Ethnographic research in North India

Our ethnographic research took us to Siyana a small town located at 3.5 hours from Nizamuddin railway station. We were staying at my friend’s place whose parents live there. From the roof top of the house we could see the green belt that delimitates the town.

Most of the people in Siyana have small businesses; one of the main businesses was agriculture. Electricity comes few hours a day only. People who have better standard of living can afford to have invertor or generator to keep the machines and fans running. Of course, no one uses air conditioner as that would be too expensive. We had a walk around when we reached the town. We were not accompanied with any local fellow. People were looking very strangely at us since they understood we are not from the town. One person came and asked us where we are from? As we started speaking with him more people joined with 1000 of questions. We had to run away as our presence was generating traffic jam in the market. Still we had a nice visit and enjoyed interacting with the local population.

We started with our research the first day itself. The family who received us were very helpful in introducing us to people around. Being in a small town it was easy to reach a large diversity of profiles from business people to employees, teachers, workers, farmers, etc. In Siyana, people hardly get opportunities to speak with outsiders. So, they were very much interested to speak and know about us. Many a times it happened that youth guys came up to asked me to speak about my country. This made our work pleasant but longer since we had to establish trust and build relationship with people before starting any interview or field observation.

The first interview we did was in a small village around Siyana that caught the interest of everyone. Ayan the person we interviewed was comfortable in speaking in front of everyone. This type of interview shared with the community had an advantage.
It helped us in understanding the difference between individual motivations and what is commonly accepted by the group. More than anyone else, villagers need to justify their behaviour to the community they belong to. Ayan considered himself as a rich person since he worked for a corporate company for a couple of years. He explained to his community the social necessity of having a fashionable lifestyle working at ICICI Bank.

Villagers were explaining us the interest and necessity of having multiple sources of income in the family. Ayan cannot think of closing his business even if he gets a permanent job at ICICI Bank. “Job is a short term solution; you never know how long the company is going to run”.
Villagers have 4 to 5 regular businesses they pass on to each other as time and opportunities come. Basically, more you go at the bottom of the pyramid more the source of income is diversified. Since many people have lost their faith in the corporate world the small business thinking gains the interest of the overall population.

Middle class behaviour is quiet predictable in towns and villages. Being at the edge between modernity and tradition, middle class are pushed in developing strong ideas about what is good and what is bad. Mostly, they are well informed and leave less space to subjectivity.

At one evening we had the great pleasure to attending a party given for a new born baby. There was nothing traditional but Bollywood music, food and drinks… we all had great fun. Coming back home was an adventure since there was no light anywhere. We had to walk in queue behind uncle’s torchlight till we reached home.

After interviewing 34 people in towns and villages we went to Ghaziabad, New Delhi and Gurgaon. My wife Melina felt in love with Gurgaon shopping malls. The most happening place she found in India so far.

In towns and villages people’s lifestyle evolutes in a linear way. It is always a kind of compromise between tradition and modernity and the whole family follows a similar pattern with different level of understanding.

But in New Delhi people follow a pattern that is much more based on their individual life experience. People’s lifestyle is the fruit of a long process of individual liberation where personal reflection matters a lot.

“I have reached this level of thinking because of…”
“I had to change something about myself and I did it…”
“Knowledge is painful you can never stop rethinking the world around of you”
Etc.

People have no fear in experimenting themselves to access to a better way of being. This long process for discovering the “Who am I?” is very much influential on their way of living.

Kovent’s North India consumer trends will speak about how the “Who am I?” attitude influences consumption pattern in North India. What are the keys factors to implement innovation and respond to consumer’s aspirations? Innovation always question consumers; our next report will provide you the right question for the right user group.

Family continues to occupy a central role in people’s pre-occupation. But, there also we found new behaviours in all layers of the society. We used a set of pictures representing Bollywood actors and actresses in different roles and personality. It is interesting to see how people reinterpret family values in today’s society. How they project their role model from the past to the future.

