DAINIK BHASKAR: THE PUNJAB LAUNCH

ABSTRACT

Punjab is one market where the reach of Hindi dailies is more than that of the regional (Punjabi) newspapers. Recognizing this Dainik Bhaskar’ decided to enter the Punjab market after a successful run in Chandigarh and Haryana. Although the scope in this market is tremendous, the degree of competitiveness has changed over the last five years. Entering Punjab was a part of its overall expansion strategy and in future, the group also plans to explore the Jammu & Kashmir and Delhi markets.

This case study focuses on the massive consumer hype generated by the Punjab launch of Dainik Bhaskar in October 2006 using direct marketing to establish a leadership position from day one. In the face of strong competition from well-known established newspapers in an already busy market sector, the launch of Dainik Bhaskar was not an easy task. The company did an extensive research to find out what the Hindi readers in Punjab want in a newspaper and used new and innovative marketing strategies during pre-launch and post-launch time to position the newspaper effectively in the market. The primary objective of this case is to study the different promotional activities undertaken by Dainik Bhaskar and to meet its launch objectives.

DAINIK BHASKAR: THE PUNJAB LAUNCH

Whenever Dainik Bhaskar, a media group, enters a new market, it uses direct marketing to establish a leadership position from day one.

- Girish Aggarwal, Director-Marketing, Dainik Bhaskar

Leadership position from day one of the launch speaks of the effectiveness of the launch campaign run by the Bhaskar group in Punjab. Further, 1, 86, 000 bookings prior to the launch and 2 lakh subscribers within 27 days of the launch bears testimony to it. The success of the campaign is reflected in the celebratory atmosphere prevailing in the Bhaskar Group. Management and staff alike are overjoyed, as the launch reaffirms Bhaskar’s policy to establish a leadership position from day one.

This case study focuses on the launch of Dainik Bhaskar in Punjab. In the face of strong competition from well-known brands in an already busy market sector, the launch of Dainik Bhaskar represented a significant investment of resources in the brand.

THE WARRIORBhaskar Group is a Rs. 1700 crore-business conglomerate with strong presence in Newspapers, Television, Entertainment, Printing, Textiles, Fast Moving Consumer Goods, Oils, Solvents, Retailing and Internet Services. The group has rocketed to the top of the print media industry in India with its flagship Hindi newspaper, Dainik Bhaskar, and the Gujarati newspaper, Divya Bhaskar. Brand Bhaskar is today synonymous with success, quality, dynamism and ethics in millions of households across India and the corporate world alike. Ramesh Chandra Agrawal, Chairman; Sudhir Agrawal, Managing Director; Girish Agrawal, Director and Pawan Agrawal, Director are the key persons responsible for the resounding success of the group.

From a modest beginning in pre-independence era to the top of the print media industry in India, the journey of Dainik Bhaskar is marked by numerous important milestones. Some of the noteworthy milestones are:

Table I: Milestones in the journey to the top

1983 Launch of Dainik Bhaskar Indore, followed by Raipur, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Bilaspur and Satna editions

1992 Dainik Bhaskar becomes No.1 newspaper in Madhya Pradesh (NRS)1993 Diversification into Oil Extraction and Refining1995 Dainik Bhaskar declared fastest growing daily in India (NRS)1996 Launch of Dainik Bhaskar in Jaipur1996 Diversification into Textiles1997-98 Dainik Bhaskar Launch in Jodhpur, Ajmer, Udaipur, Kota1998 Launch of Bhaskar TV

2000 Dainik Bhaskar Chandigarh and Haryana edition launched2003 Divya Bhaskar launch in Ahmedabad, Gujrat2004 Divya Bhaskar Surat & Baroda, Mumbai & Rajkot edition2004 Aha! Zindagi Hindi Edition Launched2004 Launch of Sun City-A family entertainment center and amusement

park in Gwalior2004 Divya Bhaskar North America edition launched2005 Launch of DNA in Mumbai2006 Aha! Zindagi Gujrat launched2006 MY FM launch in Jaipur2006 Launch in Punjab

THE PRODUCTDainik Bhaskar is the flagship Hindi daily newspaper of Bhaskar Group of newspapers. As per National Readership Survey (NRS) 2006, Dainik Bhaskar is the No. 1 newspaper (all languages) in India. It is the largest read newspaper group with 2.65 crore readers. The family flagship newspaper Dainik Bhaskar achieved leadership position in the state of Madhya Pradesh in 1992. In 1996, Rajasthan became the focus market of the group and the Jaipur edition was launched in December 1996. It was further followed by six other editions, firmly establishing Dainik Bhaskar as the leading newspaper in the state.

