Mr. Rajesh Radhakrishnan, Director – sales and marketing, Vritti i-Media in an interview with Economic Times shares insights on SME advertising in India. He also talks about a successful case study where a local fast food joint owner went on to build his brand using audio advertising at bus stands provided by Vritti i-media.
Read more on Economic Times
In today’s market where one is surrounded by 1000 brands – big and small, established or upcoming – it has become a daunting task for the consumers to retain brand information over a period of time. Where on one hand a consumer is not getting attached to more than 2-3 brands at a time, the brand itself is not getting enough recall value for its products. Besides the mid-level and bigger companies, the SMEs are bearing the brunt to create brand values.
Read insights from Mr. Veerendra Jamdade, CEO, Vritti i-Media on how SMEs can make effective use of innovative OOH media to connect with their target audience on Bizxchange.in
The 5th Annual Rural Marketing Strategies Conference held at Mumbai between July 18th and 20th, 2012, was a must-attend for professionals that stand to gain from marketing insights shared in the conference. It covered a range of areas starting from Marketing & Sales, Trade Marketing, Customer Propositions, Branding, Advertising & Communication, to Product Research, Marketing Analytics & Intelligence, Business Analysis & Planning and Strategic Management. Organised by global event and corporate services company Marcus Evans, the event was a platform for marketers looking for new opportunities to network and assimilate intelligence on aspects of rural marketing strategies. Subjects delving into distribution innovation; promotion, pricing innovation and cost management; partnership-building; communication and brand management; consumer insights and use of technology in rural strategies were discussed.
The list of key speakers at the event included industry big-wigs like S Sivakumar, CEO, ITC Agri Business; G Sundararaman, Executive Vice President, Corporate Development, Godrej & Boyce; BM Vyas, Former Managing Director, GCMMF LTD (AMUL); Dr Anurag Priyadarshee, Director Rural Business and Planning, Department of Posts, Government of India and Sanjeev Goyle, Senior VP Marketing, Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd Farm Equipment Sector (Tractor Division). Vritti i-Media was a Silver Sponsor at the event, where Mr. Rajesh Radhakrishnan, Marketing Head, Vritti i-Media, presented his views on new trends and developments with respect to rural marketing and advertising inIndia.
In his presentation, Mr Rajesh elaborated on grasping the invaluable demand base and consumer loyalty in rural markets by harnessing novel breakthroughs in distribution, promotion, pricing and media technology vehicles. Although wall paintings, hoardings, puppet shows, road shows, dramas, free sampling and onsite demos were tried and tested tools of rural marketing, the need for a more flexible, easily manageable, cost-effective medium has been felt by the leaders of the industry.
In this regard, Vritti i-Media has initiated a ground-breaking innovation in rural advertising by developing a computer-controlled audio advertisement network across ST bus stations in Maharashtra. The fact that the iMedia Audio Network is available at 100+ MSRTC bus stations in the state only highlights the vast reach and ensured effectiveness of the medium. Through its public private partnership with MSRTC, the company has been able to extend its marketing channel to the state’s most inaccessible regions by covering all districts, important taluka towns as well as pilgrimage towns. In fact, the company has strategically touched those towns where its marketing channels can reach populations from every village in Maharashtra.
To evince the success of these methods, Mr Rajesh shared several success stories with the audience. He explained how by employing the mentioned medium, Lokmat’s newspaper sales at bus stands grew 25%, while the company was also able to effectively entrench top-of-the-mind recall and encourage sales for FMCG brand Suhana in Maharashtra. In the case of Maruti, the brand garnered top of mind recall in talukas and received 100+ enquiries at ten taluka locations for a month. In fact, there have been instances when farmers have come to bus stands just to listen to the farmer advisories issued by the government. Moreover, Maharashtra State’s agriculture department has bagged several e-governance project awards for this innovation.
Nielsen conducted a Media Effectiveness Study of audio advertising at bus stations and compared this medium with other media at bus stations. It found that 98% respondents rated the audio medium as useful, while 99% of respondents highly appreciated its sound clarity. An average of 2.2 brands were recalled through this medium, which was also found to have a captive audience of 85% at ST bus stands. However, the list of iMedia Audio Network’s benefits does not end there.
