Hindustan Times

THE INDIAN INSTITUTE OF PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT

NEW DELHI

THESIS ON

PERCEPTUAL MAPPING OF HINDUSTAN TIMES

READERS AT NEW DELHI

SUBMITTED TO:

PROF. SUMANTA SHARMA

PROF. DIPTI SHARMA

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF:

MR. ______________

SUBMITTED BY:

_____________

ALUMNI ID NUMBER:

BATCH:

The Indian Institute of Planning & Management, New Delhi

ABSTRACT

Perceptual mapping is used to describe a set of techniques designed to represent

perceptions about various mutual fund schemes and their similarities in a visual

"space". It is useful for providing highly intuitive representations in order to

position mutual fund schemes on dimensions critical to consumer perceptions in that

visual space, a variety of simple to complex statistical methodologies can be used to

create them. Some of the latter include multi-dimensional scaling, factor or cluster

analytical methods, and conjoint analysis. Usually these techniques result in schemes

being mapped on 2 to 3 dimensions. Two- dimensional maps are the most popular as

they are most easily understood and interpreted by clients. There is also substantive

agreement that consumers use only a limited number of separate (though sometimes

complex and integrative) concepts to assess mutual fund schemes. To find out the

perceptual mapping for Hindustan times by the customer. News paper provide

various schemes to customers, where each scheme is targeted to different segments,

this study helps us in identifying the actual targeted segments of each section of HT

newspaper i.e. sports, business, Entertainment, General news from customer

perceptive. Opinion will be collected from customers. Position of different schemes

will be done by using Multidimensional Scaling technique for the selected variables.

From this the customers can understand where there is a gap and where there is a

cluster; accordingly they can use a new scheme for investment or restructure the

existing scheme.

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SIGNATORY PAGE

TO WHOMESOEVER IT MAY CONCERN

This is to confirm that Prerna Chauhan, student of IIPM, NEW DELHI, is doing a live

project(Thesis) on the topic “PERCEPTUAL MAPPING OF HINDUSTAN

TIMES READERS AT NEW DELHI” under my guidance and that the work being

done by the candidate is original and is of the standard expected by an MBA student.

May god bless her with all success in her career.

Warm regards

____________

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TOPIC APPROVAL LETTER

Dear Mohd. Azam,

This is to inform that your thesis proposal on “Perceptual Mapping of Hindustan Times Readers in New Delhi”, to be conducted under the guidance of Mr. Mohd. Mobin Qaisar Siddique is hereby approved and the topic registration id number is DS/09/11-M-07

Make it a comprehensive thesis by ensuring that all the objectives as stated by you in your synopsis are met using appropriate research design; a thesis should aim at adding value to the existing knowledge base.

You are required to correspond with your internal guide Prof. Alpi Jain at [email protected] Ph.-0124-3350709 by sending at least six response sheets (attached along with this mail) at regular intervals before the last date for thesis submission.

NB:

1) A thesis would be rejected if there is any variation in the topic/title from the one approved and registered with us.

2) The candidate needs to handwrite at least 1200 to 1500 words on the summary of thesis at the time of viva

.

Regards,

Prof .Sumanta Sharma

Dean (Projects)

IIPM

[email protected]

Phone:

+91 0124 3350701 (D)

+91 0124 3350715 (Board)

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It is well-established fact that behind every achievement lays an unfathomable sea of

gratitude to those who have extended their support and without whom the project

would never have come into existence.

I express my gratitude to IIPM, New Delhi for providing me an opportunity to work

on this thesis as a part of the curriculum.

Also, I express my gratitude to Prof. Sumanta Sharma and Prof. Dipti Sharma on the

completion of my project.

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CONTENT

ABSTRACT................................................................................................ii

SIGNATORY PAGE..................................................................................iii

TOPIC APPROVAL LETTER...................................................................iv

ACKNOWLEDGMENT..............................................................................v

APPROVED THESIS SYNOPSIS............................................................vii

1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................1

2. COMPANY PROFILE......................................................................................5

3. LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................................15

4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.....................................................................36

5. FINDING AND ANALYSIS...........................................................................37

6. CONCLUSION................................................................................................54

7. RECOMMENDATION...................................................................................55

8. BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................................................56

9. ANNEXURE – QUESTIONNAIRE...............................................................57

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THESIS SYNOPSIS

DETAILS OF THE STUDENT:

Name :

Batch :

Specialization :

Section :

Phone No :

Email Id :

DESIRED AREA : Marketing

TITLE OF THE THESIS :

PERCEPTUAL MAPPING OF HINDUSTAN TIMES READERS AT

NEW DELHI

PROBLEM DEFINITION /HYPOTHESIS /RESEARCH

OBJECTIVES

To find out the perceptual mapping for Hindustan times by the customer. News paper

provide various schemes to customers, where each scheme is targeted to different

segments, this study helps us in identifying the actual targeted segments of each

section of HT newspaper i.e. sports, business, Entertainment, General news from

customer perceptive. Opinion will be collected from customers. Position of different

schemes will be done by using Multidimensional Scaling technique for the selected

variables. From this the customers can understand where there is a gap and where

there is a cluster; accordingly they can use a new scheme for investment or

restructure the existing scheme.

LITERATURE RELATED TO THE RESEARCH (IN BRIEF)

Perceptual mapping is used to describe a set of techniques designed to represent

perceptions about various Marketing concept and their similarities in a visual "space".

It is useful for providing highly intuitive representations in order to position the

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different marketing strategy schemes on dimensions critical to consumer perceptions

in that visual space, a variety of simple to complex statistical methodologies can be

used to create them. Some of the latter include multi-dimensional scaling, factor or

cluster analytical methods, and conjoint analysis. Usually these techniques result in

schemes being mapped on 2 to 3 dimensions. Two- dimensional maps are the most

popular as they are most easily understood and interpreted by clients. There is also

substantive agreement that consumers use only a limited number of separate (though

sometimes complex and integrative) concepts to assess the perceptual mapping.

SCOPE OF THE THESIS WORK

From the perceptual mapping the customers can understand where there is a gap and

where there is a cluster; accordingly they can use a new scheme for investment or

restructure the existing scheme.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

SECONDARY DATA –

I will collect the Secondary data from following sources:-

Newspaper – HT, TOI

Magazine - The Times. Harvard Business Review, 4p’s

Website/Internet – Hindustan times

Book – Course book/ Philip Kotler

Notes- Professors Notes

PRIMARY DATA-

I will collect the data through structure questionnaire.

TOOL USED-

Excel sheet, pie chart, and histogram

SAMPLING METHOD

Random SamplingBATCH: PGP/FW/2007-09 viii ALUMNI ID NO.: DS/09/11-M-07


SAMPLE SIZE-

I will try to collect data from more than 50 customers

Target Audience-

Students, housewife, Businessman, working group i.e. if I need to target business

segment probably I will take Banking customer in this account.

JUSTIFICATION FOR CHOOSING A PARTICULAR RESEARCH

PROPOSAL

The type of research carried for the study is descriptive research and sampling taken is

random sampling. Perceptual mapping is one of the few marketing research

techniques that provides direct input into the strategic marketing planning process. It

allows senior marketing planners to take a broad view of the strengths and

weaknesses of their product or service offerings relative to the strengths and

weaknesses of their competition.

SUMMER TRAINING REPORT (IN BRIEF)

During my internship I worked as a sales trainee in Reliance Capital Services.My

prime job was to regulate and increase the sales of financial products offered by the

company.My job also included comparative analysis of different financial product

lines demanded by different consumers.

