Embracing Change Stay tuned for the latest news by Charles Mak Radio station finds success with rebranding initiatives It has been 15 years since Metro Broadcast Corporation Limited first went on air with two distinctive music-based channels and the English-language Metro News. Since then, there have been several ups and downs, but a series of bold marketing and rebranding activities mean the station is now well set to enter a new era of expansion. The original operating model helped Metro to break even after six years. However, as the business environment changed and audience expectations shifted, the company sometimes struggled to keep pace. "Advertisers were no longer attracted by the music-based programming format, so we recorded deficits for a few years," says current managing director Bianca Ma. "It was only after 2001 that we established our own niche and rediscovered our strengths." We want to initiate change because that's the only way to get ahead New names The first major change had taken place in 1996. Under new ownership after Cheung Kong and Hutchison Whampoa had taken control, the company revamped the channels previously known as FM99.7 and FM104 and renamed them Hit Radio and FM Select, respectively. At the same time, Metro News became Metro Plus. "FM Select became a bilingual channel with a number of talk shows and Hit Radio was deliberately targeted at a younger audience," Ms Ma recalls. "We shifted our focus from mainly music to broader entertainment. The market started to take notice and we felt we had made a real breakthrough." By 1998, though, feedback and audience figures indicated it was time to fine-tune the business model and reposition the company once again. Celebrities such as Nancy Sit were recruited, along with a handful of DJs from Hong Kong Commercial Radio, such as Eric Cheng, Gary Ngan, Perrie Lai and Wyman Wong. FM Select also started to target more mature listeners with programmes on parenthood and chat shows about current affairs. "We were just a copycat," Ms Ma admits. "It was merely what our competitors were doing, and they did it better. That's when we lost our audience, meaning that advertisers lost interest and our market share hit rock bottom." Right niche As a result, Ms Ma left Metro in 1998, but was persuaded to return in November 2001. Her first task was to redefine the brand and, in particular, to find the right market niche for the two Chinese-language channels. She recommended that Hit Radio should become Metro Showbiz, a round-the-clock entertainment news channel; meanwhile, FM Select became Metro Finance, the world's first 24-hour Cantonese station covering business topics; and Metro Plus programming was geared more towards a diverse international audience. "Our core strength in reporting financial news ensures our audience has up to the minute information," Ms Ma says. "Also, we moved away from the usual 'horizontal programming' which breaks each day into fixed time periods. Instead, we took a bold step of introducing 'vertical programming'." Besides that, Metro signed an agreement two years ago with Radio Guangdong to jointly broadcast programmes such as Guangdong Pop, GD HK Express and 9+2 Musica Pioneer Chart. "We expanded our potential audience from the seven million people in Hong Kong to an extra 80 million in Guangdong province, where over 50 per cent of the population regularly listens to the radio," Ms Ma says. "That has strengthened our brand and given us more advertising power." Another innovative move was to go into event marketing. Metro now holds about 200 special events each year and over 20 were held in shopping malls to tie in with the recent World Cup. "This has helped us to break out of the old marketing framework and to build our advertisers' brands and our own simultaneously," Ms Ma says. "We have created a one-stop shop that offers everything from concepts to implementation. It is popular with advertisers and the results have been encouraging." Work smart She adds that Metro may not have as long a history as some of its competitors, but has no intention of simply following in their footsteps. "We see ourselves as young, energetic and different in many ways," Ms Ma says. "The average age of our staff is around 30, and we encourage streamlined operations, creativity and working smart." For example, Ms Ma notes, other stations may have an army of engineers but Metro has a dedicated team of less than 10 people. This allows for an uncomplicated approach to the business and means employees have the space to express themselves and are therefore more willing to give their best. "We want to initiate change because that's the only way to get ahead," Ms Ma emphasises. "We don't see the arrival of digital broadcasting as a challenge, but as another opportunity." Radio days 2006 Bianca Ma became managing director Launched paid financial website service www.104mfonline.com.hk 2005 Bianca Ma promoted to deputy managing director First profit recorded since channel's revamp in 2001 2004 Tapped into the broadcasting market of the Pearl River Delta by entering into a shared programming agreement with Radio Guangdong 2003 A 12-year radio broadcasting licence granted by the government in accordance with the Telecommunication Ordinance Metro Plus awarded "Caring Company 2002/2003" by the Hong Kong Council of Social Service Initiated cooperation with leading mobile services provider 3 Mobile to offer multimedia broadcasting service via mobile phones Launched eSHOP services at Metro's website 2001 Bianca Ma rejoined Metro as group sales and marketing director Second rebranding exercise: focus on infotainment and finance Event marketing−approximately 200 events are held each year 1998 Set up another broadcasting studio in Central Business underwent severe slump 1997 Broke even after six years of deficits 1996 Cheung Kong and Hutchison Whampoa became owners of Metro First major rebranding exercise with strategic shift of focus 1991 Set up headquarters in Whampoa Gardens Service included two Chinese channels, FM99.7 and FM104, and one English channel AM1044 (Metro News) Taken from Career Times 18 August 2006 Your comments are welcome at [email protected]