Regional influencers drive 10-25% higher purchase intent, 1.5-3x impact 

Regional creators are emerging as the driving force behind festive season campaigns, delivering up to 1.5-3 times higher engagement at significantly lower CPMs compared to national influencers, according to experts. While the cost of working with top-tier national creators typically surges during festivals, regional influencers are proving more effective in timely campaign positioning. 

By weaving vernacular and culturally rooted content into celebrations—whether it’s pandals, melas, or family rituals—they not only build brand affinity but also convert trust into measurable sales through coupon codes, affiliate links, and even hyperlocal delivery tie-ups. Their ability to mirror everyday realities with authenticity reduces purchase hesitation, leading to 10–25% higher purchase intent during festive campaigns.

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Neha Markanda, Chief Business Officer, ShareChat, told e4m, “Recent regional campaigns yielded up to 3x higher completion rates and engagement levels of over 14% compared to typical averages of 4–7%. Brands have observed a measurable uplift during festive periods, with certain retail and FMCG campaigns in featured regions driving 10–15% higher purchase intent and stronger visibility.”

According to her, vernacular content further commands deeper attention, with emerging short-form storytelling formats like microdramas driving over 55 minutes of average daily watch time and 150 million episode views each day — fuelled largely by Tier 2 and 3 audiences. Influencers creating in regional languages often see engagement soar by 2 to 3 times compared to Hindi or English.

This deep linguistic and cultural resonance allows stories to authentically reflect local customs, dialects, and identities, fostering pride and personal connection. As a result, audiences are more likely to rewatch, share, and build stronger brand loyalty, creating a lasting impact that generic, non-native content rarely achieves. This impact was clearly demonstrated in ShareChat’s Ganesh Chaturthi campaign with Kings Oil and the Diwali campaign with Harpic, where vernacular-driven campaigns amplified reach and cultural relevance in a way that resonated far more deeply with audiences.

Influencer collabs

For beginners, Tier 2 and Tier 3 creators are influencers who produce content in regional languages and capture local nuances of festivals, dialects, and everyday experiences. They have become indispensable for brands looking to build deeper consumer connections. Ranging from nano to mega influencers, these creators consistently bring authenticity and engagement to festive campaigns.  

According to a recent IM festive report by Qoruz, influencer marketing spends are projected to cross Rs 700 crore this year, powered by rising traction in Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets and the growing preference for regional creators. During last year’s festive season alone, the platform tracked 337,500 brand mentions across 121,800 creators, generating 1.7 billion engagements. Significantly, 28% of product page visits during this period came directly via creator links, bypassing traditional discovery routes.

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The report also highlights that influencer-led campaigns are expected to see a 2x–3x spike between Navratri and Diwali compared to average months, with regional content delivering 30% higher engagement than English-language campaigns. This marks a decisive shift in consumer trust towards authentic, relatable voices that speak their language and reflect their traditions.

Brands are increasingly leaning on regional influencers to power the entire campaign funnel—starting with awareness through pre-festive storytelling, moving to consideration via product demos and relatable UGC, and finally driving sales with festive offers and coupon-led pushes. Collaborations now extend beyond digital to amplify local festive experiences such as pandals, melas, and haats, creating both on-ground visibility and online buzz. Campaigns executed in vernacular languages have also shown consistently higher video completion rates, shares, saves, and richer audience interactions, reinforcing the idea that authenticity drives stronger festive campaign performance.

Emotion Comes from Local

Anirudh Sridharan, Co-Founder and Head of Product at HashFame said, “In festive season, sales come from emotion. Emotion comes from locals. With Tier 2 & 3 creators, you’re getting creators with deeply loyal micro-tribes, 5-10x engagement rates, and a real understanding of what moves their audience. 

The audiences relate to boy/girl next door personas. These aren’t polished studio shoots. These are homemade, culturally embedded stories and that makes them trusted. And trust converts better than any algorithm tweak or funnel hack. Most importantly, they’re cost-efficient, faster, and way more flexible than ad agencies.”

According to Sridharan, the festive season is not just about discounts — it’s about belonging. This is where regional language plays a central role. They kindle that sense of belonging, which in turn breeds believability. “Also, India is not a single market. It is a network of 28 linguistic economies. Both these put together, we see a remarkable 3–5x more impact for the same spends with vernacular creators.”

