outlook magazines

SUMMER TRAINING PROJECT REPORT UNDER 

OUTLOOK PUBLISHING INDIA PVT. LTD.

ON CONSUMER BASE AND FUTURE ASPECT OF MAGAZINES

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULLFILMENT OF THE REQUIRMENT FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF PGDM, INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE, GHAZIABAD.

SUBMITTED BY:-

SUBMITTED TO:-

SATISH KUMAR 

PROF. VIKAS SAXENA Page 1

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my deepest sense of gratitude to Mr. Himanshu Pandey, National Head of Sales and Promotion for giving me this opportunity to undergo Summer Training at Outlook Publishing India Pvt. Ltd. I express my sincere gratitude to my industry guide Ms.Anisha Sanghi, Team Leader, Outlook Publishing India Pvt Ltd, for his able guidance, continuous support and cooperation throughout my project, without which the present work would not have been possible.

I would also like to thank the entire team of Outlook Group, for the constant support and help in the successful completion of my project.

Also, I am thankful to my faculty guide Prof. Vikas Saxena of my institute, for his continued guidance and invaluable encouragement. Last but not the least I thank my family and friends for their encouragement and support.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my deepest sense of gratitude to Mr. Himanshu Pandey, National Head of Sales and Promotion for giving me this opportunity to undergo Summer Training at Outlook Publishing India Pvt. Ltd. I express my sincere gratitude to my industry guide Ms.Anisha Sanghi, Team Leader, Outlook Publishing India Pvt Ltd, for his able guidance, continuous support and cooperation throughout my project, without which the present work would not have been possible.

I would also like to thank the entire team of Outlook Group, for the constant support and help in the successful completion of my project.

Also, I am thankful to my faculty guide Prof. Vikas Saxena of my institute, for his continued guidance and invaluable encouragement. Last but not the least I thank my family and friends for their encouragement and support.

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DECLARATION

I Satish kumar student of “Institute of Technology & Sciences Batch (2011-2013) declare that every part of the Project Report “Consumer Base and Future Aspect of Magazines “that I have submitted is original. I was in regular contact with the nominated guide and contacted for discussing the project.

Date of submission:

Satish Kumar 

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter No. Subject

Page No.

Ch #1. Executive Summary...................................................

6-7

INTERODUCTON

3-31

Ch #2. COMPANY PROFILE ...........................................

8-15

2.1 Rajan Raheja Group

8-9

2.2 Outlook Group

9-10

2.3 Product Description

10-15

Ch #3. INDUSTRY RROFILE ....................................... 3.1 Print Media

16-20 16

3.2 Readership Survey

16-20

Ch #4. LITERATURE REVIEV ..........................................

21-23

Ch #5. JOB ASSIGNMENT..................................................

24-27

5.1 Objectives

24

5.2 Purpose of the project

24

5.3 Consumer Base

25

5.4 Building the Consumer Base

26

5.5 Market Research

27

5.6 Building Relationship

28

5.7 Future Aspects Of Print Media

29

5.8 STEPS IN GENERATING SALES

30

Ch # 6. SWOT ANALYSIS OF OUTLOOK MAGAZINES..........................

31

Ch # 7. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .............................................

34-35

Ch #8. RESEARCH ANALYIS...................................................

36-45

Ch # 9. FINDINGS...................................................... Ch # 10. RECOMMENDATION ..............................................

Page 4

46 47-49

Ch #11. CONCLUSION...................................................

50

Ch #12. BIBLIOGRAPHY......................................

51

Ch #13. ANNEXURE..............................................

52-55

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CHAPTER -1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Outlook is part of the Rajan Raheja Group which made its beginning in the construction  business and after building a huge presence in the realty market, the Group diversified laterally into manufacturing, financial services and media. The various magazines offered  by Outlook Group consist of Outlook English, Outlook Money, Outlook Traveller, Outlook  Hindi, Outlook Profit & Outlook Business. It has recently taken over the Sales & marketing of Newsweek, an international newsmagazine and Marie Claire, an international women’s magazine. The Project “Consumer base and Future Aspects Of magazine” is an attempt to find out new areas of development through which business can be generated for the company. Let’s understand the meaning of the project title, consumer base means the group of  customers and/or consumers that a business serves. In the most situations, a large part of this group is made up of repeat customers with a high ratio of purchase over time. These customers are the main source of consumer spending. A future aspect means something that will exist or happen in times to come which will an appearance to the eye or mind.

Magazines industry is going a long way in developing, formulating and implementing  promotional strategies to cope up with the tough competition. Strategies are formulated not only keep up with cut throat competition but also to meet the highly volatile consumer   preferences. The analysis revealed that most of the customers were motivated by the gifts provided by the subscriptions rather than the price reduction. Thus it brought out that gifts play a key role in the success of promotional schemes. The market survey was conducted to confirm the facts revealed by the sales data analysis vindicated that the speculations were true since most respondents agreed to that they were motivated by the gifts, especially by the brand value and utility of it.

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It has been found that though Outlook is strong in some of the augmented product attributes like Promotional Schemes and Overall Presentation; it needs to improve the core product attributes like Quality of content, Coverage. Hence from the findings of the market survey and by different analysis performed effective strategies has been formulated and proposed which might be useful in devising the future strategies for Outlook.

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CHAPTER-2 INTRODUCTION

2. COMPANY PROFILE

2.1 RAJAN RAHEJA GROUP

The Rajan Raheja Group is led by Mr. Rajan Raheja, a renowned businessman involved in the Real Estate Development business for over 3 decades. The company diversified into manufacturing and financial services over the last two decades. The emphasis is on setting up focused companies, which aim to be profitable leaders in their respective fields with a long term outlook. All Group Companies are professionally managed by independent CEOs. Most of the Group Companies has a leading position in Market share, Technology, Brand, Distribution or Profitability. It's an entrepreneurial journey that has spanned both 'old' and 'new' economies -- building successful brick-and-mortar businesses to exploring the frontier world of convergence technologies. The Rajan Raheja Group made its beginning in the construction business. After building a huge presence in the realty market, the Group diversified laterally into manufacturing, financial services and media -- each venture initiated, and executed, to fulfil the objective of assuming leadership in core areas. The list of the Group's successes is long and eclectic. •

H&R Johnson (India) Limited is the top name in ceramic tiles in India.

