MARKETING PLANNING AND CONTROL

TIMES OF INDIA
REPORT- SESSION 4
GROUP 6

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

Mr. SIDDHANT PANDEY ANURADHA
RITIKA
SWARNIKA
NEEL DEHURE
MINAKSHI
CHANNEL DISTRIBUTION OF NEWPAPER INDUSTRY-
INTRODUCTION-
The chain of businesses or intermediaries through which goods or service pass until they
reach the end consumer. Includes wholesalers, retailers, distributors and even the internet.
It is divided into direct and indirect forms – 
 direct channel allowing the consumer to buy the good from the manufacturer
 indirect channel allowing the consumer to buy the good from a wholesaler.
Efficiency and Effectiveness decides who does which function between company and
channel Functions Shift-able among channel members Information &Promotion, Contact,
Matching & Negotiation, Physical distribution, Financing, Risk taking.

FLOW AND FUNCTIONS TYPES-

1. Conventional channel- channel members independently owned
2. Vertical channel- channel members act as a unified system
3. Horizontal channel- two or more companies on the same level join together for
mutual gain
4. Hybrid channel- combination to serve different segments.

CHANNEL STRATEGY

CHANNEL STRATEGY

CHANNEL SELECTION DISTRIBUTION INTENSITY CHANNEL INTEGRATION

MARKET FACTOR CONVENTIONAL

INTENSIVE
PRODUCERS FACTOR MARKETING CHANNEL
EXCLUSIVE
PRODUCT FACTORS FRANCHISING CHANNEL
SELECTIVE
COMPETITIVE FACTOR OWNERSHIP
DISTRIBUTION PROCESS OF NEWSPAPERS INDUSTRY-
 The newspaper sales involve distributing highly perishable products under severe
time constraints.
 The printed newspapers have to be dispatched to various distributors across the
region.
 The revenue of the newspaper distributor is based on a commission on the sale of
every newspaper.
 The circulation is normally through salesmen appointed and are paid by the
distributors, who in turn pass it on to the hawkers.
 Hawkers, vendors and book stall owners are the last link of the supply chain before
newspaper reaches its readers.
 Responsiveness and efficiency play an important role in newspaper distribution
channel

NEWSPAPER-
The entire newspaper works upon 3 stages-
1. Content gathering and layout
2. Printing
3. Distribution

Distribution -Times of India

Analyze the distribution system of the Times of India-
Introduction-
Distribution is an essential element in the newspaper industry as the lifetime of newspapers
are very short and thus a selection of proper channel and appropriate intermediaries is very
important. The newspaper distributor has the rights to distribute the newspaper in his area.
The revenue of the newspaper distributor is based on a commission on the sale of every
newspaper.

Distribution Structure –
This research concerns the review of the distribution channel followed by The Times of India
(newspapers).
Distribution is a key element in the newspaper industry, as the life of newspapers is very
short and therefore the choice of proper channels and appropriate intermediaries is very
important.

The newspaper distributor has the right to distribute the newspaper in his area. The income of
the newspaper company is dependent on a fee on the selling of each newspaper.
 The distribution is usually carried out by salesmen and employed by distributors who, in
effect, pass it on to the hawkers.

The cycle of delivery in times of India takes place in two stages, one for the upcountry
edition and the other for the city called the midnight edition, the upcountry editions are first
printed and circulated because they have to cover a longer distance.

The upcountry edition is circulated in the outskirts of Delhi and the edition of the city is
circulated in Delhi. The idea is that the longest distance is the first printed copy, and the
closest distance is the last printed copy.

Reporters gather information all day and then they are edited and ready for printing, the early 
version or the up country edition is published about 10.00 p.m. and the printing begins at 11.0
0 p.m.and the midnight edition starts printing by 12.00 p.m., so the news is updated before 12
.00 p.m. for the midnight edition.

After these papers are printed, the papers are then sent to different dealers in the area, the
dealers then distribute the papers to the depots or drop points, the vendors or hawkers in the
depots insert the supplement into the main newspaper.

The beat boys or the delivery boys who deliver the paper to the customers in their respective
homes. The whole process should be completed by a maximum of 7.30 am.

