It’s the season of film awards and radio network, 93.5 Red FM has partnered with the Renault Star Guild Awards. A new award – the  Bajaate Raho Dialogue of the Year 2013 – has been included in list of awards.
Said Nisha Narayanan, COO, 93.5 RED FM: “Star Guild Awards celebrates the best of Bollywood and we are excited to be once again associated with it.  We jointly with the Renault Star Guild Awards introduced a new category this year, ‘Bajaate Raho Dialogue of the year’â€
Added Rajat Uppal, General Manager (Marketing), RED FM on the association: “With the ‘Bajaate Raho Dialogue of the Year Award’ introduced here, we looked out for a dialogue which was impactful and had created an immediate connect with the youth of India. There were some excellent dialogues from big blockbusters of the year which were nominated, but the one from Ranjhanaa definitely proved to the most popular one.â€
Speaking on the awards, Sabbas Joseph, Director – Wizcraft International said, “It has been a wonderful association and we value this partnership with Red FM who allow us to engage audiences across India with Red FM’s excellent listenership base in India.â€
Take an RJ, his on-air prankster alter-ego Bauaa, a wish to connect the RJ directly with his audience, DDB Mudra Max – and you have Bauaa Hawa Mein, a series of live radio shows by 93.5 Red FM from studios fabricated on billboards.
The objective was to popularize Red FM Delhi’s evening show host RJ Raunac’s character Bauaa through an OOH medium that allowed for live performance and face-to-face interaction with the audience and fans. The idea was to have Bauaa seen, and not just heard. With the DDB MudraMax innovation, the execution was literally from up in the air.
To connect to the listener, live studios were set up at three different locations of the NCR. RJ Raunac along with the Bhagra Pop Singer Daler Mehendi did the entire show live from a radio booth mounted on a billboard at Rajouri Garden on January 29. Similar shows were conducted from unipoles in Noida on February 1 and Gurgaon on February 6.
Nisha Narayanan
Mandeep Malhotra
Commenting on the campaign, Nisha Narayanan, Senior VP – Projects and Programming, 93.5 Red FM, said, “We always strive to think different and innovate to connect with our listeners. Thus, it is our constant endeavour to set higher standards of radio programming. Initiatives like Bauaa Hawa Mein help in bringing the brand and our jocks closer to the listeners.”
Commenting on the campaign, Mandeep Malhotra President, DDB MudraMax, said, “It’s always a wonderful feeling to take up challenging assignments and deliver clutter-breaking work for any media brand.”
Popular FM radio network Red FM has turned its Bengaluru frequency into a 24×7 Hindi radio station: Red FM Bangluru. The move follows the station’s observation where listeners expressed a keen liking for Bollywood music over their current songs playlist. The move is expected to help the brand become more popular across the metropolitan audiences and at the same time break through the clutter of homogenous sounding Kannada radio stations in Bangalore.
Nisha Narayanan
Commenting on the initiative, Nisha Narayanan, Senior VP – Programming & Projects, 93.5 Red FM said, “We are in constant touch with the evolving needs of our listeners and have concluded that the choice of music is moving more towards Bollywood. Moreover, the listeners prefer to listen to superhit songs all the time and Red FM is going to cater to this emerging need gap in the Bangalore. We will continue to retain the ‘Bajaate Raho’ attitude of the brand which gives us an edge over the others.”
The station promises to offer a whole new level of entertainment with new RJs and a completely new identity. The change took effect from yesterday (November 28)
From September 27, 2012, Red FM will feature stories of ordinary individuals who have fought against crime – irrespective of their age, gender or profession. These real life heroes will share their experience with RJ Malishka on Morning No.1 from Monday to Friday.
Issues such as crimes against the elderly, eve-teasing, suicide etc. will be discussed on-air. The promos for the show mention that crime does not spread because of criminals, but because of individuals who bear it.
Nisha Narayanan
Nisha Narayanan, Senior VP – Programming and Projects, Red FM said, “‘Crime’ is a new genre for radio, the relevance of which is even more in our metro cities, Mumbai being one of them. The campaign thought for our prime-time show comes from an inherent responsibility to highlight what we think should be brought to the notice of our listeners. These heroes are also a part of our listening universe, and the deeds instill a sense of pride in their fellow citizens. This is Red FM’s second initiative to fight crime. In early August, we launched ‘Crime Ki Keh Ke Lenge’ for our listeners in New Delhi. The show, hosted by RJs Peeyuush and Swati, had a successful inning. We hope to take this to the next level in Mumbai.”
