The emergence of the new Bharat as a new marketplace
The terms ‘India’ and ‘Bharat’ once synonymous with each other, now hold entirely different meanings for marketers across the nation. Marketing and advertising efforts once limited to only urban areas by the top-most brands have steered in the direction of tier-2 and tier-3 cities. The reason, you ask? It’s the endless number of opportunities that the consumers in these cities present to the new-age marketer and their respective brands to grow.
The consumers present in the unexplored and almost untapped markets in the new Bharat have largely different needs and aspirations. Gurumukh Uttamchandani, Executive Director, Syska explains, “There was a time when products would proudly wear the ‘imported’ tag to gain high aspirational and market value among Indian consumers. And this was not just with products, it was also with people, films, fashion, and values. ‘Aping the west’ was a cool thing to do be it listening to Western Music, following the international fashion trend, watching movies, and of course brands and products were looked up to with the same ‘precious’ value as the ‘foreigners’ and ‘white skin’ themselves. With the digital seep across the world, creating ‘global’ citizens, the Bharat consumers today are more educated, well informed, politically and socially aware, and are value-oriented with a strong awareness and respect for their roots. And these are estimated to form the fifth largest consumer market by 2025.”
This new Bharat has lead to a change in the perception of the nation that marketers once held. The well-informed audience today can utilize the rapid technological developments to their advantage. Gurumukh Uttmanchandani further says, “Technological advancements, affordable data, and smartphones have played a pivotal role in bridging the long-pending gap between India and Bharat. Today, the Bharat audience is not only well informed about the various new-age products that bring comfort and convenience but also able to buy them from e-commerce platforms which are always on the go to serve as many pin-codes as possible. This is further propelled by amplified registrations of the sellers on such platforms from Bharat which has spiked significantly in the last year empowering them to find new markets and buyers across geographies.”
Since the role of technological development in this sphere is undeniable, Kishan Jain, Director, Goldmedal Electricals also shares his insights, “In the last few years, technology has evolved rapidly and has become an integral aspect of the life of every Indian. Coupled with improved power supply, better infrastructure, growing interest, and accessibility to modern technology, we are witnessing a huge shift in the needs, aspirations, and preferences of the Bharat audience. It has led to a rise in demand for high-quality and high-tech smart gadgets including smart and energy-efficient electrical products. The audience is becoming more brand conscious and aware of the products they choose.”
But while marketers in the country were trying to keep up with these changes and figure out new and innovative strategies, the first wave of the pandemic hit the entire world and changed the way brands and consumers communicate, forever.
Owing to the pandemic and the need to be self-reliant as a nation, the needs and aspirations of the new-age consumer in Bharat changed even further. Joy Chatterjee, General Manager- Sales & Marketing, Mankind Pharma, explains, “The outbreak of pandemic imposed lockdown, initial restriction in international trades and government’s focus on self-reliance has fueled the demand for local products and attention towards homegrown brands. With the clarion call of ‘vocal for local’, the industry has witnessed a significant change in consumer behavior. In today’s time, the acceptance of products that are manufactured in India and support for Indian brands is likely to increase.”
He further says, “Indian brands are not only competing with homegrown brands but with international brands as well, so by default, any homegrown brand has to up the level of quality and communication. Being a homegrown brand, even, we are improving every aspect of a brand and working toward the greater goal of self-reliant. Manforce, AcneStars, and Gas-O-Fast witnessed an increase in the overall sales figures.”
Himanshu Arya, Founder, and CEO, Grapes Digital also shared the key changes witnessed with the onset of the pandemic, “The industry has witnessed a significant change in consumer behavior. There has been an increased conversation among people towards supporting Indian brands. This has diverted the brand’s attention also, and many in the last months have launched campaigns around the #Aatmanirbhar vision. Even, the MNC’s or foreign brands have tried to prove their Indian-ness and have changed their advertising strategies focusing on the #MadeinIndia aspect to garner attention, and also avoid any repercussions. Because in today’s time, brands easily get trolled on any issue.”
With major shifts in consumer behavior and attitude, the COVID-19 pandemic compelled marketers in the country to shift gears and transform their approach. Vinay Singhal, Co-founder & CEO, STAGE talks about how the pandemic pushed marketers to change their ways, “The pandemic pushed marketers to change the way they approach the consumers, especially in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. The approach of marketers changed to be more focused on relatability, solidarity, and emphasizing that the brand stands with the consumers in this journey, but with a special focus on the ‘Made in India’ aspect. Marketers started to showcase the solution orientation approach and focussing on purpose-driven communication.”
However, it would be wrong to say that the pandemic did not bring about a new era of opportunities for brands. The ‘Vocal for Local’ initiative and the focus on being self-reliant lead to Bharat becoming the new hub for brands to invest in.
Himanshu Arya seconds that thought, “Last year, we witnessed many challenges right from five months of strict lockdown to heated tension at LAC. There was a moment also where Indians came forward on the Prime Minister clarion call of ‘vocal for local’ and this led consumers to boycott Chinese products, and adopt home-grown brands. When China imposed restrictions during the covid-19 outbreak, the world felt they can’t be dependent on a single nation and therefore they started looking for an alternative. Indian Government realized the importance of the situation and invited various countries to shift their manufacturing base in India by launching various investment schemes. Countries including Japan, America, the European Union, and South Korea saw India as a viable option seeing the abundant possibility of lying in the Indian market. All these factors have worked for the benefit of India, and if the Government, industry makers, and manufacturers all come together, we can make India the biggest manufacturing hub across the world.”
