Date: June 02, 2003

SUMMER PROJECT

ITC LIMITED TOBACCO DIVISION

AN EXPLORATION OF RURAL INDIA FOR THE PURPOSE OF EVOLVING A SUITABLE RURAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGY

Submitted to Tamal Roy Manager-Market Research Tobacco Division ITC Limited Kolkata

By Kartik Srinivasan Summer Trainee 2003 PGDBM 2002-04 XLRI Jamshedpur

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CONTENTS
TOPIC
1. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3. PROJECT OVERVIEW 4. INTRODUCTION 5. BROAD RESEARCH OBJECTIVES 6. A COMMUNICATION STRATEGY MODEL
COMMUNICATION OPPORTUNITIES MODEL EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES INDIVIDUAL DETERMINANT VARIABLES

PAGE NO
05 08 11 13 16 19

7. SPECIFIC RESEARCH OBJECTIVES 8. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 9. LOCATION OF RESEARCH

SAHARANPUR DISTRICT: A BRIEF OVERVIEW UNIQUE FEATURES OF SAHARANPUR

29 31 34

10.DETAILS OF DATA COLLECTION 11.DETAILED FINDINGS

GENERAL PRODUCT OBSERVATIONS 1. BRAND IMAGE VARIABLES 2. COMMUNICATION CONTENT ELEMENTS 3. COMMUNICATION CHANNEL OF DELIVERY OBSERVATIONS FOR BINGO 3

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1. BRAND IMAGE VARIABLES 2. COMMUNICATION STRATEGY

12.CONCLUSIONS 13.RECOMMENDATIONS 14.APPENDICES

A. LIST OF VILLAGES VISITED B. INTERVIEW GUIDES C. OBSERVATION SHEET D. PHOTOGRAPHS

77 84 89
90 93 107 111

15.BIBLIOGRAPHY

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This project would have been difficult to complete, but for the invaluable contributions from some important persons. Let me take this opportunity to thank them. But firstly, I thank ITC Ltd for giving me such a challenging project to work upon. I hope this challenge has brought the best out of me. I am indebted to my project guide Mr. Tamal Roy, Manager-Market Research, for the direction and purpose he gave to this project through his invaluable insights, which constantly inspired me to think beyond the obvious. His encouragement and patience helped me instill a great degree of self-confidence to deliver a good research work. I am also thankful to Mr. Ashish Verma, for taking constructive interest in my project and arranging for my trip to Saharanpur and Ms Linda Singh for having taken care of all my problems from the most threatening to the most trivial, but which nobody else could handle and saving me from all those worries. I am grateful to the entire Trade and Marketing Branch of Saharanpur, specifically Mr. Venugopal-Assistant Branch Manager, Mr. Nishith Bhatia-Area Sales Manager, Mr. Amit Jain-Area Executive for allowing me to avail their facilities at Saharanpur and arranging for my trips to the rural areas. I am especially thankful to Mr Vijay Tyagi, Supervisor Rural Areas and Mr. Deepankar Mitra, Senior Supervisor for sharing their knowledge of rural areas and giving thought provoking insights about rural areas, which have greatly helped to enrich this research. It was Mr. Tyagi who personally accompanied me on my rural sojourns and performed the roles of a guide, an interpreter and an useful assistant with remarkable ease and without whose presence, it would have been very difficult, if not impossible to gather all these information which are the backbone of this research.

My thanks to all other employees of ITC Ltd who have directly or indirectly helped me in my research work. I shall always cherish my stay with Baidya uncle and his family where I almost felt like being at a home away from home. Their concern for my problems and doting care helped me keep a firm focus on my work and be free from most worries. Finally, I express gratefulness to the rural janata for all their co-operation in making this research possible and for making me aware of an amazing new world!

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This project seeks to understand the rural consumer and the rural markets to find out the proper communication and communication opportunities to effectively communicate to the rural consumer. However a specific focus of this research is to find ways to communicate bingos effectively in rural India to encourage the huge number of bidi users to switch to bingos. The research adopts a qualitative methodology by conducting in-depth interviews with rural consumers, both bidi, cigarette users and general product users to understand their attitudes and beliefs, motivation to use bidis and other products and the factors governing their brand choice. Other factors like influence of family, friends and other social groups is also considered. Besides these preferences in brand/product usage, another dimension that is looked into is the rural consumers interaction with communication of products/brands/services through various media. What are their likings, interest generated with regards to different kinds of communication. Specifically, what are their preferences and liking with regards to content, theme, language, metaphors, SKUs shown, etc. in a communication. What is the role of communication in their daily lives and how it influences their product/brand preferences? The location of research is Saharanpur district, and 20 villages around Saharanpur city were visited for data collection. The data collected is definitely influenced by certain characteristics like income, education, societal norms, prevalence of modern amenities etc. peculiar to Saharanpur region but still a lot of the findings can be generalized and give interesting insights. The findings are with regards to products in general as well as for bingos in particular. Insights have been obtained about attitude towards product and involvement, influence of family and society on the brand/ product choice and the interaction with communication in terms of content liked and the effective channels of delivery. Similarly with regards to 9

bingos, attitude towards bingos and bidis is studied, how social groups influence the use of each has been described and finally a communication strategy for bingos has been proposed. Finally, this report concludes by making a summary of the findings. Some recommendations for marketing strategy of a product in terms of product and communication mix have been made for products in general as well as for bingos in particular.

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PROJECT OVERVIEW

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PROJECT OVERVIEW
Objective: To explore rural India by studying the rural consumer and the rural markets with the intention of understanding what factors influences the perception of brand image by a rural consumer and how a communication strategy help create a positive brand image. Secondly how can the learning be utilized for creating a good image for bingos, especially among bidi smokers Specific Objectives: Understanding the rural consumers attitudes, involvement and motivation levels with various products/ brands in the market Understanding the influence of family and other social groups in the brand preferences and images of the rural consumer Understanding the peculiarities of rural life that affect brand image Understanding the consumers interaction with various forms of communication so as to understand the kinds and magnitude of influence of the communication on the consumer. The above exercise has also been conducted for bingos in particular apart from understanding general product preferences. Research Methodology: Qualitative Research through in-depth interviews. The aim of this research is to give insights to help us form hypotheses for further research, which will be conclusive in nature. Deliverables: A communication strategy for products in general and bingos in particular in terms of Message Content Parameters like Theme, Language etc. Channels of Delivery such as various media, activities

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INTRODUCTION

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INTRODUCTION
India is predominantly rural in spite of the extensive industrial development after our independence. But for most of our history, rural India has been a market of enormous size and potential that was waiting to be exploited but was hardly ever done so. However things are changing now. With the proliferation of new brands in newer product categories, coupled with growing saturation in urban India, marketers, especially FMCGs are looking to rural India to be a source of volumes and growth. However rural India, inspite of its size and potential has proved to be the death ground for many products, ideas and marketers. Marketing any product or concept in rural India requires an understanding of rural India, which has failed many urban marketers in the past. The idea behind this project is to gain an understanding of rural India, the issues faced by rural people when they decide what brand/product to use and the specific question of how to market a product in rural India i.e. what marketing mix to apply. The method used to achieve the above aim is to gain an understanding of the rural consumers on various counts and to see what influences the formation of their brand images of different brands, because brand image is an important determinant of the purchase decision. Another parallel approach used is to understand the way the rural people perceive brand messages through various forms of communication. Here we have to study the different initiatives in rural India of different brands across product categories and see how it affected the target population. In this context, another important aim of this research is to understand the perception of bingo category of cigarettes in rural India. Bingos are cigarettes with length below 59mm and they do not have a filter. Following is a brief look at the bingo issue. The tobacco industry has been facing declining volumes over the last several years and also there is a gradual decline in volumes in the cigarette industry. In spite of this the

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profitability of ITC over the last few years has been increasing due to increase in the prices. However there will reach a stage in future where the prices may not rise beyond a certain stage and there will be a need to increase volumes. To combat this situation ITC has to focus on increasing the volumes of cigarettes. The most feasible way to increase volumes is to encourage large scale switching from the bidi smoking segment. Earlier there was a huge price differential between bidis and the lowest priced cigarettes (plains/ RSFTs). Hence bingo category was introduced to provide a lower cost cigarette option for the bidi smoker. Its purpose was to make the bidi smoker switch to cigarettes. Even though it was a big success initially, its attraction, over the years, has declined. Though price increase was an important reason, even otherwise people came to see little value in bingos. Rather it has been found that people switching from bidis to cigarettes would prefer using RSFTs to bingos in spite of the huge price gap between the two of these. The problem is since people dont see value in bingos; fewer people are switching to cigarettes, then otherwise. Thus the problem of increasing volumes for cigarettes is very intimately related to enhancing the value perception of bingos. But why understand rural markets for bingos. This is because of the huge disparity between the amounts of bidis and cigarettes consumed in rural India and the low incidence of cigarettes. As there are a high number of bidi smokers in rural India, so we have a lot more candidates for category switching. Thus the Management problem could be summarized as: To gain an understanding of rural India, the consumers and the markets to decide on the appropriate marketing mix for rural India for various products. To find out what are the obstacles to increasing category switching from bidis to bingos and the reasons for the bingos poor value perception among bidi smokers in rural India.

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BROAD RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

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BROAD RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

In the previous section, the issues facing the management were discussed. The issue facing management is to gain an understanding of rural India, the consumers and the markets to decide on the appropriate marketing mix for rural India for various products and secondly to find out what are the obstacles to increasing category switching from bidis to bingos and the reasons for the poor value perception of bingo among bidi smokers. Therefore the broad marketing problem is to determine the marketing mix for products in rural India, especially to market bingos in rural India to encourage as many bidi smokers to switch to cigarettes as possible. A marketing strategy encompassing all the 4Ps needs to be formulated to market products in general and to resuscitate the bingo market. One of the key challenges with regards to bingos or any product is to communicate the value offering of the product that improves the value perceived. How to communicate to the rural consumer in a better fashion is the key question here. So the focus now narrows down to design a communication strategy aimed at the rural consumer so that he sees value in using the particular brand. We can determine the communication strategy by understanding the brand images of various products and how these were formed and by understanding how brand messages communicated by the company through different routes affected the consumer.

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Our thinking till now can be diagrammatically expressed as follows:

Design of a Communication Strategy Objective

Better Brand Projection

Of Bingos vis--vis Bidis

Of Products in general in rural

To summarize, our Research Problem can be defined as: Determining the communication strategy in rural India for various brands, particularly bingos so as to favorably affect the brand image perception

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A COMMUNICATION STRATEGY MODEL

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A COMMUNICATION STRATEGY MODEL

Communication Opportunities
What do we mean by communication opportunities? Communication opportunities are different from communication in that they cover a broader area than communication. For example a communication in the form of a display on an outlet, may have utilized an attraction towards novel message elements of the rural consumer by showing something odd, strange, witty, fantastical, etc. Here the attraction for novelty is a communication opportunity, which we can exploit. But communication opportunities do not necessarily mean specific forms of content or media. Packaging can also give a communication opportunity. Suppose people like to collect small pictures, for example those of celebrities or those having scenically beautiful pictures, you can consider printing the image of a celebrity or some good picture on your packaging so that the villager collects it and preserves it. The aim of this research is to find such communication opportunities that can be utilized for bingos or any other products in rural India. In order to identify the communication opportunities, we have to understand what is the aim of a communication strategy and how it achieves this aim. In our case the aim of the communication strategy is to favorably affect the perception of the brand image.

Communication Strategy
A communication strategy here is expected to build a suitable brand image that will help realize our objective of initiating increased switching of bidi users towards bingos. How does a suitable brand image help initiate greater purchase of bingos?

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The following diagram depicts the role of brand image in the purchase decision and the factors affecting the way the brand image is perceived by the consumer. It depicts the logical reasoning behind the approach of this research.

Purchase Decision

OTHER FACTOR S Situational Factors

Brand Image

Information Processing Characteristics Environmental Influences Attitude, Motivation, Involvement With the product

Communication Strategy

Fig: A Model of Communication Strategy: Approach of this research

The following is an explanation of the above diagram. As we can see the purchase decision is affected by different factors like brand image, money in the pocket, availability of the brand, consumer schemes/ advertisements of other brands etc. For the purpose of our product, we are concerned with how we can influence the brand image of our products. The way we can influence brand image is through a communication strategy. But the relation between the communication strategy and the brand image is mediated by intervening variables, which are explained later. The two main questions with a communication strategy is firstly what to communicate (i.e. content of the communication) and secondly how to communicate (i.e. the channel/media or vehicle for the communication). To be more specific, the content of the 21

communication can be broken down into the basic message and the way the message is sent across (i.e. the various themes, languages, metaphors and symbols etc. utilized to send across the message). So a communication strategy consists of 1. Message: The spirit of the communication 2. Content parameters: Theme, Language, Metaphors 3. Channel of Delivery: Media, Activities So in order to build an effective communication strategy, we need to know these three things message, content elements, and channel of delivery. To understand the kind of content and channel of delivery, the approach we shall employ is to look at how the consumers interact with different kinds of communication of different product categories and brands. From this we shall get a general idea of what sort of themes, languages etc. are ideal in communicating to them and also what channel of delivery should be used e.g. TV, radio, retailer/consumer schemes, rural activities, etc. Thus in this approach, we survey brands in different product categories, look at their communication and see what sort of content and channels are effective. But in order to determine what should be the message communicated, we need to delve deeper into the rural consumers psyche and understand why he likes or prefers certain products and dislikes others. What is the image of certain product/ brand that he uses and how was this image formed. This is where we utilize the model suggested in the diagram given above. The model suggests that there are some intervening variables that mediate the way a communication strategy creates an image of the brand in the consumers mind. The intervening variables fall into three categories: 1. External Environment variables like culture, subculture, lifestyle, family, friends etc., which are external to the consumers mind and are influences of other minds on the consumers decision.

