Newspaper Distribution Final Report

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Introduction :
The credit of conceptualizing a “Newspaper” actually goes to Julius Caesar who, in

59 B.C (approx), started ‘Acta Diurna’, an activity to inform the public about
important social and political happenings, wherein upcoming events were written on
large white boards and displayed in popular public places like the “baths”. The ‘Acta’
kept citizens informed about government scandals, military campaigns, trials and
executions. In the 8th century the first newspapers appeared as hand-written
newssheets in Beijing.
The printing press, invented by Johann Gutenberg in 1447, ushered in the era of the
modern newspaper. Gutenberg’s machine enabled the free exchange of ideas and the
spread of knowledge -- themes that would define Renaissance Europe. During this
era, newsletters supplied a growing merchant class with news relevant to trade and
commerce. Manuscript newssheets were being circulated in German cities by the late
15th century. These pamphlets were often highly sensationalized; one reported on the
abuse that Germans in Transylvania were suffering at the hands of Vlad Tsepes
Drakul, also known as Count Dracula. In 1556, the Venetian government published
Notizie Scritte, for which readers paid a small coin, or “gazetta”.
In the first half of the 17th century, newspapers began to appear as regular and
frequent publications. The first modern newspapers were products of Western
European countries like Germany (publishing Relation in 1605), France (Gazette in
1631), Belgium (Nieuwe Tijdingen in 1616) and England (the London Gazette,
founded in 1665, is still published as a court journal). These periodicals consisted
mainly of news items from Europe, and occasionally included information from
America or Asia. They rarely covered domestic issues; instead English papers
reported on French military blunders while French papers covered the latest British
royal scandal.
Newspaper content began to shift toward more local issues in the latter half of the
17th century. Still, censorship was widespread and newspapers were rarely permitted
to discuss events that might incite citizens to opposition. Newspaper headlines did
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announce the beheading of Charles I at the end of the English Civil War, although
Oliver Cromwell tried to suppress all news-books on the eve of the execution. In
1766, Sweden was the first country to pass a law protecting press freedom.
The invention of the telegraph in 1844 transformed print media. Now information
could be transferred within a matter of minutes, allowing for more “in time” and
relevant reporting.
By the middle of the 19th century, newspapers became the primary means of
disseminating and receiving information. Between 1890 and 1920, the period known
as the “golden age” of print media, media barons such as William Randolph Hearst,
Joseph Pulitzer, and Lord Northcliffe built huge publishing empires. These men had
enormous influence within the media industry, and gained notoriety for the ways in
which they wielded their power.
Newspapers have also played a role as disseminators of revolutionary propaganda.

Iskra (The Spark), published by Lenin in 1900, is one notable example. On June 21,
1925, Thanh Nien made its debut in Vietnam, introducing Marxism to the country and
providing information on the revolution’s strategic policies.
Broadcast radio exploded onto the media scene in the 1920’s. Newspapers were
forced to re-evaluate their role as society’s primary information provider. Like the
new media technologies of today, the development of a low cost, alternative media
source produced rumblings that radio would topple the newspaper industry. To
respond to this new competition, editors revamped the paper’s format and content in
order to broaden their appeal, and stories were expanded to provide more in depth
coverage.
Soon after newspapers adapted to radio, they were forced to re-evaluate themselves in
light of a new and more powerful medium: television (TV). But TV’s omnipresence
did not render the newspaper obsolete. Even some newspapers, like USA Today,
responded to the technological advancements by using colour and by utilizing the
“short, quick and to the point” stories that are usually featured on television.
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The technological revolution of today is creating new challenges and opportunities for
traditional media. Never before has so much information been so accessible to so
many.
The amount and immediacy of information on the Internet is unparalleled, but it has
not signaled the end of the newspaper’s relevance. Newspapers in print remain a
popular and powerful medium for the reporting and analysis of events that shape our
lives. According the estimation of World Association of Newspapers, one billion
people in the world read a newspaper every day.
Newspapers in India
Newspapers in India started with William Bolts, an ex-employee of the British East
India Company who attempted to start the first newspaper in India in 1776. Bolts had
to beat a retreat under the disapproving gaze of the Court of Directors of the
Company.
Then, in 1789, James Augustus Hicky started Bengal Gazette, a two-sheet newspaper
that publicized the private lives of the “sahibs” of the Company. In the newspaper,
Hicky even dared to mount scurrillious attacks on the Governor-General and Chief
Justice, for which he was sentenced to one year in prison and fined Rs.5, 000, which
finally drove him to penury. These were the first tentative steps of journalism in
India.
B. Messink and Peter Reed were pliant publishers of the India Gazette, unlike their
infamous predecessors. The colonial establishment started the Calcutta Gazette. It was
followed by another private initiative, the Bengal Journal.
The Madras Courier was started in 1785 in the southern stronghold of Madras.
Richard Johnson, its founder, was a government printer. Madras got its second
newspaper when, in 1791, Hugh Boyd, who was the editor of the Courier quit and
founded the Hurkaru. Tragically for the paper, it ceased publication when Boyd
passed away within a year of its founding.
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It was only in 1795 that competitors to the Courier emerged with the founding of the
Madras Gazette followed by the India Herald. The latter was an “unauthorized”
publication, which led to the deportation of its founder Humphreys. The Madras
Courier was designated the purveyor of official information in the Presidency.
In 1878, The Hindu was founded, and played a vital role in promoting the cause of
Indian independence from the colonial yoke. It’s founder, Kasturi Ranga Iyengar, was
a lawyer, and his son, K. Srinivasan assumed editorship of this pioneering newspaper
during the first half of the 20th century.
Bombay, surprisingly was a late starter. The Bombay Herald came into existence in
1789. Significantly, a year later a paper called The Courier started carrying
advertisements in Gujarati.
The first media merger of sorts happened with The Bombay Gazette, which was
started in 1791, merging with The Bombay Herald the following year. Like, The
Madras Courier, this new entity was recognized as the publication to carry “official
notifications and advertisements”.
Compared with many other developing countries, the Indian press has flourished since
independence and exercises a large degree of independence. In 2001, India had
45,974 newspapers, including 5364 daily newspapers published in over 100
languages. The largest number of newspapers were published in Hindi (20,589),
followed by English (7,596), Marathi (2,943), Urdu (2,906), Bengali (2,741), Gujarati
(2,215), Tamil (2,119), Kannada (1,816), Malayalam (1,505) and Telugu (1,289). The
Hindi daily press has a circulation of over 23 million copies, followed by English with
over 8 million copies.
Some important timelines:
1447: Johann Gutenberg invents letterpress printing, a process that enabled the mass
production of the printed word.
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1501: Pope Alexander VI decreed that printed material must be submitted to clerical
authority prior to publication in order to prevent heresay. Failure to do so could result
in fines or excommunication.
1588: In Cologne, Germany, Michael Entzinger publishes a 24 page news book

reporting on the defeat of the Spanish Armada. The news book’s front page shows a
woodcut representing the Spanish Armada sailing off the coast of England. Although
the report came months after the actual event occurred, this is one of the earliest “first
reports” of a significant historical event.
1605: Johann Carolus publishes the first printed newspaper, Relation, in Strasbourg,
now in France, but at the time a part of the so-called
Deutsches Reich :
1645: worlds oldest newspaper still in circulation, Post-och inrikes Tidninger, is

published in Sweden
1704: Daniel Defoe, the author of Robinson Crusoe and often recognized as the
world’s first journalist, begins to publish the Review, a periodical covering European
affairs.
1851: Reuters is established.
1880: First photographs appear in a newspaper.
1903: Alfred Harmsworth (later Lord Northcliffe) develops the first tabloid
newspaper, the Daily Mirror, in London. The Daily Mirror introduced the concept of
the “exclusive” interview. The first was with Lord Minto, the new Viceroy of India, in
1905.
1966: Behram “Busybee” Contractor begins publishing his column “Round and
About” in the Evening News of India. Running until 2001, the satirical column
became the longest running column in the history of newspaper journalism.
1994: First independent on-line daily appears on the World Wide Web.
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Background of the Study :

Today morning’s newspaper publishing is a competitive and became a very complex
market. Besides a declining trend in the circulation, the morning newspapers compete
with each other and with other media such as TV, radio, the www and other on-line
services. In order to be competitive in the media landscape of today, morning
newspapers need to improve the production and the distribution of newspapers as well
as other processes within the newspaper companies. Research regarding the
newspaper distribution process & consumer buying behaviour of particular newspaper
has been focused in this report. In this thesis, studies of newspaper distribution
companies in the India are presented. The distribution process, which is carried out by
the newspaper distribution companies in India as well as in other countries, is a
process where “conflicts” may occur between the management of the newspaper
company and the customers, e.g. readers and advertisers. The management, on the one
hand, would like the start of the production and the distribution to occur as late as
possible in order to include the latest news On the other hand; the readers would like
to receive the newspapers before a certain time in the morning, which is also in the
interest of the advertisers. By a determined printing start and delivery deadline, the
time for distribution is predetermined. This predetermined distribution time must be
used effectively and therefore the planning, the physical distribution and the
information flow, among other things, are important areas of improvement for the
newspaper companies. The newspaper distribution is a major expense for the total
newspaper, making up approximately 20% of the total cost, which makes it important
to improve upon this research area in order for the newspaper companies to be
competitive. The use of computers is limited within distribution organizations;
therefore the implementation of computer aid to improve planning of the physical
distribution and the information flow can be of importance in order for the newspaper
companies to remain competitive.
• What are the characteristics of the processes within morning newspaper
distribution?
• How are the processes within morning newspaper distribution related?
• How can morning newspaper distribution be improved?
• What factors influence the consumer to purchase the newspaper?
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These three areas involve a number of sub-questions, which were uncovered and
answered during the course of the project. However, the third interest needed a focus.
Therefore, two fields within the newspaper distribution chain were chosen for further
studies; the information flow and the connection between the production and the
distribution.
Objective of the Study:
The aims of this research work have been divided into three phases. The aim of phase
one was to find the characteristics of morning newspaper distribution and to create a
model of the distribution process. The aim of phase two was to find out how morning
newspaper distribution could be improved. And the aim of phase third was to find out
consumer buying behaviour of the particular brand of news paper. The objective of
the third phase is to find the brand preference for newspaper among consumers. In
this study the aims at analyzing the following aspects:
1) To find out the brand preference for newspaper.
2) To study the relationship between the various personal factors, such as Price,
In-depth Intelligent articles, More number or spicy bites, Prediction of
economic trends / business houses, widest game out of news coverage,
professional approach of news description.
3) To find out the different factors for preferring the particular brand.
4) To know the sources of information which provide about newspaper to the

