A Project Report on

Marketing
A STUDY OF RURAL ADVERTISING & PROMOTIONAL
STRATEGIES USED BY MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES IN
INDIA

Submitted by:
UDIT SHARMA
College Roll No. 865
B.com (Hons) IIIrd Year
Section-A

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF:

MISS MEENAKSHI YADAV
P.G.D.A.V (EVENING) COLLEGE
UNIVERSITY OF DELHI-110065

CERTIFICATE
1

This is to certify that the project entitled RURAL ADVERTISING AND PROMOTIONAL
STRATEGIES USED BY MNCS IN INDIA has been submitted by Mr. Udit Sharma in
partial fulfilment of requirements for the award of the results embodied in the project have
not been submitted to any other University or Institution in award of any Degree.

DECLARATION
I the undersigned Mr UDIT SHARMA here by, declare that this project work entitled
RURAL ADVERTISING AND PROMOTIONAL STRATEGIES USED BY MNCS IN
INDIA is a result of my own research work and has not been previously submitted to any
other University for any other examination. I here further declare that all information of
document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical
conduct.

Signature
Name: UDIT SHARMA
College Roll No.: 865
Year 2014-2015
Date of submission

CONTENTS
3

CHAPTER NO. 1 INTRODUCTION

5-9

1.1. DEFINATION OF RURAL

1.2. DYNAMIC OF RURAL PURCHASE BEHAVIOUR
1.3. COMMUNICATION STRATEGY FOR RURAL AREAS
1.4. THE PROMISE OF RURAL INDIA

CHAPTER NO. 2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

10

2.1. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

2.2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

CHAPTER NO.3 INTERPRETATION AND DATA ANALYSIS

11-33

3.1. RURAL MEDIA

3.2. BAARIERS TO COMMUNICATION
3.3 ELEMENTS OF ADVERTISEMENTS FOR RURAL ADUIENCE
3.4. CASE STUDY COCA-COLA
3.5. CASE STUDY OF HLL
3.6. MORE CASE STUDIES IN BRIEF

CHAPTER NO.5 CONCLUSION

34

5.1 CONCLUSION
5.2 SUGGESTIONS
CHAPTER NO.6 BIBLIOGRAPHY

35

CHAPTER 1
4

INTRODUCTION
1.1 DEFINATION OF RURAL
The census of India defines rural as any habitation with a population density of less than 400
per sq.km, where at least 75 per cent of male working population is engaged in agriculture
and where there exists no municipality or board. Of the nearly 6.4 lakh villages in India, only
20,000 villages have populations more than 5,000.Leaving aside Hindustan Lever and ITC,
most companies in the FMCG sector would define rural as any place with a population up to
20,000.Similarly,durable and agri-input companies would consider any town with a
population below 50,000 as rural.

1.2 DYNAMIC OF RURAL PURCHASE BEHAVIOUR

Many factors contribute to making a rural buyers purchasing behaviour different from that of
his urban counterpart. The joint family system prevails in rural areas. A family may consist of
10 to 15 people. The role and chores of family members are defined. Elders are held in high
esteem. Purchases are not necessarily made by the users, but often by young boys who are
asked to fetch things from the local kirana shop. Family members, including young girls,
their friends, and relations, go in group to fairs and purchase products which they normally
do not get the chance to buy, especially, personal hygiene products, and cosmetics. Unlike
urban households, buying is not systematic in rural areas. It is generally resorted to when an
item like flour, tea leaves, oil, and soap runs out. According to various field surveys and
research studies, mothers, grandmothers, and those in charge of household chores ask their
children, generally male children, to go out quickly and buy the product from the shop. Girls
may have their own choice of products and brands but they venture out for purchases very
rarely. In rural areas there is strict segregation of men and women. It is still a closely society
where issues such as love, affairs are not discussed openly. Experts feel that any
communication that reflects any of these issues would put off viewers. A girls or a woman is
looked upon as the pride of the family (gharkiizzat) and depicting her in a flirtatious context
raises eyebrows. Stereotypes persist strongly.

1.3 COMMUNICATION STRATEGY FOR RURAL MARKETS

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 sellers 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
5

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.
Broad strategies of rural advertising:
The prevalent ways of advertising in rural areas through different existing media and all the
alternative and innovative media broadly revolve around three strategies, namely,

Influencer strategy
Participatory strategy
Show-and-tell strategy
Influencer strategy:
The role of the influencer or influencing communication cannot be ignored as far as rural
India is concerned. The advertisements that revolve around this very strategy actually depend
on the influence of different influential people and/or events in the villages to put across the
message powerfully with more effect and purchase intention. An example of this kind of
advertisement may be brand endorsement by any influential person in the village like the
Mukhiya or the school master.
Participatory strategy:
Events like different festivals and different games and sports competitions actually have a
high participation level in the rural India as other sources of entertainment are very less in
those areas. So, these events and shows offer great opportunity to reach rural India cost
effectively. Different brands sponsor different events and shows in rural villages which is
actually a cost-effective way to advertise with the participatory strategy.
Show-n-tell strategy:
Many brands are venturing into different ways to educate their rural consumers about their
brands and their usage through different shows and events. This kind of initiatives actually
create huge awareness about the brand among the interested people in the rural India.
Different health related advertisements like Polio awareness and AIDS awareness
programmes involve a show-n-tell strategy of advertising.

