SEHAJ 9781170555 sehaj@student.ufv.

ca
GITANSH 9814968068 gitansh.kashyap@student.ufv.ca
KASHYAP
JASHANDEEP 7087322965
CASE STUDY #3
jashandeepkaur.dhillon1@stude
KAUR nt.ufv.caJOURNAL
THE WALL STREET
HEAVENDEEP 8054898146 heavendeepgill@student.ufv.ca
GILL CRN – 10012 (9:30 – 12:30)
GROUP NUMBER #3

DATE SUBMITTED - 28.01.2019

DATE DUE - 28.01.2019

ACKNOLEDGMENT

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To complete our case study, we had to take the
help and guideline of some respected persons,
who deserve our greatest gratitude. We would like
to show our gratitude to Mr Shyam Vyas for giving
us a good guideline for how to go about the case
study which helped us in putting all our efforts in
completing it. We would also like to expand our
deepest gratitude to all those who filled up the
newspaper survey form that helped
us with some unanswered questions.

SEHAJ
GITANSH KASHAP
JASHANDEEP KAUR
HEAVENDEEP GILL

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY
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This is to declare that:
1. We have used only my words.
2. We have not copied.
3. We have not plagiarized.
4. We have cited all sources from where we have
quoted or adapted.

SEHAJ
GITANSH KASHAP
JASHANDEEP KAUR
HEAVENDEEP GILL

TABLE OF CONTENT
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 1. Summary

2. Questions and issue for discussion

3. Original research

4. Relation to concept

5. References

SUMMARY
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The Wall Street Journal is one of the world’s leading business newspapers with
its headquarters situated in New York. The journal was founded in 1889. The
circulation of the journal was strictly restricted to New York and the other
financial centres of the United States till the 1970 but when the sales flourished
after this, almost doubling in a matter of years. With the increase in its
circulation and advertising linage, Journal added a second section to the
newspaper and published general interest stories, etc. In 6 years, circulation
rapidly jumped from 1,477,077 to 2,108,795. Advertising linage rose to 36.8%.

As said business environment is always changing. Journal’s business

environment took a drastic turn when its competitors like USA Today, Investor’s
Daily, etc. turned in and started taking Journal’s market share. Journal started
losing its readership and was unable to beat the marketing strategy owned by
USA Today. The huge loss in readership forced the company to cut down on its
costs including lying off most of the staff. Another reason that let to downfall of
Journal was its high operating costs, i.e. the company paid its middle manager’s
subscription to the Journal that amounted over $100 per subscription.

However, even after poor market performance Journal was recognized to be

America’s most trusted information medium. Survey from over 10,000
subscriber’s letters provided the following information about Journal:
 Four out of ten subscribers lived in metropolitan cities
 Journal had a subscriber in every community
 Out of all the subscribers 90% are college students.
 Many entrepreneurs and managers of small, medium and big companies
read the Journal
 Readers possess a strong interest in personal financial information and
mutual fund information

According to the survey Journal management recognized several areas for

improvement, as follows:
 Group related stories and use more graphics and charts.
 Increase coverage of daily sections to cover more target markets.

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  Expand the Journal’s 154-city private delivery network (740, 000
Journals delivered by this system in 1988) to increase speed and
reliability of delivery.
 Build more printing plants in overseas locations to speed overseas
delivery.

OUESTION AND ISSUES FOR DISCUSSION

QUES 1 – Do research locally and inform of the situation analysis as

pertinent to tri-cities as regards newspaper print players.
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ANS- Marketing mix is a combination of factors that can be controlled by
company to influence customers to purchase its products.
The four P’s of marketing are –
 Product
 Price
 Place
 Promotion
PRODUCT –
In the earlier days, the wall street journal only published news related to
business and financials but to cope up with the competition, they had to improve
their product so they added other sections to the newspaper too such as
entertainment, arts, general stories and others.
PRICE –
Newspapers generally adopt the low pricing strategy so that everyone can afford
it. Therefore, the price of the newspaper is very nominal amount.
PROMOTION –
Journal like other newspaper companies promotes its products through online
mediums which consist of social networking sites and other methods too which
include hoardings and boards(traditional).
PLACEMENT –
There is no place where a newspaper can’t reach. Placement refers to the
elements in which newspapers target the specific geographical location. When
wall street journal was started, it was limited to New York and some major cities
of America only but with time, increasing number of subscribers, people’s
interest and rising competition led to circulation of newspaper to other parts of
the country as well.

CURRENT STATE OF INDIAN NEWSPAPERS –

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There are 1,10,851 registered publications India as of 31st march 2016. Some of
the major names in the industry are The Hindustan Times, The Tribune,
Hindustan Dainik, Dainik Jagran, Times of India, The Indian Express are some
of the big names in the industry

1 [ CITATION htt17 \l 16393 ]

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Global research says that 2.5 billion people read a newspaper in print. This is
0.3 billion more than those who used the internet or have the capability to get
content on mobile telephones. the number of individuals reading only digital
version is 100 million more than the ones reading digital and physical form that
is 500 million. In 2011 newspaper circulation group by 1.1% globally which is
it reached 512 million copies. It grows 4.2 % from the year 2007 to 2011
4396 number of newspapers were published in India as a report from the year
2010-2011. The circulation of these newspapers increased by 17.6 crores. Out of
these The Hindi newspapers circulation was 7.91 crore copies while 2.43 crore
copies were of the 403 English newspapers.

