The Hindu Business Line : The big rural picture

STAR TV recently started plying its Star Utsav gaddis (rural vans) on the streets of many small towns in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Gujarat. These vans are equipped with 29-inch televisions and a DVD player and enable the people to sample the channel's bestsellers Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki as well as popular reality shows such as Khulja Sim Sim.

Similarly, SaharaOne has been branding bangle carts in village haats and umbrellas of streetside paan shops to promote its show Hare Kaanch Ki Choodiyan, while SAB TV, from the Sony bouquet, has been swinging deals with local cable operators to promote its show, Wah Wah, in smaller markets.

After FMCG and consumer durables, it's now the turn of television channels to spread their wings into the smaller markets. With the number of cable and satellite (C&S) television homes having grown from 40 million to 60 million in just a couple of years, there is a huge mass which has just entered the C&S fold. And broadcasters feel that it is just about time to tap this huge mass of consumers.

In fact, Star's Utsav is targeted at reaching out to this huge chunk of free-to-air (FTA) homes which have not been able to access popular Star Plus programmes that have now become household names. Says Puneet Johar, Senior Vice-President, Star India, "We launched Star Utsav as a market development channel so that viewers from FTA homes sample us and graduate to our other pay channels."

Johar says the markets that an Utsav caters to are mostly those with a population of less than one lakh. "These are markets which can afford only a certain amount towards cable charges and therefore, an FTA channel would be an attractive option for them."

The channel has thus kicked off an aggressive marketing strategy which not only enables its target audience to sample its programmes through its vans but also uses it as a platform to enhance its interaction with them by conducting contests based on its various shows and giving out prizes. "We have done activities such as Vote Do Show Lo, in which we invited people to vote for a show they would like to watch. For this, we not only did on-air promos, but also visited high-density areas, residential colonies, cinemas and colleges and encouraged people to fill the voting forms."

Purnendu Bose, COO, SaharaOne, says it is the smaller markets from which a broadcaster gets its loyal audience. Therefore, it becomes imperative to woo audiences in the smaller markets with a spate of on-ground activities. "If you can get them to watch your channel, then they will definitely remain loyal. Sixty per cent of the viewership comes from the smaller markets and the return on investment is much higher in these markets," he says.

For Vikas Bahl, Business Head, SAB, reaching out to smaller markets is inevitable as the channel positions itself as a middle-class channel. "Moreover, for the advertisers also, small towns are a big market, and we get the bulk of our revenue from these advertisers."

Johar of Star says the channel has learnt most of its rural marketing lessons from its advertisers. "While many mass advertisers such as Lever and Dabur found Utsav a good supplement to Star Plus and Star One as they got yet another platform to reach out to the smaller markets, we got a lot of dope on rural marketing from them."

The Utsav Di Gaddi, for instance, apart from talking about the channel's programmes, is also used by many mass marketers such as Hindustan Lever, Asian Paints and Nokia to talk about their respective brands. "Nokia promotes its dual language phones and Asian Paints talks about its Tractor emulsion. Similarly, the Vote Do Show Lo contest is sponsored by Lever," says Johar.

In fact, channels such as Sony, which target the metro market, have also got FMCG brands to promote shows such as Indian Idol, which have mass appeal. Says Nina Jaipuria, Marketing Head, Sony, "We have tied up with Parachute to promote Indian Idol. The bottles have the Indian Idol branding on them and we are going to capitalise on its large distribution network. We have to tag on to FMCG brands as we don't have the reach." However, Jaipuria states that Sony's strategy has always been to penetrate the metros first, and in smaller markets, it markets only certain shows.

However, the smaller markets have always been an area of priority for Zee Network, says Ashish Kaul, Senior Vice-President, Zee. "The Indian heartland is a priority market for us. Unlike other general entertainment channels, which are largely a metro phenomenon, a significant percentage of our viewership comes from the smaller markets." "Some of our recent launches such as Kam Ya Zyada anchored by Manoj Bajpai, Saregamapa Challenge 2005 and Saat Phere have been extensively promoted across the Indian heartland," he adds.

A logical move?

On whether focusing on smaller markets, essentially FTA homes, really make sense for the pay channels, Pradeep Hejmadi, Vice-President, TAM Media Research, says, "If the houses are already exposed to C&S television, there is definitely a potential for pay viewing."

Hejmadi also says the focus on smaller markets is a smart move, especially from a distribution point of view. "The larger the market, the greater the consolidation, and the multi-service operator will have more clout. This brings down the broadcaster's drive to bargain, as there is no competition. But as smaller towns don't have large consolidations it helps channels to collect better pay revenue."

Atul Phadnis, Chief Evangelist, Media e2e, also thinks distribution growth can be dramatic from the smaller markets. "The numbers in these markets are staggering as the total mass of population is phenomenally high. And, if they contribute to the overall economics of TV, then the revenue goes up dramatically. The current distribution system enables TV stations to collect money from only from large and medium towns."

Phadnis also points out that it is essential for the broadcasters to understand the merit of segmenting the market through differentiated content.

"Star Utsav, by airing the content of Star Plus, is paving the path to make pay channels relevant in smaller markets. Sony, by having SAB in its bouquet, also specifically caters to smaller markets. However, some channels have to ensure that they create content which is relevant to both small towns and the metros as they don't have a bouquet yet. "

With FMCG companies already having a number of success stories to narrate about their rural initiatives, it is evident that these are definitely the markets of tomorrow. Now, it's a natural consequence that the media companies tap the immense opportunities rural markets hold.

More Stories on : Rural Marketing | Radio/TV | Rural Development

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