Podcast plays a very intimate and immersive role, which other mediums can't, says Sunil Kumaran of Big FM

Having a clear content strategy, creating genuine content and owning up space are the most important pillars of an effective content marketing plan, said Sunil Kumaran, Country Head, Product, Marketing and Thwink Big, Big FM, in an interview with BuzzInContent.

Launched 2.5 years ago, Big FM's Thwink has now got into the podcast, audio stories and audio-enabled commerce. Emphasising on the growth of podcasts and how Big FM is making the most of it, Kumaran said, “This space will grow rapidly and in the next one year and outsmart many other mediums. Podcasts play a very intimate and immersive role. Imagine someone listening to 25 episodes of a series. Very few formats and platforms can have that kind of capabilities.”

In the interview, he talked about various things brands must consider before investing in the radio for their content requirements, storytelling, and the uniqueness Big FM brings to the table in comparison to its competitors.

Excerpts:

How has the role of content marketing evolved during the pandemic?

Marketers increasingly understand what content marketing brings to the table. While advertising is primarily meant to grab attention, and it is done to stimulate certain emotions, content marketing, on the other hand, strengthens the brand and wins consumer's trust. It makes the brand an expert in its space, bringing credibility. It improves the discoverability of the brand, which is one of the significant criteria in today's cluttered world. Content helps to create a connected experience across different platforms. In any marketing mix, both advertising and content will co-exist. Most people were not advertising during the pandemic, but still, continued with the brand building and emotionally connecting exercise.

Does that mean content marketing is limited to only brand building exercise, and it directly cannot push sales?

I'm not saying that, but it is not the immediate goal of the content. It is primarily supposed to build your brand equity. During the Covid times, most of the brands realised that their consumers are going through a tough time. And they found content as a way to connect with their consumer and show empathy and build trust, which will help them in the long-term when the market opens up. Because brands now need to stimulate buying, they are advertising a lot. But having said that, the content has not reduced. There are enough stats available where 70-80% marketers say that content marketing is the most critical area for them currently.

Can radio as a platform help generate sales lead through content?

By integrating brands in contests and other things with the radio content, one can drive sales, but the real strength of radio lies in driving engagement and creating influence. There is a saying that you can take the horse to the water but cannot make it drink. I may take you to a website where you might buy. Whether you buy or not depends on certain things, you have gone through in your journey. That's the important thing about understanding the roles of the different mediums in the overall marketing communications mix.

As life has started coming back to normal, the amount of money brands are spending on regular traditional ads around Big Boss, IPL and the festive season has increased. It seems that content marketing has only been a sidekick for them during the pandemic—your comments.

Firstly, one should be clear in her/his content strategy and the objective it aims to achieve. For example, if the content strategy has the aim to project the brand as an expert, then it should consistently produce content showcasing itself as an expert on the topic. Secondly, the brand must stay genuine and never exaggerate through its content. Thirdly, the brand must know which area it wants to own up rather than trying hundreds of things and consistently start building that up.

It is challenging to stand out in the clutter in these times as everyone is trying to create content on the lines of 'rising, positivity, stress, COVID warriors' and similar formats. Hasn't it been challenging for content creators to come up with unique ideas each time? What would you suggest brands in this challenging scenario?

The starting point is understanding consumer insights and knowing what the consumer is going through. When the environment is stressful for the consumers, the brands want to talk about positivity. But, how one interprets that space and what it offers through content is up to it as a brand. That is where the uniqueness can come in. Brands are smart enough to understand that if every platform is creating content around covid warriors, that's not the unique content to associate with. There could be a glut of content happening in a broad generic space like several brands jumped the bandwagon of food and recipe related content during Covid because the need is the same for everyone. Still, the unique content stood out.

What are your views on the podcast space shaping up in India?

Brands are hesitating to invest in podcasts because it is a newer space. This space will grow rapidly and in the next one year and outsmart many other mediums. Being a digital platform, ROI measurement is not a problem here. Podcasts play a very intimate and immersive role. Imagine someone listening to 25 episodes of a series. Very few formats and platforms can have that kind of capabilities. It is not interactive, but what it can do, other mediums cannot.

What are the mistakes brands make in creating and distributing content through radio partners?

Brands use their audiovisual communication and try to put that on a radio platform. Both mediums have to be treated differently. Many brands look at creating a master communication and adapt that on the radio as a platform.

What advantage does radio have over other mediums when it comes to content marketing?

Rdio offers local mass reach. While it can give you national-level reach, it can provide you localised reach for every market. That's a huge advantage radio offers. RJs as influencers is the other winning factor radio has. Rjs happen to be the most credible influencers in every survey. Radio is always very topical and relevant in every market.

Please elaborate on Thwink's journey so far?

It was conceptualised as a growth driver for the organisation. We have understood digital has evolved rapidly. Hence, going beyond creating content on digital, we are looking at how to leverage the digital ecosystem. That is the space we have evolved into as Thwink Big. Podcast, audio stories and audio-enabled commerce are a few areas we have got into.

Why should brands flock to Big FM more than any other competition platform of yours when it comes to consumer content solutions for them?

One of the biggest reasons is to drive effectiveness in chasing a certain objective. Being a radio medium is our inherent strength and what Big FM brings to the table in the form of engagement and influence are added to that strength. These are generic strengths. Specific power where we do better than anyone else is areas like storytelling in which we are pioneers. Because of this, we got on to space much early and built expertise. So now we can get you into a very strong engaging storytelling format and tell you what will work best for the brand across markets. We are a great network of storytellers, including regional. As a brand, we have been consistently investing our time and resources on the newer areas of engagement using voice. I think that is what we bring to the table which is different from the others.

What revenue does content contribute in comparison to advertising?

We track the FCT and non-FCT growth. The space beyond advertising has grown by 30% during the last quarter over the previous quarter.