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Prashant Panday on Mirchi rebranding

<ul><li>Every year, World <keyword id="12905" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="radio" source="Orion">Radio</keyword> Day is celebrated on 13 February. </li><li>The theme of the 2022 edition of World Radio Day is devoted to ‘Radio and Trust’ because despite a global decline in trust in the internet and social media networks, radio continues to be seen by people as one of the most trustworthy news sources.</li><li>We speak to industry leaders to understand where Radio as an industry stands today in India, how it has evolved and what more needs to be done to make sure it continues to stand the test of time.</li></ul>Back in the late 70’s, English new wave band The Buggles shot to fame with their incredibly catchy debut single, Video Killed The Radio Star which rued the technological changes that they thought would eventually kill the audio medium. This was the time when television was slowly becoming more popular and people were slowly moving from radio to the visually attractive video medium. Fast forward 43 years and Radio has turned out to be one of the most resilient mediums. Radio has not just survived the coming in of television but also more technologically advanced audio devices be it our Walkmans and CDs, to now even audio streaming app. It has been the ultimate survivor that has evolved with the dynamic changes in consumer behavior and has adapted well to the changing times. While the pandemic led to an obvious drop in ad volumes on the medium, things are slowly on the path to recovery. If recent data from TAM is to be believed, after a 27% drop in radio ad volumes in 2020, there was a 29% year-on-year growth in 2021. Every year, World Radio Day is celebrated on 13 February. The Day was decided by UNESCO back in 2011 during its 36th conference. The theme of the 2022 edition of World Radio Day is devoted to ‘Radio and Trust’ because despite a global decline in trust in the internet and social media networks, radio continues to be seen by people as one of the most trustworthy news sources. We thought this would be a good time to look at Radio’s evolution and understand what has led to the medium’s resilience and continued relevance. The evolution of Radio: Adapting to changing consumer needs Despite being one of the oldest mediums, Radio has stood the test of time. Apart from the fact that it has massive reach in the country, it still remains one of the most trusted mediums. Over the past few years, most of the major FM players have gone <keyword id="50691" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="digital" source="Orion">digital</keyword> because at the end of the day, it is all about evolving with consumer needs and giving them exactly what they want. On a few things <keyword id="29490" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mirchi" source="Orion">Mirchi</keyword> has done in the past few years to stay relevant, <keyword id="6630520" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="prashant-panday" source="Orion">Prashant Panday</keyword>, MD &amp; CEO, Mirchi, ENIL said, “We’ve understood that our listeners want their radio station at their convenience. We have therefore curated some of our stations which are available on Gaana.com. In international markets (US, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain to begin with), we have launched our own digital platform on which our consumers across those countries can consume Mirchi radio stations from their own country and from back home in India! Secondly, we have understood that our listeners love audio stories. With this platform, we offer exciting audio stories and entertainment across multiple languages! Moreover, we also make podcasts and audio stories for external platforms like Gaana and Spotify.” During the last two years of the pandemic when the internet was full of misinformation and fake news, radio came to play a critical role, that of a trusted source of information. “In addition to bringing people closer during the lockdown, it also built a community that thrived on shared togetherness and positive influence,” explained <keyword id="2891361" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="abe-thomas" source="Orion">Abe Thomas</keyword>, CEO, Reliance Broadcast Network Limited. “At BIG FM, we partnered with multiple audio platforms for our marquee properties and key offerings. Collaborating with these platforms opened many industry doors for us, sparking the idea of perfect amalgamation of radio and digital which gave rise to a host of opportunities to distribute content to a global audience. Entering the Web Radio space through digitalization, we forayed into the digital radio space via a touchpoint like BRO – BIG Radio Online. We also entered the podcast space as a prime example of a radio network taking the next big step towards becoming an audio entertainment company,” he added. In fact, Big FM also launched its social commerce platform BIG Living last year, to build a stronger connect with its consumers. The past few years have brought about a sea change in consumer needs and preferences and for the medium, the task has not just been to understand this evolution but also to change with it. “As listeners have evolved in respect to their content consumption choices, we have consistently strived to produce a full-fledged package that includes viable content, good music, and wholesome entertainment on radio as well as on our digital platforms. We were the first ones to adapt to the digital medium and launched our first internet radio station 11 years back. We have grown to provide 18 online radio stations, each with its own distinct and relatable regional programming content. We are seeing favorable <keyword id="35666" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="advertising" source="Orion">advertising</keyword> sentiments for radio as we continue to emerge as a pioneering force in the Indian radio space and expand our digital capabilities,” shared <keyword id="3148434" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ashit-kukian" source="Orion">Ashit Kukian</keyword>, Chief Executive Officer, Radio City. However, what has continued to keep the medium relevant is keeping consumers at the core of everything they do, said <keyword