MxMIndia

Author: mxmadmin

  • Brand Airtel is looking at making the most of its sponsorship of Satyamev Jayate

    Airtel slashes SMS rates for Satyamev Jayate

    As the country eagerly awaits Aamir Khan’s debut show on television – Satyamev Jayate to take off, one brand that is ready to make the most from the association is Airtel.

     

    Echoing the sentiments derived from partnering with such a show, Bharat Bambawale, Director – Global Brand, Bharti Airtel, said, “As a brand for the masses, Airtel has always taken the lead in associating with events, shows and initiatives that resonate well with the preferences of today’s India. With connecting with people spread across India as a common focus area for both Satyamev Jayate and brand Airtel – we are excited to be associated with this show and look forward to the role it will play in entertaining the masses while bringing inspiring stories to the fore.”

     

    As a gesture towards supporting the cause, the telecom brand has even reduced the cost of SMSes to the show from Rs 3 to Re 1. The revenue collected via SMS will be donated by the company towards charity. As part of this integration, brand Airtel will be associated with the show via integrations like Airtel 3G video calls to participants, exclusive availability of Satyamev Jayate title track on Hello Tunes for Airtel customers, transfer of donation amount to NGOs through Airtel Money etc.

     

    The show which aims to tackle burning social issues and will feature the stories of real people, will be aired in over 8 languages across Star TV network channels and others at 11 am, every Sunday starting May 6.

     

  • Sunday mornings have typically been low on ratings as observed by the detailed analyses done by Stratagem Media for MxMIndia

    Why SJ will rule weekends; Stratagem analysis: Weekday Show #23 > Weekend Show #1

    By A Correspondent

     

    The only way the ratings graph can go with Satyamev Jayate is up. Guess that’s the one-line message that comes from the detailed analyses that Mumbai-based Stratagem Media has conducted for MxMIndia on the eve of the launch of Aamir Khan’s megashow.

     

    The statistics underscore what’s always been known but never possibly said. So concentrated is the emphasis on the weekday primetime and weekend blockbusters or award shows that the Sunday morning primetime has been ignored. Stratagem founder and CEO Sundeep Nagpal recounts how Sunday mornings would see 80 per cent viewership for Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan and BR Chopra’s Mahabharat. That of course was another era with just one channel dominating the airwaves.

     

    The charts presented by the Stratagem team offer interesting insights (please click on links to view tables):

     

    1. Programme #1 on weekends gets ratings which equals that of Programme #24 on weekday primetime

     

    2. It is observed that Share and Average time spends of Star Plus is better whereas for Weekend the Share and Average Time spends of Sony is better

     

    3. It is observed that the programmes on Sunday-11:00 – 12:00 Hrs timeband are repeats telecast and ratings of these is naturally low

     

    Stratagem also looked specifically at Sunday programming.

     

    1. It is observed that the programmes on Sunday-11:00 – 12:00 Hrs timeband are repeats and hence ratings are low

     

    2 .It is observed that Share and Average timespends differs in different quarters of the year

     

     

    3. The GRP are comparatively low for Sunday 11:00 – 12:00 Hrs timeband

     

     

     

  • There's more reason than one why there's much excitement about mega-show Satyamev Jayate that kicks off on May 6

    The Importance of Being Aamir Khan

     

    By Biswadeep Ghosh

     

    Do you know anyone who hasn’t heard of Satyamev Jayate, a Sunday show with which Aamir Khan will make his debut on the small screen? Impossible, unless your reclusive acquaintance inhabits a cocoon and has no access to the television, newspapers and the internet. The most intelligent strategist in the Hindi film industry, Aamir has emerged from behind an impenetrable veil to discuss the show with the media. He has discarded his aura of exclusivity that makes him unreachable so often, the result being that journalists are relishing each and every moment in the company of the superstar. They are reporting on his first ever serial faithfully, making Satyamev Jayate, a forthcoming Aamir Khan event many Indians are waiting for.

