Principles of marketing and market research applications

This document is downloaded from DR‑NTU (https://dr.ntu.edu.sg)Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

Principles of marketing and market researchapplications to newspaper management

Ghosh, Sanjoy.

1993

Ghosh, S. (1993). Principles of marketing and market research applications to newspapermanagement. In AMIC Workshop on Newspaper Circulation and Advertising Development:Dhaka, Sep 19‑22, 1993. Singapore: Asian Media Information and Communication Centre.

https://hdl.handle.net/10356/100322

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Principles of Marketing/Market Research Applications To Newspaper Management

I By

Sanjoy Ghosh

Paper No.4

ATTENTION: The Singapore Copyright Act applies to the use of this document. Nanyang Technological University Library

WORKSHOP ON NEWSPAPER CIRCULATION AND ADVERTISING DEVELOPMENT

Principles of Marketing/Market Research Applications to Newspaper Management

Sanjoy Ghosh

Organised by

Asian Mass Communication Research & Information Centre,Singapore

DHAKA • Bangladesh • September 1 9 - 2 3 , 1993


PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING/MARKET RESEARCH APPLICATIONS TO NEWSPAPER MANAGEMENT

MARKETING - AN OVERVIEW

We seem to approach every landmark y e a r , be i t the s tar t of a

decade or a century with b r e a t h l e s s an t ic ipa t ion , expecting an

apoca lypse of the s ta ture of the Second coming of Chr i s t . As we

all know, t h e r e was no such ca tac lysmic-event on January 1,1970,

1980 o r 1990. Nor is the re l i ke ly to be one on January 1,7.000.

21ST CENTURY BEGAN 15 YEARS AGO

Societal changes does not t ake place as p e r calender d a t e s . As

Pe te r Drucker r igh t ly suggested, the 21st century began 15 years

ago . The future i s a l ready h e r e . What wil l happen in the 2000,

t h e r e f o r e , will not be a s h a r p depa r tu r e from the prognostications

made for the 90s . In fac t , my conviction is that to the informed

profess iona l , eighty per cent of what i s to happen during th i s

decade is writ ing on the w a l l . The remaining twenty per cent is

the t e r r i t o r y of Nostradamus.

BULLOCK CARTS TO ROCKETS

In the Indian context , the scenario is even more def in i t ive . A

rep lay of the Western p rocess of change - only each phenomenon

with p e r h a p s a shor ter time span . The leapfrogging from Bullock

c a r t s , to J e t s . The boom in information technology is both a

symptom and a major contr ibutor to t h i s pehnomenon of

internat ional isat ion of the p r i c i p l e s of b u s i n e s s .

DEPENDENT ON THE SOCIETY

This i s the backdrop against which marketing in the 90s is to be

v iewed . As William Nickels had s a i d , "Marketing as a process

changes depending upon the society in which i t o p e r a t e s . The

p o l i t i c a l , economic, soc ia l , technological and physical

c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of a society determine what form marketing wil l take" .


OTHER INDUSTRIES CONTRIBUTE

The newspape r i ndus t ry in Ind ia , which was p a r t i c u l a r l y slow

paced i s becoming increas ingly compet i t ive . Besides global

bus iness t r e n d s and d i r e c t i o n s of media in the West, we have a

lo t to learn from o the r i n d u s t r i e s , even in our own environment .

Why d i d iced tea get a cold recept ion and why d id t he market

come a l i v e to instant coffee ? Washing machines and Dishwashers

a r e both impor ted c o n c e p t s . While washing machines were an

immediate unqualif ied success in India , t h e r e a re factors l i ke

consumer economics and low placement in h i e r a r c h y of needs tha t

s t i l l i n h i b i t t h e launch of d i s w a s h e r s in Ind ia .

INDIAN ADVERTISING SCENE

Defying world wide t r e n d s where mass .media adve r t i s ing is the

f i r s t expend i tu r e head to suffer in an economic slow down, the

Indian a d v e r t i s i n g indus t ry has caught e x p e r t s by s u r p r i s e by

record ing 25% g r o w t h . The adve r t i s ing revenue in the p r in t medium

had been to t h e tune of Rs.12,500 millions in 1992 as compared to

Rs.10,910 mil l ions in 1990 t h e r e b y recording a growth of 13%. The

s h a r e of Daily p r e s s h a s grown from Rs.8250 mil l ions in 1991 to

Rs.9370 mi l l ions in 1992 wi th a growth of 12%.

