The quest for cultural relevance

LIVE EVENTS CAN PROVIDE A SPIKE IN SALES AND VISIBILITY BUT ARE YET TO EMERGE AS A MAJOR REVENUE STREAM

- CHRISTINA MONIZ

EARLIER THIS MONTH, e-commerce firm Myntra turned Mumbai's MMRDA Grounds into a giant carnival with music and fashion with its Glamstream Fest. The event saw over 10,000 attendees, including 3,000 creators and more than 30 participating brands. Myntra says 10% of its revenue is directly attributable to its content strategy.

Beauty e-tailer Nykaa took its annual Nykaaland beauty festival to Delhi this month, after hosting it in Mumbai for the first two iterations. This year's gathering featured over 60 brands and 30,000 participants, including celebrities and creators.

Amazon held the second edition of its invite-only Beautyverse in July for Prime members, influencers and celebrities that saw over 1,400 people in attendance, 30+ brands and 200 creators.

E-commerce firms are clearly going beyond standard marketing and vanilla creator collaborations, pushing the envelope with experiences that are bringing fashion, music, beauty and pop culture together. Whether it is Himesh Reshammiya singing to throngs of fans or Sushant Divgikar and Neena Gupta talking about inclusivity and authenticity in beauty, the core objective is to allow people to belong to a brand and its community rather than simply being a passive shopper.