SUMMER TRAINING REPORT ON

Effect of marketing mix on consumer behavior towards

business newspaper: An Analytical Study of HT Mint

“Submitted in the Partial Fulfillment for the Requirement

of

Post Graduate Diploma in Management”

Submitted by:

Deepika Kafaltiya

Roll no.: 75

Batch: 2014-2016

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STUDENT DECLARATION

I hereby declare that project report entitled

“Effect of marketing mix on consumer behavior towards

business newspaper: An Analytical Study of HT Mint”

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of

degree in

POST GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN MANAGEMENT

To JIMS Kalkaji, New Delhi is my original work and has not submitted for the award of any other Degree,Diploma,Fellowship or any other

similar title or Prizes.

Deepika Kafaltiya

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CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE NO.

CHAPTER I- INTRODUCTION TO THE TOPIC

INTRODUCTION TO THE INDUSTRY 1-3

CHAPTER II -COMPANY PROFILE

HISTORY 4-7

DETAILS OF THE COMPANY 14-15

VISION AND MISSION 15-16

LIST OF MANAGEMNT PERSONNEL 17

PRODUCT PROFILE 18-26

SALES 27-28

PRICING CHARTS WITH OTHER FINANCIAL NEWSPAPER

29-30

SWOT 30-31

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 32-34

CHAPTER III-ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION 35-54

FINDINGS 55

RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS 56-57

BIBLIOGRAPHY 58

APPENDICES

QUESTIONAIRE 59-61

LIST OF TABLES 62-63

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

In this project I have made an honest and dedicated attempt to make the

research material as authentic it could. During this small time frame of months in

which the project reached its completion, there were a few people whom I would

like to make a mention of and without whose help the project would have never

seen the light of the day. I would like to thank my internal guide Ms. Palak Gupta

for her timely response and my external mentor Mr. Suman for his immense

cooperation and much needed motivation which helped in giving the project the

initial direction it needed.

I also convey my gratitude to the Management of JIMS KALKAJI for providing the

infrastructure to help me in accessing the necessary data for analysis purpose.

Last but not the least; I extend my thanks to all my team members for the

assistance, support and the suggestions, which have been valuable to me, and

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for providing a friendly work atmosphere with healthy competition throughout the

project.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Mint, a business paper from Hindustan Times in association with The Wall Street Journal, was launched in 2007 with the premise of bringing “Clarity in Business News”, a need strongly articulated by business news readers in the country. Mint has maintained its dominant presence in metros with the best readership profile among business dailies. It commands a combined readership share of 28 percent in key markets of Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai & Ahmadabad put together.

The project was undertaken to understand consumer perception towards business newspaper. During this two months summer internship, I studied about consumer buying behavior of business newspaper. While I did primary research, I was also involved in generating sales of Mint. My objectives of the study were

To analyze if consumers read business newspapers daily To analyze if price schemes affect selection of business newspaper

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To determine whether content and size affect selection of business newspaper

The data was analyzed using pie-charts. During this research, I came to find that there is still huge untapped market and Mint needs to position itself as a major brand.

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ABOUT THE INDUSTRY

The newspaper has been a part of our daily life for several centuries. They have

been a way for the public to be informed of important events that are occurring

around the world. Newspapers have undergone dramatic changes over the

course of history. Some of the earliest newspapers date back to Ancient Rome

where important announcements were carved in stone tablets and placed in

highly populated areas where citizens could be informed of the announcements.

Over the centuries, newspapers have undergone many changes. The biggest

change was printing them on newsprint and use of the printing press. By

automating the production of the newspaper, the number of papers available to

the public greatly increased, while making it affordable for people to purchase

one. These developments led to a boom in the newspaper industry where

several different newspapers started to appear in major cities, publishing

morning, afternoon and evening editions. These papers gave readers news,

weather, sports and other features that informed and entertained them.

However, over the course of time, newspaper costs continued to rise and the

number of newspaper subscribers continued to fall. This led to a vast reduction in

the number of newspapers and newspaper editions in every market. In addition,

with the increase in the use of technology, the public no longer needed the

newspaper for its source of information. Other media such as radio, television

and the Internet started to replace the paper as an information source.

In recent years, newspapers and other media have adapted to the changing

technology environment by starting to offer online editions to cater to the needs

of the public. In the future, the trend towards more electronic delivery of the news

will continue with more emphasis on the Internet, social media and other

electronic delivery methods. However, while the method of delivery is changing,

the newspaper and the industry still has a niche in the world.

The first major newspaper in India—The Bengal Gazette—was started in 1780

under the British Raj by James Augustus Hickey. Other newspapers such as The

India Gazette, The Calcutta Gazette, The Madras Courier (1785), The Bombay

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Herald (1789) etc. soon followed. These newspapers carried news of the areas

under the British rule. The Bombay Samachar, founded in 1822 and printed

in Gujarati is the oldest newspaper in Asia still in print. On May 30, 1826 Udant

Martand (The Rising Sun), the first Hindi-language newspaper published in India,

started from Calcutta (now Kolkata), published every Tuesday by Pt. Jugal

Kishore Shukla. The Times of India was founded in 1838 as The Bombay Times

and Journal of Commerce by Bennett, Coleman and Company, a colonial

enterprise now owned by an Indian conglomerate. The Times

Group publishes The Economic Times (launched in 1961), Navbharat

Times (Hindi language), and the Maharashtra Times (Marathi language). In the

1950s 214 daily newspapers were published in the country. Out of these, 44

were English language dailies while the rest were published in various regional

and national languages. This number rose to 2,856 dailies in 1990 with 209

English dailies. The total number of newspapers published in the country

reached 35,595 newspapers by 1993 (3,805 dailies).

