Online matches and despatches do it for India's 'Slumdog' market

Mobile is set to be "the next big thing" in India, Mariam Mammen Mathew, chief executive of Manorama Online, told WAN-Ifra's World Digital Publishing Conference in Barcelona. Mathew says SMS shortcodes and downloadable apps for online content have already proved "highly profitable", with Manorama making use of both a media-specific sales team and Junction K, its cross media integrated sales team. This spreads campaigns across all platforms and enables the paper's claim that “you talk to us and you talk to Kerala.” Talking of the change in media consumption, Mathew had delegates drooling with his description of a market many could only dream of – 1.2 billion citizens, 60,000 publications, more than 4000 daily newspapers selling 100 million copies, and the only market where newspaper circulation is rising. What also became clear was that Mathew wasn't simply talking of a far-off place in terms of geography, but also in terms of time: “Thanks to watching the US and Europe, we had the benefit of hindsight and we didn't let go of classifieds. We didn't want a Craigslist or a Monster taking away our strength, and so we created sites like M4Marry – a matrimonial site capitalising on a niche audience, but one that today has more than 300,000 profiles." Subscription-based, M4Marry is profitable in its own right, as well as bolstering the publisher's print classifieds. "The way it works in India is that the paper edition builds credibility, but the transactions are enabled through the website,” he says. M4Marry is only one of a number of niche products playing to the hyperlocal market in Kerala – another surprise success turned out to be the obituaries section – all of which are beefed up with blogs and UGC. Some 165 participants from 26 countries took part in the WAN-Ifra event at the Pullmann Barcelona Skipper Hotel, chaired by Stig Nordqvist. – Steve Shipside for WAN-Ifra