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2. Individual Determinant variables like personality, self concept, attitude, motivation etc. which are internal to the consumers mind 3. Situational variables like Mood, proximity to an outlet etc. External Environment Variables: Following are various external environment variables affecting purchase and consumption patterns and their brief description: a. Culture: It is defined as the complex whole that includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society. As such it provides a basis for many of our values, beliefs, actions as consumers. b. Sub-culture: Subcultures are segments of a given culture that have values, customs, traditions, and other ways of behaving that are unique and that distinguish them from others sharing the same cultural heritage. c. Social classes and Lifestyles: Social classes can be understood through social stratification, a process by which people in a society rank one another into different social positions. The result is a hierarchy often referred to as a set of social classes. People within a social class generally have certain common characteristics as far as their lifestyles are concerned. d. Social Groups: A social group can be viewed as a collection of people who have a sense of relatedness resulting from some form of interaction with one another. Various social groups are family, friends, relatives, colleagues at work etc. e. Family: The family is a special form of social group that is distinguished by numerous and strong face-to-face interactions among its members. f. Personal Influences: Personal Influences can be described as effects on an individual resulting from communications with others. It has an

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important effect on the amount and type of information that consumers obtain about products. Individual Determinant variables: Following are various Individual Determinant variables affecting purchase and consumption patterns and their brief description: a. Personality and Self Concept: Personality and self-concept provide the consumer with a central theme that gives a structure to the individual so that a consistent pattern of behaviour can be developed. b. Motivation and Involvement: Motives are internal factors that energize behaviour and provide guidance to direct the activated behaviour. Involvement describes the personal relevance or importance that the consumer perceives in a given purchase situation. c. d. Information Processing: This refers to activities that consumers engage in when acquiring, integrating, and evaluating information. Learning and Memory: This deals with issues such as what consumers learn, how they learn and what factors govern the retention of learned material in memory. e. Attitudes: Attitudes guide our basic orientation towards objects, people, events and our activities. They strongly influence how consumers will act and react to products and services, how they will respond to communication. As we can see there are a number of variables in each category that affect the brand image. But due time constraint and resource constraint, we cannot delve into each of these. So only those variables were selected that were most relevant to communication strategy and brand image and which it would be practical to study considering the time and other resources available. The variables selected for the study are: 1. External Environment variables: Family Social Groups

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Lifestyle

2. Individual Determinant Variables Attitude Motivation and Involvement Information Processing

3. Situational Factors like routine, moods etc. that influence brand image Following is a description of each of these variables and how they influence brand image. Social Groups: A group consists of people who have a sense of relatedness as a result of interaction with each other. Groups may be classified according a number of dimensions like function, degree of personal involvement, and degree of organization. Depending on the dimensions used there are a variety of influences on the individual. Various concepts associated with groups are status, norms, role, socialization and power. Groups may influence an individual in several different ways. They can be just a source for information, which shapes the way you look at things, or they may influence you through compliance to their norms, rules etc. The first kind of influence is called informational influence; the second kind is utilitarian influence. There is a third kind of influence called value-expressive influence where an individual feels enhanced self-concept by acceding or denying certain group influences. Thus we see there are several ways social groups influence the behaviour of a person. Family: Family is a social group that has predominant influence on the consumers behaviour. It is characterized by intimate face-to-face interaction and the members referring to certain shared family values, norms, and standards of behaviour. Besides bonds within a family are likely to be stronger compared to other social groups. Another important factor is that unlike other groups to which the consumer belongs a family 25

functions directly in the role of ultimate consumption, more so, as we shall see, in the case of a rural consumer. Thus family operates as an economic unit earning and spending money. In doing this, the family must establish individual and collective consumption priorities, decide on products and brands that fulfil their needs, and also decide where these items are to be bought, and how they are to be used in furthering the familys collective goals. Often, theres a possibility of consumers attitudes towards spending and saving and even the brands and products to be purchased being molded, by his family hes brought up in. thus we need to understand the familys influence on its members and the way purchase decisions are made in a family. Lifestyle and Social Class: A social class is defined as a group consisting of a number of people who have approximately equal positions in the society. Social classes exhibit certain characteristics such as status, multidimensionality, hierarchy, restriction of behaviour, homogeneity and dynamism. Social class can be measured by observing the individuals education, income, occupation, and area of residence besides his lifestyle like his possessions, product/brand preferences. Based on this we characterize a person belonging to upper class, middle class, working class etc. An individuals lifestyle and social position have important, direct influence on the kind of products/brands he uses. Therefore social class is an important study to understand the way brand image is perceived. Attitudes: Attitudes are defined in several ways. One of the definitions views attitudes as learned predispositions to respond to an object or a class of objects in a consistently favourable or unfavourable way. Attitudes are multidimensional in nature. A persons overall attitude towards an object is seen to be a function of (1) The strength of each of a number of beliefs the person holds about various aspects of the object. (2) The evaluation he gives to each belief as it relates to the object. For e.g. I have the belief that cigarette contains more tobacco than bidi. My evaluation about the belief is that smoking more tobacco is more harmful to health. Therefore my attitude would be that cigarettes are more harmful to health as compared to bidis.

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Motivation and Involvement: Motives are inner states that mobilize body energy and direct it in a selective fashion towards certain goals. Thus there are two major components of motives 1. A mechanism that arouse bodily energy. 2. A force that provides direction to that bodily energy. Thus the role of motives is to arouse and direct the behaviour of consumers. Hence understanding motives is important to determine the brand image for a product. Involvement is closely related to motives. Involvement with a product/ brand, in very simple terms, would mean the amount of time, energy and other resources a consumer is willing to spend in making a purchase decision in that product category. Involvement is characterized by factors such as intensity, direction and persistence of involvement. Information Processing: Consumer information processing may be thought of as the acquisition of stimulus inputs, the manipulation of these inputs to derive meaning from them, and the use of this information to think about products or services. More specifically, five of the major ways in which consumers use information derived from their environment are: 1. To understand and evaluate products and services. 2. To attempt to justify previous product choices. 3. To resolve the conflict between buying and postponing purchases. 4. To satisfy a need for being informed about products and services in the marketplace. 5. To serve as a reminder to purchase products that must be regularly replenished (soap, beverages, and the like) Situational factors: Situational or contingency factors are another set of variables that influence the way any communication is processed and brand image is formed. These include factors such as the personal situation (mood, temper) and environmental situation (company, proximity to an outlet, money available and other circumstances) when a

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person interacts with the communication of the product or when he buys the particular product. Further reasons for the choice of the above variables Now that we have seen the description of the above variables and their strong influence in the perception of brand image, there are two other reasons why these variables were chosen and others such as culture, personality etc. were discarded. One, we dont have the time to study all of these variables like culture, subculture, personality etc. Constructs like culture, personality will require a spending a lot of time in rural India to study them and also given the data collected, it will require a high degree of expertise to draw reasonable conclusions out of it since it is highly subjective and qualitative. It is necessary that we focus on a few aspects, which are more directly related to communication strategy. Two, it should be pragmatic and feasible to measure the constructs selected, given the short time and less resources. Framing questions on attitude, motivation, and social groups will be easy compared to framing questions to study personality and culture. Hence we have chosen to study the described variables, firstly because of their comparative ease of study as far as time and other resources are concerned, secondly because of their more direct interaction with communication and strong influence on brand image and lastly because of the comparative ease of framing questions to study the selected variables. Because of these reasons it is practical to draw reliable conclusions from the study of the selected variables, while it is not so in case of the discarded variables. This completes the explanation of the model of Communication strategy given at the start of this chapter.

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SPECIFIC RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

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SPECIFIC RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

In the previous section, the model of communication strategy was explained. The presence of the various variables influencing brand image have been explained and their presence justified. The model of communication strategy will help us find out the message part of the communication strategy after understanding the attitudes, motivation, influence of family, social groups etc. that will help create a favourable brand image in the consumers mind. But in order to know the specific content parameters and channels used to deliver the message, we need to understand the consumers interaction with various forms of communication. Based on the understanding of the above model we can finally decide upon the specific research objectives. The specific research objectives are as follows: Understanding the rural consumers attitudes, motivation and involvement with regards to various products of consumable and durable category, specifically with regarding bingos and bidis. Understanding influence of family and social groups in shaping the image a rural consumer holds about different brands in various product categories. Understanding some peculiarities of rural way of life, compulsions and limitations faced by them, their ways of obtaining, understanding and information, and some ways of behaviour characteristic to rural India. Understanding the interaction with communication of rural people. What kinds of communication they like, dislike. What sort of content in terms of theme, language, metaphor, celebrities etc. are prevalent and which of them are effective. Similarly what channels of communication like TV, radio, displays, rural activities are most used and how effective are each of these in terms of reach, deliverance of content etc.

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
In order to conduct the study, the methodology has to be decided. The description of the problem and our objectives will help us determine the methodology to be adopted. As seen from the problem description, the area of study is a previously unexplored area, so the concepts, definitions, opinions etc. are unformed. We have to understand the rural consumer and markets without any sort of prior assumptions, so we do not know what information, conclusions we will obtain from this research. We have started of with a basic assumption that some variables are relevant to the study, but we are no means sure as to whether they are relevant or not or how relevant they are and what should be the importance of each of the variable. Thus this research is an exploratory research into a previously uncharted area. The reasons for its exploratory nature can be summarized as follows: Need to create concepts and definitions about rural markets, consumers etc. so that they can be further investigated into Area of study is new, previously unexplored and information is vague Hypotheses are not available, they have to be formed based on this study

Given the exploratory nature of the research, should we employ a qualitative or quantitative research methodology? Before deciding that, let us revisit our tasks. We have to obtain information about variables such as attitude, motivation, and influence of family etc. of the rural consumers, without having any preconceptions about any of these issues. A quantitative study will help us give a measure of variables previously defined and may also help us decide their priorities with respect to each other given we understand how each variable affects the subject. But neither do we have definitions in the rural context of these variables, nor do we know how each variable affects the subject. In short, the only things we are sure of is the presence of some variables and have tentatively decided on some particular variables, but we have no way of knowing whether, these variables

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indeed affect the subject and the nature of their influence. A quantitative study will not therefore serve our purpose. We have adopted a qualitative methodology. There are several instruments for conducting a qualitative study, and this research used some of them like in-depth interviews and impromptu focus groups (rather than predecided focus groups), subject observation. In in-depth interviews, there were conversations with the subjects wherever they are conveniently available. The focus was on determining what sort of attitudes etc. the people generally have and how important it is for the brand image, rather than how many people hold particular attitudes. In order to interview the respondents properly and uniformly, and generate information on each of the required areas, a detailed interview guide was formed which listed down the important information areas and how to obtain them. Specific Interview Guides were created for different sets of consumers like Bidi user Cigarette/Bingo user Non Smoking Tobacco user (e.g. Gutkha, Zarda, Pan Masala) General Product user

A look at the Interview Guides will give an idea of the information areas sought before the data collection. The Bidi user and General Product user Interview Guides are given in Appendix B. The other two guides are also similar to the earlier ones except for some minor differences to get data unique to that product.

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LOCATION OF RESEARCH

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LOCATION OF RESEARCH
For the collection of data the district of Saharanpur was chosen, because of a few reasons. Firstly, because there are a lot of villages close to Saharanpur town. Secondly, because of the presence of a branch office at Saharanpur, which offered a lot of convenience, necessary to conduct this research. The following is an introduction to the area of Saharanpur and its unique features.

SAHARANPUR DISTRICT: A Brief Overview

Physical features: Saharanpur forms the most northerly position of the Doab land, which stretches between the holy rivers of the Ganges and the Yamuna; the Shivalik hills rise above it on the northern frontier. Saharanpur district attained the status as Saharanpur division in 1997 of Uttar Pradesh. As regards its physical features, the north and the north east of the district is surrounded by Shivalik hills and separates it from the Dehradun district in the recently created state of Uttranchal. The river Yamuna forms its boundary in the west, which separates it from Karnal and Yamunanagar districts of Haryana. In the East lies the district of Haridwar, which was the part of district Saharanpur before 1989 and in the south, lies the district Muzafarnagar. Its total area is 3860 square Kilometers. According to 1991 census the population of Saharanpur is 2309029. The district presents many varieties of features and differs in general appearance than any other portion of the Doab and Gangetic plain as a whole. It is true that most of the area belongs to the upland Bangar which stretches in a continuous line up to Allahabad i.e. junction of the two great rivers and on the either side is the broad and low lying valley full of swamps and back waters with wide open grassy plains and Tamarisk jungle but in the north, there are the steep hills of Shivalik chain which appear in a far more marked form in Saharanpur than any other 36

district of Uttar Pradesh while below the hills are to be seen in a modified form the prevailing characteristics of the Bhabar and Tarai region. Yamuna is the important river of the district. Apart from this Solani, Hindon, Ratmau, Nagdev have also played an important role in the physical reconstruction of the district. All the rivers of the district submerge either in Yamuna or in the Ganges. Climate: The climate of Saharanpur resembles the average climate of Uttar Pradesh in general but its northern position and its proximity to the hills give its on peculiarity. Though the region lies well outside the tropics yet its climate like that of the rest of North India is essentially tropical because of Himalayan chain. It belongs to the uppermost part of the upper Ganga plain which is a sub humid region between the dry Punjab plain and the humid middle Ganga plain within the monsoonal region of the great plains and naturally partakes the characteristics of the to adjoining regions. Mineral resources: The region is very poor in mineral resources. Limestone stone boulders are the only main minerals. Limestone is found in the Shivalik hills. Stone, hard enough to be used for building purpose is scarce and is found in Shivaliks while stone for road metal is found in the beds of Solani, Hindon and Sukhrao streams. Excellent lime is also procured from the boulders covering the beds of the hilly torrents. The saline efflorescence, which is known by the name of Reh, is found in the low-lying tracts and in the canal irrigated areas. The physical features and the climatic conditions of this district have played an important role in shaping the history of Saharanpur district and making it an important part from the rest of the country. Landuse: Saharanpur is primarily an agricultural district. Roughly 70 % of the land is under agricultural use still the region is of little importance from the point of view of pastures. Agriculture plays an important role in the economy of the district. One significant feature is that even though the agricultural land for food crops has reduced in recent years the food production has increased considerably. The significance of

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commercial crops have increased manifold as a consequence of sugarcane production. The important food crops of the region are wheat, rice, maize, jowar, bajra, sugarcane, oilseeds, cotton and jute are the main commercial crops. Industries: Even though Saharanpur district does not have enough mineral resources many agro-based industries have developed in the region. Many cottage industries have also developed. Here sugar industry and paper, paperboard industry is found. The large-scale production of sugarcane encourages the sugar industry. Saharanpur is famous for its wood carving industry. The Shivalik range provides the raw material for the industry. Woodwork is exported to countries like Germany, U.K., USA, Canada, Kuwait, Sweden, Singapore and many others. Transportation: The development of transport system depends on the physical features and economic utility of the region. Transport system in the Bhabar region has not developed much due to mountainous rivers and uneven topography. In the Bangar region the roads and railway lines are developed due to favorable conditions like fertile land, high density of population and topography. Trade: From the viewpoint of industries and trade the region has great importance. The region produces agro-based and industrial goods that are sent to the various parts of the country. The trade flourishes and can be divided into three categories: a. Food- grains, Vegetables and fruits, Milk and milk products. b. Agro-based industries: The most important industries are sugar, gur, (cotton) textile and cigarettes. c. Industrial goods: Paper, sugarcane, hosiery material & woodcarving. Besides exporting goods from here the region also imports coal, ironore, cement, salt, petroleum products, fertilizers, oil - seeds and leather from Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi.

