MxMIndia

Tag: Ashwin Padmanabhan

  • A quick chat with Ashwin Padmanabhan, National Business Head, 92.7 Big FM on his Mumbai’s station ascent to No 2

    Jaldi 5 with Ashwin Padmanabhan: 92.7 Big FM’s rise to No 2 in Mumbai is about content, not just music

    While the success of all radio stations is critical, when the all-important Mumbai station sees a steady growth to the No 2, there is some reason for celebration. On the back of turning its format to retro, the 45-station 92.7 Big FM network tasted much success in Delhi. It switched to retro in Mumbai in June 2013 and in around eight months rose to #2 in Mumbai as per RAM figures quoted by the station*.

     

    01. You’ve obviously achieved much with the retro repositioning. First Delhi and now Mumbai. In a country where the youth segment is huge and growing, what would you attribute as the reason for the success of the switch to retro?

    The kind music we play today in Delhi, Mumbai and a few more cities across the country is timelines – that’s why we call it as “Hit They Hit Rahenge” The appreciation and love for this music cuts across generation, the fact is the music has meaning, love, emotions and a king of connect that has universal appeal. The other aspect of our programming is that our RJ-speak is honest, responsible, reflects the current environment in the city and seeks to engage and entertain. In fact while we have become the No-2 Radio station in Mumbai, we also have the No 1 Breakfast Show there !

     

    It appears the results on ratings took more time to show in Mumbai as against Delhi. True? And would you be able to attribute any reason for that

    Not really, we moved to playing retro music all day in Mumbai at the end of June 2013, so it has taken six months to move to the No 2 spot – which has actually been a rapid growth.

     

    02. In which decade or age segment would you say is there maximum listenership for retro?

    The listenership is being driven by the 25+ audience…

     

    03. Have you looked at experimental with retro English or that in other regional languages?

    As a brand we will continue to create and deliver content that connects with the masses, English content is still a very small niche. In regional languages: yes. Our Kolkata station is also 100% retro. In Bengaluru, where we are a Kannada station; we have a five-hour Retro Band from 12noon to 5pm.

     

    04. On the back of retro, one finds you have also created some popular shows. For instance, Annu Kapoor has seen a new lease of life after the demise of Antakshari. Comments?

    Like I mentioned earlier, it’s not just about the music, it’s also about the content that we create. In 2013 and we will continue this year, we invested in creating some really entertaining formats like Suhana Safar, Yadon Ka Idiot Box, Caravan E Ghazal, with brilliant Artists like Annu Kapoor, Nilesh Mishra, Talat Aziz in Hindi;  Sabyasachi in Bengali and Shi Kay Chandru in Kannada. Entertaining content will always be key to get engage with listeners..

     

    05. What next, given that the retro format is easily replicable? In fact the retro zone does exist on other stations too.

    Most formats are replicable, it is the content that we build around it that helps in differentiation, and this is our focus, so in other words our success with Retro format is not just about the music, it about delivering superior entertainment to audiences.

     

    *Note: RAM does not supply figures directly to MxMIndia, hence these figures are unverified

     

  • Actor Manoj Tiwari, who presented the show in the last season, will be the host of the show which will be available to listeners in UP, Bihar and Jharkhand

    Closeup and 92.7 Big FM bring back ‘Antakshari’ on radio

    By A Correspondent

     

    After a successful run in Uttar Pradesh, well-known brand Closeup and radio network 92.7 Big FM have got together to bring in the Antakshari format to listeners in Bihar and Jharkhand.

     

    Actor Manoj Tiwari, who presented the show in the last season, will be the host. As many as 12 teams from 12 different cities will be selected through a process of city finales, followed by elimination rounds on radio where listeners vote for their favorite teams. The finale for the contest will be held in Lucknow, where three teams will compete for the winning title and a grand prize.

     

    Ashwin Padmanabhan

    Commenting on the launch of the show, Ashwin Padmanabhan, Business Head, 92.7 Big FM said, “Closeup Antakshari has been a much loved property on television and we are proud to have recreated such an iconic show on radio for our listeners. We have had an extremely successful season last year and we thank our partners again for this association.”

