Suddenly, everyone's listening to radio

What we always suspected is now out in the open - a set of facts and figures from the findings of the AC Nielsen ORG-MARG Radio Review show that it is always prime time on radio. It's just a matter of knowing what audience you are addressing.

Housewives, retired consumers, students, businessmen, the self-employed, shopkeepers, executives, supervisors, industrialists - everyone is listening to the radio. And they all have their favourite time bands in which to consume the medium.

Besides, the average time spent listening to radio is 140 minutes - presenting an opportunity to advertisers to address their audience repeatedly, in a focused, concentrated manner.

FM radio, as a medium, has been maturing rapidly. From being seen as something youngsters took to - as they will, being early adopters of most things - radio has begun to morph into a medium that has reach, depth and efficacy.

Consider this difficult question: when was the last time you actually spent two hours with a free leaflet, pamphlet or brochure? And that too, regularly, almost on a daily basis?

The normal tendency is to junk all of it as being useless after a quick flip through. But take radio. It is free and yet completely trustworthy.

People pay attention to radio. They repeat lines their favourite jocks use on air. They use information broadcast on radio stations. They interact with the station by calling in. They feel free to voice their opinions on air.

Others listen to them with rapt attention. And the fact that radio is not seen as 'old media' is a stunning tribute to FM operators who have pressed into service their expertise into creating shows that are contemporary, have wide appeal and immediate relevance.

The success of private FM radio has its roots in the fact that it reflects and services the needs of its listeners.

It is not cunning, cute or crazy programming that does the trick but rather a straightforward and direct effort to address the audience, providing a level of comfort that is rare in any other media.

While there is hardly an accurate metric available to measure this and quantify it, the fact is reflected in one striking and rather dramatic shift that some radio stations are experiencing.

Suddenly, movie stars and industrialists, businessmen and bureaucrats are keen on putting in a radio 'appearance'. They want to be on radio, directly addressing their audience and target group. They want to make contact with their audience.

Roll back to a year ago: somehow, the very same people were wary about making an interview commitment to radio. Not any more. They know that radio works. Their staff listens to it; their peers listen to it; their families listen to it; their neighbours listen to it; and they listen to it.

In one instance on a particular radio station, a rather shy and reticent managing director of a company was forced into doing a radio interview by his 16-year-old daughter who thought that their dad would be very uncool if he didn't 'appear' on the local radio station! The managing director, not-so-reluctantly, relented.

The point is that radio is seen as not just a medium that is quickly maturing but as an important one as well.

No one can afford to ignore it. And this is not just from the advertiser's point of view (advertisers beware: if you don't take advantage of radio, your competition will). This includes the general audience as well.

Today, not listening to the radio is an aberration. It can be overlooked only in a city that doesn't have FM.

The driving reason behind the popularity of FM is that it is wholesome, trustworthy, easy to consume and free. It's a source of entertainment as well as an unobtrusive companion.

You don't need to wait for a radio guru or a heavily paid consultant to discover this: radio is consumed heavily and consistently across day parts.

Somewhere in this fact lies the secret to using radio well in conjunction with other media like print, increasing ROI on ad spends and marketing budgets.

The changing nature of radio, the reach and consumption patterns have significant implications for advertisers and marketers.

They need to understand these factors and develop a strategy to use the medium to ensure that their message not only reaches their target audience but also does so in a cost effective manner.

The very meaning and definition of FM radio is undergoing a quick transformation. It's not seen as a stogy medium or a thing of the past. It cuts across SECs and is constantly reinventing itself. Can the news be any better?

Arun Katiyar is station director, Radio City 91 FM, Bangalore. His email address is arunk@radiocityfm.net