id="2688166" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="nisha-narayanan" source="Orion">Nisha Narayanan</keyword>, Director &amp; COO, RED FM and Magic FM. “The audience has a wide spectrum of entertainment options available today. Customization is the key word today where each one wants to be in his own space and enjoy the entertainment. For giving the most to our consumers, we are constantly in sync with their aspirations and needs. We strive to provide our listeners with a wholesome experience built over Radio, Digital, on-ground events and IPs and a wide array of content in the formats of podcasts, indie music and user-generated content creation and dissemination,” she shared. Putting the best foot forward for advertisers With evolving consumer needs, the expectations of advertisers have also evolved. While ensuring the medium puts its best foot forward for its listeners over the years, a lot of work has also gone behind coming up with robust advertising solutions for advertisers. Talking about why radio continues to be a strong advertising medium, Anupama Singh, Consultant – Content Management, Carat India, “Radio as a medium, at one end of the spectrum, works as the last mile reminder medium and at the other end, helps the marketers to reach the audiences in the media dark areas, where electricity/literacy can be a challenge. The privatisation of Radio in 2001 opened a lot of opportunities to the marketers- large and small. For large marketers, radio helps to build frequency and hyper-local targeting. For retailers, it is a cost-effective medium that helps them reach their audience with the least spillover.” So how has the medium been working on giving robust solutions to advertisers? Talking about the kind of solutions they have been working on providing, Narayanan said, “We never believed in offering vanilla solutions as radio offers opportunities to innovate and micro target at the city levels. With our RJs being influencers in their own way, we firmly believe that a good solution, coupled with its delivery are equally important.” She further ads that their approach has always been to offer integrated solutions comprising of multimedia platforms. “We are also collaborating with many of them in designing their creatives through audio and video, besides taking care of other communication needs. Integrated multimedia campaigns and on ground, digital podcast productions for the clients are something that we take up as customized projects,” explained Narayanan. Today, it is all about coming up with bigger and better solutions for advertisers, said Panday. “We used to house our digital products within Solutions in the past. We are now carving digital products out of Solutions. With our platform launch in international markets, we will start aggregating audiences on our own platform. This will give us unprecedented insights on our consumers, something that has been missing on FM radio and even external platforms. We will also finally have our own digital inventory to offer to advertisers. Therefore, a whole lot of action can be expected from Solutions and Digital. Together, we expect this to grow from one-third to half of our revenues in the near future. FM radio may grow at 6-8% in the years ahead, but Solutions and Digital can grow at 15-18% CAGR for many years to come,” he said. What the future looks like As a medium, Radio has a huge potential. It is an interactive medium that holds its listeners’ attention by offering socially-viable content and enhanced on-air properties. The medium’s digital platforms have become another consumer touchpoint. Moreover, most radio stations have powerful influencers in their RJs who have been able to build a deep connect with their listeners on various social media platforms making them strong voices in the industry. However, with consumers wanting to access content according to their own convenience, one of the biggest challenges for traditional radio was the fact that it could bit be accessed on-demand. “However, to address this, the radio industry is now transforming themselves into an audio entertainment company by venturing into podcasts, videos through web radio, and social content for the modern generations who want content at their fingertips at all times. The change in consumption patterns has given rise to a new trend in the radio industry with digitalization being the new trend,” said Thomas. On what is feels need to be done to ensure the medium stays relevant even in the future, Kukian said, “There needs to be a true amalgamation of traditional and new-age medium with radio being the core. Within the world of digital, Radio as a platform provides a direct emotional connect with the audience. In today’s time, radio is not confined to just on-air audio content, but has also moved to online platforms and this phenomenon is only bound to grow as we move forward. Therefore, integrating radio with digital viz ‘Radigitalization’ a term coined by me, is going to play a central role for the radio industry in the future.” Sharing a similar thought, Singh added, “Using innovative content formats on digital platforms such as podcasts and partnering with various music platforms like Spotify and Gaana to market their content going forward, is what the future for radio looks like.” Private FM stations worldwide have been fast moving from analog to digital globally and the future could look very different. HD Radio from Xperi Corporations that offers Digital Radio Technology for Radio Stations, Car Radio System, Mobile and any device which has radio built in services has successfully conducted a trial to provide digital radio technology for FM frequencies with All India Radio (AIR) recently. Speaking about how things are at an inflection point, Ashruf El-Dinary, Senior Vice President, HD Radio, Xperi Corp said, "While countries across the world have been transitioning their mass media from analogue to digital over the past 20 years, in India, Radio broadcasting has largely remained analogue. Moving from analogue to digital broadcasting is an effective way to future-proof the radio industry while closing the digital divide. Our HD Radio team has developed FM broadcast solutions that deliver information, entertainment, and critical alerts to automotive, home and mobile devices. We created the future and see great opportunities for digital radio broadcasting in India."