1.4 THE PROMISE OF RURAL MARKETS:

Rural India is going through revolutionary changes. In the commercial arena, it is inevitable
for the major companies to be an integral part of this revolution. Companies are investing in
the rural market to reap benefits in the long run. These companies are tapping the Indian
6

market through BHARAT. More and more companies are now realizing the immense
potential of the rural markets of India. It was an age old custom in Indian villages to sell the
products through direct selling techniques adopted by banglewalas, spice sellers etc. Now big
companies are adopting these marketing strategies in the name of modern techniques.
For villagers, sellers were not just a window to the world, but also an opportunity to bargain
and buy household products and knick knacks at the cheapest possible price. That tradition
has now been adopted by corporate India. Companies are discovering the power of marketing
to increase revenues and profitability. The following figures reflect rural Indias significance
in the countrys economy:
Rural India housed 75% of all new factories built in India in the last decade. Also, factories
in rural regions currently account for about 70% of all new manufacturing jobs.
In incremental terms, spending in rural India during the period 20092012 rose by US$ 69
billion to urban Indias US$ 55 billion.
The vast size rural population is showing increasing demand for consumable and nonconsumable goods, and this trend encourages the marketers to enter into the rural market.
Population in India: (In Millions)
Year
1991
2001
2011

Total Population
836215
1027285
1210377

Rural Population
62174.3
74272.2
83368.84

Source: Census of India 2011/2001

Increase in literacy rate has created a charm for corporates to understand the nature and
thinking of rural consumers.
Rural Literacy rate 2011
India
Rural
Urban

Year - 2011
74%
68%
85%

Source: Census of India 2011.

The significant size of rural market is a big attraction for the business tycoons in India. They
want to explore this market for their expansion and growth.
Estimated annual size of the rural market:
FMCG
Durables

75000/- Cr
6500/- Cr
7

Agro-Inputs
Two-Four Wheelers

5500/- Cr
10000/- Cr

PROFILE OF RURAL DEMAND:

Composition Of Rural Demand:
The composition of demand in rural areas is changing significantly. A large number of new
consumer items are added to the rural consumer list. This includes shampoos, toothpastes,
premium bathing soap, scooters/motor-bike, television sets and so on. The following aspects
are to be noted:
1. Product category that are already well established in rural marketa. Means of transportation such as bikes, motorcycles and scooters
b. Irrigation and agricultural machinery
c. Agricultural inputs like fertilizers, pesticides etc.
d. Entertainment goods such as radios.
e. Beverages including alcoholic beverages.
f. Tobacco and tobacco products
g. Furniture and cooking utensils
h. Medicines and hygiene products.
i. Bathing soaps and washing soaps
j. Textiles
k. Ornaments and jewelry
2. Products that have entered the rural market in recent times:
Toiletries, Cosmetics, Ready-made garments, Baby care products,
Packaged food stuffs and Modern consumer durables

3. Consumer products where rural consumption is more than urban:

8

PRODUCTS

% SHARE OF RURAL MARKETS

Bicycles

80

Safety Razors

Silk Clothing

59

Books and Stationary

55

Woollen Clothing

53

Consumer durables

53

4.Products where rural consumption growth rate is higher as compared to urban

markets.
a. Packaged tea
b. Analgesic tablets
c. Detergent powder
d. Soaps cakes/bar
e. Detergent cakes/bar
Thus from the above information it is clear that rural market is fast expanding and it may
soon overtake the urban market in all respects.

CHAPTER 2
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
2.1 PROJECT OBJECTIVE:
To study the various kinds of advertising and promotional tools used by MNCs in
rural markets of India.
To analyse the problems faced by companies when advertising in Rural India.
To study elements of advertisements for rural audience
To find out what role does advertising play in the rural markets.
2.2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:
The report is presented in a descriptive and conclusive manner describing the advertising
medium used for rural market by MNCs and concluding by giving suggestions so as to make
the communication effective.
UNIVERSE:
The Universe of the study comprises of all the MNCs in India.
SAMPLE SIZE:
The Sample includes detailed study of two MNCs that are COCA COLA and Hindustan
Lever Limited (HLL).

DATA COLLECTION METHOD:

Mostly I gave my main focus to the secondary data information. In collecting secondary data
information I used the various study material like:

Books
Internet
Online Statistics

10

CHAPTER 3
INTERPRETATION AND DATA ANALSIS
3.1 RURAL MEDIA
Rural media can be classified broadly into conventional mass, non-conventional media and
personalized media.
CONVENTIONAL
MEDIA
Television
Radio
Press
Cinema
Outdoor:
wall
hoarding, tree boards

MASS NON-CONVENTIONAL
MEDIA
Haat and mela
Folk media (puppet show,
magic show)
Video van
Mandi
painting,

PERSONALIZED MEDIA
Direct mailer
Point of sale(demonstration, leaflet)
Word of mouth
Interpersonal communication
Animator

Rural Media can be divided into two variables:

Traditional Media:

Puppetry, dance-dramas, rural specific art forms like

Harikatha and Villupatu performed at village melas and temple festivals.
Study classes.
Mike announcements, processions.
Caparisoned elephants, decorated bullock carts carrying ad panels.
Music records.
Folk theatre.
Demonstration, house to house campaigns by special promotion Squads.
Haats and Melas.
Information centres on companys products.
Wall paintings
Posters
Agricultural Games
Postcards
Audio-visual vans or publicity vans
Companies using Traditional Media:

Brooke bond India Ltd.

