MIDDLE EAST
24
MEDIAWEEK
23 November 2008
WHAT IF...
Short wave FM
Your bosses have identified a niche for radio advertisers: children. They want you
to set up a specialist radio station targeting kids under the age of 10. Sponsors and
advertisers are lined up. What do you do?
SERIOUSLY. I wouldn’t touch this with
And also, for children’s radio, you could little spots hosted by the kids themselves,
a bargepole. Children’s radio has been
create characters. You know how kids love maybe reviewing the latest kids movies or
done in the UK. Capital Radio launched
Barney, Thomas the Tank Engine, that DVDs. Stuff like that. That would work.
a radio station with Disney for kids. And
kind of thing? You’d have a voice for the Musically, it’s probably not that awk-
Brian Commins
it’s no longer with us. Which kind of says it
characters, and then—if you were doing ward. I don’t think kids aged 10 and un-
all. But let’s say the bosses insist.
anything with the station outside—it’d be der have really developed their own taste
Commercial director and
It’s a tough target, because those 10
head of programming
years vary hugely. There’s a massive dif- Coast FM
Never going to happen
ference between, say, a five-year-old and
a 10-year-old—as opposed to, say, a 25-
year-old and a 30-year-old. If you’ve got
music from cartoons and TV, like Scooby
a toddler who’s just learning to speak,
Doo and Bob the Builder, because they
they’ll have hugely different taste from
identify with that. Even when they’re very
a child who’s 10, who actually thinks
young, they hear those tunes and instant-
they’re quite cool and is starting to be
ly perk up.
concerned about what they wear and
It wouldn’t be a disaster to listen to,
how they look. The programming, then,
but—from a commercial point of view—
has to be pretty varied.
if Capital Radio and Disney can’t do it,
If you’re running a commercial radio
then it will be a struggle. It’s not that you
station, you need as much interaction as
couldn’t create it and make it sound good.
possible. You’d want competitions and
You absolutely could. But it’s the com-
prizes, of course. The importance of any
mercial aspect of it. The peak times will
radio station is to interact with your audi-
be exactly the same as grown ups: when
ence. So you’d just do stuff that kids like.
they’re in the car going to school and
But you’d need to involve the schools.
when they’re in the car coming home. But
Because, obviously, they have the bulk of
if they’re aged 10 and under, you’re going
the day—particularly with children over
to lose all your audience after 9pm. And
five—with the kids. So if you could make
you’d still have to have something there.
it a really credible station that is some-
Maybe you could put something on for the
how educating the kids through having
parents. It could be chilled music, or pro-
fun and listening to music—helping them
gramming promoting what’s happening
with reading, or keeping them safe, what-
the next day for the kids. At least you’re
ever it is—but in a way where they don’t
still keeping an audience then. Maybe.
really realise they’re being taught, that
It would cost the same as running a reg-
would be great.
ular station, and I can’t honestly see there
As far as presenters are concerned, most a bit like Disney, they’d always be in char- in music. They’re led by other people. At
being that many advertisers coming on
of them would probably come from a kid’s acter. That would work well for kids. that age, they’re open to almost any kind
board, particularly when your audience
TV kind of background. The really annoy- From a presentation point of view, of music. You’d obviously play your Justin
disappears after 9pm and is in school—
ing TV presenters, that when you watch you’d get the kids themselves involved. At Timberlakes, the Jonas Brothers, all the
out of reach, unless you can persuade the
them, you think, ‘How can you do that for that age, they love to perform. So maybe kids love them, but also things like Han-
schools otherwise—all day.
a living?’ It makes your palms sweat just to some very basic radio workshops, where nah Montana and High School Musical,
I wouldn’t want my salary to rely on a
watch them. But they’re actually legends we teach the kids how it all works and which is massive in the kids’ market.
kid’s radio station. But it could certainly
in the eyes of the children. then let them take over the show. Regular And for the younger kids, you’ve got
be fun.
TALES FROM THE TRENCHES
Grave situation
Ahmed Abdullah Al Emadi, TV director, Dubai Municipality
talks us through the scary world of TV shoots in Dubai
I’LL TELL you something about working for But there are other challenges too. Once,
Dubai Municipality: they just don’t know how we were supposed to put together a film at the
much we media guys have to suffer. First of all, Dubai Cemetery. Imagine having to enter into
they want movies in no time at all, and at any a graveyard at midnight; what’s the first thing
cost, and then they ask us to do some seriously you’re going to feel? It’s a little scared, right?
scary things. It was really frightening but it had to be done.
My bosses at the Municipality don’t realise We made sure we were always with somebody
how long it takes not only to film but also to else at all times but I still took the camera
produce movies, but that’s what we have to do and shot it. At first, my colleagues were really
regardless of the time we are given. After all, scared and they said, “No, sorry, we can’t.” So
they are in charge and I have to do as they say. I told them if they came along to the shoot, I
If we have an impossible deadline, I make my would give them a day off afterwards, so they
team work through the night so it gets done. reluctantly agreed. So by cajoling them I man-
We have to find a solution, which is usually to aged to make it happen, but it was the hardest
work 24/7. thing I’ve had to do.
www.mediaweekme.com
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