https://www.thehindubusinessline.

com/catalyst/focused-communication-for-rural-

india/article23029309.ece

Focused communication
for rural India
R. V. Rajan | Updated on March 12, 2018 Published on July 20, 2011

rural - Business Line

 SHARE

 SHARE

 SHARE

 EMAIL
  SHARE

 COMMENT

RELATED
How it spoke to the other India

The rural consumer: S/he's different!

It is important to understand the rural consumer to

get your message across to him.

Over the last 25 years, we have been involved in developing

campaigns for a variety of products ranging from agri-inputs
such as fertilisers, agro chemicals and seeds, to consumer
durables, FMCG and the services sector. This has helped us
understand the special characteristics of the rural
audience. Some insights:
A rural consumer may be illiterate according to the Census
definition, but he is very clever, blessed with a lot of common
sense.
He is highly conscious of value for money.
There is a high involvement of the rural customer in any
product purchase, more so for high-end products, which
involve shelling out a few thousand rupees or more.
Tricky, clever, gimmicky or even suggestive advertising does
not work with the rural audience. ‘Slice of life' approaches,
simple and direct, using aspirational urban-looking models
work very well.
Combining education with entertainment or ‘edutainment' is a
good route to take.
Companies will do well to use regional stars for regional
campaigns for more effective penetration of brands in rural
areas.
In case of television spots which are sophisticated in
execution and chances of the message going over the heads
of the rural consumers high, special efforts will have to be
made to interpret the main message to the rural audience.
This could be done through a whole lot of below-the-line
(BTL) activities, including road shows and VOW (video on
wheels) programmes, which elaborate on the theme of the
campaign through interactive games and contests.
It is clear that in any form of rural communication, while we
may have a national strategy, we have to think and act
locally. An integrated package consisting of mass media and
below-the-line activities works well.
Communication Delivery Strategy
The two vital arms of rural communication are the
development of creative to suit specific target audiences and
communication delivery using appropriate vehicles.
Though rural folks receive all types of selling messages
through multiple sources, it has been found that the two-tier
system — opinion leaders and the masses — continues to
exist. Opinion leaders continue to play an important role in
the decision-making, which is still community or group-based.
However, the composition of the opinion leaders has changed
over a period of time.
For decisions regarding farm inputs, farmers may consult the
traditional opinion leaders, including other successful farmers,
agricultural officers and dealers. But with the growing
aspiration levels (thanks to television), village youth who go to
the cities for education and employment have also become
important opinion leaders for lifestyle products. And in the
case of personal care products, similar to the trend in the
urban areas, school-going children do influence the brand
decision. Kids' pester power is not unique to urban India.
Media Strategy for FMCG Products
Television is invariably the primary medium used by most
FMCG brands. As television does not distinguish between
urban and rural, whether one likes it or not, the commercials
are also exposed to a vast majority of the rural audiences.
If a company is clear that a particular brand can be targeted
at both urban and rural audiences, and since television is
already considered the primary medium, it might be a good
idea to produce commercials that appeal to both urban and
rural audiences. Pre-testing of such commercials among both
audiences is vital to ensure success among both.
Apart from regional TV channels, one can consider the use of
local cable TV networks largely telecasting local shows
popular among communities in semi-urban and rural
areas. Rural cinemas, especially in South India, are still a
popular medium to reach consumers.
Radio is one of the cheapest mass media to reach rural
masses. Even where electricity is unreliable, transistor radios
are very popular among the poorer sections of rural India.
With the number of FM stations set to explode after
expansion under Phase Three, it would be possible to reach
even more remote areas through radio.
Haats (weekly markets) and melas tied to temple and
religious festivals are great for promoting brands.
While haats help in reaching a few thousand villagers from
different villages in one place, melas attract lakhs of visitors
across the State or across the country as in kumbh melas.
They offer a variety of media opportunities in one place.
However, it must be remembered that haats are gradually
losing their importance in economically developed markets
such as Tamil Nadu because of the tremendous progress
made by small towns and their easy accessibility to villagers
due to better and reliable transport facilities.
In the last couple of years, the role of technology has made a
huge difference in the way one reaches the rural
audience. The growing number of Internet kiosks
disseminating useful information to village folk has come to
stay. The mindboggling growth of mobile telephones,
especially in the rural areas, has created a great opportunity
for anyone with a message to reach the rural masses.
Sitting at home and at the press of a button, a rural customer
is able to access all kinds of information — in the
process virtually helping the elimination of the middlemen,
who have had a stranglehold on him for generations. But this
is still an evolving medium.
Static media such as wall paintings, hoardings, shop fronts
and point of sale continue to be useful as reminder media. So
are messages prominently displayed in bus stands, railway
stations, on water tanks, wells and pump-sets in villages, as
well as mobile media such as local buses and auto-
rickshaws.
Media Strategy for Consumer Durables / Services
High-end products such as consumer durables or the
service sector call for a two-pronged strategy, covering
above-the-line and BTL activities.
While mass media helps create awareness about the brands,
it has been found necessary to have BTL activities or road-
shows as part of direct marketing efforts aimed at specific
target audiences.
Since the opinion leaders can be easily identified in each
village, and they are small in number, direct marketing efforts
aimed at opinion leaders must always precede any effort
aimed at larger audiences.
This becomes even more important for sectors such as
banking and insurance, which need concept selling before
specific brands are promoted.
And to provide opportunities for demonstration and ‘touch and
feel' of high-end consumer durables, vehicles or services, it is
important to have a well-conceived and executed BTL
campaign, ensuring that the communication messages used,
integrate well with the mass media campaign.
In Sum
Needless to say any activity, including communication
packages aimed at the rural audience, must generate a lot of
‘word of mouth' publicity so that the brand is ‘top of mind'
when the rural customer is ready to make a brand decision in
the product category.
While it is true that the growing economic prosperity has
begun to reduce the rural-urban divide in the higher echelons
of rural society, the need for special and focused
communication aimed at the not-so-well educated and poorer
sections of rural India continues to exist. This is true even in
the developed rural areas. It will be wishful thinking to say
that the rural-urban divide has already melted, based on a
few stray experiences.
R. V. Rajan is Chairman, Anugrah Madison Advertising Pvt
Ltd, and Past President, Rural Marketing Association of
India. rvrajan42@rediffmail.com
Published on July 20, 2011
null