Project report on times of India in Lucknow Sales and promotion of times of India magazine and news paper

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INTRODUCTION
Print media is one of the most powerful and cost effective medium to
transfer information and knowledge. The print media industry in India is
more than a century old. Also it is a well-established industry. This
industry mainly comprises of publishing newspapers and magazines.
India has the second largest population and one of the fastest growing
economies in the world. Along with these the increasing level of income
of peoples and the robust competition in this industry help print media in
its growth. Producers are increasing day by day, new entrants from
outside India is also a factor of tough competition. Indian readers prefer
Hindi magazines rather than English magazines. In the case of Times
group also the readership of Hindi Famine is higher as compared to
English magazines. Ernst & Young said in their survey report “Indian
magazine segment: Navigating new growth avenues”, it has been said
that out of the 20 most read magazines in India, only three magazines
are in English, while the remaining are in Hindi and other regional
languages. This survey also said that more than 300 million literate
individuals do not read any publications. According to Arc Gate, the
dramatic effects of internet and globalization in current scenario are
playing high impact on media industry. Even people are now consuming
news and information from internet through computers or mobiles, the
popularity of print media is not decreasing. To avoid declining of market
share in front of other media the producer must able to produce high
quality printed content and magazines. They also need to make the
contents available on mobile and web platforms to provide a choice to
its subscribers to explore the contents anytime anywhere. Dr Shaukat
Ali, in his paper “A Study of Consumer Behaviour& Loyalty in Print
Media – Challenges & strategic prescriptions with Special reference to
English, Hindi, Marathi News Paper readers-Mumbai”, says developing

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customer loyalty & retaining readership can be a huge challenge for the
publishers. There are huge options available to readers now. Therefore
publishers are busy to create something very special and innovative in
contents or subscription schemes to impress upon the readers. They
should address the needs and demand of consumer to strengthen their
loyalty and readership.
The revenue of magazines consists of subscription sales, trade sales and
mainly from advertising. More than 70% of the total revenue comes
from advertising. The Times of India Group, being the market leader in
the industry is also stepping with the current growth and development of
the demography. World Wide Media, a subsidiary of TOI Group is
producing high quality magazines in India and worldwide. But still they
are facing some problems. They are losing subscribers. By having an
opportunity to be a part of the group, by acting as an summer intern, this
research has been done with the objectives, To explore the customer
demand in terms of price, Quality and Services. To find out the reasons
for discontinuing subscriptions. What drives a customer to adopt a
product? His demand and needs. The product must be able to fulfil the
needs and wants of the customer. When a product has less demand in
comparison with other products? Thus what a customer a wants? This
study is mainly to explore the customers’ demand for the magazines of
World Wide Media (WWM) in terms of price, quality and services. We
can say, to explore what customer wants from the publisher and what
publisher gives to the customer. It is also being taken to find out the
lacks behind fulfilling the de

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ORGANISATIONS PROFILE
Mrs. Indu Jain (Chairperson)Mr. VineetJain (Managing Director)
Mr. Samir Jain (Vice chairperson)

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HISTORY
The edition appears on November 3, 1838 knows as “The Bombay
Times and journal of commerce”. Late to be known as “The Times of
India”. The issue is published twice a week. DR. JE. Brennen the first
editor also secretary of the chamber of commerce’s 30/-is annual
subscription.
1846:- The newspaper experiences proprietary changes and Dr. George
Brit appointed editor.
1850:- Shareholders decide to increase the share capital and the paper
converted into a daily.
1855:- Telegraph Services opens up in India shortly afterwards,
the paper signs an agreement with Reuters for raising news
coverage and lowering subscription rates. That old tie was
renewed in 2006 with the pact between TIMESNOW & Reuters
1881:- BCCL enters music retailing business with Planet M and radio
broadcasting business with Radio Mir chi
1861:- Editor Robert Knight amalgamates The Bombay Times, Bombay
Standard and Bombay Telegraph & Courier to form “The Times of
India” and gave it a national character.
1890:- Editor Henry Curwen buys “TOI” in partnership with Charles
Kane.
1892:- Following the death of Henry Curwen, T.J. Bennett becomes the
editor and enters into a partnership with F.M. Coleman to form a joint
stock company - Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. (BCCL).
1929:-”The Times of India” Illustrated Weekly renamed “The Illustrated

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Weekly of India”
1948:- Sahu Jain Group becomes the owners of the company. Shanti
Prasad Jain is the first Chairperson of the group.
1950:-Navbharat Times launched. The “TOI” Crest changed from the
lions to elephants Dharmayug, Hindi weekly pictorial magazine
launched.
1952:- Film fare- first film magazine in English launched.
1959:-Famine-first women’s magazine in English launched.

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2000:-TOI crosses the 2 million mark in circulation.
2001:-TOI goes all colour and storms Delhi by being “Number One"
2003:- Former President late APJ Abdul Kalam visits TOI to inaugurate
Times Foundation.
2004:- Television business launched with the launch of a lifestyle and
entertainment channel called ZOOM Paper launched Times the jobs
portal Times Jobs http:/timesjobs.com
2005

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 MT – Largest read Marathi Newspaper in Mumbai – IR Survey
 TOI – Goes daily full colour
 Mumbai Mirror launched
 TimesMatri.com - Launched in August - re-launched as
 SimplyMarry.com in December 2006.
2006
TIMES NOW – TV News Channel launched – first newspaper available
on cell phone Mumbai Mirror – Afternoon edition launched Offers
Mumbai Mirror or Maharashtra Times as complimentary copy with TOI
at a price of Rs.4/- TOI – The only English language daily to feature
among the top 10 with a readership of 131.4lakhs- IRS Survey by Hansa
Research Times Group MD, Mr.Vineet Jain awarded the scroll of
honours for being the new age media guru - Hero Honda Indian TV
Academy Awards Times cape the Times Group Intranet portal re-
launched - now powered by SAP Net weaver BCCL goes live on SAP
systemMagicBricks.com – launched in October 2006 targets the Online
Real Estate Space Smart Hire – launched April2006, is witnessing
stupendous growth with its focus on providing organizations with end-
to-end recruitment solutions. Ads2Book.com – The World’s Only
Global Ad Booking Engine –Launched in August 2006With intensive
R&D, the Net-2-Print classifieds booking systemAds2Book.com was
created and imbued with AI (artificial intelligence) that assisted users
through the entire process of Creating, Booking & Paying for their Print
Classified Ads, all from the comfort of their desktop.
2007

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Launch of Bangalore Mirror, Ahmedabad Mirror, ET (Gujarati) and
What’s Hot – a premier weekend entertainment supplement. The Times
of India becomes largest English daily in the world with circulation
breaching the 3 million mark and beating Sun (tabloid) of UK.
2008
Launch of ET (Hindi), Pune Mirror and The Times of India editions at
Jaipur, Goa and Chennai. Acquisition of Virgin Radio (now rebranded
as Absolute Radio) in the UK.
2009
TOI Crest edition launched. Launch of ET Now – premier business
channel having integrated newsroom with ET print edition.
2010
Private Treaties re-branded as Brand Capital. The Speaking Tree
newspaper launched. ET Wealth launched. Maharashtra Times launches
Pune edition. Vijay Next (premier weekly newspaper from Vijay
Karnataka) launched. India’s first HD-only premium movie channel –
Movies Now (HD) launched.
2011
Sunday ET re-launched as a tabloid.
Bodhivriksha (spiritual weekend newspaper in Kannada) launched.
Launch of The Times of India, Coimbatore and Madurai/Trichy
Editions.
2012
Launch of The Times of India, Kerala, Visakhapatnam and
Raipur(Chhattisgarh) Edition
2013
Launch of the Times of India, Kolhapur Edition.

