INDEX

1. Introduction
...02
 Objective of Study …03

 Scope of Study …05

 Executive summary …07

2. Company Profile
…11

3. Product Profile
…17

4. Research Methodology
…39
 Research Design

 Information & sources

5. Limitation of Study
…45

6. Finding & Observation

…46

7. Conclusion
…59

8. Bibliography …
63

1
 Annexure …
65

1. INTRODUCTION

2
 OBJECTIVE OF STUDY

 “COMPARITIVE STUDY OF HINDUSTAN TIMES AND TIMES OF

INDIA” is a project report that throws light on the competition that Times of

India today has to face, courtesy the new entrants in the market namely DNA

and Hindustan Times.

 Times of India no wonder is the Queen, enjoying a lion’s share in the market.

However things changed once the King of North India, Hindustan Times

entered the battlefield, Mumbai to claim the throne.

 .TOI, which had so long enjoyed the monopoly in Mumbai, which had been

formulating marketing strategies, resting back on their throne now has sat up

and are formulating defensive strategies to meet the competition.

 This project reveals that it is very hard to overthrow TOI from the minds of

Mumbai readers but definitely not impossible. The survey conducted throws

3
 light on the fact that HT is not even near TOI’s readership but its coverage and

quality of news, editorial skills and prices has been welcomed and appreciated

too.

 One would think why conduct a survey to find out the winner between HT and

TOI. True. The winner is Times of India, as expected. But the competition to

TOI given by HT, as per the survey, would be a surprise package for one and

all.

 The survey conducted reveals consumers are the real winners, as they have

choice today. Public opting for the new entrant newspapers itself is a

competition to TOI. As competition grows, so will the quality and eagerness

to please the readers. So readers rejoice, for the time has come when you can

choose YOUR paper!!!

4
 SCOPE OF STUDY

A newspaper is a publication containing news, information, and advertising.

General-interest newspapers often feature articles on political events, crime,

business, art/entertainment, society and sports. Most traditional papers also feature

an editorial page containing columns that express the personal opinions of writers.

Supplementary sections may contain advertising, comics, and coupons.Newspapers

are most often published on a daily or weekly basis, and they usually focus on one

particular geographic area where most of their readers live. Despite recent setbacks

in circulation and profits, newspapers are still the most iconic outlet for news and

other types of written journalism.

Newspapers are a major force in forming public opinion and affecting national and

international efforts towards economic progress and global understanding.

The circulation of newspapers in the world has increased strongly last year,

according to the World Association of Newspapers. At the same time newspaper

advertising revenues made significant gains.

5
The five largest markets for newspapers are:

 China, with 93.5 million copies sold daily

 India, with 78.8 million copies daily

 Japan, with 70.4 million copies daily

 United States, with 55.6 million copies daily

 Germany, with 22.1 million copies daily.

The newspaper industry in Asia remains unaffected by the problems of a stagnating

market and declining circulation that have been plaguing the newspaper industry in

the West. In fact, the industry is expected to grow in the next 5-10 years, according

to a report of Ifra, the world’s largest association for newspaper and media

publishing.

The report pointed out that newspaper circulation is growing in the developing

countries not only because the population is expanding quickly but also because

more people can read newspapers and can afford to buy them, especially in India and

China. Over the last five years circulation growth in Asia has been more than enough

to offset the slow decline in circulation which is taking place in the developed

countries.

6
 EXCEUTIVE SUMMARY
Newspaper companies in India came to be projected as public service institutions

after independence.

However, in the late 1980s, they became just another fast moving consumer

commodity. The companies started aggressive marketing and promotional strategies

to increase circulation and readership. The industry witnessed tough competition

both regionally and nationally. Newspaper industry has survived everything – wars,

economic collapse, social destruction etc. Many of the top publications today are the

ones that have lived the freedom struggle – The Times of India, The Hindu, Mumbai

Samachar, Malayalam Manorama, Ananda Bazaar Patrika, are all veterans of the

Indian freedom struggle.

In 1999, the top 10 newspapers accounted for about 90% of the readership and the

top two made 90% of the profits. There was fierce competition for the advertising

rupee. By late 1990s, electronic media like television had made a dent into the print

media revenues. Print media was facing a squeeze due to the increasing popularity of

television-initially color television and then satellite television. The ad market worth

7
about Rs.90 billion slowed down and newspapers saw a steady decline in advertising

share - from about 75% in 1995 to almost 50% in 2000.

