Experiential marketing gains ground in festive season strategies

The festive season in India has always been a marketer’s paradise, streets lined with hoardings, airwaves filled with jingles, and social media feeds overflowing with campaigns. But in this noisy backdrop, how does one campaign truly stand out from the rest? At the panel ‘Winning Cultural Moments with Experiential Marketing’ at the Festive Marketing Camp, industry leaders Naveen Murali, VP – Marketing, SUGAR Cosmetics, Jayesh Yagnik, CEO, MOMS Outdoor Media Solutions, and Tara Kapur, India Market Lead, Duolingo English Test, moderated by Hitesh Rajwani, CEO, Social Samosa, explored this question. 

Their conversation highlighted how experiential marketing has moved from being a ‘nice-to-have’ to a necessity, especially during India’s biggest cultural moments.

Authenticity over noise

Every festive season brings a flood of campaigns, often blurring into one another. The panel agreed that experiential marketing has the power to cut through this sameness by creating direct, human connections. For Jayesh Yagnik, the starting point is simple: “The most basic thing is to keep it real. If you keep it real, if you keep it grounded, don’t try any gimmicks when you are doing experiential. It really connects the chord very well.”

He highlighted this with examples from Ganesh Utsav, where brands leveraged cultural traditions in unexpected but authentic ways, like Pulse Candy’s “AI Ganesha” activation, which allowed visitors to whisper their favourite flavour into a digital Mushak and receive that candy. Such activations, Yagnik noted, were memorable because they tapped into cultural rituals without overcomplicating them.

Tara Kapur brought in a different perspective. For the Duolingo English Test, festivals are not times of purchase, but they are opportunities to strengthen community ties, particularly among students abroad who spend festivals away from home. 

She explained that while the product is high-stakes, experiences help humanise it: “You do not have to be everywhere all the time. You need to do what fits your brand, what’s the most authentic, what makes the most sense for your marketing goals.”

For SUGAR Cosmetics, the authenticity challenge lies in blending local insights with the category’s need for touch-and-feel. Naveen Murali shared how activations had to be hyper-contextual, from large-scale pandal experiences during Durga Puja in Bengal to micro, in-store makeovers during Karwa Chauth in the North. The essence, he said, is in execution: even the most innovative idea falls flat if the on-ground interaction doesn’t live up to the promise.

Finding the untapped moments

While big festivals like Diwali, Durga Puja, and Navratri dominate marketing calendars, the panel emphasised the opportunity in less explored, hyperlocal moments. Yagnik cited Swiggy Instamart’s Karwa Chauth activation in North India, where the brand created larger-than-life “chhanis” across housing societies, turning a private ritual into a community experience. Similarly, Tata Salt tapped into the Pandharpur Yatra by setting up rest camps for devotees, connecting its brand promise with cultural needs.

For Duolingo, tapping into overlooked cultural truths has meant stepping outside traditional festive cycles. New Year’s resolutions, for example, are a moment when people commit to self-improvement; a natural fit for a language-learning brand. Kapur explained how Duolingo used this to push gifting subscriptions, escaping the clutter of traditional festivals while finding a culturally relevant entry point.

Murali added that sometimes, brands don’t need to wait for cultural calendars at all. Artificially created brand milestones, like SUGAR’s 10th birthday celebrations, can themselves become experiential platforms, especially when tied to consumer communities and creators. These events, he said, blur the lines between cultural and brand-owned moments.

Large spectacles vs. Hyperlocal intimacy

Experiential marketing comes in many scales, from massive pandal setups to intimate community gatherings. The panellists stressed that each format serves a different purpose, and the right balance is key.

For Murali, large activations drive long-term brand consideration, often amplified by digital and outdoor media, while smaller, hyperlocal activations deliver immediate returns. He explained, “When we do only micro activations, like during Karwa, what we experience there is instant gratification. We see that our sale during that time became 3x or 5x of what it was before.”

Kapur echoed this, distinguishing between “vanity metrics” from large spectacles such as awareness spikes and bottom-of-the-funnel gains from smaller, community-driven experiences that drive referrals. In her category, the latter often brings more meaningful impact.

Yagnik, however, cautioned against confusing experiential with sales-focused marketing. “If you think that experiential will give you reach, then it won’t. It’s the lowest reach medium. It is only going to reach a limited number of people, but… talkability, word of mouth, is what is going to drive it further.”

The nuance, the panel agreed, lies in setting the right KPIs. Large activations drive fame and cultural relevance, while smaller, localised interventions drive deeper connection and, often, quicker sales. Both are necessary, but each must be designed with clarity of purpose.

Festivals and cultural moments are when consumers are most receptive, but also when brands risk being drowned in sameness. The panel concluded that experiential marketing works best when it avoids gimmickry, leans into authenticity, and balances large-scale visibility with hyperlocal intimacy. Most importantly, it must be measured not just in impressions or sales spikes, but in the intangible currency of brand love.

As Murali put it, execution is everything: a single bad moment on the ground can undo the best-laid plans. And in a season when emotions run high, that’s the detail that truly makes the difference.