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Subsidiaries of Times Group
TIML & ENIL
Times Innovative Media Limited (TIML) & Entertainment Network
India Limited (ENIL) that together control,
 Radio Mir chi National network of Private FM stations
 360 Degrees Events
 Times Outdoors (TIM Delhi Airport Advertising Private Limited.
 Mir chi Movies Limited Filmed Entertainment. Producers of
BEING CYRUS, VELLITHIRAI, MANJADIKURU.
Times Internet Limited
Times Internet Limited is one of the largest internet companies of
India. It has interests in online news, online business news, Hindi,
Marathi, Kannada, and Bengali news, mobile, e-Commerce, music,
video, and communities. Some of the larger properties of TIL
include:
 India times shopping - one of the largest and earliest
ecommerce portals in India
 India
 Times of India
 Economic times.com
 Navbharattimes.com
 Maharashtra Times
 Timescity.com
 Gaana.com
 BoxTV.com
 Times Deal

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Times of Money
Times of Money operates financial remittance services for Indians
abroad to send money back to India. Their product, remit2India, is a
standalone product, while also powering the remittance services of many
banks globally.
Times Global BroadcastingLimited
Television division. It is also called Times Television Network.
 Times Now A general interest news Channel
 Smart Hire A Consulting Division – Recruitments
 ET Now A business news channel
 Zoom A 24x7 Bollywood entertainment and gossip channel
 Movies Now A 24x7 Hollywood Movies channel in High
Definition (India's first)
Times Business Solutions
 TBSL, corporate website of TBSL.
 Times Jobs, a jobs portal.
 Tec gig, a professional networking site for Technology Peoples.
 Simply Marry, a matrimonial portal.
 Magic Bricks, a real estate portal.
 Holist, free classifieds portal.
 Ads2Book, online classifieds booking system for print
publications.
 Peer Power, a Senior-Level professional networking portal.

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WorldWideMedia
World Wide Media - started off as a 50:50 magazine joint venture
between BCCL and BBC magazines. In August 2011, it was
announced that Bennett, Coleman & Co. bought out the remaining 50
per cent shares of Worldwide Media from BBC Worldwide thereby
making World Wide Media a fully owned subsidiary of BCCL.
 Film fare
 Film fare Awards
 Famina
 Famina Miss India A Beauty Pageant
 Top Gear Magazine India
 BBC Good Homes
 Famina Hindi
 Grazia
 What to Wear

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TIML Radio Limited
On 30 May 2008, SMG sold The British Virgin Radio to TIML Radio
Limited for £53.2 million with £15 million set aside for rebranding. On
28 September 2008, The British Virgin Radio Station rebranded as
Absolute Radio, including the sister radio stations Absolute Extreme and
Absolute Classic Rock.
Stations
 Absolute Radio
 Absolute Radio 60s
 Absolute Radio 70s
 Absolute 80s
 Absolute Radio 90s
 Absolute Radio 00s
 Absolute Classic Rock
 Absolute Radio Extra This company is a direct subsidiary of
BCCL (not through TIML or ENIL).
Times SyndicationService
The syndication division of The Times of India Group, grants reprint
rights for text, and other media from the group's publications.
Brand Capital
Brand Capital provides funding to growth oriented enterprises for their
long term brand building needs.
Online shopping
Satvik shop, an online shopping website dedicated to organic and
Ayurveda products.

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Key Management
Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.
PROMOTERS & DIRECTORS
1. Chairperson: Indu Jain
2. Vice-Chairman & MD: Samir Jain
3. Managing Director: Vineet Jain
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
1. Executive Director: Trishla Jain
2. Executive Director & CEO: Ravindra Dhariwal
3. Executive Director & COO: Shrijeet Mishra
4. Executive Director & President: Arunabh Das Sharma
5. Non-Executive Director: A.P. Parigi
6. Non-Executive Director: Kalpana J. Morparia
7. Non-Executive Director: M. Damodaran
8. Non-Executive Director: Leo Puri
Times Television Network (comprising TGBCL and ZEN)
Group CEO (TV business): Sunil Lulla
ZEN CEO: Avinash Kaul
Times Internet Limited
CEO: Satyan Gajwani
Times of Money
President: Avijit Nanda
Times Business Solutions Ltd.

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CEO: Debashish Ghosh
Times VPL
CEO: Sunil Rajshekhar
Worldwide Media.
CEO: Tarun Rai
Entertainment Network (India) Ltd.
CEO: Prashant Panday
Alternate Brand Solutions (I) Ltd.
CEO: Prashant Pandya
Times Innovative Media Ltd
CEO: Sunder Hemrajani
Absolute Radio
CEO: Donnach O' Driscoll
Times Foundation Head:
Shailendra Nautiyal
EDITORIAL HEADS
The Times of India
Editorial Director: Jaideep Bose
Executive Editor: Arindam Sengupta
Economic Times

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Editorial Director: Rahul Joshi
Maharashtra Times
Executive Editor: Ashok Panwalkar
Navbharat Times
Executive Editor: Ramkripal Singh
Mumbai Mirror
Editor: Meenal Baghel
Speaking Tree
Editor: Narayan Ganesh
Vijay Karnataka
Editor: E. Raghavan
Times Now
Editor: Arnab Go swami
ET Now
Editor: R. Sridhar an
ZOOM
Editor: Omar Qureshi

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WORLDWIDE MEDIA
World Wide Media (WWM) is a joint venture between the BCCL and
BBC World Wide. It is the India’s largest producer of lifestyle and
special interest magazines. It was formed in 2004 and in 2011 it became
a wholly owned subsidiary of Bennett, Coleman and Company Limited
(BCCL). From just four magazines in 2008, WWM is currently
producing 13 magazines in India and worldwide. The Times of India
Group have the selling and distribution right of these magazines for
India. The magazines are:-
 Femina
 Femina (Hindi)
 Femina (Tamil)
 Film Fare
 Film fare (Hindi)
 BBC Top Gear
 Hello!
 Grazia
 BBC Good Homes
 Lonely Planet
 Home Trends
 BBC Knowledge
 BBC Good Food

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ABOUT THE MAGAZINES
FEMINA(English, Hindi, Tamil)
Launched in 1959, Femina is India’s first and to-date
India’s largest English women’s magazine. Femina
covers issues on women, fashion, relationships, home-
making, food, beauty, health & fitness, careers, new
products, etc. The fortnightly magazine, owes its
success to a level-headed approach to feminism made rich by writers
from all walks of life.
Femina also gives its name to the annual Femina Miss India awards – a
beauty pageant contest which confers the most beautiful Indian title to
women in a nation-wide contest held each year. The awards are a
property of Bennett Coleman with the finalists going on to represent
India in the annual Miss World and Miss Universe beauty pageant.
Femina Girl was launched in February 2002, forging a bond with the
teen waiting in the wings to become a Femina Babe.
Inspired by the success of Femina magazine, the group started Femina
Miss India awards – a celebration of womanhood and beauty – which
have acted as a catalyst in making a whole new generation of women
rediscovering and redefining themselves.

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FILMFARE (English, Hindi)
Nothing powers popular culture like the Hindi film and
nothing more than Bollywood - the largest film industry in
the world – which is captured in all its glory by Film fare –
India’s leading film magazine launched in 1952. Film fare has a cult
status amongst its readers resulting as evident from the periodicity of the
magazine becoming from monthly to a fortnightly since 2007.Spurred
by the popularity and insatiable demand for Bollywood films, Film fare
Awards were instituted within a few years of launch of the magazine.
Within a short period, the annual Film fare Awards became the gold
standard for excellence in Hindi and other Bollywood mainstream films
and came to be acknowledged as the Oscars of India, being the most
prestigious and most sought after by every cine-industry professional
BBC TOPGEAR
BBC Top Gear is the world’s leading automobile magazine
since 1993. In India, it has an image of straightest talking and
most entertaining automobile magazine. It has now 17
international editions. It includes the in-depth buying
information, with the review and buyers guide. It also
includes a comprehensive listing of every single car and bike available
in the market to give the readers a real experience.

