Malayala Manorama launches matrimonial site

Manorama Online, the new media division of the Kerala based Malayala Manorama, has launched a matrimonial portal. The site, www.m4marry.com, is meant for Keralites of different communities who are looking for a match and goes by the slogan, 'Where Malayalees Marry'. This is the first vertical the group has set up online.

Speaking to afaqs! about the launch, Mariam Mathew, chief operating officer of Manorama Online, says, “Classifieds has always been a revenue earner for our company and digital is the best media for classifieds.” Mathew says the site is targeted at Keralites in India and abroad.

Apart from matrimonial profiles, the site offers an online shop and marriage related counselling. Blogs will be launched soon. Members can also share their wedding stories with pictures, audio and video.

The company's horizontal portal, Manoramaonline.com (in Malayalam and English), is its largest online property, and Mathew claims it receives about 350 million page views per month and about 12 pages are viewed per user. In terms of interactivity, the portal has discussion boards because, as Mathew says, “Malayalis love to give opinions!” The company is also launching blogs open to both readers and staff writers in a week's time.

The other Internet properties of the group are Manoramanews.com (the online portal of its TV channel, Manorama News) and Manoramaemart.com. The shopping portal, Manoramaemart.com, has a tieup with Indiaplaza, though it also sells exclusive products such as Manorama music CDs.