     

    Those who have followed Aamir’s career with detached objectivity know a few things about the man. He has manufactured an image of being ‘serious about what he does’, as if his counterparts in the entertainment industry are a bunch of flippant characters for whom life is one big joke that never ends. As part of his image-building exercise, he has highlighted his social activism, a quality he seemed to have developed after being in the industry for a long time. He is his own USP, using the power of which he is giving veiled hints about what Satyamev Jayate will offer to the viewer.

     

    A ‘thinking man’s actor’ and a ‘perfectionist’, Aamir has given countless interviews while humming a tune of mystery-heightening ambiguity. ‘It’s about connecting people, touching human hearts. It’s about human stories, coming to understand what life is like. For me, the show has been a kind of a personal journey,” he told the Indian Express. Please read the excerpt again. What exactly is he saying? Actually, very little, but that is the idea anyway. He has been categorically clear that he doesn’t want to discuss the specifics. It is as if Satyamev Jayate is an Alfred Hitchcock thriller whose plot will give the criminal away before the film begins.

     

    The show that has been dubbed in many languages will be telecast on the Star network and Doordarshan. The Star-Doordarshan tie-up will ensure viewers everywhere, whether they live in a Vasant Vihar mansion in New Delhi or in a village named Hatgamariya in Jharkhand. That it is being shown on an early morning Sunday slot implies that everyone, right from hardcore Aamir Khan fans to reluctant TV watchers, will be tempted to check it out. Cricket being the only area in which satellite television channels have shared network space with Doordarshan in the past, Satyamev Jayate will inevitably get the maximum number of viewers of a non-cricket show in the initial stages at least.

     

    Not that promotion of films or television serials is a new phenomenon. In today’s times when nobody can ensure a film’s success, even Salman Khan who hardly ever promoted his films till recently has changed gears to talk about his releases before they hit the marquee. The strategy has worked. Always the most active channel-hopper, Shah Rukh Khan’s marketing of Ra.One redefined the way in which a film is being sold by the Hindi film industry. Of course, Ra.One did not succeed the way it was expected to. But SRK tried.

     

    The master strategist, however, isn’t SRK: and certainly not Salman. It is Aamir. While both SRK and Salman have had their share of flops, facts prove that Aamir has had the least number of failures at the box-office. Even a mediocre film like Ghajini rocked, its success story partly written by viewers who went to watch Aamir’s eight packs: a fact that was marketed very smartly through his interviews and other promotional campaigns. When he produced Delhi Belly, he went all out to discuss the film’s ‘language’: one big reason why many viewers hit the halls to watch it.

     

    The big satya is that Aamir is better at the game that everyone plays. Not that his approach makes the success of Satyamev Jayate, a hundred percent certainty. Major film stars have hosted hyped shows, many of which have flopped. Amitabh Bachchan created history with the success of the first edition of Kaun Banega Crorepati, but Shah Rukh Khan failed to make the sort of impact his diehard fans believed he would. SRK did experience some success as the host of KBC’s third edition, but his decisions to host Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tezz Hain? and Zor Ka Jhatka: Total Wipeout had disastrous consequences. Govinda as the host of Jeeto Chappar Phaad Ke made zero impact. The Salman Khan-steered show Dus Ka Dum started off really well. By the time the second season came to an end, however, its popularity had withered away. Akshay Kumar experienced success with Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi. Yet, few bothered to see him in MasterChef India: Season 1.

     

    Aamir’s well-disguised expressions have spun a lot of curiosity about Satyamev Jayate. The show’s reach is far wider than that of others hosted by film stars so far. If it succeeds, it will write an extraordinarily significant chapter in the history of Indian television. If not, the story of its failure will be discussed for a long time: more so, because it has been made by a man who owns a magic wand which nobody else does.

     

    The star is at the centre of a shrewdly developed promotional campaign. But once Satyamev Jayate hits the small screen, it won’t be long before hype gets jettisoned by the people’s acceptance or rejection of the real thing. The suspense around the show will guarantee a full house on the opening day inside each household. Having been there, done that, Aamir surely knows that is not enough.

