Sumantha Rathore
Media

After Tamil Nadu, Femina eyes other southern states

On the completion of the first anniversary of Femina Tamil, WWM plans to enter other South Indian states.

Worldwide Media (WWM), the wholly-owned subsidiary of the Times of India Group, has completed its first year in the regional space, with the anniversary of Femina Tamil. The group also plans to launch Femina in other markets of South India and strengthen its reach in the smaller towns in Tamil Nadu in the coming months.

After Tamil Nadu, Femina eyes other southern states
The anniversary issue of Femina Tamil was unveiled in Chennai by actor Amy Jackson, the cover girl for the issue, and Tarun Rai, CEO, WWM. The issue is being promoted via print, out of home and on-ground activities across the state, with an emphasis on the interiors.

Talking about the journey of Femina Tamil so far, Rai says, "We are very happy at the response that Femina Tamil has got, both from readers as well as advertisers. It has only been 12 months and Femina Tamil has already established itself as the magazine of choice of the discerning and progressive Tamil woman."

The Tamil Nadu magazine market is primarily driven by trade sales. In order to increase its subscription sales, the company is organising on-ground activities, newspaper inserts and digital campaigns.

The group will leverage the reach of its sister publication, The Times of India, for print ads in cities like Madurai, Coimbatore and Tiruchirapally to push independent issues. Further, it is also carrying out newspaper inserts in regional dailies in all the mentioned cities. This will be supplemented with on-ground subscription drives and a radio campaign on Radio City in Chennai and Coimbatore, starting today (March 26), where the group will use radio spots and RJ (radio jockey) mentions for a period of 15 days.

After Tamil Nadu, Femina eyes other southern states
For on-ground, the media house is using danglers, issue posters and regular magazine displays at stores to increase the visibility of the issue. The 200-page special issue also has a reader contest, apart from a special cover mount -- a gold plated pendant being distributed along with each copy.

WWM had launched the 50 year-old brand Femina in a regional avatar as Femina Tamil in April, 2011. Femina Tamil takes off from its parent brand, customising its content to suit the needs of the modern, progressive Tamil reader, its target group. The content of the magazine has a mix of stories written for the Tamil reader and key features from the English edition.

Of the total 84 advertisers of Femina Tamil, 34 are from TN, contributing 50 per cent to its ad revenue. Some of its advertisers include Gold Winner, Premier Appliances, Vasan Eye Care, Kalyan Jewellers, KRBL and Swarovski.

The Tamil version of the magazine was launched with a print run of 75,000 copies and now, the company claims to have a print run of 85,000 copies. The monthly magazine has a cover price of Rs 30 and the group has no plans to change the frequency or the cover price of Femina Tamil anytime soon.

For the record, WWM publishes 12 other titles including Femina, Filmfare, Lonely Planet, GoodHomes, Top Gear, Hello, Grazia, Home Trends and BBC Knowledge.

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