World Radio Day 2022: How the Radio industry is paving the way for its next phase of growth

<ul><li>On the first working day of the year, we bring to you some predications of hope and growth.</li><li><keyword id="6630520" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="prashant-panday" source="Orion">Prashant Panday</keyword>, MD &amp; CEO, <keyword id="29490" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mirchi" source="Orion">Mirchi</keyword>, <keyword id="295639" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="abraham-thomas" source="Orion">Abraham Thomas</keyword>, CEO, <keyword id="694101" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="reliance-broadcast-network-limited" source="Orion">Reliance Broadcast Network Limited</keyword>, <keyword id="3148434" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ashit-kukian" source="Orion">Ashit Kukian</keyword>, CEO, <keyword id="236136" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="radio-city" source="Orion">Radio City</keyword> tell us why they are bullish about 2022 and share a few trends they feel will dominate the <keyword id="638144" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="radio-industry" source="Orion">radio industry</keyword> in the year ahead. </li></ul>The year 2021 brought with it its own set of challenges and it was no different for the radio. The first half of the year saw massive dips in advertising investments on the medium. However, the festive season led to some recovery, and the industry is hopeful this recovery will continue into the next year too. Different radio players in the country have been focusing on giving both their listeners as well as their advertisers a little extra. Along with coming up with innovative shows through the year, different players also came up with innovative offerings for brands, to take them closer to their target audience. We also saw RJs become more than just being a voice on the speakers. Today a lot of RJs, be it from the metros, or from the smaller cities, have become influencers and have a massive social media following. This is a trend that is expected to get only bigger next year. To understand how the year impacted the radio business and how different radio channels stood up to the challenge, innovated and started on their roads to recovery, we reached out to prominent leaders from the industry. We also spoke to them about what they think 2022 has in store for the industry. Here is what they had to say: Prashant Panday, MD &amp; CEO, Mirchi 2022 is likely to be a big year for radio! It is well known that radio is the best medium for consumer promotions, as well as for driving footfalls into stores. Therefore, when the economy is sluggish, and it is expected to remain so for a few years once the low-base effect of 2020/2021 wears off, then radio will grow smartly. While the economy was badly hit in 2020 and 2021, radio fell because the stores were actually shut. For radio to do well, it is important for stores to be open. Why does radio do well in economic downturns? Because advertisers mount more consumer promotions, and hence increase radio consumption. If this proves to be true, 2022 and 2023 could turn out to strong revival years for radio. Abraham Thomas, CEO, Reliance Broadcast Network Limited In 2022, the radio industry is expected to cross the pre-pandemic numbers as the economy bounces back as the brand count increases. Non-metros ie Tier II and Tier III markets are driving this growth, leading to a quick recovery in the industry. Furthermore, the advancement of digitization in the audio space has opened up many opportunities for audio and digital to work together and we will see this flourishing further. Audiences today are already looking for some great audio content on digital platforms, which will lead to more brands and advertisers associating to leverage the confluence of audio and digital. This will enable the growth in programmatic audio spots as well as branded content in the digital. More and more advertisers from terrestrial radio will add digital audio to their media plan. The coming year will offer listeners a more immersive experience with a deeper level of engagement. Ashit Kukian, CEO, Radio City The Social Media Influencer trend continues to grow exponentially, owing to the rapidly expanding popularity of the digital domain. Influencer marketing is already a Rs 1000 crore market in India and is poised to grow to 2500 crores in the next 3 years. Over the next few years, brands will explore new ways of roping in influencers to capture the trust of the new age consumer, offering a myriad of immersive experiences for their customers. RJ influencers will be more relevant than ever in such an eco-system, and usher in a new wave of innovation, owing to the in-built trust and credibility the radio medium continues to enjoy with countless listeners. With radio influencer-brand collaborations already on the anvil, radio’s increasing influence in creation of content and communication will truly help brands exploit their true potential in the coming years, steering the future of digital collaborations.

Why experts feel 2022 could be a big year for Radio in India

<ul><li>With a relaunch in UAE earlier this year, followed by launches in Qatar and Bahrain, Mirchi is now present in 4 countries outside of India. </li><li>Mirchi aims to continue its expansion spree. </li></ul>Mirchi fortifies its presence in USA with the launch of its operations in the Bay Area, California. In line with its vision to expand its global footprint and cater to the South Asian diaspora across markets, Mirchi aims to introduce its <keyword id="12905" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Radio">Radio</keyword>, Digital and LIVE Events solutions to the city. With South Asians accounting for almost half a million of the total population in the Bay Area, there is a significant demand for Hindi music and Bollywood content. Catering to the needs of this vast pool of consumers, Mirchi will be bringing the best of Bollywood content along with local updates relevant to the target audience. Mirchi will bring popular and exclusive content like the ‘Mirchi Top 20 Countdown’, ‘Club Mirchi’, ‘What Women Want’ with Kareena Kapoor Khan, ‘Bhatt Naturally’ with Mahesh Bhatt and Pooja Bhatt, ‘The Karan Johar Show’ along with other elements like ‘Mirchi Murga’ with <keyword id="12071" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="RJ-Naved">RJ Naved</keyword>, ‘Purani Jeans’ with RJ Sayema etc. Moreover, the brand will share its digital content and curate on ground events, thereby further solidifying its engagement with the audience. In line with Mirchi’s rapidly growing digital and brand solutions businesses, this launch provides for an ideal outlet for national and local advertisers to reach a specific target audience in the Bay Area. Commenting on the launch, <keyword id="6630520" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Prashant-Panday">Prashant Panday</keyword>, MD &amp; CEO of Mirchi said, “Mirchi has been No. 1 player in the Indian market for almost two decades now. In addition to radio, we have grown a successful Solutions business. After expanding our footprint in UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and New Jersey, we are excited to enter the dynamic market of the Bay Area. We look forward to bringing the best of Mirchi for the South Asian and Indian diaspora across these markets.” “The global entertainment market holds immense potential and North America, especially The Bay Area, is a market with a lot of demand for Hindi music and Bollywood content. Thus, leveraging Mirchi’s brand equity, strengths, and unparalleled content library, we look forward to catering to this demand and engaging with our target audience,” adds <keyword id="11570114" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="manoj-mathan">Manoj Mathan</keyword>, Head of International Markets, Mirchi. With a relaunch in UAE earlier this year, followed by launches in Qatar and Bahrain, Mirchi is now present in 4 countries outside of India, including the USA, with plans to expand to more countries.

