By MANISHA BHATTACHARJEE
Indiantelevision.com Team

(25 August 2006 2:00 pm)

MUMBAI: After painting the town ‘red’ last year with the ‘Bajate Raho’ brand campaign, radio brand Red FM has re-visited the city with another marketing initiative. The latest promotional initiative banks on the FM station’s driver property, the morning show Morning No.1 (MN1).

“After the success of the ‘Bajaate Raho’ campaign, positioning Red FM as the ‘station for expression’, we had to move to the next level. MN1 has already made its mark and we thought of reinforcing and establishing the show as the number one morning show in Mumbai with this new campaign,” says Red FM COO Abraham Thomas about the initiative.

‘If you have got a super hit RJ, you flaunt her’ – this seems to be the real strategy Red FM has explored for the initiative. The station has used its hit radio jockey (RJ) Malishka -- who hosts MN1 – as the key driver of the marketing initiative. Malishka had also made appearances in the public, conducting games and distributing prizes.

“The strategy was to give visual cues about the effect music has on everyday life and to showcase Mumbaikars enjoying Red FM. The creatives were also aimed at projecting the attitude of the station. To compliment the outdoor campaign, we used activities such as on-the-spot contests, games and RJs doing outdoor broadcasting,” says Thomas.

The brand was also made visible through hoardings and bus back with relatable images of a fisher woman, taxi driver and dabbawala. Cheerleaders have been dancing to the tunes of Malishka at traffic junctions, shopping malls, colleges and popular hangouts. The campaign was supported with various on-air activities and contests.

As a culmination of all the on-air and off-air activities, Red FM recently organized an event at In-Orbit Mall, Mumbai where Red FM RJs and listeners got together. Amidst all this descended the Kohlis and Taporis from the hoardings, who had entertained the audience with their performances.

According to Thomas, Red FM Delhi and Red FM Kolkata will be unveiling similar campaigns in due course. “Yes, we will be promoting the morning shows in both Delhi and Kolkata with similar localised activities,” says Thomas, without revealing the exact plans.

Speaking on the journey Red FM had since the September 2005 makeover, Thomas offers, “After the campaign our listenership has grown by 75 per cent and we can proudly claim that we are also the most awarded station with 13 awards to our credit. We have also recorded the highest advertising share (43 per cent) since then.”