ROLE OF MEDIA IN RURAL MARKETING

INTRODUCTION-

Rural marketing is different from agriculture marketing. according to national council of applied economic research (NCAER) an independent non profit research institute, rural households from 71.7% of the total households in the country. The rural population is nearly three times that of urban.

SIGNIFICANCE-

Saturation of the urban market Vast market for consumer goods The distribution task involves several villages Rural consumer form one homogenous

group with similar needs, values and aspirations

PROMOTIONAL STRATEGIES-

Formal media- Newspaper and magazines Television Radio Cinema Point of purchase Direct mail advertising Outdoor- Wall painting Tree boards Fairs

Formal media-

Radio – Kerala (62%) followed by Tamil nadu (35%),Karnataka (32%)

Cinema (65%) earnings from cinema are from rural markets as 29% rural people watch cinema as regular lifestyle

Newspaper and magazines (18%) of reach to rural areas

Television (27%) of reach to rural areas Point of purchase- display of hangings, festoon and

product packs in the shops will catch the attention of prospective buyers

Formal media-

Direct mail advertising-direct mailer on consumer durable are sent during the harvesting season.

Outdoor- Wall painting (toothpaste ,tea etc). Tree boards ( fertilizers and pesticide

companies in rural areas.

Informal media-

Farm to farm visit Group meeting Opinion leader

Informal media-

The haats Product display contest

Haats – are the periodic market it means people assemble at particular place at least once a week in order to buy and sell the products

Field to field visit-a group excursion for the first hand observation

Group meeting-a formally arranged meeting for discussing the problem and their solution.

Opinion leader-is the agent who is an active media user and who interprets the meaning of media messages for lower end media users, typically the opinion leader is held in high esteem by those who accept his/her opinion.

Product display contest-in this display the product in front of people and offer them to play the contest to win that product.

Companies using informal media-

Brook bond India Ltd

Rajdoot

Bajaj

Nirma

Companies using formal media-

Onida Videocon Mahindra and mahindra

Successful stories in rural market-

Dabur Escorts Bpcl Lifebuoy

Conclusion-

The rural advertising needs some innovative and alternative media to woo the customers

and by designing and adopting effective strategies and proper use of resources, marketers can overcome these barriers and explore the opportunities lying untapped in

rural market to achieve organizational goal- profit maximization.