SUMMER TRAINING PROJECT REPORT

ON
“SALES AND PROMOTION OF TIMES OF INDIA
GROUP”

NAME : PRASHANT KANCHAN

EN. NO. : 21BSBDDC01016
(Faculty Guide: Dr. MOHD. IMRAN)
(Company Guide: Mr. NAVEEN BANSAL.)

(IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF BATCHELOR IN

BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
 I take this opportunity to extend my sincere thanks to THE ICFAI
UNIVERSITY, DEHRADUN and The Times of India Group for offering a
unique platform to earn exposure and garner knowledge in the field of Sales and
Marketing. First of all, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to my project guide Mr.
NAVEEN BANSAL, Deputy Manager, Results and Market Development at Times
of India, CHANDIGARH for having made my summer training a great learning
experience by giving me his guidance, insights and encouragement which acted as
a continuous source of support for me during this entire period. Without which the
success of this project wouldn’t had been possible. I would also like to express my
profound gratitude to my faculty guide Prof. Mohd. Imran Sir for his
constructive support during the summer internship period, which leads to
successful completion of my internship at Times of India, CHANDIGARH.

Place:- DEHRADUN

Name:- PRASHANT KANCHAN

DECLARATION
 I hereby declare that project Titled “Sales and promotions of The Times of
India Group” is an original piece of research work carried out by me under the
guidance and it was not submitted to any other organization, university or
institutions or published any time before. The information has been collected from
genuine & authentic sources. The work has been submitted in partial fulfillment of
the requirement to our college.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Theory and practice are the two eyes of the management education. Management
education without practical training at an organization remains incomplete. The
training prescribed by the ICFAI UNIVERSITY student have various objectives
like helping the student to acquire knowledge, give an opportunity to know the
difference between theory and practice, enable the student to interact with
experienced and knowledgeable persons of business world .

As a student of BBA, I got an opportunity to undergo on a training. The training

title is “SALES AND PROMOTION OF TIMES OF INDIA GROUP.

I successfully completed my training report within the specified time. It was really
a thrilling experience for me with senior officials of Industry and to interact with
different members, employees of the organization. It was an experience of
enjoyment through hard work and dedication.

Through this finding of this report, I hope that the Industry in India as well as
outside the country will benefit.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
A. The preliminary section

1. Title page
2. Acknowledgement
3. Declaration of the trainee/intern
4. Table of contents

B. The main section

1. Introduction
2. Organizational Profile
i. Introduction
ii. Key Businesses
iii. History
iv. Subsidiaries
v. Key Management
vi. WWM
vii. About the magazines
viii. Prices and periodicity of magazines
ix. Competition
x. Distribution Structure of TOI
xi. Channel Members Of TOI
xii. Channel Margin
xiii. Promotion Schemes
xiv. SWOT Analysis

3. Research Methodology

4. Data Analysis and Interpretation

5. Findings

6. Recommendation

7. Conclusion

C. Reference section

1. References
2. Annexure
3. Questionnaire
i. Subscription
ii. Scheme

4.Receipt of sale of magazines

INTRODUCTION
Print media is one of the most powerful and effective ways to convey information
and knowledge. India's print media industry is more than a century old. It is also an
old industry. This industry mainly includes newspaper and magazine publishing.
India has the second largest population and one of the fastest growing economies
in the world. Along with that, people's income level is increasing and the strong
competition in this industry is helping the printing press to grow strongly.
Manufacturers are multiplying day by day, new entrants from outside India are also
an element of fierce competition. Indian readers prefer Hindi magazines to English
magazines. In the case of the Times group, the readership of Hindi Femina is also
higher than that of English magazines. Ernst and Young said in their survey report
"Indian Journal Segment: Navigating New Growth Paths", that out of the 20 most-
read journals in India, only three are equal. English, the rest Hindi and other
regions language. This survey also indicates that more than 300 million literate
people do not read any publications. According to ArcGate, the strong effects of
the Internet and globalization in the current context have a great impact on the
media industry. Even people now consume news and information over the internet
through computers or mobile phones, the popularity of print media has not
diminished. To avoid losing market share to other media, manufacturers must be
able to produce high-quality print and magazine content. They must also deliver
content on mobile and web platforms to give subscribers the choice to discover
content anytime, anywhere. Dr. Saukat Ali in the article “Research on Consumer
Behavior and Loyalty in Print – Challenges and Strategic Prescription with Special
Reference for English, Hindi and Vietnamese Readers” Marathi of Mumbai” says
that building customer loyalty and retaining readers can be a big challenge for
publishers. There are many options available to the reader now. So publishers are
busy creating something special and creative in content or subscription programs to
impress readers. They must satisfy the needs and wants of consumers to build
loyalty and readers. The magazine's revenue comes from subscription sales,
commercial sales, and primarily from advertising. More than 70% of total revenue
comes from advertising. The Times of India Group, as the market leader in the
industry, is also in line with today's growth and development in terms of
demographics. World Wide Media, a subsidiary of TOI Group, produces high
quality magazines in India and around the world. But they still face problems.
They are losing subscribers. Having the opportunity to become a member of the
team, acting as a summer intern, this research was conducted with the goal of
discovering customer needs in terms of price, quality and service. For reasons to
unsubscribe. What motivates customers to use the product? His requirements and
his needs. The product must be able to meet the needs and wants of the customer.
When one product is in less demand than the other? So what do customers want?
This study mainly aimed to understand the customer demand for World Wide
Media (WWM) magazine in terms of price, quality and service.

