<FONT COLOR="#FF0033"><B>India Radio Forum:</B></FONT> The similar ‘differentiation’ problem

‘Differentiation’ is what the radio fraternity is vying for today. With increasing complaints from listeners, advertisers and media planners, radio stations are under pressure to create differentiation for themselves in one way or another. At the India Radio Forum in Mumbai last week, we had two of the industry’s well-known names, Rajesh Tahil, chief executive, Radio One, and Abraham Thomas, COO, Red FM, present their perspectives on and visions for the medium.  

Tahil admitted that lack of differentiated content was a serious challenge facing the radio industry today. He spoke about his days at Radio Mid-Day when they would discuss differentiating the station from their then competitor (Times FM) since both played the likes of Dire Straits and Madonna. “And now we discuss ‘Kajra re’ and Himesh Reshammiya instead,” he said, emphasising that only the context had changed, not the principle.  

He said that before looking at how to differentiate, radio people must understand certain ‘truths’ about the medium. One, that FM is a mass medium and its focus is always on attracting large numbers of listeners, which will, in turn, attract advertisers. For niche audiences wanting jazz and other international music, he said there are always iPods and MP3 players to provide them that. 

Thomas of Red FM was quite positive that content differentiation was already on its way. “The programming will change from block programming to format programming and thus redefine the way the station will differentiate in the future. The change in content will shift from generic to specialised content,” he said.  

Tahil pointed out that India is a ‘mono-linguistic’ and ‘mono-cultural’ market, which means that even metros prefer entertainment in one particular language and pertaining to a dominant culture, thereby making differentiation both that much more difficult and important.

To achieve this, Thomas presented a few prerequisites such as the need to redefine the business (shift from block to format), technology innovation (visual radio), reshape the business to appeal to future audiences and markets, make bold moves and move away from existing ways of doing business, adopt multiple revenue streams and even content selling and sharing in domestic and international markets.  

Tahil suggested that in the future, radio needed to look at, not broad differentiation like English versus Hindi, but finer points of differentiation which are essentially shades of grey. “These may have to do with play-out, brand and, most importantly, from an advertiser’s perspective, we need to ask what really matters – differentiated programming or differentiated audiences,” he said.  

About the common accusation by broadcasters that advertisers lacked the vision to support niches in programming, Tahil said, “Why should the advertiser care? Just as we are passionate about the programmes we create, advertisers and their agencies are passionate about buying more effectively.”  

Thomas emphasised how technology would play a critical role in the evolution of radio in the future, while Tahil said that he believed that the success of radio stations would depend on their ability to deliver to differentiated audiences and to get advertisers to pay the right value for these.  

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