Aaj Kal 5g4l2m

INDEX

Sr. No.

Particulars

Pg. No. SECTION - 1

1.

Marketing Today

2.

Objective of the Study SECTION – 2

1.

Introduction to Industry - Industry Analysis - Brief history of Newspaper Industry - Introduction to Evening Newspaper Industry

2.

Problem of the Industry SECTION – 3

1.

About Desh Pardeshni Aajkaal - Company Information - The Success Story - The Management Team - Organization Chart - About the Product SECTION – 4

1.

Marketing in Competitive Environment

2.

Marketing in Aajkaal Group

3.

Major Competitors - Local Competitors - Other Competitors SECTION – 5

1.

Strategic Approach of the Aajkaal Group - Competitive Product - Pricing Strategy - Promotion and Communication Mix Strategy - Distribution Strategy SECTION – 6

1.

Introduction - Market Share as Main Goal - Concept of Optimal Market Share

2.

Marketing Share Analysis SECTION – 7

1.

Details About Survey SECTION – 8

1.

Future Plans

2.

SWOT Analysis

3.

Recommendations

4.

Conclusion

5.

Bibliography

MARKETING TODAY

Companies can not survive today by simply doing a job. They must do an excellent job if they are to succeed in markets characterized by fierce competition at home and abroad. In the era of globalization and liberalization consumers look for excellence in quality, value or cost while choosing their suppliers. Recent studies have demonstrated that the key to profitable company performance is knowing and satisfying target customers with competitively superior efforts and marketing is the managerial function charged with defining customer targets and the best way to satisfy their needs and wants competitively and profitability. Interest

in

marketing

is

intensifying

as

more

organizations in the business sector, the non profit sector, and the international sector recognize how marketing contributes to improved performance in market place. “INNOVATIVE OR PERSIH” is the theme of today’s marketing. Today marketing is used to tune the whole system of management. Today marketing has become a crucial tool in the hands of management for becoming the market leader. Marketing along with other tool like advertising market research, sales promotion, after sales service, contribution to creating brand image in mind map of consumers.

Marketing has become an indispensable part of any business today. So at last, marketing is of prime importance to survive in that very market.

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

It is inherent in human life to have some aim behind any activity. Even every life has got its own goal. To study the Aajkaal Group or to get training at Aajkaal Group was not only the requirements of the academic study. There was a curiosity to understand the newspaper industry. Almost every Indian and why only Indian? All human beings, irrespective of any country have become habituated to read a newspaper. Newspapers have become a part of our life. And talking about the habit of evening newspaper especially found in people of Saurastra, they got to know what has happened in their surroundings. People of Saurastra, have a habit of go for rest during 2:00 to 4:00 pm noon, and then have a tea along with that the evening newspaper. A day without a newspaper creates the feeling of vacuum in our day to day life. I was curious to understand:  The marketing management of such low priced item  Nature of competiton

 Aim with which newspaper industry is working  Different strategies to increase market share  Competition between two newspapers as well as with T.V. channels

INTRODUCTION TO INDUSTRY

A: INDUSTRY ANALYSIS 1. Introduction: What is a newspaper? A newspaper is a regularly published print product containing information vital to the function of the market it serves. What newspaper companies are learning is that the value of what they produce is not the ink on paper, but the content,

depth,

segmentation

choices,

credibility

and

emotional attributes that are delivered in any distribution channel they choose. Newspaper industry is mainly a service-oriented industry. The newspaper companies it is their prime social responsibility to provide timely, latest and authentic news only. However now a day’s newspapers scope is not limited to news. But it includes in its preview all those information which may be useful to readers, be it about health, astrology, science, films and so on. Thus newspapers can be better named today as “complete information provides”.

On the other hand for the reader also the importance of newspaper in their daily routine has become much more vital. For millions of people newspaper has today become an addiction. Some major national plays of the newspaper industry are: THE HINDU

Kashmir Times

THE STATESMAN

Satyam Times

The Tribune

THE TIMES OF INDIA

Economic Times

DECCAN Chronicle

Hindustan Times

Asian Age

Business Standard

The Telegraph

Mid-day

Express India

Daily Excelsior

Afternoon

Central Chronicle

newindpress.com

News Times

Financial Express

India Daily

The Pioneer

Assam Tribune

Gomantak Times

News Today

The Senitel

Star of Mysore

Novhind Times

Kashmir observer O Herald

2. Brief History of The Newspaper Industry:  At the beginning of the ‘90s, the boom in electronic media, including the Internet, first triggered fear and apprehension that increasingly became a reluctance to invest.  But after the initial shock the challenge was taken up, more and more newspapers boasted four colors, the overall

design

and

layout

were revamped and

modernized.  Add to that new products entering the market, such as magazine, like supplements, or inserts in headset quality, all to enhance product appearance. The service sections of newspapers are expanded.  Print and electronic media begin to converge but don’t substitute for each other: enhancement potential and synergies are sought after and developed.  The status today: The newspaper is firmly anchored in the market alongside all other media. 3. Introduction to Evening Newspaper industry: -

The time is 1 pm in Saurastra. All shops are shut down. Everyone goes home, have lunch and have an afternoon nap. They wake up and they wish to read a fresh newspaper as if a new day has just started. It’s almost as if there are 2 mornings everyday in the Saurastra region. And that’s where a wide scope for evening daily newspapers in Gujarat lies. Evening newspapers have their own advantages and limitations as compared to morning editions. While on one hand evenings can have the advantage of being able to include the latest news that have happened in previous as well as those of the same day, the morning dailies, can represent only previous day’s news. However evenings have a smaller life than morning newspapers as they become stale as soon as next morning arrives, while morning newspapers stay alive for the whole day.

B: PROBLEM OF THE INDUSTRY Some of the problems of the newspaper industry can be summed up as follows:  Advertising revenues a major source of sustenance, have been far from buoyant in recent times because of sluggishness in the economy, liquidity in the market and diversion to the ever-expanding electronic media.  The erosion in the value of rupee vis-à-vis the dollar had further affected the price of imported newsprint and increased the burden on the newspaper.  Enormous increase in salaries and allowances have made it difficult for many newspapers to run viably. But to boost the creativity and performance of the editorial staff the companies have to give in to the rising salaries.  The newspaper industry, like other media sectors have been severely affected during the past year by an overall fall in advertising expenditure. The native newspaper sector has been more severely affected than by local and regional newspaper group.

