XIMB students campaign for a product at Gramotsava-2011 in Khurda and (below) local residents visit the fair. Telegraph pictures

Bhubaneswar, Oct. 16: Gramotsava—2011, the annual rural marketing fest organised by the rural management students of Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar (XIMB), concluded yesterday. The two-day fair aimed at understanding the needs of rural consumers and extending the reach of products and services to remote locations.

Under the banner of Rural Managers’ Association of XIMB (RMax), about 150 students from the first and second year batches visited two villages — Mandarbasta in Cuttack and Chasakhanda on the outskirts of the capital — to promote the latest products and concepts of business and social organisations among the village folk.

The students set up a number of kiosks devoted to major brands such as Hindustan Unilever, Mahindra and Mahindra, Tata Motors and Innovatives Agriculture and Beverages Private Limited. The budding managers were divided into smaller groups to manage the kiosks. They conducted some simple games to generate awareness about the products and attract maximum participation from the crowd.

One such interesting game involved throwing a ring around a miniature model of an actual tractor after which the volunteers of the kiosk apprised the people about the features and qualities of the tractor. The most popular game was making jaljeera in 20 seconds to win prizes.

The members of Social Responsibility Cell (SRC) of the XIMB and students of Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) were also associated with Gramotsava—2011. The SRC members set up their own kiosks and organised games. However, their objective was not marketing but creating awareness among people about personal hygiene and sanitation. They distributed items of personal cleanliness such as soaps, combs, toothbrushes and toothpaste and made the visitors to their stalls aware about social issues and also issues related to the environment.

The Telegraph was the media partner for this year’s Gramotsava, which was formally launched last Thursday. Bonnie Bhaina, an olive ridley turtle, was the mascot for the fair.