Chapter - 1

A Study on Consumer Preference towards News paper with special reference to Kerala
Kaumudi, Thiruvananthapuram

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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION


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1.1 Introduction

Formulation of marketing strategy requires vital information on each and every
element in the marketing mix viz - product price, promotion and distribution , This
is true for every consumer product, be it pin or pistol. Knowledge of present
market , type of consumers, their likes and dislikes and strategies adopted by
competitors constitute an important input for decisions on product modification and
market diversification. Every product is designed and directed towards satisfaction of
consumer needs, the efficiency with which this is achieved determines market
success of that product . The gaps in meeting consumer needs are to be identified
and rightly plugged. Newspaper as product is designed to meet the information needs of an
individual. This needs to be satisfied by providing the right kind of information at the
right time and at right place. Newspaper readers as consumers have varied and diverse
kinds of information needs and preferences based on their lone of activity . There is
always common minimum information on current affairs to be supplied. Publishers as
producers, try to supply the consumers needs. The current study attempts to asses how far
information needs are being satisfactorily met by publishers.
Expansion of various sectors of communication , and more particularly the mass
media, increases the importance and stimulates expansion of agencies, which supply
and circulate news to newspapers and broadcasters , and to other specialized consumers,
public in general getting news in an indirect way. Press agencies are the major and
sometimes the only source of information to this media especially for the news of
foreign countries. The newspaper production is certainly a unique business which
facilitates the flow of news to satisfy social needs and wants .
It is so pleasure to get the chance to conduct a study in Kerala Kaumudi who has more
than hundred years of experience and four generations of legacy. Even though the medium
technologies like radio, television, etc., can give news instantly, Newspapers importance
cannot be over looked by offering combination of sight, sound and motion. Television has a
capacity to demonstrate the news, but its life is very short to display. In the case of
newspaper, news will last longer and the readers have the freedom to go through it at any
time, at their convenience.

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1.2 Back ground and Definition of problem
Reading news paper with a hot tea is the habit of every malayalee. Evan though the
medium of information has modernaised ands innovated, the news paper have significant role
in every ones life to convey the information. Here there are a number of choice in front of
every reader like Malayala Manorama, Mathrubhumi, Kerala Kaumudi etc. Different readers
prefer different verity of news paper, and from that we can understand that consumer
preference change with changing consumers. Consumer preference can make or break a
company, so it has vital important in deciding the future of every organization. Even though
there are studies conducted on consumer preference of services, it is not clearly defined the
gap in news paper sector. The strategies in news paper should be formed in a customized
manner. Since news, target customers, market strategies are different to one another. Good
preference strategies, quality control measures, transparent dealings and reliability and
credibility of news paper publishers made the customers satisfied. Also the consumer
preference about the brand plays a significant role in maintaining consumer satisfaction.
Kerala Kaumudi is one of the inseparable news paper in our society. Even though
Kerala Kaumudi has more than hundred years of experience and four generations of legacy
the organization could not achieve a better position in the industry. Since the organization is
providing almost all the ingredients needed by the consumers most of them not prefer Kerala
Kaumudi. Hence there is a scope for the study and the study become significant. The study
may helps to identify the pitfalls in prevailing strategies of the service provider and to suggest
some efficient strategies for them. It may help the organization to cater the service quality
according to the needs and preference of consumers.

1.3 Needs and Significance of the study.

It is very essential that building and maintaining a brand name is a strategic matter for
each publisher. Studies have identified the consumer preference is a function with high
diversified prospective, and there prospective have building. Service building is a complex
subject. The relevance of corporate building affects the overall branding of the services that is
developed by the service provider. The brand is communicated effectively though many other
strategies that a service provider has adopted. News paper is one of the vital and important
medium of todays communication. It has a great role in making one persons knowledge and

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contemporary perception of human beings about his society. So study on the preference
criteria in different news paper selection becomes almost vital in todays world.

1.4 Objectives of the study

1. To study the consumer preference in selecting a news paper.
2. To identify the factors influencing in selecting a news paper.
3. To identify the brand preference of Kerala Kaumudi.
4. To study the brand image of Kerala Kaumudi with respect to other three competitors.
5. To identify the existing drawbacks of the service provider and make suggestions for
the betterment of the organization

1.5 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problem. It
describes the research procedure, which has been used in the research. Research methodology
is the backbone of any research. Established of a sound research plan and design is an
inevitable part of a good research. It means the way one researcher selects his sample and
sample size, methods of data collection, various tools used for studying and analyzing the
problem with certain objectives and goals in view.
Research design
The study is a descriptive one, descriptive research studies are those studies, which
are concerned with describing the characteristics of a particular individual, or a group. The
main aim behind the study was to identify the consumer preference of news paper. Through
the study collect the opinion about the customers of General public. The respondent is
personally contacted and the data are collected through schedules.
Research period
The research was completed within a time period from 10/02/2014 to 1/04/2014.
DATA SOURCE
The data source refers to the sources from which the data are collected for conducting
the study. Data are of two types: Primary data and secondary data.


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Primary Data
The primary data are those data which are being collected by the researcher for the first time.
They are the information received directly from the respondents. In this study primary data
was collected among the customers of general public with the help of interview schedule.
Secondary Data
The secondary data are those data which have been already collected by someone
else. They include published, unpublished document and various other data. Secondary data
was collected from books and web sites.
SAMPLE UNIVERSE
In this study the sample unit is considered from the places of southern region of Kerala.
SAMPLE SIZE
Sample size refers to the number of items to be selected from the universe to
constitute a sample. Here the sample size taken for the study is 105 respondents from
southern region of Kerala. (15 from Kollam, 45 from Thiruvananthapuram, 16 from
Pathanamthitta and 29 from Alappuzha.)
SAMPLING PROCEDURE
The sampling procedure used in this study is area sampling and convenience
sampling.
The Statistical tools applied
1. Percentage method
2. Weighted average method
3. Chi-Square Test
Weighted average method
Weighted Arithmetic Mean is based on the assumption that all the items in the distribution
are of equal importance. Here the weights are attached to each item being proportional to the
importance of the item in the distribution.
Let W1, W2, W3,. Wn be the weights attached to variable values X1, X2, X3. Xn
respectively then weighted arithmetic means X is given by WX/W where W1, W2 Wn
are the respective weights of X1, X2,. Xn.


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Chi-Square Test (X2):
The X2 test is one of the simplest and most widely used non-parametric tests in statistical
work.
1.5 Scope of the study

Information is vital and significant role in every ones life. One of the major sources
of information is news paper. Today an average news paper reader has a variety of choices in
front of him like Malayala manorama, Mathrubhoomi, Dheshabhimani, The Hindu, The
Indian express etc. Different readers prefer different news papers because each consumer has
his own taste. The study is an attempt to understand the consumer preference of different
news paper readers at South Kerala. It helps arising the consumer needs taking care of news
paper as a product. The study will also help the company to decide the market strategy and to
modify the overall layout of the product to attract the readers.

1.6 Limitation of the study

The major barrier of the study was shortage of time. The researcher had to spend lot
of manual house to collect information from readers. It was also not possible to go detail into
technical and infrastructural facilities of servicer. Again it was not possible to go into the
back ground and personal details of consumer of news papers. Another barrier is the dement
of bias that was present in the mind of consumers,. The study was restricted to the consumers
of news paper in South Kerala. A drawback to the convenience sampling methodology is the
lack of sampling accuracy.


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CHAPTER II
LITERATURE REVIEW


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2.1 LITERATURE REVIEW

1. Philip Kotler (2008), Marketing is a societal process by which individuals
and groups obtain what they need and want through creating, offering and
freely exchanging products &services of value with others.
2. The American Marketing Association define Marketing is an organization
function and a set of process for creating, communicating and delivering
value to customer and for managing customer relationship in ways that
benefit the organization and its shareholders
3. Philip Kotler, Kevin Lane keller, Abraham Koshy, Mithileshwas Sha
(2008),A service is any act or performance one party can after to another that
is essentially intangible and does not result in the ownership of any thing
4. Philip Kotler, Kevin Lane keller, Abraham Koshy, Mithileshwas Sha
(2008), Consumer generally refers to any one engaging in any of the activities
that the decision process and physical activity individuals engage in when
evaluating ,acquiring, using ,or disposing of goods and services.
5. Leon. G. Schiffman and Leslie Lazar kanuk (2005), The term consumer
behavior is defined as the behavior that consumers display in searching for ,
purchasing using evaluating and disposing of products and services that they
expect will satisfy their needs.
6. Satish k. Batra and S.H.H. Kazmi (2008), Customer behavior refers to the
mental & emotional processer &the observable behavior of customers during
searching, purchasing and post consumption of a product or service.

7. The American Marketing Association defines Customer behavior is the
dynamic interaction of affect and organization, behavior, and the environment
by which human beings conduct the exchange aspects of their life.


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8. Philip Kotler, Kevin Lane keller, Abraham Koshy, Mithileshwas sha
(2008), Satisfaction is a kind of stepping from an experience and evaluating it.
One could hear a pleasurable experience that caused dissatisfaction because
even though pleasurable it wasnt as pleasurable as it was supposed or
expected to be. Satisfaction isnt an emotion, its the evaluation of an emotion
9. Satish k. Batra and S.H.H. Kazmi (2008), learning from a marketing
perspective as the process by which individual acquire the purchasing and
consumption knowledge &experience that they apply to future related
behavior.
10. S. Ramesh kumar (2009), The satisfaction has been defined as the evaluation
of emotion by hont
11. SHH Kazmi (2007), marketing communication occurs when the message that
was sent reaches its destination in a form that is understood by the intended
audience.
12. S HH Kazmi and Satish .k. Batra (2008), Sales promotion includes those
activities, which enhance and support mass selling and personal selling and
which help compete and / or coordinate the entire promotional mix make the
marketing mix more effective.
13. According to AMA in a specific sense, sales promotion includes those sales
activities that supplement both personal selling and advertising and
coordinate them and help to make them effective, such as displays, shows and
expositions, demonstrations and other non recurrent selling efforts not in the
ordinary routine.
14. S.A .Chunawalla (2005), Advertising is the foot on the accelerator, the hand
on the throttle, the spot on the flank that keeps or economy surging forward
15. SHH Kazmi and Satish .k. Batra (2008)Advertising is one of the important
forces which serve public interest .It is a form of open communication s/w
those who sell and those who say. It is a form of advocacy open to any
company or cause that wants to argue its case. The jury is the public every
purchase is a vote.

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16. Tappan. k. Panda (2007), defines marketing research as the systematic and
continuing study and evaluation of all factors bearing on any business
operations, which involves the transfer of goods from producer to consumer.
17. The American Marketing Association(AMA ) defined the brand in 1960 as
name, firm, signs, symbol, or resign or a combination of them which is
intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or a group of seller &to
differentiate them from those of competitions
18. SHH Kazmi (2007),Brand loyalty is the biased behavioral response,
expressed over time by same decision making unit , with respect to one or
more after native brand out of a set of such brands ,and is a of a set of
psychological processes.
19. Tilde Heding, Charlotte. F. Knudtzen and Mogens Bjerre (2009), A
Consumer perceives brands equity as the value added to the functional plot or
service by associating it with the brand name

20. Tilde Heding, Charlotte. F. Knudtzen and Mogens Bjerre (2009), The
image of the brand is the perception of the brand by customers. The brand
image typically consisting of multiple concepts, perception, because the brand
is perceived: Cognition, because that brand is cognitively evaluated :and
finally attitude , because consumers continuously after perceiving &evaluating
which they perceive from attitudes about the brand
(2008), Market demand: The total volume of a product that would be bought
by a defined customer group in a defined geographical area in a defined time
period in a defined marketing environment under a defined marketing
programe.
22. S HH Kazmi and satish .k. Batra (2008), Competitive advantage: Something
special or unique that a firm possesses or does , which gives advantage over
competitions



23. S HH Kazmi and satish .k. Batra (2008), Marketing strategy: The marketing
logic by which the business unit hopes to achieve its marketing objectives

(2008), Market demand: The total volume of a product that would be bought
by a defined customer group in a defined geographical area in a defined time
period in a defined marketing environment under a defined marketing
programme.
25. S HH Kazmi and satish .k. Batra (2008), The price is the sum that customer
pays in exchange for the product or to get a service performed.



1. Leon. G. Schiffman and Leslie Lazar kanuk (2005), Consumer Behavior- Eight
Edition, Prentice Hall of India Pvt Ltd New delhi, P.8,158
2. S.Ramesh kumar (2009), Consumer Behaviour and Branding, Dorling Kindersley,
New Delhi, P.340
3. S HH Kazmi and satish .k. Batra (2008), Advertising and sales promotion 3 edition,
Excel books, Newdelhi, P.7,641.
4. Philip Kotler, Kevin Lane keller, Abraham Koshy, Mithileshwas sha (2008),
Marketing management 13th edition, Dorling Kindersley- New delhi, P.280, 579.
5. N.C. Jain, Saakshi Jain (2007), Marketing management, AITBS Publishers Newdelhi
First Edition, P.665
6. SHH Kazmi ( 2007) Marketing management Excelbooks, A-45, Naraing, phase,
NewDelhi, P.6,323
7. .Satish .K. Btra, SHH Kazmi (2008), Customer behaviour 2nd Edition Excel
books,New Delhi, P.5,132.
8. Tiide Heding, Charlotte. F .Knudtzen, and Mogens Bjerre (2009), Brand management,
Routledge Taylor &Francis group, Landon & Newyork, P.9,13.
9. S.A .Chunawalla (2005), Advertising, sales and promotion management, Himalaya
publishing house, Mumbai, P.13
10. Tappan. k. Panda (2007), Marketing management, Second Edition, Excel books,
P.109



CHAPTER III
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK



3.1 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Marketing is typically seen as the task of creating, promoting and delivering goods
and services to consumers and business. According to Duddy and Revzan, Marketing is the
economic process by which goods and services are exchanged and their values determined in
terms of money prices. Traditionally a market was a physical place where buyers and sellers
gathered to exchange goods.
The term market is derived from the Latin word Marcatus which
means Merchandise, trade or a place where actual buying and selling take place or where
buyers and sellers personally meet together to effect purchase and sales. This clearly means
that a market is a geographical area where commodities are exposed for sale. Market is the
sum total of the situation or environment in which the resources, activities, attitudes of the
buyers and sellers, affect the sale for the product in a given area. Economists now describe a
market as a collection of buyers and sellers who transact over particular product or product
class. But the marketers view the sellers as constituting the industry and the buyers as
constituting the market. Now a days, the market has become buyers market. In the new
sense, marketing means satisfaction of consumer needs. To apply marketing concept, an
organization must meet three basic needs. First, it must truly believe in the customers
importance. All marketing activities are focused on providing satisfaction on the customers.
Second, marketing efforts must be integrated, specific and measurable goals should be set; all
marketing activities should be coordinated. Finally, management must accept the assumption
that profit goals will be reached through satisfied customers.

The marketing
concept (Achieve
goals by meeting
customers needs)

Customer
orientation

Integrated
marketing

Profit follows
customer satisfaction


CONSUMER PREFERENCE
Consumer is the study of the processes involved when individuals or groups
select, purchase, use, or dispose of products, services, ideas, or experiences to satisfy needs
and desires (Solomon 1995, 7). In the marketing context, the term consumer refers not
only to the act of purchase itself, but also to patterns of aggregate buying which include pre-
purchase and post-purchase activities. Pre-purchase activity might consist of the growing
awareness of a need or want, and a search for and evaluation of information about the
products and brands that might satisfy it. Post-purchase activities include the evaluation of
the purchased item in use and the reduction of any anxiety which accompanies the purchase
of expensive and infrequently-bought items. Each of these has implications for purchase and
repurchase and they are amenable in differing degrees to marketer influence
The underlying foundation of demand, therefore, is a model of how consumers
behave. The individual consumer has a set of preferences and values whose determinations
are outside the realm of economics. They are no doubt dependent upon culture, education,
and individual tastes, among a plethora of other factors. The measure of these values in this
model for a particular good is in terms of the real opportunity cost to the consumer who
purchases and consumes the good. If an individual purchases a particular good, then the
opportunity cost of that purchase is the forgone goods the consumer could have bought
instead.
Consumer preference for a product can make or break a company. If consumers generally
like a product, it can stay around for years and sell millions of copies. However, if consumers
do not like the product, it could disappear very quickly if the company cannot figure out how
to fix the problem.
Consumer Preferences and Related Concepts
As with much research on consumers, and indeed social science in
general, there is a lot of terminological confusion and sometimes a lack of rigor. This is
acknowledged within the academic literature and steps are being taken to rectify this
situation. The following definitions of key terms are provided in the hope of clarifying the
following discussion of the literature. Consumer Satisfaction Consumer satisfaction and
acceptance are often considered in the literature to be closely linked yet these are distinct
concepts. Satisfaction is the fulfillment and gratification of the need for a stated good or
service, here, water.



Consumer Acceptance
Acceptance describes consumer willingness to receive and/or to tolerate. For example, a
customer might accept the occurrence of a certain number of yearly supply interruptions
given a certain price. Consumer acceptance and satisfaction are related, as the first is a
precursor of the latter. However, despite the fact that satisfaction and acceptance can be
thought of as lying on a continuum, acceptance does not automatically lead to satisfaction
.Weighing needs or preferences against provided product or service attributes results in the
balance of satisfaction pointing in a negative or positive direction, depending on whether
interests are conflicting or corresponding. This determines the way in which people evaluate
companies or utilities performance. Only when a consumers needs for a stated good or
service are met, i.e. when the service provided corresponds with their preferences, will they
feel satisfied. Customer satisfaction can be enhanced when their needs are met (in terms of
both quality and quantity) and accord with their preferences. At the other end of this
dimension, where the service provided conflicts with the prevailing needs or preferences,
customers may experience feelings of dissatisfaction. The distinction is subtle but there are
occasions where consumers might not agree to a proposal yet accept the subsequent service in
the sense of tolerating it. Consumer Concerns these are expressed anxieties or unease over an
object broadly defined (e.g. discolored tap water or a proposal to change the water pricing
structure).
Consumer Preferences
This is used primarily to mean an option that has the greatest anticipated value among a
number of options. This is an economic definition and does not tap into wishes or dreams
(for e.g. that safe drinking water was free, that there should be world peace) but for all
practical purposes is an appropriate definition. Preference and acceptance can in certain
circumstances mean the same thing but it is useful to keep the distinction in mind with
preference tending to indicate choices among neutral or more valued options with acceptance
indicating a willingness to tolerate the status quo or some less desirable option.
Consumer Expectations
The distinction between expectations and preferences is often blurred though the concepts are
distinct. Expectation is used in three slightly differing senses in the literature. One is the act
of expecting or looking forward a belief about what will happen in the future. Most
consumers in Europe expect that clean and safe water will come out of their taps the next
time they turn them on. A related but more technical use of expectation is to denote a more


formal estimation of the probability of an event occurring. These first two definitions can be
distinguished from preference in that preferences refer to some desired state and, as in the
above definition, imply that more than one state is possible and that there are some options.
Unfortunately expectation is also used more loosely to mean a requirement or demand for
something and in this sense is a kind of strong preference. When reading the literature it is
important to ascertain which definition is being used.
Consumer Awareness
Consumer awareness is the level of knowledge about, in this case, water which includes the
water company, regulatory framework, supply system and service, or the water itself. In most
research the adequacy or otherwise of this awareness is anchored against the service provider
or regulators perspective on the supply. Where consumer awareness does not equate with
this industry perspective this is often termed a consumer (mis) perception. However, it should
be noted that there is a distinction between holding factually incorrect knowledge about the
supply system (for e.g. that the water comes from a river when it comes from an aquifer) and
differing perspectives on, say, the safety of the supply. In the latter example assessments of
safety are judgments made under uncertainty about the future and thus have a legitimately
contestable truth status. What is acceptably safe is a matter of judgment (potentially based on
good science but a judgment under uncertainty nonetheless) and may or may not be a mis-
perception.
Risk Perception
This is a term used rather loosely in the literature to mean the level of risk associated with
exposure to a hazard. Unfortunately a risk is often used to mean the specific hazard itself
rather than a formal risk which is a combined assessment of the likelihood and magnitude of
harm that may occur as a result of exposure to the hazard. In section 3 we discuss this
concept further.
Consumer Attitudes
An attitude is a positive or negative evaluation of a social object or action. A social object
in the present context might mean the water company, water regulations, supply system and
service, or the water itself. Many theories of attitudes (e.g. the well-known theory of planned
behaviour, Ajzen, 1985) have attitude as a factor involved in determining behavioural choices
howeverthere is considerable continuing debate about when, and in what circumstances,
attitudes are important determinants of behaviour. An attitude toward something should thus
not be taken to imply that attitude consistent behaviour will automatically follow.