HLL
Rajdot
Bajaj
Nirma
Colgate Palmolive
Mass Media:
11

Television
Word of mouth
Radio
Cinema halls
POP,s
Press
Other print media
Companies using Mass Media:

Onida
Videocon
HLL
Everready Batteries
RCF
Mahindra & Mahindra Tractors

THE FORMAL/ MASS MEDIA:

Among the formal organized media TV, Radio, Cinema, POPS and Outdoors have a good
scope in the rural context.

Television:

With the increase in coverage and increase in TV ownership in the rural areas, TV has
become the primary media for communication to the rural masses. Studies reveal that as
much as 77% of villages in India now receive TV transmission and 27% of all rural people
actually watch TV. The main advantage of this medium is that, it is both spoken and visual.
Television has proven advantageous in communicating with the rural people due to the low
literacy levels. However while using this medium, the viewer ship habits of people needs to
be taken into consideration.
HLL has been in the forefront in using TV to communicate with the rural masses.
12

Example:
Lifebuoy, Lux, Fair and Lovely and Nihar oil are the products advertised via television. Most
of the messages of National concern on Family Welfare and Literacy Campaign by the
Government are telecast before the popular programmes with rural characters.
Television remains the most effective medium for reaching todays customers and it also is
most efficient for introducing people to brands. Advertising through Television appeals to the
literate as well as the illiterate and this is one feature of TV that makes it unique and different
from other mediums. TV has become popular in rural areas. But, power cuts are common and
this restricts viewing time.

Radio:
The radio is a well-established medium in rural areas as one of the oldest and potential media
used for communication with farmers and for diffusing agricultural technology, radio has
yielded significant results. A big expansion in the broadcasting facilities has taken place in
the rural country over the years. The availability of radio sets has also expanded. Given the
reasonable price of a transistor radio, it can be inferred that, most of the rural families own a
radio set. The radio is a well-established medium in rural areas.
While radio as a medium cannot match TV in potency and effectiveness, in its existing
context, radio does have a role in rural communication. There are specific programmes for
agriculturists like Farm and Home Programme or Krishi Darshan in all regional languages,
which are broadcast on the primary channel. Thus the ownership pattern of radios in the rural
areas has enabled regular listenership and its main advantage is that it is cost effective
medium.
Radio can reach a large number of poor people because it is affordable and uses little
electricity. In 2000, AIR programmes could be heard in two-third of all Indian households in
24 languages and 146 dialects, over some 120 million radio sets.
Example:
Colgate, Jyoti Laboratories, Zandu Balm, Juari Industries are some companies using radio for
communication. Some of the agencies into radio advertising are as follows: Rediffusion (for
Colgate), O & M (GE worldwide), Lintas (Juari Industries.)

Cinema:
The cinema is a useful medium in rural context. Most rural villages have one or more cinema
halls. And 29% of all rural people do watch cinema as a matter of regular lifestyle and habit.
13

Short feature films with disguised advertisements messages, direct advertisement films and
documentaries that combine knowledge and advertisements, can be employed for rural
communication.
Example:
Cinemas are more popular medium in southern states like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh.
Thumps up telecast their commercials (Sunil Shetty and other commercials with popular
celebrities) during cinemas.

POPs:
The POPs point of purchase (or point of sales) promotion tools are also quiet useful in the
rural markets. The POPs meant for rural market should be specially designed to suit the rural
requirements. More than written words, symbols, pictures and colours should be used in
POPs meant for rural markets. Colour is of particular importance in the rural context. As a
general rule rural people love bright colours. The effective communicator utilizes such cues.

Print media:
The relevance of print media for rural communication needs careful examination mainly
because the literacy level is low in rural areas. Print media consist of a wide variety of items
Newspapers (dailies), periodicals (weeklies, monthlies) and also the literature. Pamphlets,
booklet produced my manufacturers and marketing men.

Example:
Vernacular periodicals and dailies are very popular in the southern states. Some of the
regional newspapers used for advertising are as follows:
Maharashtra (Konkan, Ratnagiri) Badiraja, Krushival
Kerala Malayala Manorama
Tamil Nadu Dina Thanth

MEDIA REACH STATISTICS:

14

The medium

in

the

message"

acquires

critical importance for

advertisers and marketers in India as different media have varying penetration levels. For
example terrestrial TV has the highest penetration among all types of media with 78 per cent
penetration in urban India and 36 per cent in rural India. It's reach is the highest in the 14 to
19 age group with 62 per cent. It has an astonishing 91 per cent penetration in urban
Himachal Pradesh.

In contrast satellite TV reaches only 13 per cent of India. The medium's highest penetration
of 52 per cent is in urban Maharashtra. But in the rural parts of the state it has a
penetration of a mere 4 per cent. Similarly in Assam and Orissa satellite TV reaches only 4
per cent of the population.

15

Given the high literacy levels it is natural that print media has the highest penetration in
Kerala. It reaches 76 per cent in urban Kerala and 65 per cent in rural parts of the state. Print
media has the lowest reach in Assam with 11 per cent.
DISADVANTAGE OF MASS MEDIA
The Indian society is a complex social system with different castes, classes, creeds and tribes.
The high rate of illiteracy added to the inadequacy of mass media impedes reach almost to
80% of India's population who reside in village. Mass media is too glamorous, interpersonal
and unreliable in contrast with the familiar performance of traditional artist whom the villager
could not only see and hear, but even touch. Besides this villagers are more conservative
buyers then their urban counterparts. Their desire to innovate with new product is restricted.

