TOI celebrates first anniversary in Chennai

The world's largest English daily, The Times of India (TOI) is celebrating its first anniversary in Chennai this April. The much hyped launch of TOI Chennai last year had created quite a stir and jolted the status quo of newspaper readership in the city. The leading newspaper has also launched its official website focusing on local content to mark its first anniversary. Rahul Kansal, chief marketing officer, The Times of India, said, "In a culturally evolved market like Chennai, and with a strong competitor like Hindu, the last one year for us has been extremely gratifying."

"Among a breed of young readers, pro change readers, readers with a national and global outlook, the acceptance rate has been very high. We have been respectful of the city's cultural inclinations and rather than been a brash newcomer, we have tried to culturally integrate with the city and that has worked for us." Rahul adds. Ninan Thariyan, assistant vice-president, TOI Chennai, said, "Both in terms of readership and revenue, Chennai has been favourable for TOI. In a market dominated by some long existing players, TOI has redefined newspaper readership in the city."

The newspaper will have a series of brand building activities in the coming months. To start with, it has introduced the 'What's up Chennai' feature capturing the life of Chennai, which started on April 6 and will culminate on April 14, coinciding with the first anniversary of TOI Chennai. Extending its digital initiative, TOI Chennai is launching an official website on the occasion of the first anniversary in Chennai. The site will be user interactive and a fun networking site exclusively for the city of Chennai.

The site will have features like 'Click your Chennai', through which TOI will be inviting readers to send their mobile capture pictures of Chennai. Every week one winner would be chosen. 'Tag line for Chennai' is another feature where readers would be invited to coin a tag line for Chennai. These apart, there are features like 'The Great Wall of Chennai', where one can post anything and everything. For the record, TOI Chennai edition is priced at Rs 2 on weekdays and Rs 3 on Sundays. The cover price of The Hindu is Rs 2.50 on weekdays and Rs 3 on Sundays. The New Indian Express is priced ar Rs 1.50 on weekdays and Rs 5 on Sundays, while Deccan Chronicle is priced at Rs 1.50 on weekdays and Rs 2 on Sundays.

A IndianTelevision News