•

Exide is the strongest brand of batteries in the automotive and industrial field.

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•

Co-promoters of Supreme Petrochem Ltd. along with Supreme Industries Ltd, largest processor of plastic materials in India.

•

The Group also joined hands with Oberoi Hotels as co-promoters of Trident Hotels and luxury resort Rajvilas, which Conde Nast Traveller ranked as one

of the 25 best villa hideaways in the world. •

Prism Cement Ltd. has a production capacity of 2.5 million tonnes.

•

The Group is a Co-promoter of Sonata Software Ltd , one of the leading software companies in India.

•

As owners and operators of a fibre optic cable network in Kerala through Asia net Satellite Communications, the group is also a significant stakeholder in

the growing convergence business in India. •

Co-promoters of RMC Ready mix (India) Pvt. Ltd. along with RMC Group  plc, U.K, the world’s largest manufacturer of Ready-mixed concrete.

•

Hathway Cable & Datacom Pvt. Ltd has extensive cable network in 6 major 

cities and 7 large towns across India. •

Globus Stores Pvt Ltd. is India’s one of the largest apparel

brand chain.

•

A 50% JV with the ING group of Netherlands in ING Life Insurance. The venture is already the 5th largest insurer in India.

2.2 OUTLOOK GROUP

Mr. Rajan Raheja is the owner of OUTLOOK group Date of Establishment : October 1995 Headquarter Address: AB-10, S.J. Enclave, New Delhi - 110029, India Branches : Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad

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The Outlook group publishes several magazines like Outlook Business, Outlook Profit, Outlook Money, GEO, Marie Claire, People, Traveller, Career 360 and News Week. Outlook has been published in New Delhi continuously since October 1995 by the Outlook Group, whose founding editor -in-chief is Vinod Mehta. In October 1995, group company Hathway Investments Private Limited entered the print media. Outlook, a weekly newsmagazine headed by Vinod Mehta, galvanised a sluggish market reeling under the impact of satellite TV. Outlook quickly carved a significant niche for itself among discerning readers who value its in-depth, investigative reporting as well as its stylish visual format. Known to be fiercely independent, Outlook has shaken the establishment on events ranging from Kargil to Kasmir to cricket, sensitised the reading  public to important issues like big dams, education and gender, and provided an unremitting focus on South Asian geopolitics. Today, Outlook is the preferred magazine of 1.5 million readers in India, and sells more than 11.2 million copies over the year .

2.3 PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

Outlook : In October 1995, Hathway Investments Private Limited Group Company entered the print media. Outlook, a weekly newsmagazine headed by Vinod Mehta, Outlook, India’s most exciting weekly newsmagazine covers the entire spectrum of issues from current affairs, business, sports, lifestyle, technology, international affairs etc. Outlook gives you a holistic picture, insightful analysis and fresh perspective galvanized a sluggish market reeling under the impact of satellite TV. Outlook quickly carved a significant niche for itself  among discerning readers who value its in-depth, investigative reporting as well as its stylish visual format. Known to be fiercely independent, Outlook has shaken the establishment on events ranging from Kargil to Kashmir to cricket, sensitized the reading public to important Page 10

issues like big dams, education and gender, and provided an unremitting focus on South Asian geopolitics. Today, Outlook is the preferred magazine of 1.5 million readers in India, and sells more than 11.2 million copies over the year.

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

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

Outlook Saptahik : Outlook Saptahik, a weekly newsmagazine, was launched in October  2002 to establish significant presence amongst the vast Hindi reading audience. The product targets the evolved Hindi reader keeping their interests, realities & aspirations in mind. Outlook Saptahik retains the core strengths of Outlook with objective, fiercely impartial and  bold journalism, while brandishing its own identity through a strong parallel editorial. The magazine is empathetic to its target audience & is not a translation of its English counterpart.

OUTLOOK GEO: This international magazine by Outlook group covers all the news about

wildlife, Geography etc. It is also one of the best selling magazines in this segment. Outlook  has priced this magazine at seventy five rupees and it comes on a monthly basis.This is a German based magazine. GEO is a family of educational monthly magazines similar to the  National Geographic magazine. It is known for its profound reports, which are accompanied  by opulent pictures.

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OUTLOOK PEOPLE: The celebrity based magazine of Outlook group. This is a

fortnightly magazine by Outlook and is most preferred by the fashion oriented people like youth, beauty saloons etc. This and Marie Claire of Outlook are one of the best magazines in the entertainment segment as it also covers the fashion statements, interviews of celebrities, Bollywood etc.

MARIE CLAIRE:

International fashion magazine of OUTLOOK. Most preferred by

youth and other style oriented people.This is a monthly magazine. Marie Clarie, the Indian edition is about real women and what they want. Gorgeous fashion coverage, beauty tips and cutting edge feature stories that will make her think, laugh or cry. ''Our edition contains content that reaches out to the global Indian women who is smart, educated, urban and is ready to reach out and explore the world.'' Mr Maheswar Peri, President and Publisher of the Outlook Group said ''Marie Claire will be a magazine for the thinking, evolved and strongwilled Indian woman.

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OUTLOOK BUSINESS: Another magazine by Outlook which covers the business news,

interviews of business tycoons, the new jobs in offerings. This magazine is most preferred  by Business Schools, business professionals, businessman etc. This is fortnightly magazine  by Outlook .

OUTLOOK PROFIT : This magazine gives you the insight of the share market and is most preferred by Chartered Accountants and others in the same business. The Outlook  Profit magazine is an India based business magazine, it is a fortnightly edition that packs market intelligence & incisive analysis of the stock market, while capturing emerging trends & tracking market experts & their moves. This online magazine promises a unique data section that marks the markets packed with credible analysis.

