Stay nimble to stay relevant: Tarun Katial

Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd (RBNL), a part of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, runs radio and outdoor advertising businesses. The company is steered by Tarun Katial, the CEO, who explains in an exclusive interview with Adgully why radio is an infinitely exciting media platform. Katial also recounts his journey as a media professional. Excerpts:

Adgully: You moved from television to radio; was it a difficult change to negotiate?

Tarun Katial (TK): The fact is, both are very exciting media platforms. Television has its own advantages, it's about building a consumer connect on the basis of, primarily, the audio-visual experience. Several forms are available: for example, a great storyline or great reportage or great reality shows. Television helps you shape opinions, and almost becomes a part of your life as far as entertainment and news offerings are concerned. The radio is really a companion to you. One listens to radio to take advice¦to get rid of boredom. We carried out a very interesting study with the JWT, called the Chakra study. It looks at the Human Chakras in the context of the role of various media. Radio is moving from the bottom two-three chakras to the Guru Chakra, which is in your forehead. Consumers are looking at radio to provide them with that shoulder to cry on, or that friend, philosopher and guide. The interactivity and the human voice afford immediacy to the medium.

AG: Could you take us through the early days of your career?

TK: I started my career as a media planner and buyer. At a very early stage of my career, I used to have a senior called Madhushree Ramani, and she used to be a leading light in the buying-and-planning field. She always told me that if numbers talked to me, I had a future in this business. I have kept that thought in my mind ever since.

AG: What was the greatest challenge when you moved to radio?

TK: It was a new medium. It is not so much a pre-recorded or strategised medium as a topical and local medium. Talent plays a big role in it. So you have to be able to train your people and align their craft in a such a manner that they are able to deliver in accordance with your thought and strategy. That is, I think, the big difference between television and radio.

AG: What make a radio station successful?

TK: We are very consumer-centric company. We adhere to the credo, "Suno sunao, life banao". For us, the "life banao" aspect will always be important: enriching our consumers' lives on a daily basis.

AG: What marketing strategies is Big following?

TK: Our marketing strategies come from our philosophy of being consumer-centric and being relevant to consumers at all points in time. We look at different opportunities to create that relevance. One strategy is regionalisation and we have built our businesses around regional and local insights. In Bangalore, we were the first Kannada FM station ever. Radio has had a presence in Bangalore long before we launched, but when we entered the fray we knew there was a latent need for Kannada music and we built our business around that need. Similarly, in Kolkata and even in Mumbai, we play music in the relevant tongues.

AG: How much does government regulation govern your strategising?

TK: It is a great enabler. I think the government policy in relation to news, current affairs, and sports can provide a great and positive impetus to the radio business.

AG: What are your plans for the next quarter?

TK: One of our significant activities has been to leverage our strength with Big Pictures; you have seen that with films like "3 Idiots', "Kites' and "Ravan'. We, as through-the-line media entity with Reliance, are going to capitalise on the Bollywood business and enrich our consumers' lives with our medium and through the opportunities we secure by building a bridge between Bollywood and average consumers. We have signed deals with the BBC and Bhavana Somaiya, for instance, in order to provide rich content.

AG: Music royalties take away a big chunk of revenues; how do you deal with that?

TK: The copyright board is committed to resolving this in the next quarter. There is also a copyright Bill which is with a standing committee of Parliament. And we are hoping that, as the I&B minister has said, the government will help us rationalise the regime.