Building Service Brand in Rural India.docx

7/28/2019 Building Service Brand in Rural India.docx

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Building Service Brand in Rural India.

Building Brands in Rural India

October 8, 2007 byMahesh M Piddshetti

In a market where life has revolved around deep rooted community values,oint families, and social customs and taboos (women, for example, are not

allowed to wear trousers), marketers realize that the traditional routes ofmarket entry and brand building employed in urban India are often not

feasible. As Adi Godrej, Chairman of the Godrej Group, says, The

challenge [for brands] is to understand the [psyche] of the rural

consumer, create better distribution, and [appreciate] the

heterogeneity.In recent times, rural India has witnessed a wave of change.

Dinesh Malhotra, general manager of Linterland (rural arm of Lintas), points

out, With media exposure and increasing literacy levels, people in ruralIndia are now demanding a better lifestyle. The educated rural yuppie

(males in the 15-34 age group) is moving out to work in nearby towns andcities, and sending money home to his family. This has created an indirectincrease in disposable incomes and a surge in demand for consumer goods.

The rural youth are slowly evolving as opinion leaders in influencing brand

and product decisions in a market that was swayed by village elders forcenturies.When building a brand in rural India, word-of-mouth is a huge

motivator. Focused brand-building initiativeslike participation at

community events such as melas (village fairs), haats (markets), street

theater, van campaigns, and puppet showsgenerate positive word-of-mouthand influence buying decisions.Cholayil Ltd., a purveyor of the herbal soap

Medimix, campaigned in mobile vans to promote its brand. We run a van

campaign which visits the interior villages where there are no distributors.We halt the van at specific points [where village folks congregate and watchvideos shown on these vans] and give out product samples. However,

contrary to claims of Medimixs success, Malhotra believes that van

campaigns can be very expensive. [Alternatively, promoting ones brand] inlarge congregation points like village markets and fairs has a far wider reach,

and is more cost effective.
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Direct media promotions have helped build knowledge of product categories

and change long-entrenched living habits. Colgate-Palmolive, a leading oralhygiene product manufacturer, entered the rural market at a time when

Neem twigs (the Neem tree has herbal properties) and non-dentifrice

products like ash, charcoal, or salt were the norm for brushing teeth (in fact insome rural pockets, this tradition still continues). In 2001, Colgate-Palmolive

launched Operation Jagruti to educate villagers about oral hygiene and its

benefits vis--vis traditional products like Neem. Through product trialsand free samples, the company was able to generate awareness in this new

market. On a similar note, CK Ranganathan, managing director of Cavin

Kare, notes, When we entered the rural areas in South India, people used to

wash their hair with soap. When we launched the Chik brand of shampoowe educated the people on how to use it through live touch and feel

demonstrations and also distributed free sachets at fairs. This strategy worked

wonders in the rural areas of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradeshtwo

important states in India.

Colgate and Cavin Kare have shown that communication is key when itcomes to building brands in rural markets. As R. V. Rajan, managing director

of the Anugrah Advertising Agency, adds, To communicate effectively, it is

important to understand the fears, aspirations, and hopes of the rural

consumer. Not to mention the traditions and stereotypes that have governedtheir lives for centuries.

While communicating the brand message,marketers must realize that language plays a

prime role. Though a large part of urban India

is well versed in English (thanks to the British

and modern television), in rural India, heritageplays a powerful role and regional languages

are predominant. There are 15 regional

languages, and 1600 dialects in India, and asone moves into the countryside, English is

replaced with regional tongues. V. S. Sitaram,

Dabur India executive director, explains,Often people treat India as one big market,

but the reality is that India is more like the European Uniona mix of

different cultures, habits and languages. Dabur is also considering the use

of South Indian celebrities to propagate the brand message in South India.Marketing companies not only need to customize their communication, but

in some cases they must also change their product names to match regional

differences. Take toothpaste, for example: Daburs Lal Dant Manjan (red

toothpowder in Hindi) was rechristened as Dabur Sivappu Pal Podi (redtoothpowder in Tamil, the local language) for the South Indian market.