RURAL MARKET

The Indian ru ra l market i s emerging as the most potent ia l a r e a .

More and more marke te r s a r e target t ing to t h i s untapped* r e s o u r c e .

F u r t h e r t h e r e a re people of t he middle c lass who a r e slogging i t

out to a t ta in a b e t t e r l i fe s t y l e and the now economic po l i c ies has

opened new windows. With t he se emerging t r e n d s , the regional

p r e s s may gain a new s t a t u s .

If consumer or ienta t ion i s t h e k e y , a l l m a r k e t e e r s , be they in

consumer softs o r in n e w s p a p e r s , must t ake g rea te r cognisance of

t r e n d s , p r eva l en t and imminent , to achieve marketing success in t he

90s .

2


WHAT THEN ARE THESE TRENDS

In t h e i r book "Megatrends" John Naisbit t and Pa t r i c i a Aburdene

ident i f ied 10 t r e n d s shaping the e ight ies which a re s t i l l pa r t of

the p i c t u r e as we are in 90s . Two t rends a re pa r t i cu l a r ly

re levant to t h i s presentat ion :

The evolut ion of an indus t r i a l society into an information society

in, e i g h t i e s , i . e . a shif t of advantage based on indus t ry and

in f ras t ruc tu re to information (as a source of p o w e r ) . In the

ninet ies i t w i l l be fur ther accentuated by knowledge and not mere

information t h a t wi l l const i tute the cutting edge .

The t r ans i t i on from the concept of national economies to a world

economy. The col lapse of communism, the reunification of Germany

and the imminent formation of European Common Market have

brought toge the r t he antagonists of world w a r s . Coups and counjter

coups , i n su rgenc ie s , and wars a re no longer local or b i l a t e ra l

i s s u e s . They affect world economics as a whole as ref lected in

stock exchanges accross the g lobe .

WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN WHEN TRANSLATED INTO MARKETING TERMS

Intensification of competition

Widening consumer choice

Greater emphas i s on q u a l i t y / p r i c e equations

Innovations and experiements

Greater segmentation by p roduc t , p r i c e , qual i ty and market

Consumer f r iendly finance schemes

Brand equ i ty of exis t ing b rands and fewer new brands

Finer tuned posit ioning

Higher than e v e r entry b a r r i e r s

Discount wars

More compara t ive adver t i s ing

Success depending less on company reputation and muscle

Over communicated society resul t ing in increased c lu t te r

Rising media cos t s

3


BATTLE ROYALE

It i s in t h i s m a r k e t i n g s i t u a t i o n t h a t t h e m e d i a h a s to p l a y a r o l e

- TV, P r e s s , Outdoor e t c . As t h e w e s t e r n e x p e r i e n c e sugges t s in

c o n s u m e r a d v e r t i s i n g t h e b a t t l e r o y a l e w i l l b e be tween P r e s s

( i n c l u d i n g magaz ines ) and TV ( inc lud ing c a b l e , v i d e o , o u t s i d e

c h a n n e l s ) . I w i l l l a r g e l y r e s t r i c t myse l f t o n e w s p a p e r s . Although

i t m i g h t not be p o s s i b l e t o d i v o r c e onese l f from magazines

a l t o g e t h e r .

WHAT DO THE NEWSPAPER HAVE TO OFFER AS A MEDIUM

In one w o r d , p l e n t y . O n l y , t h e n e w s p a p e r s must l e a r n how to

r e l a t e t o a u d i e n c e s in t h e v i s u a l l y o r i e n t e d m a r k e t p l a c e of a new

g e n e r a t i o n . E d i t o r s and manage r s of n e w s p a p e s h a v e to change

b e c a u s e r e a d e r s and a d v e r t i s e r s a r e c h a n g i n g .

The n i n e t i e s a r e t h e ' d e c a d e of t h e c o u s t o m e r ' and success fu l

n e w s p a p e r s w i l l h a v e to a d o p t to t h e d e m a n d s of a ' t i m e p r e s s e d

r e a d e r s h i p ' on one hand and a ' S e r v i c e - s e n s i t i v e ' a d v e r t i s e r on

t h e o t h e r . If t h i s a p p a r e n t l y s i m p l e formula i s a p p l i e d to t h e

p r o f e s s i o n , n e w s p a p e r s h a v e noth ing to w o r r y abou t from TV or

any o t h e r m e d i a . P o t e n t i a l l y , i t h a s e v e r y t h i n g t h a t a d v e r t i s e r s

w a n t . Only s p a c e m a r k e t e r s h a v e t o be more t h a n v e n d o r s of b l a n k

s p a c e . T h e y h a v e t o be m a r k e t i n g p a r t n e r s of a d v e r t i s e r s .

