Here comes first festival of 2014, the Uttarayan (or the Makar Sankranti), and several brand marketers have launched interesting campaigns to leverage the festivity. When you take a closer look at these campaigns you realize that different brands have different objectives – a few are eyeing an increase in sales via discounts and bonus packs, a few are trying to socialize their products and key messages with consumers, a few are strengthening their brand equity and a few are focused on enhancing their customer experience. A few other interesting observations are – all types of brands (local, national and multinational) are running campaigns across different media platforms; the clear choice is the social media, followed by the print media and then the radio and the OOH. Gujarat emerges as the leading market for promotions followed by the Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Punjab, NCR and others.

ICICI Bank is one of the major national advertisers leveraging the festive season by promoting its Tab Banking offering to facilitate new account opening from the comfort of your home or office. They have been advertising in newspapers, on the Internet and on billboards placed at strategic locations. The visual on the creative shows a diligent executive helping his customer open a bank account while the customer is enjoying the Uttarayan festival. The ad copy outlines a consumer-centric message with the help of a heading and a brand-centric message with the help of a sub-heading. The body copy explains a bit more about Tab Banking and provides a call-to-action. The brand positioning statement has been reinforced in the closing line. Overall all elements look finely blended!

Another print advertisement that appeared in the Ahmadabad Times recently is that of Vodafone India. The company is promoting its 3G dongle as the one that offers fastest download @ 21.2Mbps. The company is encouraging consumers to download their favourite movies. The creative uses a kite that has Bollywood stars on it. Although the visual element is not as perfectly blended like the former, Vodafone has leveraged the Uttarayan spirit. A local eye care brand, R Kumar Opticians, has positioned sun glasses as an essential safety accessory while flying kites!

Dell India has announced 100% cash back for lucky winners who purchase a Dell Inspiron 11 this Sankranti. They are primarily running their campaigns in the print media and over the Internet. Several other smaller and local brands have announced limited period offers to lure customers.

Finally, a leading radio station, Radio Mirchi (Ahmedabad), has come up with a social initiative to protect lives of commuters using two-wheelers from brutal patang manjha (thread), by distributing free life saving neck safety belts in various parts of the city. In an interview, Sumit Aggarwal, Cluster Head, Radio Mirchi, Gujarat said, “In addition to bringing entertainment to Amdavadis, we intend to evolve as a responsible media company and this activity is a step in that direction.” The campaign has received good response and commuters have been queuing up to collect the safety belt. This Radio Mirchi initiative is presented by CIMS Hospital, in association with Sanghi Cement, The Grand Bhagwati and Boulevard9 Luxury Resort & Spa.

So while you enjoy the KaiPoChe cheers around and while you are busy admiring your kites flying high in the sky, brand marketers are holding the firki and giving dheel to the kite.