Consumers and the Public
While discussing definitional clarity it is worth acknowledging that the consumer is not a
representative of a single homogeneous group, the public. Social scientists prefer to use the
term publics to reflect the idea that not all members of the public share the same goals and
values nor have the same relative power status within any society. A crude example we will
return to later is that the poor/unemployed are unable to pay for some services and it would
be a mistake to ignore the importance of this different status when studying preferences. In
the case of water consumption, all members of the population have to consume water from
some source but some are the direct payers of water bills (customers), some pay indirectly
(e.g. those living in care homes, or some forms of rented accommodation) and others are
dependents of customers. These differing groups will have differing relationships with
suppliers and may well have different preferences
Consumer preferences represent the building block for assessing the value of
any good or service relative to another. Once determined, a consumer may or may not wish to
reveal a willingness to pay for an item given the asking price. Of course, assessing value is
not always straightforward for the consumer. It can be an amalgamation of economic,
aesthetic, and moral characteristics that are uniquely determined and weighted by each
individual consumer. Of course, there may be a tension among those characteristics. As a
result, a consumers preferences could be highly flexible given changes in both his or her and
societys outlooks. For example, the thought of purchasing a large sport utility vehicle may
satisfy a personal preference for a powerful and spacious vehicle; but, at the same time, it
may have to be reconciled with a social preference for reduced petroleum dependency and
carbon dioxide emissions.
By reconciling the inherent tension, the consumer could assign a level of satisfaction
(technically called marginal utility, MU) derived from owning a unit of the item in question.
The way these marginal utilities change over different units of an item, as well as across units
of other items, establishes the profile of the consumers preferences. When an item is
preferred over others, it is useful to consider this in terms of a range of purchasable items
constrained by their prices (P) and the purchasing power of the consumer. After all,
possessing a preference for an item that is not affordable does not say much about a
consumers actual purchasing patterns.



THE THEORY OF THE CONSUMER
Consumer makes decisions by allocating their scarce income across all possible goods in
order to obtain the greatest satisfaction. Formally, we say that consumers maximize their
utility subject to budget constraint. Utility is defined as the satisfaction that a consumer
derives from the consumption of a good. As noted above, utilitys determinants are decided
by a host of noneconomic factors. Consumer value is measured in terms of the relative
utilities between goods. These reflect the consumers preferences.
Consumer preferences are defined as the subjective (individual) tastes, as measured by
utility, of various bundles of goods. They permit the consumer to rank these bundles of goods
according to the levels of utility they give the consumer. Note that preferences are
independent of income and prices. Ability to purchase goods does not determine a
consumers likes or dislikes. One can have a preference for Porsches over Fords but only
have the financial means to drive a Ford.

How Companies Find Consumer Preferences.
Companies routinely test the market to find out what customers like and dislike about their
products and competitors' products. This is usually done by an internal marketing department
or outsourced to a market research firm. Phone interviews, paper surveys, electronic surveys,
focus groups and consumer samplings are common methods for gathering information.
Customer preference refers to how customers select goods and services in relation to factors
like taste, preference and individual choices. Factors such as the consumer's income and price
of the goods do not influence the customer's preferred products or services. A consumer
preference explains how a consumer ranks a collection of goods or services or prefers one
collection over another. This definition assumes that consumers rank goods or services by the
amount of satisfaction, or utility, afforded. Consumer preference theory does not take the
consumer's income, good or service's price, or the consumer's ability to purchase the product
or service.

Consistent Choices
A consumer preference assumes that the consumer can choose consistently between or among
goods and services. The consumer must prefer one set of goods or services over others or
treat all as equally beneficial. Consistency is an issue when the consumer must consider more


than two alternatives. If a consumer ranks dress shoes ahead of tennis shoes and tennis shoes
ahead of sandals, the consumer must prefer dress shoes to sandals.

Monotonicity
Consumer preference theory assumes that "more is better." This form of preference,
monotonicity, has varying levels of strength. Basic monotonicity means that a consumer, if
deciding between two laptops with the same amount of memory, will choose the one with the
larger screen. The consumer will have a stronger preference for a laptop with both more
memory and the larger screen.

Diminishing Marginal Utility
Diminishing marginal utility means that more is better to a certain point. According to this
assumption, a consumer gets less additional satisfaction the more a product or service is
consumed. At some point, a consumer will get no additional utility from the product or
service.

Cost
Consumers usually choose to purchase more of a good if the price falls. For example, a sale
or reduced prices may increase consumption of a good. On the other hand, an increase in
price may cause reduced consumption, especially if the good has available substitutes.

Consumer Income
Consumers often desire more expensive goods and services when their income increases. If
they suffer a decrease in income, they are more likely to choose less expensive goods and
services. For example, business selling luxury goods, such as jewelry, will probably be more
successful in a high-income area than a low-income area.

Available Substitutes
If a product has several substitutes -- alternative products that consumers may choose instead
a particular brand of product -- consumers will be more sensitive to changes in price.
However, if consumers do not perceive similar products to be effective substitutes -- for
example, consumers who do not think Coke and Pepsi are equally delicious -- they will be


less likely to switch to a substitute based on price. This concept is called the price elasticity of
demand
Customers attitude towards a particular brand:
The direct formation of attitudes is linked to the experiential perspective. For forming
attitude directly, the following elements are considered.
- Classical conditioning/associative learning--positive affect is attached to object
- Mere exposure--frequent exposure to stimulus increases liking for it. Derived from
Butterfly effect.
- Moods--mood at the time of exposure to object influences feelings about object.
There are three major factors that are predictive of attitudes. They are
Salient Beliefs
Strength of the Belief
Evaluation
There exist two types of influences regarding the consumers attitude. They are internal
and external influences.
Internal influences:
Customer attitude is influenced by demographic factors, psychographic factors,
personality, motivation, knowledge, attitude, beliefs and feelings. Customer attitude
concerned with consumer need, consumer actions in the direction of satisfying needs leads to
thus behavior of every individual depend on thinking process.
In simple terms attitude refers to what a person feels or believes about something.
Additionally, attitude may be reflected in how an individual acts based on his or her beliefs.
Once formed, attitudes can be very difficult to change. Thus, if a consumer has a negative


attitude toward a particular issue it will take considerable effort to change what they believe
to be true.
Marketers facing consumers who have a negative attitude toward their product must
work to identify the key issues shaping a consumers attitude then adjust marketing decisions
(e.g., advertising) in an effort to change the attitude. For companies competing against strong
rivals to whom loyal consumers exhibit a positive attitude, an important strategy is to work to
see why consumers feel positive toward the competitor and then try to meet or beat the
competitor on these issues. Alternatively, a company can try to locate customers who feel
negatively toward the competitor and then increase awareness among this group.

External influences:
Customer attitude or consumer behaviour is influenced by culture, sub-culture,
locality, family, social class, reference group and marketing mix factors.
It also includes perception and learning.
Perception:
It is a process of attaining awareness or understanding of sensory information.
Learning:
It is acquiring new knowledge, behaviour, skill, values, preferences or understanding and
may involve synthesizing different types of information. The ability to learn is preceded by
humans, animals and machines.
The Need to Understand Customer Preference
The idea that customers prefer one product or one service over another is not
new. The ability to identify and measure the elements of such preference decisions with any
accuracy and reliability has only recently become available. Research into this area of
consumer behavior has brought understanding to some of the major issues with standard


customer satisfaction research. Most importantly, we have come to realize that high
customer satisfaction does not assure continued customer preference. Satisfaction research
over the past fifteen years demonstrates that high satisfaction scores, while a measure of
corporate performance on a set of important criteria, do not adequately explain the
composition of preference formation and therefore often serve as insufficient predictors of
sustained preference or what is normally referred to as customer loyalty. Loyalty as a concept
has also shown itself to be difficult to define. Like beauty, loyalty is truly in the eye of the
beholder. We understand there are different types and degrees of loyalty and some of these
are not appropriate in describing the relationship between a consumer and a company.
However, preference (defined as The power or ability to choose one thing over another with
the anticipation that the choice will result in greater satisfaction, greater capability or
improved performance) has demonstrated the ability to be effectively measured and to
provide meaningful insight into the choices consumers make when selecting one provider
over another and when determining to continue a relationship over time.

The Application of the Theory of Reasoned Action Model

The theory of reasoned action represents a comprehensive integration of the attitude
components that ultimately are the building blocks of preference. The model is designed to
provide a better understanding of how consumer preference is formed and, correspondingly,
to provide the means to accurately predict consumer preference behavior. Chart one provides
an overview of customer preference formation from the theory of reasoned action point of
view. In order to understand preference we need to determine the functional or performance
demands involved in the purchase, the desired emotive outcomes, and the subjective norms
consumers use to determine their desire for one product or service over another. The primary
assumption of the model is that individuals make considered purchases. In some cases the
consideration may be minimal and the purchase behavior almost habitual (as when deciding
to buy a new comb while standing in line at Target). In another the period of consideration
(incubation) may be extensive and each element of the consideration process carefully
examined (as when deciding to purchases a new home).



Chart No 3.1 Basic Structural Model of Customer Preference Formation
Consumer Behavior by Leon Schiffman and Leslie Kanuk

The important contribution of the reasoned action model is the realization that consumers
utilize the model in all purchase experiences to a lesser or greater extent. Of equal
importance is the realization that the components used to make a preference decision are also
the ones employed by a consumer to evaluate the performance success of the product or
service purchased and the company responsible for them. Therefore, as the components of
preference change, the elements influencing satisfaction change accordingly. The
relationship is dynamic and fluid therefore static or predetermined satisfaction analytic
packages often miss the most important elements of preference and can create a false sense of
security on the part of companies who think that since their customer satisfaction scores are
high they must in turn have relatively loyal customers.
Conviction that the
choice leads to certain
desired functional
outcomes
Evaluation of the
outcomes
Conviction that the
choice is considered
correct by others
Motivation to comply
with the opinion of
others
Conviction that the
choice leads to certain
desired emotive
outcomes
Attitude toward the
behavior
Subjective comparison
norm
Intention
Preference
Behavior


With-In Segment Deployment of Customer Preference
Customer preference analysis is really a call to action. By understanding the preference
formation components and the preference expectation evaluations by group or segment of
customers, companies can design response strategies that are truly responsive to vital
customer expectations and that differentiate in the marketplace.

