DNA expands to Pune, positions paper along Mumbai lines

The cover price for the newspaper in Pune will be Rs 2

Daily News and Analysis (DNA), the newspaper owned by Diligent Media, has launched its Pune edition. The Pune edition comes on the heels of the launch of the newspaper’s Ahmedabad edition.

The cover price for the newspaper in Pune will be Rs 2. The initial print run is close to 76,000 copies. Abhay Vaidya, chief of bureau of The Times of India in the city, has been roped in as resident editor.

The Times of India (TOI) and The Indian Express (IE) have been available in Pune for more than a decade now. As per the ABC figures for January-June 2007, TOI has a circulation of 2,09,586 in the city. The circulation figures for IE were not available.

Sumit Rohatgi, chief manager, marketing, DNA, says the newspaper will be positioned along the same lines as in Mumbai and is targeted at young readers. The Mumbai paper’s positioning line, ‘Read the World’, will also be used in Pune.

Commenting on the competition, KU Rao, chief executive officer, DNA, says, “Although TOI and IE have been in Pune for quite some time, it will not affect the market for DNA at all. The Pune market has been predominantly ruled by Marathi publications and the readership of English dailies continues to remain niche. The launch of DNA will grow the market vastly and provide wider options for the existing readers.”

The Pune edition is going to be custom designed keeping local tastes in mind. The paper will be initially printed and published from Mumbai, while a state of the art printing press gets constructed in Pune. The press is expected to be functional by the end of May. However, the Pune editorial team is fully functional.

Rao adds, “The launch of DNA’s Pune edition is in line with the company’s strategy to become the dominant player in Western India. The overall target is to make DNA a Rs 1000 crore company by 2011 and the Pune edition should be able to provide 10 per cent of that number.”

The current campaign is just to introduce the DNA brand and familiarise it among readers through outdoor advertising, print and other marketing initiatives. If required, the company might design a specific campaign for Pune in the future when the brand becomes known to readers. The ‘Start a Conversation’ campaign was used specifically in Mumbai last year to promote the brand’s agenda.