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Brand Building In Rural IndiaA Road Map

An Article written by Mr. R Seshadri, Dy. Managing Director, Anugrah Madison (Jan 1, 2005)

The day after Dr. Manmohan Singh was elected as the Prime Minister of India soon after the last Lok

Sabha Elections, the newspapers across the nation carried excerpts from his Press Conference withthe Headlines blaring Manmohan promises a new deal for Rural India (or something to this effect).Surely the new Government seemed to have seen the writing on the wall the fact that two otherChief Ministers from the South had lost their jobs because it was alleged that they did not payenough attention to the development of their rural masses. When mighty politicians fall because theydid not nurture their rural constituency, can you imagine the plight of a poor Brand Manager in acompany who chooses to ignore Rural India!!

Well, much has been said and written about the ruralawakening among the denizens of CorporateIndia. Reams and reams of statistics has been churned out to prove what a Golden opportunity ruralIndia offers to those willing to walk the dusty rural path and soil their hands amidst simple ruralmasses whose hopes and aspirations have been raised not only by the media explosion but also bythe politicians who do not fail to meet them once in five years on their fancy Rath Yathras.

However, one must admit that over the years, the politicians and bureaucrats have been doing theirbit in terms of improving rural infrastructure rapidly. The Electrification of villages, phenomenalgrowth in rural telephone density, Gram Sadak Yojana, PURA (Providing Urban Amenities in Rural

Areas) and National Rural Employment Guarantee Act are sure indicators of the increasingimportance being given to Rural India by the Government. On the other hand, the mushrooming ofinternet kiosks and now the growing presence of Supermarkets and Hypermarkets catering to ruralby corporates like ITC and DCL Shriram (Chaupal Sagar, Hariyali) proves that Corporate India too iskeen on making its present felt in the countryside.

Before I come to the specific issue of Building a Brand in Rural India, lets look at some pitfalls ofbuilding a brand in rural.

Most marketing men adopt a few quick-fix strategies before venturing into the Rural markets withtheir brands.

They merely strip down all the so-called frills from the product currently being sold in urban andbelieve that the product is ready to go rural.

Just extend their brand to low cost packs, thus making it cheaper for rural.

Or merely modify the packaging marginally. Eg: add the brand name in Vernacular languages, usecheaper packing materialJust adapt the urban advertising i.e. dub the film in the local language, translate the print material

Or offer meaningless sales promotion giveaways eg. Combs, spoons, tumblers, etc. FREE

All these and more are just short-term measures to enter the rural markets. And if one believes thatthese will ensure success in the rural markets, it can but remain only as wishful thinking.

What then is the route to building a Brand in rural ? A route that is sensitive and appropriate to theneeds of the rural consumer.


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I believe, that you can Build your Brand in Rural only if you build the following five attributes into yourproduct :

1. Build customisation2. Build Empathy / Relevance3. Build Recognition

4. Build Word-of-mouth5. Build Access

Lets deal with each one of these issues separately and see how a combination of these measurescan truly help Build a Brand in Rural India.

BUILD CUSTOMISATION

We all know that the rural markets and the rural consumers are quite distinct from their urbancounterparts.

Customising or reverse-engineering your products to suit the needs of the rural consumers is the key

to success in the rural market place.

One needs to first go into the rural markets to find out the wants, needs, aspirations and dreams ofthe rural consumer. One must meet up with the villagers to understand their expectations and createa product that is relevant to their needs.

Which means its not enough to merely depend on research data or numbers from the air-conditioned comfort of our office.

We not only need to engineer a product that appeals to him but also need to go back to him forratification of its relevance. The example of RUF & TUF ready-to-stitch jeans kit priced at Rs.195/-a few years ago, customised for the rural market comes to mind as a fine example of building

relevance for the market place. Despite the Brands subsequent decline (for various reasons), theirapproach to rural India and the phenomenal success they achieved has already become a part ofmarketing folklore.

BUILD EMPATHY / RELEVANCE

Building empathy for your brand begins with the Brand name. It is important to seek out a Brandname that is preferably vernacular, that is in tune with the ethos of the market and the social milieu itwill sell in. And the same logic applies for the colour, the slogan and every aspect of communication.They must strike the right chord with the rural consumer and cannot be seen wearing urban glasses!

