A STUDY ON MARKETING AND SALES STRATEGIES

FOR OUTLOOK MAGAZINE

SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROJECT REPORT

POST GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN MANAGEMENT

MARKETING VAISHNAV MENON

2020-2022 Roll No. 59

SIES COLLEGE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES

NERUL, NAVI MUMBAI 400706

i
A STUDY ON MARKETING AND SALES STRATEGIES FOR
OUTLOOK MAGAZINE

SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROJECT REPORT

SUBMITTED

AS A PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE CURRICULUM

FOR THE DIPLOMA

POST GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN MANAGEMENT (PGDM)

SIES SCHOOL OF BUSINESS STUDIES

NERUL, NAVI MUMBAI

BY

VAISHNAV MENON
ROLL NO. 59
SPECIALIZATION - MARKETING

ii
 Declaration

I, Mr. Vaishnav Menon, studying in the second year of Post Graduate Diploma in
Management (PGDM) program at SIES School of Business Studies, Nerul, Navi
Mumbai, hereby declare that I have completed the Summer Internship Project titled
“A study on Marketing and Sales Strategies for Outlook Magazine” as a part of the
curriculum requirement for Post Graduate Diploma in Management.

I also declare that the work undertaken by me is original and has not been copied
from any source. I further declare that the information presented in this project
report is true and has not been submitted to SIESCOMS or any other Institute for
any other examination.

Signature of the Student Date: 7th August, 2021

Name of the Student - Vaishnav Menon

Roll No. - 59

iii
Certificate by the Company Guide

iv
v
 Certificate by Faculty Guide

This is to certify that Ms. Vaishnav Menon, studying in the second year of course
name program at SIES School of Business Studies, Nerul, Navi Mumbai, has
completed the Summer Internship Project titled “A study on Marketing and Sales
Strategies for Outlook Magazine” as a part of the curriculum requirement for Post
Graduate Diploma in Management.

Signature of the Faculty Guide

Name: Dr. Shalini Gulecha

Date:

vi
 Acknowledgements

The satisfaction that accompanies the successful completion of this internship

would be incomplete without the mention of people who made it possible, without
whose constant guidance and encouragement the efforts would have gone in vain. I
consider myself very lucky and privileged to have found an opportunity to intern
for Outlook (India) Publishing Ltd. It was a great chance to learn and develop new
skills that will surely help me to build a successful live ahead.

I’m ineffably indebted to Mr. Kaustav Banerjee, Team Lead for his conscientious
guidance and belief in his us to handle the assignments given in an exceptional
manner. I’m also extremely thankful to my faculty mentor Dr. Shalini Gulecha for
her valuable guidance and presence throughout this past 2-3months. I would also
like to extend my gratitude and respect to Ira Ma’am and Saanchi Ma’am the
faculty mentors and student coordinators of placement team at SIES School of
Business Studies. I choose this moment to acknowledge all of their contribution and
gratefulness.

Signature

Vaishnav Menon

Date: 7th August 2021

vii
 Executive Summary

The Internship at Outlook Magazine Provided an opportunity to understand the

challenges faced by traditional Print Media from newer forms of News
Communication such as social media and e-updates. The Phenomenal advancement
in Information Technology and its subsequent impact on Media and News Industry
has closed the business of many well-known Media groups who even after
Producing the Good content were not able to survive as they lost the customer
value proposition to digital and social media.

Outlook group is facing similar problem of high customer churn-out because they
are not renewing their subscription and hence revenue generation has become quite
challenging, though Outlook has started their digital version as well as App,
however these two things are not sufficient to meet the challenges, hence Outlook
is focusing on printing those magazines whose content is and will remain relevant
in the near future like Investment, Travel, Business etc.

During my internship I learned how outlook sales is facing cumbersome task of

achieving the targets, on the other hand in Business to business (B-2-B) they are
looking for Advertisement, hence it given an opportunity to learn how revenue is
being generated through Magazine sales and Advertisement.

viii
 CONTENTS

Particulars/ Title Page No

Acknowledgement vi

Executive Summary vii

Chapter 1 - Company Overview 1

1.1 Print Media Industry Overview 1

1.2 Future of Indian Entertainment & Media Industry 2

1.3 About Outlook India 3

1.4 Products of Outlook Group 4

Chapter 2 - The Assignment 7

2.1 The assignment at a glance 7

2.2 Responsibilities and Description 7

2.3 Critical Observations 8

Chapter 3 - The Project 10

3.1 Objectives of the report 10

3.2 Scope 10

3.3 Research Methodology 10

3.4 Method 11

3.5 Sources of Data 11

3.6 Sample 11

3.7 Data Analysis 11

ix
Chapter 4 - Findings, Recommendations & Limitations

4.1 Findings 37

4.2 Recommendations 38

4.3 Limitations 38

Chapter 5 – Conclusion 39

References 40

x
 Chapter 1
Overview

1.1 Print Media Industry Overview

The print media sector in India will reach only touch 75% of its fiscal 2020 revenue mark despite
witnessing 35% on-year growth this fiscal, on a low base in FY22, according to CRISIL report.
The sector clocked Rs 31,000 crore as revenue in FY20, with 70% of the revenue coming from
advertisements and the remaining 30% being accounted for by subscriptions. Print media posted a
40% decline in revenue last fiscal amid the first wave. The same is expected to reach Rs 24,000-
25,000 crore in FY22.The second wave has impacted ad revenues in the last quarter, as it
correlates strongly with economic activity. The future expected ad revenues to recover from the
current quarter as economic activity revives.