He added, “For D2C brands engaging with regional creators, the playbook for direct sale is established. DM to order -> GPay screenshot as confirmation -> Delivery via cousin’s bus transport -> Review on stories the next day.”

According to EY’s report last year, 72% of consumers reported purchase decisions influenced by influencer content. ROI on influencer campaigns is now measured beyond impressions, with direct sales via affiliate links and coupon codes rising 20–30% year-on-year.

Stronger ROI in Tier 2 and Tier 3 Markets

Sayak Mukherjee, Co-founder of Creatorcult said, “Regional influencer campaigns in Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets consistently deliver stronger ROI compared to national-only campaigns during the festive season. Engagement rates are often 1.5–2.5 times higher, and cost efficiencies are significant, with CPCs and CPVs typically 20–35% lower.”

Talking about numbers, he added, “We have seen a 10–25% uplift in assisted conversions compared to national campaigns in terms of regional campaigns in terms of sales. The difference comes from the closer audience–message fit.”

Giving an example, Sayak explained, “During the Anmol Industries Rathyatra campaign in Puri, Odisha, we collaborated with 20 local micro and macro creators who captured the cultural essence of the Rathyatra while engaging with the brand’s stalls. The creators posted reels around the festival, spoke about the celebrations, and integrated Anmol’s presence authentically into their narratives. The campaign garnered over 1.3 million views, 67k+ engagement, significantly exceeding the benchmarks for engagement in the region. It not only gave the brand cultural relevance during the festival but also created a direct uplift in visibility and consumer connection on the ground.”

Case Studies that Prove the Model

Neha also mentioned, “Successful models include integrating brand narratives into microdrama arcs, which stimulate organic content creation and user participation. A recent campaign for Kings Oil during Ganesh Chaturthi resulted in 10.1M+ cumulative reach, 165M+ views and was also able to drive 41K+ UGC post creations, showcasing the reach of festive campaigns during such periods.”

Rahat Khan, Co-Founder, Fame Keeda agrees with Sayak and added, “Regional influencers get 1.3–2x engagement, and CPMs are lower, which translates to stronger ROI per rupee spent. Exact uplift varies by category and activation (promotions/affiliate links vs pure awareness). Still, we regularly see engagement 1.3–2x that of national creatives and conversion improvements that beat costlier national buys once the comms are hyper-localised. The takeaway: for reach + efficiency in smaller towns, regional creators are not a nice-to-have; they’re the performance driver.”

According to her, language and cultural authenticity are the difference between noise and persuasion. Vernacular content reduces friction (faster comprehension, stronger emotional pull) and makes CTA moments feel native rather than transactional.

Aspirational but Rooted Purchases

Nyonika Pant, Sr. Business Manager at Nofiltr Group explained the festive depth of these creators, “In Tier 2 & 3 markets, festive purchases are usually aspirational and strongly family-driven. Consumers tend to make calculated decisions and often seek validation from a trusted source before committing to a purchase. Regional creators play a crucial role here, as they are perceived as trusted voices who feel closer to home and not just a glamorous face in a TV advertisement. This builds emotional resonance and drives awareness, discovery, and purchases, particularly across categories like e-commerce, electronics, and FMCG.”

She added that most brands leverage affiliate links and regional e-commerce tie-ups with regional creators to drive direct festive sales. While there is usually a mix of awareness and conversion, the primary focus often leans toward building brand awareness and affinity. This is because regional creators, with their highly engaged and loyal communities, are particularly effective in fostering brand trust, which ultimately delivers stronger long-term results.

The Takeaway: Regional Creators Are Conversion Partners

The best campaigns treat regional creators as conversion partners, not just megaphones: combining local offers, trackable links, and creator-run microsales to measure direct impact while keeping an ambient brand presence. In smaller towns, people want to see a product used in contexts that mirror their lives. Traditional advertising still drives awareness, but regional creators accelerate trust and reduce perceived purchase risk because they act as peer signals, not distant broadcasts.

For brands, measurement should include local attribution (promo codes, region tags, UTM splits) and creative KPIs (contextual relevance, demonstration of use). Vernacular influencer endorsements have played a crucial role in driving trial and purchase decisions, with brands reporting a strategic shift in festive budgets toward influencer-driven and regional content strategies.