A Project Report

On
"CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR OF MAGAZINES"
at

" THE TIMES OF INDIA”

By

"M.Arun Kranti”

Reg NO : CYB110MBA7031
Submitted to

"Prist University "

In partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of the degree of

Master of Business Administration (MBA)

Through

BRITISH INSTITUTE OF PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

(Affiliated to PRIST UNIVERSITY)
HYDERABAD
(2009-2011)
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 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Mr.M.ARUN KRANTI bearing the Reg NO :

CYB110MBA7031 ,Student of MBA IIYear, BRITISH INSTITUTE OF
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT has successfully completed his project,
titled “Consumer Behaviour of Magazines”. at THE TIMES Of INDIA.
This project is an original work submitted to Department Of Business

Management as partial fulfillment of the course requirements for the award

of Master of Business Administration (MBA) by Prist University.

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 TO WHOMSOEVER IT MAY CONCERN

This is to certify MrM.ArunKranti pursuing his MBA in BIPD Business

School , bearing Reg NO : CYB110MBA7031 has been done his project
in the area of “Consumer Behavior of Magazines”, which is been a part
of the curriculum at “THE TIMES OF INDIA”. Under the duration of one
month ( i.e 20th feb 2011 to 20th march 2011).

His performance during training was found to be satisfactory.

Wishing him all the success in his future endeavors

Mr V. Anand ThankingYou
Managing director
The Times Of India

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 DECLARATI

I hereby declare that this project report titled “Consumer

Behaviour of Magazines” at THE TIMES OF INDIA is the result of my
own efforts and is being submitted to “BRITISH INSTITUTE OF
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
In partial fulfillment for the award of the degree of “MASTER OF

BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION” and has not been submitted to any

other University.

Date:

Place: Hyderabad (M.Arun Kranti)

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 ABSTRACT

A study on CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR OF MAGAZINES has been carried out for a period

of 40 days. The study of consumer behavior pattern provides us with reasons why consumers differ

from one another in using products and services. Though the measurement of customer behavior is

complex subjects, which uses non-objectives method, which is not reliable. The main objective of

field survey during the project was to find out the customer’s satisfaction level of the services offered

by RMD Department of The TIMES OF INDIA. A number of factors are responsible for the rapid

consumerism and the most important among them includes dynamic nature of the environment with

high degree of competition which is a challenge for innovation to sustain in the market with

changing life style of consumers. Thus survey is searching for those factors which cause the

inclination of the consumers towards a particular brand and their frequent switching over various

brand or refusal of any brand.

The target population influences the sample size. The target population represents the

Hyderabad regions. The people were from different professional backgrounds. 146 respondents in

the age group of above 18 years are the sample size of this research.

The survey result shows that there is very sound awareness about the brand “TIMES OF INDIA” in

different areas of city and outskirts, but the company is facing some kind issue regarding service

which it should need to concentrate.

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I convey my heart full thanks to the BRITISH INSTITUTE OF PERSONAL

DEVELOPMENT ,Ibhramhimbagh, our respectable principal Mr. DEV sir, for his extended
support and for allowing me to do this project. This project has been made possible through the
assistance of my erudite, whom I wish to thank with great respect.

I give special thanks to my faculty cum guide Mr. Raghavendra Reddy who motivated me

and has also given helpful comments and information regarding the topic and documentation of the

project.

I deem it a great pleasure and privilege to have an opportunity to take up the project work

under the able and inspiring guidance of Mr. Vibhudi Anand, THE TIMES OF INDIA. I thank

them for giving me the permission to complete my project on time. I express my profound gratitude

for the encouragement given during the preparation of the project.

(M.Arun Kranti)

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

SR. NO. CONTENTS PAGE NO

A. CHAPTER 1
1. Executive Summary
2. Need For The Study
3. Objective Of The Study
4. Scope Of The Study
5. Research Methodology
6. Limitation Of The Project
B. CHAPTER 2
1. Review of literature
C. CHAPTER 3
1. Magazine Industry Overview
2. Introduction Of The Company
D. CHAPTER 4
1. Data Analysis
(Table, Graph, Interpretation, Etc.)
2. Findings
E. CHAPTER5
1. Suggestions
2. Conclusions
3. Annexure (Questionnaire)
4. Bibliography

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 List of Tables

No Title Page No

1 T1- Table showing the number of respondents based on Gender 38

2 T1- Table showing the number of respondents based on Age 39

3 T3 – Table showing the number of respondents based on occupation 40

4 T4 – Table showing the number of respondents based on segmentation 41

5 T5 – Table showing the number of respondents based on regular subscription 42

6 T6 – Table showing the number of respondents based on frequency of buying 43

7 T7 – Table showing the number of respondents based on timeperiod 44

8 T8 – Table showing how they came to know about the magazines 45

9 T9 – Table showing how much they spend on magazines per month 46

10 T10 – Table showing sources of getting magazines 47

11 T11 – Table showing the most influencial factor for buying 48

12 T12 – Table showing how cover page influence our buying decision 49

T13 – Table showing the number of respondents who read the advertisements in
13 50
magazines

14 T14 – Table showing showing the most preferred advertisement 51

15 T15 – Table showing the most preferred option while subscribing 52

16 T16 – Table showing why people prefer TOI magazine 53

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 List of Charts and Figures

S No Title Page No

1 A1 – Model of consumer behavior 10

2 A2 – Factors influencing consumer behavior 11

3 A3 – Maslow’s hierarchy of needs 16

4 A4 – Types of buying behavior 18

5 A5 – Buyers decision process 19

6 A6 – Bennett, Coleman 24

7 A7 – Times of India 29

8 A8 – The Economic Times 30

9 A9 – Chart showing the number of respondents based on Gender 38

10 A10 – Chart showing the number of respondents based on Age 39

11 A11 – Chart showing the number of respondents based on occupation 40

A12 – Chart showing the number of respondents based on

12 41
segmentation

A13 – Chart showing the number of respondents based on regular

13 42
subscription

A14- Chart showing the number of respondents based on frequency

14 43
of buying

15 A15-Chart showing the number of respondents based on time period 44

16 A16-Chart showing how they came to know about the magazines 45

17 A17- Chart showing how much they spend on magazines per month 46

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 CHAPTER1
INTRODUCTION

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NEED FOR THE STUDY

A study of consumer behaviour helps an organization in knowing the consumer,

i.e., customer needs, preferences, attitudes, usage etc. By which an organization can know why a

customer selects a particular product or service over the others.

