Hello FM gives on-ground an active shot

With 'Activation' becoming the keyword for radio nowadays, stations are doing everything they can to get on ground. Hello 106.4 FM, owned by the Daily Thanti group, has been making the most of this trend - down South in Chennai. Hello FM has announced a partnership with Vim, which is organising a party with celebrity Madhavan next week. The promo, 'Vim Maddy Party' is being promoted through SMS contests and also on-ground stalls where people have the opportunity to win invites to the exclusive party.

Last month, Hello FM tied up with ICICI Bank for its 'Dhanam Arokyam Mela' at Valluvar Kottam in the city. The station was involved in this radio-only campaign, right from creating the jingles to the RJs talking about the financial products. When the event took place at four major malls in Chennai, the conversations with peope were broadcast live on the station. In January, the station oraganised the Longest Rangoli contest in association with Hamman at Marina Beach in Chennai. The rangoli stretched 3.5 km and obviously generated a lot of buzz.

Thus, marketers now can expect much more out of radio stations than spots and jingles, since a significant part of the campaign now takes place off-air. Advertisers also get a better deal in the form of a package which ensure wider visibility. Says Shankar B, vice president, sales & business development, Hello FM, "Advertisers are definitely happy getting a package deal for on air and off

air, but they havn't increased they on-ground budgets as yet. However, they have begun realising the potential of on air and on ground initiatives."

So, does Hello FM plan to join the activation bandwagon and launch an on-ground division of its own? "Not currently. But we will consider it once we have a pan Tamil Nadu presence," adds Shankar.

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