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Sravanthi Challapalli

Chennai, Sept. 19 Big 92.7 FM seeks to consolidate its current leadership position in Bangalore as it enters the third year of operations.

Speaking to Business Line here, Mr Suresh Iyer, Regional Director (South), Big 92.7 FM, said the radio station aims to “create a blue sky between us and our nearest competitor” and that the same model of success will be replicated in all the other South markets.

Big 92.7 FM says Radio Audience Measurement (RAM, a division of TAM Media Research) data for the period from July 20-August 23 shows that the radio station’s share has grown from 22.3 per cent to 23.1 per cent, and has been in the No 1 position consistently. Radio Mirchi and S FM are in the second and third positions with 19.4 per cent and 9.5 per cent share, respectively.

Mr Iyer said Big 92.7 FM had benefited from sharper positioning based on insights into the cities it operates in. Bangalore, for instance, was seen as a city in transition. As immigrants come in for jobs and this slowly but steadily changes the character of the city, the native Kannadiga needs to find his own corner for entertainment – this insight, he says, helped the station come up with the tag line ‘Chindi Udaaisi’ (Have a blast).

In Chennai, the station came up with ‘Tamizhanin Perumai’ (Tamil pride) as it found that the residents, most of them made up of people from other parts of Tamil Nadu, identified themselves with Tamil culture rather than the city itself.

Linking these with programming and on-ground campaigns has strongly contributed to the growth, says Mr Iyer.

Recently, Dheena, an RJ at the Chennai station, attempted to enter the Guinness Book of World Records by hosting shows continuously for more than 135 hours. Not only did this tie-up well with the Tamizhanin Perumai positioning, it also brought in non-listeners, Mr Iyer explained.

On radio advertising, Mr Iyer said it had grown from Rs 500 crore in 2006 to about Rs 620 crore by March 2008. If it continues growing at 25 per cent, this would, conservatively estimated, amount to a market of Rs 1,800 crore by 2012.

Big 92.7 is currently available in 44 cities and enjoys a clear leadership position in Bangalore and Kolkata and is a “close leader” in Mumbai and Delhi (all the four markets are tracked by RAM), Mr Iyer said, adding that the strength of the network and the leadership in content will ensure that it commands a sizeable chunk of the advertising pie.

More Stories on : Market Shares | Radio/TV

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