Abraham Thomas, COO, Red FM, has been playing this role in the radio station since March 2005. Thomas (popularly known as Abe) started his career with The Indian Express and later moved on to the television industry before joining Red FM. Speaking to agencyfaqs!, he talks about Red FM’s new ‘activation’ division and Red FM’s attitude-based programming.

Q. How has the role of a radio station changed over the past five years in the lives of its listeners?
A. Radio began as a passive background medium, but it has now evolved into a more interactive one. Not only does this include interaction through phone calls and SMS, the RJs have also become a friend to the listeners and are a part of their lives. Radio has more ‘surround’ now. There are many ways how listeners can interact and experience the radio brand off-air at events and on-ground activities.

Radio today also has a lot of visual imagery attached to it. For example, a radio station may be present as a booth at a shopping mall or may be doing an activity at a traffic signal. Radio is associated with a lot of ‘activation.’.

Q. Radio stations are increasingly taking a 360-degree approach towards promotions. What does Red FM offer advertisers in this regard?
A. We have just launched a division called Red Activ which will implement events and on-ground activities for clients. Red Activ can be customized for individual clients to help them interact with customers. Thus, Red Activ implements single-client brief-driven activities. Recently Ford wanted to put an on-ground spin to its promotion for a car. The cars were parked at malls, which was supplemented by on-air promotions and a treasure hunt at the venue.

We also organised an on-ground promotion for the launch of the TV show ‘Solah Singhaar’ where girls dressed at brides interacted with people at railway stations in Mumbai, telling them about the programme.

Q. What does Red Activ offer over the promotional packages of other radio stations?
A. Informally, most radio stations offer services for on-ground and other promotional activities. This is because advertisers are demanding multiple media options for their campaigns. For Red Activ, we are going to proactively approach clients and create new ideas for them. Red Activ will not be restricted to radio and will include multimedia campaigns involving print and television as well.

Q. As the third phase of bidding approaches for FM stations, the focus is shifting to smaller towns. How different should the programming strategy be for small towns? What is Red FM's approach?
A. This trend of getting into smaller towns is also evident after the second phase of bidding. The advantage of a national network of a radio station is that it gives advertisers and clients more visibility. However, for listeners, radio has to be local. Radio should therefore, connect locally with listeners. While programming for Red FM will remain in the confines of the brand, it will cater to local tastes. Even in a metro like Kolkata, the programming is very different from Mumbai and Delhi. The issues dealt with there are localized.

Though our first priority is music (plus the Red FM attitude), our promise in any market is to play super-hit songs. Every song played on Red FM is tested, and packaged with our attitude which identifies us. Therefore, programming is never at the cost of hit music. Instead of a happy on-the-bench approach, Red FM would rather take an in-your-face approach.

Q. On the other hand, metros like Delhi are reaching a saturation point. Do you agree? How do you intend to tackle challenges in the form of 'young' radio stations as compared to Red FM's 'common man' approach?
A. Every industry, including radio, follows a ‘Rule of three’ where three players emerge as market leaders and the rest follow. Red FM has always focused on market leadership and to maintain this, it must remain in mainstream programming. There are always a set of players for identify ‘profitable niches.’ I believe that the latest trend of no-RJ, only-music programming is only a temporary phase. RJs and talking to the listeners are essential for a radio station to build character and personality. While other radio stations may attempt to differentiate themselves on the basis of music or language, Red FM will have its distinct combination of music and attitude.

© 2006 agencyfaqs!