VOA常速英语2008年-Marketing Executives Tout Rise of India's Small

By Raymond Thibodeaux
Cavelossim Beach, Goa, India
07 April 2008

Top media and advertising¹ executives are touting² the rise of the India's smaller cities and towns as the country's fastest-growing consumer market. Raymond Thibodeaux files this report for VOA from Cavelossim Beach in the southwestern Indian state of Goa.

 

This is GoaFest, an annual three-day event in which the leaders in media and advertising present awards for the country's best ad campaigns and talk about marketing³ trends. But there does not seem to be much talking going on at the moment, just loud music and dancing as the sun dips into the Arabian Sea.

 

This year's theme is the rise of India's smaller cities and towns. When it comes to selling cell phones, televisions, cars and condominiums, industry analysts⁴ say that smaller cities and towns are the country's fastest-growing consumer markets, nearly double that of India's largest 10 cities.

 

For some analysts, it is a sign that India's economic boom is starting to filter down to the lower middle class and the poor.

 

Jagdiv Bakshi is the main organizer for this year's GoaFest. He also heads Contract Advertising agency in Mumbai, ranked as one of India's top ad agencies.

 

"What is really working here is basically human ambition," he said. "I mean, all human beings love to look after their own, do well, be praised, all those good human values. I think people in the small towns have the same ambition as people have in large towns. They just want to do better and better and better. And do better for their children. Given that India is the happening story of the moment with [nearly] 10-percent GDP growth, I think it is the smaller towns that are growing faster than the metros⁵. And that is what India's story is about at the moment."

 

A recent market analysis by Ernst & Young showed that after the 10 largest cities, India's next 25 population centers, such as Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, and Thiruvananthapuram, are fast becoming key consumer markets.

 

Ernst & Young says the hottest-selling item in the smaller cities is skin-lightening creams for men. In the past two years, skin-lightening creams have ballooned into a $75-million industry.

 

Apparently⁶, that surprised many in the advertising industry, but not Kamal Basu, who heads the India branch of the advertising conglomerate⁷ Saatchi and Saatchi, which handles Oil of Olay and other name brand grooming⁸ products.

 

He says that in India, fair skin conveys status.

 

"We have done a lot of research in this area and it is all about appealing to the opposite sex," he explained. "It is, 'How do I make myself attractive towards the opposite sex?' And fair [skin] is a big, big driver in that space. What is emerging new is the variety of grooming products: hair gel and various skin lotions⁹ and things like that. And people spending far more dollars than they were earlier on grooming products for themselves."

 

Whether it is skin-lightening creams or mobile phones, more and more of India's advertisers are finding it difficult to ignore small towns.

 

India's six largest cities garner¹⁰ about 60 percent of advertising revenue, estimated at roughly $3 billion. But as the fortunes of the country' smaller cities rise with the economy, that is bound to change.

1 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

2 touting   

v.兜售( tout的现在分词 )；招揽；侦查；探听赛马情报

参考例句：

• He's been touting his novel around publishers for years. 他几年来一直到处找出版商兜售自己的小说。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Technology industry leaders are touting cars as a hot area for growth. 科技产业领袖吹捧为增长热点地区的汽车。 来自互联网

3 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

4 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

5 metros   

n.地下铁路( metro的名词复数 )；（尤指）巴黎地铁

参考例句：

• The map says the highest peak in this vicinity is 1500 metros. 地图显示附近最高点是1500米。 来自互联网
• Cuando estaba en el equipo de atletismo, siempre corría 400 metros. 我在田径队时，总是跑400米。 来自互联网

6 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

7 conglomerate   

n.综合商社，多元化集团公司

参考例句：

• The firm has been taken over by an American conglomerate.该公司已被美国一企业集团接管。
• An American conglomerate holds a major share in the company.一家美国的大联合企业持有该公司的大部分股份。

8 grooming   

n. 修饰, 美容，（动物）梳理毛发

参考例句：

• You should always pay attention to personal grooming. 你应随时注意个人仪容。
• We watched two apes grooming each other. 我们看两只猩猩在互相理毛。

9 lotions   

n.洗液，洗剂，护肤液( lotion的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Do not use lotions or oils to lubricate the skin. 不要用润肤剂或油类来润滑皮肤。 来自辞典例句
• They were experts at preserving the bodies of the dead by embalming them with special lotions. 他们具有采用特种药物洗剂防止尸体腐烂的专门知识。 来自辞典例句

10 garner   

v.收藏；取得

参考例句：

• He has garnered extensive support for his proposals.他的提议得到了广泛的支持。
• Squirrels garner nuts for the winter.松鼠为过冬储存松果。