Big FM repositions its plank in TN

Chennai: To distinguish its positioning from the nine FM stations in Chennai (seven private and two from All India Radio) Big FM has decided to stand apart with its new positioning.

Starting 15th January the station has started pegging all its offerings on Tamilian pride (Tamizhanin Perumai) and on those regarded as achievers in Tamil Nadu.

"The idea is to connect to the listeners when they hear about the attributes of Tamilians and their achievements in various fields," says P B Ramaswamy, station director.

To start with the radio station will feature a celebrity daily whose achievements will be discussed by their colleagues, friends and relatives apart from their own interview.  From March onwards the station [plans to focus on the unsung heroes from Tamil Nadu.

Elaborating the reason for the change in positioning Ramaswamy says, "In the FM radio space there is a clutter. Unlike  the television channels there is no loyal radio listener as all are dishing out similar programmes- mainly cine songs."

As a result the listening time per station per person is low, the average being 20 minutes per station.

"Our listener research found that they want to connect with a station to tune into a station and stay tuned," he adds.

Meanwhile the Chennai radio ad market is logging a slow growth. What was a Rs20-crore market two years ago with only two stations has today grown to Rs30 crore with nine stations competing for revenues.

"The advertisers will take some more time to look at this medium seriously," Ramaswamy says.

While the recall of Suryan FM is high the brand recall for Big FM is said to be good.

In order to promote the brand recall the station is tying with Chennai colleges so as to be their official radio partner during their functions and cultural festivals.

According to Ramaswamy, the station is yet to look at the radio taxi segment or other fleet operators in a serious way to distribute freely single frequency radio sets.