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DETAILS OF THE EXTERNAL GUIDE

• Name of the Guide : MOHD MOBIN QAISAR SIDDIQUE

• Qualification : MBA

• Designation : ZONAL MANAGER (SALES&MARKETING)

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The Indian Institute of Planning & Management, New

Delhi

INTRODUCTION

'Media' is the medium of carrying information, education and entertainment to the

masses. It is an easier and efficient means of communication which plays a key role in

the overall development of an economy. In an era where knowledge and facts are the

tools for economic, political and cultural exchange, presence of the strong and

constructive media in a country is important for catering to the diverse needs of

individuals, society as a whole, small and large business and production houses,

various research organizations, private sectors as well as the public sectors. Media is a

conscience-keeper of the nation and has many tasks to perform in our day-to-day

lives. It helps the Government to achieve various socioeconomic and political goals;

educate urban and rural masses; instill a sense of responsibility among the people; as

well as provide justice to the needy. It largely consists of print media like newspapers,

magazines, journals and other publications, etc. as well as electronic media like radio,

television, internet, etc. With the changing scenario of the world, it has acquired the

status of an industry.

In India, the media and entertainment industry is undergoing remarkable change and

is one of the fastest growing sectors. The main factors responsible for this are rising

per capita/ national income, high economic growth and strong macro-economic

fundamentals, democratic set up; good governance as well as law and order position

in the country. Specifically, spectacular growth of the television industry, new formats

for film production and distribution, privatization and growth of radio, gradually

liberalizing attitude of Government towards the sector, easier access to and for

international companies as well as advent of digital communication and its

technological innovations are the other attributes of the growth of the sector. The

media industry plays an important role in creating people's awareness about national

policies and programmes by providing information and education, besides creating

healthy business environment in the country. Thus, it helps people to be active

partners in the nation-building endeavor.

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Overview of newspaper scenario:

In India newspaper publication began in Calcutta in the 1780's and by 1800 there

were several dozen publications in English, with the numbers increasing periodically.

Now, the progress has been so much that every major newspaper from India has an

internet edition.

In India the print and the electronic media are both very active. It was reported that in

1993, there were approximately 4000 newspapers being published in the country.

Now the figure has increased to approximately 5,525 newspapers. Each week,

National Readership Survey (NRS) says, the print news media reaches 242 million

readers. These enormous numbers, the survey suggests, represent a chain of growth,

driven both by expanding literacy and improved living standards.


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The publications in the country are in Hindi, English and all vernacular languages.

There is also a good range of weekly, fortnightly and monthly magazines in the

country which cover a whole range of national as well as international issues in depth.

Top players:

Newspapers:

The Hindustan Times

Hindustan Times

The Hindu

Indian Express

Malayalam Manorama.

Dainik Bhaskar.

Telegraph.

Mid Day Mumbai.

Deccan Herald.

The Economic Times.

PRINT MEDIA:

It is true that the age of electronic media has started; however printed information is

and remains omnipresent. The market for print products offers more variety than ever.

Usually, printed products are categorized into commercial printing and periodicals.

This classification differentiates printed matter with regard to its frequency of

publication.

Commercial printing refers to print products that are produced occasionally

(brochures, catalogs, leaflets, business cards). Periodicals are printed matters that

appear periodically (newspapers, journals, magazines).

Another way of categorizing printed products is by splitting them into special groups.

These individual groups are:

1. BOOKS:

Gutenberg’s work and his invention, printing with movabe lead types, in the middle

of the fifteenth century triggered a revolution in the book production. A much greater

proportion of the population got the chance to acquire education, culture and

information than had been possible with hand written books.BATCH: PGP/FW/2007-09 ALUMNI ID NO.: DS/09/11-M-07

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2. MAGAZINES:

The range of magazines consists mainly of periodicals, including trade magazines,

journals and illustrated magazines. Magazines usually have a shorter life span. This is

due to the content and it is the major characteristic of the periodicals.

3. NEWSPAPERS:

A newspaper is a written publication containing news, information and advertising,

usually printed on low-cost paper called newsprint. General-interest newspapers often

feature articles on political events, crime, business, art/entertainment, society and

sports. Most traditional papers also feature an editorial page containing columns

which express the personal opinions of writers. Supplementary sections may contain

advertising, comics, coupons, and other printed media. Newspapers usually focus on

one particular geographic area where most of their readers live.

The newspaper is still one of the most significant mass media today. Most newspapers

are produced daily and have a high circulation. The two most important categories of

newspapers are daily papers and weekly papers.

4. BROCHURES:

Apart from the advertising insert that comes in the newspapers and magazines, there

is a large market for leaflets and product descriptions. Such printed matter is referred

to as brochures. Brochures are commercial print work. The print volume of brochures

is low. They are mainly used to describe something particular (e.g. company,

product).


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coupons

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comics

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advertising

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Column_(newspaper)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Editorial

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entertainment

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newsprint

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advertising

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/News

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Publication

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COMPANY PROFILE

India's foremost media conglomerate is home to the leading newspapers in the

country - Hindustan Times (the flagship English daily) and Hindustan (Hindi

newspaper). And it has a significant online presence with HindustanTimes.com.

The Hindustan Times Ltd. plans to consolidate itself as vibrant and modern media

powerhouse throuatiogh strategic partnerships, ever-increasing scope of operns and a

consumer focused approach.

Hindustan Times (HT) is India's leading newspaper, published since 1924 with roots

in the independence movement. Hindustan Times is the flagship publication of HT

Media Ltd.In 2008, the newspaper reported that with a (circulation of over 1.14

million) it was certified by the Audit Bureau of Circulations ranking them as the third

largest circulatory daily English Newspaper in India It has a wide reach in northern

India (barring Southern India), with simultaneous editions from New Delhi, Mumbai

Lucknow Patna, Ranchi and Kolkata. It is also printed from Bhopal and Chandigarh.

The print location of Jaipur was discontinued from June 2006. HT has also launched a

youth daily HT Next in 2004.

The Mumbai edition was launched on 14 July 2005. Indian Readership Survey (IRS)

2008-R2 revealed that it has readership of (6.6 million) raking them as the second

most widely read English Newspaper after Hindustan Times.

Other sister publications of Hindustan Times are Mint (English business daily),

Hindustan (Hindi Daily), Nandan (monthly children's magazine) and Kadambani

(monthly literary magazine). The media group also owns a radio channel Fever and

organises an annual Luxury Conference, which has featured speakers like designer

Diane von Fürstenberg, shoemaker Christian Louboutin, Gucci CEO Robert Polet and

Cartier MD Patrick Normand. The KK Birla branch of the Birla family owns

Hindustan Times. Critics allege that the paper often toes the line of Congress (I), the


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political party presently leading the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), which is in

power in India.

HT Media Ltd

Print Radio Events Digital

Print

Hindustan Times Hindustan Mint

Delhi UP Delhi

Mumbai Delhi Mumbai

Chandigarh

Bihar Bangalore

Bhopal Jharkhand Chennai

Lucknow Uttarakhand Kolkata

Patna Chandigarh Pune

Ranchi & Kolkata Chandigarh

Radio ,Fever 104

Delhi

Mumbai

Bangalore

Kolkatta

Events, Events And Solutions

Leadership Summit I Love Delhi

Luxury Summit Delhi Shopping Carnival

Youth Nexus

Miss India world WIDE

Digital, Internet & Mobile

Hindustan Times.com Shine.com

Live Hindustan .Com Desi martini.com

Live Mint .Com HT mobile


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BRANCH OFFICE OF HINDUSTAN TIMES JAIPUR

Hindustan Times being one of the growing company of Print Media having it’s

Branch Office in Jaipur. The entire operation of Hindustan Times in Rajasthan is

regulated from this office of Jaipur. The reporting done to the HO in New Delhi from

Jaipur branch. This office is located in Bani Park Area, Jaipur. The Office has four

divisions – Media Marketing, Editorial, Sales and Circulation, Ad Operation and

AD Billing.

ORAGANIZATIONAL HIERARCHY OF THE AREA OFFICE

PRODUCTS OF HINDUSTAN TIMES

HINDUSTAN TIMES


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The flagship publication of the Group has editions from Delhi, Lucknow, Patna and

Kolkata, thus, dominating the Northern, Eastern and Central regions of the country. It

is printed out of eleven centers including Bhopal, Chandigarh, Delhi, Jaipur, Nagpur,

Kolkata, Lucknow, Bhagalpur, Patna, Ranchi and Raipur, reaching closer to the

consumers.

Its New Delhi edition continues to be the single largest English daily edition in the

country with a circulation of over 9.2 lakhs, while maintaining its leadership status in

Delhi as the largest circulated English daily at 5.5 lakhs.