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HELLO!
Hello! Hello! Is a popular celebrity and lifestyle magazine.
First it was launched in Italy in the year of 1930. It has now
13 international editions. In India it was launched in April
2007. It is published monthly covering A to Z of Indian and global
celebrity lifestyle news.
Now it becomes an easy step to enter into celebrity’s lives. It also
includes celebrity’s views on various subjects and issues in the world.
The interviews in the magazine help readers to feel that they have met
and visited the celebrities.
GRAZIA
Over 70 years since its launch in Italy, Grazia is still
successful in keeping the women’s taste season after season.
It became the most qualified interpreter of style for millions of women
across the globe today. GRAZIA
India was launched in 2008 as the 10th edition of this hugely popular
title. Grazia covers both designer and high-street fashion as well as
health, beauty, fitness and lifestyle issues.
BBC GoodHomes
Good Homes is one of the most preferred and leading interior
and decor magazine that inspires its readers with innovative
ideas that fit every space and budget. It offers its readers an eclectic mix
of decor suggestions and DIY tips.

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Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet India magazine aims to inspire and enable
travellers to connect with the world. It has been treated as the
world’s most trusted source on travel. Inspiring you to sample different
cultures first-hand, discover new people, and learn fascinating stories.
Home TRENDS
In 1984 TRENDS was launched in New Zealand. With an
aim to fulfil the need of a source of reference on architecture
and design. Now it has become the most loved and referred
to magazine across 11 countries. Probably it is the most
widely read architecture and design magazine in the world.
In 2010, it was launched in India as Home TRENDS to meet the demand
of architecture and design reference due to the real estate boom in India.
BBC Knowledge
It has been created as a premium product for young and
inquisitive minds. BBC Knowledge is a bi-monthly magazine,
aiming at those, who are looking for knowledge based on
science, history and nature. The Indian edition of BBC
Knowledge follows in the footsteps of the first edition
Launched in the United States in August 2008, which was an instant
success - being voted among the Top 10 newly-launched magazines of
2008 by Library Journal, USA. Besides Indian and USA, BBC

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Knowledge is also available internationally in the United Kingdom,
Brazil, Singapore and Bulgaria.
BBC GoodFood
It is the India’s first international food magazine. It contains
with food and recipe guides and live experiences from
prominent chefs and food experts.

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Pricing at the Times of India
The Times of India is the largest selling English daily in India. It is also
a national newspaper covering interests of all sections of society. This
achievement has been through effective pricing strategies adopted by the
newspaper. These strategies for both the advertisers and the readers are
given below.
Pricing strategy for advertisers
Over the years the Times of India has been one of the leading
newspapers catering to readers from all walks of life. The
demographic profile of TOI readers thus has been a very vital reason
why TOI has been the number one preference of all advertisers.
Though the rates charged by TOI have never been less than what
competitors are offering but they have been more or less similar .The
only advantage that TOI, has over its competitors viz. the Hindustan
Times. The Indian Express, The Hindu, etc. is the superb presentation
and coverage offered.
But there have been moments when the TOI has had to take heat from
its ambitions rivals. Even after such upsurges in which the rivals have
reduced ad rates the TOI has been having Rs. 120crore share of the total
Rs. 500 crore market of appointments, which are the biggest grosser for
all newspapers. The scene of classified ads and matrimonial is even
more extreme where the TOI is the largest grosser.
Though, as explained before, till date the TOI has won ads on basis of
not price but superb coverage but a recent development which involved
a tie- up of the Hindustan Times, The Mid- Day and the Indian Express
has made the newspaper think over its policy again. The tie up of the trio

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offers an advertiser 2/3rd more coverage than that of TOI at costs 50%
less than the TOI. Keeping this in mind the TOI has immediately slashed
its rates as well and is now – providing ad coverage in more than one
edition at very less adds on cost. The newspaper has also introduced the
appointment paper in Hyderabad and Pune editions. The strategy now
has turned from being value driven previously to being market driven.
(see annexure for the latest advertisement rates)
(A) Pricing strategy for readers
A newspaper if printed and sold without subsidizing would cost the
customer somewhere around Rs.8. However the newspaper
companies charge less as compared to the actual cost of production
as this is a very high not be amount and would not be willingly paid
by the customer. The deficit the Newspaper Company faces is
neutralized by the advertising revenue generated through sale for
space to advertisers.
However the amount charged by Times of India from readers for a
newspaper depends on various factors. These are –
a) Price charged by competitors
b) Market scenario or positioning of the newspaper in the
market.
c) The company also takes into consideration the perceived
value of the newspapers.
This means that the company takes into account the going rate, Value
pricing and Perceived Value-pricing altogether to formulate the actual
price. Besides these the total advertisement revenue generated is also
taken into consideration while setting the price. The Price War

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The policy of charging fewer prices from the readers and offsetting the
deficit through advertising revenue generation was started by the Times
of India group in the year 1992. The first paper was Economic Times.
Economic Times was chosen as the experimental newspapers because
Times of India was a major league newspaper while Economic Times
was restricted to financial and economic segment like educational
institutions, professionals and companies.
The Economic Times, before, invitation price (as the price reduction was
known) was rated at Rs. 5 on all week – days and at Rs. 10 on Sundays.
The invitation price was first introduced in Wednesday Economic
Times. Whereby the newspaper was sold on that day for Rs.2. The
invitation price was a run- away success and very shortly invitation price
was introduced in Friday edition as well. However the invitation price
was for Delhi only.
The invitation price had desirable positive effect on readership. In the
first six months of introduction the circulation figures of Economic
Times in Delhi raised from 30,000 units 1, 20,000 units.
After this Times of India group brought the invitation price in 1994 into
its major up league newspaper the Times of India. In the early 20s the
newspaper copy of TOI used to cost Rs. 2.50 and thereby it wasn’t able
to attract attention of readers from the rivals, basically the Hindustan
Times. The Hindustan Times was a much cheaper newspaper so people
mostly favoured reading it. This was due to the price economy that India
is where cheap things of high utility sell like hot cakes.
On the 7th March 1994, The Times of India introduced the invitation
price for its Delhi Edition. The rates were slashed from Rs. 2.50 per
copy to Rs. 1.50 per copy. The move however was not cared about by
the Hindustan Times for approximately 3 months, but by then the Times
of India had got a strong foothold. The sale rose from 1.4 lakh copies per

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month in 1994 to lakh copies per month (Source: The Hindustan Times)
in Delhi region.
Since then the Hindustan Times has also followed suit and introduced
the Invitation price. Even after this the invitation price had made Times
of India the price leader white others have to follow suits.

