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GRAND PROJECT REPORT
Brand Management Strategies For
“The Economic Times”
Towards partial fulfilment of Mater’s of Business Administration programme.Towards partial fulfilment of Mater’s of Business Administration programme.Towards partial fulfilment of Mater’s of Business Administration programme.Towards partial fulfilment of Mater’s of Business Administration programme.
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Research is to see what everybody else has been seeing, And to think, what nobody else has thought of….
(Albert Szent - Gyorgyi)
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PROJECT OBJECTIVES, IN BRIEF
Primary Objective : The main objective of this project was the study of brand
“The Economic Times” based on various factors. This included analysis based on the 4 C’s of modern marketing, namely
� Company Offering � Cost � Convenience � Competition � Communication
Based on the data gathered we aimed to co-relate the data to actual
company’s success at achieving the branding objective’s.
Secondary Objectives : The several other secondary objectives were,
� Finding the value equity of the ET brand, i.e. to consider the quality, price and
convenience offered by the brand
� Help tabulate the brand equity, i.e to help realise factors like the brand awareness, customer attitude towards the brand, customer perception of brand ethics and communication effectiveness.
� To derive the conclusion for the value proposition offered by the brand i.e. ‘is
the experience, worth the money spent…’
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
2.1 History In Brief 2.2 Products Profile 2.3 Organisation Structure 2.4 RMD Department 2.5 Latest At The Company
3.1 Company Offering
3.2 Cost 3.3 Conveniency 3.4 Communication
3.5 Competition 3.6 Customer Satisfaction 5.1 Research Design
5.2 Data Collection Methods 5.3 Questionnaire Copy
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
2. INTRODUCTION : THE BENNETT, COLEMAN & CO. LTD.
3. INTRODUCTION : THE ECONOMIC TIMES
4. PROJECT OBJECTIVE
5. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
6. DATA ANALYSIS
7. FINDINGS / CONCLUSION
8. RECOMMENDATIONS
9. THE LEARNING PROCESS
10.BIBLIOGRAPHY
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1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Every morning in the African jungle, a gazelle wakes up to know that it must run faster or else a lion will kill it. Also, every morning a lion wakes up to know that it must run faster than the slowest Gazelle or it will starve to death.
It does not matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle, the hunter or the hunted,
when the sun comes up you better be running.
The same applies to the corporate jungle too. With intensifying competition and the presence of number of other competitive
players, companies are finding it extremely difficult to survive the market. The shift from selling to marketing is the major reason contributed for this. The focus remains not the short term “immediate sale - immediate profit” but long-term creation of markets and generation of demand. Also to survive the competition, it has become mandatory for companies to shift their focus and think beyond simple advertising and promotions to “branding” of their products. The brand takes into account not only the aspects of actual sales in figures; but also the brand awareness, brand recall, brand loyalty, brand positioning, brand association, brand personification and strengths of brand vis-à-vis to its competitors. Its based on all this aspects, that it becomes possible for the company to conclude on the actual market strength of its products.
Our project remains an effort towards analysing and assessing the brand
strengths of The Economic Times on all this important parameters.
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2. INTRODUCTION : THE BENNETT, COLEMAN & CO. LTD
2.1 History In Brief
The first edition of The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce, later to be called The Times of India, was launched in Bombay in 1838. After several years of change, evolution and growth in the paper's character, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd, the proprietors of The Times of India Group, was established with the principal objective of publishing newspapers, journals, magazines and books.
Today, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd is India's largest media house. The
Times Group is a multi-edition, multi-product, multi-media organisation, and has to its credit several leading publications.
Among the company's publications are The Times of India, The Economic
Times, Navbharat Times, Maharashtra Times, Femina and Filmfare. The Group also has interests in the entertainment and online media industries in the form of Radio Mirchi, Planet M, Times Music and Times Multimedia.
In April 2000, Times Internet Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bennett,
Coleman & Co. Ltd, was floated to handle the Group's Internet properties. Times Internet Ltd's mother brand is www.indiatimes.com.
The Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd. is recognized the world over for the
enviable standards they have set in publishing and media
A brief with "the times" machine
1838 (Editor : J.E. Brenan) The first edition appeared on November 3, 1838
known as "The Bombay Times & Journal of Commerce", later to be known as "The Time of India". The issue was published twice a week. It was basically a city paper protecting the interest of Bombay's business community.
1840 (Editor : Dr. George Buist) The newspaper experienced proprietary
change in 1846. In the year 1850 shareholders decided to increase the share capital and the paper was converted into a daily. The paper in these periods reflected the, " Imperialistic Policy" i.e. the voice of the ruling government.
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1861 (Editor : Robert Knight) The paper was by then called "The Times of India" (it was an amalgamation of three newspapers i.e., Bombay Times, Bombay Standard and Bombay Telegraph and Courier). By this time Bombay had become the commercial capital of India. TOI was recognized as the national newspaper because its circulations were not confined to the boundaries of Bombay city alone.
1892 Mr. T.J. Bennett, then editor of Times of India laid the foundation and became the sole proprietor of the newspaper. Mr. F.W. Coleman with his experience in newspaper production entered into partnership with Mr. T.J. Bennett to form "Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd."
1907 (Editor : Sir Stanely Reed) "The Times of India" became an opinion-forming instrument.
1923 (Editor : S.T. Sheppard) Ownership was passed on to Mr. Ramkrishna
Dalmia.
1948 (Editor : Ivor S. Jehu) Sehu Jain Group became the owners of the company. Mr. Shanti Prasad Jain was the first chairman of the group.
1952 Filmfare magazine launched to cater to the entertainment and movie freak readers.
1959 Femina magazine launched catering to the niche market of women only segment.
1961 The Economic Times was launched to cater the growing corporate needs,
and the business community of India. The Economic Times proved to be a
complete and comprehensive business newspaper and went ahead to
become the second largest business newspaper of the world (in sales
figures).
1972 The launch of Illustrated Weekly.
1976 Under the able leadership of Late Shri Ashok Jain (Chairman) The Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd., The Times of India Group has become the country's largest media group and has survived for more than 150 years.
1984 Sameer and Vineet Jain join The Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.
2000 Launch of the most happening webiste www.indiatimes.com
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2002 Enters into a joint venture with The Economist Newspaper, UK for a marketing tie-up to promote the international magazines of The Economist Group.
2004 Among the company's current publications are The Times of India, The Economic Times, Navbharat Times, Maharashtra Times, Femina and Filmfare.
The Group also has interests in the entertainment and online media
industry in the form of Radio Mirchi, Zoom, Planet M, Times Music and Times Multimedia.
