Latest Advertising, Marketing & Media News (2025)
The ‘Hylocal’ Content Boom: Fueling Brand Engagement on Social Media
The Maha Kumbh 2025, a monumental gathering earlier this year, set record attendance and witnessed an impressive array of brand initiatives. Brands leveraged culturally significant, technologically driven campaigns to forge deep connections with the throngs of attendees. Expert in rural and experiential marketing, Impact Communications has been integral in helping major brands design these campaigns with an emphasis on authenticity, emotion, and innovation. They have transformed massive gatherings like Maha Kumbh into prime brand opportunities by prioritizing service, cultural resonance, and sensitivity.
As millions converge at a single location for weeks, the event becomes a dynamic ecosystem for brands. It’s not just about getting noticed; it’s about being relevant. The Maha Kumbh offers a profound opportunity for brands to create meaningful connections in an immersive environment filled with heightened emotions. Brands have the rare chance to build affinity by aligning culturally and respectfully within this sacred context.
Effortless Cultural Integration
One notable campaign was ITC Bingo’s ‘Bhaukal Lok,’ an engaging activity that blended humor, tradition, and local dialects. Impact Communications played a vital role in ensuring the campaign was not only entertaining but also deeply rooted in cultural authenticity. They crafted scripts in regional dialects, infused folk nuances, and designed sets that replicated familiar local settings. By crafting humor reflective of relatable situations yet sensitive to local sensibilities, the campaign was organically embraced and widely shared on social media by participants.
Other examples where brands nailed cultural integration include Dabur Red’s folk storytelling formats which brought oral hygiene awareness into the spotlight. Ghadi Detergent used local purity and trust narratives, spotlighting real women from the community. Eno employed puppetry for a humorous yet educational campaign on gut health. Similarly, Himalaya Baby Care delivered an impactful campaign on shared parenting, promoting deeper involvement of male pilgrims in childcare scenarios.
Innovative On-Ground Strategies
Effective on-ground activations at the Maha Kumbh combined utility with creativity. Branded hydration stations, shaded rest areas, and mobile information kiosks consistently garnered high interaction and brand recall. Transit branding was effectively executed on local transport like e-rickshaws, boats, and even through volunteers’ uniforms. Ultratech’s “Plastic-free Maha Sankalp” was notable for its environmental commitment, encompassing zero-plastic zones and an energizing anthem that gained widespread acclaim on social media.
Respectful Brand Visibility
For brands, engaging in such a spiritually charged event must be handled with care, focusing on providing genuine service rather than mere promotion. Successful brand presence is achieved through seva, creating solutions for attendees’ needs such as clean drinking water, safe resting areas, or health services, earning recognition through service rather than overt spectacle. Humility, cultural sensitivity, and alignment with the event’s tone are essential for building respect and success in such an environment.
Harnessing Technology
Technology played a significant role in enhancing engagement at the 2025 Maha Kumbh. ITC Mangaldeep’s Virtual Dip app allowed people nationwide to participate in the holy experience digitally, bridging barriers for devotees unable to attend physically. Another innovative use included AR-based darshan zones offering virtual interactions with sacred spaces, allowing a broader audience to connect deeply with the spiritually significant event remotely.
Sustainability & Social Impact
Brands adopted eco-friendly approaches and initiatives at the Maha Kumbh. Ultratech’s Plastic-free campaign was a standout example, closely aligning with regulatory goals and inspiring a movement through awareness, zero-plastic initiatives, and a widely shared anthem. Meanwhile, Tata Solar demonstrated the benefits of clean energy through a solar-powered house installation, allowing pilgrims firsthand experience with sustainable practices, offering tangible proof of sustainability efforts.
Measuring Success
The success of a brand’s campaign at the Maha Kumbh is gauged not just by the number of visitors but by the depth of engagement. It’s about whether attendees engaged, shared, or discussed the experience. Key metrics include dwell time, participation rates, user-generated content, and brand recall. For initiatives focused on purpose, metrics such as commitments made, waste managed, or water distributed are crucial. The most effective brands balance traditional ROI with emotional returns (ROE).
Future Trends
Looking toward future Maha Kumbh events, several trends stand out for shaping marketing and brand engagement:
- Purpose-first Branding: Brands prioritizing meaningful contributions, be it sustainability, service, or spiritual alignment, will cultivate greater trust and traction compared to those focused solely on visibility.
- Phygital Experiences: Combining physical presence with digital engagement will define the next phase. Anticipate more AR/VR zones and app-based interactivity, amplifying brand impact beyond physical confines.
- Hylocal Content Explosion: This exciting shift focuses on “hylocal” content, where hyperlocal stories, dialects, and formats are packaged and amplified digitally, especially through short-form videos. Folklore, regional humor, and influencers, captured authentically, are creating waves in the social media landscape. The Maha Kumbh is a fertile ground for this trend, where brands capturing the local essence for a digital audience will hit the jackpot.
