Loved it! Really good work. You and Dharmesh Ba are emerging as the the new interpreters of India2! Loved the aspiration / faux premiumisation angle, the airconditioner as a premiumisation lever, and splitting India2 into India2.1 and 2.2! Excellent!
Hi Mithun. Sharp insights here, this also reminded me of a campaign we did for Axe couple of years ago .Targeting non users of deos in Bharat, we tapped into the need for the 'big city Life' of small town India. And Axe became the passport rather 'Ticket'(introduced a new brand) to the big city life that India 2 dreamt of. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZC6faGD0Ow4
Tks.It took a lot of convincing at Levers to buy into something like this.Though you should check these guys out if you haven't already. https://www.futurebrandsconsulting.com/newbharatdarshan Their insights (more qualitative) around bharat are second to none.
Loved it, Mithun -- thanks for posting. The pictures in my head of India2 have been fuzzy and I feel like this article has done a "Clean and Clear" on them. Thanks also for the bonus segment.
Richard Feynman once said "The sad part of life is that everybody names things just a little bit wrongly...". Slightly philosophical yes, but i think he was referring to the problems of over-generalisation that comes when you assign a name/framework/model to something for some purpose
My key takeaway from this article - Coming up with a target market segmentation (or any nomenclature/framework/model) is a craft and like all crafts, there's always a better way to do it for the same/different situation.
Just yesterday, while conversing with someone from the Ed-Tech space i realised how the K12 segment is more heterogeneous that what an outsider perceives it to be. The aspiration of parents when their children are till 8/9 years of age is very different from when their children are in the 10-15 year bracket. And after 15 is another story altogether as one starts thinking about life after school
Wonderful write-up Mithun, love your efforts to decode the ‘Bharat’ consumer.
Do you really believe that Tier 1 consumers are as ‘homogeneous’ as you paint them to be ? Tier 1 folks are also, I believe, heterogeneous. That’s the challenge I have faced in building brands in such cities-you need to pick your sub-markets/segments, as also the stores, very carefully if you want to succeed even in Tier 1 markets. And yes, all of this depends on the kind of product/service that you are wanting to build in such (or rather all) markets. Hence, I wouldn’t want to over generalise.
I agree - there is nuance everywhere and a lot depends on the context in which you operate. So Tier 1 also has its own breakdowns - Delhi operates differently from Mumbai, and Karol Bagh operates differently from Chandni Chowk. I think my generalisation was in the context of India 1 vs India 2 consumers - where there is a lot less nuance in conversations around India 2 because not a lot of people have actually built for that consumer. Hope this makes sense.
Suggestion: Since "Bharat" brings to mind connotation of a Hindi-speaking, elderly, rather impecunious farmer, should we coin a different term for a young, Tier-2, aspirational, middle-income demographic, maybe from South India? How about "Ooru", which neatly straddles all the 5 South India states in its connotation? :D
@mithun a good example of faux premiumisation are Zudio stores targeting the India2.1 whose product catalogue and spread focus on trendy and aspirations of youth at price point which are optimal for the segment.
Mithun, where would you fit in Rich tier 2 folks? People who have made money by selling services from cities like Indore or have made money from setting up manufcturing plants in cities like Daman?
I'd still fit them in India 2 - reasoning being they are likely slightly older (family money), brought up in a regional language speaking ecosystem, and not as familiar with tech. So they'd be at the top end of India 2, and products will need to still think of them differently from India 1 (which is english first).
Loved it! Really good work. You and Dharmesh Ba are emerging as the the new interpreters of India2! Loved the aspiration / faux premiumisation angle, the airconditioner as a premiumisation lever, and splitting India2 into India2.1 and 2.2! Excellent!