In addition to a sure captive audience, the medium also integrates public utility value with its PA system to reach a floating population of 100 million. Apart from this, the medium is highly cost-effective with a price of less than a paise per person. It creates ten times more impact at 10% of the cost of traditional media. Since it can be centrally controlled, its content delivery system enables advertisements to go live in a few minutes. The company is shortly looking to provide its rural marketing services in Punjab and Karnataka. Rural social-economic conditions in these states make them perfect candidates for increased marketing exercises here, allowing Vritti i-Media to leverage their channels for the benefit of advertisers looking for greater ground-level marketing reach in these regions.
Farmers are our bread-baskets. To ensure their well-being, the Central government is increasingly creating several knowledge facilities like the Kisan Call Centre that enlightens farmers about various government schemes, farming tips, and more. Several state governments are mirroring these initiatives to provide similar facilities at the local level.
The Concerns
For Maharashtra, the welfare of farmers in the state is a critical issue at an economic as well as socio-political level. Thus, following the steps of the Central government, the department of agriculture under the Maharashtra government has established an agro advisory feed in 2011. The ultimate objective of the initiative was to provide expert agricultural advice to farmers in Maharashtra. The problem was disseminating this information to rural audiences. For the most part, villagers live in media darkness. Due to illiteracy, they cannot or may not be inclined to read useful and informative printed material. Due to poverty or inadequate local infrastructure, they may not have access to broadcast media like TVs and radios.
Traditionally, melas and haats have been preferred modes of rural communication, since they allow communication with a large number of people with minimal effort. However, such events do not offer an appropriate ambience for educating farmers. The solution was determining where rural folk congregate in adequate numbers and could be in a receptive state so as to readily assimilate the communication.
The Remedy
The audio medium emerged as a perfect mode of broadcasting informative messages, while district bus-stations were thought of as apt venues for the exercise. To this end, Vritti i-Media’s audio advertising network at Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) bus stands became an effective point of contact with the non-metro audience. Sound reasoning supported the selection of this peculiar medium. As media like OOH and public address systems are not dependent on power availability or literacy rate in villages, it is one of the surest ways to connect with rural audiences. MSRTC buses are among the main modes of transport for farmers in rural Maharashtra. Bus stations are, therefore, essentially transport hubs that gather huge numbers of people. This makes them opportune for mass communicating information and promotions. The agro advisories are suggestions by the state’s expert agriculturists and broadcasted in a format where they are intertwined with bus timing-announcements at regular intervals.
Through these advisories, farmers were able to gain knowledge about purchasing quality seeds, recognising the quality and quantity of produce in the coming harvest, simplified information on market prices and seasonal crops, as well as the correct use of fertilisers and hybrid seeds. More importantly, since farmers need financial education to increase their financial stability, the medium is also used to inform farmers about various beneficial government plans, the procedure of application to these programmes and the advantages they may gain from them. In the absence of such an initiative by the state government, farmers would have no means to receive such valuable information.
The Vritti i-Media Edge
Vritti i-Media, being the only agency authorised to run audio advertisements at MSRTC’s bus depots, offers an effective audio medium to advertisers at more than 80 locations in Maharashtra. This medium touches about 10.3 crore people a month. Therefore, the agro advisory initiative has met success in keeping local farmers updated with the latest technologies and techniques in farming and increasing their awareness about conducting agriculture viably.
The audio medium of public address systems at MSRTC bus-stands has ensured the customisation of information. The medium facilitated the dissemination of information or advice specific to the location where it is heard, making the messaging relevant to the types of crops grown in the region. For instance, for the Konkan region, which is the highest cultivator of mangoes, messages are customised to provide solutions for better mango cultivation or how to get rid of the specific pests likely to affect the mango produce given the local climate and solutions. Since this timely, location-specific manner of information dissemination picked-up among farmers in Maharashtra, the state government has received overwhelming response very quickly. The farmers are reaping the benefits of this initiative at no cost, while performing the mundane task of travelling to their destinations. This widely successful campaign enabled the Maharashtra Government to receive a Gold award at the National Awards on E-Governance.