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PRICE OF MAGAZINES
Name of Magazines Price Per Issue Periodicity
1.Femina (English) Rs.60/- Fortnightly
2.Femina (Hindi) Rs.40/- Monthly
3.Filmfare (English) Rs.60/- Fortnightly
4.Hello Rs.120/- Monthly
5.Topgear Rs.150/- Monthly
6.Grazia Rs.120/- Monthly
7.BBC Good Homes
8.Lonely Planet
Rs.100/-
Rs.120/-
Monthly
Monthly
9.BBC Knowledge Rs.125/- Bi-monthly
10.BBC Good Food Rs.100/- Monthly
11.Home Trends Rs.250/- 10 issues per year
12.What’s Up Rs.50/- Weekly
13.The Economists Rs.220/- Monthly
14.Zig Wheels Rs.75/- Monthly

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COMPETITION TABLE
CATEGORY TIMES MAGAZINE COMPETITORS
1.Fashion and
celebrity
Grazia, Hello! Verve, Vogue etc
2.Automobiles BBC Top Gear Overdrive, Auto Car
etc.
3.Bollywood And
Movies Masala
Filmfare Stardust, Cineblitz,
The Fil Street Journal
etc.
4.Women lifestyle Femina (Hindi &
English)
Wedding affair,
Harper’s Bazaar etc.
5.Interiors and
Architectural
BBC Good Homes and
Homes Trends
Ideal Home, Home &
Garden plus,
Architecture+Design
6.Travel Lonely Planet Travel plus, Outlook
Traveller, National
Geographic Traveller
etc.
7.Science and
Knowledge
BBC Knowledge Popular science India,
Readers Digest etc
8.Food and Catering BBC Good Food Khana Khazana etc

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Distribution Structure of TOI
The distribution problem can be traced back to time immemorial. The
Pharaohs were the first recorded example of conserving crops during
bumper season, so that they could be distributed in lean year. Since then
distribution has become an essential for progress and human life.
Essential because all products cannot be created or produced everywhere
and it is only through a proper distribution that they can be made
available to everyone.
Distribution thus may be defined as an operation, or a series of
operations, which physically brings goods manufactured or produced
into the hands of a final consumer or user. This is thus a very vital aspect
of the market–mix. A proper distribution requires an extensive
evaluation of the segmented market so as to adopt that marketing
channel which reaches the segmented market most effectively and
efficiently.
A Marketing Channel in this means “A set of independent
organizations which are involved in the process of making a product
or
Service available for use or consumption.”
The distribution thus can be done mainly through four major types
of marketing channels these are:
 Direct Marketing – in this the company reaches directly to its
customers.
 One level marketing – In this the company reaches to its customers
through one intermediary i.e. retailer.
 Two level marketing – In this the company reaches to its customers
through two intermediaries i.e. retailer and wholesaler.
 Three level marketing – in this the company reaches to its
customers through three intermediaries i.e. (C&F agents, whole sales

29. 29
and retailers)
However there can be more than three levels of channels in marketing
used for distribution of a product but as these are the most commonly
used we have restricted ourselves to these only.
While selecting a marketing channel, a company has to keep in mind
that the decision of choosing a particular channel can affect other
marketing decisions like pricing and / or promotional strategy. This is so
because distribution involves transportation and warehousing also.
Distribution of Newspapers
The distribution of newspapers is a very funny business. Although all
the rules stated previously are followed but still owing to its very shot
life span it is very different from other physical products. A
newspaper’s life span erodes within 24 hours. This is so because nobody
likes stale news and once news becomes old, the utility of the newspaper
is eroded. This typical character on one hand removes two very
important functions of newspaper, namely warehousing and inventory
management but on the other it compels the newspaper company to have
a very efficient distribution set-up so as do enable the newspaper to
reach its target audience as quickly as possible.
The functions involved in distribution of a newspaper can be listed as:
 Planning the distribution system
 In plant warehousing
 Transportation
 Receiving
 Handling
 Secondary transportation
 Secondary handling & sub distribution
 Communication
The newspaper in this scenario has to use a combination of one and two
level marketing. The flow diagram of a newspaper’s physical

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distribution is given on the next page.
The Times of India has one of the most advanced and well planned
distribution networks. For effective coverage throughout India, the TOI
is on date published fro
m Delhi as the National Edition and from various other centers like
Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Lucknow and Patna as regional
edition. Furthermore each publishing center has various printing presses
in its close proximity for effective coverage in the region. The Delhi
edition is printed at the company press in New Delhi, at Sahibabad in
Uttar Pradesh, and at Panchkula in Haryana. These printing centers see
to it that the newspapers reach their proximity areas quickly. Major
cities are connected to the Delhi press by air. The entire distribution is
shown on the next page.
Within City Ahmedabad Bangalore Hyderabad Mumbai
Cochin Chennai Nepal
RC - Regional Centers, from where three the distribution channels
mentioned previously, the newspaper is delivered to the customers.
Printed at N-
Delhi
Printed at Sahibabad
U.P
PrintedatCalcutta
(W.B)
PrintedatPanchkula
Haryana
RC 1 RC2 RC3
RC 1 RC2 RC3
RC 1 RC2 RC3

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PROFILE OF THE STUDY
Working in a harmonious and congenial atmosphere really motivated me
a lot to contribute my services to the corporation. It has been a
wonderful experience working as a management trainee which has
provided me with practical insight into the fields where we will be
tomorrow. The training has helped me evolve both professionally as well
as on personal level. My learning was just not hypothetical in nature but
those people had really taught me how to fight with the tribulations that
may arise in the day today environment. My erudition can be precisely
stated as follows:
 Be punctual to reach your workplace.
 Communication in groups and in individuals.
 Looking there past as well as current reports in order to rectify
errors (if any), made me aware of their procedure and policies.
 Observing the people around me gave me disclosure about their
attitude in working environment.
as a management trainee with the times of India (Bennett Coleman &
co. ltd) in their finance department at Daryaganj for the period from
31st July 2012.
The times of India group of publication (Bennett Coleman &
company ltd) was established in 1838 as the Bombay times and
journal of commerce. After the certain yrs. of change, evolution and
growth in the newspaper industry and character, Bennett Coleman
&co. ltd (the proprietors of times of India group) was established with
the principal objective of publishing newspapers, journals and
entertainment.
Today the times of India group has emerges as multi edition, multi-
product organization and a clear leader in the segment it operates.
Some of the brands owned by the Bennett Coleman & co. ltd are the

32. 32
times of India, the economic times, navbharat times, Maharashtra
times,Sandhyatimes, femina,filmfare, the times music, times
entertainment ltd-radio mirchi 98.3 fm.
During training in the RMD department of the times of India group
for the period of two months carefully watching the working of the
various sections of the RMD department and helping and assisting the
individuals wherever possible.
In this project report, a brief explanation of the functioning of the
RMD department is including.

33. 33
Channel Member of TOI
 It is a twenty to twenty-four page newspaper with additional
supplement of Delhi Times (Daily), Education Times (Monday),
East/West Delhi Plus & Financial Times (Tuesday), Ascent & Times
Classifieds (Wednesday), West/East Delhi Plus & Business
opportunities (Thursday), government Business (Friday) and
West/East Delhi, Plus & Property Times (Saturday) Sunday Review
and Times Classifieds / Matrimonial (Sunday).
 It is divided into 8 different sections. The different sections are:
1. Lead News – These are the most important news that are carried
in the first page of the newspaper.
2. City Section – This section contains the news about Delhi and the
place surrounding it. This section is carried in the third page of the
newspaper.
3. State Section – The news about the whole of Delhi is carried in
this section. It is published in the fourth page of the newspaper.
4. National Section – This is a four page section which carries news
from various parts of the country.
5. International Section – News from around the world is carried in
this section.
6. Editorial Section – This 12th page of the newspaper is the editorial
page.
7. Business Section – Contains the various business news of national
and international importance while it carries the prices of the
shares listed in the BSE, NSE and the DSE Stock Exchange.
8. Sports Section – The sports news is all about National and
International Sports.

