The document summarizes the results of a survey conducted to analyze readership patterns and perceptions of newspapers in Mumbai, specifically The Times of India (TOI), DNA, and Hindustan Times. Some key findings are: - TOI continues to have the highest readership in Mumbai, though it saw a small decline. DNA and Hindustan Times both lost readers. - Over 50% of respondents have read TOI for over 10 years, indicating its early entry and long-held dominance in the market. - TOI is seen as very credible and a daily habit or tradition. Respondents are unlikely to stop reading it but may add other papers. - DNA is seen as still evolving and

1. WHAT’s in the DNA of ‘Times’?(Mumbai Region)ByDrashti BuchRoll no: 10PGP EMC

2. Research objectives To find out the reasons for TOI’s success in Mumbai v/s other newspapers (English Dailies) like DNA, HT etc.Perception analysis of TOI v/s DNA and HT

3. Target audience and sample size details Methodology: Questionnaire Total no. of people interviewed: 45Males interviewed: 30Females interviewed: 15All the people interviewed are residents of the city of MumbaiAge group: 20 and beyond

4. Snapshot of the questionnaire

7. Link to the questionnaire: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BVY5VF7

8. The newspaper market scenario in MumbaiAccording to the current round of Indian Readership Survey (IRS) -- Round 2 (R2) 2009 -- The Times of India (TOI) continues to rule the financial capital of India across languages, with a total readership of 24.91 lakh. However, the country's largest English daily has seen a marginal decline in readership in Mumbai, which has been a TOI stronghold. Amongst English dailies, Mumbai Mirror, the tabloid from Times group, follows its elder cousin with a total readership of 14.2 lakh -- a loss of 80,000 readers. Mumbai Mirror ranks no. 7 in the surveyMid-Day (English) and DNA come in at No. 8 and No. 9, with a total readership of 13.26 lakh and 12.83 lakh readers, respectively. However, both newspapers have lost readers in the city. While Mid-day's readership has declined by 91,000 readers; DNA has lost around 41,000 readers.

9. Amongst other English dailies, Hindustan Times has lost around 30,000 readers; while The Economic Times has lost 79,000 readers in the financial capital. Though Hindustan Times gained 38,000 readers in Navi Mumbai; it has lost around 64,000 readers in other reporting centres.

10. Trend Analysis and Insights

11. Newspapers as stated in the ‘OTHERS’ category: Maharashtra TimesIndian ExpressLoksattaFinancial expressBusiness StandardGujarat Samachar

12. Quick Insights Bennett and Coleman group rules the roost. Times of India leads followed by its sister publications, Mumbai Mirror and Economic Times (which can be a result of subscription along with TOI).Mid-Day is not a newspaper that people subscribe to at home. Maharashtra Times, once again a B&C group publication makes an appearance maximum no. of times in the ‘OTHERS’ category.

14. Quick Insights Late entry of competition and monopoly might be a contributing factor for TOI’s current leadership position. This is substantiated by the fact that more than 50% readers have stated ‘More than 10 years’ as their period of subscription to the newspaper. And also substantiated by the fact that some of the newspapers like DNA, HT did not even exist 10 years ago. 24% of the readers have a subscription of 1-5 years with the newspaper. These can possibly be the readers of the new entrants in the dailies market.

16. Quick InsightsTOI, the main newspaper leads in terms of being picked up first for reading. This defies a general perception of ‘Bombay Times’ being a crucial first for many due to its masala news content. This might be deduced to the tendency of many to pick up the newspaper (when it is crisp and folded) and start skimming through the headlines the moment you hold it in your hands. Mumbai Mirror, the popular tabloid supplement of TOI comes second in this aspect. This might be due to the sensational nature of its news content and its compact size that enables the reader to skim through the news as well as filmy gossip within a short period of time.

