Adapted from “The Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwell “
What can make Radio rise above other media?
What are the chief factors that can provide Radio (BIG 92.7 FM) the winning edge?
I just now finished reading this wonderful management book which outlines the entire philosphy of how "little things can make a BIG difference".
Malcolm in this book explores how social epidemics caused by a few simple factors acting in unison by actively looking into various phenomena such as the drastic reduction in crime rate in New-York during the 1980s or the rapid increase in sales for Hush Puppies.
Reading his theories, prompted me to explore how these same factors could help RADIO become the next tipping point of success.
The rule of epidemics as explored in the book (in context of RADIO):-
1)The Law of the Few : The success of any kind of social epidemic is heavily dependent on the involvement of people with a particular and rare set of social gifts.
In the context of radio these people would be :-
• Connectors : These are people who "link us with the world" .
a.k.a the AD AGENCY which links sales with the end-client (product/marketing
managers).
• Mavens : "Information Specialists". These would be industry experts; whose opinion
might change the course of how the general public understand the effects of radio.
For ex: A.C. Neilsen who’s RAM reports are used industry-wide to showcase the
success measure of Radio.
• Salesmen : "Persuaders". This category of people who are indeed passionate and
involved about their product. In the context of radio I would include Programming,
scheduling, Traffic and creative teams along with the Sales/Marketing folks.
2) The Stickiness Factor : the specific content of a message that renders its impact memorable.
Radio being a sublime medium (or as Andy mentions "Theater of the mind") we can easily project the stickiness factors either in terms of CPT (Cost per thousand), low-ad avoidance ratios, and even more as a medium of direct marketing.
3) The Power of Context: the environment which influences human behaviour.
Currently, the cheif environmental factors/requirements would be :-
• Recession : Radio can be pitched as a low-cost medium.
• Improving Product Awareness; which would otherwise not be possible in Print (due to blind-spots) and in Video (Clutter)
• Amplification of Product launches : Radio as a medium of mass-consumption (listenership ratings) can be effective amplification medium
• Rural Markets : How can we tap into the BOTTOM of the Pyramid phenomenon