THE NON-FORMAL/RURAL SPECIFIC MEDIA

Rural specific media can be used to reach these people in the marketing of new concept. The
rural specific media with its effective reach, powerful input and personalized communication
system will help in realizing the goal. Besides this when the advertisement is couched in
entertainment it goes down easily with the villager.
Advantages of rural specific media:The accessibility is high.
Involves more then one sense.
Interest arousal capability is high.
Less operational liability Minimum cost.
A variety of non-formal media have been developed over the years by rural marketing firms
to meet the specific requirements of rural communication. Some of them are interpersonal
media and others are mass media. The more popular ones among them are

Wall Painting:

16

This medium is the most widespread form of advertising and is the favourite of the Indian
rural masses, as they can view it at their leisure. Wall paintings are important because they
constantly remind rural people about name and logos in addition to highlighting the key
brand promise. They also reflect the vibrant economic and social life of the area. Retailer
normally welcomes paintings of their shops, walls, and name boards. Since it makes the shop
look cleaner and better. Their shops look alluring and stand out among other outlets. Besides
rural households shopkeepers and panchayats do not except any payment, for their wall to be
painted with product messages. To get one's wall painted with the product messages is
seemed as a status symbol.
Characteristics of wall paintings: They are economical as compared to other traditional media
forms, as the manpower and infrastructure requirements are low. They can easily be
customized in accordance with regional language variations without this impacting their
artistic content. Audience recall rates are high.
Example:
Nirma makes extensive use of wall paintings; a soil conditioner called Terracare uses images
of Sita, Luv and Kush to attract the rural consumer.
Companies like Coke, Pepsi, Idea, agricultural implement companies HMT tractors also use
wall paintings. However the company that has very widely used this medium is Thumps up.
Limitations: The lack of availability of wall space at prominent locations is an issue. The
quality of the wall space available is not always satisfactory. The base of rural wall structures
is generally not smooth and this impacts the final output. No exclusive wall rights are given
to the company. It may happen that a company gets a wall painted and after sometimes when
the company executive passes through, he finds that the painting has been replaced by the
advertisement of some other company.

Posters and Stickers:

Posters are a short-term promotional media because the maximum life of a poster on the
walls in one day. This medium is usually used during the launch of a product.
Example:
17

Seed companies like Nath Seeds, Mahyco and FMCG like HLL use this strategy.
There is an example in innovative media which was used by HLL to push products in
personal wash like Lux and Lifebuoy and fabric wash items like Rin and Wheel. For both,
washing and for taking bath - one requires water. Now for rural markets there are three
sources of water - wells, hand-pumps and ponds. For the first in the history of advertising these were branded. Special stickers were put on the hand pumps, the walls of the wells were
lined with advertising tiles and tin plates were put on all the trees surrounding the ponds. The
idea was to advertise not only at the point of purchase but also at the time of consumption. So
the customer could also see the advertising when he was bathing or washing. Now, the
customers who bought these brands got a sense of satisfaction by seeing their choice being
advertised in these places while a question was put in the minds of the customers who had
bought other brands.

Hoardings:

Hoardings are most common tool of advertisement, it a large board in a public place, used to
display advertisements which is being effectively used in rural areas near bus stops, railway
stations and market areas.

Music Record, (Hari Kath):

Music cassettes and records is another effective medium for rural communication. It is an
appealing medium. One complete language group can be reached on a low budget through
specially developed cassettes or records. They can be played in cinema houses or in other
places where rural people assemble. Popular entertainment programmes like puppet shows,
dance dramas, Villupattu and Harikathas specially developed for product promotion purpose
are now being used in rural markets. These traditional art forms readily render themselves for
communication in rural society. Sales messages can be beautifully blended with folklore to
capture the imaginations of the rural audiences. Village fairs, festivals and melas are ideal
venues for projecting these programmes. In certain context public meetings are also useful for
promotion in rural context.

Audio Visual publicity vans:

18

The A/V unit or the publicity van is very useful for rural communication. The van is a
comprehensive mobile promotion station at the exclusive command of the concerned firm.
The firm can exhibit its films and other audio visual presentations such as slide shows, sound
and sight presentations; puppet shows etc. from this instant promotion station. A portable
shamiana or platform can be carried in the van and can be used as a stage. Even mini public
meetings can be organized using the shamiana. Portable exhibition kits can be carried in the
van and exhibitions put up instantly. The van can also be used for sales campaigns in addition
to promotion campaigns. It can also be used for other product demonstrations. In short the
van has all the advantages of carrying and delivering a tailor-made communication program
for the chosen target audience. Naturally, the A/V vans are quite popular with rural marketing
firms. Practically all the firms in agri-inputs business have their own A/V vans all over their
respective marketing territories. Firms marketing consumer softs come second in the use of
AV vans. Firms marketing consumer durables come third. In the third category the efforts of
Phillips India deserves a special mention. Phillips India has very successfully used the AV
vans for popularizing their radios in rural markets. While the AV vans are very effective tools
in rural promotion, the cost is high as the target population is scattered. The cost of reaching
an individual customer or prospect through the van works out to be very high. In the early
stages of market development, in particular, the sales generated may not have any
relationship with the cost involved in extensive use of AV vans. But in view of its
effectiveness, big companies with resources make a conscious decision to use the vans as a
long-term market development t Videocon used van demos along with audio visual aids to
promote its black and white colour TV. And its washing machine Washer. In addition their
mechanics take a round of the villages twice a week to assure the villagers of after-sales
service, an important component of consumer durables. The company employs 1,800
engineers and mechanics for this proposal.

