Jacaranda FM's Kevin Fine: Maximising radio in the 4th Industrial Revolution

Jacaranda FM General Manager, Kevin Fine

To articulate further, Podcast growth globally has outstripped all the forecasts from both a usage and revenue point of view, although South Africa lags far behind on both counts. Online retail in South Africa is beyond a R14bn business. According to Arthur Goldstuck’s World Wide Worx Report, being dominated by clothing and food purchases and with massive gaps in non-alcoholic beverages and vaping, for example. Sponsors are moving to creating experiences for their consumers, rather than mass participation events, so that they can drive their brand values and influence. And, it’s clear that consumers are starting to use voice activation more - I’ve always had a great relationship with Siri - and I see its usage on the rise with multiple devices now available in the South African market. The one area that still isn’t clear in the crystal ball is the one touted by the PWC Entertainment and Media report (Entertainment Outlook 2017-2021, September 2017. They pointed to more than half of all media spend in SA being spent on digital by next year but this isn’t entirely clear.

Nevertheless what was clear as we entered the year was that radio as an industry either had to be ready or prepare fast to be relevant in the spaces described to ensure that, it remains relevant - even given the penetration rate of 90% of South African audiences (BRC RAMS Release May 2019).

So what approach have we waken to drive our business fortunes at the pace of revolution? First, we’ve absolutely gunned for the line by building and focusing on the attraction of infinite audiences and using our wherewithal to add real value to their lives. Roughly translated that’s required the creation and distribution of great audio and visual content for consumption both on -air, as well as on demand. Secondly we’ve invested heavily in platforms to allow transaction with audiences including giving access to podcast streams, audio streams, and our own online mall where consumers can transact. Thirdly we’ve made it abundantly clear to our advertisers that new audiences are aggregating around these points, there is a strong market fit and we’ve removed a number of limitations to make it possible for everybody in the ecosystem to benefit.

The results are interesting because the ambition has been to be a first-choice destination, a consumer champion, and a provider of new markets to clients. After a short hiatus the brand has returned to the top 10 most listened to stations in the country (BRC RAMS May 2019). Additionally, jacarandafm.com is the biggest radio website in the country according to Narrative. Socialblade lists, Jacaranda’s YouTube channel in the top 110 in SA for video views and, at 22 million views, it’s the number 1 most consumed radio content industry-wide. Added to that the traction on audio streaming (1m streams a month), mall transactions and tenants, plus monthly podcast downloads, and it’s clear that the strategy is paying dividends. With 3 million consumers attracted to the brand’s platforms on a monthly basis the aim is to deliver a million or more in the next year.

The next phase leverages the assets harder to the market, adding the use of REAL influencers – much more effectively than the way the market has generally been using them - as well as a fully-fledged ecosystem that delivers real value, reach, frequency and ultimately, for our clients, revenue.

But as the attention economy becomes more diverse remaining at the forefront will be critical and enable us to find gaps and opportunities. Failing fast is critical and delivering quality for clients and listeners will be a guarantee... This in turn will allow engagement with audiences based on their needs and prepare them for a long-standing relationship and future with the station and radio as a platform.