MxMIndia

Tag: Lokmat

  • The stars visited Zero Mile and DNC College ground to meet the people in Nagpur

    Lokmat kickstarts media promotion for “Dishoom”

    By A Correspondent

     

    Marathi daily newspaper Lokmat, has kickstarted the promotion of upcoming movie “Dishoom” at zero mile in Nagpur, Maharashtra.

     

    Presented by Eros International and Produced by Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment, the movie star cast John Abraham, Varun Dhawan and Jacqueline Fernandez visited Zero Mile and DNC College ground to meet the people in Nagpur.

     

    After starting their promotion from Zero Mile, the ‘Dishoom’ team along with Lokmat also met over 5000 fans at DNC College. The celebs enthralled the audiences by clicking selfies with first 100 lucky students. The stars also entertained the people by engaging in fun activities. Varun shared quick tips for a fitter and healthier body with three men in the audience. Jacqueline was quizzed on her Marathi speaking skills.With this one of its kind activity people in Nagpur got an opportunity to have an enjoyable evening with their favorite bollywood celebrities.

     

    Rishi Darda, Editorial and Joint MD at Lokmat said, “We at Lokmat, are delighted to welcome the star cast of the movie ‘Dishoom’ in Nagpur. We look forward to partner with movies for promotion and provide a platform to the people to meet the celebs.”

     

    “By engaging in such activities we will generate innovative content on entertainment for our readers. The team at Lokmat, wishes the star cast of ‘Dishoom’ a great success,” added Darda.

     

  • The former Lokmat group COO takes complete charge of the group’s print and digital media businesses

    Jwalant Swaroop joins Sakal as CEO

    By A Correspondent

     

    Veteran industryperson Jwalant Swaroop has joined the Sakal Media Group as CEO. He will take complete charge of the group’s print and digital media businesses.

     

    The Pune-based Sakal Media Group has a presence over nine ‘units’ across Maharashtra along with a Marathi and English daily in Goa. Other than the eponymous flagship Marathi daily, the group also publishes a slew of Marathi magazines, English daily Sakal Times and a daily Marathi tabloid-sized newspaper exclusively on agriculture called Agrowon. While all its publications have digital editions, the Marathi esakal.com is said to be the largest Marathi news website. Sakal is the #2 Marathi daily as per the Indian Readership Survey.

     

    Mr Swaroop is seasoned in the media domain having spent two decades in Lokmat (which is the #1 Marathi daily). He was COO at Lokmat from June 2011 to July 2012 and had joined the Marathi news group in August 1992 after stints in an ad agency and a publication (1995-92).

     

    Since leaving Lokmat, Mr Swaroop set up Oshoyana Consultants in August 2012 and Happiness Unlimited as recently as October 2014.

     

    Speaking to MxMIndia, Mr Swaroop said he was looking forward to leading the Sakal Media Group to greater heights. Interestingly, while at Lokmat, he would fight the Pune-based group fiercely. On Oshoyana and Happiness Unlimited, Mr Swaroop said both operations are being run by professionals now.

     

    While the print and digital business will be looked at by Mr Swaroop, he clarified that he will not oversee the television operations of the group. The social development activities run under the aegis of the Delivering Change Foundation that the group has promoted will be run independently of the Sakal Media Group, it is learnt.

     

  • Executive director Karan Darda, who was being groomed to take full charge of the business operations, is likely to assume the role of the COO

    Karan Darda to head Lokmat ops, COO Jwalant Swaroop takes on advisory role

    By A Correspondent

     

    Jwalant Swaroop
    Karan Darda

    The winds of change are blowing at Marathi daily, Lokmat. Senior mediaperson and a veteran newspaper business professional Jwalant Swaroop, who was the Chief Operating Officer of Lokmat Media since June last year, will now take on an advisory role. Meanwhile, executive director Karan Darda, who was being groomed to take full charge of the business operations, is likely to assume the role of the COO.