The glitz and glamour of urban advertising, the sophisticated graphics and gimmicks used in theexecution of the commercials are beyond the scope of comprehension of an average ruralconsumer.

When Philips launched a Rural thrust for their Audio & Video products in TN some years ago, myAgency created the memorable and eminently successful Enga Veetu Super Star Philips (TheSuper Star of my Home Philips) Campaign, which connected well with the rural audience since itwas rooted in their culture, habit and attire without trying to make a fashion statement.


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BUILD RECOGNITION

There are two issues that need to be addressed while Building Recognition into a Brand targetingthe Rural Market.

a. The need for protection against the rampant prevalence of duplicate or parasite brands.

b. The need to physically demonstrate the use of a product in view of the high involvement of a ruralconsumer in the purchase process.Visit any small town or village and you will find a brand that uses the same colour scheme, letteringstyle and pack graphics of a RIN or a PONDS except that it will be called REN or POMES. Andmost products have the Brand name written in English and Hindi. The unsuspecting rural consumerin the South, who can read neither of these languages is the main victim. The task for the originalmanufacturer is therefore cut-out. He not only needs to build-in distinct attributes into the Brandincluding rendering the Brand name in local languages but also draw the rural consumers attentionthrough repeated communication.

Secondly, the unhurried rural consumer, whose pace of life is slow and measured unlike his urbancounterpart, has enough time on his hands to take his time in buying a product (particularly

Durables). He is certainly not as savvy as an urban consumer in the usage of a product be it ashampoo, detergent powder or a television set. The key to success therefore lies in, clearlydemonstrating the use of the Brand, which remains a critical element in the success of a Brand inrural.

For example, some years ago, CavinKare found that though their shampoos were gettingencouraging trials from the rural consumers, the penetration levels were extremely low. Many ruralconsumers had no clue how to use a shampoo.

CavinKares team travelled extensively in rural pockets, caught hold of school boys to demonstratehow to lather, wash and comb hair! This exercise had significant impact and made the ruralconsumer comfortable with the concept of using a shampoo.

BUILD POSITIVE WORD-OF-MOUTH

We all know that most villages consist of distinct ethnic or caste groups to which the families belong,forming very strong homogenous rural communities. Here again unlike the urban consumer whotends to be far more individualistic in his buying habits, the rural consumer is largely influenced bythe reference groups within the family, community or the village. Depending on the type of productbeing sold, the nature of the individuals driving these reference groups (or opinion leaders) wouldvary. The marketers targeting rural would do well if they clearly identify these reference groups tobuild positive word-of-mouth for the brand.

Strong word-of-mouth for a brand can be built through executing customized events within thevillage revolving around the core message of a Brand, appealing to the core target group.

BUILD ACCESS

Reaching the rural consumer with their products and services remains the biggest challenge to anaverage marketer. Though on the face of it, the task of distribution to 6.38 lakh villages across thecountry appears daunting, 60% of rural wealth and 50% of rural population exists in the top 13% ofthese villages in the 2000 and above population strata. Again, 90% of Consumer Durablespurchased by the rural people happen in just 1900 towns located in the 20,000 to 50,000 populationstrata.


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The real challenge therefore, lies in accessing the last mile. Here again, if the existing infrastructureconsisting of the omnipresent Public Distribution Shops, Post Offices, Mandis, Haats, Melas, etc.,are tapped effectively, accessibility to the rural consumer can become less and less of an issue. HLLhas already shown the way to marketing men through their SHAKTI Project on the effective use ofSelf Help Groups to access the last mile. I am sure as the days go by, the compulsive need to enterfar flung rural homes will provoke marketing men to come up with more creative solutions for

cracking this problem of Building Access.

To conclude, Building a Brand in Rural India will continue to pose the biggest challenge to themarketing fraternity in the years to come. Hence, the Art and Science of Brand Building in ruralneeds to become an integral part of the learning process in the innumerable ManagementInstitutions across the nation. It must become mandatory for every student to spend a few weeks inthe midst of his rural brethren as a part of his learning. And for those practicing marketingprofessionals, it is not too late to go back to the class rooms and spend time in the idyllic ruralcountryside to understand this enigma called the Rural Consumer

INTRODUCTION

The term "brand" which is defined as a name, term, sign, symbol or special design or somecombination of these elements that is instead to identify or differentiate the goods orservices of one seller or a group of sellers. But a brand, by definition, has a very small

description of a package of value, on which our consumers relies & do same consistently

over a period of time. A brand makes a distinction for a product or service from competitiveofferings.