consumers?
5) To know the degree of satisfactions derived by the consumers.
6) To find out the alternative choice of consumers in case of non-availability of

their preferred brand.
7) To find out the awareness of the consumers about the newspaper brand
Research:
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This research has and is covering information logistics as well as physical

distribution, and consumer buying behaviour of newspaper. This research has mainly
been focused on vehicle routing and scheduling rather than on the connection between
production and distribution. Work has mostly been valuable for the understanding of
which processes that are included in the total distribution process. However, the
related research has addressed problems that are important to consider when planning
production and distribution. This project also fuscous the consumer buying behaviour
of newspaper and analyses the different factor which affect the customers buying
behaviour.
Significance of The Study:
The Indian Media market has been on an upswing in the last 5 years. New media have
grown at high rates in line with their expected potential. However, traditional media
have not been disadvantaged by this, and they have continued to show strong growth,
though their share of the total media pie has expectedly shown a slight dip. The main
reasons for this are: Willingness of emerging advertisers to pay for impact
• Expansion of traditional media into new markets and formats, which is helping
them demand value
• A strong business environment that supports this growth
• Increase in advertisers’ spends on traditional media to maintain status quo and
their willingness to look at new media (which also tend to be cheaper options)
to create differentiation and grab attention
• Shift in focus from conventional target consumers (Housewife, aged 25-45
years), to include the Male and the Youth, who are the primarily being
targeted through new mediums like Mobile and Internet, and Radio and Niche
Publications. What remains to be seen is whether recent downtrends at the
stock market will moderate media growth.
Scope Of The Study

• Market Size And Growth: The Market: The Display advertising component
of the Newspaper market in India for calendar year 2007 was valued at
Rs.9,290 cr. This is a growth of 18% over calendar 2006 (Rs.7,856 cr.) as
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against the 17% predicted by us in last year’s report. Print, despite being the
biggest incumbent medium, continued to attract the largest share of
advertising spends. The India Print story is in stark contrast to the threat being
faced by the medium globally. The major reason for the revenue growth has
been the consistent hike in Card Rates of major players, in spite of increased
competition in the top 8 Metros and stagnant Average Issue Readership (AIR)
numbers. While this has been made possible due to the continued dominance
of publications in their home markets, rate hikes in some part have also been
imposed to offset their entry into new markets. Rate hikes have taken place at
both the premium and the popular ends of the product spectrum. Expensive
English print became even more expensive with leading brands making forays
into new markets or improving relative readership contribution from smaller
markets. On the other hand the local retail market continued to strengthen its
media investment in regional publications. Here increased colour options
helped publications improve their yield from advertisers. 60% of total volume
consumption in 2007 was in colour as against 52% the year before.
Publications are also actively looking at ways to tap into the local advertising
market with “Go Local” drives by way of new Supplements. With restrictions
on OOH medium usage in some cities, publications are increasingly targeting
retailers and cashing in on their diverted OOH spends. Leading publications
are also creating new avenues for growth through forays into other languages
and formats. Publications are using e-paper versions by targeting NRI
population, which gives them over 75% of the total hits. However, it would
take some time before this avenue begins to generate real value. Publications
which promoted their Classifieds portals as separate entities have succeeded in
penetrating segments like Matrimonial, Real Estate and Jobs. The Players:
Within each language there are one or two players that have seen over 25%
growth and others which are closer to 10% levels. Typically the big players
have got bigger. While some players have grown on the back of increased
offerings and entry into new markets, others have done so on the back of Rate
Hikes and improved Colour to B/W ratios
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• The Players : Within each language there are one or two players that have
been over 25% and other which are closer to 10% levels. Typically the big
players have got bigger. While some players have grown on the back of
increased offering and entry into new markets, other have done so on the back
of rate hicks and improved colour to B/W ratio.
• The Future: 2008 will continue to be an exciting year for print. We do not
expect the digital wave to dampen our attachment to the morning daily. Rising
literacy levels and limited access to Internet will be the key reasons why print
will continue to grow. Just as in 2007, this year will see a host of new
launches. While existing print players will diversify in related genres and enter
new geographies, non-print players will enter print to diversify. Newsprint
prices are on the rise and the next few quarters will continue to see increasing
prices and shortages. This will put pressure on margins, forcing publishers to
look at new formats and revenue streams. Private Equity players and bankers
will also continue to explore investment opportunities in Indian media houses.
Growth in transport infrastructure will result in the launch of commuter
newspapers across cities. For instance, Delhi's underground, which did not
exist before 2002, will have 100 stations in three years' time and is expected to
carry 3 million commuters, mostly in the age group of 15-45, daily. This is the
TG most coveted by advertisers and media houses are already launching
publications to tap in to this bunch, with Metro Now being the pioneer.
• The Reader: The Indian reader has never had it better. While 2 years back
everything appeared plain vanilla, today, he or she has a choice of multiple
flavors and publishing houses are more than willing to cater to his or her
tastes.
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The selling Process of Newspaper
The selling process of newspaper in India involves various steps like: Promotion of
New product i.e. Newspaper in the market.
1) Prospecting & Evaluating : In this stage i.e. before launching the newspaper
in the market company first decides which class of people they are targeting,
Because as the different class of the people there are different class of the
newspaper are available, the style of language, way of writing news are differ
as per the class of the readers. This is the stage where potential customers are
found and evaluated. It is first necessary to identify that the potential customer
has the willingness, ability to buy the product. This would involve first
generating sales leads. In the case of newspapers customers could be
Financial Institutions, IT employees, students preparing MBA students and
other institutions like Hotels, Air lines or weather it’s designed for ordinary
lay man etc.
2) Pre Approach: In this stage the process of approaching the client is decided.
This involves deciding on the approach establishing objectives of the sales call
and preparing for a presentation. In this stage need to analyze what are the
product features in which the customer will be interested and focus on those
during the presentation. This stage involves deciding whether it will be enough
to do a simple cold call or to set up an appointment which is needed in case we
want to set up a stall. Like in the case of setting up stalls in IT companies
where a larger section of our targeted population can be met it becomes
essential that we first fix up an appointment with the facilities manager asking
his permission to set up the stall.
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3) Approach: This stage involves getting in initial contact with the customer by
meeting him and generating interest in the product. Once the salesmen we are
with the customer they would make a presentation making him aware of the
characteristics of the paper, the discount and the magazines that are on offer.
While selling to Financial Institutions sales representatives focus on
presenting the various Business magazines that the customer will get if he
subscribes. While pitching to younger customer salesmen focuses on the
monthly magazines which are more enticing to them. While making
presentations to corporate the focus is on the operational efficiency and
convince the Facilities Manager that the implementation will be starting in 2
weeks time from when the employees start signing up for the subscription.
4) Handling Objection: The most common objection which is encountered

during the selling is the fact that most customers who are regular readers of
others newspapers are very loyal and are unwilling to change. This is the time
when distinguishing features of the products need to be highlighted for
example Business Standard highlights the fact that it has has various
sections like the BS 200 which gives the complete analysis of the 200
companies that were traded the most on the stock exchange the previous week.
This section on the paper is something unique only to Business Standard. Also
'The Compass' which is a small segment in the Business Standard Newspaper
assists people in making their investment decisions as to which sector they
should invest their money in was also of interest to people who were more
investment focused. And of course the magazines which are offered are
another reason why most of these customers get ready to buy the subscription.
Also the supplements like Brand Line, Life by Business Line, and The Smart
Investor by Business Standard are highlighted to entice the consumers to
purchase the subscription. Some of the customers are worried about the
implementation time this is where sales person had to tell the customers about
how we will be ensuring that they get a regular supply of their business
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standard by interacting with their vendors and start the delivery of their
newspaper to their home in 2 weeks.
5) Closing: At this stage the customer is more or less aware of the product and
has made up his mind to either go ahead with the sale or not. If the
subscription are attractively priced most customers prefer to go for the plan
offered and want to first get a look at the service being provided. Thus most
people will either back out at the middle of the presentation, while others stick
around to try and see what they are getting for their money.
6) Find Out The First Readers & Brand Visibility: At initial stage when your
brand of paper is new in the market that time the numbers of customer are not
knowing to any one so at this stage to get the idea of 1st reader, and determine
the exact amount of production of newspaper for the future and to avoid the
wastages, company can distribute maximum amount of newspaper as per the
competitor’s circulation in the market e.g. They produce 10000 copies as per
the competitor’s quality & circulate in the market for one month and observe
the no. of copies is return. I.e. if no. return copies are 7200 then 2800 are the
your first readers.
7) Branding: At initial stage the branding are done through some social
campaign and also some advertisement campaign are adopted through media
& other players in the market. Then various scheme provided to vendors so
that they can keep their copies in their stall give them proper visibility, also
some incentives, gifts material are provided to them to increase the sales. Also
various campaign and program are adopted to reach the target audience which
includes Schools, Social campaign, TV commercials, Radio adds, Media
partners etc.
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Sales management:
1) Sales Planning: It is the first step in the sales management process Sales
planning guides the organization in achieving its objectives in a systematic
manner leading to profitability and success. In case of newspaper industry
plans are formulated keeping in view the overall sales strategy and objectives
of individual organizations. Since circulation is the main thing in the news
paper industry, all the planning is intended to increase the circulation base of
newspaper .The main source of revenue for a newspaper company is the
advertisements and they can charge more for advertisements only if their
circulation base is higher. This circulation base is increased by eating into the
competitor's circulation. The head office decides the targets for all branches in
the country and this is communicated to marketing manager of branches
across the country. The marketing manager of the branch then allocates targets
for every sales executive in the branch. The marketing manager asks each
sales executive to target a particular segment. Segment can be hotels,
educational institutes, corporate offices; IT companies students preparing for
competitive examinations like CAT, XAT etc.
2) Organizing & Directing Sales Efforts: Most of the newspaper companies

