Amar Ujala to Launch Ludhiana and Lucknow Editions

Amar Ujala , India's third largest read Hindi daily has announced the launch of Ludhiana and Lucknow editions .These editions will be launched next year.
'Lucknow and Ludhiana are important cities and we've decided to print separate editions for these locations.The lucknow edition will be launched in March 2008 followed by the Ludhiana Edition in August 2008' Sunil Mutreja, President, Marketing, Amar Ujala told Media Newsline.
59 Years of Amar Ujala Group:
Amar Ujala was launched on the 18th of April 1948 from Agra, as a 4 page newspaper with a circulation of 2576 copies . With this humble begining , 20 years later Amar Ujala achieved a circulation of 20,000 copies and was servicing over 14 districts in Western Uttar Pradesh. Growing slowly, but steadily, the turn of the century saw Amar Ujala as one of the top 10 dailies of India. Not only has the newspaper shed the barriers of Western Uttar Pradesh and spread itself across the entire state, but has also ventured into other neighbouring states as well.
Amar Ujala is being printed from eight states and has 17 different editions. The number of editions after Lucknow and Ludhiana editions, slated to be launched next year , will be 19. Besides Uttar Pradesh ,Amar Ujala is now also a leading newspaper of Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir. The daily is currently offering 16 information packed pages everyday .
Amar Ujala besides publishing the hardcore news content also publishes weekly suppliments on entertainment, homemaking, career and lifestyle. Career& Education , circulated on Wednesdays focuses on career guidance and education. Rupayan, circulated on Fridays ,covers full spectrum of homemaking and womenfolk . Sunday Anand, distributed on Sundays ,covers lifestyle and entertainment.
'Amar Ujala is known for its crisp and compact news content . The newspaper has never deviated from the objectives with which the newspaper was originally started, even today Amar Ujala continues to be a completely unbiased newspaper with a thrust on political and current events' says Sunil Mutreja.
The secret of Success:
Amar Ujala has come a long way .From a traditional looking , Conventional Hindi Indian daily , Amar Ujala today is one of the most modern and fastest growing Indian dailies.Shedding old image and embracing new printing technologies has helped the group to attract 2.82 crore readers nationwide.
'We're excited with the results of current readership survey . We attribute this success to our discerning readers who have made us India's number three daily.We're not going to stop here and definitely would like to be number one after some time. The group will continue to surge ahead by offering more information packed pages and supplements.' Sunil Mutreja, President, Marketing, Amar Ujala told Media Newsline.
The newspaper is on the verge of change .It has not only changed its look recently ( black masthead has been replaced by the attractive sky blue colour). The Sunday magazine (Ravivasriya) has been renamed as Sunday Anand ( which in English means Sunday enjoyment) . The supplement on career has also been renamed as Career and Education. Rangayan , which earlier focused on film and television industry has been discontinued and its content has been added to Sunday Anand.
'Suppliments based on entertainment , information, guidance and usefull news has helped us to grow fast. We're also planning to launch four more supplements' unil Mutreja, President, Marketing, Amar Ujala said.
Amar Ujala's success , besides the patronage of loyal readers and groups efforts to mix modernity with tradition is also the result of a system driven marketing.
'System driven marketing , change in product positioning and engagement of new age group of readers i.e. youth and females in particular has helped the group to achieve the present position' says Sunil Mutreja.
New Products & Strategies:
The Amar Ujala think tank is buisy in churning up new ideas to attract more readers. Close on the heels of its competitor Dainik Jagran , the group has introduced a new version of newspapers under the name and style of Amar Ujala Compact. The new product from the group is city centric and has 20 pages. The news content is local which is compact and easy to digest. It sans regular weekly pullouts and is just priced at rupee 1.
'We've launched the Kanpur edition of Compact which has been welcomed by the readers. We're now planning to launch Copmpact in Varanasi, Merut, Agra and Dehradun'Sunil Mutreja said.