PRESENTS

MARKETING TO THE
AFFLUENT
Brands are leaving no stone unturned in their quest
to attract this consumer group. An analysis.

A SPECIAL REPORT BY AFAQS! REPORTER

IMAGE COURTESY PHOTOLIBRARY

41
SPECIAL REPORT
INDIAÊS AFFLUENT
DISCOVERING THE AFFLUENT
They come in varied shapes, sizes and style quotients. Successful entrepreneurs, senior executives, rich farmers
or generations of rich families. How do marketers view the affluent consumer? By Narayan Iyer
C
onsumers in India have
always been pretty tricky
to double-guess. And
business continues to struggle
with defining target markets
based on the most logical meas-
ure - household income.
Experts have their own definition
and they qualify this with labels like
super-rich, rich, middle, lower
middle or strivers, consuming class,
aspirers or affluent, top end of the
market or mid-market and so on.
These labels, instead of reassuring,
often leave one feeling even more
anxious. Such classifications are
hotly debated or accepted with a
sceptical shrug.
The prime reason leading to
guesses about the consumer’s class is
that private wealth creation in India
has accelerated rapidly. If the
economic reforms of the ’90s
unleashed the pent-up energy of
India’s entrepreneurs, the past
decade has seen rapid growth of the
affluent class.
The recent National Council of
Applied Economic Research
(NCAER) report on Earnings and
42 afaqs! Reporter, August 16-31, 2 0 1 0
Spendings reveal that, for the first
time, Indian households with high
incomes outnumbered those in the
low category at the end of 2009-10.
Today, India has 46.7 million high
income households compared to 41
million in the low income category.
In another study (Capgemini-
Merrill Lynch World Wealth Report
2010), there are 1.3 lakh dollar-high-
net-worth individuals in India
compared to less than 25,000 a
decade ago. These are individuals
who have in excess of $1 million as
investible surplus annually.
However, the NCAER findings
classifies households earning over Rs
1.8 lakh a year (under 2001-2 base
price) in the high income category. It
is in this paradox that the Indian
affluent reside.
Says Santosh Desai, managing
director and CEO, Futurebrands
India, “The heterogeneity of the
Indian consumer makes it difficult
for marketers to slot a single group as
affluent. A farmer buying a high-end
truck is perhaps more affluent than a
city slick senior management staff in
a large organisation.”
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY: IMAGESBAZAAR.COM
CHANGING COLOURS dramatically.
T he affluent Indian consumers
have evolved over the years.
They are those who have a large
If earlier, the notion of these
consumers was that of the scions of
the royalty, old Indian business
amount of wealth and spending families or film stars; the list now
power, which is most likely to be also includes entrepreneurs, farmers,
reflected in their high-income pro- employees in large organisations,
file. In 2006, when The Knowledge
Company (a division of Technopak
Advisors) produced the first compre-
hensive study on trends in Indian
luxury, it pegged 1.6 million
affluent/rich households in
India. In 2009, the Nielsen
UMAR (upper middle and
rich) report put a figure of 2.6
million to households with Unlike affluence,
monthly incomes of over Rs luxury is more of an
40,000.
“When we set out on indulgence than a
estimating the number of new necessity. Though luxury
super-rich households, we
defined households with an has never been easy to
annual income of Rs 40 lakh
or more,” says Arvind
define, the elusiveness
Singhal, chairman, and concept of mystery is
Technopak Advisors. In a
span of less than five years highly desired amongst
the stereotype of the affluent luxury consumers.
class has changed
 SPECIAL REPORT
PRESENTS

