MxMIndia

Tag: print

  • After circulation & ad revenue going south in 2020, newspapers seems set on the path of recovery, writes Indrani Sen

    Newspaper Industry in India after the Second Wave of the Pandemic

     

     

    By Indrani Sen

     

    Indrani SenThe Indian newspaper industry faced an unprecedented crisis last year after the National Lockdown was declared at a very short notice. Circulation fell drastically when many subscribers, particularly housing societies, shut their doors for the newspaper delivery persons for the fear of the contagious virus being carried by the newspapers or the delivery folk, leading to change is consumption pattern of newspapers. Lack of local transport also prevented the distributors and hawkers from reporting for work. This was followed by withdrawal of commercial advertising as advertisers were worried about a fall in circulation and readership and were themselves affected by choking of distribution pipelines and economic slowdown leading to loss in their sales. The FICCI EY Report on Indian M&E industry 2021 showed that ad revenue of Print came down from INR 206 billion in 2019 to INR 122 billion in 2020.

     

    After the National Lockdown was lifted in 2020, the newspaper industry tried its best to recover their lost grounds. As per the same FICCI EY report, it will take Print four to five years to regain the pre-Covid ad revenues level. However, the industry seemed to be recovering well during the first quarter of 2021 as TAM AdEx data for Jan-Mar 21 showed that 1350 new brands advertised on print during that period.  When compared with Jan-Mar 20, the quarter also showed 9% increase in ad space mostly from Hindi and other language newspapers. Similarly, April-May 2021 recorded better results compared to April-May 2020.

     

    As per TAM AdEx analysis in May 2021, when the second wave of the Covid-19 was at his peak, there was an average 58% growth in ad space per publication as compared to May 2020. However, all was not well as compared to February 2021 and March 2021, the ad space in Print saw a drop of 42% and 29% in April 2021 and May 2021 respectively. As the phased process of unlocking has begun, the newspaper publishers expect that both the ad volume and value would pick up by August 2021 and grow further during the festive season of 2021.

     

    It appears that newspapers were better prepared to handle the second wave of the pandemic in 2021 and the lockdowns imposed by various state governments across the country. Along with the process of gradual unlocking, the newspapers now are looking forward to recovering their lost grounds. The credibility of the printed word, the vaccination drive, revival of the corporate sector and good rain forecasts are the other factors which are expected to contribute to the overall growth of the newspaper industry in 2021. The Print industry has appealed to the government for a stimulus package and an increase in FDI in 2021. The government has not responded so far, but the industry is still hopeful of getting, some positive response though no relief was announced in terms of waiving the import duties on newsprint by the finance minister in her 2021 Union Budget.

     

    The newsprint prices, which saw a decline in the international market (below $300/metric tonne) in 2020, have started going up from the beginning of the calendar year 2021. The price was $670/tonne-$700/ tonne in April-May. The industry expects it to go up further. It appears that quite a few paper mills which used to export newsprint to India and other countries, either shut down their business or migrated to the businesses of producing brown papers and craft papers during last year when their business was hit due to the global pandemic.

     

    As India is far from being self-reliant in newsprint production, our newspaper industry, struggling to recover from the effects of the pandemic, has been hit further by this demand supply imbalance of newsprints in the international market. Many newspapers are increasing the use of indigenous newsprints to balance out their cost of productions.  However, most newspaper owners feel that this crisis of newsprint prices is not going to last for a long term and expect the international market to stabilise before our festive season in the third quarter of 2021.

     

    To sum up, the newspaper industry in India seems to be set on the path of recovery after a severe decline of both circulation revenue and advertising revenue in 2020. In recent times, during the second wave of the pandemic, the industry was not much affected and would have been in a better financial position if they were not hit by the crisis of newsprint prices. It is expected that by end of the calendar year 2021, their overall performance may be better than predicted earlier by media analysts.

  • Technology has the power to create a level-playing field for users across the board and can promote inclusion by easy to implement digital solutions, writes Shruti Pushkarna

    Shruti Pushkarna: Accepting change in an ever-changing world

    By Shruti Pushkarna

     

    When I was studying journalism, we were made to read three to four newspapers everyday as part of acquiring editorial skills. As a young girl in my early twenties, I would go from one class to another, catching up on the printed word in between breaks. It was almost romantic, the idea of print that is. One aspired to have a ‘byline’ in the reputed dailies.

     

    But by the time I graduated, a lot had changed. The fascination with print was slowly replaced with 24×7 television news. Not that TV news didn’t exist earlier, but right at the time when I was applying for jobs, several new players entered the market.

     

    A large part of my initial career was spent in television newsrooms. And then some years later, another shift happened, with digital journalism as the latest entrant in news media.

