D B Corp Ltd.

D B Corp Ltd.

Type Private

Industry Newspaper, Electronic Media

FMCG, Entertainment, Textiles

Oils, Printing, Internet Services

Headquarters Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India

Key people R C Agrawal, Chairman

Sudhir Agrawal, Managing Director

Girish Agrawal , Director

Pawan Agrawal, Director

Products Dainik Bhaskar

Divya Bhaskar

Bhaskar Salt

IMCL

Revenue 1,700 crore (US$377.4 million)

Website bhaskarnet.com

D B Corp Ltd., informally known as the Bhaskar

Group, is a Rs. 1700 crore business conglomerate of India with presence in

newspapers, television, entertainment, printing, textiles, fast moving

consumer goods, oils, solvents and internet services. It is owned by

the Agrawal family of Bhopal (Rameshchandar, Sudhir, Girish and Pawan).

The group rocketed to the top of the print media industry in India with its

flagship Hindi daily newspaper, Dainik Bhaskar, and the Gujarati

newspaper, Divya Bhaskar. Two magazines Aha! Zindagi and Bhaskar

Lakshya are alson published by the group. Its collaboration with Zee Group

has resulted in DNA, short for Daily News and Analysis, which enjoys a large

readership in Mumbai.

Newspaper business

Bhaskar group runs 7 newspaper titles across 11 states of India with their 48

editions - reaching out to 15.5 million readers every day:

Dainik Bhaskar is the Hindi newspaper covering the states of Madhya

Pradesh & Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan,Chandigarh, Haryana, Punjab,

Himachal Pradesh, New Delhi.

Divya Bhaskar is the Gujarati newspaper started by the group in 2003

from Ahmedabad, where it became No 1 from day 1 of its launch. As of

2009, Divya Bhaskar is the largest circulated Gujarati daily of India, and

has the maximum editions by any newspaper in the state of Gujarat and

West Madhya Pradesh.

DNA, the English-language newspaper of the group was launched in

Mumbai in 2004, in partnership with the Zee Group.

Business Bhaskar is a business-to-consumer newspaper in Hindi launched

by the group in 2008. It currently has seven editions across five states.

This was first launched in Bhopal, and then followed by launch in Indore,

Pune and Chandigarh and then Haryana.

In addition, Bhaskar group also owns DB Star, Saurashtra Samachar, DB

Gold.

By 1995, Dainik Bhaskar had displaced Naiduniya as the No. 1 newspaper

in Madhya Pradesh (MP).[1] The newspaper decided to expand outside MP,

and was launched in four places as No. 1 on the Day 1 of its

launch: Jaipur (19 December 1996), Chandigarh (January

2000), Haryana (June 2000), and Ahmedabad (23 June 2003, as Divya

Bhaskar).[1] The group's pre-launch door-to-door twin-contact launch

programme has been recognised as an Orbit shifting innovation. It has won

Business Process Innovation award by Marico Foundation, and is a case study

in several B-schools including Indian Institute of Management,

Ahmedabad and SPJIMR.

Magazine division

Its magazine division publishes two magazines, namely Aha! Zindagi and

Bhaskar Lakshya from Jaipur branch of D B Corp Ltd. Aha! Zindagi is being

published in Hindi as well as Gujrati languages.

Other businesses

The group has a strong presence in the Radio segment, with 17 stations

across 7 states of India under the Brand Name - MYFM. IMCL a group

company- controls all the

portals- Dainikbhaskar.com,divyabhaskar.co.in and Indiainfo.com. It

also has a short code 54567 available for SMS based information sharing,

subscription services on Mobile platform

D B Corp Ltd. is engaged in printing and publication of Newspaper in three languages across 13 states, in Radio Business with "My FM" Radio station in 7 states and 17 cities along with strong web presence in India. Only media house to enjoy leadership at multiple states, in multiple languages and with well diversified readership.'Dainik Bhaskar', the flagship Newspaper brand is established since 1958.

