Bhaskar Group goes all out to involve readers

There has been a sudden spurt in activities at the Bhaskar Group. After a strategic tie-up with ZEE Network and launching an activation company, the publication is all set to launch a special limited edition book ‘Noor-Nakihat Ki Dastan’ on Mughal-e-Azam. The book is scheduled to be launched by early March.

Anil Dhupar, senior vice-president, Bhaskar Group, believes that a newspaper’s role is more than just providing news to its readers. He says, “A newspaper is also archiving the history through analysis and reporting. Publishing a book on this classic movie is one such initiative by the Bhaskar group.”

The book has many anecdotes relating to what happened during the initial black and white version of the movie, as well as the process of making the coloured version. It provides insight on the efforts of the team that helped realise the dream of making Mughal-e-Azam

Sanjeev Kotnala, senior general manager, brand strategy & communication, says, “The book is in synchronisation with the grandeur of the historical movie. It will be printed in five colours on art-paper, so that the richness of the pictures can be better experienced by the reader.”

For distribution, the publication is planning to go independent and as of now, it hasn't tied up with any distribution agency.

In yet another activity, Dainik Bhaskar's Rajasthan edition has launched Readers Choice Awards for advertisements published in the state's editions. The awards will be given to the brand/company and the agency every month. The first set of awards would be announced by February-end.

Harish Bhatia, vice-president, Bhaskar Group, considers this to be an attempt towards adding another dimension to the reader’s involvement with the communication process.

According to Bhatia, “Most of the advertising awards in the country are judged by a panel of judges based on their creativity, strategy and effectiveness. In this process, the consumer's opinion (to whom the advertisements are targeted) is completely ignored.”

Kotnala affirms, “Rajasthan is the first state where Bhaskar Group is experimenting with the format. If the current activity turns out to be a success, it would soon be extended to the other eight states where Bhaskar is present.”

He adds, “The awards has been conceived on a monthly basis as readers have a short memory and cannot be expected to remember each and every ad.”

In the initial format, five ads selected by the panel at Bhaskar Group have been published in a miniature form to refresh the readers' memory. The readers have been asked to vote for the ad, they like the best.

Kotnala says, “We will certainly go by what the readers like. There are advertisements which involves the readers and makes them read.”

From March onwards, readers will be allowed to vote for any ad published in Dainik Bhaskar – even if it was not listed by the panel, taking the viewers choice to the logical end.

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