ORGANISATIONS PROFILE
The Times Group (Also referred as Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.) is the largest
company in media and entertainment industry in India and South Asia. It has
completed 175 years of its journey in media industry from 1838, established in
Mumbai. Starting off with The Times of India – which is now the largest English
publication in the world, BCCL and its subsidiaries (called The Times of India
Group), are present in every existing media platform – Newspapers, Magazines,
Books, TV, Radio, Internet, Event Management, Outdoor Display, Music, Movies
and more. Having strength of more than 11,000 employees, its revenue is
exceeding $1.5 Billion, it has the support of more than 25000 advertisers and a vast
audience spanning across the world.

Key Business areas:-

 Publishing
 Television
 Digital
 Out of Home
 Other Activities

Publishing:-

 Largest publisher in India: 13 newspapers, 18 magazines, 16 publishing

centres, 26 printing centers
 Largest English newspaper in India by circulation (and the world), the
Times of India.
 Largest Business newspaper in India by circulation (2nd largest English
Business daily in the world, behind WSJ), the Economic Times.
  Largest Non‐English newspapers in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore by
circulation (India’s three largest cities).

Television:-

 Largest English News TV Channel, No. 2 English Business News TV

Channel.
 Largest Bollywood News and Lifestyle TV Channel, No. 2 English Movies
TV Channel.

Digital:-

 Largest Indian network based on traffic and revenue (behind Google,

Facebook, Yahoo).
 Operates 30+ digital businesses, most of which are Top 3 in their
competitive segment.
 Most popular B2C mobile short code in India, across SMS, voice, WAP,
and USSD Radio.
 Largest radio network in India by revenue and listenership, with 32 stations.
 Operates the largest rock radio station in the UK.

Out-of-home:-

 Largest Out‐of‐home advertising business in India with presence in all

major metros.
 Owns advertising contracts in most major airports in India.

Other Activities:-

 Music
 Movies
 Syndication
 Education
 Financial Services
 Event Management
 Specialized publications - including books and multimedia.

HISTORY
1838

In November 3, 1838 the first edition of The Bombay Times and Journal of
Commerce were published, reflecting basically the business community of
Bombay. It was a bi-weekly publication. Dr. J.E. Brennan was the Editor.

1850

Shareholders decide to increase the share capital and the paper is converted into a
daily.

1859

Bombay Standard and Chronicle of Western India merges into The Bombay
Times and Journal of Commerce to form Bombay Times & Standard.

1861

Editor Robert Knight amalgamates The Bombay Times & Standard and Bombay
Telegraph & Courier to form The Times of India - giving it a national character.

1892

T. J. Bennett becomes the editor and enters into a partnership with F.M. Coleman
to form a joint stock company - Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. (BCCL).

1907

Editor Stanley Reed revolutionizes news production by extending the deadline to

midnight. Until then any news that came in after 5 pm was held over for the next
day. The newspapers’ first price war was also initiated with cover price being cut
from 4 annas to 1 anna – leading to a five-fold increase in circulation.

1946

The Times of India gets Indian ownership with Seth Ramakrishna Dalmia buying
the company.

1947

Exclusive Sunday edition of Times of India launched in Mumbai. The company

also launches its Hindi daily – Nav Bharat Times in Delhi.
1948

Sahu Jain Group takes over as the owners of the company after Ramakrishna
Dalmia sells the firm to his son-in-law Sahu Shanti Prasad Jain - who becomes the
first Chairman of the group.

1950

The Times of India launches in Delhi.

1952

Filmfare launched.

1959

Femina launched.

1961

The Economic Times is launched.

1962

Maharashtra Times launched.

1965

Femina Miss India contest started.

1988

Times of India complete 150 years. Special stamp released by Government of India
to commemorate the occasion.

1996

The Times of India crosses 1 million marks in circulation. It also carries the first-
ever color photograph.

1997

BCCL enters into music market with Times Music.

1999

India times web portal launched; BCCL enters music retailing business with
Planet M. Also operates the first-ever private FM broadcast through Times FM
(which later becomes Radio Mirchi).

2000

The Times of India crosses the 2 million mark in circulation.

2001

Radio Mirchi - Nationwide private FM broadcasting starts. 360 Degrees - Event

management business also launched. TOI goes all color and storms Delhi by being
"Number One".