     

    The reason I’m laying all this background is actually to highlight the most important thing that was occurring through these years. The values were changing. Values we attached to reporting, production, editing, scripting, everything rapidly transitioning given the advancing technology. Every medium had its pros and cons and content was being tailored to make the most of new platforms.

     

    Another notable thing happened. Amidst all this change, technology opened up the ‘elite journalism club’ to an average inquisitive mind. Barring the self-aggrandising old school journalist in me (who by the way scoffs at the new generation, like most old gens do), I find myself pleasantly surprised by the mechanisms and devices being used to put out newsworthy content for mass consumption.

     

    That is the power and nature of technology. It creates a level-playing field. The old versus new kind of debate takes place in every domain. When I transitioned from mainstream media to the development sector, my work in the domain of visual impairment brought many such examples to light.

     

    People working to rehabilitate persons with blindness are obsessed with the braille script. And that’s the common societal understanding as well. Anyone who is blind needs a braille script. Not true.

     

    Let me bust a few myths here.

     

    Every blind person does not know how to read and write using the braille script.

     

    There are people who acquire blindness at a later age and never get acquainted with braille.

     

    Braille embossing is time consuming and an expensive effort.

     

    Writing in braille takes much longer than keying the same content into a computer.

     

    Braille is useful to interact with fellow visually impaired people who can interpret it. In a mainstream classroom or a work scenario, it is limiting and distances blind people from their sighted counterparts.

     

    So what is this obsession with braille? It’s the same sense of denial that new technology cannot throw open newer options that may undercut the skills possessed by existing braille users.

     

    Visually impaired people can easily co-exist in an inclusive environment, given the vast variety of technological aids available today.

     

    Blind people can use screen reading software that reads out everything displayed on a computer screen or a mobile phone to interact with the device. They can type, browse, read, do almost everything with ease just like you and me.

     

    So in schools/ colleges, students with vision impairment can submit their assignments in a digital format (anyway most private schools are insistent on the use of technology these days). The government has laid down clear guidelines for reasonable accommodation in case a blind student wants to write exams using computers.

     

    This also opens up a whole new range of professions for persons with vision impairment. Let’s take the media industry for starters. Not long ago, I’d engaged with a graduate in mass communication from Bengaluru who was applying for a job in radio. There are journalists working in national media who happen to be visually impaired. Disability activists are efficiently using social media to advocate for their rights. Leaving out the very ‘visual’ jobs, many desk roles in the industry can be opened up to blind people simply by adopting technological solutions.

     

    Braille is ‘exclusive’ in the way it isolates visually impaired people to one medium of communication. Technology however is ‘inclusive’ as it makes the existing platforms of communication accessible to anyone with an impairment.

     

    It’s time to drop our fixation with a script that was invented in 1821, two centuries ago! No doubt it was a brilliant discovery to serve the needs of people back then, but let’s face it, equally exciting innovations are happening in this day and age. It’s time we embrace technology for its ability to enable access for all users irrespective of their limitations.

     

     

    Shruti Pushkarna is a former journalist (part of the founding team of MxMIndia) who has now moved full-time to the social sector. She heads operations of the New Delhi-based Score Foundation where she works as Director-Programmes & Communications. She writes for MxMIndia every other Thursday. Her views here are personal. She can be reached via Twitter at @shrutipushkarna

     

     

  • Sanjeev Kotnala: Every effort counts, but where does #Adswelove take you?

    By Sanjeev Kotnala

    Recently The Economic Times, under its popular Wednesday supplement Brand Equity started a unique monthly feature #AdsWeLove. It will recognise the best print advertising.The Times of India Group is undoubtedly the thought leader in print marketing. It has a presence in power and influencing centres of brand and marketing. #Adswelove is a small but significant step by Times of India Group. But it is hardly innovative or enough.

    #Adswelove Process 

    You have to appreciate it. Every effort to rejuvenate the print category and make the brands rethink its role and possibility is welcome in current times.

    So, the Times of India Group will good print advertisements published in the month in its group publications. An influential jury with Malvika Mehra, Josy Paul, Raj Kumble, Paraxit Bhattacharya, Prateek Bhardwaj, Sandipan Bhattacharya, Senthil Kumar and Kainaz Karmakar as members will evaluate them. The jury will judge the ads on excellence in art, copy, and how insightful and clutter-breaking ability. The winners will be featured in Brand Equity feature #adswelove.

    The feature was launched with the selected jury members going down the memory lane and picking the print creative that has impressed them.

    Do We Seriously Believe In Power Of Print?

    Few of the jury members are known pro-print. They have always helped print in such initiatives and programmes. However, were they really convinced and serious when they speak of things like ‘in today’s world, a print ad is the starting gun at the beginning of a race. It’s where brand action begins’ or ‘Print is not just a medium, it’s a culture’ (well said). Maybe the media teams and clients don’t know this secret, or they don’t believe in it. Otherwise, what could explain the situation print industry is in.