Chart No 3.2 .Delivering Performance at the Intersection of Preference and Expectation
Within the framework customer satisfaction can begin to play a very important role as a
measure of a companys ability to deliver and execute against preference evaluation elements
of a given customer segment. These expectations can now be differentiated into expectants -
basic, cost-of-entry preference expectations, satisfiers - preference expectations that help to
constrain abandonment or churn and attractors - preference enhancements (often focused on
the emotive components) that attract new customers.



CHAPTER IV
INDUSTRY AND COMPANY PROFILE



4.1 INDUSTRY PROFILE

4.1.1. Global scenario
When newspapers and magazines are combined, print is the world's largest
advertising medium. An increase in the newspaper sale has been witnessed in almost all
continents including Asia, Europe, Africa and South America except North America, which
registered a decline in the sales. Global newspaper sales rose 2.3% in 2006, India grew 13
%. Advertising revenues in paid dailies had been found up 3.77 per cent. China, Japan and
India account for 60 of the worlds 100 best-selling dailies while the five largest markets for
newspapers are China, India, Japan, the US and Germany.

4.1.2Indian news paper industry

In India, over 150 million individuals read a newspaper each day. One factor that has
resulted in making the print media ever-more popular is the fact that India is a country of
many diverse languages and more than a thousand different dialects. In a country of 1.1
billion, there is more room for the newspaper industry to grow, as the rural areas are largely
untapped. To propel the newspaper growth in India, 26 per cent foreign direct investment
allowed in print media in 2002. Due to a hike in FDI limits in the newspaper publishing
sector a lot more action is likely to be seen from the global players wanting to invest in this
sector.
Press Council of India
Press Council of India (PCI) is a statutory autonomous body established in 1966 by the
Parliament on the recommendations of the First Press Commission for the purpose of
preserving the freedom of the press, and of maintaining and improving the standards of
newspapers and news agencies in India. The Council is headed by a Chairman, who is
nominated by a Committee consisting of Chairman of Council of States (RajyaSabha), the
Speaker of the House of the People (LokSabha), and a person elected from amongst the
Members of the Press Council. The decision of the Council cannot be questioned in any court
of law.



Registrar of Newspapers for India
The Office of the Registrar of Newspapers for India, more popularly known as RNI came into
being on 1st July, 1956, on the recommendation National Press Day The 16th of November
is symbolic of a free and responsible press in India. This was the day on which the Press
Council of India started functioning.
Indian Newspaper Society
The Indian and Eastern Newspaper Society, now renamed as The Indian Newspaper Society,
enjoys a unique position as the accredited spokesman of the newspaper industry. From
newsprint to advertising, from licenses for machinery to freedom of the Press, INS today is
involved in many spheres of activities of the First Press Commission in 1953 and by
amending the Press and Registration of Books Act 1867. The Office of the Registrar of
Newspapers for India is headquartered in New Delhi, and has three regional offices at
Calcutta, Mumbai and Chennai to cater to the needs of publishers in all corners of the
country.
RNI compiles and maintains a Register of Newspapers containing particulars about all the
newspapers published. It informs the District Magistrates about availability of titles to
intending publishers for filing declaration and issues Certificate of Registration to the
newspaper. It ensures that newspapers are published in accordance with the provisions of the
Press and Registration of Books Act 1867.
STARTING A PAPER:
Printing and publishing of newspapers and periodicals within India are governed by the Press
and Registration of Books Act, 1867 and the Registration of Newspapers (Central) Rules,
1956. According to the Act, no newspaper or periodical should bear a title which is the same
or similar to any other newspaper or periodical already being published, either in the same
language or in the same State, unless the latter is also owned by the same person. In order to
ensure compliance of this condition, the Government of India has appointed the Registrar of
Newspapers, also called the Press Registrar, who maintains a register of newspapers and
periodicals published in India. After verification Press Registrar allots a RNI Number. After
allotment of this number only the Publishers get the authority to publish the paper. [This RNI
Number must be shown in every newspaper].



Audit Bureau of Circulation
The ABC founded in 1948 is a not for profit, voluntary organization consisting of Publishers,
Advertisers and Advertising Agencies. It has done pioneering work in developing audit
procedures to verify the circulation data published by those newspapers and periodicals
which have earned the right to display its emblem. The Bureau issues ABC certificates every
six months to those publishers whose circulation figures confirm to the rules and regulations
as set out by the Bureau.
National Readership Studies Council
It is constituted by Advertising Agencies Association of India, Audit Bureau of Circulations
& Indian Newspaper Society. The National Readership Study 2006 (NRS 2006) in India is
the largest survey of its kind in the world, with a sample size of 2,84,373 house-to-house
interviews to measure the media exposure and consumer product penetration in both urban
and rural India and of course the estimated readership of publications. The study covers 535
publications of which 230 are dailies and 305 are magazines.
The importance of news paper.
The newspaper, today, plays a vital role in human affairs. Its importance has not been
diminished by the appearance of the radio or the television. Men no longer have travel to get
information. The newspaper has become the main source of information. The newspaper has
become the main source of information about local and foreign affairs. Though the radio and
television convey important news and messages quicker than the newspaper, they seldom
give the details of an incident. The newspaper, on the other hand, gives not only more detail
about a particular incident but it also contains more new items. This is greatly important
today when political changes occur with rapidity unknown before. Besides, the newspaper is
easier to carry and it could be read at any time during the day. Further, the permanence of the
printed word helps one to refresh ones memory of certain facts and incidents reported in the
past.
The importance of newspaper has been increased greatly by the spread of education sharpens
ones curiosity about events in distant lands and also makes one conscious of the necessity to
maintain ones reading habits. In both respects the newspaper appeals most, especially if one
finds little time to read books.
The newspaper should, however, be read with caution, for its capacity to do harm is great.
Most people believe everything that is reported by the newspaper. As a result, the newspaper
exerts a profound influence on the minds of reader. Therefore, when some news is reported


wrongly either by mistake or design, it may cause a lot of harm. One the other hand, if the
policy of the newspaper is to promote the welfare of the people, it could do a lot of good. For
example, it could exercise its influence to persuade the government of a country to do many
things for the benefit of the people. In general, however, the newspaper tries to report as
accurately as possible, for there are various magazines and periodicals competing with the
newspaper to provide accurate information on world developments, and it is the newspaper
that links us with the outside world.
Rural India and crisis in newspaper industry
During a visit to India in November 2008, Earl Wilkinson, Executive Director of the
International Newspaper Marketing Association (INMA), cautioned the Indian newspaper
industry of an impending storm of digital migration of readership to the Internet and other
digital forms of reading news. Earlier, many prophets of doom sent out similar warning
signals. But Wilkinson saw the problem from a different perspective: the threat may not be
immediate for India, as it was for the United States and European countries, but it was very
much there.
While assessing the Indian media situation, he referred to the aggressive marketing drive
undertaken by the print media, particularly the Indian-language press, in hundreds of villages
to penetrate a largely untapped area. In rural India, they realized, opportunities were aplenty
thanks to the rise in the literacy rate, the spread of education, and an increase in family
income of sections of the people benefited by development schemes.
In an interview to Business Line in Chennai, Wilkinson commented: What amazes me is
how the Indian newspapers have evolved in a way separated from their colleagues in North
America and Europe. So what I see here are some amazing business practices, some that can
be improved upon and some the rest of the world can look at. He referred to door-to-door
campaigns by some Indian-language newspaper groups and the giant English newspapers.
They are really tapping into the new India as people acquire wealth and the ability to
subscribe to newspapers, he noted. Such business practices, he pointed out, were not
followed in the United States as a result of which American media companies had to suffer
later. Newspapers in India tend to spend five to ten times more than what papers in the
United States would spend on marketing their papers, Wilkinson observed. In the U.S.,
newspapers spend only one per cent of their revenues on marketing themselves. In his view,
the threat from the storm of Internet and digital migration might not be immediate, thanks to
such self-protective measures. However, no developing country could afford to go without


the benefits of digital technology and so the newspaper industry should prepare itself to face
the challenge whenever it arrived.

4.1.3 State scenario.

The history of news media in Kerala begins with the publication of
Rajyasamacharam, the first newspaper of Kerala. This was started for religious propagation
by the Christian missionaries of Basel Mission in June 1847 from Illikunnu near Thalassery
(Tellicherry). Subsequently two more newspapers Paschimodayam (1847 October) and
Njananikshepam (1848 November) came out from Tellicherry and Kottayam respectively.
Another major development was the publication of Nasrani Deepika on 15 April 1887 from
Mannanam near Kottayam as a fortnightly. The publication started under the editorship of a
Catholic priest Nidhiry Mani Kathanar later became a daily newspaper on 3 January 1927.
The paper was renamed as Deepika in 1938 and it continues to be published even today.
Malayala Manorama was started from Kottayam on 22 March 1890 by Kandathil Varghese
Mappillai as a weekly. This became a daily in 1928 and is the largest circulating daily of
Kerala today. K. Ramakrishna Pillai popularly known as Swadeshabhimani Ramakrishna
Pillai is the first journalist in Kerala who was exiled. He was exiled from the erstwhile
princely state of Travancore in 26 September 1910, for criticizing the then rulers. He is also
credited with authoring the first book on journalism titled Vrithantha Pathra Pravarthanam in
Malayalam as early as in 1912. Kerala Kaumudi was started in 1911 in Mayyanad in Kollam
under the editorship of C.V. Kunhiraman as a weekly and was later converted to a daily and
is one of the leading newspapers today. Mathrubhumi newspaper was started as part of the
nationalist movement and Indian independence movement on 18 March 1923, under the
editorship of K. P. Kesava Menon. It was started as a tri-weekly at Kozhikode and was later
made a daily in 6 April 1930. Today it is the second largest circulated daily of Kerala.
Deshabhimani started in 1942 as the organ of the Communist Party of India under the
editorship of M. S. Devadas from Kozhikode became a daily in 1946. Today it is one of the
largest dailies in the state and is the organ of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
Madhyamam began publishing in 1987 at Silver Hills near Calicut. Veteran journalist, Kuldip
Nayar inaugurated the publishing. Madhyamam has its core readership in the Malabar
Muslim community, Udaya keralam started from Thiruvananthapuram on 30 nov 2012 by
vishnu s ambadi as a daily news paper. now udaya keralam has emerged as a new generation


news paper catering digital as well as traditional medium . There are nearly 1140 Malayalam
newspapers with a total circulation of 76, 68,000 copies. The circulation of dailies alone is
22, 63,000. Some of the popular weeklies in Malayalam today are Mathrubhumi weekly
(1932), Kalakaumudi weekly (1976), India Today (Malayalam) (1987), Samakalika
Malayalam (1997) and Madhyamam weekly (1998).

