GRIZZLY BEAR MAGAZINE MARKETING & LOGISTICS
Surbhi Shukla
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Introduction The Brand •Target Consumer
Circulation Production •Web sales •Print & Bind
office Space Staff Technology marketing •Promotional Events •Pre-lanch Event •Launch Event •digital Media
Funds & Sponsors Expenditure Expected Revenue timeline
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image courtesy: Surbhi Shukla
Introduction Grizzly Bear is a bi-monthly culture and lifestyle magazine based in India. It is an independent, unique and multi dimensional print and online publication for the men and women of a contemporary global generation. The publication aims at projecting to the audience all that is good and inspiring from across the globe. It sheds spotlight on contemporary catalysts of culture; from cinema, literature, art, music, photography, to fashion; the publication offers diverse content contributed by remarkable people from across the world.
GRIZZLY BEAR
The Brand Grizzly Bear aims to create a unique alternative publication that highlights the rich variety of life in a country like India which has grown to become a cultural hub and is in the midst of rapid social, political and economic growth. Grizzly Bear is a magazine that strives to let the consumer explore their Indian roots while also providing a platform that delivers information about global cultural shifts like no other publication. It aspires to make the consumer aware of their heritage as a global citizen in the contemporary world that is more closely knit than ever before and offers to be a more inspiring read.
Target Consumer The publication is aimed at the Indian audience between the ages of 18-35, which is considered to be the young generation. The audience for Grizzly Bear will be heavily based in and around the main cities in India.This demographic is well acquainted with technology, the internet and feel passionately about fashion and the arts in a nation that vigorously sidelines it.
Circulation
image courtesy: Aavriti Jain
Due to the current economic climate in India being grim and the traditionalistic nature of the print publication industry, obtaining sponsors and investors for a publication that is the first of its kind in the country would be a difficult task. This makes the logistical components of launching the publication, such as, production, print, marketing, staffing, official space, distribution etc. absolutely cardinal to be able build towards the success of the publication as a credible brand. Efficient and planned financial management would contribute to the successful launching of the publication in the country. The publication would be distributed in major cities in India, i.e. Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, New Delhi, Jaipur,
Kolkata, Channai, Ahmedabad. The magazine will begin with a circulation count of 10,000 copies across the country. The print run will increase with every issue, depending upon the demand for the publication. As a measure to save funds, the publication will not assign a national distributor initially; instead, the magazine would be available for purchase at large book store chains of the country such as Landmark and Crosswords that own stores across the small and big towns across the country aside from having an online presence. Research has shown that these stores are frequented by the target audience of Grizzly Bear; this will make the presence of the magazine more visible in the market.
Production Grizzly Bear will comprise of various multi-dimensional factors aside from the print publication itself, such as a website, online publication, and apps for smart phones. The multi platform content will be conveyed to the audience in way that it supports each other. The publication’s brand will be multi layered and will strive to create a community, a bond with the audience that is emotional, intelligent and not frivolous. Marketing the publication in its nascent stages will be the most crucial factor as it would begin to create awareness amongst the intended audience and subsequently attract investors and sponsors which generally create the cash flow for the survival of a publication. image courtesy: www.cnbc.com
Web Sales The magazine would also register and sell magazines on websites such as ‘indiamags’ (Indiamags.com), ‘magazine mall’ (www.magazinemall.in), INFI beam (infibeam.com/Magazines/) and ‘zinio’ (in.zinio.com) which exclusively sell magazines through the internet in India. This would ensure that customers have access to Grizzly Bear even in cities/towns where there might not necessarily be stores selling the publication.An ISBN will be required for selling the magazine online and in book stores so it is easy to find. As a building block for future expansion, the magazine will also release the magazine’s issues on the popular publication website, Issuu. This would be an ideal step as it wouldn’t require any extra funding as the website allows free uploads and is an efficient way to reach audiences around the world. As a measure to encourage the audience to buy the printed copy of the magazine, the issues will be released online a month after they are available for purchase in the market.