Hindustan Times believes in continuous improvement and providing greater value to

its readers and advertisers. It has set many a standard for its competitors and will

continue to do so in the years to come. It is the first smart-age newspaper in India to

evolve into a new international size, sleeker and smarter, which ensures enhanced

ease of reading and convenient handling.

In its endeavor to provide its readers with greater value, it has revamped its existing

supplements and added new ones to its portfolio, offering a daily supplement catering

to specific target audiences. Supplements like HT Estates (on real estate and interiors)

are the first of their kind in their respective categories. The enlarged operations and

enhanced look have also paid off with a substantial increase in circulation across the

country.

In a major incentive for the advertisers as well as the readers, Hindustan Times has

entered into strategic alliances with The Indian Express, Business Standard, Mid-Day

and Deccan Chronicle. These alliances, along with its strong presence in North India,

make it one of the most of the most formidable media players.

HINDUSTAN TIMES.COM


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HindustanTimes.com, a news led media portal is today one of the most popular port

of call for news and infotainment content seekers on the Web. Besides carrying stories

from the newspaper, the site has exclusive and in-depth coverage by its independent

editorial staff. Its exclusive properties include HTTabloid.com, which is Asia's first

tabloid on the Web; and HTCricket.com, a popular destination for cricketing bytes.

The site also provides sections written by popular columnists, along with in-depth

web exclusives on politics, business, new economy, entertainment, fashion and

lifestyle.

In another major achievement, HindustanTimes.com is the only Indian media site

featured amongst the top 10 international newspaper sites by Forbes for the third time

running, ranking above the likes of International Herald Tribune.

HINDUSTAN:

The group's Hindi newspaper, Hindustan is the 9th largest read newspaper in the

country. (Source: National Readership Survey 2002). The publication's readership has

grown by an impressive 11% to 63.85 lakhs (NRS).

Hindustan has grown considerably from strength to strength and has gained

significantly across markets. It remains the Number 1 daily in Bihar with a market

share of more than 75% of the Hindi daily market. In Uttar Pradesh and Delhi,

Hindustan has grown by 34%. Lucknow has been a trailblazer, recording an

unprecedented growth of 169%.

The popular Hindi daily has also featured innovative advertising campaigns tailored

to meet the specific needs of advertisers.BATCH: PGP/FW/2007-09 ALUMNI ID NO.: DS/09/11-M-07

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HT MINT-

While newspapers may be a suffering in most markets, they remain a growth business

in India, according to RajuNarisetti, the former editor of the Wall Street Journal

Europe, who recently launched what is now India’s newest and fastest-growing

business newspaper, Mint.

Among the reasons he cites for newspapers still succeeding in India and other

developing countries are raising levels literacy and limited access to Internet.

The newspaper was not launched as a free newspaper because local distributors need

a share of revenue. That said, with a cover price of less than a cup of tea, potential

business readers will not

Media Marketing

Media Marketing has become an important segment of advertisement in Print Media.

The overall revenue Print Media depends substantially on the revenue of the Media

Marketing. The revenue comes from the booking of advertisement under various

categories. As advertisement has become a effective tool of promotion for individuals,

companies as well as government thus the scope of media marketing has also

increased. The industry is booming and it has been also contributing in the GDP of the

country.

Media Marketing Scenario in RAJASTHAN:

Rajasthan is a state of business class and there is a growing need for advertisement.

The Print section has a considerable share of the entire pie and Hindustan Times being

has a great opportunity to explore the entire market of Rajasthan. Print advertising of

various categories can tap the segments according to their needs. Especially in case of

business segment where print advertisement can be an effective tool for to promote

their business.

SWOT Analysis of the organization

Strength:

· The flagship publication of the Group has editions from Delhi, Lucknow, Patna and

Kolkata, thus, dominating the Northern, Eastern and Central regions of the country.

· Its New Delhi edition continues to be the single largest English daily edition in the

country with a circulation of over 9.2 lakhs.


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· Hindustan Times has set many a standard for its competitors. It is the first smart-age

newspaper in India to evolve into a new international size, sleeker and smarter, which

ensures enhanced ease of reading and convenient handling.

· In its endeavor to provide its readers with greater value, it has revamped its existing


to specific target audiences.

· In a major incentive for the advertisers as well as the readers, Hindustan Times has

entered into strategic alliances with The Indian Express, Business Standard, Mid-Day

and Deccan Chronicle. These alliances, along with its strong presence in North India,

make it one of the most formidable media players.

Weakness:

Mumbai edition of Hindustan Times will suck most of the company’s investments and

profitability for the next two years will be adversely affected. The Mumbai edition is

expected to incur losses for a couple of years.

In Mumbai, HTM faces immense competition from the established The Hindustan

Times and Indian Express, which also have greater financial resources. In addition,

other competitors entering the Mumbai market (DNA) will further extend HTM’s

timeframe to make money.

Opportunity:

· Newspapers only reach 35% of the adult population, of which 65% is literate, there

is significant room for growth.

· The sheer number of publications has created fierce competition Which has kept

prices low which in turn has caused publishers to depend more on advertising

revenues.

· Advertising revenues in 2006 are predicted to see a 15 to 20% spike. In 2005, 48%

of India's total advertising market went to newspapers,7% more than went to

television.

· Circulation could rise by a whopping 14% riding the back of the advertising boom.

Threats:


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In Mumbai, HTM faces immense competition from the established The Hindustan

Times and Indian Express. In addition, other competitors have entered the Mumbai

market like DNA

Advertisement And its classification

Advertisement and Medias of advertisement

Advertising is a non-personal form of communication intended to persuade an

audience (viewers, readers or listeners) to purchase or take some action upon

products, ideals, or services. It includes the name of a product or service and how that

product or service could benefit the consumer, to persuade a target market to purchase

or to consume that particular brand. These brands are usually paid for or identified

through sponsors and viewed via various media. Advertising can also serve to

communicate an idea to a mass amount of people in an attempt to convince them to

take a certain action, such as encouraging 'environmentally friendly' behaviors, and

even unhealthy behaviors through food consumption, video game and television

viewing promotion, and a "lazy man" routine through a loss of exercise . Modern

advertising developed with the rise of mass production in the late 19th and early 20th

centuries. Mass media can be defined as any media meant to reach a mass amount of

people. Several types of mass media are television, internet, radio, news programs,

and published pictures and articles.

Advertisement does-

Increasing the sales of the product/service

Creating and maintaining a brand identity or brand image.

Communicating a change in the existing product line. BATCH: PGP/FW/2007-09 ALUMNI ID NO.: DS/09/11-M-07

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brand

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persuade

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communication

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Introduction of a new product or service.

Increasing the buzz-value of the brand or the company.

Medias of advertisements

Print Media:

Under print media the different types are-Newspaper, magazine, broachers, fliers etc.

Electronic media:

Under Electronic media the different types are-Broadcast (Television[Entertainment,

Sports, News]&Radio), Internet, Cinemas Movies.

Word of mouth publicity:

Under this category –pioneer ship, direct marketing.

Outdoor Marketing:

This category comprises of Billboards, kiosks, trade house and Events.

Categories Of Advertisement Of Hindustan Times

DISPLAY:-

This is a very important category of advertisement. And has a great influence on

revenue of newspaper. Display ads basically are those ads which appears in a box .It

shows the brand, product and its features. Display ads show detailed information

about the company and its outlets. It can be of two types colour and black and white.

Display ads are measured in terms of SQCM

DAVP:-

The Directorate of Advertising & Visual Publicity (DAVP) is the nodal agency to

undertake multi-media advertising and publicity for various Ministries and

Departments of Government of India. Some of the Autonomous Bodies also route

their advertisements through DAVP. As a service agency, it endeavors to

communicate at grass roots level on behalf of various Central Government Ministries.

DIPR:-

DIPR stands for department of information and public relation. This ia an agency

which undertake media advertisement and publicity for various ministries and

department of state level government of India.

