Big Ambitions How Jérôme Fouqueray Achieved Best Ratings Ever with Fun Radio in 2011 and Gears up to Expand Into New Markets
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3 November 2011 week 44 Big ambitions How Jérôme Fouqueray achieved best ratings ever with Fun Radio in 2011 and gears up to expand into new markets The Netherlands Belgium Excellent start for brand A very gratifying year new digital channel RTL Crime for RTL-TVI-news-team United Kingdom United Kingdom Steven Spielberg loves Radio Luxembourg musical The X Factor comedy premieres in London the RTL Group intranet week 44 Cover: Jérôme Fouqueray, Managing Director of Fun Radio and RTL2 2 the RTL Group intranet week 44 “Fun Radio is growing steadily” After several years of audiences down on heyday ratings from 2005, Fun Radio is now poised to crown 2011 with success, reflected by its ranking as the second most popular music radio station in France. Managing Director Jérôme Fouqueray explains the strategy that enabled Fun Radio’s remarkable recovery and reveals his new plans for the station. France - 3 November 2011 Fun Radio has concluded major partnerships with the biggest names in music For several years now, traditional music radio The success of Fun Radio is first and stations have faced a two fold threat. Firstly, foremost the story of a brand that has succeeded the volume of radio advertising has been on in reinventing itself, shaping itself around a a steady downward slide owing to very fierce music position that is clear, unique, powerful competition from the Internet. And secondly, and perfectly in tune with current aspirations. music stations’ boat has been seriously rocked This spot-on positioning is above all the result by the emergence of new modes of music of efforts to completely overhaul the station’s consumption. Yet it is against this challenging programme schedule that date back as far as backdrop that Fun Radio is set to achieve its 2007, when Jérôme Fouqueray brought his best ever ratings in 2011. former experience from NRJ and M6 to his job as Fun Radio’s new General Manager. Now hot on the heels of the historical market leader, this year for the first time ever Fun Radio, To redefine an image that had become fogged the radio station with the dance-floor sound, and to win over new listeners, the radio station crossed the symbolic threshold of 4 million proceeded to invest very heavily in marketing in listeners per day, an increase of 1,020,000 a bid to get on the same wave length as young listeners since 2005. In regional ratings, Fun listeners with respect to their values and tastes in Radio ranks as either the leading or second music. These efforts led to the adoption of both most popular radio station in 44 towns and cities a new music position and the signature slogan throughout France, now leading NRJ in most “the dance-floor sound” early in 2008. Four years major urban centres in France as well as in down the line, Fun Radio has become the most Belgium’s French-speaking Community. modern brand on the radio scene, a pulsating 3 the RTL Group intranet week 44 The third edition of Starfloor will take place on 26 November 2011 in Paris-Bercy presence that elicits a passionate, committed experience that is both unique and perfectly responsefrom its young target audience, as in keeping with Fun Radio’s positive values. reflected in the mounting popularity of the Starfloor is a massive hit with the public, having brand’s new digital media and its presence on sold out nearly a month in advance. In economic social networks. terms, the commercial partners and the revenue generated by the sale of licensed products Over the past four years, Fun Radio has enable Fun Radio to post a decent profit. concluded major partnerships with the biggest names in music, including The Black Eyed On the other hand, Fun Radio is deeply Peas, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, LMFAO and committed to digital technology with a view David Guetta. These partnerships take the form to enlarging its audience and establishing a of exclusive marketing campaigns, use of their permanent link with its listeners, 24 hours a images for advertising campaigns and support day seven days a week, regardless of how its for concerts or tours. Signing such partnership programmes are broadcast or received: onair, deals plays a determining role in strongly and online or ondemand. In fact, Fun Radio has unmistakably delivering on the musical promise derived maximum benefits from the rapid spread associated with Fun Radio and in guaranteeing of digital technology, being quick to deploy its that its brand shines brightly in the minds of the brand on all new audio media: portable players, public and secures its listeners’ loyalty. smartphones, computers and