     

  • Big FM Mumbai was awarded 'Best Radio Station' at the 20th Lions Club Gold Awards in Mumbai last week

    92.7 Big FM awarded Best Radio Station by Lion’s Club in Mumbai

    By A Correspondent

     

    92.7 Big FM was awared ‘Best Radio Station’ at the 20th Lions Club Gold Awards in Mumbai last week.

     

    Ashwin Padmanabhan

    Commenting on the receipt of the award, Ashwin Padmanabhan, Business Head – of the 45-station radio network said: “We feel proud to be ‘Best Radio Station’ in Mumbai  and extend our heartfelt gratitude to Lions Club and to our loyal listeners who have contributed to our success. We look forward to continuing to offer our listeners some of the most lucrative shows and path breaking content in 2014.”

     

  • … and get us humming that famous Aamir Khan song from his film Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak – Papa Kehte Hain Bada Naam Karega, Beta Humaara Aisa Kaam karega. Magar yeh toh koi na jaane, kee meri manzil hai kahaan.

    Birla Sun Life-Big FM get together to help kids live their real passion in radio

    By A Correspondent

     

    As Children’s Day draws closer, almost every media brand manager (and his uncle and aunt) dreams up something to target kids. Tokenism of this nature is commonplace. Even MxMIndia does it 🙂

     

    But sometimes brands  come up with winner ideas. Like this one from the Aditya Birla group’s Birla Sun Life Insurance which has got us humming that famous Aamir Khan song from his 1988 film Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak – Papa Kehte Hain Bada Naam Karega, Beta Humaara Aisa Kaam karega. And as it continues: Magar yeh toh koi na jaane, kee meri manzil hai kahaan.

     

    Birla Sun Life Insurance (BSLI) has established a ‘Not Just Jobs But Passion’ initiative and as part of this, Children’s Day 2013 will see Reliance Broadcast’s part-retro radio network 92.7 Big FM being run by children.

     

    The initiative aims to  generate conversations between parents and kids to identify the child’s real passion and helps support the child financially and emotionally in this endeavour. Talented kids with real passion in various aspects of radio programming will be given holistic hands-on training on the running of a radio station. Children will take charge of operating all aspects of Big FM’s radio station in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai

     

    Ajay Kakar

    Commenting on this initiative Ajay Kakar, Chief Marketing Officer, Financial Services – Aditya Birla Group said, “Today, children are exposed to a variety of options that tempt them to independently explore their interests. Not every child finds their real passion right away. Identifying and cultivating real passion needs parental support and encouragement. Parents are undoubtedly a child’s biggest cheerleader and passion partner. To further this quest in search of real passion, on the occasion of Children’s Day, in partnership with Big FM we offer a unique opportunity to interact, train and learn from experts who run the radio station.”

     

     

    Ashwin Padmanabhan

    Said Ashwin Padmanabhan, Business Head, 92.7 Big FM, “As an initiative that’s fresh and exciting, ‘Birla Sun Life Insurance Not Jobs But Passion’ endeavours to encourage parents to introduce little ones to an art that might one day become their strength and vocation. This is another initiative that lives on our tagline Suno Sunao, Life Banao. We thank Birla Sun Life Insurance for coming on board as our partners.”

     

  • RBNL vehicles 92.7 Big FM and Big Magic take talent-based reality show to Hindi-speaking markets

    Talent hunt launched for ‘memsaabs’ across HSM

    By A Correspondent

     

    Close on the heels of a tie-up between Big FM and Big Magic Bihar & Jharkhand, the Reliance Broadcast Network GEC  have tied up to take the popular reality show to the various Hindi Speaking Markets in the country.

     

    Speaking on the occasion, Sunil Kumaran, Business Head, BIG MAGIC said, “We are excited to take this property national. There has never been a show of this kind, since it doesn’t have any caveats to the talent that the women can showcase. The collective power the television and radio, makes BIG Memsaab a property with unmatched reach, greater cost efficiency, offering a deeper connect with audiences and marketers across markets.”

     

    Ashwin Padmanabhan

    Ashwin Padmanabhan, Business Head, 92.7 BIG FM added, “The show on radio has received phenomenal response and we are happy to be extending this opportunity to women audiences further across India. We have seen entire families coming forward to encourage the woman of the house to participate in this talent hunt and are confident of a fantastic engagement with audiences and marketers alike.”