OBITUARY: This kind of category defines those ads, which are printed in relation

to condolences and remembrance of those who have passed away. This is generally

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SELF ADVERTISEMENT:

This refers to that category which prints ads in connection to the promotion of the

brand of newspaper itself. For instance when a newspaper gives ads in which it

shows its association with some kind a social cause Or when it print ads to promote a

special segment of its newspaper such a matrimonial.

AFR/UFR:-

These are special purpose advertisement printed on occasion like a festival or

anniversary. These ads basically are the ads, which display the financial report of any

company who wants to reveal its financial position to its financers; stakeholders like

shareholders suppliers and customers. They are printed yearly, half yearly or may be

quarterly’s per the choice and policy of the company. AFR stand for audited financial

report and UFR stands for un-audited financial report.

FEATURES ADS:

This kind of ads are printed rarely on special sary of a newspaper or other such

occasion

CLASSIFIEDS:

Classified advertising is a form of advertising which is particularly common in

newspapers online and other periodicals e.g. free ads papers or Penny savers.

Classified advertising differs from standard advertising or business models in that it

allows private individuals (not simple companies or corporate entities) to solicit sales

for products and services. A detailed description of classified is given in the pages to

come.


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LITRATURE REVIEWPerceptual mapping is one of the few marketing research techniques that provides

direct input into the strategic marketing planning process. It allows senior marketing

planners to take a broad view of the strengths and weaknesses of their product or

service offerings relative to the strengths and weaknesses of their competition. It

allows the marketing planner to view the customer and the competitor simultaneously

in the same realm. Perceptual mapping and preference mapping techniques have

been basic tools of the applied marketing research profession for over twenty years

now. It is one of the few advanced multivariate techniques that have not suffered very

much from alternating waves of popularity and disfavor. Although I personally

observed a minor waning of the use of the techniques in the early 1980's, it is now as

popular as ever. And although these techniques have been used extensively over a

large number of applied research studies, and for a very wide variety of product and

service categories, and have been subjected to extensive validations, there still remain

some very basic issues as to the procedure's applicability and usefulness.

In addition, there remain many outstanding issues concerning the proper procedures

and algorithms that should be used for perceptual mapping. So, I see that my main

task at this conference is to raise the issues, as I see them. I am taking a rather naive

approach. That is, I will approach these issues from the research manager's point of

view, and not the statistician's. These issues represent the kinds of questions that my

clients ask me and my staff. Obviously, I have some answers, and some biases, but I

will try to minimize those, and concentrate on the issues.

I know that many of these issues will be addressed at this conference, both in formal

presentations and in informal discussions. I am taking this route in the hope that this

introduction will encourage greater investigation, increase validation activities, and

provide fuel for additional conferences of this type.

CURRENT ISSUES IN PERCEPTUAL MAPPING

A. Defining and limiting the relevant space


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How is the relevant space limited? There are three types of limitations that must be

placed on the relevant multivariate space that will be analyzed and mapped. They are:

1. Limits on the population that is to be surveyed. This seldom poses a

serious problem because it tends to be self-defining in terms of users, or

purchasers of the products, services, or firms in question. However, there

are questions as to how familiar a respondent is with a product, or brand.

This will be discussed in a later section.

2. Limits on the relevant set of variables that will be used to define the

perceptual space. In my opinion, this is the most critical area for setting

limitations, except for those using the scaling methods based on overall

product similarities. The major question to the applied researcher is what

variables are to be used to orient the perceptual positioning of the various

competitors. There is a nearly unlimited set of variables available.

3. Limits on the relevant set of products, services, or firms that will be

mapped into the multivariate space is also a major issue. Although I don't

believe that this is as critical an issue as the selection of the relevant

variable set, it is still a serious one. A balance is required.

B. Are there particular product categories or merchandise lines or firm types where

discriminant analysis-based mapping works better? If so, then what are the

characteristics of those product categories or industries?

C. Is "high involvement" in the respondent rating process a necessary prerequisite for

multivariate mapping? What level of familiarity is necessary and sufficient to include

a set of ratings into the definition of the relevant multivariate space?

D. Extracting the dimensions.


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1. What are some good rules of thumb for determining how many dimensions

to use? How much variance needs to be explained to be comfortable? How

should we handle dimensions with low variance explained, but test as

significant?

2. How do you display more than two dimensions? What procedures and

graphics algorithms are available? What graphics procedures best convey

the information in the multivariate space to managers and creative

professionals?

3. If you are forced to use a two-dimensional map, but have three or more

significant dimensions, how do you adequately show those attributes that

are heavily loaded on the third dimension? Or, do you eliminate those

from the display. If you do eliminate them, what criteria should you use?

4. What actions should you take when the first extracted dimension explains

much more variance then the second dimension? Is it appropriate to

display those two dimensions as equal axes in the map?

E. Plotting the variables in the derived space raises some interesting questions.

1. Should variable coordinate weighting be used to show differences in the

amount of variance explained by each axis?

2. If so, what should be used as the appropriate weights percent of variance

explained by each axis, eigen values, or something else?

F. Plotting the firms/products in the perceptual space

1. How should we show which products or firms are significantly different

from others on the map?

2. Does anyone attempt to draw confidence limits around the mapped points

anymore?BATCH: PGP/FW/2007-09 ALUMNI ID NO.: DS/09/11-M-07

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G. Is longitudinal mapping a valid concept? What are the critical issues in overlaying

maps? What are the best methods for doing this?

1. Line up "index" points from successive time periods so as to minimize the

variance between them? Should the index points be the vector of

importance ratings, or some other measure?

2. Select a very stable vector that consistently discriminates between at least

two of the products or firms, and minimize the variance between their

positions over successive time periods?

3. Use both of these methods in combination?

4. Re-generate the dimensions with each attribute from each time period

representing a separate attribute, and each product from each time period

representing a separate product?

5. Always use the original space, and simply plug in the standardized means

for each product from successive time periods into the linear dimensional

equations and calculate the new coordinates?

6. What other procedures are being used?

H. How can you incorporate volumetric data into multivariate mapping? In other

words, how can you show the marketing manager where the greatest demand exists on

the map or where the opportunities are?

a. Are scatter plots of grouped respondent locations the only thing

available?BATCH: PGP/FW/2007-09 ALUMNI ID NO.: DS/09/11-M-07

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b. Or, can we develop a surface plot over the mapped space that will

depict such things as dollars spent, or number of items bought, or even

number of times visited? What methods are being used now? What could

be done with the new graphics packages combined with multivariate

"smoothing" routines to superimpose surface plots over the derived

space? Needless to say, there are still many outstanding issues and further

development opportunities with multivariate mapping procedures. I'm sure that there

are others besides these. I would like to challenge the readers to address these issues,

share them with your peers, publicize solutions to them, freely subject them to

validations, and give us more specificity in executing this most powerful and useful

marketing research procedure.

De bond and Thaler (1985) while investigating the possible psychological basis for

investor behavior ,argue that mean reversion in stock prices is an evidence of investor

over reaction where investor over emphasize recent firm performance in forming

future expectations.

Shanmugham (2000) conduct a survey of 201 individual investors to study the

information sourcing by investors,their perception of various investment strategy

dimention and the factors, psychological and sociological factors dominated the

economic factors dominated the economic factors in share investment decisions.

Incidentally ,an investment in mutual funds would be entitled to indexation benefits in

the computation of capital gains, which would ortherwise be denied to a direct

investment in debt securities .It is a common observation that large companies deploy

their investible surplus in the fixed income schemes, which involves negligible

downward risk, and seek to leverage the tax arbitrage. From press reports that

mutual funds offer special plans, titled as serial plans, which allow an investors to

be the sole member of a scheme and the deployment of the money is effected in

avenues choosen by the said investor. Marketing Strategy:

HT adopted a two-stage process. They first focused on building the brand in a new

market by targeting the discerning English reader. Then they focused on building the

circulation. They concentrated specifically on households that subscribe to English

newspapers. They built quality circulation instead of just increasing sales numbers. BATCH: PGP/FW/2007-09 ALUMNI ID NO.: DS/09/11-M-07

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Promotional Strategy:

HT used ‘Let there be light’ ad campaign to spread the message of its superior

content. The positioning is that HT as a brand is a thought-stimulating product. The

TV commercial was made such that it showed HT readers were being distinguished

from a crowd of blindfolded people.