Mirchi forays into North America with its launch in The Bay Area, California

<ul><li><keyword id="9734" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Radio-Mirchi">Radio Mirchi</keyword>, that rebranded itself in late 2020, has now announced that it is expanding its presence to three international markets. </li><li>We reached out to Prashant Panday, MD and CEO, ENIL to understand what the platform has in store. </li></ul>Around the end of 2020, <keyword id="394582" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Entertainment-Network-India">Entertainment Network India</keyword> Ltd (ENIL) announced that it is rebranding Radio Mirchi to Mirchi, with the aim of depicting the evolution that the brand had gone through in the last few years. Less than four months later, Mirchi is now spreading its wings wider and expanding to three key markets in the Middle East - Dubai, Qatar, and Bahrain. Mirchi has already had some experience in two of these markets and the organization’s goal is to become not just the listener’s favorite there but the advertisers’ favorite too. We caught up with Prashant Panday, MD and CEO, ENIL, who will be spearheading Mirchi’s international foray and tried to understand all that he has planned for these three exciting markets. Excerpts: Q. You are entering 3 major MENA markets in the next few months. How different are your strategies going to be for these 3 markets? The MENA markets are very rich. Almost everyone there has a car, and we know that radio listenership is the highest in cars. Each of these three markets has a high population of South Asians. In two of them, Mirchi has existed in the past, and very successfully at that. In that sense, there is an already existent listenership craving for Mirchi. From an advertising angle, most of these markets are at present mostly radio-FCT/radio-innovation markets. That being said, it will be our endeavor to offer the whole line of our “Solutions” products that we offer to the advertisers in India. I think advertisers love solutions and there is no reason why the MENA advertisers won’t! Q. Why were these three markets in the MENA region your choice? Any expansion in the radio space has to depend on availability of frequencies. It so happens that we got frequencies in these markets and hence, are launching here first. In the UAE, we are partnering with a committed and well-entrenched, existing radio player – Suno FM – and entering the market by rebranding it to Radio Mirchi. In Qatar, we have partnered with another committed local player – One FM – and launched MirchiOne. In Bahrain, we won the frequency through the Government auction that happened before the pandemic began. Here, we are launching our own operation. Q. What will your content strategy look like for these three markets? Will it be primarily aimed at the Indian diaspora there or will it have a local play too? In MENA, and even in other international markets, we look at the larger South Asian population as our target audience. From a language and culture perspective, and from an entertainment and music consumption perspective, there are lot of similarities between Indians, Pakistanis, Nepalese and even Bangladeshis. Sri Lankans also love Indian music, so they are also within our sight. In all of these markets, the promise of Mirchi is that, being India’s biggest FM broadcaster, we will bring the best in entertainment and music. Our deep connects with the film and music fraternity ensures that we have access to Bollywood content on tap, including access to the top celebrities. The MENA region is of great important to the film and music industry, and so our partnership with them in MENA will be a strong one. Apart from this, we will be happy to bring the news from South Asia to our listeners, and arouse memories of “back home” in them! Having said all this, the core of any radio product is always local in nature. So the bulk of the content will be local in nature. Local issues, traffic, weather, festivals, shopping etc. will form the mainstay of the product. Q. You were present in Dubai till last year. What made you pull out of the country, and how different will your offering there be now? Our agreement with our erstwhile partners concluded. We, therefore, withdrew the brand from the market. Now, after 9 months, we are entering the country again! There is going to be a huge difference in the content as well as its treatment this time around. Last time, our entire programming team was based in Abu Dhabi, and so the content was created primarily for that emirate. Of course our signals covered Dubai as well. This time, our content will be tailor made for Dubai. It will be far more local and relevant for people of Dubai. Of course, the signals will travel to Abu Dhabi and to other emirates as well. Furthermore, our local research indicates that people are yearning for many of our popular“sparklers” like “Murga”, “What the Farhan” and “Sud”. We will therefore be re-launching them soon. Then there are so many other strong programming IPs that we will bring to the UAE. The music will largely be contemporary, and will be wider than what we play in India. There will also be shows that we will carry from India to all MENA markets. Very importantly, and this is different from our earlier presence, we will be bringing a lot more Hindi films to