Comparative analysis of various business dailies with special reference to Business Standard

A Project Report on

Comparative Analysis of
various Business Dailies
with special reference to
Business Standard
Submitted by:

ROHIT BEDI

201132

FORE School of Management

TABLE OF CONTENT

S.No. TOPIC Page. No.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1 INTRODUCTION 1

2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 3

3 BUSINESS STANDARD LIMITED – COMPANY PROFILE 15

4 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 39

5 DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION 44

6 FINDINGS 70

7 SUGGESTIONS 72

8 LIMITATIONS 75

9 CONCLUSION 76

10 REFERENCES 77

ANNEXURE 78

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First and foremost, I would like to thank and express my gratitude to Business
Standard Ltd. for giving me an opportunity to work in their esteemed
organization. During my tenure, I undertook sales & market research and gained
hands on knowledge about the Indian business daily market.

I would like to thank Mr. Sanaullah Khan and Mr. Nikhil Srivastava of Business
Standard Ltd. for helping me and providing me useful & necessary information
related to the project. I would take this opportunity to thank all executives
and associates of Business Standard Ltd. without whose cooperation I would
not have been able to complete this project.

I am indebted to Business Standard Ltd. for providing me this great opportunity
to gain exposure to corporate world.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

India is one of the few countries in the world to have many business
newspapers, which not only reflects the vitality and vibrancy of the media, but
also the new vitality of our economy. The large readership for these business
newspapers transcends from the rapidly growing corporate sector, it also
illustrates the growing interest that the general public now evinces in economic
matters which reflect the growing importance of business and economy in our
national discourse.

Business newspapers focus mainly on business news, insightful views on
significant issues and comprehensive coverage of the stock market. They have
the ability to carry the message in greater detail and clarity, more in-depth
information and analysis, which helps companies and their business.

There is a huge scope of growth for Business newspapers in coming years as
only a paltry 0.1% of the population is reading business newspapers at present.

Newspapers reach only 35 per cent of our adult population even though the
adult literacy is about 65 per cent. To build this gap between readership and
literacy and also to remain competitive the publications have kept their prices
low and depended entirely on advertisers to subsidize the reader and to increase
the sales. They are using different strategies to attract the customers of different
sectors.

In this report, a comparative study of various newspaper brands was done with
special reference to Business Standard on the basis of the following parameters:

 Brand Awareness
 Brand Preference
 Editorial Quality
 Customer Service Quality
 Reliability
 Quality of content/analysis
 Layout and Design
 News Coverage
 Writing Style
 Supplements

Comparative Analysis of various Business Dailies with special reference to Business Standard

1. INTRODUCTION

Marketing research is the systematic design, collection, analysis, and reporting
of data and findings relevant to a specific marketing situation facing the
company. With the growing competition and easy accessibility of products has
made even more important for the marketers to keep on updating themselves
about the latest trends in marketing and keep coming up with innovative ideas,
to survive in the industry. For this purpose marketing research has become an
important tool these days.

The study is aimed at providing vital information to Business Standard regarding
steps to take to increase readership against its competitors. The project involved
creating awareness among public about Business Standard, collecting
information about Business Standard and its competitors based on certain
parameters and analysing the same to make suggestions on the possible steps
that could be taken for increasing the client base of business standard and
promote loyalty among the customers towards this daily.

The target customers for BS can be categorized into two broad categories:
Individual buyers and Institutional sector which includes colleges, B-schools,
insurance companies, hotels, financial institutions, IT companies, brokerage
firms, manufacturing sector etc.

1.1 Rationale of the Study

The project report on Business Standard is made keeping in view the changing
need of customers and ever increasing awareness. As the number of newspapers
being published in Indian market is increasing, the competition is huge. When
we talk about business newspapers, there are six prominent business dailies
being published in India. Among these The Economic Times is clearly in the lead
in terms of AIR by a huge margin. Under such circumstances and with no strong
background unlike ET, it is very difficult for newspapers like Business Standard
to compete. But with a sound understanding of the country demographics and
emerging market trends it is possible to develop brand loyalty among the target
customers as shown by HT’s business daily Mint which stands at no. 2 in terms

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of AIR. BS stands at the third position as far as readership is concerned. But
there is still a lot of scope of improving its position.

This project is a detailed research of the target customers of business dailies,
their perception about the prominent dailies, the attributes which they find the
most attractive to have in a business daily, market share of different dailies,
SWOT analysis and potential growth opportunities of Business Standard. So in
this project I have done a research analysis where in I have analyzed how
company offers great deal of its products and what is the satisfaction level of
customers which ultimately helps finding market potential for Business Standard.

1.2 Objectives of the Study

 To identify the target market for business dailies
 To estimate the newspaper brand preference among the target customers
 To study different business dailies on the basis on certain attributes
 To suggest steps for Business Standard to increase its share in the
newspaper market

1.3 Importance of the Study

The study involves a comparative analysis between Business Standard and other
prominent business dailies in Delhi. The study will help BSL know the readers’
opinion about Business Standard and what they expect from a business daily. It
will help Business Standard Ltd to find out its weak points in comparison to other
prominent business dailies and implement the necessary steps to improve its
market share, especially in Delhi.

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2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

2.1 Overview of the Print Industry

Printing Industry encompasses numerous fields of every economy. Printing
Industry generates a wide range of products which require in every step of our
everyday life. Starting from Newspapers, Magazines, Books, Post Cards to Memo
Pads and Business Order Forms each are the products of Printing Industry.
Other than the direct contributions, there are many indirect influences of Printing
Industry up on the economy. This is because, all the activities like Binding,
Embossing which generate considerable amount of income and employment are
related closely with the Printing Industry. Packaging industry and Advertising
Industry in many ways depend on the Printing Industry.

In the Printing Industry, the main Printing Techniques that are used are:

 Lithography - This technique emphasizes on economical use of color.

 Flexography - This technique produces vibrant colors and is used for

printing newspapers and books.
 Gravure - This technique is famous for Print Quality and Print Formats and

is mainly used for product printing to be used in
 Packaging industry.

 Letterpress - This technique is used when printing is done on raised

surfaces.
 Screen Printing - This technique is mainly used to print designs on fabrics.

2.2 History of Indian print industry

Indian print media is at a massive business in the media world and its
newspapers are said to offer majority of national and international news. The
history of newspaper in India began in 1780, with the publication of the Bengal
Gazette from Calcutta.

James Augustus Hickey is considered as the "father of Indian press" as he
started the first Indian newspaper from Calcutta, the Calcutta General Advertise
or the Bengal Gazette in January, 1780. In 1789, the first newspaper from

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Bombay, the Bombay Herald appeared, followed by the Bombay Courier next
year (this newspaper was later amalgamated with the Times of India in 1861).

The first newspaper in an Indian language was the Samachar Darpan in Bengali.
The first issue of this daily was published from the Serampore Mission Press on
May 23, 1818.