As a consumer we are all unique and this uniqueness is reflected in the consumption pattern

and process purchase. The study of consumer buying behaviour provides us with reasons why

consumers differ from one another in buying, using products and services. We receive stimuli from

the environment and the specifics of the marketing strategies of different products and services, and

responds to these stimuli in terms of either buying or not buying product. In between the stage of

receiving the stimuli and responding to it, the consumer goes through the process of making his

decision.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

In the year 2010 the Indian magazines industry size was estimated at 4000 crores approx and

registered a growth of 15% for over the previous year. So there are huge scopes of the magazines

industry to flourish. To assist the objective of this project, this is done in the territory of Hyderabad,

Andhra Pradesh. The research has been carried in several areas in Hyderabad; I surveyed the market

and took feedback from the customers through the questionnaires.

This project will help the company to have a clear picture of what a customer(reader) wants in a

product(magazine), to know their tastes and preferences, to analyze the competitors better and come

out with the strategies and planning which may prove fruitful for the company.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

 To know the usage and attitude of consumer towards TIMES OF INDIA magazines.

 To know the customer satisfaction index regarding TIMES OF INDIA magazines.

 To study the competition analysis of the TIMES OF INDIA magazines.

 To know the customer perception towards TIMES OF INDIA magazines over the others.

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 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:

A research process consists of stages or steps that guide the project from its conception

through the final analysis, recommendations and ultimate actions. The research process provides a

systematic, planned approach to the research project and ensures that all aspects of the research

project are consistent with each other. Research studies evolve through a series of steps, each

representing the answer to a key question.

INTRODUCTION

This chapter aims to understand the research methodology establishing a framework of evaluation

and revaluation of primary and secondary research. The techniques and concepts used during

primary research in order to arrive at findings; which are also dealt with and lead to a logical

deduction towards the analysis and results.

RESEARCH DESIGN

 Exploratory research method is carried out using the primary data. Primary is gathered

through the survey research method.

Sample size: 146

Sampling method: convenient sampling

Statistical Tools used:

Number of statistical tools are used in this work for example, bar diagrams, pie charts.

RESEARCH PROCESS

The research process has four distinct yet interrelated steps for research analysis

It has a logical and hierarchical ordering:

 Determination of information research problem.

 Development of appropriate research design.

 Execution of research design.

 Communication of results.

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Each step is viewed as a separate process that includes a combination of task, step and specific

procedure. The steps undertake are logical, objective, systematic, reliable, valid, impersonal and

ongoing.

SOURCE OF DATA:

PRIMARY DATA:

Primary data has been collected through survey research method. A structured questionnaire is

prepared and necessary information is gathered from the customers with the help of these

questionnaires.

SECONDARY DATA:

Required information is gathered by referring to the books and surfing the net.

METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY:

The methodology adopted for the study was that of the field survey method. A structured

Questionnaire was administered to a total of 146 times of India magazines customers in the areas of

Hyderabad and Secunderabad .the structured questionnaire was designed to elicit information on

various aspects of the respondents. The questionnaire contains both open ended as well close-ended

questions.

DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH

STEPS in the descriptive research: Statement of the problem

 Identification of information needed to solve the problem

 Selection or development of instruments for gathering the information

 Identification of target population and determination of sampling Plan.

 Design of procedure for information collection

 Collection of information

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  Analysis of information

 Generalizations and/or predictions

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY:

1. Sample size is only 146 and their perception does not reflect the perception of the entire

market.

2. The survey is conducted only in some areas and does not reflect the perception of the entire

market.

3. Customers’ perception may change from time to time.

4. Customers may provide wrong information.

5. The research is carried out only from the subscribers of the Times of India.

6. The project is carried out for the period of 40 days.

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CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE
REVIEW

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The Consumer Behaviour
According to philip kotler "consumer behaviour is all psychological, social and physical

behaviour of potential customers as they become aware of, evaluate, purchase, dispose, consume and

tell others about products and services".

Consumer is defined as the behaviour that consumers discipline in searching for

purchasing, using, evaluating, and disposing of products, services and ideas they expect will satisfy

their needs. the study of consumer behaviour is concerned not only with that cunsumers buy, but

also with why they buy it; it is concerned with learning the specific meanings that products hold for

consumers.

Factors Affecting Consumer Behaviour

Consumer purchases are influenced strongly by the following factors. For the most part, marketers

cannot control such factors, they must take them into account.

1. Cultural factors:

Cultural factors exert a board and deep influence on consumer behaviour. The marketer needs to

understand the role played by the buyer’s culture, subculture, and social class.

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Culture:

Culture refers to the set of values, ideas, and attitudes that are accepted by a homogenous group of

people and transmitted to the next generation.

Culture also determines what is acceptable with product advertising. Culture also determines what

people wear, eat, reside and travel. Marketers are always trying to spot cultural shifts in order to

discover new products that might be wanted.

Subculture

Each culture consists of smaller subcultures that provide more specific identification and

socialization to their members. Subcultures include nationalities, religions, racial groups and

geographic regions.

Social class

Almost every society has some form of social class structure. Social classes are society’s relatively

permanent and ordered divisions whose members share similar values, interests, and behaviours.