     

    As Executive Director, Mr Darda has been involved in the operations and circulation areas of the group and has been working towards conceptualizing and implementing marketing programmes. He has been on the board of the Company since April 2009 and is credited with conceptualizing and successfully implementing Aurangabad Premier League for cricket and Kolhapur Premier League for football, thereby creating new opportunities for the group in sports.

     

    Mr Swaroop has been with the Lokmat group since 1992 and was instrumental in the group’s wide acceptance in Delhi amongst marketers and media agency professionals. Mr Swaroop has also worked with the Northern Indian Patrika for a bit and spent around six years in ad agency, Advertising & Integrated Marketing (AIM).

     

     

  • It's the same old story from the new round of readership results from MRUC and Hansa Research

    Stagnancy stages a comeback in IRS 2012Q1

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    The IRS 2012 Q1 readership results released by MRUC and Hansa has nothing new to tell but the obvious tale of the apparent rise in numbers of a few publications and the decline in readership of a majority of players. Going by the Average Issue Readership norm, in the Top 10 dailies there has been no change in the pecking order of the top performers but the readership of 7 out of 10 dailies has seen a marginal decline. Of the ten publications, five are Hindi in origin, two are in Malayalam, and one each in Tamil, English and Marathi.

     

    Emerging a frontrunner once again, Dainik Jagran manages to hold its forte showing slight readership growth with 16,412 in 2012Q1 as against 16,410 that it reported in 2011Q4. At No 2, Dainik Bhaskar has reported numbers totalling 14,553 a decline by 0.33 per cent from 2011Q4 figure of 14,602.Hindustansits comfortably at the third spot having reported a 1 per cent growth of 12,157 as against 12,045 reported in 2011Q4. Malayala Manorama is at the fourth spot with an AIR of 9,875 as against 9,937 in 2011Q4 – a drop of 0.6 per cent. Amar Ujala is next reporting an AIR of 8693 against an AIR of 8842 in 2011Q4 – a drop of 1.7 per cent. The Times of India English edition continues to see growth and comes in sixth with AIR of 7,652 as against 7,616 registered last quarter. Marathi daily Lokmat sees a marginal decline to end 2012Q1 at 7,485 compared to 2011Q4 AIR of 7,562. Tamil daily Daily Thanthi is next with AIR numbers of 7,477 as against 7,503 recorded in 2011Q4. Rajasthan Patrika with 6,807 and Mathrubhumi with 6,600 end the tally occupying the ninth and tenth spot respectively.

     

    Reacting to the overall trend, Dinesh Rathore, Vice President, MediaVest Worldwide said, “The study hasn’t thrown any new surprises. What is known is that the readership time spent on print is coming down these days, which is even lesser in case of magazines. Newspapers as a habit are not going to die soon but the time spent is surely on a decline. Also, if people were subscribing to more newspapers earlier, they are subscribing to one less now because of the options available on digital.”

     

    Highlighting her stance on the numbers, Anamika Mehta of Lodestar UM said: “What I infer is that the drop is very marginal. Print will continue to hold its ground in India. With literacy rates going up and the launch of several new products print will continue to drive growth in India . Also, what is seen is that there is a growth of consumption that is happening on the web and moreover, India is a very young country. Almost 60 per cent plus of the population are younger than 35 years. With these audiences the consumption is more on the web than on the physical newspaper. Also, we are seeing a lot of launches by players in the regional markets. So it’s not as bad as it seems.”

     

    Voicing a similar opinion as given by Mr Rathore, Priti Murthy, National Director – Insights, Maxus said, “I am not surprised by the overall trend that has been thrown up. Why do we read newspapers and magazines, for the sheer content that it provides and content is available faster in other mediums today – definitely digital and to a large extent even TV. I see this trend continuing in the next 3-4 years after which it will reach a saturation point. Also, how much ever tactical initiatives publications engage in to increase circulation, it clearly shows that readership is not going to increase. The time spent in reading newspapers and magazines will continue to see a decline. Also the new generation that is growing up may not grow up on a newspaper alone. They rely on mobile and other AV modes to receive their communication.”