Puppetry:
Puppetry is the indigenous theatre of India. From time immortal it has been the most popular
form and well-appreciated form of entertainment available to the village people. It is an
inexpensive activity. The manipulator uses the puppets as a medium to express and
communicate ideas, values and social messages. The companies can develop a story line
relating to the brand and show the characters using the brands to their advantage. The dresses
of the characters could be those of the brand's packaging.

19

Thus in rural India puppetry is a source of livelihood, avenue for entertainment and creative
expression which is ritually sacred and meaningful as a means of social communication and
vehicle of social transformation. Song and Drama Division of the Government of India makes
wide use of puppets in its campaigns to promote various government projects. Several other
organizations, government, semi-government and private, have also used puppets in support
of individual schemes.
Example:
Life Insurance Corporation of India used puppets to educate rural masses about Life
Insurance; enlisting the help of the literacy house in Lucknow. These plays were shown to the
audience in villages in UP, Bihar, & MP. The number of inquires at local Life Insurance
Companies during the period immediately following the performance was compared with
normal frequency and found to be considerable higher. The field staff of the corporation also
reported a definite impact on the business.
Thumps Up is another company that has used puppetry to promote its soft drink. The shows
comprises of puppets of Thumps Up and other rival soft drinks. The thump up puppet comes
and strikes down the other soft drinks thus reinforcing its slogan taste the thunder. Indian
Institute of mass communication, New Delhi made a study of comparative impact of puppetry
and documentary films, in two villages near Delhi. People in both the villages responded
more favourably to the puppet shows then the films.

Opinion Leaders:

Rural consumers place more emphasis on the experience of others who have used the brands
to make their purchase decision. Opinion leader in rural area can be defined as a person who
is considered to be knowledgeable and is consulted by others and his advice is normally
followed. Opinion leaders could be big landlords, teachers, social workers etc. They become
important especially in the marketing of consumer durables.
Asian Paints promoted its Utsav range of paints by painting Mukhiya's house or Post office 6
months prior to the launch of the paint to demonstrate that paint does not peel off.
Mahindra Tractors use bankers as opinion leaders or influencers for their product.

Demonstrations:

20

"Direct Contact" is a face-to-face relationship with people individually and with groups such
as the Panchayats and other village groups. Such contact helps in arousing the villager's
interest in their own problem and motivating them towards self-development. Demonstration
may be method demonstration, Result demonstration, Simple demonstration or Composite
Demonstration.

Other Rural Media:

The extensive network of postal and medical workers throughout the country can be used as
an alternative vehicle for brand promotion in the rural areas. The days are not far off when
the post-box, post office walls and the postman's uniform will carry the logo and brand names
of companies and the walls of the rural primary health centres and schools will be covered by
suitable brand advertising catering to the taste of the rural target market. Once this innovation
of reaching markets through alternative cost effective media starts, rural consumption will go
high making it potentially more attractive than the urban market. Other may include
Agricultural games, Group discussions, meetings & demonstrations, Folk theatre and
Postcards.
3.2 BARRIERS TO RURAL COMMUNICATION
There are many challenges to communication in rural areas. Low literacy level; poor media
reach and exposure and vast, heterogeneous and diversely spread rural audiences
characterized by variations in language, culture and lifestyle-all these factors pose multiple
challenges to marketers looking to take their messages to the largely media-dark or mediagrey areas, of rural markets. The challenges are as follows:
Low levels of literacy:
The level of literacy is lower compared with urban areas. This again leads to a problem of
communication in these rural areas. Print medium becomes ineffective and to an extent
irrelevant, since its reach is poor.
21

Prevalence of spurious brands and seasonal demand:

For any branded product, there are a multitude of local variants, which are cheaper and hence
more desirable. Also, due to illiteracy, the consumer can hardly make out a spurious brand
from an original one. Rural consumers are cautious in buying and their decisions are slow,
they generally give a product a trial and only after complete satisfaction they buy it again.
Different way of thinking:
There is a vast difference in the lifestyles of the people. The choice of brands that an urban
customer enjoys is not available to the rural customer, who usually has two to three choices.
As such, the rural customer has a fairly simple thinking and their decisions are still governed
by customs and traditions. It is difficult to make them adopt new practices.
Heterogeneity and spread:
The communication pattern in any society is a part of its culture. No communication medium
can exist in a cultural vacuum. Communicating the message to rural consumers has posed
enormous challenges to the rural marketer, because of the large numbers of consumers
scatters across the country. The problem is further compounded by the heterogeneous nature
of consumers there are 16 scheduled languages and 114 local vernaculars. For example, the
dialect used in the Vidharbha region ,in konkan region, in costal Maharastra.
Limited Media Reach:
The limited reach of the mass media imposes limitations on universal communication to rural
consumers. These factors lead to poor message comprehension and negligible impact, which
fail to translate into consumer awareness and hence fail in generating consumer pull.
Deprived people and deprived markets:
The number of people below the poverty line has not decreased in any appreciable manner.
Thus, poor people and consequently underdeveloped markets characterize rural markets. A
vast majority of rural people is tradition bound, and they also face problems such as
inconsistent electrical power, scarce infrastructure and unreliable telephone system, and
politico-business associations that hinder development efforts.
Many languages and dialects:
The languages and dialects vary from state to state, region to region and probably from
district to district. Since messages have to be delivered in the local language, it is difficult for
the marketers to design promotional strategies for each of these areas. Facilities such as
phone, telegram and fax are less developed in villages adding to the communication problems
faced by the marketers.
Dispersed markets:
Rural population is scattered over a large land area. And it is almost impossible to ensure the
availability of a brand all over the country. District fairs are periodic and occasional in nature.
Manufacturers and retailers prefer such occasions, as they allow greater visibility and capture
the attention of the target audience for larger spans of time. Advertising in such a highly
heterogeneous market is also very expensive.
Low per capita Income:
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The per capita income of rural people is low as compared to the urban people. Moreover,
demand in rural markets depends on the agricultural situation, which in turn depends on the
monsoons. Therefore, the demand is not stable or regular. Hence, the per-capita income is
low in villages compared with urban areas.
Problems in sales force management:
Sales force is generally reluctant to work in rural areas. The languages and dialects vary from
state to state, region to region, and probably from district to district. Since messages have to
be delivered in the local language, it is difficult for sales force to communicate with the rural
consumers. Sales force finds it difficult to adjust to the rural environment and inadequate
facilities available in rural areas. Rural markets typically signify complex logistical
challenges that directly translate into high distribution costs. Bad roads, inadequate
warehousing and lack of good distributors pose as major problems to the marketers.
3.3 ELEMENTS OF ADVERTISEMENTS FOR RURAL AUDIENCES
Communication experts need to keep the following factors in mind when creating
advertisements for rural audiences.

