Onam 2026: A preview of the year’s digital festive marketing playbook?

Onam 2026 is looking less like just Kerala’s big festive ad moment and more like a test drive for digital properties ahead of the larger festive season. As brands use the window to see what clicks before festive spends accelerate, digital platforms are looking to make the most of premium inventory, sharper audience targeting and measurable outcomes.

Manorama Online estimates Onam ad spends will grow 10–15% over last year, while advertising activity during the Onam month could be at least 60% higher than a regular month. With a shorter festive window this year, the focus is also on how effectively digital properties can deliver scale, relevance and engagement in a more concentrated period.

Premium inventory becomes the battleground

The demand is particularly visible in high-impact digital formats. Boby Paul, Senior General Manager - Marketing, Manorama Online, said the platform is moving towards 100% premium inventory occupancy for the current Onam season, with strong demand for impact properties.

Umang Bedi, Co-Founder, VerSe Innovation, said fill rates on its Malayalam platform have been 7 to 11 percentage points higher during the Onam window than corresponding July levels across the last two festive cycles.

In 2025, fill rates increased to 65.08% during Onam from 58.06% in July, while in 2024 they rose to 82.24% from 70.83%. Bedi added that VerSe's full-screen interstitial recorded a 99.99% fill rate during Onam 2025, with an average eCPM of around Rs 131.

The historical pricing data also shows the premium advertisers have been willing to pay around the festival. Bedi said average CPMs during Onam 2024 were 114% higher than the corresponding July benchmark, while fill rates were 11.4 percentage points higher. He said advertisers tend to pay a premium selectively for formats that offer stronger visibility rather than across all inventory. 

That does not translate into blanket price increases across the market. Manorama Online said it does not apply incremental or premium pricing during the Onam season. The difference suggests that the premium is increasingly being determined by the quality and visibility of inventory being bought, rather than by a universal festive rate hike.

National brands are putting more value on Kerala audiences

One of the clearest changes is the growing weight of national and global advertisers in Malayalam media. During Onam 2025, national and global advertisers accounted for roughly 68% of impressions and 84% of festive revenue on VerSe's Malayalam platform. Bedi said local and regional advertisers remain important, but national and global brands are driving a larger share of value.

Mathrubhumi is seeing strong participation from both groups. Devika MS, Director of Operations, Mathrubhumi Group, said, “Both local and national advertisers are participating strongly,” while noting that regional advertisers continue to have an important share because of Kerala's market strength and the cultural relevance of Onam.

For agencies, this is making Onam less of a standalone regional opportunity and more of an early indicator for the wider festive season. Mitchelle Rozario Jansen, Senior Vice President - Business Strategy & Growth, described Onam as “the strategic opening leg of India's wider festive advertising season”, with brands using the period to assess consumer response and media efficiencies before larger pan-India campaigns.

Yasin Hamidani, Director, Media Care Brand Solutions, said the difference is particularly visible among national brands. “For Kerala-focused businesses, Onam remains a major standalone sales event. National brands increasingly use it to test offers, creatives, audiences, and commerce journeys before Ganesh Chaturthi, Navratri and Diwali,” he explained.

Read earlier e4m report: ₹25,000 cr flows through Kerala in just 15 days of Onam: Varghese Chandy

Retail, auto and durables lead the festive demand

The advertiser mix remains closely linked to high-value festive consumption. Devika said the leading festive categories continue to be automobiles, consumer durables, kitchen appliances, retail and FMCG, while BFSI is also seeing growing participation.

At Manorama Online, Paul identified textiles and fashion retail, automotive, consumer durables and jewellery among the major spenders.

VerSe's data provides a more granular picture. Retail was the clear leader during Onam 2025, accounting for roughly a third of festive revenue and close to two-thirds of impressions on its Malayalam platform. Technology and government/tourism were the next largest contributors by revenue, while e-commerce was also significant.

The category mix is also broadening. Mitchelle Rozario Jansen said retail, automobiles and jewellery are driving high spending alongside consumer durables and financial services, while healthcare and lifestyle are finding opportunities through the diaspora audience.