As per the report, sharp cost rationalization measures and digitalization of content will lead to a
revival in profitability to 9-10%. Meanwhile, the bottom line will grow despite the 20-30% rise in
newsprint prices over the last six months. The credit profiles of large print media companies will
be resilient, cushioned by healthy liquidity and strong balance sheets, while for the remaining
ones, liquidity management will be crucial, shows an analysis of CRISIL-rated companies that
account for 40% of the sector’s revenue.
As for subscription revenue, the sector is witnessing a structural change amid a shift in consumer
preference towards digital news, from physical newspapers. This seems to be more prominent for
English newspapers, which have a higher share in metros and tier-1 cities, where digital adoption
is also higher. The English newspapers are focusing on monetization of content by putting
premium news behind paywalls and pushing digital subscription along with print subscription.
Meanwhile, the non-English newspapers witnessed relatively resilient subscription revenue even
in the first wave because of their strong roots in the hinterland. Due to this, the overall
subscription revenue loss in FY22 will be limited to 12-15% of the pre-pandemic level.
Furthermore, the report highlighted that unlike the experience in Western countries, print media
will remain popular in India on factors like low cover price, ability to deliver original and
credible content and people’s habit to read physical newspapers and magazines.

1
1.2 Future of Indian Entertainment and Media (E&M) Industry

In in the case of newspaper publishing, the relaxation of the FDI limits for investment in the
Indian print media market is opening a plethora of opportunities in the magazine publishing
market with foreign players like BBC Worldwide, which publishes around 50 magazines, tying
up with Times of India Group. The magazine publishing market is currently sized at about US$
238 million and expected to grow at 6 per cent compounded rate annually over the coming five
years.
Media industry sources say that the foreign deals that India has witnessed so far are just a glimpse
of what is yet to come. Other high-profile deals in the pipeline include a tie-up between
BusinessWeek and Cybermedia, a leading Indian publisher of IT magazines; The Intelligent
Computing Chip published by TBW Publishing and Par Golf from Exposure Media. Media giants
like Bertelsmann, Vivendi Universal and Time Warner have also sent their representatives to
India to do the initial legwork. Existing financial content and data processing companies like
Dow Jones, Reuters, Bloomberg and AFP - which currently operate in India through their 100 per
cent subsidiaries - are reportedly toying with the idea of seeking fresh equity partnerships. New
promotions and improved distribution systems will also lead to an improvement in the circulation
spending in magazine publishing. The Association of Indian Magazines, a trade organisation
created in 2003 is helping the players in not only improving data collections and promoting the
industry but also initiating action to tackle issues that have been stagnating the growth in the
industry in the past year.

The Entertainment and Media Industry in India is a sunrise opportunity that presents significant

2
avenues for growth for foreign players. A host of factors are contributing to this growth:
• An expanding Indian economy with focus on increased job creation and consequent rising
disposable income
• Huge additions of households with increasing spending power riding on the service sector boom
• Access to untapped rural potential through technological changes that can open this market to
this growing sector
• Enabling government initiatives that are forward looking and take cognisance of the growing
convergence in the information and broadcasting space. This sector currently valued at almost
US$ 7 billion is expected to grow at about 14 per cent in the coming years. The Government of
India has been constantly easing foreign direct investment norms, making entry of foreign players
easier and more welcome.

1.3 About Outlook India.

Started in 1995 by Mumbai Based Raheja Group with Mr. Vinod Mehta as Editor-in-chief at a
time when print media was losing its sheen due to advancement of Satellite Television, however
within four years of its inception, Outlook English (Weekly) become the fourth most read news
Magazine in terms of Readership and expanded its footstep in Money, Travel and Business
Domains.

As per the Indian Readership survey 2019, Outlook English stands Second in Top Indian English
Magazines with a 17.6 lakh Readership. Overall, the Outlook Group has 350,336 in circulation
and in terms of subscription it stands second after India Today Group. Outlook India head office
is in New Delhi and it features contents from Politics, Sports, Cinema and stories of broad
interests.
Following is the List of Outlook Group Magazines.

Name Status
Outlook Weekly English Continue
Outlook Weekly Hindi Continue
Outlook GEO Discontinued
Outlook Profit Discontinued
Outlook Marie Claire Discontinued
Outlook People Discontinued
Outlook Newsweek Sold
3
 Outlook Business Continue
Outlook Money Continue
Outlook Traveller Continue
Outlook Careeers 360 Sold

Most of the Products which have been discontinued by outlook group were Market leaders in
their respective segments, however the revenue generated from those products was not sufficient
to run the business and the story is more or less similar for Print media in India or Abroad.

