A few years ago, the most obvious signs that brands had arrived at a large cultural or religious gathering were impossible to miss—towering hoardings lined the approach roads, sponsor logos adorned stages and barricades, branded arches welcomed visitors and promotional stalls competed for attention. Visibility was the objective, and the bigger the branding, the bigger the impact it was presumed to have.
Walk through the same venues and gatherings today, and the picture is beginning to look different.
Take the ongoing Jagannath Rath Yatra in Puri, for example. Instead of just banners and branding, visitors are increasingly encountering hydration stations, first-aid camps, mobile charging points, navigation assistance, public awareness initiatives and experiences—all carrying the names of brands that are choosing to be remembered for what they do rather than where their logo appears.
The same playbook was observed during the Maha Kumbh Mela in 2025. Interestingly, two shortlisted campaigns from India at Cannes Lions this year reflected this shift. While the ‘Vim ka Mahakadhai Record’ campaign included cooking the holy offering in the world’s largest cauldron and then cleaning it live, serving Maha Kumbh devotees in Vim-branded plates, and lighting their paths through vessel-shaped lamps, Amazon’s ‘Box to Beds’ initiative upcycled Amazon delivery boxes into comfortable beds and made them available to devotees for free.
The shift reflects a growing belief that utility and experiences can create deeper emotional resonance than visibility alone. Rajesh Radhakrishnan, Co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer of Vritti Solutions, agrees, saying, “In high-traffic, high-engagement environments, passive visibility is no longer enough. Brands are recognising the need to join the consumer movement by offering real functional value. This ranges from technology solutions for crowd management and navigation to digital platforms that improve accessibility and engagement. Nowadays, the emphasis is on being immediately useful rather than just being seen.”
This evolution is not happening in isolation. It reflects a broader change in what consumers increasingly value from brands, particularly in culturally significant public spaces. Rather than rewarding brands simply for showing up, people expect them to contribute meaningfully to the experience.
Shruti Chaturvedi, Founder of Chaaipani, an agency working on brand integrations for Jagannath Rath Yatra 2026, frames this shift with an example. “At the Jagannath Rath Yatra, we saw firsthand how quickly the needs on the ground can change. There can be extreme rain, humidity, crowding, elderly pilgrims, families waiting for hours and people simply looking for a safe place to sit or stay dry. In that situation, a useful intervention has far greater relevance than another branding surface. I would not say traditional sponsorship will disappear. Brands still want visibility. But the stronger model is increasingly visibility attached to utility,” she says.
This is reshaping expectations around sponsorships, especially in spaces where audiences bring emotional, cultural and personal connections that go beyond a conventional consumer-brand relationship. “At religious events, people are not attending as consumers. They are there as pilgrims, families, communities and participants in a deeply personal cultural experience. So the brand has to enter that environment differently,” Chaturvedi says.
At Jagannath Rath Yatra, brands are acting on this insight, moving beyond traditional visibility-led sponsorships and exploring ways to participate more meaningfully in the experience. From supporting event infrastructure and community initiatives to creating culturally relevant engagement points, they are recognising that presence in such spaces requires sensitivity, authenticity and an understanding of the values that define the occasion.
For example, ITC brands such as Aashirvaad Atta and YiPPee! have opted for awareness-driven activations and experiences that connect devotees with Odisha’s culture, including talking about the Vishwakarma Maharana community and highlighting the state’s lost recipes. The brand is following an omnichannel strategy, combining meaningful on-ground experiences with digital amplification.
Revealing why they chose to go beyond traditional advertising, Shuvadip Banerjee, Chief Digital Marketing Officer, ITC Ltd says, “As consumer expectations evolve, we believe festival participation should go beyond visibility to creating genuine value for people. This year, our activations across brands have therefore been rooted in local insights, cultural context and consumer needs. We believe service and awareness-led interventions have the potential to create deeper emotional connections because they are built around being genuinely useful during moments that are significant to consumers. When brands contribute meaningfully to the festival experience while remaining respectful of local traditions, they are more likely to earn trust, build positive associations and create lasting brand recall.”
Similarly, Cipla Health has created activations that help devotees in their journey, stressing on their health and wellness. Shivam Puri, CEO, One India Business, Cipla elaborates, “The Jagannath Rath Yatra is one of India's most significant pilgrimages, bringing together millions of devotees who often undertake long journeys in extreme weather conditions. Such experiences can place considerable physical demands on participants, making hydration and physical comfort important considerations during the yatra. At Cipla Health, we believe our role in such moments goes beyond mere presence. It is about understanding the realities of the journey and offering meaningful interventions that address an immediate, authentic health need on the ground. This belief has shaped our approach at Rath Yatra through initiatives led by Omnigel and Prolyte ORS, focused on addressing practical wellness needs that devotees may encounter along the way.”
But do such interventions actually lead to measurable success for the brand? Yes, but measuring the impact of these interventions requires brands to look beyond conventional marketing metrics.
“The response to these initiatives aids us in evaluating their impact, but beyond reach and visibility, we look at the number of devotees supported, the engagement at our activation points and the conversations generated around hydration and physical well-being,” Puri reveals.
Banerjee also stresses on a multi-dimensional approach, highlighting that while ITC evaluates the impact of these initiatives through metrics such as consumer engagement, participation, brand interactions, digital conversations and overall brand salience, they also look at how effectively these initiatives resonate with consumers and strengthen the brand’s association with the cultural moments that matter to them.
Helping hand builds the brand?
As brands’ approach to festival marketing evolves, the role of empathy and support in shaping consumer perceptions has come into sharper focus. This raises an important question: can acts of awareness, assistance and problem-solving become a meaningful driver of brand value and loyalty?
Chaturvedi believes they can. “You may forget a hoarding you saw ten times, but you are unlikely to forget who gave you water when you were exhausted, where you found shelter during heavy rain, or which facility helped an elderly parent rest after walking for hours. The emotional state matters,” she says.
In fact, she believes that brands should look at the opportunity to cover the entire journey of a pilgrim rather than only the main festival venue. “The experience starts much earlier, at railway stations, bus stands, parking areas, walking routes and entry points, and continues through waiting, resting, eating, navigating and eventually returning home. That creates multiple opportunities for useful interventions. For example, brands can support rest and shade infrastructure, drinking water and hydration, medical and first-aid support, navigation and multilingual information, lost-and-found and family-reunification systems, etc.”
Radhakrishnan, on the other hand, believes that brands can create a more integrated presence by combining on-ground efforts with digital and community engagement. “Some effective approaches include providing real-time information and updates using mobile platforms, creating culturally relevant digital content that matches the tone of the event, work with local authorities and organisers to implement technology for safety, logistics and sustainability, involve local influencers and community voices to increase the credibility of your story, and using data and analytics to personalise interactions and improving overall experience,” he states.
Ultimately, as India’s cultural gatherings continue to evolve into spaces where millions come together with shared emotions and experiences, brands are being called upon to rethink what meaningful participation looks like.