2003

Launch of the Times Private Treaties as a strategic business division. Launch of

the Jobs portal Times Jobs. TOI E-paper launched. Entry into TV business with the
launch of India’s first lifestyle and entertainment channel Zoom.

2005

Launch of a Matrimonial website Times Matri – later rebranded as Simply Marry.

Mumbai Mirror, the city-centric daily tabloid launched in Mumbai.

2006

Launch of a television News Channel called Times Now.

Radio Mirchi holding company ENIL (Entertainment Network India Limited) lists
on the Indian stock markets. It is the first Times Group Company to list on the
bourses with IPO being oversubscribed by more than 41 times.

Launch of a Property services portal Magic Bricks. Times of Money launch

Remit2Home, to cater to global remittance market.

Acquisition of Karnataka’s leading newspaper company Vijayanand Printers

Limited makes BCCL the dominant force in Karnataka.

2007
 Launch of Bangalore Mirror, Ahmedabad Mirror, ET (Gujarati) and Whats Hot –
a premier weekend entertainment supplement. The Times of India becomes largest
English daily in the world with circulation breaching the 3 million mark and
beating Sun (tabloid) of UK.

2008

Launch of ET (Hindi), Pune Mirror and The Times of India editions at Jaipur, Goa
and Chennai. Acquisition of Virgin Radio (now rebranded as Absolute Radio) in
the UK.

2009

TOI Crest edition launched. Launch of ET Now – premier business channel

having integrated newsroom with ET print edition.

2010

Private Treaties re-branded as Brand Capital. The Speaking Tree newspaper

launched. ET Wealth launched. Maharashtra Times launches Pune edition. Vijay
Next (premier weekly newspaper from Vijay Karnataka) launched. India’s first
HD-only premium movie channel – Movies Now (HD) launched.

2011

Sunday ET re-launched as a tabloid.

Bodhivriksha (spiritual weekend newspaper in Kannada) launched.

Launch of The Times of India, Coimbatore and Madurai/Trichy Editions.

2012

Launch of The Times of India, Kerala, Visakhapatnam and Raipur(Chhattisgarh)

Edition

Subsidiaries of Times Group

TIML & ENIL

Times Innovative Media Limited (TIML) & Entertainment Network India Limited
(ENIL) that together control,

 Radio Mirchi National network of Private FM stations

 360 Degrees Events
 Times Outdoors (TIM Delhi Airport Advertising Private Limited.
 Mirchi Movies Limited Filmed Entertainment. Producers of BEING
CYRUS, VELLITHIRAI, MANJADIKURU.

Times Internet Limited

Times Internet Limited is one of the largest internet companies of India. It has
interests in online news, online business news, Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, and
Bengali news, mobile, e-Commerce, music, video, and communities. Some of
the larger properties of TIL include:

 India times shopping - one of the largest and earliest ecommerce portals
in India
 India
 Times of India
 Economic times.com
 Navbharattimes.com
 Maharashtra Times
 Timescity.com
 Gaana.com
 BoxTV.com
 Times Deal

Times of Money

Times of Money operates financial remittance services for Indians abroad to send
money back to India. Their product, remit2India, is a standalone product, while
also powering the remittance services of many banks globally.

Times Global Broadcasting Limited

Television division. It is also called Times Television Network.

  Times Now A general interest news Channel
 Smart Hire A Consulting Division – Recruitments
 ET Now A business news channel
 Zoom A 24x7 Bollywood entertainment and gossip channel
 Movies Now A 24x7 Hollywood Movies channel in High Definition (India's
first)

Times Business Solutions

 TBSL, corporate website of TBSL.

 Times Jobs, a jobs portal.
 Techgig, a professional networking site for Technology Peoples.
 Simply Marry, a matrimonial portal.
 Magic Bricks, a real estate portal.
 Yolist, free classifieds portal.
 Ads2Book, online classifieds booking system for print publications.
 Peer Power, a Senior-Level professional networking portal.

World Wide Media

World Wide Media - started off as a 50:50 magazine joint venture between
BCCL and BBC magazines. In August 2011, it was announced that Bennett,
Coleman & Co. bought out the remaining 50 per cent shares of Worldwide
Media from BBC Worldwide thereby making World Wide Media a fully
owned subsidiary of BCCL.

 Filmfare
 Filmfare Awards
 Femina
 Femina Miss India A Beauty Pageant
 Top Gear Magazine India
 BBC Good Homes
 Femina Hindi
 Grazia
  What to Wear

TIML Radio Limited

On 30 May 2008, SMG sold The British Virgin Radio to TIML Radio Limited for
£53.2 million with £15 million set aside for rebranding. On 28 September 2008,
The British Virgin Radio Station rebranded as Absolute Radio, including the sister
radio stations Absolute Xtreme and Absolute Classic Rock.

Stations

 Absolute Radio
 Absolute Radio 60s
 Absolute Radio 70s
 Absolute 80s
 Absolute Radio 90s
 Absolute Radio 00s
 Absolute Classic Rock
 Absolute Radio Extra This company is a direct subsidiary of BCCL (not
through TIML or ENIL).