Everyone has a favourite jingle. Perhaps we would all hum ‘Hum mein hai Hero,’ or ‘Har ek friend zaroori hota hai,’ if asked to break into our favourite new jingles. As opposed to signature brand tunes like Airtel or Intel, jingles have the ability to establish instant connect with the masses. Their beauty is that they can effectively go beyond audio advertising by permeating into the audience’s life.
In India, jingles are immensely internalised. Children grow up listening to these commercials on radio or watching them on TV, and crooning the tunes in unison with their families and friends. ‘Hamara Bajaj,’ ‘Nirma,’ and ‘Lijjat Papad,’ still have the ability to take us to another time and invoke nostalgia. Similarly, brand songs like Hutch’s ‘You and I,’ Close-Up’s ‘Paas Aao,’ and Lux’s ‘Sone se bhi sohna,’ are gaining increasing momentum due to advertisers leveraging the success of jingles to influence brand recall among consumers.
Recognising the critical need for sonic branding, as the mode is increasingly being called, Vritti i-Media is taking jingles into those sections of society that remained untouched by mainstream media until now. For instance, when HUL required Lux’s Sandal and Cream bathing bar to have superior recall among similar soaps in its category, Vritti was brought on-board to run a 30-day campaign at 85 ST bus-stands in Tier 2 and 3 towns in Maharashtra. A survey conducted to test the effectiveness of the campaign found that women were able to connect better with the brand and preferred it to other soaps.
Also, when the Central Vigilance Commission wanted to promote ‘Vigilance Awareness Week’ as ‘Participative Vigilance,’ anti-corruption jingles like ‘Bhrashtachar tala, desh majboot kara’ and ‘Kayadeshir vyavahar, door thevi bhrashtachar’ were broadcasted in the local language at ST bus-stations, along with contact details of the local Anti-corruption Bureau office. Similarly, Sony Television roped in the company to advertise Kaun Banega Crorepati’s fifth edition, while edible oil company Kirti Gold’s jingles could be heard at more than 80 bus-stations resulting in considerable recall for the brands.
Combining messaging at a local-level with a highly effective medium, created a powerful concoction for successful audio campaigns. Since ST buses are the primary mode of transportation in non-metro areas, each bus stand is frequented by at least 40,000 people a day or 2-3 times a week. In the waiting time of 20-25 minutes at bus-stands, they have an ear out for bus announcements. At such a juncture, they are sure to absorb sonic branding through such jingles. Yet, for advertisers the focus must be on creating memorable brands and not jingles. If jingles are created as a result of this prioritisation, they can become power tools that enable consumers to recall brands even with their eyes shut.
In November 2010, HUL and their 
agency Portland which is part of Group M, strategised the launch of an outdoor campaign across Maharashtra to generate interest for a new variant of Lux soap, Lux Sandal and Cream. With a view to reach out to urban, semi-urban and rural markets, they decided to bring Vritti i-Media on board for audio advertisements as well as hoardings at Maharashtra State Road Transport Service’s ST bus stands, for which they are the only authorised agency.
Vritti i-Media was approached about a month before the campaign’s launch, which was scheduled to run for 30 days at 85 bus-stands at urban, semi-urban and rural locations. They availed 30 spots a day at per bus-stand for audio advertisements, mainly to target women in the 18–35 year age-bracket. The objective was simply to communicate that Sandal or chandan makes skin soft. This belief is already popular since any chandan soap sells easily in Maharashtra, especially during festive times.
Challenges
Since it was discovered that average waiting time at bus-stands is less than 30 minutes, it was decided to play ads at 20-minute intervals. Despite this, it was adjudged that only 20–25% of the masses were impacted by the campaign. Additionally, the word ‘sandal’ used in the jingle could be mistaken as the footwear variant and confuse the audience.
Execution and Impact
Vritti i-Media played a hands-on role in developing the jingle used in the audio ad along with the Portland team. This jingle ran from December 15th to January15th, 2010, 30 times a day. To evaluate the effectiveness of this medium on the audience, Vritti i-Media joined up with research agency, Genesis Management and Market Research, to study its impact on female passengers at the bus-stands. It was found that 67% respondents were aware of the ad. Recall was higher for Lux Sandal & Cream as compared to Santoor soap ads. 71% respondents were using Lux Sandal & Cream and were aware of its beneficial properties; while 29% respondents among non-users showed interest in using the soap in the future. Aided response was highest for Lux Sandal and Cream among respondents at 86%.