hire graduates who are well versed in local languages as selling newspaper
require interacting with vendors and intermediate agencies. They generally do
not hire MBAs or Post Graduates as they are more prone to attrition. The
attrition rate is very high in this industry especially in the second rung
companies.
3) On The Job Training: The sales force is briefed about the newspaper and
supplements and then they are sent to the field for training. In this
industry the training is mostly on the job where executives have to go and
sell the subscriptions to the customer.
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4) Evaluating Sales Force Performance: The performance of sales force is

measured in terms of the number of subscriptions generated by each sales
person. At the end of the month they collate how many subscriptions have
been generated by executives and on the basis of subscriptions generated
salary is computed
5) Compensation Plan: Generally combination salary plans are followed in
newspaper industry. This type of plan includes a combination of salary,
commission and other type of incentive plans. As sales people get regular
income in the form of monetary incentives, they are continuously motivated
and it also provides sales person with the advantage of both a fixed salary and
variable income. Every executive is given a minimum target to achieve and on
exceeding this target they are given an incentive.
Circulation of the Morning Newspaper
1) Time Management: Time management is very important as the executives

have to visit morning centers at around 5 to 5.30 a.m. in the morning to meet
the vendors to ensure the timely delivery of newspapers. Morning centers are
places where all the newspapers are dropped and vendors come here to collect
newspapers for their locality. Most of the activities happen between 3.30 am to
5.30 a.m. Within this short span they have to meet
the vendors and ensure they are regularly supplying the newspaper. The
whole process of printing & circulation of newspaper is difficult part of
distribution process normally the printing of newspaper are started around
12:30 and it gets over at 3:30 and after that delivery van gets ready for the
delivery.
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2) Printing Efficiency: Once the design of news gets over immediately it passes
to the printing department. In this process first news is type and set as per the
requirement then the positive copy of that news are get after that it get’s
transfer to the alliumenium plate then this plate goes through various process
and then final print gets ready. One machine can produce 45000 newspaper
gets printed. Once the final print gets ready as per the requirement the bundles
are getting packed and first it transfer to the long distance and then short
distance paper prints gets transferred. So that paper gets available to the
various places at same time. This process gets continue till the 3:30.
3) Delivery model : Once the news paper gets ready it gets delivered at various
depot through the company van. In Mumbai such depot are located at junction
places such as Dadar, Thane, etc. Only the delivery till the depot is done by
manufacturer after it gets handed over to the agencies and remaining
circulation are done by this people. In Mumbai Dhanjat Newspaper Agency,
Ambika Newspaper Agency are the big players in the markets. After that such
agencies can transfer the newspaper to the vendors such vendors can provides
copies to the sub vendors, door to door providers, news stall etc.
4) Transportation : Normally the transportation till the depot are take place
through the personal vehicle and after that it takes place through the agency
distribution network & finally the vendors and agency forecast the circulation.
Normally the long distance transportation is take place through the public
mode of transport e.g. railway, Public bus i.e. ST etc. International
distributions are carried out through Airways but, now day’s because of e
paper concept international supply gets over. Only some magazines and
Outlook are exported. So finally the responsiveness and efficiency play an
important role in newspaper distribution channel. Responsiveness includes
supply chain's ability to respond to wide a range of quantity demanded (due to
demand fluctuations) and meet short lead times. On the other hand efficiency
is the cost of making and delivering the newspaper to the readers.
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5) Maintain the Circulation Manpower: It is very difficult to maintain the

manpower at lower level of circulation process, because those people are not
the permanent employee of the company due to the improve in standard of
living of the people, And increase in education level it is difficult to get the
delivery boy. And company is not able to hire such number of employees
because it’s two costly. From Last three years the wage rate of this delivery
boy has increase from Rs. 200 to 1000 and more then that. And now days due
to increase in size of newspaper it is very difficult to carry the large amount of
newspaper.
6) Maintain Own Distribution Network: For small Company it is very difficult

them to maintain the own distribution network due the heavy cost involved in
it. That’s why they use other agencies distribution network. But in Mumbai the
biggest player like Times group of India has their own distribution network
Diagram of Circulation Network
Production Unit
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Various
Depots
Use agencies
Network
Newspaper
Vendors
Stall
Final
Customer
Procurement of Raw Material:
In India as such no any newspaper company has its own raw material producing unit
i.e. Paper production, Ink manufacturing, Plate required for printing etc. so normally
they out source such material from outsiders e.g. For paper Rama Newsprint and
Papers limited, For printing plate the suppliers are Techno\, Nirag are the biggest
player
News Positioning Decision:

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In newspaper industry the first news is always the last news so the first news
decisions are very important for newspaper sale. Though the main news of the paper
is same for all over the India but the some news are changes according to the area it
means that are design to attract the regional crowed of that area. So the newspaper
information is needed to change region wise.
Model of Distributing Newspaper
In India significant share of total volume of newspaper distributed, about 69

percentages are delivered to people’s home during early hours of the morning. About
16 percentages are delivered through postal services. About 13 percent of the total
volume of newspaper is bought at shops, kiosks and services and nearly two percent
to the international level through the airways.
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1) Early morning Delivery: Early morning delivery is a typical mode of

distribution used in urban and semi-urban areas. The time by which it is
expected to have been completed is generally regarded as being between 6 and
6.30 a.m. The target time can be a little later at weekends. Early morning
delivery covers about 90 per cent of all households in metros. Each year,
approximately 70 per cent of the total number of newspapers ordered on
subscription, reach their readers through the early morning distribution
system. Early morning delivery is always carried out under contract. The
forms of contract delivery that are agreed with newspaper publishers include
early morning, Saturday and Sunday delivery.
2) Regular Postal Delivery: The items delivered include letters, newspapers,

magazines and periodicals. The relevant legislation requires the regular
delivery round to have been completed by 4 p.m., but in practice the
overwhelming majority of items have been delivered several hours earlier than
that. About 16 per cent of newspapers that have been ordered on subscription
are delivered by the postal service For example, a person who has moved
away from a small locality and wishes to keep informed about events there by
reading the local paper can typically have it delivered to the new address with
the postal service’s regular delivery.
3) Spot Selling: This is the last stage of distributing the newspaper at this point
normally the rate of marine is high. Because its end of distribution channel.
Normally 13 percentages of people gets product through this stage.
Reverse Logistic:
In newspaper industry unsold newspaper i.e. excess paper are scrap so it send it to the
recycling which is completely outsource. So they need to take the proper decision
regarding the quantities of prints such extra newspaper can pick up next day by
company.
Distribution of Newspaper in Rural India

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At 3am a newspaper distribution van of printing press of sets out in the dark with
bundles of paper. It makes its way around 40 km. away, every day.
By 4am, when nondescript roadside tea stalls in villages are wakes up to business, the
van has already dropped copies of the newspaper at specified place. The copies of the
newspaper wrapped in neat bundles, they make curiously small package for delivering
to readers in neighboring district. at least 3 hours after the bundles have been
delivered in various places through the various modes of transport.
Rural India is a key market for the newspaper and part of its aggressive plan to access
places in difficult terrain, It has been more about accessibility then volumes.
Newspaper’s sales strategies in rural India :
For the newspaper’s sales strategies, penetration of rural markets involves a two
pronged approach : 1) build varied network of information providers from throw
regions, such as the postman, milkman bus conductors and drivers in small places like
Raghopur in Bihar where boats are the only means of transport when floods engulf
each year. 2) To encourage local vendors to sell the newspaper.
Compensation Plan in rural India :
“Earlier, the information providers were paid a fixed monthly remuneration but after
the growth of market, various vendors are appointed on a commission basis”
Developing grapevine through local news :
One strong USP or unique selling proposition is the news paper’s emphasis on
localized content and regional dialects that its readers can connect with. In rural area
local dialects changes every 40 km. Local news network in districts, blocks and
villages, the three levels at which local administrative bodies in India function, to tap
local news and issues that have a bearing on people’s lives, which in turn, has
improved its reach. Some special reporters concentrate on crime and development
issues in the region and believes that while newspaper in the world over are dying,
rural markets in India would to read them for decades ahead.
Reflecting rural shift :

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The newspaper’s advertisement spaces also reflect a rural shift : In excess of 905 of
advertisements come from either local sources or government departments. Weather it
is advertisements for locally made tobacco products, Jewellary stores or motorcycles,
advertisements in newspaper reflect the testes and aspirations of its readers. It has also
served as an information provider on job vacancies, Kisan Credit Card camps in
villages and newer, Fuel-efficient motorcycles.
Paper at 2 : 30 am, Bundles of paper are loaded in vans for distribution across
bazaar
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By 315 the van is battling traffic on the national highway
Milkman makes his way to deliver the paper through sand.

