Dr. Oetker Ristorante Serves up the Perfect Mid-Week Pairing as Inaugural Sponsor of the Relaunched Radio Times Book Club, Hosted by Joanna Page

Published: 15 Jul 2025

Dr. Oetker Ristorante is the first-ever sponsor of the newly relaunched Radio Times Book Club, hosted by beloved British actress and presenter Joanna Page.

This unique collaboration brings together two of the nation’s favourite ways to unwind: a great book and a tasty pizza. Whether it's a mid-week escape or a moment of well-earned ‘me time’, the partnership with Radio Times, the UK’s favourite entertainment brand, invites audiences to savour both the Radio Times Book of the Month and a slice of thin and crispy Ristorante pizza.

Joanna Page, star of Gavin & Stacey and host of the Radio Times Book Club, will champion the campaign across various engaging content formats, including print, digital, social, video, and a bespoke event.

This will include monthly filmed reveals and reviews of the book of the month, now perfectly paired with a Ristorante pizza. As an authoritative entertainment guide for over 100 years, Radio Times offers unparalleled access to a highly engaged audience across its print magazine, website, podcast, and live events, reaching 14m million active users every month. Radio Times is published by Immediate, home to trusted brands people love.

The partnership will enable the Ristorante brand to carve out a unique identity in the competitive pizza market by appealing to a distinct audience in a new format.

The campaign was developed by Wavemaker and Immediate’s award-winning content studio, Imagine.

Key Campaign Highlights:

• Integrated Book Club Experience: Ristorante branding will be integrated throughout the new Radio Times Book Club section on RadioTimes.com, including a media first dedicated navigation bar link, masthead, skins, and ad placements.
• Exclusive Print Features: Ristorante and the Book Club will feature in every issue of Radio Times, with monthly double-page spreads for book reviews and weekly dedicated columns announcing the Book of the Month, complete with plot recaps and suggested pizza pairings.
• Rich Digital Content: A series of new book-related articles will be created, including bespoke native content exploring "The perfect mid-week pairing” of book and pizza. High-impact digital formats will extend reach. The partnership also includes sponsorship of 3 new Book Club newsletters.
• Engaging Video Series: Three long-form book review videos and three self-shot videos featuring Joanna Page will be produced, with Ristorante prominently featured.
• Interactive Social Engagement: A social media strategy across Radio Times channels will drive page views, video views, and reach through quizzes, carousels, polls and fun, engaging games with Joanna Page promoting the campaign with dedicated posts on her personal social channels.
• Bespoke 'Meet the Author' Event: Finally, an exclusive co-branded 'Meet the Author' event with Joanna Page, promoting her autobiography, will embody the 'mid-week me-time' concept, offering a relaxed atmosphere with Ristorante pizza, author readings, and Q&A sessions. Tickets will be promoted via Radio Times and Ristorante's channels, with competition giveaways.

Paula Wyatt, Head of Marketing (pizza) at Dr. Oetker said: "At Ristorante we are always looking for innovative ways to connect with our consumers., We’re about those small, uplifting moments that brighten your day. Teaming up with Radio Times and Joanna Page gives us a powerful new way to be part of our consumers’ mid-week rituals - from turning pages to enjoying perfect pizza nights. It’s a deliciously different kind of pairing, and one we’re proud to serve up."

Jemma Holding, Senior Partnerships Manager at Immediate, says: "Radio Times has been a trusted companion for entertainment for over a century, deeply embedded in the lives of our readers and a much-loved brand synonymous with me time. This campaign with Ristorante is the most editorially collaborative commercial partnership we've ever done on Radio Times, tapping into the desire of the audience for quality personal time. It will be a perfect combination, combining their passion for literature with the simple pleasure of a delicious Ristorante pizza.”

Lisa Thompson, Strategy Lead at Wavemaker, added: “We’re absolutely delighted to have orchestrated the partnership between Dr. Oetker Ristorante and the Radio Times breathing new life into the Radio Times Book Club. The collaboration is a masterclass in combining top-tier talent, compelling content, and exclusive events, delivering numerous media firsts.

“This initiative boldly reimagines the traditional ‘Pizza and TV’ dynamic. By forging this fresh connection, we're tapping directly into a core passion point of our audience, creating content that pizza lovers will genuinely embrace. Frankly, we challenge you to find a more perfect pairing than a delicious slice of Dr. Oetker Ristorante in one hand, and a great book in the other.”

The Dr. Oetker Ristorante x Radio Times Book Club campaign runs until October 14, 2025.

ENDS

For more information, please contact: Toby Hicks at Immediate on 0780-362-8050 or email toby.hicks@immediate.co.uk

About Immediate

Immediate is the home to trusted brands people love, with more vthan 700 people based in London, Bristol, Nottingham and Manchester. We own and operate some of the best-loved brands in the UK and are the market leader in the majority of sectors we operate in, including food, gardening and children’s publishing. Our brands include Radio Times, Good Food, BBC History Magazine, BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine, olive, Girl Talk, and MadeForMums. We also publish children’s titles for LEGO and Disney, CBeebies portfolio under license from BBC Studios and BBC Top Gear on behalf of BBC Studios. We engage over 75 million people globally each month, with world-class content across print, digital, video, podcasts and live events. With more than 1.3 million active subscribers across print and digital, we are the UK’s leading publisher by subscribers.