93.5 Red FM has partnered with the Chevrolet Global Indian Music Academy (GiMA) Awards, the biggest annual celebration of Indian Music, for the third consecutive year. The awards are a pioneering effort to recognize Indian music, transcending genres in the country giving the music industry a unified platform to celebrate its talent.
An initiative by Wizcraft International Entertainment, GiMA recognizes talent across various genres of Indian Music such as Bollywood, Classical, Ghazal, Devotional, Folk, Fusion, Carnatic and Contemporary.
Nisha Narayanan, Senior VP – Projects & Programming, Red FM said: “GiMA stands for excellence and honours the best talent in the music industry and Red FM is all about playing the most contemporary super hit music. There is an unparalleled synergy between the two and we are delighted to be partnering each other for three years in a row.â€
“This time RED has decided to present issues to listeners musically with the on-going ‘Gaa ke Bajaa’. GiMA-nominated stars sang for Mumbaikars a unique song every day for their daily woes on ‘Mumbai Local’ hosted by RJ Rishi Kapoor and will be aired from Monday to Saturday between 5-9pm,†she added.
“Today, GiMA has evolved into a major platform for the Indian Music Industry and brings together the entire fraternity, to honour and celebrate musical talent across various genres. This year, there is an interesting mix of nominees and I congratulate GiMA as they embark upon yet another musical journey,†said Javed Akhtar, noted poet-lyricist and Advisory Board Member of GiMA.
Sabbas Joseph, Director, Wizcraft International Entertainment said: “We are glad to have Red FM as our radio partner once again, for the third edition of the GiMA. It has been a great association and we look forward to yet another spectacular celebration with them this year.â€
GiMA is the only Music Awards platform with a voting process based on peer-to-peer recognition. Nominees are selected by a jury panel of over 30 eminent members from the music & film industry and later presented to the GiMAAcademy for the final voting.
The Academy’s votes are tabulated by KPMG, the process auditors for GiMA who determine the winners. To ensure a fair and unbiased evaluation, the Academy follows a thorough and meticulous voting process.
While the country’s best talent comprises of the jury, as per a mandate by KPMG, all jurors do not adjudicate on categories/genres in which they are in contention. The illustrious Advisory Board members include Dr L Subramaniam, Hariharan, Javed Akhtar, Mukesh Bhatt, Prasoon Joshi, Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Resul Pookutty, Shankar Mahadevan, Shubha Mudgal, Vishal Bhardwaj among others.
The Academy comprises over 300 members from the music & film industry encompassing industry stalwarts, music directors, producers, lyricists, singers, technicians, composers and leaders in the music business.
Brand activations or on-ground, on-air activations by FM radio stations is not a new phenomenon in this country. In fact, it could be said that most FM radio stations boast of having a dedicated unit to service the needs of their clients.
Brands today realize the need for a 360-degree presence across mediums so that they can be where their consumers are and directly interact and engage with them. Hence the on-ground activations by radio stations give an added advantage to the brands as the activation is also hyped in the on-air programmes they execute.
Take for instance the Asian Paints ‘Lift Kara De’ campaign executed by Radio City Connect. RadioCity Connect had tied up with the dabbawallas of Mumbai and placed around 15,000 sweet boxes inside the dabbas. The activity was spread across various restaurants and some Cinemax outlets in Mumbai.
Apart from the Asian Paints’ campaign, Radio City Connect is also said to have executed a 12-city campaign for Renault Pulse and a 72-location activation plan that involved RWA, corporate park and mall activations. This campaign is said to have generated more than 6,000 leads for the client, along with 1,000 people who went for a test drive.
The same has been the case with other stations as well, where categories such as Telecom, FMCG, BFSI, Cement, Automobiles, Retail, and others have been part of brand activations. According to industry estimates, brand activations on FM radio stations contribute around 12-15 per cent of the overall turnover and is estimated to go above 20 per cent in the near future.
