Rural Sensitivity - Talcum Powder...

In the words of Mr. Bijoor himself:

As I mentioned just now, 25% of rural women use a talcum powder. We studied how a rural woman uses this talcum powder. We found this:

She pours some of the talcum powder in a handkerchief. She then folds the handkerchief and puts a second layer of powder. She folds it again and pours the third layer of powder on the handkerchief. She then folds and keeps the handkerchief in her blouse. One side of her blouse houses the hankie and the other side hosts the purse.

On a typical Saturday morning she goes to the market to shop. After the heavy shopping, she applies the first layer of powder to freshen up. In the afternoon, after traveling back to her home, she applies the second layer. In the evening, before going for a movie, she applies the third layer of powder. In the process (to a marketers delight), nearly 33% of the powder is wasted. But that's her way of keeping fresh on the run. Smart woman!

So this company (I think he said Fair and Lovely or Ponds, but I am not sure) thought about this and introduced the compact talcum powder box, just like what we have for the urban woman. It was housed in a Nivea-like case made of steel. It had a mirror with extra padding (as a broken mirror meant bad luck) - they even thought about the superstitious aspect! Smart Marketers!

Well, in my view - too smart. The product failed. How come? Well, they didn't take into account where the rural woman used to place the original hankie - in her blouse. In north India (relatively cold), the metal box was cold too and in south India (warmer), the metal got a bit too hot for her use. Result: No one wanted to use the product, just because it was made of metal, which was prone to climate changes. So we need to be careful of all aspects of a product when it is introduced in the rural markets.

The Tata-Kaapi Story...

In the words of Mr. Bijoor himself:

The observation of a South Indian marriage actually struck an idea in my mind. We (he and his team) had observed that in a South Indian marriage, there was considerable time between the serving of the papad and the rest of the food – this was an opportunity! So we started supplying the marriages with papads having Tata Kaapi printed on it along with the bride and bridegroom’s names, something on the lines of “Tata Kaapi wishes X and Y a very happy and prosperous married life”. You should see the impact created. For people who were till then used to the routine of marriage and the menu, suddenly there was something to talk about. It was really exciting because the papads were unique to each marriage and the time frame really spread the word and fame around. The sales of the Kaapi rose tremendously after that.