2. Social factors:

A consumer’s behaviour also influenced by social factors, such as the consumer’s small groups,

family, and social roles and status.

Groups

A person’s behaviour is influenced by many small groups. Groups that have a direct influence and to

which a person belongs are called membership groups. In contrast, reference groups serve as direct

(face–to-face) or indirect point of comparison or reference in forming a person’s attitude or

behaviour. People are often are influenced by reference groups to which they do not belong.

Marketers try to identify the reference groups of their target markets. Reference groups expose a

person to new behaviours and lifestyles, influences the person’s attitudes and self-concept, and create

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pressures to confirm that may affect the person’s product and brand choices. An opinion leader is the

person who offers informal advice or information about a product or product category.

Family:

The family is the most important consumer buying organization in society, and family members

constitute the most influential primary reference group, and it has been researched extensively.

Marketers are interested in the roles and influence of the husband, wife, and children on the purchase

off different products and services.

Marketers must understand that:

 Many family decisions are made by the family unit.

 Consumer behaviour starts in the family unit.

 family roles and preferences are the model for children's future family (can reject/alter/etc)

 family buying decisions are a mixture of family interactions and individual decision making

 Family acts an interpreter of social and cultural values for the individual. Each stage in the

family life cycle creates different consumer demands.

Roles and status:

A role consists of the activities a person is expected to perform. Each role carries a status. A

senior marketing vice president has more status than a sales manager. People choose products that

reflect and communicate their role and actual or desired status in society. Markers must be aware of

the status symbol potential of products and brands.

3. Personal factors:

A buyer’s decisions also are influenced by personal characteristics such as the buyer’s age and life-

cycle stage, occupation, economic situation, lifestyle, and personality and self-concept.

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Age and life-cycle stage:

People change the goods and services they buy over their lifetimes. Tastes in food, clothes, furniture,

and recreation are often age related. Buying is also shaped by the stage of the family life cycle—the

stages through which families might pass as they mature over time. Marketers often define their

target markets in terms of life-cycle stage and develop appropriate products and marketing plans for

each stage.

Occupation:

A person’s occupation affects the goods and services bought. Blue-collar workers are tend to buy

more rugged work clothes, where executives buy more business suits. Marketers try to identify the

occupational groups that have an above-average interest in their products and services.

Economic situation:

A person’s economic situation will affect product choice. Marketers of income-sensitive goods watch

trends in personal income, savings, and interest rates. If the economic indicators point to recession,

marketers can take steps to redesign, reposition, and reprice their products closely. Some marketers

target consumers who have lots of money and resources, charging prices to match.

Lifestyle:

People coming from the same subculture, social class and occupation may have quiet different

lifestyles. Lifestyle is a person’s pattern of living as expressed in his or her psychographics. It

involves measuring consumers’ major AIO dimensions—activities (work, hobbies, shopping, sports,

social events), interests (food, fashion, family, recreation), and options (about themselves, social

issues, business, products). Lifestyle captures something more than the person’s social class or

personality.

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Personality and self-concept:

Personality refers to a set of distinguishing human psychological traits that lead to relatively

consistent and enduring responses to environmental stimuli (including buying behaviour). We often

describe in terms of such traits as self-confidence, dominance, autonomy, deference, sociability,

defensiveness, and adaptability. It can be useful variable in analysing consumer brand choices. The

idea is that brands also have personalities, and consumers are likely to choose brands whose

personalities match their own. We define brand personality as the specific mix of human traits that

we can attribute to a particular brand.

Many marketers use a concept related to personality---a person’s self-concept (also called self-

image). The basic self-concept premise is that people’s possessions contribute to and reflect their

identities: that is, “we are what we have”. Thus in order understand consumer behaviour, the

marketer must first understand the relationship between self-concept and possessions.

4. Psychological factors:

A person’s buying choices are further influenced by four major psychological factors: motivation,

perception, learning, and beliefs and attitudes.

Motivation:

A need becomes a motive when it is aroused to a sufficient level of intensity. A motive (or drive) an

internal energizing force that orients a person's activities toward satisfying a need or achieving a

goal. Motives often operate at a subconscious level therefore are difficult to measure. If marketers

can identify motives then they can better develop a marketing mix.

Psychologists have developed theories of human motivation. Two of the most popular---the theories

of Sigmund Freud and Abraham Maslow—have quite different meanings for consumer analysis and

marketing.

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Freud’s theory suggests that a person’s buying decisions are affected by subconscious motives

that even the buyer may not fully understand. Thus an aging baby boomer who buys a sporty BMW

330CI convertible might explain that he simply likes the feel of the wind in his thinning hair. At a

deeper level, he may be trying to impress others with his success. At still deeper level, he may be

buying a car to feel young and independent again.

MASLOW'S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS:

Abraham Maslow’s needs hierarchy theory says that human needs are arranged in a hierarchy, as

shown in the figure below, from the most pressing at the bottom to the least pressing at the top. They

include psychological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization needs.

A person tries to satisfy the most important need first. When that need is satisfied, it will stop being a

motivator and the person will then try to satisfy the next most important need.

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Perception:

Perception is the process by which people select, organize, and interpret information to form a

meaningful picture of the world.

People can perform different perceptions of the same stimulus because of three perceptual processes:

selective attention, selective distortion, selective retention. people are exposed to a great amount of

stimuli every day.

Selective attention—the tendency for people to screen out most of the information to which they are

exposed—means that marketers must especially hard to attract the consumer’s attention. Selective

distortion describes the tendency of people to interpret information into a existing in a way that will

support what they already believe. Because of selective retention, consumers are like to remember

good points made about a brand that they favour and forget good points made about competing

brands. Because of selective exposure, distortion, retention, marketers must work hard to get their

messages through.

Learning:

When people act, they learn. Learning describes changes in an individual’s behaviour arising from

experience. Learning theorists say that most human behaviour is learned. Learning occurs through

the interplay of drives, stimuli, cues, responses, and reinforcement.

