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<ul><li>Marked with great fanfare and fervour, Diwali is the season of not just lights, colours, and sweets but also family reunions and bonding sessions. It is the festival of homecoming and togetherness.</li><li>Brands also make the most of this shopping festival to connect with consumers and put together the biggest advertising carnival.</li><li>Here is a list of advertisements that stood out in the clutter.</li></ul>Traveling back home to spend time with our family, trying to make the perfect rangoli, untangling fairy lights to brighten up your home, and dancing after a sugar rush -- these are just a few things that make Diwali special. It is also one of the widely celebrated festivals in India that has turned into the biggest shopping festival. It is also an advertising carnival which brings up an opportunity for brands to reconnect with consumers as the overall market sentiment drastically improves. Brands pour in big monies on television, Out of Home, and digital mediums to reach out to consumers at multiple touchpoints. After a long-dry-spell, brands are making sure that they don’t miss this opportunity to reconnect with consumers and market sentiment has already picked up, as revealed by Axis My India report. Its November net CSI score, calculated by percentage increase minus percentage decrease in sentiment, was recorded at +9, up from +7 last month. It has been rising at a constant pace over the last three months, indicative of a positive shift in consumer consumption metrics. Consumers are also more willing to step out now and shop locally. The report’s mobility net score reflects a constant improvement over the last four months. 88% of families said that they are going out the same or more on getaways/staycations /malls/restaurants, with travel bans being lifted and double vaccination providing easier movement opportunities. The overall mobility score is at -4, which is an improvement over last month at -5. This reflects slow but consistent progress in people’s sentiments for engaging in out-of-home activities. This Diwali, many brands decided to shine a spotlight on heroes who went unnoticed during the most difficult phase of this pandemic. They urged consumers to support different sectors of our society who have been badly impacted by COVID-19 and are struggling to make ends meet. A few of them also reminded consumers to keep aside crackers that harm the environment and celebrate the festival of lights and kindness with their four-legged companions. All brands played a joyful role by uplifting consumer sentiment and encouraging them to enjoy the festive season once again with their heartwarming campaigns. Here are a few campaigns that caught our attention: <keyword id="136808" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cadbury-india" source="Orion">Cadbury India</keyword> <div type="Youtube" id="5WECsbqAQSk" title="Supporting Local Retailers This Diwali | Not Just A Cadbury Ad Campaign Video" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/5WECsbqAQSk/mqdefault.jpg"></div> HP India <div type="Youtube" id="wxXhvjFvn_A" title="Diye Se Diya Jalao" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/wxXhvjFvn_A/mqdefault.jpg"></div> Mother Dairy <div type="Youtube" id="CwhFSJDD0ks" title="Naya Riwaaj Dhara ke Saath" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/CwhFSJDD0ks/mqdefault.jpg"></div> Supertails <div type="javascript" title="Instagram" contenttype="Video"><cdata><![CDATA[ ]]></cdata></div> Tanishq <div type="Youtube" id="KzVQ_nY2M9k" title="Tanishq presents #Utsaah" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/KzVQ_nY2M9k/mqdefault.jpg"></div> Greenply <div type="Youtube" id="crC5iEXzFXI" title="The Table - #YahanRishteBasteHain" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/crC5iEXzFXI/mqdefault.jpg"></div> Vivo India <div type="Youtube" id="x7ab0tdj5Vk" title="Celebrate the #JoyOfHomecoming this Diwali" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/x7ab0tdj5Vk/mqdefault.jpg"></div> Wiggles <div type="Youtube" id="EwjkAqY_3aM" title="Umeed Bhari Diwali | A Wiggles.in Initiative" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/EwjkAqY_3aM/mqdefault.jpg"></div> ZEE <div type="Youtube" id="hV3Jaxhb4VU" title="Yeh Diwali Kisson Wali - Vocal For Local - Zee Diwali" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/hV3Jaxhb4VU/mqdefault.jpg"></div> Greenlam <div type="Youtube" id="irGY9KWsAH4" title="Celebrate Diwali at home" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/irGY9KWsAH4/mqdefault.jpg"></div> Godrej <div type="Youtube" id="7if8VXEy4A8" title="The recipe of #CookingGoodness | Godrej Group" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7if8VXEy4A8/mqdefault.jpg"></div> Havells <div type="Youtube" id="IZqiI-lJH0o" title="Havells Hexo Mixer Grinder | Powerful Mixer Grinder | Tamil" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/IZqiI-lJH0o/mqdefault.jpg"></div> LG Electronics <div type="Youtube" id="Yxzbjl5WZ5E" title="Roll Out The Future With LG OLED #OLEDNSRK" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Yxzbjl5WZ5E/mqdefault.jpg"></div> Pickrr <div type="Youtube" id="JuO-Q-gTwSM" title="This Diwali celebrate happiness with your loved ones #KhushionKiTarakki by Pickrr" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/JuO-Q-gTwSM/mqdefault.jpg"></div> CottonKing <div type="Youtube" id="w9WsnJCQp0c" title="CottonKing | Bhaubeej Film | Tejashree Pradhan | Abhijeet Khandkekar | Mayur More | ADbhoot" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/w9WsnJCQp0c/mqdefault.jpg"></div> Spice Money <div type="Youtube" id="7w_Hjda5Adg" title="Spice Money wishes everyone &quot;Dil se Diwali&quot;!" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7w_Hjda5Adg/mqdefault.jpg"></div>

