Turning a Rural Ad-Pitch into a Golden Ticket to the Hinterlands

February 29th, 2012 | Posted by vrittivaani in Articles and Opinions - (0 Comments)

Real estate in Haibatpur, a quiet village located 28.4 kms from Noida, ran into some trouble last year. The Allahabad High Court was moved over the issue of state-acquired land for affordable housing here. It is believed to be unlikely that there will be a stay on the affordable housing properties in the area but prospective buyers are unconvinced.

To allay their fears, local real estate dealers like Sang Real Estate Solutions have hired villagers as their mouth-pieces. They inform inquirers that they have received 100% compensation from the state government. They claim that even in case of a stay, a small amount of additional payment would be paid by the government. The land is already futile having been touched by cement. For the locals, the only tool for sustenance or development is selling this real estate. Under these circumstances, they are in a better position than suave city salesmen to make a sale.

This is not an isolated move. To improve the visibility of its FMCG products in the hinterlands, Godrej has undertaken hands-on interaction with village-folk. Below-the-line activity is their credo, and for this, they have resolved to stay ahead with participations at village fairs and in-store demonstrations.

In another instance, to promote their hair colour products, the company has roped in about 50,000 barbers in nine states in a co-branding exercise. They have allowed them to add the title ‘Expert’ to their salons; ensured that their fixtures prominently bear the company logo and provided them with grooming kits such as dye bowls, mixing brushes, as well as talcum powder and shaving cream. Since most people seek their barbers’ advice for personal grooming, Godrej has effectively influenced the influencer with these measures.

Recently, the Wall Street Journal reported that a salesman by the name of Sandeep Sharma travels to several villages promoting a range of wares and products. He works for Linterland Rural Communication, part of Lowe Worldwide. At Benipur village, he sets up a stage, speakers and posters, and puts on a skit to gather a crowd. On this rural platform, he promotes Castrol, Lifebuoy, Close-Up and Nokia to rural folk that are untouched by mainstream media.

In India’s villages where electricity remains a privilege, it is a challenge for advertising to reach rural masses, communicate with them in their dialect and share information that is relevant to them. To fill this gap, salesmanship—an idea that had been shelved by marketing professionals in cities for so many years, has reappeared.

Today, several companies are resorting to methods of rural advertising such as Vritti i-Media’s audio announcements at MSRTC bus stands. Similarly, announcements made over PA systems at travel hubs and food malls, promotions through melas as well as on digital OOH are considered impactful because they can interact with the public. Since the advertiser takes on the responsibility to maintain the media, its effectiveness is better guaranteed than print, radio and television. With more and more corporate marketing strategies involving such innovative methods, the expansion of rural advertising is on the cards.

 

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Advertising takes a Spiritual Turn

February 21st, 2012 | Posted by vrittivaani in Articles and Opinions - (0 Comments)

Pandharpur, located on the banks of the Bhima River, is one of the most popular pilgrimage destinations in Maharashtra and features the renowned Lord Vitthal Temple. Vithoba, Pandurang and Pandharinath, as he is known among his ardent devotees, are the alternative names of Lord Vitthal, considered an incarnation of Vishnu in Hinduism. Every year, thousands undertake a 220 km-walk from Alandi Dehu to Pandharpur to do a ‘darshan’ of Vithoba and Rukmini, his consort.

The Insight

The holy site hosts four annual pilgrimages or ‘yatras’ of Hindu devotees; among them, the pilgrimage in the month of Ashad in the Hindu calendar (Aashadhi Ekadashi), or the months of June-July as per the Gregorian calendar, attracts the highest number of pilgrims. The number hovers around 20 to 22 lakh devotees, belonging to a variety of castes and creeds. The pilgrimage in the Hindu month of Kārtik or during the October-November period attracts the next highest number of pilgrims. Since devotees across states like Maharashtra and Karnataka resolve to visit Pandharpur at least once annually, the festivities become an apt platform for advertising directly to masses that belong to all the strata of society, particularly those from non-metro regions. Resolving the problematic issue of bringing brands through advertising to the non-metro and media-oblivious masses, Vritti i-Media has successfully created its niche in all major Pandharpur events over the last three years. By doing this, they have been able to introduce MNC brands and pan-India products and services to micro-segments. With a relevant application of information technology and tie-ups with the ‘Devasasthan Samiti,’ as well as the Police and District administrations, Vritti i-Media has been able to successfully pull off this breakthrough advertising feat.

