Executive Summary

___________________________________________Introduction
Radio Shobdo is an online radio station. It basically is a website that allows the visitors to listen to songs on their computers using an internet line. It is called web casting. Our radio service is not transmitted broadly through wireless means. Instead of AM, MW or FM media, Radio Shobdo broadcasts all the programs over the internet. It uses streaming technology. Audio files (Songs, Radio commercials etc.) are continuously transmitted serially over the internet in TCP or UDP packets, then reassembled at the receiver and played a second or two later. This is how we can broadcast our programs in almost real time.

Whats the difference?

Internet radio is "streamed" over the internet and can only be received by internet receivers such as your PC or by an internet receiver (internet radio). DAB (Digital) radio is transmitted via special transmitters that allow parallel transmission of radio transmissions and traffic, breaking news, etc. and will switch channels to each local transmitter while on the move, unlike conventional radio. Because DAB is broadcast on different wave lengths and uses different antenna to conventional radio transmissions, you cannot receive their transmissions on old type receivers.

__________________________Rationale for product selection

We have chosen online radio station as our service. Online radio stations are immensely popular in countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia etc.

From a business perspective:

Online radio stations are a very good source of profit through advertising. Such as Google Adsense, AdBrite, Local banner Ads etc. They are usually accessible from anywhere in the world. So it is easy to get more visitors. The more visitor we get, the better it is for us to earn. We dont need to spend much on setting up the transmitter and other machineries. All we need to spend on is our server, website development team and some others operating costs. An online radio station can easily promote its brand through sponsorship of an event, such as a concert. It doesnt have to spend a penny. Rather, Radio Shobdo will broadcast an Ad of an event. The event will promote its logo as their media partner.

From a general perspective:

They are usually accessible from anywhere in the world. So Bangladeshi immigrants, living in other countries can use our services.

People who generally browse the internet for long hours can visit our internet radio station for entertainment. People listen to radio while they work. There is more than one computer in almost every office. The usage rate of computer (with internet connection) is increasing day by day. People love to listen to the radio on the web at work or home while doing other things.

Traditional FM radio listeners have to spend money sending SMS in order to request a song or participate in a quiz. Our customers do not have to spend much on this issue.

Listeners feel more affiliated with the radio station as they can chat with the other listeners, participate in quiz, vote for their favorite songs, request a song and chat with the program anchors. The service costs nothing apart from the monthly internet bill.

________________________________________Our Limitations

The first and foremost weakness is that many people of Bangladesh do not have access to the internet. Moreover slow internet speed is another drawback for a business like ours. Third, many internet users are not familiar with internet radio stations.

Solution to the limitations

Radio Shobdo is not the first radio station in Bangladesh. We have so many competitors. So we had to go for a niche and target only a portion of internet users of Bangladesh. We promote our brand to the Bangladeshi internet users as widely as possible. To fix the problem of slow internet speed, we have designed our website with no use of flash or java applets. Its a simple HTML based website, which is quick to load. Besides we compress the audio files to make them fast to load in the users computers. We use WMA (Windows Media Audio) to transmit our programs. Another plus of WMA format is that it can be delivered as a continuous flow of data. Therefore we are capable of delivering a high-speed radio service.

_______________________________________SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis is very important for a business organization. We have done SWOT analysis for Radio Shobdo.

Strength:
Our listeners feel more affiliated with our service which is very positive to build customers rapport and brand loyalty. Radio Shobdo represents Bangladesh in a wider market. As it is not transmitted through conventional FM, AM media, anyone from anywhere can listen to our radio stations. Foreigners can listen to Bangla music through Radio Shobdo. Our service discourages piracy. Many people download songs from Blogs, torrent site etc. We encourage people to listen to songs rather than downloading them illegally. FM radio stations are sometimes unable to deliver the best sound quality. Because of weak/bad radio signal, it might sometimes be impossible for the listeners to enjoy high-quality songs. But Radio Shobdo ensures the quality as it doesnt broadcast its programs through FM, AM or MW media. We promote Bangladeshi music and musicians.

Weakness:
Internet usage rate is relatively low in Bangladesh. Internet speed is not satisfactory in Bangladesh. Most people are not very aware of internet technology. It is not easy to promote an internet-based product. No proper research available regarding this service. The commercials are shorter than that of TV media. Programs attract only a few types of listeners. Most programs are music-oriented.

Opportunity:
For FM media, the number of listeners is increasing but no increase in ad revenue. This is the situation that every typical FM, AM radio channel is facing. But we have the opportunity to increase our earning with the increase of customers (who will only visit our website). We can develop a forum for Bangladeshi music fans. This way, we have the scope to increase our market share by capturing more customers. As internet usage is now growing rapidly, it is now becoming easier for us to grow bigger.

Threats:
There are many websites that enable the users to download music. Even though it is illegal. People might be interested in downloading licensed songs, rather than just listening to them. Some FM radio stations are planning to go online. For example Radio Amar. This is a threat for a business like ours. During natural disasters, the service of FM radio stations is not usually interrupted. Where as our customers, especially who use a broadband connection or dial-up connection, may face problem receiving our service.