     

    The property will be supported by a multimedia campaign across television, radio, print, digital and on ground. BIG Memsaab will be a 13-week property divided into phases like pre-promotions, city auditions, semi finale’s and the city finales, culminating with a national winner.

     

  • 92.7 Big FM rechristens to '92.7 Rangeen FM' for a day as part of Nokia Asha 501's #Colorsin road-block

    92.7 Big FM goes ‘Rangeen’ for Nokia

    By A Correspondent

     

    92.7 BIG FM, India’s No.1 and largest Radio Network went Rangeen, literally, for an entire day last week (Aug 7) as part of an innovation for Nokia Asha 501’s #Colorisin campaign. The campaign saw the re-christening of the 45-station network to 92.7 Rangeen FM to promote the colorful features of the Nokia handsets.

     

    The roadblock saw execution in multiple local languages across the network. Ensuring high audience engagement and gratification, the station wove in programming pegs and contests around the Nokia Asha 501 and its USPs, notes a communiqué.

     

    As part of the campaign, innovations from Nokia, beyond Radio included filling colours in black and white public signages with the aim of adding a dash of color to surroundings. From coloring a Zebra crossing in Mumbai to giving public transport systems of trams in Kolkata, double decker buses and local trains in Mumbai, a colourful makeover was initiated.

     

    Ashwin Padmanabhan

    “Through our association with 92.7 Big FM, Nokia aimed to engage with consumers across 45 cities and infuse colour in their everyday lives with exciting activities for the listeners. We are delighted to see this campaign manifest at various levels and get bigger and better with every initiative,” said Viral Oza, Director Marketing – Nokia India. Added Ashwin Padmanabhan, Business Head – 92.7 Big FM said, “The campaign has made for conversation currency. Client centricity, while keeping the listener requirements at the top, has been our focus right from the beginning and the campaign for Nokia Asha 501 highlights that once again.”

     

  • Ashwin Padmanabhan, Business Head of 92.7 Big FM takes our question on his Mumbai station turning retro late last month

    Jaldi 5 with Ashwin Padmanabhan: The retro way to rise in ratings in Mumbai

    Two Sundays back, Reliance Broadcasting Network Ltd’s 92.7 Big FM in Mumbai switched from being a current hits radio station to one that plays retro music. Last year, after it did the same in Delhi, the station leapfrogged the RAM ratings charts to the Top 3. With the change to retro, the RBNL thinktank hopes to achieve much success in Mumbai too.We posed a few questions to Ashwin Padmanabhan, Business Head of the 45-station 92.7 Big FM. Here goes the Q&A.

     

    1. So why the switch to retro in Mumbai too?

    We initiated an exhaustive research to evaluate the preferences of our listeners and understand our brand positioning better. The results showed that listeners favoured retro music and there emerged an opportunity to offer listeners music and content of their choice. This decision was also influenced by the success generated at the 92.7 Big FM Delhi Station, which went retro sometime ago and the market has reacted exceedingly well. The response from listeners was overwhelming, with the station reaching leadership numbers.

     

    2. Would you go retro with your other stations too?

    We have never believed in a one-shoe-fits-all format. We evaluate and treat each market independent of the other and understand the requirements of each individual market. We have gone retro in six markets – Mumbai, Delhi, Baroda, Kolkata, Bhopal and Rajkot.

     

    3. 92.7 BIG FM was meant to be a mainstream FM radio station. By going retro, while your listenership rises, you move away from the mainstream… something that you would’ve possibly have as your second station do post Phase 3?

    The team has mapped out its positioning strategy based on unique yet strong on-air and digital concepts, while taking into consideration the lifestyle of Mumbaikars, the amount of time they spend in travelling and the blend of listeners in Mumbai. Although the stationality has been changed to retro, the revamped content strategy will also bring to listeners a plethora of current happenings in the city including stock and gold updates, city affairs, traffic and weather updates, sports, music-related trivia and more. In addition to this, 92.7 Big FM Mumbai intends to keep up with the local roots of Maharashtra by airing Marathi music and will have Marathi-speaking RJs as well. So no, I would think we are still very mainstream.

