Why regional marketing is the big gamechanger

Have you ever noticed push notifications in your regional language? Or come across ads with local actors? If you have been seeing more instances of local advertising, it's no coincidence.

The last decade has seen some massive changes in India, aside from society and politics, on the business front. With people becoming more socially conscious, brands are now inculcating inclusivity and self-awareness.

Earlier in the day, there weren't many variations in the style of marketing. Today, things have changed and India being a country of many languages and cultures, companies are now shunning a generalised approach to advertising and focusing on regional marketing.

Swiggy Instamart recently launched a brand campaign called “Healthy Disses” featuring the southern stars Simran and R. Madhavan. It shows a mix of 30-second TV spots created to reframe ordinary, everyday banter in a Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, and Malayali household. 

Cinthol’s new advertising campaign, titled ‘Dreams shine the brightest under the scorching sun’ is built on the insight that the aspirations of women in Tamil Nadu today have evolved.

Tata Sampann from Tata Consumer Products launched its first-ever ad film for the southern market this week, featuring actress Priyamani in a double role.



Similarly, brands have also been focusing on the eastern market with Tata Tea Leaf coming up with its integrated campaign for Chhath puja celebrated across Bihar and Jharkhand, which included four special Chhath packs, one pack for each day of the four-day festival showcasing the customs associated with the day.

Licious has also been focusing on the Bengal region by coordinating with Bengali actors like Parambrata Chattopadhyay./


Quite interestingly, this sort of approach has been welcomed by experts in the field and they believe that of the drastic differences in culture across India, this could be a game changer.

Focus on the South

The South Indian states have been a focal point for national brands as the market down south is huge and welcoming. Brands want to make the best of it, and hence keep a close tab on the go-arounds in this region.

Laj Salam, the founder of Plainspeak, puts his thoughts on the topic into perspective. “Advertising is always for the masses and in India, so diversified like nowhere else; regional marketing is the key for almost every brand. If you take South India cultural nuances are so different from other parts of India and in fact, each state in the south is different from the other. So, one campaign or dubbed versions or subtitled ones won’t work in this market.”

Laeeq Ali, co-founder, Bloombox Brand Engineers and Convenor, CII Karnataka Startup Panel, says, “South India, to me, is many countries within one country. The regional nuances attached to each of the states as well as audiences are very different. What appeals to a Malayalee will not necessarily appeal to a Kannadiga and the same applies to Tamilian and Teluguite too."

Ali makes a case for regional marketing as a way for brands to get further traction in southern markets. "With digital at the forefront, it has become that much easier for the brands to do insightful work targeting a focused audience," he emphasises. "While earlier the focus for brands was to be global, now the opportunity is to be truly glocal. Today, we are able and we have to communicate seamlessly to the local audience in their regional language, so they are able to relate to you. The age of one size fits all, is done and dusted with.”

Tips to go glocal

Hareesh Tibrewala, joint CEO of Mirum India enumerates the ways in which brands can implement regional marketing in India. “SEM /SEO / social media marketing and content marketing are some low-hanging fruits. For one of our clients (AMFI), we have created the website (mutualfundssahihai.com) in 8 different regional languages and all content including videos is available in the local languages. We see good traffic on these pages from the native language-speaking audience.

"For another client of ours, we ran Google SEM campaigns in a regional language. We found the competition for keywords and therefore the cost per click in regional languages, substantially less. Thus, it is time for pan-national brands to have regional marketing as part of their brand marketing strategy.”

Salam believes using influencers to reach the local audience is a great way to engage with different cultures. “Brands need to get to know their unique, regional audience. And they will have to create distinct campaigns for each region. When it comes to media selection, one rule doesn’t fit everywhere. Brands need to beyond language and get right in aspects like nuance, culture and choice of media channel and genre. Usage of regional celebrities and influencers can definitely bring a positive impact to the overall marketing strategy.”

Ali highlights how regional advertising is changing the marketing world. “Consumers, especially regional ones, are smarter than you think. Their worldly exposure through digital is leading to much higher expectations from brands. They are becoming choosier and are wanting to associate with brands that are truly playing a role in their lives and brands that stand for a cause.

"While the regional publications & channels like Hindu, Malayala Manorama, Eenadu, Zee Kannada, Asianet, etc. have a good reach to the regional audience, the thrust on digital ads, creator economy & innovation, is opening up a whole new dimension to reach out to the regional audiences. The ability to personalize the experiences on digital via influencers, automation and regional content is slowly and steadily changing the marketing dynamics.”