MAM
Radio provides unique options to advertisers
MUMBAI: While speaking at the Advertising Club Bombay’s Value Creation seminar on marketing entertainment and their growing inter-dependence, Banyan Tree Communications CMD Anish Trivedi reiterated that radio FM presents an inexpensive, repetitive and reinforcing option that scores over television and cinema advertising. He added that radio has become a mobile companion for consumers for any time of the day. Lambasting the viewership surveys, Trivedi urged the advertising fraternity to go by the feel and the content of radio FM channels. He reasoned that the “silence” between the “songs” is what determined the popularity of the radio channels as all of them played the same songs.
Here are some excerpts from Trivedi’s presentation:
A radio station has to choose its audience and define the various characteristics of the listener. Radio, an intimate medium, connects to audiences due its personalized rapport with the listener. Listeners don’t have to fight for a remote to listen to radio; they could listen to “what they wanted, when they wanted and where they wanted!”. A study conducted in the US showed that 63 per cent listeners listen to radio on their own as against 39 per cent who get to watch TV on their own.
A BBC World service survey stated that a majority (50 per cent) of the people who participated in a poll wanted a radio as a companion if they were marooned on an island. The other options TV (33 per cent), magazine subscription (9 per cent) and newspapers (9 per cent) lagged behind radio. The average listening for people in the UK had increased to 3.5 hours a day and 5.5 hours on weekends. The listening was ruled by high station loyalty due to a long period of association with the station of choice.
Radio is an intimate and mobile medium that provides instant gratification to the listener. The level of interactivity in radio is higher than that in other mediums. This trend was augmented by technology such as call-ins, e-mails and SMS through mobile phones. The best part is that the listeners can be heard on radio and the RJs actually listen to them unlike in TV. McDonalds used radio advertising effectively to draw instant response from target audiences for instance a family going out listens to a radio jingle and immediately heads for the nearest McDonalds outlet. McDonalds “Aao Match Kare” contest was aired on radio as well as the outlets simultaneously resulting in a multiplier effect and more participation.
Radio advertising also provides several options of developing contests around promotions and events. For instance, Cadburys was sponsoring the popular Malhar youth festival in Mumbai and supplemented the campaign by bringing the festival live on radio to listeners. Kenya Airways used radio as a medium to create awareness of its latest offerings. The British Council used radio to create enquiries amongst the students and discerning audiences generated through programmes such as radio adaptations of famous novels like A Suitable Boy.
The advertising fraternity must look at the niche numbers based on qualitative research rather than the quantitative analysis. The cost of advertising on radio was cost-effective and cheaper as compared to TV and print advertising. Advertisers and agencies could come up with different creatives at a fraction of cost of what it takes to create TV advertisements. For instance, Yankee Doodle ice-cream came up with 50 different spot ads to be aired – a new one every week.
The programming on radio can be customized and adapted to advertiser requirements. Parle Beverages Bisleri did an innovative ad campaign to introduce their “20 per cent extra free” campaign. Bisleri asked the programming team to add two more songs to the popular Go 92.5 FM one hour programme called “Anish Trivedi’s picks 10 songs”. The Bisleri team developed radio spots to be aired during the programme.
Radio can also do social cause marketing advertising and provide advertisers with an additional opportunity. For instance, Go 92.5 FM conducted auctions of memorabilia and the highest bid was given away to NGOs. Radio also gave an opportunity to listeners who could contribute their mite to social causes and feel nice about the whole experience.
Cadbury Temptations sponsored a late Sunday night Jazz show simply because the signature tune of the Cadbury jingle was inspired by a Jazz tune. Also, there was a perfect synergy between the brand and the kind of songs that were played on the late Sunday night slot.
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Brands
Estée Lauder to shed 10,000 jobs as new boss bets on digital shift
The cosmetics giant raises its profit outlook but stays silent on a possible merger with Spain’s Puig, as job cuts deepen and a three-year sales slump weighs on the turnaround
NEW YORK: Stéphane de La Faverie is not done cutting. Estée Lauder announced on Friday that it plans to eliminate as many as 3,000 additional jobs, taking its total redundancy programme to as many as 10,000 roles, up from a previous target of 7,000 announced a year ago. The company, which owns La Mer, The Ordinary, Tom Ford, and Aveda, employs roughly 57,000 people worldwide. The mathematics of what is now being contemplated is stark.
The fresh round of cuts is expected to generate a further $200 million in savings, bringing the total annual savings from the programme to as much as $1.2 billion before taxes. That money, De La Faverie has made clear, will be ploughed back into the turnaround.
A CEO in a hurry
De La Faverie, who took the helm in January 2025, inherited a company that had endured three consecutive years of annual sales declines. His response has been to move fast and cut deep. A significant portion of the latest redundancies reflects his push to reduce headcount at US department stores, long a cornerstone of Estée Lauder’s distribution model but now a channel in structural decline. In their place, he is accelerating the shift toward faster-growing online platforms, including Amazon.com and TikTok Shop, a pivot that is reshaping not just where Estée Lauder sells but how it thinks about its customers.
The numbers are moving in the right direction
Despite the pain, there are signs the medicine is working. Estée Lauder raised its profit outlook for the remainder of the fiscal year, guiding for adjusted earnings per share in the range of $2.35 to $2.45, above analyst estimates and a notable step up from the $2.05 to $2.25 range it had guided for in February. Organic net sales growth is expected to come in at 3 per cent, the company said, at the high end of the range it set out in February.
The share price tells a mixed story. After De La Faverie took charge, the stock surged nearly 60 per cent, buoyed by investor optimism that a longtime company insider could finally arrest the decline. But 2026 has been rougher: the shares have fallen 27 per cent this year, weighed down by disappointing February results and the overhang of unresolved merger talks with Spanish beauty giant Puig Brands SA. The company gave no additional details about those discussions on Friday, leaving the market to guess.
Silence on Puig
The proposed tie-up with Puig remains the most consequential unknown hanging over Estée Lauder. A deal with the Barcelona-based group, which owns brands including Carolina Herrera and Rabanne, would reshape the global luxury beauty landscape. But with nothing new to say and a turnaround still very much in progress, De La Faverie is asking investors to trust the process.
Three years of sales declines, 10,000 job cuts, and a merger that may or may not happen. At Estée Lauder, the overhaul has barely started.