All these threat posing factors still didn’t stop the industry from flourishing, with

whole lot of new entrants in the Mumbai market. Traditionally Mumbai witnessed a

monopoly of the Queen of Newspapers – The Times of India. But this was only and

only till 2005, when the new entrants came into the field. And one such grand entry

was made by The King of Northern India, Hindustan Times, fondly known as HT.

The King chose to enter Mumbai, which is already flooded with a variety of

newspapers because,

“Mumbai offers potential for growth. There is room for a strong number 2 or 3

and we are keen on capitalizing on these positions.”

Mumbai offers the country’s largest advertisement revenue of Rs 1000 crores which

only one player – TOI had and still has the lions share. Mumbai has a 16% share of

the country’s $1.1 billion annual market for print advertisement. TOI’s advertising

rates are the highest in the country. For long even the advertisers had no choice than

to pay exorbitant price to reach Mumbai’s up market consumers. But with new

entrants, who have a potential to become leaders, advertisers are smiling!

8
Today the whole of India, let alone Mumbai, is plagued with a variety of newspaper.

There are so many on the stands that it’s difficult to rate and find out who is the

leader.

Following are the top ten English daily newspapers in India, according to the Indian Readership Survey (IRS) 2009

Round 1 released recently by the Media Research Users Council (MRUC).

TOP 10 ENGLISH DAILIES

Rank Newspaper

9
1 The Times of India

2 Hindustan Times

3 The Hindu

4 The Telegraph

5 Deccan Chronicle

6 The Economic Times

7 Mid-Day

8 The New Indian Express

9 Mumbai Mirror

10 Daily News & Analysis

10
2. COMPANY PROFILE

Hindustan Times
Vice-Chairperson and Editorial Director: Shobhana Bhatia

11
 Advisory Editorial Director: Vir Sanghvi

Editor-in-Chief: Chaitanya Kalbag

CEO HT Media Ltd: Rajiv Verma

Group Editor: Mrinal Pande

Hindustan Times commonly called as "HT" was founded in 1924 by Master Sunder

Singh Lyallpuri, the founder-father of the Akali Movement and the Shiromani Akali

Dal in Punjab. Master Sunder Sigh Lyallpuri started the newspaper with

contributions from USA, Canada and locals from the Lyallpur District.

12
HT today has become a leading newspaper in India. Because of the authenticity of

its news, the newspaper has become a market leader for English papers in north

India. The newspaper has been working non- stop since the Indian independence

movement. Prominent faces like Devdas Gandhi and Khushwant Singh have at times

edited the paper.

Hindustan Times has proved its nation wide reach in India. Leadership through

quality and innovation is the hallmark of the Hindustan Times Limited. The paper

issues simultaneous editions from New Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow, Patna and

Kolkata. It is also printed from Bhopal, Chandigarh, Jaipur and Ranchi. HT has also

come up with India's first youth daily called as HT Next in 2004. The Mumbai HT

edition was launched on 14th July 2005. However, the print location of Jaipur HT

was discontinued from June 2006. Recently HT has launched a national business

newspaper called Mint, with an agreement with Wall Street Journal to publish

Journal branded news and information in India.

Over seven decades the organization has been a major force in the print media. The

Hindustan Times Ltd. plans to consolidate itself as a vibrant and modern media

13
powerhouse through strategic partnerships, ever-increasing scope of operations and a

consumer focused approach.

The Times of India

Director: A. P. Parigi

Director: Sumir Chadha

Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer: Dinesh Wadhawan

Chairman: Vineet Jain

14
 Chief Editor: Rajesh Karla

Owned and managed by Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd., the Times of India also
known as TOI is one of India's leading English daily newspapers. TOI group has 45
dailies and periodicals in 3 languages and 108 editions from 9 centers across the
country and a combined readership of over 40 million.

15
Started 170 years ago, the paper has earned credentials for its authentic and up to

date news publications. India's largest media group, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd,

along with this newspaper also publishes “Economic Times", "Mumbai Mirror", the

"Navbharat Times" and "Maharashtra Times". In January 2007, the Kannada edition

of the paper was launched in Karnataka's capital Bangalore. The Times of India has

its daily editions from New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Lucknow, Ahmadabad, Pune,

Nagpur, Chandigarh, Patna, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Mangalore.

Recently Times group has launched a controversial new business initiative, called

"Private Treaties." It offers to take an equity stake in a company in exchange for

advertising.

16
 3. PRODUCT PROFILE

THEORETICAL STUDY
Mahatma Gandhi performed the inaugural ceremony of the newspaper on September

15, 1924. First issue of the newspaper was published from Naya Bazaar, Delhi which

carried write-ups of C. F. Andrews, St. Nihal Singh, Maulana Mohammad Ali, Dr. C.