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NEWSWEEK : It offers comprehensive coverage of world events with a global network of 

correspondents, reporters and editors covering national and international affairs, business, science, and technology, society and entertainment. Newsweek's Asia edition addresses the needs of our Asian readers, bringing you deeper understanding of what's happening in Asia and the world. This edition is circulated throughout Asia, including Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand.

CAREER 360:

It covers information related to numerous career option in

different fields, success mantras, sample questions for exams around the corner.

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CHAPTER-3 3. INDUSTRIAL PROFILE

3.1 PRINT MEDIA The structure of the Indian print media industry is highly fragmented with importance to regional dominance. The Indian print media segment primarily comprises newspaper and magazine publishing. Book Publishing also forms part of the print media though currently the share is not substantial. The print media industry has potential to grow still larger as 369 million literate people in India are still not tapped by any publication. Currents estimates reveal that the reach of print media in India has increased to 222 million  people. Print media is also the favourite segment for global investors with maximum foreign investment in this segment.

3.2 READERSHIP SURVEYS There are two main source of obtaining data to determine readership of any publication: 1. National Readership Survey – NRS 2. Indian Readership Survey – IRS National Readership Survey is a survey on all media, but especially the print medium,

conducted by the National Readership Studies Council (NRSC) - supported by Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC), Advertising Agencies association of India (AAAI) & Indian  Newspapers Society. It investigates the readership of about 80 major Indian pub, weeklies, biweeklies and monthlies-in over 475 towns of 57 regions across the length and breadth of the country. The towns, selected, however are publication centers of dailies. By process of ‘systematic sampling,’ over 55,000 households in these towns are surveyed, the number of households in each town proportionate to it population. All men and womenfolk above the age 15 are questioned for about half an hour on the basis of a structured questionnaire.

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It claimed to be the most thorough readership survey in the country. It provides exhaustive data (available to its clients on computer disks) readership, radio listenership profile’-the socio economic characteristics of the readers of various publications, of cinema and TV viewers, and of listeners to radio, as well as the degree of duplication among publications and between media. Research agencies involved are: IMRB, TNS Sofres Mode, AC Nielsen in collaboration with ORG. Indian Readership Survey is conducted by the Media Research Users Council (MRUC).

IRS 2002 is the largest continuous media survey ever conducted (sample size of 229,000 indiv individu iduals als)) provi providin ding g a singl single-s e-sour ource ce datab database ase for demogr demograph aphic ics, s, media media habit habitss and  product / brand usage across 986 towns and 2858 villages in India. The survey was conducted over two rounds with the field work between November 2001 and November  2002. This all-India survey conducted jointly with the Media Research Users' Council (MRUC) also also provid provides es produ product ct / brand brand penetr penetrati ation on inform informat ation ion for for over over 50 differ different ent produc products ts allowing one to link media habits and product usage data for adults and children from the age of 12 years.

Both NRS & IRS •

Gives Gives media media consump consumption tion habits, habits, product product ownersh ownership ip & consump consumption tion,, lifestyl lifestylee indicators information on macro demographic & geographic parameters. Population coverage: 12 years & above Sample size: over 200, 000 Geographic coverage: All India (Urban + Rural) Sample Frame: Electoral rolls based on 2001 Census definition of Urban Agglomeration

According to NRS 2005,

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•

Press adds 34 million readers in the last 2 years.

•

Press continues to grow, adding 21 million readers between 2002 and 2005.

•

Over the last 3 years the number of readers of dailies and magazines put together  among those aged 15 years and above has grown from 179 mn to 200 mn - a growth of 4% every year. (Note: Recently the scope of NRS has been expanded to include those aged 12 years and above but the 15 years age cut-off has been applied for the sake of comparison with NRS 2002.)

•

There is still significant scope for growth, as 314 million people who can read and understand any language do not read any publication. It is not just affordability that is a constraint, since 21 million of these literate non-readers belong to the upscale SEC A and B segments.

According to IRS 2006, Just when it seemed the print media was booming once again, the Indian Readership Survey 2006 Round 1 has pricked the bubble. There are few newspapers or magazines that have seen any growth; most have seen erosion in readership. Dainik Jagran retains its No 1 position among newspapers with 19.07 million readers, Dainik Bhaskar follows second with 14.57 million, and Daily Thanthi is third with a readership of 10.23 million. Amar Ujala is still at four with 9.89 million readers. Mala Malayal yalaa Manora Manorama ma (9.35 (9.35 milli million) on) and and Hindu Hindust stan an (9.72 (9.72 mill million ion)) have have inte interch rchang anged ed  positions at number five and six. Lokmat, Eenadu, Mathrubhumi and Times of India take the seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth spots with 8.10 million, 7.94 million, 7.65 million, and 7.08 million readers, respectively. ToI is the only English daily to find a place in the top 10. Except for Amar Ujala and Hindustan, every other publication in the top ten list has experienced a marginal decline in readership. For the IRS 2006 R1 an annual sample size of 2.4 lakh was covered spread equally over two rounds. A total of 1,178 towns and 2,894 villages were surveyed. The data represents fieldwork during the full year Jan-Dec 2005. The mid-point of the survey is June 1, 2005.

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Being a continuous survey, the reporting takes place every six months based on a Moving Annual Total. Among magazines, Saras Salil (Hindi) leads the pack with a readership of 7.36 million. A distant second is Kungumam (Tamil) with 3.76 million, followed by Vanitha with 3.52 mill millio ion n read reader ers. s. Indi Indiaa To Toda day y En Engl glis ish h is four fourth th with with a read reader ersh ship ip of 3.51 3.51 mill millio ion. n. Grihashobha (Hindi) has moved up a notch to number five, and is followed by Tamil weekly Kumudam, India Today Hindi, Malayala Manorama, Tamil weekly Anand Vikatan, and Hindi monthly Meri Saheli. Kungumam, Anand Vikatan, and Meri Saheli and newcomers in the top ten list. Most English dailies have seen a fall in readership, though on the whole any English daily readership has shown an increase from the 17,396,000 in IRS 2005 R2 to 17,435,000 in IRS 2006 R1. Both the top two, the Times of India and Hindustan Times have seen a decline with the former dropping from 72.87 lak to 70.84 lakh and the latter from 35.21 lakh to 35.08 lakh. Third-placed Hindu has increased its readership marginally from 27.87 lakh to 27.97 lakh. Deccan Chronicle’s Chronicle’s too has grown from 10.14 lakh to its current Telegraph Telegraph (10.82 lakh), Mid Day (7.37 lakh), Express (5.65 lakh), the Tribune (3.45 lakh)

11.32

lakh. The

Deccan Herald (6.04 lakh), the Indian

(4.83 lakh), the Statesman (4.22 lakh), the Assam Assam Tribune Tribune

all have seen fall in readership.

