Exclusive | Ei Samay's launched- Battle royale begins!

The response from the readers according to Kaustuv Chatterjee, Vice President, Branding (Languages), BCCL, “has been overwhelming.” In a chat with Adgully, he mentioned that the paper has seen ‘Stock-outs’ on most newsstands and cash points.

 

Says Chatterjee, “The inaugural issue of 72 pages was planned as a collector's item and was received as such by the Bengali daily reader. All the copies sold out quite quickly with lots of enquiries following for the same after the stock out. The issue was also packed with advertising across sectors and leading brands with quite a few full page ads. Looking at the tremendous response we received for the same we are re-printing the inaugural 72 page issue again in a limited quantity. With this issue we have set a new benchmark with respect to innovation (the front French window innovation and center spread illustration cum letter from the editor) among dailies in India.”

 

With Ei Samay, BCCL aims to expand the reader’s horizon. It aims to connect with the aspirational Bengali who is progressive, modern and optimistic about the future. Adds Chatterjee, “Our current TVC expresses and mirrors this aspiration by using Bengali rock as the symbol of the progressive change and popular culture of Kolkata. Our marketing and brand building activities will be centered around enabling success, achievement of one's dreams and goals, self discovery and breaking down of stereotypes.”Further he feels that is not a rejection of the old in the pursuit of the new, rather a re-interpretation, a kind of taking the best that the past has to offer for a better future for all. “In the next 6 months we will launch programs that demonstrate our vision and provide our readers a platform that enables their growth / success, he adds.

 

Before launching BCCL did a lot of market and consumer research and found that the modern Bengali in Kolkata mirrors the aspirations of his Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore or Chennai counterparts.  The success of Bengali rock, contemporary Bengali cinema are a couple of examples of what ticks with this consumer – new modern expressions but quintessentially Bengali. Another gap that was identified was that the younger audience felt that Bengali dailies did not have enough global, national coverage and exposure - something they need to be at par with their counterparts in Delhi, Mumbai and other metros / important mini metros. Says Chatterjee, “we found that Bengali dailies were not seen to be fully reflecting this shift in culture and identity. The insight and point of difference was that Bengali readers loved Kolkata, its literature, language, its food and its peculiar idiosyncrasies more than anything else. Therefore while success is important the quest is to achieve without having to compromise on roots and Bengali identity.”

 

As far as the pricing is concerned, the Kolkata market being very price sensitive, Ei Samay has been launched with an inciting introductory offer of Rs 175 for a 6 month subscription which roughly translates to Rs 1 / day. This is quite an aggressive pricing and will appeal to consumers who are price conscious. “After the first 6 months we are confident that consumers will get addicted to Ei Samay and migrate to normal subscription prices,”  says Chatterjee.

 

On being asked on the long-term focus of the newspaper, Chatterjee said, “Our main focus is be to be a thought leader in the Bengali daily space and quickly build a dominant readership share among the modern, progressive and aspirational Kolkatans. An associated objective is to also be a medium of choice to advertisers with a SEC A skew amongst their TG.”

 

The Bengali newspaper market is choked with dailies of all kind, the current leader being Ananda Bazar Partika, followed by a host of smaller papers. Thus competition is very fierce by BCCL seems confident of its offering and is unfazed. Says Chatterjee, “We welcome competition and are driven by it. Our aim is to build our own unique identity in Kolkata and provide a differentiated and compelling product for the modern, progressive Bengali in Kolkata. As such competition is always good; it will always bring out the best offering and value for the consumer.” Quite true! Each player in the market needs to have their own distinct position and value proposition in the market and thereby provide a differentiated choice to the consumer.

 

It is being said that quite a few journalistic & other talent has moved from main competitor’s stable to Ei Samay. On asking this and further how will this help understand the reader’s expectations, Chatterjee replied, “The Times of India Group (BCCL) has always believed that we are in the business of connecting our readers with advertisers. In this brand is our biggest strength and asset. Journalists, brand managers share this common vision along with the other functions such as distribution & production and are committed to keep the interests of readers and advertisers first. This is a business model that has made the Times of India the largest English newspaper brand in the world and also an employer of choice. The people who join us understand this philosophy and are also the best talent in the market.”

 

Traditionally the West Bengal market has been a strong and a rich content driven market where the readers are strongly opinionated and have a reach edit culture. It will be interesting to see how the battle of the giants – the Times group and the ABP pan out. ABP group has launched a morning tabloid, Ebela in a pre-emptive move in addition to its mainline, Ananda Bazar Partika. A strong fight therefore is on the cards given the respective brand strengths and the financial muscle. And as this battle royale rages on, there will be scores of smaller players who will get annihilated in the process.

 

However market sources say it is too early to predict anything as one has to first know the product. Will the readers gain? Will the advertisers benefit? What will be the circulation? All that remains to be seen in the next few months or maybe couple of years. Before that it will be too early to pass the judgment. So while ABP is a strong regional brand, the Times group has all that it takes to take on any market but it’s always subject to getting it right with the taste & preferences of those pampered consumers and how the existing and already accepted ruler respond to it.