24
Boats are the only means of transport when floods engulf.
Newspaper reading is now a community pastime

25
Group of people sharing news, debate & discussion issue.

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SWOT ANALYSIS
The more you think about it, the more you need to understand one of the largest and
fastest growing markets of the world .Through understanding of the market is
necessary before it can be served
To formulate and implement effective strategies a clear understanding has to be

obtained of the rural as well as urban environment, its strengths, weakness,
opportunities and threats (SWOT) which will help in the framework of new theories
that are emerging, due to the transformations taking place in rural India.
STRENGTHS:
 742million people
 Marketers can make effective use of the large available infrastructure
1. Post offices 1,38,000
2. Entry of IFRA worldwide research services industry for newspaper
3. 2.1 million rural readers
4. Large number of Public distribution shops
5. 2000 daily newspaper in 100 languages
6. Helps to educate the people
 Abundance of circulation in rural area also.
WEAKNESSES:
 Understanding the rural consumer

 Poor infrastructure
 Physical distribution
 Channel management
 Promotion and marketing communication
 Disposable Income Is Low
 Individuals Decide About Purchases
 Illiteracy
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 Brand loyal
OPPURTUNITIES:
 Infrastructure is improving
 In 50 years only 40% villages were connected by road, in the next 10 years
another 30% would be linked.
 More than 90 % of the villages are electrified, though only 44% rural homes
have electric connections.
 Social Indicators have improved a lot between 1981 and 2001
 Rural literacy level improved from 36% to 59%
 Penetration rate in rural market is low so there are many marketing
opportunities.
 Develop number of employment opportunities
THREATS:
 Natural calamities – One of the main obstacle of circulation is market is that

natural calamities
 Increase Competition
 Lack of workers in ground areas
 Increase the use of internet
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4A’s of Newspaper marketing

Availability:
The first challenge in newspaper marketing is to ensure availability of the product or

service. India's 7, 00,000 villages are spread over 3.2 million sq km; 700 million
Indians may live in rural areas, finding them is not easy. They are highly dispersed.
Given the poor infrastructure, it is a greater challenge to regularly reach products to

the far-flung villages. Marketer should plan accordingly and strive to reach these
markets n a regular basis. Marketers must trade off the distribution cost with
incremental market penetration. India's largest paper manufacturer, Hindustan Times,
has built a strong distribution system which helps its brands reach the interiors of the
rural market. To service remote village, agent stock use milkman, postman, bus
conductors and drivers, and even boats in the backwaters of Kerala, Bihar etc.
Affordability:
The second major challenge is to ensure affordability of the product or service. With
low disposable incomes, products need to be affordable to the consumer, most of who
are the daily readers. A solution to this has been introduction of advertisement in
newspaper. Large amount of revenue is generated through this adds in newspaper ,
and so it is possible to reduce the cost of paper. Even though the production cost of
paper is huge i.e. approximately Rs. 9 to 10 its available in the range of Rs. 2 to 5
Acceptability:
The next challenge is to gain acceptability for the product in market. Therefore, there
is a need to offer products that suit the market. We need to develop a customized
paper for various regions. To accept the paper in the market we need to identify the
tendency, capacity, likes and dislikes of the target audience.
Awareness:
The fourth important things in newspaper marketing are creating the awareness of the
product in the market. And for that various promotion tools are need to use such as
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advertising, trade events, Free sampling, involvement of media partners, social

awareness campaign etc. are done to create the awareness.
4 P’s of Newspaper Marketing.
MARKETING MIX (4 P’S OF MARKETING)
Marketing Mix is the set of marketing tools that the firm uses to pursue its marketing
objectives. Marketing mix has a classification for these marketing tools. These
marketing are classified and called as the Four Ps i.e. Product, Price, Place and
Promotion.
The most basic marketing tool is product which includes product design, quality,
features, branding, and packaging.
A critical marketing tool is price i.e. the amount of money that customers pay for the
product. It also includes discounts, allowances, credit terms and payment period.
Place is another key marketing mix tool. And it includes various activities the
company undertakes to make the product accessible and available to the customer.
Some factors that decide the place are transport facilities, channels of distribution,
coverage area, etc.
Promotion is the fourth marketing mix tool which includes all the activities that the
company undertakes to communicate and promote its product to target market.
Promotion includes sales promotion, advertising, sales force, public relations, direct
marketing, etc.
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Product:
In marketing, a product is anything that can be offered to a market that might satisfy a
want or need. It is of two types: Tangible (physical) and Intangible (non-physical).
Since services have been at the forefront of all modern marketing strategies, some
intangibility has become essential part of marketing offers. It is therefore the complete
bundle of benefits or satisfactions that buyers perceive they will obtain if they
purchase the product. It is the sum of all physical, psychological, symbolic, and
service attributes, not just the physical merchandise. All products offered in a market
can be placed between Tangible (Pure Product) and Intangible (Pure Service)
spectrum.
Pricing:
A customer is price sensitive and shops for value. This is mainly because of his
income levels than his perception. Hence the marketer has to find ways of making the
product affordable to the consumer. The product packaging and presentation offers
scope for keeping the price low. Reusable paper are also preferred and are seen as
value addition. In many paper manufacturing company, the price is the assigned
numerical monetary value of a goods, service or asset. Price is also central to
marketing where it is one of the four variables in the marketing mix that business
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people use to develop a marketing plan. Pricing is a big part of the marketing mix.
Choosing the right price and the right pricing strategy is crucial to the marketing
process.
The price of the product is not something that is fixed. On the other hand the price of
the product depends on many other factors. Some times the price of the product has
got nothing to do with the actual product itself. The price may act as a way to attract
target customers.
The price of the product is decided keeping many things in mind. These things
include factors like cost incurred on the product, target market, competitors, consumer
buying capacity etc.
Placement or Distribution:
Place is a term that has a variety of meanings in a dictionary sense, but which is
principally used in a geographic sense as a noun to denote location, though in a sense
of a location identified with that which is located there.
In marketing, place refers to one of the 4 P's, defined as "the market place". It can
mean a geographic location, an industry, a group of people (a segment) to whom a
company wants to sell its products, such as young , professional or middle-aged
family men etc.
There are some problems of rural distribution:
• Transportation has not been fully developed.
• Lack of proper channels of communication like telephone, postal services, and

so on pose a lot of problem to marketer to service the retailer as it is difficult
to the retailers to place order for goods.
• Transportation of goods in rural areas is also a problem for the marketers.
• Multiple tiers push up the costs and channel management is a major problem
for marketers due to lot of middlemen in the process.
• Availability of suitable dealers

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• Poor viability of rural outlets
Promotion:
Communication to consumer is through organized media like TV, Radio, Social

campaign etc. Media. The most common conventional media include: Print,
Television and Print. The Non-conventional media include: Free sampling, Posters
etc. The conventional media have excellent reach, less expensive and create a better
impact. it is customized to reach each area also offers necessary coverage at times.
Low literacy rates, culture, traditions, rural reach, attitudes and behavior are the other
problems in rural communication. An effective promotion should plan for a proper
mix of media. This is very important to create a mind share in the rural consumers.
Hence, talking to the customer in a language known to him, advertising the functional
benefits and demonstrating the product go a long way in capturing the wide market.
Newspaper manufacturers are also apprehensive to "Go Rural." Since, the rural
consumers are scattered and it is difficult to predict the demand in the rural market.
Few agencies that are trying to create awareness about the rural market and its
importance. Promotion is one of the four aspects of marketing.
Promotion comprises four subcategories:
Advertising
Personal selling
Sales promotion
Publicity and public relations
The specification of these four variables creates a promotional mix or promotional
plan. A promotional mix specifies how much attention to pay to each of the four
subcategories, and how much money to budget for each. A promotional plan can have
a wide range of objectives, including: sales increases, new product acceptance,
creation of brand equity, positioning, competitive retaliations, or creation of a
corporate image
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PRINT COMPETITION IN MUMBAI AND THE MARKET