image courtesy: Surbhi Shukla
Print & Bind The magazine will be printed and bound by Repro solutions, a printing company that are based in India. They have longstanding experience in the printing industry and are reputed for their high standard quality print.
image courtesy: www.chillotpoint.com
Office Space The production of Grizzly Bear will require to be housed by an office space for the staff to work in. and the main office for the publication will be based in Mumbai, the financial capital of India which is also an energetic hub of culture. The office space comprises of a 1000 square foot area, excluding balcony space and a 500 square feet loft area. The space is big enough to house 25 people without cramping the area and it is crucial that is avoided as
the creative energy of the staff would be compromised. The space is located in a commercial building in the western suburb of Mumbai. The space is available for GBP 96 per week (i.e. INR 7,500). The space consists of 3 cabins, and a spacious open area on the lower floor. The loft on the upper floor is connected through a staircase and is 500 square feet of candid open space.
DIRECTORS CREATIVE DIRECTOR
FEATURES MANAGER
DIGITAL DIRECTOR
MARKETING DIRECTOR
PUBLISHING DIRECTOR
MANAGING DIRECTOR
WEB SPACE DEVELOPER
PUBLIC RELATIONS MANAGER
ADVERTISEMENT SALES MANAGER
FINANCIAL CONTROLLER
SBSCRIPTIONS MANAGER
TECHNOLOGY MANAGER
FASHION EDITOR ART DIRECTOR
DISPATCH MANAGER
PHOTO EDITOR + 2 INTERNS
+ 1 INTERN
+ 1 INTERN
+ 1 INTERN
Staff The publication will require a few personnel to function efficiently for the competent and timely production of each issue. Staffing will be required mainly for the digital (website, social networking sites), graphics, marketing and ad sales department, the development of which will help the publication flourish. The skills and ability of the staff will be cardinal to the magazine’s quality. The staff will be selected on the bases of their understanding and passion of the publication industry encompassing fashion, music, art and photography, but most importantly relates to the Grizzly Bear brand. The employment opportunities in the various different departments will be advertised through an open advertisement which will be especially circuited through the publication industry and universities and employment websites throughout the country. The publication will also hire interns which will be an unpaid position in all the departments. The permanent employees will be paid monthly. The publication will also accept work from freelancers depending upon the fitting nature of the work in relation to the Grizzly Bear brand. Because the publication would want to maintain its independent status, the staffing will be limited due to limited funding and budgeting. There will be three levels of staffing at the publication, the seniority of which will comprise of the publication’s managing director, a creative director, a digital director, a marketing director and a publishing director. The next level of staffing will comprise of a features manager, a fashion editor, n image technician, an art director, who would directly be involved with the content of the magazine and will work closely with the Creative Director; A Digital Director and editor who would be responsible for the content generation for the publication’s website. The website will accept content contributed and submitted by freelancers who will be unpaid. The digital department will also require a web developer
to ensure the publication’s brand a website that serves as a multi dimensional platform for communicating with the audience and generating new ones. The position of the web developer will be that of a free lancer, but will eventually become permanent as the publication generated more revenue. Managing and controlling the publication’s image by an in-house manager would be ideal as it would ensure proper representation to its audience and consistency in doing so; A public relations manager will also be required; they will be responsible in communicating the publication’s brand and will be required to work closely with the Marketing Director. There will also be a position of a subscriptions manager, an advertising sales manager who would be responsible for procuring advertisements that will be featured in the publication’s issues and subsequently generating revenue and a financial controller. A technology manager will also be required for the smooth functioning of the various technological factors within the office space and its unpredictable nature; this would be ideal as the production of a publication relies heavily on computers and servers. The Features Manager, Art Director, Marketing manager, ad sales manager and the web developers will have the privilege to hire interns for help. Although the interns will not be paid, the experience that they will receive from working within an independent publication will be an invaluable experience and will be regarded higher in their CV than a wage. Having previously been employed as an intern at a high profile lifestyle publication and having felt the plight, the company will regard the treatment of interns and freelancers with utmost respect and dignity; furthermore, it will be mandatory for the interns to have left the office at the end of office hours unless it is absolutely cardinal that they stay. There will also be a requirement for a person to manage the dispatch department to help run the office environment smoothly.
