Diwali, the festival of lights not only marks the beginning of a New Year for the South-east Asians but is also symbolic of fond childhood memories, awaited re-unions, temptation of sweets and the victory of light over darkness. It’s one of the most important festivals celebrated in India and other parts of the world where Indians have made a home away from home for themselves. The Indo-Canadian population alone makes up about 4% of the Canadian population as of 2016 and can be found in high concentration in two cities – Toronto & Vancouver. The community is driven by youngsters who’re very aware of the new age trends in technology & culture. They’re also the second highest internet users in the world and rely heavily on online resources for information and knowledge. Due to their dominant presence online, Diwali is the best time to target South Asians and for brands to create valuable micro-moments with their audience.
An essential part of the spirit of Diwali involves South Asians making use of multiple media platforms in order to feel connected and closer to home. Specifically during festivals, the rapid flow of technology results in major popularity of connectivity apps like – Facebook, Whatsapp, Facetime, etc as people try to connect with one another and their loved ones. They also tend to feel a special connection with brands that specifically advertise for them during this time of the year. Probably one of the reasons why some of the biggest brands in Canada today are trying to use Diwali as an opportunity to capitalise on this target group through Diwali sponsorships, offers and mobile coupons.
Diwali is when South Asians officially start preparing for holidays and are very active on most social media and online platforms. It is the best time for most e-commerce companies to come up with discounts & offers as most of the South Asian audience is not only active on these sites to make purchases but are also present to compare prices for their desired products. Most consumer categories see a huge influx of online searches with the most popular ones being related to Food & Drinks, Beauty & Health and also Home Decor & Improvement. They’re very comfortable buying products online with the most purchased items belonging to the Electronics and mobile phones. Advertising plays a huge role in influencing purchase decisions for this target group as it helps them stay up to date with new brands and products.
Another popular medium of online consumption for this target group during the festive season has been online videos and hence, YouTube has proven to be the best medium for them to gain information, get entertained and also learn something new. The growing popularity of Youtube and its impact on the youth is probably one of the reasons why the medium plays a huge role in influencing their shopping decisions. There’s a spike in the YouTube content during the festive season as people make various interesting searches ranging from : Make-up or Cooking Tutorials to ideas for home decor and favourite Bollywood songs & films.The Most popular searches on YouTube include Cooking, Beauty & Fitness, Bollywood, Kids & Devotional. For a target group as savvy as the South Asian community an interactive medium like YouTube seems like the perfect way for brands to reach out and connect with this audience.
As evident, marketing to the South Asian community happens to be a very lucrative opportunity that most brands should take a chance on and making creative use of the festive season is a great way to approach the Ethnic Market that is waiting to be reached out to, at Maple Diversity Communications we help you achieve that.