Sumantha Rathore
Media

i next Jamshedpur edition to be launched on March 25

Jagran Prakashan is all set to launch its next edition of i next; plans to enter Gorakhpur, too

Jagran Prakashan, which also publishes Dainik Jagran, will launch its bilingual daily, i next, from Jamshedpur on March 25.

The 24 page edition of the tabloid will have an initial print run of 50,000 copies. The daily is still working out the cover price, which will be anywhere between Re 1 and Rs 2.

i next Jamshedpur edition to be launched on March 25
The new edition will have 11 pages of local content, with an appropriate focus on national and international news, which will be presented in a quick and snippety format.

This will be i next's 10th edition. The daily plans to launch a Gorakhpur edition, apart from the Bareilly edition which was initially scheduled to be launched before the Jamshedpur edition but had to be postponed following the communal clashes in the city.

Jamshedpur is an important market for the newspaper industry as it is the largest urban conglomeration of Jharkhand, with a population of 1.1 million (as per 2001 census). It is an education hub with a high literacy rate.

Arojit Biswas, head brand manager, i next, says, "Jamshedpur is a place of highly evolved youth aggregation - that's the reason why we chose this city to launch the edition."

According to him, i next will try to maintain an ad-content ratio of 30:70 for the Jamshedpur edition.

The newspaper will follow the traditional strategy for distribution, with a special focus on point of sale counters. The daily, being an urban and youth centric offering, will make its presence felt in malls, cafes and other youth hangouts in the city.

i next Jamshedpur edition to be launched on March 25
Alok Sanwal, editor and project head, i next, says, "i next Jamshedpur will have refreshingly different news and features compared to the daily broadsheet in terms of news packaging, along with its contemporary look and feel. Out of the total readership of i next, 76 per cent fall in the age group of 15-39 years."

The daily expects a good chunk of advertising revenue to come from educational institutes, with retail and national advertising playing an equally important role.

The tabloid has kick started a 360 degree marketing campaign to announce the launch of the daily. The mass multimedia campaign will incorporate print, BTL (below-the-line) promotion, radio, outdoor promotions and road shows, which will continue for at least two months.

i next is published from Kanpur, Lucknow, Meerut, Agra, Allahabad, Varanasi, Dehradun, Patna and Ranchi.

Have news to share? Write to us atnewsteam@afaqs.com