By Asheesh Chatterjee [updated]
With the advent of the digital era, various traditional mediums underwent an overhaul to stay relevant and appeal to the evolving needs and preferences of the audience. Similarly, radio also underwent a transformation of sorts, staying ahead of the curve by not only delivering quality, innovative and engaging content, but also extending itself into the digital universe. Â According to IRS 2017, a study on the media usage in India, radio comes out to be a highly penetrated medium.
Indian audience has a plethora of information consumption options including Print, Radio, TV, Digital etc. With each medium seeking the larger piece of the pie, it makes for great introspection as to what makes this traditional medium a powerful and influential one even today.
Radio as a medium
In an evolved and a technology-driven country where a major chunk of content is being consumed on the digital medium today, the proliferation of internet comparatively is still at a nascent stage. In terms of penetration, while the comparison between internet and radio is similar in the urban markets, radio outshines internet in the semi urban and rural markets. Only 35% of our population has access to the internet as compared to broadcast radio which has access to 99% of the Indian population. Major parts of rural India, where internet broadband penetration still hasn’t made inroads, continue to rely overwhelmingly on radio for information. The medium being cheaper than a mobile phone or a television and also being portable, adds to its massive utility in these areas.
Delivering Platform agnostic content
By adopting newer technologies, radio has emerged stronger over time and has broken its limitation of being just a medium restricted to delivering content on-air. Today radio networks are curating platform-agnostic content which amplifies the reach over and above the existing large radio universe. This content is seamlessly showcased across multiple platforms including radio, digital, print, etc. to reinforce the message surrounding the campaign. Big radio players have set up in-house content studios and dedicated content platforms along with celebs associations for delivering clutter-breaking content.
Communication mode like no other
Low production costs have proven to be an added advantage to radio advertising. The cost of developing content on radio is far more economical and flexible as compared to other mediums. While we believe the young generation consumes content digitally, radio has proven to be the most valuable medium of advertising in reaching out to wider age group effectively. After print, radio has the second-highest ad-attention rate and is followed by Television and streaming services. Having the potential to place a company’s communication message in front of a consumer for 30- 60 seconds is a gold mine compared to the few seconds that the average web browser has to offer.
Hyper Localisation is the key
The message conveyed through customisation and localisation of content provides radio with an additional advantage as compared to its peers. Radio helps capture all the local tastes, preferences, festivals, languages, local events etc. Providing an unparallel connect till the last mile. RJs become the local influencers and represent the voice of the communities and brings alive the spirit of the city
Promising signs for the future of radio
The radio sector will make rapid strides through increasing investments, which will propel the number of coverage areas, increase communication to the masses and give them an easier ace
ss to credible information and quality entertainment. Primarily being an audio medium, the quality of the offerings on radio will continue to rise. With breakthrough content coming out each day that is resonating with its listeners, radio shall continue to strike the right note with the Indian audience for years to come.
Asheesh Chatterjee is Chief Financial Officer, Big FM
Big FM’s longest running show, ‘Suhaana Safar with Annu Kapoor’ completed five years on June 24 and to celebrate the occasion, the radio network hosted a Facebook Live session with Kapoor icon who addressed his fans while reminiscing his remarkable journey so far. A special show was also conducted where Annu Kapoor was seen interacting with young budding singers sharing meaningful insights on the art of music.
The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI)Â and Association of Radio Operators for India (AROI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding last week that envisages a close working relationship between the radio players and Advertising Agencies Associations through joint committees and standard procedures. The alliance will enable them to make joint efforts for promoting advertising business on radio and develop and implement a credit control and collection mechanism with standard operating procedures to ensure best credit terms and timely collections.