Dainik Bhaskar to launch Hindi magazine - Aha! Zindagi

The Dainik Bhaskar group, which has been in the newspaper business for the last 50 years, is all set to to foray into magazine business with the launch of a Hindi monthly - Aha! Zindagi on August 21, 2004.

The magazine from the Bhaskar group would focus on lifestyle subjects such as health, mind, body and soul. For instance, the inaugural issue has Amitabh Bachchan talking about his inspirations, views on spirituality etc and not about his films and career. Likewise, the issue will also have articles on ayurvedic recipes, which are good for health.

Girish Agarwal, director, marketing, Dainik Bhaskar, says, "The contents and layout of the proposed magazine have been developed after extensive surveys of readers and media planners in different markets."

With the launch of Aha! Zindagi, Agarwal hopes to fill the vacuum in the Hindi family magazine slot. The magazine will be edited by Yashwant Vyas- an old timer in the Bhaskar group with around 20 years' experience in Hindi journalism.

The Hindi magazine has been strategically priced at Rs 15 to cater to larger base of readers across all age-groups, starting from 19- year- old to a 45- year-old. The magazine is targeted at families with a monthly household income of Rs 8,000 per month.

Aha! Zindagi will be an all-colour, 84 pages (including cover) magazine starting with a print-run of 2.5 lakh copies initially. The publication claims to be have already bookings for 2.35 lakh copies from places spread across 20 states/union territories.

The magazine will reach out to readers, mainly in the Hindi speaking states such as Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Delhi, Chattisgarh

Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Bihar, apart from other important markets such as West Bengal, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai, which have substantial numbers of Hindi-speaking population.

Agarwal claims that Aha! Zindagi has also received an encouraging response from the advertisers and the media planners. "The inaugural issue will contain 17 pages of advertisements from the companies and brands such as Videocon, Hindustan Lever Limited (for Lux), Hamdard, Philips, Liberty, Reid & Taylor, Navratan and Priyagold biscuits," Agarwal says.

To promote this new magazine, the publication has some aggressive marketing strategies in plan which includes print, radio, outdoor and on-ground promotions. For print advertisement, the Dainik Bhaskar publications will be widely used and for markets where Dainik Bhaskar doesn't have a presence, other publications such as Amar Ujala, Times of India, Brand Equity will be used.

Hoarding around the two cities - Mumbai and Delhi will be widely used apart from kiosks and bus shelters in these two cities. Road shows and colony camps will be widely used to book subscriptions in the cities starting with Delhi and Chandigarh, and followed by Hisar, Panipat, Patna, Lucknow in the second phase.

Radio advertisements will also be an integral part of their campaign.

At present, Dainik Bhaskar has a total readership of 1.57 crores as per NRS-03 with 20 editions and a circulation of 28 lakhs. A new edition of Dainik Bhaskar will be be soon launched from Dehradun. Dainik Bhaskar has an international edition from New York and also a successful Gujarati newspaper Divya Bhaskar. © 2004 agencyfaqs!