traders - both retail and wholesale,
agricultural commodity traders,
contractors and professionals such as
lawyers and doctors.
Geographically too, the Indian
urban growth story that until now
was driven largely by metros, is now
moving beyond, into smaller towns
where the affluent profile is fast
emerging. “The growing affluence
levels, increased awareness due to
media penetration, improved
connectivity and significant changes
in consumption patterns with high
aspiration levels of small-town India
are compelling marketers to take
notice of a new affluent class,” says
Ashok Rajgopal, partner, media and
education, geography or health, but THE NEW MARKET DYNAMICS
the ability to splurge good money
over good and bad products alike,
distinguishes them,” says Harish
Bijoor, CEO, Harish Bijoor
Consults. Mumbai, Û Metros
To some, it also means lavishness, Kolkata, Delhi,
comfort, opulence, sumptuousness, Chennai, Bengaluru,
or even extravagance. It is these Hyderabad
varying factors that are making
marketers, advertisers and brand Û Key Urban Towns
managers alike warm up and reach Pune, Chandigarh, Jaipur,
out to this consumer class. Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Ludhiana,
Cochin, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Nagpur,
Patna, Surat, Coimbatore, Jamshedpur,
FINDING THE AFFLUENT
Amritsar, Trivandrum, Nasik, Bhopal, Indore,
T here has been a gradual
increase in spending power
which has moved from the metros
Vadodara, Kanpur, Madurai

entertainment, Ernst & Young.
The one commonality, across the
class of affluent, that emerges is that
these are people who are financially
well-enabled. “They may have
lacunae in many other areas such as
Û Rest of urban
to the satellite towns around them, Aurangabad, Allahabad, Gwalior, Jodhpur, Raipur, India: Urban
over the years. Now it is going fur- Bhubaneshwar, Goa, Pondicherry, Aligarh, Moradabad, cities other
ther, and the demands of Rohtak, Rourkela, Udaipur, Anand, Faizabad, Hassan, than rural
consumers here are different. “The Shimla, Roorkee, Shillong India
sale of luxury goods beyond the
top 15 cities including the metros
Source: Ernst & Young, The New Market Shehers Report

RICH PICKINGS THE HIGH INCOME FAMILIES

“To be affluent in today’s world is Figures in Â000 Figures in Rs
150 150
not to indulge; it is
to do with living better, convenient, smart 120
and realising years of aspirations.” 100
SANTOSH DESAI, 90

MD AND CEO, FUTUREBRANDS INDIA 60

50
30 Below 40,000 to Above
“The high end of affluent are forever 84 126.7
40,000 1,80,000 1,80,000
peripatetic souls who travel a lot, buy a lot, 0
2008 2009
0

eat very little, savour the best things of life Û In India, the HNWI population grew Û In 2001-02, the number of high
and do most of their eating with their eyes 50.9% in 2009. income families was only 13.8 million
Û India also has a relatively high Û 62% of Indian households belong to
rather than with their mouths.” market-cap-to-GDP ratio raising the the middle class that comprises the
HARISH BIJOOR, HNI population affluent at the top end
CEO, HARISH BIJOOR CONSULTS Source: Capgemini-Merrill Lynch, World Wealth Report 2010 Source: NCAER, Earnings and Spendings report, 2010

is an indicator of the shift in afflu- those places, is creating the spurt in

ent buyer destination,” feels Desai.
“Marketers should stimulate desire Consider Aurangabad, the city in
the ‘backward’ region of
and capture the now rapidly increasing Marathwada, better known for its
spending potential of the affluent in India poverty, acute water shortage and
lack of industrial development. In
with a sharper focus across segments.” April this year, it managed to make
ARVIND SINGHAL, many marketers take note of the
CHAIRMAN, TECHNOPAK ADVISORS city when 115 individuals placed
orders for new Mercedes cars.
“From a marketer’s standpoint,
various things are happening.
“Growing affluence levels and increased Affluence levels are going up,
awareness is due to media penetration, connectivity to smaller towns has
become better, logistics are
improved physical connectivity and significant improving and organised retail is
changes in consumption patterns.” growing much faster in key urban
ASHOK RAJGOPAL, towns and smaller towns,” says
Rajgopal. This has led to a situation
PARTNER, MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT, where affluence combined with the
ERNST & YOUNG availability of products or at least a
means to get those products out to
consumption.
About 22 key urban towns are
growing and getting bigger and more
affluent according to the Indian
Consumer Spectrum of Urban India
Report by Indicus Analytics, a
research firm.
Marketers are chasing the
growing number of affluent in the
rest of India because of the potential
and the need to tap this segment. “A
study of 100 cities’ consumption
spending by us shows that metros
constitute about 30 per cent of the
total consumption market,” says
Laveesh Bhandari, director of
Indicus. This indicates that the key
urban towns, the rest of urban India
and rural India together garner
almost 70 per cent. Given the large
consumer base of these markets, an
increase in share of relevant