2.2 Products Profile
A broadly diversified, multifunctional unit, the Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. takes charge of a range of product lines towards its audience. These products described are included in the following aspects :
1) Print Media
� Newspapers � Magazines � Journals
2) Television Media & Others
The group has center’s in Delhi and Mumbai and its media organizers take charge for :
� Zoom T.V. Channel � Programmes for Delhi Doordarshan � Programmes for Sony Entertainment Television � Femina Miss India � Brand Equity Quizzes
3) Radio Channel
Radio Mirchi, the most hip and happening radio channel waves through
cities like Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune and Indore.
4) Multimedia
The group provides quality information and entertainment through times CD ROM titles which range from movies, religious and spiritual titles, cartoons, study oriented, etc.
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5) Retailing
The group holds in its tag the very popular retail store. Planet M, the music
retail store can be termed as vibrant-pulsating that channelise’s today's youth trend, besides selling books, CD ROMS and music that teams up quality buying with grand ambience. This retail outlet has its base in all 4 metropolitan cities besides seeking for aggressive expansion.
6) Online Products
The group flaunts its very famous online offering.
� Indiatimes.com - a versatile website for e-mail, cards, teen, contests and trivia.
� Timescity.com - an online service portal that sorts and serves information regarding services and events in major cities.
� Times Syndication Services (TSS) which provides value added features for mobile phone owners through it 8888 service numbers.
7) Music Production
This production company is involved in the production of audio cassettes and compact discs containing the recording of eminent artists of both classical and contemporary repute. Some quite reputed ones being Abida, Garbh Sanskars, etc.
Some reputed print publications of The Bennett, Coleman & Co.Ltd.,
The Times of India
The Times of India is the flagship brand of the Group. It is India's premier
English daily and world's largest circulated English broadsheet daily. It is published from ten cities across India, has a circulation of over 25,22,842 copies, and is read by over 4.42 million people.
Navbharat Times
Navbharat Times, launched in 1950, is a widely read and influential Hindi daily. It is published from Delhi and Mumbai and has a combined circulation of over 430,000 copies and a readership of over 1.7 million.
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Maharashtra Times
Maharashtra Times is a Marathi newspaper published from Mumbai. It has a circulation of over 200,000 copies and a readership of over a million.
Filmfare
Filmfare has evolved as an entertainment medium in itself. The monthly
magazine covers the gamut of happenings in show biz, including movies, music and television. Gossip, interviews, previews, reviews, profiles - it's all there. The magazine also sponsors the annual Filmfare awards for excellence in Indian Cinema. It was started in the 1952. Femina
The No. 1 women's magazine in India, Femina caters to the woman of
substance. Femina also organizes and sponsors the Miss India pageant annually. The winners of these contests represent India in the Miss Universe, Miss World and Miss Asia-Pacific contests.
The Group beyond newspapers and magazines - An Ideal Institution
Besides the number of business interests, the company even acts in the true spirit of a responsible corporate citizen. The group has undertook a number of other activities which stretch beyond its normal business profile, as being mentioned below,
� The Times Eye Research Foundation � The Times school of Media studies � The Times School of Marketing � The Times Newspaper in Education Program � The Times fellowship Council � The Bharatiya Jnanpath award � The Times of India News Service � The Economic Times Research Bureau � Times Relief Fund
2.3 Organisation Structure
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2.4 RMD Department
Chairman
Vice Chairman
Executive Director
Managing Director
Dpty Managing Director
Executive Director
Director Response (W)
Director Response (S)
Director Response (N)
Director Modernization
Director Production
Director E.T.
Executive Director
Director Personnel
Director H.R.
Executive Director
Director Business
Director Corporate
Director RMD
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The department, which works to create the audience, is known as RMD
(Result and Market Development Department), as its main aim is to increase the customer base for its various product offerings. The company has a separate department, which is involved in space selling, known as the response department. So here as against to the general approach of many companies to assign the task of marketing, advertising and branding to just one single department, the Times Group has separated this important tasks between two departments. No doubt that both this department are expected to work in co-ordination, but for the RMD department the focus remains to sell the product to the customers and create audience, while the response department has to sell the products to the advertisers, which is known as space selling. They have to sell the space available in the newspaper to the advertisers. The rate of space selling is decided on the customer base of the company hence, both the departments are interrelated.
Objectives of the RMD department
� Marketing of various print offerings of Times Group � Ensure co-ordination for smooth functioning of the distribution channel � Ensure a dominant market share position through aggressive sales campaign � Organize events and seminars for promoting of the product offerings � Oversee to the functioning of the Economic Times Club � Increase the circulations which should benefit the advertisers � Ensure an appreciating service to its readers through timely deliveries, easy
product availability in market, etc
Functions of the RMD department
� Sales and market development
� Dispatch
� Billing and accounts
� RMD international sales
� Promotion and publicity
� MIS
� Certification of circulation figures by ABC
� Subscription
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2.5 Latest At The Company
� The company made the latest foray into the television media through the launch of “Zoom” a life-style channel targeting the urban youth. Besides this the company is assessing the options of launching other new channels too. Also that, Zoom has being able to garnish the number one slot amongst all the entertainment and life-style channels within just months of its launch.
� The company has also garnished the top slot amongst the private radio stations
through its successful venture “Radio Mirchi”
� Also that “indiatimes” was selected as the Superbrand 2005, was a moment of true pride for the only profitable commercial internet website of India.
It seems, as if the company is becoming omnipresent in all the fields of media with market leadership in majorly all categories.
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3. INTRODUCTION : THE ECONOMIC TIMES
3.1 Company Offering
The Economic Times was launched in 1961 with the mission to become the number one business newspaper in the world. For all this years ET has been able to maintain a consistent business growth, which could be largely attributed to it’s shared values given below, - To stick to the media ethics - To ensure that news is separate from views - Factual and timely reporting - Not to abuse the information available or gathered
If asked “What are the milestones and achievements of The Economic Times over the past few years?” , than what could be the most probable reply from the company. To quote a few of the likely replies are, “The Economic Times has grown at an exponential rate to become the world's second-largest business and financial newspaper in English. Today, it sells six-and-a-half times more than the next financial newspaper in India. It occupies a collective mind-space in corporate India. It is also one of the biggest drivers of the stock market through the sheer influence it exercises over the business landscape of India. They do not hanker for influence, but it is a fact that what ET writes has a huge impact on how the market moves. It has been their constant endeavour to reach out to as many intelligent and successful members of the society as possible”.
True to its USP "The Power Of Knowledge", ET has been organising seminars:
presided by international celebrities. Targeted at CEO’s of corporate India, bringing the best minds of business to one platform in super achiever's forum, giving annual ET awards to the best industrialists, etc.
