Is The Times of India eating into Chennai pie?

It’s the last of the metros that The Times of India has launched in and the first serious competition for The Hindu. As The Times of India completes a few months in Chennai, we thought it was time we asked Hindu readers what they thought of the ToI and the implications on The Hindu.

Says Bobby Menon, HR head with an international organisation, “The Hindu is a solid brand that has been assidously built over the decades. Its readership is not a readership that has been accrued recently, but been built over the years and in some cases like my own - its been passed down the generation from father to son, (or mother to daughter). The Hindu has a trusted credibility about it that is bankable. For me that is something phenomenal about building a brand. In that you as a customer trust it. The Hindu is an institution. Its no longer a newspaper. The Hindu is steeped in a credibility that its amazing how they’ve maintained that over the years.”

“As far as Chennai and Chennaiites are concerned - ToI is a new entrant. And Chennai is notorious for not welcoming new brands with open arms. Loyalty is a big thing here. So it won't surprise me if someone who is a die hard Hindu reader would think it sacrilegious to move to ToI. Therefore, ToI will have to earn the respect of the Chennai readers. And it would have to do just what The Hindu did in achieving that - by putting the reader first,” Menon adds.

Starcom’s Alambara sees The Hindu being more open to ideas — and pressure. “There is an effect that TOI has had on The Hindu cost structures (not rates) - Far more flexibility and openness to ideas by The Hindu are a direct implication of a competitor’s business approach and functioning,” he says.

Alambara feels that there is still some distance that ToI has to travel. “The strong retail presence in Chennai still seem to prefer The Hindu over most other options as they feel it provides them with the best response / footfalls. This perception / fact might take a while to be substantiated.”

Big FM’s Iyer sees a bright future for ToI. “ToI is more easy and convenient reading. It aligns itself well with the reading time available with the youth and executives. It gives top of mind info and keeps the news simple. Overall time spent reading ToI is less but one can get equal info,
he says.

Mindshare’s Raghavan is less optimistic about the success, so far, of the ToI. “I don’t see the Times of India replacing the Hindu in a big way in Chennai. At the most, it may act as an added layer to people’s daily habit. What ToI may be doing is taking away share from the other players in the market, such as Deccan Chronicle. What I feel ToI is likely to do in the long run is to promote their Chennai edition by clubbing it with The Economic Times at a nominal rate. They did something similar in Delhi when they had attacked HT’s stronghold in the capital. I wouldn’t be surprised if they did that,” she says.

Overall, more bouquets than brickbats for the Times of India so far, encouraging for them is there is near unanimity that it is certainly the second preference in Chennai, not bad when you’re just three months old.

By the time Chennai advertisers understand the Mastermind, the paper will already be a habit; even if it’s the second read one.