branding in rural markets, a detailed study, the companies, problems, strategies, segmentation

1. *
By
Ranjit Achary

2. * High saturation levels in urban
* Growing awareness of brands in rural
* Ever-growing aspirations in rural
* Proliferation of brands in urban
* No effects of slow down on rural markets !
*

3. *

4. * Steady Growth
* Composition of Rural Demand
* New income due to agricutural and rural
development
* Rural demand is more seasonal
*

5. *

6. *

7. A brand is “name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a
combination of them, intended to identify the goods and
services of one seller or group of sellers and to
differentiate them from those of competition.”
Importance of Brands to Consumers:
* Identification of the source of the product
* Assignment of responsibility to product maker
* Risk reducer
* Search cost reducer
* Promise, bond, or pact with product maker
* Symbolic device
* Signal of quality
*

8. * Separate your brand from your competitors in a unique way
Relevant and motivating to your customers
* Prospects and channels-it gives you value and make you
special.
* Enhance your perceived value, there by supporting premium
pricing, sheltering you from low price competition.
* Contributing to share holder value. (Companies like Morgan
Stanley look to evidence of brand strength in setting buy
ratings.)
* Provide resilience in times of negative press.
* Enable you to launch new products more quickly and cost
effectively.
*
Nokia phone aimed at
rural markets

9. * In rural India, the branding rules are distinctly different
from urban markets. Not only does the cultural landscape
differ, the factors that influence purchasing decisions differ
too. Price and value for money are high on their list.
* Rural branding calls for a greater component of local media
and less of the mass media. Since these markets have
specialized forums of their own like temple
festivals, melas, cinema halls, these can be leveraged to
promote brands. Direct Marketing and events like road
shows, film shows, melas, and street theatre can also be
used to promote brands.
*

10. * Underdeveloped People and Underdeveloped
Markets
* Lack of Proper Physical Communication Facilities
Media for Rural Communication
* Many Languages and Dialects
* Dispersed Market
* Low Per Capita Income
* Low Levels of Literacy
* Prevalence of spurious brands and seasonal demand
* Different way of thinking
*

11. * Regional Brands have good image
* Cable channels and their network
* Understanding
* Lower cost
* One to one relationship
* Entrepreneurship
*

12. * AVAILABILITY
* AFFORDABILITY
* ACCEPTABILITY
* AWARENESS
*

13. * AVAILABILITY
* LG has set up 45 area offices and 59 rural/remote area offices.
* To service remote village, stockists use auto-rickshaws, bullock-carts and even boats
in the backwaters of Kerela.
* HLL started Project Shakti in partnership with Self Help groups of rural women.
* AFFORDABILITY
* Godrej introduced three brands of Cinthol, Fair Glow and Godrej in 50-gm
packs, priced at Rs 4-5 for U.P, M.P, Bihar.
* Hindustan Lever, Lifebuoy at Rs 2 for 50 gm
* Coca-Cola - the returnable 200-ml glass bottle priced at Rs 5
* ACCEPTABILITY
* LG Electronics’s customized TV-Sampoorna,1lakh sets in the 1st year.
* Coca-Cola provides low-cost ice-boxes
* AWARENESS
* fairs and festivals, Haats, etc. Cinema vans, shop-fronts, walls and wells.
* Lux and Lifebuoy and fabric wash items like Rin and Wheel started putting stickers on
the hand pumps, walls of the wells, putting on tin plates on all the tree, surrounding
the pond which act as the innovative media.
* HUL used local fairs and festivals ,Coca-Cola used Doordarshan TV
* LG Electronics uses vans and road shows to reach rural customers
* Philips India uses wall writing and radio advertising to drive its growth in rural areas.
*

14. Contraceptive Social Marketing
Programme
Titan Sonata Tele AD
Building Rural India's First Mobile Phone
Supply Chain

15. * Indian rural market is undoubtedly complex but there are
some simple truths that we need to accept. The rural
consumers are very value-conscious.
* They may or may not have purchasing power, but they can
make a difference to the company's growth if concentrated.
* The growing power of the rural consumer is an opportunity
for the companies to flock to the rural markets.
* The basic underline for preference for brands in rural areas is
the functional and not psychological benefit.
* With the technological innovations, infrastructure
development and enrichment of human capital in rural areas
the companies can earn huge profits
*

16. THANK
YOU