Our North India trip was a wonderful experience. We interviewed 83 peoples with 62 hours of recorded interview. There is a report available on http://www.kovent.com/

Top 10

Here are the top 10 questions we received from our clients about
More & More - South India consumer trends report.
www.kovent.com

1. The world goes green! What about India?
We all know that Indians have a holistic relation with nature.
On the other hand, Indian industrialists like to repeat that we must get developed before thinking about environmental protection. This sounds logical but it is no more acceptable for the South Indian consumers who have deep ecological consciousness.
Unsurprisingly, our approach of sustainable development is catching the attention of non-profit organisations and government bodies. In More & More, you will learn how South India may become the world laboratory for sustainability and local living economy.

2. Is there any interest in encouraging local and national trends?
No, but it is necessary if we want to reach the next 100 million consumers who are not yet willing to afford a consumerist lifestyle. These consumers we are referring to are the ones who lead a modest lifestyle but still have a good spending potential. They need radical innovations that are contextually integrated. Thus, the future of innovation will be a mix of both local and global consumer experience. That’s the reason for which our trends report aims to facilitate people’s adhesion to global consumption pattern.

3. What kind of trends report it is?
A trends report is either:
1) Macro or Micro - Micro trends all together form macro trends.
2) Fast or Slow - The period the trend will last.
3) Global or Local - The geography of the trend.
More & More trends report focuses on Macro, Slow, Local trends.
It is useful for any industry that deals with consumers who have local or national exposure and moderated lifestyle. You will find business opportunities on medium and long-term basis.

4. Will the report be relevant for my industry?
The report deals with consumers needs and wants. As those needs and wants can be applied across all industries, the report is relevant for any brand looking to innovate in the B2C arena across South India.

5. Did you find any variations in the consumer’s behaviours between the South Indian states?
Yes and for each of the 21 trends presented we have included a map of South India showing where the trend is present. Some trends are spread all over the 4 states whereas others only affect particular states or cities. This trends report can be utilised for localising your products and services however it is not its primary objective. The objective of this report is to understand South India’s macro consumer segmentation. It makes more sense from a business perspective to focus on cross-states trends than geographically isolated ones.

6. In what way can NGOs contribute to R&D?
Our experience working with the poor clearly showed us that there is no direct relation between income level and buying capacity. NGOs have the experience of working with the poor and know what is the ecosystem associated to peoples spending habits. NGOs helped us to understand how community behaviour influences the consumption pattern of poor consumers.

7. What will be the next technological hit for India?
At last, India is coming out of the technocratic black-out it was stuck in for the past 10 years. Technology has become a fully integrated component of lifestyle. Now, we can think about humanised innovation that would require powerful technologies but not for the sake of it.
Let me say once again:
“Innovation is no more about constantly upgrading technology. Innovation is about relieving social and cultural barriers. Make global resources accessible to everyone. Free every human being from ignorance and poverty.”
Become an ambassador of India’s social revolution. More & More will provide you clues to innovate in that direction.

8. Why to make a trends report about South India and not the whole country?
We thought that this trends report could capture the whole population of India. But, after interviewing people in Mumbai and Delhi we realised that the findings would be entirely different in North and South. Hence, we decided to release 2 separate versions. This edition focuses exclusively on South India.
We are currently conducting workshops in Mumbai with NGOs, social workers and business entrepreneurs. Yet we have no doubt that North India trends will be a different blend of life experiences and consumer aspirations.

9. Can you share with us the process followed to generate these trends?
The methodology used to realise More & More consumer trends report is called Target Point. This methodology has been specially created for studying emerging market populations. It helps to understand in-depth environmental factors and underlying needs of the consumers rather than surface information with no proper indicators. Emerging market populations are often attached to their traditions and not always receptive to global trends. Hence, it is essential to understand their cultural ecosystem for framing accurate social and commercial trends.
Read about Target Point design methodology on our website:
http://www.kovent.com/targetpoint.html

10. Is there any business opportunity in this period of recession?
We are all feeling the cold shower of recession particularly the rich and middle class consumers who fear job cut and postpone buying expensive stuff. All sectors are affected real estate, banking, distribution, etc. Indian middle class consumers are likely to suffer and see their buying capacity decrease significantly till the economy gets better. However, it is not the case of the Indian rural market that continues to grow as a self-sustaining economy. Your company can contribute and benefit from it while providing contextual innovation.

