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News |  31 Jul 2013 17:35 |  By RnMTeam

Radio industry in North has approximately grown by 15 per cent: Vivek Modi

Radio industry is keeping no stone unturned to make their medium the most powerful. From on-air to on-ground activity, radio has done it all to attract more and more advertisers on board.  At the same time, it has tried to strike a chord with audiences by introducing and further adding more music and entertainment. Networks like Radio Mirchi have planned a series of engagement initiatives to attract more listenership and get on board advertisers for the same.

In a candid conversation with Jescilia Karayamparambil from Radioandmusic.com, Cluster head for North region and vice-president Vivek Modi, Radio Mirchi shared his views about the growth of radio in North of India.

Excerpts:

What was the motive behind starting with the initiative of ‘Flat 983’?

We have planned a series of engagement activities for our listeners of which this is our second initiative. The first one was RJ Hunt which we had organized in the month of May and June this year. We got 11,000 entries for the same. As soon as this was over, we started off with Flat 983 since we wanted to continue the brand buzz amongst around our listeners. On the last day when the RJ hunt was over, we announced the new initiatives which we had planned.

We wanted listeners to get hooked to our station. In Delhi, there is an obsession of having possessing a flat, which is termed as a huge investment. We made sure that we would have a huge response. Radio works well for real estate industry.

In the first two days itself we got 12,000 SMS. I am expecting the entries to go to about 50,000 soon.

Was this initiative a reaction to the latest RAM rating or the increasing popularity of other radio stations?

Our initiative has nothing to do with anything that you mentioned. We don’t subscribe to RAM ratings. I clearly believe that Radio Mirchi is a leader both in terms of Listenership and brand perception.

How many such initiatives are there in the series?

We plan to have one initiative every two months. It can be events, contests or on-ground activities. There are a lot of initiatives that are being planned.  However, as we go along, we will make announcements on the forthcoming initiatives. We have completely planned our next two or three initiative.

Kindly highlight about the radio industry in North India?

Overall, the industry in North India has been pretty good. We have almost grown 15 per cent in the overall advertising space. Comparing the Q1 of last year with the current year, we have grown 15 per cent. Radio Mirchi has continued to benefit through the growth and led the revenue share of the market.  All thanks to FMCG, durables, and mobile handset brands which have fuelled the growth. We have also been supported by retail and government sponsored advertising on social awareness. In the last two and a half years, I have realized that large advertisers have started accepting radio as the medium to drive innovation and amplification of the campaign. It is all about innovation understanding the brand and giving them (client) a complete integrated radio concept which could be a combination of on-air and on-ground activities.

What are the challenges that you face today?

As we continue to grow we face a lot of challenges while balancing the entertainment quotient and our revenue generation. While we have to keep in mind the choice of our listeners, we also have to see that it does not affect our revenue system. In the radio industry, the inventory is finite. You have 60 minutes in an hour, out of which we can give 14 minutes to advertising.

If we aim at increasing our revenue, we will end up taking a huge chunk off our music/entertainment content which will dissatisfy the listeners. If you want more revenue then you have to eat away the music pie which we avoid as it would hurt the interest of our listeners. The only way we can grow is through innovation and on-ground activities. Not only Radio Mirchi, the industry will only grow in back of innovation and on-ground activity.

There is an overall price hike of about 15-20 per cent across in the industry and few players have hiked their prices by 20-25 per cent. In the long run, advertisers as well as the players will realize that it is one of the healthiest moves.

We have not received an adverse reaction from advertisers as we continue to give them value beyond regular radio spots. There are people in the market who are ready to give us the price for our premier services.

What are the advertisers looking for now-a-days?

There are advertisers who turn to radio for brand building campaigns as long as the radio industry understands the central thought of the campaign. We build the central thought either on-air or on-ground, since these advertisers understand that the central thought on television can be hardly replicated on radio. The idea is to transcribe the central thought on radio, which proves as a complete amplification solution. There are advertisers who are ready to experiment, put money on sponsorship and invest in on-ground activation. This entire concept is well integrated but we are looking at ideas based on integrated solution.

How far has radio reached with regards to on-ground activities?

We have just crossed level one now but we have long way to go.

The RJ Hunt was organised to create a Mirchi buzz. Brands such as Lotus White Glow and Hero look forward to reach out to the youth who are inclined to music.  During the RJ hunt, we went to colleges, malls and multiplexes for auditions. The sponsors also sampled their products in the campus and all this happened in an integrated manner.

If a brand like Hero was offered only radio slots, there is a possibility that they may not advertise with us on a regular basis. Activations like RJ hunt provides a great interaction platform for the brands as well as the listeners.

Moving to content, which genre of music is doing well?

With greater access to various types of music available online, through music channels and exposure to international music, we see an inclination towards alternative music. True evolution of taste of music is happening in India right now with much reality based shows and various genres.

The biggest challenge is to decide which music to play as the contemporary music of Bollywood does well here. Bollywood music does well in North India which is followed by retro-Hindi music like the 90’s music and also North India has appetite for contemporary Punjabi pop. We have about a mix in music that we provide in North India. Honey Singh tracks are in huge demand, we play that as well. For alternative music, Radio Mirchi has its online platform.

How fast is Punjabi music industry growing?

The number of artistes and the songs that are produced in the industry is increasing. The quality supply increases, we include that in the play list as they become hits. If listeners want them, then we would play it for the listeners. But it is still not the significant part of the playlist as our mainstream is contemporary Bollywood.

Could you rank the stations that are doing well in North?

Delhi continues to be a number one station in North followed by Jaipur, Lucknow and Kanpur stations that are doing well. Overall if we see, the market is doing well.

Tier II and tier III cities have more space to grow compared to Metropolitan cities. Comment.

Targeting tier II and tier III cities is the only way to gain organic growth. If radio increases its range there is a strong need for it to tap the tier II and tier III cities. When we approach our advertisers they express a keen interest in reaching out to more and more audiences. As the growth of FMCG and durables are coming from tier II and tier III cities. It is noticed that the demand is from both sides - advertisers who are looking for revenue and the people living in those areas who are looking for more entertainment options.  As soon as the industry gets its Phase III, it will be a push to the radio industry and will add value to all industries that look at radio as an advertising medium. 

What is the next big Radio Mirchi looking forward for?

Listeners tune in to radio for music and as we grow we need to provide the listeners with more and more music and entertainment options. Gone are the days, when there were long jock-talks on radio. Nowadays, listeners are not interested in too much talking by radio jockies. Today, Radio Mirchi provides it’s listeners a mix of fun music along with entertainment. We are looking at a series of initiatives based on the needs of the local audiences. And will continue to offer innovative concepts that are inbred in the social and cultural fabric of the city and are entertaining in nature.

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