Namrata Soni on making a media splash this Holi

Holi in India is the most colorful and fun festival, widely celebrated in the northern and western belts to commemorate the victory of good over evil and it also marks the transition into a new year as per the Hindu calendar. 

In the southern states, this period marks the beginning of their local celebration of Ugadi and Chaitra. 

Along with celebrating this as the beginning of the Hindu New Year, a large group of Indians believe this to be the most auspicious time of the year to make important purchases and investments. High-value purchases like electronics, home investments, vehicle purchases, or jewellery shopping for weddings, are some of the most common purchase trends witnessed during this season.

Over the past decade, brands have identified this as a lucrative opportunity to drive emotion-driven sales by running "offer-based" ads. Hence, you will see brands in apparel, electronics, fashion, jewellery, etc, run limited-period offers and deals this time of the year. Furthermore, real estate brands drive this trend and release new possession offerings right around this time.  

From an advertising point of view, investing during this season is more cost-effective compared to a highly competitive fest period which begins in the third quarter of a financial year. This is on account of the relatively narrow set of audiences or geographies that are catered to during Holi. 

Along with these tactical campaigns, e-commerce marketing witnessed a boom during this period. Consumers looking out for the best offers in the market end up reaching one of the top 2 e-com players, i.e. Amazon or Flipkart and hence, it is essential for brands to be visible on these platforms. These offers are often targeted to the younger digital audience, who is looking forward to grabbing the best deals on day-to-day use products.

You will see various fashion, tech, electronics, and home appliances brands promote heavily on e-commerce during this period to get hold of this TG who is in their research or purchase/decision-making phase. 

Apart from that, brands that cater to a local audience or have high penetration or market share in the northwest markets of India are highly active with their branding campaigns during the festive period of Holi. This is to maintain visibility in key markets and build top-of-the-mind recall.

Standing out during the upcoming Holi season will depend on how well brands can build localized and contextual communication to connect with the TG. Offer-based communications will continue to be the leading kind of marketing activity across brands.

AdEx will continue to grow at a trend of 7- 8%. If you want to avoid being lost in the clutter, it is suggested to pick placements over platforms. For instance, running an ad on YouTube is inevitable, however, running non-skippable ads on a specific YouTube line that resonates with your TG, will automatically make your ad placement both exclusive and less competitive. Thus, bringing in more efficiency for the money you plan to spend.