1.4 Products of Outlook Group

The premium fortnightly that packs market intelligence &

Outlook Profit incisive analysis of the stock market, while capturing
emerging trends & tracking market experts & their moves.
This magazine tells you which stock you should buy or avoid,
also contains comparative figures of domestic and
international market, and if you want to update your
knowledge related to automobiles and movie reviews then this is
one of the best magazines for our readers.

Current Status: Discontinued

The OUTLOOK Group has reached an agreement with U.S.
based publishing company Time Inc. to bring ‘People’, one of
Outlook People
its most successful and popular editorial products to India in
2008. Time Inc. which is the largest publisher in the U.S. and
U.K, redefined personality journalism in 1974 with ‘People’
magazine and its unique mix of news and lifestyle features.
Every week the ‘People’ brand reaches 43 million readers
with latest news, exclusive interviews and in-depth reporting
on the most compelling people of our time.

OUTLOOK Business, in the true tradition of the OUTLOOK

Outlook Business group, has as its aim no less an objective than the complete
rewrite of what has been tried by the way of business
journalism in the magazine space. Targeted at decision makers,
the product focuses on important business issues and
developments with a view to providing clear takeaways –
impact and implications for decision-making. A holistic
approach ensures all influences on business: economic,
political, and markets driven are examined.

4
 In July 1998, the Group launched "Intelligent Investor" re-
christened as "OUTLOOK MONEY" as of 30-Nov-2002, India's
Outlook Money first personal finance magazine, which offers sound strategies
for the lay investor, especially the growing segment of salaried
middle and upper middle-class and self-employed professionals.
Its message is clear and simple: 'Invest well, borrow wisely, and
spend smartly'. Evidently, that message has gone down well: the
magazine sold upwards of 1, 00,000 copies a fortnight within a
year. One of its distinguishing characteristics is that about 93
per cent of readers retain all past issues of OUTLOOK Money.

It‘s a weekly magazine. It covers international affairs this

magazine was honoured by best magazine award at international
Newsweek level in 05. News week offers comprehensive coverage of world
events with a global network of correspondents, reporters and
editors covering national and international affairs, business,
science and technology, society and arts and entertainment. It is
truly a magazine, which fuels the global perspective.

The OUTLOOK Group has reached an agreement with U.S.

Outlook People based publishing company Time Inc. to bring ‘People’, one of
its most successful and popular editorial products to India in
2008. Time Inc. which is the largest publisher in the U.S. and
U.K, redefined personality journalism in 1974 with ‘People’
magazine and its unique mix of news and lifestyle features.
Every week the ‘People’ brand reaches 43 million readers with
latest news, exclusive interviews and in-depth reporting on the
most compelling people of our time.

OUTLOOK Traveller is a monthly magazine from the stable of

OUTLOOK Publishing India Pvt. Limited and the only
Outlook Traveller significant magazine aimed at the travel reader. Every month
since June 2001 OT has introduced readers to the wonders of
unknown destinations while also encouraging travellers to take a
fresh look at familiar places. Whether people are planning a
holiday, or simply dreaming of one, OUTLOOK Traveller
continues to take them closer.

The European print media company owned by the German

media major Bertelsmann, is making its India debut with GEO,
Geo its premium science and geography magazine. The magazine
was launched under a licensing arrangement with the

5
 OUTLOOK Group in India and positioned as a family
magazine. The OUTLOOK Group says that there is a big market
for knowledge magazines in India and GEO will help the Group
in increasing its market share

Marie Claire MC is French magazine and being promoted by different group

in different countries and in India it is being promoted by
OUTLOOK Group with Indian edition, best magazine for those
who want to update themselves with latest fashion & trends.
Mostly women and girls, who are linked with fashion, subscribe
this magazine. MC is considered as women brand with a punch
line, ‘let me be me’.

Career 360 It gives you an all-around perspective on the latest career trends,
fresh avenues, admission alerts, careers, courses and updates
your general knowledge with the literacy rate of different states
and courses offered by colleges in these states. This magazine
contains well researched information for the youth and young
professionals, which may help them in taking decisions related
to their careers

6
 Chapter 2

2.1 The Assignment at a glance:

Customer Relationship Management using Knowledge Jockey
 Amalgamation of telemarketing and digital aspects of business.
 Learning & understand how business can be augmented on the web / internet.
 To develop leadership qualities.
 Understand consumer behaviour.

2.2 Responsibilities and Description

Task 1: Product Learning

In Outlook group the first task assigned to us was of Sales and Marketing (Product learning). In
this task the interns were asked to make themselves acquainted with product, product mix,
opportunities and challenges associated with outlook magazine. Furthermore, the students were
made to engage in customer interaction which has helped us explore different opportunities and
challenges associated with the product and prepare domain specific strategies for the future tasks.
The Time duration for the first task was of 14 days. And the Revenue target was from between
4000 to 20000 INR.
In Product learning task the Outlook differentiation strategies were studied in details. The
differentiation strategies involve key parameters like features, performance, conformance,
durability, reliability, reparability and style. A portal of the company Knowledge Jockey was
provided to us for enabling attractive offers for the customer which would help us gain customer
providing them different offers. To gain confidence on the product and company different pitched
were provided with different aspects according to the type of magazine we were pitching.

