“Clients pay and want results. Radio channels are selling inventory, but are you able to show a client the value you can deliver?” asked Kartik Iyer, Managing Director, Carat Media India, at a panel discussion featuring top executives from media agencies at India Radio Forum 2015.

The session, titled ‘The Mystery, Myth & Magic Of Radio – Advertisers Speak’ was moderated by Gaurav Mehta, Chief Marketing Officer, OLX.

While responding to a question about how a message is perceived on radio as against other mediums, Anita Nayyar, CEO India & South Asia, Havas Media Group, said: “There’s a perception that creative agencies have not realised the tension of radio, that we don’t understand the medium and how the audience reacts to it.”

Hari Krishnan, Managing Director, ZenithOptimedia, felt that radio has still not achieved a breakthrough to capture attention in the way that other media has and the onus was on the industry to put seriousness into the medium.

When asked if the industry was pushing forward to grow from 3-4 percent of the ad share it currently has, Arun Sharma of IPG Mediabrands said: “It can’t grow if stations continue to fight each other. Together, they have to fight the medium which has 40 percent share of the ad spend. Radio is held back by lack of data to prove it works for the client. They will spend money on any medium that proves its value. Radio industry needs to build an ecosystem and show case studies of how radio campaigns have added value to the client, otherwise there’s too much challenge from digital.”

While discussing what they would do to give radio more sheen of they were the broadcasters, the panel agreed that case studies needed to be showcased, there has to be a conviction in the medium between clients and agencies the industry needs to come together to build an ecosystem where it can go for measurements in more than just a few cities.