National Publishing Company:
Marketing of Children's Fortnightly Magazine
Abraham Koshy
The Marketing Manager of National
•Publishing Company—Mr R Saxena—is
contemplating on the strategies he should
adopt to increase the sales of Titli, a
children's fortnightly vernacular published
by the company.
Readers are invited to send their
responses on the case to Vikalpa office.
Abraham Koshy is a member of the faculty in the
Marketing Area of the Indian Institute of
Management, Ahmedabad.
Vol. 19, No. 3, July-September 1994
In November 1990, Mr R Saxena, Marketing Manager
of National Publishing Company, was considering al-
ternative strategies to improve the sales of "Titli," a
children's fortnightly vernacular magazine published
by the company. Although Titli was the market leader
in the children's periodicals segment, the downward
trend in its circulation was causing serious concern to
the company. Three factors were particularly worrying
for Saxena. First, the circulation of Titli had declined by
about 40 per cent after attaining peak sales in 1987.
Second, despite an active advertisement campaign
which coincided with the withdrawal of another lead-
ing children's fortnightly named Children's Delight from
the market, Titli did not register any worthwhile in-
crease in its circulation (From the issue which coincided
with the withdrawal of Children's Delight, Titli obtained
legal rights and started carrying some of the popular
cartoon serials which were being carried by Children's
Delight earlier and this was highlighted in all the adver-
tisements of Titli). Third, though as a result of promo-
tional schemes (such as time-table cards, name slips,
face-masks of animals and mythological characters, etc.
given free with the journal), the circulation of the par-
ticular issue increased by approximately 10 per cent,
subsequent issues did not retain a significant number
of the additional buyers.
In order to gain a deeper understanding of the
situation and to obtain inputs which would help in the
decision making, the company had commissioned a
study by a professional market research agency. Saxena
was studying the market research report submitted by
the agency carefully so that he could take appropriate
decisions based on a sound diagnosis of the situation.
The Company
The National Publishing Company was a leading
publishing company with several years of experience in
the printing and publishing industry. The company had
several publications which included a daily newspaper
57
as well as weekly, fortnightly, monthly, and yearly
journals. Some of the publications were market leaders
in its product category. The company had a team of
competent editors and managers.
The products (publications) of the National
Publishing Company were distributed through a sys-
tem of agents and sub-agents located in all important
places in the state. A high proportion of sales volume of
most of the periodicals was effected through door
delivery at the subscribers' premises and this was done
by the agents and sub-agents. Periodicals were also
distributed to different shops which, along with other
assorted products, also carried different magazines.
These shops (usually, pan-beedi type of shops) catered
mainly to occasional readers. The company had a net-
work of more than 3,000 agents and sub-agents cover-
ing all parts of the state.
The Product
Titli carried various features interesting to children be-
tween the age of about 5 years and 12 years. Typically,
Titli carried about two to three short two-page stories,
three or four longer stories, one or at the most two
serialized stories, two or three short poems, about seven
or eight regular cartoon features (out of which about
two were serialized cartoons), tit-bits, and fun and
games. In order to cater to the young readers who had
just begun to read, the journal carried one story written
in simple language and printed in bolder letters. For the
purpose of initiating those who had not yet begun to
read properly, Titli carried another "read aloud" short
story written in rhyming language. The magazine was
printed in multiple colour and was liberally illustrated.
The size of the periodical was 12 cm x 20 cm. By and
large, most of the other children's periodicals followed
the same structure in form as well as content. Titli was
priced at Rs two per copy. All the competing children's
fortnightly publications were in the same price range.
Annexure 1 gives the summary of a typical issue of Titli
Market and Competition
The number of households in the state where Titli was
published was estimated to be about 52.35 lakh in 1990.
The number of households with a household size of 3
to 5 members constituted about 68 per cent of the total
households. Exhibit 1 gives the classification of
households according to household size in urban and
rural areas in the state. A majority of these households
(nearly 81 per cent) belonged to the annual income
58
category of Rs 12,500. The proportion of households
belonging to this income category, however, was lower
in urban areas (about 67 per cent) when compared with
rural areas. Exhibit 2 gives the classification of
households into various annual income groups in
urban and rural areas in the state.
Though Titli was targeted at children in the age
group of about 5 years to 12 years, experience indicated
that children up to the age of 14 years read and enjoyed
Titli. The number of children studying in class I to
X—the classes corresponding to the age of target
readers was estimated to be around 60 lakh in 1986-87.