     

    (AIR numbers; all figures in ‘000)


     

    The downfall story continues with magazines as well with leader Vanitha (Malayalam) reporting an AIR of 2,444 as against 2,516 in 2011Q4 – a decline by 3 per cent. Pratiyogita Darpan too sees a decline of 5.4 per cent having registered an AIR of 1,893 in 2012Q1 as against an AIR of 2001 in 2011Q4. SamanyaGyan Darpan sees a marginal decline with an AIR of 1,644 as against 1,678 reported last quarter. India Today is the topmost English magazine in this list and figures at the fourth spot with 1,613 as against an AIR of 1,611 reported last quarter. Saras Salil is next on the line-up and has reported a big drop of 9.5 per cent registering an AIR of 1601 as against an AIR of 1,768 reported in 2011Q4. Meri Saheli and Cricket Samrat have posted growth with an AIR of 1,259 and 1,176 respectively. Malayalam Manorama at 1,163 has seen a decline of 3.5 per cent while Bengali magazine Karmakshetra has seen a growth in its AIR at 1,142 as against 1,090 in 2011Q4. General Knowledge Today completes the list with an AIR of 1086.

     

    Throwing light on the trend spotted in magazines, Anamika Mehta said: “In the case of magazines, what we are seeing is that the time spent on magazines is going down but there are a lot of new and niche products being launched. A lot of international players too are coming into this market. So that should give it some scope for growth. But right now I think magazines are in a more worrying state than dailies in India but having said that I do not see the death of the medium coming here anytime soon.”

     

    (AIR numbers; all figures in ‘000)


     

  • Lokmat Media Ltd has renamed its advertisement and circulation departments as AIM and RACE

    Lokmat aiming for, and racing towards growth

    By A Correspondent

     

    To drive its growth agenda in a more meaningful manner inMaharashtraand Goa, Lokmat Media Ltd has renamed its advertisement and circulation departments as AIM and RACE.

     

    “In a time like this it is important to enhance focus in our business. The two most important and critical departments for the topline growth of our business are Advertisement & Circulation. Therefore, renaming of the two departments will bring focus to the core competence and also align every team member with the larger vision.  The two teams now have a new vigour to drive the growth agenda,” said Jwalant Swaroop, COO-Publishing, Lokmat Media Ltd.

     

    AIM stands for Aiding Impact Monetization. The advertisement department does chase every rupee in the client’s wallet, but, at deeper level, it has to monetize the impact delivered as response to advertising released in the columns of Lokmat, Lokmat Samachar and Lokmat Times.

     

    ‘Aiding Impact Monetization’ also sets the agenda for AIMERS (members of the advertising department) to provide innovative and skillful selling of solutions to the clients.

     

    RACE stands for Reader Acquisition & Content Engagement.  Traditional circulation strategy, the Lokmat Group realized, will not work any further.  Therefore, the circulation department’s new mantra is to consolidate and widen the target net.

     

    Backed by rejig of its editorial team, Lokmat now promises to deliver more engaging content.  The circulation department, therefore, has to re-align its focus to reader acquisition and content engagement.

     

    “From a pure distribution focus, the circulation department now moves to follow a Reader-Centric approach to acquire and retain readers who are important for our future growth,” said Mr Swaroop.

     

    The timing of the announcement has been most appropriate as the economic slowdown is pushing media owners into re-engineering their businesses.

     

    Lokmat Media Ltd. is one of the leading media houses inIndia. The Group publishes three newspapers, 19 newspaper editions and 58 sub-editions in three languages collectively, in Maharashtra andGoa.

  • Most of the dailies, be it Hindi, English or other regional languages, have shown an upward trend in their readership, as indicated by the Average Issue Readership figures

    IRS 2011Q4: Not much change in rankings but dailies witness significant growth

    By A Correspondent

     

    Top 10 Hindi Dailies:

    IRS Q4, 2010 v/s IRS Q4, 2011

    There is not much of a difference in the rankings of the Top 10 Hindi Dailies. Dainik Jagran, Dainik Bhaskar,Hindustan, Amar Ujala and Rajasthan Patrika continue as the Top 5 Hindi Dailies. When compared to IRS 2010 Q4, IRS 2011 Q4 reveals the Top 4 Hindi Dailies, namely Dainik Jagran, Dainik Bhaskar,Hindustanand Amar Ujala have further strengthened their readership.

