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Executive Summary

The objective of this study is to make inferences about the brand equity of Republica. Basically, the

value associated with Republicas strength in the market was tested through collection and

assessment of associations in a sample of current and non-users of the Republica. After an analysis of

FGDs and filled up questionnaires, common themes pertaining to the Republica brand emerged.This

audit provides us with a snapshot brand picture of Republica and how consumers conceptualize it to

be. To drive readership, brand concepts must address readers' interests and lifestyles, and readers

must find the image positive and relevant. Everything connected with the newspaper affects its brand

image, but the report showed that brand is significantly affected by the newspaper's content, both

variety and type that fits the life style of the readers. This report finds brand equity to be high

amongst readers. Strong brand awareness exists amongst consumers due to high levels of breadth and

depth of awareness: With strong brand recognition and recall. In terms of brand image, there were

certain common associations that were considered strong, unique and favorable amongst all

respondents, specifically ease of understanding the language, and innovativeness, or how

technologically sophisticated the Republica is specially in case of e-paper. With its straightforward

and comprehensible language it is targeting youths; mainly students, young executives and

intellectuals. In addition to its up to date news, Republica works closely with authors and columnists

in building a high quality articles. It is analyzing the needs and demands of the people and making

gradual changes in the format of editions. Generally, this report finds brand salience of Republica is

high whilst perceptions towards brand performance and brand imagery differ, leading to somewhat

different brand feelings and judgments amongst readers and non-readers. However a large section of

the customers believe that it has a youth image and reliable performance. This contributes to a high

brand loyalty thereby enhancing the brand equity.


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ABOUT THE AUDIT

1.1 Introduction

The average person is exposed to 2500 advertising messages per day (Lavack, 2002) through various

media channels such as billboards, magazines and newspapers, television, radio, online etc. As human

beings, we have a limited amount of storage space in which we retain these brands and it is therefore

very important for the future success of brands that the people in charge of managing them are aware of

who the target audience is, what it is in their lives that they want brands to fulfill, and how the current

image, perception or attitude of YOUR brand compares to that of your competitors brands.

Nowadays, a successful brand can be a determining factor in whether or not a business is successful

(Haig, 2004). The process of branding involves creating and managing an identity for your brand through

which a clear message is expressed. It is important that the values and images associated with the brand

are clearly identified by the organization, regularly checked to determine whether they are (still)

relevant and consistently portrayed at every touch point with the consumer. It is vital that the

manufacturers / marketers of the brand understand what the consumers wants and needs are and that they

are able to anticipate what they will be in the future. Smart organizations understand how important it is

to create an emotional link between brands and consumers, and even form relationships with them, in

order to create a situation of loyal consumers rather than just satisfied consumers. The purpose of this

research report is to perform a brand audit in order to measure the brand image of the Republica brand.

This will / should prove to be valuable information for Republica as it will inform them as to whether or

not their current brand positioning is aligned with what the consumer desires, and through uncovering the

current brand image profile, Republica will be aware of whether or not action is needed in order to

improve the image.

1.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE AUDIT

The main objective of this brand audit is to do an in depth analysis of Republica daily English newspaper.

The aim of this report is to find out the main sources of the brand equity and the current standings of the

paper as compared to the major competitors like The Himalayan Times, The Kathmandu Post and The

Rising Nepal. Here recommendations are also made to the organization to improve the equity and the

present situation of the brand. The sources of the brand equity is measured based on the primary research


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conducted on 100 people and the secondary data derived from the company and internet and the whole

report is based on the same.

1.3 LIMITATIONS OF THE AUDIT

The audit report is based on certain limitations because of the limited time and resources:

Though there are more than 80000 people in the Kathmandu Valley reading an English daily

newspaper, the research was conducted on a small sample size of 100. A larger sample size and

geographic region could have provide a more accurate and comprehensive result.

It was difficult to obtain all the required data from the secondary sources mainly from the major

competitors.

1.4 SCOPE OF THE AUDIT

To find out the brand equity of Republica a brand Equity questionnaire was filled out to a sample size of

100 youths ranging between the age group of 16-30 inside the Kathmandu valley. The audit covers the

measurement of the brand equity for Republica and the measures to improve the same. For the

measurement of the brand equity for the paper, the brand inventory and the brand exploratory and found

out based on the questionnaire and the primary and the secondary data calculated.

1.5 Sample size

Out of the total sample of 100, 68 were males and the rest were female population. The sample was a

convenient sample classified on the basis of age, educational level and other general demographic

characteristics.


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Literature Review

2.1 Branding

The most important thing in marketing, and especially branding, is the perception of the consumer. The

reality is that the only things that exist in marketing are the perceptions in the minds of the consumer or

prospect. The goal of marketing managers, and brand managers, is to manipulate the perceptions of

consumers to allow them to believe that meaningful differences do exist between their brands and those

of competitors. Apart from creating an identity for the brand, the process of branding involves creating

mental brand associations for the consumer regarding the products or services under the brand in

question. These associations should be strong, favorable and unique towards the brand and can be related

to brand attributes or brand benefits (Keller, 2003: 71). These attributes and benefits do not need to be

exclusively tangible, but can include more intangible associations (i.e. the personality of the brand, the

user imagery of the brand etc.). The result of creating strong, favorable and unique brand associations is a

positive brand image, which in turn creates positive brand equity (or alternatively, as Keller (2003)

defines it, customer-based brand equity (CBBE)). It has been cited in the literature that it is difficult to

change brand associations that are already consolidated in long-term memory), certainly when they are

worn in and very strong (Franzen and Bouwman,). The only process in which this can happen is through

the development of new associations and their subsequent strengthening in such a way that they are

activated earlier and more quickly than the older associations.