The first Hindi newspaper, the Oodunt Marthand began in 1826. Since then, the
prominent Indian languages in which papers have grown over the years are
Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu and Bengali.

2.3 Printing Industry in India

Print industry in India is the world's second largest with over 90 million copies in
circulation daily after China with 130 million copies in circulation daily. Most
newspaper has an online presence and a growing view counts on their portals.
Much of the entertainment and media segments are now focusing on growth in
regional areas and smaller towns. Year 2009, a year when there was a
slowdown, the regional print showed growth in local to local advertisement. In
2010, regional print further increased its share in overall print advertisement
revenue pie. Regional papers give advertisers access to localized populations and
their niche target audience, difficult to do via national broadcast media.
Newspapers have realized value and have gone one step further and have
launched area specific newspapers. Magazines have not been at their best
performance in past few years. However, niche magazine are doing well and is
expected to show positive growth. The major challenge faced by this segment of
media and entertainment industry is newsprint which continues to threaten
profitability. Newsprint forms a major component of the cost of publishing a
newspaper. It is roughly 40 -50 percent of the total cost.

The Indian language papers have taken over the English press as per the latest
NRS survey of newspapers; the main reason being the marketing strategy
followed by the regional papers, beginning with Eenadu, a Telugu daily started
by Ramoji Rao and the second being the growing literacy rate. Increase in the
literacy rate has direct positive effect on the rise of circulation of the regional
papers. The people are first educated in their mother tongue as per their state in
which they live for e.g. students in Maharashtra are compulsory taught Marathi

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language and hence they are educated in their state language and the first thing
a literate person does is read papers and gain knowledge and hence higher the
literacy rate in a state the sales of the dominating regional paper in that state
rises.

Newspaper Categories

While most newspapers are aimed at a broad spectrum of readers, usually
geographically defined, some focus on groups of readers defined more by their
interests than their location: for example, there are daily and weekly business
newspapers and sports newspapers. More specialists still are some weekly
newspapers, usually free and distributed within limited areas; these may serve
communities as specific as certain immigrant populations, or the local gay
community.

 Daily

A daily newspaper is issued every day, sometimes with the exception of
Sundays and some national holidays. Saturday and, where they exist,
Sunday editions of daily newspapers tend to be larger, include more
specialized sections and advertising inserts, and cost more. Typically, the
majority of these newspapers’ staff work Monday to Friday, so the Sunday
and Monday editions largely depend on content done in advance or
content that is syndicated. Most daily newspapers are published in the
morning. Afternoon or evening papers are aimed more at commuters and
office workers.

 Weekly

Weekly newspapers are common and tend to be smaller than daily
papers. In some cases, there also are newspapers that are published
twice or three times a week. In the United States, such newspapers are
generally still classified as weeklies.

 National

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Most nations have at least one newspaper that circulates throughout the
whole country: a national newspaper, as contrasted with a local
newspaper serving a city or region. In the United Kingdom, there are
numerous national newspapers, including The Independent, The Times,
The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, The Observer, The Daily Mail, The
Sun, The Daily Express and The Daily Mirror. In the United States and
Canada, there are few national newspapers. Almost every market has one
or two newspapers that dominate the area. Certain newspapers, notably
The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and USA Today in the US,
and The Globe and Mail and The National Post in Canada are available
throughout the country. In India, newspapers like the Times of India, The
Hindu, and the Hindustan Times are extremely popular and have large
reader bases. Large metropolitan newspapers have also expanded
distribution networks and with effort can be found outside their normal
area.

 International

There is also a small group of newspapers which may be characterized as
international newspapers. Some, such as The International Herald
Tribune, have always had that focus, while others are repackaged national
newspapers or "international editions" of national-scale or large
metropolitan newspapers. Often these international editions are scaled
down to remove articles that might not interest the wider range of
readers.

As English became the international language of business and technology,
many newspapers formerly published only in non-English languages have
also developed English-language editions. In places as varied as
Jerusalem and Mumbai, newspapers are printed to a local and
international English-speaking public. The advent of the Internet has also
allowed the non-English newspapers to put out a scaled-down English
version to give their newspaper a global outreach.

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Some of the National Newspapers of India:

English Dailies

 The Times of India
 Hindustan Times
 The Hindu
 The Deccan Chronicle
 The Telegraph
 The Statesman
 Daily News and Analysis
 The Pioneer
 The Economic Times
 The Tribune
 The Indian Express
 Deccan Herald
 The New Indian Express
 Asian Age

Business Dailies

 Business Standard
 Economic Times
 The Financial Express
 Mint
 The Hindu Business Line
 Financial Chronicle

Hindi Dailies

 Dainik Jagran
 Dainik Bhaskar
 Hindustan
 Amar Ujala
 Rajasthan Patrika
 Punjab Kesari
 Navbharat Times
 Nava Bharat (Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh)

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 Prabhat Khabar

Newspapers in India are measured on two parameters:

 Circulation
Circulation is certified by the Audit Bureau of Circulations which is an
industry body. It audits the paid-for circulation of the member newspaper
companies
 Readership
Readership is estimated by two different surveys, The Indian Readership
Survey (IRS) and the National Readership Survey (NRS).

Supplements

Apart from the most obvious gains in terms of being able to have access to local,
national and international products and services via advertisements,
supplements play a very crucial role in fostering a spirit of in depth probing
amongst the reading populace. In contrast to the main paper, which pre-
dominantly enlists hard facts and figures, a supplement allows the reader to
pursue newer perspectives for it provides the space for a more detailed analysis.
The delightfully eclectic mix of topics covered in supplements, written in a more
florid but fluid language, with the accompaniment of visually appealing graphics,
manages to sustain a reader’s attention for a longer period of time. It works
more on the lines of infotainment, where readers are bombarded with colossal
amount of information on gadgets, books, music, movies, theatre, automobiles,
shopping and real estate, local news and celebrity gossip, food and health and
much more in a more engaging and relaxed mode.

All the upcoming events and workshops can easily be listed in a supplement for
a reader’s quick perusal. Supplements are more interactive in the sense that it
always invites the reader to participate in niche subject-specific crosswords,
sudoku, amusing quizzes, quirky sms polls and other enjoyable contests with
attractive gift vouchers. It is not an exaggeration to state that a lot of
consumers buy specific newspapers only to get hold of their favourite
supplement for the latest book or movie review by their much loved columnists
or to read tips on how nurse a break-up or how fix a hair-loss disorder by some
expert. By their inherently local nature, readers feel much closer to newspaper

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supplements which serve the purpose of an all-encompassing guide to all their
daily necessities, business and pleasure. They also possess a certain literary
merit and hone a reader’s aesthetic sensibilities. Some newspapers
supplements, by virtue of their smart design and content have become larger
than the main newspaper they are affiliated to and have replaced the need of a
book in times of tedium. Pull outs like t2 in The telegraph {Kolkata}, Brunch in
Hindustan Times, Expresso and Zeitgeist in The New Indian Express, Metroplus
in The Hindu and Education times and Times life of The Times of India are
supplements readers swear by.