34. 34
 The second page contains the classified advertisements and at times a
little bit of city news while the last page contains the important news
that could not be carried in any of the above mentioned sections.
 On Wednesday Times classified advertisements pertaining to
recruitment are carried on three-four pages of the newspaper.
 At times a special supplement is made in the form of a pull-out but
sometimes it is carried in the main newspaper.
The Sunday Times of India
 Four pages in the main newspaper contain columns from eminent
personalities and it also contains the analysis of important issues
generally pertaining to Delhi.
 Eight pages Sunday Review, which includes editorials, articles, future
discoveries etc.
 Horoscope, cartoons etc. are covered in the last pages of the main
newspaper.
 The classified matrimonial advertisements are published in eighteen
pages of the newspaper.
 Apart from all this the newspaper also contains the lead news, city
news, national news, international news and the sports news.
Supplements throughout the Week
If there is a USP behind the success of any product or service, then for
Times of India it has to be the Supplements that come with the
newspaper. On date TOI is the only newspaper in India having the
target assortment of thirteen supplements catering to the needs of almost
all reader profiles.
The TOI often is associated with as the “First” in supplement. The
strength of the supplements is that on one hand due to their target at each
reader profile, they have instigated a brand loyalty of the readers in TOI

35. 35
and on the other hard they have even made core Hindustan Times
readers selectively subscribe to the TOI on specific days like most HT
readers who are executives subscribe to the Times of India on
Wednesday for Ascent.
The various supplements are mentioned herewith.
 Delhi Times – Often referred to as
exciting, innovative, titillating and
glamorous, Delhi Times is a
supplement for those who lure for
glamour. This is a Monday to Saturday supplement covering Delhi
updates, general exports, fitness & health, style & fashion, pets,
comics, shopping, reviews, spirituality and the latest of Bollywood
and Hollywood.
 Education Times – This
supplement is targeted at
students in late teens to those
pursuing Graduation or Post-
Graduation. This supplement provides all details about various
courses in the offering, review about any one field is shown and the
prospects after the course completion are stated. Also contains,
vocational guidance, segmented ads of various institutions, school
admission / test details etc. As it is aimed at students, language is
easy to read and understand. Education Times comes out every
Monday.
 East Delhi/West Delhi Plus – This is the TOI reader’s window to
their surroundings. East Delhi plus is distributed to readers of East
Delhi while West Delhi Plus comes to readers of North and West

36. 36
Delhi. These supplements cover problems faced by the residents of
particular areas. Recent developments in those areas and also details
of functions to be held in near future. Targeted at those who want to
see local news, these supplements come out every Tuesday, Thursday
and Saturday.
 Financial Times – A
supplement for an investor,
this highlights the various
developments in the financial
sector. Articles on various
new public issues and their
ratings are given to provide the investor an insight into, which is the
best place to invest. Columns by top-notch economists and financial
advisers also make it easy for a layman to understand the
technicalities involved in the financial sector. Financial Times comes
out every Tuesday.
 Ascent – A bumper for TOI, the Ascent is the best job supplement
available. Ascent covers details of both national and international
appointments and the companies advertising in Ascent are all top-
notch. Even a large number of IT Companies advertise is Ascent for
recruitment. Coming out every Wednesday, this supplement has the
maximum pull for readership and even those who are not TOI
subscriber’s purchase it on Wednesday just do go through Ascent.
 Times Classifieds – This is not
really a supplement but it acts like
one. In times classifieds
advertisements pertaining to sale,
purchase, recruitment, travel,

37. 37
health etc are printed. Times classifieds has a recruitment issue on
Wednesday printed in the main paper. The catch phrase for times
Classifieds is “News you can use”.
 Business opportunities – This is a window to newly emerging
business opportunities from TOI. Aimed at people wanting to do new
business, it comes out every Thursday.
 Government Business – This supplement comes out every Friday. It
provides an insight into the governments working. Various
government features, laws etc are printed for readers to understand
the functioning of the government better.
 Property Times – Wanting to purchase a new property, thinking
about interior designing, want to know more about property rates,
then Property Times is the guide. This supplement has columns on
interior decoration, rates of properties etc. Advertisements pertaining
to sale and purchase of properties, properties on rent, interior
designing, construction etc. are also found in this supplement. This
supplement comes out every Saturday.
 Sunday Review – This eight page supplement comes out every
Sunday and contains film articles (limelight, newsmakers), objects of
Desire (showing all latest inventions), Relationship based features,
health and fitness, futuristic etc.
 Times Matrimonial – The search for a perfect groom or a perfect
bride ends here. Times Matrimonial has the largest collection of
matches of both sexes. The matches are displayed as per their
caste, religion and profession.

38. 38
TV CHANNELS:
Times Now: Times Now is a leading 24-hour English News channel that
provides the urbane viewers the complete picture of news that is
relevant, and presented in a vivid and insightful manner, which enables
them to widen their horizons & stay ahead.
Zoom: Zoom is India's first non-fiction, Hindi entertainment channel
that is the ultimate source for celebrities, Bollywood, spicy gossip,
unabashed glamour and the high life. It's is a spy into the homes of the
rich and famous, an invitation to the hippest parties, DJ’s, fortune tellers,
party hoppers, voyeurs, fashion designers all rolled into one, and more
RADIO MIRCHI:
The original avatar of Radio Mir chi was Times
FM, which began operation in 1993. Until 1993,
All India Radio or AIR, a government undertaking,
was the only radio broadcaster in India. The
government then took the initiative to privatize the radio broadcasting
sector. It sold airtime blocks on its FM channels in Hyderabad, Mumbai,
Delhi, Kolkata and Goa to private operators, who developed their own
program content. The Times Group operated its brand, Times FM, till
June 1998. After that, the government decided not to renew contracts
given to private operators.
In 2000, the government announced the auction of 108 FM frequencies
across India. ENIL won the largest number of frequencies, and thus
started its operations under the brand name Radio Mirchi.
In January 2006, Radio Mirchi bagged 25 frequencies in the second
wave of licenses that were issued by the Government of India. This

39. 39
pushes the Radio Mirchi presence in 32 centers. In the first phase of
launch,0020it launched in April in Bangalore and has been a spectacular
hit among the folks, giving healthy competition to Radio City.

40. 40
PROMOTION SCHEMES:-
TRADE SCHEMES
 Offered to channel members
 Incentive to increase sales
 Challenge for channel member: Balance reader interest while trying
to increase sales to avail benefits of the scheme
 Discounts for purchase of larger volumes by vendor
 Bonus of 50 poise for each new account generation by vendor
DISCOUNTS
 Mainly for institutional sales
 Eg. Bulk sale at schools at discount rates
READER SCHEMES
 Directed at final consumer/reader. Mainly to draw in new
customers
 Varies depending on location & demography
 Could include trials, discounts, freebies, combo offers etc
SUBSCRIPTION SALES
 Offer choice of publication for a certain amount of time at a lump
sum discount price
 Purpose- gaining new customers and making customer switch

41. 41
SWOT ANALYSIS OF TIMES OF
INDIA
Strengths:
(i) Brand value: The Company has a well-established brand value
in the Indian Market, which has existed from the eighteenth
century.
(ii) National Approach: The Times of India is a complete
nationwide newspaper, which is published at various parts of
India.
Low Cost offering: Due to a large amount of advertisements, The
Times of India gives Low cost offering to its customers.
Effective distribution system: The Times of India has the most
effective system to distribute newspaper to each and every nook and
corner of the company.
(iii) Large number of supplements: The Times of India has the
largest number of supplements, which are provided free to the
readers along with the main newspapers.
Weaknesses:
(i) Language: At times the language in the articles of TOI is very
complex which is difficult for the masses to understand.
(ii) Delhi Times: Quite often photographs of Hollywood movie
stars, which are quite objectionable, are shown in Delhi Times.
Vulgarity in

42. 42
Opportunity:
(i) Large Market: There exists a large market for readers in India
who if provided a good newspaper, can change loyalty easily.
(ii) Increase in Literacy level: The literacy level is rising in India.
This is making it more lucrative for the TOI to venture into and
capture new markets.
Threats:
Increased Competition: The newspaper has a major threat from other
English dailies like The Hindustan Times and The Indian Express.
.