2.2 Brand Knowledge

According to Keller (Keller, 1993), the ability for brands to influence and persuade consumers to

purchase a product or service belonging to this brand, is dependent on the brand knowledge that they have

of it. Brand knowledge consists of brand awareness and brand image and is a major driver of brand

equity. The brand knowledge a consumer has could have been obtained through advertising, brand design

and identity consistency, previous brand experiences and brand building strategies

Brand awarenessis consumers ability to recognize a brand in a given category through spontaneous

brand recall or prompted awareness. Spontaneous brand recall, also called top of mind awareness, is the

ability of a consumer to name a brand within a given category without assistance. Prompted awareness is

consumers ability to recognize a brand in a category with the assistance of a list of brands. Typically, the

higher spontaneous recall rate equates to a larger market share.
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Brand image is the customers impression of a brands emotional and physical characteristics. Over time,

thebrand image is developed through advertising and user experience. For instance, Disneys brand

image to children is magic and wonderment. Marketing and the Disney World experience contribute to

this brand image.

Brand mapping illustrates the relationship between key branding elements to determine new

opportunities. Customers, brand values, products, delivery systems, demographics / psychographics,

messages and customer touch-points are among the many components of a brand map. Brand mapping

can be either brand or category specific.

Brand positioningis the distinct location of a brand within a market. The goal of positioning is to find

gaps in the market unfulfilled by competitors, or to create an untapped position in the market (or

consumers minds and hearts). In brief, brand positioning is the angle of attack on a market with the aim

of increasing brand strength and value (Kapferer, 2004: 95). It is created by the organization that has

ownership of the brand. Apples market position is for creativity, while Linux is for tech-savvy users.

Brand positioning can be measured through perceptual mapping (visual display of consumers brand

perception), surveys, multi-dimensional scaling (a visual analysis technique) and factor(variables

evaluation), conjoint (consumers value analysis), and logit (consumer acceptance evaluation) analysis.

Brand value is the portion of financial performance attributed to the brand itself. Brand value can be

measured by the brands ability to drive preference, loyalty and pricing power. Apple has significant

brand value as it has a passionate and loyal following as compared to its competitors, such as HP or

Microsoft.

Brand recognition is the extent to which a brand is recognized for stated brand attributes or

communications. In some cases brand recognition is defined as aided recall - and as a subset of brand

recall. In the case, brand recognition is the extent to which a brand name is recognized when prompted

with the actual name. A broader view of brand recognition is the extent to which a brand is recognized

within a product class for certain attributes. Logo and tagline testing can be seen as a form of brand

recognition testing.

Brand equity is based on the image consumers have of the brand, and the more favorable this image, the

more likely they are to pay a price premium for the brand, the more likely they are to recommend it to

friends, the more likely they are to remain loyal if it is out of stock, the more likely they are to take the

time to search for it, and the more likely they are to purchase other products / services related to the brand

name (Hawkins et. al., 1998: 355).
http://drypen.in/branding/brand-characteristics.htmlhttp://sparxoo.com/2010/03/18/2009/06/16/whats-in-a-brand-name/http://www.slideshare.net/kevinsugrue/brand-mapping-toolhttp://www.slideshare.net/kevinsugrue/brand-mapping-toolhttp://sparxoo.com/2010/03/18/2009/05/27/using-segmentation-to-develop-your-marketing-strategy/http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/images/citi2_1.gifhttp://sparxoo.com/2010/03/18/2009/06/18/how-to-define-your-market-position/http://sparxoo.com/2010/03/18/2009/06/18/how-to-define-your-market-position/http://www.slideshare.net/korhan/apple-brand-experience-presentationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perceptual_mappinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi_dimensional_scaling_(in_marketing)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factor_analysishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conjoint_analysis_(in_marketing)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logit_analysis_(in_marketing)http://sparxoo.com/2010/03/18/2009/06/05/customer-loyalty-programs/http://www.slideshare.net/korhan/apple-brand-experience-presentationhttp://drypen.in/branding/brand-characteristics.htmlhttp://sparxoo.com/2010/03/18/2009/06/16/whats-in-a-brand-name/http://www.slideshare.net/kevinsugrue/brand-mapping-toolhttp://sparxoo.com/2010/03/18/2009/05/27/using-segmentation-to-develop-your-marketing-strategy/http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/images/citi2_1.gifhttp://sparxoo.com/2010/03/18/2009/06/18/how-to-define-your-market-position/http://www.slideshare.net/korhan/apple-brand-experience-presentationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perceptual_mappinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi_dimensional_scaling_(in_marketing)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factor_analysishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conjoint_analysis_(in_marketing)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logit_analysis_(in_marketing)http://sparxoo.com/2010/03/18/2009/06/05/customer-loyalty-programs/http://www.slideshare.net/korhan/apple-brand-experience-presentation


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Brand Loyalty is the extent of the faithfulness of consumers to a particular brand, expressed through

their repeat purchases, irrespective of the marketing pressure generated by the competing brands. Loyalty

is always accompanied by positive consumer behavior and sales, and consumers willing to buy more,

recommend more and rebuff competitive offers

Brand association is anything which is deep seated in customers mind about the brand. Brand should be

associated with something positive so that the customers relate the brand to being positive. Brand

associations are the attributes of brand which come into consumers mind when the brand is talked about.