They also focus India as a brand to international readers through various
columns like great Indian Diaspora (now the global Indian).
What are the processes followed by ET before it goes to actual publication ?, To be specific it maintains five sections : � News Bureau � News Desk � Design Desk � Features And � Et Intelligence
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In addition ET sources news from news agencies like PTI, UNI, Reuters, Dow Jones, India Abroad News Service, etc. Apart from these it has a syndication arrangement with some foreign news magazines like Business Week, Forbes, Economist, etc. (to reproduce articles on a limited basis).
Supplements - Brand Equity
It is a weekly colour supplement that covers marketing, advertising, media and market research. The advertising and marketing fraternity accept it as the best trade magazine in the market. ET sees its highest circulation on Wednesdays, the day brand equity appears. The annual brand equity quiz targeted at corporates is the most popular business quiz in India, drawing throngs of crowds. Brand equity also conducts the MTV - brand equity youth marketing forum, an annual event attended by the who's who of the marketing world. Promo power, is yet another seminar on brand promotions.
Corporate Dossier
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Another numero uno supplement of the ET is corporate dossier, which is
positioned at the CEO’s of corporate India, with a special focus on management and strategy. Corporate Dossier has featured management gurus including Sumantra Ghoshal, Jack Trout and Gary Hamel. The idea is to provide the understanding and capture corporate trends as they happen in the biggest markets of the world. Through its two biggest events - the super achiever's forum and the leadership series - Corporate Dossier has a strong offline presence by reaching out to Indian CEO’s. Corporate Dossier has played host to the biggest names around the world such as - Bill Gates of Microsoft and Clarence Chandran of Nortel networks, Sanjaya Kumar of Computer Associates, have all been invited to this forum.
Rewards system for the ET staff members
Rewards / Incentives for staff from wage board category are governed by wage board rules. Executives and journalists on contract are rewarded on their performance-based ratings assigned by the department head. In addition to the existing rewards performance system, the staff is periodically motivated by the executive editor, by his positive comments on the days' paper and he also shows his appreciation in the weekly staff meetings held on Fridays. Top rated journalists, are also given opportunities to go abroad on certain 'junkets' with a view to bring back growth-oriented experiences to share with others and which in turn not only benefit the individual but also the organisation.
High fliers are granted special study leave to go on sabbaticals like the
British Chevening scholarships and others. The company authorises senior staff, eligible to air-travel in j class, to travel by y class and motivate the others in the department by offering him/her the differential amount as incentive.
Freedom to act & training & development our HRD section is fully equipped to undertake training and development needs of the staff for the specific area of knowledge. Apart from these, The Economic Times has been inviting eminent personalities like Mr. P S Subraminam of Unit Trust of India, Mr. Dharam (MD, Dow Elanco Nocil), Mr. Raj Kapoor of Times Of Money, etc. to talk on different topics of interest. The likes of Mr. Swaminathan Anklesaria Aiyar have been delivering useful tips to the journalists in augmenting their knowledge on international perspectives etc.
Expected behaviour from the ET Journalists
The ET journalists are advised to maintain a balanced view while reporting. They are expected of timely, relevant and unbiased reporting and not to abuse the information available with them. They are not to indulge in activities that
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may be beneficial to them on a personal level with the information that is officially garnered by them. In fact, in a long and detailed note "(et)hical way, highlights each and every area where a journalist may succumb. Useful tips on discipline are also given from time to time.
If you are looking for the business barometer of the country, then The
Economic Times is what you would turn to. Read by close to a million people, ET captures the sentiment of every individual and institution that has a stake in India's tomorrow. You could say it is the first and last word on matters important for today's executives and businesses. With the coming of every new media vehicle, pundits forecast a dim picture for newspapers. But if you can spur the imagination of a million people and give them the power to build on those dreams, the future is yours. When you read ET you must know that the words written have the power to launch a thousand businesses (not ships, please don’t be mistaken).
A recent study by Goldman Sachs predicts that India will be an economic
superpower in the foreseeable future. To some it may appear dramatic but at ET we cannot agree with them more. We have our ideas on how India can get there. And that's the essence that ET always strives to capture.
The Economic Times : History in brief
ET was born in the early hours of March 5th, 1961. And she gets younger and stronger every day. Coming from the experienced stable of The Bennett, Coleman & Co, that also owns The Times Of India, in the early years ET witnessed the country in two wars with her neighbours. So right from the start ET had to prove that it had what it took to guide business through the country's most hazardous economic minefield since independence. Call it baptism by fire literally! Then followed the slump in agricultural production, then the mainstay of the economy signalled a decline. Clearly the sixties was a period when every notion in the country had to be revisited. A change that was inevitable. A change, that ET was ready for. Through this whole period the economy was still protectionist but the steps of progress had begun. Yet, while the world started swarming India for its karmic powers, in its own way ET has started projecting her industrial future. The mid 70s saw a political turmoil with the declaration of emergency and curbs on press freedom. When the emergency ended, the press was equipped, more than other institutions, to cope with opposition. And the economic times emerged more mature.
The 1980s marked the greatest period of economic flux, from global recession to stock-market boom. ET seized the initiative and established itself as the leader in influencing policy and business decisions. From then to now, the circulation is ranked among the top three English dailies in the world. If the process of globalisation in the west was spread over a period of more than 200 years, in India it has come in a compressed form of ten years. Is it a surprise that
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ET is the first to acknowledge this --- by instituting an ET award of Corporate Excellence for the global Indian.
If you expected a business paper to be staid and serious, naturally ET will come as a surprise to you. And why not? With a country population of ---- under twenty-five years of age ET captures the hope of optimism of that young audience.
The one common thread among the readers is that they are fresh in their minds, positive in their approach and successful in attitude. Else an ET reader could be a head honcho of a multinational corporation - as some people expect- or a management trainee with unbridled enthusiasm who can't wait to climb the corporate ladder. He or she could be a marketing dude spotting a new consumer line or a bean-counter reading more between the lines. It could be an I.T. professional routing Linux and a commodity trader betting on Future’s. One of the erroneous assumptions is ‘that pink papers are read by stock market traders only’. The diversity of the ET audience is a fitting rejoinder to such conventional wisdom and a tribute to its universal appeal. Indeed while business is the main domain of ET, its broad perspective in areas of politics, arts and leisure making it a complete paper and a compelling reading experience.