BRANDING PROCESS

Branding is a process, as well a strategy for an orientation/ creating awareness sometimeswith differentiations among products/service by which a marketer tries to build a long-term

relationship with the customers, a tool to position a product or service with a consistent

image of quality and value for money to ensure the development of a recurring preferenceby the consumer.

Branding provides differentiation strategy when product cannot be easily distinguished. Theprocess of creating a brand stems from research that starts with the concept of what theproduct is, and what its functions and objectives are. From this evolves the idea of what is

should look, feel and talked about like. From these ideas generate the name and all itsconnation, after which packing, logo and communication strategies are developed.

So Brand building is usually a long, tedious and methodical work involving segmentation,marketing mix, and packaging, technical and financial inputs. A branding process, if

executed well creates a brand ie equipped to handle changes in demographics, thinking

from and functional changes as well as competitor actions.97% of new brands that are

developed in the FMCG sector failed due to the reason of static nature applicable to overallmarket as it requires a continuous change in product appearance and performance as well

as the total value equation is must for survival of any brand.

BRANDING IN RURAL INDIA

The concept of branding entered in Indian rural markets. Consumers have graduated &

aware about to branded products as they are also having better income opportunities with


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increased affordability since last few years. A brand is recognized in the rural market with

the help of colours, visual effect or any other identification rather than name which

facilitates easy brand recall like: WO KALA WALA MANJAN DENA, WO NEELA WALA KAPDEDHONE KA SABUN DENA etc. But some brands are known by their names, for example,Nirma and Pan parag also.

The challenges in creating a brand identity in rural involve the need to relate the brand withthe rural lifestyle & behaviour, with appropriate status symbols, or with the rural

environment. As most brands are introduced in urban markets and then move to rural,creating a brand identity in rural markets is really a tough job. As non of the biscuitsindustry can easily break the image of Parle-G specially in rural market as even a child caneasily identify that.

Building a brand image in rural areas/market place

The brand should have its own individuality. It should work like a celebrity & the

advertisement should be based on empathy so that it could create a feeling ofbelongingness among the rural consumers.

As Mahindra & Mahindra have maintained their sterling image in rural. The Bhumiputra (sonof soil) series of tractors,/ Ram ka Mesey, Shyam ka Taffe etc. with its rugged features.

Studies also have evaluated that the brand loyalty in the rural areas is much higher ascomparative to the urban ones. But it is possible just Because of the brand could found an

acceptance in the rural market as the one offering good value proposition. But building

brands in rural areas is a different. This requires a specific committed focus and may nothappen as spill over from urban market or by doing slight modification in communicationand brand building efforts that were planned for urban markets for that there are the

following tools, approaches and strategies have been employed by different organizations,to successfully build their brand in the rural markets:

CUSTOMIZATION

A deep study of rural markets has the requirement to find out the needs, wants andaspirations of rural consumers by directly contacting them. This can be followed withcreating or 're-modifying' a product or service delivery process to make it relevant to the

need of rural consumers. The entire brand building efforts has to be built on the basis of

their needs and aspirations from a specific product category and the corresponding valueprovided by the brand.

RELEVANCE

It should starts with the brand name itself and it is important that the brand name or thepunch line is in lingo language and is in tune with the culture of the market and the social

surroundings of the market in which the product is going to be sold. The same logic applies

to the colour, logo, slogan and every aspect of communication so that it strikes a rightchord with the rural consumer and they can relate to the message. The successful

advertisement campaign by NAMAK with the tagline 'Desh ka Namak', has a celebrity

endorser not as a hero but as one who is depicting an identity of population of differentregions, speaking in the regional idiom; it was a campaign to which audiences could relateto.