SWOT ANALYSIS OF THE TRIBUNE

STRENGTH - Strong Brand Portfolio
- Good Returns on Capital Expenditure
- Strong Free Cash Flow
WEAKNESS - Need more investment in new technologies
- Investment in Research and Development is below
the fastest growing players in the industry

OPPORTUNITY - market development will lead to dilution of

competitor’s advantage and enable Tribune Media
Company to increase its competitiveness compare to
the other competitors
- New trends in the consumer behaviour can open up
new market for the Tribune

THREAT - New technologies developed by the competitor

- Rising raw material can pose a threat to the Tribune

QUES 2 – Using the information provided in the case, complete a situation

analysis of the Journal. What constitutes a situation analysis? “An astute

marketer is always in a situational analysis mode” – do you agree? Why?

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ANS – Situation analysis states all the external and internal forces that a firm

takes into consideration which reflect the capability of the firm, the customers it

has, potential customers in the environment, business environment and the

impact it will have on the other businesses and firms. It is important to perform

a situation analysis before developing any marketing strategy as it helps to keep

the company updated with the surrounding.

Constituents of situation analysis –

 Product situation – Wall street journal is a business newspaper that

reports on all that happens in the business world. It is available on all

electronic platforms as well as in paper form. Majority of subscribers are

business owners or people at managerial posts.

 Competitive situation – The journal was founded in 1889 and it has

faced much competition from then. The biggest competition faced by

wall street journal is New York Times, The Financial Times and Forbes.

 Distribution situation – this journal is distributed internationally and can

be accessed anytime through internet connection and membership.

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  Environmental situation – To cope up with the changes in the business

environment, executives must continuously bring out changes in their

work. It has a lot of competition which keeps on changing with time.

Further situation analysis keeps a look upon the 3 C’s of marketing

 CONSUMER – Consumers are the target

of any market. Consumers demand

relevant information and satisfaction. The

number of readers over the time has almost doubled.

 COMPANY – wall street journal is known for the business and financial

information it provides. The major objective is to make consumers aware

about the business world. The company has lost a lot of its market share

to the rival companies but is trying to gain the same position.

 COMPETITION – this part plays a major role in the market. Because

of the competition journal had to change its various systems. When

competition was not that high, it used to publish only business-related

news. Now, it covers general and other sections of the news as well.

Yes, an astute marketer always in the situation analysis where they try to

satisfy customer’s needs and wants in order to establish them in the

marketplace. If a competitor is not present in the market, then the

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 company takes consumers for a ride. Therefore, it is necessary to keep

check of the competition as well as satisfying customer requirements.

QUES 3 – Identify possible objectives that might be a part of a marketing

plan. What is your understanding of a marketing plan? Is it important for
firms to have a marketing plan? Why?

 Proactive orientation: it seeks to learn about and understand customer’s

latent needs with the goal of them proper and satisfactory solutions. USA
TODAY found an opportunity to enhance its market share by publishing
ads in the newspaper claiming to have the maximum readership. The
paper also joined with General Mills and offered six months free
subscription on GM products which proved to be very beneficial.

 Cost cutting: Cost decides the future continuity and stability. If the
revenues are greater than the costs, the firm enjoys profit and if its vice
versa, the firm enters in a loss. The Journal faced many problems in cost
management. After downfall, The Journal had to lay off its many middle
managers and has to face a loss of $100 on each subscription they have to
their staff.

 Market survey: by doing a market research, a company can progress in

many ways. It helps to identify the target market and the products that
customers need. After surveys, The Journal found its weaknesses,
strengths and areas to improve on.

Marketing planning helps you develop products and services in your

business that meet the needs of your target market. Good marketing helps
your customers understand why your product or service is better than, or
different from, the competition.
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 Without customers, your business would not survive. To attract and retain
customers, your business needs to understand the value of marketing. People
are unlikely to simply walk into your business and buy something from you
if they don't know who you are, what you are selling and why they should
choose you over the competition.

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Marketing helps you to find out what makes your business unique. One of
the greatest benefits of developing a marketing plan is that it helps you to
focus your resources and plan for your business growth. The planning
process helps you to understand the different factors that may affect your
success. Instead of worrying about the future, you can have a sense of
control over your business and livelihood.

A marketing plan gives you control of your business. Marketing planning

helps the day-to-day running of your business. When you develop your plan,
you'll set targets and milestones which help you to:
 allocate resources and budget

 motivate your team

 manage performance of your staff members and marketing efforts.

It's important to have a marketing plan, but it's just as important to keep it up
to date. A marketing plan is not a document you create once and store in your
bottom drawer. It's a living guide that you should develop as your business
grows and changes.

