From time to time, publishers are faced with the challenge of maintaining their brand as credible information and premier advertising media. They achieve this by devising ways and means of establishing a better connect with the reading population thereby increasing circulation and readership.
Kerala, a small state in the southern part of India, which has one of the highest literacy rates in India and the highest newspaper readership, was witnessing fierce competition with Malayalam newspapers trying to wean readers and advertisers from each other. The sponsor of this research, a leading publishing house in Kerala, had a few concerns regarding its flagship brand, the second largest daily in the Kerala market. Over the years the brand had been growing steadily but hadn’t managed to overtake the main competitior. Also there were other competing newspapers in Kerala, which had their own loyal set of readers thanks to their political leanings or certain pockets of influence. Besides, there was a distinct noticeable trend of growth in readership of English newspapers especially among the youth audience.
Symposium: 2005: Prague, Session 7 - The Business of Publishing
Authors: Gonsalves, Bruce, Sen, Sandipan, Sreyamskumar, M.V., Sudhir, D
Organisations: Indian Market Research Bureau, The Mathrubhumi Printing & Publishing Co. Ltd.
Topics: Editorial Research, Newspaper Measurement