MUMBAI: The Rs 1,300 crore radio industry will have to collectively maintain a consistent programming content to attract advertisers from other media like television and digital, TAM Media Research Sr VP – S-Group & Marketing Pradeep Hejmadi said.
A lot of advertisers look at media as vehicles’ to sell their brands and products. So the first thing is to weigh the audience. Radio needs to create and manage its consumer. Advertisers can ask: what does radio bring to ground? Radio has a huge audience and potential if we account for the AM, All India Radio’s (AIR) FM and the private FM stations- an attractive proposition for corporate.
“Radio has attractiveness like having a sizable audience, reach but that is not unique to radio. Its lack of visual reference can also work for and against it. A ‘masala’ item number might work better on television because of its strong visual content, whereas another type of song may work better without any visual to clutter the piece,” Hejmadi pointed out.
In an airspace dominated by Bollywood music and gossip, radio stations can still look for gaps where content for niche audiences- especially non-film music- from ghazals to Hindustani Classical music- to extend their audience cover and strengthen content. But such transitions will have to be planned and implemented gradually to introduce the changes and make audiences adjust to new content and develop a taste for it. At the end of the day, these exercises and risks are aimed at to attract a more diversified portfolio of advertisers to the stations. This is especially true for the private FM stations.
“In today’s environment, where there are multiple medium- a single medium cannot change people’s tastes. Not one single station can claim to have the ability to change audience’s tastes. If change is necessary, it cannot be done in a quantum manner but gradually. Today, it’s difficult to say if content beyond Bollywood will work; because it hasn’t really been tried. Innovation for its own sake will not work; you will have to plan the transition unless you see a gaping hole that your content can jump in to. For that you’ll need to convince investors and financers of the station,” he said.
Many stations can leverage the fact that they are part of media conglomerates. This connection via multiple media platforms can be utilized to maximize reach and impact through cross medium partnerships. Radio stations can also leverage the fast- growing digital platform by creating interactive websites, forum and social media platforms to interact with audiences. Many RJ have now taken to social media sites like Twitter to share their views on social issues beyond Bollywood.
“The biggest challenge for all the stations is how to differentiate themselves, create their own aura and how to monetize their content effectively,” he said.