Sanjay Tripathy
Sanjay Tripathy, Executive Vice President-Head Marketing and Direct Channels, HDFC Life explained: “On-ground activations through radio stations are indeed effective with the on-air ads and promos amplifying the activations without the need for an additional media buy. It helps the brands roll out a through-the-line approach with on-air ads and promos, creating awareness and drawing footfalls for the activation. The radio station-led activations are usually properties moulded into the brand’s requirements and help reach out to the specified TG. Also the radio stations help the brands to get easy access to venues, which some brands might not normally get.”
Ashit Kukian
Ashit Kukian, COO and President, RadioCity was of the view that clients these days are increasingly using radio activations to connect with their listeners. “Clients are not just looking for plain vanilla advertising. They are looking for something that is different and allows a 360 degree visibility. More than anything else, they require customization; an integrated approach that involves effective use of radio, on-ground and social media. Over the years, brand integration has played a vital role in traditional mediums like print and television and now brands are increasingly using radio activation to connect to their target audience.”
B Surender
According to B Surender, Senior Vice President, and National Sales Head, Red FM, “The on-ground activation business is extremely important, not just from the revenue point of view, but also from the angle of providing customer satisfaction through a 360 degree approach. Radio stations do have an edge over a direct BTL agency as they provide a 360 degree approach and are better placed to give value for money solutions.”
He added: “Brands had a lot of unfulfilled needs when it came to activation in the form of nationwide reach, one-stop-solution and proactive ideation. Initially, there were hesitations amongst clients to accept a radio station as an activation service provider. However, after the arrival of Phase II and expansion of FM stations across the length and breadth of the country, radio stations have started fulfilling the need for integrated ATL and BTL solutions. The dynamic and innovative nature of radio as a medium has enhanced the quality of integrated solutions provided to the clients.”
The road ahead
Today brands want to engage and interact with their consumers – they want to approach them in a unique way to create high recall value for their brand. Brand activations through radio stations are said to have more impact as compared to other mediums because of high penetration of the medium; the 360 degree promotions the activation is given and the ability to highly engage and have a two-way communication with the consumers. But what needs to be questioned is whether brand activations on radio stations are an effective option when it comes to delivering high ROI?
Mr Tripathy of HDFC Life said that the impact of brand activations is better with radio station-led activation as on-air promos help create incremental hype for the on-ground activations by leveraging an additional medium for communication. “The costs for solo activations through radio stations, however, tend to be very high owing to the air time cost added on to the activation cost which has to be borne by the advertiser. Usually most advertisers resort to associate or partner sponsors from brands, willing to reach out to a similar TG without any conflicting business interests, to share the cost of the activation. However, this sometime dilutes the impact of the activation with multiple brands having to share the centrestage,” he added.
FM phase III rollout is expected to add a new lease of life, not only radio stations, but for advertising options like activations on the medium. Phase III will not only further expand radio stations to newer towns and cities, particularly into tier III and IV towns but will also allow newer genres of FM radio stations, which may attract newer listeners to the medium.
Mr Kukian of RadioCity said: “Radio activations involve a 360 degree format which ensures an all-round visibility for the client. An on-air activity when supported by on-ground activation becomes much more amplified and effective. To create an impact we need to look beyond vanilla-selling, thus activations is the segment to watch out for. Activation is going to assume greater importance in the radio space, as competition increases, the market becomes more saturated and advertisers look for unique and innovative ways to reach the target group.”
Mr Surender of Red FM observed: “With phase III being discussed, private FM industry will get into Tier III and Tier IV cities in a big way. BTL activities in such places are being currently handled by the unorganised sector. Presence of radio players will definitely help improve the impact of experiential marketing efforts targeting semi-urban and rural areas.”
Industry players are of the view that radio is not only an apt medium for brand activations, but in the long run, the importance of brand activations through the medium is also expected to grow. Phase III will not only bring more innovation and differentiation within the medium but, also increase the reach of the medium to tier III and IV cities and towns.
Yang Saints and Warriors will be henceforth handling the creative mandates for Red FM. The win comes after a multi agency pitch that Red FM had called for a couple of months back.