2.4 Growth Scenario of the Print Industry

About 5,000 newspapers, 150 of them major publications, are published daily in
nearly 100 languages. Over 40,000 periodicals are also published in India. The
periodicals specialize in various subjects but the majority of them deal with
subjects of general interest. During the 1950s, 214 daily newspapers were
published in the country. Out of these, 44 were English language dailies while
the rest were published in various regional languages. This number rose to
2,856 dailies in 1990 with 209 English dailies. The total number of newspapers
published in the country reached 35,595 newspapers by 1993 (3,805 dailies). In
2007, newspaper sale in the country increased by 11.22%. By 2007, 62 of the
world`s best selling newspaper dailies were published in countries like China,
Japan, and India. India consumed 99 million newspaper copies as of 2007,
making it the second largest market in the world for newspapers.

The Indian print media industry is expected to grow by 9.6 per cent over the
period 2010-15. The print industry is expected to grow from Rs 128 bn in 2006
to Rs 232 bn by 2011, at 12.6% CAGR. While the newspaper industry is
estimated at Rs 112 bn, the magazine segment is valued at Rs 16 bn. The
newspaper industry is also projected to perform well for the next five years
growing at a CAGR of 10.1 per cent according to a report titled “India
Entertainment and Media Outlook 2011” by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Indian
print industry is growing strong and is expected to grow similarly while the
global print industry is moving towards digitalization and showing a negative
growth rate year on year.

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The bright future and the immense scope of the Indian print media have also
aroused the interest of foreign investors and recently the government has
opened up the sector to foreign investment. Foreign media has also shown
interest in investing in Indian publications. The revenues for India's newspaper
market are generated from advertising and circulation. India's growth rate in
this segment is poised to be higher than the average rate of growth in the Asia-
Pacific region over the next four years.

2.5 Trends in the Print Industry

Printing Industry Trends has been very significant over the years. This trend is
actually the force that is determining the future of Printing Industry. The digital
technologies and their innovative applications have changed the entertainment
sector considerably, especially the content production and its quality. Internet
has also emerged as the latest revenue stream and has become one of the
fastest growing advertising medium and has made a significant impression on
the entertainment industry.

The increasing use of Internet in the publishing world has brought a revolution in
the Printing Industry. Remote Distribution of Data and Variable Data Printing has
been possible by the use of Internet. The special ability of Internet of
distributing large quantities of data to diverse locations bridged the gaps of
Printing Industry. Earlier, almost all printing work was used to be done through
press. But, in today's world of technological advancement, many printing work is
done from customer's home printer.

Internet publications have opened a new horizon for printing industry. The
Publishing Companies are realizing that it is better to distribute data through
Internet in the first step and to print them in the second step. This is because if
they carry out the traditional process of firstly printing and then distributing then
it may generate much more costs. So, in this context, the biggest challenge
faced by the companies which operate through Printing Press is of lowering
costs.

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The pressure of lowering costs has risen more because of the recent
technological advancements which have invented the concept of e-commerce. E-
Commerce has lowered administration costs and the proofing time. To keep pace
with these emerging technologies, the Printing Industry has now concentrated
on Digital Printing. But this advent of technology in the field of printing is killing
the Cottage Print Industry. According to survey, the number of companies in the
cottage print industry is going to decline sharply within 2010. But as a whole we
can say that Printing Industry has already ridden a growth wave through
technological innovations and further growth can come only through new
innovations and high level of productivity.

In many developed countries newspaper circulation is falling due to social and
technological changes such as the availability of news on the internet. On the
other hand, in some developing countries circulation is increasing as these
factors are more than cancelled out by rising incomes, population, and literacy.

2.6 Government Initiatives

The Government has initiated the following measures:

 The government has allotted US$ 50.13 million in the current Five-Year
Plan (2007-2012) for various development projects for the film industry.
The funds will be utilised to set up a centre for excellence in animation,
gaming and visual effects

 To offer better audio quality and sharper picture to millions of its viewers,
public broadcaster Doordarshan plans to go completely digital by 2017.

According to the Consolidated Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Policy document
released by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry
of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, foreign investment, including
foreign direct investments (FDI) and investment by non-resident Indians
(NRIs)/person of Indian origin (PIO)/foreign institutional investor (FII), up to 26
per cent, is permitted for publishing of newspapers and periodicals dealing with
news and current affairs under the Government route.

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The Consolidated FDI Policy document brings forth the following guidelines for
the M&E industry:

 Terrestrial Broadcasting FM (FM Radio): Foreign investment, including
FDI, NRI and PIO investments and portfolio investments are permitted
up to 20 per cent equity for FM Radio's Broadcasting Services with
prior approval of the Government subject to such terms and conditions
as specified from time to time by Ministry of Information and
Broadcasting for grant of permission for setting up of FM radio
stations.

 Cable Network: Foreign investment, including FDI, NRI and PIO
investments and portfolio investments are permitted up to 49 per cent
for cable networks under Government route subject to Cable Television
Network Rules, 1994 and other conditions as specified from time to
time by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B).

 Direct–to-Home: Foreign investment, including FDI, NRI and PIO
investments and portfolio investments are permitted up to 49 per cent
for Direct to Home under Government route. Within the limit of 49 per
cent, FDI will not exceed 20 per cent. This will be subject to such
guidelines/terms and conditions as specified from time to time by
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B)

 The total direct and indirect foreign investment including portfolio and
foreign direct investment in Headend-In-The-Sky (HITS) Broadcasting
Service shall not exceed 74 per cent. FDI upto 49 per cent would be on
automatic route and beyond that under government route. This will be
subject to such guidelines/terms and conditions as specified from time
to time by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) FDI policy in
the Up-linking of TV Channels is as under:

 Foreign investment of FDI and FII up to 49 per cent would be
permitted under the Government route for setting up Up-linking HUB/

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Teleports. FDI up to 100 per cent would be allowed under the
Government route for Up linking a Non-News & Current Affairs TV
Channel; Foreign investment of FDI and FII up to 26 per cent would be
permitted under the Government route for Up-linking a News &
Current Affairs TV Channel subject to the condition that 48 the
portfolio investment from FII/ NRI shall not be "persons acting in
concert" with FDI investors, as defined in the SEBI(Substantial
Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 1997

2.7 Market Share of Business Dailies

Business Daily Market Share (%)

Economic Times 61.04%
Mint 18.66%
Business Standard 11.90%
The Hindu Business Line 8.24%
Others (including Financial Express, 0.16%
Financial Chronicle etc.)

Source: IRS Q2 2011

As we can see from the above table, in terms of market share Business Standard
stands at no. 3 among the business dailies in India after Economic Times (1) and
HT Mint (2).

