|
Advertising of products and
services is the route to rope
in more customers and improve a company's image. Radio
is an effective, low-cost medium for advertising a company's
products. This article explore the new opportunities that radio has today
provided to the companies to reach out to the audiences. The medium of
FM Radio has today enabled advertisers to reach out to the
audiences cost-effectively and achieve the objectives of coverage, reach
and response. In July 2005, the Union Cabinet approved the second
phase of FM broadcasting in the private sector, in which more emphasis
was given to the growth of the services than generating revenue for
the government. The government has allowed foreign companies to
venture into setting up of private FM stations within the present
ceiling of 20% of foreign capital. The new policy also envisages starting
336 FM stations in 90 cities, which includes the 10 `A' class cities.
Currently, as far as advertising is concerned, only
one-and-a-half percentage of the total advertising spending can be attributed to
radio. In other countries around the world, the average ranges from
5-15%. In Sri Lanka, for example, 21% of the total advertising
expenditure is spent on radio. This shows the vast potential of the radio as
a medium of advertising. It is said that the radio covers almost 89% of
the country in terms of area and 97% in terms of population. However,
this medium has taken a backseat because of the penetration of the
television into the households. |