Pricing Strategy:

The sales and delivery model that lasted for so many decades are undergoing a radical

change. Newspapers traditionally had `newsstand' sales from where a fairly large

proportion of their readers picked up their daily fix. The remaining sales were made

through `hawkers' who delivered the newspaper home and collected the money at the

end of the month. Subscription sales for daily newspapers were always a very small

proportion of the total sales.


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The Hindustan Times has been touting a scheme where a newspaper has a cover price

of Rs 2.50 but actually costs just Re1 per day. A reader who goes in for the cash back

scheme on an advance payment of an annual subscription gets a glossy booklet with

twelve coupons affixed with a fancy hologram. A coupon is given at the end of every

month to the `hawker' who delivers the newspaper home. This gives a feeling of

security to the reader who is skeptical about a one-time advance payment.

Present Status:

The flagship publication of the Group has editions from Delhi, Lucknow, Patna and

Kolkata, thus, dominating the Northern, Eastern and Central regions of the country. It

is printed out of eleven centers including Bhopal, Chandigarh, Delhi, Jaipur, Nagpur,

Kolkata, Lucknow, Bhagalpur, Patna, Ranchi and Raipur, reaching closer to the

consumers.

Its New Delhi edition continues to be the single largest English daily edition in the

country with a circulation of over 9.2 lakhs, while maintaining its leadership status in

Delhi as the largest circulated English daily at 5.5 lakhs.

In its endeavor to provide its readers with greater value, it has revamped its existing


to specific target audiences. Supplements like HT Estates (on real estate and interiors)

are the first of their kind in their respective categories.

HT NEXT:

Hindustan Times rolled out its youth edition - HT

NEXT. It is the first ever BATCH: PGP/FW/2007-09 ALUMNI ID NO.: DS/09/11-M-07

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Newspaper launched especially for the youth. Loaded with new, views and interesting

trivia from around the world, the all-color edition of Hindustan

Times will is available at a price of Rs. 1.50 at stands across Delhi and NCR.

Targeted purely at young readers, HT Next promises to be a reader friendly,

comprehensive and holistic daily with substance and style.

The first Hindustan Times Luxury Conference, co-sponsored by the Ministry of

Commerce & Industry, Government of India, was held on 2006 in Mumbai.

Hindustan Times, one of India’s leading and most respected English dailies, has

always prided itself in spotting emerging trends and the Hindustan Times Luxury

Conference had been initiated to aid the development of the luxury industry in India.

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), India’s

premier trade body, was a partner in this endeavour.

Overview:


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In November 2003, Hindustan Times launched the Leadership Summit - an annual

conference that seeks to enhance the level of discussion on pressing issues, encourage

interaction among leaders in various areas and present international quality thought

platforms, as part of its mission to contribute to thought leadership and evolve action

plans for a secure and better future.

Relevance:

The Hindustan Times Leadership Summit is a platform for eminent leaders to interact,

share their opinions and views on important issues of concern and arrive at solutions.

The conference aims to understand the world's views on social, economic and

political issues. It tries to gain insights on India's role in the world and its importance

in the global growth scenario. The Hindustan Leadership Summit invites international

business leaders, strategists along with renowned personalities from India and abroad.

Perceptual mapping is one of the few marketing research techniques that provides





in the same realm.

Perceptual mapping and preference mapping techniques have been a basic tool of the

applied marketing research profession for over twenty years now. It is one of the few

advanced multivariate techniques that has not suffered very much from alternating

waves of popularity and disfavor. Although I personally observed a minor waning of

the use of the techniques in the early 1980's, it is now as popular as ever.

And although these techniques have been used extensively over a large number of

applied research studies, and for a very wide variety of product and service categories,

and have been subjected to extensive validations, there still remain some very basic

issues as to the procedure's applicability and usefulness.

In addition, there remain many outstanding issues concerning the proper procedures

and algorithms that should be used for perceptual mapping.


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So, I see that my main task at this conference is to raise the issues, as I see them. I am

taking a rather naive approach. That is, I will approach these issues from the research

manager's point of view, and not the statistician's. These issues represent the kinds of

questions that my clients ask me and my staff. Obviously, I have some answers, and

some biases, but I will try to minimize those, and concentrate on the issues.

I know that many of these issues will be addressed at this conference, both in formal

presentations and in informal discussions. I am taking this route in the hopes that this

introduction will encourage greater investigation, increase validation activities,

encourage additional, practitioner? oriented publishing activities, and provide fuel for

additional conferences of this type.

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

So, let's start with the first issue. Just what is perceptual mapping? Or, is it preference

mapping? Or, is it structural segmentation? Or what? Here is a list of some of the

names that I have seen this procedure called:

- Perceptual Mapping - MDS Mapping

- Preference Mapping - Market Mapping

- Structural Segmentation - Product Mapping

- Brand Mapping - Goal Mapping

- Behavioral Mapping - Image Mapping

- Strategic Product Positioning - Semantic Mapping

Well, if the only difference between these various names is the selection of a

particular attribute set, then I suggest that we rename the technique to just plain old

Multivariate Mapping. If one wishes to distinguish algorithms, then the proper

descriptive prefix can be used, such as discriminant analysis?based multivariate

mapping. Or, if one wishes to distinguish the types of attributes used, then an

appropriate suffix like multivariate mapping of consumer product preferences would

be more appropriate. Either, or both are far more descriptive and certainly reduces

confusion.

If there are true differences between these various names and the and the idea of

generic multivariate mapping, then we are obligated to make those distinctions and

perpetuate that nomenclature throughout the profession. As it stands now, the name


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perceptual mapping is confusing to both marketing managers and many research

professionals. Currently, most marketing managers assume that there is a fundamental

difference between perceptual mapping and, say, preference mapping. Is there really?

ISSUES AND PROBLEMS WITH CURRENT ALGORITHMS IN GENERAL

USE

Following are the three major classes of algorithms that are generally in use for

perceptual mapping in the applied marketing research arena. Included is a brief

discussion of their strengths and weaknesses, and some outstanding questions, from a

users viewpoint.

A. Discriminant analysis is still the most popular algorithm in use today for

applied multivariate mapping. The procedure is widely available. The

algorithm is robust in that the assumptions concerning the continuity of the

data, and the data distributions can be relaxed to a considerable extent.

The inputs to discriminant analysis consist of individual respondent ratings of

products across attributes. The basic assumptions are that the rating scales are

continuous and normally distributed. However, in using the technique for mapping

purposes, these assumptions can be relaxed to the point that products simply rank?

ordered on attributes will provide sufficient information for mapping purposes.

Discriminant analysis is much like regression analysis in that it uses a least?squares

approach in an attempt to fit linear models to the data. However, the dependent

variable is nominal. That is, for mapping purposes, the dependent variable is the

product being rated. Thus, each product rated by each respondent is an input record,

so if a respondent rated five products, that generates five input records.

Discriminant analysis then calculates the coefficients to a set of standardized linear

equations, called discriminant equations, that explain the differences between the

product ratings. Or, said a different way, explains the variance between product

ratings.

The formation of the linear equations follows an order, such that the first equation

explains the most variance, the second explains the most variance remaining after

accounting for the variance explained by the first, and so on until you reach a limit of

one less than the number of products being rated, or one less than the number of

variables, whichever is less. BATCH: PGP/FW/2007-09 ALUMNI ID NO.: DS/09/11-M-07

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These linear equations are further constrained so that each one is uncorrelated to the

other. That is, they are orthogonal.

These two properties, the successive optimization of the variance explained, and the

orthogonality of the equations, forms the basis for mapping, because one is assured

that the first linear equation, which defines the X axis of a map, explains the most

variation between products, and the second linear equation, or Y axis, explains the

most variance between products, after accounting for the variance explained by the X

axis (given the limitations of the least?squares procedure). And the X and Y axes are

orthogonal.

