Rural Marketing

Why Rural Marketing

Rural
Rich

Rural income levels rising
Aspiring

Stagnation of urban Middle Class
markets

Bottom of the
Pyramid
Building Brands in Rural India

Contrary to popular belief people in Rural

India are fiercely brand loyal
 Single Brand Villages

Once converted, difficult to dislodge them

First mover advantages

Pitfalls of Building a Brand in Rural India

Merely stripping down all the so-called frills from the

product currently being sold in urban

Just extending the brand name to low cost packs,
thus making it cheaper for rural.

Merely modifying the packaging marginally. Eg: add
the brand name in Vernacular languages, use
cheaper packing material

Adapt the urban advertising by dubbing the film in the
local language, translate the print material

Offer meaningless sales promotion giveaways eg.
Combs, spoons, tumblers, etc. FREE
Route to Brand Building in Rural

Build Customization

Build Relevance

Build Recognition

Build Access

Build Word of Mouth
 Ideal Media Strategy for Reaching
Rural Audiences
R Rural Cinema
U
Mass Media
R Radio
Plus Opinion A TV
Leaders L
Direct Marketing
M Un-
Efforts
A conventional
SS Media
E Focused
S Events
Other Points to Remember
Understanding the Characteristics of the
Rural Masses

Very intelligent and clever cannot be

easily hoodwinked.

Daily activity is routinised

 Plenty of time / No Sundays

Very conscious of value for money

Understanding the Characteristics of the
Rural Masses

Does not like to pay extra for frills he cannot

use.

High involvement in any product purchased

Rural Communication

Keep the communication simple

 No scope for gimmicks

Take time in communicating the message
 Quickies have no impact.

Think in the local language to capture the
local spirit in the communication aimed at
specific region.

Demonstration a key element for success
Important

Rural Urban Divide in terms of communication

continues to exist

Hence need for different communication

packages focused on rural audience