afaqs! Reporter, August 16-31, 2 0 1 0 43

SPECIAL REPORT
PRESENTS

consumers would imply larger the target market, as it will allow
numbers being added in these them to communicate better with
markets than in the metros. what is fast emerging as the new
future market. They also need to
A COMPELLING CASE understand the psychographics of
In India, the diversity was
astounding. In Bhopal, they found
213 types and in Vijayawada 171
types. “This is why marketing in
India is regarded much more
target audience. While the realities of
the affluent beyond the metros may
be different from the urban or metro
consumer, his expectations and
aspirations are the same.

T he affluent tend to be very

different from those less eco-
nomically fortunate. “Affluent
this target class and their attitudes
toward life.
A few years ago Bijoor's company
households tend to have lifestyles did a typecasting exercise across nine
characterised by lesser physical countries to assess how many types
work, greater expenditure on of people exist in different cities
entertainment, less time spent on (Types were classified by their
day-to-day necessities of house- similar buying behaviour). In New
hold chores and occupation,” York, they found 14 different types of
explains Singhal. people. In Boston, they found nine
Marketers need this lens to view and in Tokyo 11.
difficult than fighting for pieces of
market share in the West,” he
says.
With an increase in the sales of
LCD televisions and wellness
services in smaller towns, companies
need to devise innovative strategies.
“Advertising could also be different
and may need to use local
references,” suggests Desai,
identifying strategies to reach this
“A marketer has to aim at
aspirations, not at realities,” suggests
Bijoor. Though the complexities of
pinpointing the affluent will
continue to exist, marketers,
advertisers and media planners will
continue to face challenges in
reaching out to this class. What is
clear and evident is the need to focus
on innovative ways to be relevant to
this growing target group. 

INDIAÊS AFFLUENT

RIGHT WORD, RIGHT TIME

Communicating to the affluent should neither be too overt nor too covert. Striking the right balance will
achieve the goal. By Narayan Iyer

S
omeone truly said that the rich
are different from most of us
because they have the money.
But the rich are unlike each other
too.
Savvy marketers know that
finding this difference is the key to
success in marketing to them. The
language for the affluent is different
from what is used in most mass
communication. Moreover,
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY: IMAGESBAZAAR.COM