     

    3a. Tell us more about the local Marathi content? How much of it will be at peak hour?

    We are still working on this and might be a little early to talk about.

     

    4. How do you anticipate the retro positioning faring in terms of ratings?

    Well, we believe this will work in the Mumbai market. Our endeavour is to break the clutter and offer listeners content that is engaging and meets their aural preferences. Right now might be a little premature, but the feedback coming in from across the city has been extremely encouraging. We are confident it will work well with listeners.

     

    4a. Yes, your Delhi ratings have most certainly improved… In terms of ads, how has the higher ranking helped?

    Advertisers pan India have supported our decision. Differentiation is the way forward, and our advertisers realize that.

     

    5. What does your Delhi experience say… does retro music alienate the young and restless?

    Certainly not. We think the music from the sixties and seventies has always been appreciated by listeners across age groups. We think 92.7 Big FM can offer a distinctive change from the monotonous pattern of music that is heard elsewhere. We have seen an increase in listenership and are very happy with the results of the new positioning.

     

  • Reliance Broadcast Network Limited has announced a 20-30 percent increase in the advertising rates on its FM network, 92.7 Big FM. The rates will apply across its stations in metropolitan areas and tier II markets across the country

    92.7 Big FM hikes ad rates by 20-30%

    By A Correspondent

     

    Reliance Broadcast Network Limited has announced a 20-30 percent increase in the advertising rates on its FM network, 92.7 Big FM. The rates will apply across its stations in metropolitan areas and tier II markets across the country.

     

    92.7 Big FM’s decision to increase rates comes on the back of enhanced network performance and delivery, leading to higher market demand from advertisers, both retail and national, said the network.

     

    Ashwin Padmanabhan

    Ashwin Padmanabhan, Business Head, 92.7 Big FM said, “92.7 Big FM stands amongst the leading radio networks of the country. Our product mix, ability to innovate, solutions approach and unparalleled reach, sees us catering to almost 1800 clients on a monthly basis. It is now time to consolidate, while ensuring the aural experience is of best quality. This price correction will ensure that the core product and promise remain relevant to the audiences while delivering optimum value to the advertisers.”

     

  • The Bengaluru station of 92.7 Big FM has announced the launch of its 'Big Junior RJ Hunt 2013', a radio-based reality show which concludes on May 22

    Bengaluru’s Big Junior RJ Hunt culminates tomorrow

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Bengaluru station of 92.7 Big FM has announced the launch of its ‘Big Junior RJ Hunt 2013’, a radio-based reality show for the city of Bengaluru. Launched in association with Oakridge International School, the talent hunt will help identify young and promising individuals between 5 and 10 years based on parameters such as spontaneity, smartness, general knowledge and RJing ability to host a segment on the station’s Sunday show. The month-long campaign, which concludes on May 22, has seen scores of parents registering their children to participate in the show.

     

    Children are often friendly, highly observant and aware of their surroundings, spontaneous and quick to respond, enjoy talking to people, and do not have inhibitions. The event will give children an opportunity to display such skills that are prized but often overlooked in radio jockeys. It will also give parents the chance to be actively involved in grooming their little ones to stand out in the contest.

     

    Entries to the reality show were received through interactive voice response (IVR) technology, and 15 children were short-listed through auditions at summer camps and on-air registrations. On May 18, the final five children were selected through an auditioning process held at Oakridge International School. These five shortlisted participants will get to go on-air, where listeners will vote for the favourite ‘Big Junior RJ’ based on their performance on a theme chosen for them by the programming team. Parents will be able to seek votes for their children online, through videos of the audition, and through content uploaded on YouTube. Two of the five contestants will be crowned ‘Little RJ’ on May 22; while one will get an opportunity to host the morning show, the other will host the evening show on 92.7 Big FM.

     

    Ashwin Padmanabhan

    Speaking about this initiative, Ashwin Padmanabhan, Business Head, 92.7 Big FM, said, “Children often possess talents parents might not know. The event not only encourages young talent in the country but also promises to bring fresh and exciting content to our listeners. We are confident of discovering RJs of the future through this exciting platform and look forward to conducting a very successful event for our children.”

