Rural Communication Mix

Designing the Communication Mix Strategy

Different communication tools Advertising Sales Promotion Direct marketing Publicity & image building tools Personal selling

Advertising
Highly publicised & visible Legitimacy of product Suggests a standardised offering Builds long-term image of company ..\..\..\Videos\let's put india first.mp4

..\..\..\Videos\Mahindra Tractors - Desh ke laal hain hum.wmv

Sales Promotion
Tools include Coupons Contests Discounts Demonstrations Sampling

Distinct characteristics Communication grab attention, provide information may lead to sale Incentive incorporate concessions, inducements, contributions offer value to customer Invitation to engage in the transaction now (demos & sampling) Godrej hair dye samples with barbers & beauticians opinion leaders

Direct Marketing
Powerful tool Meet customer on their turf Build product awareness Sales promotion By-pass middlemen Mobile marketing, vending machines, direct mailers

Publicity & Image Building

High credibility News articles more believable than advertisements TVS Scooty taught women riding using women instructors LG microvave oven cooking classes

Personal Selling
Cost-effective Personal Confrontation
interactive relationship

Response - immediate Right Concept Marketing FMCG Eatables Stationary Computers Garments Footwear Agri-inputs LIC Multi level marketing ..\..\..\Videos\TC Chhabra's Projection about RCM.wmv

The Communication Mix Decision

Type of product market Consumer readiness to make a purchase Stage in Product Life Cycle Type of Product Market Push or pull strategy for sales Push sales force & trade promotion to push product through channel to consumer Pull advertising and consumer promotion to build consumer demand Large Cos HUL, Brittania pull strategy Regional players Ghari, Anchor push strategy

Buyer Readiness Stage Awareness stage advertising & publicity Comprehension & Conviction personal selling Closing of sale personal selling and strong sales promotion

Product Life-cycle Stage Introduction

Advertising, publicity, events, experiences Sales promotion to induce trials Distribution covering personal selling

Growth stage
Tone down focus on tools as demand built up depend on word of mouth

Maturity stage
Sales promotion, advertising, personal selling

Declining stage
Sales promotion

In rural markets, yet to reach maturity, focus on awareness, interest, conviction

Creating Advertisements for Rural Audiences

Paid form of non-personal presentation & promotion of products, services or concepts by an identified sponsor What is the objective or purpose what is sought to be achieved by the advertisement? Inform? Persuade? Remind? Reinforce message?

 Main focus in rural awareness HUL & Dabur remind Points to keep in mind for rural audience Understand hopes, fears, aspirations, apprehensions research on target audience Idioms, expressions, words in relation to category Do not make it gimmicky Combine education with entertainment Quickies do not work, need time, ponds 2-minute ads Slice of life success story ..\..\..\Videos\Airtel Rural tarrakki ad - Shreyas Talpade and Rajpal Yadav.wmv

Rural Media
Conventional Media
Mass Media
Radio TV Print Cinema

Non-Conventional Media
Video vans Haats Melas Mandis Folk Media
Folk theatre Folk songs Folk dance Magic shows Puppet shows

Outdoor Media
Wall Paintings Hoardings

Personalized Media
Point of purchase demonstrations, danglers, display racks, tin plates Direct mailers

Mass Media
Reaches millions of people Heterogeneous nature mass media ineffective

Radio irrespective of geography, literacy level 18% reach News, songs, plays Less involvement than with TV ads Fertilizer, tractor, FMCG

TV fastest growing, most popular 36% ownership 47% reach Cable & satellite reach 31% MS, Goa, Punjab, UP, Raj leaders in DTH subscriptions (30% subscriber base) Total connections 20 mill 14 mill rural Dish TV & DDs Direct Plus DTH rural favourites Tata Sky, Dish TV, Sun Direct DTH urban Rural household with income less than Rs 3000 purchasing DTH pay per view total 56 channels free Issues electrification (60% rural households). Diverted to agri during growing season other times to industry) Women dont watch with elders Customs elders against modern ads ..\..\..\Videos\Updated dd direct+ channels.wmv

Press / Print Media newspapers, magazines Can carry detailed information Region-specific Eenadu (AP), Daily Thanthi (TN), Punjab Kesari (Punjab), Loksatta (MS), Anandabazar Patrika (WB), Dainik Bhaskar ( UP, Hindi belt) Regional sensational news politics, crime Different sections youth Issues reach, access, low literacy rech only 13% Community reading tea stalls, barber shops

 Cinemas very popular in South

Issues Replaced by VCD Costly - overall 6% reach Popular amongst youth Limited time slot for advertising beginning or interval

Outdoor Media
Wall paintings Favourite for rural markets Can be viewed leisurely Constantly remind brand name, logo & brand promise Economical Easy customization languages Audience recall high Issues Availability of walls in prominent places Quality of walls poor No exclusive rights get painted over Local painters skill Effective at haats, mandis, melas At eye level Dealer / distributor to be made responsible

Personalized Media POP Displays & Demonstrations

Danglers, display signs, boards, display racks, dispensers Lack of space More margins on spurious products

Rural Centric Non-conventional Media

Video vans / video rath Tata Tea, HUL, Marico, Colgate, TVS, agri-input companies Customized message Audio visual, large LCD Screen, samples, banners Trained personnel 26 day cycle, village to village, programmed plan Mobile exhibition demonstrations, trials, games Retail merchandising, door to door campaigns Weekly markets, fairs, festivals People gather in large numbers ..\..\..\Videos\Google Internet Bus Video.wmv

Haats Mobile supermarket of rural India 43,000 held every week 21 57 villages cachment Better variety & lower prices 75% villages attend one haat a week, 20% visitors are women Big bang communication Buying mode Discounts, price off Demonstrations ..\..\..\Videos\Rural Haats (Market) .wmv.wmv

Melas Seasonal or annual for important events, to honour a diety 25,000 lasts one day limited commercial appeal Communication homogenous audience Mandis 7,600 Large and medium farmers

Folk Media
Folk theatre Folk songs Folk dances Magic shows Puppet shows Interactive games

Sales Promotion & Events & Experiences

Consumer promotion samples, coupons, discounts, free gifts, rewards for loyalty Trade promotion price offs, adv & display allowance, free goods Discounts deduction for prompt payment, or spl category of buyers Coupons exchanged for value Sampling dry & wet Instalment schemes EMI Demonstration / Experiential RCM cash flow with air flow Mahindra tractors

Events & Experiences

Sports Events Kila Raipur Sprots Festival Rural Olympics ..\..\..\Videos\Kila Raipur Festival Rural Olympics 2007 India (Hung Chu).wmv Rural Brand Experience Grameeno ke beech Channel Partner Meets Key Opinion Leaders Meets mason mechanic, carpenter, painter