We celebrated Janmashtami, the birthday of Lord Krishna, at our home last Saturday. I love events that celebrate Lord Krishna, because I think he is truly the God of our age. Smart, crafty, astute, flirtatious, multi-tasking, and always the manifestation of joy. This year, the Janmashtami pooja at our home also made me reflect on how much more important traditional Indian festivals have become, in our lives today.

In our country, festival days such as Diwali, Dussehra, Pongal, Easter, Christmas, Baisakhi, Eid and Ganesh Chaturthi have always been occasions to worship and to pay thanks to our Gods. They have always been events where the family has congregated together, often the entire joint family, under the aegis of the elderly matriarch who presides over the pooja and feast. They have been occasions for gifting, which marketers have been quick to leverage — witness the gift packs of chocolates, festive offers for jewellery and garments, which will kick off with great gusto in the festive month leading up to Diwali.

Yet there are new facets to these traditional festivals that marketers should keep their eyes on, because they present new opportunities. Here are some of them, and the consumer insights that underpin them.

Social media posts Social media dominates the lives of many people today, particularly youth. The insight here is that people want the world (or at the least, their friends and community) to know of the happy occasions and high points of their life. Religious and cultural festivals present exactly this sort of occasion. Also, there is something particularly appealing about posting photographs or write-ups of very traditional festivals or events on ultra-modern social media such as Facebook and Instagram.

Perhaps this is to do with the fusion of the modern and the traditional, a tension of opposites which always tends to score with many of us. Or perhaps such posts, which deal with poojas and other socially revered activity, take away from our minds the guilt of using social media only for hedonistic purposes (i.e. showcasing exotic holidays, parties and the like). Such family-festive events also provide youth the relatively rare opportunity to show off all the elders of their family, including grandparents and parents, on their social media page; and to also flaunt being decked up in traditional outfits which they wear only on such special occasions. All of this may, in their own view, help give fresh dimensions and a new balance to their overall online personality.

In any case, social media brands such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest can leverage these insights to promote frequency of use on their respective sites. Many youthful brands, such as Fastrack, Levis, Vodafone and Wildcraft, can also use these insights smartly in their communication.

Food is the new aphrodisiac The big thing in many traditional Indian festivals is the feast. We look forward to the special food. For instance, on Janmashtami, there are at least four special dishes at my home, each year. Combine this fact with the insight that great food is the big new obsession for a large segment of our modern generation. Given the hectic pace of life, people may be starved of quality time and even quality sex, but food is the easy new aphrodisiac, and is here to stay. As evidence of this trend, consider the recent explosion in the number of food blogs, celebrity chefs on YouTube, online food ordering and restaurant booking sites. So many traditional festivals are now replete with new, ultra-modern and fusion foods. Modaks cooked with a touch of sparkling champagne, coconut burfis soaked in white rum, butterscotch sheeras and single-malt halwas , pizzas topped with auspicious tulsi leaves, Hare Krishna risottos, Ferrero Rocher laddoos — the list of modern fusion foods that are now being served at Indian traditional festivals is infinite, particularly as Indian society becomes more liberal in its views of western foods and alcohol. Marketers of chocolates, retailers of biscuits and packed snacks, and brands of ready-to-cook foods can sit up, take note and tailor their product offerings suitably. Online food sites can provide food combos for traditional festivals, for busy urban affluent homes that need the special food for the occasion, but have no time to cook the elaborate festive meal.

One festival, many locations An increasing number of families are spread across wide-ranging locations today. For instance, my wife and I live in Mumbai, and my elderly mother stays with us. Our daughter is away in college at Pilani, Rajasthan. My sister and her family stay in Rochester, in the US. My wife’s parents are in Bangalore. I am sure this is quite representative of many modern families. Yet we yearn to celebrate some key traditional festivals together, like in the good old days when mostly everyone was typically in one town.

Currently, this is possible in some cases by using new-age technologies such as Skype, which can create virtual family occasions — the pooja at one location, witnessed by family members at another location. Or by using mobile apps such as Whatsapp, which can transmit images virtually simultaneously. But is there more that can be done to bring families together on days of traditional festivals? For instance, can marketers offer services whereby identical gift packs of sweets or incense sticks or flowers can be sent to multiple family locations, so that everyone can relish exactly the same special festive food, or enjoy the same fragrant smells, while they are also connected together virtually on Skype ? Are there marketers willing to address this consumer need with other imaginative solutions?

Contemporary festive stories Traditional festivals are also about propagation of our culture and heritage through stories, particularly to the younger generation. Popular bhajans are meant to do this. Stories about Balakrishna and his breaking the vessel of curds ( dahi handi ), Lord Krishna and his Gopikas, Ganesha and how he got his elephant head, are all meant to convey and keep alive particular aspects of religion with our children and grandchildren.

Unfortunately, many of these stories run the risk of becoming somewhat outdated, because they have not been contemporised or retold for today’s young, tech-savvy audience. Recent bestseller books such as the Shiva trilogy by Amish Tripathi show the huge hunger that exists in our country for contemporised stories built around Indian deities, traditional festivals and religious heritage.

Here lies an opportunity for our marketers. For instance, brands of garments, jewellery or other accessories can tell these legendary stories in contemporary ways, through their designs and advertisements. They can then market these products around traditional festival periods, when interest in such topics would naturally be running high. For publishers of books and comics, contemporary renditions of these themes represent a huge potential market, cutting across youth, men and women. Perhaps these books can serve as wonderful festive gifts. Telecom brands, which are all about connecting people, can narrate brilliant contemporary stories around these topics, to appeal to their youthful audience in unique new ways. I can even visualise models or limited edition variants of cars or scooters, inspired by the chariots ( raths ) of the Mahabharata, or the pushpaka vahana of the Ramayana, being launched during Diwali or Dussehra. If you think some of this is far-fetched, pause and think again. These stories are part of our national psyche, and if narrated appropriately and powerfully, they can build strong emotive connect.

Let me conclude by wishing all readers a belated Happy Janmashtami. Lord Krishna teaches us the power and value of joy, happiness and love. These are virtues and emotions that all marketers can use in many powerful ways.

Harish Bhat is also author of Tata Log: Eight modern stories from a timeless institution. These are his personal views. The author acknowledges valuable inputs from Pooja Pai, Tata Sons, for this article. bhatharish@hotmail.com

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