Chapter 7
Communication Strategies for
Rural Markets
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Rural Marketing, 2e
Learning Objectives
• Understand the major challenges in rural communication
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• Outline the process of rural communication
• Detail the process of developing effective rural communication
• Highlight the need for distinct advertisements for rural
audiences
• Examine conventional and non-conventional media for
reaching rural audiences
• Describe sales promotion, events and experiences for rural
areas
Rural Marketing, 2e 2
Challenges in Rural
Communication
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• Heterogeneity and spread
• Low literacy and varying comprehension abilities
• Different media reach and habits
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The Communication Process:
An Overview
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Comprehension of message a critical problem in Indian rural
markets
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Developing Effective Rural
Communication
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Rural Marketing, 2e
Developing Effective Rural
Communication
Identifying
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and profiling • Probing the environment, profiling using
segmentation parameters
the target
audience
Determining • Move the target audience to higher state of
Communicati readiness to buy – ‘AICDA Model’
on objectives
• Message Content – What to say….use rational, emotional, moral
appeal
• Message Structure – How to say it logically….simple logic, ease
Designing of understanding
• Message Format – How to say it symbolically
the Message • Context Association – In what context to say….pay attention to
rural environment, dress styles, food habits, etc.
• Message Source – Who should say it….likeable source,
trustworthy source, expert source
Rural Marketing, 2e
Developing Effective Rural
Communication
Selecting the • Personal Communication Channels – Advocate channels,
Expert channels, Social channels
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Communication • Non-Personal Communication Channels – Mass Media,
Channel Atmospherics, Events
Budgeting for • Estimate based on activities planned, results in terms of
Rural exposure levels, trails, usage expected
Communication
Designing the • Use of different tools – Advertising, Sales Promotion, Direct
Marketing, Publicity and Image building, Personal Selling
Communication • Communication Mix Decision – based on Type of Product
Mix Strategy Market, Buyer Readiness Stage, Product Lifecycle Stage
• Measuring impact in terms of enquiries, sales generated,
Measuring Impact footfalls at retail outlets/haat/mela stalls in controlled and
of Communication non-controlled areas/situations
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Creating Advertisements for
Rural Audiences
• Main objective for rural advertising is creating awareness
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• Factors to be kept in mind:
√ Understand mind set through research
√ Pick up “gems” in terms of idioms and expressions
√ Gimmicky ads do not work in rural
√ Edutainment is a good path
√ Short ads do not work in rural
√ Bring in aspirational element
Rural Marketing, 2e
Rural Media
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Conventional
Rural Centric
Media
• Mass Media • Video Van/Rath
• Outdoor Media • Haats
• Personalized • Melas
Media • Mandis
• Folk Media
Rural Marketing, 2e
Mass Media
Radio
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• Total reach 18%
• Total reach 47%; C&S reach 31%
Television • Low electrification a hindrance
• Social norms preclude women from watching television in front of
elders
Press • Reach 13%
• Regional papers most popular
Cinemas • Reach only 6%
• Mainly in feeder towns
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Outdoor Media: Wall Paintings
• Economical, easily customized, high audience-recall rate
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• Limitations
√ Lack of space
√ Quality of wall and painters
√ Problems of outsourcing
• Rules for wall paintings:
√ Choose sites around haats, mandis and melas
√ Sites at eye level
√ Active monitoring
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POP Displays and
Demonstrations
Danglers
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Display signs and boards
Tin plates
Display racks
Dispensers
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Video Vans / Raths
• Generally fitted with an audiovisual equipment and a large
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LCD display
• Space for samples, products for sale, banners and posters
• Typical van cycle 26 days a month
• Major role customer education, sampling and
demonstrations
• Can be used at weekly markets
Limitation:
• Reaches in the mornings and has to wait for evening for
show
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Haats
• Mobile super market of rural India
• Large haat caters to 57 villages and attracts 12,000 visitors
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on the haat day
• Small haats cater to 21 villages and attract 5,600 visitors on
haat days
• 75% of rural folk visit haats regularly
• Durables should concentrate on demonstrations and sales
promotion
• FMCG products should have three tiered approach:
Create awareness
Sales promotion
Building long term relationship with haat sellers
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Melas
• 25,000 melas annually of which 90% are one day
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• Corporates should target Top 100 melas and then move to
micro melas
• Melas cater to a much larger population than haats
• Haats concentrate on sales while melas have a festive
atmosphere
• Haats get largely male visitors while melas are for the
family
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Mandis
• Great potential especially for large and medium farmers
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• Punjab has no haats
• Suitable for marketers of tractors, fertilizers and durable
goods.
