As a go green initiative New Gen Media launches its Digital Smartpaper ”Puthiya Thalaimurai Indru.”
Chennai based New Gen Media Corporation having proved its mettle in publication, news and entertainment broadcasting is all set to climb the next rung of the ladder – on to the digital platform with the launch of its smartpaper ”Puthiya Thailaimurai Indru” on Monday, 9th February 2015 at 9 am.
At the click of the mouse “PT Indru” will reach the Inbox of the subscribers who can access this smart paper with a personalised special code to enjoy the pleasure of reading a virtual print newspaper.
Speaking on the launch – Mr. R.B.U Shyam Kumar – CEO of New Gen Media Corporation claims ”Puthiya Thalaimurai Indru is a blue ocean initiative, where we are not competing with any other existing medium. This smart paper is a convergence of print, radio, television and technology primarily aimed to cater to the Tamil diaspora across the world.”
a) How it differs from a regular e-paper
”PT Indru” is designed like a typical print news paper with additional advanced features of watching, reading and listening to content. Unlike an e-paper, it will have news in video and audio formats besides another document format for reading which is why it’s being called “a smart paper.”
Shyam said ”Today we have consumers expecting multiple digital options. After analysing different patterns of news consumption, we have designed ”PT Indru” with smart features catering to all forms of news consumption. Yet another feather to the cap is the eco friendly approach that we have adhered to. We are not using any news print that is made out of felling trees to print the news paper. We can proudly claim that this is a go-green initiative from our socially sensitive group. Yet another added advantage is that the readable news items can be downloaded in PDF format in any gadget for future reading purposes.”
b) At the Marketing Front
The pre launch survey, analysis and advertisements of ”PT Indru” have proved that consumers from the age group between 18 to 34 years are keenly interested in the smartpaper. Hitherto, there have been considerable amount of enquiries from the Tamil population living overseas mainly from US, UK, Australia, and Canada.
To quote Mr. Shyam, “I’m expecting a huge response from the Tamil population across the globe, since we are delivering them a virtual Tamil news paper to their gadgets which can be accessed anywhere anytime with utmost convenience which may not be possible with a conventional print news paper. We would like to cater to one lakh subscribers soon. The annual subscription of ”PT Indru” is Rs 99/- which means 30 paise per day.”
c) Why paid Subscription
In the digital market where free content is widely available, the launch of ”PT Indru” in a paid subscription format is seen as an early attempt by the content provider for monetising the digital content which indeed is a rare phenomenon in today’s world.
Mr. Shyam justifies their move stating ”we don’t want to encourage anything free…. because, according to us – anything that comes free always has a lesser attention from the consumers. So when they pay, their expectation and concentration on our content will be more and their valuable feedback will trigger us to perform better. Moreover, we are charging a very nominal price of Rs 99 per year, which is just the cost of designing and developing this medium, thereby in the actual sense we are not charging the consumer for content and still. This is indeed much less expensive than the ordinary newspaper” recounts Mr. Shyam.
d) Advertising opportunities
There are various advertising options available in ”PT Indru” similar to the print news papers. There will be a Front page premium, Back page, Right hand page, Banners etc… which will have the special features of linking the brand or advertisers portal with all these advertisements that will redirect the consumers towards their websites.
e) Brand Positioning
Upholding the vision of the Group’s President Mr.Sathyanarayanan, ”PT Indru” is being positioned, as a symbol of change in accordance with the changing times. Hence our earnest attempt to replace an ordinary print news paper with our digital smartpaper, more so to cater to the vibrant technologically advanced young generation of smart digital consumers, who are so inclined to their digital life with smartphones, tablets and laptops.
As a publisher and broadcaster, Puthiya Thalaimurai exhorts the advertisers and consumers “to come along with us to adapt and cater to the changing world of the new generation of consumers – hence our brand name “New Gen Media.”
f) Editorial
The editorial affairs of the smartpaper ”PT Indru” will be handled by an efficient team headed by Ms. Jeeva who has moved out of ‘Dinamalar’ publications to join Puthiya Thalaimurai.
Regarding the editorial Mr. Shyam recounts ””PT Indru will have a curated content from our other mediums as a leveraging exercise with inputs from PT’s broadcasting, publications, stingers etc. We will also have special content designed exclusively for the consumers of our smartpaper such as cinema and lighter viewing or reading materials which are not part of our other mediums due to positioning issues.”
g) Technical Team
The technical part of ”PT Indru” initiative is sphere headed by Boopi who has a very rich knowledge of digital space. His team is in the process of developing applications for the smart phones which will be rolled out shortly after the launch.
To put it in a nutshell, New Gen Media Corporation is geared up to pioneer the digital space with the launch of its smartpaper ”PT Indru” which will be followed by a whole range of digital magazines in different genres.
