At least that's what Kevin Best and John Dickson, joint executive creative directors of the Australian radio advertising boutique, Heard, would make you believe.
The duo is currently in India to conduct radio advertising workshops in different Indian cities. Best and Dickson, whose company Austereo Ltd also runs radio stations in Australia, have been invited to India by Kolkata-based radio broadcaster Amsi.
Best and Dickson say that in India radio enjoys a 2.5 per cent share of the total advertising market of Rs 9,900 crore (Rs 99 billion). However, the share is likely to go up to 5 per cent by 2008.
Dickson insists that the attention span for a television commercial is about 20 seconds, but that for a radio spot is only 5 seconds. "So we have only the first five seconds to keep the listener from tuning out," he says.
The radio advertising workshop focused on how to structure a radio commercial. Best says that music seems to be an important element in commercials on Indian radio stations.
"I guess it's because music is part of India's culture. That radio in India has reached villages where electricity is yet to reach, speaks volumes of the importance of a radio commercial."