 The need to make economies of scale has also led to title – swapping between companies – clustering titles within the same geographical area – which some commentators feel will be even more important in the future.  A high proportion of respondents remain loyal to the same newspaper that they were readily a year ago, and very few say that they would consider switching because of a small increase in cover price.  The print media is facing two types of challenges, one from within and the other from the multimedia – television and internet. In recent years, competition from the other news sources – including the internet, and cable and satellite television has put pressure on circulations.  Newsprint is the major component of costs in publishing a newspaper and its price, availability and quality has remained a matter of concern for the industry. There was a phenomenal increase in the price of newsprint in the last two decades. The free expression of views had been challenged by the business running a newspaper. There was pressure from the commercial sector on the newspaper. The

economies of newspaper will be a matter of concern in the years to come.  The urge of readers for more and more instant news is also having its toll on the industry. “The equation can almost be written as follows: Instant news raw news” = lack of analysis = need for more from the public = more instant news = more raw news = more lack of analysis and so on”.  The newspaper industry has spent billions on the internet to create online editions that are read by fewer people, less frequently and less fully than print editions. These online editions haven’t helped newspapers attract younger readers, and most of them are financial drain on the newspaper that them.  The problem specifically for the evening newspapers is the limited market scope. Evening newspapers can work well only in few places where people have in their daily routines to read newspaper in evening. In most of the large markets like metropolitan cities, people are too busy to read news twice a day and hence evenings lose their face there.

FUTURE SCENARIO OF THE INDUSTRY

The Poynter Institute’s columnist Dr. Ink had said once that anyone who tries seriously to predict the future of newspaper will one day look foolish, especially if he or she is lucky enough to live beyond the prediction. Only prophets know what the future holds. We can only speculate or try to predict it. But the presence provides signals, some weak, some revealing. Reading these signals, it is clear that: they’ve reached a point at which change or reorientation are a question of survival. Less than twenty years ago the print media were king. The leading papers in the western world could boast that whatever they had not published ‘had not happened’. The print word was the only guarantee of seriousness, depth, scope and truthfulness. Not any more. Today the dailies all over the western world are struggling to make its voice heard

amidst a pandemonium of sounds, bites, audiovisuals, and all manner of internet related messages. Most of us are still sound and reliable, but dead slow in delivering the goods; the record is one instantly and with a lot more of time and room dedicated to it by the electronic media; and the world wide news television gets there earlier and with much more dramatic effect than any paper can hope to convey. In recent years competition from other news sources – including the internet, and cable and satellite television – has put pressure on circulations. In recent years competition from other news sources – including internet and cable and satellite television – has put pressure on circulations. Newspaper industry in India has continued to thrive because of its “inherent strengths” although the growth of electronic media and internet in recent years has been remarkable. A study had shown that 75% internet s had given up viewing television, whereas only 12% had given up reading newspapers. What these figures prove is that how much ever other medium grow and expand newspapers will still have its own charm. They have become an important part of the routines of many. It’s become an addiction just like the morning tea for millions of people. However this doesn’t excuse the newspaper companies from improving their

product and services. It’s an era of changes. Only those survive

who

indulge

in

constant

improvements

and

innovations, be it news presentation style, layout, look and feel of the appear, articles, miscellaneous columns, contests, subscription schemes and so on. Convergence will be the watchword for the future with newspapers continuing to play a “major role in the scenario that unfolds”. Convergence, multi-channel, and mobility: are the catchwords today. The latest flavor for the newspaper industry is: digital editions. So the question is: “Is it a “must” to publish a digital edition? Not yet. But it’s another relatively low-cost tool for increasing circulation, expanding distribution and serving readers and rs. Unlike newspapers, websites, these look and feel just like the newspaper – except on screen instead on paper – and they provide the advantage of audited circulation. Benefits of Digital Edition: There are many benefits to digital editions, that’s why more and more newspapers are opting for it and further more will in near future.

 Regardless of distributor strikes, blizzards, hurricanes or distance, these electronic editions are always distributed.  Digital editions include every ad that your print edition does, and they can provide advertising “extras” such as video and audio files, front-page “belly band” and “stick-on” ads that disappear when the issue is opened, response

cards,

traceable

hyperlinks

and

other

enhanced tools.  They can build circulation among readers who want the paper in a timely fashion, whether they’re local or halfway around the world. They reduce paper, ink and distribution costs.  They’re fully searchable, so readers can look for what they want immediately, whether it’s editorial or advertising content. They’re achievable, so you can increase back-copy sales and text archive sales. Some predictions about the future of the industry…..  In spite of new technologies, we will be drowning in a sea of paper.  Newspapers will prosper, but will be smaller in size and weight, easier to use, and not require the destruction of so many trees.

 In spite of new technology used to assemble and communicate the news, the news gathering process will remain the same: reporters will still follow leads, consult sources, interview and research to develop strong and accurate news stories. “The narrative story was with us long after”. The paper of tomorrow, differently, will have to cater for individual needs to its readers; will have to be each one unlike the others; will have to entertain, inform and help to live a better life to its readers, but all of them with a unique personality that will appeal particularly to a given segment of the market.

ABOUT DESH VIDESHNI AAJKAAL A. Company Information:  Name of the company Dhanraj News & Media Pvt. Ltd.  Form of Organization 9th floor, Dhanrajni Complex, Dr. Yagnik Road, Rajkot – 360 001. Ph: 0281 – 2481556/571/58 E-mail: [email protected]  Branch Offices Jamnagar Office: -

405-6, Jyot Tower, Opp. Town Hall, Jamnagar.

Ahmedabad Office: -

4th floor, Ansion Building, Near State Bank of Saurastra,

S.P. Stadium Six Roads, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad – 380 009. Bhavnagar Office: -

Popat Building, Khar Gate Chowk, Bhavnagar – 364 001.

Porbandar Office: -

Om Building, VCO Bank Road, Near Vinesh School, Off. M.G. Road, Porbandar.

B. Brief History: The Success Story:  1996: Aajkaal was launched in city of Rajkot to establish its credentials among other existing evening newspapers.

