How the radio industry navigated through another pandemic year 2021

2021 has been yet another challenging year for the media industry. Apart from other forms of media, radio too saw a downfall in ad spends due to the pandemic as most markets were closed. But when the going got tough, the sector got back into the groove, and saw a decent recovery boosted by the festive season, and also came up with ground-breaking work in the digital space.

e4m spoke to radio industry leaders and gathered an overview of the challenges they faced throughout another pandemic year and the new avenues they ventured into.

Radio sector navigating through another year of pandemic:

Abraham Thomas, CEO, Reliance Broadcast Network Limited, shared, “The pandemic has disrupted almost every aspect of our lives as consumers tried to navigate through the multiple restrictions and re-opening of the economy. Brands had to evolve their offerings through this journey and Radio was no exception. From safety to ratified information to entertainment, radio content too evolved with the changing needs of the consumer. With the growth in media consumption habits, we also encountered ‘blue screen fatigue’ which in turn helped the growth of all forms of audio consumption from music to podcasts and audio stories. This gave Radio the opportunity to showcase its true potential with its reach extending across the length and breadth of the country. With the advancement of digitization in the industry, radio has been expanding its wings and strategically exploring broader avenues. It is also leveraging the strengths as an audio player and the assets built over the years through venturing into other mediums and audio solutions.”

B Surendar, COO and Director, Red FM network said, “Our experience of standing up to the unexpected and tough onslaught of the first wave of Covid pandemic last year obviously came in quite handy while facing the severe impact of the second wave caused by the Delta variant this year. We knew the Do’s and Don’ts straight away and ended up handling this crisis far better. From a listener’s point of view, we, at Red FM network and the Radio industry at large, can hold our heads high knowing well that we had served the interests of the society to the best of our ability. The high level of trust and credibility that people have on Radio/Radio jockeys and our strong hyperlocal connect, has enabled us to play the role of a facilitator connecting communities, health experts, authorities, celebrities and the good Samaritans. We had also focused on providing differentiated content both in audio and video formats bringing in new IP’s and collaborations to ensure the best of infotainment for our listener.”

“From the revenue point of view, the brief impact period of the second wave and the consequent lockdowns meant a swifter bounce back by the radio industry. So much so that the overall ad volumes in recent months have grown above the pre-pandemic levels even though the yield aspect needs to improve further,” Surendar further added.

Preeti Nihalani, Chief Business and Revenue Officer, ENIL (Mirchi) said, “2021 started off as a great recovery year for the radio industry. Volumes were back to pre-covid levels in the first quarter. Revenue recovery for the industry was in the range of 70% from the pre-covid period. However, in April’21, when the second wave hit the country, Radio advertising was impacted adversely. This time around unlike the first wave, lockdowns were less harsh and recovery was faster as the second wave started to subside. While the industry reported a 40% growth in the June quarter, we were still way below our expected recovery curve. We must remember that this growth was on the low base of a covid-hit quarter. In such tough times, Mirchi’s abilities to have a wide-based solutions portfolio and an increased number of product offerings for the clients helped us navigate towards a sharper recovery. We have seen a nearly threefold increase in the number of clients investing in our solutions portfolio.

“In addition to this, we have invested heavily in training our teams to think digital-first. All the content that our teams create today goes across multiple platforms. Therefore, our social media offerings have increased exponentially in the last two years. We complement Mirchi’s large reach with measurability across various digital platforms,” Nihalani added.

Trends that developed due to the pandemic development market

Abraham Thomas noted the key trends of the year. “In the last one year, the radio industry witnessed an expansion in the digital space with the medium further venturing into avenues that harnessed the strengths of radio. By providing an integrated approach of the radio plus digital offerings to our listeners and advertisers, we were able to not only bridge the gap but also stay relevant in these testing times. Owing to radio’s ability to create intimate connections with the audience, it is driving the growth of audio from music to talk to podcasts to audio dramas and stories. Given the credibility in a voice that the medium pertains to, brands demanded more solutions across different channels which presented an opportunity for Radio to expand their reach. Add to that, the rise of social influencers with RJs being a credible and trusted voice has been a driving force in our offerings and campaigns, establishing themselves as brand advocates.”

Meanwhile, B Surendar said, “It goes without saying that while this was a nightmarish experience which shook us all up, it also definitely has opened up new, innovative ways of managing our own business and has forced us to be a lot stronger, sharper, flexible and nimble-footed in our decision making. During the pandemic peak, many traditional advertising categories like real-estate, retail, auto, telecom, e-commerce, durables, etc. had held back their spends while a few others like BFSI, Healthcare, Pharma, OTT, FMCG, Local Govt. etc. saw opportunities during that time and had invested.”

“Post lockdown, however, it is observed that almost all advertising categories are active on Radio. Thinking audio instead of just radio, synergizing it with our digital capabilities, converting our on-ground IP’s into virtual ones, monetizing our content on other platforms, etc. are amongst the learnings and gains during this challenging period. The hangover and spillover issues of the Covid market environ which are yet to be resolved fully by the industry include some yield and incentive-related market demands that are at times unreasonable,” he added.

According to Nihalani, some emerging trends throughout the year included a surge in new categories and clients such as Cryptocurrency, OTT advertising, E-commerce, Ed-tech, etc. Additionally, brands also wanted to add measurability to their campaigns as the audience certainly value content more than the platform it is offered on.  