Though no confirmation from Red FM could be obtained at the time of filing the report, sources close to the development have confirmed the news to MxMIndia.
The agencies participating in the pitch include names like Lowe Lintas, DDB Mudra, Scarecrow Communications, Law &Kenneth and others.
The incumbent agency on the account is Ogilvy & Mather, who have been handling their creative mandates for the past five years. Even the marketing spends could not be ascertained at the time of filing the report.
Red FM is a property of Sun TV Network, India’s largest television network which has 20 TV channels, 45 FM radio stations, two daily newspapers and four magazines in several Indian languages.
Red FM has appointed Vidyut Patra as Station Head for its Mumbai station. At Red FM, Mr Patra will be responsible for strengthening the revenue stream and the brand for the Mumbai station. He will report to Nisha Narayanan, senior vice president, projects and programming, Red FM.
Ms Narayanan said, “Vidyut Patra has extensive experience across revenue, brand and content domains and will add immense value to the station and the brand. We are delighted to have Vidyut on board and look forward to his work at Red FM.”
On his role at Red FM, Mr Patra said: “I’m very excited to come on board and given RED FM Mumbai’s history of exceptional talent and genre-defining content, I look forward to further strengthening the ‘Bajate Raho’ proposition of the brand and the exciting times which lie ahead.”
Mr Patra comes from a strong broadcasting background. He spent his last 4 years at Viacom 18 handling various responsibilities for MTV, prior to which he has been with INX Media and Star India Pvt Ltd.
The seventh edition of Indian Radio Forum (IRF) discussed quite a lot of issues on the strength and opportunities of radio, the road ahead for the medium, especially with FM Phase III expansion, how to maximize radio’s assets and how to gain share of market spend; the use of social media and monetizing it and much more. MxMIndia spoke to couple of industry veterans on their takeaways from the IRF 2012.
Mr Premjeet Sodhi, COO, Lintas Media Group:
One major takeaway with which I am going back is that while there are issues on how radio is performing commercially, there are certainly people who are passionate about the medium, and therefore, there are a lot of possibilities on how to do well on radio.
The second major takeaway is the use of social media and radio, we had never thought of a subject as such. Radio has a lot of potential to work along with social media and be commercially successful as well.
Third, I don’t think we are doing enough for radio, overall as an industry. There is, however, a lot of scope for improvement in this area.
Mr B Surender, Senior Vice President, and National Sales Head, Red FM:
I think the RAB (Radio Advertising Bureau) style of evangalising the medium is needed because UK’s RAB is so active in not only the developed markets like the UK, but it is also quite active in developing markets like South Africa.
InIndia, probably, this kind of promotional activity is required for radio as a medium, because in India FM radio started very late and it did not get enough time before social media and the online or digital media arrived. Therefore, I believe there is a different need for a RAB kind of body which promotes radio.
Mr Vinay Bhatia, Customer Care Associate and Senior Vice President – Marketing, Shoppers Stop:
I think each industry within radio should develop its own tools, and this is really important in judging the input-output in efficacy because I am not chasing radio just for reach, OTS or number of impressions. Radio, as a channel, is a response medium and so it must deliver much beyond intermediary variables, it must deliver final business variables and I think radio can do that. However, it depends on how well a radio channel partners with a client, wherein the client is also willing to share some amount of data and information and a radio channel is also willing to partner it and jointly experimenting which works for all of us.
Radio is said to be a medium that has been re-born. With the FM Phase III rollout anticipated this year, radio is expected to penetrate further into the country, as a result not only will there be an increase in revenues but, also the fact that newer revenue streams will open up. Multiple frequencies, allowing news and current affairs, sports broadcasting will also bring more innovations in radio, new genre radio stations and great amount of differentiation in content.
Radio’s share of media spends, according to industry estimates, is expected to rise from 4 per cent to 5 per cent in two years. Among categories that advertise on Radio, Real Estate, Telecom, Retail, Education and TV channels are the ones advertise the most.
What radio players say?