It

was

promoted

by

the

previous

management team headed by Mr. Rajubhai Shah. In short span of time it gained acceptance amongst readers of Rajkot.  1998: There was a big void for an evening publication in the commercial capital of Gujarat – Ahmedabad. Aajkaal grabbed the opportunity to be the 1 st successful evening newspaper and proved its worth with again in very short period with a great surprise to the tycoons of media industry.

 1999: One more landmark – one more center of publication – one more achievement – start-up of the Jamnagar Edition. People of Jamnagar were waiting for a quality newspaper and within no time AAJKAAL ranked as No. 1 evenings in the city of Jamanagar.

 2000: A turn around came in the history of AAJKAAL. It was taken over by the Dhanraj Group of Companies, which is a known name in the constructions industry. The take over was formalized on 22 nd June 2000 and ever since AAJKAAL has never had to look back.  2001: Later creating history with one more center – Bhavnagar, AAJKAAL became the only evening newspaper of the country published simultaneously from four major centers of Gujarat covering 80% geographical area with largest circulations, AAJKAAL achieved leadership status in the state of Gujarat.  2004: AAJKAAL added one more feather in its cap by commencing its fifth edition from the city of Porbandar on the 2nd April 2004. hence now it has become even stronger as it is published from 5 cities simultaneously and the future will witness yet more editions of Aajkaal.

THE MANAGEMENT TEAM – THE PEOPLE AT HELM

DHANRAJ NEWS & MEDIA PVT. LTD. is the driving force behind the country’s largest circulating evening newspaper – AAJKAAL.  CHAIRMAN AND MANAGING EDITOR Mr. Dhanraj Jethani  MANAGING DIRECTOR Mr. Chandresh Jethani  DIRECTOR Mr. Anil Jethani  DIRECTOR Mrs. Rajni Dhanraj Jethani  EDITOR Mr. Deepak Rajni

E. About the Product:  Manufacturing Process: 1.

Collection of News: The collection of news is one activity which is done on a 24 hour basis. The reporters are on a continuous vigilance and collect all important news from the areas that are allocated to them.

2.

Composing of news: After collection, composing is done in following steps.

(i)

Typing: This involves punching all the news into the computers.

(ii)

Page Editing: This involves formatting the news. Placement

of

headlines,

sub

headlines,

photographs, ments, etc. is decided and the newspaper is ready n the computer screen. (iii)

Page Setting: This refers to the activity of taking the print out of the edited page of news on the butter

paper. The prints are taken on 2 butter papers, they are set together and glued with the help of cello tapes to form the size of a newspaper. So by now a prototype of the newspaper is ready. 3.

Plate Exposing: Once the editor does the proofreading of the butter print paper, it is sent to the machine room (press). There it is out into the plate exposing unit through which the entire print on the butter paper is imposed on the aluminum plates.

4.

Printing: This plate is then fit on the roll of the offset machine. The paper rolls are also fit into this machine. By the coincidence of paper, plate and ink the newspaper is actually printed.

5.

Counting: The off-set machine has an in-built folder so the paper is automatically folded 2 help count these folded newspapers and malice bundles of appropriate size.

6.

Distributing: The bundles are then ready for dispatch. The newspaper of the up country [Dak] edition are sent to their S.T. Bus station while the city edition is sent to the city depots for distribution.

 Raw-Materials:

The main raw-materials required for printing a newspaper are: a. Newsprint: it forms approximately 70% of the total production cost. b. Plate: these are aluminum plates on which the news are imposed from the butter paper. From these plates the writings are embossed on the newspaper. c. Ink: Ink and plates together cost 15 paise per copy. Besides these other direct material required are: 1. Chemicals 2. Butter paper 3. Toner The circulation agents commission forms 60 paise per copy

and

other

expenses

like

electricity

etc.

cost

approximately 15 paise per copy.  Installed and Utilized Capacity: The offset printer that is used by AAJKAAL has the installed capacity of 16000 copies per hour. However as per the demand the utilized capacity is only about 22000 copies per day.  Initial and Current Investment:

Initially when Dhanraj Group took over AAJKAAL, they paid approximately Rs. 1.5 crore. After that there were further fixed investments like news machinery of Rs. 18 lakh, sales promotion took up about Rs. 25 lakh and Rs. 10 lakh was spent on developing the Ahmedabad office. In all the initial investment reached about Rs. 2 crores. Currently the investments have reached upto Rs. 2.5 crores, on of further sales promotional expenses, new machines and 5th edition from Porbandar.  Mechanical Data:  Print Area: 51 cms x 37.5 cms Column width = 4.5 cms [8 columns]  Periodicity: 6 daily evening except Sunday and Government Holidays.  Edition

&

Pages:

Rajkot

edition

–

12

pages,

Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar and Porbandar: 8 pages.

MARKETING IN THE NEWSPAPER INDUSTRY A. Marketing in Competitive Environment: Today newspaper has become a part of everybody’s life. Day starts with the newspaper. In this era of different satellite

channels

also,

newspaper

has

not

lost

its

importance. However the job of newspaper has changed. Now it does not give new news to the people; it reports the news T.V. channels, now, make people aware of the news, newspaper reports the news in details. Thus, today newspaper industry does not only complete with other newspaper companies but also with other

channels.

Various

publications

in

dailies

and

magazines fight for higher market share, for higher readership. To obtain this higher circulation and to understand consumer needs and wants so that value added publication can be provided, marketing has become essential for any newspaper industry. Better features in newspaper and magazines, easy availability and at quite affordable price – is the main effort of all leading groups in India.

 Marketing in the Aajkaal Group: “Marketing is the performance of business activities that direct the flow of goods and services from producers to consumers or s.” This is how America Marketing Association has defined marketing in yester years. But today the scenario is very much different. Today the approach towards marketing is customer-oriented. Attaining, satisfying and maintaining customers is the essence of marketing today. At AAJKAAL marketing is given prime importance. That’s the reason why it is under direct supervision of the Chairman Mr. Dhanraj Jethani and the Managing Director Mr. Chandresh Jethani. They are the ones who decide on each and every competitive strategy.