     

  • Director Satyajit Bhatkal talks on how Satyamev Jayate has been on Aamir Khan’s mind for over two years… and how, the perfectionist that he is, Aamir is present at every moment of the show

    SJ is Aamir’s baby, completely: Satyajit Bhatkal

    By Meghna Sharma

     

    With just two day to go for the launch of Satyamev Jayate, the show has created much curiosity among everyone. The industry’s well-kept secret is Aamir Khan’s maiden entry into the small screen.

     

    Talking about the show, Satyajit Bhatkal, director of the show, told MxMIndia that although the team has been working on the show for over two years, the concept is very old. “The idea of something like the show has been on Aamir’s mind for over years now. It is his baby completely. Along with his small team which I’m part of, Aamir worked on it for many years. And only when the idea of clear did we approach the channel which again added to the concept.” The channel, Star Plus, will air the show on May 6 at 11 am.

     

    It’s a known fact that Aamir is a perfectionist so it won’t be a surprise if he wasn’t involved in every aspect of the show. “He was there at every moment of the show. Even today he’s here. A lot of attention has been given to details and extensive research was done to produce the show,” said Bhatkal.

     

    Speaking on the morning slot of a Sunday morning, the director laughed and said, “It’s only in the metros that we tend to laze around on a Sunday morning. Most of the country is up and about early. So, I don’t think the morning slot should be an issue.”

     

    Like everyone else, the director too is keeping his fingers crossed about the show he described as ‘nothing ever seen before on TV’ and hopes to reach out to every Indian. “It’s not always entertainment which might click with people; we are hoping that our show will be able to garner people’s interest for long and good.”

     

    Photograph: Fotocorp

     

  • I guess he wants to re-create 'appointment viewing' which Ramayana and Mahabharata used to enjoy in the late eighties/early nineties

    Anil Thakraney: Aamir wants to play God

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    In 2007 when I met Aamir Khan for an interview (Mumbai Mirror), we brought up the issue of his glaring absence from television. Every single big Bollywood hero was busy raking in big bucks from the small screen. The actor appeared quite closed to the idea of television. He said various channels keep approaching him with proposals but they don’t interest him. And added that maybe he will do TV one day when something substantial comes along.

     

    Well, that day has arrived, May 6 to be precise. When Satyamev Jayate goes on air. Aamir has pulled all stops in ensuring that the show gets a roaring opening. Mind blowing marketing budget. Loads of talent in the production team. Simultaneous broadcast on Star and DD. Dubbing in four southern languages. And lots more. Not to speak of the content itself, which going by Khan’s movies, is likely to be both, entertaining and engaging. The challenge for the Star Network would be to recover the huge costs and make some profits. Not sure how that will pan out. What makes their work even tougher is that the show will have just 13 episodes.

     

    However, what caught my attention is the slot chosen for Satyamev Jayate. 11am, Sunday. This is very interesting because it demolishes the popular definition of prime time television. Clearly this is Aamir’s brain child. Guess he wants to re-create ‘appointment viewing’ which Ramayana and Mahabharata used to enjoy in the late eighties/early nineties. This is a big gamble. UrbanIndiahas totally changed in the last two decades. In those days we in the cities had nothing much to do on Sunday mornings. Now we have shopping malls, pubs, dates, multiplexes, Facebook, Twitter and many other distractions. So appointment viewing is going to be a tall task. And this explains the team’s decision to use good ol’ Doordarshan. So that if the urban audiences ditch them, the numbers garnered through DD’s terrestrial broadcast will save the day. Smart thinking.

     

    Anyways, like many other Indians I will be glued to the TV on May 6. 11am. And will also keep looking out at the streets from my window. To check if they are deserted. Like it used to happen when the gods descended into our living rooms on those lazy Sundays.

     

    Can Aamir match the gods? That’s the billion dollar question.

     

    ***

     

    PS: Too, too brilliant for words. This is the sort of stuff naukri.com and other employment portals ought to be doing. It takes a rare advertisement for me to want to the join the ad world again. This one does.

     

  • Star's no-holds-barred show promises to be a tear-jerker, as Aamir Khan brings out facets of India’s gritty reality.

    High EQ at Aamir Khan talk show Satyameva Jayate

    By A Correspondent

     

    From Lagaan to Rang de Basanti to 3 Idiots and the hard-hitting Peepli Live which dealt unabashedly with home truths – for Aamir Khan, the next logical step seemed to be tackling real life itself, live.

