Adv in Rural Mkt

7/28/2019 Adv in Rural Mkt

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29Advertising Express

Advertising in Indian Rural Market

Anil Chandhok* and Upasna Chandhok**

Earlier, rural India was ignored by the marketers because of lack of

infrastructure and other problems like illiteracy and poverty. Now,

the scenario has completely changed with noticeable improvement inall the problem areas. It is generally seen that companies foraying

into rural areas, engage in short-term sales-oriented activities. In order

to be successful in the rural markets, organizations should designintegrated campaigns. They should have the real desire to invest

energy and capital in the rural areas on par with the urban market.

They should also understand that the gestation period for positiveresults in the rural market is much more than that in the urban market.

Therefore, they should enter the rural market only when they are

well-equipped with patience to wait for sustained results.

2008 The Icfai University Press. All Rights Reserved.


* Professor and Head MBA Department, MM University, Mullana-Ambala. The author can be reached [email protected]

** Research Scholar, MBA Department, MM University, Mullana-Ambala. The author can be reached [email protected]

Advertising

The Indian rural market, having a huge population base, offers an immense opportunity to

explore. The increasing affluence, supported by favorable monsoons and good agricultural

output, is giving a good boost to the Indian rural economy, which is transforming into a large

customer base for the corporates.

Though rural India was ignored earlier, now it is no longer a segment that is largely poor, illiterate

and innocent. As per available figures, 75% of the rural population is engaged in agriculture and they

contribute approximately half of the total rural income, whereas, only 25% of the rural population isengaged in the non-farming sector and they contribute the other half of the total real income. These

figures reflect that the monsoon no longer influences the buying habits of the rural population.

Corporates in the Indian Rural Market

To explore more attractive markets, multinationals are targeting Indias rural market. Some of the

organizations which have already made their presence felt in the rural market are Hindustan Unilever

Ltd. (HUL), Coca-Cola, LG Electronics, Britannia, HDFC Standard Life Insurance, Philips and

telecom companies like Reliance, Tata Indicom and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).

The urban market is now considered saturated as the competition has increased multifold. Hence,

the companies are trying their luck in the hinterland. But the major challenge which the companies

are facing is how to reach to the rural masses that are different from their urban counterparts in

economical, social and cultural backgrounds.


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Advertising

Rural Advertising

An increase in the rate of literacy, significant contribution by the

non-farming sector to the rural income and the penetration of mediaare catalyzing the growth of consumerism in the minds of the rural

people. A conscious effort is required by the organizations through

advertisements to understand the rural audience and come up with

proper communication strategy that will bring out the core message

of the brand and communicate it in a language and style that can be

easily interpreted by the audience.

In India, as the majority of the population lives in rural areas,

advertising here is very critical and important. It is essential for the

advertisers to not only find the relevant vehicle to reach rural people

but also to create communication specifically for them. The

advertisements targeting the rural population should convey the rural

perceptions, values and traditions, and should suit their mindset. They

should be innovative and relevant to the beliefs of the rural people. A

unique media mix is required to put across the message to the rural customers. An advertisement

campaign which attracts urban customers may not be always suitable for the rural customers.

Recent Trends in Advertising

There are several options through which the marketers can attract the rural folk. It is seen that in each

village, there are a few individuals whom the people look up to for inspiration. The advertisement can put

forward their messages powerfully with the aid of these influential people. Normally, theSarpanch or

Mukhiyaof the village is regarded as the influential person who has a hold on his supporters and followers.

The Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India is promoting its policy plans through Sarpanchs. It has

appointedtheSarpanchsas insurance agents and they are given certain sales targets. On the basis of the

business,theSarpanchsare awarded financial aid from the LIC for the development of their village.

The brands can also be advertised through different rural shows and events as it is done for

Polio and AIDS awareness. They can also be advertised by sponsoring different events and

shows in villages. Events can be of any type like a celebration of festivals or sports competitions.

For instance, organizations like HUL, Titan and Colgate-Palmolive use festivals like Rath Yatra,

Kumbh Mela and Onam to promote their products. Companies can also take the aid of different

forms of entertainment, like puppetry, Bhangra and other traditional dances to increase their

brand presence. For example, Virat Cement has used the folk media likeragini in Haryana to

promote its product. Palaand daskathia have been used in Orissa to promote safe electricity

consumption and toothpastes like Colgate-Palmolive, etc. Britannia has entered into the rural

market with its Tiger biscuits, a biscuit suiting the needs of rural people, by participating in rural

melasand displaying its products. Themelasand weeklyhaatsin the rural areas can be idealplaces for advertising ones brand, because it is at these gatherings that the villagers come

together in large numbers. At a very low-cost, the company gets access to the minds of hundreds

of rural people.

In the case of tangible products, companies have started installing the products like TV, refrigerator

and coolers in the village schools and hospitals, so that the people of that village can understand the

The advertisements

targeting the rural

population should

convey the rural

perceptions, values

and traditions, and

should suit its

mindset


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While making the

advertisements for

rural people, the

messages should be

short and lucid that

can be effortlessly

interpreted by them

benefits of the product. Hence, the product itself does the

advertisement and also acts as a silent salesman.

Another vehicle for reaching the customers is advertising throughmobile vans. The popular media vehicles like television and radio are

also effective, but they exist only in some parts of the rural area and a

major portion of the rural area is beyond the reach of these popular

media.

The rural audiences are considered to be naive. While making

the advertisements for rural people, the messages should be short and

lucid that can be effortlessly interpreted by them. For instance, Coca-

Colas advertisement,Thanda Matlab Coca-Cola was a hit among

rural people.

Usually, celebrity influence is more on rural people. They are

highly influenced by the behavior of the celebrities. The

advertisements with the celebrities endorsing the products

increase the aspirational and emotional involvement of the

products among the rural people. For instance, some of the Pepsis

advertisement campaigns were successful in this regard. The Pepsis campaign in which Bollywood

actor Amitabh Bachchan and the crickter Sachin Tendulkar were involved in a kite fight or the

Sachin Tendulkar campaign in which he was shown in the middle of a group of children generated

good results in the rural hinterland.

Challenges

The villages and small towns, which were once overlooked by corporates, have now become the

most important markets for action. Rural marketing is scaling greater heights along with rural

advertising. However, a greater challenge lies in terms of interpreting the vast differences in the

rural areas and devising a strategy for communication of ones message, taking into consideration

the rural psychology.

One area of concern is the importance of retailers in the buying process of the rural consumers. It

is generally seen that the rural customers usually buy goods from a single retailer, because they get the

credit facility from him. Due to this, there is a strong bonding/trust between the two. The retailer thus

pushes the brand which provides him a higher margin. Therefore, it is advisable that the marketer

should not only target the rural consumers, but also concentrate on the rural retailers, who can spread

by word-of-mouth their opinions on a companys products and services.

Conclusion

Of late, rural India is drawing increasing attention of various companies. But since penetrating the rural

market is not easy as compared to the urban market due to several constraints, the companies have to

evolve different marketing strategies. The most important aspect to be understood in the context of rural

marketing is the rural audience. Once this is taken care of, the rest is easy. This has been proved by several

companies like the Hindustan Unilever Ltd., the India Tobacoo Company, Coca-Cola, etc. However,

there is still a vast potential in the rural market for the interested players to exploit.

Reference # 18M-2008-03-05-01

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Adv in Rural Mkt

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