sophisticated and affluent buyers do

not have the time to shop and
negotiate as they did when they were
building their fortunes, which makes
it important for marketers to perfect
their communication.
Affluent consumers are becoming
increasingly selective about
products. Media channels that allow
companies to communicate with
consumers are growing in diversity wealth. “They are demanding and “Every affluent brand has a certain affluent brand.
and reach. The result is that prefer to buy brands with a belief and ideology. It also speaks a Creativity plays a key role in
marketers are increasingly focussing reputation for quality and stick with certain language,” says Prasoon Joshi, creating an affluent image. Many
on differentiating their products and them once they find the right fit,” executive chairman, McCann affluent brands achieve authority as a
communicating their values to says Prathap Suthan, national Erickson, India. Thus, when adver- result of the creative talent of their
potential customers. creative director, Cheil tising an affluent brand, it is the design teams who respect the brand
Marketing to the rich should be Communications India. Buying for brand’s attributes that are key. “You heritage and yet continuously
about creating salience that will get value or price (sometimes both) they will never find the price tag in a reinvent it. Says Ashish Chordia,
allure and buzz. “When I was at look for experiences that will enrich Rolex watch ad. You will find that director, Porsche India, “For us, the
Amex, we did an event with their lifestyle. The brand proposition they have a new model and the loca- potential buyer is a person who
Abhishek Bachchan in Goa creating is as important as the product. The tion of the store where you can pick wants a car that is high on luxury,
innovation and freshness that gave affluent buyer will spend on an it and no more,” explains Suthan. performs at par with a sports car and
customers something to talk about,” expensive watch, as long as it is a It is true that affluent brands are is sporty for driver and passengers
recounts Amit Dutta, managing brand he associates with. often confused with luxury brands. alike.” Porsche follows a strong
director, Luxury Hues and CEO, Though there seems to be a thin line direct communication policy with its
Luxury Marketing Council of India. BRAND POSITIONING separating the two, in reality the customers and prospects with high
Affluent buyers value their
anonymity and don’t flaunt their B rand-building is a different ball-
game in case of affluent goods.
difference is stark. A luxury brand is
to be flashed and flaunted, unlike an
quality, updates on new products that
are sent personally.

44 afaqs! Reporter, August 16-31, 2 0 1 0

SPECIAL REPORT
STRAIGHT TALK
I t is a tough call for marketers to
create that halo around their brand
to attract the affluent. “The aura of
the brand needs to exist for it to
exemplify exclusivity, value and snob
appeal,” says legendary adman,
Alyque Padamsee. This can be built
by increasing the exclusivity quotient
when looking at a communication
strategy for the affluent.
“Deep down, if you understand
the human emotions associated with
the brand, no medium is bigger than
that,” says Joshi. The
communication technique adopted
for a high-tech gadget will be starkly
different from say a financial or
hospitality service.
The communication experience
needs to be consistent and uniform.
“The premium private banking
services offered by us espouse
different brand attributes compared
to the main ICICI Bank,” says
Chanda Kochar, managing director
and CEO, ICICI Bank. While the
basic banking and finance product
suit will be the same across banking
customers, private banking clients
enjoy services and benefits that make