Our Coverage24% of Indian urban Population resides in D B Corp Market across 13 states with 58

editions and 135 district editions. Our Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar is present in 11 states with 35 editions. Our Gujarati Newspaper Divya Bhaskar is present in Gujarat and Maharashtra with 7 editions. Our business daily Business Bhaskar is present in 5 states with 8 editions and Our franchisee edition of DNA in English is present in 2 states with 2 editions

VISION STATEMENT

Ramesh Chandra Agarwal, Chairman

Our DreamsThe dream of Bhaskar Group – “To emerge as a powerful group in the international media scenario in the next 5-10 years”.

Though our origin in India and we are rooted in India but our views and conduct are global. We shall study the world media and will follow the policies, which are unparalleled in the world. We are confident that we shall be able to develop as a strong media group. Our efforts shall not be confined merely to newspapers. We shall move ahead with time and shall reach the heights untouched by others.Our motto1. The foundation of our operations and strategy rests on the following :-

o Entrepreneurshipo Ambitiono Innovationo Professionalism

In the future, all our activities shall be influenced by these four values

2. We are fully professional and committed to a goal, our views may be diverse but we respect this diversity in viewpoint. Moreover, our goal is above all this. We shall make sure not to compromise with our values in the process of achieving our goal

3. Every effort made by us shall be focused on progress and entrepreneurship

4. We consider creativity and innovation to be our top priorities. We shall always take care to excel in whatever we attempt and to strive to perform to the best of our potentialities. We will see to it that our performance should be extraordinary, effective and performed with complete dedication and single mindedness

5. We believe in winning and working collectively. We believe in performing something extraordinary and to be second to none. We honour those who are capable in materializing every ambition. In the nutshell, the above values should be a part of all our future strategies

6. We are an organization of the general public, so we give topmost priority to individual and his capacity to contribute

7. We shall provide our consumers with what they need and all our efforts will be directed towards this

8. We admit that learning is the first key (MANTRA) to success. We shall therefore crate an environment, which provides maximum opportunities for people to LEARN

9. Regardless of the type of media we are in, we shall continue to play a positive role in the society

Consistency & Growth 13 States

58 Editions

3 Languages

Readership 17.9 MN

Infrastructure Only language paper in India having installed high techno quality KBA machines

from Germany capable of printing 72 pages all color with 255000 copies per hour 44 state of art printing plant spread across 13 states 15 Premium editions in various state with full color capacity Overall color printing capability of 80% across all plants

Dainik Bhaskar More than 50 year old flagship Hindi newspaper of Dainik Bhaskar Group Only Hindi newspaper to have clear leadership in all its major markets with well

diversified readership across various states Spread in 11 states with 35 editions and 115 district editions

Divya Bhaskar Became No.1 from Day 1 of it's launch in June 2003, out placing more than 50

year old local Gujarati newspaper in Ahmedabad city and became a case study at IIM Ahmedabad

Largest circulated Gujarati newspaper (certified by ABC) Present in Gujarat and Mumbai with 7 editions and 20 district editions

MYFM Launched in 2006, now present at 17 stations in 7 states Strong Competitive advantage because of knowledge of consumers & advertisers

due to presence of our newspapers in these markets Reached almost EBITDA breakeven by YTD Sept09 which is one of the fastest by

any radio company

Magazines Aha Zindagi: Aha Zindagi is the new age family magazine on Positive Living ,

it’s content revolves around body, mind and soul. Bal Bhaskar: Magazine is a hit amongst the kids Lakshya: Career and Professional Grooming monthly Young Bhaskar: Fortnightly 40 page issue packed with information and

inspiration

TAJ InitiativeI Media Corp Ltd (IMCL), a subsidiary of DB Corp Ltd which is providing integrated and mobile interactive services, was appointed the exclusive media and marketing partners of the N7W (new 7 wonders of the world) campaign in India. IMCL maintains web portal in the name of Bhaskar.com, divyabhaskar.co.in, Indiainfo.com with almost 1.6 Mns pageviews daily.

