However, with an increasing number of clients eager to tap into the growing share of wallet of rural India, communication firms are rethinking their strategies.
1 The size of the rural market from a marketing communication perspective, according to Ashish Bhasin, president of the integrated marketing action group at Lintas India, is approximately US$168 million, split equally between the organised and the unorganised sectors. The rural population is believed to number around 700 million, of which marketers target between 400 to 500 million.
2 Rural India isn’t a consolidated entity. “There’s no way to reach everybody,” says Pradeep Kashyap, managing director, MART Rural Solutions. Due to vast linguistic and cultural differences, common programmes even within states are not advisable. It’s only recently that rural markets have grown, accounting for 53 per cent of the FMCG segment and 59 per cent of durables, nationally. “More than half of an advertising budget should be dedicated to rural, but in actual terms it is not even five per cent. There’s a clear apathy,” he says.
3 The rural market used to be reached primarily through mass media — TV, vernacular press and wall paintings. Pratap Bose, CEO of Ogilvy & Mather, previously headed rural marketing specialist Outreach. “The challenge is to come up with new forms of communication in the rural markets,” he notes. Below-the-line activities have grown in number and prominence, due in part to the fact that most rural communities are essentially oral societies as a result of low literacy rates. According to Lintas’ Bhasin, technology has enabled agencies to better respond to the market better — for example, his firm’s proprietary tool, LinCompass, helps track marketing vans through the hinterlands. Researchers out in the field can now upload the results of a campaign, allowing for immediate feedback and modification.
5 Some successful rural programmes have involved hiring local youths to sell brands across a beat of 10 to 15 villages on bicycles. Colgate, Heinz, Eveready and mosquito repellent GoodKnight have all built this into their strategy. According to Kashyap, it works at several levels as the bicycle and the apparel of the salesman are branded. The seller gets a small monthly stipend of around $35 and can make double the sum via sales and commissions. All of this works out to significantly less than what it would cost to take a van into a rural market — around $70 a day.
6 Activation is one of the best ways to get rural audiences involved. A recent campaign to introduce LPG-based cylinders saw Hindustan Petroleum introduce communal kitchens styled after launderettes in Western markets. Consumers were invited to try them at a minimal charge. “We found a lot of women were dropping out of the arrangement and the initial evaluation was that the programme had failed,” says Kashyap. “But we then realised that the dropouts had upgraded and got themselves connections from Hindustan Petroleum.”
7 Talent remains a key concern, with few in the marketing community from urban areas ready to rough it out in rural India. “We try to get people with a passion for the hinterlands,” says Bose. “There are many who want to contribute back to society. Age is not a constraint. The best rural minds are often not people in their 20s or 30s. The attrition rate is very low, because, normally, people who are committed stay for
a long time.”
What it means for…
Advertisers
Access to 68 per cent of the country’s population or 700 million people. While 75 per cent of rural India is involved in agriculture, 25 per cent consists of artisans, the salaried class, and traders who contribute 50 per cent of rural income. This has led to a rise in disposable income, and categories like financial institutions and even technology and software firms like Intel and Microsoft are showing an interest in rural India.
With many parts of the country still untapped, there’re huge opportunities at the bottom of the pyramid. FMCG companies like CavinKare have already exploited this by aggressively selling shampoo sachets in this market, opening it up to categories that were perceived to be premium.
Agencies
A sparsely-tapped but huge opportunity for marketing communication companies.
Significant investment will be required in terms of people and infrastructure, with no immediate returns.
Clients who are increasingly looking for firms that can ideate on ways to reach the rural consumer better.