OF NEWSPAPERS
The print medium in Mumbai has been rapidly expanding, with the introduction of
three major newspapers in 2005. Mumbai Mirror, a product hastily put forth by The
Times of India in anticipation of DNA and Hindustan Times, was the first off the
block. Next came Hindustan Times, which was launched on July 14. DNA was
launched on July 30. With the introduction of these newspapers, Mumbai is now a
major print medium publishing centre. The almost-170-years-old Times of India leads
the pack, followed by DNA, Mid Day, Hindustan Times, The Indian Express, the
Asian Age, etc. There are other small newspapers like the Afternoon Despatch and
Courier and the Free Press Journal. Surprisingly, DNA's counter sales are giving the
afternoon tabloid Mid-Day a run for its money. But, as a newspaper agent points out,
a vendor stands to earn 45 paise more per copy if he sells DNA in the raddi (recycled
paper) market, rather than selling it at the counter at Rs. 2. As Charudatt Dangat,
Mumbai's largest newspaper agent, put it, "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.
The journalists keep shifting, from The Times of India to DNA and back again."
Another industry insider added, "Even though the readers want better content,
unfortunately, the competition is taking place on the marketing and sales front, rather
than the editorial." With a six lakh circulation, The Times Of India was far ahead of
earlier competitors like Indian Express (58,000). In fact, it was The Economic Times
(1.47 lakhs) and Mid-Day (1.40 lakhs) that trailed in second place after The Times of
India in Mumbai. While there are varying estimates on how the new newspapers are
doing, market sources estimate that DNA sells around two lakhs and Hindustan Times
1.40 lakhs. However, DNA claims that it is printing 2.90 lakh copies and Hindustan
Times says it sells 2 lakh copies. Traditional market leader ToI continues to rule the
market with a readership of 1,719,000. Given the readership of 1,745,000 that it had
in the last round, this is hardly a bothering dip. Months before DNA and Hindustan
Times launched in Mumbai, The Times of India went on the defensive and started a
new `compact' newspaper, somewhat like a tabloid, called Mumbai Mirror. But it did
not sell much, so The Times of India started distributing it free with the main
newspaper. Now, for Rs.4, The Times of India reader gets more than 100 pages. "We
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always knew that there was space for a second newspaper in Mumbai, and so we
started an alternative to broadsheets - a compact. By including Mumbai Mirror with
The Times of India. "The Mirror is a newspaper for the new generation who want
news-on-the-go like McDonalds. 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 does not feel the need for another
newspaper. "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?" asks
Das. The half period figures released by MRUC (Media Research Users Council) in
the IRS 2006, Round 1 don’t show that these papers made a noticeable dent in the
Times of India’s popularity. The results show that although Hindustan Times has
managed 2.85 lakh readers, DNA has a readership of 4.02 lakh. In comparison,
Mumbai Mirror, the tabloid launched by the TOI group has managed a 7.65 lakh
readership figure. Nothing definitive coming from there right now but DNA is elated.
"In the next few years, Mumbai's market will expand by up to 75 per cent, with even
The Times of India growing,"
HERE AND THERE TECHNIQUES
Why has Mumbai's lethargic newspaper industry suddenly become a `hot market' for
new competitors? First, because it has the country's largest advertisement revenue of
Rs.1, 000 crores, of which only one player - The Times of India - has the lion's share.
The new entrants are vying for a piece of the pie. The Times of India's advertising
rates are the highest in the country. For long, advertisers have felt that they have been
held to ransom as they have no choice but to pay exorbitant rates to The Times of
India in order to reach Mumbai's up market consumers. Now, there are other
platforms, but they will have to prove themselves before advertisers start considering
them an option. "Advertisers are happy that there will be competitors. But, there won't
be a dramatic shift in ad spends in the short term.
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Invitation From World Association of Newspaper
The invitation was issued at the Annual General Meeting of WAN, being held at this
year’s World Newspaper Congress, World Editors Forum and Info Services Expo
2008 in Göteborg, Sweden. More than 1,800 newspaper publishers, chief editors and
other senior newspaper executives attended the Göteborg meetings.
India has than 2000 daily newspapers in 100 languages with a combined circulation of
90 million.
Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh and India’s fifth largest city, is a
cosmopolitan city now vying to become India’s Silicon Valley. It has a blend of rich
cultures and a renowned cuisine. It is a centre for the pearl trade.
The Paris-based WAN, the global organization for the newspaper industry, defends
and promotes press freedom and the professional and business interests of newspapers
world-wide. Representing 18,000 newspapers, its membership includes 77 national
newspaper associations, newspaper companies and individual newspaper executives
in 102 countries, 12 news agencies and 11 regional and world-wide press groups.
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New IFRA services for the Indian Newspaper Industry
Ifra-RIND Material Testing & Research Centre inaugurated
Darmstadt, Germany / Chennai, India, 30 January 2007 – Ifra India and the Research
Institute for Newspaper Development (RIND) have joined forces to start the Ifra-
RIND Material Testing & Research Centre, which was inaugurated on 22 January by
Reiner Mittelbach, Ifra’s CEO.
The facility, located on RIND premises in Taramani, Chennai, is the first of its kind
and offers testing of newspaper printing materials and research services.“The industry
has long called for an independent and professional laboratory where all newspapers
can test their printing materials and this Ifra-RIND centre will answer this need. It
will be a one-stop centre for newsprint and newsink testing needs,” said R.Mittelbach.
Extensive testing equipment available:
Initially, the following testing services are being offered by the centre:
– Paper grammage; colour of paper substrate; fineness of ink grind;
– Printability tests: ink mileage and consumption, print through, set-off, picking,
linting, printing penetration, mottle;
– Optical characteristics: density, tone value increase (dot gain), mid-tone spread,
colours, printable colour gamut; screening: screen ruling, screen angles, dot shape.
These tests play a vital role in the quality of the printed paper and if properly
controlled, they can result in savings for newspapers. The centre has the following
testing equipment: Precision Balance from Switzerland, Printability Tester from The
Netherlands, Spectrophotometer from the USA and Grindometer from Germany.
Other equipment that is planned to be added later will include: a special spectrometer
for paper, tensile tester, digital micrometer, roughness tester, tear tester, rheometer,
tackmeter, abrasion tester and ash content meter for testing Newsshade, tensile
strength, sheet thickness, surface roughness, tearing strength, viscosity, ink tack, rub-
off and ash content. The centre is also supported by major Indian newspaper
publishers such as ABP, Deccan Herald, Dinamalar, Malayala Manorama, Manipal
Media Network, Mathrubhumi and The Hindu. Two inks suppliers – DIC Inks and
Micro Inks – complete the list of the centre’s initial supporters.
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Becoming a ‘Regional Quality Competence Centre’:

In the future, the centre plans to conduct research to improve the overall quality of
newspaper printing. It will undertake studies on standardizing newspaper
consumables as well as trends in Indian newspaper printing. These activities will not
be restricted only to newspapers, but will also cover magazine printing and other
newspaper-related printing areas on request. As such, the services will be open to any
newspaper, magazine or commercial printers offering printing services to the
publishing industry. Ultimately, the centre will be a “Regional Quality Competence
Centre” for testing newspaper printing materials in the entire South Asian region.
An initiative of Ifra:
The Ifra-RIND Material Testing & Research Centre is an initiative of Ifra, the world’s
leading association for newspaper and media publishing. Based in Darmstadt,
Germany, Ifra acts as a platform for decision makers from the newspaper industry. Its
main task is to help its members keep pace with the rapid changes in technology.
The Indian office, Ifra India (www.ifra.com/india), is based in Chennai and helps
bring Ifra services closer to companies in India. Currently, there are more than 35 Ifra
members in India, including most of the leading publications. Ifra India organizes an
annual conference, seminars and workshops dedicated to the publishing industry and
also offers consulting and training programmers’.
Ifra has long followed the growth of the newspaper industry in India and gears its
services to reflect the needs of Indian publishers. The ICONS initiative, the
standardization project for Indian newspapers, is one such effort. Also, Ifra is
launching a full-scale exposition in India, Ifra Expo India 2007. The event, the first of
its kind for Ifra outside of Europe, will take place from 4 to 6 September at the
Chennai Trade Centre.
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Best Business Newspaper in India:
So here are the winners:
1. Which newspaper do you think comes out with the most number of in-
depth/intelligent articles?
Winner: Mint
Ever since its launch, Mint has always positioned itself as a newspaper that analyzes
developments in the financial worlds and presents them in a way that is easy to
understand to the reader. It has also put focus on coming up with more in-depth
feature stories than providing short news bytes.
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2. Which newspaper do you think comes out with the most number of inside stories/or
spicy bits of companies?
Winner: The Economic Times
The Economic Times, as we know, has come out with stories that have created many
crisis like situations for many of our clients. Exclusives, inside stuffs - the kind of
things the journalists out there always seem to be after.
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3. Which newspaper do you think comes out with the best predictions of economic
trends/ business houses?
Winner: The Economic Times
It is interesting to note how The Economic Times has swallowed up a majority of the
pie on this question and the above. No wonder this is India’s largest circulated
financial daily.
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4.Which newspaper do you think provides you with the widest gamut of news
coverage?
Winner: The Times of India
Some people have questioned that why include the dailies like The Times of India
among the financial dailies. Our take was that these dailies today come up with
sections of 8-10 pages of business news that have become financial newspapers in
themselves. But perhaps the widest gamut of news coverage might not be limited to
only business news here.
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5. Which newspaper do you think has the maximum number of journalists who are
very professional in their approach?
Winner: The Hindu Business Line
The Hindu Business Line, as we know, is one of those newspapers that puts
journalism ethics above anything else. The staff there are also superb, based on
personal experiences- knowledgeable, intelligent, helpful, modest.
Disclaimer: The results above are based on an online survey taken at India PR Blog
among readers of this blog who chose to participate. The survey is educational and for
research purposes and it does not imply the actual standings of these newspapers
among its readers, stakeholders, or others sections of the market. The voting is done
and the results of the recent ‘Let’s rate the media’ survey on India PR Blog. There
were around 382 responses out of which around 300 valid and completed responses
were chosen. The results are interesting, though not very different to what many of us
already know but might help in putting a number and validating what we think,
especially as the votes were from PR professionals who deal with these newspapers
day in and out
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Literature Review
In India, newspapers are published in about 100 regional languages and dialects other
than Hindi and English. Over the years, the number of dailies has steadily increased.
Their number increased to 5638 in 2001 from 5364 in the previous year, i.e. by 5.11
per cent. The total circulation of daily newspapers was 5,78,44,236 in 2001.
In 2001, The Hindu, an English daily, published from Chennai was the largest
circulated single edition daily with claimed circulation of 9,37,222 followed by
Hindustan Times, English Daily, published from Delhi with a circulation of 9,09,278.
Anand Bazar Patrika, Bengali Daily, came third, whereas The Times of India, English
Daily, was fourth.
With such huge number of newspapers and such enormous circulation, the supply
chain model for the newspaper industry is a challenge in itself. Moreover, due to the
perishable nature of the product, its distribution needs all the more importance.
A newspaper industry consists of five major functional areas. These include editorial,
advertising, production, administration and circulation. If the same is compared to a
manufacturing industry, one can easily realize the commonalities in the functions.
Editorial supplies the raw material, which is transformed to the finished product
through printing. The marketing function is performed by advertising and
management is done by administration. The key area of sales of the product is dealt
by circulation, hence the importance of distribution channel in the newspaper
industry.
Distributing a perishable product
The newspaper production/distribution problem is an example of a perishable-good

production and distribution problem. A perishable good is one that either loses
significant value if stored or a good that will cause economic loss if delivered late.
There are three main categories of perishable goods: Goods that are perishable only
when considered by the customer; Goods that are perishable only to the manufacturer;
and Goods that are perishable to both the manufacturer and the customer. Newspapers
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fall into this later category. Newspaper companies cannot print the news sections of
the newspaper in advance because of the requirement that news be timely.
Additionally, with the increase in commuting times, especially in the large,
metropolitan markets, late delivery is also not entertained. Therefore, newspaper
production/distribution is the problem of distributing highly perishable products under
severe time constraints.
The distribution channel consists of stages involved in fulfilling consumer