    However, what one of the jury members shared is a tip for the brands and an excellent way to approach the print medium. Respect the intelligence of the reader. Know the constraints of the medium so well that you can tailor-make the solution. Make sure there is an event on the page.

    The print owners must re-read the last tip and try concentrating for contextual position and placement of the ad. At least start with the contextual positioning of bigger ads and definitely for campaigns that are still using print for brand building and not just topical-tactical-sale-discount communication.

    Let us wait for next month’s feature to see what we get. The print industry can’t keep going the nostalgia way and keep referring to Think Small, nude models wanted and such ads. Referring to the time, when print was considered strong enough for brand building.

    As a reader of ET, I expect more than #Adswelove.

    Readers of Brand Equity may find # Adswelove a very biased initiative. For them, Brand Equity refers to MARTech.; Marketing, advertising, research and technology. It cannot be biased to any particular media and serve the readers needs across. And hence readers of Brand Equity would want to see a similar feature on TV, Radio, OOH and Digital.

    TOI should consider Inclusiveness? 

    If TOI is serious in rekindling the print fire, it must cast the net wide. It should include ads published in other publications. A leader like TOI can afford to do so. Or maybe TOI still believes that good print ads only get published in TOI Group publication?

    Print Power initiatives are not new.

    Different print groups have tried many initiatives in the past. Few have been consistent in their approach other than just harping on their readership and circulation.

    The Times of India can not be faulted on its interest and initaitives on print. It promotes print through ‘Power Of Print’ contests for Cannes and Kyoorius awards. The latest edition was recently launched  with the real brief ‘taking care of e-waste’ in association with Croma. It leads in print innovation and have time and again pushed to break new frontiers.

    Dainik Bhaskar brought out Mosaic, a collection of selected contemporary print ads for some three-four years. It remained just a coffee table books.

    Free Press Journal with IAA last year launched The Gutenberg Galaxy’, a coffee table book celebrating the power of press with 24 case studies and 14 articles. And coffee table books are not the solution.

    Meanwhile, once the flagship event of industry ‘The Print review’ is dead. D-Code is the new favourite.

    The Print Campaign contest conducted with the Abby awards and later on with Goafest is dead.

    No industry event features talks on print.

    Even the print owners participation in Print Publishers Abby ( Adclub / AAAI) is limitted.

    Print Power needs a Category initiative.

    I know, it will never happen. But you can’t stop me from thinking, wishing and dreaming. But, why can’t the big ones in Print; Dainik Jagran, DB Corp, Eenadu, Amar Ujjala, Patrika Group, Hindustan Group, Times of India group, Malayala Manorama and Hindu come together and make this as a category initiative?

    Pool in resources, make it grand, take it everywhere, showcase them to every possible stakeholder through their combined strengths in print and other media. Meet all stakeholders and demonstrate possibilities. If necessary, share their inherent print knowledge to provide solutions and use every possible relevant media to reach out. The print giants must understand that they can’t depend on the power of print to rejuvenate the power of print.

    Why can’t newspapers give special rates to the print campaigns they believe really demonstrate the power of print? Maybe that will push the brand owners to experiment with their media and creative agencies.

    Why not have Brand Owners and media decision-makers to chose effective ads and not only creative people #adswelove? Let their semi- testimonial speak to every stakeholder and impress how the print worked for them.

    The print teams must find a solution to push the brand owners apathy towards enthusiasm and engagement. In most ideal situations, the brand owners should be pushing for specific creative talents to work on their print campaign, like they do for the films and digital.

    In this, ‘interested only in digital’ world, why the print category ( which is one of the significant industry sponsors events ) insist and if need buys ( yes Buys) speaking and demonstration shots.

    There is wisdom in traditional knowledge.

    It is said, when the market is not the priority, you sell the market potential. When the market is a priority, you sell the media. When Media is a priority, you sell medium. But when MediaMedia itself is a question- what do you sell?

     

     

    Sanjeev Kotnala is a senior brand and marketing strategist consultant. He invested  17 years in advertising after graduating from IIM Ahmedabad (1987). He then spent a decade at the Dainik Bhaskar group as head of marketing before going independent. Other than consulting stints, he is an Adjunct Faculty and Senior Advisor at MICA, a proponent of Brand-I and PaRAM ( the self-enhancement process). He writes weekly on MxMIndia. His views here are personal.

     

     

  • When the TV Industry has got a new currency from BARC which uses superior technology than its predecessor, the print Industry needs to rally around MRUC to ensure that IRS can also claim similar upgradation, writes Indrani Sen

    Introducing new fortnightly column by Indrani Sen – MediaSENse: Why our Print Majors must come out of their Comfort Zones?

