London Underground stations by buskers mining Mozart’s back catalogue.

The interest and passion generated almost certainly made it all worthwhile – jazz lovers berated the idea while one listener said “Classic FM were playing nothing but military marches, wartime music and bagpipes, so I switched over. It was like stepping into a fresh cool pond in a forest after coming out of a scalding hot bath. Delightful.” Job done as far as Radio 3 is concerned. You can get a flavour of the heated debate on the Guardian blog here.