Lifetime Achievement AwardRamesh Chandra Agarwal, Chairman, DBCL received Rajiv Gandhi Award 2009 for Lifetime achievement in the field of Journalism.

Share priceView the current share price on the indian stock exchanges.

Investor ServicesSelect the service you are looking for: Company Profile Investor Contact Prospectus FAQs Get in touch with us: investor@bhaskarnet.com

Corporate Announcement:

D B Corp Ltd. announces launch of Marathi language newspaper in Maharashtra, 03 Feb 2011  

D B Corp Ltd Results & Press Release - Quarter Ended December 31, 2010

D B Corp Ltd. will host Q3 FY11 conference call for investors and analysts on Tuesday, Jan 25, 2011 at 2:00 PM IST.  

D B corp Ltd. Board Meeting dt. on 24th January, 2011 for consideration of Qtr 3'2010 results.  

Dainik Bhaskar Emerges Frontrunner In Ranchi City- Reveals IMRB Readership Survey  

Press Release on Jamshedpur launch.   D B Corp Ltd. Qtr.2 September'10 results shows robust growth in topline

as well as bottomline DB Corp Ltd. to host Q2 FY2011 concall on Monday, Oct 25, 2010 at 2:00

PM IST.   D B Corp Ltd. is Holding Board Meeting on 22nd October 2010 for

Considering Qtr 2 '2010 Financial Results.   Press Release on Jammu launch.   D B Corp Ltd. announced Mega plans to Launch new Printing Centers and

Editions in is Existing Territories of Rajasthan, M.P. , Punjab,Gujarat.   D B Corp Ltd. Qtr.1 June'10 results shows robust growth in topline as well

as bottomline DB Corp Ltd to host Q1 FY2011 concall on Monday, August 2, 2010 at

2:00 PM IST   D B Corp Ltd. is holding Board Meeting on 30th July, for Considering Qtr 1

FY'10 results   DB Corp Ltd's Annual General Meeting (AGM) for the year 2010 proposed

to be held on 20th July, 2010   D B Corp Ltd. Becomes Largest EBIDTA Margin Company in Listed Print

Media Companies of India in FY 09-10 DB Corp Limited's pre-launch activities covering Jharkhand continues to

be well on-course   Board Meeting to be held for adoption of Audited Financial Results for FY

2009–10   Board of Directors of D.B. Corp Limited Considers the Merging of Radio

Busines   DB Corp announces launch of new States DB Corp Ltd announce Interim Dividend   Announcement of Q3 FY10 Result

Milestone

12th December 2010

D B Corp Ltd. launched 52nd Edition by launching Jamshedpur Edition on 12th Dec. 2010

18th October 2010

D B Corp Ltd. launched 51st Edition by launching Jammu Edition on 18th Oct. 2010

12th September 2010

D B Corp Ltd. launched 50th Edition by launching Bhatinda Edition on 12th Sep. 2010

22nd August 2010

D B Corp Ltd. launched its 12th state of Jharkhand with launch of 49th Edition in Ranchi on 22nd August 2010. The launch for reader was very successful, with around 135000 subscribed copies on the day one of the launch and thus becomes most popular News Paper from day 1 of the launch.

6th January 2010

Listing of DB Corp Public Issue on Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). The listing opened at Rs. 250 i.e. with a margin of approx 19% for retail investor, rose to Rs. 275 in the day, that finally closed at Rs. 265.90 i.e. at a margin of approx. 27% for the retail investor. The DB Corp Pubic Issue was one of the best listings of 2009 and 2010 after the revival of the Primary Markets. The DB Corp is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange (NSE)

2009

Launch of highly successful maiden public issue of DB Corp Ltd from 10th Dec to 15th Dec which was oversubscribed by over 39 times– – a record oversubscription in 23 months for any IPO, after Reliance Power IPO in January 2008

Installation of KBA Printing Machines imported from Germany at Jaipur and Ahmedabad