Market Share (%)
Economic Times
8.24% 0.16%

Mint
11.90%

18.66% Business Standard
61.04%

The Hindu
BusinessLine
Others

Source: IRS Q2 2011

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Average Issue Readership (AIR) of a publication is defined as the number of
readers of that publication who have claimed to have last read it within its
periodicity, i.e., last read a daily yesterday, a weekly within the last week, a
monthly within the last month, etc.

This measure is considered to be a more relevant measure of ‘real’ or ‘regular’
readership, especially for newspapers, most of which have been read/consumed
as a matter of daily habit. Conventionally, media planners calculate and compare
cost-benefits of dailies based on the AIR figure. Hence, it is perhaps most
relevant to study readership trends in terms of AIR.

2.8 Prices of Business Dailies

Business Daily Price

Economic Times Mon – Fri : Rs.3
Sat & Sun : Rs.10
Mint Mon – Fri : Rs.3
Sat : Rs.5
Business Standard Mon – Fri : Rs.3.5
Sat : Rs.4.5
Sun : Rs.7
The Financial Express Mon – Fri : Rs.4
Sat : Rs.6
Sun : Rs.8
The Hindu Business Line Mon – Sun : Rs.5
Asian Age Mon – Sun : Rs.5

Source: Interaction with newspaper vendor

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3. BUSINESS STANDARD LIMITED - COMPANY PROFILE

3.1 History

Started in 1975 by the Ananda Bazar group in Calcutta, Business Standard hived
off as a separate company in 1996. Business Standard is the second largest read
among Business Dailies, a position which has been reconfirmed by the DMS4 and
5 studies. According to the syndicated study conducted by AC Neilson–ORG-
MARG, Business Standard has emerged as the second most preferred amongst
Business Dailies.

This rapid expansion phase of Business Standard started after it was bought by a
Mumbai-based financial investor who launched a new edition. The Financial
Times of London took 13.85% equity stake in Business Standard limited in the
year 2004 but sold it back to Kotak group in 2008.

Mr. T. N. Ninan was editor from 1993 to 2009 who’s one of the India’s best-
known and most respected business journalists, who was earlier editor of The
Economic Times. In January 2010, Ninan became chairman and editorial director
of BSL and was succeeded as editor of Business Standard by Sanjaya Baru.

The regular panel of columnist consists of

 Bimal Jalan, former governor of the Reserve Bank of India
 Shankar Acharya, former chief economic advisor to the Government of
India
 Deepak Lal, professor of economics, UCLA
 Suman Bery, director-general, National Council of Applied Economic
Research
 Abheek Barua, chief economist of HDFC Bank
 Nitin Desai, former chief economic advisor and former under-secretary
general at the United Nations
 Surjit Bhalla, chairman of OXUS
 Arvind Subramanian, professor at the Peterson Institute for International
Economics
 M. Govinda Rao, director of National Institute of Public Finance and Policy
 AV Rajwade, foreign exchange consultant

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 Arvind Singhal, chairman, Technopak Advisors

3.2 Background

Business Standard is an Indian financial daily newspaper published by Business
Standard Ltd (BSL) in two languages, English and Hindi. Started in 1975 in
Kolkata by the Ananda Publishers group, Business Standard was hived off as a
separate company in 1996.

It was then bought by Mumbai-based financial investors led by the Kotak
Mahindra Bank, after which began a phase of rapid expansion with the launch of
new editions.

It is published from 12 centres - Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore,
Chennai, Ahmadabad, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Pune, Kochi and
Bhubaneswar.

3.3 Mission and Vision

Vision

"Providing information that creates wealth and enriches lives."

Mission

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“To deliver superior value to our customers, shareholders, employees and
society at large“

3.4 Content

 Comprehensive and in-depth analysis of business news.
 BS 200- Covering the most traded stocks with evaluation across 22
parameters.
 4 full pages focusing totally on stocks and mutual funds.
 4 pages everyday of finance and commodity news, providing insights you
can act on for half the BS 200 companies.
 2 pages of investment advice and articles to manage personal finance
every weekday.
 Thought provoking editorial opinion that is highly regarded for its
unbiased viewpoint and refreshing originality.
 BS is published Monday to Saturday in all locations.
 On Sundays, the paper is published from Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata &
Bangalore.
 Extensive coverage of the markets has been BS’s forte and is eagerly
consumed by investors – big and small. To cater to needs of the retail
investor, special focus has been provided in the form of extensive
coverage on Personal Finance and a dedicated page on investing (The
Smart Investor).

Content Overview:

Content Editorial Property Frequency

International News Financial Times Page Daily
Lifestyle, Luxury & Business Life Daily
Gizmos
Corporate News Companies Daily
Policy & Analysis Issues & Insights Daily
Regional News Accent Daily
Corporate Social Social enterprises Every Monday
Responsibility

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Transportation Business Logistics Every Monday
& Logistics
Management Education & Business Education Every Monday &
Training Avenues Thursday
Initiative By Business
Schools
It, Telecom & ICE World Every Tuesday
Entertainment
SME Business SME World Every Wednesday
Human Relation Power Zone Every Wednesday
Real Estate-Market Real Estate Every Friday
Scenario & Opportunities
Automobiles & Ancillary BS Motoring Every Saturday
Segment

3.5 Editorial Quality

BS boasts of some of the best economic journalists and counts contributions
from internationally acclaimed columnists.

Mr. T. N. Ninan, India’s best known economic journalist is the Chairman and
Editorial Director

The Editorial team is lead by Dr. Sanjaya Baru, former media advisor to the
prime minister. Mr. A. K. Bhattacharya, Group Managing Editor is a former editor
of The Pioneer and associate editor of Economic Times.

Regular columnists include many reputed names such as:

Pranab Bardhan Professor of economics at university of California
Surjit Bhalla Chairman, Oxus Investments Economics, Politics & Cricket
Bimal jalan Ex- Gov RBI.
Nitin Desai Ex UN under secretary General
Gurucharan Das Author
IndiraRajaraman Member of Finance Commission
Ajit Ranade Aditya Birla group chief economist

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3.6 Reader Profile

 Business Standard is read by the decision makers & policy makers.
 A premium product read by the Crème de la crème of corporate India.
 The reader is upscale, influential and mobile.

Chairman/CE President,
O/MD, 14% Executive
Director,
Other
Directors, 8%

VP/GM, 59% CFO, CIO,
CMO, CTO
etc. 20%

Chairman/CEO /MD

President, Executive Director,
Other Directors

3.7 Shareholders of Business Standard

SHAREHOLDER SHARE (%)

Kotak Mahindra 67.85%
Great Eastern 27.76%
Shipping Corporation
Others 4.39%

19


Shareholders of Business Standard
4.39%

Kotak Mahindra

27.76%
Great Eastern Shipping
Corporation
67.85% Others

3.8 Production Chain

Raw Material

Printing

Packaging

Despatch Through Taxi

Different Cities

All centers In Cities

Selling

Vendor

Reader

20


3.9 Circulation Chain

Vice-President (Sales)

Branch Head

Territory Incharge

Customer
Executives

Salesman

Vendors

Reader

3.10 Product profile

The sections in a Business Standard daily are broadly divided into 2 sections:

 Section I
o Companies
o Economy
o Finance
o Rest of the news

21


o Take Two
o Issues and Insights
o Opinion
o Brand World
o World

 Section II – The Smart Investor
o The Smart Investor
o Commodities
o Personal Finance
o Stocks
o BS200

Supplements

 Smart Investor(Every
Monday)
 The Strategist(Every Tuesday)
 Weekend(Every Saturday)

Business Standard

Magazine

 The Fund Manager
 The Billionaire Club
 Banking Annual
 BS 1000.

