Avtoradio – the First Car Radio Station

Michael Hedges June 1, 2007

To be big in a market a radio station needs that special lure – a hook, raison d’etre. To be big in a big market, it is essential. Russia’s AvtoRadio has it, a solid radio brand.

Launched fourteen years ago in Moscow, AvtoRadio (literally, “car radio”) has steadily moved up the rankings, calling itself “The First Car Radio Station.” Now the station is firmly among Moscow’s top stations with a sister station in St. Petersburg and a network, including AvtoRadio clubs, in 300 Russian cities and 8 countries. 

Being brand conscious and a leader in a radio market of more than 40 stations, 10.5 million inhabitants – Europe’s most populous city – and 2.5 million automobiles takes no small effort and AvtoRadio, part of the Prof-Media Group, and its 420 employees takes the task seriously. 

“There are several key things that make a modern city radio different, better or worse,” said spokesperson Yuri Kostin, “…the morning show, the quality of your sound, and your ability to keep the promise of your brand. We try hard to be good at that. Our morning show has been ranked as the best in the country three times by Radiomania, the annual award ceremony for radio industry. We work on the quality of the signal permanently. We stick to our principles in our programs and special off the air events like concerts or contests.”

AvtoRadio’s off-air events have won international recognition. In 2005 the US National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) awarded it an International Broadcasting Excellence prize for organizing and executing a road rally from Vladivostok to Moscow (10,000 km / 6,200 miles) called “For the Sake of Life.” The automobile caravan had the dual purpose of expressing solidarity with families of school children who died in Breslan as well as supporting auto safety in Russia. AvtoRadio Club members joined the rally enroute.

Officially, AvtoRadio Moscow programs 90% music and 10% talk, with advertising as the law allows. The network program provides windows for local material.

“The sound of Avtoradio is the sound of generation of the 1980’s,” said Kostin. “At the same time Avtoradio is not a retro or oldies station. The music department follows all the new releases and adds them to the playlist provided they are, well, not too trendy for the audience. Once we used to have an on-air slogan that said: “People listen to the radio. As for Avtoradio, they love it”. This is what actually differs it from many others and makes it a truly all-national radio product. We can feel it and it is not always about the ratings where we have highest ranks.”

Avtoradio ranked number 3 in weekly reach (2.48 million listeners) among the 43 rated Moscow radio stations in the Comcon Media survey from December 2006, a 7.7% increase from December 2005. Only Russkoye Radio (Russkaya Mediagruppa) and Evropa Plus (Lagardére Active Radio International) ranked higher. Avtoradio owner Prof-Media Group also operates Radio Energy (under franchise from NRJ Groupe), Humor FM and Russian Songs. Most are networked across major Russian cities.

“Like in any other large city where the competition increases every year,” said Kostin, “a station team has to be creative, well organized as a business and you also must be aware in real time what the audience expects from you. Avtoradio has gone a long way before it became one of the leading Russian radio broadcasting networks, which now can be heard in over 300 cities throughout the vast territory of Russia.”

The Avtoradio network also extends outside Russia to Armenia, Cyprus, Israel, Ukraine, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia and Abkhazia. All stations carrying the Avtoradio brand adhere to company guidelines, said Yuri Kostin.

“Most of them are franchises but some, like Avtoradio Saint-Petersburg, are parts of Prof Media Broadcasting Corporation. By the way, we have an Internet portal where all stations have their pages designed according to our brand book. And we work closely with our regional partners to ensure that the brand is represented the way we want it in other regions of Russia.”

Prof Media corporate spokesperson Konstantin Vorontsov said the company would “soon” develop a “pool of around 50 radio stations broadcasting through internet.”

“We try hard not to lag behind,” said Kostin, keeping everything in perspective. “We have created new media department within the corporation and believe very strongly that the future begins today.”

Previously published in Radio World International May 2007 in a slightly different form.

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