Task 2: Customer Relationship Management

In Customer Relation Management Task, we had to analyze Outlook and 2 of its competitors to
find out strategies Outlook uses to maintain Customer Life cycle. To find out the how these
companies have paid dividends over the years. Apart from this in CRM task, we had to find out
which are the different loyalty programs Outlook is working on.
NPS score ir Net Promoter score was required to be calculated by comparing it with Outlook's
competitor and the reasons for improving the NPS score.
7
As Outlook pertains to the Print media industry, we had to suggest what measures Outlook should
adapt in order to enhance the existing NPS score.

Task 3: Digital Marketing

Outlook belongs to Raheja Group. A Digital audit report of any of the Raheja group company
need to be prepared and compared with its competitor in its respective domain in order to perform
a detailed analysis of its other brands.
The basic idea behind this task was to analyze from a Digital Marketer's perspective, what actions
would be taken to reap higher dividends.
To check social media marketing strategies of these companies and check whether they have an
optimized plan.

Task 4: Product and Brand management

In Product and Brand Management Task, I had to analyze the various aspects of brands such as
Brand positioning and repositioning, logos, jingles, communication strategies, campaigns and
associations and various other elements.
Again 2 different brands of the Raheja group was to be taken and check their PBM strategies and
its related outcome.

Task 5: Advertisement
As Outlook has a presence in market for 25 years and is a well-established brand, it has idea to
come ip with a new premium magazine in Fashion segment named Outlook Spurge. For this task,
the responsibilities were plan strategies which will lead to creation of Buzz, PR Management and
Corporate Advertisement. Promotion of product strategies and a detailed media plan to achieve
these objectives.

2.3 Critical Observations

The result of the Covid-19 disruption was that during the first quarter of FY21, major print media
players witnessed a hefty revenue decline of over 67% year on year (yoy), according to a
September 2020 analysis by the firm India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra). This was the outcome
of a 76% drop in advertisement revenue and a 32% drop in circulation revenue. The decline was
higher for English print media players than Hindi print media players. Ind-Ra said earnings
before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of print media would shrink 10%
8
in the fiscal year 2020-21 that is to end on 31 March. The agency sees a 29% growth in revenue
FY22 (built partly on a base effect) and it estimates that even with this recovery, revenue will
remain lower than in FY20. Outlook Magazine was also affected by the pandemic. In order to
boots its sales and to find new marketing strategies, Outlook had to hire new young talents, it
would help them to get a new perspective and in turn help them to turn the tide.

9
 Chapter 3
The Project

3.1 Objective of the report:

 To analyses two of the Outlook’s main competitors in the Indian Market and comparing
the NPS of each of the company and find the reason behind the score
 To prepare a digital audit report of any of the Raheja group companies and its competitors
and perform a detailed analysis of the same
 To compare the same brand elements with a competitor company which is operating in
the same segment
 To implement Consumer Market Sales promotion Technique

3.2 Scope of The Study

The main purpose of this project is to develop a marketing and sales plan for outlook magazines.
In order to do so the customers need to be surveyed thoroughly so as to understand what exactly
the customer is looking for in the product which will satisfy his/her needs and requirements. After
converting prospect into customers, it is essential to retain these customers so as to create brand
loyalty. This can be done by using various promotional schemes. This research has also been
conducted to understand the impact of monthly income, branding, delivery service, profession etc
on customer decision making and experience. Also finding out ways and methods to improve the
sales of outlook magazines and also increase the number of customers. The scope of the study is
not only limited only towards the outlook magazine but also towards other companies which
comes under the Raheja Group.

3.3 Methodology

Research Design
Research Design is Descriptive in nature.

Sources of Data
10
The validity of any research is based on the data collected for the study. The present research is
based on both primary as well as secondary data. The primary data is collected from the
respondents in the study area. Outlook magazine subscribers on the basis of simple random
sampling method was taken as respondents.

3.4 Methods
Primary and Secondary data collection
Primary data was collected with the help of a structured questionnaire. The Questionnaires were
administered to 50 approx. Respondents.

3.5 Technique of data collection

The questionnaire has been designed and used to collect the needed primary Data. Close ended
questions were used.

Period of the study

The period of the study covers 60 days.

3.6 Sample Size

The sample size selected for the study is 75 respondents. The Outlook magazine customers as

respondents were selected by simple random sampling method.

Sampling Techniques
Sampling technique is non-probability sampling (non- random sampling). Data on the various
aspects directly and indirectly related to the investigation were gathered through questionnaires to
the respondents. The questions are necessary to ensure the reliability of the information. The
questions were simple to understand so that information can be collected from various
respondents easily. It should be seen that parties are not biased or prejudiced and are mentally
sound.

