The Dos and Don’ts of cultural and regional storytelling during festivals

Staying culturally appropriate with regional storytelling during festivals is a must for brands in this day and age. With the younger generation forming their own sense of identity and what they consider to be appropriate, brands need to keep a check on the things to watch out for this festive season. 

Social Samosa's Festive Marketing Camp brings a panel discussion on 'Brand Storytelling with India's Cultural Palette' with industry experts sharing their insights on what makes an appropriate conversation, the dos and don'ts of brand storytelling, ways to connect with Gen Z and avoiding festive fatigue. 

Panellists:

Shrenik Gandhi, Co-founder and CEO, White Rivers Media (Moderator)

Ashwini Nagarkatti - Category Lead, Piramal Consumer Products Division

Binda Dey - CMO, KKR (Knight Riders Group)

Devesh Rohmetra, Creative and Social Media Director, Shaadi.com

Nabh Gupta - Ex Social Media Lead at Amazon Prime Video and Ex Content Partnerships Head at IMDb

Sub-culture - The new demographic

Festivals and weddings are happening everywhere, but you need to measure the impact when it comes to storytelling, as per Devesh Rohmetra. He elaborates that generations like Gen X, Y and Z are seeing festivals differently and that reaching out to each of them in their own niche matters.

“If you're going cultural and regional, you need to get your core right,” Devesh Rohmetra comments.

Nabh Gupta believes that brands should fundamentally take a step back and observe what culture and sub-culture mean in October 2023 and then define it to resonate with the audience. What this means is that different age groups and demographics could be a part of the same culture like Gaming, anime or more. 

“A culture is a three-dimensional object, namely, the literature, the social or the peer culture and the national identity culture. Subculture arises in either of these three.”

Having some amount of context within the subculture can help make the messaging clear. He further mentions that if marketers are culturally off, your trailer will flop. 

Connecting with Gen Z

“For Gen Z, storytelling lies in authenticity,” says KKR’s Binda Dey. 

When it comes to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), the core fan following comes from Kolkata, West Bengal, but it also comes from Shah Rukh Khan (SRK)’s fan base in the country and globally. The franchise partakes in CSR campaigns wherein businesses and players come together to raise funds for charities. 

Dey mentions, “We don’t want to call it a marketing campaign, because if it’s going to have a social impact, we make it authentic because Gen Z appreciates it.” 

The franchise connects with its target audience by ‘closing the loop’ and showing the impact of its CSR campaigns.

“Gen Z likes to stand apart,” says Ashwini Nagarkatti. “In that context, pitch your product as the new cool thing to do. Plug in your brand by being relevant.”

Using that in relation to building a presence and being relevant during the festive period, Nagarkatti mentions that you have to show the benefits of your products and be present in their mind by being honest and helping disseminate information on things that can be considered taboo.

Dos and Don’ts of cultural storytelling

One key factor to stay away from when it comes to cultural appropriation is sticking to the conversations that are relevant to the brand, according to Shaadi.com’s Devesh Rohmetra.

“If you don't understand certain cultural nuances, do not fake it to be a part of the conversation,” comments Devesh Rohmetra. 

Culture does change every few kilometers but it also changes every few years, he continues. Giving an example, Rohmetra observes that brands a few years ago used to show crackers in their Diwali campaigns but now, there’s a trend of them staying away from it due to being environmentally conscious. The key is to be authentic. 

“Culture appropriation and appreciation is a 'band'. To not land on the bad side, do the core homework.” Nabh Gupta.

In today’s day and time, people are willing to put their lives out on the internet and tell you a little about what they like. This to marketers is the biggest advantage, elaborates Gupta. 

He asserts that brands have the duty of doing the core homework, not to be ‘cool’ with their messaging but to be honest and to avoid feeding the festive fatigue.

Ashwini Nagarkatti suggests brands also need to be mindful of being offensive. 

“Brands today don't pay heed to details in the vitality chase. If you want to be a changemaker, you have to be mindful about not being offensive.”

She also mentions that the focus shouldn’t just be on making a tear-jerking advertisement just to bring emotions out. Brands need to see how relevant they are in that context. 

This panel discussion was a part of Social Samosa's Festive Marketing Camp and featured the following gifting partners - The Body Shop, French Essence, and The Love Co.