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Brand-Building: Top Indian Newspaper Finds That Making News Helps

Imtiaz Muqbil
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BAN!"! # $romoting pea%e with $akistan e&en at a time when the Indian publi% is
%on&ulsed b' anti-$akistani (ingoism is one amongst a repertoire o) *e+traordinaril'
bold mo&es, the Times o) India newspaper regularl' makes to maintain and build its
brand image in a )ast-%hanging %ountr' and a %luttered media market-
In a world gripped b' digital. demographi%. so%ial. e%onomi% and politi%al e&olutions.
*(ust being a newspaper is not enough., Mr /a&i 0hariwal. 12" o) the paper3s owning
%ompan' Bennett. 1oleman 4 1o. India told the $ublishAsia %on)eren%e here last week-
*A newspaper is like a piano 5 we need to pla' e&er' side- 6e need to be in e&er'thing
)rom se+ to spiritualit'-,
Attended b' 788 media pro)essionals )rom around the world. PublishAsia )inall'
%on&ened in Bangkok a)ter twi%e being postponed due to the politi%al problems o&er the
past )ew 'ears- The %on)eren%e is organised b' 6AN-IF/A. the 6orld Asso%iation o)
Newspapers and News $ublishers-
Man' issues dis%ussed at the %on)eren%e are identi%al to those %on)ronting the tra&el
industr' 5 te%hnolog' disrupting traditional %hannels o) distribution. pressure on small
and medium sized enterprises. e+%essi&e %ompetition. the emergen%e o) the blogosphere
and )inan%ial pressures %aused b' %hanging demographi%s and shi)ting ad&ertising
demands-
9nlike the tra&el industr'. howe&er. the media deli&ers a produ%t that is not stati% but
%hanges b' the minute- This opens up immense opportunities )or shaping. presenting
and pa%kaging the %ontent in %reati&e and di))erent wa's- In his ke'note spee%h. Mr
0hariwal outlined some b' whi%h the Times o) India maintains both editorial integrit'
and marketing glitz-
He said that when he (oined the paper a )ew 'ears ago. he was told b' the outgoing 12"
to ne&er )orget that *The Times o) India :ToI; brand is bigger than all its past and
present editors and publishers and owners %ombined-, Toda'. e&en as that remains as
true as e&er. %reati&it'. remaining )o%ussed on %ore &alues and not taking itsel) too
seriousl' pla' pi&otal roles in upholding the brand proposition-
6ith a dail' %ir%ulation o) )our million %opies. <= nationwide editions and eight wire
editions. the ToI %laims to be world3s largest selling 2nglish newspaper. read b' a top-
end a))luent readership- Both %ir%ulation and ad&ertising re&enues are growing. with no
let-up in sight largel' be%ause the *demographi%s are totall' in our )a&our 5 litera%' and
edu%ation le&els are on the rise. along with media penetration at both the print and
online le&els-,
Mr 0hariwal tra%ed how the %ontent and %o&erage o) the newspaper had %hanged o&er
the 'ears. in line with the %ountr'3s histor'-
6ith it )irst started in <>?>. the ToI was onl' about Bomba' :now known as Mumbai;
and its role as a trading post- Then in the British %olonial era. it re)le%ted the
nationalisti% )ight )or )reedom- A)ter independen%e. more editions were added in ke'
urban %entres. targetted at the emerging middle %lass- The newspaper began to )o%us on
de&elopment issues and growing sense o) optimism in the %ountr'-
Then between the <@A8s to >8s. the dream o) India ga&e wa' to personal aspirations-
Adding more editions made the ToI one o) India3s true national newspapers- Between
<@@8 and B888. the era o) e%onomi% liberalisation began. and Indian %ompanies were