Launch of 'DB Star' Jodhpur editions on 15th of Aug 2009 Dainik Bhaskar Introduced The India Pride Awards for the PSU Segment

on Oct 9th Mr. Ramesh Chandra Agarwal, Chairman, DB Corp Limited was awarded

the Rajiv Gandhi Lifetime Achievement Award in Journalism

2008

Dainik Bhaskar completes 50 glorious years as a leading Hindi Publication Dainik Bhaskar was the first Publication in the country to sign a celebrity

as a Brand Ambassador – Indian Cricket Team Captain M.S. Dhoni An integrated Brand Campaign titled "Zidd Karo, Duniya Badlo" was

launched on a nationwide scale – led by M S Dhoni 'Business Bhaskar', a Financial Hindi Newspaper, was launched in Bhopal,

Indore, Raipur, New Delhi, Panipat, Jalandhar and Ludhiana with separate editions for each of these cities

Launch of Dainik Bhaskar editions in Pali, Nagaur, Bhilai, Ratlam and Shimla

Launch of DNA in Jaipur as a franchise by DB Corp Ltd Launch of editions of DB Star in Bhopal & Indore MY FM consolidates its network with 17 radio stations in 7 states, across

India, as per the following launch details:

94.3 MY FM JIYO DIL SE

S.No Station Name Launch Date1 Jaipur 28-May-062 Chandigarh 19-Feb-073 Jalandhar 19-Apr-074 Bhopal 26-May-075 Udaipur 07-Jul-076 Ahmedabad 21-Jul-077 Amritsar 27-Jul-078 Gwalior 05-Aug-07

9 Indore 11-Aug-0710 Surat 27-Aug-0711 Ajmer 31-Aug-0712 Bilaspur 26-Sep-0713 Nagpur 21-Oct-0714 Jodhpur 20-Dec-0715 Raipur 16-Jan-0816 Kota 2-Feb-0817 Jabalpur 23-Feb-08

2007 Continued...

DB Corp Ltd. played an integral role as an exclusive partner to New7wonders and its efforts enabling The TAJ MAHAL its rightful place in the “7 Wonders of the World”

Launch of DB Gold – the first compact newspaper in Gujarati from Surat Launch of DNA in Ahmedabad and Surat as a franchise by DB Corp Ltd Launch of “Young Bhaskar Magazine” for Children and “Lakshya” – a

Career Magazine MY FM enhances its reach to 14 cities across India

15th December 2007

D B Corp Ltd. further consolidated its position by launching Dainik Bhaskar Ludhiana edition, thus becoming the only news paper who was present in Greater Punjab (Chandigarh, Haryana and Punjab). DB Corp also became the largest newspaper of Greater Punjab (IRS 2008)

30th July 2007

D B Corp Ltd. launched Divya Bhaskar's Bhuj edition, making it the only Gujarati newspaper with 7 editions in Gujarat

1st November 2006

D B Corp Ltd., launched Divya Bhaskar Rajkot edition

8th Oct 2006

D B Corp Ltd., enters Punjab and launched Amritsar and Jalandhar edition, again became no 1 from Day 1, out placing very old established competitive newspapers of the state

28th May 2006

D B Corp Ltd. through its subsidiary, SYNERGY MEDIA ENTERTAINMENT LTD. (SMEL), launched first Radio station at Jaipur in the name of My FM, "Jio Dil Se 94.3"

2005

Inception of D B Corp Ltd., pursuant to the demerger of publishing business of Writers and Publishers Limited (WPL)

The Dainik Bhaskar Group won license from Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for Launch of Radio business, through its subsidiary, SYNERGY MEDIA ENTERTAINMENT LTD. (SMEL), in 17 stations, in the name of My FM. Dainik Bhaskar' presence in all 17 FM stations (listed above) therefore presents an integrated offering to potential advertising clients in all the mentioned cities

‘AHA! Zindagi’ Magazine launched in Gujarati Language ‘IMCL’, a new Web Media Company was formed as a subsidiary of DB

Corp Limited

2004....