17
R. Reddy, T. L. Vaswani, Ruchi Ram Sahni, Bernard Haton, Harinder Nath

Chattopadhyaya, Dr Kichlu, Rubi Watson and many other prominent writers of that

time.

Master Sunder Singh Lyallpuri was the Managing Chairman and Chief Patron of the

newspaper himself. K. M. Panikkar was the first Editor of the newspaper, while

Devdas Gandhi (son of Mahatma Gandhi) was also on the panel of editors. Chanchal

Singh (Jandiala, Jullundur) and S Mangal Singh Gill (Tesildar) were appointed as in

charge of the newspaper. Pandit Madan Mohan Malayia and Master Tara Singh were

some of the prominent members of the Managing Committee.

Ownership of Hindustan Times

Owned by HT Media Ltd., Hindustan Times is part of the India's famous KK Birla

group and currently managed by Shobhana Bhatia, granddaughter of GD Birla. At

present the KK Birla group owns 69 per cent stake in HT Media Ltd, currently

valued at Rs 834 crore. Shobana Bhatia joined Hindustan Times in the year 1986. At

the time of joining HT, she was the first woman chief executive of a national

newspaper.

Hindustan Times Supplements

18
 HT Brunch: HT Brunch is a 28 page magazine containing stories and

snippets from lifestyle to travel. It comes every Sunday.

 HT Power jobs: This supplement is dedicated to careers with information on

everything from job listings to career counseling. It comes every Tuesday.

 HT Premiere: HT Premiere comes every Thursday containing items on

entertainment covering Hollywood and Bollywood.

 HT Horizon: A career related supplement, HT Horizon comes every

Wednesday.

 HT Estates: Contains real estate and property related features and circulated

on Saturdays.

 HT Sister Publications

 Mint- An English Business Daily

 Hindustan - a Hindi Daily published from Delhi, Lucknow and Patna.

 Nandan - Monthly Children's magazine

 Kadambani - Monthly literary magazine

19
HT Circulation

Based on the readership survey of 14.49 million readers, HT has a combined

circulation of 2.25 million copies everyday including Hindustan Times (English) and

Hindustan (Hindi). Due to huge circulation, HT enjoys strong brand recognition

among readers and advertisers as well.

Awards and Recognitions

Over the years Hindustan Times has won several national awards and earned

certificates of recognitions. Hindustan Times has a good track record at the IFRA

and has won several awards this year as well.

HT Group in Electronic Media

HT Media Ltd has ventured into electronic media through its subsidiary HT Music

and Entertainment Company Ltd. The company has entered into the FM radio

market in major Indian cities through a consulting partnership with Virgin Radio.

The radio channel, Fever 104 is currently available in the cities of Delhi and

Mumbai.

20
HT Events

HT Media group annually organizes a Luxury Conference and also a Leadership

Summit in Delhi. The Luxury conference had been attended by featured speakers

like designer Diane Von Furstenberg, shoemaker Christian Louboutin, Gucci CEO

Robert Polet and Cartier MD Patrick Normand. While in Leadership Summit,

prominent leaders of the country and foreign countries participate.

HT Media Ltd Annual Revenue

In 2007 HT Media group reported annual revenue of $245 million. For the fiscal

third quarter ended December 31, 2007, the media group reported a 13% increase in

revenue to $82 million and a 10% increase of profit after tax (PAT) to $9 million

from the year-ago quarter.

Hindustan Times in Internet

HT's Internet business, under the hindustantimes.com portal, is primarily a news

website with 2 million unique visitors and 100 million page views per month, with a

significant number of visitors coming from outside India.

21
 MARKETING STRATEGY OF HT

 Personal Contact Campaign (PCC) or Direct Marketing:

It also referred to as direct marketing because the Marketing Research Executives

(MRE) of HT directly approached the customer by making a visit at a place

convenient to the latter; usually they’re home, carrying along with them a

questionnaire consisting a set of questions with multiple answers to take the

customers opinion.

The MREs went door to door and checked whether the product is acceptable by the

customer or it required changes. The campaign saved a lot of time, money and

resources of the company. Since they took up this PCC pre launch of HT, they were

able to determine if any changes were required before the launch of HT.

Hindustan Times was the only player in the history of Mumbai industry to come up

with such campaign, followed by DNA and then, even by the TIMES. This campaign

was widely accepted by people of Mumbai. HT took to this campaign in Delhi for

the last ten years and is still continuing.

HT Took To Direct Marketing due to the following reasons:

 To ensure HT reaches its right customers faster than its competitors.

 What HT wanted to portray was directly communicated to the masses.

