INR 759cr. is the sum that the state of Kerala generated because of liquor sales during Onam last year. This is nearly 150cr. more than the cost of the Chandrayaan-3 mission, which goes to prove that Malayalees enjoy festivities, and splurge big during revelries. Naturally, such festivals push brands to become very active. But, hold that thought.
A reluctant market
The festival of Vishu is hot in Kerala, with some even calling it the biggest festival after Onam and Christmas. Celebrating the Malayali New Year, elders of the family give money and gifts to youngsters of the family. Riding on the wave of festivities and gifting, the period sees an uptick in marketing exercises.
Talking about the ad spends around Vishu, Vaibhav Choudhari, Vice President – West, Carat India says, “Brand investments around Vishu (calculated in the month preceding Vishu) have increased by 12-15% over the past year, tapping into the festive sentiments of celebrations and new beginnings amongst consumers. Locally relevant sectors like beauty salons, hotels, restaurants, travel, and events led the spends with a spike of 30% over the previous year.”
Paul Philip, Business Head, Human Stories, a Kerala-based ad agency elucidates, “Vishu marks a new beginning, therefore the communication is set around that theme. With marriage season having kickstarted, retail, jewellery and apparel sectors become particularly active around this time. And since elections are nearing, political parties also joined the communication circus around Vishu.”
However, historically, as far as ad spends are concerned, the occasion is no match for Onam, which stands out as Kerala’s paramount festival. Choudhari reveals that brands spend 35-40% higher during Onam as compared to Vishu. Manoj Mathan, CEO, Radio Mango adds, “Vishu is an important festival in Kerala, second only to Onam. However, it does not see the kind of scale-up in advertising as Onam. Categories like apparel, jewellery and to some extent, consumer durables brands, run Vishu activations.”
Preferred mediums
While Digital is considered the biggest medium in India, the activities around Vishu are centred on traditional mediums. Mass advertising using Print, Radio, Television and OOH is the norm in the space as compared to TG-specific digital advertising.
Notably, Print is the medium that sees the most spends during this period. Speaking about the Vishu campaigns, Sudeep Kumar, General Manager-Media Solutions, Mathrubhumi Printing and Publishing Co. shares, “To my knowledge, nothing very special or interesting has come out this Vishu. And if we look at ad spends on our platform, there has only been a slight jump over the previous year.”
Speaking about the brands’ attention to Digital before the festival, Boby Paul, Senior General Manager, Marketing, ManoramaOnline remarks, “During the last couple of years, because of COVID, the possibilities were limited, so, all the focus was on Digital. That time, we had a phenomenal Vishu and other festivities. But as Vishu fell on a Sunday this year, and Eid was somewhere in the middle, there wasn’t much action. As far as the Digital wing is concerned, we did not have any special activations or campaigns on our platform. It was quite lacklustre for us.”
Laj Salam, Founder and Managing Director, Plainspeak, an ad agency from Kerala, however, believes that the combined impact of Eid and Vishu gave rise to some noteworthy campaigns on digital. He says, “Most of the campaigns had a combined effect. We had two FMCG brands – KPL Shudhi Oil & Muralya which had their share of campaigns mostly focussed on the Digital side. Also, this Vishu we saw a huge influx of influencer campaigns, with micro-influencers becoming part of many commercials.”
Experts say that considering that Vishu coincided with the pre-election buzz this year, they saw an increase in ad spends in the pre-Vishu period but unfortunately it included very few Vishu-specific campaigns.
Reaching consumers
Big brands from Kerala such as the Kalyan Group-owned Candere nowadays prefer to place their marketing might on a few big campaigns through the year while FMCG players such as Cholayil use multiple festivals and occasions to flag off new campaigns, the latter option presenting an opportunity to create Vishu specific campaigns in a market like Kerala.
Akshay Matkar, Head of Marketing & Brand Experience & Data, Candere says, “We don’t do a lot of regional campaigns as our target audience primarily resides in Metros. We come up with initiatives during three major periods – jewellery buying occasions like Akshaya Tritiya and Dhanteras, occasion-specific days like Valentine’s Day and Women’s Day, and finally, our tactical activations that we launch close to Republic Day and Independence Day. We do come up with some regional communication dedicating 10-20% of our ad spends for occasions like Vishu, but we don’t release commercials.”
Vishu, however, holds ample prominence when it comes to launching new products. This Vishu, Cholayil launched a new range of Cuticura products, the Rose Fresh and Lavender Mist soaps. Throwing light on the marketing strategies, Anupam Katheriya, CEO, Cholayil remarks, “Over the last few years, our advertising spends around Vishu and other regional festivals have seen a significant jump. Cuticura is a year-round product, and we can strategically curate our campaigns around key festivals throughout the year to maintain a consistent connection with our consumers.”
The celebration of Eid so close to Vishu, and the fervour around the general elections seem to have played a big role in the uptick in ad spends around the Malayali New Year. After all, there have been no significant Vishu campaigns this year. Hopefully, next year more brands will truly participate in the celebrations.