Big fan of Dharmeshs newsletter as well :)
Hi Mithun. Sharp insights here, this also reminded me of a campaign we did for Axe couple of years ago .Targeting non users of deos in Bharat, we tapped into the need for the 'big city Life' of small town India. And Axe became the passport rather 'Ticket'(introduced a new brand) to the big city life that India 2 dreamt of. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZC6faGD0Ow4
haha great ad! as usual FMCG is way ahead of the startup ecosystem when it comes to understanding the Indian consumer and his aspirations :).
Tks.It took a lot of convincing at Levers to buy into something like this.Though you should check these guys out if you haven't already. https://www.futurebrandsconsulting.com/newbharatdarshan Their insights (more qualitative) around bharat are second to none.
this looks fantastic! thanks for sharing - weekend reading looks sorted :).
Loved it, Mithun -- thanks for posting. The pictures in my head of India2 have been fuzzy and I feel like this article has done a "Clean and Clear" on them. Thanks also for the bonus segment.
Thanks for reading and for the feedback!
Richard Feynman once said "The sad part of life is that everybody names things just a little bit wrongly...". Slightly philosophical yes, but i think he was referring to the problems of over-generalisation that comes when you assign a name/framework/model to something for some purpose
My key takeaway from this article - Coming up with a target market segmentation (or any nomenclature/framework/model) is a craft and like all crafts, there's always a better way to do it for the same/different situation.
Just yesterday, while conversing with someone from the Ed-Tech space i realised how the K12 segment is more heterogeneous that what an outsider perceives it to be. The aspiration of parents when their children are till 8/9 years of age is very different from when their children are in the 10-15 year bracket. And after 15 is another story altogether as one starts thinking about life after school
Wonderful write-up Mithun, love your efforts to decode the ‘Bharat’ consumer.
Do you really believe that Tier 1 consumers are as ‘homogeneous’ as you paint them to be ? Tier 1 folks are also, I believe, heterogeneous. That’s the challenge I have faced in building brands in such cities-you need to pick your sub-markets/segments, as also the stores, very carefully if you want to succeed even in Tier 1 markets. And yes, all of this depends on the kind of product/service that you are wanting to build in such (or rather all) markets. Hence, I wouldn’t want to over generalise.
I agree - there is nuance everywhere and a lot depends on the context in which you operate. So Tier 1 also has its own breakdowns - Delhi operates differently from Mumbai, and Karol Bagh operates differently from Chandni Chowk. I think my generalisation was in the context of India 1 vs India 2 consumers - where there is a lot less nuance in conversations around India 2 because not a lot of people have actually built for that consumer. Hope this makes sense.
Enjoyed reading both this and part 1 Decoding Bharat.
Wondered - What about the emerging aspirant class in Indian metros and Tier 1 cities? Arnt they also India 2?
yes - geography is not the best way to segment. Better segmentation is through a mix of language and income levels.
Hi Mithun,
Great thoughts and insights!
Suggestion: Since "Bharat" brings to mind connotation of a Hindi-speaking, elderly, rather impecunious farmer, should we coin a different term for a young, Tier-2, aspirational, middle-income demographic, maybe from South India? How about "Ooru", which neatly straddles all the 5 South India states in its connotation? :D
Haha makes sense!
@mithun a good example of faux premiumisation are Zudio stores targeting the India2.1 whose product catalogue and spread focus on trendy and aspirations of youth at price point which are optimal for the segment.
@rohit - i wouldnt say zudio is 'faux'. For all practical purposes it is actually premium for India 2.1
Ok but price point of Zudio seems like it aligns with your definition of faux. Thanks.
It was quite a learning experience. Thanks
Mithun, where would you fit in Rich tier 2 folks? People who have made money by selling services from cities like Indore or have made money from setting up manufcturing plants in cities like Daman?
I'd still fit them in India 2 - reasoning being they are likely slightly older (family money), brought up in a regional language speaking ecosystem, and not as familiar with tech. So they'd be at the top end of India 2, and products will need to still think of them differently from India 1 (which is english first).
Say more? The median India 2 consumer is more likely than not to fall in this age range.