Hello community-oriented media of Uganda,
Developing and selling good radio is not easy, as many of you know, and why investment (even cooperation) in innovation and content development is broadly weak. Most radios rely on copying or donor funded programmes to lift the bar and appeal to listeners.
We are currently working with several relevant and quality radio programmes, among the best produced in Uganda, and widely broadcast, which have a common problem: no airtime sponsor, locally or nationally.
This means program sustainability and to some degree reach and effectiveness is affected, sometimes terminally. Most donor funded programmes end when the donor money runs out!
We also faced this issue whilst being involved with an innovative technology-enabled youth radio program recently.
A key issue is the lack of audience data (numbers) to sell to potential advertisers.
Community radio needs a combination of numbers and a content (and audience) story.
Ideally a program that is different, relevant and meaningful, that can capture the attention of defined people.
Note, there are motives for organisations to get involved with good radio programmes and reasons / obstacles not to bother.
Radios need to identify these factors and be able to a) reinforce or enhance the motives and b) address/overcome (all) objections where possible.
It also needs to understand the client, its goals, strategies and challenges.
Unfortunately, most programme sponsorship proposals we have seen in Uganda are not convincing in these areas, relying more on hope and goodwill to get the business.
The key questions a proposal needs to ideally address span the following:
- What is the product (program), its purpose & goals?
- Who is the program for, who is it trying to serve and in what ways? Target audiences and desired effects, the changes in knowledge, attitude or behaviour is the programme aiming to achieve.
- What are the features of the program (how it works to reach and impact) including its broadcast time and format, and explain why has it been designed like this.
- How has the program performed to date (if relevant), what evidence do we have? This should include audience survey data if available, a mix of quantitative and qualitative usually helps. Don't rely on the fact that advertisers just want radio logs to confirm the program/message was played.
- How do we plan to improve the program / better achieve audience goals? How do we know what is working or not (how are we monitoring and evaluating the programme)?
- What partnership / involvement options are available? The fewer the better.
- Why is radio a good choice for the client?
- Why would the recommended option(s) suit the client - help the client achieve its objectives (which should be known)? State the benefits, what they mean in real terms.
- Address identified issues or risks (which may be perceived). Is any other reputable company involved? How we will secure listeners and/or listener engagement. How we improve throughout the programme.
- What investment is required by the client to get these benefits? Focus on benefits not on low cost or cheapness, as we have seen so many do. A recent proposal targetting a major sponsor offered an advertising 'discount' for a new unique high-quality programme, reflecting that the vendor (media company) lacks confidence in the product.
- Why will this investment be worth-while / produce a pay-off? Is the investment good value / better than alternatives? You may want to use feedback from prior sponsors of the program if appropriate. Is it worth doing compared with other options available to the client?
- Next steps are? How can we help you decide/answer more questions/make it happen?
The coverage and emphasis needs to vary if client is
A) Government department (or political party)
B) NGO or similar
C) Commercial company
Client objectives (and proposal requirements) are typically more detailed moving from A to C. Governments tend to have the broadest most general goals, like the current Ugandan leader pronouncing to eradicate household poverty (ie sometime, somehow, somewhere.....).
Would you like more information or help to sell your radio programme or approach prospective sponsors / advertisers?
If so you can send us copies of your task and the advertising/sponsorship/partne
