Exclusive | The slow pace of FM Radio business in India!

The seventh edition of India Radio Forum recently concluded in Mumbai. As it is known, the forum meets every year to discuss key issues pertaining to the Indian radio industry. Some of the issues that were talked about this year were Phase III of FM radio policy which will bring about 820 new radio licenses, the convergence of radio with digital platforms and the importance of recognizing radio as an advertising medium.

 

Adgully caught up with the industry experts to know their take on these issues and how they feel times have changed for the decade-old or decade young medium as they call it.

 

B Surendar, Sr VP & National Sales Head, Red FM said, “Expansion of Phase III of FM radio policy is expected to happen around September to December. It will take radio to the next level. The main thing that happened was Phase 2 which covered top 87 cities. The idea should be to encash on those 87 cities which contribute to more than 80% of the total revenue potential for the industry. Till Phase III happens, we will utilize the Phase II stations and increase the share of advertising pie that radio gets. And by then we will be more prepared for Phase III.”

 

According to B Surendar, one of the biggest challenges that radio as a medium faces today is improving the share of advertising pie. Advertising revenue has to be increased. In the next one and a half year, the revenue which is currently 4% should go upto atleast 6% , feels  Surendar.

 

Surendar feels that once radio is allowed to broadcast news , it will be able to provide fresh content to its audiences. “The current approval is for news broadcasts is halfway and not whole-hearted. News genre is the second largest genre after entertainment as we have seen in television too. The same applies to radio,” he remarked.

 

“The faith and conviction in radio as an advertising medium should be increased. Evangelizing the medium is the key to do this,” stated Surendar.

 

FM Radio happened quite late in India. By the time it happened, it got competition quickly. Radio has to fasten the pace of its development. The earlier it does so, the better, believes Surendar.

 

Elaborating on the evolution of radio as a medium, he says, “A lot of good work is happening through bodies like RAB (Radio Advertising Bureau) in developing countries like South Africa. That is the kind of work required in India. We are looking to promote the medium in a big way. Radio has started getting solo campaigns. Many campaigns in automobile, banking, finance sectors have been targeting radio as a marketing medium. Brands are targetting radio for certain campaigns and they are getting a good response.FM radio is a quite popular medium. Listeners have taken to radio much better than advertisers. Increasing the depth of radio consumption by corporate categories is the need of the hour.”

 

Talking about Phase III of FM radio policy; George Sebastian- General Manager, Marketing, Club FM said, “Phase III offers opportunities for everybody ; With it, broadcasters can look beyond traditional areas of operation and see whether there is possibility for exploring new frontiers.

 

He remarked that there is a dearth of creative candidates in technical, advertising sales and other departments. Phase III would help in wiping that away.

 

George Sebastian explains that the process of evolution of radio differs from market to market. Emphasising on Kerala; where Club FM has a strong foothold, he says, “Kerala’s love affair with radio is not with FM radio. Radio was a very strong medium of entertainment and information in Kerala. Radio has always had a strong listenership base in Kerala. People have listened to movies, sports commentary on radio.” He believes that radio as a medium has immense potential; which needs to be exploited better.

 

According to Harshad Jain- Business Head, Fever FM; the basic objective that radio in India should strive to achieve is high level of listenership and growth from a point of view of number of clients which are advertising. “The most important objective is to make radio one of the most sought after mediums in the marketing mix,” he added.

 

Amitabh Srivastava- Country Manager, South Asia at Radio Netherlands Worldwide believes that the biggest challenge that radio faces today is earning revenue from the areas in which it operates. He adds that Innovation is the key to lead the market.

 

Jason Brownlee -International Development Director of RadioGAUGE; a global system that measures effectiveness of radio advertising, is of the view that the challenges that the Indian radio industry faces are a result of the consumption pattern of radio. When consumption patterns stabilize especially when new stations come into the market, it becomes  a more predictable process for advertisers to understand what times of the day radio can play a big role in driving sales or driving brand awareness and brand image, he explains.

 

Jason; who attended the India Radio Forum said that finding a role for radio in advertising schedules where advertisers may not necessarily feel the need for radio is essential. Explaining the benefits that radio will offer from the brand and communication perspective is also very important.

 

Increasing the effectiveness of radio as an advertising medium remains the main concern that gropes the industry; agree experts. There was also a consensus that a huge amount of evangelizing, marketing and convincing awaits the industry. | By Aditi Popat [aditi(at)adgully.com]