Turning up the volume

ZOOMING IN

Is radio becoming a medium of choice for advertisers? There have been a spate of listenership surveys in recent months which have only one thing in common "" they all show that listeners in urban India are switching on their radios more than ever before.

Take the latest poll, the Indian Listenership Track (ILT 2004) conducted by MRUC and ACN ORG-MARG. ILT says that FM radio as a category reaches out to 34 per cent of the population in Mumbai and Delhi combined making it a potent way to reach a mass audience.

What's more, the listenership cuts across all age groups and social barriers. The study also indicates the growing popularity of radio as compared with the reach of other media vehicles in Mumbai and Delhi.

The only difference of opinion appears to be about which stations are the most popular. While they all agree that radio is thriving the surveys all disagree about which station is faring the best.

ILT says its survey showed that Radio Mirchi is ahead of the pack with a listenership of 20.9 per cent. That's higher than any English daily in the two metros.

ILT positions Radio Mirchi the leader with the largest daily listenership of 4.88 million people in the two metros Delhi and Mumbai combined.

According to ILT the listenership figures for Radio City and Red FM were 3.93 million and 1.26 million respectively. Listen carefully for the sound of static and another heated battle about to start.

Going local

The direct selling company, Tupperware India, has turned up the heat in the kitchen. In the old days it used to hold sporadic launches of premium food storage, preparation and serving containers, Now its products are hitting shelves much faster.

The latest offering is the Square Keeper for Rs 750 which doubles up as both container storing vegetables or as a lunch box. This is part of Tupperware's Indiacentric strategy, whereby, in the last couple of years, it has been introducing customised products for the domestic market.

A wholly owned subsidiary of the $1.1 billion Tupperware Corporation, the new launches are part of the company's gameplan to hit a Rs 206-crore turnover by 2006. Having started operations in India in 1996, now Tupperware has 62 distributors and 45,000 dealers.

With its products perceived to be at the high end, the company has, over the years introduced cheaper offerings. For instance, the Classic range is targeted around 15-20 per cent lower than existing products.

Then, it has been tying up with fast moving consumer goods companies to create awareness for its products. For instance, before Hindustan Lever sold its Dalda brand, HLL's Dalda vanaspati was retailed in Tupperware jars for about two months. Other products include idli makers and masala containers.

Tuppeware officials peg the size of the Indian food-grade storage containers market at Rs 3,000 crore. But this is largely dominated by the unorganised sector.

"At Tupperware, it is our quest to constantly think of newer, innovative ways in addressing the needs of a wider audience of customers. This is also an important ingredient of our strategy of expanding reach and accessibility as we complete eight years in India," says Kanwar S Bhutani, managing director, Tupperware India.

India calling

It's a move that makes eminent business sense for consultancy company Everest Group. The US-based firm is opening an office in India that will by 2006 be home to 20 per cent of its worldwide staff.

To kick off the action Everest, which advises companies on outsourcing issues, has hired five consultants in Delhi and that will rise to 20 by 2006. That's pretty rapid upscaling considering that it only employs 80 people around the globe.

Says Peter Bendor-Samuel, CEO, Everest Group, "A lot of our clients are looking at doing business in India. Setting up an office here and recruiting local talent made sense for us."

The Everest group provides its services to companies that are looking at outsourcing. If a company is planning to outsource some of its operations, the Everest Group steps in and advises the company on whether it should outsource or not, assess the total value outsourcing can bring to the business, and develop an appropriate outsourcing strategy.

The Indian consultants will be part of the global pool and will work with clients across the world. However, they will focus on clients who are looking at India for outsourcing.

With contribution from Smita Tripathi and Bhupesh Bhandari