With new retail outlets opening up in Tier II and Tier III towns, radio has a bright future in the media mix of Bajaj Electricals, says Beena Koshy, Senior General Manager and Head – Advertising and Brand Development at Bajaj Electricals Limited
Q] What’s been the most innovative Radio campaign undertaken by Bajaj Electricals?
The Bajaj Hand Blender radio spot from 2010 was one of our most innovative campaigns that I can recollect. Our creative agency at the time was Leo Burnett and they had created a “Pleasure of Mixing” campaign. For the radio commercial, they got radio stations to merge two different genres of music and blend it together. The campaign was very interesting and the jingle picked up a couple of awards like the Silver Abby at the 2010 Goa Fest and a Silver Lion at Cannes 2010, to name a few.
Q] What is Radio’s constitution in your media mix? Are you looking at upping your spends?
Our brand has a very pan-India presence so the most cost-efficient medium is television, followed by print as the language dailies contribute immensely in local area promotional activities. Radio is in third place followed by cinema and other mediums. This year we are going to target the medium of Radio further. In terms of our distribution set up, we now have retail showrooms like Bajaj World in Tier II and III towns. These are the areas that need to be supported by local media marketing, in which the Radio and Print mediums are most helpful.
Q] Does Radio help connect with not just the masses but also the classes?
I don’t think there is a clear cut demarcation between classes and masses. Music is something that appeals to all. The differentiation comes in genres of music – wherein different people prefer different categories such as Bollywood, Retro, the ‘70s, ghazals, regional, English, etc.
Q] How do you use Radio during festival campaigns?
For most of us marketers, action begins sometime between July and August. We have been using Radio a lot in other states such as Kerala during Onam. We also utilise the medium during festivals such as Ganapati and Durga Pooja.
Q] How do you rate innovation and customization on Radio versus other media?
Radio is much more amiable and allows innovations at a quicker pace as compared to other media. On Radio, you can begin and end at a certain comfort level and time. For example, magazines have a lead time of almost a month or sometimes fifteen days which doesn’t make it easier. The other traditional media are also not as interactive as a radio spot. Other than Digital, Radio is the only other medium where one can host a contest and have a two way interaction with the audience.
Q] How effective is Radio when it comes to targeting specific places, especially small towns?
Radio definitely reaches the Tier II and III towns more comfortably; however, more than town segregation, targeting via Radio is done according to the time band. For example, in these places, the women constitute a large part of our target group due to our kitchen appliances and they mostly consume Radio in the afternoon time band. Men or working women would consume Radio in the morning or evening, on their way to and from work. In that context it is a very effective medium and makes it easy to convey targeted communication.
Q] How does Radio score over other media formats? How can it be utilised better as a marketing tool?
As compared to Television, Print and Digital, Radio is not much of a talking point with people. Station owners have a huge role to play to make sure that they make this channel equally desirable as digital is today. Everybody is talking about the digital medium; it is time that Radio is talked about as well.
Q] How important is Radio as a communication tool for your brand?
It comes in the top third or fourth position in the media mix pyramid. When we brief creative agencies, we very clearly tell them that if they are making a TVC, we will also need a radio rendition of the same.
NoteBook: Radio