Harshad Jain
Joy Chakraborthy
Apurva Purohit
B Surender
So, does radio still need to be evangalised? Is radio still insignificant to for advertisers? The India Radio Forum (IRF) 2012 discussed these issues. According to Mr Harshad Jain, Business Head – Radio and Entertainment, HT Media: “From a client standpoint, radio is still an insignificant medium. It all boils down to value addition of the medium – how can radio, as a medium, ensure value addition to its advertisers? The entire orientation has to be more than just vanilla FTCs. Radio is still an under-penetrated medium and has still a long way to go.”
Mr Joy Chakraborthy, CEO, TV Today Network (which includes Oye! FM) pointed out that the Indian radio industry needs to stand united, not only on issues related to government regulations, but also for business related issues. “There needs to be some amount of unity among the radio fraternity. For the industry to survive we must stand together, not just for regulatory issues but even for businesses. Today radio is the most underpriced medium and unity within the industry will help us drive our sales.”
Ms Apurva Purohit. CEO, Radio City was of the view that radio is still at an infancy stage and like any other medium, it will also take some time to evolve. She was quick to point out that television took many years to be what it is today. “Today the ad pie of radio is 4 per cent, the geographical coverage of radio is merely 30 per cent but, with Phase III the geographical coverage will see tremendous increase. Every year the number of advertisers on radio has only been growing, what we need to do now is to encourage these advertisers to spend more on radio and reach out to newer advertisers.”
Mr B Surender, Senior Vice President and National Sales Head, Red FM said: “In the last two years radio saw tremendous growth. With the launch of Phase III also expected soon, the future of radio is certainly bright. Even radio stations outside metros saw tremendous growth, innovations in smaller towns and cities were high and in the next two years radio’s advertising pie is expected to reach 6 to 7 per cent.”
The client perspective:
Few years ago, radio was seen as a supplementary medium for advertisers wherein they would spend only the left over media spends on radio. This is said to be changing, slowly and steadily as advertisers are beginning to take radio seriously. There has also been an increase in the number of on-ground activations which has more or less become complementary for radio stations as a value addition to their clients. However, digital media, which was at one point in time an even smaller medium than radio is today, said to have become an even larger and a more powerful medium than radio and a possible reason could be because Internet, unlike radio, is a highly measureable medium.
Giving a critical view on radio as an effective local medium, Mr Vinay Bhatia, Customer Care Associate and Senior Vice President Marketing and Loyalty said that radio has a very low share of mind and share of value medium to advertisers today. Digital on the other hand, which started off from 2 per cent of advertising share has a much higher share of mind and share of value. “To maximize assets, radio has to deliver business. Radio needs to world closely with clients, it can also look at which area of a city or town works better for clients. It can also partner with retailers to play radio in stores while customers are shopping. Radio is a response medium, therefore it allows a lot of engagement and interaction with listeners. However, there needs to be more innovations for advertisers on radio because clients love innovation and as a result innovation will bring more money for the radio station.”
Arpita Menon, Head-Media Planning & Buying, Star India Pvt Ltd
Premjeet Sodhi, COO, Lintas Media Group
Harshad Jain, Business Head- Radio & Entertainment, HT Media
Mr Shubhranshu Singh, Marketing Director-India and South Asia, Visa explained: “As far as Visa is concerned, radio has delivered us handsome returns. Radio, I believe, is economical and one can expect higher returns, it is certainly a cost effective medium. However, radio must come to clients as an industry and not as one single radio channel – it should be bolder in its approach towards clients and thus stay on top of mind of clients.”
Mr Kartik Sharma, Managing Partner, Maxus had a slightly different take on the medium. He was of the view that radio is the oldest form of social media platform, it allows great amount of interactivity and engagement with the listeners. “Radio is in the business of producing great contents and so are the brands, I believe that both radio and digital can depend on each other. Radio is in the business of providing great content, the power of radio is sound and creativity therefore the mindset to learn this medium is very different.”
Ms Shubha George, COO, MEC noted that in order to maximize radio’s asset and gain share of market spends, it needs to market itself more. She stated that radio today is sold and not marketed, what it needs is more marketing. She also pointed out that the industry must find ways to monetize every single phone calls and SMSes it receives and market them extensively.
The Indian radio industry still needs a lot of evangelizing or marketing of the medium. Radio needs more nurturing, it needs to probably find newer ways of achieving better ROIs and thus increase greater share of media spends. More innovations in radio will also bring in more money and help it stay on top of advertisers’ minds. Radio needs to partner their clients and find newer ways to generate better ROIs for their clients. Radio needs to vigorously market itself to the advertisers and explain the power of the medium so that it becomes a primary medium for marketers.