3.7 Data Analysis

3.7.1 Task 1

To find out Customer Life Cycle maintaining strategies of Outlook Magazine’s competitors and
study the implementation and benefits of these strategies.
11
 Table 1: Top 2 Competitors of Outlook (English) Magazine in India

Readership of English Magazine (in millions)

10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Outlook India Today The Week

English Magazine
Source: Indian Readership Survey 2019

India today and The Week Magazine are the closest competitors according to the Indian
Readership Survey

Facts Figures of India Today and Magazine

India Today: The India Today Magazine is a weekly magazine published by Living Media India
Ltd. It is published in five language editions - English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam -
and today, with a total readership of about 15.9 million, is the most widely read publication in
India. The magazine focuses on politics and current affairs and also presents a well-rounded
perspective on a variety of subjects - be it the economy, politics, lifestyle, the arts, entertainment,
travel, science, technology or health. An experienced and talented team of editors, journalists,
photographers and designers at India Today maintains the highest standards of journalism in the
country.
India Today has been ranked as the top source for general news consumption by Comscore. India
Today allows brands to engage with the right target audience. Below are the most noteworthy
points about the same-

1. 63% of the users on India Today are under the age of 35. This audience demographic is perfect
for digital-first brands as well as brands targeting young adults and the new age decision-makers.
2. India Today has 45Mn+ Unique Visitors per month. This allows brands to have great exposure.
12
3. India Today has a great social media presence- 10.3 Mn Page Likes on Facebook, 5.2 Mn
followers on Twitter, 3.8 Mn subscribers on YouTube, 1.5 Mn followers on Instagram.

Demographics - Gender Split

Gender User
Male 67%
Female 33%

Demographics- Age
Age User %
18-24 24.88%
25-34 37.68%
35-44 19.33%
45-54 7.89%
55-64 6.32%
65+ 3.90%

Facts and Figures of The Week Magazine

The Week is an Indian news magazine founded in 1982 and is published by Malayala Manorama
Co. Ltd and is the largest circulated English news magazine in India. It publishes the most
intriguing stories and the most thoughtful commentary with the best of what they find gets
reported. The Week Magazine - Malayala Manorama Co. Ltd reports opinion and analysis
alongside breaking news giving you a balanced and concise view of the news from the past seven
days.

Readership Profile
 Average Age is 29 years
 55% of the readers fall between the age of 20-39 years
 55% Majority of the readers belong to Social Economic Consideration A (Sec A)
 67% Majority of the readers are Graduate and Post Graduates

Circulation Breakup
Region Split
South India 83,872
West India 51,257
North India 31,258
East India 8,952

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Net Promoter Score for Outlook, India Today and The Week:

Net Promoter Score®, or NPS®, measures customer experience and predicts business growth.
This proven metric transformed the business world and now provides the core measurement for
customer experience management programs the world round.

The NPS Calculation:

Calculate your NPS using the answer to a key question, using a 0-10 scale: How likely is it that
you would recommend [brand] to a friend or colleague?
Respondents are grouped as follows:
Promoters (score 9-10) are loyal enthusiasts who will keep buying and refer others, fueling
growth.
Passives (score 7-8) are satisfied but unenthusiastic customers who are vulnerable to competitive
offerings.
Detractors (score 0-6) are unhappy customers who can damage your brand and impede growth
through negative word-of-mouth.
Subtracting the percentage of Detractors from the percentage of Promoters yields the Net
Promoter Score, which can range from a low of -100 (if every customer is a Detractor) to a high
of 100 (if every customer is a Promoter).

Methodology:

In this study I have used both secondary and primary research methodology for collecting data. In
secondary research we have received ton of information through literature review, blogs, national
and international research papers. Under primary research I have floated questionnaire across and
gather valuable inputs through detailed questionnaire. The responses received from the question
were important for calculating the NPS score of all the three magazine companies i.e., India
Today, Outlook and The Week. The analysis of the responses was done on excel.
Findings:

Detractors 47%
14
 Passives 27%  Full range: -100 to +100
Promoters 26%
 Normal Range: -20 to +30
NPS for Outlook -21%
(compare to industry)
 Good NPS: 25 to 50
(depends on industry)
 Great NPS: 50+

Detractors 38% •Full range: -100 to +100

Passives 33% •Normal Range: -20 to +30
Promoters 29%
NPS for India Today -9% (compare to industry)
•Good NPS: 25 to 50
(depends on industry)
•Great NPS: 50+

Detractors 53% Full range: -100 to +100

Passives 33% •Normal Range: -20 to +30
Promoters 14%
NPS for The Week -39% (compare to industry)
•Good NPS: 25 to 50
(depends on industry)
•Great NPS: 50+

As per the findings the NPS for the India Today Magazine is the highest, Outlook and The Week
has the second highest and third highest rating.

