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Re-visiting Meow 104.8 FM - A blog review by Mayank Dhingra
Re-visiting Meow 104.8 FM - A blog review by Mayank Dhingra
(COURTESY : Radioandmusic.com)
I’ve been thinking of reviewing Meow FM again to understand and share how it has evolved since then but it was only after one of the hosts at Meow emailed me to know “what I feel about the station” that I finally got down to write.
It took me about a week or so to listen to Meow at different hours to see what exactly they are upto and here are a few things I managed to gather.
1) The “A-Stars” Migration: Ever since last year there has been quite a few A-Stars that have left Meow FM for various reasons. Those who’ve left include Hosts Jaishree(last year?) and Rochie(July 9th) and COO(and host) Anil Srivatsava(June 2nd). The roots of migration of A-Stars in this fashion can mostly be traced down to the boardroom (bad policies or management, or both) and I assume that’s the case with Meow too.
Given the fact that the business Meow is in, the loyalties are almost equally(if not more) associated with the Hosts and the station, the station would have definitely felt the heat.
2) Talks are making way for Music: While during its initial days Meow was as much about conversations as one could be but I feel things are changing. Possible the Host exodus is the reason behind it. With just a few quality Hosts (Ginnie, Divya ,Manisha and Ved?) to handle about 14 hours of airtime(7 am – 9 pm), playing more music is inevitable. I remember listening to non-stop music for about an hour yesterday around 12-1 pm.
As it turns out Meow is mostly about music on weekends, which isn’t particularly good for people like me.
If in case this music fever spreads to weekdays, Meow will lose out on a good differentiator and even if Meow has to play more music they can try to make the whole process of the music selection a bit more interactive. A simple thing could be to ask listeners to SMS songs they’d like to listen(not sure if they do it already)
3) Diluted Positioning: While I don’t have any official word on this but off late I’ve started to feel that Meow is no longer aimed at just women. Be it the fact that they now have a male host for their 7 AM show or the fact the hosts no longer re-iterate Meow is India’s first ‘Just for women’ radio station. Also, unlike previously where male callers were allowed on just a couple of show(Tu-Tu Meow Meow & Top Cat) and on weekends(?) you can hear them on practically every show now.
If there has been a change in their target audience I am afraid Meow will find it increasingly more different to survive the competition and if there isn’t such a change they should try to leverage their positioning a lot more to do more tie-ups and eventually attract more women to them.
4) Focus on Quality: While other radio stations are still busy doing silly spoofs of Sholay’s Gabar or Sunny’s Papa ji dialogue, meow continues to add value by talking about meaningful things. Meow 104.8 FM offers by far the most intelligent conversations across the radio frequencies. Not sure if most RJ’s(from radio mirchi to fever) are stupid or they pretend so to sell to the masses but I am quite happy to note that Meow has a better lot of Hosts which continue to talk sensible stuff.
It’s not surprising that Meow has Dr Kiran Bedi as a co-host on one of their shows and they can also boast of having a great weekly book club.
5) Community: Meow’s ning community started by Anil reflects its listeners loyalty. With about 10,000 members @ ning they have a wonderful community of their customers available for free. This goes on to show that people love the station and want to stay connected.
While I haven’t noticed extensive efforts aimed at making the most out of their community they can do a lot of things and make the most of it though I am not sure how it’ll work out with their ning community as it was created by Anil who is not associated with Meow anymore.
I’d like to conclude by saying that Meow has definitely not reached the place it should have given the strong grounds it started with and it’s a very crucial stage they are in and if they don’t do the right things game could swing either ways.
PS: Meow please get your site re-designed and if not at least update the content. It looks like the site hasn’t been touched for ages.
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Mayank Dhingra is a Blogger and Social Media Consultant based out of New Delhi. He blogs regularly about Business, Marketing and Social Media at http://mayank.name and tweets at http://twitter.com/mayankdhingra
(COURTESY : Radioandmusic.com)
I’ve been thinking of reviewing Meow FM again to understand and share how it has evolved since then but it was only after one of the hosts at Meow emailed me to know “what I feel about the station” that I finally got down to write.
It took me about a week or so to listen to Meow at different hours to see what exactly they are upto and here are a few things I managed to gather.
1) The “A-Stars” Migration: Ever since last year there has been quite a few A-Stars that have left Meow FM for various reasons. Those who’ve left include Hosts Jaishree(last year?) and Rochie(July 9th) and COO(and host) Anil Srivatsava(June 2nd). The roots of migration of A-Stars in this fashion can mostly be traced down to the boardroom (bad policies or management, or both) and I assume that’s the case with Meow too.
Given the fact that the business Meow is in, the loyalties are almost equally(if not more) associated with the Hosts and the station, the station would have definitely felt the heat.
2) Talks are making way for Music: While during its initial days Meow was as much about conversations as one could be but I feel things are changing. Possible the Host exodus is the reason behind it. With just a few quality Hosts (Ginnie, Divya ,Manisha and Ved?) to handle about 14 hours of airtime(7 am – 9 pm), playing more music is inevitable. I remember listening to non-stop music for about an hour yesterday around 12-1 pm.
As it turns out Meow is mostly about music on weekends, which isn’t particularly good for people like me.
If in case this music fever spreads to weekdays, Meow will lose out on a good differentiator and even if Meow has to play more music they can try to make the whole process of the music selection a bit more interactive. A simple thing could be to ask listeners to SMS songs they’d like to listen(not sure if they do it already)
3) Diluted Positioning: While I don’t have any official word on this but off late I’ve started to feel that Meow is no longer aimed at just women. Be it the fact that they now have a male host for their 7 AM show or the fact the hosts no longer re-iterate Meow is India’s first ‘Just for women’ radio station. Also, unlike previously where male callers were allowed on just a couple of show(Tu-Tu Meow Meow & Top Cat) and on weekends(?) you can hear them on practically every show now.