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Source: http://saharanpur.nic.in

Unique Features Of Saharanpur

Literacy: Saharanpur has a literacy rate which is greater than an average of Uttar Pradesh district. 72% of the males are literate while 51 % of the females are literate; hence the literacy of the district is around 62%, which is higher than the state literacy rate of 57%. However it should be kept in mind that this is less than Indias overall literacy rate, which is around 66%. Literacy rate is very important for our objective since a written communication can be better understood in areas where more people are educated. Sex Ratio: However the sex ratio of Saharanpur is 830, which is abysmally low, in fact, lower than the UP average. Sex ratio is also an important determinant of the development of a society. In rural Saharanpur, the women are mostly kept confined within their households and are not allowed to interact with outsiders. They draw a veil around their face and are shy of strangers. Economic Condition: Saharanpur is populated with rich farmers with large landholdings as compared to other parts of Uttar Pradesh. This is mainly due to the sugarcane farms, which have made farmers in these parts very rich. Because of their better economic condition, besides higher literacy rate, they enjoy modern amenities. It may come as a surprise but many households own a CD player and watching films on CDs is a favorite pastime of the youths. Another reason for the wide prevalence of CD players in this region may be the low reach of Cable TV in the rural areas. Left with only channels of Doordarshan, these people have to resort to CD players to satisfy their hunger for films. Another contribution of literacy rate and the possession of modern amenities like TV is better brand awareness. Hence we see people in rural Saharanpur using well-known brands in different product categories.

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Proximity of Rural Areas: The areas around Saharanpur are predominantly rural. In fact we can see a lot of villages very close by to Saharanpur. This was the main reason behind choosing Saharanpur to conduct the research, the proximity of rural areas. Besides there were a variety of villages, small and large populations, less developed, and welldeveloped, which could give the research, the diverse environment that could help validate the findings and draw generalized conclusions. The Bidi/ Cigarette market features: The bidi and cigarette market in Saharanpur area has a lot of different companies and brands jostling for market share. However in cigarettes, the brand that commands the leaders position is Capstan Filter followed by Cavander Magna, a bingo from GPI. In an average-sized outlet, Capstan Filter sells about 7-8 packs, while Cavander Magna sells near about it, mostly in loose form. Then far behind come brands such as Gold Flake Premium, Wills Classic, and Cavander Goldleaf. On good days they each sell about a pack or two in a day but usually it is less than that. With regards to Capstan Standard most outlets did not stock it, in some villages it was not even known that Capstan Standard in 5s pack existed. In some outlets where it was stocked, it sold about a pack a day. The brands of Bidi that are most sold are Telephone, No27, 502 Pataka etc. Telephone costs Rs 4 a bundle, while most of the other known brands cost around two to three rupees each. A bundle is supposed to contain around 22-24 sticks, but usually contains 17-20 sticks each. The market is also proliferated with scores of duplicate brands. For example a duplicate of Telephone would cost only Re 1 for bundle of 20. The presence of duplicate does adversely affect the original brand, but still brands like Telephone have their loyal users. Those who use duplicate brands do know that they are using only duplicate stuff, but still continue to do so, because of cost considerations. Of course it raises a plethora of questions. So what does the rural consumer really want, taste or low cost. As we shall see, what he really wants is value for money. He would not spend more to get better taste, nor would he buy an inexpensive product that fails to satisfy him, he is always trying compromise

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between these two ends. The following are some other interesting features of the Saharanpur market. Communication of Capstan low: The market is characterized by very poor communication presence of Capstan, both Filter and Standard. Although Capstan filter still manages to lead the cigarette market, due to its long presence and the undying habit of its users, same advantages are not available to Capstan Standard. In the areas I visited, I saw Cavander board or display in approximately 60 to 70 % of the retail outlets if not more. A reliable supervisor told me, that in one of the villages alone, that Id not visited, Cavander has six wall paintings, which is a very high number. Our presence compared to the 60%-70% of Cavanders measures up to hardly 10%. For the 500 displays that were issued when we launched Capstan Standard, they issued about 5000 displays, posters etc. for Cavander Magna and resorted to aggressive marketing techniques at the ground level. Because of the poor communication presence, it is hard to determine, what would have been the effect if communication were there and how the existing communication was liked. If we already had a communication presence there, its effect could have been gauged and that would have helped this research further. Cavander used to smoke drugs: In Western UP, smoking of a drug made of ingredients called Sulfa and Bhaang is very widespread. This is surprisingly one of the biggest reasons behind the huge popularity of Cavander Magna and also Gold Leaf in these areas. It seems the Cavander brands have some product features that is suitable for them being used to smoke these drugs. The drug smoker would empty the Cavander cigarette of all its tobacco and fill it with the drugs. The Cavander cover is thick and does not get torn when the tobacco is removed. Also Cavanders girth is more than Capstan or any other cigarette, so that it can be used to stuff greater amount of drug than Capstan. Also Capstan being a good quality cigarette, the cover is irreparably damaged when the tobacco is removed. At least half the smokers who smoke Cavanders must be doing it because of Sulfa.

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DETAILS OF DATA COLLECTION

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DETAILS OF DATA COLLECTION

A total of 20 villages around Saharanpur city, along various routes emerging out of the town, were visited for data collection. The list of villages along with other information such as its location, distance from the city, demography etc. is given in appendix A. The villages visited for data collection can be distinguished on the following features 1. Population: The villages visited mostly fell into the below 2K and 2K-5K population strata. 11 villages were in the 2K-5K pop strata while 8 villages were in the below 2K pop strata, while one village was almost as big as a town falling in the 10K-25Kpop strata. 2. Distances from the city: All the villages were those having Saharanpur as the nearest city. One village was as close as 1km from the city, while some as far as nearly 20km from the city. The distance from the city affects various parameters such as availability of products, connectivity to the city etc. some small villages close to the city may have products that even large villages, but those farther from the city may not have. 3. Main road and Interior: villages on the main road are exposed to more products, communication and have better access to the city than villages lying in the interior. This has important influence n the lifestyles of the people. For our data collection, both, villages lying on the main road and those in the interior were visited. But the interior villages visited were those that were served by our salesman. There are some villages which do not lie on the salesmans routes, such villages were not visited

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4. Various levels of Development: The villages visited were in different stages of development. Some had well made pucca houses, lots of retail outlets, and amenities like school nearby, good roads etc. while others lacked these. Mostly it was seen that villages having population predominantly engaged in agriculture was mostly well off and developed. Such villages also had many TV sets, Tractors etc. 5. Demographic Features: The villages visited had different predominant occupations such farmers, laborers (including industrial workers), which as mentioned before has close relation to the stage of development of the village. Also villages had different predominant religions, castes. In Saharanpur region, there is a high percentage of Mohammedan population followed by Dalits. This may have effects on certain product or brand preferences. Nevertheless, it is useful to know the above information as it gives an idea about the cultural orientation of different villages. For communication this may not matter in case of mass media like TV, but when we are conducting village level communication through activities, we have to be sensitive to the beliefs and values of the people, which may be based upon their religion, caste and ethnic background, which may differ from village to village within the same region.

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DETAILED FINDINGS

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FINDINGS
The findings can be categorised as findings specifically for communication of bingos and findings about other products in general. First, the general findings shall be presented and then the findings specific for bingos shall be presented. Findings in each category have been presented in the way the data has been collected according to the structure given in the interview guides. There have been insights into rural attitude, motivation, involvement and the family, social group influence and their interaction with communication, the manner in which they process information obtained through any communication. It should be said that the areas mentioned in the interview guides were those that were considered to be important on the basis of initial literature survey of secondary data sources and interviews with experts or those with knowledge of the area. Subsequently on data collection, some of the information areas were found to be not that important or data on these was difficult to obtain. Besides I also obtained information that was not listed as a requirement in the guides but was nevertheless found important on the basis of the initial findings during data collection. So these findings have some of the information areas listed in the guides conspicuous by their absence as well as some new information that was not foreseen during the guide preparation stage.

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GENERAL PRODUCT OBSERVATIONS

I. BRAND IMAGE VARIABLES
1. Attitude towards various products/brands Preference for the low cost Brand: Nowadays increasingly the RC prefers to buy the lowest cost brand available. Also in that brand, he prefers to buy the small SKUs, because he cannot afford to give the one time higher payment for the larger SKUs. Why does he want to buy brands nowadays? The reason is that with the availability of a large number of brands in the rural market and also the increasing brand awareness, people are being attracted towards using brands. Though this still is not the predominant behaviour in rural markets, there definitely is a trend towards using brands more and more. Of course since the natural tendency in the rural is towards being economical, the RC prefers to buy the lowest cost brand. Thus we see a brand of soap like Nirma Saundarya Sabun priced at Rs 7.00 being preferred over other brands because it is the least priced brand. Here some interesting points are: Why low cost? : The price difference between Nirma and other brands is not significant, at least from an urban perspective. Lux soap costs Rs 8.00. But even the difference of Re 1.00 is apparently significant to the RC. This is not to say that Nirma is preferred due to the price factor alone. Definitely there may be lots of families that prefer Nirma because of its product related characteristics i.e. simply because they like it better than other brands. But even though the above reason is a common refrain, it is not difficult to see that price has an important influence. Another example is people using Chik shampoo whos smaller SKU is available at 50p compared to the market leader Sunsilk that was earlier available at a minimum of Rs 2.00. Because of the sudden increase in Chiks share at Sunsilks expense, Sunsilk has now had to bring out a Re 1.00 pack and will be launching its 50p pack shortly.

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Why Brand? : Another interesting feature is that the Nirma is preferred over local brands, which are cheaper than Nirma; in fact as cheap as Rs 5.00. The reason for this being the top of the mind factor. Nirma is a national brand, prominently advertised through various media like TV, newspapers etc. People have preference nowadays for such products. More than what you show in your communication, just the simple fact that you have a communication especially on national TV, gives an impression to the rural consumers that your brand is a national brand. Besides the simple top of the mind factor, other things such as likeability of the ad and notions such as If the company can afford to spend so much on advertising, definitely its product must be good. Its worthwhile to try it once. Probably the reason for this increased preference for brands nowadays is that the perception that using brands is good for once well-being, besides the obvious usage benefits that a good brand gives over local brands and unbranded products. For example using Nirma soap would give them a better experience, good fragrance, feeling of freshness etc. and also there is a feeling that using Nirma is better for hygiene as compared to using a local brand. This perception is due to better communication of the brand and also due to its product quality. Hence the RC prefers Nirma to cheaper priced local brands. Similarly we see largely more preference for Tata brand in salt in spite of Taja Salt aping its package design. There is niche market for Taja, of consumers who buy it because they simply cannot afford Tata. Also those communities in which there is less concern for a better standard of living would buy Taja. But they would not have bought Tata even if Taja werent there. They would have bought another local or unbranded product even then. An interesting fact that I heard from a supervisor was that Taja was preferred in predominantly Mohammedan areas. There may be two reasons for this. First, most Mohammedans are poor and hence can afford only the lower cost Taja brand, besides because of lack of education and awareness, they are not to concerned about using better quality products. Second, probably the name of the brand Taja is closer to the Islam ethos and hence its preference to other brands. This second reason was the same found in some

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predominantly Muslim areas regarding the preference for Cavanders over Capstan. Cavanders was preferred because of its green coloured pack; green being a sacred colour in Islam. To summarize, what the rural consumer wants is an affordable quality, not necessarily good quality. Thats why there is a craze for brands like Nirma, which are perceived to be brands and hence satisfactory in quality and also they are the affordable. Preference for the smaller SKUs: The rural consumer prefers to buy products in the smaller SKUs. The reasons are two in number. First, they do not want to spend larger amount at one go required for the bigger SKUs. Many rural consumers are daily wage earning labourers, they do not want to spend significant part of their daily wage in buying a larger SKU. Sometimes they do not have enough money to buy the larger SKUs. Hence their preference is for smaller SKUs. Second, they feel that if they buy in large quantities, there will be usage and wastage in larger quantities. This is true for many commodities like shampoo, toothpaste etc. in toothpastes people prefer buying smaller tubes, because with larger tubes you usually take out more than you need and waste a lot. Hence they buy smaller tubes in toothpaste. Seeing this preference, companies are coming out with smaller SKUs in such wide ranging products such as cosmetics (Fair and Lovely), Tea, Biscuits (Parle G), shampoo sachets (Chik followed by Sunsilk), Hair Oil (Navratan Tel). The Fair and Lovely pack is priced at Rs 5.00, the Parle G pack is priced at Re 1 and has 4 biscuits. 20 cups of Tea is available in a pack priced at Rs 5.00, Navratan Tel has come out with a sachet priced at Re 1.00 and as is well known Chik Shampoo sachets are available at 50p compared to Sunsilk sachet, which was earlier available at Rs 2.00.