    By Indrani Sen

     

    In his recent digital pitch with media bosses in New York, our Prime Minister claimed that unlike manufacturing, in the world of media, India is almost as evolved as any other country. Does his observation hold good for our print industry on which the sun continues to shine? The print majors are basking in the comfort of the findings of FICCI-KPMG and other such industry reports which are predicting growth, but a comparison of the CAGR percentages projected over the years reflects erosion.

     

    Projections of Print CAGR CAGR 2011 to 2015 CAGR 2011 to 2016 CAGR 2012 to 2017 CAGR 2013 to 2018 CAGR 2014 to 2019
    Total Print Market

    10%

    9.10%

    8.70%

    9%

    8%
    Source: FICCI-KPMG Reports

    2011

    2012

    2013

    2014

    2015

     

    So, it is obvious that slowly but steadily the global trends have started to creep into Indian print industry.  Accelerated penetration of mobiles in smaller towns and rural areas will support the growth of digital and social media and may result in faster erosion of CAGR in the print market and the CAGR 2020 to 2025 may come down drastically.

     

    Instead of strengthening their arsenal with readership currency for protecting their share in the total advertising revenue, currently the Indian print industry seems to have taken up a negative stance against the IRS. Agreeably, many publications had genuine grievances against the findings of IRS 2013, but that should not be a legitimate reason for withdrawing their support from the readership survey. When the TV Industry has got a brand new currency from BARC which uses superior technology than its predecessor, the print Industry needs to rally around MRUC to ensure that IRS can also claim similar upgradation by introducing improved methodology.

     

    In a large scale ongoing quantitative survey, teething problems and relative errors are quite normal. Perhaps the magnitude of the errors in IRS 2013 crossed the tolerance level of some print majors, but they should recollect that initially NRS findings also had many issues which got corrected over the years. We saw emergence of MRUC and IRS as a protest against the methodology and findings of NRS and subsequently the merger of the two surveys. We are witnessing now a dark period of three years in print currency as IRS 2013 was rejected by the print Industry, IRS 2014 (based only on fieldwork of one quarter) has not been taken seriously by the advertisers and agencies, and the field work for IRS 2015 has not yet commenced. In a developed country, such a gap in a media currency is unheard of. The sooner all the stakeholders of MRUC resolve their differences and kickstart the field work, the better it would be for second and third line publications who are likely to suffer more due to lack of readership data. The media planners and buyers cannot determine the incremental reach/ OTS/ CPT for adding more than one publication in the plan and are likely to limit their print campaigns to only the established market leaders.

     

    Indian newspapers need to take up two challenges at two ends of the audience market. Firstly, they must try to reduce the gap between the literate population and the number of newspaper readers. Secondly, they must improve and promote their web editions and convert the internet savvy Indians to online readers. The concept of “Integrated Newsroom”, which is being advocated by many researchers and industry observers, is essential for achieving these two diverse tasks.

     

    According to IRS 2012, approximately 44 percent of literate Indians do not read any newspaper. This average percentage decreases as one climbs up the SEC ladder and increases in small towns and rural areas. It is obvious that the current combination of regional, national and international news dished out by most newspapers is not acceptable reading material by a large chunk of Indian population. Special, smaller editions with more emphasis on hyper-local news may be more acceptable in the small towns and rural areas.

     

    Most Indian newspapers have launched their e-editions, but there is lack of efforts in promoting as well as making them user friendly and interactive, perhaps due to the apprehension that the growth of online readership will cannibalize readership of the hard copies. There is a huge scope of growth for web editions of regional newspapers if they plan to ride on the growth of computer literacy in secondary schools in small towns and villages. Innovative marketing tie-ups with mobile manufacturers and service providers can increase the initial trial and subsequent conversion rate of the e-editions.

     

    In this connection, it will be pertinent to note the new trends in readership surveys in developed countries, particularly in UK, as we have traditionally followed the example of UK for setting up our media infrastructure, media regulations, etc. In the 1970s, Indian National Readership Survey was also modeled largely on the Readership Survey of UK. NRS PADD was introduced in UK in September2012 to provide a unique measure of combined print and online audiences to cater to the demand of a dynamic and changing digital media age. It is a fusion of data by RSMB from two independent surveys, print readership survey by Ipsos MORI and comScore digital survey. It provides a single database for planning across print and digital platforms of NRS publisher brands. (Source: http://www.nrs.co.uk). Apart from full NRS demographic and classification data for profiling and targeting, the NRS PADD provides the unduplicated reach of a print publication and its website, duplication of print titles and websites – which websites do a publication’s readers visit, and vice versa. NRS PADD: Mobile was launched in September 2014. The future lies in combining readership research across the print and digital platforms. The opinion leaders in the print Industry must realise that the digital trends are irreversible and steer the industry in that direction.

