MUMBAI: Starcom Mediavest Group is planning to launch a new unit in February 2006, to specifically deliver communication and marketing solutions in small towns and rural areas.

Interestingly, the agency is inviting media scribes to pitch in with possible names for the new unit. The shortlisted name from the entries received will be announced in the first week of February.

The reason behind launching this rural and small town focus unit is due to the fact that India has 5131 cities and towns and 600,000+ villages. Marketers today realise that as mega cities reach stable state of growth, the future lies in towns and villages. Already many categories and brands are growing faster in mid-size and small towns, than in metros.

In many categories such as televisions, pressure cookers, motorcycles and mopeds, the larger share of growth in the last half decade has come from rural India. However, the marketing challenge in small towns and villages continues to be complex. Starcom believes that most agencies either focus on big cities or have a mistaken notion of rural India.

Starcom MediaVest Group has identified a core founding group and also a head of the agency. This new unit will effectively bridge the gap between metros and villages and hopefully offer a unique solution to marketers based on Starcom’s heritage of knowledge and research and executional experience of the new team.

The parameters that scribes need to follow while suggesting a name are as follows: