Mid-Day installs vending machines in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore

As a first of its kind initiative by a newspaper, Mid-Day has installed vending machines in corporate offices and buildings across Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. Mid-Day has editions in all three cities and plans to launch an edition soon in Pune, whereupon vending machines will be set up there as well.

Mid-Day has around 90 vending machines in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. Around 15-18 of these are owned exclusively by Mid-Day. It has tied up for the rest with a company called Grabbit, which owns vending machines across the country.

This distribution system has been adopted to attract young mobile professionals across India (the YUMPIs), who are the core target group for Mid-Day.

Talking about the new initiative, Abhijit Pradhan, director, sales and marketing, Mid-Day, says, “Mid-Day’s effort is to fully engage the YUMPIs, and by introducing these vending machines, we will solidify our reach within offices during the afternoon hours, which are typically the time when YUMPIs take a break.”

Mid-Day is taking advantage of the fact that it is the only English daily available in the afternoon, a space which is not occupied by its competitors. That is why Mid-Day has decided to add a new dimension to its distribution so that it reaches the reader’s office directly.

Neville Bastawalla, marketing head, Mid-Day, adds, “The YUMPIs have been our target audience since the last 29 years and we are constantly trying to cater to them by starting new initiatives.”

To retain its readers, Mid-Day has introduced various reader relevant sections such as What’s On, Fun@Work and Life@Work. Other sections such as Zing! and Style@Work cater to their fashion conscious readers.

At some places, Mid-Day has a special offer for its readers. For instance, Infosys employees in Bangalore can get a Mid-Day for Re 1 from the vending machine in their company premises. Mid-Day is otherwise priced at Rs 2 in Bangalore and Infosys makes up the Re 1 discount.