In the 70s, mass media was predominantly local- focused on local geographic areas -- press, radio, cinema and outdoor.

Automatically, it gave advertisers the opportunity to regionalise their messages. In cinema, in particular, films were shot with local models, clothes and settings in keeping with each region.

National television made its appearance in the early 80s with Doordarshan. And this made national messaging possible and also most economical.

Suddenly, India could be reached with a common national message. (Incidentally, at this time, national dailies offered colour press on Sundays which were common to all their additions.)

This gave birth to truly national mass media. And advertisers started looking at India as one big market. With the growth of satellite television in the early 90s, national media got fragmented but it still didn't necessitate marketers and advertising agencies to look at mass media differently.

However, the intense competition within the electronic media world led to specialisation within this market. The country suddenly got divided culturally and by interest groups.

Regional channels emerged. This enabled a marketer to reach a linguistic group through the electronic medium -- independent of where he was staying.

Thus a Malayali living anywhere in India could be reached with 'Asia Net' and a Tamilian with 'Sun TV'. Special interest channels -- music, sports, fashion, film and even religion -- offered marketers opportunity to reach distinct interest groups.

(Even the print media started to get segmented i.e. dailies having downtown and suburban supplements; magazines with split runs; magazines aimed at auto and photography aficionados, etc).

Suddenly, mass media is no longer mass-mass but niche-mass: opening up new challenges to marketers and communicators alike.

This has special importance in the context of the changing marketing environment.

Markets are becoming more and more competitive: Products within a category are getting less and less differentiated. And brands are getting closer and closer, gradually creating branded commodity markets.

As consumers start beginning to see little difference between brands, brands will need to find newer ways to stand out and connect with consumers.

The moneyed consumers are getting more and more evolved: With greater exposure and experience, their demands from products and brands to deliver to individual needs and requirements will get greater.

And thus the lowest common denominator principle (the basis of mass marketing) will no longer make brands exciting.

Shopping is changing: From being a chore to just buy products/brands for the home, it is slowly taking the form of leisure and entertainment.
Whether it is done on-line or off-line, consumer behaviour at the shopping moment will become more and more critical.

Influencing that will be as important as creating the right perceptions for the brand.

Finally, after the last decade of economic revolution, different markets have evolved at different rates. Thus making the marketing and communication tasks in different markets different. Upgradation (moving to superior products) could be the task in metro markets while penetration (getting people into a category) could be the task in the rural markets.

And so the two markets require different marketing and communication strategies.

Interestingly, few brands are actually market leaders in all the states of India or across pop strata. Many national brands are being challenged by local, regional players. And the reaction of most national brands is to take these local challenges on one-on-one.

Clearly, mass marketing is giving way to micro-marketing. And this will ensure that mass communication gives way to micro-communication.

The concept of micro-marketing isn't really entirely new. In the 90s, to crack commodity categories, brands had already started to tailor products for regional needs. Tea brands, for example, gave blends matching local varieties.

Thus a packet of a brand of tea bought in Delhi didn't have the same blend as the same brand if bought in Dindugal.

However, micro-communication will have to go beyond just doing advertising in regional languages. It will have to attempt to connect more deeply with micro communities within broad target consumer groups -- understanding their nuances and needs.

A north Indian uses a refrigerator to cool water while a south Indian uses it to keep his vegetables fresh. A Punjabi has a loud sense of humour while the Malayali has a wry sense.

A Tamilian idolises his film icons, the Malayali sees them as just good actors. And the icons in the north and the south are distinctly different.

Understanding such nuances will make the brand-connect difference. Instead of carpet bombing, it will be targeted bombing that will make brands connect better with the people.

The film industry has already, consciously or unconsciously, adapted to the trend. Gone are the days of 'pure masala movies' which incorporated all the emotions in one two-hour film.

Slowly, genre based movies (the hallmark of Hollywood) are beginning to emerge. A Hindi movie released today can be classified by genre.

Similarly, directors are targeting their movies to specific audiences i.e Dil Chahta Hai for the metro audiences, Gadar for the upcountry markets and Ishq Vishq specially for the youth.

This is a big change from the 80s when a movie was a potpourri of all emotions meant for all people who could understand the language.

Producers and directors have had to choose a genre and build their themes around it -- back to the 60s and 70s when such genres existed.

It will not be surprising to see the emergence of advertising agencies that specialise in communicating to ethnic groups (the way they have emerged in the US -- specialising in advertising to the African, Hispanics and Asians).

These specialists will bring to brand communication a distinct local flavour that will provide them with a competitive edge within the micro communities.

There is no doubt that Indians are getting global in outlook and exposure. However, every culture retains its local values and ethos -- and for more effective communication, understanding the culture can create a big impact.

The future for a marketer is to:

• Recognise that his target group comprises many micro communities.
• Understand their needs and characteristics.
• Design products and communication in keeping with their expectations.
• Use the available 'niche mass' media to reach these micro communities.
• Support activity with a strong market presence.
• Be prepared in the long run to actually address each consumer as an individual (as databases build up and develop).

When Henry Ford flagged off his first car from the assembly line, he had heralded the era of mass production. This was a revolution.

It was a precursor to globalisation and the thinking that 'ultimately we are all human beings'. It introduced the concept of economy of scale and made people think of efficiencies never thought of before.

Suddenly, custom-made looked tedious and limiting.

The world has come a full circle. With the invasion of computers, technology has suddenly made possible customisation with the same efficiency as mass-producing assembly lines. And today, it is more intelligent to recognise that 'no two individuals are the same.'

So, if the 20th century was about finding homogeneity in heterogeneity, the 21st will be about finding heterogeneity within apparent homogenous groups. Don't paint everyone with the same brush stroke.

Something worth thinking about.

The columnist is Country Manager, Discovery, Ogilvy and Mather India.

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