A drive is a strong internal stimulus that calls for action. A drive becomes a motive when it is

directed toward a particular stimulus object. Cues are minor stimuli that determine when, where, and

how the person responds.

Beliefs and Attitudes:

Through doing and learning people acquire beliefs and attitudes. These, in turn, influence their

buying behaviour. A belief is a descriptive thought that a person has about something. Beliefs may be

based on real knowledge, opinion, or faith and may or may not carry an emotional charge. Marketers

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are interested in the beliefs, because these make up product and brand images that affect buying

behaviour.

People have attitudes regarding religion, politics, clothes, music, food, and almost everything else.

Attitude describes a person’s relatively consistent evaluations, feelings, and tendencies toward an

object or idea. Attitudes put people into a frame of mind of liking or disliking things, of moving

toward or away from them.

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 CHAPTER-3

COMPANY PROFILE

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MAGZINES INDUSTRY:
The Indian magazine industry is open to international magazines as Western markets are

getting more saturated. There is no doubt that India is one of the emerging markets with international

players wanting to venture into India.

Leading English-language magazines cost 40 to 50 bucks a copy. A long time ago, to drive

circulation as high as it could go, India's print media took the easy way out by slashing cover prices.

Thus, the advertisers used to pay maximum fund to publish the magazine.

Today that model looks rather old. Because India got cable television in the early ‘90s, so

people are not showing so much interest in the printed advertisements. Even companies are

wondering if they even need mainstream magazines, seeing that they can reach their audience with a

mix of TV and newspapers.

As a result, magazines are being forced to take drastic measures. When Conde Nast launched

its premium lifestyle magazine Vogue in India last year, it carried a whopping 168 pages of

advertisements of a total 400 pages.

Print publication advertising revenues in India generated Rs 9,400crore ($2.4 billion) in 2007,

or 48 per cent of all of the country's media advertising revenues, Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC)

said in a recent report. Whereas TV ads generated 41 percent of the country’s media advertising

revenue. With the economy having grown at an average rate of 8.75 per cent in the last four years,

middle class incomes have raised, boosting demand for niche magazines on health, leisure and

finances.

Western markets are not so much behind in the race. The facts and figures are unbelievable.

 2,600 magazines are sold every minute of every day in the UK

 People in the UK spend around £2bn on magazines each year

 80% of women regularly read a consumer magazine

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  Consumer magazine sales have increased by 4.3% over the past 5 years and the average
UK adult now purchases almost 30 magazines every year!

COMPANY PROFILE

Bennett, Coleman

The Times of India (TOI) is a popular English-language broadsheet newspaper in India. It has

the largest circulation among all English-language newspapers in the world, across all formats

(broadsheet, tabloid, compact, Berliner and online). It is owned and managed by Bennett, Coleman

& Co. Ltd. which is owned by the Sahu Jain family.

In 2008, the newspaper reported that (with a circulation of over 3.14 million) it was certified

by the Audit Bureau of Circulations as the world's largest selling English-language daily newspaper,

placing as the 8th largest selling newspaper in any language in the world. According to the Indian

Readership Survey (IRS) 2010, the Times of India is the most widely read English newspaper in

India with a readership of 13.4 million. This ranks the Times of India as the top English newspaper

in India by readership. According to ComScore, TOI Online is the world's most-visited newspaper

website with 159 million page views in May 2009, ahead of the New York Times, The Sun,

Washington Post, Daily Mail and USA Today websites

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 The first edition appears on November 3, 1838 known as "The Bombay Times and Journal of

Commerce", later to be known as “The Times of India “.The issue is published twice a week. Dr. J.E.

Brennan the first editor and also Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce for The Times Of India. Rs

30/- is the annual subscription.

MISSION & VISION:

Mission of “TIMES OF INDIA”

“The Times of India Group is the aggregator of content in any form in the infotainment Industry. We

collect & sell content to right target audience”.

The Mantra: “YOU ARE EMPOWERED “

HISTORY

1861

Editor Robert Knight amalgamates The Bombay Times, Bombay Standard and Bombay Telegraph &

Courier to form 'The Times of India' and gives it a national character.

1890

Editor Henry Curwen buys TOI in partnership with Charles Kane.

1892

Following the death of Henry Curwen, T. J. Bennett becomes the editor and enters into a partnership

with F.M. Coleman to form a joint stock company - Bennett, Colemen & Co. Ltd. (BCCL).

1946

For the first time the paper transfers to Indian ownership. Seth Ramakrishna Dalmia buys out

Bennett, Coleman & Co.Ltd. for Rs. 2 crores.

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1948

Sahu Jain Group becomes the owners of the company. Shanti Prasad Jain is the first Chairman of the

group

1950

Navbharat Times launched

1952

Filmfare- first film magazine in English launched

1959

Femina- first women’s magazine in English launched.

1961

The Economic Times launched

1962

Maharashtra Times launched

1998

BCCL enters into music market with Times Music.

1999

 Indiatimes.com launched

 BCCL enters music retailing business with Planet M and radio broadcasting business with

Radio Mirchi.

2004

 ZOOME Paper launched

 Launch of the jobs portal Times Jobs http://www.timesjobs.com.

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2005

 Mumbai Mirror launched

 TimesMatri.com - Launched in August - re-launched as SimplyMarry.com in December

2006.

2006

TIMES NOW – TV News Channel launched

Ads2Book.com – The World’s Only Global Ad Booking Engine was relaunch.

MARKET PLAYERS:

Women’s Magazines:

 Elle India: Elle India, India's foremost fashion and beauty magazine and world's largest

selling fashion brand was launched seven years ago. It is targeted at the urban, contemporary

woman (age group 18 to 35).

 Women’s Era: A fortnightly women magazine from Delhi Press, featuring issues on

health, relations, sex, well being, parenting, stories, and eBooks.

