AWARDS & ACCOLADES
Best Media Info
Rising Star 2021
High Chair – eCommerce Category
Best Media Info
Rising Star 2021
High Chair – Best Strategy Print
Best Media Info
Rising Star 2021
Rising Star of the Year
Our Role
Development
Curation
Design
Strategy
Gramophone, one of India’s top 10 agri-tech startups from Indore (M.P) enables farmers to decrease costs and increase yield and profitability with advisory, solutions, and input doorstep delivery. Our creative and strategic solutions helped Gramophone empower farmers, scale its services and establish itself as the much needed ‘friendly advisor’.
THE CONTEXT
India is an agricultural economy employing 60% of our workforce but contributing only 16% to the GDP. Gaps between technology, knowledge and input available to farmers are causing barriers to sustained economic growth. Unable to perform to their full potential, farmers are losing money, hope and even their lives.
THE MARKETING CHALLENGE
Gramophone wanted to reach out to the framers in the small and the remotest villages across Madhya Pradesh with 3 clear objectives –
- Create awareness about Gramophone’s offering
- Garner trust and believability amongst farmers
- Bring them onboard Gramophone’s channels
OUR INSIGHT
In Gramophone’s markets – traditional media is neither effective nor cost-effective; newspapers are expensive and yet lack reach, sector-specific publications don’t work, television is expensive and ground activations are too redundant. The digital medium, too, is not a medium of choice in rural India.
Gramophone faced numerous challenges in reaching their groundbreaking advisory and services to the remote villages of M.P. From wall paintings to float activity, they burnt their fingers without yield.
Our strategy focused on connecting with farmers in a language that they understand and in the medium which they work with. Since no existing media could offer us a solution, we decided to create one of our own. Our focus was on giving farmers relevant and in-depth information to enable sustainable growth at no additional cost.
THE IDEA
And thus, “Gramophone Uday” a one-of-its-kind fortnightly agri-newspaper featuring region and crop-specific advisory, agri news and actionable insights for farmers was conceptualized and launched. The print issue came out at every crucial step of the crop lifecycle, offering timely access to best tools and practices for farmers. It also featured a toll-free number to help the farmer connect with Gramophone for further details.
THE STRATEGY
The innovation strategy was anchored in farmer empowerment and engagement. The content was designed as per the crop cycle in the region and was written by agri-experts lending it complete credibility. Hindi was chosen as the medium of communication to enhance appeal and connect with the target audience. The news also featured Gramophone’s range of products and services.
In the absence of social media promotional opportunities, the distribution focused on employing opinion makers and local influencers to advocate for the product . The ground team connected with the local leadership through village Chaupals, Panchayat Bhavans, prominent Kirana stores, mobile recharge shops, and Gram Uday Centers (physical advisory cum sales points of Gramophone) to ensure maximum readership per issue.
The campaign focused on research collection tools, distribution principles, and printing technology to minimize cost while enabling scalability.
THE RESULT
Madhya Pradesh has over 12 million farmers divided into 6 geological regions. Gramophone currently serves the three agricultural hotspots – Malwa, Nimar, and Mahakoshal, which has the highest number of farmers and production contributions in the state. ‘Gramophone Uday’ was born from necessity and it changed the course of the brand.
It has increased the brand’s awareness and user base. Not only has it achieved the marketing objectives, it also helped streamline the sales approach and optimized acquisition costs too. The thoughtful design and friendly tone of the content of the newspaper established the brand as a “friendly advisor” to the farmers, strongly positioning “advisory” as the core service of the brand.
Cost of reach decreased from
Rs. 20-100 to Rs. 3. And since each issue has a shelf life of over 20 days, it started traveling from one reader to another
Time of exposure and attention increased from 0 to 15-30 minutes per user
Associated farmers increased from 150,000 to 800,000 with the newspaper as the principal marketing tool
Number of calls per day increased 5X and over 25 lakh queries were resolved in the last year
Phone orders increased by 2X and sales volume at the Gram Uday Centers doubled after every issue came out
Over 2.5 lakh Apps installed. Footfall at the Gram Uday Center increased 3 folds. Generated revenue for the brand