Although the number of children was divided some-
what equally between various classes, the lower classes
had a slightly higher enrolment than the higher classes.
Thus, about 40 per cent of the children belonged to the
primary classes (standards I to IV) and the remaining
60 per cent were equally divided between middle
(standard V to VII) and high school (standard VIII to X).
There was, however, no significant increase in the en-
rolment in schools; between 1984 to 1987, the average
increase was about one per cent per annum.
Initially, there were several publications in the
children's magazine section. The competitive situation,
however, has undergone some changes since the last
few years. For instance, in 1985, there were about 20
periodicals/magazines published in the vernacular
language and targeted at the children. In 1986, this
number increased to 31, but in 1989, there were only
nine publications. These were either fortnightly or
monthly publications. The combined monthly circula-
tion of all the children's publications was estimated to
be about 16 lakh copies. In 1986, there was an increase
of about 25 per cent in the total circulation of children's
periodicals. But in 1989, the combined circulation
declined by about 56 per cent from that of 1986 level.
Titli was the market leader in the children's peri-
odicals segment. In 1985, Titli and Children's Delight had
30 per cent market share each. In 1986, Titli's market
share was 26 per cent whereas Children's Delight had a
share of 23 per cent. In 1989, Children's Delight discon-
tinued publishing and Titli's share rose to 47 per cent.
The closest follower by this time had a share of about
14 per cent and the rest of the publications shared the
remaining 39 per cent of the market.
All the children's publications were targeted at
children in the age group of 14 or 15 years and less and
followed similar format by and large—stories, cartoons,
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tit-bits, etc., although some of them concentrated on
mythological and historic stories. In addition to such
children's publications, there were other magazines
such as family magazines, women's magazines, politi-
cal magazines, etc. Annexure 2 gives a brief description
of the major publications available in the state.
Salient Findings of Market Research Study
The report submitted by the market research agency
contained several important information useful for
Saxena. This study carried out by the research agency
was in two phases. The first phase consisted of a survey
to understand the profile and reading habits of
magazine readers especially that of Titli readers. The
second phase consisted of a series of focus group dis-
cussions to understand the attitudes, needs, and expec-
tations of children as well as that of parents with respect
to children's magazines.
The survey was conducted among households with
a monthly income of above Rs 750 having children in
the age group of 3-14 years. The respondents were
mothers or guardians of children. The sample size for
the survey was 3,500 respondents representing various
regions of the state. The focus group consisted of 16
groups of children and five groups of parents. Some of
the major findings of the market research study are
discussed below:
Awareness of Children's Magazines among Parents
There was a high degree of awareness of Titli among
respondents; about 76 per cent of them mentioned the
magazine spontaneously whereas only about 31 per
cent were spontaneously aware of Petals, another com-
peting publication. Little flower, yet another competitor,
received an un-aided awareness level of 19 per cent
among the respondents. The aided awareness level of
all these publications including Titli was about 85 per
cent.
Current Purchase Pattern of Children's Magazines
The study indicated that out of the total households, 51
per cent purchased either a vernacular or an English
children's magazine and 49 per cent of the households
purchased any one of the vernacular magazines. Ex-
hibit 3 gives the percentage of households buying a
children's magazine. (The current buyer of a magazine
was defined as a household which bought at least one
out of the last six issues of a magazine and in the case
Vol. 19, No. 3, July-September 1994
of Titli, it included households which had bought at
least once in the last three months.)
The study indicated that 70 per cent of Titli buyers
were regular buyers and the remaining 30 per cent were
occasional buyers. The regular purchase level of other
magazines ranged from 20 per cent to 60 per cent, the
remaining being occasional buyers. Thus, for Petals, the
regular buyers constituted 50 per cent of total users,
whereas for Chand aur Suraj, it was 32 per cent. Guiding
Light, on the other hand, had only 23 per cent of regular
buyers.
The study revealed that, on an average, 1.7
magazines were bought by each buyer household. The
study further revealed that about 55 per cent of Titli
buyers did not buy any other magazine whereas among
the buyers of all other magazines, more than 80 per cent
also bought Titli, It was also found that as many as 60
per cent of the households which had children in the
target age group read Titli. This was because, in addi-
tion to the 45 per cent who bought the magazine,
another 15 per cent borrowed it from neighbours or
friends.