Its value additions, like Corporate Dossier and Brand Equity are strong brands in their own right. Brand equity presents the racy world of the advertising and marketing world; Corporate Dossier quietens the stiff upper lip of the corner office. "Big Bucks" replays the casino effect of the stock market while "Hard Drive" brings out the urban cowboy. "Rural Mural" gets you back to roots and "ET Cetera" on sport and leisure gives you a ready escape. Add to that infrastructure index, commodity guide, corporate counsel, “ET In The Classroom” and you have a heady mixture that promises to keep you up and about.
Recent developments
When you bring out a new product everyday nothing seems recent, does it? True to the newspaper sentiment, ET is recent always and will remain ever so.
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Promotion
As aggressive in its marketing strategies as any of the players in its front
page, ET dared to price the product at a price that challenged even its big brother- The Times Of India, and created the market for a business paper in the bargain. Competition copied the "invitation pricing" strategy but none could emulate the success.
The advertising for ET is as much known for winning creative awards as it is
for influencing a prospect. "Power of knowledge" was the founding spirit of the paper and still strikes a
chord in today's knowledge economy. The foundation of the brand has not changed, the expression ever so often. The Brand Equity Quiz that started in Bangalore in 1991 is the only event that brings back memories of college extravaganzas to an office goer. In The Economic Times ‘Super Achiever's Forum’ and the Corporate Dossier leadership series, ET invites the Indian businessmen to interact with global leaders. The Economic Times (ETIG) knowledge forum is a platform for industry experts to exchange ideas. ET club creates a healthy interphase between university and industry. ET encourages the inventive Indian mind to dream and dream big. The ET Awards for Corporate Excellence were instituted to honour men, women and organizations that have made a fundamental difference to the way business is done and a source of inspiration for the rest. A rigorous process of research, survey and dialogue before the winners are selected, it is ET way of telling the industry and indeed the country that "we care".
Brand values
The reader is central to everything ET embodies. ET aims to project a style
that is cool, hip and with loads of attitude. It portrays the feel good factor of a growing economy and the aspirations of a young country in all its myriad shapes and colours. It is an idea factory, a concept creator and an opinion leader. It is smart, incisive and innovative in its reporting - cutting edge, as its readers would say. It conforms to the traditional newspaper values of accuracy and simplicity - but that is not a euphemism for staid or conventional thinking. The economic times aims to be ahead of the times, every time. It strives to give a delightful start to everyday.
3.2 Cost
The ET Ahmedabad Edition comes at Rs.3/- from Monday to Friday, which the company terms it as invitation pricing, while the Saturday Edition comes as Rs.6/-. The company doesn’t have any Sunday Edition.
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The cost structure of ET has two important aspects. Whatever price that
has been charged to the actual readers doesn’t supplement the actual cost of the newspaper. The company helps supplement the cost by the way of advertising revenues generated. The benefit of this is partially being passed on to the readers while the remaining remains the company profit.
As against this the price of ET for the ET Club Members is only Rs.300/-
which covers the supply of 125 copies to the member during the academic year. The company doesn’t have any net revenue generation from this deeply discounted price and works on the “no profit – no loss” concept here.
3.3 Conveniency
The ET Ahmedabad Edition witnesses its highest sales by “in-line” copies which are the newspaper copies delivered throughout the month by the readers newspaper vendor. While a small proportion of sales is being sold as “news-stand” copies. The buyers of these copies are mostly occasional readers who would be buying with predefined specific objective.
Besides the “in-line” copies, the company has the highest sales from the ET
Club Members. The memberships are offered to students of graduation and post graduation students of various educational institutes at extremely discounted prices. The copies are delivered at the door-steps of the educational institutes from where these students would be collecting their copies. The company has a definite distribution network in this respect.
The actual distribution of the copies whether to the newspaper vendors,
newspaper stalls or ET Club members is being routed through “distributors” appointed by the company in each important geographical location.
3.4 Communication
Brands need not be advertised always. ET is undoubtedly the most widely recognisable brand of the company, next to “The Times of India”. For over these years, the newspaper has developed extremely loyal readers and the readers too feel a strong brand association with ET. ET also remains in continuous lime-light for the quotes cited from this newspaper by eminent personalities and also for its “Brand Equity Quiz”. The Corporate Dossier is the real show of the brand strength, which is being attended by the top corporates of this country. ET does occasionally advertise and promote the product but only either in Times of India, Radio Mirchi and Zoom Channel (As per the company policy, only cross promotions are being permitted. No external medias are used for it.)
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The company does run another marketing initiative under the name “ET
Club” which invites membership from students of graduation or post-graduation of various academic institutions and are provided the ET copies at a deep discounted price. The aim of this initiative is to help develop a market for future from the students of today, and the corporate executives of tomorrow. The habit of reading ET is where the company see’s it real term growth for the future.
3.5 Competition Direct Competitors
� Business Standard
One of the nearest competitors of ET, it is being backed by strong investors with one of them being a financial powerhouse of India and the other being “The Financial Times” , one of the leading financial newspaper across the globe. The newspaper has been able to garnish a respectable market share and has won readers for its language simplicity for the toughest business terms.
� Financial Express
The newspaper has a major emphasizes on the finance related news and has an in-depth coverage for the stock market related news, but fails to provide complete competition to any business newspaper. The Financial Express has a much streamlined target group as against the broadly diversified of any business newspaper. � Others
Small players like Business Line do provide some sort of competition of ET, but are way behind for the comprehensive and in-depth news, analysis and coverage of ET. Also the newspaper lacks a well reached distribution network.
The ET brand power, clearly visible at ET Excellence Awards Function.
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Indirect Competitors
� National & International magazines There are various national and international magazines in the business
news and information segment. Also they are much focussed on the research and analysis related to any of business news. One of the competitive advantage of ET is that of day-to-day updates as against that of the weekly, fortnightly or monthly issues of business magazines. Also people are much habituated to the idea of reading a newspaper as vis-a-vis to any magazine. Some of the reputed national business magazines are Business India, Business Today, Business Week, etc. Also there are a number of international editions catering to high segment corporates of the Indian population.
� English daily newspapers
With the intensifying competition in the newspaper industry most of the
daily newspapers have made a tremendous change in the contents covered. Most of them have been providing business related news coverage, which is sufficient to satisfy the appetite of not-so-curious reader of business articles. This idea has been even extended to few of vernacular language newspapers, but the proportion to the overall ratio is quite small. The news and contents covered are not so in-depth as any business newspaper, but by stimulating an interest of general readers in business related news, these dailies could help generate a market for the business newspapers in future. � Business news channels
The television news channels provide an indirect competition too, as most
of them host all the news and information as covered by ET, and quite of them go into much detail. The international news channels like CNBC, CNN, BBC, etc. and the national news channels like STAR NEWS, NDTV NEWS, AAJ TAK, ZEE NEWS, SAHARA NEWS, DD NEWS, etc. are one of toughest indirect competitors due to the lightning speed at which they disburse the latest news and information. � Internet
With the growth and advancement of the Internet technology, it has become possible to gain access to any sort of information with the help of internet. As the Internet is rightly termed as a ocean of news and information, the youth of today find it a more convenient option as compared to reading a business newspapers. But ET has been able to sustain that competition by its own website www.economictimes.com, which has quite customised features for all its readers and the net surfers.
