Promoting Oral Health in Rural India: The Case of Pepsodent—An Analysis

Abstract

The case presents an invigorating snapshot of rural market in India, taking into consideration toothpaste as the context and Pepsodent as the protagonist. Rural markets of India are often considered as the last of the uncharted territory, the unclaimed land of riches and the virgin markets awaiting the arrival of prince charming. At the same time, the rural markets are not for the faint hearted. Marketers who have made the mistake of dabbling in the rural markets without enough homework have learnt of the consequences to their own peril. Nevertheless, to every marketer, the rural markets remain the last frontier of the application of marketing tenets. Hindustan Unilever Limited’s (HUL’s) unveiling of Pepsodent to the rural market presents a great testimony to this epic battle to win over the rural consumer. The case chronicles the efforts of HUL’s Pepsodent to enhance its market share by capturing the rural markets. The necessity to look towards rural markets also stems from the fact that the market leader and prime competitor, Colgate, is leaving no stone unturned to entice rural consumers. The attractiveness of the rural market to fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) players of all hues has been aptly communicated by the author using data from surveys done by Euromonitor, MART, etc. With support from top management, Pepsodent adopts the 4A’s model—Affordability, Awareness, Availability and Acceptability—to capture a share of rural consumers’ wallet. The entire campaign piggybacks on ‘free dental check-ups and health camps’ to create a win–win situation for the target market. Clever manipulations in the marketing mix components to suit the requirements of rural consumers enables Pepsodent to present itself as a viable alternative to not just traditional oral care practices but also to its old rivals, Colgate and Dabur. The case sets the backdrop very effectively by outlining the key data pointing towards a mouthful of opportunities, literally, for Pepsodent to explore. Negligible per capita consumption and abysmal headcount of rural toothpaste users set the stage for diffusion of Pepsodent in the rural market. Rising income levels, access to education, greater awareness of personal hygiene and increasing media reach are bridging the aspirational divide between urban and rural consumers. At the same time, rural consumer still prefers products at lower price points, from a trustworthy source, available within reach and the one that is acceptable to the society. The author has effectively used Pepsodent as the protagonist in the **wild-wild west of Indian market, namely, rural India to convey lessons in effective rural marketing against gargantuan adversity. The case brings to the fore adversity in terms of three aspects—culture, consumer and competition. Global Business Review 16(3) 537–539 © 2015 IMI SAGE Publications sagepub.in/home.nav DOI: 10.1177/0972150915569942 http://gbr.sagepub.com