Hope shines the brightest in Diwali advertising campaigns this year

<ul><li>While the first half of the year was so unusual and unprecedented that the ad industry took a nosedive to as low as -60%, research studies have shown that the consumer sentiment is picking up and so are ad spends. </li><li>Diwali has brought an opportunity for brands to reconnect with their consumers, woo them again and remind that we are all in this together. </li><li>And Indian brands have not disappointed. From Mondelez and BYJU’s to HP, brands have made beautiful advertisements as a tribute to the working class that continues to struggle. </li><li>We reached out to experts to discuss their favourite ads from this Diwali and some of the reasons that make them special. So, here is a listicle compiling the best ads of this year. </li></ul>Diyas and rangolis, food and family, gifts and greetings – this is what makes Diwali truly special. It is also an advertising carnival which brings up an opportunity for brands to reconnect with consumers as the market sentiment improves. Brands pour in big monies on traditional mediums to reach out to consumers at a larger scale. Every year, categories like FMCG, apparel, auto, e-commerce and consumer durables become the biggest spenders during Diwali. However, 2020 is unusual. Coronavirus still hasn’t left our country and people continue to be cautious about stepping out. So, this Diwali won’t be about bursting crackers on the street and meeting your family to exchange sweets. It will all be virtual, about being there for each other in tough times and celebrating small victories while maintaining a safe distance. So this year, brands have looked beyond family and home. After spending the first half of the year jobless, locked inside four walls, there are many who won’t get to celebrate the festival of light in its true spirit because they would be busy searching for small opportunities to support their family. The ironman, painter, watchman, delivery personnel and many other Indians will continue working, some bound by their circumstances and others by their duties. COVID’s economic disruption has adversely impacted the collective optimism for festivities. Yet, all it takes is the determined optimism of hope and celebration to cheer someone. Therefore, many brands decided to shine a spotlight on these heroes who go unnoticed. They urged consumers to support different sectors of our society who have been badly impacted by COVID-19. Common themes of togetherness, compassion, positivity, generosity, uplifting each other and supporting small businesses, emerged this year and took over the advertising canvas. Brands reminded their audience to help bring light and joy not just inside their homes but also outside their lives by sharing a little part of their happiness. After all, that's what festivals are all about. So like this unusual year, we decide to do something different. We reached out to experts to find out their favourite advertisements and the reasons why they loved them. Here is what they had to say about creativity this Diwali: Ronita Mitra, Founder and Chief Strategist, Brand Eagle Consulting: Most brands have been warm, telling stories of togetherness and bonding with family, friends and neighbours. In that sense, all brands are playing their role in uplifting the sentiments of consumers, encouraging them to enjoy the festive season once again. However the campaign that stands out for me is the Cadbury's campaign. The brand has weaved in "togetherness and inclusiveness" into the very heart of the campaign idea. and gone beyond merely producing an engaging ad with a well told, warm story. The Cadbury's brand has taken the idea of togetherness to a different level by involving and doing something meaningful for a segment of society that has been badly impacted by Covid - the local neighbourhood retailers. It has played the role of a truly responsible, inclusive brand that believes growth is sustainable when the eco system grows together. The idea entails high level execution effort in terms of integrating the gathering database with advanced technology to make the idea come alive in a real way for every consumer. The campaign is an inspiring coming together of idea, execution and technology at every stage from conceptualization to the hyper personalised media plan. <div type="Youtube" id="So16ZBPK6mo" title="This is not just a Cadbury ad" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/So16ZBPK6mo/mqdefault.jpg"></div> Roshan Abbas, Founder &amp; MD, Geometry Encompass: I just saw a lovely HP Print ad on DiwaliDilWali, it was beautiful and emotional. A follow up to their earlier campaign 2 years ago on supporting local sellers, it brings together the beauty of innovation, emotion and has a fabulous performance by Seema Pahwa. While everyone is harping on supporting small sellers the route and product integration is what makes this different. <div type="Youtube" id="2uA1r8gaRik" title="#YeDiwaliDilWali" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/2uA1r8gaRik/mqdefault.jpg"></div> <keyword id="247533" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Karthik-Srinivasan">Karthik Srinivasan</keyword>, Social Media Expert and Independent Brand Consultant: I have seen a few Deepavali/Diwali ads and so far liked 2 of them more than the others. Both have the same theme, of not stopping the kind of work/purchases that we do during Deepavali because of the pandemic. Whether that sells consumerism or is coated as restarting the seller-buyer ecosystem is a different question. The first one is by Birla White, a brand that doesn't really have a say in Diwali, but brings itself very contextually and meaningfully into the Diwali discussion. This is by Autumn Grey. <div type="Youtube" id="FKnAmnyf_eo" title="Deewarein Sajengi Tabhi Toh Tyohaar Ki Rangat Badhegi" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/FKnAmnyf_eo/mqdefault.jpg"></div> The second is a surprise since it is not from India! This ad is for the Malaysian bank, RHB that features Tamilians (Malaysian Tamils) and Tamil language, by FCB Kuala Lumpur. The theme is very similar to the Birla White story in that both use the father-daughter dynamics for emotional appeal. <div type="Youtube" id="gaUtaD-uzyg" title="RHB Deepavali 2020: Light In a Time of Darkness" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/gaUtaD-uzyg/mqdefault.jpg"></div> Heeru Dingra, CEO, WATConsult: Out of all ads that seem to have gone live so far, Phillips’ Diwali campaign ‘Khushiyon Ki Ladi’, weaves a very beautiful and relevant story for the audience. Instead of approaching the festival directly, they took the viewers on a journey showcasing an interlinked chain of festivities, which surrounds all of us. With very relatable scenes like receiving a delivery, or purchasing sweets at a store, the video basically taught us the economy and dependency that businesses have on each other. With its smooth story narration and the ingrained feel good factor, the campaign did what it set out to do – make us associate Diwali with a feeling of community and interconnectivity. <div type="Youtube" id="GGd_g9MT0oY" title="Philips | #KhushiyonKiLadi" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/GGd_g9MT0oY/mqdefault.jpg"></div> Vishnu Srivastav, Vishnu Srivastav, Creative Head, DDB Mudra South: My favourite Diwali campaign this year is ‘Not Just a <keyword id="3275564" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Cadbury-Ad">Cadbury Ad</keyword>’ by Cadbury. A large brand using its large platform to help other businesses in need. What could capture the Diwali spirit and Cadbury’s ethos of spreading cheer better? It’s data driven advertising with a deeply human impact. Janhavi Iyer, Associate Director- Content Strategy, Gozoop: The Not Just a Cadbury Ad by Cadbury definitely caught my attention this year. Not only is it supported by the use of sound media technology with the pin-code based personalization but it also meets one of the most important criteria for a great ad and that is actionability. With Covid leaving small and local businesses suffering, Cadbury’s ad was not just on brand but its simple message of buying local capitalized on the predominant sentiment of the nation, at a time when it was needed most. This year, as I stepped outside to shop for Diwali, I went to all my local stores, a conscious action sparked by a simple and insightful campaign. I’d also give a shout out to Oppo’s Be The Light campaign. From a storytelling perspective, the short film struck all the right chords without pushing the product too much, making it a delight to watch. <div type="Youtube" id="KHxc8QkSwiQ" title="OPPO F17 Pro - #BeTheLight To Spread The Light | Diwali'20" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/KHxc8QkSwiQ/mqdefault.jpg"></div>

Experts share their favourite Diwali campaigns from 2020

<ul><li>The first half of 2020 was so unusual and unprecedented that the ad industry took a nosedive to as low as -60%.</li><li>Businesses of all kinds and sizes suffered and put their advertising activities on hold to give their consumers space to process the unprecedented times.</li><li>So, after a year and a half of lull, brands and advertisers went all out with their marketing activities during the festive season this year. Consumers were extra excited to step out, shop zealously and as most research studies reflected, Diwali exceeded expectations and broke previous records.</li><li>So, we speak to media experts and digital agencies to find out if the advertising industry has managed to bounce back this year, discuss the industry’s spending so far and their expectations from the last festival of the season, Christmas.</li></ul>After a year and a half of celebrating festivals virtually, Indian consumers were excited to have some sense of normalcy back this year during the festive season. Advertisers and brands also went all out to leverage on this uptick in consumer sentiment, starting from Raksha Bandhan to Diwali. Experts were also hopeful that the festive season will bring in cheer and serve as a respite from the pandemic-associated slumber. According to Redseer Consulting, 2021 saw India witness its biggest ever Festive Sales with brands clocking a Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of $9.2 billion through online channels over this period. Online Festive Sales in India continued to grow at a blistering pace and saw a 23% YoY growth in GMV. On the other hand, the categories that witnessed subdued growth this year included the likes of home furnishings, home decor, furnishings and other electronics. Looking back at 2020, Eeshita Ghosh, General Manager and Office Head, Motivator Bangalore said, “The festival of 2021 is definitely better than 2020 and as high if not more than 2019. The ad volume started picking up from Q3 of 2021 and with more than 20% growth over 2019 Q3. The festival months saw multiple new advertisers getting active, approximately 2000+ new advertisers are active in media. The inventory was full, and the market sentiments were very positive. With festival and IPL, media was very active with multiple new categories.” A lot of hopes were banking on the festive season for the industry's overall revival, however, unlike Ghosh, Neena Dasgupta, CEO &amp; Director, Zirca Digital Solutions was a little disappointed; not with the numbers but with overall creativity. Explaining why, Dasgupta said, “Honestly, the performance fell short of expectations. Not only in terms of volume but also the kind of activities. I felt our methods possibly regressed a bit to remain cautious and conservative. Innovative ideas were few and yet each of them benefited. The consumer is now more aware and it’s time we took their psychometric into consideration. And at times where media dollars need to be more efficient and effective, we have to embrace tech that allows us to capture the consumer mindset and then deploy media buys across mediums.” Sharing how the festive season has panned out so far for the advertising industry, Dasgupta added, “It’s been an interesting festive season. There was exuberance in the consumer spirit and it reflected in some categories. And yet the exuberance didn’t necessarily translate into communication to the same scale. This was possibly a combination of inflation, economic imbalance at consumer levels and some category constraints that impacted sales. What was interesting g though was the growth in rural activities at the consumer end and advertising end too. Every medium had its share. And fintech growth made some aspirations real for this segment. We now have a fascinating growth story for Bharat.” With a steady monsoon and plump harvest so far, it was a cheerful year for rural India as well. They spent their harvest festivals with more enthusiasm and happiness to share with their loved ones. Brands also left no stone unturned to expand their marketing activities beyond metro and Tier I cities this year. In fact, this year, Tier II and III had the lion’s share in e-commerce spends. Will we return to 2019’s ad spends? After June, the advertising industry’s performance picked up by leaps and bounds. Raksha Bandhan, Ganesh Chaturthi and ace festival Diwali, improved consumer sentiment and helped the advertising industry to bounce back. But have we returned to 2019’s levels? “The ADEX numbers for October and November are yet to come, but as we observed from our billing, we are positive that it has bounced back to 2019 levels,” said Ghosh. Dasgupta told Advertising and Media Insider that regional and rural markets exceeded 2019’s performance but some markets are yet to reach there. Decoding media dispersion this festive season While there was buoyancy across the board, television got the most attention from advertisers yet again, followed by digital. Talking about medium dispersion, Monaz Todywalla, CEO at PHD Media India said, “In terms of mediums, television and digital continue to drive impact and lead from the front, with digital playing a vital role in ensuring last-mile connectivity and driving sales across multiple touchpoints. Raman Mittal, CMO and Co-Founder, TO THE NEW was delighted to see digital getting a bigger piece of pie than 2020. He said, "COVID revolutionized the way people shop. We saw businesses go all out on digital channels this Diwali season to communicate with potential clients. Companies have adjusted their attention on digital marketing to stay up with new shopping channels and get the biggest piece of the pie as a result of continual digital transformation." "Interaction and Influencers were the two themes that peaked this festive season," Raman continued. "Giveaways, contests, and online polls were used to promote interactive content. In addition, the top celebrities were enlisted to help brands stand out amid the crowd. These tendencies, we believe, will last well into Christmas and New Year." Within digital, video got the most attention and while traditional advertisers continued to spend heavily, they were matched and at times exceeded by online services/startups. Mihir Karkare, Cofounder and EVP of Mirum India said, "The videos ruled the roost this festive season. Online video platforms were in great demand – YouTube and OTT were the preferred choices for brands. Apart from Diwali, all the cricketing action also contributed heavily towards increased advertising spends. From a 'growth of share' standpoint, Influencer marketing as come of age." Hopes rest on Christmas Christmas is the last festival of the year. Will it give an additional impetus and help the advertising industry exceed 2019’s performance? “Christmas is a bit low, but we have seen many advertisers continuing with the momentum built during the Q3 period. I expect Q4 to be like Q2 and will be higher than Q4 of 2020 and close to 2019 Q4,” answered Ghosh. PHD Media’s Todywalla is optimistic that the momentum will continue and brands will keep up with their marketing blitzkrieg. “With consumers showing an increased propensity to spend, pent-up demand from brands translating into a bouquet of launches - complimented by high-decibel marketing campaigns, and an overall increase in consumption and sales from all corners of the media and entertainment ecosystem, the festivities have ushered in a season that's peppered with a healthy dose of optimism. We believe this wave of hope and optimism is expected to be carried forth into the coming year too," said Todywalla. With a huge push from key festivals such as Diwali, Ganesh Chaturthi and Raksha Bandhan, cautious optimism continues to thrive in the advertising industry.