Technology For the production of the magazine, a lot of technical support will be required. Computers along with appropriate softwares will need to be installed. Macintosh computers and PCs will be required depending on upon the respective department. The web and art department will require Macintosh computers (desktop) while the marketing and advertisement sales departments will require windows computers (desktop). It would be ideal if the interns received laptops to work on as their seats in the office might not always be per-
manent. In addition, these laptops can also be used at venues during the Pre-launch and launch events. Printers, scanners, fax machines and xerox machines will also be required in the office. The Publication’s company will also need to set up a company server where the data collected for and from issues can be uploaded and retrieved by the employees with convenience. A company e-mail system will also need to be established to communicate within and outside the framework of the publication’s company.
Marketing Various marketing methods will be adopted to create awareness about the publication and further promote it to its potential audience and its contributors. A pre launch event will be held four months prior to the launch date of the magazine along with a launch event a week before the publication is available for purchase. These events will be attended by people from the publication industry, potential contributors, and investors. It will also include people who are the subject of content in the first issue of Grizzly Bear.
Promotional Events Making sure that the press releases of the pre launch and the launch event reaches the appropriate people is vital to the correct publicity of the publication. The press releases will be circulated amongst industry professionals, P.R. agencies like Orion P.R., Genesis B.M., Pressman Advertising, Ketchum P.R., Nine winds P.R.; representatives from brands that advertise with the publication will also be sent invitations to the pre-launch and launch events. The sound and catering will have to be arranged for separately for both the pre-launch and the launch events. •Cibo Catering company, who are also based in Mumbai will be responsible for the food and beverage arrangements for both Pre-launch and launch events. •Attendees of the launch event will be given copies of the first issue of Grizzly Bear as a part of the goody bag. Factors to consider during the planning/production of the event •Timely ‘save the dates’ and invitations sent through the mail and e-mail to the invitees will ensure a successful event and hence a successful launch and publicity of the magazine. •Cost of the venue of the event. •The duration for which the venue will be booked for the events. •Components of the event, such as air conditioning, lighting, seating, site layout, health and safety, factors that need to be outsourced, such as security, set management, food and beverage, sound etc. •Marketing manoeuvres such as strategic placements of the publication’s logo at the venue, goody bags, etc. •A press lounge for relevant media coverage of the event to further publicise the launch of the magazine. Grizzly bear being a publication meant for the young will also be advertised through flyers at pubs and clubs in the cities that it will be distributed.
image courtesy: www.gallerychemould.com
Pre-Launch Event •The pre-launch event will be held at Chemould Gallery at Prescott road, Mumbai. •This event will take place four months prior to the release of the magazine. •The space at the gallery is equipped with state of the art facilities and is located in a heritage British colonial building therefore boasts of high ceilings and the spectacular view of Mumbai’s heritage architecture. The gallery spreads over an area of approximately 5000 square feet and a smaller display area. •The pre-lanch event will be more of an intimate gathering of 200 guests including people from the industry, affiliates from other publications, representatives of P.R. companies and lifestyle brands; Indian and international.