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3.6 Customer Satisfaction
For more than 40 years of its existence, ET has always held its reader’s head high. The ET has been considered the most reliable business newspaper and the brand for which the corporate’s could swear for. Also that the customer satisfaction for ET can be reflected by the huge market share it enjoys across India, which is much-much ahead of its nearest competitor. The top-corporates have openly admitted to being habituated to reading ET, which they consider it the most vital ingredients for their business to survive.
We commonly find praises and accolades for ET’s comprehensive content
coverage and in-depth analysis whether it be for the yearly budget, railway budget, articles on industry analysis, brand equity quizzes or even the election news coverage. Truly to say, “With ET you can’t be let down….”
While the management students consider this “Bible” next only to Philip
Kotler’s “Marketing Management”, to swear for. Also our survey results would help conclude about the immense faith,
pride and respect for “T – Power of Knowledge” 3.7 Nice 2 Know
� Recently The Economic Times created a history by publishing a special Sunday Edition on 27th Feb, 2005 to give a complete coverage to the Railway Budget 2005.
� The Economic Times has won the first-ever legal victory of a domain name by any Indian company.
In the process, The Economic Times has also created history and has secured a unique place in the annals of Indian Cyber law. “www.the economictimes.com” has been the first domain name, which has been acquired by any Indian company from the Uniform Domain Names Dispute Resolution Policy of Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) that has come into force. On 11 March 2000, panellist W.R. Cornish of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Arbitration and Mediation Centre delivered the administrative panel decision in the cases entitled “Bennett Coleman & Co Ltd Vs. Steven S Lalwani” and “Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd Vs. Long Distance Telephone Company”. In both the cases, Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd. was the complainant before the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Centre. Since 1996, the complainant has held the domain names, www.economictimes.com and www.timesofindia.com, using them for the electronic publication of their respective newspapers. However, in 1998, Steven S. Lalwani, USA registered the domain name www.theeconomictimes.com with
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Network Solutions. It may be also be noted that the domain name www.thetimesofindia.com was also registered with Network Solutions by Long Distance Telephone Company, having the same address of Steven S. Lalwani, USA. The said domain names were duly registered by Network Solutions, the then sole registrar for TLDs (Top Level Domains) as the same were available to be registered on a first-come-first served basis. Needless to mention, Network Solutions does not prescribe any restrictions on the registration of the domain names.
Thereafter, Steven S. Lalwani and Long Distance Telephone Co., being a front
of Lalwani, built up their websites on the two domain names which redirected Internet users and netizens to www.indiaheadlines.com which provides India related news and articles. The effect of this was that any netizen legitimately wanting to go the site of The Economic Times and The Times of India would type the said names in his browser and he would be redirected to the site of www.indiaheadlines.com. This re-directional exercise adopted by Lalwani caused tremendous harm and damage to The Economic Times and The Times of India apart from misleading bonafide and genuine netizens.
By means of a detailed and well reasoned judgment, the WIPO Arbitration
and Mediation Centre delivered its ruling that the respondent’s domain name www.theeconomictimes.com should be transferred to the complainant Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd. Thus, The Economic Times created history in the annals of Cyberlaw in India by being the first Indian domain name which was directed to be transferred in the name of complainant under the new ICANN domain name dispute policy. In the connected case, WIPO further directed that the domain name www.thetimesofindia.com be also transferred to Bennett Coleman & Co Ltd. (Data Source : Internet)
� ET was the first Indian paper to go salmon pink like some international papers.
� ET lays equal emphasis on visual and graphics as on words. After all a picture
can often speak a thousand words.
� Nine out of ten Indian CEO’s read ET.
� 22 % of et readers are women.
25
4. PROJECT OBJECTIVES
Primary Objective : The main objective of this project was the study of brand
“The Economic Times” based on various factors. This included analysis based on the 4 C’s of modern marketing, namely
� Company Offering � Cost � Convenience � Competition � Communication
Based on the data gathered we aimed to co-relate the data to actual
company’s success at achieving the branding objective’s.
Secondary Objectives : The several other secondary objectives were,
� Finding the value equity of the ET brand, i.e. to consider the quality, price and
convenience offered by the brand
� Help tabulate the brand equity, i.e to help realise factors like the brand awareness, customer attitude towards the brand, customer perception of brand ethics and communication effectiveness.
� To derive the conclusion for the value proposition offered by the brand i.e ‘is the
experience, worth the money spent…’
26
5. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
5.1 RESEARCH DESIGN
In theoretical context, � The study can be termed as descriptive as the major emphasize would be to
study the behavioural variable of the people without getting into establishing the association of the data.
� The survey type is experimental design with field-testing procedures. � Communication approaches would be questioning with structured and well-
formatted clear questions. � Medium of interaction would remain personal i.e. face-to-face interview and the
questionnaire would contain self-administered response, i.e. question form is simply handed to respondents.
� Sample size would be 150, and the basis of selection for samples would be convenience sampling i.e. the researcher’s select the most accessible population from whom to obtain the information for the survey. The sample testing area is Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar. There would be no criteria’s for segmentation of the samples into specific categories, demographic segmentation.
� The levels of measurement used in the question would be a combination of nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio.
� The questionnaire satisfies the following criteria’s of good measurement of survey as per “Marketing Research (7th Edition) By David J. Luck and Ronald S. Rubin”
� A pilot study was conducted with ten questionnaire samples and based on the feedback, the updates and changes were made accordingly.
� Use of measurement scaling methods like itemized rating scale, rank order, semantic differential scale, likert scale and staple scale. Also used are projective techniques like association and sentence completion.
� Question type ranged from dichotomous, checklist, rating and ranking also.
In practical context, Problem Find the actual reader’s brand perception for ET, and co-relate them to the company’s branding objective, and that how successful it had been. Research Objectives Gain insights into brand management of a business newspaper
27
Designing the questionnaire The questionnaire contained all kind of following question type,
� Lead-in question � Qualifying question � Warm-up question � Specific question � Demographics
Also worth to be mentioned is, that we conducted a pilot study for the designed questionnaire with the target size of 5% of the actual sample size, i.e. 10 samples. Based on the feedback received during this period and the problems we faced while filling up this questionnaire’s we made the adequate changes in the final draft.