In a r e c e n t conference in Ca l i fo rn ia Mr . Ray G a u l k e , Vice

P r e s i d e n t of t h e US N e w s p a p e r A d v e r t i s i n g B u r e a u , r e c a l l e d t h e so

c a l l e d p l a n s of T u r n e r Communicat ions to l aunch b r o a d c a s t , to r e a c h

p e o p l e ' w h e r e t h e y go ' : TV p r o g r a m m e s a imed a t p a s s e n g e r s

w a i t i n g in a i r p o r t s and s h o p p e r s in d e p a r t m e n t s t o r e s . Dont

n e w s p a p e r s d o t h a t ? Geaulke a s k e d . And w i t h no z a p p e r s , to t h e

b e s t of my k n o w l e d g e , h e a d d e d . Geau lke e x p l a i n e d t h a t

n e w s p a p e r s a r e a l r e a d y t h e r e w h e r e t h e TV moghuls want to g o .

To t h w a r t t h i s t r e n d , G e a u l k e , sugges t ed t h a t p u b l i s h e r s

h e n c e f o r t h r e f e r to t h e n e w s p a p e r a s a new medium :

4


Por tab le out of home, zapf ree at home,

wi th the ab i l i ty to sooth t h e h a r r i e d t r a v e l l e r ,

reduce s t r e s s , enter ta in , inform , a c t i v a t e ,

reach large numbers of people effeciently

and provide t i d b i t s .

As a purveyor of the p r e s s and since t h i s workshop is

p a r t i c u l a r l y focussed on the Marketing p r inc ip le s and t h e i r

appl ica t ion to the newspaper , le t us define newspaper in modern

marketing term ;

It i s a busket of s e r v i c e s ins tead of

a product containing news & views

If we would l ike to have a more fine tuned te rm:

A newspaper may be desc r ibed as a very soft , highly branded

product manufactured for a p ro f i t - It acts as a mirror to the

community and p lays c r i t i c of these images, through edit and ads

(ads may also be descr ibed as paid ed i t s )

Now le t us see how these above two terms match with the

p r inc ip le of marketing :

"Marketing encompasses an en t i r e range of ac t iv i t i e s designed to

p l an , p r i c e , promote and d i s t r i b u t e wont sat isfying products and

se rv i ce s to present and potent ia l customers"

Please allow me to cite a few examples from the Indian context to

e lucidate t h i s p r i nc ip l e .

Case : CEASE FIRE - it i s a handy , smal l , po r t ab l e , good

looking fire ex t ingu i she r . Now we had a mind set about

f i re ext inguishers a re by and large h e a v y , cumbersome to

o p e r a t e , ugly looking and can not be operated by any

o rd inary "person. So the la tent need for t h i s product was

a lways the re but no body thought about ut i l is ing t h i s

slot before th i s engineer turned ent repreneur quit the

business of producing Arr i s tocra t luggage and marketed

t h i s unique produc t .

5


Case : Hind i f i lms a r e be ing made in Bombay for a long t ime

and t h e y n e v e r h a d to b o t h e r abou t s e l l i n g . But

p r o l i f e r a t i o n in n u m b e r s and s t i f f c o m p i t i t i o n from o t h e r

e l e c t r o n i c m e d i a , h a v e f o r c e d Hindi f i l m s to be m a r k e t e d

a c c o r d i n g to t h e d e s i r e and t r e n d s of t h e v i e w e r s .

Case : Emergence of p u b l i c a t i o n s l i k e Economic T i m e s , G l a d r a g s ,

P a r e n t i n g , F a n t a s y - a r e a l l wont s a t i s f y i n g p r o d u c t s for

t h e p r e s e n t Indian r e a d e r s w h i c h can not b e d r e a m t b e f o r e .

So from t h e s e c a s e s we ge t a r e f l e c t i o n and to de f ine t h i s

r e f l e c t i o n , we b o r r o w from t h e m a r k e t i n g g u r u , P h i l i p K o t l e r :

"What we can make we s e l l

What we can s e l l we m a k e "

MARKETING MIX

M a r k e t i n g mix i s u n d e r s t a n d i n g t h e v a r i a b l e s of t h e p l a c e w h e r e t h e

game w i l l be p l a y e d . T h e r e a r e two a s p e c t s of m a r k e t i n g mix one

i s u n c o n t r o l l a b l e v a r i a b l e s and t h e o t h e r i s c o n t r o l l a b l e .

ENVIRONMENT

( U n c o n t r o l l a b l e v a r i a b l e s )

S o c i e t y , Cus tom, P e o p l e , Language , E t h n i c B r e a k u p j C l i m a t e ,

C o m p e t i t i o n , G o v t . S t a tu t e s e t c .

COMPANY

(Mix of c o n t r o l l a b l e v a r i a b l e s )

P r o d u c t , P r i c i n g , B r a n d i n g , C h a n n e l s of d i s t r i b u t i o n , p e r s o n a l

s e l l i n g , A d v e r t i s e m e n t , P r o m o t i o n , P a c k a g i n g , D i s p l a y , S e r v i c i n g ,

P h y s i c a l h a n d l i n g , Fact F ind ing a n a l y s i s e t c .

So t h e end p r o d u c t must ac t w i t h i n t h e Env i ronment r e f l e c t i n g t h e

v a r i o u s U n c o n t r o l l a b l e v a r i a b l e s w i t h t h e a i d of mix of c o n t r o l l a b l e

v a r i a b l e s .

6


A mainline da i ly becomes number one only when i t s t a r t s

r e p r e s e n t i n g the voice of t he people /vo ice of t he s t a te Like:

The Statesman from Eastern India

The Hindu from Southern India

The Times of India from Western India

Dainik Jagran from Central India

The command which any d a i l y has over i t s r e fe ra l environment can

be la rge ly gauged through quantum of c lass i f ied adver t i sement

which i t a t t r a c t s .

CLASSIC 4 P s

PRODUCT

PROMOTION

PRICING

PLACE

Now l e t us e x a m i n e t h e c l a s s i c 4 Ps of m a r k e t i n g Mix w h i c h a r e

r e l e v a n t t o n e w s p a p e r i n d u s t r y .

PRODUCT

"A b u n d l e of p h y s i c a l , s e r v i c e and s y m b o l i c p a r t i c u l a r s e x p e c t e d

t o y i e l d s a t i s f a c t i o n s o r b e n e f i t s t o t h e b u y e r " .

P r o d u c t p o l i c y in i t s b r o a d e s t s e n s e would c o m p r e h e n d a l l

d e c i s i o n mak ing t h a t a f f e c t s w h a t c u s t o m e r s s e e a s t h e f i r m s

o f f e r .

PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE

Jus t l i k e human l ife a l l p roducts have a life cycle which can be

d i s t i ngu i shed in five s t a g e s .

7


PRODUCT L IFE CYCLE

o o

The p roduc t l i f e cycle concept i s advanced as a useful idea l i sa t ion

r a t h e r than a r i g id desc r ip t i on of a l l p roduc t l i fe h i s t o r i e s . It

should be unders tood tha t t h e r e i s nothing f ixed about t h e length

of t h e cyc le o r of i t s var ious s t a g e s . The length of the product

l i fe c y c l e i s governed by the r a t e of t echn ica l change , the r a t e

of marke t accep tance and t h e case of compet i t ive e n t r y .

Ex : Ananda Bazar Pa t r i ka Vis a Vis

Aajkaal - two Bengali d a i l e s

from Calcutta

P r o d u c t s h a v e been known to begin a new cyc le o r to r e v e r t to an

e a r l i e r s t a g e a s a r e su l t of t he d i s cove ry of new uses t h e

a p p e a r a n c e of new use r s or t h e invention of new f e a t u r e s .

E x : The Times of India - 155 yea r s

P roduc t s r e q u i r e a different marketing programme in each s t a g e .

Management must be p r e p a r e d to shif t the r e l a t i v e leve ls ' and

e m p h a s i s g iven to p r i c e , a d v e r t i s i n g , p roduc t improvement and

o t h e r marke t ing elements during di f ferent s t ages in t h e produc t

l i fe c y c l e -

COMPANY OBJECTIVES

Managements o b j e c t i v e s a lso have a strong influence on produc t and

marke t ing s t r a t e g y . Some might opt for P r o f i t s , ano the r may

choose S t a b i l i t y and t h i r d may adopt Growth.