Times Syndication Service

The syndication division of The Times of India Group, grants reprint rights for text,
and other media from the group's publications.

Brand Capital

Brand Capital provides funding to growth oriented enterprises for their long term
brand building needs.

Online shopping

Satvik shop, an online shopping website dedicated to organic and ayurvedic

products.

Key Management

Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.

PROMOTERS & DIRECTORS

1. Chairperson: Indu Jain

2. Vice-Chairman & MD: Samir Jain
3. Managing Director: Vineet Jain

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

1. Executive Director: Trishla Jain

2. Executive Director & CEO: Ravindra Dhariwal
3. Executive Director & COO: Shrijeet Mishra
4. Executive Director & President: Arunabh Das Sharma
5. Non Executive Director: A.P. Parigi
6. Non Executive Director: Kalpana J. Morparia
7. Non Executive Director: M. Damodaran
8. Non Executive Director: Leo Puri

Times Television Network (comprising TGBCL and ZEN)

Group CEO (TV business): Sunil Lulla

ZEN CEO: Avinash Kaul

Times Internet Limited

CEO: Satyan Gajwani

Times of Money

President: Avijit Nanda

Times Business Solutions Ltd.

CEO: Debashish Ghosh

Times VPL

CEO: Sunil Rajshekhar

Worldwide Media.

CEO: Tarun Rai

Entertainment Network (India) Ltd.

CEO: Prashant Panday

Alternate Brand Solutions (I) Ltd.

CEO: Prashant Panday

Times Innovative Media Ltd

CEO: Sunder Hemrajani

Absolute Radio

CEO: Donnach O' Driscoll

Times Foundation Head:

Shailendra Nautiyal

EDITORIAL HEADS

The Times of India

Editorial Director: Jaideep Bose

Executive Editor: Arindam Sengupta

Economic Times

Editorial Director: Rahul Joshi

Maharashtra Times

Executive Editor: Ashok Panwalkar

Navbharat Times

Executive Editor: Ramkripal Singh

Mumbai Mirror
Editor: Meenal Baghel

Speaking Tree

Editor: Narayani Ganesh

Vijaya Karnataka

Editor: E. Raghavan

Times Now

Editor: Arnab Goswami

ET Now

Editor: R. Sridharan

ZOOM

Editor: Omar Qureshi

WORLDWIDE MEDIA
World Wide Media (WWM) is a joint venture between the BCCL and BBC
World Wide. It is the India’s largest producer of lifestyle and special interest
magazines. It was formed in 2004 and in 2011 it became a wholly owned
subsidiary of Bennett, Coleman and Company Limited (BCCL). From just four
magazines in 2008, WWM is currently producing 13 magazines in India and
worldwide. The Times of India Group have the selling and distribution right of
these magazines for India. The magazines are:-

 Femina
 Femina (Hindi)
 Femina (Tamil)
 FilmFare
 Filmfare (Hindi)
 BBC TopGear
 Hello!
 Grazia
 BBC Good Homes
 Lonely Planet
 Home Trends
 BBC Knowledge
 BBC Good Food

ABOUT THE MAGAZINES

FEMINA(English, Hindi, Tamil)

Launched in 1959, Femina is India’s first and to-date India’s largest English
women’s magazine. Femina covers issues on women, fashion, relationships, home-
making, food, beauty, health & fitness, careers, new products,
etc. The fortnightly magazine, owes its success to a level-
headed approach to feminism made rich by writers from all
walks of life.

Femina also gives its name to the annual Femina Miss India
awards – a beauty pageant contest which confers the most
beautiful Indian title to women in a nation-wide contest held
each year. The awards are a property of Bennett Coleman with
the finalists going on to represent India in the annual Miss World and Miss
Universe beauty pageant.

Femina Girl was launched in February 2002, forging a bond with the teen waiting
in the wings to become a Femina Babe.

Inspired by the success of Femina magazine, the group started Femina Miss India
awards – a celebration of womanhood and beauty – which have acted as a catalyst
in making a whole new generation of women rediscovering and redefining
themselves.

FILMFARE (English, Hindi)

Nothing powers popular culture like the Hindi film and nothing more than
Bollywood - the largest film industry in the world – which is captured in all its
glory by Filmfare – India’s leading film magazine launched in 1952. Filmfare has a
cult status amongst its readers resulting as evident from the periodicity of the
magazine becoming from monthly to a fortnightly since 2007.Spurred by the
popularity and insatiable demand for Bollywood films, Filmfare
Awards were instituted within a few years of launch of the
magazine. Within a short period, the annual Filmfare Awards
became the gold standard for excellence in Hindi and other
Bollywood mainstream films and came to be acknowledged as
the Oscars of India, being the most prestigious and most sought
after by every cine-industry professional

BBC TOPGEAR

BBC Top Gear is the world’s leading automobile magazine

since 1993. In India, it has an image of straightest talking and
most entertaining automobile magazine. It has now 17
international editions. It includes the in-depth buying
information, with the review and buyers
guide. It also includes a comprehensive
listing of every single car and bike
available in the market to give the readers a real experience.