Business Standard Supplements:

 The Smart Investor (Every Monday)

 the strategist (Every Tuesday)

o A sought after weekly supplement, the strategist appears every
Monday.

22


o Covers issues on management & marketing. Analyses critical issues
through case studies.
o Rich in content, the strategist relies heavily on highly researched
articles so that the reader gets a complete understanding of the
subject.

 Weekend (Every Saturday)

o “BS Weekend” Covers the topics of lifestyle, Art, Travel, Portraits of
wealthy people, Real Estate, Golf, Book reviews among others.
o A perfect way to start your weekend knowing the leisure's of life.

Business Standard Magazines (Annual):

 The Fund Manager - Covers the high points and performances of Mutual
Funds. An annual guide to smartly invest in mutual funds. Includes
profiles of top fund managers.

 Banking Annual – Performances of the banking sector. Annual ranking of
banks, exploring the mantras adopted by top-rated banks to succeed.

 BS 1000 – A guide to India’s top 1000 companies. An annual reference
book on corporate performance. Analyses and rates top 1000 listed
companies.

23


Marquee: A Lifestyle Product

 The tabloid theme is devoted to luxury and lifestyle as a general
principle; Luxuriant lifestyles, Premium real estate and holidays,
Luxury cruises and Watches, Fashion, Cars, Hotels and Spas,
Jewellery, golf, accessories, imported furniture, exotic cuisines, quality
spirits, office equipment, Home Interiors & home entertainment
systems.

 The magazine targets the super rich & the affluent who make a style
statement with the luxury buys is circulated quarterly with Business
Standard in Mumbai, Delhi & Banglore.

24


3.11 Competitors’ Profiles

3.11.1 The Economic Times

The Economic Times is published by the Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.. The
Economic Times was started in 1961. It is the most popular and widely read
financial daily in India, read by more than 8,00,000 people. The Economic Times
is published simultaneously from 11 cities—Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, Chennai,
Kolkata, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Ahemedabad, Nagpur, Chandigarh, and Pune.

The Economic Times has its offices in Mumbai at THE TIMES OF INDIA building,
Dr. D. N. Road. Its main content is based on the Indian economy, International
finance, share prices, prices of commodities as well as other matters related to
finance. The founder- editor of the paper when it was launched in 1961 was P.S.
Hariharan. The current Editorial Director of The Economic Times and ET Now is
Rahul Joshi.

The Economic Times is characterized by its salmon-pink paper. It is sold in all
major cities in India. In June 2009, it also launched a television channel called
ET Now.

25


Editors

 1960s and 1970s: PS Hariharan (1961–1964), DK Rangnekar (1964–

1979)
 1980s: Hannan Ezekiel, Manu Shroff (1985–1990)

 Early to mid 1990s: T. N. Ninan, Swaminathan Anklesaria Aiyar

 Late 1990s: Jaideep Bose

 2004: Rajrishi Singhal and Rahul Joshi

 2010 to present: Rahul Joshi and Rohit Saran

Supplements

 Brand Equity (Weekly): a weekly colour supplement that appears every

Wednesday, which covers marketing, advertising, media and market
research. Edited by Ravi Balakrishnan and Vinod Mahanta
 Corporate Dossier is a supplement that appears every Friday along with

The Economic Times, aimed at the CEOs of corporate India, with a special
focus on management and strategy. Edited by Vinod Mahanta
 ET Travel is a weekly all-colour supplement which covers travel and

tourism aimed at the burgeoning band of Indians who want to see and
know about their country and the rest of the world, through Indian eyes.
 ZigWheels is a weekly all-colour supplement covering all aspects from the

auto industry from new launches and trends to ancillaries and
personalities.
 ET Realty: a real estate supplement

 ET Wealth: a personal finance weekly newspaper.
 Investor's Guide: analysis of equities, funds, ULIPs, Sectors etc.

Special Edition

The Economic Times on Sunday was revamped and now dons a new format,
style and regular features on great personal content in 2011. The fresher edition
hosts a variety of material not found during the weekdays. The special edition on
all Sundays contains, namely: "what's news", "news in numbers", "behind the
news", "spotlight", "cover story", "expert view", "economy", "centrespread",
"travel guide", "food & drink", "recommended" and finally "feel smart". “feel

26


smart" generally hosts a "Cocktail Conversations" article which describes a
definite difference between terms, objects, persons and abstract views which are
normally considered to be the same. It also contains "Behind the Lines" which
gives a brief crisis that had occurred in the past, explains the crisis and the
solution derived and finally gives an overview in the form of a lesson.

3.11.2 HT Mint

Mint is a business newspaper from HT Media Ltd, launched in collaboration with
The Wall Street Journal on 1 February 2007. It is a premium business news
publication aimed at decision makers and policy makers of the country and it is
the first newspaper in India to be published in the Berliner format. The current
Editor of the newspaper is R. Sukumar.

Stance and editorial Opinion

Mint's editorial stance and opinion emphasizes both the left-liberal and center-
right outlook. It's editorial sections have been left-liberal on social and political
issues with unconditional support for minorities over uniform application of the
law. On economic matters its opinions have expressed faith in free markets and
economic liberalization in general but have fallen short of the libertarian ideals.

27


On free-speech matters, the paper has lent qualified support for freedom and
has generally taken the position of the Congress Party.

Mint carries a short and crisp editorial piece on the front page titled "Quick Edit"
while the longer opinion pieces titled "Our View" and guest opinion pieces titled
"My view" or "Their Views" are carried by back pages.

Style

The design of the Mint newspaper is geared towards presenting business and
financial information in a compact format. The format itself was designed by
Mario R. Garcia, who has also been associated with the re-design of the Wall
Street Journal.

Features

Along with the print edition, Mint also has specialized online and mobile editions
which can be accessed at "www.livemint.com". Livemint.com is among the
fastest growing news websites in India and it attracts more than 1.5 million
readers every month, majority of whom are decision makers in leading business
organizations across the world. It is widely considered to be the most
comprehensive and technically evolved news portal in the country that has
introduced many multimedia enabled engagement platforms which give its
readers the opportunity to express their point of view and interact with Mint's
editors and columnists.

The weekend edition of the publication is called "Lounge" and it features columns
on travel, fashion, arts, personal technology, parenting, and health.

