Festive ad spends rise as consumer brands bet on resilient demand

India's festive season is shaping up to be a high-stakes advertising window for consumer brands, even as the broader economic environment remains uneven.

With household consumption showing signs of resilience, companies across consumer packaged goods (CPG) category, beauty and personal care are preparing larger or more targeted campaigns, combining traditional brand-building with digital, creator-led and on-ground activation. For some emerging brands, the season is also becoming an opportunity to move beyond performance marketing and build awareness at scale.

The optimism comes against a more challenging macroeconomic backdrop. India Ratings & Research has projected India's GDP growth at 6.8% in FY27, citing the West Asia conflict, the impact of El Niño and rising inflation as key risks. The projection is marginally higher than its 6.7% estimate in May, while the Reserve Bank of India had earlier raised its FY27 growth forecast from 6.6% to 6.7%, citing resilience in the domestic economy.

Since the last fiscal, large FMCG companies have been stepping up advertising and promotional spends as volume growth improved, in several cases growing investments faster than sales. 

Their Q1 reports and earnings disclosures show a similar clear pattern. Nestle India raised advertising spends by more than 40% YoY in the June quarter, while Colgate-Palmolive India increased ad and promotion expenditure 33.7% to ₹252 crore. Marico raised the outlay 25.3%, Dabur 13.6% to ₹229.5 crore, while HUL—the largest spender in absolute terms—increased it 3.7% to ₹1,657 crore, its highest in nearly three years.

The higher spends are increasingly being directed towards premiumisation, new launches and emerging channels. The spending trend points to FMCG companies investing ahead of demand, using improving volumes to strengthen brands and pursue market-share gains.

Festive season in India drives 30-40% of the total ad spend for most advertisers. For consumer companies, the festive season could provide an important test of whether that resilience translates into stronger demand.

The FMCG sector remains the top spender in India’s advertising market, accounting for nearly one-third of total ad expenditure — about ₹31,000 crore in 2025 — out of the ₹1 lakh crore-plus overall ad spend. Over half of FMCG marketing budgets are now allocated to digital media. The ecommerce and auto sectors are the second and third-largest advertising spenders with a 11% and 9% share respectively. 

 Also read: FMCG giants turn up advertising heat as competition intensifies

Building the festive occasion

In July-September quarter, brands are gearing up for the festive rush with sharper offers, hyper-local campaigns, and aggressive regional activations, as experts predict a surge in mass media and digital spends to capture sentiment-driven buying this Navratri, Durga Puja, and Diwali.

For Sanjay Singhal, Chief Business Officer, Emami Agrotech Limited, the festive season presents an opportunity to combine advertising with physical consumer engagement. “The festive season is a time when consumers are out and about more, spending more, and are generally more open to trying new food products and experiences,” Singhal says.

Emami Agrotech is taking an integrated approach across Health & Tasty Mustard Oil, Mantra Masalas and the Amrita Staples range, while also using the season to build awareness and trial for WeMe, its newer snacks and chocolate spreads offering.

The company expects festive investments to be strong, although its detailed media allocations are still being finalised. “Our festive-season investments will be strong, in line with our ambition to deepen our connection with consumers during this important period,” Singhal says.

Digital will remain an important part of the mix, but the company is also putting greater emphasis on out-of-home visibility, sampling and consumer experiences. For newer products, the objective is less about simply generating impressions and more about getting consumers to experience the product.

D2C brands move up the funnel

For emerging consumer brands, the festive opportunity is prompting a broader rethink of the traditional performance-led playbook.

Satyajit Hange, Co-founder, Two Brothers India Farms, says the brand is starting its festive push well ahead of Diwali, using August to October to build consideration before demand peaks.

“Our approach this year is to build reach well ahead of Diwali,” Hange says. The company is increasing investments across both the top and middle of the funnel. Its “Khaane Ke Saath No Mazaak” campaign is its largest integrated brand campaign to date and marks its first foray into OTT advertising, with amplification through nearly 50 creators.

Overall, festive advertising spends are expected to be higher than last year. The channel mix reflects the shift. YouTube and DV360 will support reach and awareness, while Instagram and Facebook will continue to drive consideration and conversion. The objective, however, is not simply to maximise festive sales. “New-to-brand customers will be an important metric for us,” Hange says.

The company will also track reach and audience growth, and how effectively that expanded audience converts during Diwali.

Beauty brands put creators under the microscope

For Ashutosh Valani, Co-Founder, RENÉE Cosmetics, festive marketing remains a balance between short-term business outcomes and longer-term brand building.

The company expects festive advertising spends to be broadly in line with last year, with social media, creators and performance-led formats remaining central.

“Festive marketing is not just about short-term sales,” Valani says. RENÉE will track reach, engagement, conversions, customer acquisition and repeat purchases, alongside brand recall. The company closed FY26 with operating revenue of ₹440 crore.

For newer beauty brands, festive advertising is becoming increasingly data-led. Ashish Mishra, Co-founder and CBO, Puresta, says this is SKINQ's first festive season since its launch in March. Rather than competing purely on discounts and celebrity-led campaigns, the brand plans to lead with evidence and consumer results.

“This is SKINQ's first festive season since we launched in March, so we are treating it as a moment to make a strong first impression rather than chase volume,” Mishra says.

The brand has spent the first half of the year identifying the creators and formats that generate purchase intent and plans to scale those learnings during the festive period.

Creator-led content on Instagram and Meta will receive the largest share of its budget, followed by marketplace advertising on Amazon and Nykaa. A creator affiliate programme will also play a role.

The measurement is similarly granular: conversion rates by creative format, clicks and units sold by SKU and portal, and brand search volume.

“The real measure of success is not just festive revenue it is whether the customers we acquire during festive come back to buy again in January,” Mishra says.

Consumer electronics raises the stakes

The most pronounced increase in spending among the brands surveyed comes from consumer electronics.

Jubin Rawal, Chief Marketing Officer, Cellecor Gadgets Ltd., expects the company's advertising and marketing investment to be approximately 60% higher than last year.

The strategy centres on the #GaliGaliCellecor campaign, with a particular focus on Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets. The brand plans to combine digital and social media with regional media, influencer-led content, outdoor, transit, retail and experiential branding.

“The increase is not simply about adding media spends; it is about building a more integrated ecosystem across brand, digital, regional media, retail and consumer experiences,” Rawal says.

The objective is to be present across the consumer journey—from awareness and consideration to the point of purchase.

Cellecor will track reach, frequency, engagement, search interest, recall and consideration, alongside sales uplift, retail sell-through, e-commerce conversions, customer acquisition efficiency and ROAS.