The much awaited Excellence in Radio Awards (ERA) was held in Mumbai on May 22. Although the turnout at the IRF (India Radio Forum) 2012 was dismal, the awards concluded with fanfare. A total of 40 awards were given out this year and three new categories were introduced – Best Radio Programme (Marathi); RJ of the Year (Marathi); and Best Radio Promo – Inhouse (Marathi). The award winning radio stations at ERA this year include – Radio Mirchi, Red FM, Big FM, Radio City, Radio Mango, Club FM, MY FM, Suryan FM and Fever FM.
Digital Radio Broadcasting Ltd or Red FM won 7 Awards including the awards for the ‘Best Radio Station’ and ‘Best Breakfast Programme/ Show (Hindi)’ to name a few. Suryan FM won one Award for ‘Best Radio Promo (In house) Tamil’.
Reliance Broadcast Network Limited or Big FM also won 7 awards, including the award for the ‘Best Programme Broadcast after 11am (Hindi)’ and ‘Best Programme Broadcast After 11am (Tamil)’. Big Magic Pvt Limited won an award for ‘Best Use of Music / Song / Jingle by an Advertiser in a Radio Spot’.
Radio Mirchi won a total of 12 awards, making it the most awarded radio station at the Excellence in Radio Awards 2012.
Speaking to MxMIndia, Mr GG Jayanta, National Marketing Head, Radio Mirchi said: “Winning 12 awards is in itself a matter of pride, innovation always wins and good work will always be recognized. These awards will most certainly encourage us to deliver better work as it is a great motivational tool for us.”
Mr Rajat Uppal, General Manager- Marketing stated: “We saw good participation from the industry, we are glad to have won the Best Radio Station, The RJ of the Year, the Best Breakfast show and others. It shows the kind of work we do is high on quality and high on innovation as well. We won the awards that matter the most to us and our aim will be to continue delivering quality work for listeners and advertisers.”
Music Broadcast Pvt Ltd or Radio City won a total of 3 Awards, Radio Mango also won 3 awards, Club FM won 2 awards, Fever FM and MY FM won one award each.
Mr Praveen Scheruchari, Senior Creative Manager, Radio Mango said: “For a regional station like us, winning these awards and that too at a national level is a huge achievement as well as a great opportunity for us. These awards will encourage us to deliver better work for our clients and listeners.”
The awards for the ‘Most Effective Use of Radio in an Activation Campaign’ and ‘Most Outstanding Use of Radio in An Ad Campaign’ were the winners from ‘The Radio Pitch Challenge’.
Suryan FM and Superhits 93.5 RED FM have partnered the India Radio Forum (IRF) 2012 as Premium Presenting Sponsors.
Radio over the years has emerged as a strong medium and a credible platform creating a significant place for itself amongst the more dominant and traditional forms of media communications. The Radio Industry is growing steadily and this association with IRF 2012 is a way of showing Suryan FM and RED FM’s commitment to the industry.
Speaking on the association, Nisha Narayanan, Senior VP Projects and Programming, RED FM said: “We as a leading network in the country are proud to be associated with a prestigious event like the India Radio Forum. It is always nice to see the enthusiasm and passion that our radio fraternity has for the medium and IRF is one of the platforms where all of us meet year on year and share the work and see the best work getting rewarded, looking forward.”
During the CEO Roundtable Session ‘Let’s get the bigger picture’ Mr. B Surendar – Senior V P & National Sales head, Red FM, will be sharing his views on the coming years of radio industry in India, the growth prospects and the major happening which will make the business more lucrative and absorbing, and the most awaited 3rd phase of licensing in Radio.
Red FM, India’s Largest Radio Network, with 50 stations across India (including the Suryan Stations) was first launched in Mumbai in 2002 followed by Delhi and & Kolkata in 2003. Red FM has always believed in philosophy and attitude of “Bajaate Raho!” along with a music strategy of playing only Super Hit music, based on the internationally successful CHR (Contemporary Hit Radio) format.