With this launch, DB Corp now publishes seven newspapers with 63 editions across 14 states across India, reinforcing its position as India’s largest print media company with an expansive reach across the country.

With the launch of Dainik Bhaskar in Surat, the media conglomerate has stormed Surat city with its dynamic presence, backed by a well-strategised marketing campaign that has once again highlighted Dainik Bhaskar’s execution excellence.

In a state with extremely strong peer segment publishing news in the local language, Gujarati, Dainik Bhaskar has validated its ability to break new ground by establishing presence in a large cosmopolitan city with almost 28 lakh non-Gujarati speaking population. Even in the presence of other formidable news dailies, the people of Surat have wholeheartedly supported the publication’s new offerings.

Readers shared rave reviews of the newspaper adding to the landmark success story.

Surat is a vast and unique market, with a developed industrial belt which is home to some of India’s leading corporates across textile, IT and diamond polishing sectors. The region is taking progressive strides in expanding its infrastructure, transport, communications facilities and also has a strong cultural heritage. The ‘Diamond City’ is amongst the top five fastest growing city in the world, the third cleanest city in India, the second largest city in the state of Gujarat and ranked eighth in India with a GDP of USD 40 Billion.

Girish Agarwaal, promoter director, DB Corp, said, “With the launch of Dainik Bhaskar in Surat, we have consolidated our presence and stronghold in Gujarat. Our launch planning has been meticulous, beginning with the scanning process of strategically classifying the city to understand its demographics. While Surat is a very competitive market with formidable print media companies catering to a large Gujarati readership base, it has significant untapped potential within a very large non-Gujarati speaking readership, which is an important target audience for Dainik Bhaskar. This segment comprises multicultural, industrialised households who have migrated from neighbouring states, having within them a large concentration of readers from Hindi speaking dominating states. Most importantly, they were faced with a limited choice for a Hindi newspaper of international standards with strong local new coverage. We identified this opportunity where Dainik Bhaskar could address the gap through a customised, world-class product for this audience segment.”

Satyajit Sengupta, chief corporate sales and marketing officer, DB Corp, added, “Our single-minded aim has always been to offer a world class, news-led product for consumers seeking not only news but analysis with insightful perspectives, issues that create a progressive impact on daily life, global developments and a segment of engaging content offering readership delight. At Bhaskar, brand building begins from the first day of our surveys when our research team first interacts with potential customers to introduce the product, the company and solicits views and feedback on their requirements, which in turn forms the basis of new product creation. All our activities have been focused on the single objective of creating a strong product with high value proposition. We look forward to fortifying our presence further in Surat and emerge as the choicest medium for advertisers.”

The pre-launch ground study and marketing campaign was accomplished in three phases.

First, area scanning. It involved rigorous study phase to identify non-Gujarati areas and localities, mapping of societies with high potential Hindi newspaper readership, also identified markets, MNCs, corporate houses with a higher concentration of non-Gujarati readership base. The city was divided into four zones and further segmented households into SEC categories.

Second, the first phase of the survey: As with every aggressive pre-launch campaign, which has become a symbol of great assurance for all Bhaskar’s launches across India, the Surat project was led by well-trained surveyors that surveyed across Hindi speaking households in the first phase. The main objective of this survey was to create reader involvement and establish the DB Group’s long standing credibility and goodwill.

The key findings of the survey revealed:

Current immediate needs of Surat city: 98% respondents want Surat’s concerns to reach the government; 88% want focus on law and order; 84% want control on corruption

Identifying key needs of Hindi-speaking readers: 92% seek an international quality Hindi newspaper to highlight issues related to ‘Surat Ke Haq Lea’; 86% seek support in business from government and society; 78% prefer considering air and rail services on priority

Surat’s immediate focus areas: 89% seek focus on strengthening textile industry; 84% seek focus on improvement in the transportation system; 86% seek control over inspector raj.

Third, the booking phase of the survey: It is a culmination phase where the reader is able to see a prototype of his newspaper tailored according to his feedback and needs. The results of the survey conducted in the first phase are shared with the reader as well as a product brochure with competitive strengths. This phase also introduces the pre-launch booking offers which lock booking for one year.

This was combined with a strong outdoor branding campaign. Powerful outdoor campaigns across key locations significantly amplified Dainik Bhaskar’s launch. Well planned outdoor media campaign with hoardings and kiosks, banners, within the city comprised a 360 degree launch branding that enthused and attracted Surat’s targeted readers.