NEW DELHI, August 31: It is not enough to flood a city with newspapers. These actually have to trickle into the homes of a city's teeming millions. And keep trickling till eternity.
One is told the first thing to happen after the recent downpour of new newspapers in Mumbai was an advertisement churning. No, this is not about newspapers churning out advertisements, but the churning that has been taking place in ad circles because of this newspaper glut. That was just the beginning.
Stakeholders in Mumbai's circulation war now have a major newspaper event headed their way. And no, this is no hurricane from the blue that will blow away competitors or the competition itself. But those who can make the best of it, will stand in good stead in weathering the stormy years that lie ahead.
The event in question is a conference of the INMA Global Forum on Newspaper Publishing. INMA is short for the Texas-based International Newspaper Marketing Association which has more than 1,000 members in over 70 countries. The theme of the conference will be "Bringing the World of Newspapers To India".
The two-day event has been designed to highlight issues, case studies, and best practices of newspapers in Europe, North America, and Latin America, and will be held on November 10-11 at Taj Land's End in Mumbai. The forum will be historic as it will mark the first time that an INMA conference will be held in India.
Topics will focus on circulation and advertising development, new product development, integrating the Internet into business plans, and strategies for the future. While INMA will identify threats facing newspapers, the association will also point to opportunities for newspapers and media companies.
The INMA executive director, Earl J Wilkinson, told Newswatch, "The INMA Global Forum is primarily designed to present non-Indian speakers looking at the newspaper industry and have those speakers interact with an Indian audience. We have done this successfully the past two years in South Africa and Australia; it is an outside-the-box type of programme designed to challenge norms."
"If we're successful, we will be able to use these speakers to prompt an examination of the best ways to grow circulation, advertising, and brand – through question-and-answer sessions as well as one-on-one networking," the INMA executive director said.
Currently, INMA has 12 members in India. Among them are the Times of India, Hindustan Times, Mid-Day, the Hindu, the Indian Express, Rajasthan Patrika, Malayala Manorama, and ABP Pvt Ltd.
So, will the INMA be launcing a membership drive in India? Wilkinson said, "I would not say that we are embarking on a membership drive in India, though certainly we hope the Global Forum is a tasty enough appetiser for Indian newspapers to consider joining INMA in the future."
Wilkinson said, "INMA is typically on the cutting edge of topics of concern to newspaper publishers. That's what makes us stand out. We're "first" on emerging topics worldwide ... even when much of the world doesn't think topics are so hot. We like to shake things up and make people think." Incidentally, Wilkinson's will be the first major presentation at the conference. He will speak on 'Global Trends In Newspaper Publishing'.
Among others who would also be sharing their views and experiences are Jan Wifstrand, Editor-in-Chief, Dagens Nyheter, Stockholm (on 'To Be Or Not To Be the Leader In One of the World's Strongest Newspaper Markets'); Mark Challinor, Group Promotions Executive, Associated Newspapers, London (on 'The Text Messaging Revolution: Communicating With the Mobile Generation'); Paulo Mira, Vice President Marketing, Market Solutions Ltd, Brazil (on 'Branding: The Last Frontier'); Marti Buscaglia, President and Publisher, Duluth News-Tribune, US (on 'Growth Strategies for Circulation and Readership'); Eivind Thomsen, Senior Vice President, Schibsted A/S, Oslo, Norway (on 'Product Innovations In a Changing Marketplace: Format Changes and Free Newspapers').