In most cases, the first two equations define the majority of the variance between

product ratings, and are the only significant dimensions. Later, we will discuss

significant dimensions beyond two.

Assuming for the moment that there are only two significant dimensions, the

calculated coefficients of each variable in each equation define the X and Y

coordinates of the attribute on the map.

The X and Y coordinates of each product are calculated by substituting the mean

attribute ratings of each product into the two discriminant equations, and calculating

the results.

The linear discriminant equations allow the researcher to easily plot additional

products, or concepts into the derived space. These equations also allow the

researcher to explore the distributions of specific customer groups in the derived

space.

Most widely available discriminant analysis algorithms provide a variety of useful

statistics to the researcher, such as eigen values to show you the variance explained by

each equation, tests of significance for each equation, multivariate F statistics to show

the significance of the group differences, and correlations between the discriminant

functions and each attribute variable.

The procedure also has a few drawbacks.

Obviously it requires individual ratings of individual products (or services, or firms)

on each of a selected set of attributes. Consequently, there is a perpetual problem with

what to do with missing data points. Although I have read a dozen papers on handling

missing data in discriminant analysis, there seems to be no consensus short of case?BATCH: PGP/FW/2007-09 ALUMNI ID NO.: DS/09/11-M-07

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wise deletion. Yet, the realities of today's marketing research industry often makes

this an unacceptable solution. Is mean substitution an appropriate solution? How does

mean substitution effect the calculation of the discriminant functions?

The procedure is dependent on the selection of the appropriate attribute set. The

omission of important discriminating attributes may lead to false conclusions

concerning the dimensionality of consumer ratings of product differences.

Also, the procedure highlights those variables that discriminate between products, and

will not display on the map attributes that may be extremely important, even

dominating product choice, but do not differentiate between products. Alternatively,

situations often develop where a particular variable discriminates between products,

but is not important in product choice.

Often, the selected set of attribute variables is highly correlated, consequently, there is

no control over the number of attribute variables, or which attribute variables, enter

the discriminant solution and define the relevant space. To overcome this situation,

multiple passes, forcing in variables in which there is a high interest, are often

required. This can be costly.

The inclusion or exclusion of one of the products or firms being rated often changes

the dimensionality of the space, especially when the set of firms or products under

consideration is small or radically different from other products. It is often difficult to

convey this situation to research managers and senior marketing management. A

radically changing product space detracts from the confidence that senior marketing

managers have in the procedure. Is there some way of overcoming this, short of

adding more products simply to stabilize the space? That solution is often not viable

in researching industrial products.

B. R-Type Factor Analysis is seldom used as a mapping procedure in today's

applied marketing research field, although in the 1970's it was the preferred

mapping procedure among many applied researchers. And, there are a few

empirical studies that show it is superior to discriminant analysis. Although

you have the same problems with what to do about missing data and selecting

the relevant set of variables as you have with discriminant analysis, this

procedure overcomes two of the problems with discriminant analysis. All


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variables are shown on the map, and the inclusion or exclusion of products has

no effect on the extracted dimensions.

The inputs to factor analysis are very similar to those for discriminant analysis,

product ratings across attributes. However, an additional ingredient is required. You

must also collect an importance rating from each respondent for each attribute. These

importance ratings are the basis for developing the mapping space. The basic

assumptions concerning the distribution and continuity of the rating scales should not

be relaxed.

At this point the two procedures part ways. Unlike discriminant analysis, where the

variance between product ratings is addressed, factor analysis attempts to explain the

correlation between importance ratings of the variables. That is, the first factor

equation is that linear equation that explains the maximum amount of correlation

between the variables, and the second extracted equation explains the most of the

remaining correlation, and so on, until 100% of the correlation is explained with a

number of factors equal to one less than the number of variables. The extracted

factors are linear equations which have a coefficient for each variable. These

coefficients are commonly referred to as factor loadings.

The output of factor analysis does meet the basic criteria for developing a map. The

first two dimensions explain the maximum amount of variance (i.e. correlation)

between the importance ratings of the variables (not the ratings of the products), and

they are orthogonal. Thus, to define a variable location on the map is a simple case of

using that variable's loading on the first factor as the X coordinate, and its loading on

the second factor as the Y coordinate.

Factor analysis is an interdependence procedure, thus the various differences in

product ratings is ignored until after the factor equations are derived. Product

locations in the derived space are calculated by averaging the first two factor scores of

that product's ratings to define the X and Y coordinates. Or alternatively, plugging the

average product scores on each attribute into the two factor scores and calculating the

X and Y coordinates.

The extraction of factors is highly sensitive to the number of correlated attributes. The

addition or deletion of an attribute may dramatically alter the dimensionality of the

derived space. In addition, extraction of factors is dependent on the intercorrelations BATCH: PGP/FW/2007-09 ALUMNI ID NO.: DS/09/11-M-07

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between variables, and does not necessarily optimize the separation between products,

like discriminant analysis. Furthermore, a single variable that may be considered

extremely important and dominating the selection of products, like safety, may not

show up as a dimension on a map, simply because it is not correlated to any of the

other measures.

Myers and Tauber (Market Structure Analysis, AMA, 1977) recommended

overcoming this problem through the use of a "weighted covariance approach", where

the input to the factoring program is a matrix of product covariances, weighted by

regression scores derived from regressing the importance ratings against product

choice. But this has proved to be a bulky and difficult procedure to implement, and

there has been little empirical validation.

C. Non-metric scaling procedures are still used quite often for multivariate

mapping. However, I am only going to concentrate on one of those, and

briefly describe the others.

1. Correspondence Analysis or Dual Scaling techniques are gaining in

popularity, mainly because there has been a considerable amount

written on the technique over the last few years, it is an extremely

robust technique, it has simple data collection requirements, and the

algorithms are becoming widely available.

Correspondence analysis is often used as a post?hoc mapping procedure for studies

that did not originally contemplate multivariate mapping, because of its ability to use

summary distributions of nominal data. The procedure puts no significant demands on

the distribution of the data. In addition, the procedure does not require the standard

attributes?by?products data format required by other procedures. A matrix of

products?by?attributes works just as well, and will produce an identical map.

In addition, the point?point maps produced from correspondence analysis are directly

generated by most of the programs and they are much easier for general marketing

managers and creative promotional personal to understand.

Inputs to correspondence analysis can be as simple as a summary table of respondent

checks as to whether a product has a certain characteristic or not. Almost any data

collection procedure imaginable can be transformed, and used to provide inputs to

correspondence analysis. Respondents can be asked to name a single brand most BATCH: PGP/FW/2007-09 ALUMNI ID NO.: DS/09/11-M-07

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associated with an attribute, or occasion, or store. Even open ended questions can be

used by asking respondents to name the qualities most associated with a brand, or

store, or personality. There are no restrictions as to how many, or how few items a

respondent associates with a product, or whatever.

The data input to the program is a matrix of counts of how many times a product,

service, firm, or whatever, is associated with an attribute, usage occasion, need, or

whatever.

Consequently, the data collection process is highly simplified. This has considerable

appeal in light of the industry's intense interest in "respondent abuse" and declining

response rates.

Correspondence analysis has a unique ability to integrate a large amount of data from

divergent perspectives on a single map. For example, brands, product attributes, needs

fulfillment, and usage occasions can all be shown on the same map.

The two main drawbacks of the technique are that it uses only summarized

distributions of nominal data for most of the algorithms that are currently available.

Thus, a considerable amount of the variance associated with a database of individual

responses is sacrificed. And metric data distributions must be "nominalized" to be

used in the procedure.

The exception is Benzacri's SPAD program that few researchers have access to.

SPAD allows you to input either the individual observations, or ratings, or the

summarized data. Interestingly, you will often get differing amounts of explained

variance, and/or different product and attribute locations on the map, depending

whether you use the individual observations or the summarized data. Frankly, I'm not

sure why this happens.

If there are a number of metric distributions that must be converted to nominal

variables, the selection of the appropriate break?points is critical, and has a

considerable effect on the amount of explained variance and the extracted dimensions

of the correspondence map. We need a solution to this situation, and guidelines on

proper procedures for nominalizing metric data.

