Executive Summary

The objective of this study is to make inferences about the brand equity of Republica. Basically, the
value associated with Republica’s 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.
 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
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.
 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 awareness is 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.
Brand image is the customer’s impression of a brand’s emotional and physical characteristics. Over time,
the brand image is developed through advertising and user experience. For instance, Disney’s 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 positioning is 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. Apple’s 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 brand’s 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).
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 customer’s 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.
3.1 Introduction 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.
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.
Republica’s 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)
Weaknesses

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

• Republica’s 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 competitor’s 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)
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

 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 the
University 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.
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.
 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 brand’s 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 advertising rates. 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 the
same category and the following results were achieved:
 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:
 Newspaper Promotional Activity Event
Hoarding Board and TV
Advertisement The Himalayan Times Unstoppable Campaign
Sponsorship TGIF Nepal Fashion Week
The Himalayan Times THT live Live cell, horoscope, sports, news etc.
Perspective, TGIF, appointments, school times
Daily supplements etc…
online Results publishing SLC
Daily Supplements MONEY FOR ALL (latest)
The Kathmandu Post The Kathmandu Post e
paper online newspaper
Miss Teen Nepal 2009
BOSS inter college Management Quiz
Media Partner 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
Narayan Wagley's Mayur Times with the annual
Free gifts subscription
Republica
Free Mobile Set with annual subscription
Subscription at 50% discount for the SLC
graduates
Discount Schemes
3 months subscription free with an annual
subscription
style, prospectus, home, leisure, market, art,
Daily Supplements 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

 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.
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.
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.
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

 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.
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 customer’s
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 customer’s 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
and feel about the brand. Brand judgment focuses on customer’s 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 customer’s 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.
 Resonance:
Repeat purchases, Intense, active loyalty
loyalty, recommend to
others, active
engagement

Judgments
:
Emotions: Rational and emotional
Quality, value
reactions
for money, trustworthy,
brand excitement
reputation,
trend setter

Performance:
Imagery:
Premium pricing, Point of parity and
reliable, good Youth, point of difference
layout design, executive,
paper quality intelligent,
creative

Salience:
Deep
New but a rapidly growing English and
daily
broad
im brand
awarene
ss

Fig: CBBE pyramid of Republica

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.
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.
 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.
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.

Might/Mig Does Not Does Not

Describes Describes
S.N Personality list Rank ht Not Strongly Strongly
Strongly Somewhat
Describe Describe 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 5
9 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
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.
 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.
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

 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 I’ve 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
Republica’s 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” & “it’s all about you”
 Looking at the scores in the overall dimensions we can see that there is a strong Brand Relationship
Quality of Republica.

Questions for measuring BRQ:

Neither
Strongly Agre agree disagr Strongly
s.n Statements
agree e nor ee disagree
disagree
1 I feel like the day is incomplete if I miss reading
1 2 3 4 5
this paper.
2 This newspaper plays important role in my life. 1 2 3 4 5
3 I feel very loyal to Republica 1 2 3 4 5
4 I will continue to purchase Republica in near future 1 2 3 4 5
5 No other brand can quite take place of this brand. 1 2 3 4 5
6 I would be very upset if I could not find Republica 1 2 3 4 5
7 Republica reminds of things I’ve done or place I
1 2 3 4 5
have been.
8 Republica will always remind me of a particular
1 2 3 4 5
phase of my life.
9 Republica’s and my self-image are similar. 1 2 3 4 5
10 Republica reminds me of who I am. 1 2 3 4 5
11 I know lot about Republica. 1 2 3 4 5
12 I know lot about the company that makes
1 2 3 4 5
Republica.
13 Republica has always looked for my interest. 1 2 3 4 5
14 Republica treats me as an important and valuable
1 2 3 4 5
customer.
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
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:
 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 what’s’ 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