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Has the TOI- The Hindu outdoor war started already?

Okay, I agree I have been giving too much of this blog's prime real estate to the Times of India upcoming launch in Chennai. Not that I have a great love for current day TOI, but as a graduate of marketing, I feel competition in this media would make the readers great benefits. And yes, I would get to see my childhood newspaper, in my city.

To be fair, others have tried to challenge the Hindu in Chennai , the Deccan Chronicle and the New Indian Express are there too, but have not been able to come up anywhere near the market leader.

 

Times of India Hoarding?

As I suspected, the outdoor action has started. I noticed this advertising hoarding yesterday on my way to office. The traffic at the Turnbulls Road curve was standstill, giving ample time to click this snap.  While it does not say about what product it is advertising, the hints are that it is a Times of India ad, which is seeking attention and acting as the teaser for something to follow. The artwork is a collage of some newspaper, presumably, the TOI. The copy is simple "Next Change?". This ad is all over Chennai.

Not that market leader and Chennai's very own, the Hindu is sitting quiet. The Kasturba Nagar metro station, whose walls are generally plastered by all kinds of cell phone service ads, is finally yielding its walls to others, and a very sober and tempered Hindu ad has made its way there.

 

Hindu Ad at KBN

I do not have a great picture of the Hindu ad and if I do get one, I would surely put it here. BTW, what are folks at Deccan Chronicle and New Indian Express upto, meanwhile? At a strategy level, perhaps allow these two titans to fight it out, and stay out of the punching line of both of them, whatsay ??

Comments

Shrinidhi Hande said…
Do you work in Tidel Park?
Rajesh Kumar said…
Shrinidhi, my workplace is on Mount Road, you would know that better as CMR.
Shrinidhi Hande said…
btb why did TOI ignore chennai for so many years?
Anonymous said…
When some is at loss only then it is WAR. But here all at profit like, Customers, advertisers and advt agencies, news agents, also the news papers and there is a big market to be discovered and the knowldge base is going to be opened. So benifit from the launch of TOI cannot be called as WAR.
Rajesh Kumar said…
Raj: You forgot to a very important benefit - career opportunities for people in the business :)

And since you feel this is not a war, you appear to be a liberal, welcoming this competition. Good to know that.