4.1.4 Newspapers: a global industry in transition

The decline of newspapers has been widely debated as the industry has faced down soaring
newsprint prices, slumping ad sales, the loss of much classified advertising and precipitous
drops in circulation. In recent years the number of newspapers slated for closure, bankruptcy
or severe cutbacks has risen especially in the United States, where the industry has shed a
fifth of its journalists since 2001. Revenue has plunged while competition from internet
media has squeezed older print publishers. This has strictly affected only the United States or
the English-speaking markets though there is a large rise in sales for countries like China,
Japan and India.
The debate has become more urgent lately, as a deepening recession has cut profits, and as
once-explosive growth in newspaper web revenues has leveled off, forestalling what the
industry hoped would become an important source of revenue. One issue is whether the
newspaper industry is being hit by a cyclical trough and will recover, or whether new
technology has rendered newspapers obsolete in their traditional format. To survive,
newspapers are considering combining and other options, although the outcome of such
partnerships has been criticized. Despite these problems, newspaper companies with
significant brand value, which have published their work online, have a significant rise in
viewership.
The newspaper industry has always been cyclical, and the industry has weathered previous
troughs. But while television's arrival in the 1950s presaged the decline of newspapers'
importance as most people's source of daily news, the explosion of the internet in the 1990s
and the first decade of the 21st century increased the panoply of media choices available to
the average reader while further cutting into newspapers' hegemony as the source of news.
Both television and the Internet bring news to the consumer faster and in a more visual style
than newspapers, which are constrained by their physical form and the need to be physically
manufactured and distributed. The competing mediums also offer advertisers the opportunity


to use moving images and sound. And the internet search function allows advertisers to tailor
their pitch to readers who have revealed what information they are seekingan enormous
advantage.
The Internet has also gone a step further than television in eroding the advertising income of
newspapers, as unlike broadcast media it proves a convenient vehicle for classified
advertising, particularly in categories such as jobs, vehicles, and real estate. Free services like
Craigslist have decimated the classified advertising departments of many newspapers, some
of which depended on classifieds for 70% of their ad revenue. At the same time, newspapers
have been pinched by consolidation of large department stores, which once accounted for
substantial advertising sums.
Press baron Rupert Murdoch once described the profits flowing from his stable of
newspapers as "rivers of gold." But, said Murdoch several years later, "sometimes rivers dry
up." "Simply put," wrote Buffalo News owner Warren Buffett, "if cable and satellite
broadcasting, as well as the internet, had come along first, newspapers as we know them
probably would never have existed."
As their revenues have been squeezed, newspapers have also been increasingly assailed by
other media taking away not only their readers, but their principal sources of profit. Many of
these 'new media' are not saddled with expensive union contracts, printing presses, delivery
fleets and overhead built over decades. Many of these competitors are simply 'aggregators' of
news, often derived from print sources, but without print media's capital-intensive
overhead.[10] Some estimates put the percentage of online news derived from newspapers at
80%.[11]
"Newspapers are doing the reporting in this country," observed John S. Carroll, former editor
of The Los Angeles Times for five years. "Google and Yahoo aren't those people putting
reporters on the street in any number. Blogs cannot afford it."[12] Many newspapers also
suffer from the broad trend toward "fragmentation" of all media in which small numbers of
large media outlets attempting to serve substantial portions of the population are replaced by
an abundance of smaller and more specialized organizations, often aiming only to serve
specific interest groups. So-called narrowcasting has splintered audiences into smaller and
smaller slivers. But newspapers have not been alone in this: the rise of cable television and
satellite television at the expense of network television in countries such as the United States
and United Kingdom is another example of this fragmentation.
Buying a newspaper


A common measure of a newspaper's health is market penetration, expressed as a percentage
of households that receive a copy of the newspaper against the total number of households in
the paper's market area. In the 1920s, on a national basis in the U.S., daily newspapers
achieved market penetration of 123 percent (meaning the average U.S. household received
1.23 newspapers). As other media began to compete with newspapers, and as printing became
easier and less expensive giving rise to a greater diversity of publications, market penetration
began to decline. It wasnt until the early 1970s, however, that market penetration dipped
below 100 percent. By 2000, it was 53 percent and still falling.
Many paid-for newspapers offer a variety of subscription plans. For example, someone might
want only a Sunday paper, or perhaps only Sunday and Saturday, or maybe only a workweek
subscription, or perhaps a daily subscription.
Most newspapers provide some or all of their content on the Internet, either at no cost or for a
fee. In some cases, free access is available only for a matter of days or weeks, or for a certain
number of viewed articles, after which readers must register and provide personal data. In
other cases, free archives are provided.



4.2 COMPANY PROFILE

4.2.1 HISTORY OF KERALA KAUMUDI
Kerala Kaumudi was started by Late Shri.C.V. Kunjuraman in the year 1911.

In the year 1940, Kerala Kaumudi was converted into a Daily by Late
PADMABHOOSHAN K SUKUMARAN, the younger son of Mr.C.V Kunjuraman. The
elder brother of Shri.Sukumaran, Late Mr.K.Damodaran, who was the Head Transilater in the
Government. was working in the editorial section for a long time. Late Sahodaran
K.Ayyappan, a well known figure in Journalism was a contributor of articles which was
published every sunday. It is a strange coincidence that state of Kerala was born on
November 1st 1956, which is actually after 16 years after the Kerala Kaumudi was converted
into a daily.
Starting with a single edition from Trivandrum, today the Kerala Kaumudi
family is spread into seven editions including an edition from Bangalore. Kerala Kaumudi
was the first News paper which introduced photo type setting and cable photo transmission
among the Malayalam newspapers. Today, latest computerization is implemented in all the
units of Kerala Kaumudi and Kerala Kaumudi is going ahead with New Generation
Electronic application. The unbiased and fearless editorials which is the trump card of the
Newspaper was instrumental for confering PADMABHOOSHAN to Late Shri.K.Sukumaran,
the one and only PATHRADHIPAR.
C V Kunjuraman started Kerala Kaumudi, the third largest circulating daily in
Kerala in 1911. It was started to protect and safeguard the interests of the backward
communities. In the beginning, it was a monthly publication. The publishing was interrupted
many times due to several reasons. It was restarted as a fortnightly publication, Later it was
developed into a news paper, which was published 5 days a week. It was again banned by
Sir.C.P.Ramaswami Iyer, who was the Divan in that period, on allegation of anti-
governmental activities. Mr.K.Sukumaran was jailed during this time and after his release,
the newspaper was restarted as Kerala Kaumudi, in 1940.
It was then published on all days except Mondays till 1963. From 1963, the
company started a Monday magazine and thus converted Kerala Kaumudi into a daily


newspaper. It was a turning point in the history of Kerala Kaumudi. It marked the beginning
of the development of the Kerala Kaumudi.

Inspiring leadership
Kerala Kaumudi shot into limelight following the Quit India Movement. The term
Kaumudi implies moonlight that blossoms the water lily. In other words, Kerala
Kaumudi enlightens the entire keralites. Truly speaking, Kerala Kaumudi spearheaded
with a missionary zeal to enlighten the underprivileged and downtrodden masses in the
society.Shri K Sukumaran became the embodiment of Kaumudi-the full moon in
enlightening the masses in the moon balanced green of Kerala. This is an apt interpretation of
Kerala Kaumudi.

Because of its fearless unbiased editorials and relentless dedication, the term Kerala
Kaumudi becomes immortal and permanently etched in the minds of common man. And it is
precisely these qualities that prompted the nation to confer on the founder Editor P
Sukumaran, one of its highest civilian honours, the prestigious Padmabhushan. The Kerala
Kaumudi legacy has been its constant pursuit for truth and unparalleled excellence in
Journalism.
Kerala Kaumudi became a daily news paper on 1st November 1940. From its humble
beginning as a single edition news paper of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala Kaumudi has spread
out to cover other parts of the state and the country with editions from Kollam, Alappuzha,
Kottayam, Cochin, Thrissur, Kozhikodu, Kannur, Bangalore and Gulf. Now Kerala Kaumudi
is celebrating its 96 years of publication
REGISTERED OFFICE
The registered office of the company named Kaumudi Buildings is located at Pettah, a
developed part in Thiruvananthapuram city. It is the place where the administration of the
company is being carried out.



4.2.1 OBJECTIVES OF THE COMPANY

To carry on business of proprietors and publishers of news paper, journals,
magazines, periodicals, books and pamphlets and other literary works and
undertakings.
To understand and execute any trusts or to act as trustees or to do any other such act
as may seen desirable or beneficial whether with or without consideration

To establish, maintain and promote any agency or branch offices of the company in
India or elsewhere and to regulate the same or discontinue the same.

GROWTH AND PROFITABILITY
The Kerala Kaumudi has been working in profit ever since in its establishment.
Profits are essential for the survival of the business. Thy cover the risks and cost of staying in
business. Profits maintain the revenue generating capacity of the business.