Dubai for their promotion. This will offer us great opportunity for local content, and for our listeners to engage with film and music celebrities, in person. Q. What are your launch plans? What media are you going to use to talk to audiences in these markets? In the UAE, we have extensive launch activities planned. We are doing extensive digital campaigns, but most importantly, we are also launching an aggressive print campaign. In the other markets, the biggest medium really is radio itself, and with the word of mouth that already exists, our effort will be to tap the audience through digital platforms, contests and on-ground activations. Q. What kind of advertiser response have you seen in these markets? In Qatar, we have had a huge response to our product! In fact, we’ve got sponsorship orders prior to our launch. From the start we’ve got, it looks like we’re on track to achieving our annual target. The UAE is a far more competitive market, so we want to launch our product first, and then approach advertisers. We know that the response will be terrific! In Bahrain, the launch is a month away; but we are already getting feelers from advertisers there! Equally, there is a lot of interest in India based advertisers, all of whom target the Middle East. We are now going to encourage them to “Add Dubai and Doha and Bahrain to your plans just as you add Delhi and Mumbai”. For the first time, we are in a position to offer India-based advertisers a ‘network’ in the Middle East. Q. What are your expectations from Qatar and Bahrain given that they are new markets for Mirchi? We’re not entirely new to Bahrain! We were already present there as a brand till some time back; but in a partnership with a local player. So it’s a re-launch there! In Qatar, however, we are new. In both these markets, there is a huge entertainment gap and we will endeavor to fill that. We will offer not just our radio product, but also our video and on-ground LIVE entertainment products. Qatar is going to host the football world cup in 2022, and that’s going to create a huge amount of travel from India. The buzz around football is usually so high that the whole advertising ecosystem gets a big boost. We hope to capitalize on that as well. In Bahrain, we have a 5-year contract from the Kingdom of Bahrain. We will therefore, need to be very efficient in our operations. Fortunately, we have a strong leadership team in ENIL, and many of our key managers are getting a good opportunity to prove themselves in these exciting markets! Q. You rebranded around 6 months back. How has the reception been so far, both from listeners and advertisers? We are doing exceptionally well in our Solutions business, despite our radio business being hit by COVID-19. Our Digital solutions are especially doing very well. Thanks to the pandemic, digital products have got a big leg up and we’ve benefitted from that. The other solutions product that has done very well is the TV solutions. I am so proud to share with you that despite the pandemic and despite no other award shows happening in this quarter, the Mirchi Music Awards happened in as pompous a style as always! It was broadcasted on 28th March, on Colors. We have also successfully completed the Mirchi Music Awards in Marathi, Tamil, Telegu, Kannada, Malayalam and Bangla. Likewise we have successfully completed the Mirchi Cover Star, the music talenthunt competition. The winner of the Mirchi Cover Star got to perform on TV during the Mirchi Music Awards. Except for TV solutions, the rest of our on-ground solutions (Live solutions) got almost completely derailed because of COVID. However, even within this space, we innovated and created new products like online R&amp;R (Rewards and Recognition) events and online concerts for our corporate clients. Q. What more can we expect from Mirchi in the next few months? You can expect a lot of action on the digital side. We will soon be revamping our website and making a big push there. We will also be expanding our online radio stations. Our YouTube channels are growing rapidly; and with more content that we will make, we hope to expand that substantially too. We have big plans in our Original Content space– web series and individual sketches. We are also looking at making a play in the podcast space, on the platform side in addition to the content side. In addition to this, we are also evaluating new business opportunities beyond what we have already entered, opportunities that mix the power of digital technology with our content/film relationship strengths. In the next few years, we expect our solutions business (digital, TV, Live) to grow rapidly. During this time, we also expect radio to do a recovery, with growth rates stabilizing in the high single digits. Q. In India, what will your growth strategy be in the next year? Where will your next phase of growth come from? Our 5-year strategy is built on growing our solutions business rapidly, and also stabilizing our radio business. In the next few years, I expect both to grow. However, with solutions growing faster, the share of solutions could become about 50%. Our solutions business has been generating high operating margins; so that should boost our EBITDA too. I expect FY22 to remain tough, given the COVID conditions. That being said, I expect strong growth prospects from FY23 onwards.