requirements. The channel includes manufactures, suppliers, transporters, vendors and
customers.
Raw material for the newspaper industry, news, is supplied by the editorial, which is a
functional area in the newspaper office itself. The editorial is fed with news from
various places by reporters, correspondents and news agencies. The final news is sent
to the printing facility where the newspaper is printed.
The printed newspaper is dispatched to various distributors across the country through
transportation. Transportation is normally through private contract carriers within
local area, public transport in case of longer distances and through couriers in other
cases.
The newspaper distributor has sole rights to distribute the newspaper in his area. His
revenue is based on a commission on the sale of every newspaper. He achieves
circulation through salesmen appointed and salaried by him, who in turn pass it on to
hawkers.
Hawkers, vendors and book stall owners are the last link of the supply chain before
newspaper reaches readers. The hawkers’ remuneration is based on a commission
system and is the highest in the entire supply chain.
The most important issue to deal with in distribution of newspapers is the distribution
of newspapers to subscribers at minimum costs all the while presenting the correct
edition of the paper to each subscriber on time. For a major metropolitan morning
newspaper, it is a daily task of producing a total of several hundred thousand
newspapers in many editions and delivering them to home delivery customers in
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approximately six hours. The key timing parameters are the start of the press run, say
at midnight, and the requirement that each customer receives her/his paper before,
say, 6 a.m. In order to better serve their advertisers and subscribers, newspapers
produce many editions of the newspaper for different demographic/ geographic
regions. The products may differ in editorial content, in run of paper advertisements,
and in advertising inserts. The design of the distribution system involves solving
several location-allocation routing and clustering problems.
The newspaper industry is becoming very competitive with the national players
competing with the regional players. As stated earlier, newspaper is a perishable
commodity and in order to cater to needs of the customer in various geographical
locations, a newspaper has to be published from various locations. This helps in
achieving a strategic fit between the supply chain and the customer needs.
The consumers are primarily looking for a national newspaper giving regional news
as well. Consumers also demand faster response time because of the perishable nature
of the product. In order to economize on the costs of the supply chain, the newspaper
needs to have regional publication units with both national and regional news varieties
in the same newspaper.
As has been shown by various studies, newspaper readers do not want to spend more
on reading a newspaper. Thus an economy of scale is very important factor for a
newspaper. It is also known that revenue earned through sales of a newspaper is many
times low compared to its production cost; the industry gets most of its revenue
through print advertisements. All these imply that newspaper should achieve a critical
mass of customers to achieve economies of scale.
Responsiveness and efficiency also play an important role in newspaper distribution

channel. Responsiveness includes supply chain’s ability to respond to wide a range of
quantity demanded (due to demand fluctuations) and meet short lead times. On the
other hand efficiency is the cost of making and delivering the newspaper to its reader.
Thus on the basis of the analysis so far, one can say that newspaper supply chain
should have high responsiveness than efficiency. This is depicted graphically in the
following figure:
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cases.
hawkers.
47

following figure:
cases.
hawkers.
48

49
following figure:
As can be seen, the cost in such a case is high, which is what is happening in the
newspaper industry. However, the reader is not burdened to recover these costs. In
fact these are recovered through the advertisements that newspapers publish in their
editions.
The main drivers of supply chain are inventory, transportation, facilities and
information.
Inventory exists in the supply chain because of a mismatch between supply and
demand. Applying this to the newspaper industry, inventory of the raw material i.e.
newsprint is maintained based on the safety inventory model. This model states that
inventory is held just in case demand exceeds expectation, i.e. it is held to counter
uncertainty. Moreover, even some of the news items can also be considered as
inventory. These may include special columns, weekly columns etc. Since these are to
be published periodically, they need to be worked upon well before in time. Also,
some articles should always be ready with the newspaper, just to cover up some free
space that might creep in any edition.
Transportation moves the product between different stages in a supply chain. It

bears a large impact on both responsiveness and efficiency. Faster transportation
allows a supply chain to be more responsive but reduces its efficiency. As stated
earlier, responsiveness is more important for newspaper than efficiency and hence the
need for a faster transportation.
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Normally newspapers use private carriers to transport the product from publication
facility to various agencies in the region. In case it is required to transport the product
across states, public transport such as rail and air are used.
Deciding where a newspaper should locate its facility constitutes a large part of
design of a supply chain. The tradeoff here is whether to centralize to gain economies
of scale or decentralize to become more responsive by being closer to the customer. In
case of newspaper industry, the second option is desirable. Warehousing in newspaper
industry follows cross-docking model to a good extent. The product from printing
facility is carried to the agents from where it is further transported to salesmen and
hawkers.
The design process of a newspaper supply chain is based on push mechanism, where
everyone is vying for the same pie. The competitive environment pushes players to
increase their market share, which is rule of the game. Moreover, due to very nature
of the product, use of information technology can cater to the need of high
responsiveness.
Increasing varieties of the product with respect to demand for regional, linguistic,
special articles in newspaper is an obstacle towards optimizing entire supply chain.
Newspapers have resorted to mass customization in terms of regional editions of
national dailies to overcome this obstacle.
Fragmentation of supply chain ownership is another cause of concern in the

newspaper industry. The private carriers, the agents and the hawkers have different set
of objectives which might not always suit the objective of the overall supply chain
resulting in reduction of overall profitability.
In case of newspapers, demand is forecasted on the basis of past data. Projection for
the forthcoming week is also based on estimates given by the hawkers. In addition to
this the circulation manager has to formulate his own projections. The company alone
has to the loss arising out of any demand irregularity or failure in demand estimation.
There is also a seasonality factor attached to the newspaper demand forecasting.
Normally the demand falls during vacations as families move out.
51
There are also two sequencing problems. Since the printing facility produces several
different products, there is an ideal sequence in which the production would take
place in order to minimize total (including time spent on set up) time spent on
production. On the other hand, some distribution centers may be farther from the
printing facility than others. The geographic locations of the distribution centers
suggest a preferred sequence in which the distribution system receives papers. For
example, Distribution would prefer that Production produce papers for the most
distant distribution center first. However, this production plan may not be consistent
with Production's preferred sequencing. Consequently, the production and distribution
operations are tightly coupled and must be modeled as such. This makes the problem
substantially more difficult than if the production and distribution operations could be
treated separately.
The communication of news between various offices of a modern newspaper is

achieved through networking. The master newspaper is designed and finalized at the
head office of a newspaper. It is then made available on the intranet of the newspaper
company. The local editions are normally generated by making suitable changes to
the master copy on the intranet itself. Even the printing of various editions is done at a
common printing facility, to save on additional costs.
This shows the critical role information technology plays in modern day newspaper
printing. It is evident that without this usage it will be extremely difficult to print
multiple editions of a newspaper from various locations. Moreover, Information
technology also plays an important role in designing of a newspaper, including its
layout. It also saves on critical changeover time during printing.
Information technology helps gather news and advertisements from all sources across
the country and put to one newspaper edition. If said in one simple sentence, use of
information technology has made the life of newspaper industry much easier and
simpler.
Optimization model
52
The overall distribution problem can be viewed similar to the traveling salesman
problem. The entire distribution network can be segregated into various hawker points
and an optimized route proposed for each of them, based on the vehicle capacity
constraints.
Starting at the first hawker, newspaper requirements are accumulated until the vehicle
limit is reached. At this hawker, another vehicle route is begun. The procedure is
continued until all the hawkers are included in some route.
After the routes that include all the hawkers and that satisfy the vehicle capacity
constraints have been constructed, the time constraints must be checked. The routes
describe the distance the vehicle must travel on each route and the sequence in which
hawkers on that route are visited. For each route, the distance along the route, from
the production facility to the last hawker point visited can be calculated. The time the
vehicles stop at each hawker also needs to be considered.
The production schedule can be deduced by arranging the routes in a sequence that
will ensure delivery of all the newspapers by the prescribed time. This sequence can
be developed by arranging the routes in descending order of the total route length
distance from the production facility to the last hawker. Usually, newspapers for the
farthest hawkers are produced and shipped first since the total delivery time is greater.
Costs can be divided into two major categories: costs associated with the actual
production and distribution activities, and costs directly attributable to the
perishability of either an input or an output. The latter costs will be accrued only if the
schedule is not feasible. In the newspaper problem, an infeasible solution would be
one in which not all newspapers are delivered by the deadline. The costs associated
with this infeasibility may include the cost of the newspaper, a lost opportunity and
the cost of processing the complaint.
The distribution of perishable commodities has a number of features distinguishing it

from other distribution operations. For example, the commodities cannot be produced
or purchased in advance for inventory. Distribution centers rather than warehouses
53
play an important role, and production and distribution are necessarily intimately
related. In addition, the total time devoted to both production and distribution may be
severely limited thereby further tying together the design and operation of the
production and distribution functions. These distinguishing features increase the
complexity of the production/distribution problem for perishable goods. It is also a
problem that has not been adequately addressed in the operations research or supply
chain literature.
Consumer Buying Behavior :

54
Consumer decision making would vary with the type of buying decision. You would
agree that decision to buy toothpaste, a tennis racket; personal computer and a car are
all different. There are 4 types of buying behavior based on the degree of buyer
involvement and the degree of difference between buyers: -
High Low Involvement