_________________________________Target Market Analysis

We have conducted a sample survey among the FM radio listeners. Most of them are aged under twenty five. Over half (60%) of the listeners have access to the internet. As we are not the first radio service provider, we have targeted only the internet users who are Bangladeshi by nationality and aged below twenty five. We have targeted both who listen to FM radio stations and who do not use such service.

Internet User No Internet Access

Demographic Segmentation: Our targeted segment is aged below 30. We target both male and female Bangladeshi people, who are educated and capable of using and affording internet. Geographic Segmentation: Our targeted customers mostly come from Bangladesh. But Bangladeshi immigrants living in other countries are also targeted.

Psychographic Segmentation: Our targeted customers have interest in music, latest trends etc. They are more up-to-the-minute and technology conscious than others.

________________________________________Brand Element

Brand Name: Radio Shobdo the brand name reflects our service. We are basically delivering sound over the internet. This is what our brand name is inspired from.

Logo:

The logo is a combination of text and symbol. The three disks, replacing Os in the text reflect music. The green colored swirl represent growth of our company.

Color: The logos color is green, which represent Bangladesh, patriotism and youth.

Slogan: Addae ar gaane Tarunno boye jaak praane The slogan reflects youth, chat and music.

_____________________________A Screenshot of the website

_______________________________________Value Innovation

Differentiation:
In todays ultra-competitive world, we have to differentiate our brand from others in order to survive. With terrestrial radio business, there are a vast number of choices within brand categories now available to consumers. Consumers find Sirius, Internet radio, Ipods and other audio entertainment sources, how do listeners choose between all thats out there? The key to our survival as an online radio service provider is to make our service as unique as possible. Some of our exclusive features are as follows.

1. Interactivity: Interactivity is one of our most attractive features. Radio Shobdo offers instant chat facilities. Listeners can listen to our programs, while at the same time chat with other listeners, send a song request, vote for his/her favorite song or artists, ask a question, chat with the radio jockeys (RJs) and participate in weekly quiz programs. Interactivity makes our listeners feel more involved with the radio service. 2. Wide range of options: Our website has five different sub-channels to allow our users to choose the type of songs they want to play. Channel 1 plays only Bangla soft (pop, folk) songs, Channel 2 plays Bangla Rock, Metal songs, Channel 3 plays hip hop and trance music, Channel 4 plays English music, Channel 5 plays Hindi/Urdu songs.

3. Additional services: Along with internet radio service, we also provide some additional services, for example free news headlines, daily horoscope, stock price update etc.

Positioning:

In marketing, positioning has come to mean the process by which marketers try to create an image or identity in the minds of their target market for its product, brand, or organization. Radio Shobdo has positioned itself by offering unique services. We have unique promotional activities. For example, Radio Shobdo is the first online radio broadcasting service that promotes the brand through TV media. Besides, we distribute leaflets amongst the guest of various events like musical concerts. Moreover we have chosen Facebook (a very popular social networking website) as one of our media for promotion. We have a fan page redirecting internet users to our main site. Another effective way to promote our brand is to sponsor different types of events as a media partner. Our brand is promoted through concerts, fashion shows, trade shows whilst we dont need to spend any extra money. We only spend the media space. Moreover we have plan to develop a forum for Bangla music fanatics enabling them to request song lyrics, post album reviews, post concert news etc. Another way to position our brand is to Participate on other online radio stations, such as Radio Circle, Radio Dhaka, Radio Gunjon etc. The best way to grow an online radio station is to be in front of the audiences of other radio stations. Appearances on other stations similar to ours will give us a chance to promote our show to people who already consider online radio stations viable forms of contents.

_________________Leveraging Secondary Brand Association

Brand associations may themselves be linked to other entities, creating secondary association. In our case, we have selected Events (through sponsorship). We sponsor different types of cultural shows, such as concerts, fashion shows, fairs, exhibitions, reality shows etc. Through sponsorship, our brand is linked with that of any musical celebrity, event organizing firm or occasion. We act as the media partner of different types of events. For example we have a plan to sponsor a concert of several underground Rock bands. This way our brand will be linked with the underground music industry. Moreover we can link our brand to a specific mainstream artist through sponsorship of their albums. At the same time we invite guest artists in our live interview programs. This is another way we use to link ourselves to the celebrity.

____________________________________________Conclusion

Radio Shobdo is not the first online radio in Bangladesh. It has many competitors successfully running their business in this industry. But we have differentiated our service by making it more interactive and adding some other unique features. Even though it is not easy to attract customers to an internet-based service in a country like Bangladesh, we have found a niche among the internet users and targeted them. We have our exclusive ways to promote our brand. Internet usage rate is not very high in this country. Besides internet speed is relatively low. But we have developed our website in such a way that it quickly load in users PC. We have plans to expand our building a forum for music lovers. Finally, the road to success might not be as smooth as it seems, but if our team of dedicated employees can keep up the spirit and continue putting their best effort to make it even better, the success can no longer be unreachable for Radio Shobdo.