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.

3.4 CASE STUDY ON COCA-COLA

Coca cola Indias Rural Marketing Strategy

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Coca-Cola Indias
Based on three As:

Thirst for Rural Market

Availability : availability of the product to customer

Affordability: Product Pricing
Acceptability : convincing the customer to buy the product

Availability:
Once CCI entered the rural market, it focused on strengthening its distribution network there.
It realized that the centralized distribution system used by the company in the urban areas
would not be suitable for rural areas. In the centralized distribution system, the product was
transported directly from the bottling plants to retailers.
However, CCI realized that this distribution system would not work in rural markets, as
taking stock directly from bottling plants to retail stores would be very costly due to the long
distances to be covered. The company instead opted for a hub and spoke distribution system
(Refer Figure II).
Under the hub and spoke distribution system, stock was transported from the bottling plants
to hubs and then from hubs, the stock was transported to spokes which were situated in
small towns. These spokes fed the retailers catering to the demand in rural areas.
CCI not only changed its distribution model, it also changed the type of vehicles used for
transportation. The company used large trucks for transporting stock from bottling plants to
hubs and medium commercial vehicles transported the stock from the hubs to spokes.
For transporting stock from spokes to village retailers the company utilized auto rickshaws
and cycles. Commenting on the transportation of stock in rural markets, a company
spokesperson said, "We use all possible means of transport that range from trucks, auto
rickshaws, cycle rickshaws and hand carts to even camel carts in Rajasthan and mules in the
hilly areas, to cart our products from the nearest hub."7 In late 2002, CCI made an additional
investment of Rs 7 million (Rs 5 million from the company and Rs 2 million from the
company's bottlers) to meet rural demand.
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By March 2003, the company had added 25 production lines and doubled its glass and PET
bottle capacity. Further it also distributed around 2,00,000 refrigerators to its rural retailers.
It also purchased 5,000 new trucks and auto rickshaws for boosting its rural distribution.
Through its rural distribution initiatives, CCI was able to increase its presence in rural areas
from a coverage of 81,383 villages in 2001 to 1,58,342 villages in August 2003. Apart from
strengthening its distribution network, CCI also focused on pricing in rural market.
Affordability:
A survey conducted by CCI in 2001 revealed that 300 ml bottles were not popular with rural
and semi-urban residents where two persons often shared a 300 ml bottle. It was also found
that the price of Rs10/- per bottle was considered too high by rural consumers. For these
reasons, CCI decided to make some changes in the size of its bottles and pricing to win over
consumers in the rural market.
The average income of the rural worker is about Rs. 1500-1600 per month. It has reduced the
average price of its products from Rs 10 to Rs 5, thereby bridging the gap between soft drinks
and other local options such as tea, butter, milk or lemon water.
Coca Cola has launched a 200 ml bottle of only Rs. 5, which is affordable on the pockets of
the rural audience. Launch of Rs 5 pack reaped rich dividends in terms of sales and the
inclusion of a bottle for 50 percent of the company's sales in 2003.
MARK

200 ml

300 ml

500 ml

Coca-Cola's

RS. 5

RS. 7

RS. 15

MARK

25 g

200 g

Sunfill

RS. 2

RS. 15

The initiative has paid off: Eighty percent of new drinkers now comes from the rural markets.

In 2002, CCI launched 200 ml bottles (Chota Coke) priced at Rs 5. CCI announced that it
would push the 200 ml bottles more in rural areas, as the rural market was very pricesensitive. It was widely felt that the 200 ml bottles priced at Rs. 5 would increase the rate of
consumption in rural India. Reports put the annual per capita consumption of bottled
beverages in rural areas at one bottle as compared to 6 bottles in urban areas.
The 200 ml bottles priced at Rs. 5 would also make CCI competitive against local brands in
the unorganized sector. It was reported that in the states of Rajasthan and Gujarat the local
cola brands such as Choice and Tikli cost only half the price offered by CCI, which gave
them the advantage in garnering the major market share before CCI came out
with Chota Coke. CCI also targeted the rural consumer aggressively in its marketing
campaigns, which were aimed at increasing awareness of its brands in rural areas.
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Acceptability:
Extensive marketing in the mass media and outdoor advertising.
Aggressive rural communication campaign consisting of:

Hoardings
Participation in weekly mandis and annual haats
3 TV commercials
Print Advertisement in several regional newspapers.