3.7.2 Task 2: Digital Marketing

Companies considered:

 Outlook Publishing India Pvt. Ltd. https://www.outlookindia.com/

 India Today Magazine https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine
 The Week https://www.theweek.in/home.html

15
Website Audit:

Domain Overview

 Outlook:

 The Week:

 India Today:

16
While comparing the Domain of all three magazine i.e., Outlook, The Week and India Today, the
organic search traffic of India Today was the highest at 54.3 million while Outlook came second
at 4.4 million and The Week came in third. India Today outpowered rest of the magazine with a
huge lead in the organic search traffic numbers. When it comes to backlinks India Today was
ahead of Outlook, with a difference of approximately 10 million referring domains. This
difference helped India Today’s users to stay on the website longer.
Organic Traffic
 Outlook:

 The Week:

 India Today:

17
As the above graph for Organic Traffic in the India Today chart shows a steady increase from the
month of September till the month of March 2021. Even Outlook has shown steady increase of
Organic Traffic, but in the case of The Week, it’s Organic Traffic has been decreasing.
Paid Traffic
 Outlook:

 The Week:

 India Today:
18
There was a sudden increase in paid traffic in the month of December 2020 for India Today but it
levelled off during the succeeding months. In the case of The Week, there was zero paid traffic
for the entire year of 2020 and for the first half of 2021. For Outlook there was increase in paid
traffic for the month of September 2020 to December 2020 but it was zero for the months
succeeding it. But paid traffic slowly started to pick up after the month of March 2020.
Organic Search Traffic
 Outlook:

 The Week:

 India Today:

19
Backlinks
 Outlook:

20
 The Week:

21
 India Today:

22
Display Advertisement
 Outlook:

 The Week:

23
  India Today:

On Page SEO:

Aspect Outlook The Week India Today Ideal Value

Load Time 4.13 s 7.51 s 2.48 s < 3s
Meta Title 143 characters 65 99 characters 60 characters

Meta Description 135 Characters 124 Characters 142 Characters < 160 Characters

Header Tags (H1) 2 1 1 1

Alt Tags Total Images: 74 Total Total Images:
Tags Missing in: Images:99 112

24
 25 Tags Missing Tags Missing
in:27 in: 26
Robots.txt file Present Present Present Present
Sitemaps Absent Absent Present Present
Google Analytics Linked Not Linked Linked Linked
Keyword Consistency Uneven Uneven Uneven
Usability Mobile Mobile Mobile Mobile responsive
responsive responsive responsive
Page Size 4.1 Mb 9.1 Mb 3.3 Mb 3 mb

Social Media Audit:

 Outlook:

25
 The Week:

26
 India Today:

27
Leading Aspects:
 On Page SEO
 Website Load Time and Optimization better than The Week Magazine
 Backlink Number and credibility
 Areas of Improvement
 Domain Authority can be improved to a score of 100
 Minimize meta title characters
 Increase Organic Search Traffic
 Increase reach with Display Advertising
 Keyword ranking and Density
28
  Social Media Traffic

Steps to Gain Higher Conversions:

 Tips to Optimize for Meta Title
 A title tag is an important on-page SEO signal. Ensure to add the focus keyword in
the title tag for SEO benefits.
 A title tag that starts with the keyword performs better than title tags with
keywords towards the end.
 Remember not to stuff meta title with keywords, if found by Google, it may
penalize your page.
 Try to write meta titles that are meaningful and has the focus keyword placed very
strategically in it, preferably in the beginning.

 Optimize Your Page Load Speed

 Improving the speed at which your website loads is undoubtedly one of the most
critical things those digital marketers ignore when looking to boost their
conversion rates.
 If your site takes more than three seconds to load, you lose almost half of your
visitors before they even arrive on your site.
 Many people have the habit of loading their websites with a lot of images, movies,
and other plugins, which significantly slows down the loading time. Hence it is
very important to address these factors
 Size your images appropriately
 Stick to JPG when possible
 Compress all photos and videos
 Minimize HTTP requests

 Testing
 The importance of A/B tests cannot be overstated. Create a test page for any
changes you want to make to your website and analyse the results. Pay attention to
indicators like session duration, bounce rate, and, of course, sales conversion rate
in addition to the number of visits.

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  Consider every aspect of your campaign (email subject lines, graphics, ad copy,
etc.) and its variations, then run A/B and A/B/C testing to see what works best.

 Using Heat Maps

 Make use of heat maps. Heat maps enable you to see every element of your users'
behavior as they navigate your website.
 Which aspects do they place the most emphasis on? Where do people become
dissatisfied with your page? Do people consistently ignore your CTA button?
Information is power if you have it!
 Make sure to include clear calls to action.
 Calls to Action are one of the most important aspects of digital marketing since
they are frequently the thing that persuades consumers to take the action you want
them to do.
 You must include links, graphics, animations, and other elements that effectively
attract visitors to conversion in order to enhance your conversion stats. Don't
forget to do A/B testing to see which ones are the most effective.

 Optimize Location Targeting

 One common blunder made by digital marketers is to build campaigns that are
directed at practically everyone on the earth.
 If you want to target solely buyers in a specific geographic area, however, you
need optimize your website and landing pages for that area. You may see a drop in
web traffic as a result, but the traffic you do get will be highly targeted to potential
clients in your area who are more than ready to buy your products or services.