     

    The Global Media Report 2014 by Mckinsey & Co. predicted “Digital advertising is becoming a dominant force in the global media advertising market. Excluding the online and mobile components of TV advertising, in 2017 digital advertising will overtake TV, which for decades has been the largest advertising medium……….We project digital advertising to continue to increase at double-digit rates, growing 15.1 percent compounded annually to 2018 and accounting for 65 percent of the total increase in global advertising over the next five years. Most of that gain will come as advertisers substitute away from print media.” In India, the above trends are not likely to set in before at least another 5 years. Indian Print Industry needs to utilise this time period from 2016 to 2020 for protecting their future by ensuring immediate availability of print media currency, developing and promoting the websites and last but not the least, effectively converting more literates into readers.

     

    Indrani Sen is a veteran media agency and marketing services professional. She is currently an Independent Consultant and Adjunct Faculty, Media Management at Symbiosis Institute of Media & Communication, Pune. This column will appear fortnightly. The views expressed here are her own.

     

  • AdoRoi Marketing Science has introduced two new product offerings – Response Led Media Planning and Ad Insertion-to-Sales tracking

    AdoRoi launches response-led media planning

    By A Correspondent

     

    Mumbai-based AdoRoi Marketing Science has introduced two new product offerings – Response Led Media Planning and Ad Insertion-to-Sales tracking.

     

    Amit Nevrekar

    Said Amit Nevrekar, Chief Operating Officer, AdoRoi, “It’s a scientific way to study the effectiveness of the media plan through Response per Spot (RPS) and Cost per Response (CPR)”. Explaining the concept, Mr Neverkar said: “The Ad exposure/ response are identified through unique Ad-Tracking codes for each media vehicles across TV, Print, Radio and Internet.” The response is analysed through a proprietary real time reporting software and Client Dashboard. The main advantage of this methodology is it provides Advertisement Exposure for a particular issue/insertion as against the current Media Vehicle Exposure based on Reach & Frequency model. The responses can further be analysed by media, creative, spot duration, placement, Ad-size, page no etc. The model, according to Mr Nevrekar, is beneficial for brands, which don’t just carry out brand awareness creation exercise but aggressively practise direct marketing for instant conversions through call for action or promotional offers.

     

    In this method, the dealer panel in PAN India Print campaign is replaced by AdoRoi’s unique Ad-Track tele code per media vehicle, thus saving the effort and also cost per sq cm. When any customer calls for an enquiry, his/her call is directly patched with the nearest dealer basis his Geo-position and the dealer database through our patented technology. Each customer enquiry is provided with a promo-code linked to media vehicle which can be tracked against sale. The responses generated per insertion across media vehicles can be analysed on real-time client dashboard. The learnings can be efficiently used for optimizing the media plan for better ROI by maximizing RPS and minimizing CPR.

     

  • The group recently reached two lakh fans on its Facebook page, and hopes to build a stranger presence online

    Chitralekha upbeat on social media

    By Ananya Saha

     

    It took two years for Chitralekha to reach two lakh fans on its Facebook page. According to the official numbers provided by Chitralekha, 96% of these fans are from India with 87% under 34 years. Close to 35,000 active fans make it a highly interactive community. While the group has focussed on FB till now, and is present on Twitter, it will be looking seriously at the latter in 2013.

     

    Mitrajit Bhattacharya

    While many media brands are taking the social media route to be interact with the audience, it is known that beyond the ‘likes’, not many engage with them on a regular basis. However, Mitrajit Bhattacharya, President & Publisher, Chitralekha Group is upbeat about the statistics. “We are very active on FB as a community. We inform, entertain and empower our fans. For instance, the songs in a specially-compiled music CD with our anniversary issue were chosen by our fans, questions to celebs in our popular FB activity – “Chhoti Si Mulakat” are normally contributed by our fans etc. We also share jokes, pics and breaking news regularly. All these translate into an engaged fan base,” he said, while adding, “Regional brands have a huge power to connect with their audiences as friends. We have been a friend to the Gujarati community for over six decades. Social media helps us to be in touch with them closely, particularly the younger lot. Gujaratis are also very heavy users of digital devices, which help the process of connectivity.”

     

    The social media strategy of the group extends to Chitralekha’s brand philosophy “of being friend to our fans and being loved to a completely new younger audience.”

     

    Does an engaged fan base imply an engaged advertiser community as well? Mr Bhattacharya said, “Monetizing social media is a tricky issue, however there are many marquee clients who are actively looking at our online offerings currently.” He insisted that Facebook has played a large role in helping traction onto Chitralekha’s websites.