Has 2021’s festive season given India’s advertising industry a big enough push to recover from the 2020 after-effect?

Following the rollout of link stickers, Facebook-owned <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/how-to-add-links-to-instagram-stories-with-link-sticker/articleshow/87327625.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Instagram</a> is introducing a new sticker called "Add Yours". According to Engadget, the company describes it as a way to create public threads in Stories. It also notes that it is the first time <keyword id="819905" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="instagram" source="Orion">Instagram</keyword> has added a way for people to publicly participate in the format. Effectively, the sticker acts as both a prompt for other people to upload their own Stories and a way for them to discover new people to follow. That's because when you tap on the sticker the interface will display everyone who has contributed to the thread and you can view their Stories from there, the report said. The tool could help Instagram boost engagement at a time when it's reportedly losing users, especially younger ones, to competing platforms like TikTok. Since 2018, Instagram has spent millions advertising to teens in an effort to attract them to the platform. This week, it also launched three new stickers to encourage its users to connect with their friends and family for Diwali. Whenever the people will post stories using the stickers, these will also be visible to their followers in a Diwali special multi-author story. These stickers are a part of Instagram's global campaign for Diwali called #ShareYourLight. They have been created in collaboration with a Bengaluru-based illustrator, muralist and pattern designer, Neethi.

Instagram now lets you create public threads in Stories

<ul><li>Indian consumers show digital endurance as the festive season drives sales across categories- findings by Criteo.</li><li>As per the report, festive shopping started one month prior to Diwali in 2021, with +27% spike.</li></ul>Criteo today released the findings from the 2021 &amp; 2020 festive seasonality data. According to the 2021 data, home furnishing and food topped the list of the most popular shopping categories with +42% and 18% sales 5 days before Diwali. Criteo’s data further revealed that this year marketers witnessed an early shopping hype during pre-Diwali from late September 2021, compared to mid-October in 2020. The highest peak observed during the period of the Big Billion Days was on October 3rd 2021, representing an overall Y-O-Y daily sales of 200% with the first 7 days of September 2020 as a baseline. Taranjeet Singh, Managing Director of Southeast Asia and India, Criteo, said, “The Indian E-commerce industry had seen a categorial upsurge, enabling marketers to invest more in digital advertising including mobile marketing. We observed that consumers apply the basket and sales strategy during e-commerce sales specifically for the Big Billion Days period, wherein consumers place their items into shopping carts prior to the date of sale and complete their transaction while the platform commerce sale goes live. In Criteo’s 2020 data, it can be seen that people started to look into items approximately 3 days before, recording 120.8% in the indexed basket. Moreover, growing trends of video ads indicate that video is gaining importance this festive season. According to <a href="https://go.criteo.com/2021-holiday-commerce-report/">Criteo’s 2021 Holiday Commerce Report</a>, consumers are receptive to ads when they’re watching videos and will take actions like searching for and purchasing the products they've seen.” Indexed Daily Basket &amp; Sales Events, 2020 (Baseline: first 7 days of October 2020) The 2020 and 2021 data additionally reveal deeper insights on the evolving e-commerce trends expected this year: <ul><li>With September 2020 as a baseline, approximately 86% pre-Diwali daily sales were noticed in October 2020, whereas 2021 detected 200% of daily sales in the end of September, marking the beginning of the Big Billion Days period. </li></ul> Indexed Daily Sales of 2021 &amp; 2020 (Baseline: September 2020) <ul><li>5 days before Diwali 2021 demonstrate an increase in the buyer’s retail shopping interest. Home furnishing and Food led the festival with respectively +42% and +18% sales (with First 7 days of October 2021 as a baseline).</li></ul>Diwali 2021 Indexed Sales (Baseline: First 7 days of October 2021) <ul><li>With the first 7 days of October 2021 as a baseline, festive shopping started one month prior to Diwali in 2021, with +27% spike. </li><li>For the rest of October, the sales remain moderate, however, there are two small increases around October 17th and 23rd, although it didn’t exceed the trend observed at the beginning of the month. Indexed Sales in 2021 (Baseline: First 7 days of October 2021)</li></ul>

Home furnishing and food were the most popular shopping categories with 42% and 18% hike in sales 5 days before Diwali: Report

