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MK0016 B1809 SLM Unit 11
MK0016 B1809 SLM Unit 11
Unit 11
Unit 11
Rural Advertising
Structure:
11.1 Introduction
Objectives
11.2 Fundamental Nature of Rural Market
Understanding the rural mind and buying process
11.3 Advertising and Marketing in Rural Areas
11.4 Innovative Use of Media in Rural Areas
11.5 The Size of Rural Market
11.6 Promising Growth
11.7 Summary
11.8 Glossary
11.9 Terminal Questions
11.10 Answers
11.11 Case Study
11.1 Introduction
In the previous unit, we studied about the emerging consumer segments. In
this unit, we will discuss about rural advertising. What excites the planners,
delights the nationalistic patriots, confuses the marketers and frustrates the
advertising profession is the extreme cultural and economic differences and
diversity in India. A country that successfully launches its first moon craft at
the first attempt finds it challenging to provide safe drinking water and
sanitation to the citizens in remote rural areas.
In a nation of over one billion people, nearly 70% still live in rural and semirural areas, often in conditions of great remoteness. Yet, to a marketer,
every one of them is a potential buyer of goods and services. Many of them
may buy very little, but they do buy, at least the necessities.
Due to the unbelievable reach of advertising on electronic media and
modern roads and buses which bring the rural folks to the cities, everybody
knows what things are available in the market essentials as well as
luxuries. With rising disposable income in the rural hinterland, the perceived
divide between the rural and urban products is now blurring. Even small
towns now have malls and department stores, although small ones, which
display the latest consumables, often global brands.
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Along with these rapid social changes that are creating whole new
consumer segments in the non-urban areas of the country, the market
conditions are also changing in many ways. Urban markets have become
mature now and are quite inelastic. In spite of the huge migration from rural
areas, city demands are not growing much and are lukewarm. Perhaps
because city folks have already bought all the gadgets and aspirational
products they ever dreamt of, urban markets are now growing only at the
replacement level.
Rural and semi-rural areas are where the growth is. The macro economic
reasons are listed as massive waiver of farm loans, rural employment
programmes and unreasonable rise in procurement prices in the grain
growing belts. Also better employment opportunities in semi-rural areas due
to better education available there, better infrastructure attracting smaller
and medium industries, etc. are putting more disposable income in the vast
hinterland of India. Surplus money, discovery of a good life and awareness
of basic necessities, which indeed are within their reach now, are making
the so-called hinterland consumer far more demanding of quality goods, and
Indian marketers are listening.
Objectives:
After studying this unit, you should be able to:
analyse the fundamental changes in the rural market
identify the reasons for the changes in the rural market
explain about the innovative media used in a rural market
assess the size and challenges of the rural markets so as to plan a
campaign correctly
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do not have the money to buy manufactured goods. Well, that was then and
things have changed.
If Indian manufacturers do not wake up and produce goods suitable for this
vast mass market in rural areas, other multinationals will, especially the
Chinese with their genius for swamping the market with cheap products.
Interestingly, it is a multinational like Hindustan Unilever, which is now trying
to reinvent the rural market, with tangible success.
Success in rural market requires a deep understanding of rural emotions,
aspirations, needs, which are different from the urban psyche. Rural
advertising is not about translating a campaign written in English by the city
advertising agencies into vernacular languages, without even bothering to
change the models. Rural marketing environment is different, just as the
rural psychology is and this challenge needs to be addressed and treated
with respect.
What is a rural area? According to Social and Rural Institute, a population of
less than 5,000 and density of less than 400 people per sq. km. is
considered a rural area. India is still a rural economy in the sense that 1/3 of
the national income is generated by the rural India and it means that
significant number of buyers of goods and services are from rural market.
To plan effective marketing and advertising campaigns that would deliver
results, current data are necessary. There is no separate data available
regarding how much of the Rs. 26,000 crore plus Indian ad spend1 is
actually spent on specific rural campaigns. Many advertising agencies like
Thomson Special, O&M Outreach and Lintas Linterland have started
separate divisions specially to handle rural media and advertising.
Like all communities everywhere, Indian rural population is not
homogeneous and certainly not all of them are agricultural workers. Just as
there are poor landless labourers, there are successful artisans, semi-skilled
workers, people who hold jobs in cottage industries or people who are selfemployed quite profitably. They, thus, have regular incomes, needs and
purchasing power. Not only there are all kinds of different buyers and
workers in rural areas, in each category, there are many different segments
on account of Indias diversity in language, culture, religion and way of life.