Launch Event •The launch party will be held on a bigger scale than the pre-launch event and will take place at Sakshi art gallery, which like, Chemould is housed in Colaba, Southern Mumbai, perceived to be the art district of the city. It is the largest private art gallery in India which spreads over 10,000 square feet. It enjoys the support of exceptionally talented artists such as the late M.F. Husain, Akbar Padamsee, Jehangir Sabavala, amongst many others. The art gallery has also had a reputation for supporting talented young artists and students with scholarships. Holding the launch event for Grizzly Bear at Sakshi art gallery would only be fitting. •The launch event will be held a week prior to the release of Grizzly Bear in the market. •The attendees will include nearly all the attendees of the pre-launch event in addition to people who are subjects of content in the first issue of the magazine.
image courtesy: www.saakshigallery.com
image courtesy: Surbhi Shukla
Digital Media The magazine will be publicised mainly through the new media, i.e. social networking sites such as Facebook and twitter, as they are the most effective and inexpensive ways of creating awareness and finding potential audiences. Setting up advertisements on the social networking sites mentioned before and following relevant pages will help in generating interest. Website Grizzly Bear, apart from making its presence felt in the social media will also have a website which will feature content that is included in the magazine and more. The website is the most important connection between the audience and the magazine in between issue releases. The publication’s website will keep updating the content
on a daily basis to keep the interest of the audience. The website will feature interviews of people and content from the interdisciplinary fields of fashion, music, art, photography, literature, theatre etc. The website will also include coverage of fashion weeks from different cities in different countries. The layout of the website will be very graphic with minimal text. It will be broken down into sections of art, fashion, photography, music, theatre and literature. All content will give the reader the option to share it through Facebook, Twitter, Google plus and Tumblr, further publicizing the publication. With all of the above marketing steps, the Grizzly Bear brand will create a strong foothold in the publication market with its readers as a credible publication.
Funds & Sponsorship The financial aspect of the publication’s blueprint is vital to its success. Grizzly Bear will depend mainly on sponsorship in its nascent stages. Business loans from banks have also been considered and will be required for the start up of the business until funds start to come in. A loan would be required for office rent, overhead charges, supplies that are vital to production of magazine (computers, printers) etc. The loan that would be applied for would be a short term business loan and will be paid back in the first 3 years of the establishment of the publication. The main expenses of the company will be the printing costs of the publication and paying the wages of the permanent employees. Overhead charges are not an enormous issue as the working space is an acquired property. The funding will be needed far before the publication has been openly advertised in the market. This will make it quite difficult to find sponsors and securing advertisements for the print publication which earn the most revenue for the publication. For this purpose, the ad sales department of the publication will be active 8 months before the magazine is released in the market to collect clients to advertise in the pages of the magazine, along with the publication’s website. With
the realisation that securing advertisements from high street and high end brands would be difficult, the efforts in doing so would be persistent, as the income from these sources would be crucial towards the functioning of the magazine in its first few months. As a measure to attract their business, these clients will be sold advertisement space at a discounted rate as an introductory offer. Customisable advertising options will also be available. This will also help to establish cordial working relationships for future custom in issues. A minimum of 15 advertisers will be required for the first issue (exclusive of advertisements on the website) to break even with the costs of running the publication. This is a practical number of ads as it would fit well within the publication without disturbing the content or personality of the Grizzly Bear brand. Creating business and gathering advertising content from international brands will not be as tedious a task as a lot of them have entered the Indian market very recently or will be doing so in the near future. They will be looking towards advertising appropriately in influential and quality publications present in India to create awareness.