 Find Indexing Errors & Technical Problems

 According to a report 50% of analysed web pages had duplicate content &
indexation issues, 45% had broken image and alt tag issues, and 35% had broken
links.
 It is important to find indexing issues (unnecessary pages, duplicate content),
broken links and other technical issues to tell you from an SEO point of view
what is wrong with your website

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Social Media Marketing Strategy
 Twitter
 The Twitter handles of all the 3 brands serve their purpose well with timely news
updates.
 The relevancy of each tweet has been maintained by all the 3 Brands.
 Thus, The Twitter for these brands is well optimized.

 Reddit
 Outlook India and India Today and The Week have presence on Reddit.

 Facebook

 On December 2018, Outlook magazine's Facebook following had grown to over

12 lakh (1.2 million). Known for its bold and aggressive reporting it continuously
raises questions many had in their minds but never dared to ask. 

 Facebook page for Outlook includes news updates with links to the website for
further reading material.

 Instagram
 The Outlook Instagram page is created to reach a larger audience in order to
provide timely information and news. There are frequent audience interaction
posts keeping the audience engaged.
 The page should have more user interactive video and user polls in order to keep
the audience glued to the site. Inspire followers to engage with you. Another way
to engage users can be to ask users a question related to the article and get them to
read on and convey their views on the subject.
 The posts on India Today have a consistent theme, which adds to the overall visual
appeal. The Page, on the other hand, lacks audience engagements such as polls,

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 highlights, and other features that might be used to expand the viewer base and
increase participation. They have relevant content in the form of IGTV and reels,
which helps to optimize the page.

 In comparison to the other two brands, The Week India has a small follower base.
 The page lacks a consistent appearance, which reduces its aesthetic appeal.
 The distribution of content appears haphazard, which reduces viewer engagement.
 The Page lacks user engagement activities like opinion polls, surveys, feedback
from customers about the topics the magazine covers or about the magazine itself.

 Facebook
 India Today has a strong social media presence, with 10.3 million Facebook page
likes. For its updates, India Today uses a video format, which is more effective
because video is the best method for content delivery and audience interaction.
 While The Week updates news and articles and has around 1.2 million likes on
Facebook

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3.7.3 Task 3

4 P's Globus Pantaloons

Marketi Year of Origin 1988 1997
ng Owned by Raheja Group Aditya Birla Retail Group
Product Demographics Age Group 18-25, 25-35 Youth Age Group young teens, 18-25, 25-35
adults
Products Globus has wide range of casual, Pantaloons offers Apparel brands for
occasional traditional and premium Men, Women and Kids. Along with
clothing for men and women along Apparel it also features accessories.
with jewelry and fashion
accessories as a part of its Pantaloons offer products from
marketing mix product strategy. traditional outfits to high end western
outfits as part of its marketing mix
strategy.
Product Private brands and has in store Pantaloons retails over 200 licensed
Offerings labels like Globus and F21.The F21 and international brands, including 24
label especially cater to the Youth exclusive in-house brands.
Brand Youth Fast Fashion Brand targeted Diversified products catering to
Perceptio towards Young Adults. Vibrant, Middle Class Indian Household with
n Expressive, Maverick offerings for Men, Women and
Children
Pricing Affordable/Expe Affordable to youth Affordable to middle c Indian
nsive Households l
a
s
s
Revenues Rs 1.2 Bn Rs 35.4 Bn (Rs 3514 Cr)
Placemen No of Stores 40 stores across 24 cities in India 342 across 55 cities in India
t Online Presence Website https://globusfashion.in Website https://www.pantaloons.com/
Globus merchandise is also
available through e-commerce
websites like Myntra, tatacliq.com,
jabong.com, snapdeal.com etc.
Geographic Globus currently has stores in most Pantaloons has spread across 155+
Expansion Metro cities and is planning to towns in more than 70 cities
expand in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities
with stores dedicated to accessories
Promotio Tagline “Fashion for a changing world” In love with life, in love with fashion;
n Rewrite rules retain values
Campaigns Globus was to Pantaloons launched ‘Colors of the
unable Season’, In Love with Fashion,
targeted engage ‘Holiday in Style campaigns in order
customers with to reach out to the youth population,
Campaigns Ad who had a distinct sense
of fashion.

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34
35
3.7.4 Task 4

Creating buzz
As Spurge is a new magazine is Outlook brand, it needs to be publicized and the audience should
know about the magazine before its launch.
Create Suspense/ Mystery:
Before launching the Spurge magazine, Outlook should create a buzz in the market about their
upcoming magazine. The buzz should be created well in advance about the product launch.
It is ideal to keep an element of mystery while hinting at the things about to launch soon.
Use social media to put up the “Coming Soon” message on all the social media handles to reach a
greater number of people. Share sneak previews without giving away too much.

Teasers:
Post teaser videos. A good way to get the user’s excited is to launch a teaser campaign. It is a
powerful tool that helps to grab attention and build anticipation.

Engage with Influencers

Hire few fashion influencers to talk about the magazine as influence plays a vital role in brand
promotion. If you pick the right bloggers, you’ll amplify the buzz by tapping into their audience.