The main regional newspapers of India include the Malayalam

language Malayala Manorama (published from: Kerala, daily circulation:

673,000), the Hindi-language Dainik Jagran (published from: Uttar Pradesh, daily

circulation in 2006: 580,000), and the Anandabazar Patrika (published

from: Kolkata, daily circulation in 2013 ( ABC Jan - Jun 2013 ) : 11,93,000). The

Times of India Group, the Indian Express Group, the Hindustan Times Group, the

Hindu Group and the Anandabazar Patrika Group are the main print media

houses of the country. The Anandabazar Patrika group runs the oldest surviving

Hindi newspaper in India.

Newspaper sale in the country increased by 11.22% in 2007. By 2007, 62 of the

world's best selling newspaper dailies were published in China, Japan, and India.

 India consumed 99 million newspaper copies as of 2007—making it the second

largest market in the world for newspapers.

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INTRODUCTION TO THE TOPIC

Marketing mix:The Marketing mix is a set of four decisions which needs to be taken

before launching any new product. These variables are also known as

the 4 P’s of marketing. These four variables help the firm in making

strategic decisions necessary for the smooth running of any product /

organization.These variables are

1. Product

2. Price

3. Place

4. Promotions

Consumer behavior :

Consumer behavior is "The study of individuals, groups, or organizations and the processes they use to select, secure, use, and dispose of products, services, experiences, or ideas to satisfy needs and the impacts that these processes have on the consumer and society."

In this project we have analysed the effect that price, size of newspaper, availability of vendors, content of newspaper has on the consumer’s decision of buying a particular newspaper

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OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT

To analyze if consumers read business newspapers daily To analyze if price schemes affect selection of business newspaper To determine whether content and size affect selection of business

newspaper

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COMPANY PROFILE

HT MEDIA LIMITED

History-

Hindustan Times was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi in 1924. Since then, the

newspaper has established its presence as a newspaper with editorial excellence

and integrity. One of India's leading and most respected English dailies, HT have

always prided itself in spotting emerging trends and reflecting the same through

its unmatched editorial prowess. Today, Hindustan Times-Delhi edition has the

unique distinction of being the largest selling single edition English newspaper in

India.

QUICK OVERVIEW OF HISTORY

The Hindustan Times was the brainchild of the Akalis who felt that a newspaper

in English would enable them to reach an audience other than the Punjabi-

reading one. This was in the year 1922. From the outset the newspaper was set

up to oppose the British. The Hindustan Times finally came into being on

September 1924 and was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi. The newspaper was

to become a premier nationalist newspaper of the capital in the turbulent years

preceding independence. From a humble beginning in a three-storey building,

the company has expanded its operations from print to other media channels like

radio, internet, events and marketing, and strategic partnerships, as part of its

endeavour to establish itself as a giant media conglomerate in the present times.

September 26, 1924

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This date marked the august beginnings of Hindustan Times with Mahatma

Gandhi, the Father of the Nation inaugurating the newspaper.

1927

Hindustan Times was reborn as Hindustan Times Ltd., a limited liability company.

1936

The Hindi daily Hindustan was launched, which remains the dominant newspaper

in the Core Hindi belt of northern India.

1937

Devdas Gandhi was appointed the Managing Editor of the newspaper and

remained the managing editor till his death in 1957. Institute of Technology &

Science

1942

The Hindustan Times was one of the few newspapers that stopped publishing

the newspaper for four and a half months as it refused to accept the British

imposition of censorship on all newspapers.

1947

The year India gained its freedom was also the year Hindustan Times attained

the status of being the dominant newspaper in Delhi.

1957

The newspaper circulation grew from 58,693 copies to 144,287 in 1970 after KK

Birla took over the mantle from GD Birla.

1960

The Hindi literary magazine Kadambini was launched.

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1964

The group started actively targeting the youth of India and launched the Nandan

magazine.

1991

At the start of liberalization of India, Hindustan Times moved to becoming an

autonomous power centre in a mature democracy.

1999

The Hindustan Times celebrated its platinum anniversary.

2001

With a focus on localization, five new editions for Calcutta, Bhopal, Ranchi,

Chandigarh and Jaipur were launched.

2003

The media business of was de-merged and incorporated under HT Media Ltd.

2004

HT Media Ltd was listed as a public company and attracted external funding.

2005

Hindustan Times successfully entered the Mumbai market with a refreshingly

new product and content mix.

2006

Fever 104 FM is launched, in technical collaboration with the Virgin Group.

Hindustan was relaunched re-establishing the company's prominent presence in

the regional news space. Institute of Technology & Science.

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2007

Mint, the business paper in partnership with The Wall Street Journal was

launched in Delhi and Mumbai. In the internet space, Hindustantimes.com was

relaunched and Livemint.com was introduced.

