Monday 22 June 2015

Smart Advertising in the Festive Season.

Build Avenue has always been a step ahead in giving you information that yields business advantage. Advertising has been one such sector (the others being retailing and Branding) that we have taken up as a series.

We have seen that sales and marketing in our area is not done as professionally and effectively as it should be done. We have always presented articles that have helped bridge the knowledge gap to make our players more professional and effective.

This issue is about timing of the advertisements and promotions during Diwali, the festive season.

Sales and Marketing have one of the most critical advantageous positions that we miss at times. This is TIMING. More often than not, great advertising campaigns, when held unprofessionally, lead to missing the opportunities when the markets offer some.

One such opportunity is the Festive season. In any country in the world, festive seasons mark a sharp increase in sales of products. This sharp increase may be pre season or during season, depending on the product lines.

As far as ceramics go, we believe pre-season promotions and on season sales can help a lot. However, this has to be planned and implemented in a very timely manner. We will again emphasize, timing is everything. Get it right, and with the same Ad budget, you can increase sales, brand image as well as customer relationship by 20-25 %.

Reason for the Season

The Diwali season is the right reason for people to open up their pockets for their dream homes and other buying. In India, people plan the whole year to buy during Diwali. The consumers are all geared up to make a spending.

This culture has stayed in India since years and is not going to change in the foreseeable future. We are a community who has adhered to this culture since centuries and we are still proud of it.

The festival of lights is welcomed by new homes, new cars, renovated rooms and many other things new. The freshness is so contagious that people fall into the bandwagon and buy in a smart frenzy. Kindly note, it is smart frenzy, not madness.

The Smart Marketers

 In Management classes, it is often argued as to when is it the best time to launch sales promotions? Many say it is during slack seasons, many advocate peak season promotions? What then is the truth?

The smart experienced marketer knows that it is during the seasons when the consumer is ready to buy that you need to put offers and promotions. If you do it in slack season, there is no NEED or DESIRE to buy. So whatever be the attractive offer, basic reason for buying does not exist and so the whole promo drive goes bust.

Conversely, when the consumer is ready to buy, he is looking for smart deals. He has budgeted for the same and is willing to spend to upgrade his life style. This is when the promotions yield great returns on every penny spent and every effort done on advertising and promotions. It has been already studied and established that festive seasons surely are the leaders when it comes to readiness for spending.

The Smart Buyer

Many a times it is presumed that we can increase the prices and provide good discounts. Well, the truth is the Indian consumer has now become very smart, knowledgeable and informative compared to the past. He has access to Internet that helps him get complete information of past present and future. So there’s no use trying to cheat him. He is well informed and does not like being fooled.

Moreover, his smartness can be used to a great advantage. Meet his smartness with the smartness of the marketer.

The Smart Offer

Provide mind boggling offers that attract him to at least study your offer before finalizing. It is best to try and beat the competition here, but remember, even you competitor is planning to beat you. So …What are the solutions here?

Get a professional who can help you plan your advertising and promotions. Tie-up with an Advertising Agency that can plan the total set of advertising campaigns. Also ensure that their creatives and media plan suit your budget. Take advantage of their professional expertise to ensure that you get the best ROI in the short term and a brand image in the long term.

Here are some Common Approaches from our Industry:

·      Launch a New Sub Brand with unique product offering.
·      Provide a fresh POP material, to attract eye balls.
·      Announce a new brand if you have just started.
·      Go for POP Posters to create a brand image.
·      Develop a Dealer-Distributor Offer.
·      Provide Seasonal Sales Training to the Retailers Staff.
·      Organize a Dealer meet to motivate more volumes.


Develop a good Intro letter for all of the above. However, this should not be a letter but a Diwali Wish with an offer that cannot be refused. Also, design the creative as a Card or a banner rather than a letter. Very little but effective text and many images.

The key

While the above are just ideas and a broad vision of approach, you will need professional help to devise attractive offers. This will always be the key. If the offer is dull or beatable, remember, you are already out of the market, how much advertising you do.

With this, we end the first part of our Festive Season advertising series. Do wait for the next piece of the same. We hope this issue helps you plan ahead for the upcoming Diwali season.


Let’s get ready for lighting our Diwali with great business.

3 comments:

  1. Really very interesting blog!!!!Thanks for sharing. We are the leading among the Floor Tiles Manufacturers and Exporter in India.

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  2. Thanks for posting this ... perhaps it will be searched out and found by companies looking to fill web analytics roles. I agree with your descriptions :)

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