Lite FM `trial to dial'

In radio speak, it's called "trial to dial", a catchy way for describing how radio stations, especially new ones, attempt to get listeners interested enough to turn the dial and try something new. In the increasingly diverse Dublin radio market, a new station will have to lay out a marketing budget of at least £500,000 (€634,869) in the launch period alone just to introduce itself to the listening public.

This week, Lite FM, the new easy listening station for the over-35s, announced its marketing strategy. It's a full-blown advertising campaign across all media, from television ads to mini-posters on supermarket trolleys. The initial campaign, which starts on May 22nd, three days before the station goes on air, will have a media spend of £500,000. It was devised by Dimension. Whatever about the broad range of media that Lite FM will be using to introduce itself, the creative approach will have to be strong if it's to stand out from the sophisticated advertising campaigns being run by the other music-driven radio stations.

"It's all about visibility," says Mr Paul Fitzsimons, head of marketing at Today FM. His station has a marketing budget of £600,000, spent mostly on "above-the-line" advertising. Mr Fitzsimons, who has worked for the BBC and Downtown Radio, says that branding and marketing a radio station is similar to any other product in that "it's all about defining an audience".

Lite FM starts with the unique advantage of having a very defined audience, the over-35s. What will be more difficult to define as unique will be the station's sound.

Lyric FM launched last year with a highly conspicuous £300,000 launch campaign, spent mostly on smart TV advertising. Its product is very different from other stations, so that if anyone hears classical music on the radio it's likely they'll think they are listening to Lyric.

It's not quite the same situation with Lite FM, where there is bound to be some crossover between its playlist, featuring the likes of Robbie Williams and Mary Black, and that of other more established stations, particularly RTE Radio One. According to Mr Martin Block, the new station's chief executive, the aim is to reach 10 per cent of the Dublin audience within the first year.