Strategies related to effective distribution of products play a key role in the success of major brands in rural markets. The Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCGs) marketers have successfully leveraged the utility of audio-visual vans. Even while developing television campaigns for the rural folk, marketers have been found to present not only an authentic rural setting, they also have kept the communication extremely simple. This article analyzes the rural marketing in India in relation to advertising.

An eminent personality once asked a gathering - If you see a woman in a village milking a cow, do you see an opportunity? Most did not reply and the one who did reply, replied in the negative. But that is exactly where Varghese Kurien saw an opportunity and it gave birth to one of the most successful organizations of India. The above excerpt from the workbook of PR Pundit's workshop held in Mumbai on September 10, 2003 speaks volumes of a visionary who estimated the true potential of rural India and symbiotically explored it in such a way that not just he but his company also became a legend of India's corporate folkloreSo, what is there in the villages and small towns of India that is attracting scores of marketers? What are the distinct challenges that rural India poses for the marketers? How are the marketers fine-tuning their offerings and coming up with innovative strategies for rural India? Finally, what are the keys to a brand's success in the tier-4 markets of the economic pyramid?

The Indian rural market with its vast size and heterogeneous demographies offers lot of opportunities to marketers to boost their revenues and also counter the saturation they are facing in the urban areas of the country. Two-thirds of India's population lives in rural areas and almost half of the national income is generated here. Seventy percent of the country's one billion plus population lives in over 6, 00,000 villages (see Exhibit 1).

India has as many as 47,000 haats (congregation markets) compared to 35,000 supermarkets in the US. In recent years, the country has witnessed a demand and awareness boom in rural India with rising purchasing power and change in consumption and lifestyle patterns triggered by significant media penetration. According to National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER) study, there are as many `middle income and above' households in the rural areas as there are in the urban areas in 2006-07. There are almost twice as many `lower middle income' households in rural areas as in the urban areas.

Advertising Express Magazine, Wooing Rural India, Indian Rural Market, Fast Moving Consumer Goods, FMCGs, Life Insurance Corporation, LIC, Hindustan Unilever Limited, HUL, Rural Segments, Communication Strategies, Brands in Rural India, Self-Help Groups, SGHs, Marketing Strategy, Brand Strategy.