     

    With no choice but to be present on social media to stay in the game, Mr Bhattacharya concluded, “Digital is the future. All our major titles are available on tablets and smart phones. Our print copies get delivered to over 100 countries (sometimes, we learn about small countries from our subscriber’s database). Just imagine the power of digital, which avoids the problems of physical distribution due to geographical distances, both within and outside the country!”

     

  • The Aaj Tak font has been announced the winner of the "Visual Communication award" at the CII Design Excellence Award in New Delhi

    Aaj Tak awarded CII Design Excellence Award

    By A Correspondent

     

    The ‘Aaj Tak font” from Aaj Tak, the Hindi news channel, has been announced the winner of the “Visual Communication award” at the CII Design Excellence Award in New Delhi. The award was presented by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), which has been associated with Design Summit for the past 11 years.

     

    The font for Aaj Tak is designed to look strong, upright and with a little quirk of stubbornness for a channel that is stubborn to keep reporting the way things are and not package them in a ‘easy to digest’ form. The letterforms were designed as ‘open’ forms keeping in mind the small screen size which many Indian households still have. The design for ticker version was complex as it had to be used in small moving size.

     

    The CII Design Excellence award is the celebration of very best of Indian design over the past 24 months. It seeks to demonstrate the value of design to the Indian industry and will be a true acknowledgement of the prowess of Indian design, innovation and originality.

     

    Commenting on the achievement, Ashish Bagga, Group CEO, India Today Group said, “Congratulation to our design team for such a commendable job. Design plays an important role in differentiating our brand with the competition & making it stand out. Innovation has been core to our all our design and this award will motivate us to further enhance our capabilities.”

     

    The design award was presented to Aaj Tak on the first day of the summit in the overall category of visual communication.

     

  • His appointment follows the induction of V Natarajan as Vice President- Brand Marketing and Strategy

    Sabyasachi Ghosh joins Delhi Press as Ad Sales Director

    By A Correspondent

     

    Sabyasachi Ghosh

    Sabyasachi Ghosh has joined Delhi Press as the Advertising Sales Director. He will be leading the advertising sales function across the group publications.

     

    Mr Ghosh was previously at Ananda Bazaar Patrika for four years, where he was leading the advertising sales for ABP and Telegraph, and then later their magazines division. Prior to that, he spent close to 17 years in GroupM in various roles, spanning both domestic and international markets. He started his marketing career in Response division of Times of India in Kolkata in 1988. Ghosh has a BA in Economics from Jadavpur University and an MBA from IISWBM, Calcutta University.

     

    At Delhi Press, Mr Ghosh will be in charge of managing the entire revenue stream for the group from advertising and sponsorship activities for its magazine brands, online sites, events and reader activations. His mandate is to work out the strategic and tactical programs for unlocking the latent values in many of the group’s publications that are already leaders in their respective genres, developing marketing extensions around the existing portfolio, as well as nurturing some of the recent launches and acquisitions. He will be reporting to Anant Nath, Director of Delhi Press.

     

    Mr Ghosh’s appointment comes on the heels of induction of V. Natarajan as Vice President- Brand Marketing and Strategy. In this role, Mr Natarajan is spearheading the overall responsibility of brand management of Delhi Press magazines and the corporate brand and strategy at the group. He is leading the brand management team, which is responsible for ideating, developing and executing brand management programs for various group publications.The brand team, through its initiatives, is to support both advertising sales and circulation sales for developing marketing programs to facilitate increased consumer awareness and equity for Delhi Press magazines. Natarajan comes with a rich experience of over 20 years in brand & marketing having worked with The New Indian Express, Business Standard, and the ABP group. Natarajan has an MBA from Faculty of Management Sciences, Delhi and an engineering graduate from Jadavpur University. He will also report into the Director, Anant Nath.

     

  • The Vikatan group with an array of Tamil publications is now looking towards building an events calendar and launching verticals under its popular titles

    Vikatan Group focuses on events as growth strategy

    By Tuhina Anand

     

    Tamil publications group Vikatan has charted out its plan for next year which will help it in accelerating its growth. The group is stepping up its interest in doing on-ground activities as it sees immense opportunity that these events provide while helping in growth as well as building the brand further. The strategy being to give advertisers additional platform, increase circulation and bring into fold new readers with new and some revamped offerings.

     

    Talking about their plans, Pravin Menon, National Head, Ad Sales, Vikatan Media Services, said, “Vikatan is a strong brand with a heritage of 85 years and we feel that with our print, digital and on-ground offerings we have a very strong portfolio to deliver to the clients as well as readers and meet their needs.”

