The Hindu Business Line : Moulding medium to message

"Due to lack of visual expressions or emotions to show, the challenge is to get the listener to visualise the ad in a way you would expect them to, and then surprise him or her."

RADIO CITY had Asha Bhonsle touring the city in a special carriage as part of its promotion.

Tailoring the ad to the radio medium is a challenge, but it has its votaries. Los Angeles-based radio advertising guru, Dan O'Day, who was in India recently to conduct seminars on radio advertising and marketing (organised by Adlab Radio), says that radio is not only the most inexpensive medium, but is also the most personalised of all mass media. "Any business owner will tell you the most effective form of advertising is word-of-mouth — a trusted friend or adviser guiding you to a wise decision. Of all the mass media, radio comes closest to word-of-mouth."

"If a talented radio writer or producer can imagine something, he or she can make you see it without requiring a budget to build sets, create costumes or go on location," he adds.

Advertising on radio, says ad guru Day, should be seen by advertisers as a profit centre and not an expense.

"The advertisers and the advertising agencies should understand that radio advertising is not an exercise in creativity. It is not an excuse for the ad agency to show off. Radio advertising is mass salesmanship. The goal here is to sell. A radio commercial is meant to motivate the targeted listener to act — to pick up the phone and request for a free information booklet, to buy this particular product in the market."

Dyananda Chaudhuri, Media Head, Marico, believes that though radio in India is not yet a standalone medium and needs to complement other media, there are some good excuses to be on radio, as it is a frequency booster, reaches a mobile target and has a local flavour. She believes it could do wonders if used properly.

Marico recently test-marketed Parachute Therapie 45-Day Hair Fall Solution on radio, which was reportedly a big hit. Chaudhuri says initial consumer studies indicated that most consumers were sensitive and embarrassed about hair loss. "Using this nugget, we used the anonymity offered by radio and leveraged the connect that audiences have with the RJ. Radio City partnered our effort and helped harness the power of radio as a word-of-mouth medium to build brand credibility through the Parachute Therapie Challenge."

Trichologist Rashmi Shetty went live on Radio City and offered Parachute Therapie to the popular RJ Lavanya, and two other listeners. Lavanya took up the challenge of using the brand for 45 days and also invited listeners to try it out along with her - they chatted about their experiences with hair fall and how the brand has helped them.

"As a result of this, sceptics turned to hopefuls and then converted into brand endorsers," she added.

Soft drink company Pepsi finds radio a great medium for reaching its target audience out of home. "Radio offers a unique combination of being the most live and local medium. By completely integrating itself into the local flavour of a city, radio as a medium has become relevant for habitual listenership. Radio has been key in the 360-degree activations initiated by PepsiCo for most of its product launches and promotions," says a company spokesperson.

In fact, Giri of O&M says, "I believe that while marketers are looking at being more and more target-specific and narrowcast in their approach radio will gain its due."

Hindrances

If one was asked to pinpoint a major reason why radio is still not the most sought after medium for advertisers, it is bound to be the lack of a proper measurement system. And the industry strongly feels that it is high time this issue is addressed.

"Our ad rates are not based on response, neither do we have listenership scores. All that we have is day of recall studies which measures the most heard station the previous day and that is not enough," says Apurva Purohit, CEO of Radio City.

Having said so, Purohit also adds that the industry is in talks with research organisations to put a measurement system in place.

"We are trying to evolve alternative methods of measurement such as the watch-meter or peoplemeter methods or the diary method. But the issue here is cost.

The cost of installing a watch meter or peoplemeter would be really high. Therefore, what is likely to happen is a combination of the three methods," says Thomas of Red FM.

Niche positioning?

With a number of new players such as Adlabs venturing into the radio space, would niche positioning such as a radio station playing retro music or classical music make sense? The views on this are mixed. While a section of the industry does feel that the new players would have to look at niches, Krishnan of TAM says, "There is no need to look at niches at this stage as even after new stations come up, there will not be as many as TV channels for one to look at segmentations."

Tarun Katiyal, COO, Adlabs Radio, says that while all radio stations would need to build their own synergies and find their own segmentation, it is not necessary that the new players focus on niches. "When the new come in, the older players would also need to reposition."

Kaushik Ghosh, Head-Marketing, Radio Mirchi, doesn't rule out new players using niche positioning, but says they will be driven by competition and revenues.

"Most of them will launch in the mainstream formats, but after some time some may drop out of the race and focus on niche formats. The niche formats, however, would be limited to either an international music station or a Gujarati station in Mumbai or a Hindi station in Hyderabad. In this respect, the decision of the Government not to allow multiple frequency ownership will ensure that not many niche format radio stations come up," he states.

The radio industry, according to the recent FICCI Frames Report is likely to be a Rs 1,000 crore industry by 2010. And, in the words of Adlabs Radio's Katiyal, "Radio will boom as a medium for connecting with the local masses and enable local entrepreneurs to use and make themselves heard at the local level. The medium will help build regional brands which no other medium can ever do."

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