Prothom Alo is Bangladesh's largest newspaper by circulation. It has a complex and dynamic operating environment as it serves a large, diverse readership and the news changes daily. The newspaper faces strong competitive forces including rivalry from other newspapers, bargaining power of advertisers and readers, threat of new entrants, and potential substitute forms of media. Prothom Alo has distinguished itself through its investigative journalism and remains the dominant market leader through the quality of its reporting and large readership base.

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A case study on PorthomAlo on media industry:
MEDIA INDUSTRY (NEWSPAPER) DAILY
PROTHOM ALO:
The Daily Prothom Alo carries on with the long-term responsibility is to strengthen public
opinion on how the democratic system should work and how to sustain and nurture democratic
norms effectively.
It was a privilege for The Daily Prothom Alo to be part of a changing scene after the fall of
millennium renaissance of democracy. With that privilege came an enormous responsibility of
upholding the duties of a free press. The newspaper is proud to pursue that policy without
relenting for the past 10 years.
1.1:History
Prothom Alo was founded on 4 November 1998. The circulation of Prothom Alo grew from an
initial circulation of 42,000 to a circulation of a half million copies. The newspaper distinguished
itself by its investigations of acid attacks and violence against women and pushing for tougher
laws against the sale of acid. From press facilities located in Dhaka, Chittagong and Bogra,
around 5,00,000 copies (as of March ‘2014) are circulated each day. According to National

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Media Survey 2012, everyday 5.1 million people read the print edition of Prothom Alo. The
claimed readership of the print edition of this newspaper is 9.6 million. According to a brand
equity study conducted by Quantum Consumer Solutions Limited, Prothom Alo is considered to
be the most influential newspaper brand in Bangladesh.
1.2:Mission:
The online portal of Prothom Alo (www.prothom-alo.com) is the number 1 Bangladeshi website
in the world. This portal is accessed by 1.6 million visitors from 200 different countries and
territories across the globe with 60 million pageview per month. The e-paper site of Prothom
Alo (www.eprothomalo.com) is also the Number 1 e-paper Web site of Bangladesh. From 160
countries, 465 thousand visitors access this website with more than 26 million pageview per
month. On an average, each of the visitors stays for 20 minutes in this Web site. Based on
Facebook fan following, Prothom Alo is one of the leading corporate houses of Bangladesh. Till
November 2015, 6.75 Million people are following this newspaper through Facebook. This is the
biggest FB Fan page for any organization in Bangladesh. Prothom Alo's blog (www.prothom-
aloblog.com) provides a well-moderated platform where thousands of bloggers share their
constructive thoughts on various contemporary issues. Moreover, nearly 700 thousand of
the Prothom Alo app for various digital and mobile platforms have been downloaded as of
October 2013. Altogether, printed and digital versions of Prothom Alo are being read by 12
million people from Bangladesh and 200 other countries and territories in a month.
1.3:Vission:
 Each day’s newspaper comes up with 20 to 24 pages in 6 editions. Besides, its attractive and
wide-ranging supplements have a spread of 4-24 pages daily.
 Its top news story deals either with the most important news of the day or highlights a special
or investigative report. Sometimes social incongruities are vividly displayed in cartoons

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featured by the country’s leading cartoonists. Additionally, the first and the last pages
encompass a variety of other news items.
 Desh (Country) and Bishal Bangla (The Vast Bangladesh) sections focus on the cities and
countryside of Bangladesh in search of news of the joys and sorrows, the crises and exciting
events that shape up the lives of the urban and rural people. Several versions of Bishal
Bangla allow the readers to have more news of their respective regions.
 Important news, features, pictures and happenings of the capital Dhaka are placed in the
Rajdhani (Capital) pages.
 Every day Bidesh (Outside of Country) page presents a selection of the most recent
developments around the globe.
 It's editorial section informs readers about Prothom Alo’s stance on different issues.
Prominent columnists, contributors, specialists and journalists from home and abroad explain
and analyze varieties of issues in Motamot (Opinion) pages. Important personalities are also
regularly interviewed in these pages. In letters to the editor, citizens express their opinions on
issues that affect their lives. Besides, it also publish translated commentaries from Project
Syndicate that offers cutting edge analysis and insights from global perspectives.
Additionally, these pages offer a virtual feast of features, strip cartoons, crosswords, sayings
of the wise, amazing facts and jokes to its readers.
 Everyday Porashona (Studies) page guides students of schools and colleges in their different
curricular disciplines.
 Bigyan-Projukti (Science-Technology) tenders contents form the digital and scientific world.
 Banijjyo (Business) section charts the highs and lows of the world of trade and commerce
every day.
 Binodon (Entertainment) page is full of color and vivid images that bring the world of
showbiz alive. The section also features interviews of stars and provides information on what
is happening in the entertainment world.
 Khela (Sports) section scans the national and international sport scenes for stories and news
and thus attracts innumerable sports aficionados for its well-rounded coverage.
 Prothom Alo culls stories of dedicated, enlightened and compassionate individuals scattered
throughout the country and honors these unsung heroes by presenting their inspirational

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stories of achievement to the readers through Saturday's Special Report and also on other
days.
 Prothom Alo regularly organizes roundtable discussions on important national and social
issues. Many of these discussions are jointly organized with UNICEF, UNFPA, BRAC,
Action Aid and other organizations. A complete transcript of these discussions is published
with the main newspaper
1.4:Values
The uniqueness of The Daily Prothom Alo lies in its non-partisan position, in the freedom it
enjoys from any influence of political parties or vested groups. Its strength is in taking position
of neutrality in conflicts between good and evil, justice and injustice, right and wrong, regardless
of positions held by any group or alliance.
1.5:sisters concerns
Prothom Alo, which belongs to Mediastar Ltd., has the following sister concerns:
 ABC Radio FM 89.2: Commercial operation of ABC Radio FM 89.2 commenced from 7
January 2009. It is one of the most popular FM radio channels of Dhaka city. Besides Dhaka,
it is also being aired from Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar stations.
 Prothoma Prokashon : Prothoma Prokashon is a publication house that started its journey
from 2008. This publication house has been highly praised by different quarters for its
quality publication works. Prothoma Prokashon received awards from Bangla Academy in
2011, 2012 and 2013.
 Prothoma Boier Dunia: Prothoma Boier Dunia or Prothoma World of Books is a book
selling outlet with five stores in Dhaka, Chittagong and Rajshahi.
 Protichinta: Protichinta is a quarterly journal on social, economical, and political issues.
 Kishor Alo : Kishor Alo, a monthly magazine for the youngsters, started its journey from
October 2013. Stories, novels, poems, quizzes, magic, adventures, traveling, science,
drawing, and many other interesting features are published in this colorful monthly
magazine.

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 Prothom Alo Jobs: Prothom Alo Jobs offers regular recruitment circular and solutions,
corporate training services, and career counseling.
1.6:Organizational Structure of Prothom Alo
The Prothom Alo follows a very flexible organization structure in which various departments
enjoy sufficient freedom and they cooperate with each other.
1.7:Board of Directors (BOD) and the Editor
As the agent of the Board of Directors the editor of Prothom Alo is directly controlling the
overall activities of the daily. All the news and advertisings are published according to his
decision. As the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), he plays the coordinating role between the
Board of Directors and the management of the newspaper. He is leading the team from the front
in developing and executing different policies and strategies in light of the expectation of Board
to achieve the ultimate objective of the organization.
1.8:Departments and Divisions
Two departments – office department and press department perform all the activities of Prothom
Alo. The office department is also divided into two sections- news section and general section.
Within the news section there are three divisions- editorial division, news division and feature
division. These three divisions are directed by three deputy editors who perform their job under
the direct supervision of the editor of the daily. It is mentionable that in Bangladesh Prothom Alo
has introduced the position of Deputy Editor. Within the general section under the supervision of
the administrative manager there are four divisions- administration, advertising, accounts and
circulation. And finally, the general manager with the cooperation of a press manager and a press
supervisor controls the press department. Besides the head office there is a branch office in
Chittagong, which is managed, in the same fashion of that of the head office.

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1.9:Work Force
Prothom Alo has three hundred and thirty five (335) full time employees including female
employees. For compensating employees, Prothom Alo offers the salary structure of the fifth
Wage Board of Bangladesh government. It also provides various benefits such as provident fund,
gratuity, individual employee insurance coverage, group insurance coverage to its employees.
Prothom Alo is offering its employees a very cordial working environment with a high
opportunity to build up their career.
1.10:Target Market Decisions
One of the major differences of newspaper marketing is that the marketer has to satisfy two
major groups of customers:
a. Readers (who buy the product for their personal consumption i. e, final consumers)
b. Advertisers (who buy the advertising space for their business use i. e. business buyers)
In developing the target market decision, a newspaper marketer has to consider both of these two
types of customers as well as other factors such as the different variables of market
segmentation, the competitive situation of the market, the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities and Threats) analysis of the business venture etc. which influences the overall
performance of newspaper business. Like other newspapers of our country, Prothom Alo is
developing their target market decision by considering all of these factors.
1.11:Competitive Position of Prothom Alo
Companies can be classified into four categories in terms of their competitive position in the
industry:
a. Market leader– the firm with the largest market share in an industry

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b. Market challenger– a runner-up firm that is fighting hard to increase its market share in an
industry
c. Market follower– a runner-up firm that wants to hold its share in an industry without rocking
the boat
d. Market gainer-a firm that serves small segments that the other firms in its industry overlook or
ignore.
From circulation point of view, The Prothom Alo is the unparalleled market leader of present
newspaper market of Bangladesh. Prothom Alo supplies everyday on an average 2, 37,715
copies to the agents for sale. In terms of circulation (actual sale), Prothom Alo is ahead of the
market challenger, The Daily Jugantor (the difference is 88,927 copies). Out of 64 districts
Prothom Alo is the market leader in 43 districts. Out of the rest 21 districts, Prothom Alo is the
market challenger in 11 districts and market follower in 9 districts and market niche in only one
district. Except Barishal, Prothom Alo is the market leader in all the Divisional Headquarters of
the country i.e. Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi and Sylhet with a big difference of 57,656
copies than the market challenger in selling point of view.
1.12:Marketing Mix of Prothom Alo
Marketing mix is the set of controllable variables of marketing. In general it is expressed in 4 Ps:
product, price, place and promotion of a particular company. The marketing mix of Prothom Alo
is described below:
1.13:Product
In a narrow sense, a product is a set of attributes assembled in an identifiable form. In marketing,
we need a broader definition of product to indicate that consumers are not really buying a set of
attributes, but rather benefits that satisfy their needs. Product is an umbrella term that covers
goods, services, places, persons, and ideas.

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1.14:Price
Price is the exchange value of product. Price is the amount of money and/or other items with
utility needed to acquire a product. Price as the amount of money charged for a product or
services, or the sum of the values that consumers exchange for the benefits of having or using the
product or service. Pricing is a critical factor in the successful operation of for-profit and not-for-
profit organizations.
1.15:Place
A critical task for marketers in the new millennium is the efficient movement of goods and
services from the point of production to the points of consumption. There are hundreds of ways
in which goods and services can be distributed to consumers. There is no standard distribution
system that can satisfy the needs of every firm.
1.16:Promotion
Promotion is an attempt to influence the consumers to react in favor of the company. In other
words, promotion is the element of an organization’s marketing mix that serves to inform,
persuade, and remind the market of a product. The organization is selling it, in hopes of
influencing the recipients’ feelings, beliefs, or behavior.

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2.1:Environmental change and complexity of Porthom
Alo:
1.Degreeof homogeneity simple & Degree of change stable means the firms serve the small
number of customers & the products doesn't change and faces least uncertainty.
2.Degree of homogeneity simple and Degree of change dynamic means the firms serve the small
number of customers and the products of the firms changes quickly & faces moderate uncertanty.
3.The degree of homogeneity complex and the degree of change simple means the firms serve
the large numbers of customers and the products of the firms doesn't change and faces moderate
uncertainty.

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4.Degree of homogeneity complex and the degree of change dynamic means the firms serve the
large number of customers and the product of the firms changes quickly and faces most
uncertainty.
Above discussion we can be decided that PORTHOM ALO NEWSPAPER focuses the degree of
homogeneity complex and the degree of change dynamic because they serve the large number of
customers and the news changes every day.
2.02:The competetive forces of PORTHOM ALO
NEWSPAPER:
Understandingthe Five Forces

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Porter regarded understanding both the competitive forces and the overall industry structure as
crucial for effective strategic decision-making. In Porter's model, the five forces that shape
industry competition are:
2.3:Competitive rivalry. This force examines how intense the competition currently is
in the marketplace, which is determined by the number of existing competitors and what each is
capable of doing. Rivalry competition is high when there are just a few businesses equally selling
a product or service, when the industry is growing and when consumers can easily switch to a
competitors offering for little cost. When rivalry competition is high, advertising and price wars
can ensue, which can hurt a business's bottom line. Rivalry is quantitatively measured by the
Concentration Ratio (CR), which is the percentage of market share owned by the four largest
firms in an industry.
2.04:Bargaining power of suppliers. This force analyzes how much power a
business's supplier has and how much control it has over the potential to raise its prices, which,
in turn, would lower a business's profitability. In addition, it looks at the number of suppliers
available: The fewer there are, the more power they have. Businesses are in a better position
when there are a multitude of suppliers. Sources of supplier power also include the switching
costs of firms in the industry, the presence of available substitutes, and the supply purchase cost
relative to substitutes.
2.05:Bargaining power of customers. This force looks at the power of the
consumer to affect pricing and quality. Consumers have power when there aren't many of them,
but lots of sellers, as well as when it is easy to switch from one business's products or services to
another. Buying power is low when consumers purchase products in small amounts and the
seller's product is very different from any of its competitors.

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2.06:Threat of new entrants. This force examines how easy or difficult it is for
competitors to join the marketplace in the industry being examined. The easier it is for a
competitor to join the marketplace, the greater the risk of a business's market share being
depleted. Barriers to entry include absolute cost advantages, access to inputs, economies of scale
and well-recognized brands.
2.07:Threat of substitute products or services. This force studies how easy it
is for consumers to switch from a business's product or service to that of a competitor. It looks at
how many competitors there are, how their prices and quality compare to the business being
examined and how much of a profit those competitors are earning, which would determine if
they have the ability to lower their costs even more. The threat of substitutes are informed by
switching costs, both immediate and long-term, as well as a buyer's inclination to change
 Above discussion we can say that PORTHOM ALO NEWSPAPER faces competitive rivalry
because they compete with Kaler Kantho, Jugantor, Bangladesh Protidin, ManabZamin,
Shamokal, Amader Shomoy and it also faces the piower of buyer because a false information can
highly impact on it's customer mind.

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3.00:Dimensions of PORTHOM ALO NEWSPAPER
Dimensions of general environment of PORTHOM ALO NEWSPAPER
(1) Economic dimensions
(2) Socialcultural dimensions
(3) Technological dimensions
(4) Political and legal, and
(5) International dimension
We explain below all these factors determining
external macro-environment:

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3.1. Economic Environment:
Economic environment includes the type of economic system that exists in the economy, the
nature and structure of the economy, the phase of the business cycle (for example, the conditions
of boom or recession), the fiscal, monetary and financial policies of the Government, foreign
trade and foreign investment policies of the government. These economic policies of the
government present both the opportunities as well as the threats (i.e. restrictions) for the business
firms.
3.2. Social and Cultural Environment:
Members of a society wield important influence over business firms. People these days do not
accept the activities of business firms without question. Activities of business firms may harm
the physical environment and impose heavy social costs. Besides, business practices may violate
cultural ethos of a society. For example, advertisement by business firms may be nasty and hurt
the ethical sentiments of the people.
3.3. Political and Legal Environment:
Businesses are closely related to the government. The political philosophy of the government
wields a great influence over business policies. For example, after independence under the
leadership of Jawahar Lal Nehru India adopted ‘democratic socialism as its goal.
In the economic sphere it implied that public sector was to play a vital role in India’s economic
development. Besides, it required that working of the private sector were to be controlled by a
suitable industrial policy of the government. In this political framework provide business firms
worked under various types of regulatory policies which sought to influence the directions in
which private business enterprises had to function.
Thus, Industrial Regulation Act 1951, Industrial Policy Resolution 1956, Foreign Exchange
Regulation Act (FERA), Monopolistic and Restrictive Practices (MRTP) Act were passed to
control the business activities of the

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3.4. Technological Environment:
The nature of technology used for production of goods and services is an important factor
responsible for the success of a business firm. Technology consists of the type of machines and
processes available for use by a firm and the way of doing things. The improvement in technol-
ogy raises total factor productivity of a firm and reduces unit cost of output.
The use of a superior technology by a firm gives it a competitive advantage over its rival firms.
The use of a particular technology by a firm for its transformation process determines its
competitive strength. In this age of globalisation the firms have to compete in the international
markets for sales of their products. The firms which use outdated technologies cannot compete
globally. Therefore, technological development plays a vital role in enhancing the competitive
strength of business firms.
It has been generally observed that the competition between firms in the domestic economy and
in international markets ensures that the firms will try to improve the technology they use
because failure to do so would pose a threat to their survival. In the protected markets,
technological improvements are slow and firms are able to survive for a long period without
making technological changes.
This is quite evident from the experience of automobile industry in India. Manufacturers of
Ambassadors and
3.5. International dimensions:
PORTHOMALO NEWSPAPERfacesvariousinternational factorseg.theycollectthe information
worldwide and theyovercomevariousbarriers.
4.00:NaturalEnvironment:
Natural environment is the ultimate source of many inputs such as raw materials,
energy which business firms use in their productive activity. In fact, availability of
natural resources in a region or country is a basic factor in determining business activity
in it. Natural environment which includes geographical and ecological factors such as

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minerals and oil reserves, water and forest resources, weather and climatic conditions,
port facilities are all highly significant for various business activities.
5:SWOT ANALYSIS OF PROTHOM ALO
5.1.STRENGTHS
Strong Unity: They have a strong relationship for their company.
Financial Strength: The Prothom Alo is a financially sound company backed by the enormous
resource base of Transcom Group. As result customers feel comfortable in dealing with the
company.
Efficient Management: All the levels of the management of The Prothom alo are solely directed
to maintain a culture of the betterment of the quality of the service and development of a
corporate brand image in the market through organization wide term approach and open
communication system.
Experts: The key-contributing factor behind the success of the NCCBL is its employee, who is
highly trained and most competent in their own field.
5.2:WEAKNESSES
Limited Workforce: The human-resource department of Prothom Alo is extremely understaffed
compared to its financial activities. There are not many people to perform most of the tasks. As a
result many of the employees are burdened with extra workloads and work late hours without
any overtime facilities. This might cause high employee turnover that will prove to be too costly
to avoid.
Poor Telecommunication Infrastructure: As previously mentioned, the world is advancing e-
technology very rapidly. Though Prothom Alo has taken effort to join the stream of information

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technology, it is not possible to complete the mission due to poor technology and infrastructure
of our country.
Salary Range low: The employee of front desk salary is so low so they are so much dissatisfied.
Staff’s dissatisfaction: The employees of front desk staff, call management operator are very
much pressure in their working place.
5.3:OPPORTUNITIES
Follow highly modern strategy to improve the position. Create good positioning strategy for
potential customers. A develop market such as Internet facilities can make them different from
the other Newspaper.
5.5:THREATS
Customer satisfaction level is not good.
Competitors have adopted attractive services.
Political unrest
6:Conclusion
Prothom Alo is one of the leading dailies in Bangladesh. It’s popular among the mass and is well
received. But the only problem that the newspaper industry poses is the reluctance of introducing
changes by implementing the concepts of modern day marketing activities. Customer needs and
demands change over time and in this era of competition it’s important to convey the right values
to the customers in order to attain their level of acceptance. Rather hanging onto traditional
methods of Marketing Prothom Alo should embrace the modern day distribution tactics,

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promotional methods like SMS and web marketing, tagging with various radio stations and
forming an effective distribution network.