Jagran Cityplus to fortify its presence in Tier 2 cities

On the completion of five years of its existence, the community paper has launched special content with 'five' as its theme.

On the completion of five years of its existence, Jagran Cityplus, the community newspaper by Jagran Prakashan (JPL), has planned a special content nationwide, keeping the theme 'Five' in mind, with the edit content varying from five unknown facts, to five unexplored restaurants of the community and the city.

Speaking about the community papers space, and why Jagran entered this genre, Shailesh Gupta, director, JPL, says in an official communique, "Community papers are a great success across the globe and provide hyper-local content. They are an apt medium to advertise for both organised and unorganised retailers. When we look at India's growth story in the last five years, it seemed appropriate to tap this space and create a community connect. Cityplus also gives us an opportunity to venture into the non-Jagran belt, thus increasing our footprints."

To promote the five-year celebrations, the paper is also carrying out community level below the line activities such as conducting events with RWA's (Residents Welfare Association), across cities where the weekly is present.

Talking about the distribution model followed by the free weekly community paper, Salil Tandon, CEO, Cityplus, says that the weekly follows a unique model of distribution, by which the paper is circulated through its in-house team to selected households. "The geographical area in the city is the foremost way to select the TG. Once we shortlist an area, it's further divided into apartment sizes. We also take into consideration the amenities in the area they reside in, thus giving us a clear picture of our distribution target," he adds.

The community paper also aims to extend its presence across popular stores in the areas, and it has already achieved that in Bengaluru and Delhi. The paper is targeted at those who fall in the category of self-employed, SEC A, B, and are aged between 25-45.

According to Tandon, about 60 per cent of Cityplus advertisers are unique, and are either first-time advertisers, or have upgraded from leaflet to print. "With the advent of satellite cities and the off shoot of new townships, a community-centric product like Cityplus, helps the migrated people know and become a part of their locality. Local advertisers, too, get an effective and low-cost medium to reach their target audience better," he adds.

Going forward, Cityplus aims to expand its presence in the Tier 1 cities, and also reach out to Tier 2 towns in India, by expanding its presence to cities like Ahmedabad, Baroda, Indore, and Chennai among others. "As a product, we are still evolving -- five years is a short period. We will adapt to the needs of readers and the market, and bring in changes as and when required," says Tandon.

For the record, the English weekly began with one edition in Noida in 2006, and went on to expand in Gurgaon, Faridabad, and other areas in Delhi-NCR (National Capital Region). Today, it has 13 editions in the NCR. In Bengaluru, the first non-Jagran belt city, Cityplus was launched in 2007 from Indiranagar. Today, it is present in six more areas of the city. The weekly also has seven editions across Pune in areas like Aundh, Deccan, Koregaon Park, Kondhwa, Kothrud, Wakad, and Camp. It also has a presence in Hyderabad and Secunderabad, as well as in Mumbai.