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MEDIA

The media selection for a brand is really a tough taske for the branding as well veryimportant, as the usual mass media may not prove to be very effective when used alone in

the rural market. So, the organisation should select other below the line media as well;

which can arouse the interest of rural consumers. The media selection should based on the

purpose to build a wish for a particular brand i.e. live demonstrations, or contests depictingthe qualities and the strengths of a given product. Demonstration vans with audiovisual

equipments , which clearly demonstrate how a given product will solve the existingproblems of rural consumers, are likely to have much deep-rooted impact, than the shortcommercial on TV. The brand building, can be done in the Mandis, Melas and other

gatherings of the rural areas & can be followed by the presence of the organisation in the

regular Haats and Mandis for live demonstration of the benefits and actual sales of aproduct. Because of high level of interaction, haats can be an effective medium for ruraladvertising. Villagers are in buying mood at the haats and mandis.

MESSAGE

Message for the brand building should be in the local manner of speaking and such that therural audience can easily decode the intended meaning. Message should meet the rural

sensibilities and should be modified in accordance with the cultural variation from oneregion to another.

Message should be utilitarian and narrating the functional benefits of the product.

Rural consumers have strong visual sense. As they relate more with logos, colour andsymbols, icons. Therefore, these have to be built prominently in the overall communication.Otherwise the entire brand building effort can go haywire.

IDENTIFICATION OF AUDIENCE

The vast massive amount of the rural population either does not understand English or even

is illiterate. So, it becomes extremely important that the illiterate rural consumers or those

who can not understand English can be certain that they are getting what they are thinkingof or desiring to have and not the cheap imitation or a fake product having a similar name.

WORD OF MOUTH

Rural communications effort undertaken by an organization should be such that it cangenerate a lot of publicity in the oral Leninist culture of rural India. Therefore, targeting the

right set of opinion leaders with the campaigns which lead to oral publicity in the region is

more likely to develop the brand recall than the five or ten seconds commercial on the TV,

which the rural consumers are likely to forget at the time of the purchase. The ruralconsumers want more believable information and in order to be twice as sure they prefer to

hear from other people whom they feel to be more dependable than the TV or print media

advertisement. The stories they hear from others are more believable in from of clues andtips.

CONCLUSION


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So at the ending stage it can be said that 'branding' as a trend is getting established in the

rural market. But the response of consumers towards brands varies region-wise i.e. from

developed to the developing or under-developing areas. Different age groups with differentsocio-economic profile approach the branding trend in very different manner in the rural

market across different product categories. So to estabilish a brand image in rural areasshould be conducted with the help of various tools like customization, relevancy, word-of-

mouth etc.

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Strategies of Rural Branding

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we make your brands ring bells in every nook and corner of India.

Vehicles carrying advertisement always grab attention. Moreover, if it is in rural area, it certainly is acrowd puller. Van campaign is one of the most effective communication channels for rural consumers,since it involves inter personal communication with maximum target customers.

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Better brand building Higher product and brand visibility Product sampling and trials Carries electronic media like television ads Crowd pulling medium Retail merchandising

Door to door campaigns Branding at the door step

Taking the product to the door step of the target audience is a sure shot path for a wider reach. This

not only ensures us from not missing any potential customer but also earns the trust of the customers.In rural areas with lesser population, the target customers for certain products are restricted to certainlocalities. Door to door campaigns have shown excellent results for high value products.

Theatre Branding and Trials Success through silver screen

Movies in theatres are Indias major source of entertainment in both the urban and rural areas. Hencetheatres are a wonderful place for brand communication. We are tied up with most theatres, where inwe conduct ad trials for research and further brand promotion.

Campus Activation:

We are connected to around 1000 colleges in the rural and semi urban areas. This would help us todirectly interact to one of the most important growing target group of the country, the youth. For clientslooking towards such target group in the rural front, a ready made youth centric platform is available fortheir marketing and branding campaigns.

Wall Paintings Writing success

This is one of the traditional modes of advertising, which is still popular in rural areas. They ensure highbrand awareness, highlight key brand promise with high visibility, enhancing top-of-the-mind recall.

Event ManagementFolk media

The best way to inform anyone is by entertaining them. We understand and explore this aspect to ourclients advantage. Rural masses can be easily reached through Folk media in the local language andlocal folk art. This makes it easy to convey the brand message and product benefits in an entertainingand interesting manner. We are associated with over 120 different folk groups across southern India tosuit the tastes of different geographies.