allowed to grow and )lourish- "&er the last <8 'ears. the editorial )o%us is about the
global aspirations o) being an Indian-
Mr 0hariwal said that the editorial poli%' is to treat *our reader as the 12"-, Cournalists
don3t write )or the sake o) winning plaudits )rom their %olleagues or the %ompan' 12"-
*6e write )or the readers- The preo%%upation is with what interests our readers-,
He %laimed that the paper has *no bias. no agenda and no (udgments # we are all about
gi&ing %hoi%es- 6e put together di))erent %hoi%es in )ront o) the readers- 2&en on our
%ommentar' page. we put )orward our &iew and a %ounter&iew- The idea readers get a
%hoi%e-,
"n%e in a while. eminent persons o) so%iet' are gi&en an opportunit' to be%ome the
*guest editor, )or a da'. with )ree rein to run the stories as the' please- The gi&es the ToI
*a )reshness and a new thinking whi%h is di&erse- It %reates news among the people- And
that makes the paper newsworth'-,
Mr 0hariwal said that be%ause time is short. and an a&erage person takes B8-BD minutes
to read the paper. it is kept between B7-?B pages. with stories running )or no more than
788 words- The produ%t is kept a))ordable with another no&el %ontrarian approa%h- At a
time o) rising %osts. rather than )ollowing the pa%k and raising its pri%es. the paper %ut
the pri%e. whi%h led to a surge in %ir%ulation- Now the pri%e o) the main paper is kept low
but the pri%e o) a range o) ni%he-market publi%ations is kept high-
/esponsibilit' to the reader is a%%ompanied b' responsibilit' to the so%iet' and the
%ountr'-
*In a world that is o)ten seen as being hal) )ull or hal) empt'. we see the world as hal)-
)ull- 6e ha&e an optimisti% &iew- 6e alwa's )ind something good- 6e %elebrate su%%ess-
6e are big on %elebrations-,
"ne o) the paper3s %ore &alues is its stead)ast belie) in the di&ersit' o) India- *6e are a
se%ular %ountr'- Nobod' has a birthright o&er the di&ersit' o) our %ountr' 5 and our
%ountr' is e+traordinaril' di&erse-,
In line with this. the paper last 'ear ran an ad %ampaign )eaturing superstar a%tor
Amitabh Ba%h%han imparting a passionate message )or robust. ethi%al nation-building-
It was originall' intended as a radio spot but when the a%tor saw the s%ript. he o))ered to
do it )or )ree as a TE %lip against the ba%kdrop o) a Mumbai megapro(e%t. the Bandra-
6orli Fealink. an o))shore road %onne%ting two o) the megapolis3s ma(or suburbs-
But the real impa%t %ame in the a)termath o) the terrorist atta%ks in Mumbai on B=
No&ember B88> whi%h were blamed on $akistan. %on&ulsing India in a )ur' o) anti-
$akistani &engean%e-
/ather than pandering to the (ingoism. whi%h would ha&e pla'ed into the hands o) the
terrorists. the paper took another %ontrarian approa%h. laun%hing a (oint %ampaign in
B8<8 with $akistan3s leading Cang newspaper group %alled *The Indo-Pak Peace
Project.,
Faid Mr 0hariwal. *It was an e+traordinaril' bold mo&e- It was a &er' di))i%ult de%ision I
had to make- "ur editors were not sure whether it was the right time to do it- The' said
we would get into trouble and are not reading the %ountr'3s mood right-
*Finall'. we de%ided to go ahead with it simpl' be%ause it was the right thing to do- And
we hoped that b' doing it we will %hange publi% per%eption about what happened-, The
slogan. %omprising both 9rdu and Hindi words was entitled. Aman Ki Asha :Hope
For $ea%e;-
The )ront-page ad went a step )urther with a %all to *Go&e $akistan-, 6ith (ust a )ew
hours to go be)ore publi%ation. Mr 0hariwal said his ad dire%tor brought him a )inal %ut.