     

    His no-holds-barred talk show Satyameva Jayate has already garnered praise from industrywallahs – singer Sukhwinder Singh is gaga about it, for one – and, from all accounts, promises to be an eye-opener.

     

    Shooting for the episodes has begun and is said to be proceeding as per schedule.

     

    Besides the guests on the show, the live TV audiences have also been moved by the issues tackled on the show. While the mood is not always sombre to begin with, as the issues get revealed and the guests share their touching stories, it is often Mr Khan himself who is seen to have tears in his eyes. The actor with a heart does succeed in getting the guests to talk about the most difficult times in their lives, but not without also extracting mugfuls of tears from practically everyone, according to eyewitnesses.

     

    “I will put it this way, that the ‘EQ’ or emotional quotient is very high on this show,” said a participant who attended one of the studio shoots. “Aamir Khan is really dedicated and really cares about the people and their problems that are being discussed. He’s wonderful. We came because we are Aamir fans, but then we just forgot that he is a star actor,” she added.

     

    After heavy doses of manufactured reality programmes, the Star offering seems to be a breath of genuine fresh air, as the show sets out to reveal the India that lives in far-flung villages and only sometimes breaks out in the form of a headline.

     

  • In Freaking News, Ranjona Banerji reviews the fare in the morning papers and the nightly news. And sometimes the afternooners, the newsmags and all that's on the Web

    [MJR] Holier than thou Hindu takes on the Times


    Ranjona Banerji

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    The Hindu has published a massive “expose” on paid news in The Times of India. According to painstaking research done by veteran journalist P Sainath, the Nagpur edition in 2008 carried a special feature about how farmers in Vidarbha had benefited from using Bt cotton seeds. This went against all other evidence that it was the use of Bt cotton which had led to falling yield, depleting the land, increasing debt burden and consequently the large number of suicides in the region.

     

    The TOI team spoke to farmers who said they were making much more money than they thought and were very happy. The villagers spoken to said no one had committed suicide. The trip was sponsored by the manufacturers of the Bt cotton seed – Mahyco Monsanto Biotech. The newspaper added this as a disclaimer, maintaining however that the journalists had done their own research.

     

    According to Sainath, in 2011, the same feature was dredged up and re-printed, this time as an advertising feature – paid for by Mahyco Monsanto Biotech – and published in all editions of The Times of India except the Nagpur edition.

     

    Yet, the same villagers, when they spoke to a Parliamentary Standing Committee in March this year, Sainath points out, said that 14 people had committed suicide since Bt cotton had been introduced and that their financial plight was pitiable. The enormous amounts of money being made – as claimed in the TOI report – were untenable and were also contradicted by figures provided by Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar.

    So what do we have here? A cynical manipulation of events to help a giant corporation out of a PR disaster? Or exploitation of journalists to further the commercial interests of the newspaper? Or complete contempt for the reader and disregard for the newspaper’s credibility?

     

    I would say the worst sin is number 3. The first two lead to the third. The fact that Bt cotton has aggravated rather than alleviated farmers’ problems ought to be a fact universally acknowledged. It is also well-known that Monsanto has an extremely aggressive public relations department. Further, the government has also pushed farmers to opt for Bt cotton and thereby helped Mahyco Monsanto Biotech.

     

    However, it has to be pointed out that The Times of India is not the only practitioner of paid news. This menace is prevalent through the media, both print and television. The ways in which it is done can be subtle or brazen – here TOI seems to have opted for the latter. It is also not clear if this deal with Monsanto was limited to the Nagpur marketing department which then shared it with headquarters or whether the entire editorial team was aware of what was going on.

     

    Either way, though, both the initial report and the use of that report as an ad are highly questionable. Cynicism on the part of journalists will only make life worse for them more than anyone else.

     

    There is one more question here as well. Holding the media up for scrutiny is necessary and important. But The Hindu’s tendency to take this holier than thou line is bound to boomerang at some time. It now has to keep its house cleaner than everyone else’s.