Among English magazines, number one India Today has dropped by 10 per cent from 38.99 lakh to 35.09 lakh. Sister concern, Reader’s Digest too has seen a 12 per cent fall and is at 23.06 lakh from 26.37 lakh. Filmfare has seen one the steepest falls in its readership fell 21  per cent to 16.71 lakh. Outlook has dropped by 11 per cent and is at 11.44 lakh. Stardust, too, has dropped and is currently at 10.95 lakh in comparison to the 13.11 lakh in the  previous round. round . From women’s magazines , Femina, Women’s Era, Cosmopolitan, New Woman, Elle and Savvy to special interest titles like The Sportstar, Sportstar, Auto India, Overdrive, Outlook Traveller, Capital Market, Living Digital, all have seen a dip in readership, with some titles like PC Quest and Junior Science Refresher dropping by almost 23 per cent.

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According to the survey, the number of households has grown by 1.4 per cent over 2005 to reach 210 million. Individual growth rate has been slightly lower than household growth rate at 0.85 taking the total 12 yrs + population to 784 million. With single age-breaks now available from the Census, the age group data has been realigned. The proportion of the total share of 20-29 age group has declined from 25 per cent to 23.6 per cent. The data shows that the reach of mass media has stagnated in the last three years. Press reach has been hovering around at 24 per cent, TV at 55 per cent, radio at 21 per cent, and Internet at 1.5 per cent at the all India level. In urban India, press and TV have declined. The  press reach declined from 42.9 per cent in 2005 to 41.7 per cent in 2006. Though TV declined from 80.2 per cent to 78.9 per cent in the last three years, C&S has shown some growth, from 53.5 per cent in 2005 to 54.4 per cent in 2006. The main source of revenue for any publishing group is advertising. An advertiser would like to know the facts and figures before investing his money in advertising. And before investing the money, the advertiser ought to know how many people buy which publication in which area. The ABC gives all these vital facts every six months. The ABC figures are not the outcome of opinions, claims or guesswork, but they are the result of rigid, in-depth and impartial audits of paid circulations of member publications by independent and leading firms of Chartered Accountant working in accordance with the rules/procedures set by the Bureau

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CHAPTER-4 4. LITERATURE REVIEW

Advertising synergy The concept of synergy is not new for communication researchers and advertising  professionals. It is defined as “the interaction of two or more agents or forces so that their  combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effect” (American Heritage College Dictionary 1997). As a matter of fact, advertisers frequently use multiple communication tools (e.g., advertising, public relations, etc.) or channels (e.g., television,  press, the Web, etc.) within a single campaign at the ultimate goal of integrating multiple communication vehicles to create the optimal persuasive effect (Chang & Thorson, 2004). Synergy is the fundamental concept of Integrated Marketing Communication. It differs from simple repetition in that it is believed to bring in integrated increment rather than just simple addition of different components. As Chang and Thorson (2004) elaborated: “An advertisement is usually viewed more than once. The effect resulting from repeated exposure to the same advertisement is called the repetition effect and is assumed to  be the incremental effect of each additional advertising exposure. The effect resulting from exposure to coordinated advertisement is called the synergy effect.” As observed, advertising synergy could be operated into content level and medium level. The former is usually seen within a single medium, using a series of ads with slight difference in image, sound or stories, to convey a consistent persuasive message. While the latter, going one step beyond, employs several media at a time for the same purpose.

TV, Print and Web ads

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Conventional advertising, predominantly TV-commercials and print ads, still dominates today’s advertising market. However, a diversity of new advertising formats emerges. One major “threat” comes from the Internet, which advertising investment is constantly seen to  be on the rise (Janoschka, 2004). As Leong and his colleagues (1998) suggested, “the  phenomenal growth of consumers and businesses connected to the Internet indicate a viable audience for advertising and promotional messages for many companies”. The Internet is the latest developed electronic mass medium of the 20th century. With its decentralized, internationally operating network and multimedia functions, this new communication tool has soon captured the attention of provident advertisers and became the 4th largest advertising medium (Janoschka, 2004). Some researchers estimated that online advertising would begin to get surpluses this year, and the share of advertising expenditure for webs would increase from 3.5% to 6.5% by the year 2009 (Ads4cn.com, 2005) , U.S. websites will see a triple in their advertising revenue. There are various types of online advertising, including “emails, newsletters, screensavers, e-sponsoring, asynchronous and synchronous chat groups, infomercials, online games, and web sites” (Janoschka, 2004: 43). Provided the scope of the current study, spotlight will be given to web ads, which encompass a variety of hypermedia formats, such as “banners, buttons, and pop-up windows, etc.” (Janoschka, 2004: 43). Similar to other types of advertisements, web ads are paid or unpaid form of  communication aim at informing the existence of a product or service and/or persuading consumers to take actions. And Janoschka (2004: 49) found one major difference is that web ads are hyperlinks in nature, which enable activation by their users. They not only contain  promotional messages on themselves which tries to attract consumers’ attention, but also embedded with hyperlinks and then point to a much greater information pool, such as the corporation’s website. This inherent difference enables a lot of unique features of web ads. As Leong, Huang and Stanners (1998) summarized in their study with advertisers, web ads were perceived to  be: 1). Excellent for conveying information and detail. 2). Cost-effective.