Market research and survey Data analysis and interpretation 5.2 DATA COLLECTION METHODS
The data was collected in two different phases, namely,
� Unstructured interview This part of the data collection method can be termed as “qualitative survey”
and the questions were asked in context ‘how did respondents perceive ET as a brand based of questions framed on the 4 C’s of marketing. As it was difficult to get a concrete analysis on the data collected for the unstructured questions, the study analysis was confined to only making a descriptive analysis and making the recommendations based on this data to improve and strengthen ET brand.
� Questionnaire survey
This part of the data collection method can be termed as “quantitative survey” and the questions were very specific. The data has been analysed based on the statistical factors and been described through a graphical analysis in the further pages.
5.3 QUESTIONNAIRE COPY (REFITTED AS PER CURRENT SIZE)
28
The Times Group
Do you read any business newspaper ?
Yes No Please help fill the following details,
Business Newspaper Aware Read Read Time Duration Occasionally Regularly (If, read regularly)
Economic Times(ET) _______ _____________ _________ _______________ Financial Express _______ _____________ _________ _______________ Business Standard _______ _____________ _________ _______________ Business Line _______ _____________ _________ _______________ Any other (please specify) _______ _____________ _________ _______________
You choose to read a business newspaper on the basis of … The Economic Times(ET), what is the first thing that comes to your mind. Does the paper pink colour help identify ET more easily ?
Yes No Which section of ET do you enjoy reading the most ?
_____ Finance & Economics _____ Business News _____ Stock Market News _____ Expert Opinion / Debates _____ Shipping & Logistics _____ Political News _____ Commodity & Foreign Exchange _____ Any other (please specify)
What do you feel about the language used in ET ? ____ Very ____ Somewhat ____ Neutral ____ Somewhat ____ Very
Difficult Difficult Easy Easy
Do you feel that reading ET provides you with any kind of benefits ? Please help fill the details, Knowledge & Information 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Financial Benefits 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY
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Status 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
How would you rate the news and information of ET on a ‘scale of reliability’ ?
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 How would you rate the supplementaries of ET ?
Big Bucks ____ Poor ____ Average ____ Good ____ Excellent
Brand Equity ____ Poor ____ Average ____ Good ____ Excellent
As per your opinion, what should be the price of ET ?
Monday – Friday Edition Rs.___________ (Actual Price Rs.3) Saturday Edition Rs.___________ (Actual Price Rs.6)
Where do you get the ET copy from ?
_____ Buy from vendor _____ Get it at your work place _____ Read neighbours / friends / other’s copy _____ Any other (please specify)
When do you prefer reading ET the most ?
_____ With morning tea / coffee _____ On reaching work-place _____ During lunch hours _____ At evenings / later than that _____ Any other (please specify)
Where do you prefer reading ET the most ?
_____At home _____At workplace _____At any library _____Any other
Give competitive ranking to the various business newspapers. (From 1- 5)
______ Economic Times ______ Financial Express ______ Business Standard
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______ Business Line ______ Any other (Please specify)
Which one would you prefer the most ? (rank them)
_____ Reading ET _____ Surfing any business websites _____ Watching any business television channels _____ Any other (please specify)
Rank the following activities, that you would prefer in your free time ?
_____ Watching a movie _____ Chatting on phone _____ Just lazing around _____ Sipping up a tea / coffee along with ET in hand
How would you like any ‘business newspaper brand’ to resemble like ?
______ Rugged ______ Sincere ______ Sophisticated ______ Competitive
______ Exciting As per your perception, what does ET as a brand resemble like ?
______ Rugged ______ Sincere ______ Sophisticated ______ Competitive
______ Exciting As per your opinion, the ET brand resembles most too,
______ Amitabh Bachan (Talented, balanced character, sincere, devoted, reliable)
______ Shahrukh Khan (Numero uno, social, dominating)
______ Rahul Dev (Smart, intelligent, boy-next-door looks) ______ Fardeen Khan (Flamboyant, modern, trendy, stylish)
Have you heard about the latest ET Campaign ?
Media Aware Response Radio Campaign ______ 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
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Print Campaign ______ 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
T.V. Campaign ______ 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Which type of ET promotional campaign is likely to attract your highest attention ? _____ Outdoor advertisement (Hoardings) _____ Television Commercials _____ Kiosks at news-stand _____ Radio jingles _____ Internet advertisement _____ Print Advertisement Would you refer reading ET to anybody else ?
Yes No Mention the parameters of ET that you like – dislike the most ?
Likes Dislikes
____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ Have you ever gone through the ET website (www.economictimes.com) ?
Yes No If yes, Regular Occasionally Name : _____________________________________________ Age : _______________________ Sex : Male / Female Occupation : _____________________________________________ Contact Nos : _____________________________________________ Address : _____________________________________________
☺thanx 4 ur co-operation ☺
Personal Information
32
5.4 PRACTICAL APPROACH TOWARDS THE PROJECT
This is all about the kind of step-by-step method, that was adopted for the data collection.
Phase 1 (Qualitative Primary Study) It was all about gathering the primary data through unstructured and informal interview method.
Phase 2 (Quantitative Primary Study) Gathering the primary data through questionnaire survey with 200 as our sample size.
Phase 3 (Data Analysis & Interpretation) Based on the primary data collected, the statistical analysis was prepared and interpreted in relation to the project objectives. An effort was also made to co-relate this data to the actual company’s objective.
33
6. DATA ANLYSIS
Readers of Business Newspapers
Yes 98%
No 2%
Yes
No
Brand Awareness
197
78
130
188
12
0
50
100
150
200
250
ET FE BS BL A.O.
Brand Perception - How would the
respondents like any business newspaper
brand to resemble like ?
5
45
92
30 31
0
50
100
Rugged Sincere Sophist Comptv Exciting
This graph shows that 197 samples
were aware about ET, 188 samples were aware about Business Line while 130 were aware about Business Standard. This signifies that ET, along with BL and BS already has high brand awareness. This
also signifies high “top-of-the-mind” brand recall (aided response).
This graph shows that 98% of our
sample size, were readers of any business newspaper. This signifies that majority of the sample target segment are existing readers of business newspapers.
This graph shows that 92
respondents expected that any business newspaper brand to resemble to the “sophistication” factor. While the other factors like “sincere”, “exciting” and “competitive” did not receive
those high ratings. This factor could be helpful when framing the marketing and promotion policies for ET.