<ul><li>Tanishq’s latest Ekatvam Diwali ad stirred up a new row of controversy on social media for promoting a crackerless Diwali. </li><li>The brand was quick to delete its ad this time. </li><li>This made us wonder if brands are setting a wrong precedent by pulling down their advertisements and giving in to these bullies too quickly? Will consumers lose faith in the brand for backtracking and its lack of confidence? </li><li>Experts tell us their thoughts and ideal ways of dealing with online trolling. </li></ul>Tanishq has found itself in troubled waters yet again. On November 09, #BoycottTanishq was trending on Twitter for another advertisement under its on-going ‘Ekatvam’ (unity) campaign and this time, we are scratching our heads to find a reason why it offended the internet users. The ad featured four independent actors Sayani Gupta, Neena Gupta, Alaya F and Nimrat Kaur talking about what they love about Diwali and how they are going to celebrate the festival this year. The ad is about female companionship and oneness. It celebrates successful women and positions itself as a brand that caters to women of all ages. Tanishq’s latest ad wasn’t just about promoting a noise-free Diwali, contrary to what trolls think. It was about celebrating Diwali with family and not bursting crackers was just one of the messages they gave. The message which offended many internet users wasn’t the central thread of the ad. It was woven around the message of equality and togetherness. Its caption read, “This Diwali, let’s unite and celebrate with those closest to our hearts.” While many experts say that religion is a tough subject to handle and brands should be careful in the way they project themselves, this time, Tanishq played it safe. It only featured Hindu, upper-caste and class women celebrating Diwali. So, what was the problem? It seems like the memories of the previous storm were still fresh and the mere sight of Tanishq is offending Twitterati. They were quick to jump in to ask for another boycott for ‘trying to advise Hindus on how to celebrate their festivals’ and ‘defame their culture.’ “Why should anyone advise Hindus how to celebrate Our Festivals? Companies must focus on selling their products, not lecture us to refrain from bursting Crackers. We will light lamps, distribute sweets and burst green crackers. Please join us. You will understand Ekatvam,” said a user. “Saw a recent ad campaign by Tanishq Jewelry where some bimbos prattle vacuously about how Deepavali is about buying clothes and jewellery. Looks like this is the new woke line. Strip Deepavali of all religious significance and make it a kind of a glorified kitty party with lights,” said another Twitter user. They even had a problem with women not wearing symbols of patriarchy and their badges of being married such as bindis, bangles and sindoor. <div type="twitter" handle="krithikasivasw" handlename="krithika sivaswamy" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1307598588181016576/coJ-S3Qq_normal.jpg" favoritecount="172" retweetcount="61" status="No bindi, no deepam, no lakshmi pooja. While I don't like to intefere into people's dressing or spiritual choices… https://t.co/tzM0cbaXk0" createdat="1604896710000" id="1325659002307375105"></div> It was around a month ago that Tanishq’s ad film about a Hindu bahu and her Muslim saas living together peacefully made the trolls uncomfortable. In both these controversies, Tanishq was quick to withdraw its ad and apologise for hurting religious sentiments. This made us wonder if brands are setting a wrong precedent by pulling down their advertisements and giving in to these rabble-rousers too quickly? The last time, Tanishq withdrew its ad because the safety of its employees was in danger and so far, for its recent ad, it has just been social media outrage. Powerful brands like Tanishq have the resources to stand up to these bullies. Brands are also aware of the volatile climes they live in and how advertisements can irk some internet users. So, are brands not hiring good media planners? Will consumers lose faith in the brand for backtracking and its lack of confidence? A larger question every CMO ponders upon, what is the ideal way to deal with these online bullies? We reached out to experts to find out. Here is what they had to say: Lloyd Mathias, Business Strategist and Angel Investor: I am surprised that Tanishq chose to take down the ad in the face of social media backlash. I am sure the brand foresaw the likely controversy when they chose to go down this path – so backtracking now is a little surprising and doesn’t speak well for their planning. It is important for companies and brands to respect public sentiment. After all, a brand and a company exists within a larger community and all it does is have to reflect the values of its users and the larger society it operates in. Thanks to their reach and heft, brands have become important elements in shaping culture, influencing behaviour and moulding opinion. It is therefore important for them to proactively do the right thing, even though it may have short-term implications for their business. Harish Bijoor, Brand Guru &amp; Founder, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc: I very simply believe that brands must avoid touching topics that either directly or indirectly touch politics or religion. Anything that touches these two or adjacent issues such as custom and tradition, must be avoided. These are sensitive times. Avoid issues that sensitize audiences further. Akshara Vasavda, Creative Lead, Schbang: Another <keyword id="2851713" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tanishq-Ad">Tanishq ad</keyword> taken down because of angry trolls upset over someone saying we shouldn't burst firecrackers, because you know, we're kind of in the middle of a pandemic and an on-going climate crisis in general. How dare they? First, let's focus on the real issue - the extremists dominating much of the Indian media and social media right now, spreading their intolerance in almost every sphere of our lives. There is no platform where one can express their (very reasonable and justified) views freely without getting attacked by angry extremist trolls. Whether or not Tanishq should have taken the ad down is a separate conversation. They are still yet another victim of growing extremism in our country, albeit a very privileged victim with power and resources to fight this issue and bring some much needed change. Should Tanishq have taken this ad down? Absolutely not. I work on a brand 100x smaller than Tanishq that was attacked for a week straight for a simple social media post on Navratri, but we stuck to our cause and fought the trolls off with a team of 3 girls handling ORM. I simply do not see why a brand like Tanishq feels forced to take the ad down except for maybe, just maybe, they want to have their cake and eat it too - please the progressives but be in the good books of conservatives/right wing audience as well. Afterall, their sales come from the old and the rich. Or maybe, they want the controversy. Whatever the reason is, I'm out of sympathy for this TATA giant, when small, independent brands are not afraid to stand up in the face of right-wing suppression of speech. Kuber Chopra, Founder, Creative and Strategy Director, Rasta: What Tanishq is dealing with is not a "might offend someone" mindset, it's got to a point where the trolls have simply marked some brands as too liberal for their liking. Just like they would mark some popular liberal voices as those to quash dare they speak. While I did feel when they released the last ad, they would have been conscious of potential backlash, on this occasion they're just dealing with depressing brainwashed mindsets that are going to continue to get offended by the sight of Tanishq. They are probably offended by this because there are 4 independent women and no men in a Diwali ad (albeit it's a jewelry ad) speaking English. I'm honestly a little saddened to suggest a hack for this, but if Tanishq doesn’t think putting a brave front is worth it, they should change the script and redo the voice over perhaps in Hindi. If they want to be brave they can release little snippets of each of these women lighting dias and a little story about who they are, where they're celebrating Diwali. And of course, doing nothing is also a strategy. Hope Tanishq has the best Diwali and open minded Diwali shoppers make their wallets heard. Akshaara Lalwani, CEO &amp; Founder, Communicate India: Conceptualization of an ad campaign is backed by the vision to create an emotional connect with the audience. While ṭhis attempt may at times click well for the brand, there is a possibility of it backfiring too, especially during such sensitive times, when the world is battling through a global health crisis and emotions are heightened. However, keeping that in mind, it is also imperative for brands to believe in its value system and not change as per audience receptiveness. Thus, pulling down the ad wasn't the best way to deal with this situation and only reflected the lack of belief in the idea that the brand had executed through this campaign If we observe the audience engagement post-global-lockdown, it has reflected an upsurge in the rate of social media trolls. Having had the technological access and ample amount of time at hand, people are consuming content on a larger scale and hence brands have been put under the microscopic lenses. In order to deal with such trolls, brands need to evaluate and understand the sentiment that the campaign has brought forth among the audiences. Basis the audience reaction, devising a strategy that helps communicate the campaign’s authentic idea is the best way to tackle the situation at hand. Amyn Ghadiali, Vice President -Business &amp; Strategy, Gozoop: It definitely sets a wrong precedent. I believe that more than trolls, the customers also lose faith in the brand because it doesn’t have the courage to see through things that they actually believe in. If I were the brand custodian at Tanishq, the fundamental question I would ask myself is that do I believe in what I am saying &amp; are the ones trolling me/ my customers? If they are, then I would really like to understand their POV better rather than pulling down the ad. If they are random trolls, who never would be able to afford my brand, why even bother? Also, if a brand believes in a progressive society, I would want to have customers who share that ideology. Look at how Jeff Bezos supported black lives matter. I wouldn’t call it strategy, I would simply call them principles. We all know principles mean nothing if they don’t cost us something. The best way to deal with trolls is to create an army of brand advocates that stand by your decision and belief. In-case of a polarising debate like that of Tanishq or for that matter any brand, it is important to have a spine and stick through. People who support your belief system will come forward, defend you and in-fact respect you even more.

Is Tanishq’s Ekatvam Diwali ad being pulled down setting a wrong precedent?

