Chrome Data to launch tool to track rural TV consumption

Media advisory and consultancy firm Chrome Data Analytics & Media today said it will launch a new tool to mine television consumption pattern in the country's hinterlands.
Chrome Rural Track will map 12 million households across 1,05,000 villages in four phases, based on population density.
The phase I will be in villages with population over 20,000, phase II will be in population between 10,000 and 20,000, III in villages with population in the range 5,000 to 10,000 and the final phase will track villages with population less than 5,000.
"We will be launching the first phase in the first week of September. We will be present across 1,05,000 villages by November," Chrome DM founder and chief executive Pankaj Krishna told reporters here.

He said the monthly tracking is aimed to assist marketers in strategising for rural markets.
"The size and social-cultural complexity of the rural landscape warrants tracking at such a scale. Despite constituting 69 per cent of the population, rural India remains considerably unmapped across segments. Consumption patterns, consumer preferences and the purchasing power of rural areas are significantly different from that of cities," he said.

According to the initial findings of Chrome Rural Track, there is a vast difference in the percentage of cable, Direct- To-Home (DTH) and terrestrial modes among various states.
While 99.1 per cent villagers in Kerala watch TV through cable, 62.4 per cent of villagers in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar access TV through DTH, the data said.

"There is a huge gap in the understanding of rural consumers. Marketers need information that is dissected to village level. With television being the main tool to communicate with consumers, it is critical that brands have a refined knowledge of television viewing.
"This data, spanning 1,05,000 villages, will be indispensable for both advertisers and agencies and help them take more informed decisions," Monica Tata, a member of the advisory board of Chrome Data Analytics said.