Purchase of Children's Magazine based on Monthly House-
hold Income
The study indicated that about 33 per cent of
households having monthly income up to Rs 1,000
purchased any one of the vernacular magazines
whereas about 61 per cent households with a monthly
income of over Rs 4,000 purchased a vernacular
magazine. The purchase pattern with respect to English
magazines, however, was found to vary with difference
in income. Thus, only four per cent households with a
monthly income up to Rs 1,000 bought any English
magazine whereas about 29 per cent households with a
monthly income of more than Rs 4,000 bought an
English magazine. Exhibit 4 gives the purchase pattern
of magazines based on monthly household income.
Profile of Readers of Titli
The children between the age groups of 6 and 11 years
constituted about 50 per cent of the readers of children's
magazines. For Titli too, this group constituted about 54
per cent of the readers. It was also seen that children
between the age group of 6 and 14 years constituted
about 75 per cent of the readers while for Titli, this age
group constituted about 90 per cent of its readers. Ex-
hibit 5 gives the constitution of the readership base of
59
children's magazine in general as well as that of Titli.
The study also indicated that the readership base of the
other major competing children's publications was
somewhat similar to that of Titli.
Lapsed Purchase of Titli
From the study, it was seen that among the past buyers
of Titli, about 45 per cent had discontinued the
magazine over the last two to three years. This group of
lapsed buyers consisted of households which had
children belonging to the target age group. Exhibit 6
gives the lapsed rate by age of children.
The study revealed that very few lapsed buyers of
Titli were buying other magazines. This meant that
when buyers discontinued buying Titli, they had ac-
tually given up buying all children's magazines, rather
than shifting to a competitor's magazine. The major
reasons for this as mentioned by the respondents were
as follows:
• Affects studies; busy with school work (50%)
• Easy to borrow from neighbours/library (16%)
• Expensive (9%)
• Not interested/interested in other areas like
sports/English magazines (7%)
• Outgrown children's magazine (3%)
• Availability problems (1%)
• Other magazines better than Titli (1%)
Features Most Liked
The survey of parents also provided some insights into
the popular features published in Titli which were
preferred by children belonging to various age groups.
According to the parents, picture stories like "Friendly
Ghost," "Magic Monkey," and "Detective stories" were
most popular among children. Exhibit 7 gives the rela-
tive preference of various features published in Titli as
assessed by the parents.
Leisure Habits of Children
About 90 per cent of the children were exposed to the
television medium and this was found to be almost
uniform across different age groups. Regular viewing
of programmes on the television was found to be about
65 per cent, again uniform across different age groups.
It was also noted that the total duration as well as the
programmes watched by the children were monitored
and controlled by the parents.
60
In the 3-5 age group, the children's primary activity
was playing with toys. Reading had hardly any
relevance to them. In the 6-8 years segment, playing and
watching television were the main activities. However,
reading as a major activity began at this age although at
a lower key. In the 10-14 years segment, reading of
books and magazines was a dominant activity, second
only to watching the television. Exhibit 8 gives the main
leisure activities of children belonging to different age
groups.
Major Findings of Focus Group Discussion
The qualitative research using focus group discussion
provided insights into the attitude of the children and
the parents to reading, expectations from children's
magazines, and predisposition towards children's peri-
odicals in general and Titli in particular.
This phase of the study indicated that there were
three stages in the "life cycle" of magazine reading, each
stage characterized by variations in the attitudes, inter-
ests, and expectations from reading. These were as
follows:
Stage of Active Promotion
Most children started reading children's magazines on
their own when they were in class III to V. This was a
stage when parents actively promoted reading habits
and the purchase of magazines was mostly initiated by
parents.
The main interest of the children at this stage was
playing with other children of their own age, many
times with their own siblings (since they were not al-
lowed to go out of the house). Although the children
watched TV, they did not have high interest and invol-
vement in this activity. For most children in this age
group, interest in reading was secondary to that of
playing. Parents, however, encouraged reading habits
as they felt reading would lead to interest in studies.
Purchase of magazines, generally left to the parent's
discretion, was occasional rather than regular and
brand loyalty among children was low.
Both the children and the parents expected more
entertainment than information from reading. The
children, in particular, looked for picture stories, short
stories, games, colouring, etc. The appeal of the
magazine was as much through its "window dressing"
as through its contents; purchase was heavily influ-
enced by offers of gifts, prizes, posters, etc.