     

    A look at percentage change from Q4, 2010 to Q4, 2011 finds that Dainik Jagran has witnessed a growth of 2.14 per cent, Dainik Bhaskar grew by 4.36 per cent,Hindustanby 5.18 per cent while Amar Ujala grew by 2.34 per cent. The only Hindi daily to have witnessed double digit growth is Prabhat Khabar with a whopping 30.26 per cent growth in Q4, 2011 as against Q4, 2010. A total of five Hindi dailies have witnessed growth Quarter on Quarter.

     

    Q3, 2011 Vs Q4, 2011

    But the results for IRS Q4, 2011 Vs Q3, 2011 have a slightly different story to tell. The top two most read Hindi dailies – Dainik Jagran and Dainik Bhaskar – have witnessed a decline in Average Issue Readership (AIR), the decline is however marginal. Besides Dainik Jagran and Dainik Bhaskar, the Hindi dailies to have recorded growth in Q4, 2011 v/s Q3, 2011 are Hindustan, Amar Ujala, Punjab Kesari and Prabhat Khabar.

     

     

    Top 10 English Dailies:

    IRS Q4, 2010 Vs IRS Q4, 2011:

    The English dailies have performed exceedingly well in Q4, 2011. Seven out of the Top 10 English dailies have registered growth in their AIR. While DNA, Mumbai Mirror and The New Indian Express have registered growth in double digits, the top four English Dailies: The Times of India, Hindustan Times, The Hindu and The Telegraph have also witnessed growth quarter on quarter.

     

    IRS Q4, 2011 Vs Q3, 2011:

    The results for Q4, 2011 in comparison to the previous quarter also highlight the growth for most of the top Ten English dailies.

     

     

    Top 10 Language Dailies:

    IRS Q4, 2010 Vs IRS Q4, 2011:

    The Q4, 2011 results as compared to the Q4, 2010 results have shown mixed reactions for Language dailies as only five publications witnessed growth since Q4, 2010 to Q4, 2011. Malayala Manorama continues to be the number one publication among the Language Dailies. According to IRS Q4, 2011 v/s Q4, 2010 findings, the Malayalam daily grew 0.07 per cent.

     

    Ranked second is Marathi daily, Lokmat which saw a decline of 1.95 per cent. The other Language dailies to have registered growth in their AIR are Daily Thanthi, Mathrubhumi, Sakshi and Dinakaran.

     

    Unlike the top two dailies, Daily Thanthi, ranked as third Language daily, grew by 6.97 per cent in IRS Q4, 2011 when compared to IRS Q4, 2010.

     

    It has been observed that the Malayalam dailies – Malayala Manorama and Mathrubhumi and the Tamil dailies – Daily Thanthi and Dinakaran have recorded growth in their AIR. Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati and Bengali are some of the popular language dailies to have found a place in the Top 10 Language dailies.

     

    IRS Q4, 2011 v/s Q3, 2011:

    The top four Language dailies: Malayala Manorama, Lokmat, Daily Thanthi and Mathrubhumi have registered growth in their AIR numbers in IRS Q4, 2011 v/s IRS Q3, 2011. Besides the top four language dailies, Sakshi, the Telugu daily and Daily Sakal, the Marathi daily have also witnessed growth in their readership numbers.

     

     

     

    AIR or Average Issue Readership is defined as the readers of an average issue of a publication i.e. the estimated number of those who have read or looked at any issue of the publication within a specified time interval, which is equal to the periodicity of the publication (excluding the day of the interview). This is the preferred currency of media agencies across the country though often publications quote Total Readership (TR) when their AIR numbers are not impressive. MxMIndia only uses AIR in its IRS reportage.