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3). Rational and not effective in stimulating emotions. 4). Effective in precipitating action. 5). Effective for both short- and long-term promotional objectives. 6). Less effective for changing and maintaining attitudes. Two conceptual maps may further contribute to our understanding of the characteristics among TV, print and web as advertising media. First is Hoffman and Novak’s (1996) conceptual typology based on objective characteristics (Figure1) of 35 media. The horizontal axis differentiates impersonal from  personal communication media, while the vertical axis differentiates dynamic from static media. Findings showed that traditional mass media, such as TV and print resided in the upper left and lower left quadrants, whereas interpersonal media mainly take up the upper  and lower right quadrants. New media occupied largely intermediate positions, “in agreement with Reardon and Rogers (1988), who view new interactive media as combining  properties of mass (impersonal) and face-to-face (personal) communication channels.” The three media to be investigated in the current study, namely, TV, print and web were all found to be mass-targeted (impersonal) media which package their information for  a large group of people. Yet they serve different functions. As Hoffman and Novak (1996) explained, broadcast media provide relatively short-term exposure with low information content, print media provide relatively long-term exposure with high information content, whereas advertising strategy on the web can responsible for both short-term (decision of  which link to select next) and long-term (detail information reading) exposure. Web incorporates texts, images, audio and sometimes, video contents as well. It stands in the central part of the media map, corresponding to a very important strategic interpretation that it should be included into the marketing mix and serve as complementary ad carriers to the two conventional but predominant media

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CHAPTER-5 5. JOB ASSIGNMENT

5.1OBJECTIVES OF THIS PROJECT 1.

To understand consumer’s preference towards magazines through market research.

2.

To identify and understand the consumer base of outlook magazines.

3.

To know about the brand awareness in the consumer of different products of outlook  magazine.

4.

How to generate sales for outlook group magazines by increasing circulation in the selected segment.

5.

To understand the future aspect of outlook magazines.

6.

To find out the tools to improve the sales of outlook magazines.

7.

To find out the factors that influence decision making for subscription.

5.2 PURPOSE OF THIS PROJECT The main purpose of this project is to understand the consumer base of outlook magazines. In order to do so the target market needs to be surveyed thoroughly so as to understand what exactly the customer is looking for in the product that will satisfy his/her needs and requirements. After converting prospect into customers it is essential to retain these customers so as to create brand loyalty. This can be done by using various promotional schemes. This research has also been conducted to understand where outlook stands few years from now and also finding out ways and methods to improve the sales of outlook  magazines and also increase the number of customers.

5.3 CONSUMER BASE

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The customer base is the group of customers and/or consumers that a business serves. In the most situations, a large part of this group is made up of repeat customers with a high ratio of   purchase over time. These customers are the main source of consumer  spending. In many cases, the customer base is considered the business's target market, where customer   behaviours are well understood through market research or past experience. All actions the company takes would be through consideration of its customer base.

5.4 BUILDING CONSUMER BASE All businesses begin with no customers. These start-ups begin with an abstract idea that slowly evolves into something someone will buy. As these products evolve from abstract ideas into primitive objects that are then further refined, the business that created the  product begins to gain customers. The satisfied customers become the repeat buyers and core customer of the company. Most often, successful start-ups begin with low-end or down market customers with low income and low costs. As the products or services that are being  bought are polished and remade, a company gains higher-end customers who gain interest in the product as it reaches higher levels of functionality, use, and/or value of some kind. As the shift to these higher priority customers continue, they begin to be a larger source of  income for the company, and slowly become the main base whom the business lends the most importance. This process, of moving from low-end customers to more expensive and more profitable customers, is known as up streaming. Businesses work very competitively to keep their core market intact. The sellers will research their buyers to increase customer awareness. Keeping products customer oriented has become so huge a priority, in fact, that it has become a large focus of business schools to teach all types of business administrators, from manager to marketer, to keeping the customer in mind for the improvement and creation of sellable products. It is very rare for  an established company to lose its core customers to incumbents, and it has been stated that when an established company loses their consumer base via sudden and straightforward methods, it was not an ingenious move of the incumbent that allowed this to happen, but rather a result of the established company “dropping the ball”.

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5.5 MARKET RESEARCH Throughout the lifespan of one company, the people that are being sold to are studied so that they can be provided with more attractive products or services. The main market doing the  buying is, of course, that company’s consumer base. Analyzing and understanding such customers is the main method of keeping them, and is why most assets are poured into Research and Development (R&D). R&D is the process by which old products and new ideas become refined into better, more  profitable packages. It consists of a lot of customer data: interviews, observation, product testing, and plenty of questions. Innumerable details are dug up to gain an insight into who the core customers are, and what they want or need. This is where brand creation, market consideration, and market testing comes into play. Anything that the customer base will not  buy will not be made.

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How a company listens to their customers is vital. Listening to what they say they want and  providing that is a sure-fire means to failure. It turns out that it’s not as simple as just listening, because customers often do not know what they want or why they want it. Customers do not really understand the creation process, and should only be asked concise questions that a company's R&D team can make into something their customers would value. It is through this careful insight into customer minds that a business improves their   product and gains more buyers and more revenue.

5.6 BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS Relationship marketing focuses on using customer service and quality of service as  benchmarks in a company’s marketing activities. Relationship marketing campaigns are developed by looking at the lifetime relationship with clients rather than the individual dealings in order to increase profit. In relationship marketing, the goal is to satisfy and retain clients in order to create long-term profitable relationships. It’s obvious that there is a lot to be gained by marketing to your existing client base. Here are some of the positive results: •

Happier clients who trust you and your business

•

Repeat and new business from existing clients means more profitable relationships

•

Client-provided feedback and quality insight into your business

•

A boost in word of mouth referrals and recommendations

•

A willingness to pay more for your services

•

Brand engagement and loyalty

Plus, studies have shown that it costs less to keep an existing customer than it does to acquire a new customer, both in terms of marketing and the new-relationship learning curve. There are also benefits from relationship marketing to the client. Because their needs  become a primary focus in your business, they get better service, quicker responses and have to do less work to make sure their needs are being met.