them feel their affluence.
A high-end luxury home, for
instance, will have attributes beyond
price and look for buyers who share
certain similarities. When Mantri
Developers created 11 exclusive
apartments in Bengaluru, it made
sure that the prospective buyer was
chosen from a list of 100 (not based
on one’s ability to pay) like-minded
prospects.
“Some years ago a premium bag
brand managed to create affluence by
holding a party where a few amongst
the guests had the bags with them
when they arrived. Without placing a
logo or mentioning it, it generated
the aura amongst those who did not
have it,” recollects Padamsee. The
brand managed to strike a chord with
the target and many asked for it later.
“The affluent are a well-connected,
close-knit community. Any
communication that can turn into a “Social media could be harnessed well for
cocktail or dinner table conversation,
achieves the task of reaching them,”
suggests Suthan.
reaching out. If one of them tweets about a
product and is followed by 500 people, the
Says Josy Paul, chief creative marketing is automatically done.”
officer and chairman, BBDO India,
“Whatever the brand and the AMIT DUTTA, MD, LUXURY HUES AND CEO,
consumer type, the communication LUXURY MARKETING COUNCIL OF INDIA
will be both above and below-the-
line, planned to suit what needs to be
communicated.” Special events and
other public relations efforts must be “Affluent shoppers flock to select brands not
carefully coordinated to convey the because they don’t care about price but
desired image of the brand. For
instance, the magazines selected for
because the service these brands provide
advertising a fashion brand are often adds value to the shopping experience.”
unconventional and trend-setting. It PRATHAP SUTHAN,
is the kind of people who read them,
not the numbers, which matter. NATIONAL CREATIVE DIRECTOR,
A new medium that is fast CHEIL COMMUNICATIONS INDIA
catching up is in-film placement.
This creates the buzz, which needs
to capitalise on other means - say, a
select screening or a meeting with “The brand attributes need to be well under-
the brand ambassadors to maintain stood and not compromised or diluted. It’s
the exclusivity. “The movies in
which the brand appears, the tricky if a communication experiment fails. It
celebrities and pop icons who has adverse impact on the brand.”
endorse the brand must also be JOSY PAUL, CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER AND
selected carefully,” warns Padamsee.
More often than not, as the affluence CHAIRMAN, BBDO INDIA
rises, exclusivity goes up too. “Direct
communication with customers and
prospects is our preferred mode of
contact,” stresses Chordia.
“The affluent space is competitive but,
It is for this reason that social not yet crowded, so one needs to be
marketing has a huge fan following careful about brand positioning and brand
amongst the affluent. Testimonials
and recommendations do the trick heritage when targeting the affluent.”
better. For instance, the hospitality PRASOON JOSHI, EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN,
sector identifies that frequent guests
relish inconspicuous service as well
MCCANN ERICKSON, INDIA
as having their preferences for all
sorts of things, including food and
drink remembered by hotel staff.
For successful communication to “Most of our communications,
reach the affluent, one needs to including advertisements, are subtle and at
develop a good public relations
programme that speaks to these all times catch the eye of the
consumers in innovative and non- successful and the discerning.”
traditional ways, communicating
how the experience a brand provides
ASHISH CHORDIA,
satisfies their emotive needs.  DIRECTOR, PORSCHE INDIA
Inputs by Ankit Bhatnagar

