The Hindu in Tamil now

Kasturi & Sons has finally launched the much awaited Tamil daily. It has named it The Hindu and has priced it at Rs 4 for the weekdays and Rs 5 for the weekends.

Tamil Nadu-based media publication Kasturi & Sons has launched its first regional newspaper yesterday (September 16) after 135 years, with an aim to make its presence felt in the Rs 1,500 crore Tamil newspaper market (including ad spends and circulations).

Titled as The Hindu, the publication has named it after its flagship English Daily and launched it with an initial print run of 6 lakh copies for its four editions from Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai and Tiruchirapalli. The broadsheet Tamil daily is priced at Rs 4 for the weekdays and Rs 5 for the weekends. The tagline of the newspaper says, 'The world will bloom in your language'.

Speaking about the idea behind the launch, Suresh Srinivasan, VP, The Hindu, says that it is simple business sense. "Today the literacy levels in Tamil Nadu is increasing fast and it's not just in cities but in Tier I and II towns, too. According to a customer survey, the regional language news consumption is high here and there was a strong need for a non partisan newspaper in the region and The Hindu (Tamil) can fill that gap."

The Tamil daily will compete with four popular newspapers - Dinamalar, Dinakaran, Dinathanthi and Dinamani. Srinivasan adds that with support from their deeply established distribution network in the region, the newspaper should not have any issues. K Asokan has been chosen as the editor of the new publication.

The Chennai edition of the daily will have 20 pages, while the other three will have 16 pages. On Day One, the Tamil paper was on the stands with two supplements of 16 pages and 8 pages, respectively. The first supplement was on the opportunities and life in Tamil Nadu while the second one was restricted to the local areas.

Kasturi & Sons launched the regional paper with a bang and is attempting to create excitement around it through the use of digital, social, OOH, television and print media, with a slew of activities. The media budget is Rs 5-10 crore.

It lined up a TVC to be aired across most Tamil channels barring the Sun TV network. The TVC will also be played in theatres during intervals. Outdoor promotions will soon be live across Tamil Nadu except Chennai. In the mornings, free newspapers will be circulated to the customers at Ananda Bhawan, one of the largest restaurant chains in TN.

It also distributed lunch boxes with Tamil food to the media agencies in Delhi and Mumbai.

The publication is making aggressive use of print ads through its newspaper.

It has also launched a website for the Tamil newspaper readers (http://tamil.thehindu.com/), similar to the one attached to the English edition.

The Hindu group started in 1878 and has a business daily, English and vernacular dailies, along with a couple of magazines to its name. Its English daily, The Hindu, is published from 20 cities across eight states and enjoys a dominant status in South India.