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From the CEO’s desk

Increased Taxes Help Defend KARKROGUE

From the CEO’s desk / By

‘’Cigarette ka dhua ab hogaya hai bhari, kyuki tax ho gaye hai bhari Iss bhari tax se bhag jayegi karkrogue ki bimaari!’’ Now if you spot a smoker, you can easily judge their wealth. On the World No Tobacco Day 2014, 31st May, the taxes over tobacco have been raised because it was concluded that this could be the only effective and cost effective option to stop people around the world from smoking and using tobacco in different forms. This would not only benefit the health of the beings on our planet but also contribute economically. Have you heard of the corporate social responsibility undertaken by Vritti iMedia? As a corporate social responsibility, Vritti i media have supported a social awareness campaign on smoking and effects of smoking.  This CSR was in a form of a seminar which was held on the World No Tobacco Day, 2014. The seminar was held at the S.Nijalingappa college of Dental Science & Research Auditorium, Gulbarga, Karnataka. The seminar was also in association with Nirni Cancer Foundation, Hyderabad. This Session was addressed to the students to keep distance from smoking or using tobacco for any other purposes. Dr. S. S. Nirni an eminent oncologist at the Omega Hospital shed some light on the dangers of consuming tobacco and its products. At the session other topics like Stress management, How to write exams and Time Management were also a point of discussion. Finally the session ended successfully with good number of supporters. The supporter of this campaign, Vritti i media have bagged a feeling of gratitude and achievement after their participation at this social initiative. Out of the world population, One billion smokers have been polluting the air by smoking tobacco. This directly affects the children who have been breathing this tobacco polluted air, causing deaths due to passive smoking. 100million deaths have been caused due to tobacco in the 20th century, and with the current trend in the toll of deaths due to use of tobacco, 21st century will see up to one billion deaths. More than 80% of the smokers live in the low and middle income countries i.e. developing countries; hence increasing the taxes over tobacco is a bonus to prevent the masses from the developing countries to smoke. Along with making business in the advertising world, Vritti iMedia have also fulfilled their corporate social responsibility by taking this step towards preventing people from using tobacco and tobacco products worldwide. Also apart from this, Vritti iMedia have initiated Shuddha Desi mass communication tool, which is a new kind of media where along with daily announcement at the bus stations there will be informative and entertaining audio clips played at equal intervals. This tool now has been used in many parts of rural India, and the audience it has grabbed is remarkable. With the ‘ab ki baar Modi sarkar’ campaign turned successful with this tool, now FMCG companies are also willing to invest in the Suddha Desi tool by marketing their products in the rural areas.

Rural India the next Frontier for Growth

From the CEO’s desk / By

Recent market surveys have shown that markets in rural India will be the next battle ground for companies in India. The markets which were traditionally focused on the urban populace now see a tremendous growth opportunity in this little explored rural territory. Companies have now realized the importance of this 600million- plus market which could be crucial for them to maintain their growth rate. Studies show that the rural market in India will witness the fastest growth trajectory as compared to urban markets in the coming years. The rural consumer is expected to account for a major chunk of multiple product lines driven by improving economic condition and an increasing focus of companies in strengthening their rural distribution networks. Rural Indians are developing desire for packaged foods, personal care products, consumer durables and IT products, two- and four-wheelers, and fashion accessories. Over the last five years, some consumer product companies have recognized the potential of rural markets and invested time and resources to tap into this opportunity – understanding and segmenting the consumer, based on their spends and lifestyles. According to a study by research firm The Nielson Company, the fast moving consumer goods market (FMCG) in rural India is tipped to touch US$ 100 billion by 2025 on the back of an “unrelenting” demand driven by rising income levels. According to the study, rural India now accounts for more than half of sales in some of the largest FMCG categories. Rural purchasing power has grown faster than urban in the last six quarters. Seemingly urbane brands in categories like deodorant and fabric softener are growing much faster in rural India than urban. What remains a major concern is to make the end-rural consumer aware of the presence of the brand. Traditional advertising like television may rather remain ineffective due to frequent power outages and Medias like radio might also not be impactful due to reception issues. For companies to be able to tap into rural markets, a more effective method needs to be adopted to maximize penetration.

Rural Marketing – The Road Ahead

From the CEO’s desk / By

The Union Budget for 2011 has evoked mixed reactions from the advertising industry. Some reactions being positive and some negative. But, by and large, the general consensus is that many advertising agencies expect companies to spend a large amount of their marketing budgets on rural communications. This is so because of the sheer number of rural population being 128 million, almost three times that of the urban population and the announcement of a large number of rural development schemes. Advertisers and marketers are slowly realizing the potential of the rural markets in India and are making attempts to focus their marketing and advertising initiatives to feed off the rural markets. Advertisers have started looking at rural markets seriously, given that an increasing percentage of sales are coming from rural belts in many categories. The rural market accounts for half of the total market for TV sets, fans, pressure cookers, bicycles, washing soap, blades, tea, salt and toothpowder. What is more, the rural market for FMCG products is growing much faster than the urban counterpart. Rural India has a large consuming class with 41 per cent of India’s middle-class and 58 per cent of the total disposable income. In addition, with respect to the budget, rural reforms clearly are on top of the list where there is a clear scaled up flow of resources. Increase in farm credit, benefits to all tax payers, subvention of 3% to farmer paying loans on time are all steps in creating a strong base that can be built on.With all this and more it won’t be a surprise but just a matter of time before more and more companies jump on the rural marketing bandwagon and tap the rural markets in an aggressive manner.