It is related with the implicit and explicit meanings which a consumer relates/associates with a specific

brand name.


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3.1Introduction of the Brand

Although the institutional history of Nepali press could be traced back to 1851 when Rana Prime Minister

Jung Bahadur Rana installed a printing press (the Giddhe Press), or in 1901 when the state-owned

newspaper, the Gorkhapatra, was launched, its practical history begins in the 1950s, after the fall of Rana

regime, when several pioneering journalists took to publishing newspapers in a transitional democracy.

Thirty years after the royal takeover of 1960 represented a repressive press system. During this time,

press enjoyed limited rights and lobbied, to some extent, for a multiparty democracy that could guarantee

press freedom. After the Restoration of democracy in 1990 a drastic change came in the Nepali Media

particularly in the private sector. Liberal provision and guarantee of press freedom enshrined in the

constitution opened up avenues for the private sector to involve on media sector. Many newspapers like

Kantipur, The Kathmandu Post, Annapurna Post, The Himalayan Times, and Rajhdhani Dainik etc

emerged after 1990.

3.2 Nepal Republic media Pvt. Ltd

Established in the year 2009, Nepal Republic media Pvt. Ltd offers two daily newspapers. First one is

Nepali daily newspaper which is called Nagarik and second one is English daily which is known as

Republica. For the purpose of the brand audit our team has selected English daily.

3.3 Product offered

Republica contains news information and advertising. It features articles relating to politics, events,

crime, business, entertainment and sports. It also features an editorial page containing columns that

express opinion of famous scholars.

A wide variety of material has been published in Republica, including editorial opinions, obituaries,

entertainment features such as crossword, Sudoku and horoscope; weather news and forecast; advice,

gossip, food and other columns; classified ads, editorial cartoons, comic strips.

3.4 Mission

Republica aims to be a newspaper of first choice for scholars, intellectuals, corporate and youth. It thrives

to build the readership through the constant maintenance and enhancement in the quality of product it is

offering. It hopes to become trend setter rather than trend follower in the market.


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Republica is designed to offer the following to each reader:

An opportunity to enhance the knowledge of the reader as it provides informative content

like advice, education, sports, news about weather, travel, conflict

A source of enjoyment for the readers

Supplements on for example The week which comes out every Friday.

Home delivery: The newspapers reach to the subscribers at 4 am in the morning.

The newspaper is readily available at general stores for purchase

Provides news in format in which the readers find it easy to read.

Provides subscription package and benefits for regular subscriber.

SWOT Analysis

SWOT analysis is a strategic planning method used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities,

and Threats involved in a project or in a business venture. It involves specifying the objective of the

business venture or project and identifying the internal and external factors that are favorable and

unfavorable to achieve that objective.The following outlines the most significant strengths and

weaknesses internal to Republica, and the opportunities and threats that exist in its environment.

Republicas objective is to leverage its strengths to take advantage of the opportunities its market

presents, develop those areas that are weaknesses, and devise contingency plans to address threats if those

should become a reality.

Strengths

The language in the newspaper is in standard English

Online news (availability in e-paper format)

Strong distribution channels throughout the valley.

Quality paper (good ink, paper)

Excellent customer service (quick response to customer complaints, timely home delivery, etc)
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Weaknesses

The price of Republica is Rs 5, which is relatively high as compared to rivals.

Republicas research and development department is not well developed it still needs to learn

the market needs and respond accordingly.

Promotional activities are not enough many people are still not aware of the presence of

Republica

Opportunities

The awareness level of Republica is increasing; there is an opportunity to grow.

Readership is increasing in major parts of country, outside Kathmadu valley.

Increasing prospect of capturing the competitors customers by offering them services better than

that of the competitors

Load shedding people tend to purchase newspapers more often these days to keep them

company in the load shedding hours so Republica has an opportunity to increase its sale by

attracting such customers

Growing disposable income of consumers and higher standards of living in the city areas

Threats

Himalayan times is its strong competitor it is known and trusted (according to our survey, the

Himalayan Times comes on the top of the mind of many consumers)

Its competitors The Himalayan Times and The Kathmandu Post are both offered at Rs. 3

whereas Republica is offered at Rs.5

Internet options there are a lot of internet options available such as search engines and news

websites (nepalnews.com, bbc.com)


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Keys to success

Youthful content

Adopting various kinds of promotion strategies to create awareness and increase readership

among the youth

Give youth an Experience they cannot get Anywhere else - enabling youth to make their own

decisions

Completeness of the information provided


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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

4.1 Abstract

A quantitative approach was used for this study in which various hypotheses were enveloped and

subsequently subjected to a series of vigorous tests. Questionnaire was developed to find out the

knowledge, image, loyalty, recall, recognition, personality for Republica. A total of 50 questionnaires

were completed through the convenient sampling method because of the limited time frame.

