Brands Ride High On Festive Fervour

It is that time of the year when joy, celebrations, and togetherness girdle the brand and consumer side alike, making way for some big wins at both ends. With brands across sectors eyeing the pent-up demand, revenge shopping looks to be bold and underlined on the consumer cards. This year's festive calendar is also expected to bring some respite from the humdrum of our daily lives as consumers indulge in rather extravagant travel & shopping and overlook their financial plans. Reports also suggest an increase of 10-20% in advertising spend from the previous year to tap the anticipated recovery.

"We are very optimistic about the upcoming festive season. After two years of muted celebrations, the country is finally going to celebrate festivals free from the pandemic scare. There seems to be a positive sentiment among people. We expect consumers to go all out on festivities," says Mayank Shah, Senior Category Head, Parle Products. 

Entering the festive season on the back of good Q1 numbers for Fy-23, MVS Murthy, CMO, Federal Bank senses that this festive season will be different. "You will see our brand absolutely on top gear seizing the opportunities, the celebrations present. From a business sense - our cards, loans, deposits, and channel teams are all looking at ticking the greens in all the metrics they are chasing."

For Anuj Sharma, Chief Marketing Officer, Xiaomi India, the brand is looking forward to the upcoming festive season and is prepared to delight its consumers with a diverse portfolio of products with lucrative offers. "We are planning to provide products across categories at never-seen-before offers to bring cheer to all our consumers. With the heightened interest in 5G-enabled devices amongst consumers across the country, our priority is also in strengthening our product portfolio with 5G offerings," he asserts.

Mapping The Consumer Sentiment

While the last two years were more about pent-up demand, this year we are seeing a more positive sentiment as this will be the first season since the pandemic with lesser restrictions. As borders have opened up and travel across countries is happening at a rapid pace, there is a general sense of safety amongst people. They feel more inclined to go out of their homes and celebrate. In addition, owing to two years of muted celebrations, people are looking forward to compensating for it this time. The festive season has already commenced with Raksha Bandhan, and we have witnessed a strong demand coming in on both Raksha Bandhan and Independence Day. The phenomenon of revenge spending is also taking place simultaneously.

Moreover, with increased disposable income and a tendency to spend, positive sentiment towards the premium segment and smart home devices is anticipated, while the mid-segment continues to drive strong sales numbers.

Another factor affecting the market dynamics this time is the resurgence of rural demand. Rural demand was low in the first quarter of last year but the current situation is much better. The present and previous quarters have experienced an uptake. This can be attributed to the geopolitical circumstances in Europe, because of which farmers were able to get good realisation for their produce. Prices were soaring high and farmers benefited as a result of that. Second, of course, is the current monsoon season. It has progressed well in most parts of India. Farmers are thus optimistic about bumper crops this year. For these reasons, both consumer sentiments and the market dynamics seem to be on a positive high for the festive season.

A PepsiCo India spokesperson shares, "It’s an important time for us, as it provides us with a platform to deepen our connection with consumers. We are planning to bring unique digital-forward and value-for-money offerings through celebratory packaging. Furthermore, we continue to strengthen our distribution both through traditional and ecommerce channels to be able to cater to consumers across urban and rural geographies to make these festive occasions all the more memorable.”

Avnish Anand, Co-founder & COO, CaratLane also plans to follow the omnichannel route to strengthen the experience of seamlessly shifting between different channels to browse, try and buy. "While the customers have received our 48 hours service well in metro cities, our focus is to be able to capture more of the T2 cities for the same," he emphasises. 

The Mighty Media Mix

We know that digital has been gaining a lot of ground since the pandemic time. However, marketers are equally bent on traditional and digital media to reach out to consumers this time around. "Previously, we used to spend about 10 per cent on the digital medium and almost 75 per cent on TV and balance on other mediums like newspapers or outdoors. Today, we spend almost about 25 per cent of our total budget on digital and TV is somewhere around 60 per cent. Print and outdoors constitute the remaining percentage. Digital has increased significantly, nearly, two and a half times. We anticipate a significant increase in it over a while. The good part of marketing spend though is on television," tells Shah. 

Given the brand's digital-first DNA, 95 per cent of Caratlane's marketing spend is optimised for the digital medium. "Based on our learnings from the last two years, we have also sharpened our hyperlocal marketing approach to set our priorities for the season," mentions Anand.

Sharma, on the other hand, aims to maintain a 50:50 ratio for both online and offline. For him, both channels have their unique value, and their growth and success are equally important. 

Taking The Game A Notch Higher

To woo consumers this festive season, brands should try innovative offerings that break apart from the clutter. People are seeking novelty and are willing to splurge on products and services that can rejuvenate the customer experience journey. 

Marketers should try to tap into existing demand and gaps in the market to provide for the needs of consumers. People are willing to invest in experiences now versus saving up for the rainy days as used to be the norm. This behaviour is evident not just in their preferences but also in their spending habits. We can see that through the surge in the travel and hospitality sector. Hence there is an influx in demand across industries and people are looking for new products and new experiences.

Also since everything is open now, it would help marketers to ramp up their physical store offerings. Major footfall is expected during festivals, hence, scaling up consumer products and subsequent offers along with advancing distribution and trade channel planning will give brands a much-needed edge.  "Staying hands-on with consumer feedback and incorporating it has been one of the best practices we have continued to follow over the years," points Sharma.

For Murthy, brands should be on the lookout for planning for any missed opportunities. The abnormal times are behind us and in the hibernation period could have slacked. "This festive season will demand a top-draw performance. Be present and in the present. Must mention that in the last 2 years, transaction ease has tremendously increased. UPI has become ubiquitous and that opens up categories and frequency of purchases. Every marketer is going to be busy as the conductor of an orchestra. Not a missed beat or the symphony will jar," he explains. 

Brands aiming to navigate smoothly through this time and rediscover the recovery path will have to follow a multi-pronged strategy to ensure utmost customer delight - from building empathetic marketing campaigns that resonate with the customer to offering them attractive deals. Ecommerce is expected to be the primary mode of sales owing to the new era of a digital-first economy, believe experts. 

For now, all eyes are on the horizon for a mint fresh festive season and lots of joy and celebrations for India, Indians and India Inc!