MUMBAI: The India Radio Forum’s, Excellence in Radio Awards (ERA) 2017 being held at QLA The Kila in New Delhi on the 19 May will give away a special award to the Popular RJ of 2017 by people’s choice. Each year IRF takes a step towards innovation by introducing and bringing new additions to the popular show.

IRF 2017 has created a new touchstone with the help of social media. Radio Jockey’s today don multiple hats and have a huge fan following across the country. Riding on their popularity and recognising their talent, the India Radio Forum introduced ‘Popular RJ People’s Choice’ for the first time to the public on Facebook encouraging them to vote for their favorite RJ.

Executed by The Small Big Idea, a digital marketing consultancy, this category has received over 60,000 votes on Facebook for RJs across radio networks in India. This poll was created by nominations from the various radio stations, in order to let the audiences of radio vote for the RJ of their choice.

On the use of Facebook as a platform to make the decision of the winning RJ, The Small Big Idea co-founder Harikrishnan Pillai commented, “When the India Radio Forum started discussing their plans to foray into the social space, the conversations revolved not only around driving industry participation, but also to harness the popularity of radio. What better way than riding that on the harbingers of radio: The RJs. The idea was to also involve the listeners in a prominent industry event to play their part. Without these 2, the RJs and the listeners, the medium is incomplete. The poll was an attempt to make the award holistic. The response has been overwhelming, we have garnered more than 40K votes so far.”

On this distinct move, Rajika Mittra, Special Projects Director of The India Radio Forum, said, “Every year we try to bring something new to the industry and have been successful in keeping this tradition. This edition we have introduced a special audience voting on Facebook where radio listeners can pick their favorite RJ as the Popular RJ of 2017. We are excited on the numbers and hope that the audience pick the deserving winner.”