4.2 Research Strategy

To obtain the data required, convenient sampling method was used due to the limitation in the time. 50

questionnaires were filled up by the respondents. The purpose of the research was the combination of the

descriptive and exploratory studies. The target respondents were the youths between the ages 16-30.

4.3 Materials and Methods

The method of choice for data collection was structured observation in which a questionnaire was used as

instrument for collecting the data (Appendix). The respondents were required to complete the paper-based

questionnaires themselves, and were at all times semi-supervised by the researchers. The target audiences

for this study were the youngsters of the Kathmandu Valley between the age group 16-30. All of the

survey questions are close-ended questions. Close-ended questions provide the respondents with pre-

selected answers from which to choose. The reason for opting to use close-ended questions above open-

ended questions is that closed-ended questions produce standardized data that can be analyzed

statistically, and are more reliable in terms of making inferences from the data. A variety of close-ended

questions were used, namely list, category and scale / rating questions (e.g. Likert type questions). Likert

scales are appropriate for measuring attitudes. Therefore many of the questions made use of them. The

questions were based on determining the attributes of the respondents, their perceptions and attitudes of

the Republica brand as well as their behavior with regards to the brand.

The sampling method used was convenient sampling as the time frame was limited and it was the easiest

method to use in the given scenario. It was the best method that could have been used within theUniversity premises. A total of 50 questionnaires were obtained via conveniently selecting participants in

the college and outside the college.

The data was captured using Microsoft Excel, and analyzed with the SPSS software.


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A mixture of quantitative methods was used to analyze the data. It is believed that the survey fulfils the

criteria of reliability and validity. Before the questionnaire was distributed, a pilot study was performed,

after which minor changes were made in order to test content validity. The respondents completed the

questionnaires themselves without any bias.


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Market Situation

5.1 Market Share:

The performance of the brand as measured by the market share often provides a valid and sensitive

reflection of the brands standing with the consumers. When the brand has a relative advantage in the

minds of the customers, market share should increase or at least not decrease. In contrast, when the

competitors improve or try to improve their brands through extensive promotional activities or by

revitalizing the brand their share should respond this is the challenge time for the other brands to maintain

the market share. Therefore to maintain the market share and beat the competition from the competitors a

brand should come out with a better promotional activity. Moreover if the brand equity is improved it will

have a reflection on the market share. Therefore market share is a good measure or a good summary of

the brand equity.

For calculating the market share of newspapers the most important thing one must know is the circulation

of the brand and the promotional activities that increase the circulation of the newspapers. A newspaper's

circulation is the number of copies it distributes on an average day. Circulation is one of the principal

factors used to set advertisingrates. Circulation is not always the same as copies sold, often called paid

circulation, since some newspapers are distributed without cost to the reader. Readership figures are

usually higher than circulation figures because of the assumption that a typical copy of the newspaper is

read by more than one person.

It is important to define the product class and the competitors set to determine the market share. As in the

case of Republica, the product class is the English Daily Newspaper and the major competitors in the

same product class are The Himalayan Times (THT), The Kathmandu Post (TKP) and The Rising Nepal.

We also have included the brands of different price points as the price of the major competitors like THT

and TKP are lesser than that of Republica. Market share and the brand equity are responsive to the short

term strategies. Hence the major promotional activities of the major competitors of Republica are

tabulated to find out the change in the market share due to the extensive promotional activities.

To find out the market share of Republica we calculated the circulation of the different newspapers of thesame category and the following results were achieved:
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Newspaper Circulation inside Kathmandu Valley Market Share

The Himalayan Times

(THT) 45000 60

The Kathmandu Post TKP) 10000 13

Republica 15000 20

The Rising Nepal (TRN) 5000 7

From the above figure it can be seen that The Himalayan Times (THT) is the market leader with 45000

daily circulation and 60% of the market share. However it is to be noted that THT is there in the marker

since a decade and there were no major competitors while the paper was introduced. In the recent years

the circulation and hence the market share of THT has dropped mainly due to the price war between THT

and The Kathmandu Post (TKP) few years back. It is to be noted that Republica though a relatively new

newspaper, has outplayed TKP and has been able to capture a market share of around 20% as compared

to 13% that of TKP.

As the market share for Republica is increasing, it can be said that the brand equity is high for the paper.

As previously mentioned, the market share in a short period however can change due to the attractive

promotional activities by the competitors. The following is the list of the major promotional activities by

the English newspaper dailies over the past few months:


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Newspaper Promotional Activity Event

The Himalayan Times

Hoarding Board and TV

Advertisement The Himalayan Times Unstoppable Campaign

Sponsorship TGIF Nepal Fashion Week

THT live Live cell, horoscope, sports, news etc.