34
Brand Perception - As per respondents what
does the ET brand resemble like ?
0
29
60
24
5
0
20
40
60
80
Rugged Sincere Sophist Comptv Exciting
Brand Personality Association - As per
respondent what does ET brand resemble like
?
106
42 28 28
0
50
100
150
AB SRK RD FK
Company Offering - Does the paper pink
colour of ET help it identify more easily ?
132
68
Yes
No
This graph shows that 60
respondents said that ET resembled to a “sophisticated” brand, which was quite similar to the expected brand perception for any newspaper as shown in the previous graph. This helps us
claim that ET has been successful at achieving an expected brand perception.
This question was asked to testify
a brand personality association for ET, for which about 106 respondents opted for Amitabh Bachan, while 42 respondents opted for Shah Rukh Khan. A few of them even opted for Rahul
Dev and Fardeen Khan. This question helped us to testify about the brand attributes, that resembled to these film stars.
The question was asked to testify
that how, a product attribute such as “colour” could help identify the product more easily. It was quite encouraging to know that about 61% of the respondents had found it easier
to identify ET because of its pink colour.
35
Company Offering - Which section of ET do you enjoy reading the most ?
104
5263
47
111
89
68
24
020
4060
80100
120
Fin & Eco Stock Shipping Com & FE Bus News EO / Deb Pol News A.O.
Company Offering - What do you feel about the language used in ET ?
16
9278
102
0
20
40
60
80
100
V.Diff Som Diff Neutral Som Eas Ver Eas
The question was asked about which
segments of ET were the most preferred by the respondents, for which we had the highest preference coming for Business -
News, Finance -Economics and Expert Opinions / Debates. This data could help us analyse to decide about the likely
product positioning for ET.
The question was asked as ‘how the respondents felt about the language of ET?’, for which about 46%
of the respondents felt that the language was “somewhat difficult” , while 39% of them felt that they had no such specific difficulty i.e.
“neutral” approach. Only 6% of the overall respondents felt the language to be “easy” or “some easy”
.
36
Company Offering - Does reading ET provide with
you any kind of benefits ?
0 0 2 0 0
66
37
56
16 9 4
0
20
40
60
80
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
KNOWLEDGE & INFORMATION ON A SCALE OF 0-10
Company Offering - Does reading ET provide with you any
kind of benefits ?
9 7 1016
9
57
3024
177 10
0
20
40
60
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
FINANCIAL BENIFITS ON A SCALE OF 0-10
The question was
asked about whether reading ET provided the respondents with any kind of benefit. The respondents had to rate their replies for
the knowledge and information benefit on a scale of 0-10. A majority of the responses came for the 5 - 7 category. This
feedback could help us align the marketing and promotional goals for ET.
The question was asked about whether reading ET provided the respondents with any kind of benefit.
The respondents had to rate their replies for the financial benefits, if any, on a scale of 0-10. A majority of the responses came for
the 5th category. Here it could also be noted, that 9 respondents were “no response”.
37
Company Offering - Does reading ET provide with you any kind
of benefits ?
160 5 9
17
5640
216
5 4
0
20
40
60
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
STATUS ON A SCALE OF 0-10
b
Company Offering - How do the respondents
rate the news of ET on a "scale of reliability" ?
10 12
04 1
38 35 33 35
23
7
0
10
20
30
40
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
SCALE-0-10
The question was
asked about whether reading ET provided the respondents with any kind of benefit. The respondents had to rate their replies in
context to any kind of “status” benefit derived i.e. pride of association to the brand, on a scale of 0-10. A majority of the
responses came for the 5th – 6th category. Around 48% of the respondents had opted for this category. The pride of
association helps for devising the kind of branding strategies.
The question was asked to testify the
trust and faith that the respondents have on the reliability of ET. It was more like reassuring for a fact, as nearly 70% had
responded between higher than average category. (5th – 8th
grading)
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Company Offering - Rating of
supplementaries of ET - BIG BUCKS
2
80 80
2812
020406080
100
poor
avera
gegood
excelle
nt
no repl
y
Company Offering - Rating of
supplementaries of ET-BRAND EQUITY
0 4
68
113
10
0
50
100
150
poor average good excellent no reply
The question was asked to rate the ET supplementary Big Bucks from the range
of poor to excellent. About 40% of them considered it as average, while 40% of them considered to be good. Only 1% of
them considered poor. While 6% of the respondents were,‘no response’.
The question was
asked to rate the ET supplementary Brand Equity from the range of poor to excellent. About 56% of them considered it as
excellent, while 34% of them considered being good. The acceptance to Brand Equity’s popularity can also be proven by actual ET sales figure.
39
Cost - Customer perceived price of ET- price from Monday
to Friday-3 Rs/-
0 12
97 92
00
50
100
150
0-0.99 1-1.99 2-2.99 3-3.99 4-4.99
RUPEES
Cost - Customer perceived price of ET- price for
Saturday-6 Rs/-
0 2 0
40
62
87
10
0
50
100
0-0.99 1-1.99 2-2.99 3-3.99 4-4.99 5-5.99 6-6.99
RUPEES
Here, the respondents
were asked to rate the price they would prefer paying for ET (Mon-Fir Edition), as this question was asked to testify the
price dissonance for ET and to help conclude the value equity for ET. About 48% respondents reasserted their
satisfaction for the price paid for ET, wile about 46% were prepared to pay a rupee extra than the actual price.
Here, the respondents
were asked to rate the price they would prefer paying for ET (Sat Edition), as this question was asked to testify the price
dissonance for ET and to help conclude the value equity for ET. But here, the slope is negative, as significant proport-ion
of the sample advocates for price lesser than the actual price of Rs.6/- per issue.
40
Conveniency - Where do the respondents get their ET copy ?
48
66
30
48
4
0
20
40
60
80
Buy Work Place Read At Other
Place
At Home NR
Conveniency - When do the respondents prefer reading ET ?
59
38
24
67
104
0
20
40
60
80
Morning Reac W.P. Lunch At Eve A.O. library NR
Here, the respondents
were asked about ‘Where do they get their ET copies from?’ for which the responses were spread over for
people who were buying their own copies, to people who read at their work place and others too. The data was
collected with the intention to help devise the point-of-purchase promotions.
Here, the respondents
were asked about ‘When do they prefer reading the ET ?’ for which about 33% of the respondents preferred during the
evening hours while 30% of them preferredduring the morning hours. This data could help serve the purpose, when
drafting the marketing media and promotion strategy.
41
Conveniency - Where do the respondents prefer
reading ET ?
