Political advertising might boosts Radio sector arnd 500 mn

A IndianTelevision.com News

With the elections nearing, political parties of every shade and hue are gearing up to toot their horns with ad spends of around Rs 6 billion likely to be splurged across all media. And this time a lot of that moolah is likely to find its way into the coffers of both TV and radio stations. Radio station heads are rubbing their hands in glee.

According to Indiantelevision.com's estimates, the political ad spend on radio will be around Rs 500 million, which comprises 10 per cent of the sector's annual revenues.
"We are expecting the radio sector to garner around 5-8 per cent of the total media spend. This is a windfall for the sector. The BJP has started its campaigns on some of our radio stations. We are in discussions with other political parties. We will be only carrying spots," says Red FM COO Thomas Abraham.

Not all that spend will, however, flow into the coffers of the private FM radio operators. Says Radio Mirchi CEO Prashant Panday, "All India Radio will corner about 50 per cent of the total spend. Private FM radio operators should be able to mop up anywhere between Rs 300-350 million". According to Radio City EVP & national sales head Ashit Kukian, "The current spend is going to come as a boon for radio stations which have been hurt by the drop in retail and financial advertising."

Media observers say that the radio stations are quoting card rates for political ads as compared to earlier when discounts were common for commercial advertisers. "This at a time when advertising inventory on radio stations is going abegging," says a media buyer. "It's a bonanza for the FM radio stations and for all of us. And to top it all, the payments are mostly in advance." But there's no denying that the parties are using a medium that's more effective than TV, say all the radiocasters in one voice. Big 92.7 FM SVP sales Praveen Malhotra says,"We reach 288 constituencies through our network. For any political party this is an excellent platform, given that they can localise their messaging as per their communication requirements of a particular constituency. They do not need to go with one common template and that is what works fantastically."

"Using a radio station to campaign for the elections is a very diligent idea as this is one of the best ways to target the youth. It reaches voters who are illiterate and it covers more than one constituency. For example, Radio Mirchi Bhopal station reaches more than four constituencies. The advertising cost is low as compared to other mediums and the power of voice reaches the people," adds ENIL COO Nandan Srinath. Kukian says his company has been approached by the BJP and Congress and certain regional parties from the south while Radio Mirchi has already started airing the Congress 'Jai Ho' campaign. Big FM is airing both Congress' 'Jai Ho' and BJP's 'Mazboot Neta Nirnayak Sarkar' across the day parts. With the shot in the arm that the hustings are expected to give to FM, many of the ad sales heads are going to be singing Jai Ho to the elections.