Senior pupils in more than 1000 schools joined a reading competition with big prizes and winners all round.

The ‘read and win’ competition saw an average of 32,000 students in Kerala, India, subscribe to daily Malayala Manorama, encouraging schoolchildren to read the newspaper.

In an INMA Idea blog, assistant marketing manager Uma Abraham explains the success of the competition, aimed at sparking interest in the print newspaper among young readers.

“Print readership in Kerala is the highest among all states in India,” she says. “Reading newspapers is such an ingrained habit for most Malayalees that during the COVID-19 lockdown periods, the government of Kerala deemed newspapers an essential service, which enabled them to be home-delivered even during the heights of the pandemic.

“But in recent years, print readership among younger audiences has been seeing a gradual decline.”

Malayala Manorama made it a mission to bring back the reading habit among schoolchildren, which it did this through the ‘read & win’ quiz competition, one of the biggest in India for students in grades nine to 12.

“What makes the quiz different is that the questions are only found in the newspaper,” says Abraham. “A whopping prize of Rs 2.5 million (approximately A$45,000) further motivated student participation.”

Besides increasing the daily’s subscription base, this was an opportunity to meaningfully engage with the student community on a regular basis and create an offering that makes newspaper reading a necessity for them. “Catch them young and watch them grow,” she says.

The campaign was announced on National Reading Day (June 19), and encouraged students to read the newspaper every day and participate in the quiz. Media vehicles for the group – including the newspaper, television, radio, and digital media – promoted the quiz, with schools registering through a purpose-made website and a WhatsApp chatbot.

First was a preliminary written test, winners from which went on to participate in the district-level competitions across Kerala’s 14 districts of Kerala. The top 30 teams then went on to a state-level grand finale, broadcast on TV show, and supported by a sponsor whose target group were also students. The grand finale aired as an 11-episode TV show on the Manorama News channel.

In just a few months:

-‘read & win’ encouraged 1,012 schools to subscribe to Malayala Manorama daily, encouraging schoolchildren to read the newspaper, and resulted in an increase in sales of 10,120 copies;

-the preliminary round was organised in 1,012 schools, with a total of 152,380 students participating, making it one of the largest quiz competitions in India;

-preparatory modules in the daily saw an increase in participation over a span of eight weeks, and an average of 32,000 students participated consistently across eight weeks in the teaser modules;

- the student community got hooked on the habit of newspaper reading with the promise of a “win” if you “read” the newspaper.: “Once they see the overall benefits, this will be a habit formed for a lifetime,” says Uma Abraham.

“The campaign even motivated schools to introduce an hour dedicated to reading the newspaper.”