Chennai-based The Hindu is getting aggressive on the marketing front. It has quietly initiated a three-pronged action plan. Earlier this month it kicked off the second phase of its alliance with Andhra Pradesh-based Eenadu to offer advertisers extended reach. Second, it has entered into a similar pact with Kannada daily Udayavani in Karnataka. And third, to provide better coverage in these markets, it plans to launch two new editions out of Mangalore and Vijaywada by December this year.
In June this year, The Hindu had entered into an ad-related pact with Eenadu to offer advertisers a combined package in the two dailies for Andhra Pradesh (AP). Bolstered by its success, The Hindu has included all its editions in the combined package. Advertisers now have various permutations and combinations to choose from, such as The Hindu (all editions) + Eenadu (AP) at Rs 3,500 per column cm; The Hindu (all editions) + Eenadu (Hyderabad / Vijaywada / Vishakhapatnam) at Rs 2,875 per ccm; The Hindu Sunday Magazine (per col) + Eenadu Sunday Magazine (per col) at Rs 5,500 per ccm. "This way we've made it even more cost effective to target our priority market - the south," says N Murali, joint managing director, The Hindu.
As RK Girish Menon, media planning director, HTA, Chennai, puts it, "What makes this pact remarkable is that it is a relationship between two equals." He adds, "It is not a case where something weak is being passed off on the back of a strong support." In any case, both the newspapers find their ways into the media planner's menu on their own merit. What makes the combined force more attractive is the potential reach.
The all-India circulation of The Hindu is 8.69 lakh, of which AP constitutes 2.13 lakh. According to the ABC figures for January-June 2001, Eenadu (the Telugu daily in AP) is the No. 1 regional daily with a circulation of 7.68 lakh. While it is early days yet for the new combination to yield results, what is clear is both sides expect a quantum leap in circulation and revenue. "It is too premature to start counting the extent of success, but it is a relationship between two like-minded publications and we are looking at long-term growth," says KV Rama Rao, regional manager, Eenadu Newstime, Chennai.
Simultaneously, The Hindu has struck an alliance with Udayavani, the second largest Kannada daily with a circulation of 1.70 lakh (ABC: January-Jun 2001). Though the latest figures (that is, the ABC figures for January to June 2001) were not available, the ABC, July-December 2000 figures reveal that The Times of India (in Karnataka) enjoys a leading circulation of 2.5 lakh, while Deccan Herald (the erstwhile leading English daily for the whole of Karnataka) has taken a beating and its circulation stands at 1.82 lakh. New Indian Express stands at 69,455 and The Hindu at 64,592. Among the regional Kannada dailies, Prajavani (from the Deccan Herald stable) has a circulation of 3.39 lakh, Udayavani a circulation of 1.42 lakh and Kannada Prabha at 94,598.
To corner a bigger chunk of advertising revenue, The Hindu has decided to launch two new editions out of Mangalore in Karnataka and Vijaywada in AP. "This move is aimed at spreading our presence and providing better coverage to those regions," says Murali. The Hindu has managed to establish its leadership among English dailies in Kerala last year with a circulation of 86,871, while the New Indian Express stood at 81,076 (ABC: July-December 2000).
Besides trying its hand at tie-ups, The Hindu has been forced into a price war by competition. Incidentally, it was TOI which kicked off the price war in 1996 when it entered Bangalore with a tag of Rs 1.50. Within a few years, as it zoomed to the No 1 slot, it inched its rates up to Rs 2. In October this year, it raised the price further to Rs 2.50, making the old guards heave a sigh of relief.
Again, TOI forayed into Hyderabad at Rs 1.50 and forced both The Hindu and Deccan Chronicle to revise their rates to Rs 1.50 down from Rs 2.70. The result? "The circulation of both The Hindu as well as Chronicle has gone up. In fact, we have grown upwards of 60 per cent, though the latest ABC figures are yet to arrive," says Murali.
Price-offs notwithstanding, the reality is that on an average all newspapers have lost 15 per cent ad revenue across the board, points out an industry source. "Almost all dailies have cut down the number of pages by almost 10 per cent this year, compared to last year. Obviously this is not lack of editorial content but advertising,'' points out Menon.
