Onam celebrations have begun and it is a period when brands up their marketing spends by 25-40 per cent along with various promotional offers and campaigns.
National and regional brands roll out innovative marketing strategies to capture the consumers’ attention as Onam also kick-starts the festival season in the country.
Categories like retail, jewellery, FMCG, automobile, and consumer durables are expected to splurge in a big way for advertising in the Kerala market. It is an important period for brands to strengthen the emotional bond with consumers.
Marketing initiatives
Indian consumer durables manufacturer- Onida is going full hog in marketing to capture the consumer’s attention at dealer’s shop plus brand building activities outside shops to increase market share. Onida is expecting 30 percent growth in washing machines and 20 per cent growth in air conditioners.
The company has rolled out its new marketing activities wherein they will be placing hundreds of welcome arch gates outside the dealer outlets across Kerala. More than 50 hoardings will be displayed across the state. Also they will be placing glow sign boards at all the major counters. Other POS materials are already being put up in the dealer counters.
For consumers, Onida has rolled out Onam ‘gold rush’ offer where they can get a gold coin on purchase of select Onida products in Kerala till the end of the season. Also, extended warranties and exciting finance offers have been activated.
Speaking to exchange4media, Vijay Mansukhani – MD MIRC Electronics (makers of Onida), said, “Kerala has been our focus area for a long time. We are equally excited to celebrate Onam along with our consumers. On this happy occasion we would like to bring smiles to our consumers on each purchase of our products.”
Nestle India actively participates in the festive period with special packs and campaigns across many brands.
Nikhil Chand, Director – Foods and Confectionery, Nestlé India, said, “Nestle Munch has been the most loved treat in Kerala for more than two decades. For Onam this year, the brand brings to life the story of how it helps a group of kids to make the Onam of their favourite neighbourhood Muthassi (grand mom) special. These kids make a specially-designed beautiful pookalam (floral designs) for her. It is an emotional campaign of coming together and celebrating the joys of Onam with Munch pookalam packs.”
Similarly, Nestle Milkybar, another popular brand, has launched a special pack highlighting interesting details about the 10 days of Onam in a creative manner. This pack can be used by mothers to share rich traditions and cultural stories with their kids in a playful and engaging manner.
“Along with the pack, Milkybar has a Onam special TVC starring the star duo from a popular soap on Asianet, talking about the special tradition of Pulikali and highlighting the fact on how the joy of festivals multiplies when we know the traditions and why are we celebrating,” added Chand.
MyG, the gadget retail network from Kerala, is expecting a turnover of around Rs 300 crore during the Onam period which is around 30 per cent more than last year.
Speaking on the advertising and marketing budgets of MyG for Onam, AK Shaji, CMD, MyG, said, “We are spending around 12 crore for marketing and advertising activities during Onam which includes production and media budget. We use multiple media such as Print, Television, Digital, OOH and other direct marketing tools.”
Elaborating on the major marketing and advertising strategies by MyG during the festive season, Shaji added, “In television we are focusing on the brand campaigns where we give them (consumers) reasons to shop at MyG and to prefer us over our competitors. In print, digital and outdoor we are going for tactical campaigns. We have signed Malayalam super star Mohanlal as our brand ambassador and this will add strength to both the brand as well as our tactical campaigns.”
Senco Gold and Diamonds expect a sales and revenue growth of 10 per cent during the Onam period.
Speaking on the brand’s marketing plans, Suvankar Sen, Executive Director-Senco Gold and Diamonds said, “We keep good amount of budget for marketing activities planned for throughout the year. For the festive season we boost up the marketing activities to reach our customers with attractive offers and special designs, sometimes a special jewellery collection to celebrate the festival. We communicate with our customers using SMS, phone calls, and social media along with advertisements – outdoor as well as electronic media.”
Frozen foods brand Sumeru is planning to double their revenue during Onam. Mithun Appaiah, CEO-Innovative Foods Ltd-Brand Sumeru, said, “As compared to last year, we plan to double our revenue during Onam as most of our products are used by households to make delicacies which include grated coconut, green peas, paneer etc. We are launching special assorted festive packs for our consumers so that they get to try a variety of Sumeru products.”
“Festive seasons have been very important for us as we have consumers across different parts of the world. We have regional specific BTL activities planned like – Durga Puja for Kolkata, Ganesha for Mumbai, Onam for Kerala and Diwali and Dussehra for other important markets,” added Appaiah.
Through their campaigns, Eastern Group is looking to strengthen the emotional connect with their consumers.
Firoz Meeran, Managing Director, Eastern Condiments, said, “This festive season we have come up with two campaigns. Eastea's video against fake news carries forward the concept of ‘Share the Goodness’. Our intention through this 30-second video is to spread awareness on the usage of social media and create social and cultural awareness around what we see on a regular basis. For another campaign we have roped in Pazhayidom Mohanan Namboothiri, who is the master chef of Kerala delicacies.”
Hopes from Onam
“We have high expectations. Last year Onam sales were completely disrupted because of the floods. This year the beginning week of the season was also badly affected due to heavy rains and landslides. But the trend is changing and this year Onam being in mid-September gives time for the market to settle down and surge forward,” said Shaji.
According to Appaiah, Onam is going to positively impact the economy which will increase the inflows of money. “Kerala being our top-selling region we have hopes to see better consumer response and increase in the purchasing trend which leads to a positive impact on Sumeru,” he added.
Meeran said, “For Onam 2019, our primary focus is to reach out all Malayalis around the world. We are actively engaged in various e-commerce sites, as engaging worldwide customers is a paramount factor to success.”