<ul><li>Multiple brands have deferred their product launches and are counting on the <keyword id="36208" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="festive-season" source="Orion">festive season</keyword> to drive incremental reach and sales. </li><li>MMA, GroupM and Amazon Advertising's festive season playbook decodes <keyword id="139079" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="consumer-behaviour" source="Orion">consumer behaviour</keyword>.</li></ul>MMA, GroupM and Amazon Advertising have launched the ‘Decoding Consumer behavior and Winning the 2021 Festive season’ Playbook, a handbook for marketers on expected consumer sentiment along with recommended strategies for Diwali this year. The 2021 Diwali festive season will be an unprecedented test for marketers. As consumption is on a natural upswing post pandemic restrictions, brands are looking to stand-out and capture the mindshare among the new-age ‘digital’ consumers. Multiple brands have deferred their product launches and are counting on the festive season to drive incremental reach and sales. As a result, shopping aisles will be choc-a-block with new launches supported by high-decibel marketing campaigns. At the same time, consumer journeys have become more complex and non-linear, and the role of digital has become more prominent across the journey. As a result, this festive season will require marketers to re-think their media strategies in order to be successful. This playbook will help brands in making efficient decisions around their media strategy during the festive season. It captures insights around consumer sentiment and marketer expectations for the upcoming festive season, along with implications and recommendations for advertisers. The playbook is based on findings from consumer survey, brand marketer survey, and inputs from key opinion leaders. A few takeaways from the playbook: <ul><li>Consumer sentiment remains positive: ~50% consumers are likely to increase their <keyword id="10318360" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="festive-spends" source="Orion">festive spends</keyword> this year</li><li>Consumers are still not fully decided on their purchase: 62% consumers are currently undecided about the product/brand choice</li><li>Digital channels will be crucial across the journey: ~80% consumers journeys will be ‘digital’ influenced and 77% endemic journeys will involve <a href="http://amazon.in/" target="_blank">amazon.in</a></li><li>Brands should leverage multiple touchpoints: Be visible across touchpoints leveraging Connected TV, Video, Search advertising etc. to drive active/passive discovery and leverage ‘efficiency’ related metrics to assess performance holistically</li></ul>Moneka Khurana, Country Head, MMA India commented, “MMA is proud to have co-authored the white paper in collaboration with GroupM and Amazon Advertising to provide the much needed insights and guidance for the upcoming festive season for the ecosystem helping brands navigate the challenging times and drive optimal visibility and performance . 76%of marketers mentioned they will be allocating more spends for digital as compared to last year. Hence it’s key to understand omnichannel users better in the changing times as we continue to drive the narrative of shaping the future of marketing.” Tushar Vyas, President – Growth and Transformation, GroupM South Asia commented, “Digital influence in consumer journeys has increased significantly while the e-commerce adoption has accelerated in last 18 months. Hence, Digital is no more a support media platform but is core to media plans. Ecommerce platforms offer brands the opportunity to hand-hold consumers across the purchase funnel by not only aiding in active/passive brand discovery but also in closing the loop by measuring performance objectively. This playbook contains several key insights and is a must-read for any marketer who is planning for the festive season.” Vijay Iyer, Director-Ad Sales, Amazon Advertising India commented, “Digital is a part of our lives now like never before and the influence is only increasing. Ecommerce portals act as gateways to this world that we are so quickly embracing and are playing a crucial role in brand and product discovery. For marketers, this presents an unprecedented opportunity – to be able to identify and leverage customer intent at an unprecedented scale. This playbook will help brands in not only sharpening their online strategy, but will redefine how they measure and drive business outcomes.”

50% consumers are likely to increase their festive spends this year: Report

<ul><li>Over 10430 people surveyed 62% is from rural India while 38% is from urban India.</li><li>Overall household spending has increased for 63% of families surge by 7 percentage points from last month.</li><li>50% of families reflect increase spends on essentials items, 18% of households reported an increase in Non-essential purchases.</li><li>Digital (38%) is now the 2nd most important source of brand awareness after TV (44%).</li><li>36% of the consumers are planning to go beyond small-ticket purchases.</li><li>59% of the consumers hope for a more cheerful and happy Diwali this year compared to last year.</li></ul><keyword id="5043207" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="axis-my-india" source="Orion">Axis My India</keyword>, a leading consumer data intelligence company, released its latest findings of the India Consumer Sentiment Index (CSI), a monthly analysis of consumer perception on a wide range of issues. Reflecting the view of the majority, the survey for the month of October reveals that media consumption remains the same for 48% of the families while the same has increased for a 25%. In addition, a combined 82% said that they had seen more ads on TV and Digital platforms over others. The November net CSI score, calculated by percentage increase minus percentage decrease in sentiment, was recorded at +9, up from +7 last month and rising at a constant pace over the last three months, indicative of a positive shift in consumer consumption metrics. The sentiment analysis delves into 5 relevant sub-indices – Overall household spending, spending on essential and non-essential items, spending on healthcare, media consumption habits &amp; mobility trends. This month, Axis My India’s Sentiment Index also delved deeper to understand consumers view on varied issues of national interest. These include privatisation of loss making public sector companies like that of Air India, views on economic recovery by 2022, alternatives to rising fuel prices, investment preferences, sentiments around Diwali and on brand advertisement placements. The surveys were carried out via Computer Aided Telephonic Interviews with a sample size of 10430 people. 62% belonged from Rural India while 38% belonged from urban counterparts. Commenting on the October report, Pradeep Gupta, CMD, Axis My India, said, “With the festivities at its peak, one can easily witness consumer’s excitement in terms of loosening their purse strings for varied expenses and experiences. While Diwali has triggered spending on products of personal indulgence (like 2-wheeler/4-wheelers or jewellery) and household items, the upcoming festivities and enthusiastic consumer sentiment will further set the momentum for the last half of this year. In addition, one can also witness a transition in terms of preferences amongst consumers’ like opting for EVs or cheering for privatisation of loss making companies. The growth of digital as a medium of advertising overtaking Print &amp; just after TV reflects the change in media consumption habits which was triggered by the pandemic. Lastly our survey shows that a vast majority of India is still not investing in this age of cryptocurrencies, it would be interesting to see how financial players beyond traditional banks can capture and convert their interests for investments using varied instruments.” Key findings: · Overall household spending has increased for 63% of families which reflects an 7% increase from the last month. This increase is highest in Northern India. · The increase in spends on essentials like personal care &amp; household items stands at 50% reflecting a surge by 5%. The net score which was +20 last month has increased to +27 this month. The growth in Rural India is slightly higher as compared to Urban markets. · Spends on non-essential &amp; discretionary products like AC, Car, Refrigerator has increased for 18% of families. For 73% spends on non-essential purchases remain the same which reflects an uptick of 3% from last month. The non-essentials November net score therefore lies at +9. The trend on spends on discretionary products reflect a fine balance between caution and indulgence. · With more exposure to outside activities, importance of health bounced back quickly. Consumption on health-related items increased for 47% of families as compared to 44% last month. The health score which has a negative connotation i.e. the lesser the spends on health items the better the sentiments, has a net score value of -27. · Consumption of media remains the same for a majority of 48% families and increased for 25% of the family, reflecting an overall Net score of -2 as compared to base value of 0 for the previous month. · Mobility net score reflects a constant improvement over the last four months. 88% families said that they are going out the same or more on getaways/staycations /mall/restaurants, with travel bans being lifted and double vaccination providing easier movement opportunities. The overall mobility score is at -4 which is an improvement over last month which was at -5. This reflects slow but consistent progress in people’s sentiments for engaging in out of home activities On topics of current national interest: · While the long awaited sale of Air India to the Tata group reflected a hopeful future for the airline. Axis My India further gauged consumer’s sentiment on whether or not the government should privatise other loss making public sector companies. 46% is in agreement to privatisation of such companies while 36% disagreed with this view. · When asked if economy/livelihood and business is expected to bounce back by January 2022, 41% believes that the same is possible and Southern India being more optimistic with 54% agreeing to this. · With rising prices fuel being a concern, 48% are optimistic of shifting to electric vehicles wherein 33% and 15% said that they will consider buying a 2-wheeler and 4-wheeler respectively in this segment. The younger age group of 18-35 have a more likelihood, with 53% in agreement to an EV shift. · In terms of brand advertisement placements, 44% and 38% of the consumers said that they have majorly seen ads on <keyword id="6357922" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="television" source="Orion">Television</keyword> and on Digital platforms respectively. While only 11% and 7% of the audience believe that they have seen ads on Print or Outdoor. This reflects the changing media consumption habit and the surge both in Digital consumption &amp; advertising. This digital growth is led by 26-35 yr audience. · Sharing their views on financial planning, a majority of 23% still prefers to park their money in savings account, while a combined 12% prefers to invest in Fixed Deposits, Shares/stock market and mutual funds. Gold is still seen as a reliable investment option for 4% of the consumers. 40% of the audience still don’t invest and interestingly 2% still save their money in post offices. · Gauging views around the Diwali festivities, Axis My India, further discovered that 36% of the consumers are planning to go beyond small-ticket purchases this festive season. While 24% are looking to spend on household or personal items like White Goods (AC, TV, Washing Machine, Refrigerator etc.), furniture, electronics and jewellery; 9% is looking to buy a 4-Wheeler or a 2-Wheeler. Further from a purely sentimental outlook, 59% of the consumers reflect the view of a more hopeful and cheerful Diwali this year!

