| MUMBAI: While speaking at the Advertising
Club Bombay's Value Creation seminar on marketing entertainment and
their growing inter-dependence, Banyan Tree Communications CMD Anish
Trivedi reiterated that radio FM presents an inexpensive, repetitive
and reinforcing option that scores over television and cinema advertising.
He added that radio has become a mobile companion for consumers for
any time of the day. Lambasting the viewership surveys, Trivedi urged
the advertising fraternity to go by the feel and the content of radio
FM channels. He reasoned that the "silence" between the
"songs" is what determined the popularity of the radio channels
as all of them played the same songs.
Here are some excerpts from Trivedi's presentation:
A radio station has to choose its audience and define the various
characteristics of the listener. Radio, an intimate medium, connects
to audiences due its personalized rapport with the listener. Listeners
don't have to fight for a remote to listen to radio; they could
listen to "what they wanted, when they wanted and where they
wanted!". A study conducted in the US showed that 63 per cent
listeners listen to radio on their own as against 39 per cent who
get to watch TV on their own.
A BBC World service survey stated that a majority (50 per cent)
of the people who participated in a poll wanted a radio as a companion
if they were marooned on an island. The other options TV (33 per
cent), magazine subscription (9 per cent) and newspapers (9 per
cent) lagged behind radio. The average listening for people in the
UK had increased to 3.5 hours a day and 5.5 hours on weekends. The
listening was ruled by high station loyalty due to a long period
of association with the station of choice.
Radio is an intimate and mobile medium that provides instant gratification
to the listener. The level of interactivity in radio is higher than
that in other mediums. This trend was augmented by technology such
as call-ins, e-mails and SMS through mobile phones. The best part
is that the listeners can be heard on radio and the RJs actually
listen to them unlike in TV. McDonalds used radio advertising effectively
to draw instant response from target audiences for instance a family
going out listens to a radio jingle and immediately heads for the
nearest McDonalds outlet. McDonalds "Aao Match Kare" contest
was aired on radio as well as the outlets simultaneously resulting
in a multiplier effect and more participation.
Radio advertising also provides several options of developing contests
around promotions and events. For instance, Cadburys was sponsoring
the popular Malhar youth festival in Mumbai and supplemented the
campaign by bringing the festival live on radio to listeners. Kenya
Airways used radio as a medium to create awareness of its latest
offerings. The British Council used radio to create enquiries amongst
the students and discerning audiences generated through programmes
such as radio adaptations of famous novels like A Suitable Boy.
The advertising fraternity must look at the niche numbers based
on qualitative research rather than the quantitative analysis. The
cost of advertising on radio was cost-effective and cheaper as compared
to TV and print advertising. Advertisers and agencies could come
up with different creatives at a fraction of cost of what it takes
to create TV advertisements. For instance, Yankee Doodle ice-cream
came up with 50 different spot ads to be aired - a new one every
week.
The programming on radio can be customized and adapted to advertiser
requirements. Parle Beverages Bisleri did an innovative ad campaign
to introduce their "20 per cent extra free" campaign.
Bisleri asked the programming team to add two more songs to the
popular Go 92.5 FM one hour programme called "Anish Trivedi's
picks 10 songs". The Bisleri team developed radio spots to
be aired during the programme.
Radio can also do social cause marketing advertising and provide
advertisers with an additional opportunity. For instance, Go 92.5
FM conducted auctions of memorabilia and the highest bid was given
away to NGOs. Radio also gave an opportunity to listeners who could
contribute their mite to social causes and feel nice about the whole
experience.
Cadbury Temptations sponsored a late Sunday night Jazz show simply
because the signature tune of the Cadbury jingle was inspired by
a Jazz tune. Also, there was a perfect synergy between the brand
and the kind of songs that were played on the late Sunday night
slot.
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