Advertising is an important tool of communication in the hands of the marketer. The article highlights various folk media campaign strategies for advertising a product. It advocates the use of various traditional art forms like puppetry, theater, games, etc., to market products to rural consumers. It brings out the differences between the rural and urban consumer and focuses on different methods to cater to the rural audience.

As we entered the new millennium, there have been many changes in the socio-economic, political and cultural outlook of rural India. The rural market consists of more than 740 million consumers and has a wide potential for expansion. According to Census 2001, 73% of Indian population is living in rural areas. Though over the last three decades there has been a marginal reduction in the rural population expressed as a percentage of total population, there has been a steady growth in rural population in terms of absolute numbers and it has reached 74 crores.

So, rural market has become an attraction to corporates as the large consumer base has been providing an opportunity to sell more. Secondly, the heat of competition in urban market actually serves as a strong driver behind the growing interest of corporates in rural India. Many organizations have taken to rural marketing in a big way (Table 2).

As the organizations are ready to take a leap forward, it is very important to understand the taste of the rural consumer and different ways of how to promote products in the rural hinterland. As there are wide differences existing in terms of education, income, culture, technology, etc., the rural consumer's understanding of promotions is totally different from how it is perceived by an urban counterpart. Rural consumer understands symbols and colors better, and looks for endorsement by local leaders.