Virgin Radio is about to be acquired by the Times of India and relaunched by the Absolue Radio team of Clive Dickens, Donnach O'Driscoll and Adrian Robinson.
They've got a tough task ahead of them as the Virgin Radio name is going and they're having to rebrand and relaunch, as well as coping with all the issues (staff, operational, relationships) that arise when you buy a business.
The team are doing something a little different, however, to most evil corporate takeovers - they're being open. All Virgin Radio staff (and anyone else who wants to take part) can read and contribute to a blog - OneGoldenSquare.com - that the team have setup to discuss and brainstorm what the new owners should be doing and how they should be doing it. Already you can read about Clive's first staff presentation, breakfast jock Christian O'Connell talking about music research or digital media head Andy Gumbridge talking about the relevance of streaming on the iPhone.
In takeovers, whilst management often talk about staff being the most important asset, it's these kinds of initiatives that prove they really mean it. Or am I just being naive?