Dainik Bhaskar Group also launched its new Hindi Magazine, 'AHA! Zindagi', the first of its kind on lifestyle and positive thinking

2004 MERGER AND ACQUSITION

In its first Merger and Acquisition, the Dainik Bhaskar Group acquired 'Saurashtra Samachar' – the 60 year old, largest circulated daily newspaper of Saurashtra, and consolidates its Gujarat Operations

12th September 2004

Launch of Divya Bhaskar, Baroda edition

July 2004

Initiates presence in Maharashtra with the launch of Divya Bhaskar Mumbai edition

28th March 2004

Dainik Bhaskar Group launched full fledged and independent Divya Bhaskar Surat edition, (2nd largest city of Gujarat) and became No 1 in Surat City out placing old established newspaper of the city

22nd June 2003

Dainik Bhaskar Group launches 'Divya Bhaskar' edition from Ahmedabad. This was the biggest launch of any new edition, across languages, across territories in India where the daily was launched with 4,52,000 copies on day 1 and became the leading publication in Ahmadabad City, thus out placing the earlier 50 year old established Gujarati publication. In our innovative and unique launch strategy and product offering, we surveyed approx 12 lacs households, in and surround Ahemadabad, asking the family, their choice and requirement of news paper and booked 452000 copies. Divya Bhaskar' Ahmedabad launch has also increased the market size by almost 32% (IRS). The launch

of our Ahmedabad edition has been used as a case study by the Indian Institute of Management ("IIM"), Ahmedabad

17th June 2001

Dainik Bhaskar Group further consolidated its position by launching Faridabad edition, in Haryana state

4th June 2000

Dainik Bhaskar Group expands presence to Haryana State. Launched Haryana first own news paper, which is printed within Haryana state and also launched 2 editions from Panipat and Hisar and 13 separate district papers – was certified and declared as the No 1 news daily of Haryana in 2001 ( IRS 2001), piping other established competitors

7th May 2000

The Dainik Bhaskar Group launches Chandigarh edition. Prior to the launch of the Hindi edition,, Chandigarh was perceived to be primarily an English news paper dominated region. In a short span of time Dainik Bhaskar emerged as the largest Newspaper of Chandigarh city with a significant lead of approx 2.5 times over its English news paper rival

6th March 1999

Kota city, the educational hub of the country, was launched as 6th Edition of Dainik Bhaskar

31st May 1998

Dainik Bhaskar Group launched its 5th fully fledged, independent Edition from Udaipur

16th October 1997

Launches Dainik Bhaskar's 4th edition of Rajasthan from Bikaner

3rd August 1997

3rd Edition, launched from Jodhpur ( 2nd Largest City of Rajasthan) within 4 months of launching an edition from Ajmer

6th April 1997

The Launch of the 2nd Edition in Rajasthan from Ajmer

19th Dec 1996

Dainik Bhaskar launched its Jaipur Edition in Rajasthan with 172000 copies on Day 1. Became No I from Day 1, replacing the 42 years– established paper of Rajasthan, a landmark in the print media domain. This development marked a critical point for the Company, which significantly altered the strategic direction and growth plans of the company. The launch of the Jaipur edition has been used as a case study by the Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad ("MICA") and many other institutions

1995

Dainik Bhaskar emerged as the No.1 Newspaper in Madhya Pradesh and was declared the Fastest Growing Daily in India, by the Readership Survey

20th September 1993

Dainik Bhaskar Group launched Bilaspur edition

1988

Dainik Bhaskar Group launched Raipur edition

5th March 1983

Dainik Bhaskar Group commenced its ambitious journey with the launch of Dainik Bhaskar's Indore edition – was the first and biggest move outside home town of Bhopal. Also emerged as a challenge to old established news paper of Indore City

1981

Dainik Bhaskar Bhopal Edition became the Largest news paper of Bhopal City

1977

India's one of first WEB off Set Machine got installed at Dainik Bhaskar, Bhopal Edition, agst. uniform prevalent practice of rotary Machine

13th August 1958

Dainik Bhaskar launches its first edition in Bhopal

Awards

Dainik Bhaskar wins award at INMA Awards, 2010 in the category of "Marketing Solutions for Advertising Clients" MY FM 94.3 receives 2010 INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING EXCELLENCE AWARD

Bhaskar Group chairman gets the Saraswati Puraskar

Dainik Bhaskar won Bronze Award for Print Advertising Sales and Retention category at INMA (International Newsmedia Marketing Association)

Dainik Bhaskar won Bronze Award for Public Relations and Community services category at INMA (International Newsmedia Marketing Association)

Dainik Bhaskar Won Media Abby's Bronze Award at Goafest.

