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From ‘Asli Masti’ to ‘Bajaate Raho’, Red FM was able to do a complete turnaround, relaunch the brand and establish an emotional connect with the people
Radio station Red FM was nominated at the Emvies this year for Best Media Innovation—Out of Home and Best Media Innovation—Events.
The objective of the MPG team (Media Planning Group) was to achieve a complete turnaround for Red FM and relaunch the brand in a way that it created a distinct identity for the station, making it stand out from among the other stations.
Earlier, Red FM connected with the audience as a fun channel with the punch line, ‘Asli Masti’. But with so many radio stations already on air with almost similar content, it was felt that Red FM was losing its identity. Therefore, there was an urgent need to create a discrete identity for Red FM which could connect with the mindset of the people.
Breaking into the audience mind space was the biggest challenge that the team faced in creating a new identity for the station. As the brand was carrying the negative baggage of anonymity and had only a limited budget, it seemed like a daunting task in the beginning.
MPG wanted to create a stir in the public and the idea that was decided on in the end reflected the belief, ‘I believe I can create change’. ‘Aawaaz Uthate Raho, Red Bajaate Raho’ became the line that started distinguishing Red FM from the other radio stations. It was an idea that was a state of expression for the people to bring about change in their recent environment about various contemporary issues. ‘Bajaate Raho’ is the new punch line for Red FM today.
The target audience for Red FM was SEC B and C, in the 18-35 years’ age group. The task was achieved with the help of outdoor and print advertising.
Outdoor hoardings displayed a question, along with a relevant visual, which was a representation of a contemporary issue and ended with the message, ‘Aawaaz Uthate Raho, Red Bajaate Raho’, with the Red FM logo, offering the audience an invitation to speak up on the issue.
For instance, one of the hoardings had a question, ‘Beedu, paani kahan hai?’ and displayed four real-size empty buckets stuck to the hoarding, ending with the ‘Awaaz Uthaao’ message and the brand logo. It drew attention towards the water scarcity problem in the city and provoked people to speak out.
In another hoarding, a car was stuck on the surface of the billboard and the question displayed was, ‘Bhaiya, parking kahan hai?’ This also intrigued the viewers to speak up on the parking problem in the city.
In yet another hoarding, bar girl costumes were displayed in a line on the billboard and the question put was, ‘Mamu, kaam kahan hai?’ This hoarding represented the ban on dance bars in Mumbai city which rendered many bar girls jobless.
As a result, a group of bar girls formed a forum near this hoarding and aired their views publicly on television. The event was featured by the Aaj Tak news channel as a special news item, and it acted as a platform for the bar girls to express their opinion to the rest of the city.
Smoke machines were installed on one hoarding, which displayed a message during Diwali, and raised concern about the rise in pollution during the time of the festival.
This campaign provided Red FM with off-air visibility and helped it establish direct contact with the local people. It was a move from the passive to the interactive, which now involved people to think about the message displayed on the hoarding and speak up on it.
The eventual result was a good 81 per cent of the listeners remembering the advertisement, along with the punch line, and identifying Red FM as a distinct station which represented their voice.
© 2006 agencyfaqs!