A Couple Of Indian Marketing Stories

For the past few days I have had an interesting clipping on my desk on the way marketers are rethinking their approach to rural india. The urban/rural divide is a key cultural and economic issue everywhere, but especially so in India where the gulf is so wide and the sheer volume of the rural population (one in twelve people in the world live in an Indian village) so enourmous. It is interesting to read the way companies are realising that the kind of marketing that works in cities does not work in rural areas. We are not just talking about different kinds of ads, but rather a very different approach, with much more personal contact with consumers through stalls at local markets and community participation. Very telling.

The second story relates to the demise of the home rennovation store Arcus. Soon after arriving here I became a huge fan or Arcus because it was the closest I could find to a western style home rennovation store (or hardware temple as I call them). They filled the gap nicely between upmarket homewares stores and local tradesperson-oriented tool and paint stores. However, it was clear for a while the store was not doing good business and they closed their doors for good a month ago. It is fascinating that similar kinds of stores in the UK, US and Australasia do such a huge business (especially amongst the middle classes), but here in India, with a middle class the size of the whole population of the US, such stores are not sustainable.