Influencers ready for a festive haul of brand tie-ups

For influencer marketing, the festive period means brisk business, according to Riya Turakhia, a Mumbai-based content creator who expects collaborations to rise at least 70% this year. "Brands go all-in with their promotions, wanting the creators to integrate their products in their festive content."

Turakhia, who creates fashion and lifestyle content and has 279,000 followers on her Instagram handle @snug.style.chic, said brands in this category are most active on major festivals, including Ganesh Chaturthi, Navratri, and Diwali. She expects the frequency of collaborations to pick up from this month onwards until the end of November.

The auspicious period for buying accounts for a big chunk of the business for most consumer-facing brands. Increased promotional spending has already propelled earnings for several influencers, as brand deals contribute the biggest share to their income.

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Companies seek to target buyers when they are most enthusiastic to splurge. Gifting, largely fuelled by word-of-mouth, spikes during the festival season, according to D2C Insider, a community of new-age Indian brand founders.

"As influencers are key sources for product reviews, brands strategically increase their influencer marketing budgets to capitalize on this trend," said D2C Insider in response to queries emailed by Mint. “Their recommendations can significantly sway consumer choices, making influencers an essential part of holiday marketing strategies."

According to Neel Gogia, co-founder of influencer marketing and talent management agency IPLIX Media, “Since Independence Day briefs started coming in, the industry at large is geared up for the festive season. All brands reserve a significant amount of their marketing budget for the festive season. So we observe a whopping 50% increase in the earnings of creators."

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Surge in demand

Higher demand has also driven up what creators charge.

"As brands increase their marketing spends, influencers, especially the ones in high-demand niches like fashion, electronics, and personal care, see a rise in opportunities, allowing them to charge higher fees for brand collaborations," said Sahil Chopra, chief executive officer of iCubesWire, an AI and machine learning-driven mobile marketing platform.

The upsurge in demand for influencers can also be attributed to the overall increase in content consumption, especially in the shorter format, during the festival season and how it strengthens consumers' purchasing decisions.

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"During the holidays, people consume more content, making creators a gateway for brands to integrate products into relatable content, driving high engagement," said Aabir Vyas, actor and influencer with a cumulative of 4.13 lakh subscribers on his Instagram and YouTube handle @belikeeaabirr. “Thus, brand integrations peak during the festive season."

Marketing budget

Yet, higher marketing budgets do not directly translate to an equivalent increase in spending on creators. Influencer marketing still represents a smaller proportion of the brands' overall such expenditure, said a senior partner at a top consulting firm.

Still, many brands have increased their influencer marketing activities to capitalize on the festive season opportunity. "We collaborate with around 70 to 80 influencers, but in September, we're thrilled to expand that to over 300-400," said Samarth Narang, chief executive officer of pet care brand Heads Up For Tails. "Our marketing strategy blends digital and local initiatives with digital efforts making up about 40%."