     

    The link to Sainath’s column in The Hindu: http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/columns/sainath/article3401466.ece?homepage=true#.T6tjbKDv3XQ.email

     

  • Long time Ogilvy & Mather Chairman Shelly Lazarus decides to step down and move into the role of chairman emeritus

    Ogilvy CEO Miles Young to be new chairman

    By Amit Bapna

     

    There is a change of guard at WPP’s star agency, Ogilvy. At a recent board meeting in Sao Paulo it was announced that Ogilvy CEO Miles Young would take on the role of chairman effective July 1. This comes in the wake of the long time Ogilvy & Mather Chairman Shelly Lazarus deciding to step down and move into the role of chairman emeritus.

     

    Ms Lazarus has had a very successful stint at Ogilvy & Mather, having spent 40 years in the agency – beginning her career in account-management roles on brands like American Express and Unilever, before becoming general manager of Ogilvy & Mather Direct in the US. She was named CEO in 1996, and became the chairman in 1997. Now she has passed the baton to Miles Young who had taken over the role of the CEO in January 2009.

     

    On being asked what would be his top priorities as he takes full charge at the WPP agency, Mr Young shared in an exclusive email reply to The Economic Times: “A key priority for me will be to push our digital leadership even further. I see an inflexion point where the pure play offer has failed to satisfy clients. Our scale and 360 degrees approach to digital offers much deeper solutions.”

     

    Specifically about India he said: “Growing digital in India will be a critical priority for me.” To further acknowledge the importance of India, he intends to hold “the first Board meeting of my Chairmanship in India early in the New Year.”

     

    Source: The Economic Times
    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

  • The two decided to part ways in India by the end of this year after they developed differences over expansion strategy

    Dutch retailer Spar to end ties with Max

    By A Correspondent

     

    Dutch retailer Spar International and Dubai-based Landmark Group’s Max Hypermarkets have decided to part ways in India by the end of this year after the two developed differences over expansion strategy.

     

    While Spar was keen on partnering multiple national and regional retailers to expand in the country, Max Hypermarkets wanted a strategic investor for the business, Dr Gordon Campbell, managing director of the 31-billion euro (approx Rs2 lakh crore) Spar International said. The companies will now pursue separate growth plans in the country, they said in a joint statement. The two have decided not to renew the licence after it expires in December.

     

    Max Hypermarkets operates 13 Spar Hypermarkets across Karnataka,

    Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, New Delhi and the national capital region under a licence agreement signed in 2007.

     

    Viney Singh, MD of Max Hypermarkets India, said the company will rebrand its hypermarkets (large-format food & grocery stores that also stock general merchandise, electronics and apparel) once it decides on its future course. “We believe that it is good to have, in the long term, strategic investor partners to run the hypermarket business in India,” he said.

     

    Spar, which has 12,000 stores across 35 countries, does not financially invest in any market, but signs license agreements with independent retailers in different markets to use the Spar brand name.

     

    It also provides technical know-how and expertise for the front-end and supply chain for its partners. In fact, it had first entered the Indian market with Mumbai-based  Radhakrishna Foodland in 2004.

     

    Spar is now looking for multiple partners in India. “Given our experience now, we believe we have the opportunity for other partners to develop it (stores) at a quicker speed. We would be interested in tying up with 4-5 partners for different regions,” said Mr Campbell, on a call from Amsterdam.

     

    He said Spar has established contact with a few partners across regions, but refused to clarify whether they were corporates or standalone chains. Mr Campbell said Spar is willing to open supermarkets in India. The size of its supermarkets are around 1,000-2,000 square metres, while hypermarkets are above 4,000 sqm.

     

    Spar aims to finalise new relationships quickly so that its brand does not have to wind down. Campbell said this would be possible if new partners have operational stores that can be converted into Spar.

     

    Analysts say there is limited risk to brand Spar if it is absent from the Indian market for a few months because its footprint is limited. “Food and grocery is bought within a limited radius. As long as the brand’s reappearance is handled well, there is no real damage expected,” said Devangshu Dutta, chief executive of retail and consumer goods consultancy Third Eyesight.