1
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The number of people with low income has come down from 53% to 21%,
giving some indication about the rising income. They are middle class and
above and have the same needs and aspirations as urban folks. White
goods, mobile phones, cars, motorbikes, colour televisions, toiletries, all
branded products, sell just as much in semi-rural areas. Upward mobility,
social competition and snobs are here too.
The rural buyer may be buying small amounts of fewer products, but rural
market is twice as big as the urban market and the collective purchase and
potential for growth is mind blowing. According to the NCAER data for as
long ago as 199899, a basket of 22 FMCG were sold for Rs. 91,500 crore.
However, according to some strategists, surveys are carried out on only a
few categories of goods, which sell well in rural areas and really do not help
to project the actual size of the market.
The Indian Readership Survey (IRS) published every two or three years, is a
good source for tangible data about market conditions in rural areas, without
which none of the effective marketing or advertising plan is possible. The
survey usually covers over 5500 shopkeepers in nearly 3000 villages across
India and lists the nature of product stocking, buying patterns, display,
distribution and media access in rural market.
11.2.1 Understanding the rural mind and buying process
However, the rural buyers have different ways of looking at things
psychologically and that needs to be understood. Families are still joint and
patriarchal, meaning women and young girls have no voice in purchases
and decisions are taken by few older males. Therefore, often the end user of
many products is not the decision maker, buyer or payer.
In a rural home, buying is not so organised and each item is bought as and
when it is needed, which affects budgeting. Brand selection is also a hazy
area. Women, who actually use most of the products, just as in urban
homes, never go to shops. Often small boys are sent out to buy things and
they bring back whatever the shopkeeper gives. That, in turn, is decided by
not only whatever brand the shop has, but also which marketer is offering
the most lucrative incentives, which can be anything from white goods to
foreign trips.
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Strong visual images Brand names that are easy to remember and
symbols in gaudy colours with images of animals, birds, flowers or
children are more successful. Villagers do not read brand name and buy
by recognising the symbol on the package. Ghadi detergent with a clock
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and fertiliser having a farmer with a heap of wheat on his head has been
very successful.
Free containers By nature Indians are frugal and rural people even
more so. Buying kitchen containers is not a standard norm even in wellto-do urban homes and a nice and sturdy reusable container for storage
of other food items is still a great attraction. Therefore a product that
comes in a reusable container instead of a plastic bag will sell better.
Door delivery In spite of Indias huge size and remoteness, taking the
product to the customers home, when tried, has been successful. Small
savings picked from homes and petty businesses every evening by
banks is as successful in rural areas as in urban markets.
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Cinema Not many rural areas have movie halls and shows have to be
paid for, which takes it out of the means of rural families. Separate
sitting for men and women is still prevalent, which may be as
unattractive to a rural family as an urban one. However, the larger than
life impact of cinema advertising remains timeless.
Wall painting and outdoor The ancient Indian tradition of artistic selfexpression of rural people through paintings on the sides of rural huts
like Madhubani has been turned into a powerful rural advertising
medium by marketers. There are large wall paintings in bright vivid
colours, usually just the package and symbol with recognisable objects
like an animal, that can be seen everywhere across the length and
breadth of India. Although crudely done in gaudy colours, in order to
survive the strong Indian sun and monsoon rains, no doubt, they are
memorable and recalled easily at the time of purchase.
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As part of the live demo, two pistons, one with ordinary engine oil and the
other with Castrol CRB Plus, were put to work side by side as depicted in
Figure 11.1.
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Moving World India, the rural market size is estimated at almost $425
billion.2
The Indian rural market with its vast size and demand base offers great
opportunities to companies. Sales figures speak for themselves.
Dabur now covers villages with a population below 3,000 and approaches
its market directly through rural beauty and talent contests riding on its
Dabur Amla hair oil. Rural sale: estimated Rs. 1155 crore.
Samsung India launched a rural road show called Dream Home series, a
four-day exhibition in small towns. The events are announced previously
through the company vans to offers deals and do a terrific job of brand
building through these shows.
Sale Estimated Rs. 1,400 crore.
Godrej consumer products have shifted emphasis to haats and melas in
over 17,000 villages.
Sale Estimated Rs. 418 crore.
Hero Honda communicates with millions of rural households through its
Har Gaon Har Angan campaign. Some of the companys entry level
products are a perfect fit for rural driving conditions, with their strong
headlights, adjustable suspension, high ground clearance, etc. Through its
rural vertical and a network of 500 rural sales executives, the company
hopes to reach 25,000 villages by 2009.
Sale 14 lakh units.
