<FONT COLOR="#FF0033"><B>FICCI Frames 2007:</B></FONT>If radio is to survive, think beyond music

Radio experts from India and overseas chatted about radio’s legacy and evolution over the years, its unique qualities and, more importantly, what it will take to differentiate content on radio

Radio is perhaps the only medium that is believed to be consumed with heart and soul. This stems from the fact that radio feels like a personal medium to many, a friend or companion of sorts. However, there are several issues that loom large over this industry, which, if not addressed, could ruin its legacy.

At FICCI Frames 2007, radio experts from India and overseas chatted about radio’s evolution and legacy over the years, its unique qualities and, more important, what it will take to differentiate content on radio. This is a problem that is seen to be important in the present scenario in India. To begin, Donnach O’Drisscoll, CEO, Absolute Radio, UK, stressed the need to go beyond music if a radio station is to differentiate itself. “If a station plays one hit song after another, it loses out on its personality and becomes mechanical,” he said. “Besides, if the fight is only about music then, trust me, the Internet and iPods will win.” The solution, according to him, is to ‘humanise’ radio, as “what matters is the stuff that goes on between two songs”.

Anil Srivatsa, COO, Radio Broadcasting, the radio venture of the Living Media Group, presented a case for presenters. A popular radio presenter himself with his show, ‘Anil Ki Awaaz’, Srivatsa said that music has its place on radio, but it is talk that connects the station with the audience. He was of the opinion that the credibility and trust of the presenter is very important in building a one-to-one connect with the listener.

Apurva Purohit, CEO, Radio City, presented some hard facts before the audience. According to a report prepared with the help of Y&R’s proprietary tool, Brand Asset Valuator (BAV), there are four pillars of brand equity: differentiation, relevance, esteem and knowledge. “While radio as a category scores high on three of them, it scores very low on differentiation,” she said.

Purohit cited some examples of international radio stations that have made their mark. Classic FM, for instance, wanted to put forth the idea that classical music is not elitist, it is relevant and contemporary. The radio station did this by encouraging involvement with classical music through setting up music shops and launching concerts, a magazine and a record label.

But it isn’t just niche stations that can differentiate. Three mass radio stations in the UK, Capital, Heart and Magic, differentiated themselves with a little thought. Capital focused on local content, Heart played romantic numbers to cater to 30-40 year old women, and Magic created a unique station track, a sound that became synonymous with the station. Community radio stations such as East Coast Radio (South Africa) and BBC in the UK have managed to touch people’s lives with customised content.

While the other speakers on the dais were gung-ho about what should be done, Tarun Katial, COO, Big 92.7FM, took the more optimistic route of focusing on what has already been achieved. “Previously, the category lacked excitement and was non-involving, with a small reach, no prime time, thereby eliciting no word of mouth at all,” he said. At one time, consumers perceived radio as having poor imagery with irrelevant content meant for the aged.

However, Katial’s statement did not go down well with an industry veteran, who reminded Katial of the good old days of AIR when there was a prime time on radio as well as word of mouth. Katial then clarified that he had referred to the last decade.

Katial added that FM radio had grown into a daily habit for many across all segments of consumers, be it a shop owner, a college kid or a housewife. “Radio has become so aspirational that everyone wants to be on it – from Farooque Abdullah giving advice on radio to celebrities and even commoners.” With AIR covering 91 per cent of India, and over 300 frequencies of private FM channels across 91 cities, reach, too, doesn’t seem to be much of a problem any more.

According to Katial, radio has tremendous potential beyond Delhi and Mumbai, in cities such as Jammu and Bangalore. In these places, it is even more involving than in the two metros. Furthermore, radio is perhaps the ideal medium with which to touch the bottom of the pyramid, provided radio stations view these consumers as value-conscious ones, as opposed to ‘dowdy’, ‘victims’ or ‘burdens’.

Addressing the issue of undifferentiated content, Katial’s views were radically different from those of O’Drisscoll. Not wanting to drift away from music, Katial felt there was enough segmentation in Indian music itself, and this needed to be harnessed. “Why can’t we have stations dedicated to a particular genre of music?” he enquired. “I’d love to see a Punjabi ‘bhangra’ station, or a remix station, or even a melody station, emerging in the future.”

The talk concluded on futuristic radio formats. These include digital audio broadcast (DAB, which converts analogue to digital), Internet radio, mobile radio (already happening in India), high definition or HD (more than one channel on the same frequency), and newer platforms for radio broadcasting such as DTH and IPTV.

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