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Professors CK Prahalad and Stuart L Hart point out that the real fortune for marketers is at the bottom of the world economic pyramid, the four billion consumers whose annual per capita income in purchasing power parity terms is less than US$1,500. These tier-4 consumers live in rural villages or urban slums mostly in developing countries like India, China and Brazil. However, most multinational companies have focused their efforts on serving the needs of consumers in developed nations or the affluent in the developing nations. Marketing in rural areas has been seen as too much effort for too little return. However in India of late, multinational companies (MNCs) have been increasingly involving themselves in serving and creating products for the rural consumer. This case provides a picture of the Indian countryside and the wide differences between urban and rural markets. It explores the psyche of the rural consumer and details the experiences of several MNCs like Hindustan Lever, Coca-Cola and CavinKare. The case also offers insights provided by rural marketing experts like Pradeep Kashyap of Market and Research Team and practising marketing managers of companies. A structured assignment ''504-042-4'' is available to accompany this case.