MUMBAI, INDIA – The HT Media Group has relaunched its flagship brand Hindustan Times in an all-new digital-first avatar. The English daily, with a legacy of over 96 years and a total readership of 8 million across India (TR, IRS Q4’19), has undergone a complete re-design that addresses the multi-platform shareable news consumption habits of today’s generation, particularly the millennials.
The refreshed HT product portfolio, including HT City and Brunch, is replete with elements that offer seamless print to digital integrations. It further gives the readers more than what is available on just the print medium via QR Codes, video pointers, links to podcasts and photo galleries that direct the readers to HT’s digital platforms to experience, engage and express more.
In terms of the new design elements, HT has launched its new logo that is classic yet contemporary, evoking the credible legacy that the brand brings to its modern-day readers. The thoughtfully crafted crest captures the journey of the brand from ‘quill to cursor’ and the values the brand has embodied since its inception in 1924 – ‘Clarity and Credibility’.
HT has also unveiled its new positioning – First Voice, Last Word. It represents the ethos of the brand with its continued promise of credible journalism, especially in today’s information-addled world. While the First Voice alludes to its digital-first agile approach, which is always the first to raise issues faced by the citizens today, the Last Word captures the essence of journalistic excellence associated with a credible, trusted and respected news brand.
Dentsu Impact, the creative agency from the house of Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN) India, has worked on the integrated campaign of the relaunch. The campaign maintains a sharp millennial focus in the messaging and design contours.
“The media landscape has undergone immense transformation in the past decade and despite the testing times, Hindustan Times continues to make strides as a market leader to give the ‘news consumers’ what they are seeking and how they are seeking it. This refreshed product fits the fast-paced, knowledge seeking needs of the millennials without alienating the older generation who are also fast adapting to the new ways of news consumption. We are extremely excited about this new offering and are certain that this raises the bar for the news industry in our country,” said Rajan Bhalla, Group CMO, HT Media Ltd.
Speaking on the campaign, Soumitra Karnik, Chief Creative Officer, Dentsu Impact added, “Our focus was to make this campaign around the brand new format of HT; not just the design part of it but the core idea of becoming the most authentic news source available to its subscribers across all platforms. The new generation of news seekers are seeking absolute truth in the news they consume. They are tired of sensationalism; they are asking hard questions about the current state of journalism and they are expressing themselves freely and fearlessly across all platforms. And It is this relentless quest for the truth that we have tried to bring to life through a hard hitting and thought-provoking narrative, voiced by the young and impactful social commentator, Aranya Johar – a representative for the responsible and aware millennial. The all-new HT is a fantastic product. The newspaper is interactive that impeccably integrates the print-to-screen reading experience.”
CREDITS:
Client: Hindustan Times
MD and CEO HT Media Ltd – Praveen Someshwar
Group CMO HT Media Ltd – Rajan Bhalla
Vice President, HT Marketing- Aparna Bhawal
HT Marketing Team- Charu Chawla, Brinda Kumar
Creative Agency: Dentsu Impact
President: Amit Wadhwa
Chief creative officer: Soumitra Karnik
Creative Team- Ankur Garg, Debanjan Basak, Devansh Chaudhary, Mayank Patel, Bharat Chatwal
Account Management- Hindol Purkayastha, Sunil Singh, Udisha Priyadarshini, Palak Mehrotra, Ricky Kalra, Ekta Mehta
Planning- Krittika Chakraborty
Films- Dawa Lama
Production House – Snowball Studios
Director- Rachit Mehta
Producer – Shams Lalji
