Rural Marketing
Some Insights
By
R V Rajan
Anugrah Madison Advertising P Ltd.
3.3.2010
Curtain Raiser
Why go Rural?
• Proliferation of brands in urban
• High saturation levels in urban
• Greater awareness of brands in rural
• Ever-growing aspirations in rural
• No effects of slow down on rural markets !
Government Spending in Rural
• ALL RESULTING IN FARMERS
INCOME RISING
• Tremendous opportunities for existing and
new brands to enter rural markets
Size of Rural Markets
FMCG Rs.65000 crore
Agri-inputs Rs.45000 crore
Durables Rs.5000 crore
Automobiles (2 & 4 Wheelers) Rs.8000 crore
Clothes, footwear etc. Rs.35000 crore
Construction material Rs.15000 crore
Total Rs.173000 crore
Source: CII Report (2008)
Building Brands in Rural India
• Contrary to popular belief people in Rural
India are fiercely brand loyal
– Single Brand Villages
• Once converted, difficult to dislodge them
• First mover advantages
Pitfalls of Building a Brand
in Rural India
• Merely stripping down all the ‘so-called’ frills from the
product currently being sold in urban
• Just extending the brand name to low cost packs, thus
making it cheaper for rural.
• Merely modifying the packaging marginally. Eg: add the
brand name in Vernacular languages, use cheaper packing
material…
• Adapt the urban advertising by dubbing the film in the
local language, translate the print material…
• Offer meaningless sales promotion giveaways eg. Combs,
spoons, tumblers, etc. FREE
Route to Brand Building in Rural
• Build customisation
– Chotukool from Godrej Boyce, a nano
refrigerator (43 litres cool box loaded from top)
– Co-created using suggestions from rural women
and sold by rural women
Route to Brand Building in Rural
• Build Empathy / Relevance
– Nokia ‘Life Tools’ for farming and rural community
– Agri information to farmers in association with Reuters
– Imparting of knowledge of English language to
students by teaching one new word every day
• Build Recognition
– Rural folks understands symbols and colours
better.
• ‘Pahelwan’ Chap – MRF
• ‘Haathi’ – Beedi
• ‘Laal Sabun’ – Lifebuoy
• Peela Powder - Nirma
• This also leads to duplicates and spurious
products
• Largely sold in the Haats (weekly markets)
in Rural India
– Rs.12000 crore p.a. is the estimated loss to
FMCG sector
• Build Access
– Distribution in rural India is not a nightmare
– For FMCG reach villages (feeder markets) in
towns with population 10000 to 15000
– For consumer durables reach towns with
population of 50000+ and also
– Look at opportunities in haats, melas, post
offices, public distribution system etc.
• Build word of mouth
– Through effective communication using
specific communication package aimed at
specific rural audience
• Build word-of-mouth
– Importance of opinion leaders
– Educated village youth as opinion leaders
– Women and children as demand generators
– Customised events targeting specific groups
with focused communication
Rural
Rich
Aspiring
Middle Class
Bottom of the
Pyramid
Ideal Media Strategy for
Reaching Rural Audiences
R Rural Cinema
U
Mass Media
R Radio
Plus Opinion A
TV
Leaders L
Direct Marketing
M Un-
Efforts
A conventional
SS Media
E Focused
S Events
Other Points to Remember
Understanding the Characteristics of
the Rural Masses
• Very intelligent and clever – cannot be easily
hoodwinked.
• Daily activity is routinised
– Plenty of time / No Sundays
• Very conscious of value for money
Understanding the Characteristics of
the Rural Masses
• Does not like to pay extra for frills he cannot use.
– Eg. Colour TV
• High involvement in any product purchased
– Eg. Durables
Characteristics…
• Perceptions, traditions, values vary from
state to state and in some cases from region
to region within a state.(MRF Bullock Cart
Tyres)
• Divisions based on caste, community and
other hierarchical factors continue to exist.
So how do we communicate with
the Rural Folks?
Rural Communication
• Keep the communication simple…
– No scope for gimmicks
• Take time in communicating the message
– Quickies have no impact.
• Think in the local language to capture the local
spirit in the communication aimed at specific
region.
Rural Communication
• Demonstration – a key element for success
Shampoo Demonstration
Dalda
Vanaspathi
Demonstration
Demonstration
Analogies help in better
comprehension.
• Examples
– MRF Bullock Cart tyre
– Tafe Tyres
MRF
TAFE
Rural Communication…
• Television does not distinguish between
urban and rural
• You may be able to get away with a
common TVC for both urban and rural
audience particularly for FMCG products…
provided your communication is not
gimmicky, suggestive and is easy to
comprehend.
Colgate
Reliance Mobile
Rural Communication…
• But when it comes to Durables, where rational
decisions are involved, it is advisable to target the
opinion leaders first.
• While urban oriented TVC may register with
opinion leaders and help create awareness, for real
impact down the line, a region specific and need
specific communication programme has to be
devised which provides for demonstration and
touch & feel of the products.
Important
• Rural Urban Divide in terms of
communication continues to exist
• Hence need for different communication
packages focused on rural audience
Examples of different treatment for
urban and rural
• Philips – Consumer Electronics Division
• Leprosy Eradication Programme
Philips Urban
Philips Rural
Leprosy Urban
Leprosy Rural
Lessons from the Success of
regional brands in recent times
• They understand the regional ‘ethos’ better
• They satisfy a perceived local need
• Their communication touches a ‘chord’
which helps in brand acceptance
• They are flexible
– Adapt to changing market situations
• Eg. Anchor, Gadi, Ajanta, Cavinkare
(Chik), Power, Goldwinner, Arasan
• If you are small with limited budgets start
by concentrating on smaller areas
– Outdoor / local Cable TV / Radio / participate
in local festivals etc.
• Even Nirma started very small
• Today it is a Rs.2000 plus crore company!
Thank you
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