17. Factors for liking the newspaper as mentioned under the category ‘OTHERS’:Accurate NewsIndepth Analysis

18. Quick Insights Newspapers like TOI have been a part of households since ages (as established by the earlier survey questions). Hence their subscription is more often than not because someone or the other in the family has been reading it for years. This is established by a vast majority who claim to like their current newspaper because it is more of a habit than a particular liking for it. This might also be a major reason why newspapers like DNA and HT have not been able to make inroads into Mumbai or other TOI strongholds.Thankfully, there’s also a huge 27% that states ‘Content’ as a factor for liking their newspaper and 15% who do enjoy crucial supplements offerings by these publications. Much to my surprise, Masala news does not feature strongly in the factors stated for liking newspapers.

20. Quick insightsIt is important to note that here the findings show a perceptual difference in the ‘credibility’ of news given in the newspapers. Thus the believability of news given by newspapers like TOI becomes extremely high and there is high chance of various news articles to be taken in as ‘ultimate truth’. This is a warning to publications that they should be careful in what they publish as people base their trust for news on them. The ‘credibility’ factor may also be the reason why people do not want to try out other equally competent newspaper publications. However there’s a significant number, almost 36% which also claim that news covered is largely the same across newspapers. There are other factors like ‘comfort of simple language’ and ‘easy to understand for a layman’ that came up as important quotes by respondents. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons for TOI’s success in India.

21. A vast majority of the readers are open for experimentation. Next slide will elaborate the reasons for the same.

22. Factors that will make the readers switch‘Might subscribe to both, but will not stop reading TOI’‘Interesting content and supplements’‘More images and high level of interaction with the readers’‘Gives me something more than the current paper I am reading’‘Timeliness of news’‘Will ADD to my current list of newspapers’‘Depends on the READING EXPERIENCE’ ‘Will add one more newspaper but wont give up TOI’‘Presentation of facts and analysis of stories’‘Money is not the criteria. It is content above anything else’‘More local content, related to art and culture and for kids’‘Sample the paper from stands, if interested, subscribe’‘Good easy writing style and pleasing layout’

23. Quick insightsAs stated earlier, more than 50% of the readers have criteria which if fulfilled, they are willing to switch their newspapers.The most interesting insight that once again establishes the supremacy of TOI is a strong opinion that came across of readers wanting to ‘try out’ new newspapers but certainly not ‘give up’ on TOI. It shows how ingrained the newspaper is in the lifestyle of an average Mumbaikar. Content comes across as another strong factor for readers in order to switch. Though one can doubt if they are able to differentiate between contents of various English dailies. Presentation, interactivity, layout etc. are some of the factors that might trigger a switch. However what kind of presentation, interactivity or layout is something that this survey has not covered in this phase.

24. MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE WALL, WHO IS BETTER OF THEM ALL?Image and perception analysis

25. Words/phrases that describe TOIPay me, Use me and I will tell the world about youVoice of the nationNeed it as a morning starter! Bigger than other brands Authentic MASALA! Highly organizedGames! Boring front page, when with too many ads! TOI ROCKSSellout!Good morningNews for everyoneTalks about IndiaTextEgoistic Credibility Political, commercial, economic, fashion, trendsMorning bibleHabit, old tradition, comfortBalanced serious trustworthy legacyBulky CommericalNice AdsSuperficial news

26. Quick InsightsThe association of words with TOI has an interesting story to tell. Use of phrases like ‘The morning bible’, ‘Good morning’ etc. strongly re-affirm the close connection readers share with TOI. We can also conclude that the newspaper is highly considered to be an essential consumption in the busy mornings of Mumbai. Also use of phrases like ‘Voice of the nation’, ‘Legacy’, ‘Old tradition’, ‘Credibility, serious’ etc. give an impression that TOI readers are extremely comfortable, confident and proud of their newspaper. This makes it a highly loyal audience for TOI. One interesting comment to take note of is ‘Too boring when front page is full of ads’. Although it hardly matters to TOI, the newspaper should take note of intrusion of ads in the reader’s mind space.

27. Quick InsightsAs some media professionals have filled this survey, heavy criticism in terms of TOI being a ‘sellout’ has appeared in the word association. This is perhaps a peek into the inside story that surrounds the newspaper. The word ‘Masala’ finally makes an appearance in the association. And so does the word ‘Bulky’. Although it is difficult to judge if this works to the advantage or disadvantage of TOI. The word ‘Text’ associated with TOI makes one sit up and take notice. Perhaps it is time to include some more images, some more colors in the content rather than filling up the paper with just ads.

