The recent wave of new media has forced a number of city radio stations to turn to off-air events to find ways to survive.

“Talking about radio, is talking about creativity. To win the competition [against other stations and media forms] we are required to be always innovative in creating our programs,” program director of Bahana Radio Leonita said to The Jakarta Post recently.

Radio stations must be constantly up to date with the needs and habits of their listeners to keep them tuning in and to give advertisers reasons to continue buying radio slots.

“A commercial station like us depends on advertisements, so we must adjust ourself with the need of the advertisers as well. People used to think of radio as a place to air commercials, now [advertisers] want more than that,” Leonita said.

Advertisers, she continued, want to sell their products through off-air events, therefore Radio Bahana, which operates under the slogan “Indonesian Family Radio” has launched road shows and fun runs to attract many participants.

In line with their target market, the station provides various family oriented programs that talk about children’s health, women’s problems and marital and workplace relations.

Mandarin-language radio station Cakrawala has also turned to off-air events to boost its listener base and public exposure.

“Thankfully there are only a few radio stations in Jakarta that broadcast in Mandarin so we do not really feel the heat from other stations or the Internet, but other media has diverted our listeners’ attention, to a degree,” Cakrawala marketing manager Effendi Bayu said.

He added Cakrawala Radio also supported Taiwanese boyband F4’s concert in Jakarta in 2004.

Cakrawala radio is primarily a music channel and does not offer any specific programs besides the Mandarin top 40.

Dangdut (Indian-influenced pop music) radio station CBB FM claims that it has not been affected by
the shift of people’s interests to new media.

“We are of more concerned with the existence of community radio stations that usually operate illegally, and attract significant portions of listeners,” CBB program director Imas Tamborin said.

She said they must be aware of the needs and interests of their listeners by increasing their off-air activities such as road shows to traditional markets that help them communicate interactively with their listeners.

“That is our strategy, to maintain our proximity with our listeners,” she said.

Beside road shows they also hold the annual Dangdut Karaoke Festival, which attracts hundreds of participants.

She revealed the station had a popular new mainstay program called Gentar (Gendang Tarling), which plays a variation on dangdut music that uses the recognizable sound of a traditional drum from Cirebon, West Java.

Despite its “safe” position, CBB radio management does plan to begin streaming radio content online in the near future.

Dangdut radio station CBB FM claims that it has not been affected by the shift of people’s interests to
new media.

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