Tbo Touch changes the radio landscape with launch of TouchHD (With pics & video)

At a glittering launch party at The Shed at Steyn City, Tbo Touch unveiled what he referred to as the “future of radio” and “the thing that will save radio”, TouchHD. Michael Bratt attended to find out more.

Arriving with his usual flair, Tbo Touch drove into The Shed in an Audi R8 before emerging dressed in an Iron Man costume, a reference to his quest to save radio.

Touch thanked everyone for attending, making a point of starting with the bar staff and security guards, joking that this was the other way around and politicians would be thanked last. He also thanked the media for not revealing the secret of TouchHD prematurely.

TouchHD, he revealed, is a radio station app. He described it as the “best pan-African radio station” and called Gareth Cliff on stage to thank him for his part in bringing this offering to life. He also said United Stations would be handling all the sales business for TouchHD and urged attendees to go and see the representatives to start investing in the offering.

The players selling TouchHD

Speaking to The Media Online, Leigh Carter of United Stations said, “We’ve made a conscious move into digital and the lines are blurring. As a radio sales house, we are best suited for this project… We can service any client brief on TouchHD from a multi-channel perspective. It’s no longer simply radio, it’s digital, it’s eventing, it’s content marketing”.

Asked how United Stations won the contract and why Tbo Touch chose them, Carter said they had no previous relationship with Tbo Touch, but that talks only took around a month to be completed. She added, “He needed a partner who is agile, we are not burdened with corporate infrastructure”. She also discussed how this type of project is a problem in terms of budget because it is difficult to classify. “What is this? Is this a radio budget, a digital budget, a content budget? It’s a problem with agencies working with their budgets in silos.” She said they would approach all advertisers, as no advertiser was irrelevant on TouchHD, though she did admit, “It takes a different type of client to see the value in a project like this”.

Presenter line-up

A lot of buzz was generated around the presenter line-up that TouchHD has put together. Tbo Touch admitted to poaching the best talent from Metro FM and that he would continue to do so… until the station gives him a farewell show. He said that when he left the station they simply asked him to leave, when he was planning on doing one last show to thank his fans.

Here is what those who tune in can look forward to: