1. A PROJECT REPORT ON
Competitive Advantages in the Publishing
Industry: Success through–
Content development
Product Life Cycle (PLC) Management
Marketing strategies
INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMTNT CALCUTTA
Submitted by:
OM S. TRIVEDI
EPSM-02,
ID- 2212245

2. 1
DECLARATION
I, Om S Trivedi, hereby declare that this project report entitled,
Competitive Advantages in the Publishing Industry: Success
through–
1) Content development
2) Product Life Cycle (PLC) Management &
3) Marketing strategies
is the result of my own efforts. It has not been duplicated from any
other earlier works.
This report is submitted in partial fulfillment of ‘Executive
programme in Sales and Marketing-02’. It has not been submitted
to any other university or for any other degree
Date- 08/09/2009
(Om S Trivedi)
INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT
CALCUTTA

3. 2
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Completion of task is never a one-man effort. It is often a result of direct or
indirect valuable contribution of a number of individuals. My project is also a
result of that.
The project comes out to be a great source of learning and experience. Hence,
it will be appropriate to thank each and every member of the team of
Macmillan Publishers India Ltd, who rendered me all possible help and
assistance in the completion of this project.
I am immensely grateful to Mr. Sunil Patki, Ex. Sales and Marketing head MPIL
and Managing Director, BPI Pvt. Ltd. who has provided me the opportunity of
working under his guidance and complete the project at Macmillan Publishers
India Ltd. The completion of this project would have been impossible without
his support and guidance.
I take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to my very close
friends from the publishing industry, Ms. Anubhuti Jain (Assistant
Commissioning Editor- Sage), Ms. Surabhi Khare (Manager, Sponsoring-
McGraw Hill), Mr. Binit Shukla (Area Sales Manager-North, Pearson Education)
and Mr. Kunal Sengupta (Territory Manager, Oxford University Press) for
providing all possible help and encouragement, which was the main force
behind the execution of different surveys of the project.
I would also like to extend special thanks to my project guide Prof. Prashant
Mishra (Chairman-PGP) and HOD- Marketing under whose able guidance I am
able to complete my project.
Lastly, I would like to thank all my class-mates who have helped me in many
ways to complete my project and to all those who have directly and indirectly
contributed towards completion of this project.
(Om S. Trivedi)

4. 3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter Title Page No.
CHAPTER-1 INTRODUCTION
4-5
CHAPTER-2 MACMILLAN PUBLISHERS INDIA LTD- A
PROFILE
6-7
CHAPTER-3 RESEARCH DETAILS 8-11
CHAPTER-4 OBSERVATION AND FINDINGS 12-15
CHAPTER-5 RECOMMENDATION
CONCLUSION
BIBLOGRAPHY
16-17
CHAPTER-6
SWOT ANALYSIS
MARKETING RESEARCH
SYLLABI MAPPING
COST SHEET
Attachment

5. 4
INTRODUCTION
INDIAN PUBLISHING INDUSTRY
Publishing and printing industry in India has developed into a highly competitive field. The
INDIAN publishing market is estimated at Rs 20,000 crore. It consists of books, magazines and
newspapers. The book market is segmented into education and non-education books market.
Believing in a story and publishing it requires a mix of vision, sound subject knowledge and
business acumen. On one hand a book that hits the drains may cost a publisher all his money.
While on the other hand a hit would definitely mean soaring to the top. Publishers, thus, face a
lot of competition and have to undertake project that are high on risk quotient.
Apart from publishers there are other key members of this industry the printers, binders and
paper suppliers who form an indispensable part of the printing and publishing industry. With
time and with the advancement of technologies, publishing and printing has become a purse-
friendly indulgence. Today, the age is arousing to a new beginning of online publishing and
printing which has widened the domain of printing and publishing industry further. India is 7th
largest publisher in world; 3rd largest in English language. Estimated number of titles
published in India last year are 82,537. These are just those which are registered. There are
16,000 publishers, with 1,000 publishing over 50 per annum.
TYPES OF PUBLISHERS
 Trade: Most of the books you find at the bookstore and are intended for the general
public. Often divided into "adult trade" and "juvenile trade."
 Professional: Books specific to a particular industry or even a particular company.
 Textbook: Books specifically targeted at students. This sector is divided into "el-hi"
(elementary and high-school publishers) and "college."
 Scholarly: Specialized books, primarily published by the university presses.
 Religious: Books published by religious organizations for their members or potential
members.
These sections closely resemble the 47 categories developed by the Book Industry
Systems Advisory Committee. The BISAC categories are:
 Antiques/Collectibles
 Architecture
 Art
 Biography/Autobiography/
Letters
 Business/Economics/Finance
 Computer Technology &
Software
 Cookbooks & Cookery
 Mathematics
 Medical/Nursing/Home Care
 Music
 Nature & Natural History
 Occultism/Parapsychology
 Performing Arts
 Pets & Pet Care
 Philosophy
 Photography

6. 5
 Crafts and Hobbies
 Current Affairs
 Drama
 Education & Teaching
 Family/Child Care/Relationships
 Fiction/Literature
 Foreign Language Instruction &
Reference
 Games
 Gardening & Horticulture
 Health & Fitness
 History
 Home Improvement &
Construction
 Humor
 Juvenile Fiction
 Language Arts
 Law
 Literary Criticism & Essays
 Poetry
 Political Science &
Government
 Psychology/Psychiatry
 Reference
 Religion/Bibles
 Science
 Self-Actualization/Self-Help
 Social Sciences
 Sports & Recreation
 Study Aids
 Technology & Industrial Arts
 Transportation
 Travel & Travel Guides
 True Crime
Statistical data of the books published in India from different categories:
 60% educational
 40% trade, folk, religious, spiritual
 25% of titles are published in Hindi
 20% of titles are published in English
 20,000 Hindi titles
 19,000 English

7. 6
MACMILLAN PUBLISHERS INDIA LTD
A PROFILE
OUR VISION
“To contribute towards the upliftment of education in India and to provide highest quality
education materials”
Market
Education is one of the critical requirements in India today. As the country strives to become
an economic superpower, need for high-quality education, at all levels, will increase.
Macmillan is one of the largest and best-known publishers in the world. It is characterised by
high-quality academic, educational, fiction and non-fiction publishing in many forms:
educational course materials, science, technology and medicine, college textbooks,
dictionaries, monographs and reference materials. A unique player in India’s education market,
Macmillan India enjoys a cutting-edge niche as partner-in-progress in the socio-economic
development of the country. It is in this field that Macmillan's flame burns the brightest –
publishing educational books and materials for over 100 years.
The company has the distinction of continuity in India’s fragmented educational market –
which is also amongst the largest and the fastest growing in the world. India has a million
schools however, a large part of the school market is closed to private publishers since the
state governments themselves publish books for state board schools. It is hoped that state-
level educational publishing will be opened to private publishers in due course. This would be a
huge and an exciting opportunity. The Indian publishing community consists of over 5,000
publishers but major and organised players are few.
Macmillan India has over 2,500 titles in its list and has played a significant role in the growth
and success of Indian writing. The company has relationships with over 15,000 schools all over
India and with its 23 offices and showrooms, possibly the widest all-India network.
As a major player in providing typesetting, data coding and conversion and editorial services to
publishers globally, Macmillan has been a pioneer in the information technology-enabled
service (ITES) space. It started its export-oriented typesetting operations in 1975. Mainly
British and European publishers have driven the market so far but now US publishers are
looking actively at outsourcing to India. This will have a positive impact on the current export
market estimated to be around Rs 8,000 million (US$ 181.82 million) (Source: Industry
estimates). Macmillan employs 3,354 staff with about 1,500 in the ITES activity.
Macmillan also offers web-based solutions and IT services to publishers globally through its
dedicated software services unit ‘emacmillan’. The market opportunities for this sector, too,
are growing rapidly.
With a company-owned press in Chennai delivering high-quality production, Macmillan has
possibly the best editorial resources in the country. It focuses on publishing innovative, need-
based, stimulating and enlightening books, which are true companions to teachers and
students.

8. 7
Achievements
It is probable that almost every child in India who has studied in a public school in the
last 100 years or so has studied from some Macmillan India book. Macmillan is
synonymous with high-quality educational publishing and is the first choice of discerning
school teachers and principals.
The company has also made a mark in higher education, particularly in the areas of
management and has published enduring best sellers like Shiv Khera's ‘You Can Win’,
‘Living with Honour’ and ‘Freedom is not Free’ – having sold more than a million copies.
Macmillan has won 25 awards for excellence in publishing and production in the last five
years. The company has also won the Capexil Award for highest exports in its category
continuously for the last 22 years. The company is rated amongst the top 200 most
valuable companies and also amongst the fastest growing small-size companies in India
(Source: Business Today).
Brand Values
Macmillan is a top brand worldwide and has been a leader in its category for over 150
years. In India Macmillan symbolises high-quality educational materials. It has been the
original publisher of some of the world’s greatest authors – Lewis Carroll, Lord
Tennyson, Henry James, Thomas Hardy, Rudyard Kipling, H G Wells, John Maynard
Keynes, Margaret Mitchell, WB Yeats and Rabindranath Tagore.
The Macmillan India slogan ‘Redefining Learning’ symbolises the innovative, customer-
focused and forward-looking spirit of the company.
www.macmillanindia.com
www.macmillan-india.com
Business focus:
Macmillan India publishes a wide range of books for schools, colleges, individual buyers,
corporates and academic books for reference and research. The company issues approximately
250 new titles each year and has evolved a large number of new Indian authors.
The company's titles include books which have been selling for more than 50 years like
Nesfield’s Grammar, Hall & Knight and Loney’s Mathematics books. Also included in its list are
a wide range of dictionaries and encyclopaedias.
The company views its social responsibilities seriously. All books are thoroughly reviewed and
processed to ensure they are accurate and the right message and content is passed on to
young learners. Not surprisingly, it was chosen by UNICEF as a critical partner in the
publication of the ‘Meena’ books – a venture of high social impact aiming at empowering the
underprivileged girl child.
Macmillan India has been a pioneer in e-learning and runs two web-based portals, one on
English Language Teaching and the other on Executive Development Programmes on
important and emerging management areas. These are in association with premier institutes
like IIM Calcutta, MDI Gurgaon and IIT Delhi. In the Information Processing sector, the
company primarily offers IT and IT-enabled services, though occasionally also develops
software products for the international publishing community.
Distribution network:
National Distributors: 128
Sub-Distributors : 205
Retailers : 2635
Branches:
The company has one of the largest networks of branches and showrooms, employing over
3,354 staff across 23 locations in India. MPIL has four VP offices in Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and
Mumbai and MD’s office in Bangalore. MPIL’s head office is in Chennai.

9. 8
RESEARCH OUTCOME
TOPIC OF THE RESERCH:
Competitive Advantages in the Publishing Industry: Success through
1) Content development
2) Product Life Cycle (PLC) Management
3) Marketing strategies
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE:
A strong correlation exists between the PLC management and marketing strategies of a
Publishing company. There are clear indications that after opening of the Indian economy, to
achieve a higher degree of integration with the world economy, it is imperative that the Indian
Publishing becomes globally competitive.
This study is to find steps, plans, strategies and implementation procedures on the competitive
advantage of the Publishing Industry in India. The position will be gauged by the following
resources and capability parameters:-
 Availability of Content (Text or Reference)
 Editorial Capabilities
 Product Life Cycle Management
 Customer base, addition, retention and satisfaction
 Brand Equity
 Cost-effective Print-run
 Pricing model
 O/I and DSO
 Financial health of the Firm
 Sales and Marketing Strategies
 Market Share and revenue
 Special Publishing Project
ISSUES:
How to take competitive advantages at product development stage?
How to obtain the leadership position in any product category?
Challenges related to segmentation, targeting and positioning strategies.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Product: A Textbook on Security Analysis and Portfolio
Management
Time: 6 Months
Sampling procedure: Simple random sampling technique will be used.
Sample design: Focus is to interview the people from the publishing
industry, distributors and doing in-house research.
Sample size: 12 books and 50 people.

10. 9
RESEARCH INSTRUMENT
Publishing related reports and data, being published by various research agencies, publishers
& bookstore associations and independent researchers worldwide. It includes the collection of
Secondary data from the sources like Annual reports, Gazette of India, CII, FICCI, Yellow
pages, Marketing white books and various other reports published on website. The Primary
data will be collected through typical questionnaires, personal interviews, open- ended
questions, motivation research and various other observation techniques.
ANALYSIS OF DATA: The data was analyzed through different statistical tools like
percentage, charts using Microsoft Excel.
RESEARCH DESIGN: Descriptive research design has been adopted. Quantitative approach
for primary data collection has been used. Some secondary data collected from publishers has
been used.
A PROJECT MODEL OF COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES IN
PUBLISHING INDUSTRY
Resources
Distinctive
Competencies
Capabilities
Cost Leadership
Or
Differentiation
Value
Creation

11. 10
ACTION PLAN TO TAKE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
C
O
M
M
I
S
S
I
O
N
I
N
G
Need List
Best-Case Scenario/What-ifSales/Marketing
Call Reports
Leads
Primary Evaluation
Rejects
Call Reports
Comm. Editors
BPF/TOC/Sample Chapters
Syllabi Research/Syllabi Mapping
Content Research
Market Research/Marketing Strategies
Competition Analysis/SWOT Analysis
Initial Reviews
1st P & L
Complete Reviews
Author Contract
Reworked MS
Cover
design
NBI
Pub Plan;@ Year
PEF
Costing
2nd P & L Transmittal to Dev. desk
Rejects

12. 11
Cover
design
NBI
2nd P & L Transmittal to Dev. desk
D
E
V
E
L
O
P
M
E
N
T
Development Editor
Syllabi Research
Review Analysis
Competition Analysis
Copyediting
Photo Research
Permissions
Gold/Platinum Reviews
3rd P & L
Supplements/CD ROM
ADV PROMO COPIES
(Cover, ToC, sample
chpters)
Template/stylesheet
Final Manuscript with
Stylesheet
Comm Editor
Production Editor
Manufacturing
Sales & Marketing

13. 12
OBSERVATION AND FINDINGS
Why a title on Security Analysis and Portfolio Management?
 Huge market potential and very few books by Indian authors on this topic.
 Compulsory paper for all the MBA and PGDBM (Finance) courses and taught at UG & PG
levels in the universities.
 2 courses on SAPM are compulsory for PG students in Autonomous and Ivy-League
Institutions.
 Textbook for Certification course of BSE as well AMFI
 Several Institutions run separate Diploma courses on SAPM.
 Total Market Size in India & SAARC 1,80,000 (approx.).
Target Segment:
 Primary Market: Core Textbook for PGDM and MBA (Finance)
 Secondary Market: Core Textbook for M Com at university level.
 Tertiary Market: Reference book for working professionals in Finance sector
NCFM and Certification course of BSE as well AMFI
Market Research and Content Research:
 Attached is the form of MS Excel Sheet (Market Research for Security Analysis and
Portfolio Management). Attachment - I
SWOT Analysis:
 Attached is the form of MS Excel Sheet (Market Research for Security Analysis and
Portfolio Management). Attachment - II
Syllabi Mapping:
 Attached is the form of MS Excel Sheet (Market Research for Security Analysis and
Portfolio Management). Attachment - III
Cost Leadership:
 Attached is the form of MS Excel Sheet (Cost Sheet for Security Analysis and Portfolio
Management). Attachment - IV
Editorial Capabilities:
 4 Commissioning Editors
 4 Development Editors
 6 Copyeditors
 3 Production Editor
 2 designing experts

14. 13
Product Feature:
 Exhaustive and comprehensive coverage of all topics on investment, security analysis
and portfolio management
 Step by step discussion of the function of stock market, depository and derivatives
market
 Detailed coverage of money market, financial services, capital market and derivatives
trading – stock, index, currency, commodity and interest rate derivatives
 Practical approach to derivatives and their valuation using Binomial and Black Scholas
approach
 Anatomy of recent financial crisis and sketch of Lehman Brothers’ failure
 Financial engineering – securitization, reverse mortgage, auction rate debentures, ETF
and others
 Technical analysis using real life stock market data by depicting MACD, ROC, RSI,
Support and Resistance level of market in case study approach
 Case studies on technical analysis, interest rate theorem, random walk hypothesis,
portfolio management.
 Presentation about Haridas Mundra, Harshad Mehta and Ketan Parekh scams supported
by concepts and anatomy.
 Expanded glossary of most commonly used investment and portfolio management
terms.
SAPM’s USP in General:
 Instructors’ Manual
 Box items mentioning some interconnected interesting facts
 Illustrations
 Photographs-Events, Famous Scholars, Architecture, etc.
 Maps, Graphs and Data-sets
 Critical thinking or Let’s Ponder over boxes
 Analytical Questions, Notes and Glossary
 Financial Scams in India since 1947
 References, Bibliography
Author’s Profile:
Dr. Dhanesh Kumar Khatri, MBA, Ph. D. (Finance), PGDFM, has over SIXTEEN years of
teaching experience in MBA and postgraduate programmes. Beginning his career with the
Stock Holding Corporation of India Ltd., Mumbai (SHCIL) in the year 1989, has had a vast
exposure to practical aspects of money market and capital market operations with special
focus on the functioning of depository system for four years. At present he is designated as
Associate Professor – Finance, Head Department of Finance at Institute of Management
Studies, B J S Rampuria Jain College, Bikaner. His first book titled “Investment Management
and Security Analysis” was published in 2006 (reprint in 2007 and 2008). He is visiting
professor,Institute of Agri Business Management, RAU, Bikaner; Faculty of Management
Studies, MLS University, Udaipur; Faculty of Management, JECRC, Jaipur; ICAI Bikaner
Chapter, and many other institutions. His articles on contemporary issues, research on capital
market and money market have been published in leading journals. He is continuously
engaged in the research work and completed two minor research projects sponsored by UGC
and also organized one national level seminar sponsored by UGC. At present seven candidates
are pursuing their Ph. D. degree under his guidance. He is continuously engaged in the
research work on capital market and money market.

15. 14
Production and Printing Quality:
 State-of-the-Art prepress systems
 Best in production quality
 Company owned press in Chennai
Sales and Marketing Strategy:
Sales Team:
Revenue Targets
Universities on radar to achieve Maximum Sales Targets:
 IIMs- Core Paper for PGP students, Executive Programmes and online courses
 Ivy league Institutions- Core Paper in MBA (Fin) and PGDM courses
 All other Universities and Technical Universities teach this subject as a Core paper
Semester on Focus:
 Tech. Univ. – Odd Sem. (3rd
) for MBA (Finance) as a Core paper
 PGDM - 5th
trimester as core paper
 IIMs- 4th
trimester as core paper.
Region 2009 2010 2011
North 1500 cps 2000 cps 3000 cps
South 1500 cps 2000 cps 3000 cps
West 1000 cps 1500 cps 2000 cps
East 500 cps 1000 cps 2000 cps
Total (In Units) 4500 cps 6500 cps 10000 cps
Net Price/unit 312.5 312.5 312.5
Total (In Rs.) 14,06,250 20,31,250 31,25,000
Senior V P
V P (West)
V P (East)
V P (North)
V P (South)
R M (North)
R M (South)
R M (East)
R M (West)
7 Sales Reps
12 Sales Reps
6 Sales Reps
8 Sales Reps

16. 15
Coverage Plan and Sampling Strategy:
Category No. of Inst.
Mgt. Inst 2200
IIMs 14
Ivy League 100
Universities with PG (Commerce) 326
Total 2640
 Coverage of 40% of the institutions of India and SAARC countries in the 1st
year, 40%
during 2nd
year and 20% during 3rd
year of publishing of the title.
 The coverage will be 100% by the time book is due for revision and for the next edition.
 Sampling plan for 80% of the institutions covered during the year 2009.
 Each sales rep. will be accountable for sampling of 25 titles of the new title,
immediately after the title is published.
 All the library suppliers to be covered for push sales in the libraries.
Promotional Efforts:
 Book jackets to be mailed to all 36 sales reps, RMs, VPs and branch managers.
 Mailing of Promotional brochures to 2,500 faculty members of Finance of B-schools
across the country.
 Mailing of Promotional brochures to 3,500 libraries across the country.
 Mailing of Promotional brochures to all distributors, sub-distributors, retailers and
library suppliers.
 Centralized sampling of books to all the references provided by the author.
 Book launch at 15 seminars and conferences across the country.
Supply Chain Management:
 Huge network of supply chain operators.
 The books are made available at all the locations, showrooms, branches and
distributors within 10 days of release.
 Books are available with retailers within 15 days of release.
 Best courier services of the country are available for timely supply of books at prime
locations.

17. 16
RECOMMENDATION
PROPER MARKET RESEARCH
DELIGENT SEGMENTATION, TARGETING AND POSITIONING
PRUDENT NEED AND GAP ANALYSIS
BETTER SYLLABII COVERAGE
AUTHOR WITH GOOD AFFILIATION
CONTINUITY BETWEEN CHAPTERS
ORGANISATION OF TEXT MATERIAL
NON INCORPORATION OF PERSONAL VIEWS
ATTRACTIVE COVER
AGGRESSIVE SALES TEAM
TIMELY ADOPTIONS
BETTER QUALITY PROMOTION MATERIALS
CONCLUSION
As part of my project, I had worked on topic titled ”Competitive Advantages in the Publishing
Industry: Success through Content development, Product Life Cycle (PLC) Management And
Marketing strategies”. To be more specific through this I concentrated to understand different stages of
product development, editorial research and development, costing of the project and sales and marketing
strategies. The preparation process of this project , gave me immense opportunities to bridge the gap
between customers’ expectations and the services provided by the publishers. I also did sample surveys
to understand the inside story of the publishing industry. The surveys and analysis are based on facts
and figures collected from Macmillan India Ltd and different publishers.
I tried to analyse the facts through which an organization can take a competitive advantage on a
particular product. It is really a dynamic situation where we need to understand the real threats and
create products with competitive advantage.
Through its huge infrastructure, good research potential and sound financial position, Macmillan
Publishers India Ltd. is able to take a competitive advantage in the industry with best of its product line.
However, at the same time, MPIL needs to put more focus on the sales and marketing department for
aggressive market penetration setting more benchmarks for the publishing Industry.

18. 17
BIBLIOGRAPHY
 Marketing research:
 By Naresh K. Malhotra
 Product Manager’s handbook:
 By Gorchels
 60 years of Publishing Industry in India:
 By J. Malhotra
 Marketing research:
 By Churchill and Brown
 Competitive Startegy:
 By Michel Porther
 Financial management:
 By Smart and Megginson
 www.macmillanpublishers.com
 www.google.com

19. 18