MEDIA DEBATE: Radio demonstrates premium potential

Tyler Brûlé
Founder and editor-in-chief, Monocle 24/
Monocle magazine

There are already patches of unique radio formats. In Japan, J-Wave and Tokyo FM have been extremely clever in bringing in premium brands. J-Wave works with Hermès, for example — a brand that does no audio promotion anywhere else in the world. They have also attracted a number of premium car brands as exclusive or part-sponsors of programmes. Selling sponsorship is not new, but I have not seen that kind of approach when I’ve been in places like Korea or Singapore. So we have certainly taken a couple of cues from Japan [in launching Monocle 24].
The problem is that broadcasters have not thought ‘premium’. Most have set out to be as mass as they can without thinking carefully about their core audiences and potential advertisers. We are now getting more interest from advertisers in how to talk to Asia. Most have never been on an audio platform before. Take Singapore: you have a large, affluent, English-speaking audience, but commercial radio tends to be very ‘lite’. I think it could definitely go up a notch from where it is.

Malek Ali
Founder and managing director, BFM Media, Malaysia

More than ‘high-end’ radio, my contention is that there is more room to focus on defined target segments or niche groups — women’s radio, a dedicated sports station — that can attract advertising based on that segment. TV has already emerged with this kind of model. In radio it’s happened to an extent, but we are now seeing movement towards becoming more segmented. In emerging markets, the low-hanging fruit is typical entertainment stations focusing on groups like teenagers, but there is the potential to go beyond age demographics and concentrate on segments based on commonality of interests. Radio is typically not deemed to be ‘high-end’ by advertisers, but it really depends on the positioning of the station. In terms of creativity, there is lots of scope beyond the 30-second spot. Advertisers are looking for more and stations are responding differently. It could be an on-ground event or, for a [business-focused] station like ours, there is also the possibility of sponsorship of a programme that suits a company’s positioning. This can go way beyond the 30-second spot and offer a deeper connection through strategic brand association.

Stuart Clark
Managing director, Havas Media International

Radio is poised to witness a second burst. Micro communities are likely to become even more micro, and these groups will share content that they believe best defines their combined personalities.
However, content development will gravitate towards simpler and stickier areas. Music is clearly one such domain and that is why we believe that the industry will see more targeted stations.
Would this lead to the regeneration of high-end radio? We are absolutely certain it would because the first gravitation of the above phenomena would be by content owners and media broadcasters to niches that are more viable commercially. With increased fragmentation, a brand’s ability to pay for niches for premium audiences would be far greater than to pay to reach the masses.