MUMBAI: As the festival of lights commences this week, leading radio broadcasters have got into the celebratory mood by initiating several activities and innovative programming for its listeners across the country.

Red FM has initiated a unique campaign titled ‘Red FM pe Ad Gino Paisa Jeeto’ for its listeners in Mumbai and Delhi. The contest enables listeners to win cash prizes if they correctly count the number of ads played during a commercial break in a show. The activity is already generating a massive response in both the cities with more than 10,000 SMS a day.

Commenting on the initiative, Red FM senior VP – programming and projects Nisha Narayanan said, “This activity is a unique way to involve the listeners and ensure that they don’t tune out during the commercial ads. While the listeners get a chance to win loads of cash on a correct answer, it also ensures that we deliver maximum ears for the ads they play on the station.”

Radio City has also organized numerous activities celebrating the festival of lights. While the Delhi station will air the popular activity ‘All Time Money’, in Mumbai the network has initiated another avatar of the activity titled ‘Ghar Aayi Lakshmi’. Listeners will have to identify the collage of three bollywood voices saying ‘FM Bole Toh Radio City 91.1 FM’. The lucky winner will stand to win a cash prize of Rs 10,000. The prize will go up by Rs 5000 per show in case no one gets the correct answer.

In Lucknow, the special on-air activity ‘Kismat Dhan Mehnat’ will present the bonanza of a ‘Jackpot hour’. The contest comes with an undisclosed ‘jackpot hour’ making one win double the prize. Taking the festive spirit forward, the Lucknow RJs will also spend a day with the kids at a children’s home ‘Aastha Jyoti’ celebrating Diwali and Children’s day. While in Ahmedabad, the station will celebrate the anthem ‘Zindagi Mubarak’ by placing ‘Magic Boxes’ around the city where people can donate gift items, which will be given to an NGO working for underprivileged children.

The Bangalore station will witness listeners getting the opportunity to gift a brand new dress to a kid and personally interact with them. On the day of Diwali, the RJs will visit the homes of these kids and distribute the goodies collected through the campaign. City Pune brings on a fun-filled festival with ‘Fataako ka dhamaal’ where listeners can stand a chance to win various prizes by choosing a ‘fataaka’ and answer the question related to it.

The online web portal PlanetRadiocity.com will also celebrate a ‘green’ Diwali with ‘e diya’ this year. A special tab on the portal’s Facebook fan page will urge people to light the ‘e diya’ and pledge their support for a socially responsible Diwali.

Radio City national programming head Kartik Kalla said, “Festive programming for Diwali is always exciting for us. At Radio City we are constantly re-inventing ourselves to bring out the best for our listeners.  This is the time to celebrate the strong bond with our listeners. The spirit of celebration coupled with the bonding over 11 years translates into some of the most innovative and interesting campaigns.”

Lighting up the lives of its listeners, Big FM has organized the ‘Big Family Jackpot’ across its 44 stations. The contest allows up to four families each day from every city to compete against each other in a quiz contest which will focus on city-specific trivia. Every correct answer assures the listener a prize, including a mega jackpot every time the game is played.

Apart from that, the station has also launched a special afternoon women’s magazine radio show ‘Big Memsaab’ featuring expert advice and tips on how to look good this Diwali. The show will also include a special lineup from Chef Rakesh Sethi to entertain guests.

A Big FM company spokesperson said, “Through our multiple initiatives this Diwali, we hope to make the festival a complete celebration for our listeners. Diwali is a festival which has something for everyone and we look forward to make this Diwali bigger and better for all our listeners.”

Radio Mirchi on the other hand is all geared up to celebrate a ‘Disco Diwali’ throughout the festive week. With the special theme across all its stations, the on-air programmes will feature party anthems and festive tracks. With all the leading broadcasters lighting up the lives of its listeners with an assortment of unique initiatives, it sure seems to be a truly unique Diwali for audiences this year.