Today, RnM brings you the Navratri Plans of 94.3 My FM, a  network with the brand id â€?Jiyo Dil Se,' launched its first station in Jaipur on 28 May, 2006, and since then, is present in a total of 17 cities: Ahmedabad, Ajmer, Amritsar, Bilaspur, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Gwalior, Indore, Jabalpur, Jaipur, Jalandhar, Jodhpur, Kota, Nagpur, Raipur, Surat and Udaipur.

Shikha Shah and Pavan R Chawla spoke with My FM CEO Harrish Bhatia, who feels that little initiatives like giving out goodies during festivals and adding to the jollity with great music... strengthens the bond between the listener and radio network.

Navratri is all about religious fervour through music and dance. What is your strategy to attract the maximum listeners? What are the programming  specials that you have planned to be able to co-opt the on-ground fun, celebration and masti from the Navratri pandals?

To attract maximum listeners and to add merriment and joy to the festival of Navratri, 94.3 My FM will play Navratri songs all round the day. A lot of attention has been paid to the on air content for our listeners along with emphasis on station sound and packaging. To keep our listeners in high spirits, we will also be giving out Navratri CD's and Dandiya through contests. Not leaving any stone unturned, we have partnered with  the best garba events in each city as part of our on-ground activities.

In Nagpur, My FM has tied up with three dandiya events - Ras Garba, Dandiya and Dhammal Dandiya by Sankalp as exclusive radio partners from 8 to 16 October.

In Raipur, we have tied up with My Garba Utsav 2010 as the exclusive media sponsor. It is one of the principal garba utsavs in Raipur and this is the eleventh year of its execution.

In Indore, we have partnered with a three-day dandiya event from 8 to 10 October.

In Bhopal, My FM has tied up â€?Abhivyakti' garba  utsav as an exclusive radio partner.

In Ahmedabad, My FM be a part of the �Shanku's Dandiya 10' for all nine days.

What are your promotional plans during Navratri? How do you plan to market My FM's Navratri offerings?

We have organized new on-air sound packaging, jingles, various new elements and much more for our listeners. It includes playing two songs every hour throughout the day across 17 stations and a dedicated slot in the night band where we will play non-stop dandiya music across all 17 stations.

And as I said, we have tied up with the biggest garba events across various cities. As a part of our marketing initiatives, we are planning to organize training sessions for listeners before garba , to help them learn the art of garba and enjoy the festival to the fullest. Along with this, regular pandal updates will be announced to give listeners better information of what events are going on where. Also, extra attention has been paid to the branding of My FM at these pandals and stalls. My FM RJs would also go on-ground to interact with listeners during this period.

What are your special offerings during Navratri for ad sales? What special properties have you developed to help local businesses and regional/national brands strengthen their businesses through advertising with you?

Adding to the celebrations, My FM is launching the Ramayana as a special offering this Navratri. We will air the Ramayana in the early morning time band all through the week, so that listeners can start their day with positivity and a festive feel.

Traditionally, how does Navratri impact advertising on radio in general, and on your station / network in particular?

Not just Navratri but all festivals impact advertising on radio in a big way. Most brands launch their festive promotions during this period and promote it on a massive scale. Radio being an important medium, is always an important part of their media plan, as it has excellent reach and also the ability to capture maximum attention.

How will you market the entire programming?  A big part of marketing is not just to inform existing listeners but to also expand the listener base. How do you plan to reach those who are not currently tuning into your stations? What are the media and ATL / BTL activities you plan to use for this?

My FM already commands a loyal listener base. Still, for those who are not currently a part of the My FM family, we will take the help of both traditional and non-traditional medium to reach out to them. The talented and friendly RJ's will engage and interact with the new and budding listeners as part of our Navratri event associations. We would also ensure maximum visibility of our brand at key touch points during this time, especially temples, to seize maximum attention. Our most recent initiative, the launch of Ramayana on air in our markets will help us in expanding our listener base as well as strengthen our bond with existing My FM listeners.

Often, media businesses use such festive, entertainment-driven events for B2B promotion too. How are you doing this for and during the Navratri festival?

We have planned a series of initiatives targeted towards trade including special DM's for trade during the Navratri festival along with the promotion which we plan to do around the commencement of Ramayana on My FM.