• 7,600 mandis suitable platform for rich farmers who are in a
mood to spend.
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Folk Media
Folk theatre
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Folk songs
Folk dances
Magic shows
Puppet shows
Interactive games
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Folk Media
Limitations
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• High costs due to variety of folk and training costs
• Contingencies like weather, unruly crowds
• Availability of right kind of troupe
Rural marketer rules:
• Do not preach
• Useful for new products
• Free and relaxed atmosphere
• Choice of venue, script and cast so as not to hurt the
sentiments
• Tailor to local conditions
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Sales Promotion
• Deductions from usual cost of product
Discounts
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given to a special category of buyers
• Tickets which can be exchanged for
Coupons discount
• Dry – for trial at own discretion
Sampling • Wet – Application trial in real time
Instalment • Chit fund schemes applied to products
Schemes
Demonstration / • Rural customers go more for
Experiential experience than urban counterpart
Marketing
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Events and Experiences
• Annual event at Kila Raipur, 15 Kms south of Ludhiana
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Sports Events • 3 day festival covering 4,000 sportspersons in February
Rural Brand
Experience • Grammenon Ke Beech
Extravaganza
Channel Partner • To build stronger distributor dealer interaction
Meets
Key Opinion Leader • To promote brands and create a database for building
relationships
Meets
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Digital Media
Digital technology not only allows understanding consumer behaviour
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but also tracking consumer behaviour.
Digital interface encourages online information search, exchange of
information and promotes purchase.
Yes Bank's hugely popular Digital Diya campaign that was promoted aggressively through
its website and social media properties around Diwali 2017 was an excellent move in this
direction. The campaign aimed to impart financial literacy to 50 villages by highlighting the
lives of India's rural population.
Mahindra Automotive launched a digital edutainment-led campaign for the Mahindra Bolero
Maxitruck Plus Extra Strong on tablet devices in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala,
Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. As per Hyperspace (the agency behind
the campaign), this activation resulted in 142 spot bookings for the truck.
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Digital Media
Hindustan Unilever used mobile technology to create audio entertainment for rural areas,
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adapting a common practice among frugal cellphone users – the missed call. To conserve talk
time, mobile phone users dial a number, then hang up before they are charged, although the
other person can see who called. It’s a way of letting someone know you want to reach
them. In 2011, HUL exploited the practice in a pilot promotion for its Active Wheel detergent
in some of India’s poorest and most rural areas. People were asked to call a number that cut
off after two rings, so it cost them nothing. An automatic free callback provided some comic
dialogue from Bollywood star Salman Khan and ads for Wheel. In four months, HUL got 16
million calls and Wheel sales tripled in the region.
HUL expanded the concept to offer 18-minute blocks of audio entertainment interspersed
with ads for Unilever brands. It costed less than 2 cents per impression. By 2015, it had
grown to 35 million subscribers and was adding 25,000 a day. Unilever was planning to
create versions in Pakistan, Bangladesh and some African countries.
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NABARD Water Campaign
NABARD launched a major education and communication campaign called Jal Jivan Hai or
Water for Life, in partnership with Centre for Environment Education, on the occasion of
World Water Day 2017.
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The campaign reached out to over a hundred thousand villages spread across 21 states of
the country with the help of a specially trained cadre of youth called Krishi Jal Doots (KJD).
Along with training, KJDs were provided with a kit containing educational resource materials
to conduct "A day in a village" campaign module.
The campaign was conducted with the objective of enabling mass participation and voluntary
action on water harvesting, conservation and encouraging water use efficiency in agriculture.
The campaign designed and developed educational material to promote public awareness of
the need for water conservation.
Rural Marketing, 2e
Rural Marketing Case:
Tata Shaktee GC Sheets
1. What is your assessment as a marketer of the
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opportunities shared by Tata Steel especially when
looking at rural markets?
2. What do you feel about the brand features? Is this
relevant to the context we are talking about?
3. What do you propose as a strategy for Tata Steel?
Describe each step that you wish to take in detail?
Rural Marketing, 2e
Successful Mantra in Rural
Communication
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Experiential more than mood
building
Rural Marketing, 2e