For the first time, we are in a position to offer India-based advertisers a ‘network’ in the Middle East: Prashant Panday, ENIL

<ul><li><keyword id="9734" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Radio-Mirchi">Radio Mirchi</keyword> will now be called <keyword id="29490" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mirchi">Mirchi</keyword>, with an aim to tell people that ENIL's business has now gone beyond just <keyword id="12905" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Radio">radio</keyword>.</li><li>Over the years, Radio Mirchi has diversified its offerings across music, video, filmed entertainment, social media, live events, storytelling, podcasts and original content. </li><li><keyword id="6630520" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Prashant-Panday">Prashant Panday</keyword>, MD &amp; CEO, ENIL talks to us to help us understand the brand's journey, its gradual transformation over the years and what this <keyword id="388333" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="rebranding">rebranding</keyword> will entail.</li></ul>Entertainment Network India Ltd (ENIL), the organization that operates Radio Mirchi is all set for a transformation. Over the years, Radio Mirchi has diversified its offerings across music, video, filmed entertainment, social media, live events, storytelling, podcasts and original content. Today, while Mirchi’s FM business contributes around 66% to the overall revenues, the other 34% is coming from the organization’s ‘solutions’ business. And to better depict this transformation that the brand has been in the making for years, Radio Mirchi is now becoming Mirchi. The company is launching their new brand identity, signifying the diversification of its business. It wants to be identified as an entertainment company owing to its offerings rather than a radio company. The master brand Mirchi will encompass all its businesses including radio as a sub-brand - Mirchi 98.3FM, Mirchi Originals (original content), Mirchi Play (digital), <keyword id="7758214" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mirchi-Live">Mirchi Live</keyword> (live entertainment) etc. To understand what this transformation means for the brand and the organization, we caught up with Prashant Panday, MD &amp; CEO, ENIL to understand the need for the rebranding, and what it will entail. <div type="Video" msid="79542965" hostid="261" title="Prashant Panday on Mirchi rebranding" dataSource="BUSINESSINSIDER" thumbUrl="https://denmark.timesinternet.in/cmslite/api/app/images.jpg?msid=79542965"></div> Radio Mirchi to Mirchi – The transformation While ENIL’s core business lies in radio, over the years, it has diversified its offerings. Today, about 34% of its revenue comes from its “solutions” business, which is where the organization makes use of its different offerings, be it activation, through original content, its digital platforms, to give brands a solution to their problems. While most of the planning is done in-house, the final execution is outsourced to specialized people. It was therefore critical for the organization to communicate the fact that while its core is in Radio, it is also a diversified media and entertainment content company. “The radio business is what has actually gotten us here and remains core to the company. It will continue to remain core even 5 years from now. When I say core, it means that's where most people in the company are currently employed, and will continue to remain employed,” he shared. Currently, the organization has around 650 people in the radio part of the business and another 150 people in the non-radio businesses. Panday is however confident that the non-radio business will see the number swelling from the current 150 to about 500-600 in the next 4-5 years. He also feels that the revenue coming in from the non-radio businesses will increase substantially in the coming years. “Right now, the radio and non-radio revenue divide is around 66% and 34% respectively. We feel that in 4-5 years, this will become 50-50. So if you were to see ENIL 5 years from now, you would find a company rooted in radio but also doing a lot more. So, the transformation takes shape in terms of the number of people working the businesses and the revenue profile of the company. And if I were to extend the logic to the profit profile of the company, you'll again realize that a lot of the contribution of the profits will also come from the non-radio businesses. So that's what the transformation is all about,” he explained. What will the transformation entail? Panday stressed on the fact that the work ENIL has been in the entertainment business for the longest time. “But when you are called Radio Mirchi, people just put you down as just a radio company,” he said. So, to bring about the change in how the company is perceived, there are a few subtle changes being made. “First, we are dropping the word Radio and the brand will be called Mirchi. The radio business will now be called Mirchi Radio. The other businesses similarly will be called Mirchi Online, Mirchi Live etc,” shared Panday. Radio Mirchi has also always been recognized by its tagline Radio Mirchi, <keyword id="1747583" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="its-hot">Its Hot</keyword>’. “We are now reverting back to this immensely popular tagline, only now it will be ‘Mirchi, Its Hot’. For the radio proposition, ‘Mirchi Sunne Wale Always Khush’ is still relevant and we may continue to use it wherever and whenever we feel the need for it. And we are now overtly stating, ‘Har Entertainment Mein Mirchi’. It is a bit of a cue to people to place us in a slightly different place in their minds than they used to in the past. So these are a few things we're doing at this point,” he added. Communicating the change to consumers While the transformation will be visually manifested through the new brand logo, how else will the brand communicate the change to its consumers? “We have two kinds of audiences – our listeners and consumers and then our B2B audience, which is clients and advertisers. We have plans to reach out to both. But the thing also is, we have already reached out to a lot of people. On the radio business, we have a weekly reach of about 40 million people and I would imagine our MAU is around 55 million people. On the digital side, we believe we’re crossing 60 million people. So assuming that they reach out to 100-120 million people already, we have enough captive power in-house to communicate what we are trying to do over here. And of course, we also will be using external media to communicate this. But our objective isn’t to shout out to the world and that we are different. What we’re trying to do is make people experience the difference. And that's what we will try to do,” he shared.

As Radio Mirchi rebrands to Mirchi, Prashant Panday walks us through the brand's transformation