SISTER CONCERNS

1. Kerala kaumudi Printers and Publications
2. Ravi Printers and Publications Pvt Ltd
3. Kaumudi Investment Pvt Ltd

COMPETITORS

1. Malayala Manorama
2. Mathrubhumi
3. Deshabhimani


4. Mangalam
5. Deepika

Social Responsibility
As far as print media are concerned, the objective of profit maximization comes after
the Social objective. The specialty of Kerala Kaumudi Products is that they are offered at fair
prices, which is affordable to the common man. Their contribution towards the development
of local community life is a notable one and it is working in public interest. Kerala Kaumudi
(P) Ltd has brought much sensitive news like Palmoil case, SSLC question paper leak out etc.
Kerala Kaumudi has been obsessed with truth over 96 years. Kerala Kaumudi has always
worked for the development of society with Forth right news and fearless views. Stresses
on credibility and unbiased reporting, which is the motto of the Kerala Kaumudi since
1911.
Kerala Kaumudis crusading journalism has made a class of its own in the lives of
Malayalees. The newspapers constant effort to safeguard the policy of communal reservation
in Kerala is a shinning example Kerala Kaumudis strong commitment to the welfare of the
state. Kerala Kaumudi is the mastermind behind innumerable scoop stories, which
demolished the ivory towers of many unparallel icons of Kerala politics.

Future Plans of Company
The company has many plans for its future. More editions are to be launched in near
future as part of Kerala Kaumudis ambitious plan to expand its coverage to more areas.
The company wants to impart some new equipments and machineries for speedy and smooth
production. The company needs more efficient technicians and to compete with others. The
company wants to conduct training programmes for employees. The company wishes to
provide more effective and efficient labour welfare facilities to its employees. It provides
many employment opportunities.

Product Profile
To keep pace with the evolving needs and tastes of Keralites, Kerala Kaumudi too has grown
through its different publications.



Product line
1. Kerala Kaumudi publications

1. Kerala Kaumudi daily
2. Kerala Kaumudi Flash
3. Kerala Kaumudi weekly
4. Kerala Kaumudi Panchangam (Big Almanac)
5. Kerala Kaumudi Calendar
6. Kerala Kaumudi Onam special
7. Kerala Kaumudi Sabarimala Special
8. Kerala Kaumudi Ayurarogyam
9. kerala annual pathippu,

The latest additions are:

10. Sree Narayana Guru Directory
11. Career Directory (yet to publish)

II. Kerala Kaumudi Communications
Kerala Kaumudi Communications focuses on audio entertainment creations. The Kerala
Kaumudi GEETH series compiles melodious mixes of old and new numbers sung by all-
time favorite Malayalam singers. A group of musical experts carefully select the
combinations to ensure that each release is sensitized to suit the tastes of a unique segment.



III. Kerala Kaumudi Events wing
A team of eminent professional organizes, conducts, and concludes all kinds of promotional
events with a touch of class. This wing also organizes variety of shows, shoots, arrange
sponsors and broadcasts stage events on leading Malayalam channels worldwide.
IV. Online publications
Kerala Kaumudi leaped into internet 1997 in their business in online publications are a
natural growth into cyber age of Kerala Kaumudi. Kerala Kaumudiinternet division or cyber
studio has emerged as one of the leading web publishers ofKerala. 24 hour data updation is
doing here. It is the chief source of information for NRIs from Kerala.
Kaumudi sites growth and success spring from their conscious awareness of the huge
expatriate Malayalee population and their abiding interest in their home land.

1. www. keralakaumudi.com {Malayalam Daily)
2. www. kaumudi.com (English Daily)
3. www. kaumudijalakam.com (bilingual news magazine)
4. www. sundaykaumudi.com (web tabloid).
5. www. kaumudiclassifieds.net
6. www. kaumudiusa.com (the newest addition to Kerala Kaumudi galaxy of websites)-
bilingual multicultural site.
Kaumudiusa.com is an exclusive bilingual North American Malayali targeted site,
kaumudijalakam, an innovative Malayalam net weekly and Kaumudi online, a net-only
English daily, have proved to be big draws with expatriate Keralites.



Chart No 4.1

ORGANIZATION CHART

Managing Director or Joint Managing Director
Chairman/ Editor in Chief
Board of Directors
Chief General Manager
Company secretary
Corporate
Administration
Business Units
Administration
Corporate Heads
Human Resource Management
Production Head
AGM (Marketing)
Chief Manager (Finance & Accounts)
Unit Chief
Unit Manager
Managing Editor
Editorial
Department
Associate Editor
Chief News Editor
General Editor
Chief Manager (Special Projects)
General Manager


Chart No 4.2

HEAD OFFICE CIRCULATION SECTION CHART

Circulation Manager
Assistant Circulation
Manager
Marketing Officer
Field Inspectors
Business
Representatives


Chart No 4.3

UNIT OFFICE CIRCULATION SECTION CHART

Assistant Circulation Manager
Field Inspector
Representative


CHAPTER V
DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION



5.1 Gender wise classification.

A question was asked to the respondents about their gender.

Table-5.1

The opinion regarding gender is tabulated as below.

Chart No-5.1

The opinion regarding gender is as charted below.

Interpretation

Majority of respondents (62%) are find to be males and remaining (38 %) are females.

0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
MALE FEMALE
Sl. No Sex No. of respondents Percentage
1 Male 65 62
2 Female 40 38
Total 105 100


5.2 Employment status.

A question was asked to the respondents about their employment status.

Table-5.2

The opinion regarding employment status is tabulated as below.

Chart-5.2

The opinion regarding employment status is charted as below.

Interpretation

Majority of respondents 68 percent in the sample are find to be employed and
remaining 32 percent are unemployed.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Employed Unemployed
Sl. No Employment Status No. of Respondents Percentage

1. Employed 71

68
2. Unemployed 34

32
Total 105

100


5.3 Educational qualification.

A question was asked to the respondents about their educational qualification.

Table No 5.3

The opinion regarding educational qualification is tabulated as below

Sl. No Educational
Qualifications
No. of respondents Percentage
1 SSLC & Below
That
8 8
2 Higher Secondary 12 11
3 Graduation 39 37
4 Post Graduation 28 27
5 Professional 18 17
6 Total 105 100


Chart-5.3

The opinion regarding educational qualification is charted as below.

Interpretation

Majority of newspaper readers (37%) in the sample are find to be graduates, 27
percent are post graduates, 17 percent are professionals, 11 percent are higher secondary
holders and 8 percent of respondents are SSLC and below matriculation. As the majority
consists of Post graduates and Professionals, the readers are interested in more and more
attractive and authentic dailies.

0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
SSLC & Below that Higher Secondary Graduation Post Graduation professional


5.4 Income wise classification.

A question was asked to the respondents about their income status.

Table No 5. 4

The opinion regarding income status is tabulated as below.

Sl No. Monthly Income

No. of respondents Percentage
1 Below Rs.2500 32 30
2 Rs.2500-5000 11 11
3 Rs.5000-7500 20 19
4 Above Rs.7500 42 40
Total 105 100


Chart No-5.4

The opinion regarding income status is charted as below.

Interpretation

Majority of respondents (40%) are above Rs.7500 monthly income category, while 34
percent belongs to below Rs.2500 monthly income category. Rs5000 - 7500 income group
constituted only 17 percent. 9 percent of the respondents belonged to Rs.2500 - 5000 income
group.

0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Below 2500 2500 to 5000 5000 to 7500 Above 7500


5.5 News paper reading habit.

A question was asked to the respondents about their news paper reading habit.

Table No -5.5

The opinion regarding news paper reading habit is tabulated as below.

Sl
No
Category Number Percentage
1 Regular reader

101 96
2 Not a regular reader 4 4
Total

105 100

Chart No-5.5

The opinion regarding news paper reading habit is charted as below.

Interpretation

Out of total respondents 96 percent of the respondents are regular readers of news paper and
only 4 percentages are not regular readers of news paper.

0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Regular reader Not a regular reader


5.5 Choice of their news paper.

Question was asked to the respondents about which news paper they read regularly.

Table No-5.6

Opinion about regular news paper selection is tabulated as below.

Sl No Category

Number Percentage
1 Kerala Kaumudi

18 18
2 Mathrubhoomi

24 24
3 Malayala Manorama

30 29
4 Deepika

2 2
5 Mangalam

1 1
6 Chandrika

2 2
7 Deshabhimani

22 22
8 Veekshanam

2 2
Total

101 100



Chart No 5.6

Opinion about regular news paper selection is tabulated as below.

Interpretation

Respondents are asked about their choice of newspapers they selected. Majority of
respondents (29%) select Malayala Manorama daily, followed by Mathrubhoomi (24%),
Deshabhimani (22%), Kerala Kaumudi (18%), Deepika (2%) and Chandrika (2%),
Veekshanam (2%) Mangalam(1%) . It is interpreted that Kerala Kaumudi occurs the fourth
position.

0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35


5.7 Purchasing source of their news paper.

Question was asked to the respondents about from where they purchase the news paper.

Table No 5.7

Opinion about purchasing source of news paper is tabulated as below.

Sl
No
1 Regular agents 93 92

2 Outlets 8 8

Total 101

100

Chart No 5.7

Opinion about purchasing source of news paper charted as below.

Interpretation

Majority of respondents (92%) are finding to be subscribers their dailies from
regular agents, 10 percent of respondents are purchase the news paper from other outlets.

0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Regular Agents Outlets


5.8 Languages prefer for news paper reading.

Question was asked to the respondents about which language they prefer for reading news
paper.
Table No 5.8

Opinion regarding language prefer for news paper reading is tabulated as below.

Sl
No
1

Malayalam 101 100
2 English

0 0
3 Both

15 15

Chart No -5.8

Opinion regarding language prefer for news paper reading is charted as below.

Interpretation

All the respondents are readers of Malayalam news paper, and no person prefer only English.
Fifteen percentages of the readers prefer both the language.

0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Malayalam English Both


5.9 Preference in different attributes of news paper.

A Question was asked to the respondents to rank the following attributes of newspaper
according to their preference.
Table No 5.9

Opinion regarding ranking of different attributes of news paper is tabulated as below.

Sl
No
Category Number Percentage Rank
1 Simplicity 8

8 6
2 Readebility 7

7 7
3 Authenticity 20

20 2
4 Understandability 13

13 4
5 Coverage 17

17 3
6 Credibility 27

26 1
7 Accessibility 9

9 5
Total 101 100



Chart No 5.9

Opinion regarding ranking of different attributes of news paper is charted as below

Interpretation

Majority of the respondents consider credibility (26%) of the news paper in selecting it. 20%
consider authenticity, 17% consider coverage, 13% consider understandability, 9% consider
accessibility, 8% consider simplicity and 7% consider readability in selection. So Credibility
of the news paper comes at rank one and authenticity of the news paper at second, coverage,
understandability, accessibility, simplicity and readability following them respectively.

