Importance of FM radio

Answer 1

FM radio channels provide a great opportunity for the advertisers to advertise their products and services. The FM broadcasts have already become very popular in both urban and rural markets. Marketers can leverage upon this growing popularity of the FM radio channels to cost-effectively advertise their products and achieve the objectives of coverage, reach and response.

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.