THE CASE

OF
THE
SACRED
COW

By Bianca Joseph and Krishnan Subramanian,TBWA India.

Any Indian discourse can be traced back to a cow. Known as Kamdhenu, or the giver of all
desires, the cow is the most sacred of all animals in Hinduism. In the Mahabharata, Bhishma
observes that the cow acts as a surrogate mother. She provides milk to human beings for a
lifetime making her the mother of the world.

Well, the cow is definitely central to the Indian economy.

At over 144 million heads, India has the world's largest herd of cows1. It also stands first in
global milk production2. Livestock contributes more than 1/4th of the agricultural GDP of
India. This, in turn, accounts for more than 18% of the national GDP. It also provides a
livelihood to more than two-thirds of the rural population in India3.

In extension, these rural consumers account for more than 70% of India, the second most
populous and the fastest growing country in the world4. It can be inferred that any global
mass brand needs to succeed among rural Indian consumers. (Okay, that was a tad bit
exaggerated given the number of Chinese consumers).
But how does a brand go about connecting with
this rural Indian audience? What are the rules of
marketing to engage with this consumer?

There is a guidebook on this. It starts by creating a no-frills basic product, manufacturing it

at a low unit price, and distributing it in every nook of the country. Once done, make some
simple communication and get a popular celebrity to endorse it. Voila, one laughs their way
to rural marketing success.

In the development story of India, while urban India has grown, rural India is changing
dramatically too. These 'rural' consumers are at the cusp of disruptive social and cultural
change. There has been a dramatic rise in education5, empowerment and relative affluence6
of these consumers. In turn, this is making them more demanding, more fickle and more
'rurban' (rural-urban) in their outlook.
This is why this article is not about any ordinary cow. Nor is it about their sacredness or
economics in contemporary India. It is about questioning the sacred cows of rural
marketing. There are many conventions of rural marketing that have lived well past their
expiry date. It is time to retire them and connect more richly with the emerging rural
Indian consumer.

It's time to slay some sacred cows.

The single foundational mistake lies in our preconceived biases about rural India. We
continue to paint all rural consumers with a rather thick brush. We believe that their
aspirations are somehow inferior to that of urban consumers. We are biased in our view
that their exposure to world knowledge is limited and that their information sources are
poorer. Nothing could be farther than the truth

While the literacy rate in urban India is 86%, rural India is fast catching up at 71%. More
importantly, there is no significant difference in their physical access to schooling7.

With literacy as the basis, there is an inclination to simplify (read 'dumb down') products
and communications to rural consumers. This convention of making smaller, cheaper,
bland simplistic products is ripe for disruption. Tomorrow needs us to invest in
understanding the complex aspirations of the rural Indian consumer.
To understand these complex and evolving aspirations, one needs to let go of yet another
stereotype. We continue to see the male provider as the decision-maker of the household.
This may be true of many regressive households and communities across both rural and
urban India. But they are under pressure by an educated and empowered woman5.

The rural shift

As the girl child becomes more educated and aware, there is a shift in decision making
towards 'decision-sharing'. As opposed to male decision dominance in the house, rural
women are becoming an equal counterpart in family decision making.

This is further fuelled by corporates like Hindustan Unilever (HUL) and ITC. Such
corporates have come forward to empower rural women financially8. HUL Project Shakti
has trained thousands of village women to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. This has
resulted in over a hundred thousand micro-entrepreneurs across 18 Indian states9.

Initiatives like these have had a lasting impact on the confidence of a rural woman. Hence,
it is high time for rural marketing to go beyond male stereotypes and include women as
potential decision-makers.
Beyond aspiration and decision making, the other sacred cow is one of affluence.


There is a notion that rural India is poor and urban India is rich. No doubt, this is also fed
by media narratives of impoverished naked children running on dusty streets.

But facts state otherwise.

The Household Survey on India’s Consumer Economy tells us that urban households
account for 30% of its population and 43% of its spending. In the same context, more
importantly, rural India accounts for a dominant 57% of India's national spending10. This
implies that there are significant pockets of affluence in rural areas too.


Luxury marketers like car brand Mercedes-Benz have understood this well. They cater to
the Indian rural markets as a key market driver in the future11.

The affluence pyramid does not have a geographic bias. Neither does it have an urban bias.
Marketers have to stop pretending that there is one. The marketers default today to SEC
AB (or NCCS AB, if you choose to go with the new classification12). Instead, they should
understand the total value in context of the brand premium for the rural affluent consumer.
Understanding this notion of total value will disrupt today's rural marketing practice.

As the rural consumer changes, there are also disruptive changes in accessing them via
distribution. A dramatically simple fact - Amazon now delivers to 100% of all serviceable
pin codes in India13 with customers in each one of them. It is also working with rural third-
party affiliates to support their online businesses14. This internet-driven disruption in access
upends decades of reliance on the rural shopkeeper. He is no longer the gatekeeper of the
community's aspirations.

Access and aspiration of rural Indian consumers is soaring to keep pace with their urban
counterparts. In such a world, the so-called rural-urban divide seems artificial and primitive.
One symptom of this archaic thinking? Wall paintings continue to be the most used form of
advertising in rural India15. Fact. Mobile17, internet18 and television penetration have increased
dramatically with near 100% rural electrification16.

Brand and communication strategies need to evolve

to keep pace with rural markets.  

We do not need to stop advertising through traditional mediums. But it is important to realize
that new-age media connect directly with rural consumers. In such a scenario, traditional
media like wall paintings, puppetry, folk theatre, etc. will become support media. They cannot
continue be the centrepiece of rural communications.
Rural markets are developing at twice the rate of urban Indian markets. A combination of
literacy, aspiration, and affluence is changing the very nature of the rural consumer. This is
further magnified by technology-driven access. It's time to put our preconceived notions
about these markets under the scanner.

In summary
We need to let go of the traditional holy cows of rural marketing. It is time to unlearn our
traditional approaches. Only to start learning what a truly modern rural Indian market is
all about.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Bianca Joseph is a Strategy Executive at TBWA India. She loves the art of storytelling in
brand communications. She is a singer and a vocal ‘over-thinker’. Her thoughts often make
their way into poetry.



Krishnan Subramanian (a.k.a. Subu) creates 'meaningfully disruptive' communication

strategies as the Chief Strategy Officer for TBWA\India. Subu has worked across a variety
of communication disciplines, including advertising, media, design, direct marketing and
activation. He has also worked across many Asian markets starting from India to Singapore,
Hong Kong, China, Vietnam, Japan, and Malaysia.
You can read his articles at http://subuthinks.blogspot.in/



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