0
5
10
15
20
25
30


5.10 Preference factor in the selection of news paper.

A Question was asked to the respondents to choose which among the following attributes of
newspaper influence them in selection.

Table No 5.10

Opinion regarding attribute influence in the newspaper selection is tabulated as below.

Sl
No
1 Quality of paper 14

14
2 Brand name 25

25
3 Coverage 22

22
4 Legacy 9

9
5 Credibility 31

30
Total 101

100



Chart No 5.10

Opinion regarding attribute influence in the newspaper selection is tabulated as below.

Interpretation

Majority of the respondents (14%) are consider quality of paper in selecting it. 25%
consider brand name of the news paper, 22% consider coverage of the daily, 9% percentage
consider Legacy of the daily and 30 % consider credibility of the daily in selecting it.

0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Quality of Paper Brand Name Coverage Legacy Credibility


5.11 Preference in reading news.

A question was asked to the respondents to rank the following news category according to
their preference.
Table No 5.11

Opinion regarding preference in reading news is tabulated as below.

Sl
No
1 Sports News

16 16
2 Business News

5 5
3 Local News

11 11
4 National &
international News

28 28
5 Political News

34 34
6 Economical news

7 7
Total

101 100



Chart No 5.11

Opinion regarding preference in reading news is charted as below.

Interpretation

Majority of respondents more prefer reading political news (34%) while 28 percent
of respondents prefer national and international news. Sports news constituted 16 percent,
local news constitute 11 percent and only 7 percent of readers preferred economical news and
5 percent prefer business news.

0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Sports News Business
News
Local News National &
International
News
Political
News
Economical
News


5.12 Ranking of different news papers.

A question was asked to the respondents to rank the following news paper according to their
opinion.

Table No 5.12

Opinion regarding ranking of different news paper is tabulated as below.

Sl
No
1 Kerala Kaumudhi 14 14

2 Malayala Manorama

37 37
3 Mathrubhumi 41 40

4 Deshabhimani 7 7

5 Deepika 2 2

Total 101 100



Chart No 5.12

Opinion regarding ranking of different news paper is charted as below.

Interpretation

Majority of the readers says (40%) Mathrubhumi is the best news paper, 37 percent
says Malayala Manorama is the best, 14 percent favor for Kerala Kaumudhi and 7 percent
says Deshabhimani is the best news paper and only 2 percent is favour for Deepika.

0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Kerala Kaumudhi Malayala
Manorama
Mathrubhumi Deshabhimani Deepika


5.13 Considering of political background of the news paper.
A question was asked to the respondents to whether they consider political background of the
news paper in the selection process.
Table No 5. 13
Opinion regarding considering of political background of the news paper is tabulated as
below.
Sl
No
Category Numbers Percentage
1 Consider Political
Back ground
22 22
2 Not consider Political
Back ground
79 78
Total

101 100

Chart No -5.13

Opinion regarding considering of political background of the news paper is charted as below.

Interpretation

Majority of the respondents not consider (78%) political background of the news paper in the
selection. 22 Percent consider political back ground in selection of news paper.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Consider Political Back
ground
Not consider Political
back ground


5.14 Considering religionary factor in the selection of news paper.
A question was asked to the respondents to whether they consider any religionary factor of
the news paper in the selection process.
Table No 5.14

Opinion regarding considering religionary factor in the selection of news paper is tabulated as
below.
Sl
NO
1 Considering

33 33
2 Not Considering

68 67
Total

101 100

Chart No 5.14

Opinion regarding considering religionary factor in the selection of news paper is charted as
below.

Interpretation

Majority of the respondents not consider (67%) religionary factor of the news paper in
selection. 33% consider religionary factor in selection of news paper.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Consider Not consider


5.15 Quality of supplementary of news papers.

A question was asked to the respondents about the supplementary of their news paper.

Table No -5. 15
Opinion regarding quality of supplementary of news paper is tabulated as below.

Opinion

Rating

(W)
No of
Respondents
(X)
Score

(WX)
Mean
score
Excellent

5 12 60

3.54
Good

4 46 184
Average

3 32 96
Below Average 2 7

14
Poor

1 4 4

Calculation
(5*12) + (4*46) + (3*32) + (2*7) + (1*4)

Interpretation

From the above table the mean value is 3.54 which is greater than the average value,
so people are satisfied with the supplementary of their news paper.



5.16 Considering of price factor.

A question was asked to the respondents about the considering of price factor in selection of
news paper.
Table No 5.16
Opinion regarding considering of price factor in selection of news paper is tabulated as
below.
Sl
No
1

Considering 6 6
2

Not Considering 95 94
Total

101 100

Chart No 5.15

Opinion regarding considering of price factor in selection of news paper is charted as below.

Interpretation

Majority of the respondents not consider (94%) price of the news paper in selection of news
paper. 6 percent consider price of the news paper in selection of news paper.

0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Consider Pricce Not Consider Price


5.17. Considering of promotional activities.
A question was asked to the respondents about the considering of promotional factor in
selection of news paper.
Table No 5. 17

Opinion regarding considering of promotional activities in selection of news paper is
tabulated as below.
Sl
No
1 Consider

23 23
2 Not Consider

78 77
Total

101 100

Chart No 5. 16

Opinion regarding considering of promotional activities in selection of news paper charted as
below.

Interpretation

Majority of the respondents not consider (77%) promotional activities of the news paper in
selecting it. 23 Percent consider in selection of news paper.

0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Consider Promotional
Activities
Not consider
promotional Activities


5.18 Quality of their news paper.
A question was asked to the respondents about the quality of their news paper.
Table No 5.18

Opinion regarding quality of their news paper is tabulated as below.

Opinion

Rating
(W)
Respondents
(X)
Score
(WX)
Mean
score
Excellent

5 14 70

3.56
Good

4 45 180
Average 3

30 90
Below Average 2

8 16
Poor

1 4 4

Calculation
(5*14) + (4*45) + (3*30) + (2*8) + (1*4)

Interpretation

so people are satisfied with the quality of their news paper.



5.19 Regular reading habit of Kerala Kaumudi.

A question was asked to the respondents about the reading habit of Kerala Kaumudi news
paper.
Table No 5. 19

Opinion regarding the reading habit of Kerala Kaumudi news paper is tabulated as below.

Sl
No
1 Yes 18

18
2 No 83

82
Total 101

100



Chart No 5. 17

Opinion regarding the reading habit of Kerala Kaumudi news paper is charted as below.

Interpretation

Majority of the respondents are not the regular readers of Kerala Kaumudi (82%).
Only 18 percent of the respondents read Kerala Kaumudi regularly.

0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Regular reader of Kerala
Kaumudhi
Not a Regular Reader


5.20 Service quality of Kerala Kaumudi.

A question was asked to the respondents about the service quality of Kerala Kaumudi news
paper.
Table No 5. 20
Opinion regarding service quality of Kerala Kaumudi is tabulated as below.

Opinion Rating
(W)
Respondents
(X)
Score
(WX)
Mean
score
Excellent

5 3 15

3.722
Good

4 8 32
Average

3 6 18
Below Average 2 1

2
Poor

1 0 0

Calculation
(5*3) + (4*8) + (3*6) + (2*1) + (1*0)

Interpretation

so people are satisfied with the service quality of Kerala Kaumudi.



5.21 Service quality of Kerala Kaumudi supplementary.

A question was asked to the respondents about the service quality of Kerala Kaumudi
supplementary.
Table No 5.21
Opinion regarding service quality of Kerala Kaumudi supplementary is tabulated as below.
.
Opinion

Rating
(W)
Respondents
(X)
Score
(WX)
Mean score
Excellent

5 3 15

3.77
Good

4 9 36
Average

3 5 15
Below Average 2 1 2

Poor

1 0 0

Calculation
(5*3) + (4*9) + (3*5) + (2*1) + (1*0)

Interpretation

so people are satisfied with the supplementary of Kerala Kaumudi.



5.22 Satisfaction in Kerala Kaumudi daily.

A question was asked to the respondents about their satisfaction in Kerala Kaumudi daily.
Table No 5. 22

Opinion regarding satisfaction in Kerala Kaumudi daily is tabulated as below.

Opinion

Rating Respondents Score Mean
score
Highly Satisfied 5

2 10

3.55
Satisfied

4 8 32
Neither satisfied
nor dissatisfied
3 6 18
Dissatisfied

2 2 4
Highly
Dissatisfied
1 0 0

Calculation
(5*2) + (4*8) + (3*6) + (2*2) + (1*0)

Interpretation

so people are satisfied with the Kerala Kaumudi news paper.



5.23 Comparison of Kerala Kaumudi daily with other dailies.

A question was asked to the respondents to compare the features of Kerala Kaukudi with
other news papers.
a. Simplicity
Table No 5. 23.1

Opinion regarding simplicity of Kerala Kaumudi daily is tabulated as below.

Calculation
(5*3) + (4*6) + (3*6) + (2*2) + (1*1)

Interpretation

so people are satisfied with simplicity of Kerala Kaumudi news paper.

Attributes Rating
W
Respondents
X
Score
WX
Mean score
Very Good

5 3 15

4.13
Good

4 6 24
Average

3 6 18
Below Average

2 2 4
Poor

1 1 1


b. Readability

A question was asked to the respondents to compare the readability of Kerala
Kaukudi with other news papers.

Table No 5. 23.2

Opinion regarding readability of Kerala Kaumudi daily is tabulated as below.

Calculation
(5*4) + (4*7) + (3*7) + (2*0) + (1*0)

Interpretation

so people are satisfied with readability of Kerala Kaumudi news paper.

Attributes Rating
W
Respondents
X
Score
WX
Mean score
Very Good

5 4 20

4.6
Good

4 7 28
Average

3 7 21
Below Average

2 0 0
Poor

1 0 0


c. Understandability

A question was asked to the respondents to compare the understandability of Kerala

Table No 5.23.3

Opinion regarding understandability of Kerala Kaumudi daily is tabulated as below.

Calculation
(5*4) + (4*6) + (3*7) + (2*1) + (1*0)

Interpretation

so people are satisfied with understandability of Kerala Kaumudi news paper.

