Sound Check

Growth mantra for the Indian radio industry

The biggest television programme in the UK is the reality show ‘Britain’s Got Talent’. One of the judges is an outspoken guy called Piers Morgan. It’s not often that I find myself quoting him, but I came across something he had said which is spot on for radio.

Piers used to be a newspaper editor and he says: “The one thing I know is that if you don’t have the right people producing your product, then you can spend all the money in the world on marketing, promotion and sponsorship with no results. Without the talent – the creative end of the business, the people who are going to front this thing for you – you’re nothing.”

Quite right. And that should be the growth mantra for the Indian radio industry – invest in talent. It always surprises me when times get tough that business stops investing in training and development. What happens when a cricket team goes through a losing streak? They do more training, not less. Radio must do the same.

I’ve watched with admiration how the Indian radio industry has grown so professionally in such a quick time. Through energy and hard work, you’ve achieved in the last six years or so what the UK has taken more than 35 years to do. Visionaries like Prashant Panday of Radio Mirchi, Apurva Purohit of Radio City, Tarun Katial of Big FM and Harrish M Bhatia of My FM, recognise that radio is about more than just the music. Creative radio jocks are vital.

But if radio is to reach the next level where listeners remain loyal to one station instead of flicking between four or five, you have to create larger-than-life stars who cement the relationship with listeners. You need tools, techniques and tips, which take a run-of-the-mill RJ into being a big star personality whom listeners love. The bigger the star, the more loyal the listeners.

It doesn’t happen by magic. Growing talent takes hard work. I always say it takes three years to become an overnight success.

The problem of developing talent is faced by radio stations all over the world, however old and sophisticated the market. Programmers just don’t realise how much effort is needed to create stars. Some are intimidated by talent. Others just don’t know how to do it.

The key – as in sports – is coaching. Coaching creative people is difficult because they are naturally insecure.

Consultancy companies like United Radio can help not only with practical things like teaching techniques for coaching, but also bringing the best tried-and-tested creative ideas from around the world and helping adapt them for India. In November, to show our commitment to Indian, we opened an office in Delhi headed by respected India radio consultant Sunil Kumar.

Apart from investing in content, we believe there’s so much more to be done, both creatively and commercially, to exploit radio to its fullest potential and protect the industry from any economic slowdown.

Firstly, play to radio’s strengths. People trust radio far more than television or the Internet. Radio can sell an idea better than any other medium by planting an image in the mind. And, when times are tough, the cost of producing a radio commercial is highly competitive against TV or print. During a recession, radio becomes far more attractive than other media because of its low cost and its flexibility.

Secondly, continue to exploit commercial opportunities. Many stations don’t just sell plain ‘vanilla’ airtime to advertisers, they sell packages, including branded content, sponsorship, on and off air promotions and other solutions to a customer’s marketing problems. This is definitely the way forward.

Thirdly, have the courage to diversify and experiment with programming. Like other markets in the world, there’s a tendency in India for stations to fight for the middle ground with the effect that many sound the same. Product differentiation is a real challenge. Therefore, give listeners more choice by creating or importing new formats, for example, the highly successful and innovative Jack FM format.

Fourthly and finally, work together more. You already have the AROI doing a great job lobbying over regulatory and copyright issues. How about creating an equivalent to the UK’s amazing Radio Advertising Bureau? Funded by all radio stations and not plugging any one particular company, it argues the case and produces research evidence for advertising on ‘the brand of radio’ to sceptical advertisers and agencies. It has been directly responsible for increasing radio’s share of advertising in the UK over the last few years.

But above all, remember the importance of talent. Invest in coaching, training and developing the people whose creativity, passion and ideas will produce the compelling content that is needed to compete with other media.

Undoubtedly, in the long term, creative content will separate radio’s winners from losers.

(Paul Chantler is Senior Partner at United Radio, an international radio programming consultancy (www.unitedradio.co.uk) with offices in London and Delhi. He has 25 years’ experience in programme presentation, production and management and has worked in a variety of Indian radio markets.)