Radio for Development

What, if anything, can the world of development learn from western advertising? Are there parallels between the two that can be exploited by NGO’s to help create more effective ways of reaching listeners?

Ever since the world’s first radio commercial was broadcast in 1922, broadcasters have searched for innovative techniques to successfully deliver sales messages to carefully defined target audiences. In order to try and define the various strengths and weaknesses of radio advertising – and whether they could be harnessed for development broadcasting – I investigated a cross section of advertising related literature.

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When considering educational health messages on radio – I often wonder whether NGO’s would be justified to employ more provocative approaches to “shock” the listeners into paying attention…

Educational spot production for radio has traditionally followed a didactic style of delivery. These often feature a presenter, typically in a studio environment, reading a script to the audience. However, in western radio creative approaches are far more varied and can often challenge the listener preconceptions of “taste” in order to capture their attention.

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