BBC Knowledge completes 365 days in Indian orbit, celebrates with a 3D space special issue

The Indian edition is targeting teenagers, unlike its international versions that target older readers.

BBC Knowledge, on the completion of its first year in India, is all set to bring out a special issue in 3D tomorrow, November 1, in sync with the theme of the issue titled Space.

The magazine has a cover price of Rs 100 and the special issue will be 100 pages strong, of which 22 pages are dedicated to the 3D content. While the international edition of BBC Knowledge caters to a much older audience, in India however, the magazine caters to youth between 13-19 years of age.

Talking about whether it isn't too late to come up with a 3D edition, given the fact that this phenomenon has been going on in the country for more than a year now and that every other publication has used this technology, Soela Joshi, brand publisher, replies, "We wanted to use the power of interactivity to engage our readers. Coverage of science and technology in 3D has a high potential for disruption. We have, hence, created 'Space in 3D' for our anniversary issue. 3D is an interesting way to engage with the readers, as well as bring alive the contents of the magazine. There have been 3D issues in the past, but never a space special."

The anniversary issue of BBC Knowledge will have a mix of exclusive images of NASA's space exploration, as well as the inputs of Indian experts such as Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma (Retd), and spacecraft designer Susmita Mohanty, among others.

The anniversary issue will be promoted through a 360 degree campaign, to engage with youngsters. The marketing activities for the issue will be carried out at venues such as science centres and where nature groups congregate. There will be print presence, as well as outdoor ads, apart from social media campaign. It has also tied up with Imax Big Cinemas where the issue will be promoted through on-ground branding and contests.

According to the company, the print run of the magazine has almost doubled since its launch last year. In addition to the subscribers who sign up through regular subscription routes, BBC Knowledge also reaches out to students across 2,000 schools, in nine cities across the country.

For this issue, the magazine has been able to rope in a new set of advertisers who want to speak directly to the youth including Walt Disney Resorts and SRM University. Other advertisers in the issue include Principal Mutual Funds (it has sponsored the 3D glasses for the issue), LIC, Add Gel pens, and Cello pens.

BBC Knowledge was launched in India by Worldwide Media (WWM), with almost 100 per cent international content put together from three other BBC titles, namely Focus, Wildlife and History. However, over the past few issues, the Indian edition is trying to introduce an Indian flavour. For this, apart from Sharma and Mohanty, other Indian experts including Mike Pandey and Siddharth Dhanvant Sanghvi have also been roped in to write on topical issues.

The magazine is also available in the UK, Brazil, Singapore and Bulgaria. In India, it is available as a bi-monthly.