     

  • Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd. (RBNL) has announced the consolidation and strengthening of functions within its radio business, 92.7 Big FM, through strategic elevations across key positions

    Big FM announces leadership changes

    By A Correspondent

     

    Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd. (RBNL) has announced the consolidation and strengthening of functions within its radio business, 92.7 Big FM, through strategic elevations across key positions.

     

    Ashwin Padmanabhan

    Ashwin Padmanabhan takes over as Business Head from being Business Head for West and South; while Nitin Jain takes over as National Sales Head, at Big FM. Mr Jain will now oversee the national sales function as he leads the team from the front. Shalini Dureja has been appointed as Vice-President, Head Impact Sales West & South. In her new role, she will service key clients, sell key innovations and intellectual properties, while maximising revenues. Kiran Thangarajan gets promoted to Cluster Head, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

     

    Charanjeet Arora moves to the position of Regional Business Head – North 2, which includes the regions of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Rajasthan. Sanjeev Sharma joined 92.7 BIG FM in 2010 as the Regional Head (Govt. Business) based in Chandigarh growing quickly through the hierarchy to his current role as National Head – Government Business, where he will be responsible for revenue generation for both the radio and television businesses.

     

    Tarun Katial

    Tarun Katial, CEO, Reliance Broadcast Network said, “We have always been immensely proud of the quality of our workforce. It is they who help create ever-growing value for our customers while driving profitable growth for the company. As the radio business continues to dominate key markets across India, we feel the need to streamline business divisions to derive maximum value within us. We are confident that these moves will help us transform into a more holistic radio business and see us achieving better growth in the near future.”

     

  • The second edition of the Big Marathi Entertainment Awards have been announced by 92.7 Big FM. The awards will provide recognition to outstanding talent in the Marathi entertainment industry across 16 unique categories

    Get ready for 92.7 Big FM Marathi and Telugu awards

    By A Correspondent

     

    The second edition of the Big Marathi Entertainment Awards have been announced by 92.7 Big FM. The awards will provide recognition to outstanding talent in the Marathi entertainment industry across 16 unique categories including films, television, theatre, and music among others.

     

    Ashwin Padmanabhan

    Ashwin Padmanabhan, Business Head – 92.7 Big FM said “The Big Marathi Entertainment Awards is a premier platform in the region which recognizes outstanding talent from the entertainment industry. After the phenomenal success of the event’s first edition, we are really excited to be back while bringing on-board an incredible panel of jury members and great lineup of partners. This year’s awards ceremony promises to provide excellent integration options to our marketers and advertisers thereby enabling them to reach out to their target audiences in the region.”

     

    These awards will be presented to the best-of-the-best from within the industry through combined votes received from the jury members and 92.7 Big FM listeners. They will be partnered by Majhi Saheli, a magazine, and OOH partner Bright Outdoor to accelerate the visibility and reach of the show thereby facilitating an overwhelming opportunity and platform for brand marketers to tap into a wider audience and consumer base.

     

    Renowned film and theatre personality Bharat Dabholkar and actor Vinay Apte have been roped in as jury members for the second edition of the awards which will also witness a high level of listener engagement via on-air voting polls.

     

    Similarly, 92.7 Big FM Andhra Pradesh, today announced the jury for the upcoming Big Telugu Entertainment Awards. Movie Artists Association President and director-producer Tammareddy Bharadwaja, Television Artists Association President and actor Vinod Bala and veteran actress Raasi will collectively judge the entertainers in categories from across fields which include movie, television and sports.

     

    Telecast partner for the Big Telugu Entertainment Awards, ETV will further expand the reach of the awards ceremony enabling audiences from across the region to watch their favourite entertainers receive the top honours.

     

    Mr Padmanabhan said, “Furthering our promise to award the best talent from the Telugu entertainment industry, we are proud to rope in Tammareddy Bharadwaja, Vinod Bala and Raasi as our esteemed jury members for the Big Telugu Entertainment Awards. We are sure that their inputs along with the volley of votes we have been receiving from our listeners for the popular choice awards will make the grand awards night an unforgettable affair. The 21 categories encompass the most outstanding talent from within the industry enabling us to provide multiple opportunities to our marketers and advertisers to reach out to their target audiences.”