43. 43
RMD (RESULT AND MARKET
DEVELOPMENT)DEPARTMENTOF
MARKETING
Figure No 1.4.4 showing various functions of RMD department
THREE INTERESTING THINGS ABOUT “The Times of India”-

44. 44
➢Sell less than cost of newspaper (10-15 Rs.).
➢Always not looking to increase no, of copies to sell.
➢Attached Profile of Reader.
DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF “TOI”:
There are three ways to sell the “TOI”
1. CASH SALES: Take newspaper from pan wala or any shop in cash
2. SUBSCRIPTION SALES: Pay money in advance and read “TOI”
 L INE S ALES : Ma ximu m% o f
sale co m es fro m t his met ho d . Mo n e y collection works
in reverse order Chain of line sales.
Daryagang branch, RMD Dept. uses both Pull and Push strategy
for market development.
➢Pull strategy
➢Push Strategy
Branding: An ongoing activity through which you can create an
image in the mind of customer about your product. Now branding of
“TOI” -
➢THROUGH CAMPAIGN
 Lead India
 Teach India
 Clean India
 Economic Times in college
➢OTHER LOCAL PROGRAMMES

45. 45
Pric ing of “ TOI”: Price of “TOI”
vary according today called as zigzag pricing or differential
pricing like-
Table no. 1.4.2 Pricing of newspaper for a week
Monday 4Rs
Tuesday 4Rs
Wednesday 4Rs
Thursday 4Rs
Friday 4Rs
Saturday 5Rs
Sunday 5Rs
Price of newspaper also varies according to life cycle of newspaper
like
Till 12 pm- 2.5 Rs from 12 pm to 3 pm- 2 Rs from 2 pm to 6 pm- 1.Rs
“TOI” Is Pioneer In Invitation Pricing:
Price at which customer automatically attract towards products called as
invitation price. To understand this we take one example hypothetically.
Suppose the price of newspaper is 3 ru pees and circulation
is 1 lac from Monday to Saturday. Now suppose on ‘Wednesday”
they made 1 rupee of newspaper in which they had maximum no. of
pages. As result of this, on Wednesday sales get tripled. Because those
who could not purchase it, now they (non-”TOI” readers) got
opportunity to purchase and redaction”. By passage of time
(After 5-7 Wednesday) they became “TOI” reader. This is called as
invitation prices. Then same things were done by competitors.
After one year both company blooded with 1000 million rupees.
After this “TOI” made 5 rupees per day on same day (called as
reverse pricing). Due to high price, customer reduced from 3

46. 46
lakh to 2lakh but company still benefit because no. of customer
is more than 1 lakh with 5rupees cost of newspaper. And people
going to give 5 rupees because they become habituated with this
newspaper. Competitors cannot go for reverse strategy. Because
they do not have good branding when compare with TOI. By this
way competitors will not survive. By these techniques, they develop
their market. Now Market share of “TOI” is≈50%
The second is the reader who due to news coverage or any other special
interest buys the newspaper. Both these segments are related to each
other in the sense that the more the readership of a newspaper, the more
interested will be an advertiser to advertise in it and the more will he be
willing to
Marketing Strategy of the Times of India
The Times of India, which for long had been dominating the South and
the West eyed on North India only a decade or so ago. Here it witnessed
one of the most competitive situations that it has encountered so far. The
Hindustan Times was a clear-cut major in larger sections of English
newspaper readers in this region. HT was followed closely by the Indian
Express.
The Times of India on its arrival eyed the market by posing itself as the
second best alternative pushing aside the Indian Express. The strategy
was to provide readers with more at the same price and also to match
the quality of English in the newspaper with reader profile. Indian
Express not having a strong foothold gave way and TOI emerged as the
second largest newspapers in the region.
After this came the bloodbath or the rivalry with the Hindustan Times.
To counter the Hindustan Times, The Times of India, being a large

47. 47
group inaugurated its invitation price in which price of the newspaper
was drastically cut. HT in the beginning kept sleeping over this
developing but when TOI gained large parts of the market HT woke up
and counter the TOI had established a strong foothold and it never
looked back.
The TOI designs its marketing strategy on date keeping in track its brand
history of rivalry with Hindustan Times or the readership pattern which
is given below.
The TOI understand that only way to break into HT loyalty is
through targeting the low age rung i.e. school students and those at very
early stages in their career. Switching to TOI from other newspapers is
regular, as other newspapers do not command loyalty as HT does.
The main strategy of TOI is outlined as under –
“To provide readers with a value for money and also to instigate
readership by providing a little something for every reader profile.”
The stress points are: -
 Coverage of news both national and international.
 Provide some specific supplements for each reader profile.
 Provide a value for money to both readers and advertisers.
 Establish an efficient and effective distribution system to make a
paper available to the reader where he wants it.
 Instigate brand loyalty by coming out with offers and schemes
(incentives) for both readers and advertisers
The marketing department in the times of India
The marketing department of The Times of India is divided into two
wings, the Research and Market Development (RMD) and the Response.
The former looks into the activities related to the distribution and
promotion of the newspaper to the subscribers while the later looks into

48. 48
the activities related to the selling of the space in the newspaper for
advertisements. A brief idea about the two wings is given below.
A. The Research & Market Development (RMD)
The main activities of the RMD are:-
 Look into distributional activities by proper supervision of the
distributional channels.

49. 49
 Settlement of accounts with the agents at the end of the month.
 Look into the promotional activities of the newspaper.
The Panchsheel of RMD:-
 Timing– The delivery of the newspaper from the press to the agents
should be such that the hawkers do not have to wait for the
newspaper.
 Ad Relevant Circulation– The consumers profile and the circulation
figure should be known as it assists the response department in the
generation of ad revenue.
 Competitive Advantage – Deals in building upon the company’s
strengths and also in keeping a track of the latest developments
adopted by the competitors.
 Cost Effectiveness – The newspaper should be distributed at the least
possible expenditure.
 Service – It deals with the promotional activities to present
consumers, prospects, hawkers, dealers and sub-dealers.
B. The Response
Response is another wing of the marketing department of The Times of
India. The basic function of this wing is to sell space in the newspaper
for advertisements.
The main activities of the Response are:
 Selling of space for advertisements to the advertisers or advertising
agencies.
 Scheduling of the advertisements, i.e., look into printing of the
advertisements on the schedule date and space.
 Settlement of accounts with the clients after the ad is published.
Types of advertisement dealt by the Response

50. 50
The Response deals with 5 different types of advertisements. They are:
 Display– Those advertisements, which give information about the
product or the services as, offered by the different organizations.
Tender– Those advertisements, which tell about the different tender
offers or notice that, are brought by the Public Sector Units.
 Appointment – These advertisements tell about the vacancies that
come out in the different organization from time to time.
 Financial – The financial advertisements gives information about the
public issues, financial statements, investment schemes, etc. of the
different organizations.
 Classified– Those advertisements whose space is sold at the
subsidized rates, generally to be availed by the common man.
Product Management
A product is anything that can be offered to a market to satisfy a need or
a want. Products that are marketed include physical goods, services,
persons, places, organizations and ideas.
FIVE LEVELS OF A PRODUCT
In planning its market offering, the marketer needs to think through five
levels of the product. These levels have been depicted below: -
Each of these levels adds more customer value and the five constitute a
customer value hierarchy.
The most fundamental level is the “Core Benefit” i.e., the fundamental
service or benefit that the customer is really buying. In case of a
newspaper it is the current affairs and the editorial content at the core
level that the customer is really buying. Therefore the core need is to be
aware of the happenings the world over and also to know about new
products, ideas etc.

