ASIA

RCS’s Zetta radio automation system looks like it belongs on the bridge of the Starship Enterprise. In fact, it controls something far more important: the entire playout system of a radio station.RCS, was a major sponsor and exhibitor at the RadioAsia and Radiodays Asia conferences which ran one after the other at the Shangri-La in KL, Malaysia over four days last week.Mike Pfeiffer, AsiaPac Support Manager at RCS, took Peter Saxon on a quick tour of the Zetta radio interface.[embedded content] […]

Building content making skills in onair teams:  Natalie Pozdeev (Program Convenor, AFTRS)In a Radiodays Asia Masterclass for both budding and current content directors, Natalie covered the challenges facing this group of radio professionals.CD’s need their teams to
Make high quality content
Engage, entertain and inform their listeners
Be on brand
Keep all of the stakeholders happy…shareholders, managers, sponsors
Teams are not static, people move on, new faces come in, and team dynamics change over time, or the requirements of the team can change.CD’s have to be able to see potential.So where to start, and a Skills Gaps Analysis and Skills Development Plan allows CD’s to identify skills that need to be built as well as acknowledging those that already exist.Natalie says knowing what skills the individual team members already have “…is important because you want to be really efficient with your time and you’re not training them in things that they know how to do already, but you’re also not training for things that you don’t need them to have. Be very clear about what it is that you need people to do, and what they can already do.”Skills you team need will include
Physical Skills
Technical Skills
Social or emotional skills
Personality and attitude
Knowledge
Think about
What level you need their skills to be at i.e. Basic or expert level
How much the context matters e.g. different formats for music or talk
See Blooms taxonomy (Google)Once the skills gap has been identified, bridging the gap should include
Quality feedback. Impactful feedback that improves skills and performance

Set up the time, place, mood well
Encourage self-analysis and reflection
Understand individuals and frame the feedback to meet them where they are
Don’t cover too much at once

Safe experience. Set up ways to practice that are safe so they can make mistakes without them going to air
Scaffolding learning. Structure the development to build the skills step by step. Think tiny steps, not big leaps
Structure training. Look for suitable courses if these are applicable
Once this is in place, it is then important to notice and to encourage progress. […]

If anyone understands the power of relationships, it’s one of Australia’s leading Content Directors, Amanda Lee, from Fox FM Melbourne who shares why the bond between Content Director and Talent is just like a marriage on day 2 at Radiodays Asia.Amanda says the foundations of any strong relationship are
Trust, Respect & Understanding
Communication
Compromise
Honest & Genuine Feedback
Being a cheerleader and having fun
And like all relationships this take work, constant work to be strong, functional and enjoyable.When Amanda first came into Fox and began work with the breakfast team of Fifi, Fev and Nick, she says “…it was important to come in slowly, observe and be there to support, champion them and share ideas.“I needed to show that I genuinely cared about them and the show, but I wanted the show to continue to be successful, that I could be trusted, and I knew what I was doing.“My aim was to spend time with them as a show and individually. Ask what motivates them, what do they want to achieve as a show, and ask how you can help them achieve that goal.”“All three have the same goal in that they want to be Number 1, but they all have different motivations, motivations I can use when giving feedback to them as a show and individually, or when I need to fire them up to bring out their best.” “It’s about leading with empathy, always being their biggest fan, understanding who they are as performers, and what it is that motivates them to get out of bed at an ungodly hour of the morning.” […]

Radio is always first and this is why Kenny Ong, CEO of Astro, Malaysia loves radioKenny Ong, the CEO from Astro Radio gave an inspirational and insightful presentation on where radio is now and where it needs to go in the future.He said everyone is on different journeys in radio, starting radio now is daunting for some. Ong gave the audience some great examples of the difference between brand and product. And how can radio compete in this new world as radio is a small dot in the entertainment world, radio needs to focus on partnerships in the big world of entertainment. The Masters of the Media world needs to be on the side of radio and in partnership with radio station.He showed all of the technical advancements that are happening in all of the media systems, it’s very complicated and everyone is fighting for attention and the competitors is not other stations but other media.What radio stations need to focus on in the future is the ‘Attention Metrix‘ a new method of how much time can you hold people, how much they understand and what they recall – “your partners will not want to see reach in the future they will want to see attention”.Kenny said you have to manage the audience and create an eco-system which will keep them involved. He noted there is a “JTBD –  Job to be Done” – people don’t buy things for the most obvious reason they buy it for other reasons prestige, peer pressure, better second hand value for cars – nothing to do with the features. Radio needs to think about how they will get their JTBD done for their audiences. In the audience family you need to track data, content is no longer king, reach will no longer be the measurement it will be more about how involved the listener is on every level.He also told the audience they need to look to Asia as well as the Western world. In Asia, you need to note the technologies from China and Japan, they have far superior AI and VC. The West is far behind China.Finally, he said, you need consistency. Ong is proud to be in Radio because radio is for the community. […]