After achieving leadership position in Rajasthan, the group decided to enter the Chandigarh market and launched the edition in June 2000. The challenge in Chandigarh was unique. It was the only city in India where English newspapers have more readership than vernacular dailies. Further, Hindi newspapers were not being read there. Dainik Bhaskar changed this pattern and is now the largest read newspaper in Chandigarh.

After its success in Chandigarh, the group launched its edition in the state of Haryana to empower the north followed by the launch of Dainik Bhaskar in Punjab. Prior to this launch Dainik Bhaskar was present in eight states and is now the No. 1 newspaper in all the states of its presence with a circulation of 23 lakhs per day. Dainik Bhaskar is being published from the following centers.

Table II: Centers of publication

STATE CENTERS

Madhya Pradesh Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Satna

Chattisgarh Raipur, Bilaspur

Rajasthan Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Ajmer, Bikaner, Kota, Shri

Ganganagar

Haryana Panipat, Hisar, Faridabad, Gurgaon

Chandigarh Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh

Gujarat (Divya Bhaskar)Ahmedabad, Baroda, Surat, Bhavnagar, Rajkot, Mumbai

Uttar Pradesh Jhansi

Maharashtra Nagpur

Punjab Jalandhar, Amritsar

THE BATTLEFIELDAfter a successful run in Chandigarh and Haryana, Dainik Bhaskar decided to enter Punjab (See Exhibit I). Punjab is one state where the reach of Hindi dailies is more than that of the regional (Punjabi) newspapers. Although the scope in this market is tremendous, the degree of competition has changed over the last five years. Entering Punjab was a part of its overall expansion strategy and in future, the group also plans to explore the Jammu & Kashmir and Delhi markets.

Punjab is the land of five rivers and integrated cultural history. The state borders parts of Pakistan, which was once the integral part of Indian Punjab. The much-truncated India's portion of present Punjab is divided into three natural regions: The Majha, The Doaba and the Malwa. Majha is a historical region of the Punjab comprising of the districts of Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Tarn Taran. The Doaba region comprises the districts of Nawan Shahr, Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, and Kapurthala. Malwa comprises of thirteen out of the twenty districts of Punjab, which include Bathinda, Faridkot, Fatehgarh Sahib, Firozpur, Mansa, Barnala, Moga, Muktsar, Patiala, Sangrur, Ludhiana, Mohali and Roopnagar.

Dainik Bhaskar decided to launch the paper in the Majha and Doaba region of Punjab (See Exhibit II). Amritsar, Jalandhar and Ludhiana are the three main cities in Punjab and the company decided to launch the editions from Amritsar and Jalandhar to be followed by an edition from Ludhiana. These cities will also feed the neighboring small towns and cities. The details of the areas covered by the two editions launched in Punjab are detailed below.

Table III: Cities covered under Punjab launch

Region Edition Sub Edition Areas Included

DoabaJalandhar

JalandharJalandhar City, Jalandhar Cantt., Goraya, Phillor, Nakodhar, Kartarpur

Doaba Jalandha Hoshiarpur Nawanshahar, Nangal, Ropar, Banga

r

DoabaJalandhar

Kapurthala Kapurthala, R.C.F., Phagwara

DoabaJalandhar

Ropar Hoshiarpur, Mahilpur, Garhshankar, Talwanda, Mukerian, Bhangala, Dasua

Majha Amritsar Amritsar Amritsar, Patti, Tarantaran

Majha Amritsar GurdaspurBatala, Gurdaspur, Dinanagar, Dhariwal

Majha Amritsar Pathankot Patankot, Sujanpur

THE ‘PUNJAB KO CHAHIYE JAWAB’ CAMPAIGNBhaskar's philosophy is to continue as a driving force in the newspaper market, and thus constantly analyze its offerings for consumers. The core objective of Dainik Bhaskar’s launch programme in Punjab was to generate volume for the company and achieve the vision of market leadership from the day one.