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5.7 FUTURE ASPECT OF PRINT MEDIA While the rest of the world is combating challenges to grab maximum reach through online media and social networking tools, India, with a population of more than one billion but less than 80 million Internet users, has seen a continued growth in traditional print and electronic media over the decade. Indian print media continues to grow, and foreign publishers are also cashing in on the opportunity, launching Indian editions of titles such as Forbes, Harper's Bazaar, Technology Review, Entrepreneur, and even celebrity gossip magazines like People and Hello.

According to the country's first-ever youth readership survey undertaken by the National Book Trust-National Council of Applied Economic Research, more than two-thirds of the 333 million or so literate youth in the country prefer newspapers to any other media when it comes to news and current affairs.With television news broadcasters completely focused on chasing television ratings in the 24-hour news cycle, the medium is largely perceived as a source of entertainment, and in general lacks the seriousness to establish credibility with its audiences.

The Internet, meanwhile, is just gaining a foothold, and radio continues to be the major  source of information in urban India, as in comparison to magazines, while only one in four  read books in leisure time, Indian Express reported. The survey, conducted in November and December 2009, found that television is the largest media with more than 77 percent of the 333 million literate people exposed to it.

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 Newspapers maintain their dominance at 53 percent in terms of the preferred source for  news and current affairs, with around two-thirds (63.4 percent) choosing them for credible information over television, which had just 22.2 percent .Although digital media around the world is being said to replace print, in India, no Web site can measure the readership of a  printed newspaper, with a print classifieds market reaching about US$300 million.

5.8 STEPS IN GENERATING SALES The following methodology has been carried out while conducting this research: •

A list of prospective clients in each segment is prepared

After the segments have been identified, a list of prospective clients is made in each segment with the help of Internet and Telephone Directory services. The list would consist of all details of the clients including Name, Address, and Telephone Number etc. •

Gather information about a client and the key decision maker

This step consists of gathering information about the client as to whether it is currently taking any magazines and at what prices. Also the key decision maker in the company is determined and his/her details are found out. •

Take appointment

The next step involves calling up the decision maker in the client organization and making him interested in the product and taking an appointment with him/her. Here it is necessary to mention the actual price and the discounted price(if any) of the magazines along with the gifts for each respective magazine. •

Meet the client

Once an appointment has been taken, the next step is to meet the client on the appointed time. It is very important to arrive on time. The appointment should begin with introducing the products to the client. The Client should be asked if he is buying any other magazines and if yes, at what price. The client should also be asked if magazines are already a part of  his business. Then the client should be explained in detail the various features of the product and in what ways it is better than the competitors. The various options like cover-on-cover  are offered to him. Sample copies are shown to display the various options. Page 29

•

Send Proposal

If the client shows interest in the proposition offered to him, the next step is to send a  proposal. The proposal consists of various details like price, option being offered and other  details about the delivery, payment in advance etc. The proposal is send through mail. •

Follow Up

Once the proposal is sent, follow up is required until the decision maker in the organization takes a decision regarding ordering and the number of copies to be ordered.

•

Settle Terms and Conditions

Once the client shows his readiness to order, the terms and conditions are settled with him with regard to number of copies, delivery – whether it is single point or multipoint, payment in advance, time period of subscription. Also, price, if negotiated by the client, is settled. A customized sample copy is also shown to the client and his approval is seek.

•

Contract

Once all the terms and conditions are settled, the agreement is made. The agreement consists of all the terms and conditions agreeable to both the parties and is duly signed by both the  parties i.e. the client and Outlook. •

Delivery and POD

The client gives all the details of delivery to Outlook as to whether the magazines are to be delivered to the client itself or directly to the customers. If the magazines are to be delivered directly to the customers, then all the address details of the client’s customers are taken. After the magazines are delivered, the Proof of Delivery (POD) is shown to the client for  verification. If any copies are undelivered due to any reason, the client is informed about it.

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6.SWOT ANALYSIS OF OUTLOOK MAGAZINES

STRENGTHS:

Published on Fridays so it covers all special news and events which take place especially on Friday. News of stock market as it closes on Friday, courts close on Fridays and also new movies are released on Friday. Hence it is the biggest strength for outlook. Outlook magazines also cover international financial market.

1.It has been famous for sensational stories like the “Kargil Bungle” and the “match fixing controversy”.

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2. It also covered and published important meetings held like of Agra summit which was held on Friday.

3. It offers very good subscription schemes with highly attractive gifts with them.

4. It has distinguished and specialised magazines like Outlook Traveller, Outlook Money.

5. Outlook traveller has been awarded international awards for best selling magazine.

6. The survey has shown that 93% of readers retain all past issues of Outlook Money and this is its distinguishing characteristic.

WEAKNESSES:

1. Outlook has just been for thirteen years in publication.

2. It is on a back hand from India today Hindi in Market share of Hindi magazines.

3. From the survey it has come out that the Quality of content is not good.

4. Even magazine’s paper quality, print quality and coverage have not been considered up to the mark.

5. Its sales are mainly based on advertising. Page 32

6. It basically publish English magazine does not focus on Hindi reader.

OPPORTUNITIES: 1.As Outlook has distinguished products like Outlook Traveller and Outlook Money, so the company should focus more on it.

2.As its near competitor India today has major market share in Hindi magazine segment so Outlook should focus on English magazine segment.

3. It Should focus on quality of the content and this will eventually turn up the sales and  popularity of the magazine. Keep offering good Promotional schemes to retain their  customers and also to attract new ones.

THREATS: 1.India today is its near competitor which has a well known name and it has been in this  publication business for more than thirty years.