Some of our folk arts include


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Burakhatha Pallesudhulu Yakshaganam Ugadolu Drum Beats Buttabommalu Pulivesham

Daskathiya Palla Lavni Yakshagana Mimicry Magic shows

Interactive Games For effective communication

To ensure that we are communicating effectively, we need to get the target audience involved with theproduct and its experience. For this we design interactive games that invoke people participation at ourrural kiosks drawing the attention of huge crowds. It also doubles the effect as it is the right place to

conduct trial runs of the product, facilitating spot sales.

Festival Branding A community interaction opportunity

In rural part of southern India, festivals always demand community celebration with huge gatherings inspecific locations. We deem this as a great opportunity for branding, trade exhibitions etc. Providingcommunity services like water supply kiosks, first aid centres, pilgrimage help centres etc., will create awonderful platform for close community interaction, branding and association with target customers.

Others events Information through entertainment

Events like sports, drama, food festivals, open air cinemas, infotainment programs etc., also do well in

rural parts as they pull large crowds for entertainment.

New Town Launches Tailor-made for success

When all of the above elements are combined to the right effect, it is a New Town Launch. This aspectwe have tailor- made for telecom majors, who have been our clients for a long time. So far we havesuccessfully conducted over 3000 new town launches for various telecom products. In this weintroduce the product in new towns and create awareness across the town. A new town launch couldinclude:

Dealer meets Van Campaigns Town branding Coverage in local cable

Market Day activities A golden opportunity

At GoRural India, Mandis, Haats, Melas and special days of trade in different villages are Market Dayevents. The annual consolidated trade in these market centres is worth billions. We deem it to be agolden opportunity not to be missed by any organization.


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We help our clients in identifying, planning and executing various events in various Market Days foreffective product sales. These are few statistics signifying the importance.

MANDIS:

Total no of mandis:6800 Average population catered to by each mandi:1.36 lakh Most agricultural areas with population more than 10,000 have mandis.

HAATS:

Average sale per day: Rs 2.25 lakh Number of sales outlets/haat: 300+ Number of visitors per haat: 4,500 Average sale per outlet: Rs900 Villages covered by haat: 20-50

APMC:

An APMC market on an average serves 435 sq km in the country. Farmers live within the radius of 40 kms of APMC

MELA:

Average outlets in every mela: 850 Average sales per mela: Rs.143 lakh

Visual Merchandising

Visual merchandising is a critical dimension for any retail operation to be successful. It is an art of

attracting the shopper's eye to your product and services. GoRural offers customized and focusedvisual merchandising solutions for you. Our solutions blend business and psychology of marketing atretail principles with technical skills in visual display, props, signage, and design techniques to makeyour merchandise an eye catcher.

The R&D department at GoRural India is always on its toes to lookout for new and emergingopportunities in rural sector. The team through its research and study in recent times has identifiednewer delivering true corporate social possibilities. We have identified few new avenues for ruralmarkets:

Pilot launches

GoRural India launches pilot programs for our clients who are looking to experiment with new marketsand areas. Instead of going for a full fledged campaign, we help corporates test new watersincrementally. Depending on the results, we partner and advise the organization to decide upon thenext course of action.

The Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC)

is a marketing board established by the state governments of India order to facilitate farmers to sell


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their produce and get reasonable price. India has a total 7557 regulated APMC yards in total.

Village Catalyst

Through the Village Catalyst model we create human nodes in village that help your brand become partof the rural lives. Catalysts educate rural folks on employability for free and help them connect to the

mainstream job market. A catalyst is a bridge between the company and the rural populace. Hisconstant involvement with the rural folks will embed the brand to become part of their lives. Thecatalyst model is a sustainable model for long living brand presence in rural markets along withdelivering true corporate social responsibility

Haats

GoRural India sees a big opportunity in targeting HAATS as an avenue for brand awareness. Haats areunregulated open markets concentrating on rural retail where consumers and producers meet once ortwice in a week to sell and buy. It is estimated that 47,000 haats are prevalent across the country thattransact business worth 1 lakh crore every year.

Setting up franchisee outlets/retail stores

GoRural India with its deep rural penetration can guide corporates in opening up new franchiseeoutlets.

Documents

Building Service Brand in Rural India.docx