Involvement
Significance Difference Complex Variety seeking
Between the Brands

buying Buying
Few Difference behavior

Habitual
Dissonance
Between the Brands
reducing buying
Complex buying behavior: - This type of buying behavior is involved when the
product is expensive, bought infrequently. E.g.: Automobile The consumer will spend
lot of time in discussing and planning about the purchase of such a product.
Dissonance reducing buying behavior: - This type of buying behavior is involved
when purchase is expensive, infrequent and risky but there is not much difference
between the various brands. E.g.: you are planning to buy a DDA flat in a particular
locality. You would agree that all the flats are similar in size and construction. Once
you decide to buy a particular flat you will be more concerned that you should not
have any problem after buying it. Let us assume you wanted to buy a flat and you
have not noticed a dustbin close to it. Now when you come to know about dustbin you
would not have buys that flat.
Habitual buying behavior: - This type of buying behavior is for the product, which
have low involvement and the absence of significant difference between the brands.
These products are frequently purchased. E.g.: When you want to buy product like
salt you don’t even think when you go to store whatever brand is available you would
have pick it up. Variety seeking buying behavior: - This type of buying behavior is
involved when low involvement is there but there are significant differences between
the brand. E.g.: Think about cookies, you may want to change the cookies that you
had last time not because they were bad but you want to change the taste.
55
FIVE STAGE MODEL OF CONSUMER BUYING PROCESS
NEED IDENTIFICATION: the buying process starts when the buyer recognizes a
problem or need, this need could be because of internal or external stimulation.
INTERNAL STIMULATION: say when we are hungry we may want to eat

something.
EXTERNAL STIMULATION: say when we are passing through a bakery shop you
smell the freshly baked biscuits based on this you may want to buy, to consume
biscuits
INFORMATION SEARCH: Once the need has been identified the consumer would
look for more information about the product. This information he may get from
personal sources {family friends, neighbors, etc.} or commercial sources
{advertising, sales person, dealers, displays}
EVALUATON OF ALTERNATIVES: Now that consumer has got information of the

product and the companies that are selling their product. He would to evaluate the
various alternatives that he has, various products will have different attributes on
which they would be evaluated. For e.g.: cameras, picture sharpness, camera speed,
camera size and price
PURCHASE DECISION: As the consumer has evaluated various alternatives, he

would then purchase the product. This is the final act that the consumer performs after
evaluating all the alternatives.
POST PURCHASE BEHAVIOUR: Once the consumers have purchased the product,
he would either satisfied or dissatisfied. If the consumer is satisfied, he will tell his
friends about the same and as such a better word of mouth is spread of the product.
But in case the consumer is dissatisfied he will tell to all his friends and associates
about the dissatisfaction that he had after using or consuming the given product.
Methodology:
56
This study aims to identify the impact of brand preference on newspaper among the
consumers for its purpose data were collected by survey methods through
questionnaire. This questionnaire contained the questions regarding various attributes
of newspaper.
Sampling:
Totally 50 respondents have been interviewed and the data have been collected. The
area of study has been restricted to 50 respondents were selected at random for the
purpose of the study.
Frame work of analysis:
The study of brand preference for newspaper has been made through questionnaire
method. 50 respondents are selected randomly and were asked to answer the question
based upon their answer the classification of respondents are done and are analyzed
and interpreted. Graphical representation & Chi-square test is used while analyzing
and interpreting the data.
Source of data:
The study is based on primary data only. The required information was collected
through the questionnaire from the consumers directly by interviewing them and
information regarding the physical distribution, marketing and handling of
newspaper are collected through unscheduled interviews with the various expert.
57
Analysis & Interpretation
 Age of respondent :
Below Above
Preferred Brand 25 25 - 30 30 Total
The Hindu Business Line 0 3 0 3
Business Standard 1 2 1 4
Hindustan Times 2 2 0 4
The Economic Times 3 1 2 6
The Times of India 7 5 2 14
The Indian Express 1 0 2 3
Mint 3 4 0 7
The Hindu 2 0 0 2
Other 4 0 3 7
23 17 10 50
1) Chi - square value : 22.701 3) Degree of freedom : 16
2) P – value : 0.12196425
As per the age of respondent, 14 out of the 50 respondent are loyal to the
58
Times Of India brand & P-value is 0.12196425 > 0.05 therefore result is
non-significant i.e. relationship between age of respondent & their
preferred brand newspaper is not up to the level
Which Of The Following Factor

influence you to choose present Belo 25 - Abov
brand? w 25 30 e 30 Total
Price 1 0 0 1
In depth Intelligent articles 7 5 3 15
More no. of inside or spicy bits 4 4 1 9
prediction of economic trends /
business houses 4 2 2 8
widest game out of new coverage 2 2 0 4
professional approach of news
description 5 4 4 13
23 17 10 50
2) P – value : 0.93717707
59
15 out of the 50 respondent are interested ‘In depth intelligent articles’ P-
value is 0.93717707 which is much greater than 0.05 therefore result is
non-significant i.e. there is no relationship between factors influence to
purchase present brand of respondent & age of respondent.
Have you ever changed your Below 25 - Abov

brand? 25 30 e 30 Total
Yes 14 3 6 23
No 9 14 4 27
Total 23 17 10 50
Reasons
Price raises 0 1 1 2
lack of availability 11 7 8 26
Other specify 12 9 1 22
23 17 10 50
60
1) Chi - square value : 8.338 3) Chi - square value : 8.338
2) P – value : 0.07995265
27 out of the 50 respondents will not change their newspaper brand due to the lack of
availability or any other reason. P-value is 0.07995265 < 0.05 i.e. result is not
significant therefore there is a relationship between changing of preferred brand &
age of respondent
How do you know your preferred Below 25 - Abov

brand? 25 30 e 30 Total
friends 7 5 2 14
61
Advertisement 3 4 1 8
Relative 5 4 2 11
Shopkeepers 0 1 3 4
Teacher 5 2 0 7
Other 3 1 2 6
23 17 10 50
2) P – value : 0.23541868
7 out of the 14 respondents have an age below 25 years well known about
their newspaper through friends. P-value is 0.23541868 > 0.05 i.e. result
is non-significant; therefore there is no relationship between preferred
brand awareness & age of respondent.

62
Will you change the brand if your Below 25 - Abov

family income level is increases? 25 30 e 30 Total
yes 0 4 2 6
no 23 13 8 44
23 17 10 50
1) Chi - square value : 5.882 3) Degree of freedom :
2) P – value : 0.05281289
44 out of the 50 respondents will not change their newspaper due to the
changes in family income of respondent. P-value is 0.0 < 0.05281289 i.e.
result is not significant therefore there is no relationship between
changing of preferred brand & age of respondent.

63
 Gender :
Femal
Preferred Brand Male e Total
The Hindu Business Line 1 2 3
Business Standard 3 1 4
Hindustan Times 2 2 4
The Economic Times 3 3 6
The Times of India 12 2 14
The Indian Express 1 2 3
Mint 1 6 7
The Hindu 0 2 2
Other 5 2 7
28 22 50
2) P – value : 0.04601544
As per the gender of respondent, Times of India is most dominant

64
newspaper brand preferred by 14 respondents, out of those 12
respondents are male & 2 are female. P-value is 0.04601544 > 0.05 i.e.
result is significant; therefore there is relationship between brand
preference & gender of respondent.
Which Of The Following Factor influences Femal

you to choose present brand? Male e Total
Price 0 1 1
In depth Intelligent articles 8 7 15
More no. of inside or spicy bits 4 5 9
prediction of economic trends / business
houses 7 1 8
widest game out of new coverage 2 2 4
professional approach of news
description 7 6 13
28 22 50
2) P – value : 0.40284253
65
8 out of the 15 respondents are male & 7 are female who are interested to know the In
depth intelligent articles. P-value is 0.40284253 > 0.05 i.e. result is not significant;
therefore there is no relationship between factors influence to purchase preferred
brand & gender of respondent.
Femal
Have you ever changed your brand? Male e Total
Yes 13 10 23
No 15 12 27
Total 28 22 50
Reasons
Price raises 0 2 2
66
lack of availability 15 11 26
Other specify 13 9 22
28 22
2) P – value : 0.99750312
Almost equally male & female have changed their preferred brand due to lack of
availability of preferred brand. P-value is 0.99750312 > 0.05 i.e. result is not
significant; therefore there is a relationship between changing of brand & gender
of respondent.
67
How do you know your preferred Femal

brand? Male e Total
friends 8 6 14
Advertisement 6 2 8
Relative 4 7 11
Shopkeepers 2 2 4
Teacher 4 3 7
Other 4 2 6
28 22 50
2) P – value : 0.66303942
8 out of the 14 respondents are male well known about their preferred
brand through friends. P-value is 0.66303942 > 0.05 i.e. result is non-
68
significant; therefore there is no relationship between preferred brand
awareness factor & gender of respondent.
Will you change the brand if your family Femal

income level is increases? Male e Total
Yes 2 4 6
No 26 18 44
28 22 50
2) P – value : 0.23307449
69
26 out of 44 respondents are male and remaining 18 are female will not change their
brand will not change the newspaper even though the family income is increased. P-
value is 0.23307449 > 0.05 so the result is not significant. So there is no relation
between income & gender in newspaper consumption.
 Family Income :
Which newspaper is
preferred by you?
70
Rs. 10001 More

Less then to Rs. then Tota
Preferred Brand Rs. 10000 20000 20000 l
The Hindu Business Line 0 2 1 3
Business Standard 0 2 2 4
Hindustan Times 1 1 2 4
The Economic Times 1 4 1 6
The Times of India 5 4 5 14
The Indian Express 1 1 1 3
Mint 2 2 3 7
The Hindu 0 0 2 2
Other 4 3 7
14 19 17 50
2) P – value : 0.51754588
As per the monthly income of the family, again Times of India is a most preferred
brand. 14 out of 50 respondents of different income level preferred same newspaper.
P-value is 0.51754588 > 0.05 result is not significant; there is no relation between
income of the consumer and newspaper
Which Of The Following Factor influences Less Rs. More Total

you to choose present brand? then 10001 then
Rs. to 2000
71
1000 Rs.
0 20000 0
Price 1 0 0 1
In depth Intelligent articles 3 7 5 15
More no. of inside or spicy bits 2 4 3 9
prediction of economic trends / business
houses 2 4 2 8
widest game out of new coverage 0 3 1 4
professional approach of news distribution 6 1 6 13
14 19 17 50
1) Chi - square value: 10.634 3) Degree of freedom: 10
2) P – Value: 0.3867342
7 out of 15 respondents are having income of Rs. 10001 to 20000 are not interested in
depth intelligent articles. P- Value is 0.3867342 > 0.05 so the result is not significant.
So there is no relation between income level and factor which influence the
newspaper.
72
Less Rs. 10001 More