Design and communication strategy for Lifebuoy’s re-launch

Rural India has ample of opportunities all waiting to be harnessed for the much-needed volumes. Not astonishingly, it has become the latest marketing catchword for most FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) majors. Some of the requisites for making an impression in the rural market include:

1) Strong distribution channel
2) Minimum profit margin
3) Simple marketing message
4) Lesser-priced packs to increase affordability
5) Packaging in smaller units and localised design that attracts consumers
6) Convenience of storage while use
7) Thorough knowledge of the village psyche
In brief, the strategy revolves around what attracts rural consumers to a product.

Hindustan Lever Ltd. (HLL) is one of the few FMCG’s to be highly successful in rural India. It has been a pioneer in reaching out to the smallest of villages with innovative products. HLL is also open to the idea of building rural-specific brands since it will only dispel the marketing media effort for the brands. Today, HLL’s brands have become household names. No one knows Indian consumers better than HLL. The company has access to both global and local research, technology and development teams. It is fully supported by its nation-wide manufacturing and distribution network.



HLL is India's largest marketer of home & personal care products, foods & beverages. Recently, it launched “Pureit”, which is an in-home water purification system that gives water ‘as safe as boiled water’. It is also the largest exporter of branded FMCGs, marine products, basmati rice and one of the global players in castor.

When we speak about HLL, the first name that comes to our mind is Lifebuoy. It was sold in India as early as 1895, but was officially launched and marketed from 1935. For over 100 years, Lifebuoy with its distinct perfume and catchy jingle was associated with health and well-being, making it the world’s largest selling soap brand. Its ads carried the message that Lifebuoy washed away germs and kept one protected and healthy.



Lifebuoy is among HLL's power brands which contributed to nearly 30% of the company’s detergent turnover and was a leader in the carbolic segment with almost 95% market share. It went through a major re-launch for the first time in 1964 with a change in product formulation, shape and packaging. In mid 2001, HLL then launched Lifebuoy Active and Lifebuoy Extra Strong. However, these launches led to a minimal turnaround. For nearly 107 years, the brand hadn't undergone a major restructuring and repositioning. The sales were declining since consumers were shifting from carbolic based soaps to beauty soaps with better fragrance and lather.

The decline of the brand, prompted HLL to re-think its marketing strategy. Lifebuoy underwent a major turning point in its history with the re-launch in 2002, 2004 and again in 2006. The re-launch was done to beat the slow-moving sales. To register positive preference among consumers, HLL challenged everything that Lifebuoy stood for.

Lifebuoy is now an entirely new mix with a superior formulation, fragrance, lather profile and a contemporary shape. It offers an improved bathing experience and skin feel. The new Lifebuoy is targeted at today’s astute housewives who seek family health protection. It made a thoughtful shift in positioning from being a male soap, champ of health to a family soap with a more reliable health protection against germs for the entire family.

The new range includes Lifebuoy total, Lifebuoy deofresh, Lifebuoy nature, Lifebuoy care, Lifebuoy activ fresh, Lifebuoy International Plus, Lifebuoy International Gold, etc. Apart from this, Lifebuoy also offers specialised products like Lifebuoy HandWash and Lifebuoy Clearskin, which provides treatment and protection against acne.



HLL did huge rural campaigning using the idea of hygiene as a podium to reposition its brand. The company devised a strategy to ensure its focus on family health themes via TV and print campaigns in the rural markets. They conducted consumer education exercise using "Germ tests" through multimedia. They also explored the opportunity to spread message during World Health Day. HLL also launched Lifebuoy Swashthya Chetana, the first single largest rural health and hygiene educational program. The campaign aimed at educating children and community about the threat of unseen germs and maintaining good health through practice of basic hygiene.

HLL used innovative communication tools at melas, festivals, haats, etc. to spread awareness about hygiene and health by product demonstrations. These techniques were used in order to change the hand-washing and bathing habits in rural India. For example, people in mela were asked to put their hands below a special camera where they could see the germs on their hands and were asked to wash their hands with Lifebuoy and see the difference. Hand-carts were also displayed at the company’s stall for attracting more people.

Ideas like putting stickers on hand pumps, walls of the wells, putting tin plates on trees surrounding the pond were some of the innovative media utilised by Lifebuoy. The idea was to market the product not only at the point of purchase but also at the time of consumption. Other media techniques used were shop-fronts and cinema van operations having films and audio cassettes with songs and dance sequences from popular films that comprised ads of HLL products during breaks. The reach of conventional media is not that effective in rural markets. Moreover, it is not always viable to cover all these markets due to high costs involved. Yet, these markets are vital since the growth potential is high. Operation Harvest served as a medium to augment the role of conventional media in rural India and in the process built relations and loyalty with consumers.