51. 51
At the second level is the “Basic Product”. At this level the consumer
converts the benefit required i.e. awareness to a tangible or basic
product, which in this case is a newspaper.
At the third level is the “Expected Product”. This is a set of attributes
and conditions that buyers normally expect and agree to when they
purchase the product. For example in our case the expected product
includes current news, no exaggeration only truth, good quality paper
and printing, easy language etc. Most newspaper is able to fulfill this
minimum expectation.
At the fourth level is the “Augmented Product”. This is a net of
attributes that meet customers’ desires beyond their expectations. A
newspaper company can provide excellent coverage and presentation,
supplements to suit the needs of each of the target groups etc.
In today’s era competition essentially takes place at the product
augmentation level. Product – augmentation leads the marketer to look
at the buyer’s total consumption system i.e. the way the purchaser of a
product performs the total task of whatever it is that he or she is trying
do accomplish when using the product.
According to Levitt –
“The new competition is not between what companies produce in
their factories, but between what they do their factory output in the
form of packaging, services, advertising, customer advice,
financing, delivery arrangements, warehousing, and other things
that people value”.
However, there are some things that should be noted about the product
augmentation strategy. Firstly, each augmentation costs the company
money. The marketer has to think whether customers will pay enough
to cover the extra cost. Secondly, augmented benefits soon become

52. 52
expected benefits, for example – A purchaser of a newspaper now
expects various supplements to cater to his need, so the publishers have
to think of other features to add to their newspapers.
At the fifth level stands the “Potential Product”, which encompasses
all the augmentations and transformations that the product might
ultimately undergo in the future. While augmented product describes
what is included in the product today, the potential points to its possible
evolution, here companies search aggressively for new ways to satisfy
customers and distinguish their offer. The newspaper companies are
now striving to bring out new products like newspaper on the net etc.
Product Line in Newspapers
For many years all that a newspaper used to provide was news coverage,
which was more of a local perspective than global editorial section
catered to the letters to the editor only. Competition came and things
began to change. Slowly international coverage was also brought into
the scene and the editorial department besides the reply to letters also
began to take up new developments from all walks of life. More neck
breaking competition further stressed the newspapers to increase their
product line by offering new supplements for various reader profiles.
The current scenario sees newspapers bringing out innovative
supplements and publications along with the regular subscription at a
minimal or low add on rate.
Product Management at Times of India
The Times of India, Delhi is published 7 days a week and each day it has
three editions.
The three editions are:
 City I
 City
 Late City

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The City I edition is for those places where it takes 12 hours to reach
either by train or by bus. The mode of transportation for these far off
places is generally by train or by taxi. In some cases the newspaper is
also transported by buses that ply between these places and Delhi but it
is rare.
The City edition is for places where it takes some 6-7 hours to reach.
The general mode of transportation of City edition newspapers is taxi
but in some cases the newspapers is also transported through train.The
Late City editions are for those areas which fall within the radius of 75-
80 kilometers from Delhi. Here again the mode of transportation is taxi.
What Readers want from News Papers?
A newspaper is referred to as the companion of the morning tea. The
prime reason why a newspaper is bought is the current affairs or the
news in it. The newspaper has been over the years the most effective
interface of a common man with the word.
The readers thus want that the news in the newspaper should be
unbiased and fresh. Moreover the advertisements should be ethical and
should not be inserted at the expense of news and editorials.
Finally, the readers want the whole newspaper packaged
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Task

54. 54
As a part of the Summer Internship Program we have been assigned to
book subscriptions for the various magazines published by Worldwide
Media and sold and distributed by Times Of India and also to collect
renewal from the expired subscribers.
Research Methodology
Objectives:
 To predict and explore the customer demands in terms of Price,
Quality and Services for magazines published by Worldwide
Media (WWM).
 To find out the reasons why subscribers are not renewing or
discontinuing their subscription.
Problem definition: What are the various aspects in which Worldwide
Media is lacking behind in fulfilling the customers demand?
Research methodology:
This Exploratory research has been conducted through primary data. The
data will be qualitative as well as quantitative. The data has been
collected through personal interview, door to door visit and telephonic
interview.
Research design:
 Geographical location: The geographical location taken for the
purpose of data collection and the research in Lucknow city.
 Sample size: The sample size for collecting primary data 150
respondents. The sampling will be done through Random
Technique.

55. 55
Table:-
Reader 100
Non-Reader 50
 Data collection method: The data has been collected through
personal interview, door to door visit and telephonic interview.
 Target group: The respondents consist of existing subscribers,
discontinued subscribers and non-readers.
Limitations:
 The field work for the purpose of research was limited to some
part of the Lucknow city only. Therefore it may not represent the
overall consumers as perceptions of the consumers may vary place
to place due to demographic factors.
 The sample size is 150.
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
1. Sample Size Distribution:
Table:-

56. 56
Reader 100
Non-Reader 50
Readers include Existing subscribers (during the SIP) and Expired
subscribers. The Expired subscribers are divided into two parts, 1)
Discontinued subscriber, who doesn’t want to renew their subscription
and 2) Continued subscriber, who have renewed their subscription.
2.Reason for not-reading:
Among the Respondents covered under Non-reader criteria, 20% said
that they are not able to afford a magazine, 24% do not read due to non-
availability of time, 22% prefer to read online and the remaining 34%
are not interested in reading magazines.

57. 57
3. Rating upon features:
Respondents were asked to rate the features with number between 1 to
10
.
A) Entertainment:
It shows that only 16% subscribers
are fully entertained by the
magazines who gave 10 out of 10. The
highest 44% subscribers gave 8 out of 10. They are less entertained than
other 24% subscriber who gave 8 out of 10. Therefore it shows that
maximum percentage of population want more entertainment in the
magazines.

58. 58
B) Information:
Survey indicates that all the respondents are well satisfied with the
information delivered through the magazines. They are giving 8, 9 and
10 out of 10.
C) Gossip:
It shows that customers are demanding less gossip in the magazines.
They rated this feature with 7,8,9 and 10. The personal interviews on
this topic also shows their demand to avoid gossiping.

59. 59
D) Updates:
The contents in the magazines are well updated as the diagram shows
that 55% respondent gave 9 out of 10. Only a few percentage of
respondent think that magazines are not well updated.
E) Price:
In case of price, survey shows that 27% are highly satisfied and another
45% are less satisfied than the first one. By seeing other responses we
can say that subscribers are well satisfied with price of the magazines.
But still their demand is to decrease the price due to human behaviour of
expecting more than what they get.