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Preference for robust, hardy products The way a rural consumer may use a product may be totally different from his urban counterpart. This may be modelled by the rural conditions. For e.g. the rural consumers prefer vinyl match boxes rather than cardboard matchboxes like our Aim, Delite etc. this is because in rural conditions, where the consumer has to do hard physical work outdoors in hot, humid conditions, they sweat profusely. Now the match boxes usually kept in the shirt pocket gets wet or damp. A vinyl match box may be used in spite of getting damp, but card board match boxes fail to light the matches once they get damp. Hence the rural consumers do not buy the cardboard match box in spite of the shopkeepers pushing it. Similarly the rural consumer prefers to buy soaps (toilet and washing) that doesnt get eroded quickly. This is because the soap is used by all the members of the family and is subjected to hard use, so they want a soap capable of withstanding a hard use and lasting for a longer time. 2. Motivation and Involvement towards products/brands A user of Tata salt, a housewife, said she used it because it was the best for the family. When I asked her why it was the best, she said, It is of good quality, has iodine, which is necessary for the body. She felt like a good, responsible mother and a wife when she used Tata salt. Some bidi users told me, that when they smoked bidis, they felt relief due to the fact that they were not wasting too much money over a bad habit, money that was important for their family. These kinds of opinions give us insights into the frame of mind that people are in when they use a particular product. The housewife is motivated to use Tata salt because it makes her feel like a responsible mother and wife. The bidi user felt like a responsible father and husband when he smoked bidis rather than cigarettes. This shows that people have different motivations while using a product. Some general observations are presented below: In general rural users do not have high involvement with any particular brand. If they do not get their favourite brand in their usual shop, they are not going to go to another shop to buy that brand. Brand Loyalty very

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much depends on brand availability. A rural consumer prefers to buy those brands that are easily available. The brand loyalty can also be easily swayed through consumer schemes like free sampling, lower price, and free gifts etc. A rural consumer is always after value for money. He will adopt any brand that he perceives more VFM in irrespective of how attached he was to his earlier brand. Another reason why brand loyalty is low is because of family preference for brands in rural India rather than individual preferences. So if the family adopts a new brand, the individual will unhesitatingly follow. Thus we see that the rural consumer is not very brand loyal. Although there are beginning to form notions in the minds of the educated population that it is good to use only one particular brand than different brands, yet it is only at a preliminary stage and the same people will have no problem trying some other brand if it is attached with some sort of consumer scheme. Hence, whenever a new brand is launched it is necessary to accompany it with retailer and consumer schemes, because thats the best way to encourage trial. Its a popular method used by most companies, especially company manufacturing tobacco products. Whenever a new bidi, cigarette or gutkha etc. is launched it is accompanied with either a retailer scheme, or consumer scheme or both. These schemes continue for some time. If the product is good enough, then the consumer gradually gets used to the taste and when the schemes are gradually withdrawn, the consumer is addicted to the new brand and the retailer also is used to pushing that brand. However it is necessary to continue the retailer and consumer schemes for a sufficiently long time so that it gets time to take effect. 3. Influence of Family, Social Groups on individual Family In rural areas, as we have seen through examples given in attitude, motivation and involvement sections, family has an important influence on an individuals choices and habits. In rural areas, for example, we see that the entire family uses one brand of soap. Now in urban areas, especially in middle class and above, it is difficult to imagine the

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entire family liking one particular brand. But in rural areas using one brand for the entire family is the norm. In different families, different members have predominant influence over the brand decision. In some families, the husbands would go and buy the provisions and they alone would decide what to buy, while in others it is the wife who buys the products, while in some others, the husband or the wife may be influenced by their childrens opinion. But one thing is for sure; most rural families use one brand for the entire family. It is one persons decision, but the entire family goes with it. So here, is it the question of genuine liking for the product or simply a matter of cost. It may be one or the other for the person making the brand decision, but for the rest of the family, the preference for the common brand is due to a matter of habit. How many of us have been using Colgate toothpaste right from our childhood, without knowing why and have become so habituated to it that we dont like other brands of toothpaste. Indeed we judge other brands without ever using it. We dont like other brands simply because we are habituated to using Colgate. So when a rural consumer says that he likes Nirma soap and prefers it to others in spite of the fact that he has had no role to play in the purchase decision, he is not incorrect. He likes Nirma as a matter of habit. Tomorrow if habitually, his family starts purchasing Lifebuoy, he will use it and start liking it.

Social Groups
Shopkeeper opinion maker and sales pusher of products A shopkeeper is a very important influencer of purchase decisions in rural India. This is because a shopkeeper is supposed to have more knowledge about products. Many a times, hes the person who makes the consumers aware of a new brand that has been launched. Though there is always a suspicion among the consumers that the shopkeeper has his interests in pushing particular products, yet many accept his influence on their product decisions. In many pan shops and other cigarette retail outlets, Ive seen that people ask for a toffee or a candy after they have smoked a cigarette to disguise its smell, they only ask for a toffee and are unconcerned what brands the shopkeeper gives, whether its Candyman or Max or anything else. It is the same case with matchbox, the customers hardly ever ask for any brand. However customers purchase depends on the

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type of matchbox. They prefer to buy the boxes with wood cover, rather than paper covered boxes like ITCs brands. Here the shopkeepers push is of no avail, since the brand is not bought because of the product features. Any 50p brand would do for them. The shopkeeper will push only those products that he has more to gain from. Similar thing is observed with regards to tobacco products. Many customers dont bother to ask for any specific gutkha, bidi or cigarette. Even though some people are familiar customers so the shopkeeper knows what brands they use, there are others who just come in and ask for a bidi, cigarette or gutkha and the shopkeeper gives them only those in which he has more margin. In a village, a shopkeeper showed me a filter cigarette brand priced at only 50p in which the shopkeeper has a margin of 40p for himself. No wonder he pushes that brand. Hence retailer schemes are very important whenever a new brand is launched or when a brand is re-launched. As mentioned previously, shopkeeper pushes those products, which are more profitable to him. Similarly he keeps back some other products, creates negative opinion on brands not useful to him or with whose salesman/company personnel he does not enjoy good relations. This has significant effects on the loyalty of the brand besides other things. A consumer wont be loyal to a brand that is not consistently available. If the shopkeeper denies the consumer access to a particular product, which happens occasionally, the consumer will leave that brand and choose another, which is more easily available. Besides if a shopkeeper refuses to sell a particular product, the rural consumer will readily change the brand but not the shopkeeper. This is because relations with one another matter a lot in rural areas unlike the impersonal transactions of urban areas.

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II. COMMUNICATION CONTENT ELEMENTS

1. Portrayal of Product Benefits vs. Emotional Appeal in a Communication The question is: In any communication should we communicate the product benefits explicitly or should we communicate it implicit through visuals and themes? For example in an advertisement of a washing powder we can say that it gives incomparable whiteness of clothes and communicate the product benefit explicitly or we can show models wearing spotless white clothes communicating the product benefit implicitly. Even then both these ads stress on the practical advantages of using the product. A contrasting method of communicating to the consumer is by appealing to the emotions. Themes such Desh Ki Dhadkan (Hero), Desh Ka Namak (Tata) are examples of this. These communications do not stress upon any product benefit, but simply aim to sway the consumer through his emotions. Which kinds of communication are most effective in the rural areas? Definitely the answer varies depending on the product category. But generally it is seen that rural consumers are convinced to try the product through ads which stress the product benefit explicitly especially through easy to remember, small, compact slogans. The rural people can easily understand and remember such ads. Thus the more effective ads would use slogans such as Kam Ghisse Jyaada Chale (Toilet soap), Bemisaal Swaad (Gutkha) Mahashakti (Cement), which explicitly state the benefits of using the brand. 2. Recall of Slogans in a Communication

As mentioned earlier, the rural consumers can easily recall slogans or witty statements in a communication, especially through TV advertisements. The recall is more if it is delivered in their dialect. For example the Coca Cola ad in which Aamir Khan

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communicates the fact that a new smaller bottle of Coke is available at Rs 5 is very popular and easily recalled. It also seems to be the most talked about ad in these areas. The reason for this being that it has the slogan Thanda Matlab Coca Cola (Thanda means Coca Cola) and very witty, tongue in cheek dialogues delivered by Aamir Khan in a very rural manner, the most popular being Tohre Baap Kitne Hai Paanch (How many fathers do you have, Five). The recall of this ads dialogues is more than any other ads even more than the other Aamir Khan ads for Coke. People remember Lifebuoy Hai Jaha Tanduroosti Hai Waha jingle of Lifebuoy soap even now. It is the earliest jingle heard by most people. Some remembered the Clinic ad message Protein Aur Vitamin Yukt which stressed on a product benefit. The Nirma jingle Saundarya Sabun Nirma was also commonly recalled. Slogans are the best way to make the rural consumers memorize any benefit or service of the product, so that whenever they think about using a product to get some kind of service or use, they remembers our brands and also that it gives them the service they require at that moment. For example, if a housewife remembers slogan like Safaayee Badhiyaa Aur Daam Bhi Kam (Cleans excellently and also less expensive) in case of washing powder of Brand X, whenever she goes to make a purchase she will know what she requires and that Brand X serves her as per her requirement. In villages, children are those who mostly remember slogans. So if we present communications having jingles, easily understandable and appealing to them, they will keep on repeating it and the elders around are bound to subconsciously remember them. 3. Communication Connect and Understandability to the Rural Consumer The communication should be simple and understandable to the rural consumer. This is why rural themes are more preferable to urban ones. But even some urban themes have been effective in rural areas, because they are understandable and not totally alien to the

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rural environment. Otherwise there is a chance of the communication getting grossly misinterpreted. For example, the Capstan display with model driving a jeep and the same models face being prominently shown in a blue coloured setting was grossly misinterpreted in certain areas. The rural consumers did not understand the models face shown in blue. Though it may have started as a joke in the beginning, but soon a rumour spread that the model looked blue because he smoked Capstan and his face has become blue with sickness. This did not contribute to any favourable image of the Capstan brand. Though this account may have been exaggerated as all things are in rural areas, it is definitely worthwhile to be thoughtful while communicating to the rural consumer. We should ensure that our messages are not misinterpreted. To give an example of one of our ads that may work because of its simplicity is the Bristol display with the statement Swaad Ka Raja and the image of the four kings of playing cards in the background. Though there are other good features in this particular ad, the simple image of the four kings and the strong slogan are something that are easily understandable to the rural consumer.

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4. Use of Novelty and Humour in Communication As is human nature, anything new attracts human attention and curiosity. This is very much evident in rural areas. People pay attention towards anything new that goes around them. Hence there is nothing like a rural activity to promote a brand in these areas, whether it is company personnel conducting brand reinforcing games amongst the rural consumers along with a van showing popular films and the brands advertisements or simply one person passing through the village in an vehicle and announcing any new consumer scheme or distributing free samples. The rural people flock to any such activity if they are near at hand and not busy. Thus any activity is like an occasion, which is remembered even a long time afterwards. As with novelty in activities, the same learning goes with other forms of communication such as advertisement through various media, packaging, product etc. For example, an advertisement of Candyman was very widely recalled. A few consumers when questioned about it recalled a display in which a child on a swing was hanging nearly upside down. This very simple ad aroused the curiosity of a lot of people due to the oddness of it. They liked the picture with the child, but were curious about its upside down alignment. Many questioned the supervisors, who were present while the displays were being put up, as to why the display was being put upside down. Along with Novelty, the rural consumers receptivity to Humour is high. The Aamir Khan ad for Coca Cola is liked because of its very novel and humorous approach in introducing the five rupees bottle. The rural audience also likes Akshay Kumars latest Thums Up ad in which hes involved in displaying astounding feats while finding a treasure. Similarly the Cavanders Gold leaf display showing two friends smoking cigarettes aroused curious attention. People wondered what the two friends were so happy about. Though something new, odd or strange arouses the curiosity of the rural audience, one should be careful, as mentioned previously, while designing the communication to ensure

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that it is not misinterpreted by them. There is a thin line between something being novel and pleasant to something that is alien to the rural consumer. We should be careful to not to cross the line.

5. Effect of Pleasant looking, Beautiful elements in a Communication Irrespective of the theme, a beautiful advertisement with good scenery or beautiful, pleasant looking pictures has better recall. Some very well liked displays are the two posters of Cavander Goldleaf. One of them has an image showing two friends sitting on a bench and smoking along with each other. Their identities and the background are urban. What attracted people towards it is the manner in which the two men were laughing. It looked a very pleasant ad and the two men really seemed to be enjoying themselves. I was told at some retail outlets that people were very curious to know the reason behind the smiles of the two friends. Similarly the other Cavander ad attracted attention because of its beauty and pleasantness. In this ad a family is shown picnicking in a rural setting amid beautiful farms and mountains in the background. The presentation is very beautiful. These two ads were very well liked in the areas I visited. 6. Rural theme or elements in the communication As mentioned previously a rural theme is closer to the rural hearts. It is like talking to them in their own language and they will appreciate you a lot if you do that. The Aamir Khan advertisement yet again scores over others because of this factor. The apparel, the look, the hairdo and all, besides his dialogues and mannerisms and especially his witticism are typically rural. No wonder these people liked it a lot. Similarly the Cavanders ad of the family picnicking in the fields is also liked because of its rural theme. Also our own display of Capstan Standard showing three farmers riding a tractor with the farms in the background is an example of rural theme that will make the ad effective. Another reason why rural themes are effective is because we have very few communications having a rural background, whether it is on T.V. or through various

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displays, wall paintings in the villages. Because of this, any new communication with a rural theme will be noticed because of the novelty of it, besides, of course, the easy connect it establishes with the rural consumer.

7. Prominent Display of Price Whether or not to prominently display the price in a communication through retail outlet displays, through TV commercials or through any other medium is an issue of great significance. In rural areas it is very essential that price be displayed on the communication. One of the elements of any communication that a rural consumer pays attention to is price and it definitely influences the way he perceives the communication. Price is a way to generate curiosity about a brand. Once a rural person sees a price mentioned, whether its a product he has thought of buying or not and irrespective of the magnitude of price (if its well above what he can afford), he will be curious to know why that particular brand costs that much. So even if he sees a high priced motorbikes ad, hell pay attention to the communication wondering what makes the bike so expensive. And hell remember the communication. Secondly, in rural areas, there are greater chances of overcharging because of lack of communication and low literacy, because of which some people may not know where to read the price on a pack. Especially with cigarettes, there is a greater chance of overcharging, because consumers mostly buy loose and do not buy packs, so they do not know the price. Indeed, in most of the places that I visited, people simply prefer to hold out the required money as the price of the brand they know of, instead of asking the shopkeeper the price. Hence price should be prominently displayed in a communication, written in Hindi, so that the rural consumer is not cheated. The Capstan display with a clenched fist is noticed, also because of the prominent display of price in very large letters. An ad of Bristol in which the price is shown in the form a Rs

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2 coin instead of written letters will, I feel, attract attention of the consumer easily since its a very novel way of displaying the price. 8. Use of Celebrity Endorsement The aim of a communication is to make the person try the product. A celebrity ad definitely increases the desire to use the product. So using a Govinda or Sunny Deol will definitely increase the awareness of Geep battery and Farmtrac Tractors respectively but more and more people will only start buying it if the experience of the initial users must be satisfactory. In short the product should be good enough to attract more users. What also matters is the way a celebrity is used. The Aamir Khan ad for Coke is well liked because of the way Aamir Khan was utilized in the ad. Here was an ad that was already on the successful path, because it was using a celebrity, so it was bound to get attention. But the way Aamir Khan promoted the product is also remarkable. He was used in the ad to do something that the rural audience would sit up and notice. Following are the reasons why the ad was so successful apart from the celebrity endorsement. Here Ill be talking specifically about the ad popularly known as the Paanchwala ad Rural background: the scene, the ladies, the retailer Aamirs rural get up: wearing a half sleeved pinstriped suit, his hairdo and moustache and chewing a pan. Aamirs language: the rural accent The witty and provocative dialogues Novelty: Rural ads are not all that prevalent and also the novelty of seeing a celebrity like Aamir Khan looking and talking like them These were some of the reasons why the ad was so successful. But the above reasons cannot be separated from the celebrity. The get up, the accent, the witty dialogues were all so much liked and noticed because they were delivered by Aamir Khan. Similarly the latest Akshay Kumar ad for Thums Up is also on the way up. Here Akshay Kumar is used to display astounding feats and thereby exploit the rural persons natural 60

interest for action-oriented visuals. Other examples are Amitabh Bacchan recently creating awareness for Pulse Polio Programme through an ad on TV. This helps in getting attention and also to some extent establishing credibility. Thus celebrity endorsement is a very effective way of reaching out to the rural consumer.

III. COMMUNICATION CHANNEL

1. Television Television is a strong medium in rural India. It has a good reach and it is possible to send powerful messages through television. In Saharanpur especially, it is all the more so because of a few reasons. First, the general economic condition in Saharanpur is good compared to other regions of UP. Many households own TV sets in these parts, however most are Black and White sets. Second, due to some political reasons, some parts of Saharanpur region have good supply of electricity having to suffer only few short electricity cuts compared to other parts. So this encourages Television viewing. However Television is not that much viewed in rural India by adults as by children. It is children and young men, who mostly watch TV. The popular attractions on TV are films and soaps; cricket matches attract youths a lot. The adults may occasionally watch News

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programmes in Hindi. Another drawback is that Cable Television is not that prevalent in rural areas, so the only channels available are the Doordarshan channels. People mostly watch programmes during the night on weekdays, and both morning hours and the prime time in night on Sundays. The Friday, Saturday movies are very popular. CD players in rural households: A surprising reality in rural areas around Saharanpur is the large number of households having CD player. It seems people like to watch films and they are not satisfied by what Doordarshan gives. In the absence of Cable TV, they have resorted to CD players. They usually buy local made CD players, which may be available at as low as Rs 300. There are not many CD libraries in rural areas but people, regularly visit the city and get the CDs. Hindi films, especially action films of Sunny Deol are very popular. Given these observations, television is a very strong medium for communication. Most of the slogans, jingles etc. that people remembered were of ads watched on TV. Besides TV ads can more effectively transmit an image through picture and sound. TV is the medium that made the Aamir khan ads so popular. Another aspect that we should note is that television viewership is predominantly that of children. Many a times it is the children who are aware of a lot of brands and suggest their elders on what to purchase. Besides children have the habit of singing the jingles or mouthing the slogans so that the nearby elders who are bound to listen it may remember the brand name. This is very important for ad designers as if their ads are likeable and attract the children, they can target the entire family. 2. Posters, Displays, Wall paintings etc: Another very influential medium of communication are poster, displays etc. at the retail outlet and wall paintings in the villages. These are influential because they can be seen by one and all. The retail communications are significant because consumers viewing them are doing so before making a purchase decision and hence it has the potential to influence

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their purchase decision. One important attitude in rural India is that apart from what your communication contains, first of all it is important that you have a communication presence. Irrespective of what the ad may contain, the customer notices the fact that you have communication displayed. Though they have the advantage of visibility to one and all, the posters, displays have the limitation that they cannot communicate as strongly as television. So the posters should have something really attractive to make the passer by notice it. Any display has two main elements, an image or picture and some verbal message that is written. As Saharanpur has high literacy, definitely what is written will be noticed. But for someone who is passing by, it is an image that has the potential to attract attention if it is well made. Even otherwise images leave an indelible mark on those who have noticed it. So it is necessary to have a strong attractive image in a display. What sort of image is most suitable has been discussed in the observation on communication content preferences given above. The written message should be in vernacular so that the people can understand it. I dont find any particular opinions regarding whether the brand name should be mentioned in English or the vernacular. In fact it is better that the brand name on packs is mentioned in the vernacular, so that some unscrupulous parties may not exploit by having similar sounding names such as Taja, Fine and Lovely, Pespi, 6Up etc. Some very well liked displays are the two posters of Cavander Goldleaf, one with two friends enjoying each others company, which has been mentioned above, and another in which a family is shown picnicking in a rural setting amid beautiful farms and mountains in the background is liked very much due to the above mentioned features. The presentations are very beautiful and these two pictures are liked very much. Another observation is with regards to wall paintings. The product categories that have a lot of wall paintings are sex therapists i.e. country hakims as also allopathic practitioners, construction materials such as asbestos sheets and cement, underwear, bidis, bicycles and motorcycles (Hero and TVS), and tractors. These paintings are mostly on walls of buildings or other such structures along a highway. This ensures a very wide coverage as

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besides the villages where they are located, it is also visible to people passing by in buses, cabs etc. along the highway or people of adjacent villages in the interior who use that road. 3. Rural Activities Rural activities are possibly the strongest way to communicate because of their face-toface interaction and active, real time communication. However their main drawbacks are the cost involved in conducting activities in widespread regions and due to practical considerations, the difficulty of repeatability. However wherever activities have been done, they have been remembered for a longer time than any other mode of communication used only once. Though people may not remember the actual details of the activities, they remember the basic facts such as name of the brand. A typical activity in rural areas would start with a van or some other vehicle decked with the paraphernalia of the brand entering the village with the activity organizers. They would run film songs to attract crowds. They would also run a film, so that people stay there. In between the commercials of the brand are shown. Besides these, the activity organisers may make the villagers play games reinforcing the brand name, may distribute free samples (if the product is a consumable), give information about the brand. In the areas that Ive visited, companies such as Mahindra, TVS, Appolo and some bidi companies besides of course ITC had conducted their activities. A bidi company brought some dancers who danced to the tune of dholaks and film songs. The rural people may not remember what specific games were used in the activities and other such details, but they remember the brand name or the company name and this definitely has an influence on the brand awareness and purchase. With regards to activities, you need to time yourself properly. Reach a village at the right season and right time of the day. Most activities are conducted in the evening, because at this time most people are free in a village, having returned from their work. Also the right season is important. The farmers are busy during certain part of the year, when they have to plough their fields during the sowing season and then during the harvesting season. They would not have time to

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participate in activities at this time. So you need to go in the time between the sowing and harvesting periods when they are free. 4. Retailer Schemes and Consumer Schemes: Retailer and Consumer Schemes are very important forms of communication as they are very useful in creating brand awareness and generating trials, especially during brand launch or re-launch. Various forms of retailer schemes or consumer schemes are adopted by FMCG brands, bidi companies, even brands in durables. Almost all bidi brands and cigarette brands resort to this practice, because when they generate trials for a considerable period of time through their schemes the user becomes used to the taste and cannot readily give up the brand. Secondly, rural consumers and retailers get more easily attracted towards schemes. Another important thing is that these schemes should be given sufficient continuous time to take effect, especially so in case of bidis and cigarettes where after a sufficient time period it is very effective because the consumer gets used to its taste. Retailer schemes should be continued foir a longer time, because as mentioned before, the shopkeeper has important influence on the consumers brand preferences. He can push or keep back brands as per his wish and can create strong positive or negative opinions about various brands.

SOME OTHER GENERAL OBSERVATIONS

Mass Mentality and Influence of Word of Mouth: In rural areas mass mentality prevails a lot and things like beliefs, notions spread like wild fire through word of mouth. The following example is typical of a rural area. Somebody buys a Hero Honda Motorcycle and finds it satisfactory. When he had bought the bike, even then there was curiosity among his friends and neighbours about its performance. When he attests its good performance, theres nothing like it to endorse that brand. Then two or three of his friends may end up buying Hero Honda bike and others looking at a few Hondas may decide that it is the vehicle they would buy. In fact, people thereafter stop questioning the 65

pros and cons of the purchase and become impervious to other opinions. They unquestioningly accept the popular notion that Hero Honda is the best bike and anybody with the least knowledge about bikes and their mechanisms would strongly advocate buying a Hero Honda bike. Similarly for most people it may simply be a notion that Capstan Standard is unsuitable for smoking with the drug Sulfa. They may not have actually tried to check whether the Standard paper gets damaged when you remove tobacco out of it and hence is unsuitable for smoking Sulfa. They believe it is so because it is the general belief; though this is not to say, that their belief rests on false foundations. Another similar example where Capstan Standard had to suffer is already mentioned misinterpretation of the Capstan ad because of the model being shown with a blue background. This rumour spread because of the tremendous power of word of mouth and unquestioning acceptance of popular beliefs in rural India. So the best way to launch any new brand is to encourage usage by a few (preferably influential) people in a village. These people should be given free samples like we did for Aashirwaad Aata during its launch in urban areas. The free samples should be directly given to the consumer and not through a retailer, who may in fact sell it. If the initial users like the brand, they will turn into opinion makers and testify the brands excellence, which is the best endorsement possible. Brand purchase peculiarities A peculiar thing that I found in rural areas is that people hardly ever go to a shop and ask for a brand by its brand name. Mostly they hold out the required price, point to a particular shelf and name the product. The shopkeeper either by previous experience or by the price deduces the required brand. A common conversation is as follows: The customer holds out the money and says, Give a soap, the shopkeeper takes out the brand costing that much. If it is Rs 7.00 he knows that the customer wants Nirma soap. If the customer doesnt have change and only a ten-rupee note, in the above case, he would ask Give me a seven rupee soap. This also shows why the rural consumer would prefer to see the price prominently displayed on any type of communication.

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Another interesting thing is the use of a brand name for an entire product family. For e.g., the use of Surf washing powder to describe the entire range of washing powders. The use of Dalda for the entire vegetable oil family or the use of Tata for Salt. This shows the strength of the communication even though the product has now found disfavour among the target population.

OBSERVATION FOR BINGOS

Before seeing the observations for bingos let us revisit the objective behind this exercise. The objective of our research, specific to bingos was: To improve the communication of bingos among bidi users 1. To make the user aware of the new 5s pack in bingos to drive in the affordability factor. 2. To make bingos Top of the Mind in the bidi users mind 3. To increase the value perception of bingos In order to achieve the above objectives we have to formulate a communication strategy. The communication strategy would serve the following functions. A combination of activities and advertisements that would make the bidi user aware of the new affordable bingo packs.

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A combination of activities and advertisements that would put bingos in Top of the consumers mind and would have content and schemes that would enhance its value perception and encourage trial and regular usage

In order to achieve the above-mentioned objective through the suggested route, we need to gain understanding of certain constructs. 1. Understanding of the bidi/ bingo usage related factors like attitudes, motivation, involvement with the product and external and other influences on usage and brand decisions so as to decide on the proper message to be sent across through the communication. 2. Understanding of the interaction with various communication in rural India that would help us decide on the content for the advertisements and games and channel/ media for delivering the communication and activities.

BRAND IMAGE VARIABLES

Attitudes towards Bidis and Bingos Following are some of the attitudes held by the rural consumers towards bidis and bingos as a product. The respondents were bidi smokers, bingo smokers and even non-smokers who know about smoking because a large number of their friends are smokers. The solutions given below each issue is some change in the product that may take care of a specific attitude. But these are just suggestions and not conclusive recommendations. 1. Usage characteristics of Bidis vs. Bingos Bidis are used in larger quantities as compared to cigarettes. Usually a dual smoker would smoke a bundle or two of bidis costing him two to four rupees each and just one or two cigarettes, usually the bingo Cavander Magna in the markets I visited. One of the

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reasons for this is may definitely be cost consideration. A smoker of bidi cannot usually smoke cigarette in large numbers because he cannot afford to pay that much. But is smoking as many cigarettes as bidis, also a physical limitation for one who is not used to consuming as much tobacco as a cigarette contains. We may argue that getting used gradually, a bidi user can start smoking more and more cigarettes, as we already see in urban areas, where a person may smoke as much as 20 cigarettes a day regularly. But an urban smoker smokes cigarettes with filter and not filter less bingos and maybe that can definitely affect the volume of bingo usage. Besides smoking each bingo (which necessarily has to be smoked at one go) takes time and a villager cannot do any work while smoking, while he may work while smoking a bidi. This usage related issues do affect the choice and volume of use of each product. Solution: We can consider decreasing the size of each bingo stick so that it takes less time to smoke each and the bidi user habituated to less tobacco doesnt smoke more tobacco. We may think of having bingos with filters, so that they can get over a physical impossibility (albeit a mental block) of smoking more bingos. Besides, this if we can have a product innovation wherein it is possible to extinguish and relight a cigarette at will, we can bridge over an advantage (in the guise of a disadvantage) that bidi has. These will increase the volumes, probably more than the proportion of decrease in size and hence revenues. But more importantly, we may see a shift of people from bidis to bingos, as we are giving them the same product benefits but with better quality and taste of cigarettes. 2. Taste of Bidi vs. Bingo Bidi users talk about taste as an important factor why they prefer not to smoke cigarettes regularly. They say that they are used to the taste of a bidi and other tastes fail to satisfy them, even those of a rival bidi brand apart from cigarettes which are an entirely different product altogether. Some say that bidi has a stronger taste; while others say that a cigarette is stronger than a bidi. From the various interviews that Ive conducted, this is what Ive come to know.

