PRESENTED TOProf.Shivabasu (Dept.

of MMS)

PRESENTED BYPranali B Gaikwad (FYMMS)

 Introduction

- Rural Marketing
Communication
&
Promotion
Strategies in Rural Markets
Major challenges for Promotion
Sales Force Management
Evaluation of Promotion Activities
Conclusion
2

The rural market has been growing steadily over the past
few years and is now even bigger than the urban market.
About 70 per cent of Indias population lives in villages.
More than 800 million people live in villages of India. Go
rural is the marketers new slogan. Indian marketers as
well as multinationals, such as Colgate-Palmolive, Godrej
and Hindustan Lever have focused on rural markets

Thus, looking at the opportunities, which rural markets offer

to the marketers, it can be said that the future is very
promising for those who can understand the dynamics of
rural markets and exploit them to their best advantage.

Rural marketing is now a two-way marketing process. There is

inflow of products into rural markets for production or
consumption and there is also outflow of products to urban
areas. The urban to rural flow consists of agricultural
inputs, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) such as soaps,
detergents, cosmetics, textiles, and so on. The rural to
urban flow consists of agricultural produce such as rice,
wheat, sugar, and cotton. There is also a movement of rural
products within rural areas for consumption.

Advertising goes hand in hand with economic growth. With economic liberalization and increasing rural
prosperity, marketers are keen to inform villagers about the benefits of buying and consuming their
products and services. Prior to the introduction of economic liberalization in 1990s, there was little
incentive for marketers to advertise their products and services, as rural markets were predominantly a
seller's market.
The influence of the electronic media, in particular television, video and the Hindi film industry, is
contributing to the growth of rural aspirations, which are being manifested in rural India in the form of
increasing consumerism.
The rural environment is different from the urban and therefore communication to potential customers in a
proper and effective manner is a major challenge for corporate marketers. The majority of advertisements
designed by corporate marketers, are largely urban oriented and extend themselves to rural areas without
any consideration to the values and sensitivities of the rural audience, which are often in striking contrast
to those of their urban counterparts. This has led to a negative perception in the minds of villagers, about
urban media planners and advertisers.
Rural communication is not a 'peripheral activity'. It does not, for instance, involve taking an audio-visual
van to a village and assuming that this step is enough to reach out to customers. It requires an entirely
different mind set, which demands getting rid of many mental barriers. Companies have to realize that
rural is a long-haul market, as gains in the short term are neither immediate nor large.

* Understanding the mind-set of potential customers, including their hopes, fears,

aspirations and apprehension conducting a qualitative study among the target audience
would help in better understanding of the consumer mind-set.
* Pick up 'gems' in the form of idioms, expressions, words, etc. in relation to the product
category for later use in the creative.
* Tricky, clever, gimmicky, or even suggestive advertising does not work with rural
audiences. 'Flicks' using very expensive computer graphics without any human presence go
over the heads of rural audiences.
* Combining education with 'entertainment is a good route to take when targeting rural
audiences. Using locally popular film stars or even featuring religious events ( melas )
popular in the region, helps strike a chord with rural audiences. According to a study, it is
Govinda and Sharukh Khan who is most popular among rural folk in north India.
* 'Quickies' (short television commercials) do not register well with rural audiences.
Advertising agencies need to provide for ample time and space to communicate a message
properly and effectively to the intended audience. This is seen for instance, in the
popularity of the two-minute theatre commercials screened in rural cinemas.

The process of designing promotion mix with appropriate message, media

and promo tools is not an easy task. It involves the following steps:

Determining communication objectives.

Creating message content or appeals.
Evolving message structure.
Developing message format.
Choosing message source.
Selecting the channels.
Deciding on promotion mix.
Establishing promotion budget.

Advertising
Sales promotions coupons, contests, demonstrations and sampling,
Example: Tata Shaktee Haat Hungama
Direct marketing, Example: Videocon
Publicity, Example: Project Shakti and AP Online
Using a direct selling through a sales force.
Example: Swasthya Chetna for Lifebouy.

CONVENTIONAL
MASS MEDIA

NON-CONVENTIONAL PERSONALIZED
MEDIA
MEDIA

Television

Haat and mela

Direct mailer

Radio

Folk media (puppet

show, magic show)

Point of
sale(demonstration,
leaflet)

Press

Video van

Word of mouth

Cinema

Mandi

Interpersonal
communication

Outdoor: wall painting,

hoarding

Animator

All India
URBAN
Male
Female
RURAL
Male
Female

Press

TV

Satellite

(%)
23
46
58
33
14
21
7

(%)
47
78
79
77
36
39
32

(%)
13
35
36
34
5
5
5

radio

(%)
18
18
20
16
18
22
13

Cinema

(%)
20
31
39
22
16
22
10

Source:- Indian Relationship Survey (2008-09).

10

Heterogeneity and spread

Limited Media Reach

Understanding the Rural Audience

11

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