He further adds, “Home-grown brands will gain a lot in this phase, companies are focusing on the Indian lines which can definitely help the brand to climb up the ladders. If consumers’ preferences are more towards local brands then this is the best time to shift their marketing strategies and target audience through word of mouth, and other campaign formats. This will help the brands to find a place in consumers’ minds.”
Harikrishnan Pillai, CEO, TheSmallBigIdea also believes that the opportunities in the new Bharat could turn out to be endless, “Brands should reach out to Bharat not only to build a customer base but should also take the responsibility of building and developing Bharat. Over 60% of India is classified as rural, which is as much an underwhelming fact as it is an opportunity. It is a great hub of talent and desire to uplift themselves, to which brands can play a catalyst. To enabling the use of products to build self-sustained business models or use technology to connect and provide services to cities, products and services in branded avatars can play a crucial role.”
While opportunities seem to be the talk of the town, an important question that arose during the pandemic was how brands would utilize these opportunities to their full potential. The key was, of course, experimentation and localization of content.
Kishan Jain explains how the brand leveraged the opportunity of rooting their content in localized forms, “We have always been aware that our strength lies in creating high-quality, innovative products for the Indian market. We now have a pan-India footfall and huge brand recognition across the country, especially in rural India. Our marketing strategy is therefore focused on leveraging our position as a company that is committed to innovating and delivering quality in the Indian market. This strategy has paid us dividends and helped us grow over the years. In addition to this, our approach to communicate with our consumers, especially the new Bharat, has been by localizing our communication and ensuring that all our communications, from press releases to online videos to packaging to customer service, are available in local languages. We have also partnered with local influencers and celebrities who believe in our brand and can effectively communicate our vision.”
Interestingly, a similar approach was utilized by Gurumukh Uttamchandani, “The rise of regional content consumption has witnessed a new high which is a clear reflection of the fact that Bharat audience is at par when it comes to awareness quotient leading to enhanced consideration and purchase. Our MarTech stack ensures that we reach out to these consumers in the language they understand and the channel they use, thanks to the personalization achieved by AI and ML elements. The role of micro-influencers who are addressing their unique communities has increased by 30-35% in the last 2 years. Efforts are on the up-swing to create product knowledge series content in as many languages as to tap the demand from the non-metro locations. We are ensuring that our D2C interface is enhanced further to seamlessly cater to the demands by connecting the offline stores with the platform for faster deliveries.”
Evidently, the emergence of the new Bharat paved the way for localized content in regional languages. While experimenting with content is key to successfully engage with the audience, there are a few golden rules of engagement that marketers can keep in mind to engage with the audience effectively using regional and local content as explained by Vinay Singhal, “First of all, the idea is to keep it simple. Secondly, marketers should focus on understanding the values and sentiments of the customers and build their narratives accordingly. And third, the content should come from a reliable, relatable source that stands for the Bharat audience.”
However, since the market is now more dynamic than ever, it poses several, challenges too. Kishan Jain talks about the downsides, “As a country with immense diversity, it can be challenging for a brand to be aware of every local culture and preference. It is equally difficult to effectively communicate in the various regional languages and dialects. But whatever done and said, there is a rising need to address their needs through prime products that offer value.”
On the other hand, Gurumukh Uttamchandani tries to view this situation as ‘glass half full’ wherein he believes that amongst these challenges, lie even more opportunities, “Challenges posed by new Bharat will bring enormous opportunities for every stakeholder – right from brands, marketers, customers, and everyone in the entire value chain. We need to ensure that we remain agile and prepare for these changes much ahead in time to respond and not react. At the apex, brand purpose needs to be audited with the objective of future-proofing its relevance across all segments irrespective of demographics. Timely investments in AdTech and MarTech will be required to mark and measure different customer journeys on a real-time basis and finally, it calls for generating a cohesive community of loyal fans embracing consumers of both India and Bharat who are connected with a strong cord independent of geography, language, gender, and age.”
While marketers attempt to capture the attention of their consumers in the new Bharat, certain key aspects need to be taken into consideration when it comes to developing the overall content strategy for a brand. Vinay Singhal shares his inputs, “Generating trust and providing assurance to the consumer has to be the first and foremost step when developing the content strategy. The aim is to help consumers in the new Bharat make better choices and also highlight their journey alongside the brand. Furthermore, brands in today’s time need to be inclusive and stand by the citizens of the nation that they are operating in by creating relevant narratives.”
It would be an understatement to say that the industry has gone back to basics with ‘customer is king’ being at the root of all marketing-driven efforts. The new Bharat, with its informed and woke audience, has made brands realize the importance of connecting with the consumers on a deeper level. Keeping their changing needs and preferences in mind, brands need to stay rooted in the local culture as a part of their overall approach towards the Bharat market.
As the marketing and advertising industry moves on to a new era, owing to the pandemic and the changes it brought upon, it’ll be interesting to see how brands experiment more and stay relevant in today’s time.