Wouldn’t it be great if the UK population could enjoy more than one Christmas a year? In fact, many of us already do by celebrating our own, respective, cultural equivalents of Christmas alongside the traditional end of year event presided by St Nicholas!
In fact, there are about thirty different types of Christmas’ celebrated every year up and down the country by different ethnic groups. Eid, Chinese New Year, Rosh Hashanah are just 3 examples. For Indians, Diwali is most synonymous in this respect as many of us happily experienced just last week! Quite often the sound of fireworks days before or after actual Guy Fawkes night are more than likely due to an Indian family celebrating the Festival of Lights locally in your neighbourhood! Though this is often as prolific beyond the home. Leicester's Diwali celebrations are among the biggest outside of India, with more than 37,000 people typically attending the switch-on of the lights on Belgrave Road, pictured.
On a cultural level, Diwali also helps bring communities together, even for those outside of Indian circles. Already there is evidence to suggest how Diwali is not exclusively the preserve of Indians, with anecdotal observations showing strong turn out from other South Asians notwithstanding even those communities that sit beyond those originating from the Indian sub-continent. Similarly, London’s South Asian Mela, a late summer event completely disassociated with Diwali, attracts crowds of more than 1000,000 in one single day and in its 14 years history, has established itself as a bonafide inter-cultural festival.
What must not be missed however is the huge opportunity this represents for mainstream marketers, to tap into this key period when there is always a huge upswing in consumption of a myriad of relevant products and services. Many within the supermarkets retail sector know this already, using this occasion to dial up festive grocery promotions for Indians.
Similarly, even some supermarkets are known to offer Asian confectionary pop-up counters during such key gifting periods like Diwali. Due to their popularity, these are prominently sited front of the house and not tucked away at the back of the store by the flour!
Within their ad promotions, cleverly designed with neat Diwali creative nuances, there are increasing instances where even mainstream products are being advertised alongside indigenous products more commonly associated with the Indian community. For instance, mainstream, popular brand chocolates and soft drinks. Money transfer and international telecoms providers are also equally unequivocal in their support for Diwali, recognising its relevance for UK based Indians as an important time to reach out to extended family back home in their motherland.
These aside, the question remains, why is this Indian Christmas not capitalised upon by other categories? A complex topic in itself requiring wider considerations and discussion but at first glance, there is enough evidence pointing to how Indians are much more likely to be affluent and educated, suggesting they are ripe for all manner of relevant products and services to enjoy during Diwali. High ticket items like premium watches, designer fashion labels, luxury fragrances and top grade jewellery are just a few obvious examples. There is even independent desktop research via Asian flavoured Experian mosaic profiles, which while not exhaustive and always robust, can still be used as a steering guide for advertising and media agencies looking to unlock these opportunities. While the Indian volume of opportunity comparative to mainstream Christmas is significantly shorter, this is offset by some degree by Indians’ far higher propensity to generally consume the aforementioned categories of products and services.
At a time of late where there is much discussion within business and political spheres about the UK’s future prospects post-Brexit referendum result, understanding the marketing opportunity occasions like Diwali represent can provide a massive boost to the UK’s economy. Charles Darwin said it is those most receptive to change that are more likely to survive. Without this sounding overly dramatic but using this analogy, re-considering the importance of Diwali and what this represent to the Indian community is a sure-fire way for all of us to enjoy this joyous time whilst reaping the cultural and commercial richness it can generate. After all, who needs an excuse to celebrate Christmas more than once a year?!
About the author: Sanjay Shabi, Board Director and Head of CultureCom at MediaCom