2008

Firefly e-Ventures, an HT Media Company launched its first portal for job

seekers, Shine.com

Details of the company

HT Media Limited found its beginning in 1924 when its flagship newspaper,

Hindustan Times was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi. HT Media (BSE, NSE)

has today grown to become one of India's largest media companies. Produced

by an editorial team known for its quality, innovation and integrity, Hindustan

Times (English) and Hindustan (Hindi), have a combined daily circulation of 2.25

million copies and a readership base of 12.4 million readers to their credit. Both

dailies enjoy strong brand recognition among readers as well as advertisers. To

cater to the large readership base, HT Media Limited operates 19 printing

facilities across India with an installed capacity of 1.5 million copies per hour.

In addition to Hindustan Times and Hindustan, HT Media Limited also publishes

a national business newspaper, Mint. Mint is a one-of-its-kind newspaper in the

sense that the company has an exclusive agreement with the Wall Street Journal

to publish Journal-branded news and information in India. Mint is today the

second-largest business newspaper in India with presence in the key markets of

Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.

HT Media Limited, through its subsidiary HT Music and Entertainment Company

Ltd., has made its foray into electronic media. Diversifying its ambit of operations,

the company in a consulting partnership with Virgin Radio, has launched the FM

radio channel - Fever 104. Currently available in Delhi and Mumbai, Fever 104

has established a strong presence as being one of the most vibrant channels on

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air. In a short span of two years, the channel's rise has been meteoric

considering its position in Delhi as the No. 2 station on the popularity charts.

Internet businesses of HT Media Limited, incorporated under Firefly e-ventures,

operate leading web portals Hindustantimes.com and livemint.com in the general

and business news categories respectively. The company has recently launched

Shine.com, a job portal which has received high appreciation from consumers

and industry for its innovative design and usability. Institute of Technology &

Science

HT Media Limited reported FY 2014 annual revenue of Rs. 23,630 million. FOR

the fiscal year ended March 31, 2014, the company reported a 12% increase in

revenue to Rs. 5,859 million and a 22% increase EBITDA to 1,175 million from

the year-ago quarter.

The Board of Directors and Management of HT Media Limited comprises

eminent persons from diverse professional fields, who bring with them vast

professional experience to the company.

A rich mix of veterans in media and top leaders from non-media sectors, from

both India and abroad, HT Media Limited Management team reflects the

company's desire to be the best by leveraging diverse strengths. The

management team comprises people from varied verticals such as media,

FMCG, telecom, automobiles, each of whom add fresh perspective to the rich

experience of media industry stalwarts. This rich talent pool is ably assisted by

our Global Think Tank.

Board of Directors:-

Chairperson - Shobhna Bhartiya

Chief Executive Officer - Rajiv Verma

Directors - KN Memani, NK Singh, Ajay Relan, Mukesh Aghi

Whole time Directors - Priyavrat Singh, Shamit Bhartiya

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CHAIRPERSON

SHOBHANA BHARTIA

Chairperson

HT Media Ltd.

Mrs. Shobhana Bhartia, who has been associated with the company since its

inception, has taken over as the Chairperson on September 18, 2008. She has

spearheaded the company's long-term vision and strategy. Mrs. Bhartia is in

charge of formulating and directing the editorial policies of the company and has

more than 20 years of experience in the newspaper industry

VISION & MISSION

VISION

1. To stand at a respectful position in this competitive marathon and also to keep

up the pace of the changing needs of their value readers.

2. To win more and more readers to their cause.

MISSION

1. The mission is to create space for the market share of MINT by tapping

uncovered market and by taking bites from competitor’s bit from market share.

2. Getting the benefits of the paper to be known to the market.

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3. They endeavor to improve the quality of people’s lives by empowering them

through information entertainment & education.

The values personified by HT Media are:

Courage

To encourage the ability that meets opposition with skill, competence and

fortitude.

Responsibility

Be accountable for results in line with the company’s objectives,

Strategies and values.

Empowerment

Support our people and give them the freedom to perform and to provide

our readers with information to influence their environment.

Continuous Self Renewal

Determination to constantly re-examine and re-invent ourselves for further

innovation and creativity.

People Centric

People are our greatest asset. We invest in them expect a lot and know that the

rest will follow.

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PRODUCT PROFILE

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PRINT

English-

Hindustan Times

Mint

Brunch

Hindi-

Hindustan

Nandan

Kadambini

RADIO-

Fever 104 FM

INTERNET-

With brands like HindustanTimes.com, Livemint, Desimartini and Shine.com,

Firefly spearheads Hindustan Media Ventures Limited foray into the Internet

media space.

Firefly e-Ventures Ltd., a 100% Hindustan Media Ventures subsidiary, focuses

on creating and building brands and businesses in the Internet media space.

Firefly aims to combine Hindustan Media’s 84-year old legacy as one of India’s

largest and most respected names in the media industry, with the innovation and

energy that characterize the Internet space.

Compelling product ideas, creative use of design and intuitive user interface,

backed by a knowledgeable sales force and customer service are the hallmarks

of Firefly products. With brands like Hindustantimes.com, Livemint.com,

Desimartini.com and Shine.com in its portfolio, Firefly promises to be an exciting

addition to the Hindustan Media family.

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Some internet contact-

Livehindustan.com

Livehindustan.com is the online edition of the Hindi newspaper Hindustan. It

offers browsers a multimedia news experience that brings news to life. It offers

instant business updates, ball by ball cricket coverage, and special online-only

features.

