Dainik Bhaskar Unmetro: Head to the cities of the future - Kaacon Sethi

The chief marketing officer of Dainik Bhaskar Group delivered the welcome address at the Unmetro Conclave held in Mumbai. She shed light on the 522 cities beyond the metros...the cities of the future.

The Unmetro Conclave, held in Mumbai, kicked off with Dainik Bhaskar's chief marketing officer, Kaacon Sethi's welcome address on April 24.

Sethi gave a presentation to bring attention to the sea of opportunities that the unmetros present. She spoke on the topic - 'Why fight for metros? The unmetros are full of bigger opportunities'.

She started off by saying that the 522 cities beyond the metros are the cities of the future. "If one looks at the numbers, layered just below the top eight metros are 522 cities, accounting for 44 per cent of urban households. It is a number that cannot be ignored. This presents to marketers and other stakeholders, like media planners and buyers, seamless opportunities to go down from the metros in search of customer acquisition," she stated.

Sethi's presentation revealed that almost one half of urban India's consumer wealth is spread across the four tiers below the top eight metros.

PRESENTATION

It is quite apparent, she observed, that marketers want to catch them young, keep them and, over the lifecycle of the target audience, present different kinds of options from the brand basket to keep the consumer with them for the longest period of time. "This is a young country as well. If we are saying that 40-45 per cent is the younger population, then one would realise that these 522 markets account for a significant number of young people in the country. These are the people that a marketer would like to acquire," she revealed.

Sethi opined that it is not just the age factor, but also the affluence indicators that one needs to look at. "If one looks at young India and SEC, one would find significant percentage of people in SEC A, and these are desirable socio-economic classes. This is where the unmetros are winning hands down," she said.

Education in these cities is on the rise as indicators point to the fact that people are coming into their own as consumers. Citing an example from the entertainment world, she shared that, a few years back, one would say that metro stories were travelling to unmetro, but, today, stories are travelling from Varanasi, Haridwar and Kanpur. These cities have changed considerably.

Echoing marketers' perspective, she said that in the metro markets today, it is becoming much more difficult to push that half percent market share; it is becoming that much more expensive, whereas if one looks at the unmetro markets, while they do present challenges, there are opportunities too.

"They are extremely media-mature markets and traditional media continues to hold fort very strongly across urban tiers. Media continues to find room for growth. There is lot of doomsday prophecy about how print is going to disappear from the face of this country. There is an increasing amount of attention being paid to the digital medium, mobile is big - and advertisers and marketers across the country are trying to figure out how to get their message on that screen, at the same time, perhaps we need to ensure that these mediums are growing in terms of their consumption, because these are emerging markets, and these are the markets we need to take cognizance of," she signed off.

'The Action is Elsewhere' campaign

Dainik Bhaskar has recently launched a new brand campaign, 'Unmetro - Action is elsewhere' aimed at the marketers, advertisers and the media planner/buyer target audiences. Designed as a digital / social media campaign, it will also be supported by print, OOH and the Unmetro Conclave events.

The campaign idea revolves around the fact that, so far we've all been enamoured by the going ons of metros, while the real action is in the Unmetro heartland of India, i.e. the 'Action is elsewhere'

Kishor Biyani, group CEO , Future Group said that along with metros, non-metros and Tier II and III markets have become very important. "I appreciate the effort of Dainik Bhaskar in focussing attention of marketers and advertisers on these growing markets."

Girish Agarwaal, promoter director, Dainik Bhaskar Group adds, "We see a whole new opportunity in unmetros where the rising affluence levels and changing consumption patterns are opening doors for marketers to service new markets. Consumerism is on the rise, the desire to experience superior lifestyles and own global brands. This has created numerous opportunities for both national and international brands in India. Through the Unmetro Initiative, we champion the cause of Tier II and III markets, helping marketers and advertisers to reach these markets better and mine their potential".