MUMBAI: With the country gearing up for the upcoming festive season, radio stations are planning a number of on-ground and on-air activities to attract maximum listenership. And like many others, Kolkata based radio station- Friends FM has also jumped on that bandwagon, and intends to celebrate the festival of Durga Pooja in a big way. The radio station commenced its on ground activities for Durga Pooja in the third week of September.

“Our aim is to engage and maximise connectivity with audiences. This Durga Pooja also we intend to do the same. From 14th September we started giving out snippets about the Pujo trivia, and from the 18th we started the Pujo. The first thing we did was change our signature tune to the dhaki beats,” said Friends FM, Head and RJ, Jimmy Tangree. The tune went on air at 4 am from the day of Mahalaya, 12 October, 2015. During the night, the radio station will broadcast a slow tune, while an energetic one will be broadcast during the peak hours of the evening. However, the festive tune will stay the same until the last day of Durga Pooja.

The FM radio station will also have live programs all through the day and night, with RJs visiting various ‘pandals’, talking about the theme, and will tap into the mood of the city. For this on-ground activity, the station has tied up with 91 pandals across Kolkata. And as part of the on-air activity, Friends FM will also run a contest, where the winner will get VIP access to these pandals. Additionally, the station will connect with the Durga Pooja Association that is set up abroad in places like Atlanta, UK and Singapore, and talk about the mood of the festival in the respective cities.

As part of its on-air activity, Friends FM will also be offering live updates on traffic, and will talk about fashion, food, outfits and everything that holds relevance to the community during Durga Pooja.

For their on- ground activities the station has partnered with various brands like Idea, Sunsilk, Kurkure, Havells, Coca-Cola and Pantaloons. The radio station will offer innovative activities for all their clients, and celebrities have also been roped in for a few activities. “For Pantaloons we have planned Dhaak Parikrama with Tollywood actress Sayantika Banerjee, and 25 dhaakis in town will visit Pantaloons outlets in Gariahat, Kankurganchi, City Centre 2 and Tobin Road on Mahalaya to usher in Durga Puja with a dose of the latest fashion and dhaak beats. There will be contests and prizes for customers at all these outlets during the visit. It will be a one day activity,” explained Tangree. All the on-ground activities will be promoted on-air, including when the RJs go live from the venues.

For the upcoming festive season, Friends FM has brought on board a host of new partners like Havells, Idea, Pantaloons and others. For Havells, the station has planned seven days of activities to determine the best Havell’s showroom in Kolkata. A Friends FM RJ, along with Havells representatives and dhaakis, will visit 58 outlets in and around Kolkata to judge and shortlist the top five outlets. This will be done on the basis of prominence and resources dedicated to Havells products, as well as product knowledge of sales persons. The last day of the festival- Saptami (Oct 20th) will see a Tollywood celebrity visit the top five outlets to present winners with a cheque and trophy.

For Idea, the radio station has planned a four-day activity from 19 to 22 October, which includes a photography contest- ‘Think Yellow, Think Idea’, with the focus on the colour yellow. Stalls will be setup in eight premier Pooja pandals across the city. Attendees will be able to register themselves at these pandals, and use tabs provided there to click a selfie/groupfie or any photo, with the underlying theme of yellow. There will be cutouts, backdrops and props for people to feature in their photographs. As soon as photos are clicked and saved, they will be uploaded to the Idea Facebook page, where people will be able to tag themselves. The best photos will win gift hampers from Idea. Friends FM has put in place 67 presentations with unique concepts for their clients.