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Bidis have a different kind of tobacco as compared to cigarettes. This tobacco has a stronger taste. This strong taste of the bidi tobacco along with the tendu imparts bitterness to the taste of a bidi, very unique to it, along with it being stronger in taste.

However the amount of tobacco per bidi stick is very small. Each cigarette stick contains a lot more tobacco. Besides the mouth of a bidi is narrow while that of a cigarette is very broad. So when you actually drag a smoke you draw in a lot more tobacco in a cigarette than a bidi. This gives a stronger kick; hence many people say that a cigarette is stronger than bidi. The reason is it strikes you a lot harder. While the stronger taste associated with a bidi may be a feeling of the smoke as it goes past your windpipe.

So it is not an entirely confusing issue, of which is stronger than the other. It is just a question of what you are used to. If a bidi user does not prefer cigarettes due to the above reasons, so would a cigarette user hold distaste for bidis. Solution: Should we alter the taste of bingos then? If it were for the above reasons, I would say no, simply because, each product is preferred for its own set of reasons. A bidi user once he starts using cigarettes regularly will get used to it gradually. But with regards to Capstan Standard, I feel its taste is a matter that should be looked more closely too. Ill explain why? Our first target, out of the pool of bidi users, for brand/category switching, should be those smokers who also smoke a few cigarettes daily, especially bingos (but not our brand). These people, as far as taste or such other product related issues are concerned have specific distinct notions regarding smoking bidis and cigarettes. So when they smoke a bidi, they expect certain taste and when they smoke a cigarette possibly some different taste. These notions govern their smoking behaviour as to when they would smoke a bidi or when they would smoke a cigarette. Probably, when they smoke a Capstan Standard, the notions they hold regarding smoking a cigarette, the reason why the smoke cigarettes regularly doesnt get fulfilled. This may be due to

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something lacking on the taste front or probably some other such issue. But this needs to be looked into. Besides the perception among rural consumers is that Capstan Standard is made of lower grade tobacco than the higher brands and hence it is of low quality and does not have a good taste. One person went on to describe, how it is made out of the very small leftover of the tobacco leaf after other brands have been manufactured. Hence we can consider changing the taste of Capstan Standard or change their perception and present opinions of Capstans taste through strong purposeful communication. Another line of reasoning that can also be accepted based on what I have heard from different people is that, the bidi users who also smoke one or two cigarettes smoke the Cavander Magna, which is a bingo. This is because Cavander Magna has a very hard taste that satisfies the bidi consumer. Our Capstan Standard has a very different taste that though may be likeable for its own features, is not preferred by the bidi users. So we can consider making Capstan Standard harder in taste to attract these bidi users.

3. Health Perceptions There is a perception among rural consumers that bidi is less harmful than cigarettes, which adversely affects the acceptance of cigarettes. The reason for this belief is that they think bidi is a natural product, simply made from tobacco and tendu leaves, while cigarettes are factory manufactured and hence may be unnatural and potentially harmful. There are some other health conscious smokers who also think that cigarettes are more harmful, because smoking each stick of cigarette involves consumption of more tobacco as compared to each stick of bidi. And since tobacco products are addictive and once you get hooked to any product whether bidi or cigarette, there is a tendency to smoke more and more sticks per day. So if you get addicted to cigarettes, eventually you may end up smoking as much cigarette sticks as the number of bidi sticks you smoke today, only that you are now harming your body more than ever before. This is their feeling. Since they feel cigarette is as harmful, if not more than bidis, they say that by buying cigarettes, they are spending more and ruining their health more.

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But a point to be made over here is that Gutkha, Paan Masala are used in spite of them being believed to be more addictive and harmful. The reason is that it is part of the rural tradition to chew tobacco. People mostly get this habit from their friends, relatives, family etc. secondly because of its traditional basis, people may not be inhibited in using it front of their relatives, elders etc. but the same people hesitate to use cigarettes in front of their relatives and elders. Hence these non smoking tobacco are more widely consumed in rural areas in spite of the negative perception as far as health is concerned. Solution: In order to attack these health related perceptions, we need to show cigarettes reliable manufacturing practices and we can show how harmful, addictive and as much (if not more) dangerous bidis can be. We can show cigarettes being produced in clean, hygienic manufacturing facilities, its good, consistent quality. But it is difficult to show cigarettes in isolation and communicate the fact that cigarettes are not as dangerous as they are perceived. If possible, we should draw comparisons with bidis in order to prove our point. We can show facts like the unhealthy, unhygienic techniques surrounding bidi production and other harmful effects of its usage and show how cigarettes are significantly less harmful. Influence of Family and Social Groups 1. Status perception and other Society influenced attitudes Bingos definitely have a problem with status perception. Many regular users of bidi, would buy cigarettes when they attend social functions like marriage etc. and consider using it a matter of status, very much like writing ones name on the gift parcel to be given during a marriage or other social function. A bingo doesnt satisfy the enhanced status perception, something they want in a cigarette. Another problem that is associated with smoking cigarettes regularly in your normal environment. Some bidi users dont prefer to smoke cigarettes regularly in front of their friends, because they may be chided by their family of friends for being extravagant and a show off or plain selfish, who spends more than he can afford, to satisfy his personal

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tastes or just to show off. Here also bingo suffers, because after all its a cigarette and also costlier compared to bidis. Solution: To resolve the status issue, well have to issue communications that will enhance the status perception of bingos, for e.g. by showing wealthy farmers or businessmen smoking a bingo. What this would do is ensure that in future nobody is ashamed of smoking a bingo with pride in front of his friends. And people would buy bingos when they would attend a social function and hence smoke more cigarettes (because they can afford to buy more bingos than RSFTs or Longs). But does that resolve our problem, are bidi users encouraged to do the category switching from bidis to bingos. The bidi users here are using cigarettes only in rare occasions when they are participating in social events. For making bingo a part of their daily lives as bidis is, just improving the status of bingos in the bidi users mind would not help. In fact it may damage the situation, for if a bingo were to have a good status perception, a bidi user may not smoke it regularly in front of friends and family for risk of being called a show off or extravagant. In order to make bingo a part of the bidi users daily life, its low cost must be stressed upon, besides communication showing it smoked along with friends, while doing ones work. Showing bingo as something used while working is very important, because in rural areas every person likes to think of himself as hardworking. If we associate bingos with their work, in fact showing it as something that helps you keep your mind on your work, there is likelihood that more bingos will be smoked during work times and gradually bingos will become part of their daily lives. This puts us in a dilemma, should we enhance the status perception of bingos by showing it smoked by wealthy smokers or should we stress upon it as a humble product, that satisfies you while you are working or with your friends. These two routes are entirely opposing each other. But I would suggest that we use the latter route and show bingos as a part of their daily life by capturing them in their daily chores and the role of bingos in

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this routine. This is a logical route, as only this would ensure that people would conclusively switch from bidis to cigarettes. 2.Shopkeepers Influence As pointed out in earlier sections of this report, shopkeepers are one of the important groups that have direct relevance over the purchase decision, especially in case of tobacco products. Though the choices of brand of tobacco users are very strong and they have high involvement. They may go to another shop if one shop doesnt supply them their brand. Yet, when we attract shopkeepers through retail schemes, they are most effective in persuading the customers to try the new product. Solution: We need to introduce retailer schemes and consumer schemes whenever we launch a new brand and continue it for some time to allow time to take effect. Retailer schemes such as one pack free for every ten packs purchased, giving matchboxes or other products or some monetary incentive to push more products. But initially they should also be accompanied with consumer schemes also so that the consumer demand is built up allowing the shopkeepers greater convenience in pushing their products.

COMMUNICATION STRATEGY
Here we will try to address the above issues purely through the route of communication, without suggesting any product changes. Usage issue: Cost consideration: Send across the fact that it can be bought for as low as 2 rupees Physical Limitations: Smoking a few bingos a day gives better satisfaction than smoking 2 bundles of bidi Using up time: Bingo takes more time to smoke, but every bingo satisfies you more than a bidi and saves you from the irritation, need to smoke more

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Focus on the individual pleasure of smoking and the low cost. Show that it is value for money. Taste issue: It has the taste of Capstan brand, stress on good quality tobacco

Health Issue: Show its clean, hygienic manufacturing facilities and good, consistent quality Comparisons with bidi, if possible By showing its unhygienic manufacturing facilities

Influence of Social Groups Status Perception vs. Profligacy Perception: Address the Profligacy perception, rather than the status perception. By addressing the status perception there are two problems. One, it does not help increase volumes, because the need for higher status is only on social occasions. Second, theres a chance that the smokers of RSFTs, Longs etc. may downgrade to bingos if they feel it has the same status value. By addressing the profligacy perception, we are removing the associations with a higher cost and saving the consumer from feeling shameful because of extravagance. He can smoke a bingo freely along with friends without being called spendthrift or selfish. Shopkeeper Influence: We can communicate effectively through the shopkeeper by attracting him with retailer schemes and also having consumer schemes in place to help him attract the consumers.

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From the above we are essentially getting what sort of message we need to portray in our communication for bingos. With regards to the Content Parameters, I have extensively talked about in the General Observation section. In the Recommendations, Ill be giving certain Recommendations for Bingo Communication in terms of message, content and channel.

Channel of Delivery: Since we cannot use some very effective channels, especially those of mass media, we have to focus specifically on some other channels. Rural Activities Rural activities are very important for us as it is strongest communication medium apart from TV. We should use activities as a medium for sampling, brand elements reinforcing games, and to show advertisements A cost effective way of reinforcing the message of rural activities needs to be found out. Timing of the activity (season and time of the day) and a specific villages cultural sensitivities should be considered carefully

Retailer/Consumer Schemes Retailer and consumer schemes are very useful way of generating trial and encouraging regular usage. They are very effective in case of cigarettes and bidis They need to be continued for sufficient time to take effect. Once they take effect they prove their effectiveness Retailers are important influencers of product usage. They can push or pull back the demand for any brand, especially those recently launched. Retailers schemes should be continued for a longer time.

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Displays, hoardings, wall paintings: In the absence of TV, displays, boards are the medium for cigarettes with maximum reach, especially those on highway outlets. Need to increase the visibility through these, especially at retail outlets

Other Media Presence at Religious occasions: Religious occasions are those with huge congregation of people, especially so in rural areas, where perhaps no other event attracts as much population. So purely for an alternative to mass media such as TV and the possibility of interactive communication, we should consider sponsoring or having some sort of communication presence at religious events Packaging Communication:

We can have pictures or images on the pack itself, like we have for some
new packs of Wills Classic, India Kings etc. and make it a communication media itself. The rural consumer may even buy the pack instead of buying loose because of the pictures on the image.

PRODUCT CHANGES
Given the above communication strategy, we can also consider making some product changes to address the attitudinal issues and influence of environment. Smaller Bingos: A smaller bingo will address the following issues. Waste of time during working hours in smoking a bingo

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Less consumption of tobacco. So would give lesser kick. Can be smoked on empty stomach. Removes physical limitation of smoking as much bingos as bidis Cost will be affordable. Easily buyable with whatever money in the pocket.

Extinguishable and Re-lightable Taste: Filter: Will have better taste Will also probably address the health perception Will be very attractive, aspirational and considered value for money A taste like Capstan Filter will increase the value perception of Standard A harder taste like Magna may attract bidi users who like a hard taste Consumer will have the freedom to choose when to smoke a cigarette and can finish it as per his will Could be used as per ones requirement and capacity

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CONCLUSIONS

GENERAL PRODUCT
Brand Image Variables
Attitude:

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Low cost brands: Preference for affordable quality rather than the best quality. They would like to use brands provided their cost is low. Smaller SKUs: Preference for smaller SKUs because of inability/unwillingness to afford a larger SKU and the need for sparing use (avoiding wastage) of the product.

Robust Products: Preference for robust products conveniently usable in difficult rural conditions.

Motivation and Involvement: Involvement and Loyalty with brands low, hence Retailer/Consumer schemes successfully generate trials. Not sufficiently motivated to use the good quality brands Family: Strong influence of family on brand preferences. Entire family uses one brand. Usually only one or two persons have say in what brands to purchase.

Shopkeeper Influence: Shopkeepers important influence-considered to be an expert, big opinion maker Importance of retailer schemes: Creates brand awareness, pushes brands with better margin for him. Doesnt push, creates bad opinion about less profitable brands which has influence on loyalty.

Communication Content Parameters

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Product Benefit vs. Emotional Appeal: Consumers are conscious of product benefits even in case of less priced products. They look for value for money. Communicating product benefit more effective than emotional appeal Product benefit be communicated explicitly

Recall of Slogans: Rural people have a penchant for remembering slogans. Simple wording, product benefit or witty, provocative language get attention

Connect and Ability to Understand: Understandable, not alien to the rural consumer. Need to be aware of his cultural orientations to avoid misconceptions and misinterpretations Novelty and Humour: Novelty and Humour are capable of attracting the rural audiences attraction. But the communication should be novel and not alien and humour should not cross the line. Pleasant, Beautiful elements: Images of beauty, good scenery creates a feeling of pleasantness and positive impression in the consumers mind. Probably a rural scenery is felt as more beautiful, visually appealing.