Daily supplements

Perspective, TGIF, appointments, school times

etc

online Results publishing SLC

The Kathmandu Post

Daily Supplements MONEY FOR ALL (latest)

The Kathmandu Post e

paper online newspaper

Republica

Media Partner

Miss Teen Nepal 2009

BOSS inter college Management Quiz

8th Higher Education and Career Fair, May 2010

Fashionaa '09

Designer Contest 2010

16 Pages to explore Increased no. of pages

End Domestic violence 100th international Women's Day

Fursad Chaina Live Cell

Free gifts

Narayan Wagley's Mayur Times with the annual

subscription

Free Mobile Set with annual subscription

Discount Schemes

Subscription at 50% discount for the SLC

graduates

3 months subscription free with an annual

subscription

Daily Supplements

style, prospectus, home, leisure, market, art,

sunshine, corporate, Gen Next

Events Republica Summit

TVCs and Hoarding Boards 16 pages to explore price discounts

Republica e paper online newspaper

The Rising Nepal N/A N/A


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Before Promotional

Activities After Promotional Activities

Newspaper Circulation Market Share Circulation Market Share

The Himalayan Times 45000 60 48000 55

The Kathmandu Post 10000 13 10000 11

Republica 15000 20 25000 28

The Rising Nepal 5000 7 5000 6

The table above shows the comparison of the market share of the newspapers before and after the

promotional campaign. We can see that all the newspapers have come up with the heavy budget

promotional activities like media partnership, sponsorship, discount schemes, e-papers, free gifts and

daily supplements. To promote these schemes again they have spent a heavy amount on the promotions of

the campaigns. These schemes are useful to leverage the market share of the papers. We can see that the

promotions schemes have increased the circulation of papers. However, the market share of the major

paper THT has decreased. This must be because of the fact that Republica came up with a scheme of the

free mobile set with the annual subscription and 50% discounts for the SLC graduates. Hence the

subscribers of THT seem to have shifted towards that of Republica. Although circulation of THT has

increased, the ratio of increment in Republica is much higher than that of THT. The new campaign of

Republica to give away free mobile sets to the customers with the annual subscription has helped to

increase the market share of the paper and also the discount schemes of the paper to give away 50%

discount to the SLC graduates show that the readers of THT and TKP switched to Republica.


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Newspaper advertising Space before and after the promotional campaigns:

Newspaper Advertising space before promotion Advertising space after promotion

The Himalayan

Times 800 850

The Kathmandu Post 650 660

Republica 660 720

The Rising Nepal N/A N/A

We can see that because of the promotional schemes introduced by the brands the advertising space in the

paper has increased. It shows that the promotional activities have successful not only to attract the

consumers but also the corporate to advertise in the papers. The percentage change in the increment of

Republica is highest in the comparison brands.

5.2 Market Price and Distribution Measures:

It is very important to measure the relative price at which the brand is being sold. To do so, the brand

weighted by their relative sales volume (circulation in the case of the newspaper) need to be obtained.

The relative market price could be defined as the average price at which the brands was sold during the

month divided by the average price at which all brands were sold.


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The table below shows the relative price of different newspapers:

Newspaper Price market share Price Related Market Share

The Himalayan Times 3 0.75 53 40

The Kathmandu Post 3 0.75 12 9

Republica 5 1.25 29 36

The Rising Nepal 5 1.25 6 7

Average 4

From the table above we can see that THT and TKP are being sold at the lower relative price whereas the

other two newspapers are being sold above the relative price. If we look at the market share the market

share of THT is the highest with 53% followed by Republica with 29%. However when we look at the

price related market share for the newspapers we can see the Republica has been able to capture 36% of

the price related market share whereas THT has only taken 40%. With this we can conclude that the

equity of Republica is high although it is has a premium pricing. Therefore for the revenue analysis,

Republica has a higher increase in the revenues as compared to the other brands as the brand has a

premium pricing and the advertising space for the brand is in a increasing trend.


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5.3 Distribution Coverage

All the major brands taken into consideration seem to have a good distribution strategy within the

Kathmandu valley. There is no debate in the point that availability of the paper adds to the equity of the

brand. Republica as well as the major competitors of the paper have a predefined distribution channel

through which the papers are daily distributed to the concerned places. The advantage all of the papers

have is that they also have a Nepali script paper which decreased the distribution cost for all of them. All

the major papers take the parallel distribution strategy in which the press distributes the paper to the

dealer and then the dealer takes the responsibility to distribute to the sub-dealers and from the sub dealers

the paper reach the major selling points like stationeries, book stores and the street sellers. House to house

distribution to the subscribers is done by the cycle boys early in the morning.

The following figure depicts the major distribution channel for the English Dailies:

PRESS DEALERS SUB DEALERS SELLING POINTS

CYCLE BOYS SUBSCRIBERS


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BRAND EXPLORATORY

6.1 Customer based brand equity

Building a strong brand in terms of customer based brand equity can be thought in terms of sequence of

steps in which each step is contingent upon the successful completion of the previous stage. All steps

include accomplishing the certain objectives with the existing as well as potential customers. The four

steps represent a set of following fundamental questions that customers invariably ask about brand

implicitly if not explicitly.

Who are you? (Brand identity)

What are you? (Brand Meaning)

What about you? What do I think or feel about you? (Brand response)

What about you and me? What kind of connections and how much would I like to have about

you? (Brand relationship)

There occurs an obvious sequence in this laddering. That means meaning cannot be established unless

there is a brand identity and responses cannot occur unless a right meaning have been developed. And

finally proper relationship cannot be obtained if proper response is not developed. It relates to customer

awareness of the brand.