HLL has always been at the front line of trying out with innovative schemes to reach rural consumers. It deliberately introduced small-sized packs of Lifebuoy targeted at rural markets. Cross company product mixes were also offered to lure consumers. To induce growth, HLL dropped the prices of its products and has been also trying to upgrade its consumers by cannibalising its own brands.

Rural retailers and quick product availability influence the purchase decision of rural consumers. HLL therefore undertook projects to enhance the rural supply chain by a network of sub-stockists and 'Project Shakti' in partnership with the Self-Help Groups of rural women. These Self-Help Groups acted as direct-to-home dealers. In rural India, women are the catalyst of change and that is why Project Shakti kept women in focus. It is they who give Shakti its strength. Project Shakti has proved to be a great marketing venture for HLL since it works in both terms which is promotion as well as a distribution network with social welfare benefits. The model created a win-win partnership between HLL and its consumers, some of whom depended on the organisation for their livelihood and helped building a self-sustaining virtuous cycle of growth for all. Another good initiative taken by HLL under Project Shakti is `I-Shakti', an IT-based rural information facility that provides solutions to major rural needs such as agriculture, education, vocational training, health and hygiene.

Rural markets are still evolving and there is no fixed layout to understand consumer behaviour. Lot of research is yet to be conducted for understanding rural consumers.

Colgate's Suraksha Chakra growing strong in rural India

Rapid change in lifestyles, improving infrastructure and rising income have altered consumption patterns not only in urban but also in the rural areas. Growing demand for high-quality personal care products has been one of the main reasons for the shift in consumption patterns. In the past, product marketing has remained primarily an urban phenomenon, but in recent years due to the increasing education levels and increased awareness created through media, the rural market has been growing as well. Increasing brand consciousness and expanded disposable incomes are jacking up the appetite for these products.



Companies have long realised that to increase sales volume they will have to reach outside big cities. In several categories, rural India accounts for the lion's share. Rural households form around 72% of the total households in the country. Spending in this segment is growing rapidly and consumption patterns are closing in on those in urban areas.

Today, no consumer goods company can afford to forget rural market which is a very big part of the Indian consumer market. You cannot build a brand presence in India until you have the strategy for reaching the villages. Companies that have figured this out are doing better in villages than cities. The potential is huge for companies that develop effective rural marketing strategies. Up-gradation of products is being witnessed on fast-emerging consumption pattern in rural areas. Local and branded products are getting replaced by national brands and low priced by high priced.

Several European and US companies have been making inroads into rural India for years. Among the U.S. firms, Colgate is one such company that has made considerable headway. The company has been long known to dukaandaars and merchants in rural India.

Colgate is one of the leading providers of scientifically proven oral care products in India, including toothpastes, toothpowder and toothbrushes. The company is spending on advertising according to its market share and leadership position it enjoys and is conscious about what it costs.



For marketing to rural consumers, you need to persuade them to try and adopt products that they may have not used before. A company like Colgate has to convince people to change to toothpaste instead of using neem twigs to clean their teeth, which was the traditional practice. This is difficult to do and requires patience and investment by the company. It's not like getting someone to switch brands.

Rural India presents huge opportunity for the company to grow its market. Therefore, Colgate continues to focus on expanding its rural distribution. They keep conducting various programmes with massive rural sampling and seeding exercise for Colgate, targeted at non-users and infrequent users of dentifrices.



In rural areas, people use neem and other substances for cleaning their teeth. Even after keeping the products low priced, people were not willing to use the toothpaste. Hence, Colgate conducted a research to show that neem sticks don’t do much for oral health as they only massage the gums, which even a toothbrush can do. For upgrading these users to use toothpaste, which also generates demand for toothbrushes and to penetrate deeper into rural households, Colgate is constantly conducting oral care awareness programmes. It also actively participates in local festivals.

