MUMBAI: Selling process does not follow straight line anymore. Innovative media planning and most importantly creating a ‘jugalbandi’ (partnership) with the right media partners is the way forward for marketers and advertisers to meet targets and connect with audience.

Speaking at ‘Using Radio in Your Media Campaign: The Advertisers’ Perspective’ at India Radio Forum (IRF) Lodestar UM chief growth officer Habeeb Nizamudin said that the era of loud solos (advertising) had given way to a new era of creating new harmonies of partnerships.

“There are far too many influences in sales and marketing - speed, cost effectiveness, minimum spillage, engagement, contextual relevance-of respective media. The truth is no single medium can deliver everything.”

He said what was crucial was viewing communication medium not in isolation but combination that complimented to deliver desired results. A recent study on media between 15-35 year olds had revealed that while radio by itself lagged behind television and print in reach, when it was combined with other media, there was a significant surge in the efficacy of the media.

Radio’s power and utility for advertisers are often lost in the number crunching. Today, it’s not about leveraging new ideas alone but jugalbandi or partnerships to maximize effectiveness, he said.

As case in point, Nizamuddin said that an ad created for a condom brand was launched only 24 hours before Valentine’s Day on radio and the internet.

“We launched the ad from 1000 hours on 13 February to 2000 hours on 14 February across 15 cities. We got 9,000 responses a phenomenal result if we layer the aspect of cost. The campaign cost was less than one single advertisement,” he said.

Radio as an advertising medium can also prove very effective as a standalone platform if used smartly, Maxus managing partner Kartik Sharma pointed out.

When search service ‘Ask Me’ was launched they had to take on established player ‘Just Dial’. Using advanced algorithms, they strategically placed their ads on radio next to related ads. After 520 different ads, 61,200 seconds of ad time, ‘Ask Me’ saw a 50 percent market share and 50,000 responses.

“The common perspectives for media as advertising platforms are frequency, affinity, interactivity and innovation. But there are uncommon perspectives that radio as a medium can provide- it can be used as a lead medium, ability to bring alive product proposition and solve marketing problems.  Even a TV experience like TATA Sky with its HD experience has been successfully advertised on radio,” Sharma said.