Page 214 - DMGT509_RURAL MARKETING

Unit 11: Promotion Strategies for Rural Market

Advertising texts have given a few definitions of Advertising. With the thrust of media variants, Notes
i.e. several new media being available, the definition can now be modified. First we take the
most popular definition, which is as follows.
AMA (American Marketing Association), defines advertising as, “Any paid form of non-personal
presentation and promotion of ideas, goods and services of an identified sponsor.”

1. The communication is non-personal, as nobody has personally conveyed it. What we
witness in retail shops when the salesman talks to us to sell a product is that he is personally
communicating with us and hence by the definition it is not Advertising.
2. The presentation is for promoting ideas, goods and services to create awareness and assist
in selling the product.

3. A known person or firm does the advertising. This becomes essential to avoid wrong
messages being advertised, or sometimes the message becoming useless, as the potential
buyer would not know to whom to approach for buying the product, idea or service
advertised if advertiser is unknown.
Advertising can be considered as the soul of marketing in today’s world of complex and severe
competition. Or it can be a substitute elder brother who helps in takings purchase decisions.
Advertisement for target audience: It is important that the people who are likely buyers see the
advertisement message. Hence advertisers cater to different market segments with the help of
separate media and also with target-specific message. Advertisement for Toyota car would not
have any takers in a slum cluster; advertisement for low cost clothing material would be of no
use to the wealthy elite. Rural marketers would do well to understand the rural culture of how
they use their time to create advertising campaigns most suited to them. The differences need to
cover the following areas:
1. Print advertising to restrict itself to local press, pamphlets, hoardings like wall paintings,
audio-visual vans, local cinema, outdoor media like camels, elephants, balloons and product
displays, and merchandising.

2. Language used should be easily understood by the local population.
3. Timing should be just before the festive and harvest seasons.
4. The art should be simple, easily understood by the rural masses.

11.1.1 Consumer Advertising

Consumer advertising deals with the actual buyers and users from the market segment and
therefore uses a language and a medium best seen by the target segment. Market segment of
rural India would have the rich farmers, middle level, the poor and the very poor.

11.1.2 Business Advertising

Business advertising converging on target segment has to be in magazines seen by purchase and
technical persons of firms. For instance an advertisement for TV picture tubes would be best
seen in magazines of TV trade.
Geographic area coverage of media assists in focusing on the target segment where the firm
believes there is maximum business potential. A firm wanting to distribute its products on all
India bases would have to look at national press, magazines with national circulation and
readership, and national TV, including satellite and cable TV channels.

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