Livemint.com

Livemint.com is the online version of the business daily Mint. It offers online

global news, breaking news, current news, along with financial, technological and

economic news.

Shine.com

Shine.com is a job portal that helps the candidates to get the right job. It enables

job seekers and employers to reach out to each other in novel ways. Shine.com

now offers social media hiring through tie-up with MyParichay.

Hindustan Times

With multiple new initiatives to build business and editorial excellence, the

Company’s flagship newspaper Hindustan Times (HT) achieved new milestones

of success during the year. It remained the leading English daily in Delhi for the

13th Indian Readership Survey (IRS) round in a row, and was the second largest

newspaper (broadsheet) by readership in Mumbai. With a steadily growing

reader base at the national level, the newspaper has a readership of 4.34 Million,

as per the IRS results for 2013.Amongst one of the widely-read English dailies in

the country, Hindustan Times is published from Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Mumbai,

Mohali, Jalandhar, Lucknow, Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, Bhopal, Indore,

Patna, Ranchi, Jamshedpur and Kolkata.HT continued to be ahead of

competition in Delhi and NCR. It registered a daily readership (Average Issue

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Readership or AIR) of 2.27 Million. In NCR alone, HT registered a healthy 11

percent growth in readership over the year.

HT Mumbai continued to be a strong growth centre in terms of readership. The

newspaper consolidated its No. 2 position in the city, with an AIR of 1.36 Million.

It has remained the No. 2 English broadsheet in the city for the last 10 IRS

rounds.

Punjab also added the maximum number of readers among all English

newspapers in the state. In addition to growing its readership in Chandigarh, the

newspaper has also made major inroads into the top cities of Amritsar, Ludhiana

and Jalandhar.

Mint

Mint, the vibrant business daily of HT Media, continued on its exciting journey of

growth and expansion during the year. While retaining its No. 2 position in the

niche business newspaper segment in the country, it expanded globally with the

launch of its Singapore edition. Maintaining a steady position, it has emerged as

the preferred choice of the discerning reader.

Mint has maintained its dominant presence in metros with the best readership

profile among business dailies. It commands a combined readership share of 28

percent in key markets of Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai &

Ahmadabad put together. It has a readership (AIR) of 0.31 Million (IRS 2013),

and an exclusive readership of 90 percent.

In a first for an Indian media company, Mint went global on April 5, 2013. With

the launch of its Singapore edition, it took a major step forward in its goal of

becoming a regional media brand. MintAsia will be published every Friday in

Singapore, presenting clear-minded weekly in-depth analysis and sharp insights

that will keep the global audience abreast of developments shaping the Indian

economy and markets.

Mint, which reaches the who’s who of corporate India, achieved a milestone in its

journey of excellence during the year by winning the glorious Media Tenor’s Best

Business Media Award, 2012. The award holds great prestige globally and

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honors diverse, informative and balanced business coverage. Mint has already

won two SOPA (Society of Publishers in Asia) awards for its journalistic initiatives

on the changing role of people and on the status of women in India.

SUPPLEMENTS OF MINT

MINT LOUNGE

Lounge is the weekend edition of Mint. Every Saturday, Lounge presents a

visually engaging look at the "Business of Life". With articles on Travel, Gadgets,

Fashion, Books, Culture, Parenting and Food, the editors and columnists of

Lounge bring the perfect work-life balance to the week.

MINT MONEY

Mint Money is a daily section on Markets & Personal Finance that comes inside

Mint. Through its researched and analyzed content, Mint Money helps its readers

develop an understanding of how various financial products and markets work. It

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provides clear and credible coverage across the entire gamut of investment

products – Equities, Mutual Funds, Commodities, Real Estate and Insurance,

which helps its readers, become smart money managers.

Consumers are seeking to bridge the gap between information and

understanding so that they can take the right calls in today’s changing market

scenario. With its clear and analyzed content, Mint Money seeks to aid the

consumer in bridging this gap.

MINT INDULGE

Mint Indulge is the Luxury and Lifestyle quarterly publication.

A complimentary read for Mint’s readers across India, Mint Indulge focuses on

the passions & indulgences of India's top business leaders and serve as their

best buying guide for the season. Mint Indulge showcases the most inspirational

international brands which look at India as a promising market to drive the next

growth wave for them.

MINT as your Business paper:

The Berliner size, refreshing printing & easy language just adds to the

pleasure of reading financial news.

Get yourself updated with the Current Affairs in the Financial & Political arena

of the country

MINT Leisure section can be used a perfect weekend planner

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MINT Money – Provides deep insights on the Stock Market & other financial

products, from its News to its Performance.

Get updated with the World financial news with ‘The Wall Street Journal’

section

MINT Lounge – the weekend magazine, gives information about

Entertainment/ Travel/ Health/ Lifestyle/ Technology

The strong MINT Editorial Team gives you a clear & unbiased view on the

current happenings of our Financial sector

The investment expert gives you guidance on Money Management.

MINT Indulge (separately subscribed)– that comes monthly/bi-monthly, gives

insights on the various Luxury Brands/ Products across the globe.

MINT as your Business paper:

The Berliner size, refreshing printing & easy language just adds to the

pleasure of reading financial news.

Get yourself updated with the Current Affairs in the Financial & Political arena

of the country

MINT Leisure section can be used a perfect weekend planner

MINT Money – Provides deep insights on the Stock Market & other financial

products, from its News to its Performance.