2. KYST, PROFIT, INDSCAL, TORSCA, PREFMAP, PROXIMITY,

ALSCAL, SSA?1 thru SSA?4, MRSCAL, MINISSA, MINITRI,

PARAFAC, and MDSCALE, (to name a few) all fall into a class of BATCH: PGP/FW/2007-09 ALUMNI ID NO.: DS/09/11-M-07

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mapping procedures called non?metric multidimensional scaling

procedures. However, in actuality, some of these algorithms are more

metric in nature than non?metric. Although conceptually different from

correspondence analysis, for the most part they have been replaced

with correspondence analysis because the data collection procedure is

as easy for one as the other.

These methods release the researcher from having to specify the appropriate attribute

set, and instead rely on how consumers judge the products in question to be similar, or

dissimilar. The data collection process is often an unstructured sorting task, their

respondents are asked to sort products into piles that are similar, or simply rank order

products based on their similarity.

Orthogonal scales are then derived to explain the consumers' perceived differences

between the complete set of products. The derivations are based on minimizing stress

in the fewest dimensions possible, while preserving respondents' order of similarity.

The nature of the dimensions are determined by inspecting the manner in which each

product is aligned with each dimension.

Explanatory variables can be depicted on the map by asking consumers to correlate

the similarity of a given attribute, or usage occasion, to the products.

The procedures for the most part are quite sensitive to the number of products in the

data set. The addition or deletion of one product, will often change the dimensionality

of the space.

In addition, several of these algorithms require complicated, and often conceptually

difficult, data transformations to work correctly and they are quite sensitive to the

types of transformations undertaken. (see "Multidimensional Scaling", by Kruskal and

Wish, Sage University Press, 1978.)

CURRENT ISSUES IN PERCEPTUAL MAPPING

A. Defining and limiting the relevant space

How is the relevant space limited? There are three types of limitations that must be

placed on the relevant multivariate space that will be analyzed and mapped. They are:

1. Limits on the population that is to be surveyed. This seldom poses a

serious problem because it tends to be self?defining in terms of users,

or purchasers of the products, services, or firms in question. However, BATCH: PGP/FW/2007-09 ALUMNI ID NO.: DS/09/11-M-07

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there are questions as to how familiar a respondent is with a product, or

brand. This will be discussed in a later section.

2. Limits on the relevant set of variables that will be used to define the

perceptual space. In my opinion, this is the most critical area for setting

limitations, except for those using the scaling methods based on overall

product similarities. The major question to the applied researcher is

what variables are to be used to orient the perceptual positioning of the

various competitors. There is a nearly unlimited set of variables

available.

The selection of the relevant variable set determines the type of map that will be

produced. That is, will the map be based on such things as purchase behavior,

organizational images, product usage behaviors, product attribute characteristics,

brand images, consumer goals, consumer needs, convenience issues, or some

combination of these.

This is a critical decision, and requires the agreement of senior marketing

management to concur with the appropriate attribute set. Determination of the

relevant set requires the professional marketing researcher to critically examine

previous research in the category, conduct qualitative research, and creatively select

those variables that will provide senior marketing managers with the insight necessary

to form marketing strategy.

The problem is that we all have seen empirical evidence that the relevant set of

attributes changes dramatically from product category to product category, and even

among sub?categories. Yet, there is no substantial body of knowledge to tell us what

is the relevant set of variables that should be used in any one category. We are left to

re?inventing the wheel every time we approach a new product category with

multivariate mapping. This severely detracts from the general adaptation of

multivariate mapping procedures at the strategic marketing planning level.

3. Limits on the relevant set of products, services, or firms that will be

mapped into the multivariate space is also a major issue. Although I

don't believe that this is as critical an issue as the selection of the

relevant variable set, it is still a serious one. A balance is required.


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In this era of market fragmentation, and the rapid emergence of new product

categories, and sub?categories, brought on by an acceleration of differentiated

products flooding the market place, the selection of the relevant competitive set of

products or services is ever?changing.

If the relevant set of products, services or firms is too broad, we may fail to uncover

those truly discriminating variables that may reveal an opportunity for a competitive

advantage. That is, some non?competitive products may so skew the spatial

dimensions of the map that differences between the true set of competitors may be

hidden or overlooked.

On the other hand, the selection of too narrow of a competitive set may destine the

marketing planner to focus on the wrong competitors and wrong dimensions. As an

example, department stores for years focused on competing department stores as the

relevant set, ignoring the single merchandise line specialty stores and the deep

discounters until the department stores' bottom lines started gushing red ink.

Given the rapid nature of change in the competitive set for most product and service

lines, we could not rely on a body of literature to solve this problem. What is needed

is a set of generally accepted procedures for determining the relevant competitive set

at any point in time.

Permit me to continue the discussion of issues in multivariate mapping in a more

abbreviated manner. I will limit my remarks from here on to discriminant analysis?

based multivariate mapping, since that is what most of us are using.

B. Are there particular product categories or merchandise lines or firm?types

where discriminant analysis?based mapping works better? If so, then what are

the characteristics of those product categories or industries.

C. Is "high?involvement" in the respondent rating process a necessary

prerequisite for multivariate mapping? What level of familiarity is necessary

and sufficient to include a set of ratings into the definition of the relevant

multivariate space?

D. Extracting the dimensions.

1. What are some good rules of thumb for determining how many

dimensions to use? How much variance needs to be explained to be


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comfortable? How should we handle dimensions with low variance

explained, but test as significant?

2. How do you display more than two dimensions? What procedures and

graphics algorithms are available? What graphics procedures best

convey the information in the multivariate space to managers and

creative professionals?

3. If you are forced to use a two?dimensional map, but have three or more

significant dimensions, how do you adequately show those attributes

that are heavily loaded on the third dimension? Or, do you eliminate

those from the display. If you do eliminate them, what criteria should

you use?

4. What actions should you take when the first extracted dimension

explains much more variance then the second dimension. Is it

appropriate to display those two dimensions as equal axes in the map?

E. Plotting the variables in the derived space raises some interesting questions.

1. Should variable coordinate weighting be used to show differences in

the amount of variance explained by each axis?

2. If so, what should be used as the appropriate weights ? percent of

variance explained by each axis, eigenvalues, or something else?

F. Plotting the firms/products in the perceptual space

1. How should we show which products or firms are significantly

different from others on the map?

2. Does anyone attempt to draw confidence limits around the mapped

points anymore?

G. What about "ideal" points?

1. Should "ideal" points be used at all?

2. If so, what is the best way of doing that?

a. Use importance ratings and treat these as another product

rating? In other words, do we permit importance ratings to

assist in the definition of the relevant space?


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b. Or, should we calculate standardized mean importance ratings

and plug those values into the previously extracted dimensional

linear equations to calculate the coordinates of the ideal point?

c. Should we use respondents' highest rating of any firm/product

on each attribute and use that as a set of ratings for the "ideal"

product?

d. What about using respondents' preferred firm/product and

simply duplicate that rating as the set of "ideal" ratings under

the assumption that the respondent will purchase or use that

product closest to their ideal ?

e. Is it appropriate to map a "generalized" space, then segment the

sample on importance ratings or product preferences, then

impose the mean ratings of those segments as multiple "ideal"

points on the map?

f. What other methodologies are there for generating "ideal

points"?

g. What do you do when any one of these procedures dramatically

skews the map?

H. Is longitudinal mapping a valid concept? What are the critical issues in

overlaying maps? What are the best methods for doing this?

1. Line up "index" points from successive time periods so as to minimize

the variance between them? Should the index points be the vector of

importance ratings, or some other measure?

2. Select a very stable vector that consistently discriminates between at

least two of the products or firms, and minimize the variance between

their positions over successive time periods?

3. Use both of these methods in combination?

4. Re-generate the dimensions with each attribute from each time period

representing a separate attribute, and each product from each time

period representing a separate product?


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5. Always use the original space, and simply plug in the standardized

means for each product from successive time periods into the linear

dimensional equations and calculate the new coordinates?