Dainik Bhaskar won Platinum Award for public Service category at 39th Creativity

Dainik Bhaskar won Silver Award for Newsletter B2B category at 39th Creativity

Dainik Bhaskar won Gold Awards at the Global Youth Marketing Forum for Best Creative TV

Divya Bhaskar is PrintWeek India Newspaper Printer of 2009

Chairman received Rajeev Gandhi Award for lifetime achievement in journalism

Dainik Bhaskar Rajasthan entry identified as Orbit Breaking Innovation Divya Bhaskar wins IFRA 'Best in Print'

Dainik Bhaskar adjudged Consumer Superbrand (2009-10)

Girish Agarwal — Director DBCL adjudged Outstanding Enterpreneur APEA

WORLD LARGEST TEA PARTY : INDORE Guinness World Record

Marico Innovation India Award for Business Innovation 2007–08

Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2006

APMA Awards (Asian Publishing Management Awards) – Gold Award for Best Launch in Punjab

IFRA Asia's Annual Media Awards 2004 Best In info graphics – Newspaper (Gold Award)

Events:

Bhaskar Woman of the Year Awards DB CORP will Celebrate Year 2010 as Senior Citizen Year New Year Paper Installation of KBA Printing Machines Conduction of Cultural Events Abhivyakti Garba Conduction of Blood Donation Camp on National basis in New Year 25th Anniversary Of Bhopal Gas Tragedy Cloth Donation for Weaker Society Group–A Mission Free Computer Training for Senior Citizen & House Wives Dainik Bhaskar – 'India Pride Awards' for excellence in PSUs 2009 Women of Substance, a coffee table book 2009 Ravindra Natya Grah Project – Indore Tilak Holi Taj Initiative Water Conservation

Media Coverage

On The Way Up!Mar 10 | India Today

Growth Prospects27 Dec 09 | Business India

DB Corp IPO biggest draw in 23 Months16 December 2009 | DNA

Riding out the storm

11 Dec 09 | Financial Chronicle

DB Corp public issue opens on 11 Dec 200910 Dec 2009 | The Hindu Business Line

DB Corp's IPO price band at Rs 185-21210 Dec 09 | Financial Chronicle

DB Corp public issue opens tomorrow10 Dec 09 | The Hindu Business Line

Db corp. fixes IPO Price Band At Rs 185-212 Per Share10 Dec 09 | Mint

Db Corp fixes IPO price band at Rs 185-21210 Dec 09 | DNA Mumbai

Press Release

The wait is over! DB Corp to listing on 6th5 Jan 10 | DNA Money

DB Corp gets 9 anchor investors ahead of IPO11 Dec 09 | Financial Chronicle

DB Corp price band Rs 185-21210 Dec 09 | DNA Money

DB Corp's IPO open on Friday10 Dec 09 | Business Standard

Whenever Dainik Bhaskar, a media group, enters a new market, it uses direct marketing to establish a leadership position from day one. Here is the story onthe transformation that happened inside the organisation because of this strategy.

In 1996, when we began transforming our group into a customer centric organisation it was difficult for us to accept the fact that someone called the consumer exists and that he would henceforth have a greater influence in the way we publish the newspaper.

To cite an instance, during the launch of the Chandigarh edition of the Dainik Bhaskar, the pre-launch customer preference survey showed that readers in that area preferred a newspaper in Hinglish (the spoken language, a mixture of Hindi and English) to pure Hindi.

To gain popularity we had to adapt that language in the newspaper. So in this case the customers actually decided the language the edition would carry. This was a new experience for us, especially the journalists and editors, and had a huge impact on the organisation, its processes and its structure. Certain changes have now become a norm in our organisation.

