Folk Tales Of Festive Marketing

“So, marketing, what’s the plan for festive marketing? How do we exponentially grow the business? How do we capitalise on the next quarter? How do we increase ticket size? What’s the plan for getting in new customers? What percentage of existing customers will return?”

The CEO, COO, CFO stop to catch their breath. Finally! Not that they have run out of questions! There’s plenty more from where they are seated. This is ka-ching time! And marketing better get its act together! A heave of relief or was that a resigned sigh one hears softly in the room. It’s the yoke CMO, of course!

Just another regular Monday morning review conversation at the start of the festive season in July.

Festive fervour, fever, frenzy from August to December. Five months when the consumer is completely primed, organically comes to the brand, when the demand is already pre-existing, when the need is clearly stated, when the purse strings are loose when the FOMO is high and the sales team are literally at the door, ready to move in to close the deal, when the funnel is converting like clockwork and all that is left to do after the search and browse and add to cart is to click to buy, the finger just about to press pay…OMG! The pressure is at its peak!

Let’s start at the beginning. Each year in our country of 1.4 billion people, vagaries of religions, super sects of ethnicities, diversity with each passing pin code, myriad rituals to invoke the gods/goddesses from the heavens – the pan India, regional, communal, social, cultural, it potential presents is staggering. Now, with each passing year, Marketers have gotten smarter in their game – launching new SKUs/business lines/campaigns specifically timed to match the festive mood. Leveraging voice, video and vernacular to churn out content by creators by cohorts. Now, using AR/VR filters effectively to tap into deeper nuanced experiential immersive sagas. How can one forget the use of AI/ML to now get real up, close and personal with everyone in the potential buyer’s spectrum?

And when tradition meets technology, things get complicated real quick. Of course, it makes everything simpler, easier, faster. Undeniably so. But it also deepens the sense of overwhelmingness with the 'too much' of it all! It creates excitement with high levels of in-built stress! The desire to 'fit in', 'not miss out' is at its highest! More than the end of the season, like Myntra says it’s like the end of reason for the consumer staggering under the weight of keeping up with the Joneses or should I say the Sharmas syndrome!

Marketers tap into this need state very well indeed – first, they feed the hunger which in turn snowballs into creating more. Emotionally evocative family first led narratives on connected television. Clickbait communication with sales, discounts, price-offs, cheaper, BOGO’s on omnichannel platforms seal the deal, literally and figuratively!

It’s like a Bollywood film – a spectacle, complete with dance, drama, music, the works or what we like to term as 360 marketing! No stone – in this case moment is left unturned.

Festivals in India are quite oxymoronic really: from a Ganesh Chaturthi to an Eid to Paryushan to Dusshera to Diwali even Christmas. Here’s how – they are democratically universal in their celebrations, but the significance is deeply personal. The act of the celebration itself is physical but the emotion is deeply psychological. It’s communal yet consumeristic. It’s special yet so set in its ways. It’s festive yet there is a frenzy. There is family and there is a 'me'. And that my dear marketer is the EQ of festive marketing in India.

You clear this litmus test, understand like truly do a KYC on your consumer, mine the 'right' insight, marry it with your brand’s raison d’etre, then craft meaningful communication in an advance way before the madness sets in, rope in the right 'influencers' who organically authentically mirror your brand’s essence, craft your look books if you are a home care, food, beauty or even an automobile brand allowing space for the consumer to breathe in and take in the offering in an effortless non-overwhelming manner and that’s where the media mix walks in with all its paraphernalia – use AI with all of your human wisdom and deep knowledge of your consumer’s emotional quotient – her needs, wants and desires (I apologise for the bias but studies show women as the main shoppers during the festive season), you stand a high chance of becoming her 'go to' brand of choice. Stay true and remember to stay consistent. It’s simple when you just get in touch with her reality through anthropological observations and active listening. Et voila! Festive marketing won’t seem so hard anymore!

Like Insta reels has taught us - We are Indians, so of course we will do the 'extra', We are Indians, we will be all 'OTT, We are Indians we will always add that 'tadka' – just felt like it but that’s fine. We are Indians, we love our finery, our bling and our glow is always on! And we as marketers just reflect it on highly shiny polished surfaces! Festive for us is the perfect time to spread that glitter as each of our festivals in spirit stands for the outgoing of evil and incoming of good. We welcome the light with open arms, armed with the best of brands, sought with the best deals at the best place. That’s the long and short of festive marketing.

Where traditions lead to ticket size, prayer leads to profits. Rituals lead to revenue. Festivals lead to footfalls. Spirituality leads to sales. Community leads to consumerism.

Festive season is over. It’s the first Monday of January 2025. The woke CMO stands tall in the board room, looks the CEO, CFO, COO straight in the eye and says “I am happy to report that the festive marketing campaign has been hugely successful. The numbers speak for themselves - 30 per cent increase in repeat business, 17 per cent increase in ROI, 20 per cent value increase, 30 per cent volume increase. Next year I need 2x of my current budget. And in advance, so we catch pre-festive in time.

Mic Drop! Ka-ching!

Samyukta Ganesh Iyer

Guest Author The author is a Brand Consultant & Executive Coach| Former CMO Sephora, Baskin Robbins, Kaya