Hoardings and Wall paintings:

Put up hoardings in the village

Painted the name Coca cola on the compounds of the residences in the villages

Advertising by setting temporary Outlets in Mandis and Haats.

Weekly Mandies: Weekly fairs where villages gather and sell their produce.
Annual Haats: Annual exhibitions conducted during festival season.

TV Commercials:
Targeted at Rural consumers
Increased Ad- spend on Doordarshan
2002: Commercial featuring Amir Khan to communicate the message of price cut and
launch of Chota Coke (200ml Rs.5 bottle)
2003 March- September
To strengthen the brand image- aimed at making Coke a generic name for thanda- a
popular dialect of North
26

Launched 3 commercials with tagline Thanda matlab Coca- cola- Aimed to make
rural and semi urban consumers connect with Coca- Cola
The 3 commercials showed progression in associating Coke with Thanda.
1st Ad- Amir khan as Street smart (tapori)
The connection of coke with thanda was made.
2nd Ad Amir Khan as shop keeper
There is a subtle difference with the shop keeper asking customers to ask for Thanda
instead of Coke.
3rd Ad- Amir Khan as a Punjabi farmer
It showed when one askd for thanda, one would get Coke.

Coke Rural Initiatives - Coca-Cola India doubled the number of outlets in rural areas
Bridging the gap between soft drinks and other local options like tea, butter milk or lemon
water
It doubled its expenditure on Doordarshan, increased price compliance from 30% to 50% in
rural markets and reduced the overall costs by 40%
It also tapped local forms of entertainment like annual haats and fairs and made huge
investments in infrastructure for distribution and marketing
The advertisement with tagline- Thanda matlab Coca-Cola was targeted at rural semi
urban consumers
Thanda Goes Rural - in an effort to make the price point of Coke within reach of this
high-potential market, Coca-Cola launched the Accessibility Campaign, introducing a new
200ml bottle, smaller than the traditional 300ml bottle found in urban markets
To reach out to rural India, Coke started out by drawing up a hit list of high potential
villages from various districts. To ensure full loads, large distributors (Hubs) were appointed,
and they were supplied from the company's depot in large towns and cities
Coca-Cola rural market strategy Analysis:

Analysts say that the three commercials succeeded in making rural consumers connect
to Coke.
It increased the brand awareness of the brand Coca cola among them.
Coke experienced 37% growth in 2003 in this segment versus the 24% growth seen in
urban areas.

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This market accounted for 80% of Indias new coke drinkers, 30% of 2002 volume,
and was expected to account for 50% of companys sales in 2003.

3.5 CASE STUDY ON HLL

Selling Health: Hindustan Lever Limited and the Soap Market

Health Messages and the Rural Consumers:

HLL researched hygiene and hand washing practices and the trigger points for using
soap among rural consumers.
HLL determined the trigger for a consumer to wash his or her hands was to remove
unpleasant contaminants, not to kill germs that cause infections.
It was also found this perception of visual clean is safe clean leads to infrequent
hand washing and limited use of soap.

Results of research done among focus group in rural areas:

o 5 of 13 washed their hands before eating
o 10 of 18 washed their hands before preparing food
o If they did wash hands, often used water or a proxy product for soap such as
mud or ash.
o After handling cow dung 5 of 7 rinsed their hands with water
o One washed with mud, and one used soap.

HLL decided it would have to educate customers about germs and the consequences
of germs on health to increase soap usage as a means of deterring bacterial infection.

HLL teamed up with the rural India outreach arm of Oglivy & Mather to design a
behavioral-change education campaign focused on uniting the health attributes of
Lifebuoy soap with health messages of germ eradication.

Firstly, HLL and Mather brainstormed a way to communicate the negative effects of
invisible germs in an easily understandable and relevant message to the rural
consumer.
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Highlighted the unique attribute of Lifebuoy soap, Active-B.

HLL and Oglivy & Mather outlined the following key messages:

Invisible germs everywhere

Germs cause diseases common to rural families including painful stomach, eye,
and skin infections

Lifebuoy soap with Active-B can protect you from germs.

Wash your hands with Lifebuoy soap to prevent infection.

HLL next embarked on the creation of a comprehensive program aimed at reaching all
members in a rural village to create a sustained behavioral change.

HLL titled the program Lifebuoy Swasthya Chetna, or Lifebuoy Glowing Health.

HLL hoped to change the trigger for washing hands from visual clean is safe clean
to social convention of frequent hand washing.
School and village presentation:

Children aged 5- 13

Through stories

Learn about germs how they cause diseases

Importance of using soap and when to use

Demonstration to show that Visual clean is not safe clean

Lifebuoy village health day:
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Health camp and check up

Village doctor as opinion leader

Healthy child award

Health skits and poems by kids to gain involvement

Demonstrations and awards for best presenters

Diarrhea management workshop:

For young mothers and pregnant women

Dangers of diarrhea

Health checks
Launch of the Lifebuoy health club:

Formation of health club which includes activities centered on hygiene and keeping
the village clean

HLL rural market strategy:

HLL created health based brand differentiation
Increased the sale of its low cost mass market soap
Built new habits, involving its brand
Built brand loyalty
Fulfilling its corporate purpose to raise the quality of life