Mind the gap

Involving the customer from the word go is a radical change in strategy, but we have adopted it across the Dainik Bhaskar group for all our projects. We realised that there is a gap between the entrepreneur's perception of the market requirements and the actual market needs. This gap may actually be quite minor and inconsequential from the management's view-point but it

can make a huge difference in the way customers perceive the product. Bridging this gap then becomes essential to win customer trust.

In our case, instead of designing the newspaper and then hoping to generate sales, we involve the customers, collect their requirements, their suggestions and then design the project accordingly. This strategy has made the difference between success and failure in many instances.

Let me illustrate. When we planned to start our Chandigarh edition, we looked to buy a property in a suburb called Panchkula as it was economical and also suited our needs. But during the course of a conversation with a reader from Chandigarh, I came to know that if we wanted readers to perceive our paper to be as prestigious as the Tribune, we should operate from an imposing building in the centre of the town and not the outskirts. So this set us thinking, and in the end, we invested in a Rs 3.5 crore (Rs 35 million) property in the city centre as against the Rs 50 lakh (Rs 5 million) we had actually planned. This extra investment ensured that people perceived us as a Chandigarh paper right from day one and not just as any other newspaper.

Pricing against the market

I strongly believe that the market is no one to set the prices. As entrepreneurs engaged in the day-to-day running of the organisation, only we know the pros and cons of what price the customers will accept for our product, of how much we can take and how much we cannot.

Pricing is ultimately the entrepreneur's decision based on the market affordability and the nature of his product. Take telecom rates as an example. An owner of a telecom company once told me that two and a half years ago, his company prepared a report, which said that if they priced below Rs X per minute the company will be doomed. Today even after selling at half that price the company is making three times more profit than what it was earning three years ago.

There will be times when you may want to introduce a premium product at a price point which the current market pricing will not accommodate. But if you are firm in saying that you want this price and are confident of it, you will definitely get it. In the newspaper industry, pricing plays a huge role, but we have realised that pricing is not a standalone element. Quality is as

important in deter-mining success. Customers will never accept average quality; they want value addition in their product. They expect their rupee to go the extra mile and give them the best quality.

Flexibility is key

No system or plan is sacrosanct. Systems and plans are essential but they should be flexible enough to undergo a last minute change. Otherwise they become a bottleneck. This was an important lesson we learnt during the Ahmedabad [Images ] launch. We had initially planned two city supplements for Ahmedabad as Ahmedabad is a city of 5mn readers. One edition would cover eastern Ahmedabad and the other the west, thereby providing more local news. So we planned our processes to accommodate two editions. But a reader survey revealed that though readers residing in the eastern suburb may not frequently travel to the west, they like to be up-to-date on happenings in the western part of the city and stay connected with their social circle residing there. Acceding to market demands we had to combine the editions and make the necessary changes in our systems.

Customer choice played a similar role in Chandigarh. Here we planned a feature based city supplement to our main paper. It was to be printed earlier than the main paper, saving costs. However, we discovered that customers preferred a news based supplement. We had to change our process and print it along with the main sheet. This called for a major process change and we had to reschedule our activities.

Nothing comes cheap

Haryana is just about six hours drive from Chandigarh. So when we conceived the Haryana project we planned to print the edition from Chandigarh. But much to our surprise, we discovered that readers in Haryana resented a paper printed from Chandigarh. There was a feeling that, "I am Haryana, I am Panipat, I am Karnal and why should Chandigarh play boss to me". So we had to change our plans: we infused fresh capital and set up two presses at Panipet and Hissar. The extra investment made in Chandigarh to feed Haryana was a setback. But we had to do it because the market demanded that. But in the end the success of the Haryana edition made it worthwhile.

Sometimes we have no option but to invest in extra infrastructure to get an edge over competition. In printing, editorial matter is laid out, color separated and printed on acetate sheets (called positives), which are then photosynthesised onto metal rollers, which are mounted on the printing presses.

