The cattle feed industry in India is a significant segment of the country’s agriculture sector due to its large livestock population.
With India’s position as a top nation in livestock population and an expected CAGR of about 4 per cent, the industry has high growth potential. The industry is gradually shifting from traditional feed practices to more organized and commercial feeding systems.
Marketing strategies in the cattle feed industry often involve educating farmers about the advantages of using compounded cattle feed over traditional feed, which can lead to better livestock health and productivity.
A few note-worthy examples of effective implementation of strategic rural marketing strategies are as below.
INTAS – CalShakti Strategic Rural Marketing Initiatives
Enhanced Livestock productivity is crucial for the livelihood of rural farmers. Besides being of sentimental value, the cow is an important value creator in the rural economy.
INTAS Pharmaceuticals, with its range of cow feed supplements, wanted to create awareness about the importance of maintaining the optimum health for the Cow for enhanced productivity, and thus a source of income for rural households.
We collaborated with INTAS and developed a plan to reach out to rural farmers, by building on the sense of ownership, pride and association that owners feel for their cattle.
The primary campaign objective was to increase traffic and organic reach for the
Calshakti brand through the Facebook page. The growing cruelty and lack of sensitivity towards animals in society were highlighted, and the “Pride in Cattle Ownership” concept was used to address this issue.
The “Selfie with Cow” social media campaign was launched to promote Calshakti, a brand initiative centered around cows and cattle. The main objective of the campaign was to encourage farmers to share selfies with their cows on Facebook, mentioning their cows’ unique names and tagging the Calshakti page.
11 language-specific creative assets along with WhatsApp link promotion were used to drive traffic to the Facebook page. As a result, the campaign generated high engagement from the participants. The top-performing posts were used to select 175 winners from across India, and their names were announced on the CalShakti Facebook page.
The campaign strategically managed to reignite a sense of belongingness and responsibility towards these animals within the rural livestock owners. A master stroke in strategic rural marketing, I believe for any marketer to occupy the emotional zone. This was a way to bring out the inherent need for the product and associate the brand.
Success Of their Marketing Strategy
The initiative generated significant engagement from the target segment as evident from the results below.
| Parameters | Results |
| Reach | 8.34 Million |
| Engagement | 21692 Clicks |
| Cost Effectiveness | ₹3.01 avg CPC |
| Click-Through Rate (CTR) | 0.26% |
Prestige Feed Mills Strategic Rural Marketing Initiatives
Prestige Cattle Feed Manufacturer of Madhya Pradesh is a leading provider of nutritious cattle feed in the cattle belt of the country.
But even though they were in business for a significant period, they were lagging in terms of brand awareness, and inadequate lead generation affecting sales and growth. So the objective was already very clear to the Company.
Just to reiterate, the challenges were addressed by meeting the below-mentioned objectives-
- Increasing Brand Awareness on social media
- Enhancing Audience Reach in Selected Geography
- Enhancing Brand Popularity
- Generating New Enquiries
- Enhancing Online Reputation
The primary target group addressed were Cattle owners, Cattle feed shop owners, Veterinary physicians, dairy farmers etc in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan & Gujrat.
An integrated approach was driven by crafting vernacular content on Facebook & YouTube consisting of product awareness videos, Informative GIFs, Customer Testimonials and Knowledge content. Product USPs were disseminated through innovative campaigns, named as such to bring in engagement – “Mann ki Baat”, “Isme hai Damm Wali Baat”, “Acha ho Khaanpaan Bani Rahe Apni Shaan”, “Grahako ki Kahani Unki Jubani”.
Success Of The Marketing Strategy
The response was encouraging in the initial few days when hundreds of comments and shares with substantial leads started pouring in, and the combined 3-month results are as below:
| Parameters | Results |
| Total Page Clicks on Facebook | 58k + |
| Total Post Engagement on Facebook | 86k + |
| New Enquiries on Facebook | 1600k + |
| New YouTube Subscribers | 0.26% |
| Impressions on YouTube | 600K+ |
For more information on the detailed case study, please visit Prestige Cattle Feed Digital Marketing in 5 States – Ascent Group India
Godrej Agrovet Strategic Rural Marketing Initiatives
Godrej Agrovet Limited (GAVL) is a diversified Indian agribusiness group. Its main businesses is the production and distribution of high-quality animal feed, crop protection products, palm oil products, poultry, processed foods and dairy goods. GAVL sells over a million tonnes annually of premium cattle, poultry, aquaculture and specialty feed across India.
Though Godrej Agrovet Ltd. was the market leader, and its animal feed business is one of the largest in the compound feed market in India, it was facing multiple challenges in establishing a digital rural connection. The inability to create a significant presence on social media channels, insufficient brand awareness and unsatisfactory lead generation were significant challenges.
The company sought to address these challenges by working on the following objectives:
- Increasing brand awareness
- Enhancing audience reach in selected geography
- Enhancing brand popularity
- Enhancing online reputation
- Generating New Leads
An Integrated Approach
We created an integrated approach wherein we promoted products with strategic campaigns, knowledge sharing series, customer testimonials, and informative GIFS on Facebook
We showcased the USPs of their product line with catchy lines like “Bharpur Dhudh Yane Jayada Munafa” and eye-catching images.
Success Story
| Parameters | Results |
| Total Page Post Engagements | 27223 |
| Total Reactions | 5975 |
| Total Page Likes | 1748 |
| Total Leads | 3294 |
| Total Dealer Inquiry | 752 |
| Total Cattle Details | 45600 |
For more information on the detailed case study, please visit: Social Media Marketing for the Cattle Feed Brand of Godrej Agrovet – Ascent Group India
Milklane Strategic Rural Marketing Initiatives
Milklane, one of India’s most innovative milk marketers and dairy operators, wanted to revolutionize the “first mile” of milk by adopting Swiss-quality methods. This was done in order to facilitate the supply of high-quality milk and dairy products to industrial clients and end consumers.
Since launching their cattle feed business in 2019, under the brand name “Aayush”, they have sought to continuously engage with farmers using digital channels and offer on-site assistance to help them achieve higher yields.
However, since the dairy business is built on the premise of scale, MilkLane wanted to create Brand and Product awareness about the brand and the Cattle feed product amongst the farmers.
We worked on the “Pashudhan se Samraddhi” Campaign, targeting cattle farmers in Tamil Nadu for 30 days. The brief was to educate the farmers about the cattle feed USPs, through creative engagements. This generated awareness about the brand.
A specially designed Van moved into the nooks and corners of rural Tamil Nadu, engaging with farmers through games, posters and product query resolution in a highly focused approach.
Success Story Of Milklane
This initiative significantly enhanced the brand by promoting product recognition, enhancing overall brand visibility, and generating inquiries.
| Parameters | Results |
| Number Of Footfalls | 3720 |
| Number Of Missed Calls Received | 512 |
| Number of Leads Captured | 2000 |
For more information on the detailed case study, please visit: Milklane’s Rural Marketing Initiative
Final Takeaways
In conclusion, the focused marketing initiatives by these cattle feed companies illustrate the transformative power of strategic rural marketing. By leveraging digital technologies, engaging storytelling, and direct community engagement, they have unlocked new avenues for growth and engagement within India’s vast rural sector.
These strategies have helped the marketers reach, engage and deliver on the vast rural opportunity that India possesses, improving their bottom line.
Reach Us In case you are thinking of enhancing your rural marketing efforts. We are sure that this decision will be worth taking.