Rural Theme: Easier connect with the rural audience, understandable to them. Novelty in an environment with few rural based communication

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Price Display: Price creates curiosity and generates attention for the brand. Price is an important element mostly looked for any communication. Price prevents overcharging, especially in case of cigarettes as they are mostly bought loose Celebrity Endorsement Celebrity best in creating awareness and desire to use a product. Use the celebrity innovatively or in a rural theme Should endorse vocally or in any other strong way Film stars and Cricket stars are very popular

Communication Channel of Delivery

Television: Television a strong, widely reached medium. Good TV reach in Saharanpur because of better economic condition. Films, Soaps, Cricket Matches are very popular. Significant number of CD players Children and young adults are predominant viewers. Need to create ads appealing to children. Recall of slogans, jingles best on Television

Boards, Displays and Wall Painting Visibility to all, Influential in purchase (in case of retail outlet displays). Presence important than their content Attractive images necessary, simply and less worded verbal message in the form of a slogan 82

Price should be displayed Wall Paintings: desi hakims, construction material, two wheelers, underwears, tractors

Rural Activities Powerful, because of face-to-face, interactive, real time communication. Brand name recalled, but details not remembered Limitation: limited reach and repeatability Cost effective way of periodic reinforcement through tongawallas Timing in terms of season and time of the day important

Retailer/Consumer Schemes Very essential during brand launch or re-launch Need to give time to take effect. Let people get habituated to taste and the shopkeeper habituated to pushing the brand Continue retail schemes for longer periods than consumer schemes

OBSERVATIONS FOR BINGOS

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Brand Image Variables Attitudes: Usage

Cost consideration. Inability to pay for higher price, lure of the cheap product. Physical limitataion of smoking as much bingos as bidis Smoking bingos takes up more time; bidis can be easily smoked in brief interludes. Product changes like smaller cigarettes which are extinguishable and relightable

Taste
Bidis and cigarettes have totally different tastes and each is liked by its user for its own set of reasons Change of Capstan Std. s taste or its perception should be considered. To make its same as Capstan Filter or harder like Cavander Magna Considering having bingos with filter so as to give the taste of higher brand

Health
Perception that cigarettes are more injurious to health than bidis because bidi is thought to be natural, cigarettes factory made and second, cigarettes have more tobacco, bingos dont have filter Need to have communication which shows cigarettes clean, hygienic manufacturing facilities, good, consistent quality If possible and for better effectiveness, comparison with bidis harmful manufacturing procedure

84

Gutkha, paan masala used in spite of the belief that it is more addictive and injurious. Reason for this being its widespread use and chewing tobacco has a traditional basis.

Influence of Social Groups: Profligacy perception Need to show bingo being smoked by the common rural consumer rather than
only wealthy businessmen or farmers.

Show it being smoked casually and enjoyably with ones friends or among
ones family members without any fear of being rebuked

Need to communicate its lower price, so that the feeling of extravagance is

removed

85

RECOMMENDATIONS

86

RECOMMENDATIONS
Marketing strategy in rural India
Product Communication
Message Content Channel

Recommendations for Bingo

Communication Strategy Product Changes

MARKETING STRATEGY IN RURAL INDIA

Product Characteristics Good quality national brand, low price: affordable quality Available in small SKUs

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 Product should be suitable and hardy enough for rural conditions, long lasting Communication: Message Brand of good quality, national status Show the product benefit and tell them how this satisfies their requirements. E.g.
people want a soap that doesnt get eroded by water. Communicate this

Communicate the affordable price: justify why it is better than cheap rural brands Communication: Content Communicate product benefits explicitly in words, through slogans. TV is the
best medium

Show images or themes with novelty, humor, wit Show images with good scenery or with daredevil action, adventure Ensure that the novelty, wit isnt alien to their culture. Avoid misconceptions Use rural theme and language. It has better connect and is novel in an
environment with few rural based ads

Prominent display of price to encourage curiosity and prevent overcharging Communication: Content
Celebrity endorsement

Any popular, successful film star, cricket player Celebrity should be used innovatively Celebrity should vocally endorse the brand. E.g. Thanda Matlab Coca Cola It helps if celebrity acts like a rural person. He is then identified as one of
them, who thinks like them and empathises with them.

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Communication: Channel TV is the strongest mass medium. Wide reach, most used TV best, most credible way to communicate product benefit, national brand
status and slogans along with tune, hence easily remembered

TV: B&W, only Doordarshan. Popular programmes are films, soaps and
Chitrahaar

Films also seen on CD players Communication: Channel Rural activities: very effective because of face-to-face interactive, real time
communication, attract considerable attention

Rural activities: Films used to attract people. Free sampling, games Consideration of proper timing of activity Cost effective way of reinforcing needs to be found out Communication: Channel Retail schemes and consumer schemes essential for enough time at brand
launch

Retail schemes should continue for longer time and should be introduced
whenever the brand shows signs of slack in demand

Free sampling at brand launch to influential people, opinion leaders Posters, displays, wall paintings, hoardings especially near retail outlets and
markets

Sponsoring religious events

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RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BINGO

Product Changes Bring out a smaller SKU of bingo Extinguishable and re-lighted at will Taste: as good as Capstan Filter or a harder taste Addition of a filter

Communication Strategy: Message Satisfying experience, individual pleasure Cost is low: Need not feel ashamed as wasting money, profligate. It is for the
common villager

Good quality, strong taste Health: best manufacturing facilities, good, consistent quality Communication Strategy: Content Product benefit in form of slogans in vernacular Attractive images: action, adventure, beautiful rural scenery, novelty, humor Rural theme Prominent Display of Price Communication Strategy: Channel Activities: sampling, games, ads Activities: reinforce in cost effective way, proper timing
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 Employing a tonga or autorickshaw to travel through villages periodically

some time after an activity to reinforce the message through distributing posters, calendars, free samples etc.

Retail Schemes and consumer schemes need to be continued for sufficient

time

Retailer schemes can be continued for longer time Consumer Schemes: free sampling to influential people, opinion makers Increasing communication presence through displays at outlets, hoardings,
wall painting

Sponsorships and presence at religious events Attractive packs rather than present plain packs: they may encourage people
to buy packs

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APPENDICES

Appendix A
List of the villages visited for data collection along with other important information about the villages

Index No

Road name and location

Village Name

Population Dist. Strata (in Km)

Religion, Occupation, Development Level

No of Retail Outlets

Behat Main

Rasulpura

<2K

Mohd, Labr, Ldev.

92

Main

Nazirpura

<2K

Mohd, Labr, Ldev.

Main

Maheshwari Khurd

2K-5K

12

Mohd, Farm, Vdev.

Behat Interior

Bijopura

2K-5K

16

Hin, Farm, Dev.

10

Interior

Topri

<2K

Hin, Farm, Dev.

Interior

Sarkhadi Kumhar

<2K

Mohd, Mix, Ldev.

Nagal Main

Ramu Gate

<2K

Hin, Labr, Ldev.

Main

Sheikpura Kadim

10K-25K

Mohd, Farm, Vdev.

25

Main

Tapri

2K-5K

Mohd, Labr, Dev.

13

10

Chilkhana Main

Halalpur

2K-5K

Dalits, Labr, Ldev.

11

Interior

Dabki Gurjar

2K-5K

Hi-Md, Farm, Dev.

12

Main

Datauli Rangar

2K-5K

Mohd, Farm, Ldev.

13

Main

Saifan

<2K

15

Mohd, Labr, Ldev.

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14

Interior

Buddha Kheda 2K-5K

18

Mohd, Farm, Dev.

23

15

Main

Patni

2K-5K

12

Hin, Farm, Dev.

10

16

Delhi Main

Hasanpur

2K-5K

Dalits, Labr, Dev.

17

Main

Chunaiti

<2K

10

Dalits, Labr, Ldev.

18

Janta Main

Chak Hareiti

2K-5K

Hin, Farm, Vdev.

10

19

Main

Khurd

<2K

Mohd, Farm, Ldev.

20

Main

Sarkhadi Sheikh

2K-5K

Mohd, Farm, Ldev.

Explanation of the various notations used in the Table:

Column 2-Road name and location: Main- on the main road, Interior- away from the main road Column4-Population Strata: <2K--- Below 2000 persons 2K-5K--- Between 2000 to 5000 persons 5K-10K--- Between 5000 to 10000 persons

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10K-25K---Between 10000 to 25000 persons

Column 5: Dist. Distance from Saharanpur town in kilometers Column 6- Religion, Occupation, Development Level: These indicate the predominant religion, occupation, and development level. Mohd- Mohammedans Hin- Hindus Hi-Md- approx equal Hindu and Muslim population Farm- Farmers, Agriculturists owners Labr- Laborers (includes those working in industries, small business and in others farms) Mix-Approx equal farmers and laborers Ldev- Low Development Dev- Well Developed Vdev- Very well Developed

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Appendix B
1. Bidi User Interview Guide
An Interview Guide to understand the variables affecting Brand Image Perception Target group: A (regular/ occasional) bidi smoker A Note: Those in bold letters below are Information areas required, while those in normal font are the actual questions that would be asked in order to obtain information on the areas required Introduction 1. His name, age, demographic factors, lifestyle (social class) What is your name, age What do you do for a living, how long have you been doing it? Do you occasionally do other occupations? What would you like to do (aspirations)? Do you have any hobbies? What is your ethnic background (jati)? What languages do you speak/read/write? What is your education (read/ write) What is your income? Lifestyle related questions: home (permanent structure?, no of floors), possessions (durables like fridge, TV etc, occupational durables like tractor, electric generator, cattle, land,

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consumables like soap, washing powder, shampoo, hair oil, ready made foods (branded?) etc.) If you wanted to be the most important/ influential person in the village, family, who would you like to be? 2. His family details How many members are there in your family. How many contribute to the income. Who is biggest contributor What are the items of importance that are bought into your family? Does the whole family participate in taking the decision? Who takes the decision to purchase important items for your family What do your children do? What do you want them to become after they grow up? Do they go to school? Do you want to educate them? Attitude towards bidi, bingos 3. Details of bidi smoking/ tobacco usage. From when, why, whom did he see smoking, how much does he smoke. Has he switched between various tobacco products/brands in past. When did you start smoking? What were the reasons behind starting to smoke? Did you see somebody smoking and feel like giving it a try? Who is that person? Attitude towards bidi (what do you think of bidi as a product. How much does it satisfy you)? Ask why he uses bidi, rather than any other ST or NST. What brand/ product did you start with? Get to know the complete history. Reasons for quitting/usage details of a particular brand, reasons for adopting/ usage details of the new one? How long have you

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been smoking your present brand, do you feel satisfied or are you contemplating a change. Do you think smoking bidis is better than any other mode of usage of tobacco? If so why? If not, why not? Why do you smoke bidis now if you think that some other product is better than bidi? 4. Has he smoked cigarettes, why doesnt he smoke it often/ more than bidis. If he is a dual user, what are the reasons for smoking each? What does he think (attitude towards) about bingos, why doesnt he use this instead of bidis. How much does the family, social groups influence him in terms of his purchase of a specific brand. Whose word does he take in making his purchase decision? Image of a cigarette user vs. a bidi user. What pack sizes does he feel like buying. How would you like smoking cigarettes instead of bidis, do you think about smoking cigarettes? What does he think about smoking a cigarette? How would you feel if you can smoke a kings or a longs instead of a bidi? Do you have such thoughts? Whom do you imagine smoking a cigarette (a bingo)? Ask this also in terms of social class (would you imagine the Sarpanch or a local government official using a bingo)? If he also smokes a cigarette (ask whether RSFT, Plains, bingo), ask why/ why not use bingo? When do you feel like using a cigarette, a bingo and a bidi (in terms of company, personal orientation, mood, temper) What is his image of a cigarette user vis--vis a bingo user and also a bidi user. How different does he think a bidi user to be from a bingo user and a cigarette user? Ask: Who do you think would use a cigarette and who would use a bidi? How different is a cigarette user from a bidi user?

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What difference does he perceive between one who buys cigarettes loose, one who buys a 5s pack, 10s pack or a 20s pack. How would he feel about himself if he could buy a 10s pack or 20s pack.

Motivation, Involvement with bidi, Routine and situational factors 5. When all in during his daily activities does he smoke a bidi. At each occasion why does he choose to smoke a bidi over other products? What are his surroundings and general frame of mind when he decides to smoke/ purchase a bidi. Is he alone or with company, while smoking? Why did he feel like smoking and what effect does smoking a bidi have on him. When does he think a cigarette should be smoked and when not. What is his involvement level with the product? How much time, energy, effort and information search is he willing to do in order to make the purchase decision? How many bidis does he consume in a day. At what points of time during the day do you smoke a bidi? Usually before smoking a bidi how is your mood, temper, how do you behave, how do you feel? What happens afterwards? How would using a cigarette (bingo) help you on this occasion? What roles is he performing while smoking a bidi like friend, colleague, client, customer, husband, father, son etc. This will give in depth view of the frame of mind of the person while smoking. Comparatively ask what are the roles when smoking a cigarette (bingo)? What work are you doing when you smoke a bidi? Who are you with? What would you think how they would feel because of your smoking of a particular brand of bidi? What effect or benefit does smoking a bidi give him? Would smoking a cigarette or a bingo give him that benefit? How much are you ready to spend to get the brand you like. Suppose tomorrow the price increases or the retailer does not stock the brand, would you still put the effort to buy the brand? 99

Do you consult your family, friends, relatives, shopkeeper before making a product/brand switch decision? How much do you contemplate before choosing a particular brand?

