Festivals are one of the many things that are found in abundance in India. And with them they bring along – opportunities to connect, for people, businesses and brands alike.
Every festival has something special, a story or a particular Lord associated, and that’s what lets brands to go creative and pop something up that lures the consumers, in the form of products, offers or promotions.
With the advent of social media, the canvas has loomed large and the strokes even more under scrutiny. Reluctant to lag behind in the race to befriend the stranger called consumer, my Facebook wall was filled with Ganesh Chaturthi wishes from almost every brand that had an Indian connection.
Most of them went by in passing for they just aimed to check the boxes, while a couple of them caught my attention as they played it well.
Chumbak and Oreo India try to make a difference
Chumbak, a chain of stores that are famous for fridge magnets and other paraphernalia like keychains, mobile covers, wallpapers, shorts, tees, etc, always have been in the list of eye-catchers when it comes to handling and maintenance of their Facebook page.
This time around to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi, along with the wishes, they came up with a wonderfully designed cover page and an equally appealing display picture. It was a welcome change to see such an effort when all other brands did, was posting hackneyed images, available over the net.
The experience turned “wow” when I learnt, that the display and the cover picture were not mere designs but products launched on the occasion of the Chaturthi. The cover page was a wallpaper, while display picture – a fridge magnet, the flagship product of Chumbak!
Another brand that aimed to take advantage of the event a bit more openly was Oreo India. They expanded their existing app designed to share recipes using Oreo to include a few recipes for “modaks” featuring Oreo biscuits as a key ingredient. It’s important to mention that “modaks” are the favorite dessert of Lord Ganesha, making them an essential part of the Chaturthi celebrations.
Further, they too had a specially designed cover & display picture, where “modaks” can be seen to be replaced with Oreo biscuits.
Lord Ganesha, more than for sincerity and being a remover of obstacles, is synonymous with fun, frolic and adorns the image of a deity that’s cute. The two brands that put the Lord and the festival to a good use are also fun and light in terms of their identity, and hence were in perfect sync.
Could it have been better?
Brands cashing in to bring about better engagement during festivals is not a new phenomenon. We have seen brand’s doing the same in the traditional world but most of these brands try to connect only by wishing fans or even sharing the same content that is already being shared at other pages. At the same time, if we go by the number of festivals in India then creating campaigns for all of them would not be feasible always.
Similarly, Oreo India didn’t do a huge campaign but has done better compared to others. The brand not only blended the festival of modaks with the Oreo brand but also promoted this with its fan base on Facebook.
Chumbak, on the other hand, lost out on the opportunity. Neither the brand promoted the products launched for the occasion nor it spoke about them with its fans. The brand could have tried the ‘Promoted Posts’ and the ‘Facebook Offers’ to build a buzz. Facebook Offers could also drive offline engagement to stores as well. Even though the brand had genuine and interesting content for the occasion but it lacked in promoting. Today, you not only need good and genuine content but also the will to ensure that your content gains maximum visibility!
What do you think about brands leveraging engagement during festivals? Do you think they could improve upon it or do let us know if you know a brand who does it well.