 Femina: Fortnightly magazine on beauty, fashion, cuisine, fitness, career, and lifestyle.

 Cosmopolitan: International magazine about fashion, household decoration, cooking,

management of children and the care.

 Vogue: It is a magazine all about fashion, features and more on style.

 Marie Claire: Information on fashion, style, beauty, women’s issues, careers, health &

fitness etc.

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Entertainment Magazine:

 Stardust: Offers Bollywood news, gossip, movie reviews, pictures, and interviews.

 Filmfare: India’s premier film magazine. They offer Exciting stories, Exclusive interviews,

Sneak previews, Entertainment, Gossip.

 Movie: weekly magazine provides entertaining & informative look at the film scene,

including movie review.

Auto Magazine:

 Overdrive: India's #1 Car and Bike Magazine contains news, reviews, tests and

performance, numbers of cars and bikes available in India and around the world.

 Autocar: ‘Autocar India’ is the leading car and bike magazine, Latest road test on cars and

bikes, reviews, first drives, news, features, etc.

 TopGear: Top Gear most entertaining car magazine, in-depth car buying information with a

mix of humor.

Celebrity magazine:

 Hello! Hello! Is Specializes in celebrity news and gossip.

 Hi-Blitz: Hi-Blitz is a unique magazine that covers role models from all walks of life. It

captures the current lifestyle boom in India with lush photos matched with Indian culture.

 Ok: Exclusive celebrity news, hot photos and videos, fashion, entertainment, etc.

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Interior Designing Magazine:

 Good Homes: Good Homes is a decorating magazine which shares its readers' passion for

updating and transforming their homes. It also interprets latest looks with inspirational

interiors. It is one kind of practical consumer shopping guides.

 Inside Outside: India's premier architectural, landscaping, art & design magazine.

 ociety Interiors: Society Interiors – India’s leading design magazine from the house of

Magna – has become a name to reckon with in the world of architecture and interior design.

Business & Economic Affairs Magazine:

 The Economist: The economist is a weekly international news and business publication

offering clear reporting, commentary and analysis on world politics, business, finance,

science and technology.

 Forbes: Forbes magazine is published fortnightly. The magazine is well-known for its lists,

including its lists of the richest Americans (the Forbes 400) and its list of billionaires.

The motto of Forbes magazine is "The Capitalist Tool."

 Fortune: Fortune is a global business magazine published by Time Inc.'s Fortune Money

Group. Fortune was founded by Henry Luce in 1930 and the publishing business, consisting

of Time, Life, Fortune, and Sports.

PRODUCT PROFILE

THE TIMES OF INDIA: The Times of India (TOI) is a popular English-language

broadsheet daily newspaper in India. The newspaper has the widest circulation among all English-

Language broadsheets in the world. In 2008, the newspaper reported that (with a circulation of over

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3.14 million) it was certified by the Audit Bureau of Circulation as the world’s largest selling English

broadsheet newspaper and making them as the 8th largest selling newspaper in any language in the

world. According to Indian Readership Survey (IRS) 2008, it has gained readership by 13.3 million.

Rank them as the Top English Newspaper in India by readership.

THE ECONOMIC TIMES: The Economic Times, launched in 1961, is India’s largest

financial daily and the world’s second largest financial daily after The Wall Street Journal, with a

daily circulation of over 6,20,000 copies. The Economic Times is characterized by its salmon-pink

paper, all of which is recycled. It is also the favorite newspaper among the city’s business houses. It

is sold in all major cities in India.

FEMINA: Femina is a magazine, published fortnightly in India. It is owned by Worldwide Media,

a 50: 50 joint venture between BBC Worldwide and The Times Group. It is primarily a women’s

magazine and features articles on Readerships, Beauty & Fashion, Cuisine, and Health & Fitness. It

also features articles on celebrities and various cultural facets of Indian women.

Femina was first published in July 1959. It has organized and sponsored the Femina

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Miss India beauty pageant since 1964. From 1994 to 1999, it also sponsored the Femina Look of the

year contest to send an Indian contestant to the Elite Model Look competition.

Femina is the title of four magazines:

 Femina (India), a fortnightly women’s magazine owned by the Times Group and published in

India since July 1959.

 Femina (Indonesia), the first women’s magazine in Indonesia. Published by the Femina

Group since September 1972.

 Femina (South Africa), a monthly women’s magazine published in South Africa.

 Femina (Sweden), a monthly women’s magazine published by Allers in Sweden since 1944.

GRAZIA: Grazia is an Italian, weekly women’s glossy magazine, with international editions in

Australia, United Kingdom, Greece, Portugal, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Croatia and Serbia. In Italy,

it is owned by the Mondadori (one of Berlusconi’s companies), and is owned in the UK under license

by Bauer Consumer Media. In Italy, on average it sells 218,000 copies.

Magazine Grazia was recently launched in India with a circulation of 100.000 copies distributed in

25 cities throughout the country. After successfully joining the British market, the weekly (monthly

in India) magazine aims to conquer the modern women of the Indian contemporary society.

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Grazia is the world’s fastest growing women’s magazine, a fashion bible that’s hugely popular with

style conscious women across the globe. Grazia is the leading fashion & lifestyle magazine in Italy,

the no. 1 glossy in Britain, the most sought-after-weekly in Dubai, & an absolute sellout in Russia,

Croatia & Greece to name just a few.

HELLO: European celebrity news magazine Hello! was launch in India on 21st March, 2007. The

magazine was being bought to India by Worldwide Media (WWM), a 50:50 company owned by

BBC Worldwide and The Times Group. Hello! is a weekly magazine specializing in celebrity news

and gossip, published in Britain.

Owned by Spanish Publisher Sanchez Junco, Hello! UK was first published in 1988. In the UK,

Hello! Accounts for 23 per cent of the celebrity magazine market since its very inception.

