Here’s How Rural is imperative : RURAL CONCLAVE’18

The third edition of Rural Marketing Association of India, RMAI’s , “ RMAI Rural Conclave” winded up on 24 February 2018, at Vivanta by Taj, Dwarka, New Delhi. Rural Marketing Association of India (RMAI) is a national industry body with a membership base of more than 70 companies that promotes the cause of promoting rural marketing. With 12.2% of the world’s population, rural India represents the single largest potential market and accounts for 53% of FMCGs and 59% of durables sale in India. The rural market has therefore become vital for the growth of most companies.  The two day event started on February 23, 2018 with a panel discussion on “ Changing Rural Consumer Landscape/ Rural Millennial Trendscape”  with Amit Rangra, EBD & VP, JWT, joined by Praveen Kumar – Rural Market Expert, Lightening Asia India, IFC World Bank Group , Anirban Chaudhary – SVP and EPD , JWT and Puneet Avasthi – EVP, IMRB International, which was moderated by Shantanu Jain – Lead Experiencial Marketing, Event FAQs.

The convention was a holistic learning platform for event professionals and brought together expert rural practitioners, forward-thinking marketers, innovators, entrepreneurs and technology players to unlock new possibilities in the world of rural marketing.  The importance of rural india in the development of business and the involvement of companies in the rural development through CSR activities were well highlighted.

One of the most interactive and interesting session of the two day conclave was “ RAJ KI CHAUPAL” wherein, Raj Kr. Jha- National Creative Head, Ogilvy presented his terse comments on the present scenario of farmers and the rural economic and social conditions.

Peeyush Bajpai – Director Big Data, Neilson and Dr. Venkat - Promoter , Sam Analytics presented their vision on “ How to better understand Rural Customers and Improve Your Marketing – Power of Analytics" which was followed by K V Sridhar’s presentation on “Will Brand Availability or Awareness alone do the trick in Rural?” KV Sridhar is the founder and Chief Creative Officer for Hyper Collective. His presentation was backed by data and statistics which shed light on the huge scope of marketing in the rural India. 

The central theme of the RMAI Rural Conclave 2018 was 'Navigating Future of Rural Marketing’. The convention was aimed at bringing in the wholesome dynamics of rural marketing progression through rural experts of various domains that will provide the audiences much sought valuable insights, actionable advise and success stories which they can apply to their own business.

In another lineup of speakers, the event witnessed Deepak Saksena- Head Partnerships, Hindustan Unilever ( water Business) speaking on “ Challenges to create a viable business module traditionally occupied by CSR and Philanthropy”.

Danish Siddiqui- Head Rural Marketing, HeroMotocorp took the audience’s attention with his influential and crowd engaging presentation on “ How Rural India Kept Their Growth Curve Steadily on Rise – Lessons From Early Movers.”. The various CSR drives which the heromotocorp makes namely : “Chalo Sakhi Pleasure Seekhein “ was touched upon, which he stretched further by asking the companies to bring the emotional sensitivity amongst the users of their product.

Other than the speakers, the event also facilitated awards to young professionals who did superior in their fields, with 25 Most Talented Young Rural Marketing Professionals.The two days of the conclave held multiple case studies and panel discussions to enable the open exchange of ideas between the delegates. Clearly, the conclave with its interesting format is set to unveil unprecedented insights into the rural marketing domain for its attendees.

Other speakers were representatives from brands like Hindustan Unilever, GSK, JCB, Tata, ITC, Crompton Greaves, Tata AIG, Desta Global, Hero Motocorp, LIXIL, Neilson, Tata AIA, Videocon D2H, Philips, and others will be present at the convention to share their brand success stories with the attendees. With such incredible takeaways over just 2 days of wholesome learning, discussions, and networking, RMAI Rural Conclave 2018 did justice to be a mecca of the rural marketing domain in the country.