Vikalpa
Stage of Passive Approval
This stage was characterized by a high interest in read-
ing on the part of the children. In general, the children
in this group studied in class VI to VIII (age of about
10-12 years). Parental attitude towards reading by this
stagehad "cooled down" to that of passive approval, but
it was not yet discouraging. Purchase of a magazine at
this stage was mainly guided by the children's insis-
tence and the children's choice. The children in this age
group also purchased magazines more regularly and
were more loyal to specific magazines. Some children,
in addition to children's magazines, also started read-
ing science magazines. Although this was due to
prompting by the parents and the teachers, they began
to genuinely like science magazines.
Despite the fact that playing continued to be of
great interest to the children, there was a distinct
preference towards reading as this was becoming the
most enjoyable activity. The parents at the same time
were careful to see that reading magazines did not
distract the children from studies. Watching of
television too was of considerable interest to the
children in this age group. Many of them also started
some hobbies like collecting stamps, coins, match-box
labels, car/motorcycle posters, keeping a pet, etc. Thus,
the children in this group had varied interests and
activities.
Due to a relatively high level of interest in reading,
the children in this group exchanged magazines and
books between them and even discussed popular
stories and features published. The main features in
magazines interesting to the children were stories,
general knowledge, sports information, etc. The parents
expected the children to read stories which would pro-
vide moral values and articles which gave scientific and
general information/knowledge. There was a marked
improvement in the attitude of the parents when
children displayed information picked up through
reading.
Stage of Active Control
This was the stage when the children were in classes IX
and X. The children in this age group derived a high
level of enjoyment from reading; this was an activity
'relished' even more than TV though they had lesser
amount of leisure time at their disposal due to increased
study load and tuition. This was also a stage marked by
a high tendency on the part of the parents to control all
the leisure activities of the children. This control as-
Vol. 19, No. 3, July-September 1994
sumed dimensions such as enforcing ban on watching
TV, restricting time for playing/reading, etc. The
parents were concerned about the children's studies as
well as character building at this stage and hence kept
a close watch over what the child saw, read, and did
during his/her spare time.
The children in this age group started exhibiting
variations in preferences of features in magazines. They
preferred stories which inspired and motivated them;
stories which made them "think about the deeper mean-
ings." They were also interested in "thought provoking"
articles on general or social issues. The children in this
group had a greater desire to seek exposure to the adult
world and look for "realistic" values. Parents expected
reading to inculcate values of responsibility and
develop personality and self-confidence. Reading had
a high impact on character and behaviour at this age.
The main reading materials for children belonging
to this age group were magazines like Titli and science
magazines. This was also an age group which indicated
a growing penetration of general interest magazines
targeted at grown ups like India Today. Such magazines
were highly favoured by parents as suitable reading
material for children belonging to this group. There was
low readership of story books /novels (like Enid Ely ton,
Nancy Drew) during this phase. The children regularly
'scanned' headlines, sports, etc. in the newspaper.
Image Perceptions of Titli
The focus group discussions also indicated that Titli
was perceived to be a superior magazine by the children
because of elements such as more interesting and
diverse stories, more picture stories, more colour, etc.
In general, Titli was perceived as a magazine appealing
more to 8-12 year old children and, to a lesser extent,
13-14 year old children. Although the younger children
were eager to associate themselves with Titli, a few of
the older children were embarrassed to be seen reading
it as if they were doing something "childish" for their
age.
Among the parents, the image of Titli was that of a
source of "good, harmless entertainment." While some
parents were appreciative of the usefulness/informa-
tive value of the magazine, the general tendency was to
dismiss it as 'light reading.' This tendency, however,
was less pronounced among the parents who read Titli
and, therefore, knew the contents of the magazine. The
parents of older children in particular looked down on
Titli as they felt that it was meant for younger children
and had no great value for older children. This was one
61
of the reasons for discontinuing the magazine when
their children were a little older.
It was also seen that the children who seldom
bought Titli or any other similar magazine had relative-
ly low exposure to all types of reading. They often
belonged to households where the parents did not buy
or read any magazines for themselves. These parents
were generally passive or unconcerned about reading
since they attached little value to reading.
Marketing Manager's Concerns
Saxena was aware that as the leader in the market, Titli
had a significant role to play in the children's publish-
ing market segment. Should Titli be re-positioned? If so,
how? Should the target segment for this publication be
redefined? If so, which segment should he concentrate
on?
Saxena was wondering whether he could increase
the sales of Titli by taking recourse to such strategies
or whether he should consider other courses of action
which would be more effective from a long-term
strategic perspective. He, however, was certain that any
decision taken now would have major implications on
the current as well as the future fortunes of the com-
pany.
66 Vikalpa