22
  Vendors couldn’t be relied upon completely when it came to promoting the

product effectively.
 There’re focus was to establish themselves in the identified market quickly

and effortlessly.
 The right way to get to customer was through a trained team.
 Indirect Marketing:
HT along with direct marketing also gave emphasis on indirect marketing. HT took

up indirect marketing because:

 Customers are well known to the medium.
 Customers quite often purchase on the basis of Word-of-mouth i.e. from a

reliable source.
 Promotion is done through a medium.
 Saves time, money and resources.
 In direct marketing, it was difficult to reach each and every customer.
 Customer may not like MREs approaching them directly.
HT marketed themselves INDIRECTLY in the following ways:
 VENDORS
Vendor’s say is given great importance as he is one of the reliable sources for the

customer.

 CITIBANK OFFER
Citibank credit card holders can avail HT at a much lower price. However it was for

limited period.
 NICHE MARKETING
HT caters to small segment of the market called SEC A -1 in Mumbai. A-1 denotes

the uppermost socio-economic class. Such a target where only a small segment is

targeted is referred to as Niche marketing.

23
The plan was to initially target the upper class till the mass became aware of the

product & later move to other segments, which are more price sensitive.

PRICING OF HT

HT’s pricing strategy was a unique and mind blowing one. It was their price that

made many TIMES customers switch to HT. They priced their paper in such a way

that other paper could only dream of. HT initially carried out a research to find out

what prices customers would pay for English daily. The answers were

24
 50 % -----------> RS 4

45% ------------= RS 4

5% -------------< RS 4

HT took this as a base and boiled down to a price which stunned the nation and

above all, their competitor TIMES. The offer was:

“HINDUSTAN TIMES AT LESS THAN Re.1

AT YOUR DOOR STEP”

And so with the grand price, launch and opening the king made its entry in Mumbai

market on July, 14th 2005!!!! Their entry was noted world wide, above all by their

competitors, TIMES .TIMES felt threatened and they indeed had to wake up from

their relaxing chairs so as to retain their numero – uno position.

HT MINT (WALL STREET JOURNAL NOW WITH HT)

HT Media LTD has associated themselves with Wall Street Journal, the world’s

largest business newspaper. HT is offering this new paper under a subscription of

1 year, RS 299

25
 i.e. 311copies for 1 year at less than Re.1 per day

AND

A 30 day free subscription to WSJ.com

There are 5 reasons as to why one must read this paper:

 Reading no longer is a chore

 Translate news to knowledge and knowledge to understanding in a succinct

and insightful manner, so that you are in control.

 HT’s partnership with Wall Mart journal enables the paper to tap 1800 news to

bring international news to its customer.

 Designed to compliment your lifestyle, being available in different formats-

prints and web.

 Backed by an outstanding editorial team, whose vast experience ensures you

get clear, crisp and relevant information at your desktop

26
 History of TOI

The Times of India came into being on November 3, 1838 and was known as "The

Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce". Initially the paper served only the British

residents of western India. Published twice a week on every Saturday and

Wednesday, The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce contained news from

Europe, America and the sub- continent and was circulated between India and

27
Europe via regular steamships. From the year 1850 the daily editions of the paper

were started and the newspaper got its present name in 1861.

In the 19th century, the company employed over 800 people and had a good

circulation in India and Europe. The Times of India was originally British-owned

and controlled. Ivor S. Jehu was its last British editor, who left the editorship in

1950. After India's Independence in 1947, the ownership of the paper was passed on

to the industrial family of Dalmiyas and later it was over by Sahu Shanti Prasad Jain

of the Sahu Jain group from Bijnore of Uttar Pradesh.

TOI Circulation

The newspaper has the widest circulation among all English-language broadsheets

with about 2.6 million daily paid copies. In the year 2005, the newspaper reported

that (with a daily circulation of more than 2.4 million) it was certified by the Audit

Bureau of Circulations as the world's largest selling English broadsheet newspaper.

28
TOI Sister Publications

 Economic Times - A Financial daily

 Navhbharat Times - Hindi Daily Newspaper

 Maharashtra Times - Marathi Daily Newspaper

 Mumbai Mirror - Morning newspaper from Mumbai

 Femina - Women's magazine published in association with BBC

 Film fare - English Film Magazine published in association with BBC

TOI Supplements

The Times of India comes with several city-specific supplements, such as Delhi
Times, Bombay Times, Lucknow Times, and Bangalore Times etc. These city
supplements carry entertainment news, gossips, page3 party news, photographs and
other lifestyle related happenings in metros and big cities.