HELLO!

Hello! Hello! Is a popular celebrity and lifestyle magazine. First it was launched in
Italy in the year of 1930. It has now 13 international editions. In India it was
launched in April 2007. It is published monthly covering A
to Z of Indian and global celebrity lifestyle news.

Now it becomes an easy step to enter into celebrity’s lives. It

also includes celebrity’s views on various subjects and issues
in the world. The interviews in the magazine help readers to
feel that they have met and visited the celebrities.

GRAZIA

Over 70 years since its launch in Italy, Grazia is still successful in keeping the
women’s taste season after season. It became the most qualified interpreter of style
for millions of women across the globe today. GRAZIA

India was launched in 2008 as the 10th edition of this hugely popular title. Grazia
covers both designer and high-street fashion as well as health,
beauty, fitness and lifestyle issues.

BBC Good Homes

 Good Homes is one of the most preferred and leading interior and decor magazine
that inspires its readers with innovative ideas that fit every space and budget. It
offers its readers an eclectic mix of decor suggestions and DIY tips.

Lonely Planet

Lonely Planet India magazine aims to inspire and enable travelers to connect with
the world. It has been treated as the world’s most trusted source on travel. Inspiring
you to sample different cultures first-hand, discover new
people, and learn fascinating stories.

Home TRENDS

In 1984 TRENDS was launched in New

Zealend. With an aim to fulfill the need of a source of reference on
architecture and design. Now it has become the most loved and
referred to magazine across 11 countries. Probably it is the most
widely read architecture and design magazine in the world. In 2010,
it was launched in India as Home TRENDS to meet the demand of
architecture and design reference due to the real estate boom in India.

BBC Knowledge

It has been created as a premium product for young and

inquisitive minds. BBC Knowledge is a bi-monthly
magazine, aiming at those, who are looking for knowledge
based on science, history and nature. The Indian edition of
BBC Knowledge follows in the footsteps of the first edition

launched in the United States in August 2008, which was an

instant success - being voted among the Top 10 newly-launched magazines of
2008 by Library Journal, USA. Besides Indian and USA, BBC Knowledge is also
available internationally in the United Kingdom, Brazil,
Singapore and Bulgaria.

BBC Good Food

 It is the India’s first international food magazine. It contains with food and recipe
guides and live experiences from prominent chefs and food experts.

PRICES AND PERIODICITY OF MAGAZINES:-

Name of Magazines Price Per Issue Periodicity

1.Femina (English) Rs.60/- Fortnightly
2.Femina (Hindi) Rs.40/- Monthly
3.Filmfare (English) Rs.60/- Fortnightly
4.Hello Rs.120/- Monthly
5.Topgear Rs.150/- Monthly
6.Grazia Rs.120/- Monthly
7.BBC Good Homes Rs.100/- Monthly
8.Lonely Planet Rs.120/- Monthly
9.BBC Knowledge Rs.125/- Bi-monthly
10.BBC Good Food Rs.100/- Monthly
11.Home Trends Rs.250/- 10 issues per year
12.What’s Up Rs.50/- Weekly
13.The Economists Rs.220/- Monthly
14.Zig Wheels Rs.75/- Monthly

COMPETITION TABLE

CATEGORY TIMES MAGAZINE COMPETITORS

1.Fashion and celebrity Grazia, Hello! Verve, Vogue etc
2.Automobiles BBC Top Gear Overdrive, Auto Car etc.
3.Bollywood And Movies Filmfare Stardust, Cineblitz, The
Masala Fil Street Journal etc.
4.Women lifestyle Femina (Hindi & English) Wedding affair, Harper’s
Bazaar etc.
5.Interiors and BBC Good Homes and Ideal Home, Home &
Architectural Homes Trends Gardenb plus,
Architecture+Design
6.Travel Lonely Planet Travel plus, Outlook
Traveller, National
Geographic Traveller etc.
7.Science and Knowledge BBC Knowledge Popular science India,
Readers Digest etc
8.Food and Catering BBC Good Food Khana Khazana etc

DISTRIBUTION STRUCTURE OF THE TIMES OF INDIA

 The Times of India

Printing
Press

Depots Agents

Vendors Vendors

Beat Boys Newspap Beat Boys Newspaper

er Stands (3-4) Stands

Readers

CHANNEL MEMBERS OF THE TIMES OF INDIA

PRINTING PRESS

 It takes the content from the editorial team and prints using high capacity
advanced press machines that deliver the product in packaged condition
 Situated in Chandigarh.
 Capacity to print over 10 lac copies.
 Printing starts around 1-1:30 am usually
 After Printing, stacking is done before dispatching newspapers to depots
 Labeling done to match stacks with destination
 Usually stocks for depots situated the farthest are dispatched earliest.