Noteworthy campaigns, initiatives or platforms launched this year

Talking about the clutter-breaking campaigns that they did this year, Thomas shared, “On the campaign front, we have launched various initiatives that reiterate our brand ideology of providing entertainment with a purpose. Our campaign #BIGHUG aimed at spreading smiles and being a comfort companion to the covid affected individuals and families through the digital space during the second wave. 'Suraksha Bandhan', an initiative in partnership with Gulf Superfleet Turbo Plus Engine Oil, once again celebrated the occasion of Raksha Bandhan by conducting a vaccination drive and successfully inoculating 10000+ drivers across 11 cities. Spearheaded by RJ Abhilash from Mumbai, 'Together Against Cancer' created awareness about the dreadful disease and raised over Rs 13 lakhs which were given to the Indian Cancer Society for the welfare of cancer patients". 

Sharing the new initiatives, Thomas said, “At BIG FM, we also made significant advancement in the digital space with our foray in the social commerce space with the launch of BIG Living, a platform for those who abide by the 'Buy Good, Do Good and Feel Good' way of life. Catering to the myriad needs of the audience, products and services are designed for consumers who care for themselves and the environment and want to live sustainable lives. This year, BIG FM further strengthened its content with a host of shows while also introducing new RJs in key markets. Earlier in the year, we launched the second season of our marquee show ‘Dhun Badal Ke Toh Dekho' with Sadhguru. Our show '21 Din Wellness In' with Suniel Shetty, upped the wellness quotient of the listeners by promoting mental, physical, and emotional well-being. Recently, we partnered with Hungama Artist Aloud for ‘The Blue Mic’, a show that celebrates independent artists. The show ‘BIG Katha’, a show that reimagines and retells the fascinating stories of yesteryear with a modern twist. We also launched 3 new shows introducing new RJs - ‘Damdar Evenings’ with RJ Abhimanyu in Delhi, ‘Namah Super Bengaluru’ with RJ Rohit in Bengaluru and ‘Kolkata Mohito with Magic Moubani’, with RJ Moubani.”

RED FM’s B Surendar remarked, “Our various initiatives like SMS (Soap Mask and Social distancing), Partner in Progress, Redified, etc aimed at both B2C and B2B with the aim of creating awareness with listeners and incentivizing the business community to advertise, were all very well received. On both Radio and Digital platforms, we had several hi-impact, customized festival, cricket, and entertainment-related activities across the country. Apart from this, we have made exceptional progress on our social media pages both in terms of engagement levels and monetization.”

Nihalani commented, “This year, we launched our content on Spotify in addition to many other platforms. We introduced a new show- ‘Mirchi Sunday Suspense Hindi’ that presents dramatic readings from Indian literature across suspense, crime, horror genres and it airs every Sunday on Radio Mirchi. The show is also exclusively available on Spotify. We also launched our B2B campaign, ‘Proudly Local’, with an aim to encourage the Indian advertising and marketing fraternity to communicate with consumers in their local languages. Being a hyperlocal brand ourselves, through the campaign, we promised to aid the brands in the process of establishing communication with the locals.”

Major brands that invested this year

According to Thomas Real Estate, Retail (Textile/apparel, Jewelry, Furniture/Home Décor, Shopping), Medical services, BFSI and Education witnessed a good growth this year. He added that apart from these, other categories that also witnessed higher spends were public Service Ads, FMCG, Automobiles, Travel and Tourism and Medicinal Products amongst others.

B Surendar remarked, “This festival season, I don’t think any significant advertiser of mainstream media missed out on radio except for a handful. In fact, radio saw as much traction of FinTech advertisers as there were on TV or Digital. However, the size and scale of these spends do vary. Big spenders like Maruti, Amul, Amazon, Facebook, LIC, SBI, Pan masala brands, Mother Dairy etc. utilized radio to the fullest. A lot of new and upcoming brands had explored radio during the peak of the pandemic in order to gain the mind space of their customers with some clutter-free advertising.”

Nihalani stated, “The year witnessed participation from brands across categories like FMCG, Automotives, consumer durables, education, and retail.”

A trend forecast going into 2022

Thomas shared, “We expect the advertising volumes on FM Radio to cross the pre-pandemic levels in 2022. This growth will be driven by the Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets. With audio having well and truly embarked on its journey of digital transformation, we also expect a synergy of the two (Digital and Audio) that will see content being presented to audiences across the country. The juxtaposition of radio and audio, which is the next big thing, has already been accepted with consumers looking forward to some marquee radio content on audio streaming platforms. We will soon see the growth of audio spots in the digital space. A lot of advertisers from FM Radio will start adding digital audio to their media mix. Programmatic Ad spots, as well as integrated Branded content, will also see a growth in the coming year.”

B Surendar stated, “Assuming that there would not be any significant third wave of Covid fuelled by the Omicron variant in India, firstly, the current positive growth momentum in ad volumes would carry forward to the next year and the revenue levels could beat the FY 19-20 benchmark comfortably in most markets across the country with improved yields except in select metros. Secondly, the current approach by radio players will go beyond Radio provided that the solutions synergized with other platforms like BTL, Digital, content integration, etc. gained added pace along with further progress on other key areas like podcasting and content syndication. And lastly, with a few more new brands and categories trying out Radio during the pandemic impacted period and the activation of traditional categories that were holding back spends, like Auto, Real Estate, e-commerce, Retail, Education, etc. the inventory levels are expected to rise again in the Top 20 cities. Election advertising in important states and pre-poll Govt. spends would also add more impact to this trend.”

Concluding the discussion on a positive note, Nihalani said, “In 2020, the industry could not make full recovery from the impact of COVID-19, thus 2022 will also be a recovery year. However, 2022 will be a year of strengthening the emerging trends. As more and more businesses adapt to live with a constant fear of the pandemic, there will be adaptability to the newfound business directions"."We have witnessed the sharper emergence of e-commerce in the past 20 months, this trend will continue and will add more advertisers to the industry. Most of these advertisers will continue to look for solutions providers rather than plain platform offerings", she added.