Get updated with the World financial news with ‘The Wall Street Journal’

section

MINT Lounge – the weekend magazine, gives information about

Entertainment/ Travel/ Health/ Lifestyle/ Technology

The strong MINT Editorial Team gives you a clear & unbiased view on the

current happenings of our Financial sector

The investment expert gives you guidance on Money Management.

MINT Indulge (separately subscribed)– that comes monthly/bi-monthly, gives

insights on the various Luxury Brands/ Products across the globe.

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Maintaining pace with the growing Hindi readership, Hindustan retained its No. 2

position at national level in the IRS (2013) results. With a Total Readership (TR)

of 39.1 Million and an AIR at 14.25 Million, the daily continued to consolidate its

position during CY 2014.

Hindustan continues to reap the benefits of completing its expansion process in

Uttar Pradesh (U.P.) & Uttarakhand. The most impressive gains for the

newspaper came in U.P. - 16 percent over the last 2 years - to post 14.8 Million

readers.

Hindustan has established a pan-U.P. presence, with 12 editions and 1.1 Million

copies distributed daily across the state. Hindustan now has 7.63 Million AIR in

U.P. & Uttarakhand.

Hindustan continues to post robust growth in relative market share across all key

cities of U.P. It retains its No. 1 position in Bareilly while continuing gains from

new launches in Aligarh & Moradabad.

Hindustan continues to dominate Bihar and Jharkhand as the single largest daily.

It has an AIR of 4.27 Million readers and a readership share of 68 percent in

Bihar. Similarly, it has a 1.40 Million AIR, with a reader share of 46 percent in

Jharkhand.

Partners

Partners of Hindustan Times Media Limited

Burda

Redmatch

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The Wall Street Journal

Velti

Virgin

Burda

Burda has interests in publishing, radio, event management and the internet.

Apart from staging the largest premium annual digital conference in Europe,

Burda also publishes and prints several hundred magazines including local

editions of Elle, Playboy and Focus, and catalogs. In June 2008, Dr Burda was

conferred with the "Hall of Fame 2008" award in Germany by the Manager

magazine earlier this week for his outstanding contribution to the economic,

social and political development of Germany.

Redmatch

Redmatch is a world leader in online recruitment solutions. Using unique Real-

Time Job Matching technology, Redmatch enables recruiters to find and hire the

best people, faster and more cost effectively. Thousands of satisfied users are

already using the Redmatch products. Redmatch provides a variety of products

including:- Job portals solutions, newspaper online employment advertising

solutions, corporate Applicant Tracking Systems, staffing companies solutions

and more.

The Wall Street Journal

The Wall Street Journal, the flagship publication of Dow Jones & Company

(NYSE: DJ; www.dowjones.com), is the world's leading business publication.

Founded in 1889, The Wall Street Journal has a print and online circulation of

nearly 2.1 million, reaching the nation's top business and political leaders, as well

as investors across the country. Holding 31 Pulitzer Prizes for outstanding

journalism, the Journal seeks to help its readers succeed by providing essential

and relevant information, presented accurately and fairly, from an authoritative

and trusted source. The Wall Institute of Technology & Science [ITS] Page 25

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Street Journal print franchise has more than 600 journalists world-wide, part of

the Dow Jones network of nearly 1,900 business and financial news staff. Other

publications that are part of The Wall Street Journal franchise, with total

circulation of 2.7 million, include The Wall Street Journal Asia, The Wall Street

Journal Europe and The Wall Street Journal Online at WSJ.com, the largest paid

subscription news site on the Web. In 2006, the Journal was ranked No. 1 in

BtoB's Media Power 50 for the seventh consecutive year.

Velti

Velti’s market-leading mobile marketing technology platform, coupled with its

experience in the mobile advertising industry, enables clients around the world to

deliver an extensive range of highly targeted marketing campaigns. With

operations in 25 countries, and a mobile marketing joint venture with the

Interpublic group, a top global holding group of advertising agencies, Velti has

the ability to reach through its platform an estimated 1.4 billion consumers. Velti’s

unique Mobile Marketing and Advertising Platform manages the full cycle of

planning, execution and monitoring of multiple campaigns across differing mobile

formats and channels, offering customers more than 70 mobile marketing and

advertising templates, which can be managed from one user interface.

Virgin

One of the most respected brands in Britain - is involved in a variety of

businesses including airlines, trains, finance, soft drinks, mobile phones,

holidays, cars, wines, publishing, fashion and of course Music. What tie all these

businesses together are the values of the brand and the vision and ambition of its

founder Sir Richard Branson. Virgin Radio went on-air in London at 12.15pm on

30 April 1993 - promising to play classic album tracks and today's best music. It

has since been sold to Ginger Media (which was subsequently bought by SMG

plc). Virgin also currently broadcasts on DAB across England, Scotland and

Wales, on digital TV and cable.

Print Works

Print Works a one stop shop for space selling in any of the publications in HT,

has remarkably maintained the tradition of ours as the first Indian media

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company to have organized this expo, much to the chagrin of other media

houses. Held for five days in April end-May, it fetched huge ad revenues to the

company. The novel concept, undoubtedly, set our company in the league of top

notch organisations which are always in the lookout of avenues to widen their

clientele. Moreover, it took place barely a few months after the media marketing

departments of Hindustan Times, Hindustan and Mint were integrated. It won’t be

wrong to say that Print Works reaped the harvest, seeds of which were sown

during this integration. To woo the advertisers, a mega prize of Volvo S80 will

also be given after a lucky draw to be taken place in April 2009.