Times Group in Merchandise

29
Planet M: Times Retail with Planet M outlets offer merchandise from music to
designer Other major supplements of TOI include:

 Times Wellness: Carries health related news and provides solution of your
grievances by experts.

 Education Times: Weekly supplement focused towards students and acts as a

counselor and advisor for student community.

 Times Ascent: A weekly supplement, it seeks to introduce more

understanding of Human Resources and corporate life related stories. Also
carries the advertisements of various kinds of jobs in India and abroad.

 Times Drive: A supplement related to auto-mobiles and latest development in

the industry.

 Times Property: The weekly supplement has real estate and property news.

 Times Life: Once in week carrying news about life of personalities and
famous people.

 Times Classifieds: Carries advertisements regarding jobs, buy and sell of

items etc.

 Times Matrimonial: Feature marriage advertisement of boys and girls

looking for match.

 Rouge: A weekly supplement

 Times en Vogue: A weekly supplement

30
TOI in Electronic Media

A 24 hour English news channel, TIMES NOW has been started couple of years
back by a joint venture between Reuters and the Times Group. The company also
owns a lifestyle TV channel - Zoom and a radio channel - Radio Mirchi. One of
India's leading radio channel - Radio Mirchi is available in Delhi, Mumbai and other
important cities of India.

.Times Group Events

The Times group organizes a number of fairs and exhibitions time-to-time all over
the country. Times Utsav Consumer fairs, Times Ascent Job Fairs and Education
Events are the fair and exhibitions organized by the Times group. The Times Group
sponsors Miss World and Miss Universe events and played host to a galaxy of stars
at the Film fare Awards. The group also organizes The Economic Times Awards for
Corporate Excellence or the Brand Equity Quiz.

Times Group in Social Services

The philanthropic arm of the Times group, the Times Foundation, offers Non
Government Organizations, institutions & others organizations all over India, a good
platform to converge and address the country's developmental needs.

TOI in Internet

31
Times Group offers Internet services worldwide that covers everything from art to
airlines, knowledge events to telecom and integrated marketing. The site is visited
by millions of users from India and other countries of the world.

TIME'S MAJOR BRANDS

 The Times of India-India's (and the world's) largest broadsheet daily

 The Economic Times-India's largest financial daily, and world's second

largest after The Wall Street Journal

 Navbharat Times-The largest Hindi Daily in Delhi and Mumbai

 Maharashtra Times-The largest Marathi Daily in Mumbai

 Mumbai Mirror-India's largest circulating compact newspaper

 Femina-A women's magazine

32
  Film fare-A film magazine

 Planet M-A music retailing brand

 Times Music-Music publishing including Hindi, Pop music,

devotional/spiritual music

 Times Jobs-One of the fastest growing e-recruitment portals in India

 Radio Mirchi-A radio venture which mixes fun with social commitment
while providing entertainment

 Times Television-The group's latest venture has an entertainment channel

called Zoom and a news channel named Times News.

Time’s STRATEGIES

 Move first, Move fast

India times were founded with a simple belief- to create world class media product

and services. Their mission stems from the belief that consumer experience is critical

to their service.

 Multiple ties

33
Team India times strives to create multiple relationships with global India. To do that

India times commanders and strategists wear simple hats, think disruption and

reinvest themselves every week

 Continuous innovation

Being in a dramatically changing business-the internet- amounts to: act granular,

think big. India time’s customers are just joining the digital revolution. So, the

company acts on its anticipation of its customers through meticulous work,

continuous innovation and consistency in quality.

 Where Ideas live

At India times ideas rarely die, because they vehemently believe in the freedom to

disagree. The company believes in keeping the floodgates of ideation open at all

times. They are not subsumed by it, they generously give every idea enough

gestation-time even if it means forking out time from their daily work.

 Smart-sensing the future

34
India times seeks to be a media mega mart that infotains the customer, creates

community value, delights the smart shopper, provides cutting-edge solutions to the

advertiser and believes in the magic of the idea.

TOI’s Defensive Strategies

Months before Hindustan Times was launched in Mumbai, The Times of India went

on to a defensive mode and started a new “compact” newspaper, called Mumbai

Mirror. But it did not sell much, so ToI started distributing it free with the main

newspaper. Now for Rs 5, ToI reader gets more than 100 pages.

35
“We always knew that there was space for a 2nd newspaper in Mumbai, and so we

started an alternative to broadsheets- a tabloid. By including Mumbai Mirror with

ToI, we are improving the price performance ratio of of our brand”, says Bhaskar

Das, executive president of The Times of India Group. The Mirror is a newspaper for

the new generation, who want new-on-the-go like McD. It’s for the supersonic age

where people want to scan news without going into too much depth.