Digital is now the second most important source of brand awareness after TV: Report

<ul><li>Sabhyata, an ethnic wear brand that is now pegged at ₹120 Crore, is aiming to become ₹200 Crore brand by the end of next financial year. </li><li>The brand is hopeful about its sales from Diwali — aims to collect 25% of its revenue from the on-going festive season. </li><li>Now on 110 stores in India, the ethnic wear brand will be adding 50 stores every year in India and expand its presence to Nepal, Sri Lanka, Singapore in three years. It will also be available on Myntra from next month. </li><li>Built on strong word-of-mouth, Sabhyata has also launched its third campaign to increase customer retention and brand value. </li></ul>While most e-commerce platforms lure their customers with high discounts and big media splash during the festive season, Sabhyata, an ethnic wear brand, is pinning all its hopes on its single advertisement, organic social media promotions, and offering good-quality product range. Launched in 2003, Sabhyata has truly believed in its product and in the power of social media since the beginning. It started advertising in the mainstream media only three years ago, before that, word-of-mouth did wonders for the brand. Chayan Verma, Head of Marketing, Sabhyata believes the reason behind this strong word-of-mouth was its variety of products and cost-effectiveness. It targets working women, who need new attire every day for work in their limited budget, says Verma. Even now, 80% of Sabhyata’s marketing monnies go to social media and the remaining 20% are divided between in-cinema ads and a little bit of outdoor advertising. After 16 years of its existence, the brand has only three big campaigns in its kitty. In 2011, Sabhyata only had three stores and the tables only turned in the last seven years when the brand started growing at the rate of 800% YoY. Now, on the back of the festive season and the promotion around its new campaign, Sabhyata further aims to grow from ₹120 Crore to ₹200 Crore by the end of this financial year. While 95% of its revenue comes from women’s ethnic wear, Sabhyata will be increasing its focus on men’s collection in two years as the number of its stores in India increase. Now on 110 stores in India, Sabhyata aims to launch 50 stores every year and in three years, the brand also will be taking its ethnicity to Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Singapore. It is also present on Flipkart, Amazon, and will be available on Myntra from next month. However, Verma says these platforms can only offer visibility and since its inception, Sabhyata hasn’t believed in offering discounts. “The only thing you get on e-commerce is brand visibility and repetition of your old stocks. E-commerce, right now, is a discounting market altogether. It is very difficult to sell fresh stock on it. So from the marketing and branding point of view, we are focusing on that, but not on the point of revenue.” One Campaign a Year Sabhyata plans to launch only one advertisement every year during Diwali. Being an ethnic brand, festive season plays an important role in spurring its growth and contributes about 25% to its overall revenue. On why only one campaign a year, Verma expounds, “From a marketing point of view, we have learnt that Diwali is the best time to put in any ads and that’s when you get the eyeballs from customers.” Objective Behind Sabhyata’s latest ad Sabhyata’s latest advertisement starring Jatin Sarna, Sheeba Chadha, and Anupriya Goenka aims to redefine the relationship between a daughter-in-law and her mother- in-law. Through the infamous domestic Saas-Bahu war around who will make the tea, the video showcases how when both women refuse to budge from their point, making one of them move to the kitchen seems to be an impossible task. Finding himself in a difficult situation for having to keep up as an ideal son for the mother’s sake and an ideal husband for the wife’s sake, the man of the house is found going back and forth to reach the unconventional answer. Having absolutely zero knowledge of the technical know-how near the stove, he moves in to rescue the festivity of the day. 
 
 
 
 
 
 <div type="Youtube" id="t7I9OoXTVtk" title="Sabhyata- Diwali #CelebrateaChange" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/t7I9OoXTVtk/mqdefault.jpg"></div>













 Sabhyata is one of the few brands in India to on-board an infamous character - Jatin Sarna, best known for his negative role in Sacred Games. For the longest time, brands have shied away from using a villain in their advertisement. Verma tells us that it was an intentional choice. “This man (Jatin Sarna) has been portrayed in Sacred Games as kind of a womaniser and we wanted to bring this character into the film specifically just to prove a point; he eventually learns a lesson. People actually can relate to this guy, I suppose those ‘typical guys’ who are, shying away from household work and we wanted to portray what society expects from them,” he adds. With its advertisement of this year, Sabhyata aims to increase brand value and customer retention. According to Verma, retaining customers is the biggest problem that garment players of all kinds are facing. A single mistake in today’s market, says Verma, and the customer is long gone. It is with campaigns like these that Sabhyata is facing the challenge upbeat. “The objective is not to make revenue -- it's about creating the brand value in the minds of the customer, especially the women out here. When someone is wearing a Sabhyata product, he/she should be proud of what they are wearing,” shares Verma. Media Plan Sabhyata believes in getting the most bang for its buck. The ethnic wear brand has spent ₹15 lakh on its latest advertisement, which was conceptualized and made in-house, and might spend ₹5 lakh more on pushing the advertisement on digital media. “We have only invested in the advertisement. If the idea and concept is right, you don't need much marketing funds to sell it,” believes Verma. Plan Ahead Going forward, Sabhyata will be working towards being the most recalled ethnic brand in India. “In the next three years, we see Sabhyata with 250 exclusive outlets and more than ₹ 300 crore turnover. Sabhyata will also be present at all the LFS stores, be it Central, Pantaloons, or Westside. Apart from that, we want to be present on all online platforms. We want the brand recall to be so strong that when someone thinks about ethnic collection, Sabhyata is at the top of their mind. Through these digital efforts, we try to celebrate all relationships and connect to our audience in ways they understand and can relate to,” concludes Verma.

