Harvest festival advertising: Regional focus drove 60-75% of media spends

As January unfolds, India enters a brief but significant cultural convergence shaped by the agrarian calendar. In Gujarat, terraces fill at dawn as Makar Sankranti marks the sun’s northward journey. In Punjab, Lohri is ushered in with bonfires that symbolise abundance and continuity. In Tamil Nadu, Pongal begins with freshly harvested rice simmering in earthen pots, an offering of gratitude to the land and its cycles. Across regions separated by language and custom yet bound by shared agricultural rhythms, the harvest season announces itself not only as a cultural moment but as a nationwide pause rooted in renewal.

This specificity has increasingly shaped how brands plan for the harvest season. From a media and investment standpoint, these festivals are not treated as a single national moment, but as a series of distinct regional occasions with sharply defined consumer behaviour.

James Varghese, Founder and CEO of full-service media agency, OTS Communications, said, “The advertising playbook is outstandingly localised into language, cultural cues, and media channels for each region,” he says. 

According to Varghese, nearly 60-75% of festival budgets were deployed in states where relevance, intent and return on investment are strongest, Tamil Nadu for Pongal; Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for Makar Sankranti; and Punjab, Haryana and Delhi NCR for Lohri. 

“[These investments] are driven by high-impact local TV, OOH, retail and language-specific creatives,” Varghese added. 

A smaller share, approximately 15-25%, was allocated to large urban centres such as Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and NCR to reach migrant populations through digital platforms, mall media and influencers. National, symbolic presence was limited to 5-10% of overall spends, deployed via social media, PR-led narratives or thematic brand films. 

“All in all, brands would rather go deep in markets than wide across the country, although these festivals get broader visibility through OOH, OTT and social media,” he said. 

This media strategy set the context for how campaigns unfolded on the ground. 

Marketing to preserve cultural significance

A significant evolution in harvest-centric marketing involved the transition from mere representation to genuine cultural relevance. Instead of simply illustrating festivals, brands began reinterpreting rituals, adapting them into modern contexts while preserving their inherent significance.

Flipkart’s Pongal campaign exemplified this approach. Rather than centring the festival around discounts or celebrity endorsement, the brand built its entire narrative around one of Pongal’s most recognisable rituals, the moment when milk boils over in the pot, symbolising abundance and prosperity. Conceptualised by 22feet Tribal WW, the idea was translated into a digital-first interactive experience where users timed the boil to unlock offers. The mechanic itself relied on cultural familiarity, requiring participation rather than passive consumption.

To roll out the campaign, Flipkart timed the launch with Pongal weekend, a peak period for Tamil cinema marked by major releases and packed theatres. The brand introduced the idea through a theatrical trailer that echoed the scale and energy of the festive season, placing the campaign within a moment of heightened cultural visibility.

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“The important thing to remember while crafting campaigns around regional festivals is that you need to go beyond tropes and shallow themes and identify real consumer behaviours around the festival,” said Vishnu Srivatsav, National Creative Head, 22feet Tribal WW.

Referring to the creative direction behind the campaign, Srivatsav said the team deliberately focused on what he described as the most significant moment of Pongal. “This year, we placed the activation in the boiling of Pongal in the Pongal pot, which is the most important moment of the celebration,” he said.

Summing up the creative approach, he said, “When you look beyond the Wikipedia page of a festival and understand associated consumer behaviour, you come across as an insider celebrating within the culture, rather than an outsider wishing people for a festival.”

Zivame’s in-store Pongal celebrations intended to blend traditional décor with an immersive retail experience. The idea was to spotlight lingerie beyond stereotypes. Zivame said that the brand has been built around the routines and lived realities of Indian women, and that in a city like Chennai, festivals such as Pongal represent togetherness, making it important for the brand to celebrate these moments alongside women.

Kiruba Devi, COO Zivame said, “For a festival like Pongal, what matters most is not literal language translation, but cultural intent. Hyperlocal storytelling is about understanding the emotion, rhythm, and meaning of the festival, and expressing it in ways that feel familiar and respectful. Simple gestures — local visual cues, store décor inspired by the season, and a tone that aligns with how people celebrate — often resonate more than overtly scripted or generic festive messaging.”