2. India today Hindi covers major market share leaving little future prospect for Outlook  Hindi.

3. Outlook does not pay much attention on customer retention.

4. If outlook does not improve its service it will lost customer loyalty.

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CHAPTER-7 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The research methodology defines what the activity of research is, how to proceed, how to measure progress, and what constitutes success. It provides us an advancement of wealth of  human knowledge, tools of the trade to carry out research, tools to look at things in life objectively; develops a critical and scientific attitude, disciplined thinking to observe objectively (scientific deduction and inductive thinking); skills of research particularly in the ‘age of information’.

TYPE OF RESEARCH : The type of research adopted was descriptive in nature . The object of descriptive research is ‘to portray an accurate profile of persons, events or situations’ .This is necessary to have a clear picture of the phenomena to collect data prior to the collection of data. Description in management and business research has a very clear place. However, it should be thought of as a means to an end rather an end in itself.

SAMPLING TECHNIQUE: A simple random sample is a set of individuals (a sample) chosen from a larger set a population. Each individual is chosen randomly and entirely by chance, such that each individual has the same probability of being chosen at any stage during the sampling process,

The sample size that was taken into consideration was 100(approx) .These prospects were randomly selected from the sample area and were asked to fill questionnaire. The Sample area that has been selected for conducting the research was Delhi, NCR. The sample size was taken randomly from all parts of Delhi and NCR region. The questionnaire are being distributed to the various prospects in the sample area the prospects involved are doctors, college students ,lawyers, employees ,teachers etc.

TOOLS FOR DATA COLLECTION: The report is based on primary as well as secondary data, however primary data collection is given more importance since it is overhearing factor in attitude studies. Research is being

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done by primary data collection and primary data collection is being done by interacting with various people. The secondary data has been collected through various journals and websites. •

Primary data : Primary date were collected though questionnaires .The questionnaire were accordingly prepared to find out the consumer base and the future aspects of  magazines

•

Secondary data: Journals ,websites .

TOOLS FOR ANALYSIS: The tools that were used for analysing the data that have been collected through the questionnaire and other sources are as follows: 1. Pie chart 2. Bar diagram 3. Column chart

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CHAPTER-8 RESEARCH ANALYSIS

1. No of respondents who read magazines

From the analysis of 100 respondents 65% of people used to read magazine while 35% does not read.

2. Types of magazines preferred by the reader?

From the above data we can say that from 100 respondents 42% are of India today, 32% of Outlook, 11% of Frontline, 10% of Saptahik and remaining 5% others.

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3.Gender preferences for English magazines :

Preference 47%female Males 63%male

Females

From the analysis of 100 respondents it can be determined that out of total readers of  English magazines there are 47% females and 63% males.

4. Respondents having internet connection

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Respondents having internet connection 120

113

100 80 60 40 25 20

82%

18%

0

yes

no

From the analysis of 100 respondents it can be determined that 82% have internet connection.

5. Internet usage preference

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internet usage 70

63

60 50

45

40 30 30 20 10 0

22%

46%

Reading Articles

Reading new s

33% Reading magazine

From the analysis of 100 respondents it can be determined that 46% read news, 22% read articles and 33% read magazine on internet.

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6. Type of magazine according to preferences by respondents:

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100%

90%

80%

70% Business

60%

Political Fashion

50%

 Tech savvy 40%

Movies Women

30%

Others

20%

10%

0%

Averageof rankingof respondents according to their preference for types of magazines

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From the survey of 100 respondents 85% preferred to read business magazines, 46% preferred political magazines, 60% preferred fashion magazine, 72% tech savvy magazines, 48% preferred movies magazines, 39% preferred women’s magazines and 20%preferred other sort of  magazines.

7. Analysis of the reading habit of the respondents :

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ReadingHabit

5%

Regularly 8%

Whenever getting bored

30%

While waiting 45% 12%

Forinformation Others

From the survey, analysis of the reading habit of the respondents showed that 8% regularly readers, 45% whenever getting bored, 12% while waiting, 30% to get information, 5% read other magazines.

8. Places from where magazines are purchased:

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Purchasingmediumof the magazines

14%

23%

7% 8%

46%

News stand Book Stall Subscription Online

From the results of 100 respondents 46% had subscription for the magazine, 23% from the news stand, 8% from book stall, 7% second hand purchase and 14% buy online.

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9. Motivational factor for magazine subscription :

Motivationfor magazinesubscription

10%

14%

7%

Ease of purchase Discounted prices 43%

26% Gifts Sugested by friend Others

From the survey of 100 respondents the factors that motivated subscribers to subscribe for any magazine were that 43% got motivated due to gifts with them, 26% got motivated due to discounts they were getting, 14% due to ease of purchase, 7% were motivated by their friends, and 10% due to other factors.

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10. Gift evaluation parameters:

Gift EvaluationParameters

90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

Gift Evaluation Parameters

From the Analysis to evaluate gift parameters, 80% prefer brand value in a gift, 64%  prefer the utility of the product, 55% prefer attractive gifts, 48% go for the price of gift and 20% went for other parameters.

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11. Analysis of Outlook magazines on the basis of attributes :

Evaluationof Outlook magazineonthe basisof attributes 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% Evaluation of Outlook magazine on the basis of  attributes

20% 10% 0%

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From the analysis 75% liked schemes of the Outlook magazine offered, 66% went for the value of money, 65% for unbiased reporting, 56% for overall presentation, 42% for  coverage, 38% went for paper quality, only 35% liked the quality of content and 33% for  coverage.

12. Perception of customers about Outlook magazine :

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From the survey of 100 respondents6% regarded it as a very good magazine, 62% regarded it as a good magazine, 28% as fair magazine to read, 4% did not like the magazine.

13. Purchase behaviour of consumer

online purchasing perference 50 45

44 41

40 35 28

30 25 20

13

15

12

10 5 0

30% Strongly agree

32%

20%

Agree

Neutral

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9% Disagree

9% Strongly disagree

From the survey of 100 respondents 32% agree to buy magazine online, while only 12%

strongly disagree

14. Respondents would like to buy magazines online because

preference for buying e magzine 80

73

70 60 50 39

40 26

30 20 10 0

53%

19%

Timely delivered

Easy access

28% No storage issue

From the survey of 100 respondents 53% would like to go for e magazine because of  timely delivery problem of subscriptions. 39% see e magazine as no storage issue.