Circulation

Mint is now India's second most widely read national business daily. It has a
readership of over 1.75 lakhs in Delhi and Mumbai [ Source : IRS 2009, R1 ],
with the average reader belonging to the age group of 35 to 44. It also has
editions in Ahmedabad, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chandigarh and Pune.

28


Along with Mint, HT Media also owns some of India's largest daily newspapers -
Hindustan Times and Hindustan. While the Hindustan Times is the largest read
English newspaper in Delhi, Hindustan is the most widely read Hindi newspaper
in Bihar and Jharkhand. HT Media also owns the radio channel Fever 104 FM, the
2nd most popular radio station in Delhi and Mumbai.

Mint Supplements

 Mint Lounge

Lounge is the weekend edition of Mint. Every Saturday, Lounge presents a
visually engaging look at the "Business of Life". With articles on Travel,
Gadgets, Fashion, Books, Culture, Parenting and Food, the editors and
columnists of Lounge bring the perfect work-life balance to the week.

 Mint Money

Mint Money is a daily section on Markets & Personal Finance that comes
inside Mint. Through its researched and analysed content, Mint Money
helps its readers develop an understanding of how various financial
products and markets work. It provides clear and credible coverage across
the entire gamut of investment products – Equities, Mutual Funds,

29


Commodities, Real Estate and Insurance, which helps its readers become
smart money managers.

Consumers are seeking to bridge the gap between information and
understanding so that they can take the right calls in today’s changing
market scenario. With its clear and analysed content, Mint Money seeks
to aid the consumer in bridging this gap.

 Mint Indulge

Mint Indulge is the Luxury and Lifestyle quarterly publication.

A complimentary read for Mint’s readers across India, Mint Indulge
focuses on the passions & indulgences of India's top business leaders and
serve as their best buying guide for the season. Mint Indulge showcases
the most aspirational international brands which look at India as a
promising market to drive the next growth wave for them.

3.11.3 The Hindu Business Line

30


The Hindu Business Line is published by Kasturi & Sons, the publishers of the
newspaper The Hindu located in Chennai.

History

Business Line started publishing in 1994. Published as a broadsheet, it has a
circulation of around 185,000 copies. Circulation of Business Line on Sunday is
higher than other days.

Business Line is published from 14 locations: Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore,
Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Madurai, Mangalore, Mumbai,
Thiruvananthapuram, Tiruchirapalli, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam.

Its Editor-in-Chief is Mr. N. Ram and the Joint Editor is Mr. K. Venugopal.

Its staff consists of reporters and researchers. It is the only paper having a
research bureau.

Sections

Tuesday through Saturday

From Tuesday to Saturday, Business Line's main section has 20 to 24 pages.
Page headings include Corporate, Information Technology, Marketing, Editorial &
Opinion (2 pages), Commodities & Agribusiness, Economy, International
Business, Stock Market news, Stocks and Mutual Fund quotes (5 pages), States
Variety, Logistics and Market Watch.

Sunday

On Sundays, Business Line's main section has 18 pages. Page headings include
Economy, Commodities, Corporate, International, Variety, Young Investor and
Investment World-from page 8 to page 17, Incisive advice on stocks, mutual
funds and deposits.

Monday

31


On Mondays, Business Line's main section has 16 pages. Page headings include
Market Mood, economy, Information technology, AgriBusiness, Transport,
Commodities Investment The New Manager-Keep your date with leaders from
the world of business, Mentor-A comprehensive resource on taxation, financial
systems and books, Money & Banking, Editorial & Opinion, states and Variety.

Supplements

MONDAY eWORLD

WEDNESDAY Smartbuy

THURSDAY BrandLine

FRIDAY Life

On the web

BUSINESSLINE Online has been on the World Wide Web since June 1995. It
attracts 14 million page views per month across the globe. The Sensex quotes in
the front page entice a huge traffic.

Pricing

It is priced at Indian Rupees 4 ($0.10) on weekdays and Saturdays and Indian
Rupees 3 ($0.075) on Sundays. While other newspapers like The Economic
Times and The Financial Express price their Saturday and Sunday editions at
Rs.7 to Rs.10, Business Line has traditionally priced the paper same throughout
the week. Other Business newspapers like Mint and Business Standard don't
publish on Sundays.

32


3.11.4 The Financial Express

The Financial Express is published by the Indian Express group since 1961. The
FE specializes in India and international business and financial news.

Launched in 1961, India’s oldest financial daily, The Financial Express, is today
one of the leading newspapers in the country. Part of The Indian Express Group,
the newspaper publishes eleven editions in English from leading cities —
Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Hyderabad,
Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai and Pune. It also has an edition in Gujarati,
published from Ahmedabad. The newspaper has offices across the country and is
headquartered in Delhi.

Content

The Financial Express has supported the eventual breakdown of the arbitrary
control-based system that characterized the Indian economy to its emergence as
a free market enterprise with accent on merit. The paper espouses the same
position in its coverage of international developments. The position is based on a
careful observation of the way economies have evolved in the past few decades.
This is also known as a championing of the free market position. The FE columns

33


and editorials articulate this opinion succinctly. The FE edit page columns are
therefore the most widely read pieces among all business publications in India.
Besides, the newspaper has an exclusive tie-up with The Financial Times and
The Economist of London to carry its articles all days of the week on an exclusive
co-branded page and the op-ed page.

Columnists

A number of Indian and global economic experts pen their columns for The
Financial Express. These include Surjit S Bhalla, Chairman of Oxus Investments,
M Govinda Rao, Director, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, Arindam
Bhattacharya, MD, Boston Consulting Group, Jayanth R Varma, Professor of
finance at IIM Ahmedabad , Mahesh Vyas, MD & CEO, Centre for Monitoring
Indian Economy, Krishnamurthy Subramanian faculty in finance at the Indian
School of Business, Amitendu Palit of the National University of Singapore, Rajat
Kathuria, Consultant for TRAI, Nirvikar Singh Professor of economics at the
University of California, Madan Sabnavis chief economist, CARE Ratings, Manish
Sabharwal Chairman, Teamlease Services, Ila Patnaik professor at NIPFP,
Meghnad Desai prominent economist and Labour peer, Yoginder K Alagh noted
economist and former Union minister and other prominent people...

News

FE’s news coverage is known for comprehensive sweep of economic policy
making, corporate developments and market trends. For India’s fast expanding
middle class of over 300 million, as per latest NSS data, plus the CEOs and
government officials, the insights into the Indian growth story are particularly
edifying. From business policies to market trends to new developments, The
Financial Express comes packed with incisive news on every relevant issue. On
weekdays there are a number of special pages which carry reports and analysis
on crucial areas of the economy like—automobiles, infrastructure,
entertainment, capital markets, workspace, small and medium enterprises,
infrastructure, real estate, green businesses and BRIC. In addition the FE Reflect
comes packed with insights, perspectives, discussion and debate that gives you
food for thought. The Financial Express on Sunday focuses on the weekend
reading for corporate executives.

