The Hindu Business Line : Radio City's high decibel campaign

Mumbai/ New Delhi June 13 Radio City 91.1 FM is launching its largest campaign ever in an effort to mark out a unique position amidst the clutter of radio channels.

Declining to comment on the budget of the `Fun ki nayi Bhasha' campaign which aired last weekend, the channel's National Head of Marketing, Mr Rana Barua, said: "It's the largest we have done so far, and we will run 160 spots a day, over the next three months, and also have ground activities across malls."

The campaign is an extension of the company's recent music video `Bolo whatte fun' starring comic actor Vinay Pathak.The need of the hour for the radio industry is segmentation and differentiation, says Mr Barua. The Music Broadcast Private Ltd (MBPL)-owned radio has identified its listeners as belonging to the age group of 25-34 and from SEC (socio-economic class) AB. The content is strictly adult contemporary.

"We are not into breaking music (read the latest hits). It's more music of the '70s, '80s and '90s," says Mr Barua. The channel is also trying to differentiate itself from competition, offering English content to early morning listeners in Chennai, and Hindi to those in Hyderabad.

With eight stations up and running, the channel expects to add another 12 by July. While cities such as Baroda, Surat, Nagpur and Ahmednagar are on the map for stations, the channel is also expanding its network to smaller towns such as Nagdeo and Sangli in Maharashtra. For the eastern zone, where Radio City has no license, it is considering entering into a strategic alliance.

The channel claims 30 per cent market share in terms of advertisement revenue on radio. According to Mr Ashit Kukian, National Sales Head of Radio City, the market is currently valued at Rs 360 crore, and radio accounts for only 4 per cent of the advertising pie. However, radio's share is expected to double to 8 per cent in the next few years. With advertisers such as Cadbury, Marico and Tata Sky on board, the company expects to grab a significant share of this growth. The radio channel is considering expanding into dedicated music portal space in the next three years.