It is essentially a “blockading strategy”. You flood the reader with so much that

he/she doesn’t feel the need for another newspaper. Their strategy was “a normal

reader spends 20-25 minutes on newspapers. Do you think he/she will spend more

time reading just because there are new newspapers?” Apart from Mumbai Mirror, a

daily tabloid, ToI also launched Rouge and Culture Currie

The ToI readers are suddenly seeing a lot more news in a paper that once gave news

a back seat to fluff. They beefed up their coverage, went on massive recruitment of

journalists & media executives at high salaries, mopping up manpower and making

it more expensive for their competitors to recruit.

36
37
 4. RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY

RESEARCH METHOLOGY

Marketing research is the function which links the consumer,

customer and public to the marketers through information used to identify and define
marketing, opportunities and problems, generates refine marketing action, monitor
marketing performance, and improve understanding of marketing as a process.

Marketing research specifies the information required to address

these issues, designs the method for collection information manages and implements

38
the data collection process; analysis the results and communication the findings and
their implication.

Meaning of Research Methodology

Research Methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problems. It

may be understood as a science of studying how research is done scientifically.

Type of research used for this project

My research is basically of descriptive type

Descriptive research aims at fact-finding and more is based on surveys.

Research definition:

“Research is careful inquiry or examination to discover new information and

relationship and to expand and to verify existing knowledge.”

Research always starts with questions or problems. Its purpose is to find

answers to the question through the application of the scientific method. It is a
systematic and intensive study directed towards a more complete knowledge of the
subject studies.

RESEARCH METHOLOGY

1. Relevance of the Study

The research is been conducted to survey the comparison between Times of

India and Hindustan Times.

39
 2. Research Problem

Every research has their own problem and limitation but good has to
overcome that problem by their skill. In this research problem I would like to
understand and analyze about the comparison of Times of India and Hindustan
Times.

3. Research Design:

“Research design is the conceptual structure within which the research would
take place. The presentation of such a design facilitates research to be as
efficient as possible yielding maximum information.”

From definition it is evident that research design is more or less a blueprint of

research.

It may be noted that there are several ways of studying and tackling a
problem. There is no single perfect design. The research design can be classified into
true broad categories:

A. Exploratory

B. Descriptive

C. Casual

Explanatory research is focus on the discovery of ideas. Explanatory research is

carried out to define problems and development hypothesis to test later. An
explanatory study is generally based on the secondary data that are available. It does
not have to change his focus of direction, depending on the availability of new ideas
and relationship among variables.

40
 Descriptive studies are undertaken in many circumstances. Descriptive studies
can be complex, determining a high degree of scientific skill on the part of the
researcher.

Casual research helps in determined cause and effect relationship between two
or more variables.

The present study seeks to find out the consumers attitude towards preperence
of Times of India and Hindustan Times.

Information & data sources:

For this newspaper marketing project, I have done a very extensive research right

from a generalized view like what are the common newspapers circulating in the

market, what makes one newspaper take an over-edge and boost its sales with

respect to other newspapers, apart from the general news what all supplementary

news does a popular newspaper provide which makes it the best.

Also, I have done a thorough study of the newspaper price with the type of content

the newspaper provides. For this in depth study and research I have visited various

newspaper web-sites to know the history and various marketing strategies they

adopt. I also went through the Wikipedia which helped me get the actual figures

41
thus, differentiating the newspaper trend in Indian market. Last but not the least,

personal interactions with my friends who are employed with various media

marketing and business to business marketing domain nurtured my knowledge for

the completion of this project.

PRIMARY SOURCES –

The primary data was collected through questionnaire and interviews with the

managers and the staff.

 PERSONAL INTERVIEW was the major basis on which the research was

conducted. The reason for this is that the liking of an ad depends upon the

personal characteristics to an extent.

 QUESTIONNAIRE was the major basis on which the research was conducted

was also formulated to gather quantitative data regarding the choice of an ad.

SECONDARY SOURCES –

 Books and articles were consulted for theoretical knowledge.

 Websites were also accessed for getting the latest trends in the ad world.

SAMPLE DESIGN –

42
SAMPLE AREA: Mumbai, where research was done in Residents, and general

public place.

 SAMPLE UNIT: Service class and public place.

 SAMPLE SIZE: 30 respondents as that was sufficient to get reliable

information.

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

While doing my study and research for this project, I had encountered some very

stiff obstacles which I would definitely like to mention:

1. The research is done taking into consideration The times of India and

Hindustan Times exclusively, as these two newspapers are the mostly read

newspapers in India according to the IRS (Indian Readership Survey).