HT Media Limited is a mammoth player in the print media in India. The extent of

its presence is undisputed in that it is the top leader in the English newspaper

market in North India and occupies second place in the Hindi newspaper market

in North India and East India. The group now intends to further consolidate its

already established position as a vibrant and modern media powerhouse.

SALES

A sale is a transaction, dealing, trade or what? Sale can have different meanings

but what is the most important thing in it, is to understand the importance of it.

Without sale no revenue can be generated but just earning revenue is not to

sale, it is the right type selling to the right customer with the right attitude.

Customer relationship is most important, maintaining the brand image is also

important. Delivering on the brand promises becomes a moment of truth in any

customer relationship.

This moment of truth can be either positive or with negative impact on the

customer’s perception about your brand. There might be great marketing

communication and a highly superior product, but the buying experience always

stands between the seller and the customer. If the customer has a negative

impact about the product then it is a direct deterioration of the brand equity.

Hence, sales and distribution is a vital activity. Sales hence comprises of the

outcome of what all which was done to manufacture that product. Success of

selling department is the success of the company.

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MINT is the product where the maximum demand would be in the early morning.

It is highly perishable product. The product should reach the customer in due

time otherwise the importance is lost. Hence time management is something very

vital for the sales and distribution people. Hence I can mainly divide the supply of

the newspaper in two main categories:

PRE-PRESS ACTIVITY

POST-PRESS ACTIVITY

PRE-PRESS ACTIVITY

It involves all the editorial departments work where they have to collect the news

and it has to be given to the production department in a prescribed limit. This

time limit is said as the cut off time or releasing time.

POST-PRESS ACTIVITY

It is the distribution. MINT has divided Gujarat in two main sections, i.e.

Ahmadabad and upcountry market. This upcountry market has about 7 centres.

MINT gets involved in many kinds of sale activity. They are:

Subscription Sale

A one year subscription by paying fixed amount is sale by subscription

Cash Sales

Customers when paying the amount to purchase a newspaper directly to the

book stall in cash then the sale is said to be a cash sales.

Line Sales

Line sale is the in which it is post paid billing. When the customer gets the MINT

copy through the vendor and pays in the end of month, it is line sale

Institutional Sales

Few corporate, hotels and colleges take copy in bulk, which is said to be as

institutional sale.

MINT has the responsibility till the delivery at their doorstep and further

distribution is on the

Company or the institution concerned

Corporate Sales

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In corporate sales, executives have to do cold calling or they have to take

appointment from the concerned person and then after meet, executive must

convince the client. If it is big corporate and staff are such that, they read

financial daily at their home, then for bulk subscription they have to try.

PRICING CHART OF MINT WITH OTHER FINANCIAL NEWSPAPER

The annual cover Price of MINT is Rs. 1564. It provide subscription scheme at

for 12 months from Monday to Saturday at Rs 989/- (earlier it was 899/-).

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EFFECT ON VENDORS

Businesses benefit because they are assured a predictable and constant

revenue stream from subscribed individuals for the duration of the subscriber's

agreement. Not only does this greatly reduce uncertainty and the riskiness of the

enterprise, but it often provides payment in advance (as with magazines,

Newspapers), while allowing customers to become greatly attached to using the

service and, therefore, more likely to extend by signing an agreement for the next

period close to when the current agreement expires.

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EFEECTS ON READERS

Consumers may find subscriptions convenient if they believe that they will buy a

product on a regular basis and that they might save money. For repeated

delivery of the product or service, the customer also saves time. Subscription

pricing can make it easier to pay for expensive items, since it can often be paid

for over a period of time and thus can make the product seem more affordable.

On the other hand, most newspaper and magazine-type subscriptions are paid

up front, and this might actually prevent some customers from signing up.

SWOT ANALYSIS

STRENGTH

Wide coverage especially in Northern India.

Part of a huge media conglomerate means excellent reach.

Has a good pool of supplements covering education, entertainment, Sunday

lifestyle magazine.

Separate Money & Market section with 4 pages.

Exclusive partnership with The Wall Street Journal.

Over view of the whole week is given in weekend.

Provide general awareness in terms of investment.

WEAKNESS

Lack of brand awareness.

Cover only large and mid cap entities.

Limited pan-India presence and penetration as compared to market leaders.

Tough competition means market share is not growing.

OPPORTUNITY

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Being part of a large conglomerate means they have resources to expand in

other parts of the country.

Can use its strong network of supplements to build on its readership base.

. Maximize involvement of people through online interaction and tie-ups with

institutions and companies.

Can give an extra page on DELHI related news

Can introduce a new segment on Sunday

Potential Market Availability

Can have tie-ups with renowned brands for ads.

THREAT

On line news medium means reduced circulation.

Increased competition from other business dailies.

Toughest competition from The Economic Times.

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The objectives of the project are as follows:

To analyze if consumers read business newspapers daily To analyze if price schemes affect selection of business newspaper To determine whether content and size affect selection of business

newspaper

Research Design: Descriptive research

Descriptive research, is used to describe characteristics of a population or

phenomenon being studied. It does not answer questions about

how/when/why the characteristics occurred.