and he had a long. hard look at it- *As an Indian. su%h a statement is e+traordinaril'
hard to swallow- I kept looking at it- It appeared to be a bit too bold- I told /ahul I need
an hour to think about it-,
Finall'. both the ad dire%tor and Mr 0hariwal de%ided to run it-
The ne+t da'. the rea%tions %ame in )ast and )urious- Mr 0hariwal said e&en his son
%alled him to %omplain about the )lak he was getting )rom his s%hool-)riends-
A)ter the dust settled. howe&er. the wisdom o) doing the right thing began to take root-
Apart )rom winning a number o) awards. the %ampaign pla'ed a role in the de%ision b'
the Indian $rime Minister 0r Manmohan Fingh to in&ite the $akistani $rime Minister
F'ed Housu) /aza ilani to the re%ent India-$akistan 6orld 1up 1ri%ket mat%h and
%apitalise on that sports diploma%' to restart pea%e talks-
*6e e&en got a %all )rom the $M to sa' that he had read e&er' word and applauded our
e))orts-,
The latest nation-building %ampaign is %alled *A 0a' In The Gi)e ") India, and is
designed to highlight *the %ir%us that is India, through a mass %olle%tion o) images.
(okes. %artoons. images and e+perien%es that *de)ine the %haoti%. quirk'. maddening. 'et
li&able India-, /eaders are being in&ited to send in their %ontributions whi%h are being
uploaded onto a spe%ial website and will be e&entuall' %ompiled into a book )or sale to
readers-
He said the' also work out wa's o) a%%epting ad&ertising )rom %ompanies whi%h %annot
a))ord to pa' )or them- The ToI does the media plan and works out the %ost and then
asks )or the ToI to get an equi&alent &alue o) equit' in the %ompan'- Hen%e. i) the
produ%t and the ad&ertiser do well. so does the &alue o) the ToI3s equit'- *Toda'. we ha&e
a port)olio o) o&er a million dollars in su%h in&estments., he said- *6e ha&e taken a huge
risk but belie&e this is a big %ontributor to our growth o) ad re&enues-,
5 Effective Brand Building Strategies to Attract
Customers
-A
+A
B' Annetta $owell I Business B 1ommunit' 5 Fri. Ma' <8. B8<? @:88 AM 20T
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Brand building is an integral aspe%t o) personal and business de&elopment- It not onl' in%reases the
&oi%e and %onsumer awareness o) a brand. but it also gi&es it an identit' and worth- The ad&ent o)
parti%ipator' and intera%ti&e plat)orms has gi&en man' businesses the %han%e to enhan%e brand
awareness and equit'- I) 'ou ha&e been thinking o) building a personal or business brand. then it is
important )or 'ou to know that brand building takes a great deal o) time and resour%es- In the
se%tion that )ollows. we shall de)ine brand building and also look at di))erent t'pes o) brands and the
steps to %reate a su%%ess)ul brand-
What Is Brand Building?
5 Effective Brand Building Strategies to Attract Customers
There is no one de)inition that a%tuall' %aptures the essen%e o) brand building in its entiret'- Man'
people think that brand building is allabout %ommuni%ating and e+posing 'our brand- That is (ust
one side o) it- The best wa' we %an de)ine it is that it is a process of creating value to
consumers. It en%ompasses all things that %onsumers know. )eel. and e+perien%e about 'our
business in its entiret'-
Ha&ing de)ined brand building. we shall now look at ? popular t'pes o) brands and what the' stand
)or-
Service brand- this brand is built on knowledge. %ulture. and e+perien%e that one has with
the ser&i%e deli&ering agen%'J%ompan'Jpeople- Think o) eek Fquad or Moll' Maid-
Retail brand- this brand is built on a mi+ture o) produ%ts and ser&i%e e+perien%e- Think o)
1hi%k-)il-a. !roger. or !F1
Product brand- is built on the e+perien%e that one has with a spe%i)i% produ%t- Think o)
Nike. Ford. or Fon'-
Ha&ing looked at the ? popular t'pes o) brands. we shall now pro%eed to look at steps in&ol&ed in
brand building-
1. Define Your Brand
The )irst stage in brand building is de)ining 'our brand- This is a &er' %riti%al step as it ultimatel'
determines what 'our brand trul' stands )or- 6hen de)ining 'our business brand. 'ou should %reate
a %he%klist o) its %ore strengths- Fimilarl'. i) 'ou3re de)ining a personal brand. 'ou should look at the