34


Supplements and Specials

The newspaper has weekly supplements—Brandwagon, a four-page supplement
every Tuesday on advertising and marketing.

On weekdays there are special pages like: PSU Power, FE@Campus, eFE,
Investor, Commodity Watch on Mondays, Personal Finance and Corporate
Review; Tuesdays, Infrastructure, Show Business; alternate Wednesdays, FE
Gadgets on Thursday, Alternate Fridays – FE Profile, Small & Medium Business
and FE Edge, Motobahn on Saturdays.

The online section of The Financial Express, www.financialexpress.com, is an up-
to-date source for news on economy, business, finance, stocks and money
markets. Besides offering the daily newspaper in the e-paper format free, the
site also has extensive sections on stocks and company information. The site is
constantly updated for the latest news on economy and business. Archives for
the print edition are available online since 2000. The site is part of the group
portal, www.expressindia.com

Annual Surveys

The Financial Express also brings out two annual listings. While FE 500 lists top
500 companies of India, FE Best Banks has emerged as the blue ribbon of
banking excellence in the country that culminates with an awards night.

FE 500- An annual survey, published as a magazine, has established itself as a
fair and empirically evaluated performance rating for India Inc. It is one of the
most awaited corporate listing as it takes into account results of 3 quarters
which gives a deeper insight into India Inc's performance.

FE Best Banks- The Financial Express releases the Best Banks survey annually
with Ernst & Young as the knowledge partner. Released as a glossy magazine
every year in March, the survey lists banks that have delivered exemplary
performance on various parameters including growth, profitability, strength &
soundness amongst others.

35


Events

FE Best Banks Awards launched in February 1997, annually fetes banks that
have delivered exemplary performance on various parameters including growth,
profitability, strength & soundness amongst others. The awards are based on the
FE Best Bank Survey and have emerged as the highest award of banking
excellence in the country. The event is held annually in Mumbai, with the Hon'bl
Finance Minister as the Chief Guest and witnesses a high profile gathering
including various ministers, govt. representatives, CEOs and the Who's Who of
India Inc.

FE EVI Green Business Awards- Based on the FE EVI Green Business Survey the
awards recognize the efforts of Indian businesses towards climate change and
sustainability. The awards are held on the occasion of World's Environment Day
i.e. 5 June every year.

The Financial Express has also initiated a series of Round Table Conferences
(RTC) that bring together policymakers and major players to discuss key issues
pertaining to different sectors.

Editor

As India's oldest financial newspaper The Financial Express has had a string of
eminent Editors such as R Jagannathan, Dr. Sanjaya Baru, Mythili Bhusnurmath,
Sandipan Deb etc. Presently M.K. Venu is the Managing Editor of the business
daily.

The Indian Express Group

The Financial Express is part of The Indian Express Group, which also owns
English daily The Indian Express, Marathi daily Loksatta, Hindi Daily Jansatta,
entertainment weekly Screen, and weekly Marathi magazine Lokprabha.

36


3.11.5 Financial Chronicle

Financial Chronicle (FC) is published since 2008. The newspaper primarily covers
Indian economic and international business topics, and financial news and
issues.

Edition

Financial Chronicle, edited by Shubhrangshu Roy, was simultaneously launched
from Hyderabad and Chennai on April 16, 2008. The Bangalore edition was
launched on May 25, and the Mumbai edition on June 20. With the launch of the
New Delhi edition on April 14, 2009, Financial Chronicle completed its launch
objective of five-city simultaneous publication within the first year itself.
Financial Chronicle has had the shortest run-up to a newspaper launch in the
history of Indian print journalism. It also has the record of reaching the
maximum number of publication centres in the shortest span of time. Financial
Chronicle boasts India's youngest team of media professionals.

Financial Chronicle's e-paper was launched midnight of 15–16 April 2008. This
makes FC the first paper to be launched electronically on the internet before its
print launch. FC began its journey five days-a-week, Monday through Friday. It
launched a Weekend tabloid edition beginning 1o September, 2011.

37


Financial Chronicle also publishes four weekly all-colour feature sections –
Invest, a comprehensive analysis on the stock market; Know, a cutting edge
one-of-a-kind section on the advancements in knowledge society; Build, a
review of the country's real estate sector; and Roar!, a no-holds-barred lifestyle
feature.

Financial Chronicle can be accessed on its website, which features
comprehensive webcasts of corporate developments and news stories. The
website also runs a live investor guidance service, and comprehensive updates
on the stock markets. It also incorporates several networking facilities.

Format

Financial Chronicle is a business broadsheet printed in white newsprint in 24
pages format on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and 20 pages
format on Wednesdays.

Management

The paper is owned by Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited (listed on Bombay
Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange). Its flagship publication is
Deccan Chronicle - an English daily widely circulated in the state of Andhra
Pradesh and the second largest English daily in Chennai. Deccan Chronicle is
also published from Bangalore.

The Editorial advisory board includes legendary agricultural scientist Dr M S
Swaminathan, former telecom regulator Mr Nripendra Mishra, MindTree
Consulting founder Mr Subroto Bagchi, Lok Sabha MP Mr Sachin Pilot and DCHL
managing director Mr P K Iyer. Mr T Venkattram Reddy is Chairman of the
company. FC was the first Indian business daily to have appointed an
Ombudsman. Former Sebi chairman Mr M Damodaran was appointed as the first
Ombudsman of the paper. Mr Shubhrangshu Roy is Chief Operating Officer and
Editor-in-chief of Financial Chronicle. Dr. Varun Dutt, Carnegie Mellon University,
is the Knowledge Editor of Financial Chronicle with more than 100 articles on
public policy, technology, environmental issues, and business, in the newspaper.

38


4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

A Research Methodology defines the purpose of the research, how it proceeds,
how to measure progress and what constitute success with respect to the
objectives determined for carrying out the research study. Research
methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problem. It may be
understood as a science of studying how research is done scientifically. In it we
study the various steps that are generally adopted by a researcher in studying
his research problem along with the logic behind them. It is necessary for the
researcher to know not only the research methods/techniques but also the
methodology. Researchers not only need to know how to develop certain indices
or tests, how to calculate the mean, the mode, the median or the standard
deviation or chi-square, how to apply particular research techniques, but they
also need to know which of these methods these methods or techniques, are
relevant and which are not, and what would they mean and indicate and why.

Steps in Market Research:

1. Planning and Research.
a) Defining the problem
b) Sampling the plan.
c) Preparing questionnaire.
d) Deciding the area of research

2. Field Work.
a) Asking question to sample selected.
b) Data collection.

3. Planning Report.
a) Analyzing the data collected.
b) Report preparation.

39


4.1 Research Design

Research design is an arrangement of conditions for collection of and analysis of
data in a manner that aims to combine relevance to research purpose with
economy of procedure.

1
• Formulation of objectives of the study.

