Mid Day comes out with a mega issue on its 32nd anniversary

Mid Day is releasing a special issue today in Mumbai, Pune, Delhi and Bangalore today, as it turns 32. The issue will have 200 pages of pure infotainment in Mumbai and 64 pages in Delhi, Bangalore and Pune each. The cover price for the issue is going to be Rs.10 in Mumbai and will be based on the theme Fast Forward and will look at how our transport and infrastructure, education, entertainment, sports, food and lifestyle will change more than three decades from now.

Sachin Kalbag, Executive Editor, Mid Day, tells Adgully, "This is our 32nd anniversary issue and as always it will be a bumper issue. Of the 200 pages in Mumbai there will be a main edition of our paper, there will be a 24 page broadsheet on property and real estate in Mumbai called Hot Property and followed by a 144 page section which will be an ensemble of 6 topics-based content with 24 pages each dedicated to a theme. The themes being transport and infrastructure, education, entertainment, sports, food and lifestyle."

The issue will have interviews and written pieces on the basis of what experts think about the future in each of the fields like transport and infrastructure, education, entertainment, sports, food and lifestyle is going to be like. A special interview with Karan Johar and Aamir Khan on the future of entertainment is something that is part of the special issue.

Kalbag adds, "One of the most innovative thing about this issue is that every section will have a two page comic book i.e keeping in with the six themes I mentioned before. These are specially commissioned comics which will be part of our issue."

The print run has been increased for today and about 15,000 to 20,000 copies more have been printed, as the team is expecting an increase in demand.

Talking about the advertiser response, Kalbag says, "The advertiser response has been brilliant, we have got 50% advertising in the issue. So about 100-110 pages are going to be advertisements. Moreover the special issue is also going to come in a bag which has been a sponsored bag from one of our advertising partners."

He further adds that it took the team a month to put the issue together, because apart from the regular issues the team had to put in extra time and effort in collecting and collaborating on the content. "In between the team also had to go through the traumatic experience of the death of Joy Dey, Editor (Crime and Investigations), Mid Day. His death was very saddening for us but we had to keep at it and finish the work on this issue," Kalbag adds.

The Group had already been placing ads in the daily for a few days now. Since the team did not want to give out too much of information and keep the big issue as a surprise under wraps, the team decided against large scale promotions till the issue is out. However the publication did carry virals across the social media, so as to create a buzz.

As the issue will be out today, there will be reader promos and specials offers throughout the day. | By Prabha Hegde [prabha(at)adgully.com]