Level (1): Salience

Salience means awareness of the brand. It forms fundamental building block and provides three building

blocks for brand equity. First it influences the formation and strength of brand association, second it

creates a high level of brand identification and third when customers have low involvement with the

brand category they may make choices on the basis of brand salience alone. Republica has a high degree

of brand awareness among its customers. It is popularly known among the customers as a new but

rapidly growing English daily newspaper of Nepal.
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Questions for salience

Have you heard of the following English daily newspapers? Please tick if yes.

The Himalayan Times (THT)

The Kathmandu Post (TKP)

Republica

What comes to your mind when I say Republica daily?

_____________________________

Level (2): Performance (Left-hand side) & Imagery (Right-hand side)

Brand performance relates to the ways in which the brand provides the basic functional needs of the

customers. So it refers to the intrinsic property of the brand in terms of product or service characteristics.

Hence to create brand loyalty and resonance the brand should at least meet if not surpass the customers

expectations? There are five important types of attributes that often underlie brand performance. Product

reliability, service effectiveness, style and price of the brand come under this category. As far as the

performance of Republica is concerned customers believe that it delivers the reliable news and

information more focused towards the youth segment. The survey revealed that the customers get the

content that they seek. It has opted for a premium pricing strategy. 90% of the customers feel that it is

worth paying a premium price.

Imagery refers to more intangible aspects of the brand. It is about how people think about the brand

abstractly rather than how they think it actually. These intangibles can be categorized on the basis of user

profile i.e. what category of people use it, purchase and usage situations, personality and values and lastly

the historic heritages and experiences. From the survey we have found that Republica has a brand image

of intelligent, successful, fun, creative, trustworthy and helpful newspaper. When it comes to ranking

consumers tend to rank Republica as intelligent first, creative second and helpful third.

Level (3): Judgments (Left-hand side) & Feelings (Right-hand side)

These two categories imply the brand responses which mean how customers respond to the brand, its

marketing activities and other sources of the brand communication. It is all about how customers think


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and feel about the brand. Brand judgment focuses on customers personal opinion about the brand. It

involves how the customers put together all the imagery and performance association for the brand to

form different opinions about the brand.

Customers judge Republica mainly on its quality dimension. First judgment they do is it provides quality

news and information. Second judgment they have is that it provides value for money. They believe that

the information provided is reliable and is more research based with a best paper quality among the

English daily newspapers.. They believe that it is a trend setter in the market as far as the English daily

newspaper is considered. Customers believe that it is trying to set a trend by providing enough

information related to the youth segment of the readers.

Brand feelings are customers emotional responses and reactions with respect to the brand. Some

important brand building feelings include sense of warmth, fun, excitement, security, social approval and

social respect. Customers basically feel that brand evokes the sense of intelligence, trust worthiness and

creativity. Also the purchase and hence the usage of brand brings a sense of helpfulness, fun and

excitement.

Level (4): Resonance

Resonance means the ultimate social status of the brand and how much loyal customers the brand has.

This ultimate stage of the model focuses on the ultimate relationship and the level of identification the

customers has with the brand. It is characterized with the intensity or the depth of the psychological bond

that the customers have with the brand and the level of engagement they have with the brand. It includes

behavioral loyalty, attitudinal attachment, sense of community and the active engagement finally.

Republica has highly loyal customers who make repeat purchases of the brand and refer it to others as

well. People are in active engagement with the brand. Total 93% of the customers said that Republica

meet their expectation. 75% of customer will recommend Republica to others. This means that Republica

customers are quite loyal to Republica.


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Salience:

New but a rapidly growing Englishdaily

im

Performance:

Premium pricing,

reliable, good

layout design,paper quality

Imagery:

Youth,

executive,intelligent,

creative

Judgments

:

Quality, value

for money,

brand

reputation,

trend setter

Emotions:

trustworthy,

excitement

Resonance:Repeat purchases,loyalty, recommend toothers, activeengagement

Fig: CBBE pyramid of Republica

Intense, active loyalty

Rational and emotional

reactions

Point of parity and

point of difference

Deep

and

broad

brand

awarene

ss


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6.2 Brand Awareness

Brand awareness is the ability of a potential buyer to recognize or recall a brand is a member of a certain

product category in our case English daily newspaper.

6.2.1 Brand recognition

Brand recognition is based on an aided recall test. All the respondents were familiar with The Himalayan

Times (THT), The Kathmandu Post (TKP) and Republica. It is the minimal level of brand recognition.

Republica is the new newspaper comparing to TKP and THT. Republica will be rarely purchased if there

is no recognition of this brand. Further, learning about the features and benefits of Republica is difficult

without achieving recognition. When the recognition is established the task is simply to attach a new

association such as newspaper attributes. This means the marketing efforts (advertisements, events

sponsorship etc) of creating brand recognition has been so far successful.

Since Republica provides sense of familiarity consumers like the familiar than the non familiar. It is

particularly important in point of purchase.

6.2.2 Brand recognition Question

Have you heard of the following English daily newspapers? Please tick if yes.