DRIVING IN STYLE
Why BMW India is the No. 1 in the luxury car segment in India and how it manages to portray a symbol of dynamism.
F
or BMW, business is directed
by a clear value system that
guides management actions.
Seen in this light, a distinctive course
defines not only what you do and
how you do it, but also what you do
not do. If you concentrate on your
strengths and anticipate the chal-
lenges of the market, novel solutions
can be found. The difference is deci-
sive. It is the difference between
‘being pushed’ and ‘making your
own way’, between imitating and
pioneering, between quick results
due to short-term actions and the
lasting success generated by your
own strength.
At BMW India, we decided to
stand our ground in a fiercely
competitive environment with new
ideas and the strength to promote
our new products. In absolute terms,
India cannot compete with other
high-volume single markets yet. But,
the future belongs to India. If you
want to benefit from the dynamics of
the Indian market later, you need to
act today. This is what we did. We
were prepared to meet the challenges
head-on to ensure our company’s
success. These qualities enabled us to
weather stormy conditions and
continue to invest in our future. We
were able to anticipate trends and
that gave us an edge.
Our strategy has been to embark
on an aggressive product offensive
with rapid market expansion through
greater customer intimacy. We have
addressed these through
competency-enhancement across all
levels seeking new business
opportunities. As pioneers in
bringing luxurious dealerships to
COMMENT
India, we set a decisive course by
setting up BMW dealerships of
international standards across all
metros. We have set very high
standards in service quality and
customer care in India, which meet
the expectations of our customers.
And this is exactly how we
position ourselves to redefine luxury,
focusing on individuals, recognising
future challenges, promoting
creativity, and being the leading
supplier of luxury products and
services for individual mobility. We
always concentrate on our strengths
and thus on the implementation of
the luxury claim which we convey
with each of our vehicles. We do not
make compromises. This has been
our strategy in India, where we
currently have 16 BMW dealer
facilities. As we embark on the next
phase of our dealer network strategy,
BMW India will further expand
operations by establishing its
presence in 10 more cities.
By ANDREAS SCHAAF
This year, we plan to introduce
BMW Financial Services India,
which will function as a non-
banking finance company once it
gets the necessary regulatory
clearances. This divison will offer
solutions for Retail Financing for
BMW customers and also offer
insurance solutions to its customers
through its cooperation partner. We
also plan to introduce a pre-owned
car business with the launch of
BMW Premium Selection in India.
Everything about a BMW says
SPECIAL REPORT
PRESENTS
quality. So whether your BMW is
three weeks or three years old, it is
still the ‘ultimate driving machine.’
Also, with our enhanced product
portfolio we have engaged with our
customers and prospects in
innovative dialogues to ensure that
the brand affinity transforms into
product ownership. There have been
initiatives such as the BMW Golf
Cup International across 10 cities
and the BMW Art Cars exhibition,
held at the Jahangir Art Gallery in
Mumbai. Conceptualising the BMW
Studio at Janpath, Delhi as a venue
where our customers can indulge
with the brand in an exclusive
environment is another. There are
also formal dining and wine-tasting
events at leading BMW dealerships
across India.
To reiterate the focus of the
brand, we have adopted
communication of the rich heritage
of BMW Eras through association
with leading fashion designers and
events such as the India Couture
Week. For us, if actions submit to the
values recognised as being ‘on-
brand’, it will cumulatively build the
organisation’s desired long-term
reputation. If not, we appreciate that
it risks fragmenting what our brand
stands for, and we won’t go with the
idea, however compelling it is. This
doesn’t mean the brand is rigid, nor
does it deny BMW opportunities.
Rather, it serves as a framework for
decision-making, enabling the
business to feel confident that all its
operational decisions are building
the brand towards its long-term
ambitions. 
The writer is President, BMW
SPECIAL REPORT
INDIAÊS AFFLUENT
REACHING OUT
It’s the affluent that media planners are grappling to reach. By Narayan Iyer
I
s a Mont Blanc customer affluent
or a broadband connection hold-
er? Is a Tata Safari owner in
Rohtak affluent or a technology
company manager driving the
Honda City? This target group is a
nightmare for media planners who
are grappling with getting the right
mix of medium and media to reach
out to the target.
According to the Ernst & Young
report on the New Market Shehers,
there has been a significant uptake in
the leisure and lifestyle spends on
consumers in the key urban towns
(KUT) as well as rest of urban India
(ROUI). “Media spends are moving
towards non-metros, with the KUTs
and ROUI increasing their share of
ad spends and volumes,” says Ashok
Rajgopal, partner, Ernst & Young.
The report pegs KUTs and ROUI to
potentially command 40-50 per cent
of India’s urban advertising spend.
Unlike brands in the luxury
sector (Bentley or Armani), affluent
brands are more easily within the
grasp of ordinary consumers. Says
Nandini Dias, COO, Lodestar
Universal, “The traditional way of
profiling an affluent consumer by
demographics, psychographics or
through SEC classification is passé.
Now we map by the number and
kind of durables in a household.”
Affluent products are considered by
consumers to be those which are
better than the norm, but still
affordable - a plasma TV or a C-
segment car. “With technology being
able to map consumption pattern it is
now possible to gauge affluence by
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY: IMAGESBAZAAR.COM
mindset mapping, through credit
card usage, financial investments and
lifestyle indicators,” she adds.
IDENTIFYING THE MEDIUM
S ays Amin Lakhani, head,
exchange, Mindshare Media, “I
would be cautious and go according
to the client’s need before working
out the right media for the product
and brand to reach its desired target.”
Take the Tata Sky set-top box. Amin
recollects the debate revolving
around this product was largely if it