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Hello! have been part of the publishing industry for over 63 years and the Indian edition, which is

appearing monthly, is retaining its international format.

The larger-than-life romances, the ’bling’ homes, the to-die-for fashion and class, the ‘gigagorgeous’

women and men, all packaged into a high gloss monthly.

Hello! Sells editions in Britain, Republic of Ireland, India, UAE, Spain, Mexico, Turkey, Russia,

Thailand, Greece, Canada, and since 2007 Serbia.

THE ECONOMIST: The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international

affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in London. Continuous

publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843. While The Economist calls itself

a newspaper, each issue appears on glossy paper, like a newsmagazine. In 2007, it reported an

average circulation of just over 1.3 million copies per issue, about half of which are sold in North

America.

The Publication belongs to The Economist Group, half of which is owned by the Financial Times, a

subsidiary of Pearson PLC. A group of independent shareholders, including many members of the

staff and the Rothschild banking family of England, owns the rest. A board of trustees formally

appoints the editor, who cannot be removed without their permission.

FILMFARE: Fimfare is a tabloid English-language Indian cinema fan magazine, comparable to

The Sun in UK. Published in Mumbai, India, it highlights the doing of the Bollywood film scene.

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The most popular entertainment magazine in India, it is read by the overseas Indian community

worldwide.

Filmfare is India’s most widely-read and respected film magazine. It covers all aspects of the Hindi

film industry from film gossip to interviews with celebrated stars, directors, singers, music

composers and lyricists to trade analysis and archival material. Its access to the stars is unrivalled

and it has high reader interaction as well. It holds the annual Filmfare Awards event, and brings out a

special Awards issue every year.

GOOD HOMES: Good Homes is a decorating magazine that shares it readers’ passion for

updating and transforming their homes. Supportive BBC TV’s property and homes programmes.

Good Homes interprets the latest looks with inspirational interiors and practical consumer shopping

guides.

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A magazine of style, substance and value, Good Homes is packed with property news, inspirational

reader homes, stunning transformations and exclusive decorating room schemes. Good Homes

Magazine is a trusted, quality magazine.

TOP GEAR: Top Gear is an automobile magazine published by BBC Worldwide, and named after

the BBC’s Top Gear television show. It was first published in October 1993 and is published monthly

at a price of Rs. 80. The major presenters of the television series- Richard Hammond, James May

and Jeremy Clarkson- are regular contributors, along with the series’ production staff.

It is the UK’s leading general interest car magazine in sales terms, with over 2,00,000 issues sold a

month (July- December 2007). Licensed editions are also published in China, the Czech Republic,

Greece, the Middle East, the Philippines, Indonesia, South Korea, Russia, The Netherlands, New

Zealand, Thailand, India, Romania, Sweden and most recently Malaysia (through Astro) and

Singapore. On 7th May 2007, it was released in Bulgaria, on 16 November 2007 in Italy, on 14th

February, 2008 in Poland. An Australian edition was brought out in June 2008. Hong Kong Chinese

edition was released in October 2008.

After a year, the Polish edition is the third biggest in world, after the UK and Russian release.

STAGES OF GROWTH:

 To empower the reader to live the life of their dreams.

 To facilitate better decision.

 To provoke Thought

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  Global Experience.

 Love for the community

 Adopt the Reader’s worldwide view.

 Liberate the mind

 Cheerfulness in the circus of life.

We grow at this stage because:

OUR CENTRAL VALUE IS YOU!

S-W-O-T ANALYSIS

STRENGHTS:

1) Brand name.

2) Experience of more than 50 years.

3) Leaders in lifestyle magazines.

4) Pricing Strategy.

5) Value for money.

6) Femina is the largest circulating women’s magazines.

7) Film fare is the largest selling entertainment magazine.

8) Brand Awareness.

9) International exposure

WEAKNESSES: --After sales service issue.

1) Less promotion.

2) Unavailability in regional language.

3) Language barrier.

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OPPORTUNITIES: --

1) Rising literacy.

2) High Growth in magazine industry i.e. 16% CAGR (compound annual growth

rate).

3) Globalization of Culture, entertainment, business, media, fashion etc.

4) English is becoming the most preferred language in India.

5) Per capita Income is increasing rapidly.

THREATS: --

1) Major International and National players are entering into the magazine market, i.e.

Forbes, Vogue, Time etc.

2) Electronic media and internet are major threats for “Times Group” magazines.

3) Rental Plan offered by the local magazine vendors.

4) Competitors like, stardust, cineblitz, local regional magazines, cosmopolitan, Elle,

People, Hiblitz etc.

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 CHAPTER-4
DATA ANALYSIS AND
INTERPRETATION

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The number of respondents based on Gender.

Type of
No of Respondents
Respondent

Male 112
Female 34
Total 146

T1- Table showing The number of respondents based on Gender.

female
23%

male
77%

A3- showing The number of respondents based on Gender.

INFERENCE: From the above graph we can interpret that majority (77%) of the respondents are

male and remaining 23% are female.

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The number of respondents based on Age.

Age Class TOTAL

18-25 34
26-35 66
36-45 20
46 & above 26
Total 146

T2- Table showing The number of respondents based on Age.

70

60

50
RESPONDENTS

40

30

20

10

0
18-25 26-35 36-45 46 & above
AGE

A4-chart showing The number of respondents based on Age.

INFERENCES:

 Majority of the respondents are (66) in the age group of 26-35 and they constitute 45%

of the total respondents

 There are 34 respondents from 18-25 age group and they constitute 23% of the sample.

 26 respondents are from the age group of above 46 years, they account for 17% in the

sample.

 Respondents from the age group 36-45 are 20 in number and they account for 15% of the

total.

