The Government Communication Service (GCS) Fillers Team works with government organisations to commission and develop cost-effective public service announcements (currently through radio), working with media owners to obtain free, donated airtime.
What are Fillers?
“Fillers” are radio assets produced for commercial and community radio stations, intended to support low-cost communications. To best suit the needs of radio stations, Fillers should focus on generic “evergreen” content. This makes them ideal for public welfare, health and safety messages aimed at improving people’s lives.
Fillers are designed to be picked up by radio stations and aired at their own discretion and goodwill, free of media charge. Examples of Fillers include living smokefree; sugar obesity; road safety and drink-driving; and financial security messages, such as avoiding online scams and phishing.
Fillers are not suitable for fast-changing policy messages or strict, date-sensitive campaigns – such as winter flu vaccine deadlines or specific legislative changes. If your campaign relies on precise timing, paid advertising is recommended, as paid media gives you full control over when and where your ads air.
The GCS Fillers Team acts as a central “broker”, working primarily as consultants to develop Fillers with departments and discuss suitability of scripts. We build relationships with media owners to identify any opportunities of free airtime.
Business needs of radio stations
Commercial radio broadcasters have daily airtime schedules that shift and change, and many have a need for meaningful and engaging radio content to fill any empty programming space made available, potentially at short notice.
Government Radio Fillers are designed to fulfil that business need – however it is worth understanding they are competing for air space with other sources of filler radio content at the broadcasters disposal, such as charity content and their own promotional trailers. Government Radio Fillers therefore need to be well produced and well scripted, and contain engaging themes to compete effectively in this space.
In short, Government Radio Fillers need to generate enough interest by the stations themselves to be used repeatedly over upcoming months and potentially years.
Reaching audiences
As well as making Fillers available to commercial radio stations, community and “not for profit” radio stations are uniquely able to access Fillers to be aired on their stations when they register on the Fillers website, broadening the audience. During 2025, 140 different community radio stations aired a Filler, to varying degrees.
Fillers are typically implemented as a supporting role to wider marketing campaigns, to build public awareness at low cost and support behaviour change. Ideally Fillers are scripted with “evergreen” content so that once delivered they can potentially remain available for broadcasters to use on radio for a long period of time – often available for use upwards of 12 months and in some cases, even several years.
Fillers are generally not suited to very short-term bursts since the airtime is not guaranteed and at a radio station’s discretion, they typically take time to build up airtime traction. Fillers are not designed with short term high frequency or regional targeting, this is likely better handled by paid advertising.
While Fillers cannot be targeted at specific audiences in the same way paid advertising can, they offer government departments a route to raising awareness of welfare, safety or public health messages.
More information
To find out more about Government Radio Fillers, contact radiofillers@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.