AAJKAAL Group is supposed to give the due attention to the marketing field as it is surrounded by a very tough competition. In AAJKAAL marketing function has dual functions. On one side it includes in its scope the management of the advertising department and on the other is the efforts done to promote sales of AAJKAAL itself through various sales promotional tools. It is the most responsive department collecting the revenue for the enterprise.

Marketing department can be subdivided in the following ways: Marketing Department

Circulation

Space Marketing

Let us see the functioning of each section in detail.  SPACE MARKETING: It is very well known that newspaper and magazine serve as print media for the other business units. Print media has got its own distinctive advantages for the businessmen. Therefore

almost

all

the

business

units

get

their

ments published in leading newspapers and magazines. From the viewpoint of newspaper industry it is the task of space selling to the businessmen for their ads. Newspaper industry collects maximum revenue for the unit through space selling only.  SIGNIFICANCE: Space marketing becomes important task for the group because: Newspaper is such a low priced item hardly Rs. 1 to Rs. 2 whereas cost of manufacturing or publishing that newspaper is much more than this price. So it is must for the industry to compensate this cost as well as to earn desired or reasonable profit which is required for growth and for this purpose some other source of revenue other than circulation is to be found out. Space marketing brings here the other flow of revenue. Thus, space marketing becomes a crucial task for the Aajkaal Group as it generates a larger flow of revenue as compared to revenue coming from the circulation. The rates chargeable for publishing ads of different business houses and agencies are fixed as per the utilization of columns and centimeters. As everyone knows, the whole

page is divided into 8 columns and rates are charged accordingly. The charges are different for publishing ads on front page, middle page or last page. The Aajkaal Group, has got a separate department performing the function of space marketing as shown earlier in the organization. The staff of this department directly approaches to the ment agencies and also to the business houses for getting ads in their publications strategic approach is adopted in order to obtain maximum ment.

For attracting more and more ads AAJKAAL has various canvassers or marketing executives whose main duty is to attract more and more ads to be published in AAJKAAL. These canvassers go through the ments that appear in the competitor’s newspaper and check if it has appeared in AAJKAAL also. If it has not then they either the r or his ad agency, and convince them to give ads in AAJKAAL by explaining them the benefits and the economies. These are 4 categories of ads based on the source from which they get it. a) Direct ads [from the r without any ad agency]. b) Ads through local ad agency c) Ads through outside agencies [out of Gujarat] d) Government ads [State and Central Government]

Good relations with business houses and agencies as well as favorable rates and and conditions are the key of space marketing. Let us see the rate details of AAJKAAL publications in this rate card.  CIRCULATION: Circulation sector is basically concerned with the marketing of publications of the Aajkaal Group. It aims at maximum promotion of the newspaper. Circulation department attends all the functioning related to providing newspapers in the hands of the readers with better services competitively and economically.  PROMOTION: There is a separate section which functions under the circulation department especially carrying out the promotion of newspaper. However, various promotional activities which will be discussed later are carried under direct supervision and guidance of CHAIRMAN and M.D.  PRODUCT: The product over here is concerned with news quality, the quality of paper and ink which are quiet much more superior than those of the competitors. The worthiness of news is high, as news re printed only after verification.

 DISTRIBUTION: This section watches the timely dispatch of newspaper everyday. It aims at arranging for physical distribution as well as channels of distribution. It tries to make newspapers available to the readers at their convenient places.  PRICE: Prices are different for city publication and Dak publication. The price of city publication is Rs. 2 and price of Dak publications is Rs. 2. But the prices are determined by the head office at Rajkot. Thus both the sections of marketing department – space marketing and circulation are of great importance. C. MAJOR COMPETITORS: 1. IN RAJKOT: The major competitor of Aajkaal in Rajkot are: a) Akila b) Sanj Samachar a) Akila This media company is sound and puts straight forward challenge

for

Aajkaal.

Since

company

is

publishing

newspaper from 25 years, it has set an image in minds of

Rajkot people and it enjoys certain market share since long. Akila also has been successful in grasping and maintaining the interest and prejudice for itself, through its spicy news and more experience in this field, than any other newspaper in this industry. It can be also said in favor of Akila that it was the 1 st evening newspaper of Rajkot city and it was the one to set a trend or habit amongst the Rajkot people to habituate themselves for reading local evening newspaper. Thus for people of Rajkot district and other cities, there is an emotional feeling attached to it. Now let us discuss the features of Akila, which has helped it to maintain its Market Share: o A evening daily o On every Saturday, class fields are published on separate paper along with evening daily the price of which is included in evening daily. One of the advantages that Akila enjoys is that the circulation goes high by 5-10% on every Saturdays due to its additional feature of class fields. Akila is also facing competition from Aajkaal and in order to stand in competition, Akila made a positive step of increasing number of papers from 12 pages to 16 pages in

city edition and from 10 pages to 12 pages in Dak edition like Aajkaal. The maximum retail price of Akila for both city and Dak edition was initially Rs. 1.50 but is increased to Rs. 2.00 after increase in paper. So one positive move taken by Akila after tough competition from Aajkaal is to first increase newspaper pages and then to increase maximum retail price. Akila is compared to Aajkaal is one step ahead in area of circulation of Dak edition merely due to major circulation of taxis owned by itself and not hired ones and usage of 6-7 routes covering various villages, talukas, and other rural and industrial areas. The approximate sales figures of circulation figures of Akila is whole Saurashtra is Rajkot is

copies/day and in

copies/day.

But one of the limiting factor of Akila is that, after so many years of establishment it has been able to make its brand image, but Aajkaal only since 4 years of inception has gained a good market share and a well set image in minds of reader. b) Sanj-Samachar One another competitor of Aajkaal is Sanj Samachar. Sanj Samachar has been publishing evening newspaper since 17 years. But like Akila, Sanj Samachar is also having only one edition, while Aajkaal is having its full-fledged 5 editions in Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Porbandar, Bhavnagar and Jamnagar.

Sanj Samachar is competitor for Aajkaal only in case of market grabbed by it, otherwise there is no tough competition between them. Sanj Samachar is evening newspaper published by Jai Hind Publication – publisher of morning newspaper. Sanj Samachar does not have additional features of classfields and other columns like Aajkaal but only plus point is its years of experience in this media field. The per day circulation or sales figure of Sanj Samachar would be approximately approximately

copies/day for Saurashtra and

copies/day for Rajkot city.

Aajkaal is equally doing well in case of availability time of newspaper. Both newspaper might be reaching at similar timing to different residential and business places in Saurashtra, in different rural and urban areas. The prices of each newspaper of city edition is Rs. is Rs.

And of Dak edition

. Sanj Samachar in order to stand in this competitive

world has undertaken various marketing efforts at trade fairs, annual subscription offer, commission to distributors channel. Sanj Samachar is also one of the leader by its print quality and paper quality. Thus Sanj Samachar is a cold competitor, but never to under estimate any competitor. 2. JAMNAGAR:

Dhanraj News and Media Pvt. Ltd. started its new edition in Jamnagar in the year 1999. The total potential readers of Jamnagar district are 1,52,598. there is only one competitor of Aajkaal in Jamnagar and that is ‘NOBAT’. Nobat is the only leading evening newspaper of Jamnagar. Nobat publishes both Dak edition and City edition and coves rural area around the city along with the city itself. The only positive feature carried on by Nobat is its long experience of 45 years. So it has created a separate place in the hearts and minds of readers of Jamnagar. The additional feature contributing to the success of Nobat are good quality of paper and printing quality. The retail price of both Dak and city edition are Rs. 2.00 only. According ABC book the per day circulation of Nobat is approximately about 24,400 copies. But unlikely Aajkaal, the number of pages of Nobat are 8 both for Dak and city edition. But in case Aajkaal for Jamnagar city, the number of pages for city edition are 10 pages and that for Dak edition are 8 pages. There are no additional features like class fields or columns additionally published along with regular newsprint or included in the newspaper itself by Nobat which provides a competition to Aajkaal in Dak and city edition for its columns and various other features.

Aajkaal in comparison to its competitor has been very speedily gaining its space in Jamnagar because of its active teams and latest news. Aajkaal has successfully gained a readership of about 17,357. So to have competitive advantage, Aajkaal reduced its prices to Re. 1 and reduced to 6 pages from 8 pages. And because of this measure, the sales of Aajkaal increased by 20%.

3. AHMEDABAD Ahmedabad is the commercial capital of Gujarat, and looking to its powerful feature even Aajkaal did not miss the chance and launched one of its edition in Ahmedabad in the year 1998. In the Ahmedabad district there are 92468 potential evening newspaper readers. As such in case of competition, there is no such harsh competition faced by Aajkaal amongst evenings. But as discussed above, there is no thing left, where there is no competition, so Western Times is the competitor of Aajkaal. As such there is no competition from national evening newspaper.

But

indirect

competition

from

morning

newspaper Divya Bhaskar, because all the latest news are published by them. Divya Bhaskar has been launched since June 2003 and certain % of decline in sales figure of Aajkaal has been experienced during recent days. Aajkaal is constantly striving hard to maintain its market share in Ahmedabad district. 4. BHAVNAGAR In the year 2001, one more leap towards success, one more

step

towards

maximizing

reading

of

Gujarat,

Bhavnagar edition was launched. In Bhavnagar district there are 1,09,758 potential readers of evening newspapers. There is no hardcore standing competition for Aajkaal in Bhavnagar. But recently before 1 or 2 months in November 2004, a new eveninger called, “Saurashtra Aaspas” has been started. 5. PORBANDAR In the year 2004, following Gandhi’s principle, truth through authentic news in his birth place – Porbandar Aajkaal started its 5th edition in Porbandar.

In Porbandar district there are 59136 potential leaders. In Porbandar, by Aajkaal on city edition is published and on Dat edition, but soon will enter into that area also. In Porbandar there are no rivals for Aajkaal, Aajkaal is the only leading evenings newspaper in Porbandar. OTHER COMPETITORS Apart from the local competition from the above district, there is also competition from national evening and morning newspaper

and

local

morning

newspaper.

There

is

considerable less competition from the side of national newspaper because they are broadly based on news related to whole nation and no direct competition with local news publishers. The area covered by national newspaper is mass and area covered by local newspaper is micro. But yes, the marketing information system of national newspaper is very strong enough, to publish all the breaking and latest news. There is a feeling in minds of people that there are more authentic news in national newspaper, while local newspaper are carrying spicy masala with them. But one advantage for evening newspaper is that it can launch special edition due to breaking news, natural calamities, etc. Aajkaal was able to take an advantage of this opportunity

very

successfully

when

the

disastrous

earthquake destroyed Kutch and other different cities of Gujarat. The special edition published during everyday has increased the goodwill of Aajkaal. Aajkaal at that time was able to beat Akila, the local leading evening newspaper because of its latest news and hardworking team. Now, we shall discuss the impact of morning newspaper on the sales of evening newspaper. Morning newspapers are in indirect competition for evenings, and even the reverse is applicable. If there are any breaking news in mid of the day, then evenings can publish the news first, and morning newspapers have to republish the news next morning. But on the other hand the life space of evening newspaper is very short as next morning the ones with morning newspaper will publish the news with some extra knowledge and depth in that particular happening. Thus both evening and morning newspaper whether local or national has some or the other, more or less effect on working, image of each other.

INTRODUCTION

A. INTRODUCTION Aajkaal group is a well established group in localized newspaper industry. The group is professionally organized group and very aware about its strategic orientation. Marketing strategies refers to company’s policies decided after due considerations given to environment as well as competitors policy strategy formulation is always a difficult task for the unit, again when there is such a tough competition it has become an essential task to formulate any strategy very successfully.

Aajkaal group has adopted crucial strategies to survive in this competitive world. In case of Aajkaal, it’s all the four marketing tools are very sound. It is successfully in meeting reader’s demand. The impact of different Marketing Mix variable on Market Share All the four pillars of marketing, i.e. products, price, promotion and distribution have greater impact on the company’s market share. Sometimes the mix of these variables may bring higher market share but may not generate the desired profits. Therefore to have desired market share, a proper attention should be given to these marketing mix variables and their impact on the market share. Some light on the impact of different marketing mix variables on market share as shed by Bazzell and Wiersema drawing on the PIMS [Profit Impact on Marketing Strategies] database. They found that in companies showing market share gains typically outperformed their competitor in three area new product activity, relative product quality and marketing expenditures specifically. Share gaining companies typically developed and added more new products to their lines.