Send email to existing customers about launch

The active users of Outlook magazines should be sent emails about the new product launch. It
will help in attracting existing customers and in a way help in a prospect cross selling
Play fashion quizzes on social media
Quizzes are good way to keep social media users active and engaging on the posts and content.
Give one copy free:
Another way is to provide a miniature version of the Spurge magazine to existing annual
magazine subscribers
Diversify social media:
Try reaching various social media platforms and different fashion and magazine groups under
them to reach magazine and fashion-oriented users.
Create new hashtags:
A new hashtag like #Spurge or #Outlook Spurge will help to reach more internet users and can be
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made trending organically as well as by paying.
Heavy discounts:
As the magazine is relatively new, to gain new subscribers, the new Spurge magazine should start
at a low price considering it as an introductory price.
Buy mailing list:
The existing Outlook user’s database can be used to reach existing subscribers to promote the
Spurge Fashion Magazine.

Corporate Advertising:
Corporate advertising is the advertising done for an entire institution/ company/ organization and
not for individual brands or products. Few of the fashion Colleges and Sectors can be reached
which will help them to know insights about the fashion industry frequently.

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 Chapter 4

4.1 Findings

 In the market, Outlook has a positive brand image.

 During the research session, I learned about the reader's various requirements and
preferences.

 According to the study, the Print Media business in India has a large market potential.

 Respondents' various purchasing habits have provided insight into their various areas of
interest.

 According to the survey, the majority of individuals have a basic understanding of

Outlook Magazine.

 India Today, a direct rival of the Outlook Group, has been discovered to be the magazine
of choice among subscribers.

 Although the quality and content of Outlook magazine are excellent, the company is
presently facing stiff competition from India, whose distribution services are considerably
superior to Outlook's.

 In coming years, a good promotional plan might assist Outlook grow their market share
and product portfolio.

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4.2 Recommendations

Since its inception, Outlook has achieved tremendous results. The nicest thing about Outlook is
that it has a strong brand, but in order to increase sales, it needs to strengthen its distribution
network. During my internship, I observed that people are afraid to invest in something, and that
security is usually a key priority when purchasing online subscriptions. As a result, quicker
delivery times and safer forms of transportation should be prioritized. Outlook would be able to
penetrate the Indian market further by incorporating a solid delivery network. The majority of
people in rural India have left. Customers may be frustrated by the company's post-purchase
behaviour, late delivery, or false claims. From the ground up, Outlook must embed customer
success into the company's culture so that everyone gives their all when it comes to serving
customers.
Another important factor is post-purchase behaviour; many organisations fail to understand their
customers' demands and respond in a timely manner to consumer enquiries that emerge after the
sale, leading to customer turnover and discontent. As a result, a strong customer inquiry network
and hotline should be set up to assist customers in resolving their issues.In order to compete in
the market, the company's pricing skimming must improve. In order to enhance its market share
in terms of volume and revenue, a company could combine high and long tail strategies instead of
following a high tail plan.Customer acquisition is great, but keeping customers is even better.
Because the cost of getting a customer is five times the cost of retaining a customer, a client kept
is equivalent to five new clients. As a result, priority should be given to post-purchase services.
Referral marketing on the internet is an effective way to boost subscription revenue. Existing
customers can be enticed to refer the magazine to friends, family, and others by providing
intriguing and appealing prizes.

4.3 Limitations

Outlook's subscription packs are starting from yearly subscription. There's no semiannually or
quarterly option. The no. of subscriptions is comparatively low for digital subscription.
Outlook lags in distribution as compared to India Today and India today starts delivering

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magazines in 2 weeks whereas Outlook takes time. There are not many people who prefer reading
magazines

Chapter 5:
Conclusion

I was given the task of evaluating the market potential for the print media industry, and I gave it
my all to complete it as quickly and efficiently as possible. The Outlook Group is one of India's
top four print companies and a well-known name in the magazine industry. Its national average
readership is increasing, but it must remain competitive. Its biggest competitor in the market is
India Today. The main problem with Outlook's promotion strategy is that it places too much
reliance on its sales force to boost magazine reading. Outlook, aside from the unique discounts,
should develop a marketing plan to achieve this. Sales have increased significantly as a result of
the promotions. Newsstands and sales reps are the most popular sales channels, and as a result,
they don't market much. The primary difficulty these days is Covid. If Outlook takes proper
safety precautions during delivery and has a well-managed supply chain, it may be able to
expand.

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 References

1. Outlook India website

2. Indian Brand Equity Foundation (Media and Entertainment Industry)
3. Indian Readership Survey
4. Outlook Wikipedia
5. Outlook India CRM and Database.
6. The Media Ant
7. Business Today (IRS 2019)
8. www.SEMRush.com

Annexure

Questionnaire
Indian Magazines Survey Form

1. Name
2. Age
3. Gender
4. On a 1-10 scale (10 being the most), how likely is it that you would recommend The Week
Magazine to a friend or colleague?
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 Mostly Likely – 10 Least Likely – 1
5. On a 1-10 scale (10 being the most), how likely is it that you would recommend Outlook
Magazine to a friend or colleague?
Mostly Likely – 10 Least Likely – 1
6. On a 1-10 scale (10 being the most), how likely is it that you would recommend India Today
Magazine to a friend or colleague?
Mostly Likely – 10 Least Likely – 1

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