IIM-Indore Utsaha @ Janapav Kutti: Rural marketing fest witnesses 30k footfalls on Day-1

Indore: Utsaha, the two-day rural marketing fest of Indian Institute of Management Indore, kick-started at Janapav Kutti village on Friday. Day one of the fest witnessed a footfall of around 30,000 villagers, who had turned up to see what the young minds of the elite b-school had in store for them.

The fest is conducted every year to gain key consumer insights for companies that find this crowd difficult to reach. The students partnered with companies like Airtel, LIC, Policy Bazaar and John Deere this year.  Utsaha was inaugurated by the village sarpanch Kavita Patidar at the birthplace of lord Parshurama. Crowd swarmed into the stalls with excitement to participate in the gamified surveys which were a part of the market research.

Games were organised on behalf of John Deere to gauge the extent of digital awareness of the brand, and to understand the factors that consumers consider before buying a tractor.  Surveys for Airtel Payments Bank aimed at understanding the perception of rural consumers about online payment and their apprehensions on its usage. Major influencers, who could convince people to start digital payments, were also identified.

Similar games were organised for LIC and Policy Bazaar as well, which focussed on brand awareness, internet usage, influencers, factors considered for purchase, and post-sales services.

On asking about his experience, one of the villagers commented, “My wife and children really enjoyed the games. It was a fun way to educate villagers on online payments and the like, as the rest of the country seems to be going that way.” With Day 1 giving great results, the B-school students said that they were look forward to the next and final day of the fest with greater expectations.