National Geographic Traveller India celebrates second anniversary

The magazine has completed two years in India and has grown by 35 per cent in the past one year.

National Geographic Traveller India is celebrating its second anniversary in India with a special issue that will be released in July, themed around 'Root to your Roots'. The content of the issue will focus on this theme and look back at those people who are natives of a place with their roots belonging to another.

The stories will be about travelling to explore heritage first-hand, or to dig deeper into a family tree, or history, or explore how the act of travel forces people to examine themselves in the light of where they came from; or to examine the place they live in, in the light of who they are and the relationships they may have had.

Some of the other sections of the magazine that will be topped up with rich content are Navigate, Voices and Get Going, among others.

The magazine has grown from 95,000 copies last year to 110,000 copies this year. Of this, 25 per cent comprises subscription sale, while the rest is stand sale. The brand claims to have grown by 35 per cent in the past year itself.

Another reason for celebrations is that the magazine has won the Reader's Digest Award 2014, and the Echo DMAi awards for Dell and Tata Safari Storme.

The July issue of the magazine will include nearly 176 pages and the decision on the price is yet to be taken. The ad-content ratio for the magazine is 25:75.

The marketing centres around digital and in-store branding. Alongside, it has also opted for print advertisements in some of the leading newspapers such as TOI, Mint and others. The stores include Landmark, Crossroads and Sapna (Bengaluru only).

Talking about its shelf life, the magazine claims that 50 per cent people find it perpetual, something which they want to keep. The brand claims that this number is increasing.

Manas Mohan, CEO, publishing, ACK Media, says, "'Route to your Roots' is also ACK Media's positioning. The idea behind this issue is to revisit the culture and heritage of some places through the stories of some people. Also, on the business side, National Geographic Traveller India magazine has grown very well and there is a huge scope for the niche magazines to grow in India."