1. INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF PLANNING & MANAGEMENT
NEW DELHI
An Assignment of -:
RURAL MARKETING
ON
LAUNCHING OF A PRODUCT IN RURAL MARKET
SUBMITTED BY-
SAMEER CHAUDHARY
SECTION- P3

2. SOME FACTS ABOUT THE RURAL SECTOR:
• There are nearly 42,000 rural haats (Super Markets) in India.
• In 2002 – 2003, LIC sold 50 percent of its policies in rural India.
• Of the 20 million who have signed up for Rediffmail, 60 percent are
from small towns.
• Of the 1,00,000 souls that have transacted on Rediff's shopping site,
50 percent are from small towns.
• The 30 million Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) issued so far exceed the 25
million credit-plus-debit cards issued in urban. A whopping Rs. 65, 000
crore has been sanctioned under the KCC scheme.
• Electricity Consumption increase from 17.6 percent in 1980 – 81 to
20.2 percent in 1999 –2000. During the same period, the industry
share has dropped from 58.4 percent to 34.8 percent.
• Hindustan Lever, the largest FMCG Company in the country. More than
half of its annual sales of Rs.11, 700/- crore come from the rural
market.
• The proposed agricultural reforms in the tenth plan, the easy
availability of agriculture credit Rs 60,000/- Crore Village road
programme introduced recently to connect 1,90,000/- village and the
improved communication network (STD and Mobile).
BRANDING STRATEGY IN RURAL PLACE :
a) Rural Product Development: The rural market is a fast growing one and
has a huge population with a great level of disposable income. To
encash this, products have to be specifically developed to meet the
needs of rural markets. Sometimes, existing products might have to
be modified to suit these markets too accordingly.
Rural product development has the strong edifice on a great deal of
research like feasibility studies, rural aspiration, rural profiling and so
on. This paves way for a great deal of infrastructure and expertise in
this area.
b) Rural Branding: Rural branding bears quite different stand from urban
branding. The first step towards rural branding is to research and
gain insight into the working of rural markets. Based on this
communication campaigns have to be developed with a lot of rural
sensitivity.
Rural branding is attained by way of opting to a greater percentage of
local media and a smaller percentage of the mass media. Rural

3. gatherings like temple festivals, melas, cinema halls and so on can be
used as venues to promote brands. Direct Marketing and events like
road shows; film shows, melas, street theatre can also be used to
promote brands.
A well-planned rural branding campaign cannot just create brand
awareness but help your target relevant to your brand and promote
sales. A long-term campaign will keep your brand at the top-of-the-
mind and build brand loyalty. So the brands are in safe hands.
c) Rural Market Research: Rural markets behave most differently from
urban markets. While many marketers have tried to market their
products in rural areas, just a handful of the same only has
succeeded. A strong insight into rural consumer behavior and
sensitivity to their values and beliefs is essential; to upgrade the rural
market rural market research encompasses not just gathering data
but analyzing them and linking the findings to promoting your
products.
d) Rural Communication Campaigns: Communication for rural markets
calls for a different kind of outlook. There must be a strong accent on
helping the target relate to the message.
The entire communication and media strategy has to devise a system
based on research findings. These have to be developed in the
regional vernacular languages and set in the local culture for easier
acceptance and reach. Unlike communication campaigns in urban
areas that rely greatly on the mass media, the strategy will be of
crying in the wielderness in rural areas. Besides mass and outdoor
media, rural extravaganza like temple festivals, melas and other
events where the villagers come together can be used for promotions.
e) Rural Events: In the rural context, one of the best ways to capture the
attention of the audience is through Event-management. Since rural
areas have limited venues for entertainment, conducting an event in
rural areas can bring a good response.
A well-planned event can get the product the mileage that we want.
Some of the interesting events that can be conducted are Road
Shows, Melas, Street-Theatre, Film Shows and so on. These make a
visually strong impact and build long term brand recall. Rural public
are the target audience and hence the portfolio of event management
has to be handled professionally with diligent care and broad
perspective.

4. f) Rural DM Campaigns: Direct Marketing (DM) is one of the most
powerful way to meet the target on their turf and build product
awareness as well as promotion. The success of any DM campaign
depends on the field workers and their sensitivity and emotional
connectivity to rural markets.
In the area of Direct Marketing, rural team has to be trained, to be
sensitive to rural culture and beliefs. They can handle activities like
Door-to-Door sampling, marketing and product promotion. These
activities can also be carried out innovatively at places like local
cinema halls, melas and festivals, in the midst of cross-cultural
gatherings and conglomerations.
g) Database Creation & Management: Marketing, branding and
promotional activities in the rural context can be highly effective and
thereafter have to create a database of prospects. The question is
how will you source this critical data? The data will contain details of
your target segments at the village level / town-level. This data is
essential for us to reach our target accurately and helps our
marketing plan and communication strategies. Management
Information System along with Database management paves ways
for a congenial rural marketing through the information and data
available for effective interpretations and use.