Festive 2025 Brings Focus On Connection, Culture & Belonging

As 74 per cent of shoppers enter the festive quarter with defined expectations from brands, India's festive season sees marketers deploy celebrity narratives, Al-powered personalisation and content commerce to win over shoppers

- BY REEMA BHADURI

THIS FESTIVE SEASON, brands are in a strategic battleground, deploying their most sophisticated marketing artillery. India's festive season has become a cultural moment where tradition meets modern aspiration, pushing brands to blend emotion, celebrity appeal, AI and personalisation to cut through the clutter.

According to BigCity Promotions' Festive Consumer Insights Report, 74 per cent of shoppers enter the festive quarter with defined expectations from brands. Value, entertainment, relevance and recognition are defining the festive shopping mindset, forcing marketers to recalibrate their approach.

Democratising Aspiration

VDO.AI's Festive Marketing Playbook 2025 finds that 81 per cent of festive shoppers are most engaged by short video ads - a must-have format for brands vying for attention in a crowded market. Cleartrip's campaign for The Big Billion Days 2025, Prices jo karde sabki chhutti, used a playful approach to position travel as an accessible experience rather than an aspirational one. The digital-first initiative tapped into multiple content formats to reach diverse travel audiences.

“Through Cleartrip, people aren’t just booking flights or hotels; they’re buying into an experience, a memory, a pause from the everyday. That’s the sentiment we’re celebrating. This year, we have made significant investments in digital-first storytelling and content formats that resonate with Gen Z. From influencer collaborations and short-form video assets of 10-second YouTube and Instagram narratives, Cleartrip is investing in formats that feel authentic to each channel. At the same time, our focus remains on families and travellers from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, where festive demand is surging,” says Govind Bansal, Head, Brand Marketing, Cleartrip.