8


Four bas i c product - market s t r a t eg ies :

1. Market Penetration - t h e company seeks increased sales for

i t s p resen t products in i t s present markets through more

aggress ive promotion and d i s t r i b u t i o n .

2 . Market Development - t he company seeks increased sales by

taking i t s present p roduc ts into new m a r k e t s .

3 . Product Development - t he company seeks increased sa les by

developing improved products for i t s present m a r k e t s .

4 . Diversif icat ion - t he company seeks increased sa les by

developing new p roduc t s for new m a r k e t s .

Ex : The Times of India Group

OBJECTIVES OF TOI GROUP

Maximise revenue for Group publ icat ions the reby leaving

minimal quant i ty for competition

Support the brands which are not market l eade r s

P rov ides inbui l t s t r a t e g i e s to sur round/a t tack competi tors

F lo t i l la concept i . e . a r r a y of products guarding main

b a t t l e s h i p i . e . TOI - Bombay

— Helps in new launches

Rs.30 million spent by t he group on the 150 yea r s celebrat ion

p rov ided Air cover to :

Enhance perce ived value of b rands by es tab l i sh ing aura of

i nv inc ib i l i t y around them.

Establ ish BCCL as pr ime marketing organisation

Demoralise/confuse compet i tors

9


— Divert attention from awkward i ssues l ike h ike in ad tariff

— Image building espec ia l ly for recruitment

— Diversification - Times Guaranty Fund.

PRODUCT STRATEGY IS THE FUSION OF THE FOLLOWING KEY SUBSTRATEGIES

Tech - Led

Which a r i s e s due to s p a r e production capaci ty

Equity - Led

Which resu l t in future gains Ex: The Telegraph catch them

young

Synergy - Led

Which use talents ava i l ab le within the organisat ion.

Ex : Femina Gujarati

Ad revenue led

Which ex i s t because of the ad revenue they bring

Ex : Economic Times

Circulat ion - Led

Which e x i s t for strong business r ea sons . To pre -empt

competi tors from grabbing a niche (Entry b a r r i e r ) v

Ex : The Independent

P res t ige - Led ;

Which add snob va lue / sex appeal to the organisat ion.

Ex : Femina/Film Fare

PRODUCT MODIFICATION

P r o d u c t s , not a l l of them, r e q u i r e pe r iod ic modification if they are

10


to remain compe t i t ive . Other p roduc t s pass on to the stage where

fu r the r product modification could not h e l p , they are candidates

for e l iminat ion .

Improvement may be t h r e e Direct ional - Qual i ty , Fea ture , S ty l e .

Since product modifications involve r i s k s , the company should

cons ider maneuvers tha t h e l p reduce r i s k . One r i s k reducing

pol icy i s to modify the product g radua l ly r a t h e r than a b r u p t l y .

Another r i s k reduction pol icy i s to continue the old product

alongside the new. A t h i r d r i s k reduct ion policy is to make

adequate investments in marketing r e s e a r c h in o rde r to improve

es t imates of the sa l e s impact of t he contemplated product

modif icat ion.

Ex : The Statesman - English Daily

There a re too may compet i tors with r e s e a r c h , marketing technique ,

vas t budgets standing r eady to a l lu re cus tomers . Customers

themselves are not a lways loyal or invulnerable to compi t i tors '

ent icements .

The process s t a r t s from idea ga the r ing , screening, business

ana lys i s , product deve lopment , t es t marketing and

commercial isat ion.

Ex : The Telegraph - English d a i l y from Calcut ta , eliminated

Amrita Bazar Pa t r ika and made heavy in roads , into The

Statesman e m p i r e .

They scored on the product development aspec ts l ike Print

p roduc t ion , Product packaging, Test Marketing, Consumer

preference test ing e t c . They also successfully employed the

Consumer Adoption process by Awareness - Interest

Evaluation - Tr ia l - Adoption, one of the c lass ic models of

product being posit ioned .

PROMOTION

The purpose of adver t i s ing is to improve the b u y e r s ' d isposi t ion

toward the company 's p r o d u c t s .

11


Promotion along with product deve lopment , p r ic ing and

d i s t r i b u t i o n , i s a major marketing t a s k . Promotion is the

c o m p a n y ' s a t tempt to st imulate sa les ' through d i r ec t i ng pe r suas ive

communications to the b u y e r s . The ins t ruments of promotion

a d v e r t i s i n g , personal sel l ing sales promotion and p u b l i c i t y - have

s e p a r a t e and over lapping capab i l i t i e s and r e q u i r e a careful

def inat ion of communication goods for t h e i r e f fec t ive coord ina t ion .

