A cautiously optimistic Onam for brands this year

A subdued & cautiously optimistic Onam for brands this year
In the run up to Onam, leading brands see positive signs and remain cautiously optimistic about the biggest festival in Kerala

Every year, Onam kick-starts the festive season in India, a period when consumers loosen their purse strings and brands up their ad spends to remain on top of the consumers’ mind. However, for the last two years, Onam celebrations have been muted. Last year, the floods ravaged Kerala and this year the Covid-19 pandemic has significantly impacted both consumer demand and advertising spends. Brands are looking at Onam and the upcoming festive season to drum up sales and make up for some of the losses accounted in the first quarter of the financial year.

A Subdued Onam
Commenting on the ground situation in Kerala, Kishankumar Shyamalan, Vice President, Wavemaker India, says, “Traditionally advertisers over index on the Kerala market during Onam. This year, advertisers' response to Onam has not been very exciting. But in spite of all the challenges Malayalis have been facing, there is money and intent to celebrate and shop.” He adds, “However, there are still many containment zones in the state, and as implementation of Covid-19 rules are strict, e-commerce is not able to fulfill demand in these areas. But the government has provided relaxed timings and that should help.” 

Giving his perspective on the current business environment, Nandagopal Nair, Vice President & Head – Brand & Communications, V-Guard, says, “Business environment has been challenging this year and the festive mood is a bit subdued this Onam season owing to the unfortunate pandemic. We are cautiously optimistic about Onam festive demand this year.”
Stating the importance of the state and festive season for auto players, Vivek Srivatsa – Head - Marketing, Passenger Vehicles Business Unit, Tata Motors, says, “The festive season has always been an important one for Tata Motors and the auto industry alike. Onam in particular is symbolic for us, as it kick-starts the festive season. Kerala has always been an important market for us. Currently, our Passenger Vehicles (PV) Business Unit holds the second rank in terms of sales in the state. Historically, the sentiment towards our vehicles has been positive in the state and the appreciation for our PV product range has helped us reach this milestone in Kerala.
 
Keeping Safety Paramount
With consumers still sceptical about stepping out of their homes, brands are highlighting the safety factor in their communication. On its part, Tata Motors has been working towards making an impact among its customer base in Kerala by maintaining a consistent media presence across the state while catering to consumer considerations and needs. This has been the case throughout the month of August and Tata Motors will continue to maintain the same momentum till Chingam, which marks the end of Onam, on September 17. Says Srivatsa, “Bearing in mind that the coronavirus pandemic has made customers reluctant about venturing out, a primary challenge would be to urge our customers to visit our showrooms and dealerships. To address this, our approach this festive season is to focus more on safety along with conveying the positivity of festivals as a theme, to communicate with our customers. The assurance of customer safety and promoting ‘Vocal for Local’ are the key communication elements for us in that regard. We also have released communication that is reflective of the festive mood through our ‘Festival of Happiness’ theme to infuse cheer in our customers’ and vehicle owners’ celebrations this year.”

Adds Nair, “V-Guard is not only striving to communicate to consumers about its new products but brand has also attempted to stress on the importance of celebrating Onam safely in current times through a series of socially relevant content pieces on social media.” Brands have also incentivising consumers in a bid to boost sales and buying sentiment among consumers. On its part, V-Guard has partnered with Bajaj Finance Retail EMI (REMI) Cards to offer affordable finance options for consumer purchases and make the product accessible during this challenging period.

Historically, the month of Onam marks the biggest consumption period for brands in Kerala. However, retail as a sector has been impacted significantly by the pandemic, and for retail brands, the ease of shopping has been a key strategy. Says Prachi Mohapatra, CMO, Fbb,”Onam is a huge consumption occasion across categories. But in the current scenario where there’s the fear of pandemic, Big Bazaar ensured that all its customers are served with everything they require for the festival under one roof and enable the customer to not only shop from the store but from the comfort of his/her home. We also have Big Bazaar vans driving to societies to enable the customer to shop from the doorsteps and have deployed a virtual shopping assistant at big stores.” 

Reaching Out To The Consumer

Brands and retailers state that the response to advertising has been positive and while the footfalls in stores have dropped, people who visit the stores are consumers who come with the intention of purchasing. To attract this buyer, brands are using traditional and digital media. Says Srivatsa, “To reach our customers, especially this year, while they are in the comfort and safety of their homes, we are maintaining our presence on all 360-degree media touchpoints - from prime-time shows on television and top stations on the radio, to key publications in print media along with outdoor advertisements in areas with high visibility and footfall. Additionally, digital outreach through the means of content creation has allowed us to reach our customers from across the country and we are focusing on the same to stay in touch with our target audience.”

Adds Mohapatra, “In the current scenario, we are digital heavy with front page print ads across Kerala.” While Print distribution was impacted by the pandemic, Kerala was an exception as circulation numbers returned to pre-covid-19 levels within a short time after the lockdown was imposed. The dominance of Print in Kerala media has had brands invest in Print.

While V-Guard has been cautious in promotional spends this year, its communication outreach has been a judicious mix of traditional media like TV & the emerging digital medium. Says Nair, “With increased interest in News genre, we are reaching out to consumers through the lead news channel for focus product categories like Kitchen appliances & TV stabilizers. Apart from spots on the channel we have also leveraged laptop branding to keep the brand salient as well as make aware its product range by rotation of skin in one of the leading Malayalam news channel. Brand is also leveraging social media to converse with consumers not just about our products but also reinforce need to celebrate Onam responsibly through socially relevant communication pieces. V-Guard has launched exciting tie-ups making Onam purchase affordable for consumers & we are leveraging print & online news medium to make consumers aware of these offerings.” The brand has also created excusive content pieces for its trade partners which can be customize and communicate to consumers online.
How will Onam Fare This year?

So, how will Onam fare this year. As per Shyamalan, “While auto, consumer durables and local retail have seen some traction, categories like apparel has been hit badly. Overall, I hope Onam will be slightly better than last year.” Taking a cautious approach Nair states, “At this point, it is difficult to predict demand as situation is very dynamic. We are keenly observing market and are geared up to address any spike in consumer demand for our relevant product categories. As we communicate we are into the business end of the festival and the next ten days will determine how the festival sales has been.”

On an optimistic note Fbb and Tata Motors say that there has been a step up in demand. Prachi Mohapatra, CMO, Fbb says, “Sales have picked up from the last week as we get closer to the festival. We are seeing a strong high double digit jump in sales pre-campaign which is a positive sign.” Echoing a similar sentiment Srivatsa says, “Customer sentiments towards our New Forever product range has been very positive in Kerala and the surge of bookings during Onam is a testament to that. This year, bookings are much higher as compared to the beginning of the festive season in previous years. With Onam still underway, we are anticipating the best retail levels in the state of Kerala this year.”