2
• Designing methods for the data collection

3
• Select the sample size

4
• Collecting the data

5
• Processing and analysis of data

6
• Reporting the finding

Research designs are of the following types:

 Descriptive
 Diagnostic
 Causal
 Experimental
 Exploratory

In this project, descriptive type of research design has been used.

4.2 Research Objectives

The research objectives for the project involve identifying the target market for
business dailies in India; estimating the newspaper brand preference among the
target customers; identifying the critical success factors for business dailies in
India and finally suggesting a strategy for Business Standard to increase its

40


share in the Indian newspaper market by rating Business Standard on the
identified critical success factors.

4.3 Research Approach

Qualitative as well as Quantitative approach has been used for this research. But
the stress was basically on the quantitative approach.

Quantitative approach

Quantitative data involves the generation of data in a quantitative form which
can be subjected to analysis in a formal and rigid fashion.

Qualitative approach

It is concerned with subjective assessment of opinions and behavior.

4.4 Sources of Data

The research has been carried out using a combination of primary and secondary
data.

Secondary Data

When first considering how to answer their research questions or meet their
objectives few researchers consider initially the possibility of reanalyzing data
that have already been collected for some other purpose. Such data are known
as secondary data. Secondary data include both quantitative and qualitative
data, and they are used principally in both descriptive and explanatory research.
Secondary data has been collected through Articles, Reports, Journals,
Magazines, Newspapers and Internet

Primary Data

Information which is generated the first time and is fresh is called “primary data”
and it is generated by four main methods viz. observation, experimentation,
interviewing and estimation. The primary data can be collected through
telephone, interviews, group interviews, mail surveys and self administered
questionnaire.

41


What is the need for collecting the Primary data after collecting the secondary
data? If, after seeking all reasonable secondary data sources, research questions
are still not adequately answered, the researcher may question the target
respondents to get appropriate information.

 Primary Data Source – Questionnaire, Observations and formal interaction
with customers.
 Secondary Data Source – From magazines and websites.

4.5 Sampling Method

Sample Unit

The sample unit is management student & professors, corporate professionals,
chartered accountants, investors (stock brokers), businessmen and retired
professionals.

B-School Students and Professors – 30
CA – 5
Investor (Stock Broker) – 13
Other salaried professionals – 30
Businessmen – 19
Retired - 3

Sample Size

The sample size for the survey is 100. The sample was stratified according to the
above mentioned sampling unit.

Sample Area

Various regions within Delhi, NCR.

Sampling Technique

The process employed to select the sample was simple random sampling. Simple
random sampling refers to that sampling technique in which each and every unit

42


of the population has an equal and same opportunity of being on the sample. In
simple random sampling, which item gets selected is just a matter of chance.

4.6 Limitations

 The study was completed in 45 days which is not sufficient time to do an
exhaustive survey.

 As the market being very huge it was not possible to cover each and
every area.

 The sample size chosen is limited to 100 respondents; the study may not
be applicable to the entire market.

 There is a possibility of biased answers from the respondents; hence the
information collected might not be accurate.

43


5. DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

5.1 Descriptive Statistics

5.1.1 Gender

Q. What is your gender?

39

Male
61
Female

Out of the 100 respondents, 61 were male and 39 were female.

44


5.1.2 Age groups

Q. What is your age group?

Age groups
57
60

50

40

30 22 Age groups
20 11
7
10 3

0
20-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 61 &
above

Age No. of
Group Respondents
20-30 57
31-40 22
41-50 11
51-60 7
61 & 3
above

The respondents chosen for the survey were mostly young, 57 falling in the age
group 20-30.

45


5.1.3 Occupation

Q. What is your current occupation?

B-School Student of
3 Professor
19 CA
30

Investor / Stock Broker

Other salaried
professional
5 Businessman
30
13
Retired

Occupation No. of
Respondents
B-School Student of 30
Professor
CA 5
Investor / Stock Broker 13
Other salaried 30
professional
Businessman 19
Retired 3

46


5.1.4 Have you ever read Business Standard?

44
Yes
No
56

5.2 Business Daily Mind Share

Q. When we talk about business newspapers, which one comes to your
mind first?

Mind Share

70 61
60
50
40
30 17
20 12
7
10 3
0
Economic Business Mint The The Hindu
Times Standard Financial Business
Express Line

47


Business Daily No. of
respondents
Economic Times 61
Business Standard 17
Mint 12
The Financial Express 7
The Hindu Business
Line 3

We can clearly make out that Economic Times has the highest mind share
among the respondents. Business Standard comes at no. 2 followed by Mint. The
margin between ET and Business Standard’s mind share is quite large i.e. 44
respondents.

Interpretation: This data shows that Business Standard needs to create more
brand awareness through promotional offers and events. They can also have
advertisements placed on websites and blogs related to business, finance,
economy etc. Creating more brand awareness through promotion, innovation,
schemes and events would lead to increase in customer base and proper
customer service would increase customer loyalty. This is a long term process
which would lead to increase in mind share among the target customers.

5.3 Readership

Q. Which business newspaper(s) do you read?

Readership
70
60
60
50
40 35
29
30
20 12
10 7
2
0
Economic Mint Business The Financial The Hindu Others
Times Standard Express Business
Line

48


Business Daily No. of
Readers
Economic Times 60
Mint 35
Business Standard 29
The Financial Express 12
The Hindu Business 7
Line
Others 2

*One respondent may read more than 1 newspaper so the total no. of readers
might be greater than 100 (the total no. of respondents)

In terms of readership, among the sample, ET has the highest no. of readers
which is 60 followed by Mint which has 35 readers. Business Standard comes at
no. 3 with 29 readers.

Interpretation: ET has a huge share of readership owing to the already well
established base of TOI (Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.) in India while Mint is a
newspaper from HT Media’s stable. This well established distribution network
and popularity is where newspapers like Business Standard lack out. But still BS
is at third position and by following a proper marketing strategy they can target
overcoming Mint’s market share in the shorter run and ET’s market share in the
longer run.

49


5.4 Online/Offline preference

Q. Which form of the newspaper do you prefer?

24

Paper form

76 Electronic/online form

Online/Offline No. of
Respondents
Paper form 76
Electronic/online 24
form

Out of the 100 respondents, 76 prefer the traditional paper form of the
newspaper while 24 prefer the online form.

Interpretation: Though the no. of online readers appears to be much less in
comparison to the traditional paper-form readers, it must be noted that this
result has come from the survey of just 100 respondents. If we take 24% of the
total no. of business daily readers in India, then that would be a large number.
Though the market of people who read the paper form or will read the paper
form in the future is quite large in India, the no. of people reading dailies on the
internet is bound to increase with growing household incomes and increasing
adaptation to the mobile platform. Thus, it is imperative to maintain and
enhance online presence to cater to readers who prefer the online form.

50

Comparative analysis of various business dailies with special reference to Business Standard

Comparative analysis of various business dailies with special reference to Business Standard

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