There is no reliable figure for daily use products such as toothpaste, soap,
detergents, coffee, ketchup, tea, hair oil, etc. but consumption is galloping
nonetheless.
Activity 1
Research and find out any ad campaigns exclusively meant for rural
markets. Determine which segment of the rural market did the advertisers
target and what was the message of ad campaign.
Source: (2012, February 27).Indias rural market size at $425 bn: Kinetic study.
Retrieved from http://www.exchange4media.com.
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11.7 Summary
Let us recapitulate the important concepts discussed in this unit:
Urban market for manufactured and luxury goods is mature now and
growing very slowly. The rural and semi-rural market is growing twice as
fast. Reasons are many. Although, contrary to popular belief, all rural
people are not agriculturists, most of them still are.
India has had fairly good monsoons for many years now; therefore
farmers see steady income and thus money to spend. Much of Indias
small and medium industries and businesses are in semi-rural areas.
They may shut down in downturn of economy, but the surviving ones are
so small that there is hardly any job loss there. So their salaries remain
steady, unlike in urban areas. Food prices have gone up a lot in recent
areas, thus boosting farm incomes.
The old way of thinking that village people are all farmers and know little
about urban luxuries has been thoroughly demolished. They are as
diversified in their professions as the urban people, with the same
dreams, ambitions and aspirations and with the same ability to pay for
them. And just like the rapidly growing urban middle class, the rural
middle class too has insatiable desire for acquisition. But, theyve just
started late.
Many factors make rural marketing quite exciting and promising,
because that is where growth is. Multinationals have started developing
strategies, resources and networks to take on this new phenomenon
long ago. Advertising agencies are also learning to adapt their thinking
to understand how the non-urban mind works. A myriad of innovative
media such as haats, fairs, wall paintings, events and exhibitions,
cinema vans, etc. are emerging to reach out to these rural folks.
11.8 Glossary
Affluent: wealthy or rich
Gaudy: flashy
Mela: fair or carnival
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11.10 Answers
Self
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
Assessment Questions
True
True
5000, 400
True
True
visual images
Video vans
True
Illiteracy
Panchayat members
Unfamiliarity and Inaccessibility
Terminal Questions
1. Rural market is different from urban market. The rural buyer may be
buying small amounts of fewer products, but rural market is twice as big
as the urban market. Refer section 11.2 for more details.
2. Urban markets have become mature now and are quite inelastic. But
rural market is growing. 1/3 of the national income is generated by the
rural India and that means significant number of buyers of goods and
services are from rural market. Refer section 11.1 and 11.2 for more
details.
3. Some of the strategies include introducing small packages, strong visual
images in ads, and door delivery. Refer section 11.3 for more details.
4. TV, radio, cinema, print, village melas are some of the mass media used
in rural marketing. Refer section 11.4 for more details.
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Results
The programme promoted general hygiene in rural areas that were difficult
to reach through mainstream media such as television, press or in-store
advertising and promotions. In 200304, sales of Lifebuoy grew by 20%,
with particularly strong sales in the eight states where the programme ran.
More than 130 million people in 30,000 villages have been covered since
2002, making the Lifebuoy Swasthya Chetna programme the single largest
private hygiene education project in the world. The Chief Post Master
General, Maharashtra Circle, released a special Lifebuoy Swasthya Chetna
Postal Cover on the occasion of World Health Day in honour of the brands
contribution to rural hygiene.
Discussion Questions:
1. Describe the objective, target audience and strategies used for the
Lifebuoy Swasthya Chetna programme.
2. Suggest other media that Lifebuoy could have used to promote the
concept of health and hygiene.
(Source: (2002, February 13). HLL plans rural campaign to reposition Lifebuoy To
pitch on hygiene platform. The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved from
http://www.hul.co.in; Gupta, P. (2006, April 12). Lifebuoy Swasthya Chetna
Campaign for Rural India. Retrieved from http://www.readbetweentheps.blogspot.in)
E-References:
(2012, February 27). Indias rural market size at $425 bn: Kinetic study.
Retrieved from http://www.exchange4media.com
(2011). Pitch-Madison Advertising Survey.
Pinto, S. J. (2008, December 23). Experiential marketing at the rural
level: RMAI Awards 2008. Retrieved from http://www.afaqs.com
Gupta, P. (2006, April 12). Lifebuoy "Swasthya Chetna" Campaign for
Rural India. Retrieved from http://www.readbetweentheps.blogspot.in
(2002, February 13). HLL plans rural campaign to reposition Lifebuoy
To pitch on hygiene platform. The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved from
http://www.hul.co.in