Sabhyata to become a ₹200 Crore brand by the end of next financial year  — aims to take the brand to 3 more countries

<ul><li>Controversies have always been a part of the advertising industry and the year 2021 was no different.</li><li>The year was full of ups and downs and a lot of brands landed in trouble for hurting religious sentiments through their campaigns.</li><li>We look at the year gone by and some brand controversies that erupted in India.</li></ul>2021 was bitter-sweet for the Indian advertising industry. This year gave us beautiful campaigns such as Cadbury’s remake of the famous stadium ad with the wonderful jingle Kuch Khaas hai, CRED’s Indiranagar Ka Gunda that still continues to appear in memes on the internet, Bhima’s Pure as Love ad that challenged the status quo, to mention a few. However, it was also a year full of controversies. Many brands landed themselves in trouble and numerous campaigns had to be pulled off. It is not too difficult today for a small tweet to snowball into a boycott trend, something that is every marketers’ and agency’s nightmare. At the same time, when brands have a presence on social media, they start having an opinion or a voice. If brands err on the side of caution, they are simply selling products to consumers and not engaging with them on a personal level. There will always be users who support the brand for standing up and fighting for causes they believe in but there will also be those who would oppose them at the slightest disagreement. GenZ is also becoming increasingly aware of how advertising works and is able to separate grey from black. They view brands as a form of self-expression and to connect with them, brands are also expected to go beyond just selling their products. They are known to connect with brands that they feel are socially and environmentally conscious. So, while many experts advise brands to steer clear of religious topics or make any political statements, there’s also pressure on brands and companies to take firm stands on issues that matter to these young consumers. As brands try to find the balance between making the right statement and offending a majority in the coming year, here are a few brands who found themselves in troubled waters this year: Manyavar Bridal wear brand Mohey had released a commercial that aimed to offer a fresh perspective to the Hindu wedding ritual 'Kanyadaan.' With its campaign featuring Alia Bhatt, Mohey promoted women empowerment and gave a more gender-sensitive touch to the age-old tradition of ‘Kanyandaan’ in Hindu weddings and insisted on bringing in ‘Kanyamaan’ instead. “Through the film, Mohey’s brand ambassador Alia Bhatt questions the conventional beliefs that require a daughter to conform to being ‘given away’ at her wedding. She makes a choice on her wedding day to rethink rituals, stating what Kanyadaan means in modern times, making it more equal and progressive for her present and future generations,” explained its press release. However, this campaign did not sit well with Twitter users. It flared up a controversy on social media and the hashtag #BoycottManyavar started trending on Twitter. The trolls slammed the ad for mocking Hindu traditions. <div type="Youtube" id="PmCSjllj7KU" title="Tradition wahi, soch nayi - #KanyaMaan" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PmCSjllj7KU/mqdefault.jpg"></div> Cadbury beef row Mondelez India had found itself in a soup too after a few screenshots surfaced on Twitter suggesting that its Cadbury Dairy Milk may contain gelatine derived from beef. Trolls were quick to call for a boycott on all Mondelez products but some users even pointed out that the screenshot being shared is that of Cadbury Australia’s website. <div type="twitter" handle="DairyMilkIn" handlename="Cadbury Dairy Milk" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1327255370444668928/1NjkNhJE_normal.jpg" favoritecount="963" retweetcount="241" status="https://t.co/798qgPozsF" createdat="1626616484000" id="1416758336909840387"></div> The chocolate and snacks giant later clarified that its products in India are all vegetarian. It said that the screenshots circulated were of the company’s products sold overseas. FabIndia Clothing brand FabIndia was criticised for its collection named 'Jashn-e-Riwaaz.' Twitterati alleged that the campaign purposely tried to hurt religious sentiments by associating the name ‘Jashn-e-Riwaaz’ with Diwali, a Hindu festival. They even had a problem with women not wearing their badges of being married such as bindis, bangles and sindoor. Tejasvi Surya, MP and National President of the BJP Yuva Morcha had tweeted, “Deepavali is not Jash-e-Riwaaz. This deliberate attempt of abrahamisation of Hindu festivals, depicting models without traditional Hindu attires, must be called out. Brands like Fabindia must face economic costs for such deliberate misadventures.” Soon after that tweet, FabIndia deleted its post across social media and renamed its collection to ‘Jilmil-si-Diwali.’ Sabyasachi The designer brand was trolled heavily for allegedly hurting religious sentiments by promoting their ‘Royal Bengal Mangalsutra,’ which is a part of their Intimate Fine Jewellery line. The ace designer behind it, <keyword id="7202" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sabyasachi-mukherjee" source="Orion">Sabyasachi Mukherjee</keyword>, decided to withdraw the campaign after it triggered an avalanche of online trolling for hurting religious sentiments. He retracted his campaign after Madhya Pradesh’s Home Minister Narottam Mishra issued a "24-hour ultimatum" and threatened to send the "police force." <div type="image" title="Sabya and mangalsutra ads" msid="88322071" hostid="261"></div> Dabur’s Fem In the same week, Dabur’s Fem Cream Bleach advertisement stirred a boycott trend for showing a same-sex couple celebrating the Hindu festival of Karva Chauth. <div type="Youtube" id="-yu4_BIPkXU" title="Fem Ad on Karwa Chauth | Dabur Fem Controversial Ad | Viral Video" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-yu4_BIPkXU/mqdefault.jpg"></div> CEAT CEAT Tyres was criticised for an ad featuring Aamir Khan in which the actor was seen advising people not to burst crackers on Diwali. <div type="Youtube" id="wm4kOghHQ24" title="Switch to CEAT SecuraDrive | Aamir Khan- Cricket" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/wm4kOghHQ24/mqdefault.jpg"></div> Zomato Zomato landed in a controversy in October after a customer from Tamil Nadu alleged he was denied a refund for a missing item in his order as he didn't know the ‘national language’ Hindi. Soon, a massive backlash followed on Twitter with many slamming the food delivery app for imposing Hindi on its customers. This also led to hashtags "Reject_Zomato" and "ZomatoSpeakTamil" trending on top. Fortune oil When Sourav Ganguly, BCCI President and Former India Cricket Captain, suffered a mild heart attack in January, netizens happened to re-discover his old ad endorsing Fortune's Cooking Oil. It then triggered a slew of tweets and jokes with people questioning the effectiveness of the oil and also wondering how the brand will tackle this crisis. <div type="twitter" handle="arifaajakia" handlename="Arif Aajakia" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1463855466463862798/ZR5EoEHM_normal.jpg" favoritecount="161" retweetcount="13" status="Dada, get well soon. We love you. You are a tiger, you will come back roaring. @SGanguly99 https://t.co/F5rkPAlmNE" createdat="1609734280000" id="1345949241093586946"></div> On Valentine’s day this year, the brand published an honest print ad clarifying that there are many factors that can affect our heart's health. Adani Wilmar’s Fortune rice bran cooking oil was the only brand that did not bow down to trolls. <div type="twitter" handle="FortuneFoods" handlename="Fortune Foods" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1230878437541371904/69ad0EW2_normal.jpg" favoritecount="15" retweetcount="2" status="Dada made a healthy comeback, as he always does! Here's a 'heart' felt message from him on Valentine's Day. Let's h… https://t.co/Je2cGatoz8" createdat="1613277036000" id="1360808636755320837"></div>

From Manyavar’s Kanyadaan to Cadbury’s beef row, here are a few brands that found themselves in trouble in 2021