The promotion portfol io and budget a re de te rmined in a number of

w a y s - according to what can be afforded or as a regular

pe rcen tage of the company' s sa les or to match compet i tors

e x p e n d i t u r e s or by accomplishing speci f ic communication g o a l s . The

r e t u r n on ad rupee spend wil l depend upon t h e co r rec t message

and p r e sen t a t i on . The media vehic le must a l so be chosen ve ry

c a r e f u l l y , though t h i s problem is being inc reas ing ly s tud ie by

media b u y e r s through model building techniques using OTS, Reach,

Mille Rate e t c . The promotion must also have a chosen cycle or

p e r i o d with a careful considerat ion for d e l a y s in impact and

p e n e t r a t i o n . But continous research must be made on efforts of

promotional programmes during t h e i r deve lopment , whi le t hey are

running, af ter t h e i r end .

PRICING

Pricing Strategy

A way to think about making a p r ic ing decis ion is t ha t

p r i c e should be set some where between 1) What the

p r o d u c t costs to make and se l l and 2) i t s value to the

cus tomer . If pr ice exceeds the p e r c e i v e d value of the

p r o d u c t to potential p u r c h a s e r s , i t has no m a r k e t . If the

p r i c e i s below what the product cos t s to p r o d u c e , the

b u s i n e s s can not su rv ive for very long.

Where , between cost and customer value a p r i c e should be

se t i s a s t ra teg ic dec is ion . The factors which influence t h i s

dec i s ion a r e 3) Competitors p r o d u c t / p r i c e s t r a t egy 4) Govt,

imposed const ra ints and 5) the s e l l e r s and t h e b u y e r ' s sense

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of w h a t ' s f a i r . F ina l ly , the most important determinant of

p r i c e i s 6) the m a r k e t e r ' s ob jec t ives - what he i s t ry ing to

a c h i e v e .

Pricing - An Important Variable In Newspaper Marketing

A p u b l i s h e r l ike any o ther en t repreneur i s concerned with

ensuring the financial v i a b i l i t y of h i s company. A prof i tab le

A company i s proof of t h e fact t h a t i t p roduces qua l i ty goods

and s e r v i c e s .

Revenue and prof i t a re thus the d r iv ing force behind the

pub l i sh ing bus iness l i k e any. o the r b u s i n e s s .

P u b l i s h e r s generate t h i s revenue from two sources :

Readers (Circulat ion) and a d v e r t i s e r s . In t h e case of most

mainline d a i l i e s , c i rculat ion revenue does not even cover

Direc t Variable Cost (DVC) l ike newspr in t , p r in t ing ink e t c .

The case of The Times of India , Bombay, the most powerful

ed i t ion of any newspaper of India , i l l u s t r a t e s t h i s fact

conclus ive ly :

Cover p r i c e : Rs.2.00 Mon - F r i ,

Rs.2.90 Sat - Sun

Dai ly Avg Circulation : 3.20 lacs

Avg. Dealer discount : 26.5%

Daily Circulation Revenue : Rs.5.20 lacs

DVC p e r page : 12 pa ise

AVG da i ly pagination : 26

Avg. d a i l y PO : 3.24 lacs

Tota l DVC perday : Rs.10.11 lacs

C lea r ly t h e cover p r i ce needs to be more than doubled in

o r d e r to meet just the DVC and i t would s t i l l not cover

staff c o s t s , news gathering expenses , t r a n s p o r t , insurance ,

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p o w e r , rent e t c . Of course , i t goes without saying tha t any

major increase in cover p r i ce may (and in most c a s e s , i t

indeed does) adve r se ly affect net s a l e s .

In such a s i tua t ion , i t i s ad revenue tha t determines the

p r o f i t a b i l i t y and v i a b i l i t y of a d a i l y . With newsprint costs

taking quantum l e a p s , i t i s only natural t ha t t he increase in

ad r a t e s i s at l eas t commensurate.