     

    He added that it would not be difficult for Max Hypermarket to find a foreign partner, given Landmark Group’s presence in India and international retailer interest in the market. Landmark Group operates department store Lifestyle International in India.

     

    “They could also come up with their own brand and partner a financial investor as they would have the operational expertise now,” said Mr Dutta.

     

    The $12-billion organized food and grocery retail market that is projected to grow at a compounded rate of 30 per cent over next five years, according to estimates by Technopak Advisors.

     

    Source: The Economic Times
    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

     

     

     

  • With consumers of all ages embracing digital, the threat to traditional media is real, says Raman Kalra

    The Anchor: Raman Kalra on 5 reasons how tech is going to drive media and entertainment

    By Raman Kalra

     

    1. Always Connected

    The shift to connected devices disrupts established ecosystems and present opportunities to engage and monetize the content in very different manners. It is beyond than just being digital. Multitudes of technology platforms is fast becoming a reality providing seamless experience to the consumers.

     

    2. Target consumers based on their “digital personalities”

    Personalization of content is an ‘essential’ now to be able to garner the time and wallet share of the consumers, and thereby monetize the content. While most of the ecosystem players are yet to gear up for age based segmentation, it’s already becoming increasingly important to segment the consumers based on the individual behaviours. Social media adoption and influence is further making this element lot more critical. Media companies will have to invest lot more heavy for the Customer Relationship Management solutions.

     

    3. Substitution is real

    Fragmentation continues as consumers of all ages embrace these new experiences, substituting time spent with traditional media. With consumers of all ages embracing digital, the threat to traditional media is real and which brings with it the larger impact of the multi-billion dollar ad industry. As cannibalization percentage grows, more revenue will be at risk for broadcasting and print industries. Changing media consumption habits with time-shifting and place-shifting will further add to this challenge. Technology will bring a paradigm shift in the way audience measurements and readership surveys are carried out. This will eventually work towards a 360 degree view of the consumer behaviour.

     

    4. Cable Industry will see a big shift from B2B to B2C

    With ongoing digitization of cable industry, technology – both information technology and operational technology – will become critical to succeed in the changing B2C environment. Globally, cable & satellite companies have made their profits from VAS add-on offerings. It is vital for cable companies to start understanding this important aspect and invest in technology for organizational readiness from back end standpoint as well as in revenue generating technologies to lead the ARPU growth. Consumers are more than willing to pay more, if provided content of their interest and relevance.

     

    5. Its ‘Data’ flowing everywhere

    The media industry is increasingly driven by data, shaped in different forms including news, education, sports, entertainment, and so on, flowing in structured as well as unstructured form. Media companies would need technological solutions to be able to make the data useable to inspire customer actions such as: buy, subscribe, share, recommend, like, etc.

     

    Raman Kalra is Director & Partner, Communications Sector-Media & Entertainment, Industry Leader, IBM Global Business Services, India/South Asia

  • Young Turks showcases 24 young entrepreneurs who have made a mark in the society with their innovative thinking and entrepreneurial spirit

    Divya Bhaskar celebrates spirit of Gujarat enterprise with ‘Young Turks’

    By A Correspondent

     

    Divya Bhaskar celebrated the efforts of the young entrepreneurs of Gujarat with the release of a coffee table book – Young Turks – acknowledging the efforts of emerging entrepreneurs in Gujarat. The book aims to motivate audience with the success stories of these entrepreneurs and their never say die attitude, which has helped them to overcome the hurdles and achieve their goals. ‘Young Turks’ is a salute to the young achievers.

     

    Young Turks showcases 24 young entrepreneurs who have made a mark in the society with their innovative thinking and entrepreneurial spirit across fields like Animation, Real estate, Training, Information Technology and so on. The book encapsulates the journey of an entrepreneur. It salutes their indomitable spirit and vision for sustained growth which has contributed to progress of Gujarat’s redefining industry.

     

    Commenting on the release Mr Saras Sethi, State CEO said: “It is aimed to motivate the emerging entrepreneurs with examples of success. Most of these emerging entrepreneurs defy the age factor and have made their mark at very young age with hard work and innovative thinking.”