Companies that increased their product quality relative to competition enjoyed greater share gains than those whose quality rating remained constant or declined. Companies that increased their marketing expenditure faster than the rate of market growth typically achieved share gains. Increase in sales force expenditures were effective in producing share gains for both industrial and consumer markets increased advertising expenditures produced share gains mainly for consumer goods companies. Increased sales promotion expenditures were effective in producing share gains for all types of companies. Companies that cut their price, more deeply than competitors did not achieve significant market share gains, contrary to expectations. Presumably enough rivals met the price cuts partly and others offered values to the buyers so that they did not switch as much to the price cutter. The reported study did not investigate whether the market share gains were worth the cost of achieving them. Evidently companies are able to “buy” higher market share, but the real issue is whether it will lead to higher profits sooner or later. Let us now examine the strategies of the Indian Express Group in of product, price, promotion and distribution to increase the market share.

B. STRATEGIC APPROACH OF THE AAJKAAL GROUP We hereby mainly examine the strategies of group particularly adopted for Aajkaal. The Aajkaal group performs the role of market challenger so it is supposed to choose the attack strategies. Let us discuss the strategies in of product, price, promotion and distribution.

Competitive Product Product is the base point for any company. It is the main theme or idea that any company has to offer to its customers. Customers want that product, which can give them expected value against the valued price given for it. Product, is the competitive tool for differentiation and positioning in the mind map of consumer. Company can win the market with the help of product quality. In this competitive era, product has gained highest attention. Customers are ready to pay for the quality. Product after capital is the life line of any company. Because it is ultimately the product which brings failure or

success to the business. Those products are successful which give functional and esthetic value to the product. Features: Features are the characteristics that supplement the product’s basic functioning. Most products can be offered with varying features. Features are a competitive tool for differentiating company’s product from competitor’s product. The more innovative approach is adopted, higher the market share can be achieved.

Let us see the features of Aajkaal AAJKAAL was the 1st and the only evening newspaper which started different columns like: o Lifestyles o Wah kya scene hai o Sakhad-dakhad o Askha mandal o Kutuhal In addition to this, on every Wednesday and Saturday class fields are published and sales increases by certain % on these days.

Even there is a special benefit to yearly subscribers as they can participate in regular quiz and contests which are introduced by Aajkaal, and special gifts are given to the winners of the quiz and contests. This

has

made

a

remarkable

contribution

in

strengthening the product image of Aajkaal. Thus the features of Aajkaal have a complete family package. It has got everything from films to firm, from sports to horoscope, etc.

Presentation: Aajkaal group has adopted a specific format for presenting news, and ads. It differs from all its competitors.

It helps the readers to understand the news format and one can directly switch over to the news of his own interest. The unique presentation also gives fancy and sophisticated look to the newspaper. Improvement, Changes, Modification

Aajkaal group keeps a constant eye on competitors modification or price improvement of any newspaper immediately results in increase or decrease readership ratio. Any firm that does not provide value addition to their customers soon gets isolated and out of date. The Aajkaal group has tried to understand the requirements of their readers and accordingly they have presented modifications in presentations as well as features of the newspaper.

Product Quality Product quality in today’s world has gained utmost importance. Quality has become precondition for any business unit. Specific standards of quality are fixed for each and every product but when we think of quality in newspaper industry, question arises in of what? Here, the product quality means the level and trust worthiness of the news, the truth of news generating positive behavior, making the readers more mature may be called Qualitative news.

Newspaper industry has got the highest responsibility. The publicity that they give to a person, a public trend to think him as the image given by the newspaper. Newspaper is the mirror of the society, it reflects what is happening in the society on day to day basis. It writes history of events. It reveals the true facts of the event. News: News means actual facts of what happens without adding or suppressing facts. News should not be everyday routine things for e.g. not old usual “Dog bites man” is news, but “Man bites Dog” is news. News can be political, sports, business, national, international regional or of human interest. Previews: It is not reporting of facts but prediction of things to happen or take shape in the future. It can be political, economical or any thing. Review: It is detailed analysis of major things/events which have happened, why it happened what will be its effect? Good or bad? It’s diagnosis. It goes beyond the actual facts to find reasons or logic of happening.

In today’s era there is allegation on the newspaper industries that they are giving unnecessary importance to the politicians and terrorists. They give them so much publicity that they give them the image of celebrity. As far as the news of Aajkaal is concerned, they are authentic news having high level of of truth. As they have got courageous and investigative journalists spread all over

Saurashtra,

so news are published

only

after

verification. They confirm the sources and trust worthiness of the news and then publish it. The Aajkaal group also considers the ethics and does not encourage anti-social ads or speculative activities.

PRICING STRATEGY

Through most of the history, price has operated as the major determinant of buyer’s choice. Price is the only element that produces revenue. It is the most important element

determining

company’s

market

share

and

profitability. Further more pricing and price competition was rated as the number one problem faced by marketing executives and it should be given due importance.

Price is the value of the product in of the money. It is the rate given to avail the benefits of the product. Price must be fixed considering the value of the product. Pricing strategy is of crucial importance for the management. Proper pricing can win the market and improper pricing may result in to a great defeat. Pricing has very high impact on the revenue, profit and the market share. Through this tool company can differentiate itself from the competitors and can gained the competitive advantage. Price and Revenue: Higher price does not necessarily result in higher sales revenue; it depends upon the demand of the product. If there is very high price and no demand it cannot generate the revenue for the business. Price and Profits: With increase in price rate, profits also increases but only up to some extent and then due to increased price, demand will decrease and ultimate profit will decline. Price and Market Share: Price and market share has inverse relationship. To attain the highest market share, it is necessary to fix up the lowest price.

Pricing in the newspaper industry: Pricing in the newspaper industry differs from the pricing of the other goods. In price setting of any of goods, the cost factor is considered and price is set up adding the profit margin in the cost of the product. But newspaper is very low priced item. It’s value or price generally stands at Rs. 2 or Rs. 4. But the cost of production i.e. publishing the newspaper is not generally so much low. So it is very necessary for any group to fix up the newspaper price considering so many different factors. PRICING OBJECTIVES: Pricing objectives are the benchmarks against which management attempts to fix the prices and formulate policies and strategies. The following are the main objectives of the pricing:  Profit Maximization: Under this objective, management attempts to maximize profits through the instrument of price. Here company believes in long run profit maximization and sets relatively low price.