Learnings and Outcome
In retrospect, it was learnt that the jingles could have been played more frequently for better recall. Also, with a view to increase audio impact, HUL should have avoided playing distracting music in between messages; in fact, the ad would have worked better without any music. In small towns where the ads were played, they were more effective than hoarding or print ads due to the high percentage of under-literate people there.
Lux Sandal and cream was able to emotionally connect with women. Triggers like fragrance, colour and affordability, which this soap satisfied, can help the brand become a 100% market-leader in the rural and semi-urban segments. As a result of this success, Vritti i-Media received enquiries for similar campaigns of HUL brands Pepsodent and Vim. They were also appreciated by Portland and roped in for a pilot project for ‘Wheel’ at a location in Nashik.
Watch how the advertising campaign was carried out at the MSRTC bus stands:
Summer is fast approaching and families are
busy making plans about where to go and how to travel. Whether rail or road, these potential consumers will spend hours en route, and perhaps make a few pit-stops at food-malls. As advertisers, it is important to stay ahead of the marketing curve by making the requisite moves to convert this fast-approaching opportunity. By considering various new and flexible modes of OOH, advertisers can make the most of the vacation season to up their sales amidst tremulous economic conditions.
Transit advertising and advertising at food malls are the new buzz in OOH. By enabling brands to reach consumers through media such as branding on vehicles, as well as audio announcements or attractive displays at bus stops or railway stations, advertisers can reach their specific target markets through flexible and dynamic means. For instance, Vritti i-Media has a well-established and proven network of tech-enabled audio advertising solutions for non-metro regions. Through effective announcements at Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) bus-stations in over 80 locations, the company continues to make waves in Maharashtra’s hinterlands.
Vritti i-Media also scores above its competitors in the audio-visual advertising space for high-population density spots such as highway food-courts. FMCG and retail companies can harness a basket of unique infrastructure such as that available with Vritti to launch innovative advertising campaigns. One such campaign was Dabur’s initiative to adopt 150 highway dhabas. Under Dabur’s plan, the interiors of dhabas were refurbished and branded props were used to promote the sales of the digestive tablets, ‘Hajmola.’
Bharat Petroleum made a similar move when they started a chain of dhabas christened ‘Tadka’ to offer a hygienic dining experience to highway travellers.
Additionally, Perfetti, Emani, PepsiCo and Godrej have also explored the avenue of brand alliances with food hubs as an invaluable point of sales to draw customers. Besides this, along with media like signages and kiosks, audio-visual screens can increasingly be found at food-malls along the Mumbai-Pune highway. These enable multi-lingual communication at modest costs.
In the space of audio advertising, Western Railway (WR) has joined the bandwagon by leasing air-space on its public announcement systems. For example, Kaun Banega Crorepati booked 3,600 seconds for three days of air-time, valued at Rs 4.5 lakh from WR.
This initiative by WR has met with loads of success and helped the railways rake in almost Rs 13 crore. Such a response proves that there are ample takers for this league of advertising communication. Since this mode is aimed at a captive audience, it is low cost. Due to the benefits of flexibility, cost-efficiency and effectiveness, brands are increasingly waking up to this idea of advertising that generates brand-goodwill among travellers.
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.
Since liberalisation, when the economy was seen turning over a new leaf, SMEs have spearheaded India’s technical and service expertise in several industries. By operating in every tier of workmanship—from servicing suppliers to servicing consumers—SMEs have fit like a piece of a jigsaw into the rich tapestry of the Indian economy. The rallying support of local folks that have been receptive to their quality offerings, are among the main reasons of their success. But what happens when such SMEs want to grow? How do they appeal for acceptance across districts and dialects?
At such points in their growth stories, SMEs must consider innovative, affordable advertising methods that help them get there. The opportunity to strike gold in non-metro markets emerges from the fact that it translates to a population of 800 million consumers that display low brand loyalty today. Audio advertising and OOH (that is predominantly pictorial) is perfect to reach such markets because of a set of factors. For instance low literacy does not allow full utilisation of the medium of print, while TV is dependent on unsteady power supply. Conversing with the audience in their language, at a time convenient to them is therefore a relevant solution.