     

  • The Business Head – Radio and Entertainment, HT Media Ltd speaks about on the consistency of his station's leadership status in Delhi, Phase III plans, radio play Gandhi and more

    Differentiation & Innovation key to success, says Harshad Jain

    As Business Head – Radio and Entertainment of HT Media, a role he assumed last year, Harshad Jain has his role tailormade for excitement. The FM Radio market may be small when compared to television or print, but given the nature of competition is a challenging play. In conversation with MxMIndia’s Robin Thomas, Mr Jain spoke about Fever 104 FM’s radio play – Gandhi, the consistency of the FM station’s leadership position in Delhi, Phase III plans and much more. Prior to joining Fever 104 FM, Mr Jain worked with companies like Pepsico, Worldspace and Airtel to name a few.

     

    Fever 104 FM recently launched radio play – Gandhi… What is the kind of response you have been receiving?

    The radio play, Gandhi, has done extremely well. It is currently aired at three different day time slots, and we have extremely good sponsors – Maruti Suzuki, Union Bank of India and Tata chemicals. We have been inundated with thousands of SMSes and calls, along with over 3,000 plus responses on Facebook wherein people have appreciated our initiative. And I do believe this has been one of the finest innovations in the radio industry.

     

    Do radio plays still strike a chord with listeners?

    Absolutely, because it drives a lot of appointment listenership. Today, the issue with the radio industry is the fact that it is tough to create differentiation. A radio drama like Gandhi or Ramayan is a high end production which drives appointment listening and, it is very relevant for any target group.

     

    According to RAM, Fever 104 FM Delhi consistently claimed the No 1 spot… What, would you say, are the factors that led to this success?

    Today, we are the single largest radio station in Delhi, not only among the private FM radio stations, but we have managed to go ahead of AIR FM Gold – we are the undisputed number one FM radio station in Delhi. The key reason for our success in Delhi is because we are a station which is very much integrated in Delhi. We believe that we have got a differentiated product offering in Delhi, we do a very high level of innovation and we’ve got an extremely strong local connect which makes us very powerful competition.

     

    IRS, on the other hand, seems to have a different story to tell… What would you say are the takeaways from IRS Q4 numbers?

    IRS is a readership survey; it is not a survey for radio. Radio Audience Measurement (RAM) on the other hand is an exclusive survey only for Radio. Second, IRS is a quarterly survey whereas RAM is a weekly survey. Third, the detailing in terms of RAM is excruciating as it provides time-band listenership, number of listeners by show, cumulative listenership, time-spent listening, therefore RAM is a measurement system meant to track a certain kind of medium. IRS is principally a tool for print media, it is about readership survey and a readership survey cannot do justice to a listenership survey.

     

    What, according to you, worked in Delhi but did not work in Kolkata and Bengaluru? What is the learning from Delhi for the remaining markets?

    The learning from Delhi comes from the fact that we need to be high on innovation, we need to have a differentiated product, and a very strong local connect.

     

    How has the Fever 104 FM Digisound impacted listenership?
    We used to be a distant number five in Mumbai, now we are a dominant number three player in the city. This proves that the strategy has worked positively for the station.

     

    What are your FM Phase III plans? Do you plan to expand to newer markets? Any specific cities or towns you are eyeing?

    We will participate in FM Phase III, we are still strategizing and only after thought through consideration, will we do what is required. We do have our expansions plans as to which markets we need to expand and depending on the how the viability and economic model works, we will expand.

     

    How active is you online presence – your website, Facebook and Twitter? How do you engage listeners off air?

    We do a lot of activities online, a lot of our RJ promotions and other engagement activities are done online. Digital is, therefore, a key part of our strategic mix in terms of reaching out to a larger audience, and we use it very effectively.

     

    How has the year been so far for Fever? And what would you say are the challenges and concerns facing the radio industry today?
    It has been a good year for us so far. We have entered the year very well, and we are looking at very strong sustained growth. As far as the challenges are concerned, there are couple of challenges – lack of differentiation in content is one of them. Second, the size of the advertising category is relatively small which needs to grow dramatically in the next couple of years, and third, the licence fees needs to be reduced.