Established markets generate intense competition in which new and innovative marketing strategies are required to launch a new product. Development of a strong hype has always been a feature of the Bhaskar group and the campaign for Punjab launch was no exception. With huge investments, Dainik Bhaskar unleashed a highly communicative promotion campaign in Punjab. To maintain consistency in fragmented markets and multiple media, Dainik Bhaskar adopted a new and better way, viz. Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) to understand, reach and connect with the consumers. Thus, the campaign was unveiled through seven phases of billboard advertising (Exhibit III) and supplemented by various media such as, television, cable network, radio, mobile vans, canopies, mailers, brochures etc.

One fine morning in the month of June 2006 people of Amritsar and Jalandhar woke up to find big billboards around prominent and busy places asking a question from them on an issue related to Punjab. These bold print billboards were meant to command high-density consumer exposure and the ads featured a person searching for an answer to a issue like “46 Saal Aur Sirf Ek Milkha Singh?” Every billboard prominently used a tag line “Punjab Ko Chahiye Jawab (Punjab wants the answer)”, and a base line “Kya Kehte Hai Aap! (What do you say)”. To the surprise of every one the name of the promoter was not there, and thus people were left to guess who could be behind these ads and its objective.

The ads were original, unconventional and very different from the regular billboard campaigns. Day one of this campaign attracted huge attention and was successful in creating a buzz. The attention grabbing billboards with their bold questions received rave reviews from various quarters and made the tag line “Punjab Ko Chahiye Jawab” extremely popular. To uphold the attention of onlookers, from time to time, the questions on the billboards were changed. This move also took many by surprise, as people became more and more eager to know the intention behind and the source of questions. The popularity of the tag line grew to

such an extent that people started generating jokes on the tag line which were profoundly circulated through SMS.

In the second phase of the campaign, ads on billboards featured the name Dainik Bhaskar along with a issue, tag line and a base line. This was the first time people of Punjab associated the campaign to Dainik Bhaskar. People started feeling that Dainik Bhaskar is a newspaper that wishes to raise the issues related to Punjab. In the third phase the issue were changed and the focus was shifted to national issues along with same tagline and base line. In the fourth phase the issues were once again changed and the focus now was on social issues like bribery, reservation, education etc. This time the base line was changed to “Sahi Faisla Kijiye” but the tag line remained same, “Punjab to Chahiye Jawab”. The fifth phase of the campaign ran only in Amritsar, which stressed upon the fact that Dainik Bhaskar’s Amritsar edition is the first Hindi newspaper in the city. The bold statement on billboard read “Ab Amritsar Ko Milega Apna Pehla Akhbar” with “Punjab to Chaiye Jawab” as tagline and “Sahi Faisla Kijiye” as base line.

The billboard ads were accompanied by a team of 250 boys and girls dressed in smart Dainik Bhaskar outfit to conduct a pre-launch customer preference survey. This was not a simple survey but was an attempt to make one-to-one connection with the customer. Dainik Bhaskar, views market research not just as a tool for surveying the intended target market, but also as a brand building exercise. The whole target population, and not just a sample, was surveyed. A total of five lakh houses whose data was gathered from Punjab State Electricity Board were visited. People were asked to fill a small form regarding personal information and the details of newspaper they read. To make the newspaper more reader and people friendly few questions were asked regarding what people would like to read in the new newspaper. But the main catch was a contest going on simultaneously. In this contest people were asked to submit three questions of concern to them with a promise of prize of Rs. One lakh if the six-member jury of renowned personalities of Punjab selected the question. Apart from the lure of prize money people felt that their questions might feature on one of the billboards in the city. Apart from this people took it as a medium to raise some genuine issues related to them or to the society. People contributed generously and the company was able to generate a large pool of database about the customers. This survey was used for aggressive advance booking of the newspaper, which made Dainik Bhaskar the number one paper from day one of the launch. To personalize the survey, the Dainik Bhaskar survey team also handed over a letter written by its Chairman to the customer along with a telephone directory of important numbers like hospitals, police station etc.

Once the company started getting good response to the advance-booking scheme, the ads on billboards in the sixth phase were changed but the tag line “Punjab Ko Chahiye Jawab” and base line “Sahi Faisla Kijiye” remained same. These billboards now portrayed people from all segments giving reasons they were booking Dainik Bhaskar, for example “Main Book Kar Raha Hoon Kyunki Mujhe Chaiye Sirf Sachai”. With these billboards even the person who has not booked the newspaper got a reason why he should book a copy of Dainik Bhaskar. In “Punjab Ko Chahiye Jawab” campaign’s seventh phase the company had hoardings

highlighting the soul of any newspaper-its content. Along with message like “Sachai Ko Bhatakne Nahein Dengi Khabre” and the tag line “Punjab Ko Chaiye Jawab”, the date of the launch was also mentioned now.

Adding to the buzz, Dainik Bhaskar took up ‘Pluck Card Activity’ in some of the busy areas of the town. A group of four to five boys used to move around the street or parks carrying a pluck card with Dainik Bhaskar written on it. A drumbeater also accompanied pluck card boys. Apart from this, hut shaped mobile vans were extensively used for “Punjab Ko Chahiye Jawab” campaign in the towns. A double-decker bus was specially brought in from Jaipur. Painted in yellow and with Dainik Bhaskar logo on it, this bus was used to offer free rides to the people waiting on the bus stands. Television, Radio, Cable network, pamphlets etc. were also used extensively to highlight the same themes of “Punjab Ko Chahiye Jawab”. During this period, the top management was fully committed to the campaign. Girish Aggarwal, Director-Marketing used to sit in the office late nights to check the design of the billboard and used to personally move around the city to check the location of the billboards.

THE LAUNCHThe latest Hindi language newspaper in Punjab Dainik Bhaskar hit the stands on October 08, 2006. With the launch of Amritsar and Jalandhar editions, the Bhaskar Group made its foray into the Punjab market, selling a record number of 1,86000 copies on the first day. The two editions were launched by Minister for I&B and Parliamentary Affairs, Priyaranjan Dasmunshi at a special ceremony held in Jalandhar. With this launch Dainik Bhaskar became the first newspaper in Punjab to have an all colour edition. In fact, Dainik Bhaskar’s Amritsar edition is the first Hindi newspaper in the city.

Dainik Bhaskar has a huge responsibility to its subscribers whose hopes it raised sky-high with its campaign. Dainik Bhaskar promised to be a newspaper created after enormous inputs from extensive surveys and analysis so people expected nothing less than the best from Dainik Bhaskar. The top management knew that marketing strategies work in raising awareness and expectations about a product, but content is the soul of a newspaper. If the newspaper failed to deliver what it promised through its launch campaign, customers might sneak out soon. But Dainik Bhaskars’ first edition in Punjab was a classic case of the product purely matching the expectations created by its campaign.

THE STRATEGYThe launch strategy of a new product is critical. In recent years, product launching has become an art that can make or break a product. A successful launch makes potential customers aware of the new product and induces them to try it. Before consumers could try the product, however, it was important for Dainik Bhaskar to gain the support of its customers. If the product had failed to interest readers, the company would not have been able to meet the costs of investment.

