ANALYSIS: Radio - Upstart's launch turns up heat on dominant station. Market leader's fight back makes radio even cheaper, reports Leithen Francis

<p>The rebranding of two radio stations in Singapore last month will </p><p>provide dominant player MediaCorp Radio with its first taste of </p><p>competition in a long time. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>English-language station The Most Music 91.3FM and Chinese-language </p><p>offer Heart 100.3 have been relaunched as WKRZ 91.3FM and UFM1003 </p><p>respectively. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The change in UFM1003 is the more noticeable of the two. In its latest </p><p>incarnation, the station has gone from talk to a music-playing format, </p><p>mostly Taiwanese pop songs. "We did a complete 100 per cent turnaround, </p><p>starting with three new veteran anchors. The programming is music </p><p>intensive with dominant personalities, very high energy," says Tom </p><p>Roberts, managing director of Capital City Radio Sales, which sells </p><p>advertising on the two stations. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The station has shifted its focus to the 20 to 39-year segment from its </p><p>previous 35 plus target. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The other station relaunched as WKRZ 91.3 FM on October 22. Since it </p><p>underwent a revamp last September, its format remains predominately the </p><p>same - latest hits from the US and UK as well as Australia and Asia. It </p><p>also lured on-air personalities away from its biggest rival. MTV is also </p><p>providing DJs who will come into the WKRZ studios to do live broadcasts </p><p>on weekdays from 8pm to midnight. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Roberts says the station - pitched primarily at 25 to 34-year old </p><p>trendsetters - has won some big name advertisers such as Levi's, </p><p>Foster's, Singapore Telecommunication and Coca-Cola. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The relaunch of both stations follows SPH MediaWorks's partnership and </p><p>acquisition of 50 per cent of the NTUC Media's radio business under a </p><p>joint-venture company, UnionWorks. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The relaunches, along with the deteriorating economy, have prodded </p><p>MediaCorp into action. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>With 13 stations under its umbrella, MediaCorp is attempting to corner </p><p>the market with discounts and exclusive offers to encourage advertisers </p><p>to only use its stations. Given that the medium is already an </p><p>inexpensive one, MediaCorp's discount tactics have gone down poorly with </p><p>the competition. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"The challenge when you're a market leader is to maintain the value of </p><p>your product. They have some great properties and there's no need for </p><p>them to discount but they are," comments Roberts. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>But it appears that UnionWorks is itself guilty of discounting. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"They've come up with a lot of packages that involve big bonus spots - </p><p>for example, you spend $10,000 and get $20,000 worth of </p><p>advertising," says Arthur Sung, account media director at The Media </p><p>Edge. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"But at the end of the day, nothing is guaranteed (in terms of audience </p><p>reach)." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In response, Roberts says "ad agencies like to see ratings, so the fact </p><p>that it's a brand new station can be used as an excuse not to buy. But </p><p>there are advertisers who have the courage and the vision and will jump </p><p>in first". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>He adds: "It's relatively easy to sell a station that has been around a </p><p>long time and has a lot of ratings; whether it will show the biggest </p><p>decline when a new station launches is yet to be seen." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>MediaCorp has eight of the top 10 rated radio stations, according to AC </p><p>Nielsen's 2001 survey. These include Yes 93.3 FM, Capital Radio, Love </p><p>97.2 FM, Class 95 FM and Perfect 10. The only major competitors are </p><p>Power 98, which ranks sixth; while UnionWorks' 100.3 FM is 10th and </p><p>91.3FM is 11th. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>As media buyers see it, UnionWorks still has to prove itself. That it is </p><p>backed by Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) is seen as a bonus for the </p><p>upstart in its infancy. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"I think SPH will put a lot into revamping the stations and improving </p><p>the quality; we are already seeing DJs moving across from MediaCorp </p><p>Radio to UnionWorks," says Deepika Nikhilender, general manager </p><p>MindShare. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Sung at TME adds: "Generating PR for the radio stations will be a lot </p><p>easier" because SPH has newspapers, TV stations and other media </p><p>assets. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Radio is very habitual so it's hard to get people to change (stations) </p><p>but UnionWorks has a good platform to do that." </p><p><BR><BR> </p>