Key Takeaways
- Diwali brings great opportunities for brands
- Brands use new marketing strategies to conquer Diwali
Introduction
Brands use specialised marketing strategies during Deepawali because consumer spending, emotional engagement and intent to buy is at all time highest as this is one of india’s most anticipated festivals. The festival of lights is not just a string of days but a whole new economy where brands run unique campaigns with the intent of capturing consumers’ hearts and minds.
What connection does Diwali have with marketing strategies?
Many brands form a strategy that takes advantage of the on going festivities and uses them to uniquely appeal to a customer’s taste and emotional needs. Brands especially love Diwali, as it is one of those festivals in India where spirits run high, and emotions are through the roof. If you manage to land your ad or campaign properly, then you are in for a treat. Here are some of the top marketing strategies that brands have used in the past to achieve great success during Diwali.
1. Hyperlocal Personalisation Marketing
The year was 2021, and the pandemic had taken a toll on small businesses. Big brands found their way back, but local retail stores could not do anything. Seeing this, Cadbury came up with an idea. They partnered with Shah Rukh Khan during the festival of lights and created an AI-generated ad where Shah Rukh Khan himself promoted every single store by name through the use of machine learning. This enabled Cadbury to create hyper-personalised ads and also help thousands of businesses, allowing Cadbury to win millions of hearts.
2. Emotional Storytelling Marketing
One of the best Marketing Strategies involves leveraging human emotions, and Amazon India did just that with their #DeliverTheLove campaign. They ran multiple ads where family members and friends delivered the Amazon package gifts themselves rather than through online delivery to their loved ones, highlighting that it’s your presence that’s a gift, not what you buy for them.
3. User Generated Content
In 2025, Swiggy created a feature inside their app where users could light a virtual diya and share it with their friends on WhatsApp. With each share, the user and their friends could win cash or redeemable vouchers. This initiative made users think of their friends and families and enabled them to share wishes and love by sharing a moment on Swiggy’s app; this brought Swiggy lots of new customers.
4. Limited Edition Product Marketing
Krispy Kreme, with their Deepawali-themed doughnuts, and Starbucks, with their Saffron Pistachio Latte, introduced multiple limited edition products that are only available within the time frame of the festival. This creates a sense of exclusivity and fear of missing out among customers, urging them to rush in and buy the products as soon as possible.
5. Social Cause Marketing
The festival of lights is also accompanied by loud noises, which is especially harmful for our furry companions and elders. Saregama Carvaan was quick to catch on and pitched to its customers to make this festival a quieter one with its product, especially for our loved ones. This campaign shed light on a problem overlooked for a long time and engaged users in a positive social initiative.
Are these Diwali Driven Strategies Really That Special?
Cadbury saw 37% higher conversion rates when they used AI-powered targeting. Even brands like Saregama Caravaan and Amazon saw 44% higher return on their investment as compared to when they ran normal ads, and on the other side, we saw almost 1+ million virtual diyas being lit on Swiggy.
Conclusion
Deepawali brings about joy, unity, and a sense of community among people, and times like these are especially the prime time to capitalise on people’s high spirits and emotions. Using different marketing plans, brands appeal to consumers’ tastes and try to create a place within their hearts in order to conquer the festival of lights.
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Sumukh Telikicherla
Content writer
Manisha Gajwani
Graphic designer
Vrushabh Bhanushali
Content Editor