Picture this — a woman confidently cruising down the road on her motorbike, embodying a carefree spirit, unrestricted choices, and a bold assertion of self-expression. This imagery lay at the heart of Bajaj’s #RideYourFreedom campaign in 2017, which was aired to celebrate Independence Day and asked viewers to ensure women’s safety. Just like Bajaj, numerous brands have sought to encapsulate the essence of an occasion perfectly — whether it is Cadbury Celebrations’ Support The Hawkers Near You campaign on Diwali, which celebrates the spirit of generosity, or Tanishq’s #SistersbyChoice advertisement, which celebrates the bond between sisters-in-law on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan.
A LocalCircles study last year revealed that consumers were willing to spend close to $32 billion on the occasion of Diwali alone in 2022 and a third of households spent more than Rs 10,000 during the period, indicating a huge opportunity for brands to market their products right during occasions. This has paved the way for mammoth festive sales such as the Freedom Day sale on Amazon and Flipkart’s Big Bachat Dhamal this month. It has thus become imperative for companies to put the right message out.
So what is the recipe for the perfect occasion-led ad? “There’s no set formula to create a memorable advertisement for an occasion. Just the right blend of emotions, execution, and no force-fitting the brand will do the trick. It’s like falling in love: You don’t look at a checklist, you just connect and your heart skips a beat,” says Mohit Hira, co-founder, Myriad Communications and venture partner at YourNestCapital Advisors.
Nisha Sampath, managing partner at Bright Angles Consulting, adds that in the age of moment marketing, brands tend to look for clever or funny ideas that don’t necessarily stay back in consumers’ hearts and memories or build back to brand purpose. “The best occasion advertisements leverage the emotions and cultural memory around festivals to connect powerfully with consumers. Such messaging is timeless,” she adds.
Gaining a deep understanding of the cultural, historical, and emotional significance of the occasion that a brand is aligning with is also a must, experts say, and ensuring that the message aligns with a brand’s values is crucial. “The importance of the occasion and the creative rendition needs to be balanced in festive ads. Context and content both need to be there in equal measure for memorability,” says Sandeep Goyal, MD, Rediffusion.
Relevance of the festival to the brand is key. Cadbury’s “Kuch Meetha Ho Jaye” goes very well with festivals such as Raksha Bandhan. This makes the festival the perfect occasion to advertise around. Another example is that of Godrej, which was established almost four generations ago. “The company can say that they have stood by the nation in thick and thin, making Independence Day a perfect opportunity for them to broadcast their brand’s message,” said KV Sridhar, global chief creative officer at Nihilent Hypercollective.
It is very tempting for a lot of brands to jump on the bandwagon. “It’s okay, but not the best use of the brands’ money unless one has a genuine message that resonates with the consumer,” cautions Lloyd Mathias, independent director and former HP Asia marketing head.
He lists three major don’ts for brands this Independence Day: One, don’t use pictures of national icons such as late freedom fighters as companies do not have the right to use them for commercial gain. Two, do not randomly put up the tricolour and wish everyone without any meaningful sentiment. And three, back your message up with something on the ground, such as a special menu, product, etc. Anything that makes a consumer smile.