15. Areas over which Outlook needs improvement :

Areasof Improvement 11% 21% Quality of content 68%

Print Quality Coverage

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From 100 respondents 68% wanted improvement in quality of content, 21% in print quality and 11% in coverage

CHAPTER-9 FINDINGS

1.

From the research it has been found that most people do not have reading habits. Hence magazines have to be pushed for sales.

2.

It has been observed that gifts offered along with the subscription for respective magazines plays a vital role in generating sales.

3.

From the analysis it can also be observed that the trend of reading magazines from the internet is also rising.

4.

The content and print quality of outlook magazines is found not to be satisfactory

5.

From the analysis it has been found that majority who read English magazines are men.

6.

From the data it has been found that content and service of outlook magazine is not satisfactory.

CHAPTER-10 RECOMMENDATION

1. From the market survey it was able to identify that the motivating factors are the gifts  provided along with the subscriptions and according to most of the consumers a good gifts are one which have good brand value associated with it and those which offer better utility therefore outlook should concentrate on this promotional tool.

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2. From the information obtained from Outlook, if was identified that Outlook

does

nothing for customer retention. Outlook needs to formulate and implement customer  retention and loyalty programs to retain the customers. •

Greet the customers with exciting gifts during special occasions.

•

Sell the subscription renewal at discount.

•

Allow grace period for subscription expiry.

•

Send loyalty gifts.

•

Organize entertainment events for subscribers.

•

Organize get – together.

•

Offer free Medical claim/Insurance Policy.

3. The most important task is that company should give its priority to coverage. If the company could cover home towns, cities and villages then it will create their more magazines readers.

4. From the market survey it was revealed that the strengths of Outlook Magazine are Promotional Schemes and unbiased reporting. Its weaknesses are its Content quality, Paper  quality and Print quality so it should work on it to increase the customer’s satisfaction. If the  product is able to satisfy customers in its core product attributes, then the customer will be tend to be loyal as their expectations are fulfilled. 5. Company should appoint some executives to make strong relationships with customer. 6. Company should improve its service so its customer should get their magazines timely.

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CHAPTER-11 CONCLUSION

Promotional decisions are crucial decisions as far as marketing of a product or service is concerned because of tough competition offered by similar kinds of products available in the market. Magazine industry is also not free from competition and the publishers and circulation managers need to be very alert since the consumer purchasing patterns has  become more volatile. Consumers are aware of most of the options available for them and it is the publishers who have to motivate them for the acquisition and conversion of them it in sales. From the different analysis performed and market survey conducted, as a part of sincere effort to formulate an effective strategy for Outlook magazine it has been found out that  promotional schemes are on right track and it is able to increase its subscription sales. At the same time it was revealed by the market survey that the customers or potential customers were not satisfied by the Quality of content and coverage of magazine which needs to be addressed because customer dissatisfaction might cause future loss in sales.

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Further, by careful and subjective analysis a number of promotional strategies has been formulated and presented for devising future promotional schemes and strategies for  Outlook. Some of these strategies are inspired by the existing industry practices and others are new to be implemented. These strategies can be definitely be helpful in improving subscription sales as well as market share which can make Outlook magazine more competitive and will make a considerable contribution in Outlook’s journey to become a future leader in the Indian News magazine Industry.

Chapter-12

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books referred: 

Kotler Philip, Armstrong Gary,Agnihothri.Prafulla Y(Edition 2011)Principle of  Marketing



Chunawalla S.A.(Edition 2008)Principles and Practice.



Kotler Philip:Keller Kevin Lane: Koshy Abraham And Jha Mithileshwar  (13th Edition 2009)Marketing Management



Chisnall .P(Edition1995) Consumer Behaviour,Mc Graws Hill Book Company

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

Srivastava T N, Rego Shailaja (Edition 2011) Business Research Methodology

Websites: 

www.outlookindia.com



www.outlookgroup.com



en.wikipedia.org/wiki/outlook_(magazines)



www.outlookindia.com/archievecontents.asp

CHAPTER-13 ANNEXURE QUESTIONNAIRE

PERSONAL DETAILS:  Name.............................

Gender: M ( ), F ( )

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Occupation......................

Email address....................

Phone No.........................

1. Do you read magazines? YES ( )

NO ( )

2. Which magazines do you read? Outlook ( ) India Today ( )

Frontline (

3. Do you have internet connection? YES ( )

NO ( )

4. You spend time on internet for  

Reading Articles

(

)



Reading news

(

)



Reading magazine

(

)

5. What type of magazines do you like to read?

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)

Pratiyogita darpan (

)

Rank them according to your higher preference to lower between 1 to 7: 

Business magazines

(

)



Political magazines

(

)



Fashion

(

)



Technical savvy

(

)



Movies

(

)



Women’s magazines

(

)



Others

(

)



6. How often you read magazines? 

Regularly

_____ 



Whenever getting bored

_____ 



While waiting

_____ 



For information

_____ 



Others

_____ 

7. How you want to purchase or receive your magazines?



 News stands

______ 



Book stalls

______ 

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

Subscriptions

______ 



Online

______ 

8. What made you subscribe for the magazine? Tick the options: 

Content

( )



Low Price

( )



Gifts

( )



Suggested by a friend/ relative

( )



Others

( )

9. On what basis you evaluate a gift? 

Price

(

)



Utility

(

)



Durability

(

)



Branded

(

)



 Necessity

(

)

Others

(

)



10 .From the attributes mentioned, tick those which are best suited For outlook magazines?

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

Quality of content

(

)



Coverage

(

)



Print quality

(

)



Value for money

(

)



Promotional schemes

(

)



Unbiased reporting

(

)

11. What do you feel about the outlook magazine?



Very good

( )



Good

( )



Fair

( )

 Not good

( )



12. Are you satisfied with outlook delivery service? YES (

)

NO (

)

13. You prefer magazines online? 

Strongly agree



Agree Page 59