Role of Advertising 6. Does he look at advertisements? What advertisements does he remember the most (ask with respect to product categories), What did he like about them. Giving examples find out what sort of ads does he like in terms of theme, language, price issue, pack size, product benefits vs. emotion focus. Does he like ads with celebrity appeal, which ads does he remember the most (see which brands and products those ads belong to), what does he like about that celebrity. How do you think he is related to the ad i.e. how does he link the celebrity and the ad. What does he notice in an ad (poster) image, script, colour etc. what effect does ads have on him. Has he used any product because of seeing the ads? What are the brands he uses in various categories? Does he remember their ads? What does he remember in those ads? Does he remember the price of the various brands he purchases (in interview only, not in FGDs). Does he remember those prices mentioned in ads. Do you like to see advertisements? What advertisements do you like to see? Can you describe them, please? Where do you usually see these advertisements (media)? How would you like an urban theme vs. a rural theme (does he remember a Tendulkar ad based in rural India or one with an urban theme)? From what he remembers in ads, see whether he remembers product benefits being stated or emotional slogans. Compare two ads that he mentioned and try to see which ad he liked better? Does you watch films, which film stars do you remember. Do you remember their films? What roles did they perform in those films? Who do you like most and whose films do you enjoy to watch? Do you see any

100

ads involving film stars? Which ads do you enjoy most? What message does the film star give (verbatim)? Have you used any product after seeing an ad of a film star? Why do you feel like using it after seeing a film star endorsing the ad? What brands do you use in toilet soap, washing bar/powder, hair oil, fertilizers, shampoo, toothpaste, talcum powder, watch, batteries, cooking oil, fertilizers. Where did you come to know of each brand? If ads are the source, what does he remember in those ads. Does he remember the SKU, price, theme, message, anything else like script, metaphor etc. How did each of them affect his purchase decision? Ask: Did you feel like buying the product or not buying it after seeing a particular message element?

7. What are the sources of his knowledge of brands: ads (in which media), family, friends, relative, or colleagues. Whose credibility or influence is most while it comes to taking brand decisions. Even among ads if the opinion leader is used what is his identity? If the awareness of the brand is through any other source, apart from ads, which is that source (this will give us the opinion leader). Why did the respondent feel like using the brand because of the sources influence? What brand image did the source pass on to the respondent? Ask: What made you use the brand because the source told you to use it? What did you think about the brand because of what the source told you? 8. What consumer promotions has he been exposed to? Details of these promotions. Has he used any brand after seeing its consumer promotions. How does he perceive about the brand because it conducted consumer

101

promotions. Through the ads or communication he remembers most, see which channels of delivery have been used. If the respondent himself talks about the consumer promotions anywhere till now, probe it further, otherwise ask: You have not talked about any promotions or activities till now, do you remember any activities. Describe them. Did you start using any brand after participating in its activity. What do you think about activities? Are they a good way to promote a brand? How have your feelings towards the brand changed after seeing its promotional activities? 9. Ads and promos of cigarette companies, bidi companies. If the respondent remembers ads of a other cigarette companies or bidi companies, ask him what all he remembers, carefully see what is it that has affected him theme, language, symbol etc. and what theme, symbol etc. was used. What were the models used. How would you describe the model? What do you think about the model (what are his feelings)? If the respondent remembers the activities, details of the activities. Where, when, what was the activity conducted (with focus on how the brand was communicated), how often is the activity conducted. Did the respondent start using the brand after the activity?

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2. General Product User Interview Guide: Toilet Soap

An Interview Guide to understand the variables affecting Brand Image Perception Target group: Users of Toilet Soap A Note: Those in bold letters below are Information areas required, while those in normal font are the actual questions that would be asked in order to obtain information on the areas required Introduction 3. Name, age, demographic factors, lifestyle (social class) a. What is your name, age b. What do you do for a living, how long have you been doing it? Do you occasionally do other occupations? What would you like to do (aspirations)? Do you have any hobbies? c. What is your ethnic background (jati)? What languages do you speak/read/write? d. What is your education (read/ write) e. What is your income? Lifestyle related questions: home (permanent structure?, no of floors), possessions (durables like fridge, TV etc, occupational durables like tractor, electric generator, cattle, land, consumables like soap, washing powder, shampoo, hair oil, ready made foods (branded?) etc.)

103

f. If you wanted to be the most important/ influential person in the village, family, who would you like to be? 4. Family details a. How many members are there in your family. How many contribute to the income. b. Who is biggest contributor c. What are the items of importance that are bought into your family? Does the whole family participate in taking the decision? d. Who takes the decision to purchase important items for your family e. What do your children do? What do you want them to become after they grow up? Do they go to school? Do you want to educate them? Attitude towards toilet soap as a product/ brand 5. Details of the usage of the toilet soap: From when, How often (use/purchase), purchase details, usage details (quantity), What is the attitude towards soap? How useful/ beneficial is it? a. When did you start using soaps? Did you use any other product before toilet soap? Why did she leave that product and choose soap instead? What were the reasons behind starting to use it? b. Did you observe, came to know somebody using it and feel like giving it a try? Who is that person? Attitude towards soap brand (what do you think of soap as a product. How much does it satisfy you)? Ask why he uses particular brand that he uses, rather than any other brand. What brand/ product did you start with? Get to know the complete history. Reasons for quitting/usage details of a particular brand, reasons for adopting/ usage details of the new one? How long have you been using your present brand, do you feel satisfied or are you

104

contemplating a change. Do you think consuming/using his brand is better than any other brand of soap? If so why? If not, why not? Why do you use this brand when you think using some other brand is better? 6. How much does the family, social groups influence him in terms of his purchase of a specific brand/ product. Whose word does he take in making his purchase decision? What pack sizes does he feel like buying. If he uses different brands of soaps, what are the reasons, when does he use a particular brand. What are the usage characteristics of his family? What are the brands that you use are the reasons? When does he feel like using a particular brand (in terms of product benefits required, emotions associated, company, personal orientation, mood, temper) b. What brands does your family use. Do you use them because your family uses them or is it vice versa c. What is his image of a user of a particular brand vis--vis a user of another brand? How different are these images? Ask: Who do you think would use brand X and who would use a brand Y? d. What difference does he perceive between buyers of different SKUs. How would he feel about himself if he could buy a higher SKU or a lower SKU. Motivation, Involvement with his product, Routine and situational factors 7. When all in during his daily activities does he use the product. What are his surroundings and general frame of mind when he decides to use/ purchase the product, At each occasion why does he choose to a particular brand over others? (For toilet soaps ask in terms of seasons for e.g. the respondent might be using a particular brand in summer, another in winter). When does he physiologically or psychologically feel the need to use the product? What is a. When do you use so and so brand, why dont you use another brand. What

105

his involvement level with the product? How much time, energy, effort and information search is he willing to do in order to make the purchase decision? a. What is frequency and amount of usage/purchase of the product? What is his mood, temper, how does he behave, how does he feel before using the product (ask brand wise). How does he feel afterwards? b. What roles is he performing while using the product, for example the role of a friend, colleague, client, customer, husband, father, son etc (e.g. a housewife is performing the role of doting mother or a dutiful wife or some other role while preparing cake in an oven)? This will give in depth view of the frame of mind of the person while using the product. c. What effect or benefit does using that product/brand on a particular occasion give him? Would using another brand/product give him that benefit? How beneficial do you think your brand is as compared to a rival brand? d. How much are you ready to spend to get the brand you like. Suppose tomorrow the price increases or the retailer does not stock the brand, would you still put the effort to buy the brand? e. Do you consult your family, friends, relatives, shopkeeper before making a purchase decision for the product. f. How much do you contemplate before choosing a particular brand?

Role of Advertising 8. Does he see advertisements? What advertisements does he remember the most (ask with respect to product categories), what did he like about them. Giving examples find out what sort of ads does he likes in terms of theme, language, price issue, pack size, product benefits vs emotion focus. Does he

106

like ads with celebrity appeal, which ads does he remember the most (see which brands and products those ads belong to), what does he like about that celebrity. How do you think he is related to the ad i.e. how does he link the celebrity and the ad. What does he notice in an ad (poster) image, script, colour etc. what effect does ads have on him. Has he used any product because of seeing the ads. What are the brands he uses in various categories. Does he remember their ads. What does he remember in those ads? Does he remember the price of the various brands he purchases (in interview only, not in FGDs). Does he remember those prices mentioned in ads. a. Do you like to see advertisements? What advertisements do you like to see? Can you describe them, please? Where do you usually see advertisements (media)? How would you like an urban theme vs a rural theme (does he remember a Tendulkar ad based in rural India or one with an urban theme). b. Does you watch films, which film stars do you remember. Do you remember their films? What roles did they perform in those films? Who do you like most and whose films do you enjoy to watch? Do you see any ads involving film stars? Which ads do you enjoy most? What message does the film star give (verbatim)? Have you used any product after seeing an ad of a film star? Why do you feel like using it after seeing a film star endorsing the ad? c. What brands do you use in toilet soap, washing bar/powder, hair oil, fertilizers, shampoo, toothpaste, talcum powder, watch, batteries, cooking oil, fertilizers. Where did you come to know of each brand? If ads, what does he remember in those ads. Does he remember the SKU, price, theme, message, anything else like script, metaphor etc. How did each of them affect his purchase decision? Ask: Did you feel like buying the product or not buying it after seeing a particular message element?

107

9. What are the sources of his knowledge of brands: ads (in which media), family, friends, relatives, or colleagues? Whose credibility or influence is most while it comes to taking brand decisions? Even among ads if the opinion leader is used what is his identity? a. If the awareness of the brand is through any other source, apart from ads, which is that source (this will give us the opinion leader). Why did the respondent feel like using the brand because of the sources influence? What brand image did the source pass on to the respondent? b. Ask: What made you use the brand because the source told you to use it? (Aapko (source) ne kaha ki ise istamal karna to aapko aisa kyon laga ise istamal karna chahiye) What did you think about the brand because of what the source told you?

10. What consumer promotions has he been exposed to? Details of these promotions. Has he used any brand after seeing its consumer promotions. How does he perceive about the brand because it conducted consumer promotions. Through the ads or communication he remembers most, see which channels of delivery have been used. a. If the respondent himself talks about the consumer promotions anywhere till now, probe it further, otherwise ask: You have not talked about any promotions or activities till now, do you remember any activities. Describe them. b. Did you start using any brand after participating in its activity. What do you think about activities? Are they a good way to promote a brand? How have your feelings towards the brand changed after seeing its promotional activities?

108

11. Ads and promos of cigarette companies, bidi companies, NST companies. a. If the respondent remembers ads of a other cigarette companies or bidi companies or NST companies, ask him what all he remembers, carefully see what is it that has affected him theme, language, symbol etc. and what theme, symbol etc. was used. What were the models used. How would you describe the model? What do you think about the model (what are his feelings)? b. If the respondent remembers the activities, details of the activities. Where, when, what was the activity conducted (with focus on how the brand was communicated), how often is the activity conducted. Did the respondent start using the brand after the activity? c. Does you find any difference between ads, activities of cigarette companies and those of others?

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APPENDIX C Shop Based Observation Sheet

1. Sex 2. Age Child (0-14) Adolescent (15-20) Youth (21-30) Late Youth (31-40) Middle Aged (41-55) Old Aged (55 and above) Adult male Adult Female Child

3. Social Class Rich Upper middle Class Middle Class Lower Middle Poor Very Poor

4. Accessories/Clothes Dhoti/ Kurta, Shirt/ Pant 110

Female Apparel Watch, Wallet/Purse, Shoes, Pen

Interaction with the Shopkeeper 5. Product Cigarette: Brand/s ___________, Bidi: Brand/s ___________ Brand ______________ Brand Type ______________

NST: Product ___________

General Product: Product/s 1. __________ Brand/s_____________ 2. __________ Brand/s_____________

6. SKU Bought Cigarette/Bidis 1. Pack 2. Loose NST/ Other products 1. Pack size 2. Pack Type (sachet/ bar/ packet/bottle etc.) 7. Amount Bought No of SKUs 8. Terms used for various items/ any other comments ______________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ For oneself/ for friends also

111

___________________________________________________________ _______

Body Language
9. Temper Relaxed Calm Angry Nervous

10. Mood Happy/Satisfied Sad Cheerful Glum

11. Behaviour Quiet Talkative Contemplative (looking at the shop or outside) Observant Enquiring about other products Giving the brand name or product name

12. Manner of speaking with the shopkeeper Normal/Professional/Brisk Pleading/Beseeching

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Regarding/Respectful Condescending/Brusque Familiarity/Friendly

13. Manner of speaking with others Normal/Professional/Brisk Pleading/Beseeching Regarding/Respectful Condescending/Brusque Familiarity/Friendly

14. Talks with company/shopkeeper about various product/ ads, rival brand/ products. _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ ________

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APPENDIX D PHOTOGRAPHS

114

BIBLIOGRAPHY

115

BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Consumer Behavior- Concepts And Application, 4th Ed.: Loudon, David L; Della Bitta, Albert J 2. Consumer Behavior, 9th Ed.: Blackwell, Roger D; Miniard, Paul W; Engel, James F 3. Understanding Consumer Decision Making- The Means-End Approach To Marketing And Advertising Strategy edited by: Reynolds, Thomas J; Olson, Jerry C 4. Business Research Methods, 6th Ed.: Cooper, Donald R; Schindler, Pamela S 5. Rural Marketing-Targeting The Non-Urban Consumer: Velayudhan, Sanal 6. Rural Marketing In India: Ahmad, Shamim 7. Rural Marketing-Environment, Problems And Strategies: Gopalaswamy, T P Websites: http://saharanpur.nic.in www.upgov.nic.in http://www.unu.edu/unupress/food2/UIN03E/uin03e0a.htm

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http://people.uncw.edu/olsenr/courses/200/200studentexamples/Tutorials/Doing %20Probe%20One.ppt. http://www.nd.edu/libraries/ http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/02_21/b3784052.htm http://www.indiainfoline.com/bisc/mkt2.html http://www.anugrahmadison.com/press_clippings_5.html http://www.idevn.org/Core_Approach/Rural_Marketing.htm http://www.etstrategicmarketing.com/smJune-July2/art6_2.htm http://www.etstrategicmarketing.com/smJune-July2/sbrand_2.htm#top http://www.teauction.com/home.asp http://www.mica-india.net/people/people_main.htm http://www.blonnet.com/archives.htm http://www.business-today.com/btoday/20010106/trends3.html kerlins.net/bobbi/research/qualresearch www.wsp.org/pdfs/sa_marketing.pdf www.hll.com/HLL/knowus/bs_ruralmark.html and numerous other websites visited to get information on Rural India, Qualitative research techniques etc.

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