<ul><li>As we enter a brand new year, we want to crystal gaze into what the year holds for us.</li><li>In today's feature, experts from the <keyword id="12905" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Radio">radio</keyword> industry tell us a few big trends we need to watch out for in 2021.</li></ul>We have finally left 2020, one of the most difficult years we have faced collectively in recent times, behind. It was a year that affected businesses, lives, markets, and the world in general. And it obviously had an impact on the media and entertainment industry too. While it affected almost all media platforms, it affected some mediums more than others. Traditional mediums like Print, OOH, Experiential and Radio bore the brunt. With advertisers stopping most of their marketing activities, especially in the first few months, AdEx witnessed a major dip. Specifically Radio as a medium is largely dependent on <keyword id="3381059" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="retail-advertising">retail advertising</keyword> and when retail saw a complete shutdown, the medium suffered too as advertisers pulled back on ads. Many radio players had to cut salaries and rationalize manpower. However, according to most experts from the industry, it was also a great teacher. It taught the industry to innovate and efficiently reduce cost, that they feel will come handy for organizations in the future too. Now, with things slowly getting back on track, most leaders are excited about 2021. We spoke to a few of them to understand what to expect from the upcoming year, and the trends that we should look out for in the Radio industry. Here’s what they had to say: <keyword id="295639" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Abraham-Thomas">Abraham Thomas</keyword>, CEO, <keyword id="694101" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance-Broadcast-Network-Limited">Reliance Broadcast Network Limited</keyword> <div type="image" title="Abe" msid="80041608" hostid="261"></div> The year 2020 has surely been a great teacher as it enabled us to broaden our horizon and explore possibilities like never before. Radio has been re-imagined in the minds of the listeners and its transformation into a complete audio entertainment platform has been a stellar one. For 2021, we see the medium seamlessly integrating digitization further and taking massive strides as the emergence of audio will take precedence across all innovations. This year, the advancements of digitization enabled radio networks to build a holistic audio entertainment experience for listeners as well as for brands to leverage. For the coming year, we are certain that there will be an expansion in the audio space with radio further venturing into avenues that harnesses the power of the medium. The changing landscape of consumer behaviour presented us, at <keyword id="82551" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Big-FM">BIG FM</keyword>, with opportunities and we established ourselves as an audio entertainment player. After the launch of our web radio platform Big Radio Online this year, we are strategically advancing into a myriad of avenues such as gamification, chat bots, social commerce and many others. This will enable us to present an immersive experience and also a deeper level of engagement with various stakeholders. We see this dominating the innovations and leading the trend for next year. These avenues will further integrate radio into becoming a one-stop audio entertainment destination. Radio as a medium has constantly reinvented itself, is in line with the evolving times and will continue to expand its wings and dominate the audio content space in the year to come. <keyword id="6630520" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Prashant-Panday">Prashant Panday</keyword>, MD &amp; CEO, MIRCHI <div type="image" title="DSC_9512" msid="80041548" hostid="261"></div> “The pandemic has hit the business of every advertiser. It has increased the risks for them. In 2021, and in years further ahead, advertisers will want to reduce risks associated with media buying. To this end, they will demand more “solutions” to their marketing challenges from their media partners. They will scale back on pure media buying, and put more monies on solutions. Media companies will have to add marketing and creative people to their teams, who can understand the challenges of advertisers, and develop solutions accordingly. Media companies will move towards becoming marketing consultancies, though they will not directly compete with advertising agencies. Media companies will extend the brand messaging that ad agencies create through innovative last-mile adaptations. In order to do this, media companies will have to develop a suite of products, very different from their core product. Mirchi for instance, has developed digital products that include original video content, other videos, online radio, and audio solutions using the plain old telephone system. We have also developed a suite for on-ground and on-TV IPs like the Mirchi Music Awards, the Mirchi Cover Stars and the Mirchi Neon Run. Such products will give advertisers an opportunity to reach their target audiences more predictably and efficiently.” <keyword id="3148434" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ashit-Kukian">Ashit Kukian</keyword>, CEO, Radio City <div type="image" title="Mr. Ashit Kukian, CEO, Radio City" msid="80041566" hostid="261"></div> Radio has always been one of the most trusted and reliable media, more so in this year. We saw an increase in listenership during the lockdown, contrary to the belief that the consumption would dip as people stopped traveling. A trend we noticed this year and forecast for 2021 would be growth in radio, in terms of listenership and business from the Tier2 and Tier 3 markets. With increase in 5G penetrationand consumption shiftby brands to advertise more in Tier 2 &amp; Tier 3 markets. Categories like e-commerce, OTT platforms , FMCG &amp; Retail would like to leverage these markets. Due to radio's reach and accessibility, these brands will look at advertising their messaging on radio to leverage a wider audience. Also, radio is one of the most effective medium that disseminates credible content and any brand in the current situation wants to be associated with a medium that communicates their message in a positive manner. This will in turn help the radio industry increase its revenue and eventually come out of the woods stronger.