6. What other procedures are being used?

I. How can you incorporate volumetric data into multivariate mapping? In other

words, how can you show the marketing manager where the greatest demand

exists on the map? Or, where the opportunities are.

a. Are scatter plots of grouped respondent locations the only thing available?

b. Or, can we develop a surface?plot over the mapped space that will depict such

things as dollars spent, or number of items bought, or even number of times visited?

What methods are being used now? What could be done with the new graphics

packages combined with multivariate "smoothing" routines to super?impose surface

plots over the derived space?


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SECONDARY DATA –

I will collect the Secondary data from following sources:-

Newspaper – HT, TOI

Magazine - The Times. Harvard Business Review, 4p’s

Website/Internet – Hindustan times

Book – Course book/ Philip Kotler

Notes- Professors Notes

PRIMARY DATA-

I will collect the data through structure questionnaire.

TOOL USED-

Excel sheet, pie chart, and histogram

SAMPLING METHOD

Random Sampling

SAMPLE SIZE-

I will try to collect data from more than 50 customers

Target Audience-

Students, housewife, Businessman, working group i.e. if I need to target business

segment probably I will take Banking customer in this account.

JUSTIFICATION FOR CHOOSING A PARTICULAR RESEARCH

PROPOSAL

The type of research carried for the study is descriptive research and sampling taken is

random sampling. Perceptual mapping is one of the few marketing research

techniques that provides direct input into the strategic marketing planning process. It

allows senior marketing planners to take a broad view of the strengths and

weaknesses of their product or service offerings relative to the strengths and

weaknesses of their competition.


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FINDING AND ANALYSIS

Q. which kind of institution is this?

Inference:

Institutes select a media to give an adv respect to the courses they deal in and this

response gave us the real picture that which kind of a institute it is.


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Q. How many students are there in your institute?

Inference:

Above response showed the strength of the institute through the intake of students.

And strength of institutes give a pave to advertisement for the same


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Q3.What is the target audience

Inference:

Institutes have to target a segment for the further plans of adv. Response gave us the

picture that institutes target which region. PAN India is at pinnacle.


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Q4. If Nationally, Which are those region students come from? Please specify

Inference:

Advertisement gives a platform for an institute to attract prospect customers from

different region. And the result jot down says Jharkhand is at highest


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Q5.What is the percentage of student in take in rajsthan?

Inference:

Within the native region how a city edition will work this response gives us the exact

blue print to be followed. Here 38% of institutes said that they intake 60%-80%

within rajasthan.


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Q6.Who is your Target audience?

Inference:

Institute has to make a segment to focus upon. And via response we can observe that

graduates is at supreme by 48%


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Q7.When does your admission process starts?

Inference:

Every institute has a particular time period when the admission process is at boom.

Response tells that its mainly in May-June with a percentage of 69 when the

advertisement is at hike.


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Q8.Who are your nearest competitors?

Inference:

Competition creates opportunity to increase potential. So by this response institutes

come to know their nearest competitors and accordingly they can advertise. So here

colleges with different universities are highest.


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Q9.What is your annual budget of advertising?

Inference:

Annual budget for advertising has to plan out according to the availability of

resources. In this response 46% institutes say that their budget range is 25-50lakhs


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Q10.What is the purpose of your advertising?

Inference:

Ultimately motive is what matters, so here in this response it has been seen that the

supreme purpose for advertising is marketing and brand-activity with a percentage of

67.


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Q11. Which media do you prefer to advertise?

Inference:

Medium is of great importance while advertising. This response shows that 61% of

institutes prefer print media as their promotional tool.


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Q12.Which publication you prefer the most for local advertising in news paper?

Inference:

Above analysis says that for local advertising in newspaper Dainik Bhaskar is the

most preferred publication with a peak percentage of 37.


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Q13. What criteria do you consider while selecting a media for advertising?

Inference:

There are many criteria through which media are chosen. Above response states that

27% of institutes keep availability as the utmost criteria followed by catering to target

audience.


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OVERALL PRESENTATION OF THE HINDUSTAN TIMES

CUSTOMER RATING RESPONDENT

Excellent 83

Good 125

Average 42

Poor 10

Very poor 0

INTERPRETATION:

From the above chart it is clearly seen that the overall presentation of TOI is good

majority of the people are satisfied with the overall presentation of the paper. So the

company can maintain the same way of presenting the news.


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EDITORIAL CONTENT OF THE HINDUSTAN TIMES


Excellent 24

Good 64

Average 98

Poor 68

Very poor 6

INTERPRETATION:

The customers fells that the editorial column in the paper is average and needs

improvement, some customers felt that the overall editorial content need to increase

as there is only one side in the newspaper with editorial content.


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OVERALL CONTENT OF THE HINDUSTAN TIMES


Excellent 35

Good 150

Average 65

Poor 10

Very poor 0

INTERPRETATION;

Majority of the customers fell that the overall content in the newspaper is good does

not require any improvement while some felt that some column in the paper needs

improvisation.

THINGS WHICH CUSTOMERS LIKE IN HINDUSTAN TIMES

THINGS RESPONDENT (in %)


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Pricing 27

Content 6

Front page 16

presentation 16

local news 8

Sports 16

Supplements 8

INTERPRETATION:

When customers were asked about the two thing they like the first response from

them was the pricing and then the next option was the front page news coverage, thus

the above chart explains the customers likings in Hindustan Times.


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CONCLUSION

Perceptual mapping is one of the few marketing research techniques that provides





in the same realm. Perceptual mapping and preference mapping techniques have been

a basic tool of the applied marketing research profession for over twenty years now. It

is one of the few advanced multivariate techniques that has not suffered very much

from alternating waves of popularity and disfavor. Although I personally observed a

minor waning of the use of the techniques in the early 1980's, it is now as popular as

ever. And although these techniques have been used extensively over a large number

of applied research studies, and for a very wide variety of product and service

categories, and have been subjected to extensive validations, there still remain some

very basic issues as to the procedure's applicability and usefulness. In addition, there

remain many outstanding issues concerning the proper procedures and algorithms that

should be used for perceptual mapping.


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RECOMMENDATION

The major players of English Newspapers are The Times Of India , The Hindu

, The Economic Times , Business Standard , Business Line, Hindustan Times

etc.

The survey states that among Non Business dailies The Times Of India is the

most preferred English daily while among Business dailies The Business

Standard was most Preferred by the people

Major age groups Reading English Newspaper was 25 to 35 years group

Most of the people agreed that English Newspaper was easily available in the

city .A large number of people (41%) stated that The Times Of India was most

easily available English Newspaper.

Newspapers are a source of news and information. If man wants food for his belly, he

also needs news for his mind to keep pace with the world. The latter he gets from

newspapers. They refresh his knowledge and ideas. The newspapers have a very

important position and place in a democratic country. They are the critics of

administration, justice and law. They play the part of social reformers. They remove

the barriers separating man from man. They are the advocates of liberty; equality and

fraternity. They enforce the right and redress the wrong.


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BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Donald R. Cooper and Pamela S. Schindler (2001), Business Research Methods,

eighth Edition, Tata McGraw Hill Publishers.

2. C R kothari, Research Methodology - Methods and Techniques (2006), 23rd

revised Edition, New Delhi.

1. www.asiamarketresearch.com/glossary/brand-mapping.htm

2. www.blackcoffee.com/brand-mapping.html

3. www.mcorpconsulting.com/services/tools/brandMapping.asp

4. www.mm4xl.com/software/tools/brand.php


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ANNEXURE

Q1. which kind of institution is this?

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Q2. How many students are there in your institute?

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Q3.What is the target audience

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Q4. If Nationally, Which are those region students come from? Please specify

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Q5.What is the percentage of student in take in Rajasthan?

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Q6.Who is your Target audience?

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Q7.When does your admission process starts?

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Q8.Who are your nearest competitors?

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Q9.What is your annual budget of advertising?

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Q10.What is the purpose of your advertising?

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Q11. Which media do you prefer to advertise?

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Q12.Which publication you prefer the most for local advertising in news paper?

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Q13. What criteria do you consider while selecting a media for advertising?

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Documents

Hindustan Times