28. Words/Phrases that describe DNAPay me, use me and I will tell the world about you but in a very ideological wayYoung resurgent BusinessDon’t’ read YouthGood stories, especially city basedEvolvingHasn’t made a place for itself DetailedDon’t know why it exists Lost and confused Easy and light Hi-fi, Helix Youth, Different, Trendy, Citizen Journalism, Alternative stories

29. Quick InsightsWhile there were many readers who declined from giving a word association for DNA citing ‘I don’t read it’ as a reason (and hence were perhaps clueless about the image of the newspaper), perceptions as put forth by the rest were as interesting as those of TOI. The ‘Speak Up’ campaign of DNA has assured a strong association with the youth for DNA. This is reflected in the repeated use of the word in the association exercise. An important word to take note of is ‘evolving’. The perception is still that of a newspaper that is learning to give out news to customers and hence there is a lower level of trust on this brand of publication. A larger perception for the newspaper is that of ‘confusion, no clear reason for existence, and unsuccessful’. This, if we can take the liberty to assume is the perception of non-DNA readers, clearly points out to reasons why the paper is still struggling to compete with TOI.

30. Quick InsightsOn a positive note, words like ‘Light, trendy, Citizen journalism’ etc. re-affirm the stand that DNA has tried to take all this while. It should perhaps focus on these very factors, giving an honest voice to citizens in order to attract loyal readership.

31. Words/Phrases that describe HTWish people would pay me as much as othersOld fashioned newspaperInteresting Tradition Should improve in business sectionBoring They sometimes provide with magazines, that is good Political, comprehensive, criticalPerfect balance, better layouts, Change, Indian Rational news, sobre, Complex, competitive, Aspirational, let there be light Bigger pictures, serious

32. Quick InsightsIf the people who gave word associations for DNA were lesser than those for TOI, the case for HT was even worse. The most common word that came across was ‘boring’. Perhaps the newspaper’s initial attempt to come across as honest and serious has backfired and remained ingrained in the minds of the readers (despite its attempt to come up with a more snazzy image and the ‘change’ campaign). This is something that is definitely working against the newspaper leading to its downfall in Mumbai. The HT readers/loyalists have a lot of good things to say about the paper. Bigger pictures (photographs) interestingly features as one of the positives for the newspaper. Apart from this layout, seriousness of news, critical nature of news is something that readers quite like to read.

33. WHAT DO THEY LOOK LIKE?Image association

34. TOI Image Associations

35. DNA Image Associations

36. HT Image Associations

37. Concluding Section and Summary

38. Objections and Criticisms for newspapers-as stated by readersPaid Content – Credibility is questionedNews in Mumbai Mirror gets repeatedSome sections are boring and monotonousThe Jacket ad concept of TOI is extremely irritatingLot of supplements full of just Bollywood news Sports is not coveredTimes of India is getting very filmy Data sometimes misguides from the actual newsTOI is biased towards Congress and news quality is deterioratingBetter layouts?Too many dirty ads, lesser reading material Sensationalizing the newsET, TOI do not mention sources of news in many articles Looks like TOI comes out with newspaper for advertisers rather than readers

39. Research summary and conclusionInterestingly, majority of the complaints are made by existing TOI readersThe complaints range from sensationalism to excess of advertisingAnd yet, a whopping 88.9% of the audience, as seen earlier subscribes to TOI and DOES NOT WANT TO DISCONTINUE IT.Factors like habit, legacy and introduction of new supplements like Mumbai Mirror to counter competition have worked extremely well for TOI in Mumbai, so much so that people find TOI as a person they sometimes want to get rid of, but yet can never do without. Every aspect of this research has time and again proven that the supremacy of TOI is here to stay despite of its monopolistic attitude. This will remain until something really radical comes up to counter this media giant. As for DNA and HT, will have to keep trying harder and make do with the image of being ‘second newspaper’ in the households. Finally, I have to accept. TOI does RULE. And WILL RULE for ‘Times’ to come.

40. THANK YOU