was for the affluent or not. “To ask
someone to spend Rs 4,000-odd on a
box and then pay monthly charges to
watch TV was daunting,” he
recounts. With multiple touchpoints
reaching this target, it is important to
get a mix that appeals them.
“Imagery is of essence while
talking to the mass affluent. No
medium per se can deliver imagery.
The aspirational element is best
brought alive through a premium
looking TVC or magazine ad which
is aired in niche channels and large
format ads in magazines,” says Sudha
Natrajan, CEO and president, Lintas
Media Group. The output through
this media mix is different for each
product category. When Audi
launched in India, it mentioned its
arrival by detailing showroom
locations. “Most often, a consumer
looks at a product or a brand, gets
curious and looks up the net to figure
out details on price and location
before getting on to consuming the
product,” says Lakhani.
“Different companies have
different strategies. For example,
companies have tied up with
magazines like Elle, Cosmopolitan
and Vogue to launch affluent
products catering to women,” says
SPREADING OUT
A comparison of media spends in metros and other cities
Consumer durables (appliances) 50
Consumer durables (electronics) LCD TV 70
Consumer durables (electronics) CRT TV 10
Branded clothing 65-70
Cars (under Rs 8 lakh) 40
Financial services 40
Women's personal hygiene products 35
Two wheelers 20
Û Current Ad spend in the metros may have come down to 40-45% of the national media
spend. A large portion of this has moved to KUTs and ROUI. High value product categories
are still metro dominated, though there is a marginal shift in ad spends to KUT and ROUI.
Source: E&Y The New Market Shehers All Figures in %, 2009
Dias. In-film placement of premium
brands in the recently-launched
Aisha is an example of using a
medium to target the affluent.
“OOH, too, can reach the affluent in
a very effective way. The placement
of screens and the streaming targeted
advertising in recent years has been
very effective,” says Lakhani. “For
the super affluent, a credible
platform for engagement is critical.
Brands usually work on customised
events and media properties to
engage this TG,” adds Natrajan.
CUT THE CLUTTER
A dvertisers and media planners
agree that a mix of above the line
(ATL) and below the line (BTL)
advertising is what works in good
dose. For a brand like Samsung that
has products for the affluent across
geography and class, a combination
worked well. It adopted road-shows,
event partnerships in KUTs and
ROUI for BTL activities, while
advertising on mass media.
More and more brands are
looking at celebrity endorsement.
“Getting Aamir Khan for the Tata
Sky commercial set the brand
imagery and perception in place for
the target,” explains Lakhani. Aviva
Metro KUT ROUI Rural India
30 NA 20
30 - -
30 30 30
20-25 10 - in niche magazines, airport lounges
40 20 - better for these products and
30 15 15
30 20 15
30 30 20
SPECIAL REPORT
PRESENTS
“The touchpoints for this target segment are
innumerable as they have access and the
disposable income to experience it.”
NANDINI DIAS,
COO, LODESTAR UNIVERSAL
“The mass affluent tend to state they watch
infotainment, music and movie channels in
English in dipsticks but most of the time is
spent on cricket, mass channels,
Hindi/regional movies and news.”
SUDHA NATRAJAN,
PRESIDENT AND CEO, LINTAS MEDIA GROUP
uses Sachin Tendulkar from time to increasingly gaining advertising from
time to interact with existing consumer durable manufacturers
customers and serious prospects. and high-end FMCG products for its
High-end affluent consumers are draw with the non-metro consumer.
best targeted by creating When Westside decided to launch its
environments for them to feel their youth brand, Nuon, it tied up with
power and exclusivity. “Limited MTV and went for an advertiser
access to word-of-mouth experience funded programme with them.
is fairly common with this category,” There are instances when the
says Lakhani. But, these are found to communication fails to achieve the
work most often with luxury brands, desired results. “Direct mailers are
where the snob value is more. Since assumed to work with this category,
luxury consumers place a high but I have found instances when it
premium on heritage and exclusivity has failed to do so,” recounts Dias.
than the price, it is best left to create The mindset that luxury products are
an imagery that fits into this target best advertised in glossy magazines is
through BTL initiatives. Traditional also a myth. Mont Blanc and Rolex
advertising for this class is more a find equal placements in newspapers.
matter of information. “Placing ads The affluent mindset is one that is
driven by knowledge (most admit to
or duty-free shops tend to work doing a lot of research before a
purchase) and practicality (they look
targets,” adds Lakhani. for value in their purchases and need
