Radio on Round III

FM Radio privatisation hits the third phase now. What are the dimensions of this new policy as a new entity into radio needs to keep in mind? I am new in this space.

- Rajat Tiwari, Indore

Rajat, welcome to the tumult that is radio. This is exciting space.

So here it is finally, the third phase of FM radio privatisation. What has just been announced is interesting. What is more interesting is that it points to the way things will pan out in the future. Into a more radio-intensive future. A radio-‘active' future.

I am personally excited that FM radio will now reach nearly 87 per cent of the country in terms of reach. Every 1-million plus population town (all new 227 plus the existing 86) of India will now have a minimum three channels that will slug it out in the content and advertising wars.

More excitement ahead: We are talking of 839 new FM radio channels in 294 cities. And more: News enters the kitty. Only, sadly for now, this is going to be just the staid old variety of AIR broadcasts. In many ways, AIR gets a leg up in centres in packaged formats that can get it more ears. And the bit that excites me the least is the fact that FDI and FII norms will now allow a 26 per cent investment level. The category has, sadly, not attracted enough attention from overseas investors thus far. I hope it does now at least.

How does this new policy affect us all in India?

There are three dimensions at play. One that affects the broadcaster at large, another that affects the listener in particular, and a third that affects the potential investor.

The broadcaster has enough to get excited about, really. The big one amidst the fine print is the fact that a single broadcaster can now operate multiple frequencies. This just means that the ability to leverage existing capex investments to a larger variety of possibilities exists. Every broadcaster crying about his early investments now has reason to rejoice and plan ahead. Expect the big broadcaster to see joy on his balance sheet as well. Expect the big broadcaster to see a realistic 35 per cent per annum growth in revenues. At last!

The broadcaster has one more joy. At last his brand is now going to get into the consideration set of being a pan-Indian play. Gone will be the days when advertisers would shun the medium saying that it is as regional and local as it was painted to be. The broadcaster can now truly talk the language of print and television. And guess what, radio has the potential of being a bigger medium than both.

Radio is also the most unobtrusive channel of them all. You just need a pair of ears to listen in, with just no stress on your eye, or stress on your ability to read a language. Radio in many ways is the dumbest medium of them all. The lowest common denominator medium. If the television set has enjoyed the sobriquet of ‘idiot box', radio has the potential of being more idiot than the idiot box!

The collective listenership of all radio has the complete potential to far exceed the collective readership of newspapers in India, and most certainly the collective viewership of television channels in India.

The listener should be happy as well. The allure of big-city radio is now available at his home, never mind where he stays. This completely zero-fee paid medium is now his. Not one, but a minimum three to boot. The listener gets variety, and for once he can flick the dials with gay abandon.

I wish the community of strategic investors wakes up now. The category has been slow to attract an adequate amount money and attention.

With Phase III of the radio privatisation movement kicking off, I only wish more and more investors were to look seriously at the medium. The 26 per cent investment cap, if reached, can always be a discussion point for further leeway in the future. Twenty-six per cent is a good start.

Here's to a radio-‘active' future then. Cheers!

What's with e-commerce? It seems to be rearing its head again.

- Shampa P. Matthew, Kochi

Shampa, yes, for sure. Globally e-commerce is emerging to be a terrific way for consumers to buy. The entire searching, comparing (both item and price) and buying process is reasonably seamless, confidential, at-your-own time and convenient. You do not have to visit a store, you do not have to stand in checkout counters, you can be as confidential and faceless in your purchase as you want to, and you can do it when you want, with no store timings to worry about.

Evolved markets are very comfortable in buying Brazilian lingerie and Guatemalan Bananas alike on the Net. And so, everyone is excited.

What are the five things to remember while re-positioning a brand?

- Leo S. Sardinha, Mumbai

Leo, thankfully you have asked for just five. There are well nigh nearly 40 issues to be careful about. Brand positioning helps in getting a complete makeover in terms of brand image and perception. A brand must be careful in the following manners for sure:

Ask and research the fact that your brand does really need re-positioning. Do not do it for the lark of it. Be technical in your assessment of need.

Be sure of what the competition is all about. Again, be research-centric.

Be sure that you do not alienate your existing consumers with your brand re-positioning fetish. And be sure this is not your latest fetish!

Remember that a brand's position is at times embedded in its DNA. If you re-position, you tamper with the brand DNA. Do it with care.

A brand repositioning exercise aspires to attract a fair degree of attention onto your brand at the time of re-launch. Be sure you want and can manage this attention with care.

(Harish Bijoor is a business strategy specialist and CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc. askharishbijoor@gmail.com

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