TV sets with an Internet connection. To renovate the Fun Radio brand and create a better vehicle for its values, the radio station By so doing it has achieved spectacular results: forayed into staging major music events, the Fun Radio website has been the second most Starfloor being the most representative of this popular music radio station website in France new activity. Coproduced by Fun Radio and since January 2011, with 5 million visits and M6, the first Starfloor took place in 2009. The as many as 800,000 unique visitors per month. third will take place on Saturday, 26 November This excellent performance was enabled by the in France’s largest venue, Paris-Bercy, and it launch of the Playfun music streaming portal will feature the best French DJs and the very (www.playfun.fr) on I-Phones and smartphones biggest stars. 17,000 people are expected to and the fact that the free Fun Radio app was attend the concert, which will be broadcast live downloaded over 2 million times in just a few on Fun Radio and simultaneously on the DTT days. All in all, new media currently represent channel W9. Starfloorwill give the radio station’s nearly 15 per cent of Fun Radio’s total audience, listeners a chance to share – live – a powerful with more than 500,000 listeners a day. And on 4 the RTL Group intranet week 44 Fun Radio on I-Phone and I-Pad social networks, Fun Radio is establishing itself as the absolute leader on Facebook, with no fewer than 1,040,000 fans. In 2012 and over the years to come, Fun Radio certainly intends to continue developing fresh sources of revenue by identifying the most profi table sectors and teaming up with the best possible partners. Accordingly, the radio station was very happy to see the effective launch at the start of September of the Bemix online banking project for young people under 25 years of age, the fruit of a very close partnership with Crédit The BEMIX banking card Mutuel, one of France’s biggest banks. The target of this key partnership is to see 100,000 active Bemix accounts created within two years. “Fun Radio is growing steadily. We now want to see the brand develop beyond Paris and outside France and fi ght its corner in the battle now commencing between the leading radio brands aimed at young listeners”, says Jérôme Fouqueray. “The fi rst phase began three years ago when Fun Radio shored up its presence in all French overseas territories. Now we are working hard to fi nd top partners to develop its presence in Europe, in the Americas and why not in Asia”, he concludes. 5 the RTL Group intranet week 44 A remarkable debut for RTL Crime RTL Crime, the brand new Dutch channel launched in September 2011, attracted an incredible 2.9 million unique viewers in October 2011. CSI The Netherlands - 3 November 2011 October 2011 was an excellent month for RTL Crime, the most recent addition to RTL Nederland’s family of channels. The digital theme channel launched on 1 September 2011 has grown its viewership continuously and in October 2011 nearly reached the three million mark, with 2.9 million unique viewers in its target group of viewers aged 6 and older. In the core target group of viewers aged 20 to 49, the figure was 1.4 million. RTL Crime ranks second among the country’s 41 digital channels, Piet Römer from Dutch series Baantjer right behind football channel Eredivisie 1, which was available for free on some days during the month. The most-watched series on RTL Crime are 24, Dutch series Baantjer and the CSI franchises. These largely contributed to this remarkable result, as well as the fact that the channel was named October’s ‘Channel of the Month‘ by the provider Ziggo. RTL Crime’s programme line-up includes top crime series from the Netherlands as well as international productions. Additionally, documentaries tell viewers the true story behind high-profile criminal cases. Starting November, the theme channel will also broadcast the German hit series Alarm für Cobra 11. 6 the RTL Group intranet week 44 A story of dignity and compassion The Laconia, a Teamworx and Talkback Thames production, premiered on ARD on 2 and 3 November 2011. Ken Duken and Franka Potente Germany / United Kingdom - 2 November 2011 The events surrounding the torpedo attack on the Laconia, a British troops transporter, and the ensuing rescue operation by a German U-Boot are among the more remarkable episodes of the Second World War. ARD’s flagship channel aired the two-part miniseries The Laconia, a story of human dignity and integrity, at 20:15 on Wednesday 2 November and Thursday 3 November 2011. Directed by Uwe Janson based on a screenplay by Alan Bleasdale, the drama reconstructs the events surrounding the rescue operation mounted on the high seas by Captain Hartenstein, which saved the lives of 1120 people.