One cannot miss out the power of to see the tangible benefits of
social media and the internet. With spending more on a product).
internet gaming not restricted by any Media planners can play the role
barriers, it is interesting to note that of helping the affluent with
50-60 per cent of Bigadda’s information, while reaching out to
registered users are from non- them through their most preferred
metros. According to the Ernst & media platform. 
Young study, the portal is Inputs by Ankit Bhatnagar
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SPECIAL REPORT
AN ENGAGING MEDIUM
New technology has made the task of marketers that much simpler by selectively
M
ake no mistake. The super
rich India may just be only
10 per cent of the more
than a billion population but is big
enough for the world marketers to
rehash their marketing strategies.
Just to get our math right this 10
per cent is more than the population
of Canada, Australia and France put
together! However, numbers just do
not tell the true story, especially
when guessing potential consumers.
Our 2009 media consumption
study throws a lot of light on how
the Indian consumer has been using
media. For instance, what were the
triggers which influenced the
affluent Indian consumer? We found
that they have lapped up new brands,
new products, new technology and
last but not the least - the reason for
our intellectual power - the zeal to
lap up more knowledge. This zeal
for knowledge has empowered the
affluent Indian to adapt to three
important attributes: product, brand
and technology. Hence, the
relevance of the concept of targeted
marketing. After all, one must
remember that ‘no two consumers
are the same.
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COMMENT
reaching the high-end consumers.
Let’s understand the average
Indian who inadvertently consumes
6.5 hours of media every day. In
contrast, the affluent Indian interacts
with media for 9.3 hours. Though
this may seem to be high, the graph
will indicate the way media is
consumed. The affluent Indian still
spends 34 per cent of his time
reading the newspaper but the
average Indian spends more than 50
EXPOSURE TIME
(Daily media consumption patterns)
Source: PAX Digital Life 2009 across eight countries
Morphed
telecom
devices and
telecom
service
providers are
the ones who
seem to have
got the
mantra right.
per cent of his time with newspapers.
Of this additional 43 per cent of
media exposure, 38 per cent of the
increased consumption is due to
internet usage. One could set a
hypothesis here claiming that the
affluent consumer seeks media
which he can control in terms of
content and preferred time.
Taking the story about ever-
increasing consumption of digital
1 hour 26 minutes
Reading newspapers/magazines
1 hour 59 minutes
Watching TV/recorded TV programs
2hours 16 minutes
Listening to radio/recorded music/podcasts
2 hours 2 minutes
Using Internet for work or personal use
1hour 53 minutes
Email/chat/instant messaging
media further, here are a few facts
that may not surprise you at all.
Internet usage has further increased
within 62 per cent of these affluent
consumers in the last one year and 55
per cent of the users claim it would
further increase in the coming times.
Morphed telecom devices and
telecom service providers are the
ones who have got the mantra right.
This is further heightened by better
internet connectivity through
increased broadband services. The
product development around the
theme of ‘Pocket Internet’ of Aircel
says it all. The once-regional player is
now the key challenger brand across
circles. LG is another example where
it has integrated the young,
enigmatic John Abraham with social
networking.
PRESENTS
By RAHUL VARMA
One needs to use this new
medium of connecting with the
digividuals (digital individuals), not
just individuals. New technology has
made the task of marketers that
much simpler by selectively reaching
the high-end consumer who still is
different in psychographics and
usage through digital media. The
advent of social media and its impact
is playing a big role with many small
outfits, no more leaning on
traditional medium and using the
social media effectively.
Let me now, like an informed
researcher, show you two sides of the
same coin and then leave it on you to
decipher the right mantra.
This is how digital media helps a
marketer:
• Reach and usage of digital media
is on the rise
• Assured advertisement exposure
• Targeting of consumers is more
precise
• Innovation at the marketing
executives’ finger tips
• Any time is prime time
• Individualistic consumption and
what does the affluent consumer
consume more than the others
from the digital media
• Reading other people's social
network profile page
• Reading a blog and commenting
• Reading customer ratings or
reviews of products/services
• Reading online forums or
discussion groups. 
The writer is director,
Synovate India