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The number of respondents based on their Occupation

Number of
Occupation Total
Respondents
Students 16
Businessmen 66
Beauticians 10
146
Hair stylists 22
Doctors 10
House holds 22

T3- Table showing The number of respondents based on their Occupation

70

60

50
RESPONDENTS

40

30

20

10

0
Students Businessmen Beauticians Hair stylists Doctors House holds
OCCUPATION

A5-Chart showing The number of respondents based on their Occupation

INFERENCES:

Majority of the respondents (66) surveyed were businessmen who include Professionals

owning some kind of business, followed by House-holds and hairstylists who constitute 22 of the

total respondents. Though percentage of beautician is less but there is a great scope for increasing the

customer base in this segments.

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Is this magazine is value for money

YES NO TOTAL
137 9 146
T-4 Table showing the no of respondents based on the magazine value for them

NO
6%

YES
94%

A6-Chart showing the no of respondents based on the magazine value for them

INFERENCES:

From the above analysis response of the customer was very good out of 146 samples, 94%

customers have agreed that the magazine is worth buying, 5% customers have not agreed. This

shows that the company was successful in satisfying the needs and wants of the customers.

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The parameters on which the magazine is worth buying

Ad brand content offers price cover story all the above Total
22 2 42 18 9 21 23 137

T-5 Table showing the no of respondents based on the various parameters of magazine

all the above ad

brand name

cover story

content
price

offer

A5-Chart showing the no of respondents based on the various parameters of magazine

INFERENCES:

When compared with the other parameters the majority of customer s are interested more on the

content part i.e.42 out of 137 samples, and rest of them are interested in ad(22), brand(2), offers(18),

price(9), cover story(21), all the above(23).

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Time spent by the respondents in reading the magazines daily:

<15min 15-30min 30-45min >45min TOTAL

28 75 29 14 146

T6- Table showing the no of respondents based on the time spent by them for reading the
magazines daily

more than
45min
less than 15min

30-45

15-30min

A8-Chart showing the no of respondents based on the time spent by them for reading the
magazines daily

INFERENCES:

 51%(75) of the customers spend 15-30 minutes to read the Times of India, since they are not

enough time to read the magazines, whereas few customers felt that there is nothing

interesting to read.

 20% (29) of the customers spend 30-45 minutes to read the magazines, they felt reading is

worth.

 19% (28) of the customers spend less than 15 minutes to read the magazines. They are

really fascinated with the work of there daily life and are not having enough time to go

through even contents.

 Minority of the customers 10 %( 14) who spent more than 45 minutes spend enough time

reading the magazines, they read all the contents in the paper.

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Duration period for the completion of magazine

1 WEEK 2 WEEK 3 WEEKS 4 WEEKS TOTAL

52 44 33 17 146
T7- Table showing the no of respondents based on the Duration period for the completion of
magazine

60

50

40
RESPONDENTS

30

20

10

0
1 WEEK 2 WEEK 3 WEEKS 4 WEEKS
DURATION
A9-Chart showing the no of respondents based on the Duration period for the completion of
magazine

INFRENCES:

 The people who complete magazines in 1 week are 52 from 146.

 Out of 146, 44 customers complete the magazines in 2 weeks.

 Magazines can be completed in 3 weeks; this is said by 33 customers in the survey.

 People who complete magazines in 4 weeks are only 17.

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The other magazines read regularly by respondents

MAGAZINE NAME NO.OF READERS

Auto India& car 2
Wow! 1
Cosmopolitan 2
U& Me 5
Elite 1
Stardust 6
Hair 1
Inside Outside 1
Outlook 1
Women’s era 11
Overdrive 1
TOTAL 32
T8-Table showing the no of respondents reading other magazines

Overdrive 1
Women’s era 11
Outlook 1
Inside Outside 1
Hair 1
Stardust 6
Elite 1
U& Me 5
Cosmopolitan 2
Wow! 1
Auto India&… 2

0 2 4 6 8 10 12
RESPONDENTS

A10-Chart showing the no of respondents reading other magazines

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INFRENCES:

 This is very few since all other are just 1 or 2 they are like wow, u & me.

 These shows there are very few customers who are loyal to the company.

 Out of 147 just 32 are expressed by the customers, this indicates there is friendly nature

towards the company.

Perception about this magazine in comparison with others

This shows the difference between others to our magazines, but unfortunately we got very less

perceptions from the samples.

In this segment we have very few perceptions they are

 High quality

 High price

 More qualitative

 It help to their jobs

 Ads

 Service

 Very innocent

 Magazines for men & women.

Based on this perception we can’t justify the market perception.

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various parameters which makes the respondent to switch to TOI
magazine

Content Price Offers Brand name Advertisement Others

35 30 47 24 10 20
T9-Table showing the no of respondents based on the various switching parameters

advertisement

brand name content

offers
price

A11-Chart showing the no of respondents based on the various switching parameters

INFRENCES:

 32% (47) of the customers are interested in offers of magazines.

 24 %( 35) are interested in the content of magazines from the sample of 146.

 Price is an important thing, in that 20% customers are changed i.e. 30 from the sample.

 Brand name place important role in change that concerned 17%,( 24).

 Minority of the customers 7 %( 6) where concerned about advertisements.

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Columns frequently read by customers
Knowledge Entertainment Expert comment Advertisement others TOTAL
31 74 15 11 15 146

T-10 Table showing the no of respondents based on the columns they read

80
70
60
RESPONDENTS

50
40
30
20
10
0
Knowledge Entertainment Expert comment Advertisement others

A12-Chart showing the no of respondents based on the columns they read

INFRENCES:

 Magazines are for Entertainment so here it took the best position with 74 from the samples.

 31 from the knowledge base columns are read by the customers.

 Experts comments in the magazines are using as a guides so it to has more interest from the

customers i.e. 15 from the 146 samples.

 Advertisements are also shown interested by the customers out of 146 samples 11 are in this

way.

 146 samples are collected in that 15 customers are not specified there interest to view there

favorite column.