2. A general overview is presented for the various other newspapers like

Mid-day, Telegraph, The Hindu etc. which again contradicts the fact there

can be a possibility of maximum sales in a particular state for a particular

43
 newspaper depending on the origin. For example: The Telegraph is the

mostly read newspaper in Kolkata beating TOI and HT.

3. Lack of availability of the newspaper case studies and research material in

the websites, thus extending the time-span of the project deadline as

multiple websites, general knowledge Wikipedia books and constant

personal interactions were involved for the proper completion of the

project with actual facts and details.

5. DATA ANALYSIS &

INTERPRETATION

44
 DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION

1. Which newspaper do you read? (can choose multiple)

a) Times of India
b) Hindustan Times
c) DNA
d) Mid-day
e) Others (please specify) ________________________

Respondents reading only:

45
Amongst the 30 surveyed,

 9 ONLY reads Times

 7 ONLY reads Hindustan Times
 1 ONLY reads DNA
 1 ONLY reads Mid-Day
 1 ONLY reads Others (regional dailies).
2. What do you look for in a newspaper?
a) Overall general news
b) Business
c) International news
d) Sports
e) Jokes, Agony aunt column, horoscopes
f) Local news
g) Advertisements
h) Appointments

Respondents’ preferential requirements in newspapers

46
As per the survey conducted
 Overall general news scores 40%, in terms of % preference, that one looks for
in a newspaper.
 Business scored 20%.
 Jokes, agony aunt, sports ……category scored 10%
 International news, advertisement and appointments scored the least with 5%.
 Local news scored 15%.

47
3. Rate the following newspaper between 1-4

(1-Excellent: 2-Good: 3- Average: 4- Poor)

a. Times of India

b. Hindustan Times

c. DNA

d. HT Mint

e. Mid-day

f. Economic Times

g. Indian Express

h. Any other (please specify)____________________

Ratings for Times of India

48
 60% (i.e. 18) of the respondents rated Times of India Excellent

 40% (i.e. 12) of the respondents rated Times of India Good

 The above readings only prove once again, that Times is too old & well
established to be overthrown.

Ratings for Hindustan Times

49
Amongst the 30 surveyed,

 23% (i.e. 7) rated HT as Excellent

 60% (i.e. 18) rated HT as Good

 17% (i.e. 5) rated HT as Average

From the above figures, one can easily conclude that HT still has a very long way
to go to get an “Excellent” rating by its readers. In fact, HT must pull up its socks
and try not to get a rating of “Average”.

4. Has pricing scheme of newspapers affected your buying decision?

a) Yes

50
 How? ______________________________________________

b) No

Affect of price on buying decision

 77% (i.e. 23 ) of the respondents stated that price did not affect their buying
decision for the newspaper they read

 23% ( i.e. 7) stated price did affect the newspaper they read.

5. Have you read HT?

a) Yes

Views please________________________________________

51
 ___________________________________________________

b) No

Respondents who have read HT

Amongst the respondents surveyed,

 97% i.e 29 respondents,have read HT

 3% i.e 1 respondent have not read HT

The above results portray the product awareness and even usage of the product by
the masses. The mass is aware of HT’s presence in the market and have even
checked it out, which means HT can be a threat to Times.

6. As far as local news is concerned rate HT.

a. Excellent
b. Good
c. Average

52
 70% (i.e. 21) of the respondents rated local news of HT as GOOD.
 20% (i.e. 6) of the respondents rated local news of HT as Excellent.
 10% (i.e. 3) of the respondents rated local news of HT as Average.

7. As far as local news is concerned rate ToI.

a. Excellent
b. Good
c. Average

53
 60% (i.e. 18) of the respondents rated local news of ToI as GOOD.
 25% (i.e. 7) of the respondents rated local news of ToI as Excellent.
 15% (i.e. 5) of the respondents rated local news of ToI as Average.

8. Do you think newspaper is a means to promote local creative writing

talent?

a) Yes

b) No

54
 55 %( i.e. 16) of the respondents believe that news papers are means to
promote local creative writing talent.

 45% (i.e. 14) of the respondents believe that news papers are not the
means to promote local creative writing talent.

9. Which newspaper local advertisement is better?

a. Times of India

b. Hindustan times

c. DNA

d. Mid- day

55
Amongst the 30 surveyed,

 40% (i.e. 12) believe that Times of India promotes local advertisement
better.