     

    Vikatan is now working on finalizing its events calendar for 2013. The focus being that the events will not just help in reaching their advertisers and giving them an additional platform but also their readers. Especially with the reach that Vikatan has it will help them in making inroads with customized events in various parts of Tamilnadu. As Menon puts, “We have a deep understanding of the Tamilnadu market and we want to leverage that. This we want to combine with our diverse offerings by building on ground activities and launch verticals of the mother brand.”

     

    In this regard, the group which has under its umbrella Aval Vikatan, a fortnightly has targeting women, and launching Aval Vikatan Mangalam. This will be a wedding special and is positioned as one stop point for brides-to-be. The edition is planned for January 2012. The magazine highlights different community weddings of Tamil Nadu, different types of foods served at wedding, tips for a fun wedding, wedding collections, beauty tips, unique wedding themes, jewelry, honeymoon destinations and best photographers, among others.

     

    The idea is to catch the readers and advertisers in the wedding season. This will also be present in a digital avatar.

     

    Currently, Vikatan has 10 magazines including their flagship brands Ananda Vikatan, Aval Vikatan and Junior Vikatan. The group has been very active this year in making itself visible to people and pushing itself further to reach the potential readers. Recently it launched a weekly magazine Timepass , an entertainment magazine targeting those young at heart. To launch the magazine the group had also come out with a TVC. Hence, as one can understand that there has been a shift in the way the group is marketing itself. There is an increased emphasis on the digital media and reaching people through the social media. The Vikatan Group is more aggressive and looking at a comprehensive strategy to reach their customers.

     

  • The year's first car and bike awards night is here

    BBC TopGear Magazine India Awards 2012

    By A Correspondent

     

    BBC TopGear Magazine has announced its winners of its TopGear Magazine Awards 2012. Into its fifth edition, the TopGear Magazine Awards brings together a list of the most impressive cars and bikes launched in the past one year in India, which have won the most kudos from the jury comprising of automotive experts.  An award that recognises true passion in our exciting automotive world – BBC TopGear Magazine’s ‘The Stig’ trophy is fast becoming a symbol of recognition for those manufacturers who bring uncompromising and radical machines on Indian roads.

     

    To be held at the Kingdom of Dreams, Gurgaon on December 10, 2012, the ceremony will honour the most significant, game-changing and thrilling machines to set new tyre tread on Indian roads. The jury, comprising of the TopGear road test team, have chosen the best from a slew of launches that happened between November 1, 2011 and October 31, 2012. Unlike many jury awards that judges cars over a few laps over a day or two, the TopGear magazine’s editorial team of automotive experts drive, ride and practically live with these machines throughout the year; and thus, are able to come across key elements in cars and bikes that all vehicle buyers look for before a purchase – attributes that can never be gauged by a simple test drive.

     

    Tarun Rai

    Commenting on the BBC TopGear Magazine Awards, Tarun Rai, CEO Worldwide Media said, “BBC Top Gear is the biggest auto magazine brand in the world with editions in 31 countries. And in each of these 31 countries Top Gear is known for its authoritative take on cars and motorcycles. It is therefore, appropriate that the first auto awards of 2012 are also the most definitive. 26 best cars and bikes of the year, in various categories, will walk away with the Top Gear trophy – The Stig. The Stig trophy itself symbolizes Top Gear’s passion for cars and bikes. The night of Dec 10 will be a big night of celebration as we applaud the very best of the auto industry”

     

    This year’s winners include names like the Mini Cooper S, Renault Duster, Lamborghini Aventador, Mercedes-Benz M-Class, Audi Q3 and KTM Duke 200 among others who have managed to impress the TopGear Magazine team with their sheer capabilities. “We do not judge a car by numbers alone. That would be too easy and strangely, inaccurate. I think for all true car and bike lovers, they are not just machines but living beings whom we talk and spend time with,” says Girish Karkera, Editor, TopGear Magazine India. “The underlying common thread between all our winners is that they are the new benchmark in their respective segments. More importantly, they are brilliant in their own right.”

     

    Taking into account the expansion and diversification of the Indian automotive market, the 2012 edition of the awards have also evolved with all-new categories over last year to reflect the evolution of the Indian automotive scene. Especially, in the SUV segment where we have seen a lot of action. “We Indians don’t seem to have enough of SUVs,” notes Girish Karkera. “Which has prompted us to create new categories to justify the surge in the different kinds of these lovable machines that we now have access to.”

     

    The uncompromising methodology of picking the winners is based on not just engine performance or boot space but also the overall driving and lounging experience, value, reliability, coolness, refinement and the ability of the vehicle to touch a chord with its owner.