Tools for data collection:

o Type of data – Primary

PRIMARY DATA

It has been collected by a structured questionnaire

Sample universe – Delhi

o Sample Size – 100

o Sample Design – Stratified Random Sampling

In statistical surveys, when subpopulations within an overall

population vary, it is advantageous to sample each subpopulation

(stratum) independently. Stratification is the process of dividing

members of the population into homogeneous subgroups before

sampling. The strata should be mutually exclusive: every element in

the population must be assigned to only one stratum. The strata

should also be collectively exhaustive: no population element can be

excluded. 

Tools for Data Analysis

SPSS Statistical analysis

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SPSS is a widely used program for statistical analysis in social science. It is also

used by market researchers, health researchers, survey companies, government,

education researchers, marketing organizations, data miners and others. The

original SPSS manual (Nie, Bent & Hull, 1970) has been described as one of

"sociology's most influential books" for allowing ordinary researchers to do their

own statistical analysis. In addition to statistical analysis, data management

(case selection, file reshaping, creating derived data) and data documentation

(a metadata dictionary is stored in the data file) are features of the base software.

Statistics included in the base software:

Descriptive statistics:  Pie Charts, Z- test

LIMITATIONS

This research has been done on 100 respondents, therefore target

population is less and cannot give true picture of the population.

Shortage of time is also reason for comprehensiveness.

Some respondents were not able to give right answer of some questions.

While some have given irrelevant answers.

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ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

On the basis of questionnaire I have analyzed the response of 100 organizations

where the questionnaire was filled up by them and had tried to put analysis in

graphical form.

1. Do you read newspaper daily?

Yes 72

No 28

RESULT:

INFERENCE: It can be inferred from the pie chart that, out of 100

72% people read newspaper daily.

28% people do not read newspaper daily.

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2. Do you think one should read business newspaper daily?

Strongly Disagree 3

Disagree 7

Neutral 10

Agree 33

Strongly agree 47

INFERENCE: It can be inferred from the pie chart that, out of 100

47% people strongly agree that one should read newspaper daily.

33% people agree that one should read newspaper daily.

10% people are neutral that one should read newspaper daily

7% people disagree that one should read newspaper daily

3% people strongly disagree that one should read newspaper daily

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3. Do you think one should select business newspaper on the basis of brand

loyalty?

Strongly Disagree 3

Disagree 7

Neutral 10

Agree 33

Strongly agree 47

INFERENCE: It can be inferred from the pie chart that, out of 100

47% people strongly agree that one should select business paper on

basis of brand loyalty.

33% people agree that one should select business paper on basis of

brand loyalty.

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10% people are neutral that one should select business paper on basis

of brand loyalty

7% people disagree that one should select business paper on basis of

brand loyalty

3% people strongly disagree that one should select business paper on

basis of brand loyalty

3. Do you think price schemes affect the selection of business newspaper.

Strongly Disagree 20

Disagree 46

Neutral 19

Agree 9

Strongly agree 6

INFERENCE: It can be inferred from the pie chart that, out of 100

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6% people strongly agree that price schemes affect the selection of

business newspaper.

9% people agree that price schemes affect the selection of business

newspaper.

19% people are neutral that price schemes affect the selection of

business newspaper

46% people disagree that that price schemes affect the selection of

business newspaper

20% people strongly disagree that price schemes affect the selection of

business newspaper

5. Will you change your business newspaper if you get a better yearly plan?

Strongly Disagree 25

Disagree 45

Neutral 20

Agree 10

Strongly agree 0

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INFERENCE: It can be inferred from the pie chart that, out of 100

0% people strongly agree that they will change their business

newspaper if they get a better yearly plan.

10% people agree that they will change their business newspaper if they

get a better yearly plan.

20% people are neutral that they will change their business newspaper if

they get a better yearly plan.

45% people disagree that they will change their business newspaper if

they get a better yearly plan.

25% people strongly disagree that they will change their business

newspaper if they get a better yearly plan.

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6. Do you prefer reading business newspaper daily?

Highly Prefer 15

Prefer 40

Neutral 20

Rarely Prefer 15

Do not Prefer 10

INFERENCE: It can be inferred from the pie chart that, out of 100

15% people highly prefer to read business news paper daily.

40% people prefer to read business news paper daily.

20% people are neutral to read business news paper daily

15% people rarely prefer to read business news paper daily

10% people do not prefer to read business news paper daily

7. Do you consider content as a reason to select business newspaper ?

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Highly Consider 55

Consider 30

Neutral 15

Rarely Consider 0

Do not Consider 17

INFERENCE: It can be inferred from the pie chart that, out of 100

55% people highly consider content as a reason to select business

newspaper

30% people consider content as a reason to select business newspaper

30% people are neutral to consider content as a reason to select

business newspaper

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8. Do you consider size of the newspaper as a reason to select business newspaper ?

