Need attention? Try a contest!

With all the technology and advertising clutter we have today, it can be difficult for a brand or company to stand out above the rest. According to an article published yesterday (April 1,2008) by The Economic Times, a few private FM radio stations in India are trying new ways to generate listeners. "Contests, the new hit formula for FM stations" discusses just how they have created contests to successfully increase their fan base.

Anand Chakravarthy, Vice President of Marketing for Big 92.7 FM said that, "a well-executed idea for a radio contest invariably leads to a 10 to 12 percent increase in the number of listeners." Precisely why more and more stations are holding talent hunts, opportunities to meet your favorite stars, as well as other innovative contests to compete for larger numbers. This way they get two perks. One- they engage active listeners who probably already listen regularly and two- they attract attention from those pesky passive listeners who only tune in once in a while.

Big FM created buzz with a partnership they called "Sing with Sonu" with playback singer Sonu Nigam. Charkravarthy said, "we have indeed set a trend that others might follow and the charm of an opportunity of sharing the stage with a celebrity draws an even larger audience." Other stations have even taken ideas from popular television shows to create similar contests. Radio City 91.1 FM recently organized "RC Live" in which listeners searched and voted for India's best Hindi music band. In addition to the opportunity of having their songs played on the radio, the winning band also received an album release with EMI (a popular music label there) and a joint promotion by Radio City for one year. Contests such as these target teens and homemakers at key listening times throughout the day.

According to the article, the audience for radio in India has grown exponentially over the past two to three years. Interestingly enough, there is a much higher number of listeners of radio programs than viewers of any national TV channel. Chakravarthy said "According to our listenership report of 2007, there was a 21 percent increase in urban cities like Mumbai, Delhi, and Bangalore. In fact, the listenership in smaller cities is also rising significantly." Experts credit this to stations really knowing their target audiences. If the content is relevant to the listeners, it will be popular according to Chakravarthy.

When I first read this article I wasn't going to blog about it. But the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to share it with you. Having recently talked about many mediums and advertising within them in my classes, I found it interesting that radio was so popular in India. (And that it was so much more popular than television.) I also think that it was very smart of FM stations to pick up on this fact and use it to their advantage. Contests are a great way to bring a lot of people together who share a common interest or need. Why not pair it with radio- another selective media outlet that has the ability to target a very specific market? I think it's great that they are expanding their fan base and giving away cool prizes. I say, go FM stations in India- you rock!