Advertisers are buying measurable attention

The digital opportunity is increasingly being shaped by how effectively platforms can turn festive attention into meaningful, measurable engagement.

Hamidani said industry estimates place digital at around 40-45% of Kerala's festive advertising expenditure in 2025, with some 2026 estimates suggesting digital allocations could range between 40% and 70% for digitally-led brands. A shorter festive window this year is also pushing brands to pack more activity into fewer weeks.

“Clients are negotiating firmly but are not necessarily looking for the lowest CPM. Instead, they want better inventory, higher share of voice, additional impressions, regional audience guarantees and integrated packages. Performance accountability is becoming increasingly important, with brands looking at completed views, qualified traffic, leads, store visits and sales rather than reach alone. That is driving demand for premium video, CTV, creators and commerce-led formats,” he added.

Jansen said advertisers are prioritising video formats and connected TV environments along with regional digital channels, with brands combining premium video for reach, creator content for relevance and commerce platforms for conversions.

At Manorama Online, digital touchpoints such as impact advertising, video, gamification, influencers and connected TV are being used to add targeting, engagement and measurable outcomes, Paul said. 

Hamidani said Meta and YouTube remain central to Onam planning, while advertisers are also increasing their use of Malayalam OTT platforms, regional digital publishers, CTV, creator-led reels, search and commerce media. Compared with last year, he said the shift is towards richer video, creator partnerships, premium placements and formats that connect festive storytelling with purchase.

Also Read: Onam 2026: Digital, OOH and creators emerge as marketers' top festive bets - Exchange4media

Malayalam-first replaces simple translation
As national brands increase their participation, the expectation around localisation is also changing. Devika said there is “a clear shift towards more culturally contextual communication”, with brands moving beyond simply translating or dubbing national campaigns into Malayalam and instead creating communication that is more relevant to Kerala audiences.

Paul similarly pointed to the importance of native Malayalam storytelling, saying it can make campaigns feel culturally authentic while digital capabilities enable last-mile hyper-local targeting.

“Brands want to participate in Onam without appearing to simply add a pookalam or kasavu border to generic festive communication,” said Hamidani.

The change is also visible in the way brands are approaching audience geography. Bedi said national and global advertisers on VerSe's Malayalam platform are thinking more deliberately about Malayalam-speaking audiences rather than simply extending the same national communication across markets.

Onam's opportunity extends beyond Kerala
The Malayalam audience itself is no longer being defined by Kerala's borders. Bedi said VerSe saw participation from Gulf tourism and travel advertisers during the previous Onam cycle, reflecting the relevance of Malayalam audiences across GCC markets. He said this reinforces the need to view Onam as a cultural moment connecting Malayalam-speaking audiences across markets rather than only as a geographic opportunity.

Jansen also said this year's briefs are focused on reaching both domestic consumers and the diaspora, with cultural authenticity and cross-platform execution becoming priorities.

Media plan is becoming more integrated
Despite the shift towards digital, none of the publishers or agencies see it as a replacement for traditional media. Devika said digital is becoming an integral part of the festive mix, but advertisers are increasingly looking at integrated campaigns where print, television, radio, digital and on-ground activations work together. She said the larger shift this Onam is towards integrated, Kerala-focused communication.

Paul similarly described a move from single-media dominance to an integrated media play, with print, TV and OOH being used alongside digital touchpoints such as impact advertising, video, gamification, influencers and connected TV.

For VerSe, digital also remains complementary to the broader media mix. Bedi said TV, print, OOH and digital can play different roles during Onam, with digital adding a more targeted and contextual layer to the campaign.

Also Read: Who's winning the Onam 2026 media mix: TV, print or radio? - exchange4media

The emerging trend is less about choosing digital over traditional media and more about combining scale with local relevance, premium visibility and measurable consumer action. With 10-15% estimated growth in Onam advertising spends, at least 60% higher activity than a regular month, a 99.99% fill rate on high-impact inventory, historical CPMs 114% above July levels, and national and global advertisers contributing 84% of festive revenue on VerSe's Malayalam platform, the festival is becoming a sharper indicator of how brands intend to approach the rest of India's festive calendar.