The ongoing Rural Conclave 2015, organised by Rural Marketing Association of India, in New Delhi brings together companies that take the rural market seriously, try to understand villagers’ preferences and innovate to win over these simple folk. Apart from corporate excellence awards announced for companies excelling at penetrating the hinterland, the conclave intends to discuss strategies that have worked and those that can be bettered.
Friday saw the opening by RMAI President Sanjay Kaul, followed by a keynote address by rural marketing guru and MART CEO Pradeep Kashyap. Providing deep insight, he discussed the paradigm shift that has taken place within companies and the country, from ‘why rural’ to ‘how rural’. The presentation ‘Meet the rural consumer 2.0’ had Alpana Parida, President DY Works, and Gurpreet Wasi from market research consultancy IMRB detail the transformation taking place in the countryside and the views of GeNext village consumers.
Saturday promises to be even busier with the presentation of several case studies of projects that won the RMAI Flame Awards earlier in the year. Among them will be Project Sampark, which helped Usha International Ltd reach out to over four lakh rural households. JCB’s Sunhera Kal and the paint company’s Nerolac Ke Heavyweight campaign, which won laurels at the Flame Awards, will also come up for discussion.