Article to be attributed to Shiraz Khan, Founder / Director, Spicetree Design Agency
India is essentially a mini world, a kaleidoscope of cultures, beliefs, religions, and diverse climatic regions. Thus, the country celebrates several festivals belonging to the different areas, seasons, and ethnic groups throughout the year. With over 1.4 billion people, these festivals are a great opportunity for the advertising industry and marketers to bolster their brand-building and sales efforts. The sheer scale of celebrations in India and the passion ensures that well-aligned campaigns reach out to massive audiences and engage them on an emotional level to create a stronger bond. Let us look at some of the critical aspects of the festive impact on the Indian advertising landscape!
Superior consumer engagement
Festivals are a period of celebration and joy; people are usually less stringent about spending during the festive seasons. They want to share the joy with others through gifts and pamper themselves as well as their homes. This is where brands across all segments leverage the festivities to engage the audiences through captivating campaigns, sale offers, new product launches, etc. Storytelling in a way that the brand can immerse itself in the everyday routine and celebratory actions of the audience enables emotional bonding with consumers and brand recall that goes deeper than a regular campaign.
Capitalizing on high demand
In festival seasons, consumers are already primed to spend. Gifts, clothes, home décor, electronics, vehicles, jewellery, furniture, and almost every other consumer product witness a spike in demand during this season. With such a warm-up audience, brands with smart offers and great campaigns find it easier to convert the audience into customers. Advertising agencies specialize in creating compelling narratives around the festivals and cultures that encourage customers to choose their products and services over others. It is not uncommon in specific industries to see the festive season account for as much as 30% to 40% of the annual sales.
Brand visibility and recall
The festivals in India offer a fantastic chance to build brand recall through enhanced visibility. Whether you are selling online, in physical markets, or omnichannel, there is bound to be a higher number of buyers on all channels, and advertising in this period is bound to garner more eyeballs than normal times. Brands with appealing advertising and products that customers are looking for can engage the audience with greater ease and reap the benefits of brand recall into the months after the festivals are over. This is one of the key reasons why most companies introduce new products or product ranges during the festival season.
Festival-centric advertising
Advertising agencies smartly create themed campaigns to align with the narrative associated with a festival and integrate popular sentiments during the celebrations. For instance, the Diwali season is about family celebrations, bonding, gifting, and prosperity. Therefore, you would see advertisements highlighting aspects like brightness, family reunion, sharing, light moments between immediate family members, and so on. On Holi, the ambiance is of revelry, so you will see campaigns highlighting celebration between friends, neighbours, and romance. Christmas is again about love, decorations, and the joy of sharing with family and the community. Campaigns that effectively customize the content in relevance to the occasion and resonate emotionally with how people feel about the festival usually deliver better outcomes.
Additional job creation and revenues
Festive advertising is usually on a high budget, and almost every organization focuses on running some or the other campaigns during festivals. As a result, the agencies hire larger numbers of creative professionals, copywriters, graphic designers, photography and videography experts, and marketing strategists to create more campaigns. There is a more significant economic opportunity for all during the festival season. Not only advertising agencies but logistics companies, courier services, and e-commerce aggregators employ additional workforce to meet the festive rush.
Evidently, festivals in India are not just occasions but catalysts for advertising agencies to leverage festive sentiments and drive customer engagement for their clients. Startups and SMEs can build stronger brands through additional visibility, and new brands or products have the opportunity to make a strong start in the target segments. Overall, it is a win-win situation for all stakeholders, and that’s why festivals are always going to be a major component of the marketing strategies for all advertisers in India!