Depots

 The distribution centre receives the copies from the transporter and stocks it
for a short duration
 Close to numbers of depots in Chandigarh.
 Keep publications (newspaper + magazines) for various companies
 Serviced by salespersons who are company employees
 Unorganized – keep newspapers / magazines scattered on pavements or on
steps of some malls etc
 Records are kept at depots in the following format:-

NEWSPAPER 1 NEWSPAPER 2

VENDOR QTY TO BE QTY QTY TO BE QTY

CODE DELIVERED ACTUALLY DELIVERED ACTUALLY
DELIVERED DELIVERED

AGENTS
  Employed where distribution is not organized
 Exclusive agents of TOI
 Work on commission, themselves act as salesmen
 Chandigarh Market- Working with depot
 Chandigarh- Working with agency system

VENDORS

 Like retailers. Link between depot and end consumer

 Go to nearest depot every day. Pick out publications they want

 They sell via : door-to-door beat boys/single point newspaper stands

 MDI vendor serve in areas. He collects newspapers from Old Bus Stand
Agents.

BEAT BOYS

The delivery boys have demarcated regions/housing societies, which they serve.
Hawkers are individuals who do not have established customers and sell at road
sides, bus stands etc. They make small quantity purchases

 Deliver required publications to proper destinations.

 Have route-wise list of addresses and their required
newspaper/publications .
 3-4 beat boys cover an area via their routes.

INFORMATION FLOW
 New consumer/Existing consumer taking or terminating subscription
 Inform their Vendor( increase/decrease his order by one )
 Vendor Informs the distributor
 Distributor informs the company.

CHANNEL MARGIN

 Margin given by TOI to channel members is around 30%

 More or less uniform rate across the industry
 Agents get 5-10%, salesmen on payroll get fixed salary
 Vendor receives 20-25%, to cover the costs incurred due to travel, beat boys
etc. It depends on the type and language of newspaper. (Hindi – 25%; English
– 20%)

PROMOTION SCHEMES:-

TRADE SCHEMES

 Offered to channel members

 Incentive to increase sales

 Challenge for channel member: Balance reader interest while trying to

increase sales to avail benefits of the scheme

 Discounts for purchase of larger volumes by vendor

 Bonus of 50 paise for each new account generation by vendor

DISCOUNTS

 Mainly for institutional sales

 Egg. Bulk sale at schools at discount rates

READER SCHEMES

 Directed at final consumer/reader. Mainly to draw in new customers

 Varies depending on location & demography
 Could include trials, discounts, freebies, combo offers etc
SUBSCRIPTION SALES

 Offer choice of publication for a certain amount of time at a lump sum discount
price
 Purpose- gaining new customers and making customer switch

SWOT ANALYSIS
Strengths:

 Being the largest company of its kind, it has the largest market share in India.
It can be said as the most awarded brand of its kind in Chandigarh.
 It provides best quality contents including all magazines and newspapers in
low prices.
 Having tie-up with BBC, increases the brand value.
 Parent company’s presence in all media i.e. television and radio etc., becomes
easy to reach a wide range of consumers for its campaign.

Weaknesses:-

 Tough competition in the industry raises limited scope for increasing market
share.

Opportunities:-

 It has better opportunity in regional language publications in India. For

example many people asks about Gujarati magazines.
 It can also penetrate in the online market, by making its contents available
online. So that users can avail this on their computers and mobiles.

Threats:-

 Main threat comes from its competitors.

 Basically local language publications can take over its market share.
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Task

As a part of the Summer Internship Program we have been assigned to book

subscriptions for the various magazines published by World Wide Media and sold
and distributed by Times Of India and also to collect renewal from the expired
subscribers.

Research Methodology

Objectives:

 To predict and explore the customer demands in terms of Price, Quality and
Services for magazines published by World Wide Media (WWM).
 To find out the reasons why subscribers are not renewing or discontinuing
their subscription.

Problem definition: What are the various aspects in which World Wide Media is
lacking behind in fulfilling the customers demand?

Research methodology:

This Exploratory research has been conducted through primary data. The data will
be qualitative as well as quantitative. The data has been collected through personal
interview, door to door visit and telephonic interview.

Research design:

 Geographical location: The geographical location taken for the purpose of

data collection and the research in Chandigarh city.
 Sample size: The sample size for collecting primary data 150 respondents.
The sampling will be done through Random Technique.

Table:-
 Reader 100
Non-Reader 50
 Data collection method: The data has been collected through personal
interview, door to door visit and telephonic interview.
 Target group: The respondents consist of existing subscribers, discontinued
subscribers and non-readers.