A pertinent example of such an advertising strategy is Vritti i-Media’s innovative audio advertising solution for advertisers. The company has tied up with the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) with a view to broadcast advertisements at district bus terminals. They are the sole agency authorised to run audio commercials alongside arrival/departure announcements. This arrangement enables them to create recall among passengers frequenting travelling on these bus routes. These advertisements penetrate more than 80 locations in rural Maharashtra reaching 103 million people. The cost of using this medium per person is 10% of other media, despite its phenomenal impact on those passengers that are eagerly awaiting such announcements. These ads play 16 hours a day and may be heard up to a 100-meter periphery.
SMEs also get to choose from a bouquet of options. Transit advertising or advertising at food malls (on highways) are beginning to see success. An instance of transit advertising was the 9X Jhakaas campaign conducted at ST Depots in Maharashtra. Travellers could watch the channel’s shows on a TV mounted in the busses. They were offered not only a free ride in those buses, but also given goodies and prizes. In this way, thinking out of the box can enable SMEs to spread their word far and wide through such dynamic and innovative means.
Innovation is an integral part of advertising. Consumer interests and behavior is liable to undergo a change with time. Hence, the modes of reaching and interacting with them also evolve with each passing day. Advertisers and creative minds see no boundary of media. What better example than the recent use of the public address systems in the country.
Public address systems at different locations of India have been used very innovatively to attract audience attention and even strongly put across a message. Not only have these initiatives successfully reached the masses but also created ripples of conversations amongst the consumer network. Here are a few interesting examples:
Three years from the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai, a group of local Mumbaikars took up the initiative of spreading the message of peace and celebrate the ‘never stop’ attitude of Mumbaikars through a Flash mob at CST Station. The Public announcement system at SCT station was innovatively used to gather public attention and instantly involve them in the act. Within no time hundreds joined the movement, some by tapping their feet, some grooving with the crowd and some by clapping and cheering. The initiative not only helped in spreading the message effectively but also created millions of conversations online as well as offline.
The Public announcement systems at the MSRTC (Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation) bus stands in Maharashtra have been recently used by brands to reach the biggest consumer market of India i.e. the rural and semi-urban consumers. Last year, SBI bank ran a 20 day advertising campaign for loans using the PA system at MSRTC bus stands in Maharashtra. While the 20 day campaign generated Rs 550 crore worth of enquiries, the communication also gave examples of a sarpanch (headman) of a village talking about availing loans and repaying on time. That way SBI was able to touch upon NPAs (non-performing assets) arising out of non-payments.
The MSRTC bus announcement system is also being used by the agriculture department of Maharashtra to broadcast vital information about crop management and farming to farmers who comprise a large chunk of the MSRTC commuters.
Another exemplary campaign thought of using 
the Public Address Systems is the Bingo ad campaign executed at various Indian railway stations across India. The campaign aimed at informing the masses about the 25% extra chips given in every Rs. 5 pack of Bingo. Unlike competition, Bingo went with the non- traditional way of informing its consumers. While the public was waiting at the railway station, Bingo used the public address system to announce its message in the same tone & manner as the railways do. Several unsuspecting commuters thought it was a regular announcement until the Bingo! Trademark tone was heard at the end of the announcement. Besides many hearty laughs, Bingo also generated a 32% increase in volume sales. Amusingly, the people neither missed their message nor their train!
This new medium has proven to be very effective in creating an impact on the consumers. Big brands like SBI and Bingo have believed in this medium due to its certain characteristic features like:
High spread: Being public junctions, advertisers can reach out to a large chunk of masses at a time
High impact: Since the public address systems are meant to relay vital information like bus/ train announcements, people are always hooked on to the announcements, thus ensuring high rate of audience attention.
Flexibility: Advertisers have the flexibility to change the advertisements as per the location, seasons and festivals.
Low cost: As compared to other traditional forms of advertising, this medium offers a relatively lower cost.
On the whole, an advertiser can effectively reach a large population of consumers in a comparatively lesser budget. And due to these attributes of the Public Address system, we see this as an emerging medium of communication in India.
