By Venkatachari Jagannathan, IANS,
Chennai : Here comes a matrimonial magazine exclusively for non-resident Indians in the US. Consim Info Pvt Ltd, formerly BharatMatrimony group, has recently launched a free monthly aimed at match-making among US-based people of Indian origin.
“We want to celebrate the romance of marriage among the NRI community in the US through our monthly magazine BharatMatrimony Times,” Murugavel Janakiraman, founder and CEO of Consim Info told IANS. The group runs a slew of portals dedicated to various services such as matrimony, job placements and property information.
The publishers admit that second or third generation Indian Americans are more American than Indians, but are not overly worried about it.
“It is also true that they bank on their family members when it comes to important decisions. And marriage is one big decision,” said chief marketing officer P. Gopala Krishnan.
Consim is banking on Indian American youth’s preference for marrying within the community in the US, rather than getting married to a person living in India and shifting base to this country.
And as there is no single publication in the US focussed on this target segment – Indians and Indian marriages – Janakiraman senses a business opportunity – he is looking at advertisement revenue of Rs.500,000 per issue.
“BharatMatrimony Times is expected to positively rub off on our mother brand bharatmatrimony.com,” he added.
As the category will be served well only by a glossy magazine, Consim Info has decided to stop its tabloid Desi Match. “Desi Match didn’t add value to our main brand. But we gained the much needed experience in coming out with a focussed publication,” Janakiraman said.
Consim Info will distribute free 20,000 copies per month through direct mail, restaurants, shops and other outlets frequented by NRIs in the East and West Coast of the US.
“The focus will be on celebrating the beauty and romance of marriages and offering Indian Americans information and matrimonial solutions,” said Saslin Salim, head of content at the magazine.
“We will also feature couples leading successful long married lives. The magazine will help parents understand their children.”
Maintaining that there is no armchair journalism at BharatMatrimony Times, Salim said the publication’s edit team meets and interacts with people to put out a story.
“The mission is to be the focal point for all marriage and wedding related news, views, trends and information. It will serve as a guide to marriage. The magazine will also highlight the trends in online matrimonial services, feature insightful articles on relationships, wedding planning, interviews with successful couples and wedding experts,” he added.
While the articles will be of interest to all communities that have their roots in India, the top four communities that the advertisers can address are people with roots in Gujarat, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
“In the US there are few options for marketers to reach a targeted audience. BharatMatrimony Times will fill that vacuum,” said Krishnan. “The magazine will offer a good vehicle for jewellers, garment retailers, wedding planners and travel agencies to reach their customer segments.”