Good advertising times for Radio

As per a FICCI-PwC report, the share of radio as a percentage of total advertising spends, is rising in India even as it is declining globally.

In 2005, radio’s ad spend share in India was just 2.4 per cent; it increased to 3.1 per cent in 2006 and is expected to go up to 5.5 per cent in 2007. The ad revenues of the segment have grown by 58 per cent, from around Rs 316.8 crore in 2005 to Rs 505.3 crore in 2006.

Apurva Purohit, CEO, Radio City, says two important trends have propelled the growth of radio “Earlier television and print used to dominate the media plan. But with their constant fragmentation, advertisers and media planners have realised that they have to spend more on these media to get a far lesser reach than before. Clients are therefore looking for 360-degree solutions, at multiple media including radio and the Internet. TV channels, FMCG’s and consumer durables advertise heavily on Radio City.”

Divya Radhakrishnan, senior Vice-president, TME, adds that retail advertising, promotions for youth-targeted brands and city-specific marketing initiatives are in abundance on radio. “Owing to the high proliferation of FM radio, cumulatively, outlays required for a decent exposure on the medium, are high. Hence, it is important to define the role of radio clearly in the media plan. Planners look at the leverage of activity that the medium has to offer, its local flavour and its more precise targeting, compared to TV or print.”

Radio City, in partnership with Synovate, researched listener habits for more precise targeting and has come up with five groups: relaxation seekers, cool dudes, lonely souls, flirts and time pass. Meanwhile, it has launched a 360-degree media campaign to promote itself. This includes an extension of the “Fun ki nayi bhasha” campaign to two TVC’s (the chor-police “Baal Baal” and the curling moustache-seeking “King”), a “Whatte Fun” micro site along with”Bolo Whatte Fun” music CDs. A “Bolo Whatte Fun” brand video is being aired across TV channels.

In fact, most radio channels have gone for differentiation campaigns. Radio Mirchi continues with its “Mirchi sunne waale always khush…” campaign. Red FM claims at the best RJ’s, best talk shows and the like, asking competition, “Tumhare paas kya hai?”. Reliance ADA group’s Big 92.7 FM continues with “Suno sunao, life banao”.

While more advertising is coming radio’s way, the usage of the medium itself is seeing some improvement. Unlike the typically adapted one-liners from TVC’s, some advertisers have used the medium creatively. Marico, in association with Radio City, conceived and implemented a 45-day hair fall solution challenge for Parachute Therapie. Radio jockey Lavanya, known for experimenting with her hair, was selected as brand ambassador.

The afternoon show, Masala Mix, from 11.00 am to 2.00 pm daily, was used to promote Therapie. In 2005, Saffola, another Marico brand, had partnered with Go 92.5 FM to popularise Saffola Gold with Losorb technology. The radio channel’s overweight RJ, Ashish Jagtiani (Jaggu) of the Good Morning Show fame was roped in to lose 10 kg over three months. A lot of significant changes are happening, taking radio to the next level.

As far as measurement is concerned, TAM, the media measurement company, has come out with RAM (Radio Audience Measurement) based on the diary method as opposed to Media Research Users’ Council’s (MRUC’s) Indian Listenership Track, which uses the day after recall (DAR) measure. Radhakrishnan states, “RAM will help in measuring reach/frequency of the medium, which is currently not possible.”

Purohit feels that the development of RAM will pull more investments to the medium. While radio has managed to attract more advertisers, going ahead, niche players will be able to address specific audiences. These players can differentiate on genre, language or target group. One recent example is Meow 104.8 FM, a radio channel dedicated to women, launched by Radio Today.

Sajjad Chunawala, station head, Fever 104 FM, which has launched in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore and is slated to launch in Kolkata soon, agrees, “Moving forward, the future of radio encompasses all niche channels as they would cater more specifically to the listeners’ needs.”