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Various reading activities replaced by TOI magazines

Novels Newspapers Reading on internet Journals others TOTAL

13 78 37 6 12 146
T11-Table showing the no of respondents based on their reading activities which were replaced
by TOI magazines

90
80
70
RESPONDENTS

60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Novels Newspapers Reading on internet Journals others
READING ACTIVITES

A13-Chart showing the no of respondents based on their reading activities which were replaced
by TOI magazines

INFRENCES:

 From the samples 78 of magazines are replaced instead of newspapers from 146 samples.

 Customers are used to read contents from the internet, now they are replaced by the

magazines they are 37 in number from 146.

 12 customers didn’t specified.

 Customers are used to spend time with Novels now they are replaced by magazines that are

13 in number out of 146.

 6 customers used to read journals now they are replaced by magazines.

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Customer satisfaction towards TOI magazines

Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor disagree Agree Strongly agree TOTAL
6 15 27 60 38
146
T12-Table showing the no of respondents based on their satisfaction towards TOI magazines

Strongly
disagree
Disagree
Strongly agree

Neither agree
nor disagree

Agree

A14-Chart showing the no of respondents based on their satisfaction towards TOI magazines

INFRENCES:

 60 customers from the survey are agreed that they life style is matches to there brand, from

the 146 samples.

 6 from the sample strongly agrees that they matches to there life style to the brand.

 There are 27 from 146 who neither agree nor disagree.

 Brand does not matches to there lifestyle they are 15 from 146.

 Strongly disagree, this criteria followed by the 38 members.

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 FINDINGS
The major findings that I found are:

• Businesspeople are purchasing magazines mostly for their personal use or for their clients.

• According to customers relevant content (32%), Offers (24%), Brand name are the most

essential factors.

• The promotional strategy of The Times of India is more effective than rivals.

• Doctor’s clinic is the hot prospect for magazine

• Duration period for the completion of a magazine is hardly a week.

• In survey it is observed that some readers are looking for Sports Magazine from TOI.

• As per the survey conducted most of the people are interested in reading Entertainment

columns .

• Mostly the respondents ‘purchase decision' is influenced by content & cover story.

• Age group between 26-35 covers the larger portion in consumption of the magazines there

are 45% of them.

• Mostly people spend 15-30 mins in reading the magazines daily which covers 51% of the

total sample size.

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 CHAPTER-5
CONCLUSION AND
SUGESSTIONS

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 CONCLUSIONS
 The promotional offer of the Times of India is doing really well

 Majority of the respondents surveyed were businessmen, doctors who buy either for

their personal use or for their clients.

 Though percentage of beautician and hairstylist is less in our survey but there is a great

scope for increasing the customer base in these segments.

 However there are certain issues in which TOI should improve such as Ad-to-content

ratio, providing prompt delivery, etc since retaining a customer is more important than

attracting a new customer

Hence we can say that with the help of Exciting offers the Times of India is

able to attract lots of new customers and thus increase its circulation.

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 SUGGESTIONS
After interacting with people, I realize that both Fortnightly and Monthly magazines are

very popular among all categories of the sample taken. They want those magazines more

frequently as the content are good and the information provided by those magazine are very

much reliable. So Company can also think on the frequency of the existing magazines.

• Majority of the customers felt the magazines are value for money because of its quality

content. So the content writers need to make sure the content is qualitative particularly in the

knowledge sections.

• The sales team should target those segments where there is a waiting for people getting

serviced such as salons, clinics etc.

• The Times group should focus on maintaining the brand value and its connect with its

customers as they perceive the times group magazines are totally in sync with their lifestyle.

• Promotional offers should be attractive & new for time to time as it is one of the important

influencing factor.

• Some of the customers are facing problem in the delivery system of magazines and the gifts

which they get along during promotional offers. so the times group should make sure that the

delivery system is more efficient

• Executives/company should communicate the features of products to the customers in best

understandable way. So an executive/company should always keep in mind that they have to

create the want rather than need in the minds of customer.

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 APPENDIX-A

RMD-Results and market development

Response- Sales Department
NIE- News paper in education- Targeting to students

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 APPENDIX-B

QUESTIONNAIRE
1) Do you think this magazine is value for money?

a) Yes b) No

If yes, on what parameter?

a) Content b) Ad c) Cover story d) Price d) Offers e) Brand f) All the above

2) How much time do you spend reading a magazine a day?

a) Less than15 minutes b) 15-30 minutes c) 30-45 minutes d) More than 45min

3) How many days would you take to complete this magazine?

a) 1 week b) 2 week c) 3 week d) 4 week

4) Which magazine would you read regularly in this segment?

.........................................................................................................................................

If any, what is your perception about this magazine in comparison with that?

.........................................................................................................................................

5) What makes you to change your magazine?

a) Content b) Price c) Offers d) Brand name e) Advertisement

6) What other magazines do you read?

.........................................................................................................................................

7) Which column do you read regularly?

a) Knowledge b) Entertainment c) Expert Comment d) Advertisement

e)Specify....................

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8) How often does the magazine replace one of the following reading activities?

a) Novels b) News paper c) reading on internet d) Journals

9) Is this brand matches your life style?

a) Strongly disagree b) Disagree c) Neither agree nor disagree d) Agree

e) Strongly agree

10) Any suggestions:

......................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................ ........

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 BIBLOGRAPHY

Books

 Consumer behavior, 9th edition by Leon Schiffman and Leslie Lazer kanuk.

 Principles of markering, 12e by Philip Kotler and Gary Armstrong.

 Marketing management, 13e by Philip Kotler, Keller, Koshy, and Jha.

 Kothari, C.R. (2006). Research Methodology Methods & Technology 2/e Vishwa Prakashan.

 G.C. Beri’s Marketing Research - 4th edition.

Websites

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

www.hoovers.com/magazine-publishers-/--ID__124--/free-ind-fr-profile-basic.xhtml

http://www.udel.edu/alex/chapt6.html

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