India is a land of festivals. Religious and cultural values and festivals are woven into the nerves of our country. This land is filled with celebration and devotion all year long. No matter the season, there’s something to look forward to and celebrate in the company of your loved ones.
For marketers, festivals pose a unique opportunity to promote goods and connect with existing and potential customers. Through effective marketing strategies, targeted demographics and lucrative sales, brands have leveraged the power of consumerism and habit of spending during festivities for increased sales. Many others have cashed in on emotions during festivals to enhance the brand image. In this race of sales and popularity, a lot of times, marketers tend to lose the true essence of the festivity. This is especially true in regards to patriotic events like Independence Day or the recently celebrated Republic Day. Which brings us to an important question. Have brands turned historically significant days into mere marketing fests rather than fostering genuine community spirit?
Your media textbooks would say that any festival marketing plan should reflect the spirit of the festive celebration. It must demonstrate how the brand embodies the essence of the festivities. And marketers cracked the code right! The use of patriotic themes, images of the Indian flag soldiers, highlighting our diverse cultures, languages, traditions and with the use of music that resembles our national anthem are just some of the cues they use. Brands try to tap into consumers’ emotions, and evolve a sense of patriotism to create a strong brand connection between their brand, the nation and the consumer. That’s one way to say it.
There’s another angle which we need to explore. Is this how marketing manipulates patriotic sentiment for enhanced consumerism? Here’s some food for though on this. For a long time, businesses have manipulated national identity and patriotism to the benefit and promotions of their product. Leveraging ‘patriotic marketing’ has helped marketers find their foothold in the minds of consumers, and build their image as a ‘nation first brand’. Are brands doing this solely for the sake of moment marketing? We do not know for sure.
National holidays have always been a matter of national pride and celebration of our country’s transition and growth. But the greed to be a little opportunistic has taken over their limelight and shine, thanks to the pre and post sales around these days.
Brands need to be more socially responsible in their approach to rethinking patriotic celebrations patriotic days. Let the sense of unity and pride or patriotism, or
be what drives us on national holidays and not the opportunity to cash in on the feeling of oneness and nationality.
As marketers we have also been a part of the bandwagon. But this has been a question that has clouded our minds far too often. We have always believed in maintaining the sanctity of festivals and holidays through our marketing campaigns. To know more about our brand and work, click here.