We are now contemplating investing in the latest printing process where editorial material transfers straight from the computer to the plate, without going for positives. This saves about fifteen minutes time. To save those fifteen minutes for the customer we are contemplating a move, which involves changing the entire process.

But we have to do it; we just have no other choice, especially in our business where time is of the essence and we compete with a dynamic media like television. A normal household generally goes to sleep by 11 o'clock in the evening and any news between 11pm and the time we wake up will catch the customer's interest. So we have to continuously extend the time we can work, see until how late into the night we can cover events.

Ultimately it is your call

You can conduct a survey, get customer feedback, get advertisers' feedback, the works. But ultimately it is your decision. Your customer can say he wants X, Y and Z. But to what extent you want customer needs incorporated in your plan is up to you.

This is the biggest decision and it depends on the entrepreneur's or the marketer's skill. At times you may try to short change your customer based on your convenience. Sometimes you may be able to get away with it, but personally we do not think it is possible. You can put your foot down and say I will give in only this much to customer demands. Or you can take a call on your costing, growth and other needs and try and find a compromise.

And this decision differs from company to company. Some companies may say I will not let my profitability be affected. Some will take more risk and see how it works. Some will strive to achieve a balance. I will try to satisfy a part of the customer's demand. If the customer is asking 100 per cent, I shall give 50 per cent. That's a call that companies have to take.

There is no fixed formula and there cannot be also because it is so subjective, so dependent on human vagaries. In some markets a price cut works wonders and in others, it doesn't.

Recently in two of our markets the competition started a price war by slashing prices. In one market we also reduced the cover price and we doubled numbers but in the other one we grew the numbers without the price slash. It is not just luck. Broadly speaking luck is the environment around you. Earlier you may not have studied it properly. It all depends on the marketer's perception.

Girish Agarwal is director of marketing

Design: Rahil Shaikh

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Published with the kind permission of The Smart Manager, India's [ Images ] first world class management magazine, available bi-monthly.

Dainik Bhaskar, an Indian newspaper views market research not just as a tool for surveying the market they intend to enter, butalso as a brand building exercise. The whole target population, and not just a sample of it, was surveyed. Such dedicated efforthelped them to dethrone, almost overnight, the kings of the markets that they entered.

Marketing can bring potential readers to sample what is on offer, but a loyal

readership is built only with relevant content. We meet the total needs of our

readers and we pay a great deal of attention on localisation of news.

Setting new records is second nature to the Dainik Bhaskar Group, publisher of the Hindi dailyDainik Bhaskar and Gujarati daily Divya Bhaskar. Dainik Bhaskar commands a staggering 1.5-crore readership as per the National Readership Survey (NRS) published in December 2003.Divya Bhaskar, launched from Ahmedabad in June 2003, began with 452,000 paid copies. As ofFebruary 29, the paper sold 5 lakh plus copies, making it a clear leader in the Gujarati newspapersegment. The editorial teams managing the group’s 21 editions in six different states bring out1,200 different pages every day because of the intensive localization of news that happens atevery publishing centre. The group’s dramatic rise to the top has been captured as case studies atseveral prestigious centers of learning including IIM Ahmedabad. Moreover, the northboundjourney attains an aura given that the group branched out of Bhopal only in 1983 when itlaunched an edition from Indore. By 1992, Dainik Bhaskar became the largest selling newspaperin Madhya Pradesh. In December 1996, the group launched Dainik Bhaskar from Jaipur. Today,it has seven editions in Rajasthan. Still later, May 2000 saw the launch of the Chandigarhedition; Haryana edition followed a month later. Then came ‘Divya Bhaskar’, leaving a trail ofrecords. Media analysts of various hues have been attributing the

group’s success to its strongmarketing efforts. But Sudhir Agarwal, Managing Director of the group, holds an entirelydifferent view on this. He maintains that content has been the key driver of the group’s business.Agarwal shared the group’s vision and editorial stance in an interview withRajiv Raghunath ofexchange4media.com. Excerpts