Highly Consider 0

Consider 15

Neutral 20

Rarely Consider 30

Do not Consider 35

INFERENCE: It can be inferred from the pie chart that, out of 100

0% people highly consider size of the newspaper as a reason to select

business newspaper

15% people consider size of the newspaper as a reason to select

business newspaper

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20% people are neutral size of the newspaper as a reason to select

business newspaper

30% people rarely consider size of the newspaper as a reason to select

business newspaper

35% people do not consider size of the newspaper as a reason to select

business newspaper

9. Are you satisfied with your current business newspaper?

Yes 80

No 20

INFERENCE: It can be inferred from the pie chart that, out of 100

80% people are satisfied with their business newspaper.

28% people are not satisfied with their business newspaper

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10. Will you change your current business newspaper if you get better content and compact easy to use size?

Yes 60

No 40

INFERENCE: It can be inferred from the pie chart that, out of 100

60% people would change their current business newspaper if they

get better content and compact easy to use size

40% people would not change their current business newspaper if

they get better content and compact easy to use size

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Z-TEST WAS APPLIED IN THE DATA

H0= Proportion where people read NewsPaper and say quality of

content has effect on sale = Proportion where people read NewsPaper

and say quality of content has no effect on sale

HA= Proportion where people read NewsPaper and say quality of

content has effect on sale Proportion where people read

NewsPaper and say quality of content has no effect on sale

Finding: NULL REJECTED, IT MEANS HA is true ie, Proportion

where people read NewsPaper and say quality of content has

effect on sale Proportion where people read NewsPaper and

say quality of content has no effect on sale

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Recommendations

1. During our research, many customers complaint that they had bought the

subscriptions earlier also but didn’t get any newspaper but only the gifts.

This problem should be taken care of to remove customer apprehensions to

buy the product.

2. The price of MINT is higher than other business daily. So reduce some

price or offer some gifts for the customer price of MINT is high as compared

to the market leader ‘economic times’.

2. During the period of research it was found that MINT positioned itself as

a casual business newspaper and trying to sale that newspaper in corporate

houses whereas most of the corporate prefer reading hardcore business

newspaper. So, MINT should try to sell the newspaper to the casual readers

like students, management graduates and other professionals who would not

prefer to read hardcore business news.

3. Focus more on the content and articles rather than on the paper & print

quality of MINT because many customers have complained about the

content of newspaper. Even some vendors also told us to improve the

content of MINT.

4. Number of centers should be increased from where the newspaper is

available because availability of MINT on street shops is very less.

5. The corporate awareness and brand promotion is very low about the

MINT because 76.4% people have never subscribed to MINT. So, company

should have to focus on it.

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6. Company should grab some creative advertisement for its newspaper so

that the customer could easily connect with the brand identity, as 45.1%

people have never read MINT.

7. MINT should clear its perception and USP towards its readers so that the

proper positioning of the business newspaper can be done.

8. Provide small vouchers package at the time of Diwali or any other

festivals.

9. Service check calls at regular intervals.

10. In order to develop the touch points with its readers and create a brand

association, MINT should participate & sponsor corporate events.

11. Make collaboration with the B-schools and provide daily copies to the

students at their door steps or college.

e.g our college jims kalkaji has tie-up with economic times and business

standard and students can buy yearly subscriptions on discounted rates. But

there is no such scheme for mint.

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Conclusion

.

After doing this research, I found out that consumers are habitual readers and they are brand loyal. Also price schemes don’t affect reading habits of the consumers. People need to be made aware about Mint as majority of market share is taken by Economic Times. Therefore, there is a huge untapped market and Mint needs to undertake some strategies to better position itself in minds of consumers.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

www.htmedia.in

www.hindustantimes.com/business-news/mint-launches-integrated-news-room-revamps-livemint-com/article1-931850.aspx

www.inma.org/blogs/ideas/post.cfm/mint-grows-readership-by-keeping-business-news-simple

articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2011-10-03/news/30238484_1_media-planners-advertisers-newspaper

Readership-272000(Indian readership survey, 2013-MRUC)

www.inma.org/blogs/ideas/post.cfm/mint-grows-readership-by-keeping-business-news-simple

www.quora.com/General-Knowledge/Why-does-Economic-times-mint-financial-express-or-any-other-newspaper-cost-more-on-weekends

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APPENDICES

1. Do you read newspaper on daily basis?1) Yes 2) No

2. Do you think one should read business newspaper daily?1) Strongly Disagree

2) Disagree

3) Neutral

4) Agree

5) Strongly Agree

3. Do you think one should select business newspaper on the basis of brand loyalty.1) Strongly Disagree

2) Disagree

3) Neutral

4) Agree

5) Strongly Agree

4. Do you think price schemes affect the selection of business newspaper.

1) Strongly Disagree

2) Disagree

3) Neutral

4) Agree

5) Strongly Agree

5. Will you change your business newspaper if you get a better yearly plan?1) Strongly Disagree

2) Disagree

3) Neutral

4) Agree

5) Strongly Agree

6. Do you prefer reading business newspaper daily?

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1) highly prefer

2) prefer

3)Neutral

4)Rarely prefer

5) Do not prefer

6. Do you consider content as a reason to select business newspaper ?

1) highly consider

2) consider

3)Neutral

4)Rarely consider

5)Strongly consider.

7. Do you consider size of the newspaper as a reason to select business newspaper ?

1) highly consider 2) consider 3)Neutral 4)Rarely consider 5)Strongly consider.

8. Are you satisfied with your current business newspaper?1) Yes 2) No

9. Will you change your current business newspaper if you get better content and compact easy to use size?1) Yes 2) No

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