e4m spoke to Mayura Shreyams Kumar, Director, Digital Business, Mathrubhumi Group & Naveen Sreenivasan, Head Media Solutions, TRD, Mathrubhumi Group about the relaunch of Club FM

A revival was paramount, to give Club FM a new lease of life after being around in the south radio ecosystem for over 13 years. Club FM re-launched their channel on 18th January 2020 with a striking and eye-catching yellow logo. The new logo has a longer ‘U’ which depicts the audience who has brought the channel to success. The aim is to have a better relationship with their listeners through interactions with their RJ’s. The FM channel’s new foray will consist of new infotainment shows and interactive sessions.

e4m spoke to Mayura Shreyams Kumar, Director, Digital Business, Mathrubhumi Group and Naveen Sreenivasan, Head Media Solutions, TRD (Television, Radio, Digital) Mathrubhumi Group delving deeper into the ideation process, marketing strategies of the re-modelled channel and how advertisers can leverage from their revival.

The intent to re-brand Club FM

Mayura Shreyams Kumar, Director, Digital Business, Mathrubhumi Group sharing her views said, “13 years after we launched ClubFM across Kerala, we decided to relaunch it in a new avatar. We came out with this exciting change in our format. There was a structured format that was in place all these years. What we have done is broken up that structured format to create a platform for our listeners that is more engaging, more interactive and more live. The listeners are the ones who made us the No.1 FM Radio station in Kerala. We are now giving them a better radio experience by making it interactive, engaging, involving listeners and more songs (including Six- Pack, Double Decker and Triple the Fun segments). This will enhance the radio experience of the listeners.”

Club FM intends to change the format to do away with the structured format and have their RJs engage with the listeners. RJ’s will speak on various topics which can be entertainment, social problems, lifestyle etc, not inclined to any specific show requirement. This will be through live shows from 7 am to 1 am the next day. Kumar pointed out, “The focus is more on the listeners, the change depicted is in The ‘U’ in the re-branded logo is bigger. ‘U’ also conveys ‘Ugran’ in Malayalam which means ‘Excellent’. Our bond between the listener and Club FM is bound to strengthen and grow through this new format.”

Naveen Sreenivasan, Head Media Solutions, TRD (Television, Radio, Digital), Mathrubhumi Group building on this shared, “Besides the new visual and audio Identity of Club FM, we are completely reimagining the radio listening experience with the relaunch. We will now have a fluid show structure with life, updated, interactive and relevant content. We always stood out on engagement and we are looking to take that to the next level.”

The marketing strategy to communicate the re-branding changes

Talking about the new brand ambassador and how they leveraged the youth icon Sreenivasan shared, “Tovino Thomas, who is a youth Icon and also connects with the masses, is the face of the launch. The launch kicked off with Tovino posting the ‘U’ from our new Logo in his Social media profile. This made the fans go crazy around figuring out what it was. On the Launch day, Tovino broke the mystery, explained the transformation and the focus on ‘U’ the listeners.”

The RJ’s of the channel kicked off the Launch Day programmes live on Wake-up Kerala, Mathrubhumi News’s popular Morning Show. For newspaper awareness, they carried a full-page ad along with their clients wishing Club FM all the best.

“We have a comprehensive campaign lined up over the next two months covering Radio, Print, TV, Outdoor and Digital Platforms. The campaign is designed by Maitri Advertising, who have been our partners for a long time, and the Focus is on ‘U’; ‘Ugran Maattangalumaayi Club FM’ (Club FM with Spectacular Changes)”, commented Sreenivasan.

Will Club FM branch out to OTT platforms?
Kumar commented that we are changing and adapting to a newer environment. They are exploring the option of OTT music platforms and it’s in the works.

Does the re-launch bring music to the advertiser’s ears?
Kumar says, “We are hopeful and will explore a creative advertising approach to get advertisers on board. We have received some very positive feedback on our relaunch. We continue to be a valuable, relevant platform that they cannot afford to miss.”

Sreenivasan remarked, “With the relaunch, the content of the station is going to be interactive, local, will have more story-telling and be relevant. With this, our Listener engagement and connect will further strengthen which will benefit our advertisers.”

Club FM intends to create unique properties for brands to associate with the listeners taking centre stage.

Sreenivasan shared that they are launching ‘Club FM Cinema Katha’ which is a first of its kind property on radio. He says, “Through this, we will have 3 top Malayalam movie directors collaborating and engaging with our listeners to create 3 Crowd Sourced Radio Cinemas. Further, these could become an anthology of 3 short movies. This gives a unique opportunity for brands to connect with an involved and enthralled Audience.”

Radio industry trends that will take centre stage in 2021?
Kumar says, “Radio content will find more space in different formats in digital and social media ecosystems. This will help in bringing more listeners to the radio. We will give listeners an enjoyable Radio experience and give solutions to advertisers that will help them grow their businesses. We can also look at collaborations, especially with other content creators, in terms of music, content sharing which will be beneficial to both parties.”

On a parting note, Sreenivasan concluded saying, “Over the past year, we have been successful in expanding our client base from the local markets, through a plethora of on-air engagement activations and these efforts will continue to pay dividends in 2021. Going forward, with the markets recovering, we will see a vibrant mix of local as well as larger advertisers from a wide spectrum of categories on Radio.”

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