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NEW
DELHI: Radio Mirchi may have set up a 29 ft dais for live
performance to mark its fifth anniversary, but competitor
Big 92.7 FM is set to take the breath away from all competitors,
setting up radio station atop a hoarding on the Mehrauli-Gurgaon
road in the outskirts of Delhi, from where programmes will
be run live.
And the RJs would be actually coming out and interact with the
audience, a completely revolutionised format in FM branding,
launching tomorrow.
The Big Booth is a cubicle-shaped branded studio, which can
be installed at any location, thereby enabling the RJ to go
live on-air effectively and connect with the city instantly
with the help of the installed equipments.
The
content on Big 92.7 FM is local in nature and has been put
together after much research, mood and activity mapping among
audiences, and with the 'Big Booth', the Radio Station will
be empowering 'local connect' to all its listeners by providing
credible and relevant local information.
The channel's Regional Head (Operations), Praveen Malhotra
told indiantelevision.com: "The configuration is through
a tie line, which the RJs will use for doing the links. There
is a hoarding and on that we have put up a radio booth which
is a replica of the studio, from where the RJs will be performing."
Tie line is an instrument which is connected through a GSM
Connection and is connected to the studio, Malhotra explained
just ahead of the formal launch today.
But
will transmission also take place from the spot or elsewhere?
"Transmission
will happen through tie line from there, the songs would be
played from the studio," Malhotra explained.
However,
asked about the cost of this studio, and how it compares with
the cost of a normal studio, Malhotra demurred: "We don't
discuss figures."
He
also refused to divulge business models or the new and prospective
advertisers who would be looking at this new initiative.
Amazingly,
one would think holding a performance and radio operations
would need hoards of permissions, but Malhotra said that no
extra permission of any kind had been necessitated.
Given
that this is a daring experiment and needed a lot of planning,
what were the compelling reasons for the channel to try this?
Malhotra
is clear.
"In
a cluttered radio market like Delhi with 11 stations operational,
it's too difficult to be noticed and to have a brand recall.
The stations who will be doing the things differently are
the ones who are going to stay.
"Since
the launch we at Big 92.7 FM had planned and executed many
of these 'firsts', like Metro Handle Bars Branding, etc. And
to maintain the same we thought of a disruptive marketing
idea i.e. doing the live shows from the streets of Delhi /
NCR.
"We
started off with doing the live shows from shopping malls
like MMX Mall and West Gate Mall. To make it more interesting
we thought of doing this through a hoarding and that's how
idea was generated and implemented."
The
normal operations of the channel would be on, while from the
hoarding they would be doing the three shows i.e. Panga hai
par changa hai; Big Request and Big Googly) shows, from 2-
9 pm.
Being on the road, three obvious operational problems had
to be tackled: save equipment from dust and heat, protect
the RJs and cut out traffic noise.
To
attend to these three problems, the radio booth is in a air
conditioned closed enclosure and RJs do the shows from inside.
If
this is an actual road show where RJs would come and meet
the audiences, how does the channel plan to avoid traffic
congestion?
"The
location that has been identified has a park and there is
sufficient parking facility, and behind the hoarding are the
stairs provided for climbing to and fro the booth," Malhotra
explained.
How
many RJs would be there at a time? Any women as well, and
if so, are you anticipating rowdiness?
At
any given time only one RJ would be inside the booth, and
yes there are two female jocks as well, he added.
Are
any contests being planned for this radio station?
Malhotra disclosed that there were contests to trace on where
it is and what is written on the hoarding.
He
said that extensive research had been undertaken before they
actually implemented this idea.
This
will run concurrently with the main programmes, so what kind
of (percentage) rise in revenue are you expecting?
"Its
basically a part marketing innovation, that goes off air from
tomorrow, Malhotra said, without further elaboration, but
explained that the new marketing initiative has been Big BOOTH
on a hoarding.
And
yes, this is a beginning and lots of experiments and extensions
are being planned, he said.
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