97
3148
9 10
020406080
100120
Home Work
Place
Lib At Home NR
b
Direct Competitive Ranking given by respondents
to news papers
21%
21%
22%
22%
14%
ET
FE
BS
BL
A.O.
Here, the respondents were
asked about ‘Where do they preferreading the ET ?’ for which about 48% respondents preferred at home.
This data help us conclude that though a large proportion of the respondents were not buying the ET
copy for themselves, they preferred reading at home. This data could also help serve the
purpose of drafting an effective marketing and promotion strategy.
Here, therespondents had to rank the preference for ET along with
other direct competitor’s like Business Standard, Business Line and Financial Express. Weights had been
assigned for the ranks from 1-5 and based on the cumulative total for the different ranks assigned to each competitor, a
final analysis had been prepared which proved ET, BS, BL and FE on an equal competitive platform. This section
did not comply with other findings of the survey.
42
Competition - Indirect - Competitive rankings given by
respondents to business newspapers ?
57
40
90
5 20
20
40
60
80
100
Read New Surf Web Wa TV Ch A.O. NR
Competition - Share of vallet / share of requirement
phenomenon for ET ?
7
73
35 30
48
0
20
40
60
80
NR Watch Movie Chatting on
Phone
Just Lazing Siping tea
with ET
Here, the respondents were asked to give the preference for the
activity they would prefer the most, for getting the business news. About 45% of the respondents preferred watching
business TV channels, as against only 28% preferring to read business newspaper. This data could help us conclude about
the impact of in -direct competition.
This question was extremely unique, as it was based on the ‘Share of Vallet’
phenomenon. The question was asked as ‘Which activity would you prefer the most?’ , with the options as watching a movie
(36%), sipping a tea with ET in hand (24%), Chatting on the phone (17%) and lazing around (15%). While
about 3% were no responses. The intention of this question was to find the ‘Share of Valet’ of ET as against other equally
weighable options.
43
Communication-Respondents awareness for the
various media campaigns
40
59
24
122 122 122
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
Radio Print T.V.
Aware
Not Aware
Communcation - Respondents preferences for the
possible promotional campaign of ET ?
82 9662 54 64 68
0
50
100
150
Out D
oor
T.V.C
om
Kiosk
s
Rad
io Jin
Inter Adv
Prin
t Adv
The question that was
asked was ‘Whether the respondent were able to recollect any of the marketing and promotion campaign recently launched by
ET?’. For which, about 61% of the actual respondents were not aware of any of the media campaigns, while the remaining
from 39% proved that the print media campaign had the highest exposure.
This question was asked as “Which promotional campaign of ET was most likely to attract the
respondent’s attention? ’ for the feedback was spread out with no specific option that could be termed as the best option. It seems
that the marketing campaign must be in consideration with the “IMC” Mix, to reach out to every possible target audience.
44
Communication - Word of mouth advertising - Reference
of ET to anybody else.
91%
7% 2%
Yes
No
NR
Communication - Respondent accessing the ET
website.
129
68
3
Yes
No
NR
This question was asked
as “Would you refer ET to anybody else for reading?”. The main aim of this question was to testify the brand power for the ‘word of
mouth advertising’ category. And without fail and true to it strengths the figure proved that ET had an outstanding 91%
respondents who agreed to it.
This question was asked
to know whether the respondents did accessthe ET website. Around 65% had accessed through the ET webiste. This would help us
devise a more effective marketing strategy using different form of media vehicles.
45
Communication - Respondent accessing the ET
website.
28
101
Regularly
Not Regularly
Based on the earlier
question, this dichotomous question was asked to know whether from all those respondents who had accessed the ET
website earlier, ‘how many of them were regularly accessing it?’ for which about 50% of the respondents were regular while 15% had done only occasionally.
46
7. CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMNENDATIONS
� It can be concluded that ET has high brand awareness of 98% amongst the total sample surveyed.
� Our survey concluded that respondents brand perception to any business
newspaper was in line to ET’s brand perception. It proves that ET has been successful at its brand management strategies and the degree of difference between and ideal brand and ET is nil.
� ET as a brand closely resembles to Amitabh Bachhan’s personality attributes and
factors like talent, balanced character, sincere, devoted and reliable.
� The paper pink colour of ET helps identify the brand more easily.
� For the sections of preference for ET, the respondents could conclude that business news, finance and economics and debates or expert opinions are the top priority. So hence forth ET must aim to position itself as a paper of any of these preferred segments.
� It could be concluded that readers are finding language of ET to be difficult and
thus ET must work towards more simplification of its business jargons.
� The survey proves that brand equity has been rated as an excellent supplementary. This would help ET for further sub-brand extensions of which brand equity quiz already exists.
� As far as cost is concerned, respondents are ready to pay a rupee more for the
Monday to Friday edition, but the Saturday edition seems to be costly for them.
� Most of the respondents prefer reading ET either in morning or later evenings. This could help us define a more effective marketing and media strategy.
� Even though most of the respondents get their copies at workplace, still a
majority of them prefer reading at home.
� Based on competitive rankings, ET stands at a strong threat from Business Line, Business Standard and Financial Express. But actually this was quite contradictory when the actual sales and market share were compared, as ET had a clear six times lead in the market share as compared to its nearest competitor and was an unchallenged market leader too.
�
47
� The respondents are looking towards television channels as a more preferred
segment to access to the business news as compared to a newspaper, i.e. the respondents are diverting from the traditional habit of reading newspaper and are more inclined towards electronic media.
� About 61% of the respondents were not aware about any of the recent media
campaigns for marketing and promotion of ET. That proves a lesser reach or even the effectiveness of the media campaign
� Based on the respondents preferred media campaign for the marketing and
promotion of ET, it seems that none of the specific media segments emerges out to be a clear winner and therefore the company must seriously think about an “IMC” promotion mix.
� About 91% of the respondents supported word of mouth advertising for ET.
� Only 65% of the respondents had accessed the ET website and the regular visitors
to this web site were much lower than this
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9. THE LEARNING PROCESS
We are extremely obliged to have the opportunity to work on a subject like “brand management” .
49
10. BIBLIOGRAPHY
� Marketing Management (11th Edition) By Philip Kotler � Consumer Behaviour (8th Edition) By Leon G. Schiffman and Leslie Lazar Kanuk � Advertising Management (5th Edition) By Rajeev Batra, John G. Myers and David
A. Aaker � Marketing Research (7th Edition) By David J. Luck and Ronald S. Rubin
� Times Of India, RMD department, Ahmedabad � Crossword Book Store at Mithakali, Ahmedabad � Research methodology by Zigmund � Business research methods by Cooper & Schindler
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Thank you
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