All brands realise the importance of making an emotional connect with consumers, but the savvy ones are taking a more creative route, weaving emotional elements into their communication in a way that goes beyond the traditional.

Take Asian Paints and its three-decades old Sharad Shamman, which has been an intrinsic part of Bengal’s grandest celebration: Durga puja. Through the Sharad Shamman initiative, the brand is intent on building an emotional connect with the youth.

#ColoursOfPujo

This year, Asian Paints Sharad Shamman has teamed up with creative agency Ogilvy for #ColoursOfPujo, a musical celebration of the many shades of Sharodiya that captures the carnival of spectacles and colours that leaves Bengal awestruck every year.

Partnering Asian Paints in the musical journey are three renowned Bengali bands — Cactus, Lakkhichhara and Goshai Gang — with each presenting a pujo special song, set against the background of a colour that represents Sharodiya.

The blue Aparajita flowers, red Sindoor and yellow Atashi flowers will come alive, strung together with music. Each of the songs celebrates the coming of the Goddess, and highlights the colours as they appear through the course of the festivities.

The aim is to take consumers through a corridor of childhood memories.

Jaideep Kanse, General Manager-Brands, Asian Paints Ltd, says the brand has always believed in celebrating creativity and art. Asian Paints Sharad Shamman is in its 36th year.

“Colours are native to both Durga pujo and Asian Paints, and with this thought, we celebrate #ColoursofPujo this year,” said Kanse.

Sujoy Roy, Managing Partner (Creative), Ogilvy, adds that Asian Paints has been an integral part of Durga Puja for several years. “Every year, we pick a unique aspect of the festival and bring it alive. This year, we wanted to celebrate the colours of Durgotsav, colours that evoke memories, represent tradition and find prominence during the festival.”

As marketers look to break through the clutter, brands are fine-tuning emotional connections with relevant, passionate stories that resonate with their targets.

A social cause

Standing up for a social cause has been a great way for brands to strike an emotional chord with their audiences. Since India, the land of a thousand gods and goddesses, is facing a devil of its own, fashion brand Turtle teamed up with digital agency Wunderman Thompson for ‘The lynching’, an animated film on Durga Puja.

Fuelled by rumours, borne of intolerance and spread on social media, incidents of hate crimes across the country are on the rise, states the brand, with innocent people losing their lives to mindless cases of mob lynching.

To highlight this social evil, the brand chose social media, “where such issues thrive and are spread to create havoc”. The occasion: Durga Puja. On Mahalaya, the auspicious day that marks the arrival of Goddess Durga, the intriguing film was launched.

Needing around three months of painstaking animation, every frame of the 2 minutes 17 second film is a bed of fabric with photo-realistic textures and patterns. Animated meticulously and layered with a goose-bump inducing soundtrack, the film builds a dystopian, avant-garde world of evil.

The aim is to deliver the essence of the message that ‘True faith doesn’t lynch; It weaves us together’, and ensure the threads of peace and harmony are woven in consumers’ hearts.

Senthil Kumar, Chief Creative Officer, Wunderman Thompson, says the film that celebrates the arrival of the Goddess has a powerful message for the nation. “If art can move people, this one will give you the shivers. It is an ode to Keep the Faith,” he adds.

Trends, the apparel and accessories specialty chain of Reliance Retail, has also unveiled a new campaign on the occasion of Durga Puja. With Bollywood heartthrob Vicky Kaushal and Janhvi Kapoor as brand ambassadors, Trends’ new festive campaign for the East /Durga Puja markets is trending, with creatives that weave in the brand’s personality and offerings in the core message.

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