PLACE - DISTRIBUTION

Throughout the y e a r s , the term 'market ing ' has connoted two

d i f fe ren t but r e l a t ed p r o c e s s e s , t h e f i r s t dealing with the search

for and stimulation of buyers and the second with t he phys ica l

d i s t r i b u t i o n of goods . Management i s increasingly recognising tha t

d i s t r i b u t i o n po l i c i e s are a potent instrument in the. demand -

s t imulat ing p r o c e s s . Companies are able to effect s t ronger patronage

by offering more than competi tors in the way of s e rv ice or by

cutt ing p r i c e s through successfully reducing p h y s i c a l d i s t r ibu t ion

c o s t s . Many companies s ta te t h e i r d i s t r ibu t ion ob jec t ive as getting

t he r i g h t goods to the r i g h t p laces at the r i gh t time for the

l e a s t c o s t .

POSITIONING

"Batt le For The Minds"

— Al Ries & Jack Trout

v P lease al low me to r ek ind le your memory about tKat excel lent

sc ience f ict ion film 'Fantas t ic Voyage' , where people were pushed

in molecular form inside the body of a sc i en t i s t and t h e i r

fan tas t ic journey throughout the human b o d y .

Posi t ioning i s entering the mind of your p rospec t and staying

t h e r e as long as p o s s i b l e . Positioning of Brand through a set of

both d i s c r imina to ry appeals and non-functional v a l u e s .

Mindshare - Branding - Premium Pricing - Volume -

Revenue - Super Prof i ts - Leader

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Different Ways of Posi t ioning

Product d i f fe ren t ia t ion

There are number of lOOcc mobikes ava i l ab le in India

but Hero Honda - CD 100 scored ove r o the r s s tat ing 4

s t roke engine i s more fuel efficient than 2 s t roke of

Yamaha RX, Kawasaki KB 100.

Vis a Vis competi t ion

To combat Hero Honda, Kawasaki introduced 4 Ace which

wi l l offer fuel economy and power which Hero Honda was

not offer ing.

Positioning in a n iche

In India t h i s t r end i s catching on and publication l i ke

'Pa ren t ing ' was launched which wi l l content i tself with

a ler t ing r e a d e r s to pa ren t a l i s s u e s .

Repositioning

Ex : DESH - famous Bengali weekly to fortnightly and

i t s r i s e from 68,000 copies to 1,28,000 copies

af ter r epos i t ion ing

ROLE OF RESEARCH

Research i s one of the impor tant cont ro l lab le va r i ab l e s in

Marketing Mix, as we have obse rved e a r l i e r , for any product /

s e r v i c e s . It a lso p l a y s a v i t a l r o l e in newspapers a l s o .

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

To my mind, l e t t e r s to t h e e d i t o r i s the f i r s t ent ry point of

r e s e a r c h in newspapers and t h i s s t a r t e d as far back as the

newspaper was b o r n . Through t h i s window, the ed i to r could

monitor and a s se s s h i s r e a d e r s pe rcep t ion about h i s own product -

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the n e w s p a p e r . Research in form of Opinion Pol ls on publ ic i ssues

a lso e x i s t e d . Gradual ly t he need for formalised r e sea r ch emerged

from 1980 in India to a s s e s s qua l i t a t ive e d i t o r i a l a s p e c t s . Ex :

Ennadu - a Telegu language da i ly from Andhra Pradesh of India ,

wi th e d i t guided r e s e a r c h brought out ed i t ions for each d i s t r i c t to

combat t h e t h r e a t from TV as Andhra Pradesh was t he f i r s t s t a te

to be covered by TV 100% during 1990-91.

Ex: Business Today - Research among CEO and Self en t repreneurs

r e v e a l e d t ha t t h e r e i s a la ten t d e s i r e for an Indian a l t e rna t ive to

' Fo r tune ' with f ea tu r i sh a r t i c l e s .

Ex : Indian Pos t /The Independent - Research among the upperc lass

r e a d e r s revea led tha t a second r>aper with more internat ional

coverage , do have a s lot wi th the main l ine d a i l y .

Side by s ide quan t i t a t ive data was collated- and presented in

var ious forms l i k e Audit Bureau Circulat ion, National Readersh ip

Survey e t c .

RELEVANCE QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH

Product formulation

R e a d e r s h i p Ident i f icat ion

Upgradation of da t a

SYNDICATED RESEARCH V

NRS(I-IV), B R S , U M S , D M S

C SNAP, P SNAP

Since market ing i s now v i r t u a l l y a warfare a d v e r t i s e r s a re seeking

more value re tu rn media . In t h e p rocess more and more information

is r e q u i r e d regarding the ta rge t audience . Thus syndicated

r e sea rch emerged to probe speci f ic de ta i l s for speci f ic n e e d s .

