The nag effect

TUNING IN

If you live in any of the metros that have private FM, you've probably been at the other end of some touching appeals for toys, books, clothes, blankets and other such things that can be distributed to disadvantaged children, old-age homes, orphanages and charities.

For example, there was a 'Gift A Toy, Spread Some Joy' campaign on one of the private FM channels in several cities across India.

The response to such appeals is extraordinary. Thousands of toys can be collected within a matter of days, bringing smiles to hundreds of children.

Christmas and New Year is the right time to make such an appeal "� people are in a generous mood, they want to see themselves and others happy as well. They want to be Santa, if only for a day.

At times like this, the emotional appeal of a radio station's message "� to give, to spread joy, to bring a smile to the faces of the under privileged "� simply cannot be ignored.

All said and done, it works well for everyone involved: the radio station does good for the community; listeners get to effortlessly do a good deed; and outlets that spare space for the collection boxes see increased footfall. And, of course, the underprivileged have some sunshine in their lives.

Most other media could do the same thing. But it does get a little tedious to propel people to dig into their homes and find something to give away.

While print is a powerful medium and has the capability to crystallise or change public opinion, it could be difficult to mobilise a quick response to something like this. Television could make an emotional appeal but the cost of doing so would be enormous.

Besides, with the wide footprint that television has, collecting donations and gifts could present a logistical nightmare.

Radio presents the ideal solution for a situation of this kind. It can "� all day long "� remind people that they need to dig into their cupboards and look for those toys, clothes and blankets to give away. It's repetitiveness "� call it nag power "� can be compelling.

Nag power is a unique attribute of radio. It is the medium's dhobi mark. A nag any other place would have been quite irritating. But on radio, it just becomes a convenient "� even welcome "� reminder.

This ability of radio, to remind at the appropriate moment, can become a powerful tool in the hands of a sharp marketing mind.

Radio can be used as a reminder at a time close to the decision-making moment. Here are some handy examples: a fast-food chain announces its soup of the day on a radio station every day just before lunchtime; a brand of cereals offers healthy breakfast eating tips in the morning, while people are having their breakfast; a manufacturer of heat-and-eat food announces his product around dinner time.

In fact, when its time to file taxes, radio can be used to remind people to buy insurance, invest in tax saving schemes and other such things, simply by using the nag power of radio.

Here is a slightly different example of how the repetitive nature of radio can be put to good use: Assume that a new player in the home entertainment segment wants to associate the brand "� especially its range of CD players called Brand X "� with high-quality entertainment. The way to do this would be to ensure that every single recent hit playing on the station is tagged by the line, "Brought to you by Brand X".

The truth is that there is no real need to create clever sales pitches or cute commercials. Just straightforward and repetitive association can help turn the trick.

Radio uses repetition to great effect. That is why advertisers who want to extract the maximum from their spends on radio tend to repeat their commercials several times a day.

Since this is the season to give, here is a piece of advice to those who intend to use radio: don't cram your message on radio with too many things; stick to selling one feature of your product and repeat that fact several times a day till it sinks in, before moving on to the next feature.

Arun Katiyar is the station director of Radio City 91 FM, Bangalore. His email ID is arunk@myradiocity.com