Have you ever changed your then Rs. to then
brand? 10000 Rs. 20000 20000 Total
Yes 5 11 7 23
No 9 8 10 27
Total 14 19 17 50
Reasons
Price raises 2 0 0 2
lack of availability 7 11 8 26
Other specify 5 8 9 22
14 19 17 50
1) Chi - square value: 1.838 3) Degree of freedom: 4
2) P – Value: 0.76552318
11 out of 26 respondents that income level is 10001 to 20000 are not change the
newspaper even though the newspaper is not available in the market P- value is
0.76552318> 0.05 so the result is not significant. So there is no relation between
income level and change in brand
73
Rs.
Less 10001
then to More
How do you know your preferred Rs. Rs. then
brand? 10000 20000 20000 Total
friends 3 6 5 14
Advertisement 1 3 4 8
Relative 3 5 3 11
Shopkeepers 0 2 2 4
Teacher 3 2 2 7
Other 4 1 1 6
14 19 17 50
2) P – value : 0.55934784
6 out of the 14 respondents have a monthly income Rs. 10001 to > 20000,
well known about their preferred brand through friends. P-value is
0.055934784 > 0.05 i.e. result is not significant; therefore there is no
relationship between preferred brand awareness factor & monthly income

74
of family.
Less
then Rs. 10001 More
Will you change the brand if your Rs. to then
family income level is increases? 10000 Rs. 20000 20000 Total
yes 4 2 0 6
no 10 17 17 44
14 19 17 50
2) P – value : 0.04983688
44 out of 50 respondents from different income level i.e. 10 out of 14 respondents

have less then 10000 income, 17 out of 19 respondents have less then Rs. 10001 to
20000 and, 17 out of 17 respondents have no willingness to change the news paper. P-
value is 0.04983688 > 0.05 i.e. relation is significant, therefore there is relationship
between different income levels and family income.
75
Findings:
As per the age of respondent:
 7 out of the 14 respondents having age of below 25 years who preferring

Times of India brand.
 7 out of the 15 respondents having age of below 25 years are interested
In depth Intelligent articles.
 14 out of the 27 respondents having age of 25 – 30 years preferred will
not change their brand. Even though there is lack of availability.
 7 out of the 14 respondents having an age of below 25 years well known
about their preferred brand through relatives.
 23 out of the 44 respondents having age of below 25 years will not
change their brand even though the income level is increased
As per the gender of respondent:
 12 out of the 14 respondents are male who preferred Times Of India as

a lead brand.
 15 out of the 15 respondents are male who are interested In depth

Intelligent articles.
 15 out of the 27 respondents are male preferred Times of India a best for
their regular brand. And they will not change it due to the non
availability.
 8 out of the 15 respondents are male well known about their preferred
brand through friends.
 26 out of 44 respondents are male will not change their brand even
though the family level is increased.
76
As per the monthly income of family
 5 out of the 14 respondents having monthly income less than 10,000

and another 5 out of 14 respondents having monthly income more than
20000 Rs preferring Times of India Brand as a lead brand.
 7 out of the 15 respondents are required in depth intelligent articles
having monthly income Rs. 10001 to 20,000.
 10 out of the 27 respondents having monthly income more than
20,000 Rs preferred Times of India for their regular brand. And they will
not change it because lack of availability.
 6 out of the 14 respondents having a monthly income Rs. 10001 to
20,000 well known about their preferred brand through friends.
 17 out of the 44 respondents having a monthly income Rs. 10001 to
20000 and 17 out of the 44 respondents having a monthly income more
then 20000 will not change their brand due to change in income level.
Conclusion
• From the above findings, majority of the population preferred Times
Of India brand mainly below the age of 25
• Most of the consumers preferred Times Of India
• Mouth publicity i.e. through the friends and relative are the most
important factors for the awareness of preferred brand.
According to Chi-square test,
There is a relationship between following factors,
• As per the gender of respondent, Times Of India is most

77
dominant newspaper brand
• Respondents have no willingness to change the news paper even

though the family income is changed.
Conclusion on present distribution system of newspaper:
By understanding the process it becomes possible to determine where improvements

can be of value. The model can serve as the basis for finding processes within the
field of distribution to be improved. It may be possible to improve each process;
however, each process must be a project of research. In this licentiate thesis, a model
was created in order to find which process could be improved. It was found that it
would be valuable to improve two processes within morning newspaper distribution:
the information flow and the coordination between the production and the
distribution. The information flow within the distribution process can be improved
with electronic devices used by the truck drivers and the carriers so the problems can
be maintained.
The coordination between production and distribution is important since the time for
distribution is dependent upon the production output. If the copies could be loaded
onto pallets before they are loaded onto the trucks, the time spent by truck drivers on
the loading dock can be decreased.
By changing the information flow and the planning of the loading process, the
distribution can be more effective. The proposed changes might increase the costs
initially for the distribution company, both in terms of investment costs and in
running costs. However, in the long run, improved planning and faster information
low with correct information can bring about rationalizations and an increased
delivery quality. New businesses for the distribution companies may involve both
tangible and intangible products. The distribution of these products may involve
physical distribution as well as electronic distribution. The improvement of physical
distribution may involve an improved information flow with new electronic devices
and an optimization of physical flow.
78
Questionnaire
Personal Profile
1. Age :
2. Gender : Male Female
3. Marital Status : Married Unmarried
4. Income (per month) : Less than 10,000 Rs.
Rs.10, 001 – Rs.20, 000
More than Rs.20, 000
5. Family Size : 1-3 members 4-6 members
: : More than 6 members
Brand Preference
1. Which Newspaper is preferred by you?
The Hindu Business Line The Times Of India
Business Standard The Indian Express
Hindustan Times Mint
The Economic Times The Hindu
Other
2. Which of the following factors influence you to choose present
newspaper?
79
Price
In-depth Intelligent articles
More no. of inside stories or spicy bits
Prediction of economic trends / business houses
Widest game out of news coverage
Professional approach of news description
3. How did you know your preferred brand?
Friends
Advertisement
Relative
Shop keepers
Teacher
Others (specify)
4. Do you know the name of the manufacturer of your preferred brand?
Yes No
5. State the degree of satisfaction in the following (for your preferred brand)
Sr. Highly Not

No. Characteristics Satisfactory Satisfactory Satisfactory
1) Price
2) Information
3) More no. Of articles
4) News coverage
5) Advertisement
80
6. In case of non-availability of your preferred newspaper brand, what will be your

next best alternative choice? (Name it)
7. Have you ever changed you brand?
Yes No
If yes, mention the reason:
Price raise
Lack of Availability Other (specify)
8. Name the substitute newspaper par brand for your regular newspaper
brand with reason.
Brand Reason
1)
2)
3)
9. Do you feel that your preferred brand of the newspaper enhances your knowledge
rich?
Yes No
10. Will you change the brand if your family income level is increases?
Yes No
11. Mention the reasons for selecting the next brand:
Same Price
Same Information
No other alternative
81
12. Have you ever suggested your preferred newspaper brand to your friends
or relatives?
Yes No
Bibliography
Unplanned interview with industry expert
1) Danker Kokitkar ( Circulation head of Sakal newspaper)
2) Vijay Jagtap ( Production head in Dhangat media )
3) Sachin Sir ( Marketing head of newspaper company )
4) Shrad Survase (Marketing head of newspaper company)
Various articles in newspaper i.e. Mint, Times of India etc.
Sources: Article on Indian Media Forecast (April 2008)
Group M Specialist Practices: Trading, mConsult, Dialect, Interaction, ESP
GroupM Communications Agencies: MindShare, Maxus, Mediaedge: CIA,

Motivator, MediaCom, Kinetic
‘Let’s rate the media’ survey on India PR Blog.

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1

The credit of conceptualizing a “Newspaper” actually goes to Julius Caesar who, in

Newspapers have also played a role as disseminators of revolutionary propaganda.

Some important timelines:

1588: In Cologne, Germany, Michael Entzinger publishes a 24 page news book

1645: worlds oldest newspaper still in circulation, Post-och inrikes Tidninger, is

1851: Reuters is established.

1880: First photographs appear in a newspaper.

Background of the Study :

Objective of the Study:

4) To know the sources of information which provide about newspaper to the

5) To know the degree of satisfactions derived by the consumers.

6) To find out the alternative choice of consumers in case of non-availability of

This research has and is covering information logistics as well as physical

Significance of The Study:

Scope Of The Study

The selling Process of Newspaper

4) Handling Objection: The most common objection which is encountered

2) Organizing & Directing Sales Efforts: Most of the newspaper companies

4) Evaluating Sales Force Performance: The performance of sales force is

Circulation of the Morning Newspaper

1) Time Management: Time management is very important as the executives

5) Maintain the Circulation Manpower: It is very difficult to maintain the

6) Maintain Own Distribution Network: For small Company it is very difficult

Diagram of Circulation Network

Procurement of Raw Material:

News Positioning Decision:

Model of Distributing Newspaper

In India significant share of total volume of newspaper distributed, about 69

1) Early morning Delivery: Early morning delivery is a typical mode of

2) Regular Postal Delivery: The items delivered include letters, newspapers,

Distribution of Newspaper in Rural India

Newspaper’s sales strategies in rural India :

Compensation Plan in rural India :

Developing grapevine through local news :

Reflecting rural shift :

By 315 the van is battling traffic on the national highway

Milkman makes his way to deliver the paper through sand.

Boats are the only means of transport when floods engulf.

Newspaper reading is now a community pastime

Group of people sharing news, debate & discussion issue.

To formulate and implement effective strategies a clear understanding has to be

 Understanding the rural consumer

 Natural calamities – One of the main obstacle of circulation is market is that

4A’s of Newspaper marketing

The first challenge in newspaper marketing is to ensure availability of the product or

Given the poor infrastructure, it is a greater challenge to regularly reach products to

advertising, trade events, Free sampling, involvement of media partners, social

4 P’s of Newspaper Marketing.

MARKETING MIX (4 P’S OF MARKETING)

There are some problems of rural distribution:

• Transportation has not been fully developed.

• Lack of proper channels of communication like telephone, postal services, and

• Transportation of goods in rural areas is also a problem for the marketers.

• Availability of suitable dealers

• Poor viability of rural outlets

Communication to consumer is through organized media like TV, Radio, Social

Promotion comprises four subcategories:

PRINT COMPETITION IN MUMBAI AND THE MARKET

HERE AND THERE TECHNIQUES

Invitation From World Association of Newspaper

New IFRA services for the Indian Newspaper Industry