Limitations:

 The field work for the purpose of research was limited to some part of the
Chandigarh city only. Therefore it may not represent the overall consumers
as perceptions of the consumers may vary place to place due to
demographic factors.
 The sample size is 150.
 DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

1. Sample Size Distribution:

Table:-

Reader 100
Non-Reader 50

Readers include Existing subscribers (during the SIP) and Expired subscribers. The
Expired subscribers are divided into two parts, 1) Discontinued subscriber, who
doesn’t want to renew their subscription and 2) Continued subscriber, who have
renewed their subscription.

2.Reason for not-reading:

Among the Respondents covered under Non-reader criteria, 20% said that they are
not able to afford a magazine, 24% do not read due to non-availability of time,
22% prefer to read online and the remaining 34% are not interested in reading
magazines.
3. Rating upon features:

Respondents were asked to rate the features with number between 1 to 10.

A) Entertainment:

It shows that only 16% subscribers are fully entertained by the magazines who
gave 10 out of 10. The highest 44% subscribers gave 8 out of 10. They are less
entertained than other 24% subscriber who gave 8 out of 10. Therefore it shows
that maximum percentage of population want more entertainment in the magazines.

B) Information:

Survey indicates that all the respondents are well satisfied with the information
delivered through the magazines. They are giving 8, 9 and 10 out of 10.

C) Gossip:
It shows that customers are demanding less gossip in the magazines. They rated
this feature with 7,8,9 and 10. The personal interviews on this topic also shows
their demand to avoid gossiping.

D) Updates:

The contents in the magazines are well updated as the diagram shows that 55%
respondent gave 9 out of 10. Only a few percentage of respondent think that
magazines are not well updated.

E) Price:

In case of price, survey shows that 27% are highly satisfied and another 45% are
less satisfied than the first one. By seeing other responses we can say that
subscribers are well satisfied with price of the magazines. But still their demand is
to decrease the price due to human behavior of expecting more than what they get.

F) Services:
Services is one of the main factor which helps in maintaining the customer loyalty
and keeping the readership size constant. The survey shows that there are less
percentage of people who are well satisfied with the services who give higher
rating. Their demand is to improve the services including the distribution system
and customer care system.

G)Language:

Customers are well satisfied with the language used in the magazines. Maximum
percentages of the respondents give higher rating.

H) Quality Vs Price Ratio:

 When the respondents were asked about the quality Vs price, good responses have
received from them. There are maximum percentages of people who are highly
satisfied with the quality of the magazines relating with price.

4. Renewal Call:

During the internship period, 50 renewal calls has been done. Out of which 26% i.e.
13 renewals have been collected. The remaining 74% has denied renewing their
subscription.

The reasons for denying are discussed

A) Reason for Discontinuation:

Reasons derived from the survey, for the discontinuation of the subscriptions,
 Decrease of interest and usability: 32% of the respondent said that they have
stopped their subscriptions due to decrease in interest. Also the usability.
 Shifting: There are two types of shifting observed, 1. To other TOI
magazines. 2. To other publishers.
 Due to contents: 5% subscriber thought that the full contents comes in an
issue are not necessary for him/her. They need only a part or few pages of
the magazine. For which they think that it is none other than wasting of
money by buying the whole. Therefore they now prefer internet for their
need.
 Only subscribed for gift: Subscription scheme plays an important role in
increasing readership. There is high demand of gifts in subscription scheme.
There are 8% people who are not interested in continuing their subscription
because there is no gift in current scheme. But if they will be provided with
preferable gift scheme, they are ready to continue their subscription.
 Cost: Only 3% people are not ready to continue their subscription because
they thought that the current scheme of 50% discount on 1 year subscription
is not so cost effective.
 Service: The last but the main reason for which people are not ready to
renew their subscriptions. As maximum percentage i.e. 39% of the
respondents have stopped their subscription only because of services
problem. There are three types of service problems derived.
1. Delivery: Customers were getting issues lately or never got some
issues. In case of fortnightly magazines, they were getting two issues
at a time. Also some were not getting issues in a proper condition i.e.
damage of packaging, crashed papers etc.
2. No response in problems: When the subscribers faced the above
mentioned problems, they were not responded well from the sales
department. Their problems were not solved. That’s why this
became a big reason for discontinuing subscription. o
3. Representative: Another problem in services is due to representatives.
At the time of renewal no representative were came to collect. They
were interested but due to available publishers they have shifted to
others. Again in this case, they have got calls from sales department
for renewal, appointments for collection were also fixed, but still
they didn’t come to collect. Thus TOI have lost some subscriber.

FINDINGS
 Magazines are well entertained, updated and well informative.
 The price according to the quality of the magazines is satisfactory.
 Subscribers have high demand in the improvement of services.
 There is a tough competition among magazines in LUCKNOW.
 Maximum people prefer Hindi rather than English.
 Subscription schemes attract more customers.
 Schemes with gift are playing a good role in increasing readership as there
are a lot of customers who have subscribed only for gift.
 There are a big number of boutiques and designers in Chandigarh and most
of them deals with Indian traditions. That’s why the contents should specific
customer centric.
 Peoples are highly interested in magazines but low awareness about the
schemes.

