Impact of folk media communication in marketing in rural spectrum

The major marketing challenge in rural areas is rural reach and heterogeneity. The geographical spread of rural populace in more than 6, 38,000 villages with diversity of cultures and languages limit the scope of conventional communication in rural areas. Innovations in communication hasten marketing reach of many companies for mutual advantage. India, with its rich cultural heritage presents unity in diversity. The apparent diversities in the nature of region, language etc confluence at the bed rock of common legacy, scriptures, tales and parables. The marketing management aiming at forging these common points yield immense results. Though the folk media attracts a small audience, the impact on them is at a much deeper level inviting the audience participation. There are many organizations all over the country which perform folk arts on topics relevant to the society with the purpose of generating awareness for change. Even political parties use this medium to impress upon the people. When social organizations could make use of the folk media, why not marketing organizations? A few FMCG companies and insurance companies are making use of the Folk media, of course in a limited way. Organizing puppet shows, burra kathas, narrating parables etc are in the ambit of marking organizations. The ambit needs to be expanded for the coverage of rural and urban masses. The traditional folk arts can be effectively used as media for rural development combined with marketing strategies. Any marketing management aiming at the use of folk media at an optimum level is sure to be benefited in the long run.