A similar cultural sensitivity was reflected in South Indian Bank’s Pongal campaign, which relied on relational storytelling rooted in everyday life. The film avoided visual spectacle and instead focused on familiar moments such as family gatherings, inter-generational interactions and shared daily routines during the harvest season. Pongal was presented not just as a festive day, but as a period shaped by family bonds and continuity.

The bank remained in the background throughout the narrative. It appeared as a steady, long-term presence within these settings, positioned as part of the local landscape rather than the centre of attention. Sony A, GM & Chief Information Officer, South Indian Bank said, “Pongal commands a significant share of our Tamil Nadu–focused advertising spend, as it is one of the highest consumer-engagement periods in the state. Buoyant agricultural income cycles, heightened MSME activity, and increased household spending make Pongal a critical window for financial decision-making.” 

“At an industry level, festive advertising in Tamil Nadu during Pongal has consistently seen mid-to-high double-digit growth, while digital now accounts for over 45% of overall ad spends in India.”

Reflecting these trends, he said South Indian Bank’s Pongal allocation was weighted towards digital-first, vernacular and culturally rooted storytelling, complemented by radio and on-ground activations. Digital continued to work strongly for region-specific campaigns, while radio and physical activations played a critical role in driving consideration, engagement and on-ground action during the festive period.

He added, “This ensures consistency in South Indian Bank’s brand values, while keeping communication culturally rooted, contextual and meaningful to the communities we serve.”

Raja Chakraborty, CMO, Continental Coffee, underscored the importance of this approach, “Brands are a part of consumers’ everyday life. India is a continent in itself, with every state having its own culture, festivals and unique nuances. These differences are most prominent in southern states like Tamil Nadu. Therefore, it is extremely critical for brands to be culturally relevant before being functionally relevant. Consumers also value brands that come across as one of their own. Festivals provide a clear opportunity to do that.”

If Pongal marketing this year leaned into culture and rituals, Lohri campaigns were shaped by intimacy and emotional familiarity. In North India, Lohri is less about individual celebration and more about a collective pause, families gathering around bonfires, and conversations unfolding in shared spaces.

Parle-G’s Lohri film highlighted the festival’s cultural resonance this year. Set in rural Punjab, it follows a father who moves to Canada and a daughter determined to revive the family’s failing fields with modern farming methods. The story culminates in a Lohri celebration on their restored land, with the brand subtly present in the background, an example of how brands this season leaned into cultural relevance rather than overt promotion.

The campaign was conceptualised and executed by Thought Blurb Communications. “Lohri is one of those rare festivals where emotion precedes commerce. In North India, it marks a collective pause to celebrate warmth, togetherness and gratitude after the harvest,” said Nidha Luthra, Executive Director, Thought Blurb Communications. “Being a Punjabi myself, Lohri has always been less about buying something new and more about coming together around the bonfire, shared food and familiar rituals.”

This cultural understanding shaped the film’s creative approach. Luthra noted that the festival typically drives spikes in in-home consumption and sharing-led purchases, making everyday food categories especially relevant during the period. “Festivals like Lohri resonate most when they are treated as lived experiences rather than surface-level symbols,” she said, adding that cultural authenticity matters more than spectacle.

“Lohri is a festival that represents gratitude, hope, and togetherness, which makes it a very meaningful moment in North India. During this time, families spend more time together at home and gravitate towards brands that feel familiar and trustworthy. Our Lohri film reflected this behaviour,” said Mayank Shah, Vice President, Parle Products. “Festivals like Lohri resonate most when they are treated as lived experiences rather than surface-level symbols. In our campaign, Lohri is not a backdrop but a meaningful moment that brings people together.”

Expanding on the creative philosophy, Luthra said the difference between meaningful integration and surface-level symbolism lay in participation rather than decoration. “Surface-level symbolism is when Lohri becomes just visuals like bonfires, peanuts, rewri and folk music. Meaningful integration happens when brands enter the moment with a role, not a logo,” she said, adding that the Parle-G film used the harvest moment to explore deeper themes of family, land and continuity, allowing the product to appear as a natural part of the celebration rather than the reason for it.