The company was aware that there is a gap between the entrepreneur's perception of the market requirements and the actual market needs. This gap may actually be quite minor and

inconsequential from the management's viewpoint but it can make a huge difference in the way customers perceive the product. Bridging this gap then becomes essential to win customer trust. Rather than designing the newspaper and then generating sales, Dainik Bhaskar first involved the customers, collected their requirements, suggestions and then designed the project accordingly. This was particularly important, as Punjab, like the rest of India, is not a homogeneous market. The company did extensive research to find out the Punjab based Hindi readers’ interests in a newspaper through their pre-launch customer preference survey. The Bhaskar Group carried out an extensive pre-launch research with representatives visiting almost five lakh houses in Punjab to get a better understanding of the readers’ demands. This was particularly important, as Punjab, like the rest of India, is not a homogeneous market. Based upon the feedback Dainik Bhaskar brought about major changes in the presentation of the newspaper and its contents, keeping in view the interests of varied categories of readers. Such dedicated effort helped them to dethrone, almost overnight, the kings of the markets that they entered.

The other main strategy used by the company to become the leader from day one was advance booking. This helped Dainik Bhaskar to build awareness and commitment to the launch and obtain significant booking and avertisements ahead of the launch date. The direct marketing team went around the place with a ‘Pre Paid Coupons Booklet’. The Director-Marketing strongly believes that the market is no one to set the prices. Pricing is ultimately the entrepreneur's decision based on the market affordability and the nature of the product. Anticipating good advertising revenue, Dainik Bhaskar was not looking for profitability from the price of a copy. While its competitors Dainik Jagran charges Rs. 2 per copy; Punjab Kesari charges Rs. 2 per copy on four days (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday) and Rs. 3 per copy on remaining three days; Dainik Bhaskar entered the market with an innovative scheme of advance booking. As per the scheme a customer needed to pay Rs. 200 in advance for a yearly subscription and on that too a gift worth Rs. 100 was assured. That means the customer was paying only Rs. 100 for the yearly subscription, around 28 paise per copy. This strategy made the difference and the company was able to book 1,86000 copies prior to the launch.

However, though pricing plays a huge role in the newspaper industry, Dainik Bhaskar realized that pricing is not a standalone element. Quality is as important in determining success. Customers will never accept average quality; they want value and a regular value addition in their product.

THE VICTORYDespite strong competition from Punjab Kesari and Dainik Jagran in Punjab, Dainik Bhaskar identified the gap in the market and went ahead with the Punjab launch. Today after around three months of launch, the company claims to sell around 2,10,000 copies per day which is far more than the earlier market kings (See Exhibit IV). It can be observed from the circulation figures that in all the segments Dainik Bhaskar is undoubtedly selling more copies per day. Moreover, the sales of Dainik Bhaskar in Punjab is more than the sales of both Punjab Kesari and Dainik Jagran combined.

Figure I: Comparative daily circulation

The three clear elements in this process of achieving leadership from day of the launch are:1. Massive consumer hype generated by the Punjab Ko Chahiye Jawab campaign;2. Use of consumer research to identify a significant market opportunity; and3. Research combined with product development.

The campaign “Punjab Ko Chahiye Jawab” resulted in the launch being successful and realized the vision of the management ‘to establish a leadership position from day one’. But the modest Dharmendra Atri, Project In-charge, Punjab, says, “It has been demonstrated in Rajasthan and Gujarat how this expansion happens across segments. It is very logical to state that an increased readership base will only convert to a more aware population and hopefully better citizens and society.”

Exhibit I: Map of Punjab

Exhibit II: Area of Dainik Bhaskars’ Punjab launch

Exhibit III: The Campaign

Phase I

Phase II Phase III

Phase IV Phase V

Phase VI Phase VII

Exhibit IV: Comparative daily circulation in January 2006

Edition Sub EditionDainik

BhaskarPunjab Kesari

Dainik Jagran

Total

Jalandhar Jalandhar 71040 29500 40365 140905

Jalandhar Hoshiarpur 23358 8850 7820 40028

Jalandhar Kapurthala 15947 4930 6020 26897

Jalandhar Ropar 11430 4490 7075 22995

Total Jalandhar Edition 121775 47770 61280 230825

Amritsar Amritsar 53969 16970 21090 92029

Amritsar Gurdaspur 10963 7160 7670 25793

Amritsar Pathankot 14718 6550 8400 29668

Total Amritsar Edition 79650 30680 37160 147490

Total Punjab Edition 2,01,452 78450 98440 378315

Source: Dainik Bhaskar, Jalandhar Office