Lighting up that Dullwali phase, Marketing & Advertising News, ET BrandEquity

AI generated imageAm not sure if there is a way to describe the post Diwali period. That post-festivity phase. When the last party has been attended.

That one remaining sweet lying in the box has been consumed after considerable deliberation.

The headache from experiencing that much touted but turned out to be mind numbing and not mindblowing Diwali movie release has also gone.

And the official holidays are coming to an end. There is content about post concert depression where music fans refer to feelings of sadness after a music concert or a festival. And maybe there can be a specific phrase coined for that post Diwali feeling. Perhaps it can be called the “Dull Wallah” or “Dull Walli” phase after the Diwali phase or the Plight after Light phase.

That same feeling extends across categories which have experienced peaks during the pre-Diwali and Diwali.

But this post Diwali phase also opens up opportunities for a whole host of categories to scale as consumers gradually start moving back to their pre-Diwali routine.

During Diwali traditional wear has now become the norm. Traditional Indian wear has also managed to enter offices and has gone global. It is no longer surprising to see LinkedIn posts about Diwali celebrations in various parts of the world with people attired in kurtas or sarees.

And then there is the traditional wear experience. So I put on a shiny silky new kurta for a Diwali party with long sleeves. While conversing enthusiastically with someone I picked up a piece of that starter which was being served and dipped it in the chutney bowl that was on the same plate. But I ended up making my kurta sleeve taste that chutney first. Discovered that smeared sleeve only after arriving home from the party.

With all the traditional wear attiring and the smearing happening across multitudinous parties happening there is a clear opportunity for laundry services that specialise in traditional wear and also provide stain removal services for traditional wear without damaging the fabric or stitches. Given its diversity, there are laundry services in Singapore that specialise in a whole assortment of traditional wear from cheongsams to baju kurungs to kimonos to sarees.

Similarly, laundries in different parts of India have the opportunity to reach a high post Diwali by communicating their expertise in the unique traditional wear of their region and in removing unique chutney stains. Traditional apparel brands can also roll out exchange offers enabling consumers to refresh their wardrobe before next Diwali. And even offer restitching and recutting options to make the same kurta have a different look and cut.

From smartphones to smartwatches to fitbits and their equivalents, everyone is relying on some form of health trackers. But no personal health tracking device or app can measure the actual weight one has put on or one has managed to avoid putting one during the Diwali indulgence chapter. Time for personal weighing scales to make their presence felt and to increase their penetration. This is when weighing scales can not only enter consumer’s consideration sets but be on top of their purchase list. After all the Diwali feasting, there are friends who have set margins and boundaries. “Oh this Diwali I am ok with gaining upto 3 kilos” or “After all, it’s Diwali. Will check on weight management later”. We are all aware of Delhi Belly, but the opposite of that seems to be Diwali Belly –a bulge that appears post Diwali and needs attention. A personal weighing scale is the only way to check the “Indulgence Index” in terms of weight gain and start checking if the post Diwali diet and fitness program is working or failing. Even for consumers who may have weighing scales, this phase is an opportune time for weighing scale brands to remind customers to replace their old world scales with digital ones’ or replace with one which has more functionalities. For players in this segment like Omron and Healthgenie this may be the time to get their sales charts touch new highs. Wonder if they can create a Diwali Belly indicator too. So I can track my Diwali weight surge across many seasons and set targets for weight gain during Diwali and weight loss after Diwali.

People who have seen the cult classic “Kaala Patthar” will remember that scene where Shatrughan Sinha and Macmohan play Indian Poker. With only 2 kings and one poor card he grabs the prize money saying he is the third king. But during Diwali card games many who have played may not have felt like kings but like paupers after losing a lot of money. And this post Diwali period is a good time for those providing Indian Poker tutorials online or in person to make such paupers invest in honing up their skills so they can feel like kings during next Diwali.

There is already a lot of marketing activity around detoxing after Diwali and the likes of Nestle have already launched corporate campaigns around this.

Just as there is opportunity in adversity there are many categories that have the potential to scale new highs in terms of sales during this phase. From digestive supplements to health food restaurants to medical insurance providers one can keep listing opportunities.

There is also a huge opportunity for someone to create a paid app that integrates with Whatsapp and purges specific forwards and mass messages like the Diwali greetings that were unleashed almost as a reflex measure. I continue to miss and not respond on a timely basis to many messages that require my attention as my Whatsapp account is still reeling from that assault of mass greetings and forwards.

(The author is a financial services and consumer marketing professional who has lived and worked in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, Vietnam and Indonesia. He is also the author of the bestselling book, Marketing Chronicles.

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The festive season brought good news for the technology sector. Sales of tech products and durables saw a significant rise. Air conditioners, laptops and smartphones were popular choices among shoppers. This growth was fueled by new features, discounts and a preference for premium products. Interestingly, most of the sales happened before Diwali, indicating a change in consumer behavior.

• Published On Nov 19, 2024 at 08:33 AM IST

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