Pritha Mitra
Media

Educating consumers is the first challenge for WorldSpace

The satellite radio service was launched almost five years ago, but it’s now that it is beefing up its marketing activities

It’s been five years since WorldSpace launched its services in India, and now, the satellite radio company is looking at beefing up its marketing activities.

Deepak Varma, managing director, WorldSpace, explains, “When WorldSpace launched its services in 2000, there wasn’t much variety of content to offer. Moreover, the price of the product was very high. That is why we strategised to work on the content first, and then invigorate our marketing strategies.”

As Varma says, “The first objective for us is to educate potential consumers about the concept of satellite radio and its quality service. We are not looking at achieving a mass subscriber base at present.”

This is probably why the radio company is depending mainly on below-the-line activities to promote its services. The company is organising customer contact programmes, and even one-on-one interactions with potential customers.

Varma says, “As the concept of satellite radio is still new in India, experiential marketing is the right strategy to create awareness among prospective subscribers. And as prices for the product have come down, our consumer base has also broadened.”

While the company is using conventional media such as outdoor and print, it has also introduced mobile lounges at various places, so that consumers can get experience the product first-hand.

Keeping the ‘consumer experience’ in mind, the WorldSpace campaign is also organising one-on-one interactions with consumers. It plans to send its representatives from door to door to educate consumers about the product.

Even the print campaign has been conceptualised in a question-answer format, providing detailed information about the brand, technology and its cost.

Currently, WorldSpace has around 40 channels in different genres, catering to different target groups. So, besides promoting WorldSpace itself as a brand, the content and the various channels will also be publicised.

For instance, if a campaign is being planned for Kolkata, it will promote the Bengali channel first as it is expected to create more interest in that market.

The company also plans to provide better product availability through an enhanced sales and distribution network and customer-service set-up.”

Currently, WorldSpace’s services are available in Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi and Mumbai. In the next few weeks, the services will be extended to Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Kochi, Pune and Kolkata.

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