If there has been a change in their target audience I am afraid Meow will find it increasingly more different to survive the competition and if there isn’t such a change they should try to leverage their positioning a lot more to do more tie-ups and eventually attract more women to them.
4) Focus on Quality: While other radio stations are still busy doing silly spoofs of Sholay’s Gabar or Sunny’s Papa ji dialogue, meow continues to add value by talking about meaningful things. Meow 104.8 FM offers by far the most intelligent conversations across the radio frequencies. Not sure if most RJ’s(from radio mirchi to fever) are stupid or they pretend so to sell to the masses but I am quite happy to note that Meow has a better lot of Hosts which continue to talk sensible stuff.
It’s not surprising that Meow has Dr Kiran Bedi as a co-host on one of their shows and they can also boast of having a great weekly book club.
5) Community: Meow’s ning community started by Anil reflects its listeners loyalty. With about 10,000 members @ ning they have a wonderful community of their customers available for free. This goes on to show that people love the station and want to stay connected.
While I haven’t noticed extensive efforts aimed at making the most out of their community they can do a lot of things and make the most of it though I am not sure how it’ll work out with their ning community as it was created by Anil who is not associated with Meow anymore.
I’d like to conclude by saying that Meow has definitely not reached the place it should have given the strong grounds it started with and it’s a very crucial stage they are in and if they don’t do the right things game could swing either ways.
PS: Meow please get your site re-designed and if not at least update the content. It looks like the site hasn’t been touched for ages.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mayank Dhingra is a Blogger and Social Media Consultant based out of New Delhi. He blogs regularly about Business, Marketing and Social Media at http://mayank.name and tweets at http://twitter.com/mayankdhingra
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Weeping Willow on -
I cannot say much about the other hosts....but I admit joining Meow because of Anil....Once I happen to be in Delhi on duty ....So, one late night while returning home from a dinner party...on my way home I turned on the FM ( not because I was anxious to listen to it but it was merely a getaway from my cousin's Heavy Rock Metal ( which I so dislike) .....then suddenly I heard Anil on air..I heard many excited and anxious young women calling up just to say hello...but I had a different reason for staying tuned to his show...It was different.I was more interested in what women had to say concerning their personal issues ...and somebody was giving women in India a chance to talk their heart out...I heard him patiently listening without being judgmental..and that was something I really appreciated. I found myself engrossed and I don't now how long but even after my cousin and friend had long got down and was fast asleep..... I remember sitting there alone till 1.a.m. I heard him mentioning about this SNS (something just drew me here)....So,I joined in...since then I'm here....I wholeheartedly agree that Meow won't be the same again without Anil ....none of us are indispensable (like my Boss always cites :P) but some pll are irreplaceable.TOO BAD FOR MEOW !
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Permalink Reply by Pritam Sinha on -
Hey Renata, I too joined Meow because of Anil ji and since the time he has left the station, somehow it doesn't feel so appealing as before (no doubting my orientation) but...I have also become very very busy of late and bought a TV and my son is getting teachable age...so it just so many coincidences, but I do listen to Parvati Rathore in the mornings for she gives you another genre of programming, but YES, nobody can replace Anil ji. He has something EXTRA for sure. Worked for an Internet Radio for 11 months and with now famous Gaurav Kapur & OP Rathore etc. but Anilji's sense of humour is just amazing and his intention to help anybody is just so infectious. Thought, Jaishree & Rochie too were good plus Divya etc. too. Wrote to him on this review and he says it's sad but he can't help.
Just thinking, Meow's positioning as a women empowerment station is akin to our Women's Reservation Bill, everybody supports in principal but...there are too many vested interests here. May it sticks to its original agenda!
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Permalink Reply by Weeping Willow on
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I didn't now my friend Mayank Dhingra is such a perspicacious writer :P
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Permalink Reply by Makk on -
I tried...to raise voice ...Meow website i guess spider web must be visible now there...NO UPDATES
Witten to Anil...But i guess he is helpless.
I hope Meow wont die like this.
Good Luck!!
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Permalink Reply by Amrita on -
As expected,post Anil Srivatsa, Meow Fm is loosing its distinctiveness on the airwaves.
All the other Radio stations were just clones of each other.....and apparantly Meow Fm too is poised to join there ranks!!
What a pity!
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Permalink Reply by Weeping Willow on
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Agreed Amrita..I don't get to listen to Meow on a daily basis but I can vouch it will never be the same again without Anil....if I have to listen to endless songs & mindless chatter (which most of the FMs are famous or infamous for)....Well, for that I have my ipod and my own voice to entertain myself.
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Permalink Reply by Amrita on
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LOLzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Smart Girl!!!!.....If only more and more people understood this....., for a 4-5 minute song...there is 15minutes of torturous spoofs and PJs and endless ads!!!!......
These Radio stations are thriving because people just lapup whatever crap these Radio stations dish out......we find it unpalatable....because In MEOW ( as it used to be)...... we have gotten used to the Gourmet Cuisine
;)
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Permalink Reply by Rocky.. I OBJECT.. DEVDAS on -
rightly said!!
ppl make brand
not brand make ppl!!
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Permalink Reply by Lavanya on -
I was wanting to write on the same lines......its like give us a break people.....Meow is just another Radio Station today!!! I mean ...yes...we know the RJ's are having a great and phenomenal Fan following but Sorry to say the programmes are no longer fresh they have reached a state of stagnation...Anil was like the Life....whats the body without the soul...so sorry People....its just that as loyal listeners we need to give us our feedback and so Please give us something that stirs our intellect......please give us a redemption from the regular mundane programmes on air!!!
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