What’s working for leading radio stations around the world at the cutting edge of creativity in programming, sales, marketing, and technology? How do they unlock potential, extend reach, strengthen brands, develop new revenue models, and create sustainable advantages?A panel of experts discussed this in the session “Creativity, Innovation and Competitive Advantage”.The session was moderated by Francis Currie and the panel included Anna Dixon, Senior Service Designer, ABC, Udit Tyagi, Chief Digital Officer, Radio Mirchi, India and Chris Johnson, Head of Digital & Innovation, SCA.Francis began the session by asking the panelists what is the most exciting thing they have seen in the digital space?Chris said: “The practical applications of AI, they are going to add to our daily lives.” For Anna, “seeing a shift to sharing more authentic experiences is very interesting,” and Udit found in car consumption and NFT initiatives to be most promising.When asked which part of AI they found most interesting, everyone had a different opinion. Chris found content creation to be very interesting, “We wanted to have an IP an we gave an AI program 5 minutes of audio and it’s consistently creating an audio tree,” he said.Anna said: “News. If there’s endless amounts of data, AI can sift through it and save time. We’re also working with a company in Spain on a misinformation ping system. If a politician or someone says something that’s not accurate or true, you’ll get a ‘ping’ wherever you’re seeing them.”Udit spoke of integrating AI with wearables. “Information from wearables can integrate with audio to make recommendations relevant to users.”Moving on, Francis asked Udit: “Is traditional radio dead? If not, why has Mirchi dropped it from its name?”“It’s not dead. In fact, Mirchi is back at pre-covid numbers on Radio, which will grow but maybe not at the same pace as digital. We don’t want to constrict ourselves to radio, you have to be everywhere. As some quoted Charles Darwin – It’s not the strongest or the fittest who survive, it’s those who are most adaptable,” replied Udit.“Anna, you have access to a lot of research. When you see the younger generation, is radio dead for them?” said Francis.“First of all, I think one should kill the question ‘’Is radio dead’. In Australia there’s still a big digital divide and a lot of people don’t have data access. For them radio is important,” she replied.Discussing content monetisation, Francis asked about new ideas to make new money from new people.Chris said that they focus on premium services and products such as podcasts and with integrated sponsorships. Udit said in India people have been lethargic to move from radio to digital and more groundwork needs to be done.What does the audio landscape look like 10 years ahead?Udit said: “It has to evolve. Currently it’s a very app driven market. As soon as everyone digitizes, you can be platform agnostic which will create enormous opportunities. NFTs would be very aggressive.”Anna said discovery of content and personalisation would be important in the future.“Radio is slowly going to decline as smart speakers rise. Podcasting will grow in momentum and you’re also going to have new formats. Many people will be thinking how to distill their business down to an icon on a screen,” said Chris.Photo – John Maizels […]

The car of the future challenges radio’s prominent role in the dashboard: new connected cars will come with internet connections in-built and large touchscreens that make accessing entertainment other than live radio the easiest it has ever been. Radio’s role in the car is under threat.Jamie Chaux, Head of Digital, Commercial Radio Australia (CRA), spoke on what does audio entertainment look like in the future connected car? What is being done right now to ensure radio is as best placed for the rise of the connected car?Speaking about VR, he said: “The car is the original VR experience. The cabin is the VR screen and what’s going on around it is the experience.” More than 80 percent of the people surveyed across the world in a WorldDAb 2021 Car Buyers Survey said they typically listen to the radio in a car and broadcast radio is a must have in cars. When considering which car to purchase, radio is the most important audio feature to have ahead of USB ports, Bluetooth, Android Auto and CarPlay.“In car radio is one of the easiest ways to consume radio in the world,” he said.Giving an example of an initiative to improve the car radio experience, he discussed a pilot project by NAB, US, of which CRA is a member, working with google to design the user experience based on what consumers expect from radio in car. In Australia, DTS has partnered with radio so that radio comes through broadcast, but visuals, artworks and information comes through IP. CRA is also in talks with local government for regulatory support. In Europe, DAB has already been mandated in all new cars.“Radio needs to have depth of content and look really nice. The fact that usage can be measured will also be beneficial in terms of analytics for creating content.”Photo – John MaizelsCars now come with a SIM, which brings a new interface and helps understand the consumption of the car. New models don’t have physical buttons in the dashboard, only touchscreens, “cars have become an extension of your phone without connecting to it.”What does the automotive industry think of all of this? Its aware that consumer expectations are high, but is concerned about the role of big tech in the car –
Who is collecting the data in the car?
Should you let big tech have access to all data points?
How do you manage a logged in driver’s data?
Who is ultimately writing revenue from the consumer?
Speaking about what broadcasters can do he said everyone should be prepared for fragmentation in all the different ways the connected car will go beyond broadcast radio. They need to see if their audio content is fit for the purpose of the future connected car and what other hybrid content they can have ready for car radio.On how competition will evolve, he said: “With touchscreens, you may not be competing with just other stations. The users may not switch stations, they may go to something totally different on their screen.” […]