104 Fever FM has attempted to create a difference in the radio market in Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi and Bangalore with its campaign ‘No Bullshit, only music’. In conversation with radioandmusic.com’s Anita Iyer, Fever’s Delhi station head Neeraj Chaturvedi talks about the company’s latest campaign, short term plans and differential content.
Excerpts:
Tell us something about your campaign ‘No bullshit, just music’.
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The campaign ‘No bullshit, just music’goes very well with the positioning of our station. Here we do not mean only music without talk, but about relevant talk. Many RJs on various radio stations seem to have verbal diarrhoea and their talk borders on the irrelevant. We believe the listeners get into a mood when they listen to songs and interruptions like silly jokes and recipes break the flow and continuity. Fever ensures a great listening experience to its listeners and ‘No bullshit, just music’also means lesser ads. We play 25 minutes of music in a half an hour slot.
The campaign has helped us to stand out in the radio sector with a better recall value and increasing the connection with our listeners.
How has the tie-up with Virgin for content helped Fever FM?
The tie up with Virgin has been very fruitful with many international practices being absorbed by us. We have adopted the concept of western radio stations, programming and technical expertise with Virgin’s Help.
How did the recent visit of Sir Richard Branson help?
It was the first time Sir Richard Branson visited our radio station and it was a renewal of commitments from both sides. Branson was happy with the way Fever is picking up pace.
Radio content is more or less the same universally. How do you plan to stand out?
I agree with the fact that the content in radio is more or less the same and we desire to give a new flavour to our radio channel. We plan to create differential content in terms of presentation, quality and better connect between the jockeys on air and the listeners. The music we play also differs from many radio stations, we play the kind of music which touches the pulse of the listeners. There is a proper convergence of music, like we play 80 per cent Bollywood and 20 per cent international songs, which helps us connect with the urban youth.
What are your expectations from RAM?
RAM is a step forward from the ILT (Indian Listenership Track) and the methodology it follows by tracking listeners’recall behaviour is foolproof. Though, of course, I think the current weekly format followed by RAM is cluttered with too much data and must be reduced to a monthly basis to make it more transparent.
Fever has not gone in for exclusive music tie ups with Bollywood films yet.
In case of tie-ups, it becomes mandatory for the radio station to play the music, irrespective of whether it is great music or not. We would like to own exclusive music rights of compositions by established composers like A.R. Rahman, Shankar Ehsaan Loy or Vishal Bharadwaj where no risk is involved.
Are you planning to target smaller cities when the government opens up phase III of FM radio?
The number of licenses we would bid for would mainly depend on the kind of licenses issued by the government. After making our presence felt in the metros, we might now plan to penetrate in the interiors because smaller cities are growing and radio stations are doing well. The investments would mainly depend on long term or short term evaluations by the company.
What is the strategy for 2008?
For listeners, we want to ensure a better music experience and also launch promotions to increase interaction between the listeners and the radio station. We also plan to come up with new features and interesting shows to attract the listeners.