     

     

  • Ashwin Padmanabhan, Business Head, Big 92.7 FM speaks to MxMIndia about the station's remarkable growth in Delhi and other markets

    Jaldi 5 with Ashwin Padmanabhan: Going retro for differentiation

    By Ananya Saha

     

    Over the past 12 months, 92.7 Big FM has seen a phenomenal growth in the Delhi market with the average share growing to 11.3 from an average share of about 6. Ashwin Padmanabhan, Business Head, Big 92.7 FM speaks to MxM India about the station’s remarkable growth in Delhi, and other markets.

     

    01. What has contributed to this growth?

     

    Late last year we did studies and research to understand the unique and mass position of Big FM in Delhi. And with this research we decided to go retro. We took a clear-cut and distinct positioning of a retro music station with ‘Hit The, Hit Rahenge’. Within eight weeks of changing our music positioning along with a new RJ line-up that was more mature and new local shows, we saw a trend of increasing listernership. So, sampling started happening. In the 52nd week, we started averaging to 11.2 points from the previous 6. It tipped in second week of 2013, when three FM stations in Delhi stopped airing for a week. It became a two-horse race between Fever and us. What is heartening for us, we tipped Fever, which has been leading in Delhi, in this week. Our share went upto 33 percent in that week.

     

    02. Is Delhi witnessing faster growth than other markets where Big 92.7 is present?

    We have grown across markets. As per the Q2 and Q3 IRS figures, we have seen significant growth and continue to be leaders in Hindi-speaking markets. We have actually grown further from last quarter to this quarter. In Bengaluru, we have been growing and are a strong No.2. We did see a dip about an year back, and we have clawed back since then. We have been a very strong No.2 in Kolkata but now, our big shows like Breakfast Show are consistently No.1 in Kolkata. In Hyderabad, we have traditionally been strong, so we are maintaining that. In Chennai, we are witnessing quarter-on-quarter growth. According to IRS and the last round of RAM that happened in Chennai, we came at No.3.

     

    We have seen overall growth happening across our markets.

     

    03. Has the growth resulted in higher ad revenues?

    The growth has resulted in the brand becoming more visible and audible, and top-of-mind for our potential advertisers. We are seeing a larger offtake from advertisers. A lot of this is also being driven from smaller markets where SMEs and large brands from Tier II markets are taking to our network in a big way. Many of them are actually using our network to launch their products.

     

    Have the ad rates increased?

    We have been looking at increasing. At this point in time, we have been able to maintain our ad rates. But we are surely looking at increasing yields 15-20 percent depending on the market.

     

    04. Do on-ground or off-air and on-ground marketing initiatives help an on-air brand?

    When we lauched and introduced Retro in Delhi, we initially just allowed the people to sample our station for good three months. Then we did our first campaign in Delhi – Mohabatien, which was to promote our 11am-2pm show. Then we did the concert with Kailash Kher. And then on, it has been primarily driven by content that we have been creating on-air. Our marketing has been from weekly street-level perspective when we have tried to reach our listeners and tried to acquire new listeners through street-level activations that we do on weekly basis.

     

    There has been a lot of consumer engagement on-ground. It has been sampling and activation-based marketing rather than marketing in the pure sense.

     

    05. What can we expect from 92.7 FM in the coming months?

    We have Retro positioning in four stations: Indore, Delhi, Bhopal and Surat. We are looking at engaging with consumer at 2-3 levels in this market. We are creating platform for consumers to come on and express themselves. In Indore and Bhopal, we have just finished this initiative called Big Hindustani.

     

    In Delhi, we are looking at series of concerts – Hit The, Hit Rahenge that we’ll do every quarter. It will be Retro music celebrated by today’s musicians and singers. We are also launching talent hunt across our network in March – Big Star Voice. The big gratification being – a chance to sing for a movie. There are going to be local activations that will happen in each of these markets, which will be driven by the positioning of our station in those markets.

     

    We invest, and will continue to invest in differentiated content.

     

    Is Big 92.7 FM looking at internet radio?

    At this point, obviously everyone is looking at internet radio. But we need more time in terms of clarity on music licensing policies on internet. Hopefully, when we get that clarity, we will surely look at it.