2 [ CITATION htt19 \l 16393 ]

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QUES 4 – Describe what you think is the ideal target market for Journal.
Why? Be specific and clear.

ANS – Journal has always been in publishing business and financial

information. Therefore, business executives, investors and business students are

an ideal target market for Journal, as:

 Business executives need to be updated in the business world in order

to ensure their survival in the market.

 Investors look for the right opportunity and right place to invest their

money.

 Students get a chance to learn the tactics of the business world so as to

become a successful entrepreneur in future.

STATISTICS OF LEADING AUDIENCE OF THE WALL STREET

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JOURNAL

3 Statistics of leading audience - [ CITATION htt20 \l 16393 ]

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QUES 5 – What elements of the marketing mix can you identify in the

case?

ANS – We can identify the Four P’s of the marketing mix in this case and also,
they are used by almost every manager to enhance and make their business
successful. The Four P’s are:

PRODUCT

PROMOTION CONSUMER PLACE

PRICE

 Product: Journal offered a variety of products that best suited its

customers like:

 Business and financial information for business related people.

 General topics for other people

 Increased its coverage

 Used charts, and graphics to make it more attractive

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 Place: Initially, Journal only published its articles in 20 metropolitan

cities in USA like New York, etc. Later, with the rise in demand and

subscribers it started publishing worldwide.

 Promotion: US Today’s plan, in reference to promotion, includes:

 US Today allied with General Mills and came out with a strategy of

offering free six-month subscription on purchase of GM product.

 A 1986 nationwide poll by the Los Angeles Times found the Journal

to be America’s most trusted information medium.

 Price: The annual subscription fee for the Journal was in excess of $100.

The company paid the subscription amount for most of its staff.

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ORIGINAL RESEARCH

Our group conducted a survey and got 44 responses. Following are the
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questions asked and the responses. This survey was conducted for tri-city only.

4 The survey was conducted with the help of google forms - [ CITATION htt21 \l 16393 ]
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The Tribune and Hindustan Times are more preferred newspapers.

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People mostly prefer broadsheet as a medium for reading the news.

SWOT ANALYSIS OF THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

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S.W.O.T. Analysis

1. Available on all platforms for reading ranging from

phones, pads, laptops and the traditional paperback.

2. The journal has won numerous Pulitzer prizes in

various fields of journalism.

3. Has a distinct appearance that can be recognized and

differentiated from the other newspapers in a newsstand
Strengths easily?

4. It is one of the most prominent brand names in the

industry

5. It has an excellent research team that gathers top

quality content and top-notch writers that convert this
content into meaningful articles for the average reader

1. Being at the top in any industry causes everyone to

keep an eye out for you. Even the smallest mistake
could be made into an issue with the news and be
blown out of proportion causing problems and concern.
Weaknesses

2. There was an issue recently in which the head of the

news corporation, Rupert Murdoch had been accused of
phone tapping scandals. This caused an issue with the
authorities.

Opportunities
1. Can generate more revenues on Digital platforms by
entering into partnerships with other websites rather
than just using their own website

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 2. The journal could introduce innovative features for
their apps and website that grab attention and are not
criticized

3. Deals should be made with printing presses overseas

both to increase the international customer base and to
reduce shipping costs.

1. Increasing competition from the other newspapers

Threats 2. Parodies of news reports along with negative reviews

act as a roadblock

3. Lawsuits can be filed for misrepresentation of anyone

in any from.

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RELATION TO CONCEPT

Marketing plays a major role in this case study. The case talks about the success
and downfall of The Wall Street Journal.

The Journal has all the 3 C’s of the market i.e. they have consumer, they have
and face competition and is a well-recognized company.

When the Financial Times were coming up and rising in the mobile app market,
the Journal too came up with a mobile app. This relates to the concept of LRO
as they listened, reacted and offered what was wanted by the customers. This
helped them reach a wider customer base.

A 1986 nationwide poll by the Los Angeles Times found the Journal to be
America’s most trusted information medium. Another annual survey by Fortune
once again found the publisher of the Journal, was at the top of all-American
corporations surveyed for quality of products services.

As market research is an objective, systematic process and based on the above-

mentioned surveys and other market research processes, the Journal
management identified several areas for possible improvement and actions that
could help them grow. For example, they increased the coverage of daily
developments and broad trends affecting readers’ career goals, business
decisions and personal financial planning after they got to know that their
readers have a strong interest in personal financial planning, median age of
readers is 47 and 90% are college graduates.

The Journal has been in the newsletter market for a long period of time now
therefore it has a brand name and trust has been built.

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References
https://bizfluent.com/info-7872116-marketing-plan-objectives-issues.html. (n.d.).

https://goo.gl/forms/pCKw4aNAipZUUn1c2. (n.d.).

https://images.dowjones.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/183/2018/05/09164142/WSJ-Mag-
Audience_SPRING2017.pdf. (n.d.).

https://www.business.gov.au/planning/marketing-plans/why-do-i-need-a-marketing-plan. (n.d.).

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