Malayala Manorama, the largest circulated and read regional newspaper, also holds the position of being one of the oldest operational newspapers in the country. The daily has played a prominent role in shaping public opinion during the independence movement and after. It has been supportive of social reform movements in Kerala and contributed to discussions on caste issues, education, and women’s rights, promoting progressive ideas.
In conversation with Medianews4u.com, Varghese Chandy, Vice President – Marketing & Advertising Sales at Malayala Manorama, spoke about the factors that made the paper the biggest regional daily, high points in terms of readership, and more.
Started as a weekly newspaper in 1890, Malayala Manorama rose to become the largest regional language newspaper in India. When did that happen? Is that the current status quo?
In 1890, we started as a weekly newspaper. Our newspaper was banned during the freedom struggle in 1938. Then Diwan ordered the shutting down of the operations of Malayala Manorama for writing against the misrule and atrocities against people demanding democratic rights. Malayala Manorama’s assets were confiscated. We lost everything and the then Chief Editor Mammen Mappillai was convicted and imprisoned. He was released in 1941 and resumed the newspaper operations in 1947 after India got freedom. Hence, a lot was lost in between. When we re-started the operations in Kottayam, we were the fifth largest newspaper in the district. From there, we rose to become the number one newspaper in Kerala in1969. Currently, we are the largest read and circulated regional language daily (non-English and non-Hindi) in the country.
Unfortunately, currently we do not have a currency to make comparisons as most of the newspapers/ editions are not reported in ABC. Couple of Hindi newspapers could be still ahead. But I have a feeling that we will be ahead of all the English newspapers.
From the 135 years, what have been some of the high points / milestones – in terms of readership?
The first milestone was crossing 1 lakh in circulation in 1961. In 1998 we crossed 1 million circulation and in 2006, we touched 1.5 million. In 2011, Malayala Manorama crossed the circulation of 2 million. If you look at the National Readership Survey, in Average Issue Readership (AIR), we crossed one crore in 2011. According to the last readership survey report of IRS 2019, we are about 1.77 crore in Total Readership.
Between (say) 2000 and now, how has the contribution of advertising to total revenue changed?
The advertising ratio has always been growing upwards, currently standing around 60:40. I have heard that a healthy figure would be 80 pc and more from advertising. But, that also shows an unhealthy contribution as two things could happen. One is the circulation numbers itself are going down and the second is the cover price could be low.
If you look at all the Malayalam newspapers, they have been priced decently. At a time when newspapers were sold for Rs 1 in places like Delhi and Mumbai, we were selling at Rs 5 or more. Even today when newspapers are sold at Rs.4 and more, we are selling at Rs.8.50.
We maintain over 60 pc share from ad revenue and rest comes from circulation. That does not mean that the ad revenue percentage is less, but it shows that we have healthy circulation numbers and revenues.
During the same time period, how has digital readership of the newspaper grown? Has digital revenue kept pace?
Everywhere digital has been growing in leaps and bounds. In the last few years there has been a softening of the growth, not just for us but it is an issue faced by every newspaper. Currently we have 36 million unique visitors (UV) a month.
Malayalam media (and in particular Malayala Manorama) is credited with playing a key role in social reform in the state. How does the paper focus on social issues today?
To start with, Malayala Manorama’s first editorial was about the education of Pulayas (one of the scheduled castes who have historically faced social and economic marginalisation) of Kerala. In those days speaking for the education of the Pulaya community was considered a taboo and it was a bold step from Malayala Manorama. Similarly, our editorials and the content spoke about social reforms like Vaikom Satyagraha (one of the important social struggles during the independence movement, aimed at securing the rights for the lower caste Hindus to enter the temples and use public roads), and fight for responsible government in the state. In the form of editorial content, we were involved in the developmental activities of the state like construction of Idukki Arch Dams, airports etc.
Currently we are associating with Madras Medical Mission where we raise funds and conduct camps across Kerala to help children who cannot afford open heart surgeries. We continue to have Akhila Kerala Balajana Sakhyam, which is the largest student’s organisation in Asia. Prominent political leaders like former President KR Narayanan, former Chief Ministers of Kerala AK Antony, Oommen Chandy etc. and many bureaucrats have been actively associated with the organisation. Basically, Malayala Manorama is just not a newspaper, it is a people’s movement and we are supportive of activities that are aimed at the development of the state.
In instances like the 2018 floods, Malayalam media was credited with reporting without sensationalism and joining and aiding the relief efforts with war rooms of their own. How did Manorama go about it?
Whenever a calamity or catastrophe strikes, the maximum number of phone calls comes to newspapers. During that time, we cover the issues extensively and correctly. We also conduct relief activities for the affected people. During the 2018 floods, we gathered a lot of essentials for the affected and helped to distribute them in different relief camps across the state and the country. We were helping the government and other organisations to reach out to the people with required essentials like food, medicines, clothes etc.
Is it true that a large share of Manorama’s readership comprises a premium audience? Are such audiences more likely to migrate to digital? What has been your experience?
In a way you are right. We can say that a large share of the premium audience read Malayala Manorama, not necessarily the other way round. It is also right that when a newspaper grows, especially the one as large as Malayala Manorama – in a state with a population of over 3 crore and among that close to 2 crore read Malayala Manorama – it assumes the same profile as the universe itself. Hence, not only are we number one among the premium audience, but also number one in all segments. It is a wrong notion that in order to reach the top most premium audience, one needs to go through English newspapers. We reach audiences even in the premium segments a few times higher than English newspapers.
There is a view that with media fragmentation, a media plan that combines multiple vehicles is necessary to reach consumers. How critical is print and what is print’s role in this?
