‘Loksatta’ will now look beyond Maharashtra

The Indian Express Group has ambitious plans for 'Loksatta', its Marathi daily, beyond its stronghold in Maharashtra. It is learnt from reliable sources that it has plans to launch the daily in Bangalore and Hyderabad, though which of these markets will see the first launch hasn't been decided yet.

There are local supplements being planned, too, for the Marathi daily. While it will launch a local supplement, ‘Navi Mumbai Vrittant’, for its Navi Mumbai readers, it will also revamp its Thane and Pune supplements.

Shankar Rao Shinde, group brand head, The Indian Express Group, says, “Small towns are becoming increasingly important and, as a region, Thane is culturally very strong, hence the need for a revamp.”

While the Thane and Navi Mumbai supplements will be launched on November 14, the new-look Pune supplement will be launched later.

On the launch day, ‘Thane Vrittant’ will comprise 32 pages; later, it will have eight pages. The revamp of the supplement will aim at making it youth friendly and local in its content. To achieve this, ‘Loksatta’ has appointed citizen journalists and college-going reporters. To communicate the change, the publication will employ outdoor, in-theatre promos, road shows, ads in trade media and music shows.

‘Navi Mumbai Vrittant’ will have 24 pages on the launch day and six pages thereafter. It will also focus on local news and feature content that the readers find relevant.

The main paper, ‘Loksatta’, is also expected to go in for a design makeover early next year.

© 2006 agencyfaqs!