     

    TopGear Awards 2012 winners (in no particular order):

    1. Most Beautiful Car of the Year – Mercedes-Benz CLS

    2. Boy’s Toy of the Year – Trikke

    3. Driver’s Car of the Year – BMW 328i

    4. Two-Wheeler Design of the Year – Vespa 125

    5. Engine of the Year – Volkswagen Jetta 1.4 TSI

    6. Exotic Bike of the Year – Ducati Diavel

    7. Family Car of the Year – Maruti Suzuki Ertiga

    8. Automotive Game of the Year – Need For Speed: Most Wanted

    9. Hypercar of the Year- Lamborghini Aventador

    10. Most Improved Car of the Year – Audi TT

    11. Interior of the Year – Range Rover Evoque

    12. Luxury Car of the Year – Ferrari FF

    13. Luxury SUV of the Year – Mercedes-Benz M-Class

    14. Man of the Year – Sarath Kumar S (Two-wheel racer)

    15. Manufacturer of the Year – Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India

    16. Off-roader of the Year- Mitsubishi Pajero Sport

    17. Reader’s Choice Bike of the Year – Bajaj Pulsar 200NS

    18. Reader’s Choice Car of the Year – Renault Duster

    19. Saloon Car of the Year – Hyundai Elantra

    20. Scooter of the Year – Yamaha Ray

    21. Sportscar of the Year – Porsche Boxster S

    22. Compact SUV of the Year – Renault Duster

    23. Urban Car of the Year – Audi Q3

    24. Value Car of the Year – Jaguar XKR

    25. Bike of the Year – KTM Duke 200

    26. Car of the Year – Mini Cooper S

     

  • Its new brand campaign themed 'Always in fashion' in India is to complement its international signature 'Where Fashion Gets Personal'

    Harper’s Bazaar launches new brand campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    Harper’s Bazaar, the fashion magazine with 29 international editions, has introduced its new brand campaign themed ‘Always in fashion’ in India to complement its international signature ‘Where Fashion Gets Personal’. The magazine has kicked off a new 360-degree brand campaign, which will see lifestyle malls such as Select City Walk in Delhi being branded with Harper’s Bazaar Campaign. ‘Always in Fashion’ – a tri-series outdoor ad campaign with Sonam Kapoor, Anushka Sharma and Priyanka Chopra will cover print, online, outdoors, events & PR.

     

    Targeting the luxury clients, top socialites, HNI consumers, fashion segment and trade, the campaign will run across several lifestyle magazines and trade newsletters apart from digital amplification through trade e-mailers and banners, social media amplification through various Lifestyle Brands with the campaign promoted on social media accounts of major lifestyle magazines such as cosmopolitan, Women’s Health & Harper’s Bazaar India.

     

    The India Today Group also announced the appointment of a new team at Harper’s Bazaar India led by Nishat Fatima as Editor and Ami Patel as the Creative Director.

     

    Sharing her insights on the new brand campaign and welcoming the new team at Harper’s Bazaar India, Mala Sekhri, Chief Operating Officer, Lifestyle Group, India Today Group said, “The new appointments comes at the right time as we unveil the new campaign for Bazaar India. We are happy to welcome Nishat back to the company. Her background and experience make her the perfect editor for Harper’s Bazaar India. We are confident that she will be able to lead the team and help the magazine retain its position as the must-read magazine for the latest fashion, beauty and lifestyle innovations.”

     

    Ms Sekhri added, “We are very excited about this next chapter for Bazaar India!”

     

  • Dainik Bhaskar Group has announced the launch of Junior Editor II, aimed at building readership among the younger population

    Dainik Bhaskar announces ‘Junior Editor’ Season 2

    By A Correspondent

     

    Dainik Bhaskar Group has announced the launch of Junior Editor II, aimed at building readership among the younger population. Junior Editor II – The Next Generation 2050 is implemented under ‘Bhaskar Champs Club’ taking the core brand engagement thought along with innovation to a new high. This follows Junior Editor I, 2011 which was a grand success being recognized by ‘Guinness World Record’, ‘Limca World Record’ and ‘India Book of Record’ for ‘Largest Writing Competition’ ‘Largest Countrywide Newspaper making competition for children’ and ‘Largest number of manually prepared newspaper by kids’ record respectively.

     

    In ‘Junior Editor’, the participants are expected to manually create a 12 page newspaper using the pre-designed blank newspaper provided to them on their registering for the contest. The newspaper template is available in 3 language combination; ‘Hindi & English’, ‘Gujarati & English’ and’ Marathi & English’.

     

    Vinay Maheshwari, Vice-President, Sales and Market Development, Dainik Bhaskar Group said, ‘We wish to sensitize the younger audience and their families on various socio-economic issues and also draw their attention to concerns like, the importance of elders in our families, prevalent malpractices of child labor and value of a vote to build a strong and democratic India,” adding, “JE II will enable students a better understanding of the role and nuances of journalism and news reporting impacting day-to-day life. This has been the core idea for JE II. We are confident that like most of our activities even this will generate huge response and participation.”