CASE STUDY

• CASE STUDY RUF and TUF jeans India’s leading

denim manufacturer, Aravind Mills, achieved the
expansion of its consumer base, with a new
brand tailored for specifically the rural market.
• It required not only a new product but also a new
distribution approach.
• (i) Consumer preferences:
• Market research revealed:
• (a) Many in rural areas found even the cheapest
branded jeans beyond their means.
• (b) There is skepticism towards readymade
products among rural Indians.
• (ii) Product: The result: ready –to-stitch jeans for the
first time priced at 195, as against the unorganized
sector’s range of ` 150-350, the kit included a denim
trouser length with specific tailoring instructions and
the brand zipper, rivets and buttons that distinguish
jeans from more denim trousers in the consumer’s
mind.
• (iii) Distribution; It was the critical issue. Not only the
product be made available but also the expertise to
tailor it is to be created. Success depended on total
tailor’s fineness. The product was made available in
village with a population as small as 5000. Local cloth
shops were as retail outlets. 116 Seminars were
organized to train tailors in denim fits and inform them
about the changes required in regular sewing machines
for stitching jeans. The additional machine accessories
were initially provided free of cost and later at a
subsidized rate.
• Outcome
• The strategy worked. In the first two months,
demand crossed a million pieces as against a
production capacity of 2,50,000 kits. So that
the company had to stop advertising. And
within 1.8 months, five million kits were sold.
Consumers feedback showed that nearly 75
percent were first time jeans wearers. R & T
shirts as well as readymade, jeans were
launched for the slightly more evolved
consumers who demanded jeans specific like
the right wash, cotton and formal trousers are
now on the anvil
 Questions

(a) Trace the reason for the success of Ruf & Tuf
in rural India.
(b) Which other companies do you think can
emulate the strategies of Arvind Mills?
CASE STUDY -2
• Ignorant Mothers and Diarrhea Rural mothers do
not recognizes a serious diarrhea problem as
soon as it occurs though the disease kills some
4000 young children in India every day.
• The study sponsored by the United Nations
International Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF)
at the request of the Union Government revealed
the following: ➢ Mothers usually recognize the
disease only when the child has passed four-to
five loose motions in the course of a day. And she
gets concerned enough to act only when the
frequency increases to six or seven such motions.
➢ Rural mother has a strong inclination to seek
medical treatment for the child hit by diarrhea.
• ➢ Though, a wide array of medicines, pills and even injections were
prescribed only six percent of the patients received Oral Dehydration
Therapy (ORT)
• ➢ On an average, mothers spent about ` 8 on treatment of a single
diarrhea episode.
• ➢ Dehydration is more noticed than understood. Even those who perceive
loss of fluid believe it to be a case of non-absorption of water that was
ingested instead of a net loss of fluids from the body.
• ➢ Home based fluids, if promoted, are likely to be accepted by most
mothers as a proper response to child hood diarrhea. Since rice, sugar or
gur is available in 75 to 83 percent of all rural households, it is possible to
successfully promote the use home-based fluids.
• ➢ Mothers, however have reservations about adding sugar and salt to
certain types of fluids and water. Glucose water and rice water emerged as
the favourite fluids. It therefore suggests, that communication strategies
be designed to reach the mother so that she recognize a single loose
motion as as indication of a potentially serious problem and act promptly
giving her child extra fluids to drink.
 Questions
(a) What does the case suggest to rural
marketers, particularly to Pharmaceutical
companies and the Government?
(b) What kind of promotion activities can you
suggest to Pharmaceutical companies and to
Government?
CASE STUDY -3
• Should Farmers Promote their Products? Nazir Hasan
was a second year Agriculture Science student. Hasan
got a tough assignment from his lecturer to participate
in a debate next week.
The topic was “Resolve: Farmers should promote their
products”. Hasan had to prepare to debate both for the
motion and against it. Hasan’s father was a rice
producer, he helped Hasan for that day to make a list of
arguments against farmer advertising. Next day Hasan
met Manager of Mother Dairy and asked why Mother
Dairy and dairy farmer’s cooperatives heavily sponsor
the larger sponsored advertising programme and
propogating drinking milk “Doodh, Doodh,
DoodhDoodhhi wonderful” wonderful slogan.
The Manager said he thought milk advertising is
a successful story. He could not give any facts
or figures for his success story. Hasan
discussed the topic with a larger grocer. The
grocer said “Kohinoor is a big brand name in
Basmati Rice. Kohinoor advertises in all media
including TV and Cinema”. The grocer also said
further “Farmers have to advertise and
promote their products just like any other
product.” Hasan was confused, should farmers
advertise or not? Does it pay or not?
• Questions
• 1. Under what circumstances should farmers
advertise their products?
• 2. What are the purposes of such promotional
advertisements?
• 3. How should farmers know the benefits of
such promotions cover their costs?