1. The Himalayan Times (THT)

2. The Kathmandu Post (TKP)

3. Republica

6.3 Brand recall

The next level of brand awareness after the brand recognition is brand recall. Brand recall is based upon

asking a person to name the brand in the product class; it is termed as unaided recall because unlike as in

the recognition tasks the respondent is not aided by having the names provided. Unaided recall is a

substantially more difficult task than recognition, and is associated with a stronger brand.


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THT has achieved the top of mind awareness. 75% of consumers have THT in their top of the mind, 18%

of them have TKP and remaining had Republica. That means THT is ahead of the other two brands TKP

and Republica. The TKP is second in top mind awareness. This means THT has an advantage when

consumers have to select form the group of brand of newspapers. TKP and Republica would not have this

particular advantage. Newspapers are frequently purchased products so the role of brand recall is very

significant as brand decisions are made prior to going to store.

6.3.1 Brand recall question

What comes to your mind when I say English Daily newspaper?

_____________________________

6.3.2 Recommendation

So far there has been no problem in recognizing the brand name of Republica. Only problem lies in the

brand recall which clearly shows THT way ahead of Republica. In order to increase brand recall

following things can be done:

Recall Repetition

Even if consumers are exposed to few times to advertisement they can easily recognize the brand.

But in order to recall a brand it is difficult, requiring many repetitions of advertisements and other

promotional activities so that it achieves the top of mind awareness among consumers. The

advertisement of Republica is very different from other competitors and is memorable but there

repetitions of ads are very few.

Involve a Slogan

When we look at the Television commercial of Republica we can see the main slogan as Now,

pages 16 more to explore. This ad campaign was made to introduce new 16 pages of Republica

among youth but we think that slogan should have been more directed towards youth than simply

introducing new newspaper.


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We conducted a survey whether Republica readers were aware of the fact that it had 16 pages and

98% were aware of the fact that it had 16 pages. This means that focusing on pages 16 more to

explore will not make sense. Slogan is memorable phrase used in advertisements and it can

make a big difference. The slogans can help in brand recall. From our survey we found that most

suitable slogan for the next campaign can be Newspaper made for the youth. The link to the

slogan might be stronger because it involves a product characteristic that can be visualized. We

think the slogan that we have developed can used to create strong links to brand and the products

class that is newspaper.

Slogan Question

Which of the following ad slogan will be appropriate for Republica ad campaign? Please

tick one.

16 pages more to explore

Newspaper made for the youth

Youth focused newspaper

For the youth

6.4 Brand Image

Brand image is defined as the consumer perceptions of a brand and is measured as the brand associations

held in consumers memory. To measure the brand image we have listed down the brand personality of

the newspaper and they have rated for each personality among Describes Strongly, Describes Somewhat,

Might/Might Not Describe, Does Not Describe, Does Not Strongly Describe and Does Not Describe At

All.

From the survey we have found that Republica has a brand image of intelligent, successful, fun creative

and helpful. For THT we found that many of the respondents found the newspaper as fun, energetic and

trustworthy. For TKP we found that it was old-fashioned, honest and fun.


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When it comes to ranking consumers tend to rank Republica as intelligent first, creative second and

helpful third. Similarly, consumers tend to rank THT as Fun first, energetic second and trustworthy third.

Finally, TKP is regarded as honest first, old-fashioned second and fun third.

6.4.1 Brand Image Question

If you were to describe the newspaper (Republica) as a person, please tell us how closely each of these

words might describe the paper's personality. Please rank each personality and circle one box for each

statement.

S.N Personality list Rank Describes

Strongly

Describes

Somewhat

Might/Mig

ht Not

Describe

Does Not

Strongly

Describe

Does Not

Strongly

Describe

1 Intelligent 1 2 3 4 5

2 Opinionated 1 2 3 4 5

3 Fun 1 2 3 4 5

4 Successful 1 2 3 4 5

5 Honest 1 2 3 4 5

6 Experienced 1 2 3 4 5

7 Creative 1 2 3 4 5

8 Middle class 1 2 3 4 59 Energetic 1 2 3 4 5

10 Old-Fashioned 1 2 3 4 5

11 Trustworthy 1 2 3 4 5

12 Liberal 1 2 3 4 5

13 Helpful 1 2 3 4 5


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From our research we can see that Republica is positively associated with consumers. Following figure

shows the brand personality of Republica:

6.5 Significance of brand personality

Contributing to a differentiating identity

As we can see from our research that Republica is able to differentiate itself from other two brands

as intelligent, successful, creative and helpful. These personalities can serve as the foundation for

meaningful differentiation especially when THT and TKP are giving Republica a tough

competition.


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Understanding Consumer perception

So far from our research we can see that consumers have positive association with Republica. This

will help in increasing readership of Republica.

Consistent marketing communication

Since we already know the personalities of Republica we can provide depth and texture that make it

easier to keep the communication effort on target.

6.6 Brand personality creates brand equity

The ways a brand personality can create brand equity can be described using following models:

Self-expression model

Relationship basis model

Functional benefit representation model

6.6.1 The Self- Expression Model

The premise of the self-expression model is that for certain groups of customers, some brands become

vehicles to express a part of their self-identity. Brands that people like, admire, buy, and use provide a

vehicle for self-expression.