Modus Operandi

In order to achieve this never-before milestone for non-metro advertising, Vritti i-Media relied on its innovative ad-platforms comprising audio advertisements at MSRTC bus-stands across Maharashtra; audio-video ads at expressway- and highway-hotels; Gantries; T-shirts; SMS campaigns; outdoor media services like hoardings, pole-kiosks and bus panels, as well as event and conference management. In order to draw audience attention, Vritti made announcements for bus departures, bus numbers and platform displays merge with its special audio ad announcements. In a similar way, it also disseminated crucial information like police instructions regarding traffic directions as well as ‘devsthan’ instructions for ‘darshan’ arrangements. Provisions for missing-persons’ display were also made. Maps of Pandharpur were distributed to ease the movement of devotees, while direction boards were also put up. Finally, a SMS system for rapid communication within groups was put in place. It took huge investment and efforts for Vritti i-Media to successfully set up this entire system at two locations spread across 35 acre. Enabling IT solutions has been a tough task.

Summing Up

On a regular pilgrimage day, an average of 5,000 devotees visits Pandharpur. Considering that 60% visitors are middle-aged persons and 25% are students or young professionals, it makes ample sense for brands, products and services to gain visibility among these masses. These demographics are highly receptive to advertising and can dictate purchasing choices. By using a variety of attractive and eye-grabbing advertising and promotional media, such as hoardings, events, kiosks, public announcement systems, LCD displays, among others, the company has etched its forte in bridging the communication gap between corporate India and India’s hinterlands through its efforts at Pandharpur.

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Connecting brands to the bottom of the pyramid, Vritti i- Media

July 26th, 2011 | Posted by vrittivaani in Articles and Opinions - (0 Comments)

With over 1.2 billion people in India and the main occupation being agriculture, it comes as no surprise that a large chunk of the population stays in the rural areas. Places and locations that are far outside the city limits have a dwelling of a large amount of India’s population. Out of India’s total population, a mammoth 72% reside in rural areas. Thus as a market for companies to markets their products and services, rural India has huge potential that is largely untapped.
While it is easier for an organization to market their products and services to urban markets and the top of the pyramid, the challenge faced by them is tapping the rural market potential. Marketing to the urban audience is easier due to their acceptance of media and its various forms that are present in urban areas. Thus they are more susceptible to products that are marketed there.
The issue faced by companies and organizations is the fact that a large part of the rural population is media dark. Maharashtra alone, with a total population of 90 million, is one of the most populated states in this country. Out of this 90 million, a whopping 55 million people reside in rural and semi rural areas. Understandably, this presents unique and limitless opportunities for brands trying to make their presence felt in the semi rural and rural areas. Traditional media like print and TV reach out to only 45% and 40% of the entire population respectively. This means, that 46% of the population can be considered as ‘media dark’ or not being approached by any media.
With the traditional media reach being so limited, it’s a real challenge for advertisers to connect with their audiences and get their brand’s message across. It becomes important to find a solution that will not only reach the right people, but will also ensure their captive attention thus ensuring a high recall. The rural audience wants to know about the brands, products and services that are out there in the market. The only problem with him getting to know about them is the fact that they are not effectively made aware of all the choices and options that they have at hand. The method of penetration needs to be in a very targeted and systematic manner.
An option that has worked well for Lokmat and HUL for marketing their soap brand, Lux is using audio advertisements at bus stops. Through the help of Vritti i-Media, who are the sole authorized Agency by MSRTC (ST) to run Audio Advertisements at 90+ bus depots across Maharashtra which reaches out to approximately 10.3 Cr+ people per month, HUL and Lokmat were able to successfully market their products and services to the rural audience and significantly boost sales in those areas.
Connecting to the bottom of the pyramid is always going to be a challenge that will be faced by many companies and organizations. The way of getting around it, however, is an effective solution that can aid in allowing for a company to reach out to the rural audience and in an effective manner.

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