OOH emerged as the most popular medium

For elements already integrated into the daily routine, harvest festivals provided a chance to strengthen cultural closeness instead of pursuing novelty. Coffee, especially in Tamil Nadu, was firmly situated within this category.

Continental Coffee's Pongal campaign was predicated upon this understanding. Acknowledging coffee’s function as a daily ritual rather than a sporadic indulgence, the brand developed a multi-touchpoint experience. The creative narrative established a connection between the concept of a 'fresh start,' which is integral to both coffee consumption and the festival itself.

Sharing the media approach behind the campaign, Chakraborty said, “Festivals like Pongal align naturally with coffee, as both symbolise a fresh start and a sense of hope and positivity. Brands today need to go beyond product promotion and connect with consumers by celebrating cultural moments and festivities alongside them. Our Pongal campaign spans television, outdoor, and social media, anchored by a specially curated Pongal TVC. In addition, the festivity will be brought to life through in-store merchandising.”

The campaign transformed key city touchpoints into a vibrant, Pongal-inspired visual experience that resonated deeply with local audiences. The execution celebrated Tamil Nadu’s traditions through thoughtfully curated cultural elements, including traditional Pongal pot installations, life-like sugarcane décor, banana leaf accents, rangoli-inspired artwork and rich festive colour palettes, turning everyday OOH formats into warm, festive moments.

Zivame marked Pongal with an in-store event at its Phoenix Marketcity Mall outlet in Chennai, bringing the festival into a retail setting. The event was inaugurated by actor Megha Akash, who also offered a preview of the brand’s upcoming Grand Lingerie Festival, scheduled to begin on 30 January.

The store was styled with Pongal-themed décor, and the celebration centred on showcasing Zivame’s product range across lingerie, shapewear, sleepwear, loungewear and athleisure. 

Speaking on the brand’s retail approach to the festival, Devi said, “During Pongal, a combination of physical retail presence, regional PR and social media tends to deliver the strongest impact.” She added that in-store experiences take on added importance during the period, as they “allow brands to connect with consumers at a moment when they are already in a festive, community-oriented mindset”.

Devi further noted that regional media and social platforms help extend the brand’s reach, while locally resonant content ensures that communication remains grounded. “The focus is always on consistency, showing up across channels in a way that feels coherent, familiar and culturally aligned.”

A similar instinct can be observed in marketing around Makar Sankranti in Gujarat, another harvest celebration with distinct regional behaviours. “What’s happening in Gujarat during Sankranti isn’t just a festival anymore,” said Suyash Lahoti, Partner at Wit & Chai Group. “It’s one of the cleanest tourism and consumption spikes in the country.” Rooftops become social arenas, streets transform into food corridors, and the sky itself becomes a shared visual language through kite-flying.

This transformation is the result of decades of consistent cultural positioning, most notably through the International Kite Festival hosted in Ahmedabad since 1989.

Sharing insights on mediums that worked well in Gujarat this harvest season, Pranav Dangi, CEO and Founder of hostel chain, Hosteller, said, “Gujarat is a market where high-impact traditional media like OOH still works extremely well, especially during festivals. However, the key during Makar Sankranti is not loud visibility, but contextual presence. Rooftop billboards, transit OOH, and city-centric formats work best when they align with the visual energy of the festival rather than overpower it.” 

Taking to OOH, HOCCO installed a life-size ice cream cone in Ahmedabad, with the scoop reimagined as a cluster of vibrant pinwheels. The display captured the spirit of Uttarayan, celebrating motion, colour, and joy. 

“These events are time-bound and emotionally specific,” Chakraborty added. “Force-fitting generic messaging does not work. Media choices were driven by the creative idea.” 
 
The 2026 harvest season highlighted a shift in how brands engage with regional festivals. Marketing is increasingly rooted in local culture, daily routines, and shared experiences, with a focus on presence and participation rather than broad visibility. Depth of connection, alignment with regional practices, and attention to context have become central to how campaigns are planned and executed, making the season as much about cultural engagement as commercial activity.