3.6 MORE CASE STUDIES IN BRIEF

STRATEGIES ADOPTED OTHER BY TOP COMPANIES
COLGATE:

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 High quality products were always a plus point of Colgate. All they had to do was to now
to tap the still-unattended rural markets and change their habits, i.e. from the usage of
manjans and datoon to toothpaste and tooth powder. In 1998, Colgate contacted 6 million
people in 20,000 villages, out of which 15,000 villages had not experienced the
availability of toothpaste and toothpowder, let alone toothbrushes.
Suggesting and implementing a rural promotional scheme was what Colgate called
Sampark, as they were specialists in the rural advertising category. Going in for mass
media would not prove to be costly but the reach would be limited as still only very few
people owned a T.V. or a radio.
Sampark decided to do their advertising by door to door selling:
To explore the available media at the different locations.
To develop region-specific consumer profiles to understand the characteristics of target
market.
the competencies in its arena
To build transparency and trust amongst rural people towards the cooperative system
To face the global competition by effective decision-making
To design right communication and motivation strategies to induce the target audience to
buy the product.
Wholesaler, Retailer, Vans, Weekly Haats, Bazaars.
DABUR:

TV Commercial
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 Radio
Newspaper
POP display
Wall panting
Contest in Melas or Haats
Video vans
Sales Promotion
Regional branding strategy
Dabur is trying to capture the market by launching products with a regional twist, for e.g.
Sivappu Pal Podi
Distribution Strategy Dealer Wholesaler Agents Retailer Kirana store
Dabur uses ASTRA (Advanced Sales Training for Retail Ascendance) to boost rural sales
Shopkeepers selling Dabur Indias consumer product would now learn marketing through
role play
Dabur goes rural with campaign for immunity 10 lakh-plus students were educated about
the need for immunity in 1,000 schools across the country
Dabur Gulabari Miss Fresh Face of UP 2009 The hunt will cover nine major cities, viz
Kanpur, Lucknow, Meerut, Gorakhpur, Ghaziabad, Agra, Noida, Allahabad and Varanasi
AMUL:
Advertisements on Aakashwani, hoardings and posters
Adopted a low-cost price strategy to make its products affordable and attractive to
consumers by guaranteeing them value for money
To build transparency among the farmers towards cooperative society
Training the rural people about the quality and supply of milk
Getting the whole activity chain of GCMMF under an uninterrupted information flow
network
Empowering the rural masses towards self-development activities - to build
Eliminating middlemen and bringing the producers closer to the customers.
HINDUSTAN UNIVER LIMITED:

Project Shakti:
Project Shakti is a rural distribution initiative that targets small villages. The project benefits
HUL by enhancing its direct rural reach and also creates livelihood opportunities for
underprivileged rural women.
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Indirect Coverage Approach: Under this approach the company vans were replaced by vans
belonging to Redistribution Stockists, which serviced a select group of neighbouring markets.
Rural areas with lower business potential but accessible were assigned to the retail stockists,
thus accessing all villages on a fortnightly basis.
Operation Harvest Operation: Harvest endeavoured to supplement the role of conventional
media in rural India and, in the process, forge relationships and loyalty with rural consumers.
Operation Harvest also involved conducting product awareness programs on vans.
Cinema Van Operations:
Cinema Van Operations had films and audio cassettes with song and dance sequences from
popular films along with advertisements of HUL products.

Chapter 6
CONCLUSION
1. Advertisements through electronic media are preferred over other method of
communication.
2. Marketers can benefit most if they can make the rural people feel that they value them as
their customers.
3. Regional languages are playing vital rule in the rural marketing.
4. Rural customers are increasingly becoming brand conscious as well as price and discounts.
5. The rural consumers usually do not experiment with a new product unless something
triggers them.

Suggestions:
Internet usage in Rural Areas have increased thus online advertising focusing products
for rural consumer can be an immerging media in Coming future .
Rural consumers due to increased literacy have started focusing on branded products.
Thus various brands must bring focus of the customers on their product by effective
advertising especially through Television, which influences them the most.
The rural consumer is extremely price conscious. For him, savings are critical and not
product usage. Consequently a discount would be more effective than an increase in the
size of the product, which is why sachets achieve maximum usage in rural areas.
Giving free products encourage rural consumers to purchase that particular product. As
getting more for same value increases utility of the product thereby influencing the
purchasing decision.
Rural thinking is changing thus the traditional values are replacing modern attitudes thus
advertisements can be creative and innovative rather than just simple
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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Principle of marketing C.B. Gupta

http://www.exchange4media.com/e4m/media_matter/matter_110804.asp
http://www.coca-colacompany.com
http://www.coca-colaindia.com/CMS/Asset/Coke_Connect-July-Oct-2012.pdf
http://www.indianmba.com/Faculty_Column/FC754/fc754.html
http://theglobaljournals.com/ijsr/file.php?val=December_2013_1386065900_998b8_94.pdf
https://www.scribd.com/doc/20147739/Rural-Advertising
http://www.academia.edu/1956943/impact_of_marketing_strategies_on_indian_rural_market
http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/25033/17/8.1.%20introduction%20of
%20rural%20marketing.pdf
http://ssijmar.in/vol2no2/vol2no2.13.pdf
http://www.icmrindia.org/free%20resources/casestudies/CocaCola-marketing.htm
http://censusindia.gov.in/2011-prov-results/paper2/data_files/india/Rural_Urban_2011.pdf
http://www.ijarcsse.com/docs/papers/Volume_3/1_January2013/V3I1-0207.pdf

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