In January 1991, Buzz had been on the air for seven months. As part of it’s natural growth it updated it’s sound and slogan to “The Rhythm Of The City“. As part of this change, it undertook an advertising campaign to raise awareness and get people tuned in. The campaign featured adverts on buses and newspapers, car stickers and car tax disc holders, t-shirts, sweatshirts and other merchandise and sponsoring of events.
In the center of Birmingham, not far from Birmingham New Street station is a roundabout named Holloway Circus which links Smallbrook Queensway, Bristol Street, Horse Fair, Suffolk Street Queensway and Holloway Head. Due to it’s central location a lot of vehicles pass through it every day which made it a great location to get attention from motorists who might be persuaded to tune in.
In 1991, Buzz placed the following giant advert right at the top of Holloway Circus.
The huge advert was on the fifth or sixth floor of the building.
The above photo was taken in 2008, some seventeen years after it was put up! A huge thank you to William Fallows for allowing us to use this photo!
It lasted even longer too – not until 2022, thirty one years after it was put up, was it finally taken down.
I was at Holloway Circus in Birmingham earlier and noticed scaffolding up and the Buzz FM advert hoarding which has been there for circa 30 years has gone.
Only the two boards which have been blank in recent years remain.
Digital Spy Forums – A piece of Birmingham Radio Disappears, 19 April 2022
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