RECOMMENDATION
 Improvement of Services: The first and foremost recommendation that can
be suggested from the findings of the research is the improvement in
services. As there are high demand of the magazines of WWM. The
customers now have huge options for selecting a magazine, as there are so
many producers of magazines in different language and increased usage of
internet. Therefore a small problem faced by a customer may lead to losing
that one.
 A better distribution channel: I would also like to recommend that by
implementing a better distribution channel, TOI can increase its market
share.
 A better renewal reminder system: A better renewal reminder system can
also be implemented. There is a system of reminder but customers are
complaining that they are not getting the reminder alarm.
 Appointment of new staff: TOI can also improve their services by
appointing new staff as ‘Customer care Executive’ by giving well training
so that they will be able to respond the customers well who have problems.
Because currently customers are not well responded.
 A Hindi version of Famine: There is also a demand from the target group
in Chandigarh is a Hindi version of Femina. By doing this they can get
readers from others magazines like Gruhsubha etc.

CONCLUSION
The summer internship project plays an important role in management education
where students get a golden opportunity to apply his knowledge and learning
gained from classroom lectures in practical business environment. The SIP
program also helps in gaining knowledge and developing the confidence level to
work. I have also learnt a lot through my Internship at Times of India Group,
Chandigarh. This research has been done to study sales and promotion of magazine
in Chandigarh towards Times Group’s magazines. The people in Chandigarh are
still preferring printed contents despite of technology adaption. People prefer
English magazines rather than Hindi or Gujarati. But maximum areas still prefer to
read a Gujarati or Hindi magazine. There is high demand and high awareness about
TOI newspaper in Chandigarh. But less people are aware that TOI has magazines
also. And there are some people who are aware about it but they are not aware
about the subscription schemes. They are interested in subscribing. When they
came to know about the schemes, they immediately bought subscriptions. But still
there are some areas where awareness about these magazines is very low.
Customer loyalty towards TOI magazines is very high. Survey shows that only
26% of the customers don’t renew their subscription. But this is only happening
mainly because of service problems. TOI is not able to provide accurate service to
all customers. There are some other reasons also, but if TOI works on improving
services of delivery or customer relationship or improving the quality of
responding towards the customers’ problems with better solutions, than obviously
no reader will leave TOI.

REFERENCES
1. Ali S., . “A Study of Consumer Behaviour & Loyalty In Print Media –
Challenges & strategic prescriptions with Special reference to English, Hindi,
Marathi News Paper readers-Mumbai”. ABHINAV. 1 (4), pp.64-70

2. ArcGate . Indian Magazine Market Overview. [ONLINE] Available at:

http://arcgate.com/blog/2010/09/29/indian-magazine-market-overview/.

3. World Wide Media . About Grazia. [ONLINE] Available at: Available at:
http://grazia.co.in/about-us.

4. World Wide Media. BBC Good Homes. [ONLINE]

https://www.facebook.com/goodhomesmagazineindia/info.

5. World Wide Media (). About Lonely Planet. [ONLINE] Available at:
https://www.facebook.com/LonelyPlanetMagazineIndia/info.

6. Times Group . About Hometrends. [ONLINE] Available at:

http://www.timesgroup.com/brands/publishing/magazines/home-trends-
english.html

. 7. Times Group . About BBC Knowledge. [ONLINE] Available at:

http://www.timesgroup.com/brands/publishing/magazines/bbc-
knowledgeenglish.html

. 8. Ernest & Young . Indian magazine segment: Navigating new growth avenues.
[ONLINE] Available at: http://www.ey.com/IN/en/Industries/Media---
Entertainment/Indian-magazine-segment.

9. Vital Business Media . Go East, young journalist: India publishing market is hot.
[ONLINE] Available at: http://www.emediavitals.com/content/go-east-
youngjournalist-india-publishing-market-hot.

10. Times Group. About us. [ONLINE] Available at:

http://www.timesgroup.com/bccl/about-us.html.

Questionnaire
1. Do you read magazines? Yes / No

2. If No, then Why?

 Non-availability of time
 Online preference
 Non-interest
 Affordability

3.Which type of magazines you prefer to read?

 Fashion and lifestyle

 Interiors and design
 Travel
 Automobile
 Bollywood and movie masala
 Sports
 Other

4. Name of the magazine you read/subscribed._____________________________

5. How do you like this magazine? Please rate the features.

 Entertainment 1--------10
 Information 1--------10
 Gossip 1--------10
 Updates 1--------10
 Price 1--------10
 Services 1--------10
 Languages 1--------10
 Quality vs Price 1--------10

6. What would you like to do to improve the quality and services of a magazine?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

7. References
  ___________________________
 ___________________________

8. Reason for discontinuation:

________________________________________________________________

Name:-

Contact No:-

Address:-

THANKS FOR YOUR VALUABLE TIME AND COOPERATION

SUBSCRIPTION FORM OF THE TIMES OF INDIA

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