Print is different from any other medium. Today, if you have a smart phone in your hand you go to multiple websites and apps, that space is highly fragmented. The same thing applies to TV as well, the good old days where the medium had appointment viewing. It is still there but today there are OTT platforms where a large number of people watch movies. The appointment viewing is going down. But the appointment reading with the newspaper is still sacred. People still pick up newspapers every day in the morning and read. Again, quoting the 2019-Q4 readership survey data, print still holds the number position among mediums as far the reach is concerned in Kerala. So print enjoys the appointment reading factor.
Another factor is that print creates a huge impact – an immediate response. Everybody without any doubt says that if you want to create an immediate impact all you need to do is to take a jacket ad in the newspaper. That is what retailers have learnt. In my opinion, all new retail brands that have come up and grown in Kerala, the jacket ads in Malayala Manorama had a major role to play.
The third factor is that the credibility of print media is higher than any other medium that exists. We are aware of the fake and deep fake issues happening in the digital medium today. Even on TV news channels, there is a lot of sensationalism attached. Print has a habit of researching on a particular subject, hence print medium is closer to truth compared to any other medium.
The advertisements published in any media apart from the print, it just flashes away. In terms of print, the newspapers remain there at homes or offices and one can revisit the medium whenever required. Hence, print is always relevant.
What percentage of MM readers would you estimate to be younger readers, say 18 to 35 years? How does a print player keep them (and further younger readers) in the fold with the advent of hand-held screens?
More than a third of our readers are in the age group of 18 to 35 years, based on IRS data. We continue to retain those readers. We are successful in attracting and adding new readers. Print is a category where new readers get added every day. Even in the 1930s, Malayala Manorama had a special edition for schools. We continue to follow similar exercises even today. We have a section called Padippura, which is very popular among the students. In order to attract more students, we even have an English edition of Padippura.
We are currently conducting quiz competitions across the state based on the news that has appeared in the daily called, ‘ Read and Win’. It helps to maximise the reach. The finale will appear soon on television. To attract young readers, we run a lot of contests in the newspaper.
We have a vibrant sports page, which is aimed at attracting a young audience to the newspaper. We continuously improve and innovate the newspaper’s design. That might be one of the reasons why during the pre and post pandemic period, Malayala Manorama hasn’t seen a decrease in the number of readers to the extent of other newspapers across the country.
Tell us about campaigns like Puthiya Vayana, Puthiya Keralam. How have they helped garner new readers?
A campaign alone won’t sell any product, unless the product is good and lives up to the expectations created. It also does not help in the sale of a bad product. It is one of the several factors that help the products to sell. Advertising drives a customer to a product, that is the best it can do. Unless the product delivers there is no meaning in advertising.
Hence, the campaign has helped in terms of driving the traffic to the product. I would also say that the newspaper and the content lived up to it. That is the reason why we are still showing signs of growth.
In terms of new campaigns, we are planning some in 2024.
We see e-com players and apps actively advertising in print media. We saw edtech a few years ago. Which are the five largest sectors of advertisers today for MM in print and how has this changed over the last decade or so?
It keeps changing. I would say in the last decade the leader was the automobile as far as print is concerned. Today it is retail followed by government ads, consumer durables, and education (in that order). At the macro level, the categories remained the same by and large. Over the years, automobiles have moved down the order. Retail has gone up and within that consumer durables have grown.
The national players in consumer durables have reduced their spending, but they are also contributing to the jacket ads of retailers. For instance, if you have an Onam ad by a retail player, then you can see products of the national players in the jacket ads. The reason being all of them started working closely with the retail players. They realised that without retailers they cannot sell, so a lot of freedom has been given to the retailers to plan the campaigns in a particular region. Perhaps the retailers know the market better than the national players on what works and what doesn’t.
How much of a spike does print see in advertising in an election year? Is there a strategy to attract more political ad revenue from Lok Sabha elections in 2024?
There is no strategy in place. The only time when you get the card rates are during the election period that too on advance payment. The INS insists that all political parties need to pay in advance.
Another trend that we are seeing of late is that states like Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana , Delhi etc. are advertising in newspapers in Kerala about their successful initiatives. Besides all this, the Central government advertising before the elections are announced will increase. Compared to a normal month there will be an increase of 10 to 15 pc in ad revenue.
The Indian Readership Survey has been regarded as the lifeline of media planning in India. Has the absence of readership data in recent times affected newspapers’ ability to attract better ad rates and hence revenue?
A currency is required for measuring any medium. If you are not letting yourself be audited or researched, it shows that you are afraid of something. What the newspapers should understand is that the absence of the auditing will be even more problematic; will affect their credibility. It is always wise to show that the numbers have dropped by a certain percentage than not willing to undergo the audit process.
For instance, TV is a medium where the viewership figures are received every week. In digital, everything is data driven. In the absence of data in newspapers, credibility is compromised. You are also opening a Pandora’s box as far as negotiations are concerned. For example, national advertisers that are headquartered in Delhi, Mumbai or Bengaluru, see the drop in circulation of newspapers in front of their eyes. Then they assume that it is the same case in other regions in the country. This affects the states like Kerala where newspapers have had the least drop and have decent circulation and readership numbers. This gives an undue advantage to advertisers and agencies in negotiations and it affects the yield of newspapers
Has the increase in cover price led to a drop in circulation, and hence readership?
Our experience has been that when you increase the cover price, there could immediately be a reduction in the numbers, but you make it up in a couple of months’ time. Our experience is that people in Kerala pay to read.
What share of MM print revenue is standalone today and how much is part of an integrated offering to advertisers?
The share of print revenue to the group stands at 90 pc today.
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