Learn from the Guru
Palle Bo, Founder, Radioguru is one of those radio consultants that travel around the world working with radio stations wanting to improve their product and teaching advertisers to do the same.
His company Radioguru also produces radio ads for national advertisers, podcasts on writing and producing better radio ads and a weekly radio show. Radio Duniay spoke to him to know his views on the Indian radio scenario and the global learnings he can share with the nascent radio industry.

What is your view on the radio scene in India?

I was blown away with the radio scene in India at my visit to Mumbai in May/June of this year. I already knew that the market is so very much different than what we’re used to in Europe, but I must say that I was impressed by the size of the stations and the expansion that’s been going on the last couple of years.

Having seen the growth of radio in other countries, where would you place the Indian radio industry?

I heard talk at the Forum, that it was going to slow, but you must remember that the private commercial radio industry in India isn’t even in its teenage years yet. And I really think you’ve come a long way in a very short period of time. And remember, that there are thousand of people working on the stations that haven’t got years of experience, like they do in other parts of the world.
I was a part of setting up private radio in Denmark 25 years ago and it took us years longer to get where you are today, and in many ways Indian radio already passed us.
But don’t stop! In my opinion if you keep training your people you can go much further.

How can Indian radio stations improve their programming?

Radio programming is part science and part art. You must do the research to make sure that you play the songs your listeners want to hear and talk about the topics that is important to your listeners. In my opinion it’s an important investment to do strategic studies and music testing – an investment that most stations don’t want to make. We feel it’s not necessary. I’ve been there myself when I was Group PD and Managing Director in Denmark. I felt it was a lot of money that could come to better use elsewhere, but still I decided to do it. We did big strategic studies and a number of auditorium music tests, and both were very useful in deciding which way to go.
After this thorough planning it’s important to make sure everyone in the team knows which way you’re going and why.
And then – and this is very important: Execute with passion! And have fun doing it.

What can be done to attract more listeners to radio?

This is a very big question that I can’t answer in a few sentences. It depends very much on where you are and which demo you’re targeting. Make sure you have a strong brand, which really is a promise, and that your product lives up to this promise. Be consistent, professional and yet, very relaxed in everything you do. Hey, isn’t this a great medium?

 How important is the brand building and imaging for any radio station?

It is very important – especially in a competitive market like the major cities in India. These years a lot of radio stations are building their brand so a lot of stations are fighting for the same attention. So if you’re not out there, on billboards, TV-ads, events and so on, you might as well forget it. Right now you have the opportunity to build a relationship with the listeners. In a few years it’s going to be much more difficult to persuade listeners to make the switch.
You can do the best radio programming in the world and it doesn’t matter. No one will know about you because you’ve kept it a secret.

How does the Indian radio industry compare with the radio industry in Denmark?

I’ve already talked a bit about this. The programming side of the radio industry in Denmark went from being very poor to very flawless. It became too perfect – and too boring. Most stations used voice tracking and digital editing as tools to remove every single little mistake, and this took away a lot of the charm and the heart and soul of radio. The same thing happened with the radio commercials, that really have room for improvement.
Also we have a very strong and extremely popular government-owned public radio station. With four national channels they have a 70% share of the total market. They are commercial free and are very difficult to touch.
I think these are some of the reasons that radio in Denmark only gets 2% of the advertising money. At this point you’re way ahead of us already, and I feel you’ll get to 8% before we get to even 4%. Luckily there are also a number of good stations in Denmark now, which are working hard on making a difference.
It’s important (both to Danish and Indian stations) to keep training both the programming department and the people who write and produce the radio commercials. Remember that the local radio commercials also are a part of the programming and if they “stink” your whole radio station will.

What are the core issues that the RJs and radio programmers must keep in mind while creating radio content?

Like I said: Always remember that radio is entertainment and should be fun to work with. If you don’t enjoy doing it why should the listeners enjoy listening to it? So smile and try to be the listener’s friend.
And don’t be afraid to make mistakes, they must be willing to take some chances.



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