Evolution of rural media

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: Rural media has a long history of evolution. Within this the tradition of wall painting may be traced to the Indian rock-art paintings that go back (according to various estimates) to 4000 BC.

The most vibrant and colourful wall paintings can still be witnessed in rural households of Rajasthan. Painted on wet lime plaster in mineral colours, these paintings depict the day-to-day scenes of life. Some researchers claim that this form was employed for commercial purposes during the emergence and establishment of the Indus Valley Civilisation.

Written forms went hand in hand with oral advertising. So powerful was this tradition that it gave birth to the field of phonetics in ancient India. Ancient Indians developed the scientific view of the physiological basis of human speech sounds. That included the conceptual foundation of the arrangement of letters in Indian scripts; for example, the Devanagari script bears witness to this concept. The vowels and consonants are arranged separately and consonants are arranged according to the point and the manner of articulation.

Professionals ranging from snake charmers, magicians, and herbal medicine men to jugglers, ropewalkers, and vendors developed their distinct calls or advertising patter, which can be witnessed in rural haats and radio ads to this day. Announcements made by video vans still remind one of the old oral traditions. Vocal calls were supplemented by a wide variety of art, and music forms and instruments—e.g., musical instruments such as drums, dafli (a tambourine), dabba (a tin box), and damru (a small drum) played by Lord Shiva—still maintain a centuries-old presence in rural India.

Although these forms of advertising are deeply rooted in Indian culture and its fold and literary traditions, they are neglected by the modern Indian advertising industry. Only small rural companies or self-employed rural advertisers make use of them, and some are in danger of becoming extinct. Before I proceed further, let me mention that the use of animals such as elephants and camels is not restricted just to rural advertising. Dabur, one of the largest advertisers in India with more than 457 products ranging from hair oil to digestive tablets, employs two elephants—Laxmi and Gulabkali—for advertising purposes. The use of animals for carrying advertising messages is also categorised as a non-conventional advertising form.

Reaching rural India

As pointed out earlier, according to the 2001 Census, most of India (more than 72% of the total population) lives in more than half a million (total 6,38,365) villages and speaks in numerous tongues.

The dispersion phenomenon poses a twofold challenge for advertisers and mass communicators wishing to reach rural audiences, namely, that of geographic dispersion as rural audiences are scattered and remain beyond the reach of conventional media (so that rural corporate giants that are champions of rural marketing, such as Hindustan Lever are struggling to reach them); and linguistic dispersion: India is a multilingual country with dozens of major languages and hundreds of dialects/varieties.

There are other variables too, such as understanding the needs and aspirations of consumers (consumer segmentation), and marketing the products that they need. Therefore, the important issues for advertising in rural India that are of concern to Indian advertisers and marketeers include:

* To reach the as yet unreachable with the most suitable media to ensure maximal spatial reach;

* To reach them linguistically and effectively;

* To unify this highly fragmented market through some standardised pan-Indian or global advertising strategy; and

* To mobilise villagers to the point of sale or the focal point of action.

How to reach the unreachable

The easiest solution would be to reach rural India by means of conventional electronic media (radio and TV). However, there are several limitations in the use of conventional media forms:

* Television

* TV is beyond the reach of rural India. Electricity is not yet accessible to many if not most people living in remote rural areas. According to NRS 2005, TV reaches 108 million households, reflecting a 32% growth since 2002. Cable and satellite TV penetration jumped from 40 million in 2007, 61 million in 2005. Nevertheless, the reach of TV is still limited.

* More than half the reach of TV is created through secondary viewing programmes such as community viewing.

* Reach and frequency of regional language and vernacular programming is still limited.

* Channel surfing is common; viewership is not guaranteed; clash of value systems results in special resistance to television advertising.

* Ownership of colour TV sets is extremely low, which places severe limitations on the artistic delivery of the message.

* In spite of the emergence of interactive TV, viewers have low involvement with advertised messages.

* Radio

* Although it has maximum reach, radio is still under much government control.

* Programme options are limited.

* There is no visual content.

* Like TV, there is a low involvement level of the listeners with ad messages.

* Cinema

* Cinema is experiencing a downward trend in viewership.

* It is popular but primarily with young males.

* It is not free.

* Print media

* A low level of literacy and lack of availability at the right time and place are still the major problems. Massive mailing by DAVP results in waste.

Reprinted with permission from Westland Books

—Book: Advertising & Marketing in Rural India

Author: Tej K Bhatia