<ul><li>The pandemic-induced lockdown accelerated <keyword id="618493" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="digital-marketing">digital marketing</keyword>’s adoption rate in India. </li><li>A lot of brands have a digital-first and digital-only approach, while there are brands that want to start and stay only on digital. </li><li>So will this be a strong enough push for clients to invest a lion’s share on digital? We reach out to digital agencies to understand what we can expect in the future as digital takes precedence. </li></ul>Digital marketing has taken precedence over all mediums since the outbreak of coronavirus. According to DAN’s digital report released in January this year, digital marketing was expected to grow by 10.9% and reach ₹75,952 crore by the end of 2020. However, with the nationwide lockdown, print, radio, OOH, in-cinema advertising saw a massive drop, enabling further acceleration in digital’s overall growth. 2019 was also another year with its own set of challenges. With the economic slowdown, advertisers decided to cut back on spends and market sentiments reached a new low but despite those hurdles, digital continued to flourish. Now with reading news, catching up with friends, dating, hanging out and many other social activities becoming virtual, the whole market dynamics have altered. This has led to marketers rethinking their strategies and digital agencies introspecting on how they can lead the change. As markets are now slowly opening up, we reached out to experts to find out if the ad revenue pie will change, too. Experts opined that most advertising budgets and brands will be digital-centric in the times to come once we recover from the dent that COVID-19 has created. Unny Radhakrishnan, CEO, Digitas India said, "Digital always had a year-on-year healthy growth. More often the growth stories are reported based on how much digital media spends are growing. While that is clearly an indication of growth, the current situation is triggering accelerated growth not just in digital media spends, but in the overall approach to digitisation. There is a renewed focus on digitisation of all customer touch points. Consumers are becoming increasingly comfortable with digital interfaces - from virtual showrooms to OTT to digital news subscriptions to e-commerce. So brands will continue to invest in this transformation and investments could be significantly skewed on to digital. Most of our conversations and engagements with our clients are in the areas of these transformations and building digital brands." However, digital advertising will take some time to get its due back. Shamsuddin Jasani, Group MD, Isobar South Asia, highlighted that 95% of the ad revenue still comes from traditional beauty, FMCG and auto brands, who weren’t fully operational during the lockdown. He predicts a 40% drop in the overall digital revenue this year. “Consumption has gone through the roof for various forms of content ranging from video, gaming to education. Ramayan and news viewership also gave TV a push. Unfortunately, the clients aren't able to keep up with the pace. So far, only 5% of ad revenue comes from a pure digital brand and 95% still comes from a traditional FMCG or auto brand. They’ll start spending in the days to come. Apart from that, e-comm players told me that 75% of their sales came back in lockdown 3.0. Hence, people are going to put their best bets on digital again. Lockdown did have a long-term impact because the ad spends have cut down,” said Jasani. Ahmed Aftab Naqvi, CEO and Co-founder, Gozoop says an ‘even bigger uptick awaits us.’ “Digital spends are going to grow exponentially in the post-COVID era. CEO’s, CFO’s &amp; CMO’s are experiencing the benefits of having a digital-only marketing strategy and once they have tested success, I don’t see them resorting to other forms of advertising, at least in the short to medium term. There will be an increased focus on martech and performance marketing strategies. I also expect inbound marketing and performance-led influencer marketing to become a critical tool in the arsenal of most digital first marketing teams.” Sharing why digital has seen unhampered growth year-on-year despite the volatile environment in India, Sanjay Mehta, Joint CEO, Mirum India said, “It was due to various advantages that it offers, including sharp targeting, being very measurable, being able to track the ROI well, very efficient to create and manage campaigns, usable for small and large budgets, ease of starting, stopping, and tweaking campaigns, and not needing to stay committed to a creative or a medium, for long periods of time, etc. For all these reasons, digital advertising has been growing for years now. But marketers were still spreading their spending across media, including TV, print, OOH, cinema, radio, etc. Since all these mediums saw a drop, digital became a natural choice.” Traditional brands who offer tangible products will also embrace digital in the days to come. Giving us an insight into which categories will be the first adapters during <keyword id="9318169" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Unlock-1-0">unlock 1.0</keyword>, Jasani said, “There is a clear transfer of marketing monnies from mediums like outdoor, in-cinema to digital. Now, with this markets opening up, you should see much more activity from brands like mobile providers, who aren't termed as essentials but are important. Auto will see a boom because people will avoid public transport. But you will not go for a test-drive. This whole process will move to digital. Marketing will be around how safely it will be delivered it to you. So a lot of money will be spent on safety whether it is tourism, food, airlines, etc.” Google’s report titled ‘What is India searching for’ revealed how dependence on digital is rapidly increasing as time spent on smartphones in the first 3 week of COVID-19 disruption inched towards 4.5 hours per day and online video accounted for more than 70% of India’s total data usage. As a result, clients who have reached out to Gozoop lately are demanding digital-first strategy and Naqvi predicts that it will now get the lion’s share. “A lot of brands that are coming to us today and want a digital-first approach with some only wanting digital as the main channel. I feel that the future of brand building is digital. It’s not just here to stay but is here to lead. When it comes to the brands that have traditionally relied on mainline, there will be some tactical work that will be done occasionally, but that’s not to say that print and traditional will die. However, the portion of spends will flip. Digital spends will go up from 20-30% of the current total media spends to as high as 60-70% in the post COVID era,” shared Naqvi. The sudden transition to digital wasn’t really smooth for marketers. They were trying to figure out the market sentiment and how to communicate with consumers. Eventually, the importance of ROI was driven home. “The economic challenges of the current period do force brands to think sharper on ROI factors, where marketing spends are concerned. Hence digital as a highly measurable medium, becomes a first call. Even within digital, data-driven marketing and marketing automation, become a must-do, since these generate even sharper focus and enable far better ROI on spends,” said Mehta. There is a silver lining to this whole situation after all. Jasani predicts this consumer sentiment will pick up come Diwali. “This is going to be the best Diwali since the past 2 years. First two months will go in stocking essentials but come Diwali, consumers are going to step out and buy things. It will be a good thing for the country and economy, overall,” said he. Digital experts said that this shift to digital is an irreversible change in the marketing landscape.

Unlock 1.0: Digital will continue to take the bigger cut, share experts

The Air Passengers Association of India (<keyword id="312940" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="APAI">APAI</keyword>) has urged the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (<keyword id="6354787" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="DGCA">DGCA</keyword>) not to permit special discount schemes by domestic carriers. 
 
"We strongly believe that the DGCA must put an end to this practice of offering ridiculously low fares which are non-existent and are not really available to the passenger," APAI President D Sidhakara Reddy said. 
 
"We have received several complaints that the passengers do not get access to the airline's portal and if they are able to do so and look for the advertised (special) fare for a particular sector, it shows sold out, whereas most of the other types of fares are only available for bookings," he added. 
 <keyword id="6358032" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="SpiceJet">SpiceJet</keyword> had recently launched '<keyword id="1209613" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Diwali-dhamaka">Diwali Dhamaka</keyword>' sale, with one-way fares starting as low as Rs 899 (including taxes). The tickets could be booked between October 21 and 26 for travel between November 1 and December 15, 2014. 
 
"SpiceJet has fundamentally changed the air travel paradigm in India this year, with offers that are frequent and often lower than train fares," Chief Operating Officer Sanjiv Kapoor said while announcing the sale. 
 
The association asked the DGCA whether the airlines provide information about the percentage of seats offered under special fare schemes as they are required to show the number of seats allocated under each type of fare.

Air Passengers Association Asks DGCA To Stop Discount Schemes

The Centre is working on a new legislation to replace the existing <keyword id="64968" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Consumer-Protection-Act">Consumer Protection Act</keyword>, which will have penal provisions of Rs 50 lakh and five year imprisonment for celebrities promoting sale of items without verifying the quality, Union Minister <keyword id="89367" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="ramvilas-paswan">Ramvilas Paswan</keyword> said today. 
 
The proposed Consumer Protection Bill, 2016 has already been approved by the Parliamentary Standing Committee and would be introduced in Parliament in the next session, the Food and Consumer Affairs Minister told reporters here. 
 
The new legislation to replace the existing Consumer Protection Act, 1986 would have stringent provisions against actors and other personalities doing advertisements for brands without verifying the products. 
 "Some leading actors/actresses like <keyword id="6357912" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="amitabh-bachchan">Amitabh Bachchan</keyword>, <keyword id="6354583" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Salman-Khan">Salman Khan</keyword> and others claim that the products they promote will add to one's strength or one will have hair on a bald head, which is not true. Such things should should stop. You advertise for an item only after being convinced of its results yourself," Paswan said. 
 
In the new legislation, penalty for indulging in a "deceiving" advertisement would be enhanced to Rs 50 lakh from Rs ten lakh at present and the jail term to five years from the current two years, he said. 
 
Paswan said the new legislation would have elaborate scope for a consumer to lodge complaint against a sub-standard product sitting at home and it would also the monetary limits of district and state-level consumer redressal courts. 
 
"The new legislation will make it mandatory that the complaint be registered within 21 days," he said adding, it would enhance the limit of a district court to hear complaints of up to Rs one crore from the present Rs 20 lakh and state courts to Rs 14 crore from present Rs one crore. 
 
Paswan also expressed worry over cheap Chinese goods flooding the market and said measures would be taken to check their rampant flow in the country. 
 
"Chinese entrepreneurs make a low-priced Lord Ganesha and Parvati for Diwali. Was Lord Ganesha born in China?" he asked. 
 
He also mentioned growing instances of irregularities in sale of gold and said BIS would be strengthened and it would be made compulsory for shops to have provisions to check the "gold sold in the name of 24 carats is actually not of nine carats." 
 
Image credit: Indiatimes

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