60. 60
F) Services:
Services is one of the main factor which helps in maintaining the
customer loyalty and keeping the readership size constant. The survey
shows that there are less percentage of people who are well satisfied
with the services who give higher rating. Their demand is to improve the
services including the distribution system and customer care system.
G)Language:
Customers are well satisfied with the language used in the magazines.
Maximum percentages of the respondents give higher rating.
H) Quality Vs Price Ratio:
When the respondents were asked about the quality Vs price, good
responses have received from them. There are maximum percentages of

61. 61
people who are highly satisfied with the quality of the magazines
relating with price.
4. Renewal Call:
During the internship period, 50 renewal calls has been done. Out of
which 26% i.e. 13 renewals have been collected. The remaining 74% has
denied renewing their subscription.
The reasons for denying are discussed
A) Reason for Discontinuation:
Reasons derived from the survey, for the discontinuation of the
subscriptions,
 Decrease of interest and usability: 32% of the respondent said that
they have stopped their subscriptions due to decrease in interest.
Also the usability.
 Shifting: There are two types of shifting observed, 1. To other
TOI magazines. 2.To other publishers.
 Due to contents: 5% subscriber thought that the full contents
comes in an issue are not necessary for him/her. They need only a
part or few pages of the magazine. For which they think that it is

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none other than wasting of money by buying the whole. Therefore
they now prefer internet for their need.
 Only subscribed for gift: Subscription scheme plays an important
role in increasing readership. There is high demand of gifts in
subscription scheme. There are 8% people who are not interested
in continuing their subscription because there is no gift in current
scheme. But if they will be provided with preferable gift scheme,
they are ready to continue their subscription.
 Cost: Only 3% people are not ready to continue their subscription
because they thought that the current scheme of 50% discount on 1
year subscription is not so cost effective.
 Service: The last but the main reason for which people are not
ready to renew their subscriptions. As maximum percentage i.e.
39% of the respondents have stopped their subscription only
because of services problem. There are three types of service
problems derived.
1. Delivery: Customers were getting issues lately or never got
some issues. In case of fortnightly magazines, they were
getting two issues at a time. Also some were not getting
issues in a proper condition i.e. damage of packaging,
crashed papers etc.
2. No response in problems: When the subscribers faced the
above mentioned problems, they were not responded well
from the sales department. Their problems were not solved.
That’s why this became a big reason for discontinuing
subscription. o
3. Representative: Another problem in services is due to
representatives. At the time of renewal no representative
were came to collect. They were interested but due to
available publishers they have shifted to others. Again in

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this case, they have got calls from sales department for
renewal, appointments for collection were also fixed, but
still they didn’t come to collect. Thus TOI have lost some
subscriber.
FINDINGS
 Magazines are well entertained, updated and well informative.

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 The price according to the quality of the magazines is satisfactory.
 Subscribers have high demand in the improvement of services.
 There is a tough competition among magazines in LUCKNOW.
 Maximum people prefer Hindi rather than English.
 Subscription schemes attract more customers.
 Schemes with gift are playing a good role in increasing readership
as there are a lot of customers who have subscribed only for gift.
 There are a big number of boutiques and designers in Lucknow
and most of them deals with Indian traditions. That’s why the
contents should specific customer centric.
 Peoples are highly interested in magazines but low awareness
about the schemes.
RECOMMENDATION

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 Improvement of Services: The first and foremost
recommendation that can be suggested from the findings of the
research is the improvement in services. As there are high demand
of the magazines of WWM. The customers now have huge options
for selecting a magazine, as there are so many producers of
magazines in different language and increased usage of internet.
Therefore a small problem faced by a customer may lead to losing
that one.
 A better distribution channel: I would also like to recommend
that by implementing a better distribution channel, TOI can
increase its market share.
 A better renewal reminder system: A better renewal reminder
system can also be implemented. There is a system of reminder
 but customers are complaining that they are not getting the
reminder alarm.
 Appointment of new staff: TOI can also improve their services
by appointing new staff as ‘Customer care Executive’ by giving
well training so that they will be able to respond the customers
well who have problems. Because currently customers are not well
responded.
 A Hindi version of Femina: There is also a demand from the
target group in Lucknow is a Hindi version of Femina. By doing
this they can get readers from others magazines like Gruhsubha
etc.
CONCLUSION

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The summer internship project plays an important role in management
education where students get a golden opportunity to apply his
knowledge and learning gained from classroom lectures in practical
business environment. The SIP program also helps in gaining knowledge
and developing the confidence level to work. I have also learnt a lot by
my Internship at Times of India Group, Lucknow. This research has
been done to study sales and promotion of magazine in Lucknow
towards Times Group’s magazines. The people in Lucknow still
preferring printed contents despite of technology adaption. In posh areas
like Hazratganj, Gomti nagar, Mahanagar etc. people prefer English
magazines rather than Hindi or Gujarati. But maximum areas still prefer
to read a Gujarati or Hindi magazine. There is high demand and high
awareness about TOI newspaper in Lucknow. But less people are aware
that TOI has magazines also. And there are some people who are aware
about it but they are not aware about the subscription schemes. They are
interested in subscribing. When they came to know about the schemes,
they immediately bought subscriptions. But still there are some areas
where awareness about these magazines is very low. Customer loyalty
towards TOI magazines is very high. Survey shows that only 26% of the
customers don’t renew their subscription. But this is only happening
mainly because of service problems. TOI is not able to provide accurate
service to all customers. There are some other reasons also, but if TOI
works on improving services of delivery or customer relationship or
improving the quality of responding towards the customers’ problems
with better solutions, than obviously no reader will leave TOI.
REFERENCES

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1. Ali S., . “A Study of Consumer Behaviour & Loyalty In Print Media –
Challenges & strategic prescriptions with Special reference to English,
Hindi, Marathi News Paper readers-Mumbai”. ABHINAV. 1 (4), pp.64-
70
2. Arc Gate. Indian Magazine Market Overview. [ONLINE] Available
at: http://arcgate.com/blog/2010/09/29/indian-magazine-market-
overview/.
3. WorldWide Media. About Grazia. [ONLINE] Available at: Available
at: http://grazia.co.in/about-us.
4. WorldWide Media. BBC Good Homes. [ONLINE]
https://www.facebook.com/goodhomesmagazineindia/info.
5. WorldWide Media (). About Lonely Planet. [ONLINE] Available at:
https://www.facebook.com/LonelyPlanetMagazineIndia/info.
6. Times Group. About Home trends. [ONLINE] Available at:
http://www.timesgroup.com/brands/publishing/magazines/home-trends-
english.html
. 7. Times Group. About BBC Knowledge. [ONLINE] Available at:
http://www.timesgroup.com/brands/publishing/magazines/bbc-
knowledgeenglish.html
. 8. Ernest &Young . Indian magazine segment: Navigating new growth
avenues. [ONLINE] Available at:
http://www.ey.com/IN/en/Industries/Media--- Entertainment/Indian-
magazine-segment.
9. Vital Business Media. Go East, young journalist: India publishing
market is hot. [ONLINE] Available at:

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http://www.emediavitals.com/content/go-east-youngjournalist-india-
publishing-market-hot.
10. Times Group. About us. [ONLINE] Available at:
http://www.timesgroup.com/bccl/about-us.html.
Questionnaire

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1. Do you read magazines? Yes / No
2. If No, then Why?
 Non-availability of time
 Online preference
 Non-interest
 Affordability
3. Which type of magazines you prefer to read?
 Fashion and lifestyle
 Interiors and design
 Travel
 Automobile
 Bollywood and movie masala
 Sports
 Other
4. Name of the magazine you
read/subscribed._____________________________
5. How do you like this magazine? Please rate the features.
 Entertainment 1--------10
 Information 1--------10
 Gossip 1--------10
 Updates 1--------10
 Price 1--------10
 Services 1--------10
 Languages 1--------10
 Quality vs Price 1--------10

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6. What would you like to do to improve the quality and services of a
magazine?
__________________________________________________________
______
__________________________________________________________
______
7. References
 ___________________________
 ___________________________
8. Reason for discontinuation:
__________________________________________________________
______
Name:-
Contact No:-
Address:-
THANKS FOR YOUR VALUABLE TIME AND COOPERATION

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SUBSCRIPTION FORM of TOI

72. 72
RECEIPT COPY OF SUBSCRIPTIONS

73. 73
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