THE TIMES OF INDIA

Supplements

DEALER 3.00 A.M REACHES THE DEALER

The Times
of India
Supplements News

DEALER

News
Supplements
 DEALER SENDS
THE PAPERS TO
DEPOTS WERE
THE
SUPPLEMENTS
ARE INSERTED
Depot TO THE
NEWSPAPERS

Supplements News

THE
BEAT
BOYS
COLLE
CT
THE
PAPER
S
FROM
VEND
ORS
AND
DELIV
ER
THE
PAPER
S TO
THE
PRINTING PRESS
 Situated in Ghaziabad for Delhi/NCR region
 Capacity to print 10 lacs copies
 Printing starts from 1-1:30 am
 After printing ,stacking is done and dispatch to depots

DEPOTS
 Close to 100 depots in delhi
 Keep publications of newspaper and magazine
 Services by sales person

AGENTS
 Employed where distribution is not organized
 Delhi market-working with depot
 Gurgaon-working with agency system
 VENDORS-

 They are retailers link between end consumer and depot

 They sell through door to door /bus stands
 Go to nearest depot everyday

BEAT BOYS-
 Delivery boys who do not have established customers and sell at small quantity
 Examples- road sides, bus stands
 Deliver requires publications to proper destinations
 3-4 boys cover area through their routes

Overview of distribution channels-

 More than 130000 printing press in India
 In Indian currency 20bn +turnover
 More than 10m families involved in the industry

PROMOTIONAL STRATEGY OF TIMES OF INDIA-

The Logo of the newspaper itself signifies power and strength with two elephants facing
each other with a crown in between them that signifies royalty. The slogan of the Company
is straight and simple, “Let truth Prevail”. 
The various marketing strategies adopted by Times of India includes the following:
 To improve the product quality so as to draw more readers across the nation and
worldwide.
 To increase circulation by launching new editions of the newspapers in both English
and other regional languages to expand the scope of the paper. 
 To cover news relevant for students who are appearing for competitive examinations
that need daily general knowledge about the nation and about the recent news
updates of happenings around the world. A weekly paper called Ascent is launched
for the benefit of job seekers and students.
 To expand the scope of circulation by launching e-paper and mobile papers. 

 To invest more in TV advertisements for a wide coverage and increase in the sales
margin.
 To invest in social campaigns involving the youth of the nation.
Apart from these the rate of subscriptions per year is kept low at 250 Rs which allows the
buyers to opt for combo offers all throughout the year.  The price per paper is also kept low
at 3 Rs per paper which is lower than the competitors like the Hindustan Times, Economic
Times and the Hindu. 

CAMPAIGN
BCCL and its subsidiary Companies focus on every media platform starting from newspapers
to Books, Magazines, TV, Internet, Radio, Event Management, Movies, Music and more.
Promotional campaigns are very important for expanding the scope of the newspapers
worldwide. Giving the readers discounted offers provides for more promotions of the
English daily. 
It is very important to get the promotions right. Providing for combo offers for regional
newspapers, or providing combo offers for both the advertisers and the buyers at large etc.
help in driving the sales margin. 
These promotional offers help in enticing new readers to create a brand image of the
Company as well as for the newspaper itself. Times of India collaborated with HDFC bank to
launch a new program which is called the Times Card. These promotions help to create
brand awareness and customer familiarity that reinforces the brand presence all across the
nation.
CATCH THEM YOUNG
“Catch them Young” program in schools so that they can develop the interest in students in
reading their newspaper and shifting from one newspaper to other is not very easy as we
develop the habit of reading a particular newspaper because of its font size, headings.
They have also their own university called Bennett University.
TEACH THEM YOUNG
A leading Corporate Social Responsibility of Times of India which states about the
company’s responsibility towards the society. Here the company is a voluntarily adoption of
the educated people who are ready to teach to the illiterate people of the society. Those
volunteers travel to the rural markets for the teaching.

CONCLUSION
It is the world’s largest newspaper with a strong brand image. With its large circulation
channels this daily newspaper has captured the media strongly providing all kinds of news
to the readers. It has a wide circulation of around 4 million and three hundred thousand
copies which is the largest for any English daily newspaper in the world leaving its tough
competitors like Economic Times and The Hindu behind.
TOI has successfully placed itself as the national newspaper of the country with regional
editions spread over different states. This offline circulation is completed by the strong
online presence that the Company has launched through its e-Paper domain.