Radio: Trends to watch out for in 2021

<ul><li><keyword id="236136" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="Radio-City">Radio city</keyword> has reported revenues of ₹87.02 crore in H1 2018-19 along with a CAGR of 34%, while <keyword id="9734" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Radio-Mirchi">Radio Mirchi</keyword> has reported a 36% YoY growth. </li><li>The radio industry is growing with ad spends also increasing. </li><li>Experts believe that the industry is not threatened by other popular platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime and instead complements their growth. </li></ul>If numbers are to be believed, the <keyword id="7328670" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-radio-industry">indian radio industry</keyword> is far from dying a low-key death. Leading radio stations have reported a great year with revenue hikes and expect higher momentum in the coming years. Music Broadcast Limited, which hosts Radio City, has reported revenues of ₹87.02 crore in the first half of the financial year, along with a CAGR of 34%, while Motilal Oswal has reported that Entertainment Network India Limited, which hosts Radio Mirchi has reported a 36% YoY growth. “In the last 3 years our revenue CAGR has been 15% which is almost double than that of the industry. H1 was expected to be subdued due to lingering impact of GST and demonetization, but we are delighted to witness an upsurge in H2. We have delivered a margin of 33% despite investments in our new stations. As the economy recovers, we expect to keep up the momentum in the future too,” said Apurva Purohit, President Jagran Group &amp; Director, Music Broadcast Ltd. Most experts believe that 2017 was a bad year because of multiple reasons – effects of demonetization, real estate law, RERA, and the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). After a subdued 2017, where the radio industry grew at only 3%; in 2018 the industry at large grew at 9.5%. “Most of these effects reduced in 2018, but media continues to remain under pressure. The print and OOH business have faced more pressure. Radio and TV have done better,” said Prashant Panday, MD &amp; CEO, Entertainment Network India Limited (ENIL). Staying alive Despite the increasing popularity of OTT platforms, like Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hotstar, which is consuming a large part of the Indian consumers time, radio has managed to stay alive. Global giant Spotify too is all set to launch in India which could become a big hit with millennials because of its popularity abroad. As per a 2018 KPMG report, radio garnered 7.9% growth in ad revenues in FY 17-18. According to a <a href="http://businessfortnight.com/music-broadcast-runs-radio-city-eyes-acquisitions-kolkata-mp/">FICCI report</a>, the industry is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 16.1% between 2016 and 2021 and is projected to be a Rs.4780 crore industry by 2021. The industry believes that radio has transitioned from being a medium that is under threat of other rising media but instead is a part of the latter’s growth journey. “We believe radio as a medium, complements television where it improves the efficiency of a TV plan because of the cost effective reach it adds; and is also complementary to new age digital plans where radio can be used as an awareness building medium to direct traffic towards PVs and clicks on digital,” said Purohit. Advertising from radio too is a market that can’t be ignored. Global media network GroupM in its report – This Year, Next Year 2019 – stated that India is predicted to be the 10th fastest growing country on ad spends across the globe – where radio is headed to grow by 15%. “When the economy slows down, or major advertisers face stress, they turn more towards consumer offers, and hence towards radio. Radio makes print and TV work harder. Radio is the last medium consumed before a consumer enters a store, so it helps increase footfalls. In cars, 80% of all cars are tuned into radio,” said Panday. Mirchi in just Mumbai and Delhi, has a weekly listenership of 7 million people. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/netflix-and-hotstar-hedge-their-bets-against-government-regulation-through-self-censorship/articleshow/67573187.cms">After Amazon Prime, Netflix and Hotstar plan to go down the path of self-censorship in India</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/heres-why-ott-platforms-were-a-big-hit-among-indians-in-2018/articleshow/67286083.cms">Here's why OTT platforms were a big hit among Indians in 2018</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/using-your-friends-netflix-account-theres-some-bad-news-for-you/articleshow/67467204.cms">Using your friend’s Netflix account? There’s some bad news for you</a>

Video did not kill the Indian radio star – not yet

<h1>
	 </h1>
 It is often said that a TV channel would go to any length to increase viewership. And the weekly war for ratings has given rise to many a debate in recent years. <keyword id="6355001" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="FICCI">FICCI</keyword> Frames address the issue on its final day, Friday, March 14, through a session titled 'Measurement Miasma, TVTs, Readerships, Clicks and Such: The great love/hate epic'.

	The panel discussed how audience measurement is done and what makes it successful or controversial. They also spoke on the designing of a measurement system and how joint industry bodies can facilitate the governance of audience measurement systems.
 The panel comprised Sanjay Tripathy, Sr. Executive VP, HDFC Life; Prashant Panday, Executive Director &amp; <keyword id="5645" type="POSITION" weightage="40" keywordseo="CEO">CEO</keyword>, ENIL; <keyword id="834724" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Partho-Dasgupta">Partho Dasgupta</keyword>, CEO, BARC, and Punitha Arumugam, Director, Agency Business, <keyword id="6355629" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Google">Google</keyword> India. The session, chaired by Provocateur Advisory's Principal, Paritosh Joshi, went into the challenges the industry faces in creating a proper and effective measurement system and suggested ideas for building the country's future measurement systems.

	Joshi started the discussion with the observation that media owners seldom like measurements. This was contradicted by Prashant Panday of Radio Mirchi (ENIL) who felt that media owners would like ratings and measurements if they were credible and reliable. He gave an example of how different researches showed different numbers for listeners of radio in Delhi.

	Sanjay Tripathy's view was that there were numerous ways of reaching customers. Sometimes what brands do is find the cheapest way. But, according to him, the cheapest may not be the most suitable for the organisation.

	Panday further spoke on the recent spat after the IRS released its new measurement data. According to him, media owners were "caught by surprise". He explained, "There was a huge gap between the last IRS report and this one. The market certainly hasn't changed. So what happened in between? IRS' challenge lies in its making it clear what measurement procedure it follows and letting people know that it is trustable."

	Punitha Arumugam emphasized that the results of any measurement matter to everyone, including media owners. However, she stressed that there has to be some validation from what she called a commonsensical point of view.

	On the question of sample size, Tripathy said that unless the correct sample size is taken, no measurement will work. There is a need to look at research in a slightly different manner. Data collected in one way may not hold true anymore since the way one watches television has changed with many youngsters nowadays watching TV on their mobiles and iPads. He suggested that multiple touch-points and better currencies will help advertisers as well.

	Partho Dasgupta spoke about BARC and its research method. Since BARC contemplates only big data - starting with 20,000 homes, 365 days, 24 hours - there are lesser chances of mistakes. "We are trying to go beyond the way it is presently stimulated, based on what the customer needs. We may even look at data fusing and bringing out other products."

	The panel ended the discussion with a talk about the digital platform and how it poses a threat to intellectual property in general. According to Arumugum, digital is in the nascent stage in terms of measurement. However, she went on to explain Google's monetisation policy with its content creators and how information about the number of impressions and revenue generated rests with the publisher. 
	 
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