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MARKETING OF NEWS PAPER

Resea rch p l a y s a v i t a l r o l e in marke t ing b o t h in space and

c i r c u l a t i o n

Space Marketing

As we have a l r e a d y o b s e r v e d dur ing p r i c i n g e x e r c i s e t h a t

c i r cu la t ion sa les can not even, cove r DVC le t alone o t h e r A c o s t s . It i s the space marke t ing revenue wh ich cons t i tu tes

t h e backbone of any n e w s p a p e r .

Key a c t i v i t y a reas

D i r e c t / I n d i r e c t s a l e s

Servic ing Agencies /Cl ients

Follow up

Maintenance of good r e l a t i o n s

Innovat ive ideas for p r o d u c t / c a t e g o r y

Recovery of dues

Achieving t a rge t s

Methodology of space market ing

F i sh ing or Mining

Methodology wil l v a r y according to t h e need for t he

p a r t i c u l a r pro jec t and t a r g e t a d v e r t i s e r s .

Ex : The Times of India 150 y e a r s

Sa rad iya numbers dur ing Puja and Diwali

C i r cu la t ion Marketing

The number of newspaper cop ies so ld and p a i d for - i s t h e

foundat ion of a n e w s p a p e r ' s s u c c e s s . Sale of cop ies

d e p e n d e n t on various methods v a r y i n g from p l a c e to p l a c e .

We s h a l l p robe more in d e t a i l s in a s e p a r a t e sess ion about

t h e fascinat ing aspect of c i r c u l a t i o n .

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DEVELOPING A NEW MARKETING EDGE

For long p roduc t development in India h a s taken t h e backsea t

w h i l e t h e market ing men h a v e focussed on c rea t ing new marke ts

for o ld b r a n d s or at t h e mos t , depending upon foreign technology

to make a b reak th rough in t h e m a r k e t p l a c e . But no longer can t h e y

afford to ignore t he backroom boy in R&D. As competi t ion gets

i n t e n s e , b r a n d s p ro l i f e r a t e and brand l i fe spans get s h o r t e r , t he

need fo r in house r e s e a r c h and development i s being felt by

m a r k e t e r s .

But t h e r e i s one bas ic d i f f e r e n c e . R&D can no longer work in

i s o l a t i o n - for as consumer awareness g r o w s , so does t h e need for

p r a c t i c a l b r a n d s t ha t work in t h e m a r k e t p l a c e . Gone a r e t he d a y s

when marke t ing interfaced wi th consumers and R&D wi th technology

and t h e twin never met .

Consumer feedback a v a i l a b l e through market s u r v e y s a re qu ick ly

channe l l ed to R&D which then works over t ime to deve lop models

t h a t can h e l p t h e market ing team to offer consumers with an a r r a y

of p r o d u c t s t h a t a re r e l evan t to t h e i r n e e d s .

E x : Mixer segment was one where foreign t ech jus t would not

w o r k . For an Indian housewi fe ' s heavy du ty gr inding

r e q u i r e m e n t s need a di f ferent kind of p r o d u c t . So, Sumeet was t h e

f i r s t t o launch a s t a in l e s s s t ee l mixer j a r wi th b l a d e s t ha t could

h a n d l e h e a v y gr inding loads and tough motors t h a t a r e capable of

running non s t o p for 30 minu tes .

Bangalore based BPL has made huge s t r i d e s in indigenous R&D - so

much so t h a t i t has begun se l l ing i t s technology back to Sanyo,

i t s fore ign c o l l a b o r a t o r s .

Now F inanc ia l Times is poised to en te r India any d a y and o t h e r

p u b l i s h i n g g ian t s a r e a l so keenly awaiting t h e i r t u r n . Publ i sh ing

moghuls l i k e Rupert Murdoch has a l r eady made h i s p resence

fe l t in t h i s subcontinent by acquir ing STAR TV.

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In t h e final a n a l y s i s , i t ' s R&D which might wel l be t he ult imate

market ing edge for a m a r k e t e r ' s b r a n d s . So far Indian Companies

may d e v e l o p technology inhouse but i t i s not taken to i t s logical

conclusion - the m a r k e t p l a c e . But wi th l i b e r a l i s a t i o n , companies

w i l l h a v e to dec ide w-hether t hey want to p a r t n e r a world l eade r

or compete with them wi th indigeneously deve loped technology.

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Documents

Principles of marketing and market research applications