As India enters the 2025 festive season, over 90% of consumers are expected to shop, with 77% planning higher spends than last year. The season is defined not just by sales, but by how shoppers discover, engage with, and choose brands.
Digital-first strategies now dominate festive campaigns, with Mobile and Connected TV leading engagement, and influencer commerce and social storytelling accounting for nearly 35% of ad spends. Brands are addressing diverse shopper archetypes—from essentials-only buyers to experience seekers—using short-form video, contextual AI, and omnichannel touchpoints to build long-term loyalty.
MediaNews4U spoke with Gagandeep Bedi, Head of Marketing, Motorola India, on how the brand is reimagining festive marketing in 2025. He shares insights on video-first storytelling, influencer-driven campaigns, balancing value with aspiration, integrating India’s cultural diversity, and turning entertainment into commerce.
Q1. Over 90% of Indians are expected to shop this festive season—what shifts do you see in shopper intent and how is Motorola aligning with these changes?
Gagandeep: Festive shopping has become a decisive period for smartphones, with a large number of sales happening in these months. We see consumers balance value with aspiration—they want the best deals but also look for differentiated experiences. For Motorola, this means going beyond discounts and driving engagement-led campaigns that spark conversations. The Big Billion Moto Rush is designed exactly for this—while offers maximize value, our creative themes, contests, and activations create excitement and consideration that extend beyond price.
Q2. With 35% of festive ad spends moving towards influencer commerce and social storytelling, how is Motorola leveraging creators to drive discovery and conversion?
Gagandeep: Our influencer strategy this year was built on surprise and relatability. We collaborated with creators from diverse genres, comedy, sports, finance—who aren’t typically associated with tech or dance. Watching them groove to Naacho Naacho created an element of fun and shareability that resonated with mass audiences. This approach not only widened our reach beyond tech-centric cohorts but also drove organic discovery and earned engagement, complementing our paid media efforts.
Q3. Mobile and CTV have emerged as primary festive engagement platforms—what unique opportunities do they offer for brands like Motorola?
Gagandeep: A major share of our festive media mix is driven by digital, where most of our spends are focused. Mobile-first formats allow us to connect with younger audiences, especially 18–24-year-olds who are at the heart of sharing and amplifying content. Connected TV (CTV), on the other hand, provides scale with high-attention experience, enabling us to showcase our portfolio in a storytelling format that drives both aspiration and purchase intent. This year, a large share of our investments is directed towards digital-first channels including CTV, social, and creator-led storytelling, with the Naacho Naacho campaign itself being conceived as a digital-first cultural moment.
Q4. Indian shoppers today balance value with experience. How do you design campaigns that appeal both to essentials-only buyers and experience seekers?
Gagandeep: We address this balance through our product portfolio and creative execution. On the product side, our festive lineup spans affordable G series, premium Edge series, and aspirational foldables with Razr series, ensuring relevance across segments. On the campaign side, we blend sharp value messaging highlighting price drops and offers with experiential elements like music-driven content, influencer activations, etc. This way, we cater to essential-only buyers while also appealing to consumers seeking premium experience. This year’s strategy has been digital first but also blended, we drove virality through creators and meme communities for our Naacho Naacho campaign, while also using physical experiences like our Swarovski fashion show and immersive in-store displays to connect with style-conscious audiences.
Q5. Storytelling rooted in cultural diversity is a recurring festive theme—how does Motorola incorporate India’s regional and cultural nuances into its campaigns?
Gagandeep: India’s festive spirit is deeply diverse, and our campaigns reflect that. Partnering with influencers across different genres and demographics allows us to naturally plug into regional and cultural nuances. For example, collaborating with a celebrity chef like Ranveer Brar brings festive food culture into the fold, while creators from comedy and finance connect with audiences through humor and relatable themes. This layered approach ensures Motorola feels like part of India’s celebration, not just another brand selling offers.
Q6. Short-form video and interactive content are shaping brand discovery. Could you share examples of how Motorola is using these formats this festive season?
Gagandeep: This year, we focused on reimagining our product videos with high-energy soundtracks like Naacho Naacho. Short, dynamic edits paired with music made them instantly more engaging and shareable. Beyond that, we rolled out contests, influencer challenges, and UGC activations across Instagram and YouTube Shorts, inviting consumers to participate rather than passively view. These formats allow us to amplify discovery while keeping the campaign entertaining and interactive.
Q7. How do you see creator-driven festive campaigns evolving beyond sales to build long-term loyalty for a brand like Motorola?
Gagandeep: Creators are not just distribution channels they help humanize a brand. Our festive collaborations are designed to create moments of joy and relatability, which drive recall long after the sale is over. By engaging audiences with unexpected, entertaining content, we build affinity and trust. Over time, this sustained engagement helps Motorola occupy more cultural space in consumers’ lives, moving beyond transactional relationships to long-term loyalty.
Q8. Finally, what would be your advice to marketers recalibrating festive strategies in 2025, given the convergence of tradition, technology, and intent-led shopping?
Gagandeep: The key is balance. Brands must combine traditional festive cues with digital-first engagement, value-driven offers with aspirational storytelling, and wide-scale media with personalized engagement. Consumers today want relevance, authenticity, and delight. My advice would be don’t just compete with discounts, stand out with creativity, cultural resonance, and consumer-centric experiences. That’s what turns festive campaigns into long-term brand-building opportunities.