Colgate resorted to keep their products low priced than its arch-rival, Hindustan Lever. As a result, Colgate Gel, Total, etc. are priced marginally lower than similar offerings from HLL. Colgate's dominant position in toothpowder and lower-priced products has helped in increasing sales. This is significant as rural market growth rates for FMCG products have been higher than urban market over the past years.



Colgate has been also quite active on the new products front. The company launched Cibaca Top and Colgate Herbal, two low-priced brands targeted at the semi-urban market. Colgate's low price offers have also helped to enhance usage levels. The shift in consumer preference from gel-based to white toothpastes, has also worked in Colgate's favour, since the company has traditionally been the market leader in this segment.

Colgate’s commitment to deliver superior quality products and their aggressive investments in brand building has been well received. To be continually rated as one of the top brand in an increasingly competitive environment, is a reaffirmation of the trust, loyalty and confidence reposed in Colgate by millions of consumers across India. Today, every second user of toothpastes uses Colgate and one out of every three toothbrush user’s brushes with a Colgate toothbrush.



With rapidly evolving consumer preferences, Colgate has been spearheading changes across different product categories through a series of product innovations. The company has launched a series of superior quality oral care products with trend-setting innovations at affordable prices. It includes technologically advanced toothpastes, a herbal toothpowder and a series of specialty designed toothbrushes. All these products are having strong consumer acceptance.

Today, Colgate has become an essential part of daily oral hygiene and therapeutic oral care. It is one of the most widely used and recommended brands by dentists.

Gandhi, the father of modern India, believed that the country's future lay in her villages. These days, every major business group that plans to move into the hinterland would agree. However, the level of affordability in rural India is low. For consumers to buy products, you have to first put more money in their pockets. Create a virtuous circle of raising rural incomes which leads to increase in consumption. This new business culture I am talking about is not charity or philanthropy. It is about doing business with social benefits. It will help us to sustain the economy and bring in lots of human satisfaction to all of us. You can't think of success just in financial terms. Getting goodwill and recognition in the rural market is also not a small asset for any company.

Ethnographic research in South India

Emerging markets such as Brazil, Russia, India and China have a strong tendency of imposing their view on the global economy. Today, understanding social trends and cultural insights has become essential for innovating new products and services in emerging markets.

We have been doing ethnographic research in South India for the past 3 months. The states covered are Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu with Puducherry being the lone Union Territory. Our objective was to capture new comportments and needs of the population there.

We applied a human-centred marketing approach to understand:
1) What really matters for the South Indian consumers?
2) What are their difficulties in the fast moving economy of India?
3) What would be the axis for sustainable livelihood?
The results we found were very different from one state to another. For instance, Tamil Nadu remains to be the impenetrable traditional state of South India.

The anthropological study we did includes our analysis about the South Indian population, their way of customs, their views of today’s society and way of living considering their situation and earnings. We interviewed people of all ages, background, castes and income levels in small towns, villages as well as metro cities.

For reaching the population, we were enormously helped by a few NGOs. Great credit goes to Sigaram Service Society and Welcome Society who introduced us to the locals and helped us in getting the required population count and data. We were guided so that the interviews we held were smooth and understandable on both extremes. We conducted nearly 70 qualitative interviews with people from different age groups having different income levels. From people who sustain their life in huts to people who are wealthy enough to afford a modern lifestyle. We asked them analysing questions related to their customs, mode of living, etc. to collect data. We found around 21 consumer profiles of people belonging to various families starting from the poor to middle class to the rich.

It was nice to share experience between anthropologists and social workers from South India. We are convinced that NGOs can play a major role in developing clever business model in emerging markets. We look forward to extend our partnership with multiple NGOs all over India and across the globe.

The project has a valuable market analysis to know the pulse of every kind of individual residing in South India. It helps you in understanding social trends, consumer segmentation and how they can be leveraged in product innovation and brand strategy. It offers plenty of opportunities to create new businesses in emerging market.

There won’t be any underground work needed for any company who plans to start a new market in this part of the sub-continent. This research will be available on our website from 15th Feb'2009 along with a movie clip speaking about the interest of investing in emerging markets.

Like this interview was in a slum with a very poor family. Some people thanked us for taking their interview and said they really enjoyed sharing their feelings.

Reality is far from what we think. People who share similar ideology sometimes have a totally different lifestyle. Reversely, lifestyle does not predict a consumer’s mindset.

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