From ramping up supply chains to measuring engagement, here’s what brands prioritise during the busy festive season
New Delhi: India is in the middle of the festive season, which starts from Onam and extends up to Christmas and New Year, and brands are working up a frenzy, launching campaigns, dishing out festive offers and doing all they can to be a part of the festive spending.
A lot hangs on this year’s festive season, after a lacklustre start to the year. According to LocalCircles, the season is estimated to see urban spending of about Rs 1.85 lakh crore.
Beauty and wellness brands like Nisara, Recode Studios, Insight Cosmetics, fashion brand Gargee, Dishi’s Jewellery, and others are among those who have set up different marketing campaigns and promotions during the festive season from Diwali to Christmas.
IndiaRetailing spoke to these brand’s representatives to understand the relevance of such campaigns, the key performance indicators that are taken into account and other criteria like return on investments, supply chain factors, partnerships and different tech interventions that these brands focus on.
In addition to marketing campaigns, throughout the festive season, strategic partnerships play a crucial role, allowing brands to broaden their reach. This includes collaboration with influencers, promoting unique products and so on.
Budget Allocation
Brands tailor their festive marketing budgets between Diwali and Christmas based on consumer behaviour and cultural importance, with most brands in India allocating around 60%-65% of their marketing budget for Diwali as compared to Christmas and New Year.
Insight Cosmetics, for instance, allocates more to Diwali, given its broader reach, but shifts focus to younger demographics (Gen Z and millennials) during Christmas, emphasizing digital channels.
Nisara dedicates about 70% of its budget to Diwali, focusing on family-oriented themes. “Christmas promotions are usually done online, while Diwali promotions are primarily done in both channels stores and online,” added Pal.
Recode Studios spends 60-65% on Diwali, emphasizing influencer marketing and product bundles.
“The Christmas campaign focuses on seasonal gifts and beauty tips, compared to the more product-focused Diwali promotions,” added Bansal.
Dishi’s Designer Jewellery follows a similar pattern, allocating most of its budget to Diwali while positioning its offerings as Christmas gift options in the later part of the season.
“Our primary focus is Diwali, so we allocate approximately 70% of our festive marketing budget to promotions related to this celebration. This includes collaborations with influencers, vibrant advertising campaigns, and special offers,” said Dishi Somani, founder, of Dishi’s Jewellery.
Measuring ROI
Festive ROI calculations for brands blend short-term sales gains with customer acquisition and long-term engagement.
“We track sales generated directly from our campaigns to assess revenue impact. We also analyse customer acquisition costs to determine how effectively we gained new customers during the festive period,” said Ravi Gupta, Creative Director, Gargee Designer, a New Delhi-based menswear brand. “Additionally, we monitor engagement metrics, such as website traffic and social media interactions, to measure brand visibility and reach.”
Insight Cosmetics uses metrics like cost per engagement (CPE) and return on ad spend (ROAS) to assess campaign performance. Jain adds that tracking customer acquisition cost (CAC) helps evaluate the effectiveness of attracting new buyers, while the share of voice (SOV) gauges overall market buzz.
Nisara emphasises new customer acquisition and retention, using sales growth from prior years as a comparison metric to measure success. This helps in determining both immediate impact and future customer loyalty.
Other metrics that matter
During the festive season, most brands focus on engagement and sales. For Mumbai-based Insight Cosmetics, reach and engagement are key measures of how well its campaigns resonate with the audiences. However, sales remain the company’s top metric, translating the seasonal buzz into tangible purchases. “Sales show how well we’ve converted festive excitement into real customer actions,” explained Mihir Jain, sales and marketing director.
Nisara, a New Delhi-based perfume brand, prioritizes sales revenue, with social media engagement and web traffic as supplementary indicators. Customer feedback further informs its approach.
“We also monitor email click-through rates to assess the effectiveness of our marketing efforts. Additionally, customer feedback serves as a key measure of the success of our holiday promotions,” said Tarvinder Pal, chief executive officer, of Nisara.
Recode Studios, known for wellness products, focuses on website traffic, product conversions, and limited-edition sales. It tracks customer acquisition and average basket size, especially during the gift-heavy season.
“Limited edition sales and total new customers acquired during this period are two key KPIs that we focus on,” said Dheeraj Bansal, co-founder, of Recode Studios.
Similarly, Dishi’s Designer Jewellery monitors web traffic, conversions, and order value while also considering long-term metrics like customer retention and lifetime value.
Leveraging Technology
Technology is increasingly central to brands’ festive marketing strategies. Insight Cosmetics uses audience analysis tools to deliver personalized festive offers and messages.
Recode Studios leverages AI for customer support, ensuring quick responses to queries, and uses forecasting tools to streamline inventory management.
Dishi’s Designer Jewellery enhances customer experiences with AI-driven personalization, offering tailored product recommendations based on browsing and purchase history. Their use of augmented reality enables virtual try-ons, allowing customers to visualize jewellery before making a purchase decision.
Gargee Designer, meanwhile, applies data analytics to adjust their messaging and promotional tactics for better targeting during the festive period.
Managing Supply Chain
This is the most challenging time for brands and retailers and meeting festive demand requires well-coordinated supply chains. Insight Cosmetics syncs product availability with festive trends to avoid stockouts.
For Nisara, fulfilling orders efficiently is a priority once their promotions roll out. Recode Studios works closely with suppliers to maintain inventory levels, allowing them to meet demand spikes confidently. Dishi’s Designer Jewellery starts planning early to ensure ample inventory and smooth fulfilment, focusing promotions around readily available stock.
