The relationship between product attributes and demand: the case of newspapers in Kisumu

Abstract

This study examined how the newspaper's product attributes affected the demand for newspapers in Kisumu. The study was prompted by claims of fluctuating newspaper sales figures in Kisumu. Since a newspaper is made up of various attributes, the study sought to see if changes in these attribute could have some change in the independent variable i.e. demand for newspapers. Product attributes for newspapers were represented by headlines, editorial commentaries, photographs, advertisements, news stories and photographs. On the other hand, demand was represented by the numbers of each newspaper copies that were sold everyday in Kisumu. This was also known as circulation. Although there are many newspapers in the market, this study concentrated on the Daily Nation Newspaper and the Standard Newspaper. These two were printed and sold everyday and therefore provided the most accurate information about the newspaper market. The study used the randomly selected consumers of newspapers in Kisumu to see if any changes in product attribute made them buy more or less of newspapers. The study was able to confirm that certain attributes were highly regarded as important whenever consumers wanted to buy a newspaper. "Headline', 'news story', 'sports', 'inserts' and 'entertainment news' were the six most important attribute to the consumer when purchasing a newspaper. The study therefore recommended that these attributes be given greater consideration by media owners whenever they were publishing their newspapers if they intended to sustain or increase their sales levels. On the other hand, 'death & memorial' and 'photographs' were clearly identified as the two least important features by most respondents. Hence, the study recommended that any efforts directed at these two attributes would not yield any improvement in sales/demand. Media managers would therefore not be encouraged to concentrate any marketing efforts in these two features. The impact of 'features' and 'editorial commentaries' were not clearly observed. These two always seemed to lie between the first six and the last two attributes. The study therefore found their significance to improving demand of newspaper as being low.