skills and e+pertise that 'ou possess espe%iall' those whi%h stand out- "n the same token. 'ou also
need to know what 'our brand stands )or and what is important )or 'our brand :brand &alues;- Hour
&alues should in one wa' or another show that 'ou are %ontributing to en&ironmental. so%ial. and
e%onomi% well-being o) %onsumers- Hou ma' not realize some o) these important aspe%ts o) brand
building immediatel'. until 'ou look at them ob(e%ti&el'-
2. Differentiate and Position Your Brand
Be)ore embarking on brand building. 'ou ha&e to take time to di))erentiate it so that 'ou %an attra%t
attention and stand out )rom %ompetitors- To di))erentiate 'our brand. 'ou ha&e to %reate a unique
ad&antage in the mind o) %onsumers not merel' getting attention b' brand building %olors or logos or
other super)i%ial elements- "n%e 'ou %ome up with a unique &alue proposition. 'ou should use a good
branding strateg' to position 'our brand in a wa' that will help %onsumers see and appre%iate the
greater &alue o) 'our brand o&er %ompeting ones in the market-
3. Build and Expose your Brand
As I indi%ated earlier. brand building is not a one o)) thing- Building a unique and power)ul personal
or business brand takes time and %onsisten%'- To build 'our personal brand. 'ou ha&e to keep
rein)or%ing 'our &alues and skills b' taking up new roles and assignments that will gi&e 'ou more
e+posure- Alternati&el'. 'ou %an use promotional %hannels. blogs. )orums. and so%ial
media:GinkedIn. Twitter and Fa%ebook; to %reate a &oi%e )or 'our personal or business brand-
6hen building 'our brand. 'ou should also endea&or to de&elop brand personalit' :what people
know. think. and sa' about 'ou;- This is what dri&es or moti&ates people to identi)' with and engage
with 'our brand- The truth isK i) 'ou e+e%ute 'our brand building strategies %onsistentl'. then 'ou
will easil' establish a pattern that will )ore&er be asso%iated with 'our brand name-
4. Personalize your Brand
I) 'ou want 'our brand building campaign or brand to be su%%ess)ul. then 'ou ha&e to personalize it-
It is important to gi&e 'our brand an identit'- Get %onsumers see and e+perien%e the personalit' o)
'our brand in its entiret'- Gook at 'our brand as something that a %onsumer wants to identi)' with
prett' mu%h as the' would with their )a&orite %ars. %ellphones. or %omputers-
As 'ou engage in brand building. 'ou should also in&ite %ustomers to be %o-%reators o) brand &alues
so that the' %an )eel that the' also own it and relate with it- Top brands en%ourage %onsumer-brand
intera%tion b' personalizing produ%ts to meet the needs and pre)eren%es o) %onsumers- 6hen 'ou
personalize 'our brand. 'ou gi&e %onsumers reason to parti%ipate and engage with 'our brand )or a
li)etime-
5. Review Your Brand
Hour brand is not stati%K it will go through a range o) motions in its li)etime- 0epending on 'our
brand strategies. 'our brand will either grow in strength. or remain dormant. or re%ede with time- In
the brand %'%le. new e&ents. %hanges. and %ir%umstan%es bring %hallenges and opportunities to
enhan%e the &alue o) 'our brand or re-establish it- All these possibilities should gi&e 'ou the impetus
to take %harge o) 'our brand building a%ti&ities-
As 'our brand name grows. so do the responsibilities and e+pe%tations to %ontinue with brand
building- The best wa' o) ensuring brand growth is re&iewing 'our a%ti&ities and e&aluating 'our
su%%esses through metri%s su%h as le&els o) brand awareness and le&els o) engagements- /egular
re&iews will help 'ou seize and e+ploit new opportunities while upholding 'our %ommitment to
remain true to 'our &ision and brand strateg'- It will also help 'ou steer 'our brand in the right
dire%tion and keep it rele&ant as 'ou mo&e into the )uture-
As 'ou %an see. brand building is not a one o)) thing- Hou ha&e to de)ine 'our brand. di))erentiate.
present it. and re&iew what 'our brand stands )or )rom time to time- It is &er' important to be %lear
about 'our branding strategies and how 'ou3re going to implement them- Hou should also adopt
brand strategies that will add &alue to 'our %onsumers and help them de&elop the right impression o)
'our %ompan' and what it trul' stands )or-