Attributes Rating
W
Respondents
X
Score
WX
Mean score
Very Good

5 4 20

4.67
Good

4 6 24
Average

3 7 21
Below Average

2 1 2
Poor

1 0 0


d. Coverage

A question was asked to the respondents to compare the coverage of Kerala Kaukudi with
other news papers.

Table No 5.23.4

Opinion regarding coverage of Kerala Kaumudi daily is tabulated as below.

Calculation
(5*1) + (4*2) + (3*7) + (2*6) + (1*2)

Interpretation

so people are satisfied with coverage of Kerala Kaumudi news paper.

Attributes Rating
W
Respondents
X
Score
WX

Mean score
Very Good

5 1 5

3.2
Good

4 2 8
Average

3 7 21
Below Average

2 6 12
Poor

1 2 2


e. Attraction

A question was asked to the respondents to compare the attraction of Kerala Kaukudi with
other news papers.

Table No 5.23.5

Opinion regarding attraction of Kerala Kaumudi daily is tabulated as below.

Calculation
(5*3) + (4*5) + (3*5) + (2*4) + (1*1)

Interpretation

so people are satisfied with attraction of Kerala Kaumudi news paper.

Attributes Rating Respondents Score Mean score
Very Good

5 3 15

3.93
Good

4 5 20
Average

3 5 15
Below Average

2 4 8
Poor

1 1 1


f. Credibility

A question was asked to the respondents to compare the credibility of Kerala Kaukudi with
other news papers.

Table No 5.23.6

Opinion regarding credibility of Kerala Kaumudi daily is tabulated as below.

Calculation
(5*5) + (4*8) + (3*3) + (2*2) + (1*0)

Interpretation

so people are satisfied with credibility of Kerala Kaumudi news paper.

Very Good

5 5 25

4.667
Good

4 8 32
Average

3 3 9
Below Average

2 2 4
Poor

1 0 0


g. Promotional Programme

A question was asked to the respondents to compare the promotional programme of Kerala

Table No 5.23.7

Opinion regarding Promotional programme of Kerala Kaumudi daily is tabulated as
below.

Calculation
(5*5) + (4*8) + (3*3) + (2*2) + (1*0)

Interpretation

From the above table the mean value is 3.4 which is greater than the average value, so
people are satisfied with Promotional programme of Kerala Kaumudi news paper.

Very Good

5 1 5

3.4
Good

4 4 16
Average

3 6 18
Below Average

2 5 10
Poor

1 2 2


5.24 Opinions in different attributes of Kerala Kaumudi daily.
A question was asked to the respondents to rate the following features of Kerala Kaukudhi.

Chi-Square test
Ho (null hypothesis) There is no significant association between consumer preference and
different attributes of news paper.
H1 There is a significant association between consumer preference and different attributes
of news paper.

Table No 5.24.1
Rating of different attributes of Kerala Kaumudi is tabulated as below

Factors Very good Good Average Below
Average
Poor Total
Page layout

2 5 7 3 1 18
Quality of
paper
1 2 7 7 1 18
Regional
news
3 6 7 2 0 18
Advertising

1 5 8 4 1 18
Reliability of
news
6 8 3 1 0 18
Style of
reporting
5 7 4 1 1 18
Clarity of
photographs
1 4 8 4 1 18
Total 19 36 44 22 5 126



Table No 5.24.2

Chi- square test

O E O-E (O-E)^2 (O-E)^2/E
2
5
7
3
1
1
2
7
7
1
3
6
7
2
0
1
5
8
4
1
6
8
3
1
0
5
7
4
1
1
1
4
8
4
1
2.714
5.142
6.285
3.142
0.714
2.714
5.142
6.285
3.142
0.714
2.714
5.142
6.285
3.142
0.714
2.714
5.142
6.285
3.142
0.714
2.714
5.142
6.285
3.142
0.714
2.714
5.142
6.285
3.142
0.714
2.714
5.142
6.285
3.142
0.714
-0.714
-0.142
0.715
-0.142
0.286
-1.714
-3.142
0.715
3.8578
0.286
0.858
0.588
0.715
-1.142
-.0.714
-1.714
-0.142
1.715
0.858
0.286
3.286
2.858
-3.285
-2.142
-0.714
2.286
1.588
-2.285
-2.142
0.286
-1.714
-1.142
1.715
0.858
0.286

.509
0.020
0.511
0.020
0.081
2.937
9.872
0.511
14.876
0.081
0.736
0.345
0.511
1.304
0.509
2.937
0.020
2.941
0.736
0.081
10.797
6.682
10.791
4.588
0.509
5.225
2.521
5.221
4.588
0.0819
2.937
1.304
2.941
0.736
0.081
0.187
3.921
0.081
6.417
0.114
1.082
1.919
0.081
4.734
0.114
0.271
0.067
0.081
0.415
0.714
1.082
3.921
0.467
0.234
0.114
3.978
1.299
1.716
1.460
0.714
1.925
0.490
0.830
1.460
0.114
1.082
0.253
0.467
0.234
0.114

Total

42.152



Level of significance = 5%
Degree of freedom = (r-1)(c-1)
= (7-1)(5-1)
= 24
Table value = 36.415
Calculated value 42.152 which is greater than table value, ie 36.415, so we reject the null
hypothesis. There is significant association between consumer preference and different and
attributes of news paper.



CHAPTER VI
FINDINGS, SUGGESTIONS AND CONCLUSION



Findings

1. Majority of the respondents are regular readers of newspaper. (96%)
2. Majority of the newspaper readers choose Malayala Manorama (29%) as their
regular newspaper.
3. Kerala Kaumudi is at fourth position (18%) in the case of number of readers.
4. Majority of the readers purchase the newspaper from regular agents (92%).
5. Majority of the readers prefer Malayalam as the language for reading.
6. Majority of the respondents (30%) prefer credibility of the newspaper and brand
name (25%) of the daily in the selection.
7. Majority of the readers (34%) read political news at first.
8. The study shows 40% of the readers says that Mathrubhumi is the best
newspaper.
9. Only fourteen present of the readers says that Kerala Kaumudi is the best
newspaper and it is at 3
rd
position in the respondents ranking.
10. Majority of the readers not consider political background of the newspaper in
selection.
11. Only thirty three present of the readers consider religion background of newspaper
in the selection.
12. Majority of the readers have average satisfaction in the case of supplementary of
their daily.
13. Majority of the readers do not consider price of the newspaper in selection (94%).
14. Majority of the readers (77%) not consider promotional activities of the
newspaper in selection.
15. Majority of the readers have about average satisfaction level when consider the
quality of newspaper.
16. Only 18% of the readers are regular leader of Kerala Kaumudi
17. Majority of the readers have average satisfaction level when considering the
service quality of Kerala Kaumudi.
18. Majority of the readers have above average satisfaction when considering the
supplementary of Kerala Kaumudi.


19. Majority of the readers of Kerala Kaumudi. are satisfied with the service quality
of newspaper.
20. There is significant relationship between consumer preference and different
attributes of the newspaper such as quality of paper, page layout, credibility etc.
21. Majority of the readers of Kerala Kaumudi says that the quality of paper sheet,
page layout, clarity of photographs are only average.
22. Majority of the readers of Kerala Kaumudi says that credibility and simplicity of
the newspaper is above average level.
23. The sales of the Kerala Kaumudi started to decline from 2002-03 from 1125 lakhs
to 1105 lakhs in 2006-07.



Suggestions

1. Newspaper industry have a great market potential , so every service provider should
try to strengthen their distribution network by incorporating more outlets and agents.
2. Political and international news should accommodate in full and with more
authenticity.
3. Quality of news must be enhanced by co-coordinating maximum authenticity.
4. Motivational and inspiring documentaries should added with the supplementary for
attracting the youth.
5. Avoid paid news and political interferences.
6. Every newspaper has some social responsibility, so every service provider should try
to be an investigator to disclose and fight against the corruptions in our society to
swept it from here.
7. Quality of the paper sheet, photographs, page layout of Kerala Kaumudi should be
more appealing.
8. News went to be more up to date.
9. Distribution network of Kerala Kaumudi must be strengthened by incorporating more
outlets and agents.
10. Interaction with readers must be strengthened through columns like letters to the
editor.
11. Politically biased news should be dispensed with as far as possible.
12. Regional coverage of festivals and programmes will he beneficial to enhance
circulation.
13. Promotion techniques can be applied to attract more and more readers.
14. Marketing campaigns must be conduct to ensure maximum circulation.
15. Quality of newspaper is another crucial factor requiring attention.
16. Coverage of news is comparatively less so measures must be taken to strengthening it.
17. Increase number of pages with value added news without increasing the price.



Conclusion

Information is vital in modern life. One of the sources of information is Newspapers.
Newspapers are the main media which connect the people to the world. Newspapers have lot
of influence in the day to day life of the people. Today the average Newspaper readers have
a circle. Variety of choices is there before them such as Mathrubhoomi, Malayala
Manorama, The Hindu, The Indian Express, Deshabhimani etc. Different readers prefer
different newspapers because each consumer has his own taste. Therefore a study of
consumer preference of the daily has its own importance and scope. To overcome the
potential competencies in newspaper industry every service provider should try to identify the
taste and preference of consumers and should try to cater that needs.
It was found that some of the respondents are not much satisfied with Kerala
Kaumudi daily. Only a few of the respondents are regular readers and regular subscribers of
Kerala Kaumudi. The study found that the overall impact and market potential of this
newspaper is weak and inefficient. The overall layout of the daily and the quality of paper
sheet, photographs in particular need more improvement. The management must look into the
matter seriously and implement necessary modifications. In order to increase the sales the
following suggestions may also be borne in mind.
Increase the coverage of news. More national, international, business and sports news
must be included. Include other writers column opposite to editorial page. Increase the
number of pages through value added news but without any increase in product price. The
additional cost would be compensated by operational efficiency and increase in the ratio of
advertisement to editorial. If the organization has considered the above suggestions very
seriously and move forward with more authenticity the daily can acquire better position in the
future.



BIBLIOGRAPHY



Bibliography
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Web-sites
www. wikipedia. Consumer preference/125.com
www. Kerala kaumudi.com



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A Study on Consumer Preference towards News paper with special reference to Kerala

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