Expenditures Commodities
Quantity
Cost (In INR)
Total (In INR)
Cost (Equivalent in GBP)
Macintosh computers (imac)
7
64,900
4,54,300
5,900
PCs (HP Pavillion)
9
37,523
3,37,707
5,391
PC Laptops
5
28,562
1,42,810
1,855
Printers
2
5,999
11,998
155
All in one printer (printer/scanner/copier)
1
20,401
20,401
264
9,67,216
13,565
Print & Bind (10,000 copies) Office Space ISBN code (Single)
Pre-launch Venue hire (Chemould) 6 hours Cibo Catering Food and beverage ( 200 people) Launch Venue Hire (Sakshi Gallery) 6 hours Cibo Catering food and beverage (450 people)
25, 58,710 25, 58,710
33,230 33,230
30,000/month 30,000/month
390 390
6,1256,125
79
79
Rs. 45,000 Rs. 45,000
584 584
Rs. 78,000 Rs. 78,000
10121012
Rs. 60,000 Rs. 60,000 Rs. 1,30,000 Rs. 1,30,000
779 779
16881688
Employee Wages Employees
Wage (In INR)
Wage ( ApproximateEquivalent In GBP)
Creative Director
1,50,000
1950
Publishing Director
1,50,000
1950
Marketing Director
1,50,000
1950
Digital director
1,50,000
1950
Managing Director
1,50,000
1950
Features Director
1,20,000
1560
Fashion Editor
1,20,000
1560
Art Director
1,20,000
1560
Photo Editor
1,20,000
1560
Ad Sales Manager
1,20,000
1560
Public Relations Manager
1,25,000
1625
Subscriptions Manager
1,25,000
1625
Financial Controller
1,25,000
1625
Web Developer
1,25,000
1625
Technology Manager
65,000
845
Dispatch Manager
60,000
780
Expenses of wages Per Month
19,75,000
25,649
Expected Revenue
Advertisement Space Sale
Price (In INR)
Price (Equivalent in GBP)
Single Page
5,00,000
6,493
Double spread
8,50,000
11,038
back cover
10,00,000
12, 987
Web space advertsing /100 sq. pixels
30,000
389
Cover Price of the Magazine
Rs. 150
1.94
10,000 copies (Estimated revenue earnt)
Rs. 15,00,000
19,480
January Look for young professionals in fields of • Design Informatics • • Advertising • P.R Finance • Set up office space. Look for printers
January End Source office supplies. (Computers, Printers etc.) Set up company server. Design Logo.
Mid February Meetings setting brand personality. February Content sourcing Look for printers & Binders and creation. (constant process)
Mid February Active Ad Sales department starts to look for potential advertisers.
March Finance meetings regarding Budgeting event. Budgeting Shoots/ articles for Magazine.
April Save the date e-invites sent to invitees of PreLaunch event. Monitor RSVPs
March In-house P.R. & Marketing Managers start to plan Pre-launch event. (Aim, Number of guests, guest list) March End Look for Venue Caterers, Musicians. Design Invitation cards & Print Press Releases for Launch event circulated.
April End Begin work on Grizzly Bear Website. Approach Crosswords, Landmark to sell Grizzly Bear Magazine Send Invitations and e-invites to Pre-Launch event guest list.
April Design Front cover for Launch issue. (Not to be released at pre-launch) Source content.
May End Approach In Magazine M for online su tion/sales. Mid May Pre– Launch Event
May Monitor RSVPs for event.
TIME LINE
tes re-
April End Begin work on Grizzly Bear Website. Approach Crosswords, Landmark to sell Grizzly Bear Magazine Send Invitations and e-invites to Pre-Launch event guest list.
cover for (Not to be e-launch) nt.
May End Approach Indiamag, Magazine Mall, Zinio for online subscription/sales. Mid May Pre– Launch Event
May Monitor RSVPs for event.
June P.R. & Marketing Managers start to plan Launch event. (Aim, Number of guests, guest list)
July End Grizzly Bear Website Goes live. Launch Invites are sent through mail and e-mail. Facebook and twitter Pages are set up. July Press Release of Grizzly Bear launch. Content collection of second issue begins.
June Budgeting update. June End Content collection for website begins. Marketing & P.R. Look For Launch Venue, Caterers and sound.
July Launch event invitations are designed. Save the dates are sent through mail and e-mail.
August Grizzly Bear is further Marketed to the potential audience via flyers at local pubs in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, etc. Get ISBN codes
July End First issue of Grizzly Bear is Ready and goes into Print.
August End Launch Event
Mid August Finished magazines are distributed to chains of Crosswords, Landmark, Other independent stores, ready for sales Monitor RSVP for Launch event.
September Sales
Surbhi Shukla