Introduction: The Clutter of Diwali Ads
Diwali advertisements bomb our screen and our newspapers each year. Emotional movies about reunifying with family and provocative promotional offers, brands do everything to be noticed. But the problem is volume. Amidst hundreds of other similar campaigns competing to be noticed, few Diwali advertisements have any impact on the viewers. They produce awareness yet do not spur action or long term memory.
Consumer behavior has changed today. Customers desire services, engagement, and experiences that last longer than a couple of seconds of screen time. This is where interactive and full-funnel formats are starting to shine over traditional Diwali ads.
Why Traditional Diwali Ads Struggle
The old formats such as TV spots, print spreads, banner advertisements are still being accessed but becoming inactive. They are seen, perhaps people smile, and pass by. Recall is not very long due to the Diwali ad clutter that is at its peak. What is more important is that these formats tend to cease at awareness. They do not start the interaction with the audience on a personal level, solicit data, or develop the audience to buy.
To CMOs, this presents a lost chance. Diwali is not merely about visibility. Build relationships, first-party data capture, and influence purchase journeys It is the largest moment to do so.
The Rise of Interactive Diwali Ads
Interactive formats transform a one-way communication festive campaign into two-way communication. The audiences scan, click, play, and engage, rather than passively view an ad. Examples include:
Gamified quizzes in which participants are tasked with testing their knowledge of the festivities and achieving prizes.
- Video ads that allow customers to add items to cart in real time.
- Jewelry, clothing and cosmetic AR try-ons.
- E-competitions, which would pay in cashback/voucher upon participation.
These formats do not attract attention only. They are more effective throughout the marketing funnels because they capture intent, gather data, and are actionable.
Examples of Notable Diwali Ads
To interpret the change, it would help to consider how brands have done the Diwali ads over the past few years:
- Cadbury “Not Just a Cadbury Ad”: This is a data-driven campaign, which tailored local shop offers into the Diwali creative. It demonstrated the relevance of technology to the ads.
- Amazon, Deliver the Joy: Built around a family reunion and the delight of giving a gift, the joy of telling an emotional story, a tradition.
- Tanishq Festive Campaigns: Featured jewellery as a focus point of celebrating festivals, usually directed towards the cultural practices and sentimental attachment.
- Flipkart Diwali Sale Ads: Known as being messaging-intensive with a large amount of discounts and celebrity endorsement.
These campaigns were effective in their respective manner, however, the majority of them were all about telling stories or price, as opposed to interactive involvement. The following wave of Diwali adverts is different there.
From Awareness to Advocacy: Full-Funnel Thinking
The practical effectiveness of interactive Diwali ads is because they can be used at both ends of the funnel:
- Education: Visual entertaining ads are placed on high reach mediums such as print, CTV and social.
- Consideration: Quizzes, polls and prizes retain viewers in minutes and not seconds.
- Conversion: Data capture (through QR scans, log-ins, redemptions) enables brands to target users with offers again.
- Advocacy: Winners and participants post their experience on social media, which generates organic buzz.
This end-to-end solution is such that Diwali ads will not only create an impression in their view but also results in measurability.
Case in Point: HT Media’s Festival of Gifts
The Festival of Gifts by HT Media is a good example of this interactive full-funnel strategy.
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- Scale: The program is conducted in 19 cities over 30 days involving 30,000+ participants per day.
- Formats: Sponsored QR-based competitions, quizzes, and games built into print, online and social media.
- Results:
- 3 times the engagement of over and out ads.
- +28% lift in brand favorability
- +36% improvement in aided recall
Festival of Gift will provide longer lasting engagement and quantifiable brand impact during festive season, rather than just a single Diwali advertisement. It demonstrates how CMOs can convert creative ideas into funnel-travelling experiences.
👉 Discover Festival of Gifts here.
Source: HT Media – Festival of Gifts
Why CMOs Should Rethink Their Diwali Ads Strategy
- Consumers do not want to see but to interact. Static advertisements are not as long lasting as during the festivals.
- Data is gold. First-party data is collected in interactive ads, an important asset in a post-cookie world.
- ROI is measurable. Full-funnel formats are more than impressions: they track engagement, brand lift, and conversions.
- National + local impact. Such campaigns as Festival of Gifts demonstrate how creativity can grow in Tier I cities to Tier III cities without disjointure.
Future of Diwali Ads: Interactive by Default
In the future, the Diwali advertisements that will shine will not necessarily be the high-budgeted ones or the celebrities involved. They will be those that make it easy to invite, have memorable experiences, and connect digitally and physically at touchpoints. With the increase in AI-led personalization, as well as the adoption of AR/VR, this trend toward interactivity and full-funnel performance will only continue to increase.
Conclusion
Diwali ads are evolving. The traditional forms produce noises, whereas interactive and full-funnel campaigns produce impact. To CMOs, the holiday season is no longer about brand films and print spreads. It is about making creativity into engagement and engagement into quantifiable outcomes.
The Festival of Gifts by HT Media demonstrates that brands can surf this wave with reach, interactivity and full-funnel impact during the most significant shopping event in India across the year.
Source: HT Media – Festival of Gifts
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes interactive Diwali ads better than traditional ones?
They fuel two-way interactions, collect first-party data, and shape the entire funnel, whereas static advertisements usually end at awareness.
How can Diwali ads become full-funnel?
With the conglomeration of the awareness channels (print, CTV) plus the interactive contests, data capture and retargeting, all the way up to conversions and advocacy.
What are examples of effective Diwali ads?
The customized Diwali campaign by Cadbury, the Deliver the Joy campaign by Amazon and the festive jewelry advertisements by Tanishq exhibit well crafted stories. But interactivity, as with Festival of Gifts by HT Media, makes it even more by resulting in quantifiable outcomes.
How did HT Media’s Festival of Gifts perform?
It used 30,000+ participants per day, 3x more engaged than uninteractive advertisements, and increased brand preference by 28%
Why should CMOs consider interactive formats for Diwali ads?
Since they provide both creative influence and ROI, which can be measured and therefore the best balance of scale, engagement, and consumer data.
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