MUMBAI: Reliance Broadcast Network Limited’s radio arm Big FM has hiked its advertising rates with immediate effect, owing to the growing demand and rising inventory pressure in the market. The rates have been increased by 20-30 per cent depending on the stations across the country.

Recently, most radio stations have followed the ad hike path and increased their rates due to the medium’s positively growing performance. It also depicts the higher market demand from advertisers in metropolitan areas and tier II markets. Big FM’s decision also reflected the network performance and delivery, leading to a growing demand from retail and national advertisers.

Speaking with Radioandmusic.com, Big FM business head Ashwin Padmanabhan said, “This is a long pending hike. 2009-2010 was a tough year where the advertising yields went down. So this is the corrective measure being taken now as the market and radio’s performance has increased.”

Advertising growth mainly emerged in the second half of 2012 as the earlier part of the year was pretty stagnant in all aspects. And now with advertisers recognizing the potential of the medium and coming back to it, utilization of radio is at its maximum.

The network has increased the rates in Mumbai by 20 per cent and now aim to provide tailor made content by investing in brands to engage listeners, further giving a boost to advertising in the long run. Some of the brands which Big FM has largely invested in include, Yaadon Ka Idiot Box with Neelesh Misra, Big Memsaab featuring RJ Karisma Kapoor, Aktor calling Aktor and more.

They will further take it forward in the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy, by creating unique content with their cricket expert Harsha Bhogle.

“Advertisers will continue to choose better delivery vehicles to engage with customers. So it depends on what kind of value we create in programming for the audiences. If there is good content being offered, there will in turn be a rise in investment by advertisers. All this will help increase the entire radio advertising pie in the long run, which is a positive sign,” he claimed.

While advertising is steadily increasing across the market, it is also putting an indirect pressure on programming in radio stations. A radio listener today has plenty of options to choose from, and maintaining stickiness requires a large amount of focus on day-to-day programming. Thus, innovation and relevant content is amongst the key growth factors helping radio to grow.

Padmanabhan added, “Our product mix, ability to innovate, solutions approach and unparalleled reach, sees us catering to almost 1800 clients on a monthly basis. This price correction will ensure that the core product and promise remain relevant to the audiences while delivering optimum value to the advertisers. With this move we maintain the right balance between content and advertising, while ensuring inventory is maintained at a healthy level and revenues see adequate growth.”

While metro cities have reported a high growth in demand, a major revelation here is that smaller cities are growing phenomenally well and driving a majority of growth for most players now.

“Smaller cities have performed really well in our network and are now driving a lot of our growth. Tier II and tier III markets are now opening up well. I am sure that in around two years, these markets will contribute around 50 per cent of our total revenue. To ensure this, we will continue to create relevant engagement platforms to tap into the market,” he affirmed.