 Targeted Rate of Return: Here company aims at getting a desired rate of return on the investment and accordingly fixes the prices.

 Price Stabilization: This objective aims at avoiding the frequent fluctuations in the prices and preventing the price wars thereby. It also throws a positive impact on the consumer psychology.  Market Share: A company may aim to secure a targeted market share by employing price as an input. Target market share means that share of industry sets which company aspires to attain. Here price is set keeping in mind the penetration strategy.  Meet or prevent competition: Price is also an instrument in the hands of a company to meet or prevent competition. In order to prevent competition, company sets a very low price or to meet competition it follows the competitors pricing policy. PRICE DETERMINATION There are different methods of price determination like: 1. Cost plus pricing 2. Marginal cost pricing

3. Follow up pricing 4. Perceived value of pricing For determining the prices the Indian Express Group considers mainly the following factors. Factors affecting price determination: 1. Cost Factor 2. Competition 3. Pricing Objective 4. Market Behavior or Psychology There is no as such pricing strategy adopted by Aajkaal. The price of its newspapers for city edition and Dak edition in different cities are as follows: City

Dak

Rajkot

2 Rs.

2 Rs.

Ahmedabad

2 Rs.

2 Rs.

Jamnagar

2 Rs.

2 Rs.

Bhavnagar

2 Rs.

2 Rs.

Porbandar

2 Rs.

2 Rs.

PROMOTION AND COMMUNICATION MIX STRATEGY

Modern marketing calls for more, than developing other product, pricing it attractively and making it accessible to target customer. Companies must also communicate with their present and potential customers. Every company is inevitably cast in the role of communicator and promoter. What is communicated however there should not be any chance left for enhancing communication effectively, companies hire advertising agencies to develop effective ad; sales-promotion specialists design sales incentive programme and public – relation firms to develop the corporate image, they train their sales people to be friendly and knowledgeable for most companies ask not whether to communicate but rather what to say, to whom and how often. The marketing communication mix consists of four major tools.

1. Advertising: Any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion sponsor of ideas, goods and services to be identified. 2. Sales Promotion: Short form incentive to encourage purchase or sale of a product or service. 3. Personal Selling: Oral presentation in a conversation with one or more prospective purchaser for the purpose of making sale. 4. Public Relations: A variety of program designed to improve, maintain or protect a company or product image. Communication goes beyond these specific communication, promotion tools. The product styling, its price, the packaging, shape, color and sales person manner and address all communicate something to the buyers. The whole marketing mix, not just the promotional

mix,

must

communication impact.

be

orchestrated

for

maximum

PROMOTIONAL STRATEGIES ADOPTED BY AAJKAAL

1. As said earlier marketing is considered very important in AAJKAAL. The chairman Mr. Dhanraj Jethani believes in the philosophy that money spent on marketing is not expenditure but is an investment which will give good returns in long run. He especially never thinks twice before spending money like water to increase the circulation of the paper. Higher circulation will ensure wider coverage and hence more ad revenues. 2. When he had taken over AAJKAAL, the circulation was around 40,000 and within a span of 3 years he raised it to 80,000 copies. He could achieve this with the help of following marketing activities: a. Subscription Schemes and Draws: earlier in the evening newspaper industry subscription schemes were not famous. The new management came up with very attractive subscription schemes offering gifts

worth almost the same price as the subscription amount. These schemes succeeded a lot and have had a major role in increasing the circulation of AAJKAAL dramatically. Along with the schemes they also have been arranging regular lucky draws which result in distribution of big expensive prizes like home, car, two wheeler, gold items, etc. b. Contests: Besides the above schemes, they provide interesting contests and quizzes from time to time, like Dhanpati Dhamaka offer, model contest, jokes contest and so on. They also make them play games like Tambola through the newspaper with the incentive of large, attractive prices. c. Campaigning on Elephants, auto rickshaws, etc: When Dhanraj Group had taken over AAJKAAL, they had put a lot of stress on communicating this and also the introductory subscription offers through the use of Elephants as they attract attention. Till date many schemes are announced throughout the city by rickshaws as they are a cheap medium to reach the local masses. d. Putting stalls on crowded places: many times stalls are arranged in very crowded and busy commercial and shopping areas so as to lure customers to subscribe to AAJKAAL easily. This again is an inexpensive way to get a good exposure and attention.

e. Free copies to public places: a free copy of AAJKAAL is sent to all those places where there are chances of people being interested in reading, whether for knowledge or just to spend time while waiting for doctor. Such places are clinics, hospitals, libraries, airport, etc. f. Giving ments on cable and hoardings: Apart from announcing all the schemes in their newspaper, AAJKAAL uses these two main sources for advertising. Ads are designed and produced and released on the local cable network as that is where the main target audience is available. Hoardings are the 2nd main medium used for advertising various schemes, contests or new attractions of AAJKAAL. g. Arranging events: AAJKAAL has strengthened its social existence by arranging various events like sponsoring cake on Krishna Janmotsav or arranging the ‘Best of the Best’ contest for all prince and princesses of Saurashtra during Navratri. h. Pricing: the newspaper price and even the rates for the ads are fixed after considering the market conditions and the rates of the competitors. Hence the method of pricing generally used is competitive party method [refer rate card on next page]

i. Social responsibility: AAJKAAL fulfills its social obligation mainly by giving authentic news. In earlier researches done by the company it was found that majority of the readers feel that AAJKAAL is not politically biased and that it flashes news without modifying it or sugar-coating it. This in itself is a major service to the society. Besides this they also invite the problems of public be it with any govt. dept., officials, or their housing society problems etc., and then publish them in the newspaper. Hence they are the representative of the public in the true sense. Besides these there are many more efforts that AAJKAAL has made to communicate and strengthen its strong position in the evening newspaper market.

DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY

A distribution system is a key external resource. Normally it takes years to build and it is not easily changed. It ranks in importance with key internal resources such as manufacturing, research, engineering and field sales personnel. It represents a significant corporate commitment to large no. of independent companies whose business is distribution and to the particular market they serve. It represents, as well, a commitment to set of policies and practices that constitute the basic fabric on which is woven an extensive set of long term relationships. COREY Thus there is a powerful inertial tendency in channel arrangements. Therefore management must choose channels with an eye on tomorrow’s likely selling environment as well as today’s. By holding intermediates in the channel, producer delegates some of the selling job to intermediates. The delegation here means relinquishing some control over how and to whom the products are sold. The producer appears to be placing the firm’s destiny in the hands of intermediates.

According to Stern & Elatnsary, “intermediaries smoothen the flow of goods and services… This procedure is necessary in order to bridge the discrepancy between the assortment of goods and services generated by the producer and the assortment demanded by the consumer. DISTRIBUTION IN THE NEWSPAPER INDUSTRY: Distribution system in newspaper industry is of great importance as newspaper need to be made available at the nearby places of the people. In morning it should reach in time and as well as it should be available at the places which are convenient. The newspaper sent outside the Rajkot, in nearby villages and cities of Saurashtra, are generally dispatched in early morning through taxi vehicles, so as to reaching time to its destiny. Local i.e. in Rajkot regular readers get their newspaper with the help of line boys and hawkers and for other people, all the shop keepers keep it with them. Thus, the Indian Express Group is indulged in functions of selection of dealers, timely availability to the dealers. Physical distribution and also deciding the commission as well as incentives payable to the dealers. DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY ADOPTEDBY AAJKAAL: As Aajkaal is simultaneously published from 5 different cities of Saurashtra, it has to maintain a good distribution network

to reach on time before competitor’s newspaper arrives in hands of the readers. Aajkaal is the 1st to reach at places of different hawkers or distributors agonists Akila and Sanj Samachar in Rajkot District. For Dak edition for its circulation, Aajkaal hires taxis, State Transport Buses, Pvt. Buses/Travels or Auto Rickshaws for wide spread distribution of newspaper. In 2 cities fixed upto distribution is done, so we can say that they are sole selling agents no other distributor are appointed. After the printing of newspaper gets over, separate piles for different areas are prepared, they are counted and each lot is sent to parcel contractor for distribution in interior places. Dealer’s selection and management: Some aspects that are involved in channel management are selection of appropriate dealers, commission rate payable to them and incentive allowed to them. The Aajkaal group is very particular in all these aspects. The different incentive given to the dealers are: 1. City agents are given 325 commission, Town agents-cumreporters are given 30% commission and village agentscum-reporters are given 25% commission. 2. Targets of sale is given for attaining the desired sales.

3. Reporters are selected on basis of experience in this field and sources of information.

FUTURE PLANS

In future AAJKAAL wishes to accomplish even greater heights of success. In particular they shall attempt to achieve at least following in the near future. 1. They aim to achieve INS[Indian Newspaper Society] hip. 2. They wish to strengthen their hold in Gujarat and outside, by increasing the number of editions being published. In future they are planning to start three more editions: a. Mumbai – Business capital of India b. Surat – Diamond city of Gujarat c. Bhuj – Border city of Gujarat 3. In future to come Aajkaal wants to go beyond the tradition, and wants to come up with a new concept of English version of local news in short period of time.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Improve paper quality: I emphasize with the management as the newsprint’s prices keep fluctuating and it forms more than 70% of cost of production. The high prices of newsprint may render the decision of improving paper quality as economically weak. However the management could at least use better newsprint for the first and last page to create a good first impression. Better paper quality also gives an image of a brand and hence may in the long run contribute towards attracting new readers besides satisfying the existing ones. 2. Improve print quality: Although most of the readers are satisfied however the management should not ignore the dissatisfied ones. Adding color to at least the front and last page would help a lot. 3. The “Desh Pardesh Ni…” written above “AAJKAAL” on the header, should be in a somewhat bigger font so as to be recognized and retained in reader’s memory.

4. As the editor and managing editor seem to be very popular amongst the readers the company could take advantage of it. From time to time they should further emphasize and publish the achievements and activities of these people so as to build the image of the brand on the basis of quality serviceproviders. 5. The name of columns should be emphasized more so as to get selective attention and retention. The column’s name generally becomes the part of identity of the newspaper and also basis for differentiation. Such an important aspect should not be ignored.

SWOT ANALYSIS

STRENGTH: 1. Multiple editions from major cities give wider coverage. 2. So better and faster distribution 3. Greater local news focus 4. Latest and authentic news 5. Aggressive marketing through strong promotional tools 6. Good paper and print quality 7. Strong enthusiasm to progress even further WEAKNESS: 1. Negative image created by previous management team 2. Difficulty in convincing the rs about economies of advertising in multi-editions 3. Unlike other single edition newspapers, those ads given in 1 edition only don’t reach to surrounding areas 4. Lack of INS hip 5. Management is much more complex due to multiple editions OPPORTUNITIES:

1. Getting hip of INS will attract deep pocket rs 2. Attaining information dept’s and DAVP’s approval for getting state and central govt. ads for Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, and Porbandar editions. 3. Govt.’s recent decision of allowing foreign investment in this industry will lead to progress for the whole industry. THREATS: 1. Increase in prices of Newsprints 2. Due to liberalization in foreign investment big giants are coming in Gujarat with better quality and lower prices hence posing threats for small newspapers 3. Competitor’s strategies like price-cutting, giving better subscription schemes, etc.

CONCLUSION

After going through the whole report i.e. after analyzing the market share of the group as well as after reviewing all the strategies of the group, we can conclude that Indian Express Group is enjoying its growth rate. It has got quite satisfactory progress rate and the future potentialities exists in the market. The Aajkaal Group can capture higher and higher market share with providing varied product features different from its competitors. In summary we can say that Aajkaal Group is discharging its responsibility towards the society very well. It is fulfilling the business ethics. Thus wishing a good luck from bottom of my heart for the future of “Desh Pardeshni Aajkaal”

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. ABC BOOK 2. MARKETING MANAGEMENT – PHILIP KOTLER 3. Company broachers 4. Various

Websites

expressindia.com

like:

newspaper-industry.org,