ALL IN OR NOTHING

On a cold Monday morning Harish Chandra Prasad was sipping his coffee and going through the newspaper stack in front of him. This was part of his daily routine for long now, reading several print media offerings every day. This habit was the result of his passion for journalism which he was unable to pursue. But today was different; he was perplexed, the reason being an article on the survival of old heritage newspapers in the digital world. Harish was aware of the effect digital media is having on print media. He was aware of the IT implications on business processes. His own business was transformed because of the use of IT giving him competitive advantage over his rivals. But the mention of one particular name in the article; INDEPENDENT INDIAN HERALD was the reason for this bewilderment. He was not sure whether this was nostalgia of him being associated with the newspaper or the anger residing in him because of his inability to pursue his passion as his career but Harish never let emotions to drive his mind after all he was successful business man. He finished his coffee and called his lifelong friend Samarth. Samarth owned a private consultancy firm in Delhi by the name of S. Partners; which was the sole consulting firm for all the business activities of Harish. The conversation was brief between them. Harish wanted to revive INDEPENDENT INDIAN HERALD. The task was complex as well as difficult mainly because of the time constraint imposed by Harish. He wanted a detailed report on the current valuation of IIH, acquiring procedure, operational and financial arrangements required to run a press, distribution mechanism and a lot of other minor details needs to be analysed.

Brief History of Harish Chandra Prasad After graduating, Harish joined the INDEPENDENT INDIAN HERALD as a journalist. He continued to work there for 4 years but finally he succumbed to his family wishes. He joined his family business. In 2008, after a sensational and successful stint at business lasting almost 4 decades, Harish decided to call it a day and sold his business as his son had no interest in the traditional family business. He invested this money to own a stake in a reputed luxury Hotel in Delhi. His Son currently handles that stake. He still has more than abundant resources available to live the rest of his live in luxury.

Brief History of INDEPENDENT INDIAN HERALD IIH was started in 1931 by a prominent freedom fighter. The newspaper was an instrumental tool for the freedom fighters as well as the general Indian public. The newspaper was printed in three languages: English, Hindi and Urdu. It enjoyed a vast readership among the youths. It quickly became one of the most well known printed media brand across India. But IIH was unable to sustain its business for long mainly because of its structure and its inability to adapt to dynamic environment. After the death of its founder (A prominent freedom fighter), IIH

worked as a government organisation only. It did not adapt to changing readership trends, loss in readership, implementation of new technologies in print media and the foremost Talent retention. By 1998, IIH stopped publishing its Hindi and Urdu dailies and by 2008, IIH ceased operations and sold several Assets to clear its debt. Current Scenario of IIH: The parent company of IIH, Independent Journals Ltd. owns a 100% stake in IIH. It also owns an Asset (Independent Herald House) which was allotted to IIH at a prime location in Delhi. The current valuation of that asset is estimated around Rs 1500 crore. There are talks among the management of Independent Journals to sell the asset. So in case Harish wants to buy the newspaper he might have to buy the Independent Herald House also. Current Financials of Harish: Cash and Bank Balances10 cr.

Stake in the hotel (managed by son) - 800 cr. Other properties150 cr.

After the conversation: Harish went to his study room and started staring at the hanging framed front page of the IIH dated 15th August 1947, pondering can it be done!

Issues to be addressed: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10) How would you value IIH by brand name? Would you suggest buying Independent Herald House along with the newspaper? How do you suggest using the asset for future revenue generation? Suggest STP (Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning) for the revival of the IIH. Compare and contrast it with the past STP of IIH. What modes of operation and distribution channel would you suggest for the revival? Do you suggest using the digital channel for IIH? If yes device a strategy for going viral in your digital space. If no why? What engagement policy should IIH use to capture the market segment suggested by you in the previous STP analysis? Include a financial plan with a break-even analysis. (Model the expenses and revenues on the basis of the other newspaper in the segment you selected) Suggest a Talent acquisition and retention policy and a possible organisational structure for IIH. Suggest three Editors-in-chief and justify their candidature.

11) Going through the financials of Harish, would you suggest him to invest in IIH? Elaborate on the risks involved. 12) What do you think is a better option reviving IIH or starting a newspaper from scratch? Give reasons. *You are free to think and address issues beyond the above mentioned.

STAGE 2- REGULATIONS:
a) Analysis Submission The second round will be conducted at IIT Roorkee on 21st March during COGNIZANCE 2014. 1) Participants need to submit their analysis in .pdf format. You need to bring two passport size photographs of each participant along with all the necessary details attached. 2) Analysis of the case should not exceed 12 pages in length, double columned and the covering page must include: Name(s), Institution of study, Email address(s), contact number(s), Cogni-ids of all the team members.

b) Final Presentations 1) Final Presentations on the submitted analysis should be in .ppt format strictly and should be timed for 15 min. (12 minutes for presentation and 3 minutes for Question and Answer round). 2) The decision of the judges shall be final and binding.