As a person Republica is perceived by many as intelligent, successful, creative and helpful. There can be

set of feelings and emotions attached to Republica brand personality, just as there are to be a person.

When an intelligent, successful, creative and helpful person reads Republica it generates this kind of

feeling in consumer.

The ultimate personality expression occurs when a brand becomes an integral part of the self. From our

survey we found that in case of regular readers 68% were of THT, 42% for TKP and 55% for Republica.

That means among 55% of the consumers Republica has become integral part in their lifestyle,

personality and being.


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Recommendation

Brand personality of Republica is desirable and important enough to matter to the person using

Republica. Nevertheless, the person should feel better because of an association with the brand meaning

intelligent, successful, creative and helpful when reading Republica.

6.6.2 The relationship basis model

There is a relationship between the brand as a person and the customer which is same as the relationship

between two people. We have used various aspects of brand relationship quality to measure the

relationship quality. We have measured the brand relationship quality with the help of seven dimensions

that Susan Fournier has developed.

The brand personality is not just a customer perception to be measured. Rather, the attitude and behavior

of the brand is important. The brand identity and strategy, although seemingly behind the scenes, should

be considered as a part of the relationship. Such as perspective enhances the likelihood that brand

programs will be developed that will support the brand identity.

i. Behavioral interdependence

I feel like the day is incomplete if I miss reading this paper.

This newspaper plays important role in my life.

The survey reviled that there is brand interdependence among Republica readers. This is indicated

from summative value of question 1 and 2 which was less than 3.

ii. Personal Commitment

I feel very loyal to Republica

I will continue to purchase Republica in near future

Customers are loyal to Republica indicated by the fact that summative value of question 3 and 4

is less than 3.

iii. Love and passion


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No other brand can quite take place of this brand.

I would be very upset if I could not find Republica

People showed their love for the brand through questionnaire by giving rating lower than 3 which

showed agreement with the statement.

iv. Nostalgic connection

Republica reminds of things Ive done or place I have been.

Republica will always remind me of a particular phase of my life.

The nostalgic connections were relatively low as the brand has not existed for many years given

by question 7&8.

v. Self-concept connection

Republicas and my self-image are similar.

Republica reminds me of who I am.

The users of Republica connected with the brand and viewed their self image in the brand which

was signified by question 8&9.

vi. Intimacy

I know lot about Republica.

I know lot about the company that makes Republica.

The users know a lot about the brand and people associated into making of that brand. That seems

to be the major influence for the brand equity which was revealed by question 11&12 whose

summative value is less than 3

vii. Partner quality

Republica has always looked for my interest.

Republica treats me as an important and valuable customer.

The partner quality as viewed by the users is high. This can be attributed to the fact that the brand

constantly communicates the message that we care about you & its all about you


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6.7 Brand loyalty

Brand loyalty is the core dimension of brand equity. A loyal customer base represents a barrier to entry, a

possible price premium, time to respond to competitor innovations and a bulwark against harmful price

competition. The main two measures of brand loyalty is price premium and satisfaction/loyalty.

6.7.1Price Premium

A basic indicator of loyalty is the amount the customer will pay for the brand in comparison with another

brand with another brand offering similar or fewer benefits.

Republica is priced at Rs.5 whereas TKP and THT is price at Rs.3. 90% of customers say that they are

willing to pay Rs.5 although TKP and THT are available at Rs.3. Republica is priced 67% over TKP and

THT. As customers are willing to pay Rs.5 meaning Republica customers are loyal to Republica. 95% of

consumers think that Republica price is suitable and practicable.

This means those customers are loyal as they are willing to pay a premium price.

6.7.2 Brand Loyalty Question:

Are you willing to pay Rs.5 for Republica although TKP and THT are available at Rs.3? Please circle

one.

Yes

No

Do you think Republica pricing is not suitable and practicable for an English daily newspaper?

Yes

No


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6.7.3 Customer satisfaction/loyalty

Satisfaction is a direct measure of how willing customers are to stick to the brand. 80% of customers were

satisfied with Republica. Total 93% of the customers said that Republica meet their expectation. 75% of

customer will recommend Republica to others. This means that Republica customers are quite loyal to

Republica.

6.7.4 Customer satisfaction question

Are you satisfied with Republica?

Yes

No

Does the Republica meet your expectations?

Yes

No

Would you recommend Republica to others?

Yes

No

The above mentioned Brand Equity measures all require a customer survey. It can sometimes be useful to

able to track the brand using the other source of data, including those discussed as follows:


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1.1 Market Trends(yeslai pani katai ghusa hai)

The number of daily newspaper titles has been steadily growing since 2001.

Preference for English newspapers is increasing (especially among the youth) as literacy rate is

increasing.

Increasing demand for online news.

Newspapers are a means for not only knowing whats on sale but also to find jobs and careers.

People look into the newspaper not only for news but also various other information such as

television information, horoscope, comics, events etc.

Heightened awareness of the need to be well informed at all times.

The increasing awareness of the importance of education increases the preference of educational

news among the youth and also the popular among the youth is the sports and entertainment sections

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