 30% (i.e. 10) rated HT as Good

 20% (i.e. 6) rated HT as Average

 10% (i.e. 3)

10.Which newspaper covers job opportunities better?

a. Times of India

b. Hindustan times

c. DNA

d. Mid- day

56
57
 6. CONCLUSION

CONCLUSIONS

 Both DNA & HT are essentially competing for the #2 slot in the Mumbai

market. The Times of India is too old and established to be overthrown in the

short term. With a circulation of 6 lakh, it was far ahead of earlier

58
 competitors too, like the Indian Express (58,000). In fact, it was the

Economic Times (1.47 lakh) and Mid-Day (1.40 lakh) that trailed in the 2nd

place after ToI.

 From the survey conducted, it is quite evident that the demand for

newspapers is extremely price sensitive. Until now, ‘The Times of India’ was

way ahead of competition. So it had high cover price and didn’t push for

greater sales, as that would increase their costs (since the cost of producing a

newspaper is much greater than its market price). They didn’t need to

increase circulation, since they milked all the ad revenue. But is it merely a

Hoax’s choice? What choice does the reader really have? It’s more in terms

of price.

 Most of the stories in all of the newspapers are the same. Even though

readers want better content, unfortunately, the competition is taking place on

the marketing and sales front, rather than the editorial.

 HT’s ad rates are almost half of ToI’s i.e. Rs. 800-840/sq cm. On the

contrary, on August 15, 2006, ToI hiked its rate to Rs. 1500 sq cm besides

making it mandatory for those buying a national package to buy its tabloid

Mumbai Mirror, at an additional Rs 100/sq cm.

59
 HT’s circulation in Mumbai is indeed small as compared to ToI. However,

HT is definitely trying to capture the Mumbai market through line sales, the

subscription route and news stand sales. HT’s strategy behind offering an

annual subscription for Rs 398 (which is barely a rupee per copy) is readers

would be locked for a year and a base circulation too is ensured.

 The companies are battling it out on the distribution front amidst much

mudslinging. Charges of buying out vendors to ensure they do not pick up

rival newspapers are flying out in all directions. Both DNA & HT are

offering Re. 1 commission while ToI is offering Rs 1.75 to vendors.

 After years of depending upon ToI, newspaper vendors & ad agents finally

have a choice. Some have bagged contracts from HT to sell at traffic signals

while others are getting incentives from DNA to source subscriptions. Any

vendor who can locate a potential subscriber gets Rs 6.

60
7. BIBLOGRAPHY

61
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Book Referred-

1. Research Methodolgy And Project- by Dr. Mahesh A. Kulkarni

2. Resrearch Methodology

-Author KOTHARI CR

-Edition 2nd REVISED EDITION

-Year of publication 2004

-Publisher NEW AGE INTERNATIONAL(P) LTD.

62
 www.hindustantimes.com

 www.timesofindia.com

 www.agencyfaqs.com

 www.wikipedia.com

Annexure

63
 QUESTIONAIRE

Name: ________________________________

Age: ________________________________

Occupation: ________________________________

1. Which newspaper do you read? (can choose multiple)

a. Times of India
b. Hindustan Times
c. DNA
d. Mid-day
e. Others (please specify) ________________________

2. What do you look for in a newspaper?

i) Overall general news
j) Business
k) International news
l) Sports
m) Jokes, Agony aunt column, horoscopes
n) Local news
o) Advertisements
p) Appointments

3. How long have you been reading this paper?

64
 a) Less than a year
b) More than a year
c) Since last 4 years
d) More than 4 years

If option is either a, b or c, which was the previous newspaper? Why did you
change?

__________________________________________________________________
__________________

4. Rate the following newspaper between 1-4

(1-Excellent: 2-Good: 3- Average: 4- Poor)

a. Times of India

b. Hindustan Times

c. DNA

d. HT Mint

e. Mid-day

f. Economic Times

g. Indian Express

h. Any other (please specify)____________________

5. Has pricing scheme of newspapers affected your buying decision?

a. Yes
How? ______________________________________________

65
 b. No

6. Have you read HT?

a. Yes
Views please________________________________________
___________________________________________________
b. No

7. As far as the local news is concern rate HT.

1-Excellent
2-Good
3- Average
4- Poor

8. As far as the local news is concern rate ToI.

a. Excellent
b. Good
c. Average
d. Poor
9. Do you think newspapers are a means to promote local creative writing
talent?
a. Yes
b. No

10.Which newspaper local advertisement is better?

a. Times of India
b. Hindustan Times
c. DNA
d. Mid-day

66
11.Which newspaper covers job opportunities better?
a. Times of India
b. Hindustan Times
c. DNA
d. Mid-day

67